Kickin' It Ranch Style

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to go up to our sister in law Candice's family ranch. So, we borrowed my cousin's trailer (thanks Jason!) and headed down to Fountain Green, Utah to spend the weekend with our family. It only took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to get there, but it was so QUIET and so beautiful it felt like we had gone miles away from the city. Candice's parents Sue and Russ welcomed us with a delicious dutch oven dinner (and Candice made a yummy peach cobbler!) and they showed us around the ranch. Sue has a horse named Andy who performs tricks. We couldn't stop laughing as Andy smiled, bowed and blew raspberries for us! There were also several farm dogs to dote over.

The next day we got up, and we rode a sweet horse named Bow (or Beau). He was very gentle and good to the kids, and we had Uncle TJ to show us around. James kept telling everyone that this was the best camping trip he had ever been on!

Candice's Dad Russ was awesome! He saddled up this little miniature horse named Trouble and took all the kids on a carriage ride. Trouble looks like a slow sausage with short legs, but her looks are very deceiving. She can run! And Fast! Plus, Trouble was aptly named...she had quite an attitude! You could see in her eyes that she thought she was the biggest horse in the corral.

Up the road from the ranch was a Fish Hatchery, so we took the kids over there to check out the rainbow and albino trout. The kids found fish food, and when they threw the food in with the fish, they created a feeding frenzy and the fish would jump and splash around.



The ranch had a great play area for the kids. They especially LOVED the tire swing, and anyone who had the opportunity to be the "pusher" got a full body workout!

It was so fun to spend time getting to know our family better and just hanging out and relaxing with everyone! Thanks for inviting us! We had a blast!

Cecret Lake

One of my favorite places to go in August, is up to Albion basin to see all the wild flowers in bloom. My mom and I took the kids up to Cecret lake for a picnic. It's a great hike for kids because it's long enough that you actually feel like it was a real hike, but it's not so long or steep that it's difficult for them to finish. The only problem is, is that it has become a fairly popular hike, so when we pulled up to the guard station at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, we were not surprised to hear that the parking lot was full. But my mom and I decided that we would drive up there anyway, and that we would use all of our positive thinking and will a parking space to be open just for us. Well, the positive thinking worked, because we got the LAST spot at the trail head parking, and there was a line of 3 cars behind us! We started up the trail and we were so excited to be up there. It smells so good, and the wildflowers did not disappoint. We had timed it just perfect and almost everything was in bloom. As we got up the trail to where you can see the small mountain you climb up and over to get to the lake, a new waterfall was cascading down the rocks. Jesse loves waterfalls, so he was so excited about the "surprise waterfall". We ate lunch at the lake and watched all the tadpoles swimming and the pot guts begging food off of hikers. On our way down the trail, James and my sister Carly got a little bit ahead of us, and James, who is my little rock climber, scaled this huge boulder and was perched on top like he was the king of the mountain. I yelled down the trail to him and said, "James, you wait till I get there to help you!" And my mom, who was in close proximity to James, heard him reply under his breath with a great big eye roll, "Oh, for the love of God!" It's so nice to know that I am turning into the voice of reason that he so completely respects!!! But, he waited until I got there to get him down...not that he needed my help....it was more for my own peace of mind. We managed to get everyone down to the car safely and decided that it was a perfect day for snow cones, so we headed down the canyon for a sweet treat. It was a great afternoon!

34 Random Thoughts for Tuesday

1. I am apparently "on one" today.
2. I really, really, really hate the phone.
3. It's not that I don't want to talk to anyone, it's just that lately I'm suspicious of what people want from me...is that terrible?
4. It is 91 degrees.
5. I love the heat, but the heat doesn't mix well with nausea.
6. Apollo Burgers has the best fry sauce.
7. Whole almonds are a good snack.
8. Have you ever thrown up watermelon? It's not so good in reverse.
9. I loved the new Harry Potter movie.
10. If it had not been a gazillion degrees outside, I would have worn my Griffindor sweater and tie to the movie...
11. But I saw a woman at the movie theatre wearing a Griffindor sweater and my first thought was, "What a nerd...isn't she too old for that?"
12. Aren't I too old for that?
13. I am surrounded by little boys who love to burp.
14. They are both really great burpers. Should I be proud?
15. I need to feed Lizzy.
16. I need to water my Garden.
17. I actually have 4 tomatoes growing on my tomato plant.
18. Hopefully, they will all ripen to a beautiful red before it freezes this year!
19. If so, it'll be the first time that we will get to eat home grown tomatoes in the summer.
20. Green tomatoes are great battered and fried.
21. I love the smell of popcorn. It makes me want to go see Harry Potter again.
22. Wendi and I ran into a man who had been struck by lightening while we were hiking.
23. I've been leery of our afternoon thunderstorms ever since.
24. I want to paint my toenails a brilliant red.
25. I would love to have painted fingernails, I just never have time for them to dry.
26. I've decided ungrateful people piss me off.
27. And people who can't talk about anything but their "stuff".
28. I've decided I'm grateful I have any stuff at all.
29. Did you know only 1% of the world owns a home?
30. I LOVE my bed. It's so cozy and warm...and the PILLOWS!
31. I'm trying really hard not to take a nap, so that I will be able to fall asleep tonight!
32. Ah! The garage door! A lovely sound at the end of the afternoon...it means my guy is home!
33. I sometimes feel like a puppy when he comes through the door..."Did you miss me? Huh? Huh? I missed you!!! (lick, lick).
34. What the hell am I going to make for dinner? It seems that is always the question!

