Shindig

Over the weekend we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday at the annual commemorative BBQ, and witnessed little Millie's blessing. It was non-stop fun. Some of the highlights included:
Brewing up a big pot of rootbeer. It was a group effort involving all the males in the family.
Ruby gave it her seal of approval.The photo booth that my sisters master-mined. Complete with props from Dad's closet, a collection of 'staches Dad has had over the years, and thought bubbles for your favorite 'Warren-isms.' Oh, and tattoo mustaches the grandkids sported around.Lyle's smiling face.
A makeover for the serving pots.Meeting and holding this sweet little cousin.Blowing out one blazing birthday cake.And a picnic at Shoshone Falls.
Grandpa's swing and rocket blaster and family pictures.

We sure can pack in the fun. Thanks everyone!

The Birds & The Bees

The two older kids helped me perform our first hive inspection and boy howdy were they excited. I think half the fun was just getting outfitted and dressed up. It was equally exciting to see the queen in action, laying her eggs. Dalanie's lacking a veil, but she wasn't about to keep her distance and be left out.

Because of the cold, windy, and wet weather we've been feeding them to try and grow the colony a little faster. With sunshine in the forecast and all sorts of flowering going on, we're hoping to fill up our bottom super soon.


We have a Killdeer couple that has taken up residency in our garden/orchard. They've been attending to their four eggs for awhile now. Their protection and 'broken wing dance' have been at heightened levels for the past few days. Although Ruby wanders too close for comfort in complete oblivion and Dalanie runs screaming to the house "I'm taking a nap!" We're hoping the little chicks will emerge soon so we can get some weeding done and work in peace.

You can see the little nest just left of the base of the sapling and stake.

Weekend Round Up

We loaded up half of the cows and took them to the hills on Saturday. We're just waiting on the grass to grow before the other half goes. The kids and I rode the fence lines with Grandpa. As you can tell from the pictures, it was pretty chilly. There were all sorts of streams to play in from all the run off. Everything was beautiful and green.Ty and Tameka came on Sunday and spent the holiday with us. Hudson got a new set of holsters that Uncle Ty made. He's the whole package now: hat, chinks, holsters, spurs, and a horse. While Ty shod the horses, the kids got some riding time in between rainstorms.

Yesterday While the Sun Shined

With school officially out for the summer, we decided to make the most of the sunny day since they've been few and far between. We worked in the garden the first half of the day and then packed up a lunch, scooter, and trike to ride around in the church parking lot.



The kids never slowed down. They had muddy bathwater, but fell right to sleep. I think they're still trying to recover because Hudson told me today "I could benefit from a nap today."

Phone Home

This little girl loves phones. She always wants to talk to Grandma and gets so upset when you take it away. Even though she has a few play phones and old cell phones of ours, she is always putting things up to her ear. Naturally anything with buttons like remotes and calculators, but the rice crispy treat is a new one.

Boda-ba-ba-baaa II

Dalanie's lovin' these:

Her new bed.
Drawing, coloring, painting, cutting. I just relocated all of the kids arts supplies to a new, lower cupboard and she is in heaven.

Dressing herself.Beaters.
I used the mixer early one morning. Just as I shut it off, I heard "I want one" coming from the top of the stairs. So I love this still sleepy looking picture.

Boda-ba-ba-baaa

Ruby's Lovin' it:

Gathering eggs. Her rain'boots.'Spaghetti.Bubbles.Nail Polish.

I'm Bringing Home. . .

A hive of honey bees. Won't my husband laugh when one stings me. I'm bringing home a hive of honey bees.

The day finally arrived! It has been a highly anticipated event ever since I started reading up on the little insects. The kids and I assembled and painted the bee boxes and have loved learning all about bees. It's been such a great activity to do together and I guess you could say that we've all been bitten by the 'bug.'Brent's been a bit reluctant, but I've assured him over and over that they're not aggressive. So you can imagine the good laugh he had when I got stung 2 minutes into being at the bee yard to pick ours up. Apparently an occasional sting is good for a person, assuming that you're not allergic, since they prompt your body to up the cortizone production. So here it is, the old ratty bee box housing our colony. They got right to work and kept busy foraging on dandelions and fruit trees all day long.

Down By The Bay

Hudson surprised us with a solo at his kindergarten program. He was just happy he 'didn't even get stage fright.'

Hello Beautiful!

It felt a bit indulgent this weekend, calm and in the 70's. We enjoyed every minute outside. Here my cowboy sits at his favorite watering hole.He kindly volunteers to chauffeur us around, anything to get to drive.Ruby would get mad when we didn't get her jacket before heading outside. Something is terribly wrong when you don't have to bundle up to go outside. Rain boots=best kid footwear. All season and all purpose.
Brent was lucky enough for a rapid fire Q&A session with Dalanie. Questions won. She feels so cool getting to ride with Dad.