Back to School on Monday!

Mason (10), Tanner (8), and Landon (6) are our only grandkids on year-round school now. They are going from one track to another so their summer break was extremely short. In an effort to help them have a 'vacation,' we had them stay for a few days. We tried to pack as much into that time as possible. We have had enough 'Sponge Bob Square Pants' to last us a lifetime. The noise level in the house was certainly much higher than what we are accustomed to. They all missed little sister, Brooklyn. We are taking them home in the morning.

Here are some of the things we did:

Watermelon eating contest

I might add that the boys are really good eaters. I think they consume more than Reed and I do. Tanner has a hollow leg. Mason must be in training to be Big Budda's replacement on Fox 13 in another ten or fifteen years.

Splashing

We went on a hike up Providence Canyon. The boys filled their pockets and arms full of rocks along the way. I finally told Tanner he could take home only one or two rocks. He struggled in his decision on which of the pretty and 'valuable' rocks he could give up. He was lagging behind quite a distance. When he caught up to us he proudly showed me the 'one' rock he decided to take home. It had some pretty quartz crystals in it. Unfortunately, we vetoed the rock because of its size. I felt badly that he had discarded all his other rocks except for a tiny shell fossil.

At one of the waterfalls in Providence Canyon

We went to the dollar store to buy some 'treasures' to be used as trades in some geocaches. Here are Tanner and Landon showing off some of the prizes. We went to six geocaches in the Hyrum area, found five of them.

We stopped to eat at Bear Lake before going to Minnetonka Cave. The cave is always 4o degrees. There are 444 steps in and 444 steps out, with one staircase alone having 71 steps. The boys enjoyed the cave. I goofed up on my pictures, then I accidentally erased some. Oh well.

Feeding the chipmunks kept the boys occupied while we waited for our turn to tour the cave.

Tanner and Mason with the fish they caught on Hyrum Dam. Boy were they proud! I only wish Landon could have reeled one in as well. They liked boating and got a lesson in trolling and using downriggers. Afterward, I cleaned the fish while Reed took care of the boat. Tanner was facinated with the fish guts. He examined the insides to see what the fish had eaten. He picked out the individual parts and named them...liver etc. He wanted to take the head home. He played with it until I made him throw it away...but not before he had nearly poked the eyes out. We had a tasty trout dinner that night.

The 'Magic Eye' books were of interest to the boys. Tanner was able to master the way to focus and see the hidden 3-D pictures.

We went to Macey's for ice cream cones. Mason must not be related to me because he got a vanilla cone. He admitted that the large sized cone was too big for him.

On Emily's blog she gave information on making some 'tube' bubble blowers using terrycloth circles secured over the end of a waterbottle with the end cut off and dipping the fabric first in water, then in liquid detergent. Then you blow through the neck of the bottle and the bubbles come out in one continuous 'snake.' We made it and it worked!

Boondoggle didn't hold their interest.

We had breakfast at McDonald's.

I gave the boys the customary 4-wheeler rides (and I let Mason take it solo in the church parking lot after a quick lesson)

We made some 'tootsie rolls' a couple of times. Here is the recipe:

Into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, place 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, 3/4 cup dry powdered milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup karo syrup and 2 Tablespoons softened butter. Mix, mash, squish, and knead thoroughly. It takes a long time. Pass it around to the kids to take turns. Eventually the finished product is like a soft tootsie roll. It can be used as edible playdough. It can be rolled and cut and hardened a little in the refrigerator.

Conlin Reunion

Random pics from the Conlin Reunion held 7/18/09 at Downata:

Items for the silent auction

Reed talking to his cousin, Lois

3 cousins: Duane, Reed and Lois


Reed's cousin, Lila, and brother, Ross


Reed's cousin, Bart, and his wife, Ruby

Nephew Shawn and his wife Celeste

Grandkids Natalie and Mason

Two of the youngest attendees-

Brooklyn is in the stroller

Son-in-law, daughter and granddaughter:

Jory, Candace and Brooklyn

These reunions are exhausting!

It was decided that the extended Conlin reunions will be held on the 3rd Saturday of July each year. Next year it will be held in the Salt Lake area. Heather Bee (Bill's granddaughter) agreed to be the reunion organizer/chairwoman. Yeah! Good for her!

