Getting Braver

Brother completed swimming lessons and advanced to level 2. On the last day, the kids got to jump off the diving board and go down the slide. He did both without hesitation. I was surprised to say the least.


We celebrated with ice cream cones. It was pure bliss and under a dollar.

So when Brother insisted on chasing after the greased pig at the ward party, we weren't very surprised. Although there was as much running away from the pig as there was chasing after it. And to think. . . he touched it without gloves.

Adoration

There is a little girl in this house who completely adores her Bro-burh. She calls him for breakfast, pesters him while he's sleeping, and wears his boots around. She often mimics him, gets his toothbrush for him, and enjoys playing with him. But the real sign of her affection is sharing all of her green fruit snacks or cereal pieces with him. It's the only color she can say, his favorite.



And speaking of adoration. . .

Tired

This picture pretty much sums up our summertime. There are so many things to do that it's hard to pace yourself.

Whether it's yard work, swimming, camping, or work--it's hard not to wear yourself out. The sunny days are energizing . . . and draining all at the same time. Maybe it's the pregnancy, but my whole family is suffering.

Thank goodness for long Sunday naps.

Wellness Retreat Broadmouth Canyon Ranch hosted by Kathy Jones (our aerobic instructor) I was surprised I was still invited since I dropped out when I got sick. I can't wait to get back once school starts.

Fishing with the family when my parents came to visit.

Brother's swimming lessons. He wasn't sure about it at first, but he's gaining so much confidence. His teachers are wonderful.

High Adventure

Most times when my husband leaves to go on a "High Adventure" with his young men, I get a jealous bone as they set off on fun and exciting adventures. But not this time. The boys suggested a wilderness survival experience and they followed through. Each boy was told only to bring a sweatshirt and pocketknife.

For dinner they had to catch, butcher, and cook two chickens with only a pocketknife, matches, and their ingenuity. Accommodations were not any better. They each got a 8x8 tarp for sleeping. After their restless night, it was time to gather wood and get eggs cooked for breakfast.

My husband noted how just surviving was so exhausting. The time was filled with working and planning just to get by.

I'm really proud of all of the participants. The leaders had no special provisions and slept of the cold hard ground like everyone else. It shows their dedication and commitment to help the boys grow and develop into young men.

I'm sure the experience will not be soon forgotten.

My Boy

So we thought we'd take the pedals off Brother's bike, lower the seat, and take off the training wheels. It was a complete makeover all in the name of getting him to ride without any scraped knees. A few minutes into the project and the husband got sidetracked. The wrenches remained and the little guy managed to get the pedals off and seat lowered. Now Brother says he's tougher than Dad.

Wild West Adventure

We decided to take advantage of the 2 1/2 day lull from summer harvesting and head out of town. And since our kids love camping and had never been to Yellowstone, we headed north with rest of the tourists and vacationers. Brother is fascinated by the Wild West so anything cowboys and indians and he's captivated. We hit the high spots and took a day trip out of the Park to Cody for the Buffalo Bill Museum and then up to Beartooth Pass and back in the NE entrance of the Park.

Sissy fell in love with the buffalo and brought home her very own.. Breakfast was the best part of camping, the mosquitos weren't. We saw breath taking landscapes and lots of RV's. Despite all of the crowds, there is still something alluring about the Wild Frontier.

Happy Birthday America

We filled the holiday weekend with lots of family time. On Friday we went up to the hills with the Hillman side and rode 4-wheelers and went fishing (okay, more like casting since we haven't put hooks on the kids' poles.) It is so green and beautiful. We stopped to pick a bouquet of wildflowers but had to hurry back to the cabin as a storm rolled in. We made it back just in time. A few minutes later and it was down pouring and hailing.

Then on the 4th, we headed to Bear Lake for a fun day in the sun with my family. The kids had so much fun. Brother was so much more brave this year, and I think the fact that Uncle Chris was there made a huge difference. We participated in a sand castle building contest, snacked, and sunned. Sissy loved the game of soccer, which quickly became a contact sport for her. At the end of the day, it was finally time for Grandma Camp. The boys were so excited to go.

Week's Time

Some say you can hear corn grown, although I've not ever been quite long enough to hear it. It sure is fun to watch. Just in a week it went from this

to this.
I think we'll lose Brother by next week.

Scenes with Sissy

I've got an absolute character on my hands. Her outfit of choice would have to be her Dora nightgown and kitty rain boots. Actually clothes have become optional in her world, she'd just stick with the boots.

She can still tear a room apart in no time at all. I love when she plays outside because then I'm not constantly picking up after her.

She loves playing outside with Brother and has become accustomed to splashing attacks. She might be girlie, but she can rough house with the best of them.


