Dear July

I love the summer evening drives with you.


I love the Patriotism in you.

I love that you bring me flowers.

I love that you make my garden grow.


I love sitting in the back yard with you.

I loved that the wedding with you was perfect.

And the couple is happy.

Most of all, I love that you've never thrown a snowball at me.

Thanks for giving me the first one of these for the year:

I've loved you this year. (Please marry me! Howie is OK with it.)
You are totally invited to stay for another few months.

The TUPPERWARE BOWL

Last night I babysat Lexi.
Her mom was doing a night shift in the ICU in Idaho Falls and her daddy is in Dallas for a few months.

She played and sang and stayed up late.
Then at 0-dark-thirty she woke up.

Barfing.

It's been years since I've done the child-barfing-thing during the night.
I'm old.

But this isn't a foreign experience for me.
I'm a nurse for Pete's sake.

Patients come in all the time.
Barfing.
Clutching a Tupperware Bowl.
Using it for...
barf.

In the ER we have much more sophisticated equipment.
It's a pink basin.
Totally the latest design.

I am ALWAYS totally sicked out to see the Tupperware bowl in the ER.
Even more sicked out when they insist on taking it home when they are discharged from the ER.
Really?
Ya gonna use that thing again?

I have pink basins at home. (new ones might I add)
They are awesome for holding items like measuring cups, small lids and other miscellaneous
kitchen gadgets.

So explain this to me:

(I had to reach past a pink basin to get this.
It's clean, don't gag.

For the record.
I have one less Tupperware Bowl.

Hiking at Jenny Lake

Howie will be traveling for most of August.

So Saturday we had a little getaway.
(We live within an hour and a half drive from West Yellowstone, Montana and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
We're pretty lucky.)
We picked up Lynsey and Lexi and drove through Jackson to get to Jenny Lake.
(Lynsey's hubby is in Dallas for three months.

This is the Wyoming side of the Tetons.

This is right on the lake looking up at Teewinot.

This is the "Grand" of the Grand Tetons.

It is such a rugged and stunning display of nature.
The lake was so absolutely beautiful.

Lexi insisted on walking!

And climbing.
"Inna a big gril gramma"("I'm a big girl grandma")

And climbing some more.
(Sometimes it isn't a good thing to be an ER nurse. I'm constantly worrying where the nearest hospital is. WITH GOOD REASON!)

Sometimes she insisted on NOT walking.

No worries, she didn't have to.

"I wuv you grampa."
Sometimes she was held for her own safety. And my sanity.

We stopped and had some lunch.

We made it to Hidden Falls.
So beautiful.

"It's wowd gramma" (It's loud grandma.")

We drove into Yellowstone in hopes of seeing one of these little creatures.

It was a good day!

I actually thought passed a blog friend Jody on the trail, but wasn't sure it was her. (We met briefly once for a second.)
When I saw her at the boat dock, I snapped a picture being all NCIS and stuff.

I emailed her and asked if she had been to Jenny Lake that day and if she was wearing a pink shirt.
Sure enough.
Shoulda not been shy and said hi.
Me with my oldest with her oldest. Also her only....HINT HINT Lyns!

I wish July could stay for another few months!

I'm officially old.

I no longer have a teenager.
Candice turned unteen on the 22nd.
How is it that my baby girl is 20?
Or that my oldest girl is 32?
Or the 3 boys in the middle are 30, 28, 25?

I had babies that spanned over three decades.
(Makes it sound like we had dozens of kids doesn't it?

Happy Birthday Angel Baby.

You are kind and generous.
You are independant.
You are beautiful.
You are strong.
We love you!

WHAT IS IT?

I was enjoying a relaxing evening on the patio.
Watching my hubs work. (My favorite thing.)
Then I saw this:

So weird!
What is it?

(Hint:
-It isn't Fall colors.
-It has a fettish for toilet paper.


Give up?



It's a bird watcher!


THE END!

AND THERE WAS KISSING.

Cameron and Guen.
Just out of the temple.

They look sorta happy!

(Just a little kiss.)
Matt and Tara and their family.
Matt is the second child and oldest boy.

He and his wife were sealed in the Rexburg Temple two years ago today.

I received a lot of emails about the photo wallboard that we did.
(I got the idea on Pinterest.com)
This is it the day I finished it.
It's a 6x6 plyboard that I wallpapered.
We seached for frames of varying sizes to be able to put photos of her married sisters and parents and our married kids and ourselves.
Guen then took the pictures and copied them in Sepia and Black and White to look old.

The big frames were just holes in the wall to be able to have people come and stand in them so we could take a picture as they came to the reception.
It has been so fun to look at them.


Apparently the bride and groom weren't the only ones smooching!
(Howie's expression looks a bit "pained".)
Lynsey and Nick kissing with Miss Lexi.
Lynsey is the oldest. (And the alpha.)

More kissing.

Matt and Tara kissing!
Enough already!

Nate and Sara and their little boyz!
Nate is the 3rd child and middle son.

(My daughter-in-laws are named Tara and Sara. We teased Cameron about marrying a Lara or Kara or something like that. We are thrilled to have a Guen!)
Candice.
The baby of the family.
Our remaining unmarried child.
We're OK with that!
She'll be 20 this month. (How did I get so old?)

A picture of Howie and I with the
NEW MR. & MRS.!

The bridesmaids and groomsmen.

The bridesmaids held large sparkly pinwheels and the groomsmen wore smaller ones.

Her mom arranges her pretty dress.

This is the bride's "something blue".

Aren't her dimples the cutest ever?
Cute toes on the bride and her bridesmaids.

"Nate, you are not allowed to play with my camera again!"

"Matt! Neither are you!"

Howie with his two sisters and their husbands.

Our children with the new sister-in-law.

Can I get an "AMEN!"