Buddies

ps. check out what I've been doing in my spare time!

bits

Recently, I've been doing all sorts. Crochet, knitting, sewing, home decor stuff...I've been starting projects galore and jumping from thing to thing without finishing any of them.

One thing that I'm way excited about is my crochet. I started making little flower motifs. I thought I could use them on headbands for Lainey, hats, clothes, whatever. So I promptly whipped up a little stash. (sample pictured below). Then, I thought, maybe this is what I could sell in my Etsy shop! Not sure though, but it's a thought.

I asked Trev to make a tall chair for Luke to sit at our bar. He got right on it (what a good example!) and it was finished a few days later. Finished, that is, except for making it look good, which is where I come in. We decided white with the red vinyl pad but it's not working so it's going to be green. Watch this space for updates on that!

This is for a wall display I'm doing in our living room. It came together really cheaply and I actually love it, and the way it fits in with our scheme (that I have planned...)

So, that's it for now. I've got 5 or 6 other things on the go and I'll add them soon.

Do they look alike?

I think my babies look so much alike in these pictures. They both have amazing eyelashes, which obviously weren't inherited from mummy.

Bear Lake

We spent the day at Bear Lake with several of Trev's family members. It was a lovely day for it- nice and sunny with a breeze. We came home tired and just a little bit sunburnt. (Mum and dad, that is) We also decided that we probably ate a bit too much. The ample supply of goodies that we took was supplemented by an array of yummy stuff brought by everyone else. Oh well, maybe one of these days we'll get some self-control.

Yee-haa

We went to the Cache County Fair and Rodeo. Trev has been to tons of rodeos in his time, but I'd never been to one. We were quite confident that Luke would enjoy it. He did, but he probably would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't have started at roughly the time that he usually goes to bed. But he did enjoy the cows and horses.

Since I have a few readers from England, I'll describe a few of the events. First there was bareback horse riding, where the horse is bucking like crazy and the cowboy just has to cling on for dear life. There was also a similar one, but they had a saddle. There was also a contest where the cowboys had to rope a steer and throw it to the ground. And another one with steers, but this time they were on foot and had to get it's nose into the ground somehow (I wasn't sure exactly what was going on with some of the events!)

The cutest, most adorable part, was called 'mutton busting'. Little children riding sheep! Those little kids just had to cling on to the sheep's neck as it walked or ran across the arena. It was so cute and funny to watch how tenacious they were!

Part of the rodeo tradition includes a rodeo royalty, pretty young cowgirls who are crowned queen, princess etc.

We were also treated to a couple of impressive displays by some teams of horses. The way they drive these teams is amazing. There was even a man who could drive six horses, whilst standing on their backs.

My photos really don't do it justice. I wasn't sure what setting to use on the camera. But it was a fun night. We did have to leave before the 'main event', the bull riding. The kids were getting tired and starting to whine, so we decided to call it a night.

Utahns!

It's official- we are Utah residents. We've changed our car license plates over and have Utah Driving licenses too. Even though we plan to be back in Wyoming after Trev graduates, we had to get Utah residency so that he will get in-state tuition prices once his scholarship ends.

Out with the old...

...in with the new

We're just hoping that being holders of Utah licenses won't turn us into crazy drivers :-)

Breathable crib bumpers

Lainey is at the stage where her arms and legs are always escaping through the bars of her crib. I'm a bit scared of traditional bumpers, it just seems like a baby could suffocate with them. So I came up with this simple idea to make them breathable.

I used a mesh material that I bought, oh, a year ago. I trimmed it with satin blanket binding, and made ties from bias tape. It's one piece that kind of weaves in and out of the crib bars (at the corners) and joins with velcro.

I used lavender, so that it will go with the quilt that my mum made and sent over for Lainey. Isn't it lovely? I love Beatrix Potter!

Tony Grove Lake

We decided to go to Tony Grove Lake for the afternoon. It's a small glacial lake about 45 minutes drive from us, up the Logan Canyon. We had a nice picnic lunch in the peaceful surroundings. Then we went to explore the Lake a little. It's quite beautiful. At over 8000ft elevation, it is nice and cool up there, surrounded by pine trees and wild flowers.

The sad thing is, that while we were there, a man drowned whilst trying to swim across the lake. So suddenly there was a whole assortment of rescue divers, sherrifs, ambulances, and a helicopter. They found the body this morning.

We did enjoy our trip, but left in a sort of daze. It really was a sad thing to happen. The guy was only 20 years old.

Sad

This summer, we were really thrilled to have a pair of house finches nesting on our balcony. It seemed to take them a long time to intricately build the little nest. I tried to keep Luke inside at the times that I saw that they were busy. I was SO excited- having been a member of the YOC (Young Ornothologist Club- I know...geeky!)) as a child, I have always had a love of birds. Have you ever looked closely at a bird's nest? They are amazing, carefully constructed from grass, twigs, and other debris.

Imagine my delight when I noticed one morning that there was a little blue egg in there! I increased my efforts to keep the balcony quiet and undisturbed. We waited and waited for the egg to hatch. Finally, it did. I could tell something was going on because the daddy bird came back, and stood watching. I became a little concerned, though, when I never really saw the parents bring food to the baby. Weren't they supposed to be out gathering worms or other food and dropping it in the open mouth of the little one?

So I went out to have a look. This is what had happened :-(

So it didn't turn out very well in the end, but I'm glad we got to witness the whole process.