Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Spring Break


We drove over to Boise during Spring Break.  The weather was wonderful and we had a great time.
On the way over we stopped at Craters of the Moon.  I had a nice visit with the ranger, who told me there were no grizzly bears in Idaho.  I asked her how long she had been in Idaho.  She said since Christmas.  So then I very gently told her that there were lots of grizzly bears in Idaho.  I am afraid of being eaten by one every time I go to the woods for goodness sake.  She seemed incredulous and slightly disbelieving.  I told her to come to Island Park.
Honestly, I wish she was right.


Then, we were driving through a small town north of Boise, and encountered this strange stuffed Wolf with the President's face mask statue.  Very bizarre.  We took a picture.


Then, finally, we came to the piece of ground that was for sale.  It was quite lovely.  We hiked over to the trees and the boys hopped the stream and headed up the hill.  Golden Delicious and I looked for an easier way.  We noticed that under the trees there was at least 8 inches of bird droppings. Everywhere!   Tons of Bird Droppings!  It looked like it was the winter home of every bird in America.  This freaked us out and we quickly escaped.  
We found an easier place to cross the creek and hiked up by the boys.  All was well until we realized we were all covered in ticks.  I have never seen so many ticks.  dozens of them!  It was horrid.  We took turns flicking them off each other.  I admit I would give a small scream and shudder whenever I found another one one me.  I took a picture of everyone on the dirt road, stripped down to their skivvies looking for ticks but out of kindness I did not include it.
We even found ticks once we got back to the hotel.
I found one in my freshly washed pajamas two weeks later.
I hate ticks.

and so we are not buying tick ranch.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Delicious Tidbits

Miss Golden Delicious has officially decided:  She is going to BYU.
She is also done with her senior project.  Hooray!
I huddled by the computer with her on the appointed date at the exact time of 3pm and snagged her a room at Helaman Halls.
Braeburn has written her a long letter detailing all the sublime joys of life at BYU.
She is ready to fly off to adventures.


Friday, April 26, 2013

Family Football

Ahh... the blissful evenings of of playing summer football are not far off.
This is more like early, early springtime football.


Looking good Golden Delicious!  Keep it away from your brothers!



I love it how Jack and Pete are always such ardent participants!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Random Bits of Trivia


Grandma is writing a book about primary which means that she needs pictures, so we ended up posing several "shots" for her.
Granny Smith was a trooper and starred in several "solo slots"






Then we did a "family prayer" one.  

Also, proof that Jack and Pete are spoiled and sometimes escape being turned outside immediately after entry.


 And the picture we took of JoAnne in front of the pantry with a blue sheet for her scholarship application to Utah State. 


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Legos Man


Granny Smith loves legos.  Each birthday and for Christmas he always requests legos.  He makes up the creation and then tears it down again and uses the pieces as parts to his own creations.  Here are a few he came up with last week:  A helicopter and a fire truck.



Looks like fun!


Saturday, February 23, 2013

Splitting and Stacking Wood


Last Saturday was a beautiful day and we spent some time working on the wood pile.  Granny Smith and I stacked the wood while The Spy Twins and Mr. Bechtel chopped.  We stackers had a hard time keeping up with the choppers.


It was at least 32 degrees and everyone was roasting and all the coats came off and got hung on fence posts.


Granny Smith still uses a wedge for safety.  The older boys helped him set up a few logs.  It was a lot more fun than cleaning the kitchen!


Thursday, February 21, 2013

Riding in the Snow


Hello Nikita, you good girl! 
 Nikita is now 7 years old.  (Did you know that all horses celebrate their birthdays on January 1st??)



Prairie Spy is going to a roping clinic this weekend and Nikita is just learning about ropes and roping.  Prairie has been practicing dragging a log around the field to help her get used to pulling something.  Looking good, Prairie!



And working on a soft feel.