In My Yard. . . .

Today, I spent three and a half (yes three and a half!)hours mopping my entire downstairs floor. It seems to go on FOREVER! What a workout!! When I finally finished, I made some soup and headed outside to enjoy the breeze, the trees, and the birds. Here is my solace today. This is the view from my lounge chair.

This Bluejay is one of four that frequent my "establishment" almost daily for a nibble of something yummy like the peanut cage that I hang from a tree. They are quite bossy birds and have a squeally voice. I never used to be a "bird" person, but since Liza died, and they can finally relax when they come to my yard, I find them very interesting. We have quite a variety that come by each day to eat, drink, bathe, or just peck around.

This hummingbird kept coming back to this empty feeder and finally came right up to my face and hovered as if to say "Come on--Get up--It's out of food and I'M HUNGRY".

i'll get to it later. . .

Time to get more bird seed! Jeff thinks I spend more money on food for them than food for him. I think I'll bbq Salmon tonight after I buy enough birdseed to refill the garbage can. Maybe I should make a dessert to go with that----just for good measure. :)

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

Well MY garden just doesn't! We have had two zucchini, four tomatoes, and about two cups of green beans! The basil is doing ok, but everything else is a pretty sorry excuse for a garden! I think our nights have been too cool this summer-----what happened to "global warming" when you need it?!!!

I LOVE FLOWERS !!!

When I was wandering around my yard, trying to find interesting things to take pics of, I found a treasure! I love a yard that says "CHILDREN HAVE BEEN HERE". Little hands carefully placed this little guy inside a seashell and nestled it in the grass for safe keeping. Oh if I could tap into the minds of my grandbabies and know what they know----I would truly be wise!!

Today, the words of John Burroughs seem appropriate:

"The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world; I hardly know which feeling leads, wonderment or admiration."

SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS 2009

ELLERY TURNS

ONE !

happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Ellery, happy birthday to you !

i love this pic! Mommy (Faith) is helping Ellery open her birthday surprises, and Addie is making herself comfortable by leaning on little sister Callie! Callie doesn't even mind! I'm sure Callie will always be there for her sister thoughout their lives!!! :)
The bundle of cousins that came to celebrate Ellery's birthday. She is getting a little tired of all of the attention I think

Time to go home! Ellery, we love you with all our hearts! You are a special gift and we cherish your sweet and lovely personality. You make us laugh. When you come over, we never watch t.v. because you are the entertainment!!

CALLIE MAE

TURNS

TWO
!

Callie received the special birthday crown that mommy made. At first she didn't want to wear it, but eventually she was too engrossed in opening her gifts that she didn't notice it had been placed on her head. Papa, on the other hand, had no problem wearing it! For him, the C stands for "Cheesy" :)

Ellery's favorite part was hugging the balloon!!

Callie, You are so special to us! Cute as a button,

and smart as a whip. Your sweetness is a delight

and oh how we hope the terrible two's don't last too long!

FOURTH OF JULY

IN SHOW LOW

addie and callie were dressed so patriotic for the parade. addie sings. . . . . .

"I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me!

And I'll gladly stand up next to her

and defend her still today

'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land

God bless the USA! "

And Callie dances!

Uncle Kevo was in the parade! He came up and said hi to the girls and Callie screamed and cried! He took his costume off and she smiled, and he put it back on and tried to pick her up, and she cried and screamed again! Addie thought Kevo was funny :)

mom and dad came a couple of times this summer.

It was said that the greatest thing a dad can do for his children is to love their mother. It is true! Thank you dad!

We went to Woodland park where Jessica tried to pass on her extreme fear of geese , to her girls. They fed the ducks and we had a picnic and played on the playground that Jessica played on when she was Addies age! A wonderful day!

Oh how my little girlies are growing up! We will have to take a pic of them sitting in this swing each year and compare it.

Great grandma was having fun rolling the ball between Addies legs. Addie was giggling so hard, I had to get up and look outside to see what was so funny!

Two little buddies--or partners in crime--depending on the day!

The girlies again--playing in mimi's shell garden.

CAMPING JUST JEFF AND I

Jeff and I decided it would be fun to go camping somewhere new. We headed toward Heber. We had a wonderful time and found this really fun tree--it's just like a hammock. Well, it was great until Jeff got up and found sap all over his backside!

We took a walk along the rim one day. Breath taking and beautiful!

This was the coolest tree. When it fell over, it lifted this huge piece of rock with it. The roots are all wrapped around it.

The road behind us is the rim road that goes to Payson. Over the last 22 years we have traveled that road many many times!

