July In Wyoming!

I should probably break this into a few separate posts - but think that one long one will suffice.

July was filled with family, friends, fun and adventure in Wyoming!


Shane had 10 days off and spend them in Lander with the boys and I.  We went to Grandpa's Cabin, we hit the Lander rodeo a couple of times, we saw the Lander Parade and - we did not have any fireworks.  Much to our chagrin.  The whole country has been so desperately dry that a fireworks ban was called just days before we headed north. 

The most memorable day, whilst in Lander, was the day the Petty and Barney clan went to Boysen to go boating.  The highlight, for me, was that Nathan and Olivia, once in life jackets were free to swim from the boat!  They were independent little swimmers without need of a parent attached to them!  They both swam to and from boat to beach and jumped in the water free and clear of fear! It was so freeing to know they had confidence and joy in the water! I was proud of them both!

The big kids (Shane, Travis, and Amy) also dove into the lake and swam and played.  We had a picnic, make sand lump 'castles' got pulled in the tube and had such a marvelous time! 

After Shane returned South, back to work, the rest of the clan headed North to Sheridan for Rodeo Days.  We had several nights of rodeo and carnival plus another fun parade. (Sheridan really knows how to throw a parade.)  Nathan enjoyed a few carnival rides, and then we damaged poor little Ashton on the dragon roller coaster.  He has not enjoyed any sort of carnival ride or experience since.  We'll have to give it some time.  I think the coaster was just too jerky and fast.  He rode with Olivia - who smiled and cheered and loved the whole thing.  Little Ashton just reached for his momma and said, "Get off!! Get Off please?!!"


A favorite day in Sheridan is when we kayaked the river.  It's also a very scary day. Travis and Amy brought their blow-up Kayaks and we took turns, with kids, floating down the river ever so slowly.  (Let's just say the river was very low and we spent more time trying to get unstuck, then worrying about rapids :)

Those who were not kayaking, were on the beach at the swimming hole.  At one time, Travis, Devlin, Ashton and I were waiting.  Travis looked over and said "Uh-oh!  Ashton!"   Ashton had reached into the river to get the squirt gun he had dropped.  It was drifting down a deeper part of the river away from him.   As I looked over, he was face down floating after it, making no movement whatsoever!! Travis, swiftly, got to him and picked him up - but he didn't make any attempt to kick or wave his arms or anything...he lifelessly floated away for a few seconds.  When he was pulled from the water he continued to reach for his squirt gun and wasn't even upset about being in the water.  I, however, WAS!  I got weepy and hugged that kid to me for a long time and thanked my blessings for Travis looking over at just the right moment.

After the Barney crew headed back to Lander, the Petty's stayed on for a week in Sheridan.  We cooked, went to the park, played at the water park, got ice cream, played with Sterling, and cooked with the Grahams.

We had a BBQ at Reo and Paula's, Theresa and Dan were there, and a bunch of cousins!! Reo and Paula came for a BBQ at Brooke and Wes's place too. We relaxed, I read a book or two, we saw baby turkeys and had a very calm relaxed time at Aunt Brooke and Uncle Wes's.)

We got back to Lander and played with Julie, Lisa and Lynnden and little baby Jackson.  We did more playing at Trapper park, and spent a special night picnic up at Bubbling Bucket.  We felt the soft ferny trees, and ate Subways sandwiches at the pond.  We saw an elk wallow, a little garter snake, antelope and some beautiful mountain sights. 

We saw more friends, Holly, Jennifer, Sarah, Huana, went to church and saw our WONDERFUL ward family - and were lucky enough to attend ArVae Randall's open house before she moved to Logan.  Other Lander doings: rode the Pony, drove 4-wheelers, NQ steered the SUV along country roads, went on long hikes up the canyon, saw several hatches of butterflies, fed the fishes, picked a bucket of chokecherries and turned them into syrup, got stung by a yellow jacket (My hand swelled up like a red puffy winter glove for nearly a week!), "Hiya Hiya'd" all around the Tee Pee's, had a 'bear' sighting (Okay it was a cow, but it was right next to the bear bait!!) and the boys threw rocks whenever they presented themeselves. 

On our way back to St. George we stopped in at the Rock Springs BLM office to surprise Julie and that night stayed with Aunt Annette and had yet MORE picnic, BBQ fun!  We saw the the whole Canning clan, after a long day of travels!  We stayed a few nights there, and also saw Aunt Betty and Garth and another visit with Lisa. Nathan was in heaven with more cousins to play with! And we started on our Summer Olympic Viewing the two nights at the Canning home.  On the day we left for home we had a fun morning at Cabela's and The the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point with Alex and Rob.

