Final Summer Wrap-Up and Ready for Fall

Still trying to catch up with the summer activities and this post should do it.....Here is what kept us busy in August and September.

We started August with a girls' night out to one of my favorite plays, Wicked.  Before the play, we went to Cheesecake Factory for a yummy dinner.  

 Such cute girls I have!

 I really love going to plays and Abby enjoys them too; glad she could come with us!

 You can't go to Wicked without the traditional pic by the sign.  

We love to go up Big Cottonwood Canyon for an end of summer dinner.  Everyone in the valley had the same idea and it was packed!  We finally found a great, little secluded spot and enjoyed a super easy dinner of Subway sandwiches!  We took a nice walk around the lake and saw a super huge moose not more than twenty feet away from us.

 Cashe loves Ben! 

It was time to say good bye to summer and head off to school.  Can't believe my boy is in 9th grade and officially a freshman in high school.    I know the next few years will fly.  Ben is getting up super early to go to Seminary, so our first day of school picture was snapped after school.  He will have a busy year as he serves as student body vice-president, plays in Symphonic Band, studies hard in honors English and continues to master Espanol!

September bring school and one of my favorite activities, the State Fair.   Yes, it's over priced, kind of ghetto and smelly in the animal barns, but I love it.....

 Love this picture; it looks like our friend the goat was posing with the boys!

 Cashe wasn't so sure he wanted to get much closer to this particular goat.

 They have a cute kids farm and the kids pretend to do all sorts of farm chores.  Love Cashe in his cute apron.  

 Cashe "feeding" the animals.

 Even though Abby and Ben are a bit old for the kids' farm, they managed to have some fun in the chicken coop.

 Uncle Ben and Cashe

 While Cashe didn't love the goats, he thought the baby pigs were okay!

Last night with Lindsi at work and Nick at the BYU game, we were able to spend a fun night with Cashe.  He loves his Papa and sat on his lap  and watched the game.    

But the best end of summer news was that our little family is continuing to grow!!!!! Lindsi and Nick are having a boy due February 15, 2013.  We are so so excited; three boys in two years.  Can't wait for Cashe, Diesel and Canon to run around Nana's house; it's going to be a party.

 So Lindsi and Nick had an ultrasound and wanted to have a gender reveal party.  Here we are with our guesses and Ben was the only one correct.  I pick a girl every time, and I'm always wrong.  

 Kristi and Diesel with their pick, but at the last minute, Kristi changed her mind to boy.

 The Barber's right before the big reveal!

 And.....blue balloons it is.  Yahoo....cannot wait for Canon to get here.  We love boys!

And that does it for the Pugmire Summer of 2012.  I hate to see summer go, but look forward to all the birthdays, our girls' trip to NYC, the holidays and everything else.  

Catching up-July

I am working every Sunday on my little blog until I am caught up, and I will NEVER get this behind again...so if you are interested, here is our July!

We started off July with saying bye to Ben.  He had the opportunity to go to NYLT, a  scout leadership camp as a leader and be in charge of a troop of boy scouts.  He worked very hard prior to the camp attending leadership training camps and preparing lesson for the boys.  He had some challenging boys in his troop, but he did a great job and all the boys really liked and respected him.  But for the second year in a row, he missed our family's Fourth of July festivities...We missed you Ben!

All the NYLT leaders; Ben really enjoyed working with these great guys.

Scott and Ben ready to lead the troops!

We love the Fourth of July!  It's been a tradition for the last several years to have the kids over to swim, sun and snack!  

Cashe, Abby, Lindsi and Baby Diesel getting ready for the fun!

 Jordan, Kristi and Diesel chilling by the pool before Kristi had to go to work.

 Abby just floating away

 We invited Grandma and Grandpa Jackson.  Love this picture of the Barber's with Grandpa.  

My sister-in-law Debbie was in town and so she stopped by with Kelli and Matt.  Hey guys, where are your suits????

Cashe and Papa supervising the grilling.  Cashe loves to help Papa cook the burgers and dogs. 

After the  fun family fourth, one of my dear friends Amy and I had the opportunity to go to Cedar City and catch a few plays.  We did this a few years ago and decided it must be an annual tradition. 

  I can't believe I didn't take one picture!  We had a great time seeing two plays and enjoying a few days in St. George.  It was a great way to spend a few days with one of my favorite friends.  Thanks Am for the tickets and fun times!!

Our next July activity was heading to the zoo.   

Nana and Cashe getting ready to see the animals.  I  have to be honest, I had good intentions of backpacking Cashe through the zoo, but that pack is heavy, so he got in the stroller pretty quickly!

 Ben was gone for most of July between camps and youth conference, but he did manage to get to the zoo with us.  I'm not sure if he is tired or bored, but glad he could come!  

