eleven & counting

i dedicate this post to the love of my life. the best man on earth. the most understanding & helpful. the best father. handsome, handsome, handsome. the hardest worker. always room for a laugh. ever busy. creative & intelligent. did i mention handsome? worry is lost when he's around. the best friend. best husband.

i love you jed. happy number eleven. i can't fathom life without you in it. i love you more everyday. i look forward to the years to come.

one word that sums up life with you...bliss.

beckham?

we think so.

celebrating utah

we finally took a camping trip with the dixon family (well part of it).
destination...the uintas & whitney reservoir.
let me say aMaZiNg!!! it was beautiful & we had a blast.


there were atv trails everywhere & they led to some of the most breath taking views of utah's mountain valleys.
there were also fish to be caught-at least by bayli. she has the touch.

we saw deer, elk, moose, squirrels, birds, a toad, dogs, dogs, & more dogs.
did i mention that we saw dogs?

there was some quail open dog hunting/retrieving retreat. men (& women) showing off their four legged friends in complete hunters bliss (the massacre of quail & duck-they will get their revenge). is that even considered a sport?
pretty much complete chaos. we were totally annoyed by the constant blare of shot guns, whistles, & yes dogs. at least we had the chatter of bayli & her cousin collin to drown out the background noise. and when the show ended, complete bliss. until the next day when the hounds were hauled in again.

chase loved playing in the dirt. packing around sticks. eating sticks. eating pine cones. climbing rocks. riding on the vroom vroom. climbing into the campers. pretty much being outside.




the mosquitos loved bayli & i. our bodies are covered with evidence. you would think that the rest of the family would be effected the same (we are in the same gene pool) but whatever.



we can't wait to go again!

garden nemesis

(imagine jaws music)
no it isn't the boy getting into trouble.
aah, SqUaSh bUgS!!!

these disgusting little creatures invaded our garden last year & killed off our crook-neck & butternut squash before we could enjoy an insane amount of the yummies.

so when we planted our garden this year, we had a plan.
we designed our garden to try to isolate the squash bugs to one area. we planted pumpkins at one end of the garden (the little creeps strike there first). then, we planted the yummies as far away in the garden as possible.
we have been checking the plants every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times. there were some days that there were no little creeps to be found. other days...the air stunk for a little while (messy job, but very necessary).
we thought that we were doing pretty good. our plan was working.
then last friday afternoon i started my routine check, & much to my dismay my pumpkin wasn't looking so hot. rather, it was looking fried. the leaves were whilty and curled.
our garden is on a water timer, much easier.
jed had mentioned that he was going to lesson the watering so that our tomato plants would stop growing & start ripening (they are huge).

so, i got a bucket of water. i began to carefully pour the water onto the parched pumpkin.
attack of the squash bugs ensued. obviously they don't like water.
a hoard of the little creeps began to climb from the underside of the plant to escape drowning. after a moment of surprised panic, i began my frenzied attack. the air stunk, had i won the battle?

that evening we went to check the pumpkin. had the water helped? it still looked terrible. we found more bugs.
jed decided to try spraying the leaves with soapy water.
it reminded me of the movie signs. the invincible aliens who had come to destroy mankind had one major downfall, water.
squash bugs can be killed with soapy water. not sure how bad for the plants it is, but it was our last hope.
the nice part is, no stink.

but, to much dismay, our little pumpkin hasn't recovered. heat and creeps is a bad combo.
now the bugs have moved on to the yummies. we find more bugs and evidence that they were there each day. the leaves are laden with eggs.
i hope that we can win this battle. i want to eat squash until i turn yellow!

mending hearts?

so the void in jed's heart that was taken with the loss of peo, may have a mend.
yes, we know, and we have said it ourselves, peo was irreplacable. but, we miss the presence of that little creature so much. plus, we needed a new occupant in the awesome garage/apartment. really, it is an amazing space- cat door and all. it once graced the presence of feline femininity, with an extra dose of human masculinity. now, we hope it will become the awesome bachelor pad-not for jed, for our new tennant.
that's right peeps, we have a boy!
jed was looking on ksl, and found this little guy, who had a pretty good story and a great health history. oh yeah, and he badly needed a good home. no, he won't be gracing the females in the hood with his hansomeness, he is already neutered.
little boy kitty (name unofficial) is 11 wks old, FLV and FIV free, neutered, had his first shots, and loves kiddos. it was meant to be-we think.