We surely missed Shane, being gone so long, but we didn't miss the miserable St. George July heat. 

We did miss some torrential St. George Downpours, and yard damage.  Our expensive pump system was ineffective against the flooding, and as fast the water pumped out, it return right back into the yard.  So after another August storm and a non-working system, called the landscape guy and he said he'd do some fixes under the initial (EXPENSIVE) payment that we'd already given him. 



Now then, I'm still waiting for a bunch of photo's from Wyoming - and have just put down a few of the ones I have now. 

1st Day of Kindergarten

As it turns out - I've survived the first two days of Kindergarten.  Not to say I haven't gotten a mist in my eyes a time or two, because I have.  Some of the mist came when Dad called (as we were in the car on our way to school) to share  the heartache of first day of school memories for him from when I was a kidlet.  Then he brought up the scene from Forest Gump - at the end of the movie when Forest sends his own little boy to school for the first time and tells the youngster that he'll wait right there until the bus brings him back.  It's so sweet, Forest just sits down and waits hours for his little one to come back to him. Isn't that, as parents, exactly how we feel sometimes?  And isn't that exactly the message we want for our children?  I'll wait for you.  I'll be here for you.  Nothing is more important to me than you! The sentiment is wonderful.

Nathan's done fine - and so has Ashton.  Nathan, reportedly, has already been separated from another kidlet in class for his continued visiting and chatter - that's my boy!  Ashton has been willfully and joyfully exploring big brothers room and playing fearlessly with everything he can put his hands on.

I'm getting a bit of cleaning and cooking done.  And I know I have six weeks of back-logging to get to - and I will!  So be looking for stories and pictures from our Month in Wyoming.

Coincidentally - yesterday, as I was doing laundry again, the 1st Harry Potter was on TV - thus restoring the joy in my heart of what school experiences should feel like: magic.

Today, he's all mine.

Today - the last day before it happens for real.  The last day to look at my five year old and know that he's not part of someone else's day.  That, today, he's all mine, but tomorrow he will be finding a whole adventure, challenge, friends and foes. 

Today, on the television, I caught the last 30 minutes of the last Harry Potter, (I CRY my eyes out watching Snapes memories) and the last 5 minutes of the last episode of Friends. (not so much crying.)  Okay, maybe it's silly of me, but those were some of my most favorite bits of viewing in the whole world!  I was sad when they both came to an end in the world, and I was sad when they ended again today, and it added to the weepy mommyness of my baby boy being old enough to be in Kindergarten! 

Tonight, after 'Back to School' night, we'll set out his clothes and get him ready for his first official day of school!  A FULL day of kindergarten! And his mommy will be so lonely for him!  He's my best little helper!  I KNOW he's ready.  I KNOW he's excited and nervous, and brave and going to do GREAT!  I LOVE that little Stink Weed SO much!  I KNEW this day was coming, but it always felt so distant.  I proud of him, his attitude, his eagerness to learn, and his smart little personality.

Tomorrow will be a big day for all of us; for a BIG kid off to school, for an emotional momma, for a little brother who adores his big brother and will ask all day long, "where's Nay Nay?" Big changes around here.  Looking forward to a bright amazing future - but will also long for the lazy, easy going,  and magical days of when he was all mine.

Happy Things

In no particular order:

1. Production of Hairspray at Tuachan with the Orchards. Fun date night out, and we loved it. Even Shane did, as I knew he would. :)

2. Nathan going to summer classes for pre-kindergarten at Dixie Sun (Spanish Immersion). I called out his name in the house the other day, to which he answered "Aqui!!" I think he's going to really excel with this language program!

3. Every time we drive by a stake center, or a church Ashton cries out, "Look!! The Temple!!" Give's me warm fuzzies

4. Seven and a half miles - on foot, not super-fast, but completed!! (And on accident.) Jessica thought we'd be going almost, but not quite five miles. 7.5 - good for us!

5. Ashton, after church one day, declared: "IIIIIIIII'MM BATMAN!!!" And he has continued to declare it whenever we ask him who he is. He's batman.

