City kids meet farm animals

Inspired by Suzanne, I spontaneously decided this morning that we should go see the baby animals at wheeler farm. I called my good friend and neighbor, Anna, and invited her and Jessie to come with us. They cheerfully obliged. Because it has free admission, we don't feel like we have to see and do everything like we do when we visit the zoo and pay $10 admission. So, we stayed about 1 1/2 hours and that was just right. Here are some of the fun pictures:Pigs hiding out in the shade. It got up to 80 degrees today!
Tim loved watching the geese- when there was a fence between them.
There were baby animals all over. These goslings still have their yellow down. Cute!
Timmy the climber was up to the second story as the girls watched from below.

An action shot of Timmy talking. The mother cow is giving her calf a bath in the background
Notice the shiner Spencer got in church yesterday? The whole congregation can vouch that we aren't abusing the poor child. Ouch! It looked even worse yesterday.The ducklings stuck close to their momma. My boys, on the other hand, didn't.
The 2 white and gray birds are our state bird, seagulls. They liked stealing the duck's food. They seemed a little out of place at the farm. I envision them at the beach.
Wilbur
Timmy throwing bread to the ducks and geese. Notice how nice he looks with his new haircut. I cut it Saturday morning before I delivered the wedding cake. If you look close, it still has a few shaggy spots, but he was screaming and attempting to escape for the entire ordeal. Any touch-ups will have to take place when he's asleep.
This is as close as Spencer got to lifting his stroller off the ground!
This is Timmy, Jessie, our neighbor girl we love, and Spencer. When there are animals around, you can forget getting them to look at the camera.
Here is my good friend Anna with Jessie. We work in nursery together on Sundays. (Nursery is the children's class for ages 18 mos to 3 years.) Timmy wanted to drive this blue tractor.
My hair is barely long enough to fit in a ponytail again. I decided to grow it out again and donate it when it is long enough. I got really hot in long pants and a sweater.

If any of you want to go to the farm with us, just let us know. We love it!

Wedding bells will be ringing for...

Shannon!!

She called me at 10:30 Saturday night to tell me the news. It didn't come as a complete surprise because when we were visiting them for General Conference, Jacob asked my dad if he could marry her, and Daddy said "Yes!" So, I was just waiting for him to pop the question. She described the ring, and it sounds beautiful. He proposed in a very romantic way. I don't want to steal all her thunder, so check out her blog. Shannie's blog link Hopefully she will post all the juicy details soon. I only have one picture of them together, so here it is again.

Early morning party at my house- Why wasn't I invited?

Attendees: Stan, Dave, Spencer, Troy, and Brad holding a water bottle Timmy with his football. At least Troy put sandals on over his pajamas
The police cars were all over.
Jessie and her Mommy, Anna
A splendid view of the port-a-potties
Sierra

The Salt Lake Marathon happens every year, and every year, it is like a surprise party. We live right on the route, and we live at mile 14, so there is always a big to-do in our front yard that morning. A lot of our neighbors came over to watch from our driveway. We have front row seats.
We are always awakened in the morning by loud music, cheering and cries of "Water! Water" and "Gatorade! Gatorade!" The runners get thirsty and want to know what is in the cups that the volunteers thrust at them as they pass.

The first year we lived in our house, we were remodeling the bathroom, and the back wall was torn out. It was enclosed by a semi-transparent plastic. Well, the marathon committee didn't plan on enough port-a potties, and two lady runners, came up to Troy and asked if they could use our bathroom. (He was sitting in a lawn chair in the driveway.) He said as long as they didn't value their privacy, they were welcome to use it. They both used it.

That same year, the volunteers came over and told Troy that they ran out of toilet paper, and asked if they could borrow some. He lent it to them. They didn't return it (thank goodness). So, you can call us active supporters of the SL Marathon.

I'm told (I am still snuggled up in bed when this happens) the bikers come zooming past around 5ish. About an hour later the crazy fast men runners start to show up. This may be un-PC but Troy tells me they are almost all black guys. (I am still snoozing) Next comes the fast white guys and the super fast women. By the time I roll out of bed, around 7am, and look out the window, there are the quick runners, both men and women. After my shower, the joggers come past.

By the time I'm dressed and outside, the slowest stragglers are passing. (Don't get me wrong, they are ALL going faster than I would be; I am just comparing them to those completing the marathon. The last person, I felt sorry for her, but proud of her for finishing, was followed slowly by a police car, then by the slow-moving procession of vehicles that anxiously awaited the road opening.

By about 11 am, the road is open again, the band has packed up, the volunteers are gone, and the port-a-potties have been hauled off. All evidence of the marathon has disappeared. Too bad house parties don't clean themselves up the same way. I'd have a party every weekend if that was the case.

April snow showers, bring maybe flowers

These pictures were all taken on April 24! I was shocked to see the snow, and I was glad that the cold didn't hurt the flowers that were already blooming in my yard. Here are a few of our flowers:It started as rain...

...then turned into snow! I couldn't believe it!
Spencer being shy (and sitting on the wet grass)
Timmy wearing his galoshes
Spencer hiding behind a daffodil
Cherry blossoms (Yes, the showers blew over quickly, followed by this beautiful blue sky)
My favorite bright pink tulip with orange accents
Peach blossoms
Pale pink and white tulips
Last, but not least, and definitely easiest to grow, Dandelions



Later in the Spring, we will also have apple blossoms on 4 trees, strawberry blossoms, purple and lavender irises, mint, grapes, chamomile, and a few perinneals I don't know the names of.

