Early Mornings...

Early morning seminary for the youth has changed my "internal clock". I wake up early naturally now. Of course, years and years of sleep deprivation, and now being able to sleep peacefully each night, may have something to do with it, too. (But there is nothing as sweet as a new baby that needs its mother to cuddle it in the wee hours!)

Anyway, I'm up early now. I have this beautiful sunrise over the mountains each morning into my bedroom. The sun shines right onto my face in the morning, giving me a warm wake up. Very nice. It has motivated me recently to get out and do some early morning hikes, and run around a bit before the children get up.

The other morning, I found out that the local hot ballooners were going to gather that morning and take off together out by the airport. Fun idea. So, I went. It was 6:30 a.m. I am glad I went. I got some beautiful shots, and watched alot of the little children stare in awe at these great big balloons! Mine were with David that day, so I was watching other people's children, which is often so much more relaxing, and you can absorb their faces, and not worry about a thing. It was sweet to watch their eyes widen as the balloons were filled and would lumber up to "stand tall". (I didn't take pictures of the children so their parents didn't glare at me, or wonder--but they were SO cute!)

The sun was rising up behind most of these balloons, which just made it feel even more inspiring. I would watch the people holding the long ropes to keep the balloons from rising up and hitting the neighboring balloon. They all were smiling. As the balloons heated up, they would kinda wobble up and stand as these folks let go of the ropes slowly. It was like watching a big giant wake up and stand and stretch!

Sometimes it would look like they bumped into the one next to them afterall, but it didn't seem to do any harm.

And I would listen to the buzz of the workers as they held the ropes...they all were chattering away. I am guessing most, if not all of them, knew each other, and this is just their own special hobby. They would tolerate those of us that came for the show, but they acted almost like we weren't there.

As they fire up these torches to heat the air in the balloon, the torches make a very loud noise. But, it's cool to watch. I kept wondering how many "rookies" had burned their balloons because they didn't keep the fabric far enough away from the torch. I hope not many.

Before too long (maybe 20 minutes of heating the air), the balloons begin to float a foot or two off the ground. From there the team working on the balloon begins to walk the balloon out to a more open area. It kinda floats along like a great big kid bouncing along next to it's parents (those holding the ropes)! Once it's out in the open area (usually into the middle of the "circle" they tend to set up in), they would let go of the ropes, and those in the basket would fire up the torch, and let it go! It was fun to watch. They ALWAYS waved to those on the ground, like they were taking a long voyage or something. Very fun.

Then one after the other they would lift off. Each one "walking" out into the middle and going up!

And before long they all were flying. Quietly floating. It was fun to see, and to dream. Good Morning!

Raising Butterflies...

The older girls like to do this. They get the little caterpillars in the mail. They are in a container (and don't ever leave it!) and the container has the food they need in it. They spin webs, and grow (notice the size difference on these guys in 3-4 days!), and then go into their cocoons.

Notice on this container on the right...we have one in a cocoon (far right hanging), one in the middle that is changing (the bottom part is ready for the cocoon and is in the process of changing), and the one on the left is getting ready, but hasn't done it. To watch these guys go into their cocoons is cool! After about 5 minutes they're all in a shell and there they stay for about a week. And the girls wait around like a bunch of ninnies waiting in a hospital waiting room for a new baby! Fun to watch....

And then they are "born" or hatched!

We keep them in this netting thing. Cheyennah got them to stay on her pillow on her dresser! Talk about spoiled butterflies! She also held them frequently...and they seemed to like her.

It's really a cool thing to do for anyone, but for us at home, it's a hands on lesson for all of us!

Talents....

I totally believe in the doctrine that we all have talents. We have a few good ones around here...piano, running, climbing mountains, swimming, etc. I'm told we should encourage a child's talents. I think this is true in some cases. Here is Solomon learning a new talent...the summersault. Good for him! He's preparing for the Olympics next month! (Our friend, Carly, helped him out with this.) I'm proud of him for this little skill! (Turn off the music at the bottom of the blog so you can hear this video....)

Now, Solomon has a cute talent. But, he also has big brothers and sisters. They all teach him more sinister things than sweet Carly did! I like Carly's cheerful encouragement. Solomon hasn't learned to discern "sweet encouragement" from any other form...and thus, with the gleam in his eye of a willing little soul, he'll learn just about anything you ask him to. We're all pretty much the same, aren't we?? I think so.

Here is Hunter. And one of his talents. He shares it with others, too. Like these guys...(notice the look on Solomon's face..."am I doin' it right?!!!--such a gleam of fun in his eyes!)