6. Seeing a Coyote on my jog one morning.

7. The new hatch of baby lizards. Tiny little guys scuttling all over.

8. The growth of the grapes and pomegranates

9. The slow death of the almond tree, and watermelon plant - which is not happy, but informatvie.

10. Nathan's desire for a headlamp. He's found a secret hole that leads to a new land in a crack in the cupboard under the stairs. I told him it likely leads to Hogwarts. He loves investigating it.

11. Shane checking on my primary class every week to see if I need help.

12. Shane and Nathan riding the scooter.

13. Getting excited for our trip to Wyoming!

Roos-N-More Zoo

Our friends invited us to go to the Roos-N-More Zoo!  It's located in the middle of the  Nevada desert about 30 miles South of Mesquite outside of a town called Moapa.  I got the kids up dressed and out the door in record time - for us.  We were at the neighbors house before 8!  (7 o'clock Nevada time) This way we would arrive when the zoo opened at 9.  Once we got off the freeway, and wound our way around into a rural development,  I was a little hesitant that this was a good idea.  It reminded me of, well, let's just say - less savory parts of the world where you didn't really want your children.  There were run down houses, clothes on lopsided clotheslines, undeveloped 'yards' and plenty of dead automobiles that littered the area. All of it brown, bare and baking in the hot sun.  The signs that pointed the way were small political type signs that were whipping about in the breeze on tiny wires staked in the ground.  Yes.  Ghetto.  Not Harlem type Ghetto - but you hear me, right?  We pull up to a open dirt parking place and go stand in front of the gates.  Temperatures already soaring into the upper 80's low 90's at this point.  I sunscreen the children, hydrate us all and silently think grumbly thoughts in my head.  (Shane WAS going to take the day off and we WERE headed for Bryce Canyon for Free Entrance day.) 

A man comes to the front of the gate and hollers out what to expect, to see the monkey's first because you could have as long as a two hour wait. There are MAYBE 40 people waiting to get in. I'm wondering about the procedure that must accompany such a thing!  He tells us about the extra tours you can take. One out to the field of Kangaroos. One to have one on one interaction with Monkeys and one to see the River Otters. My friend, after discussing it with her sister and husband want to see the otters. We just drove an hour and a half, they want to get an experience. So I pony up the extra $15 a person to see the otters...before I even know what it's going to be like inside the gates. I'm having a lot of dark cloudy faith at this point.

baby wallaby

We go in and it's fantastic! There are armadillos, lemurs, monkeys, birds, sloth, camels, joeys, and lots of animals and handlers under little tents to that you can come meet, touch and see the animals up close!

Many of the pens are fairly open so you look right down at the creatures.  There were even some baby monkey's and this wild cat kitten that were in Pack 'n Plays with a handler near by to answer questions and help you handle the animal. 

There's even a Petting Zoo area where you wander amongst some creatures: an emu, some piggies, an alpaca, and a huge tortoise.

We play with the otters, who are pesky and curious little creatures. We spent about 20 minutes with them. Nathan sits and pets them, they chew his shoe laces. Ashton is far more interested, at this age, at throwing rocks into the stream and pond that is in their enclosure.

The otter tour includes plenty of information about the creatures and about the personalities of each otter.  One of the females, named Harry was very mischievous.

By the time we leave the otter tour, the zoo is packed with people! Where before I didn't mind Ashton wandering several yards away, now it's too much of a risk letting him be further then about 5 feet away! 

By the time we leave, it's 11 o'clock zoo time.  Noon by St. George time. The two year old was DONE - but the 5 year old and mom could have stayed busy for at least another hour, maybe more.

Yes, we'll go back. And we'll take Daddy.  And I'll have no judgement as I drive through the 'ghetto' to get there!

Attack of the Swimmer's Itch!

Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing:
We went to our newest family favorite fun spot once again! 


We enjoyed the 4-wheeler.

We enjoyed the EMPTY beach.

We enjoyed Sand Castles

We enjoyed the surf.

Then we found out the hard way, that parasites were enjoying US! The picture doesn't show the itching, and scratching and accompanying hives (that happened almost every morning for five days.)

What is Swimmer's Itch you ask?

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Swimmer's itch is an itchy rash caused by certain parasites that normally live in freshwater snails and sometimes on waterfowl.

On warm, sunny days, these parasites can be released into mainly fresh water or occasionally salt water. During your swim, the parasites might burrow into your skin, where they cause the swimmer's itch rash. But humans aren't suitable hosts for them, so the parasites soon die while still in your skin.