The Summer Hustle...

The first month of summer is officially gone! Where does it go? We have been enjoying the freedom from a schedule that the summer brings. James has started baseball and it is so fun to go and watch his games. He's having a great time, and he keeps reminding me that he's not out there to win but to just have fun. It's nice to see that he has a good attitude about it...At his first game he got an awesome hit out into center field and he got a batter out on first base. Going to baseball games brings out a new language in me...I find myself saying things like, "Nice hustle!" I almost laughed out loud when that slipped out of my mouth and I realized that that is what my Dad used to say to us when we played ball as kids. What can I say, I learned from the best...

The boys talked me into going and getting this fun slip and slide called, "Shark Bite". I'm a sucker, I know. But it really is fun. And let me tell you, slip and sliding is a great abdominal work out. I have never been so soar. I'm sure it was a very funny sight for my neighbors to see a 32 year old slip and sliding. Jesse was cracking me up because he wouldn't slide through the water, he would run on the grass next to the slide and then jump in the sharks mouth at the end. Then he would give me a double thumbs up everytime! James likes to be thrown in the water, which I will never turn down a chance to soak my child. It'll be interesting to see how long the slip and slide holds up. Hopefully, we can get at least two summers out of it?

Hooray for the Hopi!

Last week, the boys and I went to the world cultures and peoples museum down at Byu to learn about the Hopi Indians and their Kachina dolls. Each Kachina had a specific purpose and personality traits. I had the boys pick out their favorite one, and I took their picture with it.

James liked the white bear Kachina. The bear Kachina is important because of his knowledge of plants and roots. Jesse loved the sheep herder Kachina. The Hopi believed that if they did sacred dances acting as the sheep herder they would have a good hunt. He looks pretty fierce to me.

I loved this Kachina...he is the Ogre Kachina. If he looks creepy to you, then he is doing his job. The intent of this Kachina is to scare all misbehaving Hopi children into listening to their parents. If there was a wide spread problem of naughty children in a village, he would actually appear in the spring time and scare them all straight. There was definitely a scary aura around this particular doll, because neither of my boys would stand in front of him for a picture! The museum also had on display an amazing amount of beautiful pottery found in four mile canyon. It was a fun day!

How Do Pirates Eat Dinner?

We always know we are in for some good entertainment when Jesse comes to the dinner table shirtless and wearing his skull cap...

Rainy Day

What can I say? I love the rain...and we have been getting plenty of it. This has been my first week out of work for the summer, and it has been nice being stuck indoors and finding things to appreciate inside the house. It has given me the opportunity to catch up on the deep cleaning stuff that I just could not find the time to do while I was working full time. So, the pantry has been cleaned out and sorted through and it looks amazing. The decorative nick-nacks up above my kitchen cabinets have all been washed and dusted. The cobwebs that clung to my lights and created cotton-like highways to my walls have all been destroyed and wiped away...so I'm feeling satisfied with myself at this moment. Today was a great day because the boys and I decided to stay in our "jamamas" (as Jesse calls them) all day long. We had waffles for breakfast with lots of butter and sticky syrup. We watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and played with our magic wands...we even played the Forbidden Forest game on Disc 2. We got Lizzy out and gave her a warm bath. Then she spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on top of us, climbing away from Jesse as fast as she could, and she even sat and looked out the window and watched the dark rain clouds roll in.

When Danny got home I changed from pj's to running clothes and we ran in the rain together. It smells so fresh and clean after the rain. The air is crisp and cool, and it seems to make breathing easier. When we got home there was a beautiful rainbow. Jesse started to sing the rainbow song that he learned at school. So, I ran and got my camera and took a picture of him with the rainbow in the background.

My yard has never looked so green. I feel like I'm living on the Olympic peninsula...not the dry great basin! The only trouble is, the slugs and snails are loving this dark, wet weather pattern, and they are having a celebration feast on my poor petunias. It's time to get out the cheap beer and pie tins...although I really don't relish in drowning little creatures. I'll just tell them that it's nothing personal...just business.