Wildflowers

We've planted a lot of things near our house, but it will be awhile before anything starts flowering and giving us some color. It's a good thing mother nature provides! Some of these flowers are pretty common out here, but some I don't believe I've seen before. All of these are in our yard.

May Newsbytes

1. I have resorted to entering sweepstakes as a means to getting furniture for our house. See #2, and you'll know why. I also need to start entering sweepstakes to win a new car...and are there any sweepstakes you know of where you can win babies?

2. Ian has four cavities and needs approximately $1,000 worth of dental work. The dentist in Elko would only do it under general anesthetic, which would really be preferable, so he wouldn't have to remember it, but it's way too expensive. It's over $2,000 in Utah, and I don't even want to find out what it would be in Elko....probably $3,000 - and that doesn't include the dental charges. Also, the dentist in Elko didn't even find the second two cavities. We are taking him to a dentist in Utah who will try to do it with an oral sedative. Let's all say a little prayer that it works, or we're another couple grand in the toilet.....all for a bunch of teeth that are going to fall out. Awesome.

3. We planted our first real garden last week. Of course, we still have to wait a few more days to see if anything will actually come up. But, we already have rodents working on keeping us from having a harvest. Tyler went out to find that something had chewed through the drip hose. I guess it must have been thirsty. Still, they will get NO MERCY from me! I may not be able to hit anything by now, but by the end of the summer, they're going to get blasted. Hopefully there will still be something left for our family to eat.

4. Do you think it's the warmer weather that's causing this?

Between the wall and the couch.

Behind his closet door and between the wall and the dresser.

On the bean bag. The weird thing about this is that he fell asleep during Peter Pan. That's not normal!

5. We went to the aquarium in Salt Lake before we came home from the dentist and had the best time. Both boys were running from tank to tank squealing with delight over what they found. I wish I would have been able to take a picture of the kids trying to feel the sting ray - but I was too busy making sure neither of them fell in.

Cameron was happy to find something cuddly at the gift shop.

Ian admired the huge snake in this tank.

6. That was my first long solo trip with both boys. We got home yesterday and were all exhausted. The boys slept for 12 hours last night, and Cameron just took a 3 hour nap. I haven't heard from Ian for awhile. I bet he's asleep too.

6. I love these boys!

Pinewood Derby

The Ruby Valley Cub Scouts hosted the first Pinewood Derby in the valley since....well...it's been a long time. The track was built probably in the mid 70s by my dad. Some of the scouts were racing on the same track that their dads did when they were young.

Ian isn't yet to scouting age, but they invited everyone to build a car. Tyler was inspired to build a whale car for Ian. It took a little time with the router and scroll saw - but it turned out really great. After Ian painted it, and we drew a face on it, it started to look more like a shark. Ian didn't care. He was just so excited to see it cruising down the track. He didn't so much care about racing other cars. He just wanted see it go all by itself.

The yellow things were batteries for weight. We thought they might look like scuba tanks.

I was just relieved Ian's car would actually make it to the end of the track. After I was put in charge of putting the wheels on, I had my doubts. We had to move one set of wheels because of a belt sanding casualty, and I had a terrible time getting the wheels straight! I just noticed a few minutes ago that one of the wheels is close to coming off. Glad it didn't happen on the track.

Cameron grew weary of the activity quickly. All he wanted was to just go explore the track, and every time he touched it, he was yanked away by someone!

Don't Fence Me In

Between brandings and other engagements, Tyler has been busy at work on our fence. He finally put the finishing touches on our gates, and now it is complete!

We put a pole fence on either side of the cattle guard....mostly so we (meaning Tyler) wouldn't have to build anymore stinking braces!
Ian and Cam enjoyed the fence building because they could walk out anytime and see their dad.

Voila! We have a fence. This was taken before Tyler put in the gate. We have smart and functional pallets in it's place. He put the gate in because he spaced the railroad track on the cattle guard exceptionally far apart to discourage any animal visitors, and we still wanted to get in and out safely!

Tyler has accomplished a lot in his life....travelled the world, been a river guide, earned two college degrees (neither of which he is using - but hey- education is never a waste....right?), married a lovely and talented woman, fathered two cute little boys....but this was one of the proudest moments of his life. He built something that looks great, and really works! Way to go Tyler!
I just had to throw this one in. Doesn't Ian look different? I think he was really tired the day we went out to take pictures. Also, he is a fashion icon. Love the ditch boots.

And last but not least...........meet the new neighbors!

Babysteps for Cameron

Cameron has decide it's time for him to feed himself. He's incredibly pleased with himself. Check out the results:

In the last week or two, Cam has suddenly gained an interest in books. I love this picture because he looks like he might just be looking up something in the dictionary. His favorite right now is "That's Not My Tractor!". We're looking for some more touchy feely books for him.

Cameron practicing for his cooking show. I always try to have my bread dough done by the time he wakes up from his nap - but it doesn't always work out that way. He just can't resist getting his hands in the flour!!

I Love Spring!

I love spring. It's so refreshing to see everything turn green again, right when you thought it never would. Lately, I've been wishing I had my camera on my morning runs. Today, I finally took it.

When I see the haze of green in these aspens, I know spring is here!

The pivot looks better than it has for the last couple years. All the rain has made a big difference this year!

This is really what I wanted to take a picture of. I'm sure someone who knows something about photography could really make something of this....but this was the best I could do!

My dad is headed down to the barn to feed his baby. It's a lot less work to just have the real mother take care of her baby - but this calf's mother just turned up dead one day - no one knows why.

Our dry creek bed has been running at a pretty quick clip for almost two weeks. The warm temperatures and rain have caused a little concern that it would wash out our bridge.