We did get Abby to have a sleep over and she and Ben decided to make home made pizzas.  I am so glad they get along really well for the most part!

It was time for Ben to take off again for a weeklong scout camp at Bear Lake Acquatic Camp.  He had a great time and completed several merit badges.  His favorite was being able to finish the aviation merit badge and take a ride in a helicopter.  He also spent a day boating, tubing and surfing.  It was a fun week for him, but we were ready to have him home!

Troop 568 ready to go!  A huge thanks to the leaders who gave up their vacation time to spend with the boys.  

Scott, Peyton, Clint , Ben and Karl headed off to Big Event where they did all sorts of outdoor activities and had a blast! (This was actually in June, forgot to post it)

Our next July activity was Liberty Park and the Tracy Aviary.   Since I was just a little girl, I have  loved Liberty Park, and the aviary is super nice with a new entrance and of course lots of birds.  

Cute Kristi and Diesel ready to see the birds.  

Cashe was able to feed the ducks.

After the aviary we walked around the park and stopped at the carosel

for a ride.

Cashe and Lindsi enjoying a ride.

The rest of the hot month of July was spent just enjoying the pool.  My favorite days were when the girls would come up and spend the afternoon or evening with us just having dinner, playing in the pool and just being together. It just didn't get any better than that! 

Cashe was very excited to go down the slide with Abby and after Nick caught him, he kept saying "More, More".  He wasn't scared at all

Loved seeing Abby combine my two favorite summer activities:  enjoying the pool and reading!

 Only one more summer post to do.....

Catching up-June

We started the month celebrating the end of school with a trip to St. George.  Virginia and  Lee came with us for some golf and fun.  Chris and Lee were also in town as were Dave and Karen, so we all spent some time together.  The boys golfed at some fun courses and I loved spending time with my sweet mother in law.  We shopped, had a yummy lunch at Tom's, went to a  movie and just talked and talked.  I am really blessed to have that lovely lady as my mom in law.  

Enjoying dinner at Paula's-best Mexican food in St. George and a family favorite!

We also went to Tuacahn to see Hairspray.  It was the first time we had been there and it was great.  It was a very windy night and at one point near the end, they had to stop the show until the wind stopped.  It was a fun  night and glad Chris and Lee could join us.

My mom took care of Duke while we were gone and when I called home, she told us he had been really sick  most of the weekend.  I took him to the vets right before we left and the vet warned us that he was most likely not going to get better.   We were so glad my mom was there to take care of him, as she is the best dog person, but we knew he was in bad shape.  I think we knew what was ahead.  When we got home on Sunday, he was not doing great, so we just loved on him and tried to make him comfortable.  On Monday, I had the kids over for dinner and Duke seemed to perk up a little. About half way through dinner, he started not being able to walk and so we all had our time to say goodbye to our friend and beloved pet.

 I took this picture of Kristi and Duke the summer  right before her wedding (2009). It was no secret that Duke and Kristi were best friends.  Kristi was with me when we got him  and even though the tag on his cage said he barked, dug holes and really couldn't do anything, she just knew he was the dog for us.  And he was.   He used to stay awake and wait for her to come home when she was in high school and jump on her bed and sleep with her.  I love this picture of them.  

Here we are with Diesel and Cashe loving on Duke.  Cashe loved Duke and would call for him whenever he came over.

 Sweet Duke

 My kids with Duke.  

 Kristi saying goodbye to her buddy.

We took Duke to the vet Tuesday morning and asked her what we should do.  She said he had serious internal bleeding and it was the best thing to do for him.  So Bri and I cried and loved him and then we said goodbye.

 We brought Duke home.

 Our cute little neighbor Surie loved Duke and she was so sad when we told her about Duke.  She came over a few minutes later with this cute drawing and note for us.  Love that girl.  

It's been three months and we still find ourselves missing our boy.  We loved Duke,  and he was such a big part of our family.  He used to chase bees, catch them and eat them.  Of course they would sting him.   One day, he  brought a huge  dead crow in the house as a present for me.  He was afraid of the dark, didn't like being alone and loved to sit by us and eat crackers.  Yes, he dug holes.  Many times when I would plant flowers in the spring, I would dig up a sock, a bone, a piece of licorice (he loved sweets) or other little treasures and he slept through a robbery in our house, but he was the best dog ever.  We love you Duke!

 June was also time to open the pool and start enjoying swimming with the family.  We had many fun times in the pool with the kids and the babies.  Both Cashe and Diesel love the water.

 I bought the boys matching turtle floaties.  Here is Kristi and Diesel enjoying his first time in the pool.

 Kristi and Diesel; is that the cutest boy?  Check out the fancy fedora!

The cute Stephan family soaking up some sun.

So that ends June, fun vacation, sad ending to Duke, but the start of our summer!