She went to her very first High School football game as a high schooler...

the students were asked to wear black so they could show school pride by "blacking out" the other team.

This has also been happening lately... first boyfriend!  Since the rule is no going out on dates alone until 16 there is a lot of big groups of friends hanging out... like anywhere from 8-14 on any given night... love that!  There is also constant texts and facetime chats... until the wee hours... oh my!!!

I love when you wake up early on a Saturday, savor a cup of coffee and make a list of all the things you wish to accomplish over the weekend.  Then while putting something away you notice something wrong with the basement baseboard... you notice it's pulled away from the wall and is bit more flexible than it should be... you then notice the carpet is also wet... ugh!

That was our Saturday last weekend. We then went into the utility room (in the basement) and noticed a very wet floor, drywall and studs! A leak was somewhere up above but we were not really sure where... but it had been doing it for quite some time. With no other access areas we started cutting holes to see if we could find it...

We've learned enough to know that you check what sizes access panels come in BEFORE you start making holes!!  This area was dry so we knew it was somewhere between the floors.. I had put a bucket under the leak while we were investigating and it was filling up about 4 cups every hour!

The next place to look after some measuring and remeasuring... the living room where we pulled up the carpet and cut a hole in the floor... nothing like a little adventure in home ownership... thankfully we aren't afraid to take on these projects!!

There just almost out of reach we found the leak... it was leaking between floor joists... lovely.  First thought was we will just drain the system and try resoldering the joint... but looking around we noticed a gas pipeline right next to the leak. We didn't really feel like blowing up the house and so another solution was needed.

Luckily after some internet searching we found a product that could work... Sharkbite fittings that allow a push to connect fit... they were super expensive but well worth it in the end... leak fixed... house didn't blow up and everything covered back up... geesh this is why we usually move every 5 years so we don't have to deal with maintenance issues!!

Day 4 was just a travel day back home from Casper Wyoming... which was 7 long hours but with the new Clive Cussler audiobook it really didn't take that long.  We had never been this way before so the drastic change of landscapes leading up to the Tetons kept me and my camera entertained...

It was a super quick trip... filled with lots of sightseeing and tons of family togetherness... exactly what I love!!

Day 3 had us on the way to the Crazy Horse Memorial... this is a site that is funded all by private donations... it will take decades for the sculpture to be finished but it will be very grand and very large once it is done.

We watched another amazing video at the visitor center... I LOVE those documentary shows!! This told about the sculptor and his legacy... his vision for the project and the overview of the project itself... it is so much more than just a carving in the granite.  This center when fully finished will be the Indian University of North America... it will protect the culture and traditions for all North American Indians.

The finished carving will be large... in fact all of Mount Rushmore would fit inside just the head of the Crazy Horse Monument!

The quote that goes along with the statue is very sad... "My lands are where my dead lie buried"

From here we were off to Custer State Park. This was an area we definitely want to come and stay a week to explore... LOVED IT!

First up was the visitor center...

We watched an AMAZING documentary film about the park that was made using aerial drones.  The theater we sat it was small and the screen size was quite large... it felt like we were actually in the movie... I felt a tad queasy at times but it was really cool to see a different view of the park that had us wanting to return and hike.

They, like Yellowstone, have a large herd of buffalo..

on the wildlife loop we did see a herd...

and a big guy who had me rolling up the windows quickly...

We also saw a lot of stupid people out of their cars trying to take photos... idiots!!  The babies were so much fun to watch... rolling in the dirt and playing.  I would love to hear the rumble of the buffalo when the park does their yearly round up.

Next on the list was Wind Cave National Park...

where we were denied entrance...because we are honest and answered yes to the question, "Have you been in a cave recently?"  Technically we could have entered if we had other jackets and shoes that hadn't been worn in Lewis and Clark Caverns but since we didn't have other jackets and it was starting to rain we opted to just come back another day and drove to the hotel in Casper Wyoming.  Skipping the cave and arriving at the hotel early had us looking for a good last hurrah to our vacation.  We opted for dinner at Texas Roadhouse... and then the Olympics in bed!  Love this time of togetherness...

Hard to believe but we just finished our first week of school... it seriously was the longest week ever!!  I can't remember a time starting so early and going a full first week!!  We McFarlands have all the schools covered this year... Me at an Elementary school, Walker at a Middle School and Ainsley at a High School... every day I still am shaking my head at how that happened!!

My Little Bug... 7th grade..

Walker was so not thrilled about heading back to school... but choir and an extra science class about bugs and fish is making his first week... tolerable!!  It is a familiar routine for him this year... same school... same bus ride... same teachers. He is such a boy... didn't really care what he had for school clothes or school supplies.  I did a lot of online shopping for him this year... I do need to take him to the store though for new shoes since he will have to try them on.