Well. Lest you think the boys are the only ones around here with any talents, I'll show you what Ellie then decided to teach the boys! She's a clever girl, and not one to be overlooked in anything. So, here she is showing Hunter her version of "talent"!!!

She didn't realize, however, where Hunter would take that....(see his eyes??--totally mischievious and sly!)

Nor where it would go from there!~~~~~

He's a cute little devil! I'm gonna show this one to his fiancee when he's older! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Why Indeed?

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2. Why is the third hand on the watch called a second hand?

3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?

4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

6. Why does “slow down” and “slow up” mean the same thing?

7. Why does “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing?

8. Why do “tug” boats push their barges?

9. Why do we sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” when we’re already there?

10. Why are they called “stands” when they are made for sitting?

11. Why is it called “after dark” when it’s really “after light”?

12. Doesn’t “expecting the unexpected” make the unexpected expected?

13. Why are a “wise man” and a “wise guy” opposites?

14. Why do “overlook” and “oversee” mean opposite things?

15. Why is “phonics” not spelled the way it sounds?

16. If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?

17. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

18. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read alright?

20. Why is bra singular, and panties plural?

21. Why do you press harder on the buttons on a remote control when you know the batteries
are dead?

22. Why do we put suits in garment bags, and garments in a suitcase?

23. How come abbreviated is such a long word?

24. Why do we wash bath towels…aren’t we clean when we use them?

25. Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Hair....

Ok. So, I have some hair. I am happy to have hair. It's a nice perk from my dad, I think! Anyway, some of my children have hair, too. Ryken's got LOTS of hair. He sometimes is happy about it, but not always. This leads to some funny mornings....And then there's the girl's hair.... We have long hair (here's a back shot for my mom--it's to my lower back, Ma!)...

So, when I'm guarding at the lake, I braid it up into corn rows (like above). This keeps the nasty stuff from getting stuck in it, and helps me keep cooler, too, when standing in the sun for hours on end. So, it's fun to do. And, I can wash it, which is great (braids hold water for a LONG time)!

And, when I take it out, this is what it looks like....(after a good washing and brushing!)

I'm really thankful for my hair. It could be falling out, or going gray.....like Spike's. He's not lookin' so happy now that he's going gray!

But, he DOES look regal, wouldn't you say?

Wow. We've been busy around here. Here is a picture of the youth at 3:30am heading out the door for their pioneer trek! For 4 days they will brave the heat (100 degree weather!), the wind (gusts up to 25 mph!) and fatigue (pulling a handcart full of equipment) in order to learn what it was like for previous generations to settle this part of the country! It'll be a memorable experience.

To prepare for this, they sewed their own clothes. This is Jacqueline's purple dress. She made 90% of this!! She also has a dark green one! I was happy for her to learn this skill. (Her hair is still braided from girls' camp.) I think she looks cute!

Cheyennah made a brown dress and a navy blue dress. She wasn't much for taking pictures, but she did work hard, and I was pleased. She also helped a friend make 2 skirts. She stayed up late one night to do this for her friend, which made me proud of her willingness to sacrifice! What a lady. In one day, we made one green pioneer dress (all of it!), 2 skirts, 2 aprons, one bonnett, 2 men's shirts, and finished the details (buttons, hems, etc.) on 3 other pioneer dresses! I had some help from Cheyennah, and a gal from church who did the button holes for me, and a youth from church who sewed all the wooden buttons on one of the dresses! Dakota helped a great deal, too.

Here's mom's dress. I didn't get to go on the trek (the adults needed to be married to go), but I had made this dress before then. I loaned it to a very nice friend to wear on the trek. She was a sweetie, and I'm glad the dress got to go!

So, we're glad we learned a new skill. I'll never worry about fixing a seam again...and Cheyennah can put in zippers now. I can even make a shirt (although I seriously need to work on the cuffs!)!! So, we're enjoying our summer. If we do nothing else, it will be a success. I'll try to get some pictures of the youth when they come back. I'm sure they'll be tired!

How to sew. Really. I know we don't NEED to, but it was part of the youth's trek to dress like pioneers. Walmart doesn't sell pioneer dresses and bonnets. So, I had to learn to sew. The girls did, too. And, even Dakota got a few lessons! In one day we finished 2 men's dress shirts (loose like in the 1800's), 2 skirts, 1 full pioneer dress, 2 aprons, 1 bonnet, and the details (buttons, hems, etc.) for 3 other dresses! Yes. One machine, one day, one tired mamma!