Trying to Keep Up

It seems that life is going by very fast. So much has happened that I haven't taken the time to blog about... The birth of my nephew's 2nd miracle baby, Brigham, a beautiful boy! My 2nd diagnosis of asthma, accompanied by 2 types of inhalers. Completion of my 9th quilt. Continued attendance at the flint knapping meetings and Cub Scouts. And, last but not least, successful acquisition of gifts for Christmas (almost finished with that project now). Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have five packages to mail to family members in California, whom I miss dearly. And I'm still working on digitizing the 64 North America LDS Temples for the custom quilt I'm making for my amazing sister (I'm down to the last 15!!!).
All of the above seem like not so much in and of themselves but they are colored by the grief of the imminent loss of by brother, Rick. I have been so blessed to have been exposed to his gracious attitude. His strength of character, his unwavering faith in God, and his gratitude for all the sweet and tender blessings we continue to receive are inspiring. I want to be more like him. What more can be said?
Our practice hymn in Relief Society Sunday was, "How Firm A Foundation". I struggled through the verses shedding tears. This was one of the many songs I remember singing as a family in our regular pew at church in Placerville all of my growing up years. We all sat together every Sunday. When any of us kids got even a little bit rambunctious, Mom would get our attention with a piercing snap of her fingers and give us the sharp look that said, "I expect better than that from you." We would fit all seven of us in the cab of the old white Ford to drive the grade back home. We have always been close, physically and emotionally. Mom saw to it that we stayed that way. It is up to us to make sure that we stay that way even when we are separated. I am so thankful that we have the knowledge that families can be forever.

New Moon

Well, Kadee and I went to see the movie. We loved it!! I have to admit that I actually had tears running down my face when Edward left (just like when I read the book). And again at the end when Jacob leaves hurt. It was so entertaining. Thankfully, we did not have a theater full of "fans" clapping, cheering and all that distracting crap so we were able to enjoy the movie. This movie did not follow the book in a lot of places but was so well put together that I loved it anyways. Steph, I am, and will always be, a fan - thanks for the good story. Kadee is steadfast in her decision to join team Jacob. Typical for our relationship these days as I am a die hard team Edward member. I know that one day things will work out smoothly for all of us. For now, Kadee is heading into the teenage attitude at the supposedly tender age of 9. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.

Loser Family Reunion - 2009

August 18, 19, and 20, 2009 Loser Family Reunion at the Story Ranch in Wallsburg, UT. We arrived Friday afternoon and took the grand tour of the facility- W O W! Sadly, Danielle had to leave right after we got there and we missed her the rest of the weekend. Happily, uncle Bill and Debbie were able to come from California with Dad and Cindy. Saturday, Nichole let the girls play in her makeup bags. They really had fun with it.

Later, we got together and took a ride on the 4-wheelers with the girls in the back of one of the Gators and we drove up the canyon and looked at the beautiful fall colors. We had a great time and were so pleased to be able to share the time with so much of the family together. Rick drove one of the 4-wheelers with Nichole on the back. He had the stamina to drive all the way up and a little of the way down before Nichole had to take over and drive him back home. His sweet smile says it all...

Each night we (Bill, Debbie, Dad, Cindy, Rick, Kerry and I) sat on the porch that faces west and enjoyed the evening thunder showers that rolled through. Sunday, Dad, Cindy, Bill, Debbie, Rick and I went for a drive on the Mirror Lake highway to try to find a Moose in the wild for Bill to see. No luck on spotting a Moose, but we sure had a nice drive.Here is the view from this porch in the day time. Steve's Fox trotters are often browsing through the pastures, what beauties!

Then, at night, we (Kerry, Adam, Rachel, Nichole, Jared, Catherine and I) stayed up till the wee hours of the morning playing card games at the kitchen table. We made some precious memories and hope to continue the tradition every year. Next year we hope to include more of the extended family in the fun. Family is what it is all about. Families can be together forever.

Horned Toads - Who knew?

Down at the ranch Kerry, Kadee and I drove the 4-wheelers down around Losty Loop. On the way back I almost ran over a Horned Toad that made the dicision to freeze in the middle of the trail and rely on his stellar cammo. Luckily, I happened to see him and swerved at the last second to miss squishing him. I, of course, captured him and let Kadee hold him for a couple of snap shots. He was a fat little guy!

