The Irishman Returns

my two vikings

Grandpa Tom and Merrily came down to visit while Dave was away

Leah, Eva and Ronan made a bunch of signs and "masks" to celebrate their dad coming home

Dave's dad makes all this cool stuff. He makes these kid bench's in 3 colors, Red, Blue and Black with all sorts of cool paint schemes on them. They are really well built and sturdy. If anyone wants one, I think they only cost $235. Not bad at all for some custom kids furniture.

The Last, Last Hurrah

There were so many things we planned at the end of summer that were suppose to be the last hurrah. Then we had to squeeze this one in the weekend before we went back. A friend of ours took us for the best day boating at Pineview. Great weather, good company, happy kids, complete entertainment. We stayed until the very last second possible. There was some frantic moments getting the cover on the boat in the dark. But it was worth it.

Leah and Eva always had thumbs up for faster. I took Eva on a crazy ride with me. It wasn't until we were dumped in the dark water that she decided she was scared.

Grandparent's Day

Leah got to have Grandma Flo and Nana come to school today. They went on a tour of the school. Did some activities together. Leah showed them her class, locker, explained all the exciting things they do at school.

Nana

Grandma Flo

Sitting behind her teachers desk made her very nervous. She is so into the rules at school. She will come home and say she couldn't go to the bathroom or get a drink. Even though I try to reason with her that I am sure her teacher would let her she doesn't believe me.

The story corner. She is already making so much progress in her reading. It is exciting to watch.

Summer Catch Up - Monster Truck

A little summer catch up. The week before school started Dave had a Monster Truck event. They actually had a full carnival set up in front of the stadium. And we were hooked up with enough ride tickets to do every ride.

We are missing Davy. The kids have a collection of drawings to give him when he gets back. Only 2 more days to wait. It has gone really fast but I will be so happy to have him back.

Check out the kids faces in this one. It is a little blurry but that face on Ronan and Eva were so classic.

We went to the fair after Monster Truck didn't go so well. Lucky for us everyone else was in at the event. So no lines, cooler temperatures, unlimited rides. It made the drive down to Sandy worth it. I thought the kids would love Monster Truck. So we gave it a chance. Which ended up being about 20 minutes. Let me explain.

This is Grave Digger. I guess the car is sort of famous in the Monster Truck World.

It was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life. No joking I thought my heart might drop out of my chest. Luckily I noticed everyone with their ear plugs and bought us some before it started. Then we could still hear it through them. Also we were really close up and all I could imagine was a truck rolling and landing on me and my family.

Never ever buy these ear plugs at an event and expect them to stay in the tiny ear canals of you children. This one is ripped in half. I honestly had to re-place them back in each child's ear every 10 seconds. You think that I am exaggerating, but it is completely true. By the time I would get them back in one set of ears they would be out of another. They kept falling on the ground and then we would have to search for them. I have never been so close to a panic attack. A mothers idea of torture.

What was sad is the Ronan loved it and actually held completely still. Eva was scared to death and begged me to go. All it took was one kid that was unhappy and I was out of there. Lucky for us there was a carnival to go to.

The First Annual Homestead Labor Day Vacation

Over Labor Day we decided that we didn't want to stay home. Who really wants to Labor on a day named after it. And we had heard about the Sheepdog festival which we were sure the kids would love. So we found a great deal at the Homestead. Wow were we impressed with the amount of stuff to do there. We enjoyed the peaceful setting with plenty of area to let the kids run wild.

Pretty impressive photo when you consider I put it on a timer and ran.

The outside of the crator

The girls getting ready for their swim. A little nervious at first but they loved it.

There were scuba divers we got to watch as they were underwater. The water is warm like a bathtub and very clear.

Sheepdog Festival

This huge event is held every year in Midway at Soldier Hollow. We watched as they let 3 sheep out clear on the top of the mountain. Then the border collie took off from the bottom. He was up to the top in seriously 1 minute. Then with just a whistle to tell him what to do brought the sheep down the hill through a series of gates. It was pretty amazing. There was lots of booths and activities for the kids.

