May started out sunny but a little windy, which was the perfect opportunity to break out the kites that I have had unopened for 3 years.  

 I am still loving the yard.  I walk around so amazed at all that is blooming and just can not believe that they are all my favorite colors.  If I were to have gone out and bought the plants myself, these would have been the colors I would have chosen. Pinks and Purples with a touch of yellow and white. It is as if God went ahead and had the previous owner plant this yard just for me.  I spent a few weeks getting all the water system in order last month, which meant I pulled up all the pipes and tubes from all the flower beds.  He had so many tubes that it was impossible to rake and also there were so many that were not hooked to anything and were just shooting water everywhere.  It was a pretty hard task, but I am so proud of myself for getting the water working.

This is only a part of what I pulled out!

Mother's Day....Moms and Daughters

Josiah thinks he is pretty big stuff driving the tractor...who cares if it was Mother's Day?

Bazzel has really taken to having his own space again.  The house we rented for 3 years did not have a cat door, so he was cooped inside most of the time.  He has even taken up hunting again, which he had pretty much given up at our Rugg Road house, but he has already brought in 2 mice and a baby mole.

Sunsets here are pretty great...that Alpine Glow is so pretty.

Here is a sunset, but no mountain since it is west to see the sunset and the mountain is east.

When we toured the house with the previous owner just before we moved in, they talked about a plant way out front by the road that we had to take special care of.  The only name they called it was "The Specimen".  We located it as soon as we moved in and tried and tried to figure out what it was.  In the spring, it started to sprout...and now it is taller than me. The stalks have huge thorns. She told me that they used the leaves to make molds for bird baths.  Now I see how.  The leaves are huge.  My sister-in-law, Terri did some detective work and sent me a link, it was close, but not it, but at the bottom of the article...there was my plant.  I clicked the link and sure enough.  It is called Dinosaur Food, among other names.  Now that we know what it really is, we are still going to call it "The Specimen"

This was taken a few weeks ago, it is even bigger now.  It has some cone like flowers coming up.

My friend Rosibel came for a visit and ended up with one of our trees on her car!  It had been staked down, but fell once last December and we thought it was pretty firm.  Not so.  This time, John went and bought a better chain, and we pulled it up off the car and really got it tied down.  After Rosibel left, Lindy came.  While we were standing in the driveway talking about the tree...it just fell over again!  This time we heard cracking of roots and decided that we had no choice but to cut it up.

I took the kids for a short walk to visit my two dear friends, Irene and Wally.  Wally had his tractor out and gave the kids a ride.

I have started hiking down the trail to the river with a high school friend, MaryJo. It is one mile down.  Pretty cool to look up and see the house, the opposite view that I see from the house.

here is from the house looking down.

One night while we were eating dinner, the cat came racing in the house and up the stairs to his hiding spot.  We made a comment that he was had probably seen a mouse...he is such a scardy cat.  I turned and looked out the window and this is what had frightened him.  They nibbled on a few flowers and then walked on down the canyon.

A couple of osprey have built a nest... wayyyy down the canyon...this is zoomed up all I can, so it is pretty fuzzy, but

I am putting it here to remember.

Josiah and Arianna finished off their school year with a program to show off part of what they have learned this year.  

Memorial Day, we had our first fire in our new fire pit that John built.

Lina entertained us with a song, including the motions.

Arianna had fun posing for pictures of herself eating marshmallows.

I don't think I have ever seen a kid with the patience that Josiah had toasting his marshmallows.  He just sat there slowly turning it until perfection.  He burned a few on purpose because that is the way Great Grandma likes them.  He could not believe that anyone would eat it that way, so he had to give it a try.  He was still convinced that Great Grandma was crazy to eat them burnt.

warming up the toes.

Great Grandma took a turn chasing Lina around the yard. Lina was thinking that was the greatest fun ever to be chased...screaming and laughing until she fell down.  Meanwhile, Great Grandpa got to see all the photos that Arianna had to show him from their hike earlier that day.

 SIXTY!!  I can not believe that I am already 60 years!  I used to think that was old.  But I don't feel old at all.  And now I don't think 60 is old after all.  I had two parties, one with my parents and sisters and brother-in-law and one with Jessi and family. 

Since we were gone to Dennis and Abby's place for Easter with Gabe and Daniel, I had a little Easter here with Josiah and Arianna and Lina.  We made little cars out of Twinkies with a Peep rabbit driving.  Lina especially loved it. lol

Driving through Sandy one day, I spotted a sign for Donkey Basketball coming up at the high school.  They did it wayyyy back when I was in high school as a fund raiser for FFA and they are still doing it.  They put little rubber shoes on the donkeys and the riders try to get them to move across the floor to make a basket.  Most of the time they end up getting off and pulling the donkey across the floor. 

 Josh had his final year in track as a middle schooler.  He did great as always.  Not only is he a great runner, he is an even better person.  I see him after every meet going up to the other runners on his team and encouraging them.

 Lina is walking everywhere now, and has even started running to keep up with those two older kids.  She is talking like crazy, repeating everything she hears. 

 She was pretty excited getting to ride the 4-wheeler for the first time.  Josiah and Arianna were so excited to see her on it.

Springtime has arrived with every color of green possible.  I stand and stare at it all so amazed at how many shades of green there are out there.

We had a huge hail storm giving us a covering of hail.  I am still disappointed that we didn't get snow, but it was pretty cool watching that hail pound down.

 I know that these sunrises are never going to get boring.  I am in awe every time I watch it.

 One morning, I saw this huge cloud slowing moving across the canyon.  I started taking photos as it rolled over,

 I have been checking in and out at Blue Lake to see my goose family.  For a few weeks, I could not find them.  Then a couple of weeks ago, there they were!  With 6 new babies.  I don't know where Baby Goose was, I think he was with that other goose in the water.  When he came out of the water, Papa Goose chased him back in.

  

 What I think is so amazing is that they know me, they know my voice!  The last time I was at the park, there were 4 families there together.  As I walked towards them, they all started walking away, the adults were hissing at me.  Then I started talking to them, saying "Which ones are you?  Come on over here"  and one set of geese came right over!  The rest kept on walking.  I didn't even have the food out yet!  I zoomed in on the face and for sure it was MY goose!  I know because she has little flecks of white in the black part by her beak. It made me think of the Bible verse...

"My sheep hear  My voice, I know them and they follow Me."  John10:27
I know, they are geese and I am not God.

The flowers at this place are all bursting out. Every time I walk outside, I see something else that has bloomed.  

 A few days ago, John and I had worked outside all day, the sky started getting dark and we decided it was time to go in.  But instead of going inside we sat on the deck under the cover and watched as the storm clouds circled over the mountain.  Thunder and lighting going and huge drops of rain fell.  These clouds made it look like a tornado was about to hit.  I tried my best to get a shot of lightning, but after a zillion shots, I didn't even get one.  It is my new challenge.