DOG

This is ___________. Actually his name is Cougar but we're not really crazy about the name so it will probably be different. Anyway, we've been looking for a dog for a while. We wanted it to have all its shots, be fixed, between 6 months and 2 years old, not a huge dog but big enough to stay outside, won't chase livestock and of course would be great with the kids. I know, its a really big list. After months of looking we finally found this guy. And the best part, he was free! Plus we got a huge bag of dog food. He is only 10 months old so he still has lots of puppy energy and lots to learn but he is already a pretty good dog. He sits and kind of stays. We just got him tonight and he was pretty hyper to be in a new place so hopefully he will calm down over the next couple of days and we can all get used to each other. He is really good with the boys but he likes to charge full speed toward them and then dodge them at the last moment possible which Jaxon loves and Linkon hates. Linkon will run after him calling "goo-ger" and as soon as the dog heads towards him Link turns and runs away crying. Anyway, hopefully he will be a good dog for us and keep all the critters and murderers away.
In other news... it is officially Fall. But not because of the calendar. Its offical because I can smell it. Don't you just love the smell of autumn? I wish I could describe it but I don't think I could even try. I love all the colors I can see from my window. I looked out at the mountains to the east and I could see beautiful patches of red and yellow all over the hills and mountains. Fall is my favorite time of year and I am so excited to be living in such a beautiful place!

So we've been here in Swan Valley for a while now and we love it! The ward is wonderful! And it's at 9:30 so Tyler can always come to at least sacrament meeting with us. Everyone in the ward seems really excited to have little kids in the ward. There are only about 4 kids in the entire nursery that are active. The ward is small and it is shrinking every week because half the people leave during the winter. Everyone is so close here. They seem like a big family. Jaxon and Linkon are so excited to have so many grandmas! In Relief Society yesterday Linkon walked from one lady to the next saying "Gamma!" He just loves all the attention he gets! Last night a young couple in the ward brought us the most amazing cinnamon rolls. They were huckleberry! Instead of raisins she used huckleberries, genius! Anyway, we are really enjoying life here and Tyler doesn't complain about the drive...too much!

We had our Barnes Family Reunion a week ago up towards Hiece(sp?). We had a blast but we were missing a few people, Josh and Tim and Nicole's family. Emily's family, Amy's family, me and my boys, dad, and Bridger all went up on Thursday. Rhett, Lynn, Grandma and Grandpa Barnes, and Ty and Mare came up on Friday. Teresa and Desi didn't make it up till Sunday morning. And Tyler was able to come up all day Sunday. We had so much fun! We had an archery contest and gun shooting contest. Me and Bridger were on a team and we took second and I won a lantern. We also played Frisbee golf and of course minute to win it games. We had plenty of food, four wheelers and even a creek for the boys to play in. I was so proud of myself for going camping without Tyler. I thought I'd get scared sleeping in my own tent, and I wasn't very close to anyone, but I did just fine! I will try and get pictures up as soon as possible.