I changed my Blog title from Sunflower Patch to Sunflower Fairies because I came across an article of a gal who says she has sunflower fairies in her yard. I'd like to think I have sunflower fairies in my yard too. Our sunflowers surround the dog pen and the tractors hiding all of our junk. We also have a few growing under the bathroom window. They are too pretty to cut down.
Until Next Time :)
The two young bucks were back in our yard today. I was talking to my friend Cindy in the backyard when she noticed they were just standing there looking at us. I called the kids out to see them and we all watched them for several minutes as they just stood watching us. Of course, the little dogs were barking like crazy but won't go down to the gully because they have learned that they get plenty of stickers in their fur and then they have to endure me cutting them out. I"m thinking I had better get the chicken wire and fence posts bought so I can get some fencing up around the trees. Those two deer are probably the ones who ate my big red lillies two nights ago. The deer must think they are candy. One of these days we will put up a fence. The code says white vinyl fencing but white is so stark against all of the earth tone homes. I'm holding out for a black wrought fence that I can see through. We have such a fantastic view I would hate to block it. The neighbor across the street said it looked like the deer had tried climbing up her rock wall and one of the boulders slipped and rolled. I told her I would be getting an engineer over to make sure no more rocks fall out of place. Living on this hillside sure makes me wonder if it is really all that safe here. I worry about rock and mud slides every fall and spring when the ground gets saturated from the rainfall.
Kennedi turned one year old this week and Jamie had a hoedown for her party. It was really fun for those of you who missed it. There was cupcakes and ice cream and plenty of karaoke.
A few weeks ago we went to Payson Lake with our oldest son's family to canoe. We haven't taken the canoe out for years. It was so relaxing to just paddle the canoe or sit on the shoreline. As we were going up the mountain we thought we were in for a thunderstorm but by the time we got to the lake it had passed. The ground was damp but the smell was so fresh and clean. Wyatt, the 2 year old, went out on the canoe nearly every time someone would take him. He wasn't afraid of the wobbleness or of the water splashing on him from the paddles. By the end of the day he was leaning over the side to drag his hand through the water. We had alot of fun. Baby Wes just cooed and smiled and enjoyed all of the attention he was getting by being held. I can't wait to go out again. Up above us on the hillside in Herriman a small lake being constructed. It will be fun to have a body of water so close to use with the canoe. My main fear it is an earthen dam right above us holding in 1000's of gallons of water. I think I will continue to be good so I can receive blessings and peace of mind.
Jamie and Kyle moved in 2 weeks ago so our basement is under construction. We are trying to get a kitchenette, family room, fire place, and laundry room built within a month. Lucky for them we got the bedrooms and bathroom finished the day they arrived. That night we were still putting up doors with wet paint. It is soooo fun to wake up every morning and see the grandbabies! The 2nd morning they were here, I came out of my bedroom to find the 2 year old naked as a jaybird and nobody around. I asked him what he was doing but all he would say to me was "Gwma, where are you going?" His dad came upstairs just a few minutes to get him but it sure made me gigle all day to think of him standing outside of my door waiting for me to get up.
I'm trying to talk my son (the youngest) in to building a playhouse for the grandbabies. He apparently doesn't want to build anything because a few weeks ago I asked him to build me a chicken coop. He told me outright no for the coop. Maybe I should just start building and rope him in to build with me when I need help. The idea for the playhouse came from my friend Nancy's house where we had a morning retreat with the teachers before school started. She has a darling little playhouse that I took a picture of. I'll try to get the picture of it posted soon. Nancy is the most amazing person. Besides teaching she has her own sewing business and her own baking business. She is also so clever. Her baking business is calleed"Rollin' in the Dough". She is also a wonderful person and great friend. Her big claim to fame is she was in a movie with Elvis Presley and he kissed her on her cheek! Isn't that neat! Her house is soooo cute too! Everything is sooo cute and makes you feel so welcome in her home. Someday her and I are going to move to the California coast and enjoy the beach and the sun each and every day!
Tuesday evening Jaden and I were out watering the flowers and pulling weeds. I was at one end of the yard and he was at the other. Jaden begins yelling at me to see the two deer. I'm thinking to myself, there are no deer in the yard. The deer don't come around until it's nearly dark or early in the morning. I could hear one of the dogs barking like crazy so I looked over where Jaden was pointing. Sure enough their were two young bucks just standing at the side of the yard looking at Jaden yelling and Chespa barking. I was worried that Jaden would get to close to the deer so I kept calling him to come to me. Of course, he was too entranced with the size of the deer and didn't move one inch. Chespa (our smallest dog) finally managed to get the deer to move away and down into the gully. Jaden kept an eye on the deer as they moved down through the brush. He has a really good eye. Those deer blended in with all of the brush and weeds so perfectly and he could tell right where they were. It was our fun adventure for the evening as the whole family piled out onto the deck to see the deer in the yard.