Ainsley... 9th grade... FRESHMAN!

She was super excited about heading back to school... she got a major hair change just before school started... it was a four+ hour process!! Luckily our hairstylist wanted to try out a new technique and only charge us half... which was still a killer/shocker at $85... I believe the answer will be "No" next time Ainsley brings me a picture from Instagram and says, "Do you think I could try this?"

She was over the moon excited though about how it turned out... lots of squeals of delight as we rode home!  Here's a little before/after..(different days obviously)

She was all about name brand clothes and fashion blogs as we got our back to school shopping done in Salt Lake. Walker didn't want to look for anything or try anything on and Ainsley had a blast at Old Navy, Forever21 and Shoe Carnival.  She got a lot of basic items that she can mix and match to coordinate new outfits... she was all about neutral items... burgundy, black, white, forest green and navy.  One week in and she LOVES high school... complains daily about walking to school and how she can't wait until she can drive... oh my!

Day Two... We left Billings early... it was a super quick trip to see the Oltrogge's and their gorgeous house but were glad they were free!  We were headed to South Dakota... but first a stop at Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming..

We hiked a bit around the base of the tower...

It is crazy the amount of boulders that surround the base... you were able to hike up to the tree line if you chose to or if you had a permit you could hike past the treeline and climb the tower... we did see a few climbers on the tower.

This is a sacred area for many of the Native American tribes and so along the path were many prayer offerings...

The kiddos earned another junior ranger badge...

So yes... it was a bit parent enforced but they were good sports and are glad to have one more to add to the collection...

We continued on into South Dakota... drove thru Deadwood which looked like a super cute town... next time we will have to stop and spend some time.  With it being the weekend before Sturgis it was biker craziness. We were all past starving and decided to just push on to Mount Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore is an interesting park... it is free to enter but you pay for parking which is in a parking garage!  First parking garage we have ever seen in a National Park.  First up was to find some dinner and get started on the next Junior Ranger Badge.

It was buffalo burgers for all but Ainsley... you never know with the cafeteria style food but it was pretty good... not gamey at all!!

Then we were off to view exhibits before the lighting ceremony... Walker lucked out and was just at the cut off for an easier Junior Ranger Book.  Ainsley had a much harder one and since she started feeling yucky... I may have been the "official Junior Ranger" of Mount Rushmore!!

While you look up at the monuments you can't help but think you are on a movie set and that it's just a screen in the background.

The three hours we spent watching videos... and reading exhibits flew by and we finished up the Junior Ranger booklet just in time for the evening lighting ceremony... I wish the pictures taken would have been more spectacular but it will be the moment and feelings I had during this lighting ceremony that I will remember forever... it truly was an awesome experience.

It was a beautiful night... just the right temp to sit outside underneath the Big Dipper.  The park ranger set the stage by describing America in the early stages... she went on to talk about the poet who watched from afar as America fought for their independence.  The entire time she recited the Star Spangled Banner poem which eventually turned into the National Anthem... I'm sad to say that I had no idea that it was a poem... a much longer poem before it was pieced together into the Anthem.  Then we watched a movie that focused on each of the four presidents and what their contributions were to our nation... SO GOOD!!

Then the monument was lit...

You are feeling overwhelmingly patriotic... you sing "America the Beautiful" with the entire audience and then the Park Ranger asks for all military people past and present in the audience to help her retire the flag... OH MY... as they continued lining up... introducing themselves with their rank and service... the tears just fell. It was again a truly memorable experience... that feeling of being so proud... so safe... so thankful to live where we do was a great feeling!

We planned a little family trip for the end of summer... it would have been awesome to plan a 2 week summer vacation but with everyone's summer schedule we were lucky to find 4 free days and so off we went...

**Day one...**a little family selfie before we hit the road!

The night before we were looking over the map of the route we wanted to take and we decided to take a different way to our first stop at Lewis and Clark Caverns.  So literally hours before we left we decided to add in a couple stops that were along the way.  The new first stop was Quake Lake... none of us had ever been and it was a good place to stretch and stop.

Watching the visitor center movie and looking out onto where the earthquake happened was an eerie feeling.

If time would have allowed we would have hiked the trail and monument area... so we will have to stop again.  I thought the detail on the railings of the visitor center were pretty cool...

As I said the night before we changed up the route and when I noticed we were going to be so close to Virginia City... I said we should stop there as well.  We've been watching the AMC series this summer called the "American West" I had originally recorded just one episode that was about Crazy Horse so that we had a better understanding who the warrior was... but Little Bug (and us parents) loved the series and so we watched a few more that included the stories of Wyatt Earp, Jessie James and Billy the Kid.  Since it was about the wild west, the people and the boom towns I thought a stop in Virginia City would be fun to see a real life preserved town.

