Silly the Fish

 

Victoria has been begging for a pet of her own. She wouldn't accept the fact that all the pets can be hers, we have two dogs, two cats, and a tortoise. What more does she want. Nope, she has been begging for a horse, a puppy, a hamster, a rabbit, a guinea pig, a chicken......one to call her own.
So we were in the thrift store and found a fish bowl for real cheap. After consulting with the king of the house, we asked Victoria if she would like to use her earnings toward a FISH! Wow, you would have thought we were handing her everything that she has always wanted. The next day we made a trip to Petsmart...not Walmart.....Petsmart, for her soon to be beloved new pet. She chose this cute little fishy which she named Silly. I never knew that a fish would satisfy her insatiable yearning for a pet to call her own. She is very responsible. She has been caring for the dogs for a couple years now to the point that they sprint up stairs first thing in the morning to stare at her in bed begging for their breakfast. So this cute fishy has taken up residence on our countertop knowing that with our luck the thing will live for 3+ years like they all do. Nothing ever dies in our house. We end up having geriatric pets. So we are preparing. Kirk even reminded me of how long our pets live when I asked him if he minded if she had a fish....ONE fish. She loves her new pet and will flip the lights on quickly trying to sneak up on him to see if he is sleeping or not. Is careful to not over feed him and will show me with her body how silly he swims and what he is doing at any given moment. Who'd know that a fish could bring such happiness and satisfaction.

I love this camera. I can get some pretty awesome pictures. So how do you like looking at the fish poop in the bottom of the bowl?

Treasure Mountain

 The boys had a great week at the end of July in the Teton Mountains in Wyoming on the West side. It was beautiful. I was bummed that we weren't staying. They needed more drivers so we volunteered to drive up through Idaho and into Wyoming where Treasure Mountain Boy Scout Camp was located. Jared worked as Senior Patrol Leader and learned even more how difficult it is to herd cats...if you know what I mean.

 This was Kaleb's first time making it to Boy Scout Camp. It just never worked out before so he always missed an opportunity. He turned around to grab his backpack to hike into the campsite and it was gone! He almost freaked out. He ran up ahead and found out that someone, being helpful had loaded it onto one of the carts. So he ran back and carried other gear down the trail.

The boys had a great week and were dog tired when they returned. Of course Kirk was out of town the same week traveling for work, so the girls and I had lots to do while they were gone. I was so proud of myself, I remembered to put the trash out. That was a major accomplishment for me. We were very happy to have them home. We missed them all deeply and enjoyed all the stories that they came home with. I love to listen to my kids tell me what they did. I am so proud of them.

 This is where they stopped and left their packs. Yep, the boys are home.

Kaleb was awarded this swiss army knife by the troop by being an outstanding scout and demonstrating the oath and law through his actions.

Awesome Kaleb!

It took them a couple days to catch up on sleep.

Arizona Visitors!

We had the most wonderful visit from our good friends the Darts from Arizona. We have missed them so much since our last visit last summer. We feel lucky that we get to see them since they have family in the SLC area and their beautiful daughter attends UofU in SLC as well. They met us at the Farmer's Market during a thunderstorm that was dumping buckets of rain. They helped us pack up our booth and load the van with dripping wet....stuff. All of our hair was plastered to our faces....well some of us. It brought back memories of when Daphne, and two of the girls would sell shirts in AZ at the Farmer's Market. There was one particular time they were stuck in a down pour and Kirk and I picked them up in the truck where we just literally loaded dripping wet merchandise into the back. It was quite a mess. Our families are intertwined in more than one way. They are family for life.

 We had to shut off the irrigation in the rain so we all attended the event. I know....we were watering in the rain. It wasn't raining when Kirk started the irrigation. While we were showing them all our awesome veges, Steve saw the apples growing in the back and was inspired to make applesauce. So Kirk and he made applesauce that we ate with our hamburgers that Kaleb barbecued.

 We have missed them terribly and were so happy to see them. ...And very tearful when they left.

 There was a time when Rachelle was taller than Jared. And she never let him hear the end of it, knowing that it was just a matter of time before he grew taller than her. Now he towers over her and isn't letting her hear the end of it. I love seeing them all together. It makes me sad. I look forward to the next visit!

American West Heritage Center

 

 Our good friends the Summits invited us to volunteer with them this summer. I knew the girls would enjoy it but I wasn't so sure about the boys. Well, we have all loved it....every bit of it. We have made great friends whom we will miss dearly. Heidi and Ross were the employees on the Pioneer site. We spent our time dutch oven cooking over a wood fire pioneer style in our outdoor kitchen. We are sad to see the summer end. The boys helped Ross split wood, saw wood, chop wood, all with vintage tools. The boys have mastered a two man saw and can saw a log in no time. I am very impressed.

