Busy, Busy September

I swear that August was just a heartbeat or two ago! Now, here I find myself looking at the first day of autumn and the end of September just eight days away. How did that happen?

We began the month with a Labor Day weekend rock hunt (for a school project for Bailee) which took us up to Kelly Canyon, over to Blacktail Reservoir, down to Bone, and back along the Snake River. We found some interesting rocks along the way. Bailee was happy with her finds and did well on the project. Needless to say, Idaho is possessed of a great many varieties of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Imagine that!

We then HAD to take in the Eastern Idaho State Fair of course! This year we made two trips. The first was an eight hour marathon of looking at everything, going on rides, shopping, and snacking at the food vendors. Bailee then had to take Grandma the following weekend to make sure hat she had her own funnel cake (this is Bailee's MUST EAT fair food). We had a good time, and saw SO many people that we knew! It was crazy! It seemed like the entire population of Southeastern Idaho had found their way there. Bailee branched out to some new and more challenging rides - which left Diana feeling a little melancholy. She rode the merry-go-round, but turned her nose up at the other kiddie rides she used to love. Poor mommy! Her girl is growing up.

School has been nonstop crazy, of course. It is just one constant round of training and training and training some more. Whenever I start the new year I think about the movie "Men in Black." Do you remember how they "flashed" people to erase their memory? It makes me wonder sometimes when I look out on those fresh faced fifth graders ... yep, I really do wonder.

Last weekend Bailee's dance studio was in the Spud Day parade down in Shelley. I was shocked by how big it all was. The parade was long, and the park looked like a minature version of the state fair. Thousands of people were there. Very impressive. Tubers - who knew?

In the evening we hauled Bailee over to her dance studio for auditions for THE NUTCRACKER. We were stunned when she was chosen to play the lead part of Clara. Whoa! That was a massive shock to us all. Bailee still keeps asking if it was a dream. I hope she does well. How she will dance in a dress that weighs 30 pounds (she weighs in at 60 pounds when soaking wet), I have no idea! Right now she vascillates between excitement, terror, and guilt (she wanted her dance buddy to get the part). The coming months are going to be interesting.

Bailee is currently up at Pine Basin Camp with the girls from the fifth grade. They will spend the next 48 hours learning about life in the woods, fossils, and the environment. I expect that she will be tired and filthy when she returns. I hope that she is having a good time. We sure miss her! The house seems so empty (and boring)! Her dog, Caribou, is highly distressed. He has been looking for her all evening and keeps coming up to us with this expression that seems to say, "I can't believe you people are so careless! Where did you put my girl?" We are, in a word, in the doghouse with the dog. Or, I should say, instead of the dog. Oh dear.