What made it even cooler was the fact that I had remembered something about Virginia City when reading my 3rd great grandmother's journal of her trip out west on the wagon train. I re-read the journal before we left and... yes she had met up with her husband in Bozeman and then they traveled to Virginia City in Sept 1864. He was a placer miner and they lived in Virginia City for a year!!

We started reading the historical plaques in Virginia city and they mentioned the date they were built... hard to believe that so many of them had been built in the spring of 1864 and my 3rd great grandparents would have seen this!!!

To stand 152 years later where your ancestors before you had stood and imagine what they saw, what their day to day life was like and how they felt during this time is quite cool... gives me goosebumps everytime. I shared this info with the kiddos and Walker kept saying, "This is so cool" as we peeked into each building.  We ended up spending much more time than we had planned but it was so worth it... again another stop we will have to revisit.

I was obsessed with the patina of the wood... LOVE... this color and the history these boards have witnessed...

Ainsley loved all the photo opportunities and took some awesome artistic photos...

Next we headed to Lewis and Clark Caverns and were lucky to get the next available cave tour which was just in 20 minutes... did a little photo op while we waited in the visitor center..

It's funny the things you remember as a kid... remembered the hike up to the caves as being much more flatter with no switchbacks!..and that the beaver slide was the first thing you did when you entered the caves with it being a little more thrilling... ha!

My camera did not like the low light situations but I did get this beauty just before we finished the tour...

To end the day of non stop fun we went to the Museum of the Rockies which was on Walker's list...

We had come later in the evening and it was the perfect time... we pretty much had the place to ourselves which is always awesome so you can look without feeling rushed.

Walker loved it all.. I thought this was exhibit was the best... the most extensive collection of triceratops skulls...

Three out of four McFarlands could have spend a few more hours there... in fact the almost 2 hours we had there flew by... couldn't believe they were announcing the closure while we were there.

We got to Billings very late... but had an amazing first day of our trip.

This morning we headed to high school to pick up her school schedule.  I had her stand for a quick picture in the backyard... as I need to update my large wall of photos...

Tears are filling my eyes as I edited this pictures... oh my... where has the time gone?!? Seriously only a freshman she looks and acts SO MUCH older!!

Oh my... this next stage of life is sure to be an adventure... She is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined... and could have only dreamed of looking like when I was a nervous awkward freshman... twenty six years ago!!  She is strong, smart, confident, and caring and will do amazing things in the world! It's been endless talks this summer as I feel I have so much to say/share and such a short time to do it... most talked about conversation lately... Boys... eeks!

Around here... school supplies are being purchased... no lists from teachers yet just getting the basic supplies I know we will need while they are on sale...

There is a lot of talk about shopping for High School clothes!!  The fashionista of the family did not want to shop for clothes here in town because the idea of "twinning" with someone other than your BFF is shocking and downright embarrassing!

We got a few basic items here in town but will be heading to SLC this weekend to shop at the stores we don't have (Forever 21, Nordstroms, H&M etc.) This year Ainsley is all about name brand clothing... lots of ripped knees in jeans... lots of flannels not to wear but to tie around your waist as an accessory... lots of striped cropped tops and warm solid colors... absolutely no bright neon colors... especially pink or purple!! Hair and makeup these days could be a whole other post... let's just say hours are spent working on it or watching videos about them.

The middle schooler could care less about what he will wear... I think his favorite phrase right now is, "I don't know!" or I just get a shrug.  I can still get away with just purchasing his items... as long as they aren't trendy... absolutely no skinny jeans, flannels or weird trends for him!!  Ha... such the boy and girl ages right now.

I've got apricots for days... and feel a bit like Bubba Gump thinking about all the apricot things I should/could make.

But since I'm the only one who will eat them I've limited myself to just eating them, making jam and freezing them incase I want to try something later.  This huge batch I picked... didn't even make a dent it the amount the tree produced this year.

As we are all aware we are NOT GREEN THUMBS... we don't have a knack for keeping plant things alive... and so our poor apricot tree is on it's last leg... it could just be old and filled it's life's purpose but this year it decided to overproduce... so much fruit and weight that I've had 3 large branches break...

We really like the shade and privacy it provides but not really sure if it will be able to last anymore.  Hoping for the best... that once the fruit is gone and we trim up all the dead branches we can get it to last a few more years... I think I'm the only one who hopes this... everyone else is chainsaw ready especially on the days when the chore is to pick up all the rotten apricots!