Aubrey

I am wearing a new fragrance today compliments of Aubrey. It is the same 'fragrance' Robin wears everyday. It is called 'Baby Barf.' Poor little girl, she went through at least 3 receiving blankets, 3 bibs, and 3 heavy-duty diaper/spit-up rags. We were both saturated and puddles were everywhere. In between the puking and lengthy ear-splitting screaming, this is what the cute little girl looks like:

Aubrey will be 2 months old on July 16th. I was watching the girls while Robin and Andrew were in Salt Lake. Andrew was having more tests and a consultation with a doctor. Andrew is facing chemo, radiation and a couple of major surgeries in the months to come. We hope and pray that he will respond well to the treatments, that the cancer will be eradicated, and that he will be restored to good health. Please fast and pray with us.

As postscript, I am thankful I was protected from harm and accident in my travels to American Fork and back home. On the way down I passed four accidents on the freeway. On the way home there were a few slow-downs. A guy in a large pick-up in front of me suddenly slammed on his brakes. I could tell when he hit the car in front of him because he came to an abrupt halt. I stood on my brakes hard, my purse went flying, and a book on the backseat as well as my overnight bag took a tumble. But I was able to stop just short of hitting the truck in front of me. Then I heard skidding and squealing tires. I looked in my rear-view mirror. Yikes, I didn't think he would stop in time. I braced myself for a crash which would have surely propelled me into the guy in front. What a miracle that I came away unscathed! I eventually made an extremely tight turn and changed lanes. No one behind me followed me out. I am wondering if there were a few chain reaction collisions behind me as well as the three vehicles in front of me which had sustained damage. Phew!

Schvaneveldt's Rock Wall

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye...

...well, not quite yet. Our garden is growing by leaps and bounds. Our radishes are long gone. The peas are winding down. Jill and her girls came picked a whole bunch of peas for their family. I finally had to blanch and make little bags and freeze them for later. We have started eating the yellow zucchini. Don't laugh, but we have thirteen (13) zucchini plants! We bought the smallest amount of seeds possible. Usually some of them don't germinate. We figured some would die when they were transplanted. Oftentimes a squash bug kills of a plant or two. Anyway, they all lived. I am going to have to give a lot of them away. Any takers? Reed has had beet greens. We made pickled beets today from our first picking. The beans are blossoming. We had some fresh picked peas and tiny little carrots from our garden in a cream sauce. Very tasty!

Out Ridin'

On July 2nd we took an ATV ride from Hardware Ranch to the trailhead of Monte Cristo. The roundtrip was 63.5 miles long. Everything was green and beautiful. Mother Nature really put on a show! As I was riding along I was composing a poem in my head about what I saw. I never completed my rhyme, so I won't post it here. The temperature was a little cool in places. There were a few snowbanks in the high country. On one ridge we could see over to the turquoise blue waters of Bear Lake. With the 4th of July coming up, people were streaming in to stake out their holiday camping spot to 'get away from it all.' The road wasn't dusty as there had been a thundershower. We had to dodge puddles.




As we were arriving back at Hardware Ranch I saw a sort of a rainbow in the clouds. I am not sure, is this called a sundog?

On the 4th of July we went for a ride in the pickup--up Logan Canyon--turned off on the road to Franklin Basin--past Hull Valley Boy Scout Camp--down Birch Creek--to Mink Creek--into Preston (where we had a taco salad and lime squeeze)--stopped at Richmond Cemetery (to verify that Aunt Fern Plant is 'planted' there)--and back home. Again, everything was gorgeous. There were recreational vehicles everywhere. Mosquitos were out in force. It was cloudy and cool and everything was wet. We had a mishap...a blowout of the front driver's side tire. It wasn't a convenient place to change a tire but it ended up we didn't have to. A group of guys came along on 4-wheelers and volunteered their services. They changed our tire in nothing flat! Thank goodness for good samaritans. They said they had already had an adventure at the German Dugway when one of them hit a rock that flipped the ATV over a steep embankment. They had to use a winch and muscle power to retrieve the machine. The mow strips and parking lots along Logan's Main Street were full of roped off areas, lawn chairs, flatbed trailers and quilts as people have laid claim to a spot along the cruise-in parade route to be held this evening.

Below are some pictures Reed took on our ride today. Most were taken from the same place, just different angles.

Happy 4th of July!!

No matter how you celebrated,

I hope it was safe and fun!

Flowers around our yard