Guess What I Did This Weekend?!?!

Enough Said!

(P.S. It was a great book!)

New Trees

I absolutely love fruitless pear trees! I never really understood what the Primary song "Popcorn Popping" meant until I saw a pear tree in the Spring. Beautiful white blossoms actually "popping" out at you! Then in the Summer their leaves are a dark green that have close to the same sound as aspen trees when the wind blows through them. Then Fall comes, ah cool, sweet, cool, beautiful, cool Fall time! (It's pushing 100 degrees here today - a cool Fall will be welcome!) In the Fall they turn an amazing dark burgundy color. Absolutely gorgeous! So with that said, you can understand why when I found myself walking around a nursury that was going out of business, everything was 70% off, and I found myself face to trunk with some pear trees, there was nothing I could do but get some! These were BIG trees, and they HAD to go in our yard!

This is a before picture of a corner in our back yard.

There was no way that Eric & I could have done this by ourselves, so we paid a company to do it for us. They only charged us $50! That was the best money we've spent! Four men came and they all struggled to get these trees out of the back of the truck and down the steps to the backyard! They dug the holes for us and planted the trees. And all that was done in about one hour! It would have taken us at least 2 days!

Here is one of the trees in:

Here is the second tree in:

And here is the final result!

Now we're just keeping our fingers crossed that they get established and I can enjoy all the brilliant seasons of my new pear trees!

Life is good!

Summer's Half Way Over!

I can't believe that Summer is half-way over for us! I realized this the other day and couldn't believe how fast it's gone. But then I remembered all that we have done so far, and couldn't believe what we have packed in already!

We did our annual pilgramage to Rocky Mountain National Park the week after school was out. We rented a pop-up trailer and headed up to that beautiful place for 5 days. We had a great camping spot and had fun experimenting with dutch oven cooking. We did some hiking, saw the famous big-horned sheep, and actually took a nap or two - great memories!

The boys loved being out in the wilderness. We took them on some pretty long hikes, and they never once complained. We even got in a few snow ball fights - in July!! (That tells you how high up we were!)

We've also started our family "reading parties". Since Devin is such a good reader now, we all love to grab our books and lay down on our bed and read. It's a little crowded with all 4 of us on a queen size bed, but it is so much fun. After a while we take a little intermission break and go get some ice cream. We put our PJs on at 7 the other night and read until 9! (The ice cream was at 8. Have you ever had Brownie Mud Pie? Fabulous!!!)

We've done play groups with friends, pool parties, cub scout activities, and X-box game tournaments. (Not particularly my strong point, and the boys love taking advantage of that!)

So with Summer being half-way over, I looked at my list of things I wanted to get done this summer while I wasn't working. It included cleaning carpets, organizing closets, and a myriad of other things. Needless to say, I haven't gotten to those yet! But that's what Summer is about, right? We've made some good memories and had lots of fun. Second half-here we come!

Transformer Camping Chairs

We were outside working last night in our front yard. (Okay, we've been outside working almost every night!) Eric & I were working away while the boys were entertaining themselves. I always love to see what they come up with on their own. It is always very creative! Last night was no exception. They uncovered our folding camping chairs in the garage and then next thing I knew, they had been transformed into machines and a battle of epic proportions was taking place on our lawn!

Here is the front view of these incredibly advanced machines:

The rear view:

And the side view:

Who knew that camping chairs had so many uses?

Life Goes On

We've had a few things happen this last week that have really reminded us how fragile and unpredictable life really is. Sometimes we go from day to day taking everything and everyone for granted.

Thanks to everyone who called to check up on us after the news of the tornadoes hit. We are just fine, thankfully, but we do know some people who lost everything. The closest tornado to us was 10 miles north. That really isn't that far away considering it took a 35 mile long path and was a mile wide. We got some pretty good sized hail while it was happening and the clouds were really dark and as Devin said, "mean looking".

There were many families who lost their homes and businesses. It has been interesting to watch the attitudes and morale of these people. The first day they were in shock and the tears came freely. The next day there was a lot of anger and bitterness. Now, there is an attitude of teamwork and neighborly love. They are helping each other salvage what they can and move on with life.

Then Friday evening we found out that some friends from another ward had been in a bad accident as they were driving across Wyoming to Utah. They hit some black ice and rolled their van. The 12 year old daughter was killed and the father was in a coma. The mother and other 2 children were banged up but would be okay. Very sombering news to say the least. But once again, the range of emotions have gone from shock to anger to pulling together.

These have both been major tragedies for sure. We never know what trials we will be asked to face. Some will be major, and others will be comparatively minor. What matters is that we know that we are not alone. We will be in shock and ask "why me?" We may be angry and doubt ourselves and our abilities. But I think the most important thing to remember is that we never have to be alone. We have friends and family who would sacrifice anything they have to help. And most importantly our Heavenly Father is there to comfort and bless us in ways that only He can. And through our darkest times, because we have the gospel and our testimonies, we know that life will go on. It has to.

Cancun!!

So I didn't necessarily become addicted to blogging, but I do have a good explanation as to why nothing has been posted for a while.... CANCUN! Eric & I spent 5 fabulous days together down in the Caribbean. We left the boys behind with my mom and embarked on a trip that was full of first-time experiences and experiences of a lifetime!

I'm going to post pictures a few at a time - for my benefit more than anything else! I still am listening for the waves at night, and waiting for someone to come and give me another Miami Vice. (A drink consisting of Pina Colada & Strawberry Daiquiri mixed together - virgin of course!)

This is looking out on our balcony at the Crown Paradise Resort that we stayed at. This is an all-inclusive resort, and we took advantage of that! All inclusive means all the food and drinks that you can handle at all hours of the day and night - and boy did we ever take advantage of that!

The first day we arrived, we just spent time out on the beach. I got a beach-side massage, and Eric rented a boogie board. Eric is working on touching up those photos, so I'll have to post them later! It was so relaxing to lay there and listen to the waves while working on one of the best tans that I've had in years!

On the second night we were there, we went on "Captain Hook's Dinner Cruise and Adventure". The crew was dressed up to the hilt in pirate garb, and had fun using their swords at everyone else's expense! They divided everyone onto 2 boats and then we sailed out on the water as the crew acted out a story. They served us a steak dinner down in the galley. Then as the cruise was ending, our boat silently sailed next to the other boat and our crew boarded it and rescued our captain's bride! YEAH!! There was so much action and crazy pirates all around us. Then we did some dancing on the boat as we sailed back. All in all- a fun, entertaining night! Not the best food we had, but definitely worth the adventure!

That's where I'll leave it for today. Stay tuned - still to come are the ancient Myan ruins, snorkeling, sailboating, and the best food ever!! (Did I mention that you can eat whenever and whatever you want to - no limits!)

Bloggety, Blog, Blog, Blah!

I think I am the last person I know of who doesn't have a blog. This is not from lack of desire, or friends, however it is from a lack of time and nerves. I was scared that no one would care about the goings-on of me or my family here in Colorado. I was scared that if I misspelled a word on a post, that the entire Internet community would blackball me from ever blogging again. I was scared that I might become addicted to blogging like others (I won't mention names...yet!) and forsake my dishes, laundry, bill paying, and picking up after the dog. Hey - what am I thinking? Sign me up! Look at me - I'm blogging!