On Saturday, August 9, I rode in the Utah Lake Ulcer bike ride with my mom and my youngest son. We only did 16 miles but this was my first long ride since I rode with my oldest 10 years ago to the Great Salt Lake and back. What a high for me to know that I still have some endurance, especially since I have only been training for 30 minutes a day on the hills of Herriman. Once you get past your shoulders and neck hurting everything went just great. I was starving after and 2 hours after the ride I was so tired I took a 3 hour nap! It sure was fun. My mom is awesome! She is the one that pushed my son and I to ride with her. She has been riding in the ULCEr since it began. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning. On the way home we were driving past Thanksgiving Point and saw a car show that had a shelby cobra in it. We stopped to see if we could find out if this car was made by our one and only Jeremy and it was! The owner said Jeremy was the one to assembly his car. What a great show and tell for us!
I am sitting here on the deck looking over the Salt Lake Valley and enjoying my grandkids and the fantastic view. Today it hailed. The hailstones were as large as a quarter and they hurt the top of your head when they hit you. The grandkids and I had a great time picking up the hail and comparing the sizes. The valley is so clear right now. It really is nice to live up above the smog level. I can even see my school from my house. It is fun to sit and watch the cars drive along Bangerter. At night the view is spectacular with the lights. I love to lay on my bed and just look out the window. We will always have this great view since there is a gully that runs on the side and to the back of our house. The only thing I have to worry about is whether our house will ever slide off the hillside. Let's hope not! I hate to go inside on days like this. It's too bad I have to work to pay the bills. I really could be a stay at home mom/wife and just play in my yard all day.
Did I ever tell you I also to make cards? Brooke Stockman is my favorite Stampin' Up demonstrator. She has me hooked on stamps and making cards. There is just not anything like a personally handmade card. I will post one someday when I figure out adding pictures. I think I am getting pretty good at making good looking cards. Ones you don't want to throw away because they are too pretty. Brooke's blogsite http://designsbybrooke.blogspot.com for those that want to see her great creations!
Today I picked 3 zucchini's and a cuke from my little garden. I have had to baby my plants to keep them from being eaten by the various wildlife. My zuchinni and cukes are in the backyard and my tomatoes and summer squash are in the frontyard right next to the house. At night I keep one of my dogs outside to scare the deer away from eating my veggies. Those darn deer! Last year we had a young buck that ruined I don't know how many trees by rubbing his antlers up against the bark. I started calling him Buck because he came around every morning. The bad thing is he was too comfortable with me and wouldn't leave when I would yell at him. Oh well the deer were here before I was.
My grandkids are my life right now! They are so fun and lively! I am sure glad that I don't have to do all of the discipling because everything they do is sooooo cute to me. Someday these two may hate this picture but it sure is cute right now.
This summer I took pictures of the flowers in my yard. We (my husband and son) live on a desert hillside with lots of wildlife. Everything from jackrabbits to cottontail deer to voles (pesky mountain mice) to hummingbirds to grasshoppers and spiders. The best thing about it all is that I love it, even though I have to cut my dogs hair and hang it on plants and trees that I don't want the deer to eat. By the way, deer absolutely LOVE tulips. I wish I had known that before I planted nearly 200 bulbs last fall. The deer ate all of them except a pretty red one.
This year my irises bloomed that have been planted for over 2 years. I also had yellow and pink blooming cactus and pretty white sego lilies. Every year I plant more and more plants and this desert hillside is beginning to really bloom!
This year I was in charge of a youth parade and we used the scripture in Isaiah that talks about "And the desert shall blossom as a rose." You will have to see the pictures of the float. It was adorable (even though the letters were on a bit crooked). Thanks to all who helped build and decorate the float. It was a joint effort to pull it off. The night before the parade we were still trying to figure out the details of the float, like how to make the flowers stand up in the float and worrying if kids would show up. Everything turned out great! We had close to 350 kids show up and walk with our float. The kids looked sooooo adorable. Each child held a prop made out of cardboard that represented something that helped the desert bloom....suns, raindrops, flowers, seed packets, watering cans and some umbrellas and visors. Everyone was soooo cute!
