Ananda's Photo Shoot With Luka

Ananda ever so kindly agreed to take some pictures of Lukie for me and even though I know how talented she is, I was blown away. To say the least. I had a really hard time picking some to post, there were sooo many great ones. Thanks Ananda! We both loved looking for 'the great valley' with you!

Swimming Fun

We've only had the pool out twice this summer because it just hasn't been warm very much. But today we did and the kids a lot of fun as always (a little TOO much fun)! And the picture of the fruit in the bag? - Well that is about FORTY peaches and a handful of strawberries that won't make it to jam because Luka picked them this morning while she was outside. (She was outside with brothers because I was supposed to show the house, but of course they didn't show up )

Aspen Lakes Pavilion Dedication

Last Saturday we went to the dedication of the new pavilion at Aspen Lakes. A 'pavilion' is an understatement. It was incredible -reminds me of a glass church in a forest in europe. It was very neat to see Grandpa's legacy continuing to affect so many people. Grandma Lu gave a short talk and looked lovely as always. It was hard to keep it together but a few tears got away from me. It was absolutely gorgeous. It rained until the dedication was almost over, then the rain stopped near the end and they opened all of the sliding garage doors on one side during the closing hymn. It was amazing! It was just wonderful to take my boys up and see the stomping grounds of my youth and see blessings being enjoyed by so many because Grandpa lived his life directed by the Lord. I heard so many people that night saying that it was like being closer to Heaven up there. Tuck and Clay even got to ride the zip line! :)

Tom

We adopted Tom (like 'Tom & Jerry) from the animal shelter Memorial Day weekend. It's been a bit of an adjustment but he is a great cat -super mellow. The kids LOVE him. Welcome to the family Tom.

Clay's Preschool Graduation

Clay loves Ms. Sandra! (And Chloe too!)

Zoo Field Trip

On Monday we went with Tuck's Alpine Online Homeschool group to the Hogle Zoo for one last field trip. Brett took the day off and came with which was nice to have the help chasing the kids down. Luka ran from animal to animal, enjoying her walking freedom. She also was the map queen. Which way to the elephants Luka? We all had a lot of fun, although Luka definitly had the most fun. It is a good thing she wore her tutu because she danced and skipped all over the zoo. I've never wished more that my camera had video. We all headed to Ikea for lunch, yum! Then it was back to work. We moved more stuff from the storage unit back to the house for the rest of the day. I feel like we HAVE moved since we moved so much to storage and then now have to move it back. I have to say it, backing out of your contract to buy a house 2 1/2 weeks before you're supposed to move in is just downright rude! Next time no contract will be signed unless we have the earnest money. Selling by owner twice before was such smooth sailing that we just were a little too trusting. All well - "C'est la vie!"

Geodes

A couple of weeks ago, during spring break, we packed up the kids and headed to the geode beds out south of Dugway. We were originally headed to Topaz Mountain, but decided to go to the geode beds for the sake of time. I don't know if it would have been a whole lot longer. So we headed west and drove and drove and drove and drove. The whole time we were wondering if we were even going the right way since we only had vague directions. We really HOPED we were driving on the right dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Turns out I navigated pretty well and we finally arrived at the geode beds. It was incredible. The guy who has the mining claim on the area digs giant holes with a backhoe and picks out tons of huge geodes. He must be incredibly nice because he lets the public scrounge around for what ever they can find. We spent about an hour and a half there and brought home two overflowing buckets. Clay kept yelling, "Quartz, I found more quartz!" - no matter what he found. Tucker read to us out of his rock guide the whole way out, and Luka found a puddle at the site and spent the entire time splashing and getting wet. We had a really good time. Want a geode? Let me know, we still have tons!

Spring

SPRING!

Timid sprouts from winter's bed,
Fill with life and raise their heads-

Spring's ahead.

Chill retreats and warmth glides in,
Breezy bliss and weather's din.

Spring begins.

Daffodil delight and tulip cheer,
Heart is full - joy is near,

Spring is here!

An Update About Things At Our House Right Now

AHHHHHHAHHHAHHAHAHHAHAHah!!
(Moving is a little crazy, eh? YOu'd think I'd be a pro by now; this is our 8th move in 9 years. I think I'd feel better if I actually knew where we were going to live in 3 weeks.)

First Day of Spring = Sunshine = Yard Work!!

You can now see our picnic table from space!! I may have gotten a little out of control. But I got to use my new palm sander- very cool! We got a lot done today and there is still WAY more to do, but that's why I love Spring. Brett got a good start on the retaining wall on the side of the house, and the boys cleaned out the windo wells (how does garbage still get in there with the covers on?). Our garbage cans are full, we're sunburned and achy; those are the signs of a successful Saturday.

Visiting Great Grandma Rasband

We went to St. George for a quick trip this weekend to see Brett's Grandma Rasband. It was stormy but the kids have fun doing anything different. (Thank heavens for an in car dvd player!) Grandma seemed to be doing well; she chased the kids around playing 'superspy' and tickling them. I was so afraid they would wear her out. I mean I was tired just watching. Luka threw all of the little cermaic animals Grandma has in her backyard into her pond, and the boys made 'carpet angels'. Hopefully she still enjoyed our visit. And of course Luka eyed up Grandma's impressive doll collection. Don't touch! :)

An Un-willing Model

My latest attempt at creating turned out pretty good I thought. I had some cute fabric that I wanted to make a dress or something for Luka with. I ended up making a pettiskirt and the used the fabric to make a kind of apron/wrap skirt to go over it. A super cute DI find shirt finished the outfit. Laying on the bed it looked pretty good. When Brett came home I wanted Luka to try it on for us. First of all it was too big. ( :( ) And she did NOT want to show it to us. As you can see, she just wanted to take it off. So much for a pretty princess dress she'll love. :) All well.

Our ' Boy Girl'

Grandma Lu tells the story of my aunt Holly (a girl finally after 4 boys) who when someone said, "What a cute girl!" She replied, "I'm not a girl, I'm a boy girl!" Luka reminds me of that story all the time. Having big brother's she has developed a definite tom-boy attitiude; but at the same time, she LOVES girly things too. We are glad that we decided to have another baby. Luka you're my princess! ("No mama, BABY princess!" she would say)