Kirk had a day off on one of our volunteer days so we decided to take a family picture.....a serious one, like how they did in the 1800's. I look like I was frowning, I am really not. I look like my mother, just a teeny there. I used to wonder sometimes if she was frowning....she never was. It was actually hard to not smile.

We are standing in front of a pioneer cabin that a pioneer family would have built to meet the guidlines of the homesteading act in the 1850's. It had to have a door and a window opening. Most homesteaders had outdoor kitchens and used the cabin for sleeping only. The pioneers lived a hard life. We carried our water in pails (from the faucet), chopped all our own wood to cook on, and prepared all our own meals with dutch ovens. Heidi was very inventive with what we would concoct in those ovens. Most of it was a learning curve. We cooked rice for the first time in a dutch oven and it actually worked! I think our best meal that we had was white chili and poverty rice. Poverty rice was whatever we had on hand of meat and vegetables. It was actually really good.

Of course we had to take a serious shot.

This became our Thursday Family. It was Heidi and Ross' favorite day of the week when we would all come. There was just something fun about being out there. It was peaceful...and hot, especially in long sleeves and a long dress with several layers of skirt, long socks and shoes.Sometimes Victoria would come up out of the creek soaked to the bone with her dress sticking to her legs. Little rascal. She would daily pan for gold for a fingertip of gold to exchange in the mercantile for a candy stick.  Visitors loved seeing our big family cooking and interacting. The kids showed other kids how to play the games. Daphne wove a rug that is now displayed in the cabin. I will have to find a picture of that. We have had a wonderful summer, met some wonderful people that we will never forget.

Camping

 We managed a few days camping in Smithfield Canyon. We were hoping to find some place quiet which could be difficult in July. We literally had the campground to ourselves. And it was quiet. We were so tired that there was quite a bit of napping going on here and there. Even the kids quietly hung out together talking. It was kind of wierd but pretty obvious that we were in need of a rest.

 The beauty of this campground is that we camp beside this creek. The sound of the water just muffles out the noisy part of life and washes your mind clean of the clutter. It is like what the ocean once did for us in Morro Bay long ago. When life got difficult, Kirk and I would buckle Daphne in her car seat and head for the breakwater on Morro rock watching the waves roll in and out. The creek has the same intoxicating, cleansing effect on my mind. I think Kirk's too.

 Like I said, we were all in need of a rest. I had to laugh, look at Henry. He cracks me up how he sits back on his behind. Here he is sitting on a rock like a chair. He can be such a dork. We love him.

 His head was starting to bob here. He is very relaxed. It was just a matter of time before he decided to lay down.

 I love having boys...big boys. Boys who start fire...well, we have smoke.

 Now we have fire. I also love having a hubby who cooks. Well, wait a minute, sometimes that does create a problem. We both have our opinions as to how we would cook something. Today, I didn't say a word. I was really hoping that he would wash dishes too. I know, I'm pretty lucky.

I took this picture for our great-grandchildren to see what their great-grandfather looks like before he looks like Santa Claus baking peach cobbler in a dutch oven.

 Daddy and Victoria chatting.

 Dum-da-Dummm..... We spent lots of quality time together, regrouping as a family. I love this time we have together. I managed to get some quiet time and even got caught up on sleep. It is wierd to not have a little one that you are constantly watching, especially around water. Which I could never relax when there are little ones around water. We had a wonderful time.

Isn't this a cool beetle...bug?!

Our First, Four Color Process

The moment has arrived and yes....we have success!

The door has opened!

This summer has been busy with dye up to our eyeballs and silk screening. I have learned so much through repetition of what to do and lots of what NOT to do!

 We actually started this design two years ago right before we decided to move out of state. I had only gotton two screens burned and were waiting for more screens to come on order to burn the next two. So all this time we had only two screens of this cute jellyfish. We were worried that the artwork was on the computer that had been stolen and were overjoyed when Kirk miraculously found the other two transparencies of the art work.  We were very excited.

 It was pretty cool to see these watercolor jellyfish that Kaleb and I had painted a couple years ago. To actually see it in print. I guess now we will see how it sells at Farmer's Market. Even if it doesn't sell we are still progressing forward with the process. Silk Screening is a process. The tie dye part of the business is definately a quicker sale. We are eager to see where God is leading us in all this.

Nerf Wars

 Nerf War with Netty the Fisherman.

I love that in a moment of summer boredom, the three of them get goofy and have a nerf war. I hadn't seen Kaleb until I caught him out of the corner of my eye. He looked so funny with the beard that Victoria wore for Fiddler on the Roof last winter. After these wars that they have, we continue to find nerf bullets for weeks after. You never know where they will show up.