now for a name? bayli has been calling him tank, after jed's hero on surf's up. she has also been calling him cody, also on their fave movie. no decisions have been made just yet, we are still figuring out the little guys personality.
he does hide really well, after bay has exhausted him with play time.
any suggestions for names will be mulled over by all parties.
come on all of you out there, get your creativity on and name that kitty!

little peo

our sweet little kitty Peo went up to heaven today.
what a horrible day.
she was the best cat.

we had noticed that she had been getting skinnier and skinnier. she always sheds a few pounds after winter-lucky girl. but, she kept losing to the point that we could see her hip bones. she was not eating well at all, and seemed very tired.

i took her to the vet on monday. after our poor kitty went through the gammet of tests, blood and urine, we found that she had leukemia. she was severely anemic. her hematocrit was only 14%, normal is around 40%. she had ulcers all over in her tiny mouth, a kidney infection, horrible dehydration, severe weight loss, and her fur was looking like a cat triple her age.
point being, she was sick-sick-sick. her vet gave her less than 2 months to live, that is if we did aggressive treatment (ie fluids 2-3x a week, antibiotics, syringe force fed).

after a horrible decision process, i think we all aged from anxiety, we decided to let our little peo go peacefully. we did not want her to succumb to more misery and discomfort.

jed and i sobbed when we dropped her off at the animal shelter, my eyes are still welling up. it was the hardest decision, we almost turned back around. but we knew that this was the best choice so that she would be comfortable.

peo was a mere 4 yrs old. up until the last month, she had been a little package of energy. she loved following us around the yard, walking with us to get the mail, taking walks (she was like a little puppy), playing with the kids, catching mice, greeting company, laying in sawdust as jed widdled in the garage, getting in our faces when we did yard work, chasing ropes with bayli, sleeping on the tractor, and her ears rubbed.she will be deeply missed. there is no other cat like her...irreplaceable.
our little family has lost a big piece.

we held a celebration of life in peo's honor this afternoon. bayli drew pictures, we wrote down funny memories, and jed added pieces of her favorite things. we placed these memories in a tiny box in the yard, we wish that we could have placed peo there too.

we love you peo, you will be deeply missed.

hair i am

bayli has been begging for a "short princess cut."
i couldn't back down from that request, what mom wouldn't.

i wish that i could have videoed her while she waited for my hair to get done.

she was striking a pose this way and that, flipping her hair, bopping the eyes, cheesing from ear to ear. it was hilarious.

she was star struck...with herself.

i can't blame her, she is breathtaking.

lets take a holiday

to celebrate our day of independence (also known as paid holiday), our little family took a trip to some of our countries beautiful mountains.

after much discussion, and very little planning (like 2 days notice), our destination was potter's ponds.

the ponds are set in the heart of joe's valley (down past fairview). yeah, i had never been there either-existence unknown. but really, it was the perfect destination. it sits about 9000 feet above sea level. cold this time of year...perfect!

fishing. leisure riding. site seeing. trail meandering. wildlife searching. mud hopping. creek jumping (or falling). campfire cooking. tree sorrowing. deet spraying. badger fearing. star wishing. no rain praying. toad catching. insect identifying. deer calling. chase-ing. chase-ing. chase-ing. were among the many fun activities we undertook.

bayli catching the big one.




bay had a totally different view when it was time to gut the fish.

independence memoir

after a long drive home from our holiday
mom gets to work...boo.
dad takes the kids to grandmas for fountains and sparklers.
the boy is fearless and wants to touch everything.
mom watches beautiful showy lights from nine floors up, the valley is lit up.
mom's show is precise, 10 pm on the nose.
dad takes bob and the kids to see showy lights at the park.
bayli says, "last time we did this i puked on mom."
waiting...chirp chirp chirp.
kids grow restless, sleepy.
dad is getting impatient, irritable.
more waiting...more chirps.
boy falls asleep, boy wakes up.
yes we are still waiting.
11 pm...HALLELUJAH, the choir rejoices!!!
the show begins.
the boy watches in amazement, mostly.
dad takes exhausted kids home.

little hands

make my heart explode.

(remembering one of my favorite pics i took of bayli)