August 15th- 22nd, 2009 A GREAT Vacation. It began in Sacramento: -visit with fabulous friends -massive rental car-- "The Tank" -Train Museum -good food -Young Adult activities for Abby -an evening at the Sacramento Temple -a day at the water park -honey walnut prawns at Frank Fat's -Jelly Belly Factory tour   Then we traveled … Continue reading California Trip

We are all set for a year of "Blueberry Buckle"! Emma, Quinn and I spent a morning at the blueberry farm and picked 14 lbs. of very sweet blueberries. Yum.

Quinn LOVES John Deere tractors. He has informed us that he wants to be a John Deere driver when he grows up. There is a fantastic museum at John Deere headquarters in Moline, IL and we had a memorable summer get away there in July. Quinn got to sit in a dozen tractors -combines - … Continue reading John Deere

I went to camp this year as Craft Leader. We had a great time with the vinyl cutter. I also did fun projects with wire and mod podge. Plus, SHRINKY DINKS. My staff and I did over 100 of these value boards plus 110 quote boards. Great fun! (and much better than last year's assignment … Continue reading Girl’s Camp

Abby spent a week in Utah with Krista. They visited Bob & Mary and Abby spent the night with her friend, Brooks. Then they went to Monticello for the 24th of July. A fun trip to the lake, a parade, good food, a stop at Arches National Park and lots of family were the highlights.

Great picture. Kip sleeping at an airport with a "big, boring book" on his chest. Very typical. Kip spent two weeks on the road this month. The first week was in Perth, Australia where he experienced an Australia "winter". Then it was off to Mumbia & Pune, India. Lots of interesting new experiences, food, people … Continue reading Kip’s Travels

-School finally let out on June 9th. We had a lot of snow days this year. -Quinn finished Kindergarten and is looking forward to 1st grade (and eating lunch at school) -Emma ended the year on a high note--Straight A's. She was also promoted to the next higher choir in YNS singing group. -Abby-- BRACES … Continue reading What happened in June?

Abby and her friend Jenny at their piano recital. They both played beautifully.

The young women had a lesson on crocheting. Emma started a project on Wednesday and by Thursday it was a long, skinny something (a blanket for a snake?), by Friday she had added on to it and closed it into a circle (a lampshade?) By Saturday she decided to add some straps and a bow … Continue reading Emma learns to crochet

So, last fall I planted bulbs. I thought I would plant a few in a pot and force them to bloom early. The only thing is--I forgot about them. They started to grow out from under their cover and look like alien creatures. Not a pretty sight. But, the bulbs in the garden have been … Continue reading Tulips–the bad and the good