Bags for the Mommies, Guns for the Daddies

So, I just ran across this website that sells mostly gun stuff, like Galco holsters, under armour, ammo belts and stuff like that. Well, as I was browsing, I found these bags. They look huge, but, that is exactly what I use, since I am always toting diapers, wipes, spare outfit for Spencer, change of underwear and pants for potty-training Timmy, and assorted entertainment devices like crayons, books, matchbook cars, and candy for bribing. I also have my personal stuff like wallet, keys, diabetes stuff, and lipstick. So, these would be great for lugging around all my junk. If your hubbies are into guns, they have lots of stuff that would make a good Father's day gift. Plus, I noticed a free shipping deal they have going on now, so if that's your kind of thing, check out their site.

My Best Friend's Wedding

I know it's been a while since I posted because my best friend, Tonya got married today.

Congratulations!!

I made her wedding cake, which turned out beautifully. That is why I haven't been blogging this past week, I have spent any time the boys have been asleep doing cake stuff. I am amazed at how many hours I spent. I am not going to disclose the number, but it was more than 2 dozen.
I had fun getting my fingers back into it. After the news I received last night, I am now going to be making another cake this summer, probably in August. (curious? I'll tell you who later.)

I was a little disappointed with the pictures of the cake, because the shiny silver platter made the light reflect onto the icing, giving it a wavy look, instead of the smooth finish that it really had.

I was even more disappointed when I realized that I forgot to bring my camera to the temple, so I don't have any pictures of the bride, or any of the festivities. :-( Maybe I can get them from someone else. I hope.

The ceremony was sweet and simple, and the luncheon was delicious. The caterer was an idiot. Sorry to sound harsh, but there was a complete lack of common sense. The florist left the bridal bouquet in the serving area in a vase. It was very obviously a bouquet. Well, he disassembled the entire arrangement and scattered them on his banquet table, along with parsley and sliced oranges. (ugly) There is a reason a bride hires a florist to do the flowers and a caterer to do the food. So, Tonya's sister ended up reassembling the bouquet for the pictures, but, it wasn't a beautiful as the original. I guess every wedding has a few mini-crises, and generally speaking, they get resolved.

Now, any of you who are planning on getting married had better start kissing up to me now if you want me to make your cake, because it is a lot of work, and I only do it for friends and family, which means that after the friends and family discount, I don't really make anything. Even if you aren't getting married, you can kiss up, though.

Lucky Ladybug

We found this ladybug at the park. Now we hope we'll have some luck. Doesn't my skin look dry? Hopefully, it's just because of the closeup shot.

Park Pals

We walked to the park with our pals, Sheri, Aiden, and Eli last week. The weather was warmish and windy; a storm blew in that night. It was all fun and games until Timmy got hurt. After he recovered, it was back to the fun and games. He walked in front of a boy on the swings, and got kicked in the head. Earlier that same morning, he fell on the couch he was climbing onto the tile. So, in the photo, if you look closely, you can see the swing scrape, and the couch goose egg, just to the right of it. Ouch. Poor kid!

After a few tears, we played on the slides, climbed on the caterpillar, ate our picnic lunch, played on the swings, and walked back home. Timmy liked the motorcycle, although it never seemed to go fast enough. Spencer enjoyed the bark more than his lunch. At times, Tim preferred to stand guard at the tube slide, and protect it from other kids, than to slide down it himself. It seems like no matter how long you play at the park, for a kid, it is never quite long enough. We still had to pry them off the swings and drag them from the playground.

Both boys fell asleep on the ride home from Sheri's house. (The real reason Moms go to the park.)

A peek into our business trip vacation

Troy had a business trip in the same city Grandma and Pa live, so he invited us all to accompany him. We happily obliged. Here are some of our fun adventures down where the weather was perfect. I didn't get pictures of everyone or everything, but this is what you get to see to document our last week's worth of adventures.

Notice Pa's goatee slowly shrinking over the course of the week. By the time we came home, Grandma had her way and Pa was clean shaven again.
Spencer and Pa wrestling- Spencer wins!
Timmy helping himself to the M&Ms
What is missing in this picture?
Spencer and Uncle Garrett
Hanging out with Grandma and Pa upstairs
Sleepy snuggle bugs

General Conference at Great Grandma and Grandpa's house

As sisters in Zion: Aunt Wendy and Grandma Jill
In between sessions: "Flying with Pa" (Look at Timmy's shadow)
Great Gramps grilling the burgers
Look at those 2 bald guys working on the dirt bikes
They planned on riding Thursday and Friday, all day long, but the first day, the repairs took longer than anticipated, and the second day, they locked the keys inside the truck and had to wait for us to bring them a spare.
Pa is always changing the story. Timmy's troubled face in this picture is because Pa is trying to convince him that the cat's name is "Lunch" and that he tastes good barbecued. The plot is a
Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked home from Conference
Playing together
Playing with kitchen utensils with Uncle Kirby
Shannie and Jake (the twitterpated lovebirds) enjoying Conference together
... a little while later...
Garrett is now in High School. My baby brother, all grown up. Where does the time go?
Timmy can put on his own pants. Hmmm...

Preschool

Grandma teaches preschool. She let Tim go to class with her. He isn't so sure about all the "big" kids."I Pledge of allegiance..."
Doesn't he look tiny standing next to the giant 4 & 5 year-olds?
Lining up to go home