Splash dogs proved to be the favorite activity. The kids LOOOOVVEEED it. Pretty much people entered there dogs in to see how far they could jump into the water. Some were pretty impressive. Some were scared of the drop and wouldn't do it.

Nothing more darling than the face painting. We had to take pictures since they were washed off by 2 hours later when we went to the pool.

Ronan if you can believe it held perfectly still.

Saturday Updates

A few updates from the Ratchford home. First of all we are missing Dave because he is far away in the land of the leprechauns. Leah thinks he is there to catch one and bring us home his pot of gold. Really Dave is in Ireland to spend some time with his brothers Garreth and Stephan and other family he doesn't see often. We are missing him and he is worried about missing things here. So here are some updates from the past 3 days. It has been very eventful.

1. I got an i-phone. It shouldn't be part of my list. I almost gave that as a good news minute in Relief Society. Then decided against it. I have wanted one for a good year and half. And have been waiting for my t-mobile contract to be up. If any of you iphone users have favorite apps or tips let me know. In fact I had some fun with the camera at Eva's game. The new iphones have a video camera. I just need to upload it to u tube and I will post it.

2. My mom and dad came for a visit. They took Eva and Ronan to the zoo on Friday. I had the day to get all the phones worked out. Then they watched them again while I went out to lunch with some friends on Saturday. It is nice to have lots of help when your husband is gone.

3. The girls both had soccer games. Eva played in her very first one. They move around the field at walking pace. It is hilarious. Eva scored a goal, for the other team. She was proud of herself anyway. Leah played very hard in her game, despite the fact that she had a crippling injury. Don't worry it was just a previous scab that opened up when she fell. You would have thought her leg was ripped open. She wouldn't play until we found a band aid in someones car. Then she sat out a quarter limping, not putting any pressure on her leg. She did recover and play. Making sure to hold her shorts up so they wouldn't touch her knee.

4. The big news of the day is that Leah got a boyfriend, Jackson. She came home from the primary practice telling me that a boy from her class had asked her to be his girlfriend. My friends said they were standing by each other eating a treat at the practice. Then when the kids were out with Nana and Papa I saw a giggly group of girls walk up to the house. They stood at the bottom of the stairs and sent a boy I didn't recognize up to ring the doorbell. The girls at the bottom where all smiles and giggles. I figured this must be the boyfriend. They waited around til Leah got home. They went to Brooklyn's house where the girls had set up place for them to eat. The girls told Jackson how to impress Leah. His mom said he came home to change into one of his nice shirts, but left his soccer shorts on. The girls got him a necklace to give her as a present. According to Nana they had arms around each other and were holding hands. Jackson's mom said he set up a nice table with treats where they sat and talked. They wouldn't let anyone else sit with them. By the end of the night she had decided he wasn't her boyfriend, just a boy that she likes. The good news Dave is. I know his parents, he is a cute sweet boy, they really just play, and I am sure this will all wear off by the time one of his friends makes fun of him. In the meantime I am going to enjoy all the laughs from Leah's comments. And don't worry we had the, your not old enough to kiss anyone talk.

A few classic quotes from Leah:

Mom, why do you think Jackson likes me now. He was scared of me at school. Maybe it is because I said my primary part so good."

Mom, I don't know who to marry. Logan or Jackson? Maybe I will marry one of them and then the other can come live at my house. That way I can have 2 boys that live with me.

I chase all the boys at school and tell them I am going to kiss them. Why do you think they are all scared of me? (really she couldn't figure it out)

Eva played in her first soccer game.

Leah with the "boyfriend"

First Days of School

Leah on her first day of 1st grade. The backpack she picked out because it looks like Lucky.

Leah has been loving school. We are really happy with her teacher Ms Schniender.

Eva started her 4 year old preschool class with Mrs. Evelyn. She is amazing as well

Lucky for me Eva has a friend that goes with her to school. Aren't they darling together. I don't know if you all remember what a hard time she had going to school last year. But this year no problems. It's a combination of another year older and my friend dropping her off. Ronan takes a nap and I have a peaceful 2 hours. It has been delightful.