Summer Colt

 This little guy is growing like a weed!

 And picking up some bad habits too! No Chewing!!!

Alexander is Here!

 Alexander has been in our lives for 27 years! We had to leave him behind at Nana and Poppa's house when we moved to Utah. It was October and it was just too late in the season to transition him to a new climate. We have missed him deeply. He wasn't doing too good these past few months and my mom and I were getting a little worried about him. I was so relieved that Nana and Poppa were coming for a visit....which meant that they could bring Alex with them. The first thing that I saw when I looked in his cardboard box that he traveled in was this metallic blue heart painted on his shell. I asked my mom where the blue heart came from. She hadn't even seen it...she was saying "what blue heart?!". As soon as she saw it she recognized my sisters blue nail polish that she wears.  Kim left her mark. A blue heart. I remember when we were kids in California we would paint shapes on snails with nail polish and then watch to see where they would show up next.

It is so good to have Alex home. Since he has been here, he has managed to sneak into the house several times, and seems to be pretty happy having grass to cruise through. He even recognized his house which we built to be just like the one he had for the past 20+ years. Once again, he is stimulated by the sprinklers and comes out to socialize when anyone is in the yard.
I am happy to have him home where he belongs.
By the way, we traded the hermit crab that was dropped of with us about 6 years ago while my parents went on vacation. It was Kyles hermit crab and it never really went home. So we sent it home with my parents to give to Kyle's girlfriend. That was a long stay for such a little crab. I was happy to wave goodbye to that little thing.

Canyoneering in Yankee Doodle

 By the pictures, I could tell the boys had an awesome adventure.  There many stories told when they came home.

 It took lots of teamwork to manuever the canyon.

 My Dad's nickname growing up was "spiderman". I think we could easily call Kaleb "spiderman" too.

 There were little brothers who came with the family who took the boys on this adventure. They are well seasoned little kids.

July 4th, 2013

 What would 4th of July be without spending it with Kathy and Troy in Malad, Idaho. It took us two hours to make a 45 min drive! We were headed out the back way over the mountain and ran into a full on parade down a teeny towns main street. We ended up turning around and heading out the other way. Troy didn't think we would make it in time but we surprised them and made it there for the opening.

 We love to see all these antique vehicles and machinery. It is amazing that some of these tractors actually still ran.

 Victoria came prepared with a bag for the highlight of the parade which is running into the street to catch or pick up the salt water taffy that had been thrown.

 I think the best part, aside from spending time with Kathy and Troy is being outside in the open. It is so peaceful and relaxing.

 We hung out at what Victoria calls the country pool. It is the biggest water trough I have ever seen and Victoria looks forward to swimming in it every year now.

 Just chillin'

 Daphne is here with us. Everytime I was taking pictures, she was obviously somewhere else.

Rich's cat Smokey slinked in for a scratch from Jared leaning over in his chair.

 We were eating the most awesome hamburgers and salad outside when an enormous storm passed through with some pretty intense wind. Most of us picked up the plates and bowls running inside. The boys refused to move their food. So they continued to just sit there with the wind whirling around them grasping at anything not held down. I wish the picture showed how windy it was. you can see Jared's hair slicked back.

 Malad has the most awesome firwork show.....and it is all free. And, they have the kind that you feel in your chest like some sonic boom! We had told Kirk all about it from last year. So now he believes us! Troy totally agreed yelling out everytime you could feel the boom in your chest. It was fun.

 We topped off our night with smores by the fire. With it getting dark really late, I think it was 11 o'clock at night. We had fun and enjoyed every minute with Kathy and Troy in Malad.

Fireworks!

 

Utah loves their fireworks. We have had a full firework show for the past week and I have heard that it will continue to the end of the month with Pioneer Days approaching. And that is exactly what happened. Each day, poor Samson became increasingly stressed. He quickly found that his safest spot to be in was the bath tub on the top floor. I thought that worked out pretty well considering that his fur was detaching from his body like sailors jumping ship. He has survived the month of July. I kept thinking that he was handling fireworks better but no.....he was actually getting worse. Poor guy. We loved on him to help him feel secure. He did okay.

Collection Table

 We have a house full of collectors. I would often find rocks in the washing machine or pieces to a crushed matchbox car in a pocket. Like most kids, mine were always picking up fragments of nature to treasure. There is so much to see here that our nature table has literally grown.

Some have made its way back out from storage like the hummingbirds nest that a dear friend had given to us years ago. Or the snake skin that we found last fall. Most of it is new, like the robin's egg shell that we found and then half was eaten by our dog....off the window sill. Or the thistle flower that we saved with its pretty purple flower petals that went to seed and has managed to blow through the kitchen a few times. Or the curl of wood shavings that Kaleb shaved on a piece of wood while volunteering at American West Heritage Center while using vintage wood cutting tools. I love to see the treasures that are brought home. It reminds me of how incredible God's awesome creation is.

Patriot Camp

What would summer be without summer camp.  We usually participate in VBS but this year we decided to try Patriot Camp. Perfect timing too because July 4th was the following week. Kaleb volunteered and led a group of kids through the activities every day. He was an awesome leader as usual. Victoria got to do all the activities and be with friends all week. They learned more about our country's Declaration of Independence and Constitution while singing patriotic songs and witnessing reinactments of happenings during our nations early years. It was a wonderful program along with the all the people who led it.