We have had to zip tie the key into the 4-wheeler because she started "hiding" it. She loves to go on rides, sandwiched between Brother and me.

She is a mimic. When Brother or I wear hats, she thinks she needs one. The bill bothers her, so she insists on wearing it backward. As you can see from the picture, we're still in the refining stage with her.

She would also win the title of Biggest Tease. Whether it's pestering Brother, pulling Dad's socks off, or taking things from Grandpa, she's got it down to an art. Which in turn has wrapped her around most men's fingers, especially Grandpa.

No matter how independent she tries to be, I can always count on her needing me. She loves to cuddle and wrap her arms around me. And during the middle of the night, it's my name she'll call out, "Mommy, Mommy." I love her with all her spunk, energy, and creativity.

Since the mercury's been on the rise, we decided it was time to drag out the kiddie pool. In order to spice it up this year, I fashioned a bracket/ladder and attached a slide my FIL had lying around. We screwed it into our picnic table and it made a perfect platform. It's been a hit. The kids are much better nappers with it around.


We have also put the sprinkler under the trampoline. Sissy runs around like a mad woman. During one of her stints, she was a bit out of control and just ran off of it ( I guess it's a good thing it's low to the ground.) She jumped back up and was good to go. I on the other hand, was laughing so hard, that it took awhile for me to regain my composure.

If At First You Don' Succeed

Every day we check our traps. Brother always makes sure to be prepared in case we've got something. Never mind that it's been 90F, he'll still pull on his heavy coat. The first time I found the door shut, I was pretty excited. Since we covered the traps with garbage bags, I wasn't quite sure what kind of critter we had. I finally got brave enough to move the trap so I could go inside the coop and gather the eggs. As I was down, within close proximity to the creature, I could make out the silhouette of a cat. A little bummed, I turned it out. But not without a little reservation, I was still scared some different animal would dart out.

We set the traps again and were lucky enough to catch a little skunk yesterday. There was no way I was taking care of it, so I let my husband assume responsibility of this "man's job." He had it killed and buried within a few minutes, but it still stunk. The funniest part about the entire ordeal was that our next door neighbor happened to be laying out, sunning. I apologized for being redneck neighbors later.

The trap is set again. There's sure to be a mamma skunk still around these parts.

Unconditional Love

As I donned my over-sized scouting t-shirt to head to pack meeting I felt less than attractive. My little belly pops the buttons on my official scout shirt so I'm stuck with the "room to grow into" scouting t-shirt. The sleeves hit me at my elbows and hangs past my bottom. I had flashbacks to the early 90's, but rolling the sleeves or tying the bottom to one side wouldn't help spruce it up. I just felt ugly and awkward--like an adolescent getting accustomed to their changing body.

Holding back the tears, I kissed my husband good bye. He grabbed me and said "You look great." So as yucky as I feel and look, I'm glad I married a guy that can see past it all and love me anyway.

Skunked

Over the past few weeks my brood of chickens has been slowly whittled down to 5 laying hens and 3 pullets. A loss of 7 hens or pullets. At first I was a bit stumped to find 2 of my hens dead inside the coop. No blood or ruffled feathers, just dead. There's been digging around the coop, but I've fortified it with chicken wire and bricks. Still the digging continued and bricks would be moved. At the beginning of the week, I noticed that some pullets were missing. Realizing my fight with this unwanted visitor was futile, I called in the professional.

Our neighbor is a professional trapper, so he came over and set some traps.

At 4 o'clock this morning I awoke from the squawking of chickens. I figured the trapped animal must be making a little ruckus so as to frighten the gun shy fowl.

'Twas not so. The traps sat undisturbed, doors still open. While the bricks and dirt beneath the coop door were in disarray. This time I noticed feathers and a few drops of blood. That dirty varmint has taken another one of my laying hens! It smelt slightly of skunk, so I can officially say that we were "skunked" last night.

Hopefully tonight will be the end to his easy chicken dinner.

Stair Sleeping

We've been experiencing a strange and comical phenomena around our place. Over the past week, I've found both of my children sleeping on the stairs. It looks to me like something akin to Chinese water torture. But rest assured, they both were found doing it on their own free will. These are the same children that fight me to the very end about naptime. In this position, they peacefully drift off to dreamland.Maybe next time I'm having trouble sleeping I'll have to give it a try.

Picnic In The Park?

Well maybe it's not the park. but it was pretty entertaining anyway. We took Brent and the crew dinner the other night so they could get the triticale harvested before the next storm hit. The kids were in heaven. Brother's been begging to take the "guys" food all winter long. They ate their dinner on their windrow sofa.

Happy Father's Day

To a guy that our children can't get enough of. Thanks for being a great dad. I love watching them clamber over you, beg food from you, wrestle you, and emulate you. We Love You!