Our First Garden

Yea, I know, I'm a little late but, "better late than never". I am so late in fact that I had to buy plants instead of seeds. The kids were so disappointed when we said we wouldn't be able to plant this year so we gave in and did it. The main reason we gave in is for Spencer's scouts but I think we will all learn and grow ;) from trying it out. Besides, I'm all for any thing that gives the kids one more chore to do. Between digging, planting, weeding, watering, and picking there should be at lease 10 minutes a day. We'll see how they survive (the plants and the kids). We planted 2 regular tomatoes for bottling, two orange cherry tomatoes for eating, 1 zuccini becuase I don't think it is possible to kill (hopefully), 2 yellow (they were out of red) watermelons were Spencer's choice, and 2 pumpkins were Benji's choice. We are going to be out of town for 10 days next week so hopefully we can get the sprinklers adjusted to get it good enough. The dirt here is not great and it is expensive to amend the soil too much so we are just going to cross our fingers. Wish us Luck!

Spencer is a WOLF!!!

WOW!!! Spencer has set quite a precedence for Benjamin and Andrew. He earned his wolf in 3 1/2 months. He was so excited and dedicated. He did have a bit of an edge with Gary and me as his den leaders. He was more than willing to do whatever I suggested if I mentioned it was for scouts. He did chores without complaint, built a bird feeder, learned about a wide variety of personal, home, and community safety issues. He has learned to prepare some of his own food, and how to show respect for his county, his family, his religion, and himself. He has done so well. We are so pleased with him. Way to go Spencer!!! I didn't quite realize how grown-up and capable he has become until his scout manual forced me to. I wish I had realized it earlier. I think I have made my kids too dependent on me because I have not allowed or maybe at times, forced them to be more self sufficient. I feel a little sorry for the younger three because I am going to expect more from them at a younger age. Well, all the better for me. The less time I have to spend making their beds, or getting their snacks the better. I think most of all, I have come to the realization that my kids are growing up so fast. I know we hear it all the time, from old ladies, especially when the kids are really young, but man, it is sure hitting hard right now. Well, I think I will go snuggle my kids while they will still let me...TTFN

Happy Father's Day

What a great day! Daddy got to sleep in nice and late and woke up to big yummy breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage and juice. The kids couldn't wait for Dad to open his gifts. They each made a card for him and the gift was a joint effort. Daddy got a "Top Pop" award made by Spencer and all his gifts were "pops"...Pop Tarts, Corn Pops, Popsicles, Baby Bottle Pops, Ring Pops, Soda Pop, you get the idea...and a new shirt and shorts. We don't have church until 1pm so we had a nice long and lazy morning. Church was great as usual then we came home to a delicious roast with veggies. We concluded Dad's day of feasting with fresh brownies. So there is our Dad's Day in a nut shell. It was wonderful to see the kids really making an effort to ensure Dad was happy all day long. Gary is such a fantastic Dad. He loves spending time with his kids and is always making sure they each get individual attention from him. How lucky we are to have him as our husband and father.

Pinewood Derby

Spencer's first Pinewood Derby was a blast. He was able to design, paint, and assemble his own car. The only thing Mom had to help with was showing him how to tape off the areas he didn't want to get paint on and install the weights. All the boys had a great time. Spencer came away victorious with the fastest car at the race. WOW! Great job Spencer!

Mom Comes to Visit

Valerie's Mom, Vickie and Step-dad Walt came for a visit at the end of May. We had such a great time. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. They were such fun to have stay with us. We learned so much from them and they were a great help with our home, yard and kids. We had a camp fire one night. We roasted hot dogs and smores on the fire and threw rocks in the lake. We went to Flaming Gorge for a day. The weather wasn't great but we were able to stop and fish on the way home. I happened to catch the only fish. Having recently moved into a new house we had lots of yard work to do. We really put Mom and Walt to work since this is their specialty. Walt and I built a vinyl garden box. I got to use a new tool. The pop-rivet gun. It was so fun. I now find myself wandering around the house looking for something to rivet. Mom and the kids planted our flower garden and we all pitched in to plant a globe willow in the back yard. We finished off the yard work by starting a rock wall and platform. (I finished by myself after Mom and Walt left) However, we didn't leave all the work to them. Gary and I spent almost an entire day speading dirt in the yard in prep for laying sod. As usual, Mom spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I love to cook but it sure was nice to have someone else cook all week. We put Walt to work BBQing, sharpening knives, mucking through and organizing our fishing gear and teaching us some handy knots. We were even able to squeeze in an afternoon of 4-wheelin'. We spent a lot of time together and we all loved every minute of it. What a fantastic week. Thank you Mom and Walt, We love you!!! Walt, we hope you are feeling 100% soon! Take it easy. Love you

Vegas Baby!!!

We went on a great trip to Vegas last week. We toted Gary's parents along and it was so fun. We went to the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus. We rode the rides and almost puked on the tidal wave. We played carnival games and won a bunch of toys. We went to a magic show that was amazing. The magician used big cats like white tigers and lepards. He made a helicopter appear on stage. Spencer got pulled up from the audience to help with one of the tricks. The boys favorite was when he pulled the stripes off of the tiger. It was a super fun show. We walked the strip and watched the fountain shows and and toured some of the fun themed buildings. Here we are in front of New York New York. We spent alot of time at the condo pool. We had such a great time. Anyone that hasn't been to Vegas lately, you should do it. There is so much to see and do. It's a great place for family fun.