Still to come from this summer:

Walker family reunion pics

Addie's 4th birthday

A trip to Pagosa Springs

SMITH REUNION AT GREENS PEAK

This is Grandpa, Dad, Rod, C.R., or "Dear" to my mom. He is the "Smith" from whom this reunion is named after :) He is the Patriarch of our family, a tender heart in the home, a brilliant mind, a lover of good books, chocolate, diet coke, and toast! He is concerned about the world, his children, his grandchildren, and the "greats"! He is fun, funny, strong, lovable, and willing to try just about anything--that is virtuous, lovely, or of good report :) In a nutshell. . . .


That's my dad!!

Kevin, Faith, and Ellery. "We are a happy fam-i-ly"! Greens Peak was windy and cold, but that can't stop the smiles from Ellery!

Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing- absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. -- Kenneth Grahame (From The Wind in the Willows )

--It didn't bother me so much that Jeff and Alec wanted to do some "messing around", but when they put dad in the boat I got a little bit nervous! (He did fine--but didn't really want to do it again!) You are a great sport, dad!!


statistic: 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish! They were among the 90% of the fisherman. . . . they caught nothing! I, on the other hand, caught 13. . . .. . . . . . . .crawdads! :)

Ellery and daddy kevin. . . . .oh how she loves to be played with by her daddy!! He throws her around in circles and spins and dips and she just laughs histerically!

“Only as high as I reach can I grow,

only as far as I seek can I go,

only as deep as I look can I see,

only as much as I dream can I be.”

Kyle!
It was great for him to be able to leave the California city and freeways, and come to the mountains where he could let his hair down (literally), not shave, and get into comfy clothes instead of dress shoes, dress pants, dress shirt, and tie! We were so excited to have him with us this week! He is loving life and enjoying the beach, new friends, and providing for himself (we are kinda enjoying that last part too! ) :)

Grandma, Grandpa, and Alec. Lunch in the woods always tastes good!!!

Denice, Alec's wife. She is amazing! Great cook, smart, funny, and keeps Al in tow!!! If you need a help with anything, Denice has a tip!! Thanks for coming Denice---wish we lived closer!

Alec has this need to always be learning and creating something new. This year, he is making his own moccosins! He ordered the leather (moose for him, Elk for Denice) and is doing a GREAT job at making them---mountain man style! We can't wait to see what his next project will be!!!

Our boys love their Grandma and Grandpa! They have said that Grandpa is the smartest man they know!

Grandma is a pretty smart cookie too! She can remember things that everyone else would just file away in the "i won't ever need this again" file in their brain! She loves crosswords, reading, learning vocabulary as a hobby, yoga, nature her family and much more. (She is also a closet artist!!) We love you too mom!!!!

A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart. ~Author Unknown

A grandma is just an antique little girl. Author Unknown

Grandpa loves to read and he can do it anywhere! Sometimes he can even read with his eyes closed!!! We weren't sure which way he was reading today because he was wearing sunglasses!

Melissa, Kyle, Jeff, Faith, Ellery, and Kevin at Greens Peak. You can see for literally miles up there!

These cute little critters stayed at bay while Alec's dog was around. When Denice left on Friday, they came out by the dozens! Up under the cars, around the table, up and down the trees, and even under Kevin and Faith's tent! I hope they didn't chew any holes!!

**Thank you Buckley for protecting us from such terrible creatures!

Jessica, Mark and the girls couldn't come this time, so we went to dinner with them when we took Kyle down to the valley to catch his plane home.
Jessica is smiling nicely because her first pose was a silly face and I told her if she didn't give me a nice pic, I would post the silly one!. . . . . . . . . . . . still bribing and threatening my children :) !!!!
We were so happy that Mark could come too! What a great daddy! He sat between the two girls and wiped up spills, got what they needed, took addie potty, etc. so that Jess could visit with Kyle! What a sweet husband! Thank you Mark!

Addie and Callie with their Uncle Kyle. He was a little embarrassed about his scruffy look, but I reassured him that he looked fine, and besides, he'd been playing "mountain man" in the woods for a week! He's putting on weight now and looks healthy and happy----as his mom, I'll take him clean or scruffy!! (it was so good to have you home-----love you Kyle!)

Those gasps of astonishment, those shrieks of pleasure, those sighs of delight, lost long ago when your children grew wise and worldly ~ are suddenly given back to you by your grandchildren. Oh what a tender mercy that is!

It was a wonderful week with family! Oh how we wish all could be there! Those who weren't there----Know that we love you and miss you! May we all stay true to ourselves, true to the Lord, and true to His gospel so that we can carry on the legacy of good works that Dad and Mom(Grandpa & Grandma) continue to live by.

All our love, Melissa and Jeff