Brandon has been busy with Hay.
The company that bought our hay requires that there be NO dirt on the bales. So, we had to rake off all the dirt from the bottom bales of the stack. For 2nd cutting, we decided to stack on tarps.
For some reason BOTH kids thought they needed to help drive the loader.
I don't know how they did it, but they got the trucks loaded. All 3 of them riding around in the itty bitty cab.
We picked Raspberries. They were everywhere, tons of them. 
For a minute, I thought I lost Lilli in the patch. But then I found her......clear at the bottom!
Remember that I mentioned Brandon tore out the 2 big Pine trees at our house, then ended up taking the whole lawn out because he got a little excited with the Backhoe and tore out our underground sprinklers? Well, that project turned into something huge. We ended up bringing in TONS of dirt and expanding our lawn four times the size.
But the kids didn't mind having no grass. They found other entertainment.
I just might add that I am EXTREMELY excited that we have grass again. (pictures to come) Our house was ALWAYS full of dirt and laundry was horrid there for a while. I mopped up so much dirt I'm surprised there was any left outside.After 5 years and 2 Presidencies in a row, Brandon got released from serving in the Stake Young Men's Presidency. After Sacrament meeting, on the Sunday he was released, everyone kept commenting that he shouldn't get too comfortable, they were sure he would get another calling in the next few weeks. Little did they know that he had already been extended another assignment and in the next class he would be put in as the new Elder's Quorum President.
His release was bittersweet and I think he would've had a hard time if he had a break in between callings. But, he is really enjoying this calling so far. His Secretary (the one in glasses) is a new convert and not endowed yet, so we were all able to go to the Temple and perform baptisms. I haven't done those myself since I was a youth! It was very enjoyable, and the food afterward was to die for!!One of his last jobs in the Stake Young Men's was a Missionary Training Camp for the youth. Brandon had so many compliments from Ward Leaders after the camp was over about them being impressed with the way he connects with the youth. He had young men come up to him as well and tell him what a great example he had been to them. Brandon felt very honored, and said it was a great way to end the past 5 years of service. This is a video they made for the youth to prove that they in fact do know what they are talking about because they themselves did serve missions and that serving is fun and not just all hard work. If you plan to watch it - it's 9 1/2 minutes and Brandon is clear at the end. Just a warning. :) But, it's a good video!
The Chamber hosted the annual Oregon Trail Days. They had some really fun events this year. One was a Paint & Ride Stick Horse race. They had unpainted, unassembled stick horses for $5 and the kids got to paint and put together their own horses to ride. 
Lilli was too old for the stick horse races, so she got to ride the Mechanical Bull!!
We had free tickets to the rodeo, so we had to use them. It wouldn't be a 4th of July in Vale without attending the Rodeo!
I LOVE the little girl in the background. Her hands are on her hips and she has a really pouty face! HA! TOO CUTE!!We had the Johnson family reunion.
And during the reunion, Hoss got to ride his first REAL horse.
Then Hoss turned 3! Yes 3! I love how Lilli is blowing out the candles too! 
One of the Missionaries that Brandon trained (his son, or so Brandon likes to call him) got married so we took a quick trip to Utah. This picture of the two of them on their mission cracks me up! Brandon's sunglasses and the itty bitty bike. HA - yep, still laughing! However, if you look at how nasty the background is, Brandon says that is normal for the Philippines. Trash all over.......sad. But, still laughing at the two Americanos on the really small motorcycle!!
While sitting in the Sealing Room of the Temple waiting to begin, the Sealer walked in and it was none other than...............
No joke!! Elder Holland performed the Sealing. Apparently, he is family friends with the bride! They are a gorgeous couple! 
We then went from Utah up to my Sister's house in Rigby to hang out with them for a day. 
And we did just that.....hung out.
Except for the time Hoss jumped too far that he missed the pool.
Then, the Chamber had the Back to School Carnival. I was a clown. Pretty scary, I know. 
We prepared for 250 kids, but had more than that. This thing grows every year!! And that was most of our summer. It was a great one! I'm really going to try hard at keeping this thing up now. I took another trip to Utah (post already in the works) and have been re motivated to keep up the blog. Are you excited?!?!
