MEMORIAL WEEKEND

THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR MEMORIAL WEEKEND WASN'T VERY HOPEFUL FOR US. FIRST, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD HAVE OUR KIDS HERE WITH US, BUT UNFORTUNATELY BEN HAD TO WORK AND BRANDON AND DAYNA WERE FIGHTING COLD/FLU BUGS AND DIDN'T FEEL GOOD. SO JEFF AND I WERE LEFT TO OUR OWN DEVICES WE HAD SEVERAL PROJECTS PLANNED TO DO DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER. WE WERE PLEASANTLY SUPRISED ON SATURDAY MORNING WHEN WE WOKE TO SUN AND VERY PLEASANT TEMPERATURES, AND WE WORKED ALL DAY IN OUR BACK YARD.

THANKS TO OUR NEIGHBOR NICK WHO LET US USE HIS DADS SKID STEER TO MOVE THE HEAVY ROCKS. JEFF HAD SOME FUN IN THAT BIG BOY TOY.

LAST WEEKEND WE PLANTED THE TREE IN THE FOREGROUND AND PUT IN SOME OF THE ROCK.

THIS WEEKEND WE FINISHED THE DRY STREAM BED. WE FIGURED ALL IN ALL WE HAULED IN 4 TONS OF ROCK OF VARIOUS SIZES, MOSTLY MOVED BY HAND EXCEPT THE LARGER ONE THAT WE USED THE SKID STEER FOR. IT IS REALLY HARD TO TELL WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, BUT WHEN THE EDGES ARE FINISHED AND A FEW PLANTS ARE IN, IT WILL LOOK GREAT. NEXT WE ARE ON TO SPRINKLERS AND SOD, HOWEVER, IF WE WANT TO HAVE ANY FUN THIS SUMMER (THAT IS IF IT EVER COMES) THEN WE WILL PROBABLY STOP THERE... HARD TO SAY... SUMMER COMES AND GOES BY TO FAST ESPECIALLY IN IDAHO. YOU HAVE TO TAKE TIME TO HAVE SOME FUN WHILE THE WEATHER IS NICE. YOU KNOW THE SAYING ALL WORK AND NO PLAY...MAKES FOR A DULL SUMMER?

SIGNS OF SPRING

AFTER DINNER ON FRIDAY NIGHT WE DROVE DOWN BY THE FALLS TO SEE HOW MUCH WATER THERE WAS IN THE RIVER AND THERE WERE SO MANY LITTLE CANADIAN GOSSLINGS. THEY ARE SO CUTE AND FUZZY AND WERE EVERYWHERE. I WISHED I HAD SOME BREAD TO FEED THEM.

WHEN I PULLED OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY THE OTHER MORNING AND SAW MY CUTE LITTLE TREE, THE POPCORN SONG "POPPED" RIGHT IN MY HEAD. I HAVE MY OWN LITTLE POPCORN TREE IN MY YARD. HOPEFUL SIGNS OF SPRING.

"U PICK ASPARAGUS"

THE OTHER DAY WE CAME UPON A SIGN THAT SAID "U PICK ASPARAGUS". I KNEW THAT PEOPLE WENT OUT TO THE DITCH BANKS AND CUT ASPARAGUS, BUT I HAD NO IDEA THAT SOMEONE ACTUALLY GREW AND SOLD IT IN OUR TOWN. I HAD NEVER SEEN AN ASPARAGUS FIELD BEFORE SO WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO CHECK IT OUT. IT WAS AT THE LAST MINUTE THAT I DECIDED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE LITTLE STALKS THAT GROW RANDOMLY IN THE FIELD, UNFORTUNATELY I HAD TO USE THE CAMERA ON THE PHONE AND IT ISN'T THE BEST PICTURE....BUT THAT IS REALLY HOW THEY GROW, JUST IN RANDOM LITTLE CLUMPS. WE HAD FUN BUT WE CUT MORE ASPARAGUS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THAN WE THOUGHT SO WE DECIDED THAT WE WOULD TAKE SOME TO OUR FRIENDS. WE LOVE ASPARAGUS, BUT YOU CAN ONLY EAT SO MUCH OF IT. TOMORROW NIGHT IT IS QUICHE WITH FRESH ASPARAGUS. YUMMY!!

THE JURY IS STILL OUT

SO I DECIDED THAT I WOULD TAKE A YOGA CLASS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAM AT THE LOCAL TECH COLLEGE. I THOUGHT THAT THIS CLASS WOULD MAYBE FILLED WITH YOUNG MOMS AND MIDDLE AGE WOMEN, AND THAT IT WOULD BE JUST THE SAME OLD YOGA THAT I WAS FAMILIAR WITH. HOW WRONG I WAS!! EVEN THOUGH IT HAS BEEN 10 YEARS, (PRE-BACK SURGERY), THAT I DID YOGA, I REALLY DID ENJOY IT AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD ENJOY AGAIN AND WOULD HELP BREAK UP MY EXERCISE ROUTINE. WELL, WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE OF YOGA. WHEN THE INSTURCTOR SAID SOMETHING A CIRQU DU SOLEIL TRAINING I KNEW I WAS IN TROUBLE. CAN YOU VISUALIZE THIS? THERE WAS ONLY A FEW TERMS THAT SHE USED THAT I REMEMBERED, DOWNWARD DOG AND PLANK AND LUNGES.(THIS PIC IS NO EXAGGERATION) THE REST HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH SWAYING OF THE ARMS AND THE HIPS AND BALANCING THE LEGS OFF THE GROUND WHILE BENT OVER, SOMETHING THAT AT THIS POINT IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME. IT WAS RATHER COMICAL AND ONE IMPORTANT THING THAT I LEARNED IS NOT TO EAT A FIBER ONE BAR BEFORE YOU GO TO CLASS. HA HA HA.

OBSESSION

I FOUND THIS CUTE POST WITH A BIRDS NEST IN A POT AND I BECAME OBSESSED.

SO I WENT STRAIGHT WAY TO THE STORE AND BOUGHT A COUPLE BIRDS NESTS, FOUND A COUPLE POTS IN THE GARAGE AND THIS IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH FOR MY ENTRY TABLE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

THIS WEEKEND WE CELEBRATED MY MOTHERS 90TH BIRTHDAY. IT WAS SUCH A SPECIAL OCCASION. ALL OF MY FAMILY AND SIBLINGS WERE THERE AND IT WAS LIKE HAVING THE BIGGEST PLEASANT VIEW/FAMILY REUNION EVER. THIS CELEBRATION WAS AN EMOTIONAL RIDE FOR MOM, FROM THE BEGINNING SHE WAS VERY HESITANT ABOUT HAVING A PARTY. I GUESS THERE COMES A TIME WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO BE THE CENTER OF ATTENTION AND THIS PARTY WAS A HARD IDEA FOR MOM TO GET USED TO. HOWEVER, SLOWLY BUT SURELY WE EASED HER INTO THE IDEA AND IN THE END SHE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME. SHE SAW OLD FRIENDS AND RELATIVES THAT SHE HADN'T SEEN IN A LONG TIME, AND IT WAS SO NICE TO SEE OTHERS THERE CELEBRATING THIS GREAT MILESTONE WITH HER. MY MOM IS SUCH A WONDERFUL WOMAN AND IT WAS ONLY FITTING TO CELEBRATE HER. SHE HAS BEEN SUCH A GOOD EXAMPLE OF MOTHERHOOD, WOMENHOOD, CHARITY AND LOVE IN MY LIFE, I ONLY WISH THAT IN MY LIFE I CAN BE HALF THE PERSON THAT SHE IS.