The next week, Kadee and I saw another Horned Toad on the side of the road and stopped to see if we could catch him. Unfortunately, this toad was dead and all that remained was the exo-skeleton. When I picked it up, a couple of crickets fell out. I put the shell on the side of the 4-wheeler and took it up to the playground to show Kerry. Kadee was sitting on the 4-wheeler in front of me, learning to drive and she was wearing a loose fitting flared skirt. When Kerry saw it, he picked it up and tossed it into Kadee's lap. Kadee's whole body tensed in seizure-like fashion when she screamed. I tried to brush the thing off but it had died with it's claws retracted and they caught on the skirt fabric, so when my hand brushed by, the skirt fabric stretched tight and it pulled back into place, giving the appearance of the toad jumping at Kadee. So, she screamed again, and seized again. My response was less than helpful at this point because I was silently laughing so hard that tears were streaming and I could not see to unhook the claws. All I could do was hold my hands over her eyes and turn her head away from the grizzly sight. We now refer to it as the Horny Toad Incident.

Two weeks later I found a baby Horned Toad. Here is a pic with him in my hands with a dime to show how small he was - so cute. By the way, Kadee was not afraid of this guy. Apparently, they have to be hollow to be scary.

WhereHasTheTimeGone?!?

It seems like summer is racing by in -like- 5th gear or something. Catherine and I have been having fun saving lots of money (thanks to Jammie) using coupons. I'm averaging between 51-65% savings and I'm really stocking up my food storage. Yay for She Shops Smart blogspot!!

We have also been spending some time with Rick - usually on Tuesdays. He is so much fun - even when he's not feeling well. I've been busy:

• I've volunteered to help Michelle make a couple of stack and slash quilts for the Loveland Family to thank them for the use of the house in Hawaii.



• Embroidered the Wood Family logo on 42 shirts for Catherine and Jared's Family Camp.



• Quilted a full size quilt for Jessica and bound it.
  


• Big Horn Ranch every weekend.



• Embroidered more bibs for the ladies in our ward who gave birth.



• Designed two new quilting patterns.



• Kadee to dance class every Wednesday.



• Bi-weekly activities with Wood family for the summer.



• Flint knapping with the club every Tuesday after Cub Scout meetings.



• Three doctors appointments in July - all looks good!



• Camp out with Rick's and Catherine's families on July 9th-11th.



• Day camp with Nik's, Nat's and Jammie's families on 24th.



• Installed a new zip line swing for the kids with Kerry at the ranch.



• Completed the beading in Jackie's wedding dress.

In Jail at the Hutchings Museum during Rodeo Week.

At the park on Nuttal Drive.
Working on a fish fossil at the Dinosaur Museum. Matt with a HUGE Eagle at the bird show in June.

It seems like I never sit down. I'm loving life!

Rick's doing better!

Yes, he had another surgery, with many new attachments, etc... No he is not bionic, now. His food does travel through rather fast though. He slept for about six hours today and when he woke up, he was able to drink some lunch (clam chowder and juice mostly). The important thing is the nausea is gone now and the pain is down to a level three (on a scale of 1 to 10). See for yourself - he is looking pretty darn good now. We love him so much and our prayers are with him every day. He hopes to be able to go home later this week.

The Nest at Big Horn

Okay, so we went camping this weekend at the Big Horn Ranch. Kerry had built a bird house last summer and we hung it on a tree by the fire pit in our camp. When we went up to move the trailer in, we noticed that the bird house was stuffed with twigs and the seams were coming apart. Kerry made the comment that maybe a family of mice had moved in - I suggested chipmunks as a possibility. Anyway, Kerry pulled the birdhouse down and pried off one side only to find a bird nest with 7 to 8 eggs inside. We snapped a couple of pictures and assumed that the nest had been abandoned. We called Kadee down from the swing to see it. She peeked inside and quickly asked, "Are those mouse eggs? Oh wait, mice don't lay eggs." After we regained our composure, I pulled out one egg to get a better look and told Kerry that it felt warm. His response was that it was just a warm day. Kadee held the egg and snapped a couple more pictures. After Kadee put the egg back inside, Kerry nailed the side back on and hung it up on the tree again.
About 15 minutes later we saw a Momma-bird and a Daddy-bird fly in and the Momma-bird went inside to sit while the Daddy-bird sat on the roof for a bit and then went off (bug hunting, I suspect). We think that they are some kind of Mountain Finch or mouse-bird, we're not sure...