Let's Get This Party Started!

Every year when the Greeley Stampede rolls around, a party-like atmosphere is evident around the Simmons house.  The kids look so forward to all of the entertainment, carnival rides & food.  It really is a 10 day party! We were blessed to have Nancy Solesbee (Spencer's Mom), his sister Sara and her two kids, Trent & Emi, spend at least a part of the festivities with us.  Sad that their trip was such a short one- they fly home today, but we certainly packed a lot into their time with us! 
Friday night we saw Justin Moore in concert.  Not the best one I have seen.  More entertaining than his performance was the one by Brad, Curt and Carrie, all having indulged in a little too much beer!  No doubt, that was due to the extreme weather conditions of the weekend.  We had 100* temperatures all weekend.  On a more serious note, the fire continues to burn west of Ft Collins (now 83,000 acres lost with 45% containment) and we were notified that our friends lost their home in the Glacier View subdivision on Saturday.  We certainly hold them in our thoughts and prayers, as well as all of the brave and exhausted firefighters.
Saturday was a scortcher!  We took the kids to the carnival when it opened at 11:00 and the temperatures were already pushing the 100 degree mark! That didn't stop them from having a great time.

Grandpa, Gabi & Emi

Nana & Emi

We all went to the pool afterwards for a couple of hours to cool off!  Saturday night was the Luke Bryan concert, which was by far the best concert we've seen here in recent years.  He was an awesome entertainer and kept the sold-out crowd dancin'!

Wendy Fields, Carrie, Sara & Amie



Heather came to babysit for their date night!

Date night 2

Hey, you can almost see Luke!

Sunday arrived early (or so it seemed with the late nights Friday and Saturday).  Grandpa took the boys, Elijah and Rory to the Demolition Derby, with plans to stay just a short while, due to the heat.  The boys had other plans, and were having such a good time that they stayed close to the end!  When they got home, we had a great meal of Cajun Boil (shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob, mushrooms, peppers etc. along with another crockpot full of mac- n- cheese, and a yummy coconut/banana concoction made by Meredith.  The kids played outside on the waterslide until they were all freezing.  (That took time in this heat!)

At the end of the evening Sara got out her scissors for mass haircuts!  Nothing like vacationing and bringing your work with you!  The lineup included, Sophie, Emma, Gabi, Elijah, Carrie & Amie!  Elijah was so thrilled with his haircut, although it took some prompting for him to do it.  He didn't want it cut by some "random person with scissors", and was happy to learn Sara was a professional!