Where the Buffalo roam.....

So, second graders need to learn all about Native American Indians. That is what I have been told. By my second grader. For weeks we heard lots about corn and berries and deer skins and jerky. They made vests and decorated them with symbols that told a story. They got very excited about wigwams and longhouses and totempoles.

I even helped build a teepee for the bulletin board and made my own version of a northwestern totem pole.

Soon the exciting day was upon us. My little blonde "native american" was pumped. It was fun to go and be there with her and her class for the "POW-WOW".

They had a Wigwam set up outside and the kids were able to sit inside and hear about the ways of the tribe.

I was impressed with the authentic dance that the chief guy did and decided that I could work off some major calories if I learned those steps. (Hey and I liked the bells too.)

But the song and dance Emma and her classmates did was my favorite. Hi-ya-na, hi-ya-na, oh, hiyalai-na. I can hear it now(.....someone is singing it in my ear.)

It was a great day and I am looking forward to Pilgrim day next year!

The summer of "ROCK N ROLL..." (or the Bishop really likes to rock)

(Kenny Loggins)

If anyone has been paying attention, we are starting to look like concert groupies. Except for the fact that the acts have been so diverse that it was a virtual potpourri of talent!

This late summer and fall we have been to see-

Brad Paisley

Martina McBride

The Charley Daniels Band

Randy Travis (ok, he looked REALLY OLD)

Cheap Trick (Dad let me off the hook for one night)

Chicago (mom's personal fav)

Kenny Loggins (it was about 40' with the wind blowing)

and not to be left out, WEIRD AL (thankfully Don took Neil)

Most of these acts were associated with county and state fairs so they were relatively cheap tickets and we had excellent seats thanks to Don. (no further back than the 6th row.)

And I think my hearing is still intact..HUH? DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?

Suffice it to say that even though we are getting gray....rock and roll still sounds pretty good to us...even if I can't seem to get the knack of taking our pic together.

"Feeling and wearing Bluish-greenish, and glazed over"

So, I guess Dad SHOULD be a little afraid when he goes out of town. For some reason, I get the urge to go to the paint dept. at Lowes and haul some home. This week it was for the tv room that used to be the living room. And I wanted to do it "artsy". So when I went to Lowes and the paint guy said..."oh, that's too hard and really expensive", I just looked at him. RIGHT.

Just hand over the paint and BACK UP.

SO, I painted for 3 days straight and didn't cook or clean and made a really big mess. It felt REALLY ARTSY...

I got the first coat on and then headed back to the PAINT DEPT. for the second more artistic coating...different paint guy that was much more enthusiastic and helpful.

This entailed

"rub on, rub off and then roll over"

(have I mentioned that my right biceps are really buff now?). But it also took about a hundred trips up and down the ladder to tip my head too and fro seeing if I liked it. And a late night phone call to my friend to come and tell me if I should forget the 3 coat thingy. But I toiled and went up and down that ladder many times.

I hated it. AND then I finished it and I LOVED IT. That is until I noticed on the upper end of the tall wall there was a little edge I missed. Kinda ruined the whole thing for me....so, I went back up the ladder for one more swipe.

So, it was my goal get it all done and put back together before Don got home and see if he noticed. He did. I think he likes it. And I asked him when he is going out of town again. Cause I have been looking at the bathroom and it needs a new coat or two.

Summer's fleeting ways....

I know it was around here somewhere....what did I do with it? That is how I feel about how fast summer goes by. One day you know it is here, and then it is missing. Everyone is back into school and it is like a dream I had during my Sunday nap. Boo. Back to work.

So here are some real high lights of the few days of summer.

Taking the goof troop to SL for Brians recital. Yea, it was GREAT!!

Ok, so there is the cute wife of the guest organist....ahem, our daughter. Picture taker extradordinaire! It was a wonderful time.

Then there was Rachers sixteenth birthday! And she got her drivers license the same week

The the highlight of the summer came when we all met up at Park city for some real to-gether ness...ah, the joys of family.

What cute girls we have in our family.

Now lets go have some fun! Bowling in the ole Wilk.

Then it was back to SL for the tabernacle broadcast. It was warm but fun to be together..

ok, some of us had more fun than others! She just wanted to go for a dip.

We ended up seeing both hometowns and lots of family. Whew, good thing we like each other so much. We will have to do this again next year.

"the TREK of death"

The "Trek" talk started right after Christmas. Plenty of time to get all excited over making pioneer dresses and being outdoorsy and all. So the last week before launch time, found me sewing my brains out and worrying about which skirt matched which bandana. Ok, sue me, I have a "outfit" disease. I REALLY need to coordinate and accessorize. It is in my blood.

So by the time the actual trail time came, I had sewed 16 pieces. Three dresses, four skirts, three sets of bloomers, a slip, 3 aprons, and on and on. We were going in STYLE.

And we were honoring our great great grandma that went across the plains in handcart company number 5 after travelling from Wales. She was only 9 years old and the history said that she and her sisters cried at night from hunger.

Now I felt like crying at night, but it was not from HUNGER....

This was a hard trek. Rachel and Stacey and I worked hard. We pushed and pulled and ate buffalo stew (ok, it was BEEF.) And Stacey caught a fish with her bare hands. I killed it with a rock and then cleaned 25 other fish for squeamish city kids.

