Wildlife

We spent another weekend camping at my parents property. It was a blast. We had a family reunion with around 66 people. The time just flew by with so many people there. Anyways, we checked out the baby birds. There were only two, sad. But they have grown so much and they are getting more feathers. Also I just happen to see this butterfly on the thistle plant and I think it's decent.

What do you think??

What do you think of this background? I'm debating on which on that I want. Thanks for letting me know.

Meet "Chester", I mean "Lolita"

We had a visitor while we were camping this last week. This little critter decided to join us for lunch. Calvin had tossed his hotdog bun on the ground. Along came Lolita to eat it for him. She is a big squirrel and a new mom. It was fun watching her. The kids had to be very still which was very hard them. She hung around for about an hour.

We also have new baby birds. The last two weeks we have been watching this nest. The first week it had three eggs, the second week it had four and now there are four baby birds. It has been very fun and the kids have loved it. The pictures aren't very clear because it was really hard to angle myself up on a ladder and point down in a small spot. Also the mom and dad would swoop down at us when we'd get close. It was so fun to watch the parents. They actually took turns feeding and sitting on the nest. The nest is in the window inside my parents bowery storage. The birds were so sneaky. They'd sit in an opposite corner of the storage room and swoop at us. They didn't like us at all. I probably wouldn't like nosey humans either. You'll have to count the beaks because it's almost too blurry.

This is the dad watching us from a tree by the bowery.
The Bowery

This has been a work in progress for my parents. It's taken about six years to finish. Well, I think that this is about all that will get done, atleast this summer. We finished this last wall over the last two weeks. I have a new appreciation for my house. I've spent the last two weeks measuring, cutting, nailing, and balancing on ladders. It's is physically exhausting. I can't even imagine what the pioneer women had to do. I am so grateful that I didn't have to build my own house.

Jen, Jen, Jen...Thank You!!!

I absolutely love the pics you've done for us. This is one of my favorites because we actually look like a happy, eternal family. Somedays I wonder if I'm doing a good enough job but when I see pics like this, well it's reassuring. I love you and appreciate you tons!!!

More FAVeS!!!

Happy Birthday Brian!!!

Brian's birthday is tomorrow. We decided to go to dinner tonight instead of tomorrow. It was so nice. We only had Calvin with us and believe it or not, he was absolutely wonderful. He sat and talked with us the whole time. He didn't get up and run around or cry because he didn't like his food. I think it's the first time we didn't leave a restaurant fuming and wondering why we decided to bring the kids.

I don't give the guy enough credit. Brian works so hard to keep me home. He is much more patient than I am. He plays with the kids more than I do. He jokes with them all the time. He makes them feel so special. I wish I was more like that.

He is the guy who knows all the useless facts. He is brill. I shouldn't say they are useless, he'd probably do very well on Jeopardy. He is quite the history buff. He and my dad love to chat history especially the strategies of the World Wars.

He also loves sports. I love sports. Great combo don't you think!? Just wait until football season. He has actually calmed down quite a bit. He is quite the Ute fan. He really gets into it and loves to go to the games. We camped out for Utah/BYU tickets when we were first married. All of his brothers and their friends came out to be with us. It was so much fun. I don't think I'd do it again though. It was freezing:) My favorite was his talk he gave on forgiveness. He had the whole congregation sold on Tivo. He could pause the game to listen to what I was saying. This way he was avoiding times when he would need to ask for forgiveness. It was awesome.

Thank you for loving me. You are the greatest, Brian!! I love you!

Hiking

Our little family

Grandma and Grandpa with most of their grandkids.

Brooklyn with her cousin, Ben.

Where does he get his energy?



I love, love, love the out doors. I love to hike. It's peaceful, beautiful and calming. We hiked about 1&1/2 miles up and down. The kids, of course, started running which didn't last long. They were worn out. It was wonderful!!