Got Veggies ?

                                     I'm Loving my garden! 
Today I harvested: tomatoes, sweet corn, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers !  We have several cantaloupe, carrots, and watermelon that are almost ripe enough to harvest.  The rain has really been an abundant blessing this year and we are so grateful for it.  If the weather continues to cooperate, we should be able to bottle tons of salsa this year.  Yum! Can't wait.

Russ and Ashley Sittin' in a Tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G.!

This past weekend we took a quick trip down to the valley to be at The Mesa Temple while my Brother Russ was married to his sweetheart Ashley Perkins. They make a great couple and we wish them all the happiness that life has to offer.
We enjoyed seeing so many friends and family members at their reception. The Trio had a blast with all of their cousins.
We had fun staying with the Andersons (Adams sisters fam.) We always have so much fun with them. They were great hosts and It was nice not to have to worry about getting a sitter for the kids while Adam and I were at the Temple. Thanks Heather!

First Day of First Grade

Whoa!! Summer went by WAY too fast! Where did it go??
Well in any case, it's gone.
The kids had a great first day of school. At least I thought they did but then Caleb scowled said "Mom, we had Way too much recess and we didn't learn any thing". (where did this kid come from?)
All the kiddos really like their new teachers and we are looking foreword to a great year.
Now that the kids are gone all day, I get to enjoy days of leisure and relaxation. NOT!!! Adam's already put me work running errands for his work, and my Etsy shop is keeping me pretty busy too. It is nice to go thrift store shopping (or any shopping) without the kids in tow, So I think I'm going to enjoy this "season" of my life.
Before to long summer break will be upon us again and I'll be saying "where did the school year go? It went by way to fast."

Into the Woods

Last week we decided to go on one last camping trip with Grandma and Grandpa Quist before school started.
As usual we went to our favorite spot. It was so beautiful and peaceful.
We saw so much wildlife. We enjoyed going on a walk in the woods with my dad. He notices things and points out things to the kids that most people would miss. He counts the rings of cut trees to know how old they were, he points out berries, and mushrooms and knows which ones are safe to eat and which ones aren't. He finds animal tracks and bones and can identify them. He loves nature and is teaching my kids to love it too. Thanks dad.





Caleb loved finding wild strawberries and eating them. YUMMY!


Eliza and I went for a walk one day and saw "wild horses"! Eliza was able to coax them over with some grass and feed and pet them. She is so great with all animals and she especially loves horses.

Girls Night Out!

We had the pleasure of having our nieces Macey and Jewelana stay with us this past week while Caleb stayed in the valley with their brothers.
As a special treat we took all the girls out to see The Silver Creek Little Theater preform "Beauty and the Beast".
The show was Fantasic! All the actors and singers did a wonderful job. We had a great time. I had a hard time actually watching the show because I kept wanting to watch the faces of My girls while they were watching the show. It was so fun to watch their eyes light up every time Belle walked on to the stage. I enjoy musical theater, and I'm so glad that my girls enjoy it too.

Friends

One of my greatest hopes for my children is they will have the kind of friends that I did when I was in high school. Friends that build, encourage, motivate, and make life fun.
With my friends, I never had to worry about compromising my standards, I could be my absolute self and I knew I could always count on them to help me "Choose the Right", and to be there when I needed them.
For the past two summers, two of my very best High School friends; Lola Harms Blaylock, and Athene Perry have been able to come visit me with their kids while Adam is away at scout camp. They were here for a few days last week, and we had a blast!
When we get together, it seems as if no time has past since our H.S. days, the only difference is that our names have all been changed to Mom. (well... and some extra wrinkles and lbs.)
Our kids all got along wonderfully. They spent the days jumping on the trampoline, launching a water rocket, building with blocks, watching movies, going swimming, and "just playing".
Lola, Athene and I spent the days catching up, reminiscing, laughing, and being matchmakers for our children.
I hope this tradition continues and that our friendship will only continue to grow over the years.
Thanks for coming friends, see you next summer!

Adventure Camping

When I was younger, every once in while my parents would take us "Adventure Camping".
Adventure camping is much different than a regular camping trip.
You see, A regular camping trip required months of planning, weeks of shopping and days of packing. We had a destination in mind, we'd plan on staying for about a week, and we would plan and pack accordingly. Every detail of the trip was planned out right down to what snacks we would be eating on which days. My parents had a 15 passenger van, and that thing would be bursting at the seems with tents, sleeping bags, Ice chests, dishes, a camp stove, dutch ovens, and games and activities. Pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.....oh wait, we packed a sink too.
Adventure camping on the other hand, was always a surprise for us kids. We'd come home from school on a Friday and my mom would say "Pack your P.J.s and a warm coat, Dad is getting off of work early and we're going camping!" YAHOO!!! We'd all run around grabbing whatever sleeping bags we could find, throw our stuff in the car, put together some foil dinners and go! Sometimes we'd have a destination in mind, other times we wouldn't. We'd drive a ways until we found a cool spot, then we'd pull over and camp. Some of us would sleep out under the stars, and others would sleep in that big ol' van. Sometimes we'd go hiking, or just play around the camp but it was always an adventure and always so much fun!
So on Friday, when Adam said let's go camping tonight, I was totally game!
I hadn't been adventure camping in a while and I was ready for some fun!
We threw together some food, and clothing and hooked the truck up to our fifth wheel trailer (A.K.A 72 hour Kit).
We drove over to our favorite campsite in the white mountains, a place called Green's Peak. Once we got to "our spot" we made and ate some dinner then we unloaded the bikes and went for a ride. We had a blast riding down the road.

When we got back from the bike ride we made a campfire and made MAMMOTH S'mores. We toasted giant marshmallows, and squished them between two chocolate chip cookies. YUMMY!

The next morning we hiked up the mountain (hill) where we were camped. It was pretty steep, but we all made it to the top and we enjoyed the gorgeous view. On the way down the mountain we sort of lost the trail, but we trusted daddy, and eventually we made it back to camp.

After the hike, we rode the buggy up to the top of Greens peek then we climbed to the top of the fire lookout tower. We could see for miles!

We rode our bikes some more, and then dad had the greatest adventure camping idea ever! He hooked up the wench that was on our buggy to his truck, then fastened the end of it high up around a big tree. He put a pulley on it and made us a ZIP-LINE!!!!! It was so fun! We all played on that thing for hours!



When we were done, it was time to back home and get cleaned up to go watch fire works.
The fireworks show was super!
We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. I hope we go adventure camping again soon. Anyone want to join us?