E.T. the Extraterresterial

Farewell

We were so busy soaking up every minute of our visit with Nana and Poppa that I didn't take many pictures. We drove around town so my Dad could get his bearings. I know once he is home he will be on Google Earth scoping out Logan. Their weeks visit was too short and tearful when they left. We are even going to miss Sugar Booger. The doggies were behaving themselves now that Henry is adorned with his new shock collar. No more bolting out the front door for him or jumping all over people when they walk in, or escapading down the street pretending that he is returning when you call him but out for one more sniff....the list goes on.  I will spare you the Henry Saga.

 It was sad to see my parents leave. We have missed them deeply even though we talk several times a week.  BUT....I wasn't sad to see the hermit crab GO! Ba BYE whatever your name is. Kyle left this crab with us 6 long years ago and it never went home. So now the crab is going to it's new home with his girlfriend. WooHoo. That was a long visit for a crab.

A Day of Rest

We really enjoyed having Nana and Poppa here. Jared was happy that Poppa was here. Especially because he was mowing the lawn at the house where our garden is and the dog kennel just reached out and grabbed the wheel on the lawn mower, proceeding to unthread the bottom wire. They fixed it up in a jiffy and was tighter than before....a good thing.

This is the wierdest but prettiest weed. I don't remember it from last year so I can't honestly say that I have seen it before. When they are green, they are the softest pricklies. But when they dry out it reminds me of velcro. I like them, I think they are pretty in a pecular kind of way.

This is the garden 4 weeks ago. Not much to look at. Now the squash and pumpkins have joined rows, the corn is taller than me, the lettuce is completly eaten by human and deer, the beets are bigger than a baseball and we actually have carrots growing this year. Last year they were a sight to see in the inadequate department.

These horses love it when we come to check on the garden. They come to check us out and see if we are going to give them something. Usually just a rub.

Sammy, the headless dog, who can lick the inside of a chip bag with a single swipe.

Evil Deer

Yeah! You better Run!!!

Tony Grove Lake

 I knew we had to visit Tony Grove Lake while my parents were here. My mother loved the wildflowers and their uniqueness from other wildflowers that we have known in the past.

 It is always beautiful when we visit. Jared rescued a dragonfly out of the water. It was drying out on his finger and then it wouldn't let go.

 Daphne and Nana were busy taking pictures of this and that. I think my Dad was back there making sure that Nana didn't roll off the trail and into the lake. That would be bad.

 Poppa always has his ways of cooling off. When we were kids he wore this felt hat that if he wasn't careful his friends would yank off his head, spin it into the air and shoot holes in it. I think back to what I was exposed to as a kid and I wonder what I would do now if my kids were exposed to the same things. Still thinking on that one. Anyway, he would get in the creek with his boots and jeans on, fill up his hat with water from a waterfall, which of course had holes in it so it looked somewhat like a colander, put it on his head..... and walk off like he did what he set out to do. Funny guy.

This little mama birdy was just an arms distance away. Daphne was practically on top of the poor thing trying to see it. We kept pointing to where it was and she continued to not see it until I took a picture of it and showed it to her on the camera. Natural camo at its best. I thought that poor bird was going to have a heart attack with how close we were. It was perfectly still.

Mini Reunion

I hadn't quite thought of this as a reunion when we were planning our visit with Kathy in Idaho but it really was. Though we were missing my sister. I got thinking about how, my Dad, Mom and Aunt Carol have grown up together since my Mom was 9 years old. To think that the age that Victoria is almost, was the age that my Mom was when they moved to California from Connecticut and moved in just a couple doors up from my Dad and aunt. I have heard lots of interesting stories that she and Aunt Carol would do together.

 Aunt Carol loves to record the stories that my parents recall. They remember it all and Aunt Carol loves to document them. It drives my Dad nuts....which I think is funny. (A little quirky thing between siblings). It is all because he has to talk into a recorder. Long ago, Aunt Carol would walk around with a cassette player and a microphone. Now she has this little nifty recorder that is tiny.

 Rich and his new wife Angela came up for a visit too. It was so good to see everyone together.

 It's funny how no one appears short until they stand next to my Dad towering at 6-4.

 Kirk BBQ'd awesome "burgers", as he calls them. I love being at Kathy's. It is so peaceful and quiet. I was happy to share it with my parents.

 Kathy set Victoria up with the ice cream maker. Victoria put lots of muscle into it and made some delicious ice cream.

 Just before sunset the frogs started croaking very loudly. So Kaleb and Victoria and I set out across the field to the reservoir way over yonder. We could hear those darn frogs but do you think for a minute we would actually see one? No! They were like....right there!!!

Family Time

It was very exciting to have Nana and Poppa up for a visit. We managed to get our old picnic table from when I was a little girl repainted just in time for their visit. The first thing Dad said about the table was "RED!?" "What did you do to my table!?"
He was smiling. I know better than to believe him.

We spent lots of time outside. Notice that Nana is wearing a sweater.