I went along as the "illustrator" and sketched a little and walked a lot.
I was proud of my girls and their effort.

I think their grandma would have been too.

New Wheels for Mama

WAHOO!!! New "used" wheels for me! We shopped online, bargained online and moved money around online and then went and picked it up. FUN STUFF. I am over the moon having a new set of wheels with all the glitz of a LIMITED...ok- I have no clue what that is, but it means I get neat stuff like a backing up beeping sound and 6 cd changer and sunroof. And it matches my hair real nice.

Elder Sleight

It's big news around here....and I've been pretty slow to report it. But we have a new elder in our midst. Neil was called to be a service missionary at the local storehouse. It is a wonderful opportunity for him and our family. He goes two or three times a week and restocks shelves and remembers math things. He also has endeared himself to them over there and they love him already. They even take him to DQ and Granny's Buffet! That's love.

Of course, he is the head of the goof troop still around here and frankly, we are glad he can serve and still be home with us. WE THINK.....

A few changes around here.

We did it. We are still married. I think. Dad did leave for Brazil the day after it was done. It really does change our life around here. And my garage is full of furniture. But we think we like it. We will let you know for sure.

There were lots of princesses here last Saturday. Emma commented one night at supper that she wanted a birthday party with her friends and family. I suggested that she had lots of family around...(maybe that would be party enough?!) HAAA, ha, funny mother. She tipped her head and said.."ok then I want to have my friends!" So the planning began. Lots of pink stuff, and lots of glitter. ANd lots of giggling. It was great fun.

She turned seven. Unbelieveable.

Easter candy is now extinct around here except for a few lousy jelly beans. This bunch has no problem scarfing down anything chocolate or chocolate. Hmm, wonder whose gene pool that

comes from.

Happy Easter from the Goof troop.

Did I mention my favorite color is RED?

This has been a long month. The sky has been gray forever. Now that Don is back in the good old USA we are scheming how to better use our floor space. It will mean some major furniture relocation and painting. YEAH. But the good news is that Mama gets a new chair. I think my last one was a rocker about 25 years ago....so it's time!

And we got a DEAL!! It's Don's favorite word. Whatever.

So until I get the laundry folded..., wait that might be NEVER.

It's stuck in the living room.

But I look great in red, right?

Being "Knifty"

Yea, that's right. I am Knifty. If that can mean that you can wind yarn around a plastic thingy and make a hat...then that's me. As you can see from this picture, I think it is already quite fashionable to wear even when it isn't finished. A little painful, but we pretty girls have to suffer a bit for beauty all the time.

Wild and windy in Washington

With the weather being pretty cold outside seems like we are a bit trapped in this house. That would be the 6 humans and the assorted creatures that live here too. (That doesn't include the stupid little fruit flies everywhere!).

It starts with Kitka who is really the neighbors cat but lives here 24-7 because of an incident with a pesky magpie a few years back. Occasionally the neighbors call out her name and I just grin to myself cause she's upstairs on my bed having a little nap.

Then there is the "Golden Retriever" Belle who is a teenager in dog years but has the body of moose when we are all together in the kitchen. She follows me everywhere and I mean everywhere, and sticks her nose along side the cuboard in case some morsel might drop her way.

She mostly chews everything and loves to go through the trash many times daily. It is her lifes work. Belle would also like to be pals with Kitka but the old lady cat has very little tolerance for the pushy blonde and waits until she has had enough and lands her one on the kisser.

Then our lastest arrival was at Christmas. I had Stacey's name and decided it was time she had her own kitty. Rachel and I went on the hunt and found this little calico 2 days before Christmas. Rachel kept her in her room and we succeeded in telling enough fibs to Stacey to keep it secret. It was a great surprise for her.

She got "fixed" last week and now is back to her bouncy, playful self. Better watch out...she is wild kitty- launching out when you aren't aware.

It's going to be a long winter.

The reception catered by riff raff....

Thankfully the weather held and we were able to travel to Boise to Andy and Saramarie's wedding reception. I was so grateful to be able to see mom and dad for myself. Dad looks pretty rough.

But it was a party mood so we strung the lights, stirred the punch, and set out the pretty red cakes. The bride was beautiful and the groom as handsome as ever. Wes and his family came and it was great to be there together for a little while.

It was very very Merry...

Hooray! I have jumped back into the cyberspace! With Alicias help, I am back in to blog our "cheekies" life. This of course doesn't mean I will be faithful but I have taken note that I really love to read my children's blogs so I need to be much better at this.
We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Dad and I got gussied up for the annual Farm Christmas party- as usual, I was over dressed.
It was a great evening until I heard of mom and dad's car wreck and spent the rest of the evening trying to get some news.
Thanks heavens they were still in one piece-although dad was in more than his share.
Meredith, Steven and Ella were challenged by snow and storm to get here but we were blessed with their persistence and travelled to Portland to get them on Christmas eve. But before we headed to the airport, we called Alicia and Brian and dad read Twas the night before...to a homesick daughter.

But Santa waited until we got home and then all were up with a whoop! A grand time was had by all.

But perhaps the best present of all is something that is pink and dimpled and is not much impressed with all the hoopla! Ella was a joy to have in our home.
She grinned and we grinned and everyone took turns holding her.

She even took a trip to Idaho(she and her mom's first time in the SPUD STATE), with us to Andy's reception. She was the cutest baby there. More to follow.