Although uncomfortable, swimmer's itch is usually short-lived. The rash of swimmer's itch, also called cercarial dermatitis, typically clears up on its own within a few days. In the meantime, you can control itching with over-the-counter or prescription medications.

GROSS, I Know.
And so ends this season's Sand Hollow fun.

Mom and Son - in the kitchen

(borrowed web photo)

Sure, I could have shuffled him along to the TV, that's where he wanted to go after all.  How many little 5 year old boys WANT to spend time in the kitchen anyway?  But, I held firm. 

"I think you'd better help me make this food kiddo. It's for the missionaries, and they'll be so happy to get it." 

So, giving me a long look, and an eye roll, (when did he develop this attitude?) he plopped his body on the bar stool. 

"First, let's work on the stuffed french toast," I said grabbing the beautifully crusted Tuscan round of bread we'd just brought home from the bakery.  I cubed it up, spreading flakes everywhere, and offered my boy a crust smothered in real, perfectly softened butter.  His freckled smooth face lit up as he sampled the chewy treat. 

"How do you like it?"

"It's delicious," interrupted by a few smacks and bites,  "but a little hard to chew on this crust," he answered with a tone of discernment.

 We started work on the egg batter that we'd pour over the bread cubes.  I cracked eggs as he counted out how many we would need.  Ten, for this project.  His job was to stir and gently beat those eggs.  He did so, and was absorbed by the yokes, and the egg whites, and the swirls of color they made in the bowl.  I added the half and half, and he discover further about how the mixture worked together. He tested the new viscosity with his whisk.  A fourth of a cup of maple syrup and a teaspoon vanilla added a sweet perfume to the project.  He commented urgently about how the smell reminded him of pancakes, or ice cream or a creamsicle or a muffin...he wasn't quite sure what it smelled like exactly.  But that it smelled like something good. 

He stared down into the bowl and continued to stir.  Slow, long strokes created swirls of color.  Fast little whips added little bubbles on the top of the liquid.  Last we added the melted butter.  He was a little startled that some of the butter solidified in the cool cream and eggs - and floated on top.  This just was NOT going to blend in! As he worked all of the ingredients into the batter, I blobbed little pieces of cream cheese onto the first layer of bread, then layered on the second layer of bread.  He watched with eyes that couldn't leave his batter bowl for more than a few seconds at a time.  Then I dressed the bread with some ground cinnamon, nutmeg and a sprinkle of sugar!

"Wow, that smells like sweetness, but a different sweetness!" He's eyes now concentrated on the bread - his petite nose testing the air with little sniffs.  "This is going to be SO delicious!"

"Yep, I think it will be!" Then we poured the batter into the dish and pushed the bread down into the goo, hoping to get all of the moisture absorbed up into that amazing chewy textured bread. Down to the fridge with that dish, it needs to set over night. 

We get onto the quiche.  Questions continue to fly as we pull out the farm fresh eggs for THIS dish.  He studies the color of the shells.  We have white, cream and blue shelled eggs. 
The blue ones we save for last - because they're so beautiful to look at. The yokes are darker in some eggs and lighter in others. This recipe demands more stirring and swirling. 

"Why are you putting salad in the eggs?" We have a discussion on the difference between spinach and spinach salad. 

"Why does that cheese have holes?"  A cheese conversation ensues.

"Why is that pie crust all rolled up?" Sometimes I make them, sometimes, they come frozen, or once in a while I buy a refrigerated one.  There are many ways to get a pie crust.

"Oh!  This is much harder to stir with sour cream." He pushes his arms harder to work in the thick cream. I add the Swiss and mozzarella.

"It's even harder with all this cheese in here! Whew! I'm going to rest my hand for a minute!"

"Okay, but we're almost done now!" I say.

"Already? Wow that didn't take very long - not even all day!"

So absolutely, I could have put him in front of the Television.  He could have watched some creatures or cartoons, and I may have even completed my kitchen creations quicker, and with less interruption. 

But the time the two of us spent together tasting, and smelling and watching things come together was a lovely, intimate time for Mother and Son.

"The missionaries are sure going to be glad to get this yummy food." I tell him. 
"Yes!  I can tell them that I helped do all the stirring, and counted and poured.  They'll be glad I did it too!"

"Yes, they sure will be glad you helped."  A big squeeze and a kiss on his pleased, smiling face lets me know that the choice to have him help me was the best choice.  We both learned, loved and served together in happy little harmony.