Our International Girl

Camber had the wonderful opportunity to take a 10 day trip to Paris & London with the French Club at the High School.  She said she learned more about history in those short days than she has in years at school. :) It was a wonderful trip despite the larger touring group, fast pace and a few crazy happenings such as a bus breaking down & a riot with gun shots behind the hotel! It was a great taste of international travel and she looks forward to many more excursions in her lifetime.  We have included a few of her nearly 900 photos of her trip.  Some of her stops were:

Arc de Triomphe, Eiffle Tower, Versailles, Giverny, The Louvre, Notre Dame, The Seine River Cruise, Normandy, Hampton Court, Stonehenge & Bath and Wicked in London. Enjoy!

nose

Double click for a better view... this is what happens when you are having too much fun on the trampoline and no one files a flight plan!

Dad's nose was broken when a mid-air collision occurred with nephew Jim's head.  Wednesday he had a friend re-set it and he should be pretty much back to normal shortly.  

Last night as we drove down to the airport to pick up Camber - I have never seen him drive more cautious.  Fear of the airbag!!  :D

All is well, Jim!!  

Stepping Back to a Memory

So many things I love about this old photo ... Shelley's tiny red shoes, holding her in my arms, how happy the twins were to hold all the fish, the cat - as there were always so many of them around (remember them hanging on the screen door as mom fried up the fish?) the fact that Tracy's pants are a little on the short side - we were all growing sooo fast! ... the smocked top I was wearing that mom helped me make ... curly bangs having never had the opportunity to meet up with a blow-dryer or flat iron ... a tooth missing from Karalee's grin ... 

Erin, keeping his eye on Scott & David to be sure that they didn't drop the bounty .. old blue and thrill of driving that monster ... Erin's homemade speakers at a later date made from Tang cans ... her visit to the Smart's front room, courtesy of Shelley,  the day I set a dead snake in there and told Mark I would gladly give him a ride home from school ... the blessing to have a father who would take us all up the canyon to fish for our supper ... our saintly mother who watched over us so we didn't drown while dad patiently let us take turns catching the fish ... how yummy those fish would taste - I liked mine with butter & salt ... the love of two parents taking the time to string up the fish and gather us up to pose for this priceless photo ... summertime ... laughter ... family ... sweet, sweet memoires.

Time for Art

We love this! Hope you will enjoy it too! Let's make art!!

It's All About Family

First off, how very blessed was I to grow up in such a beautiful place? 

This photo was taken last Thursday evening in my parents backyard.

 My Mom just had a partial knee replacement so I went down to spend a little time with them and see if I could be of any help.  As usual, everything was pretty much in perfect order.  Dad has been doing a great nursing-cook-maid-errand boy job so besides a little weeding they didn't really have much for me to do. So ... we chatted and had a good time catching up.  Finally mom said I could make her a Lemon Meringue Pie if I really wanted to and Dad said he would love a fresh Strawberry Pie - so out came the apron and away I went.  Lucky for all of us they turned out pretty good!

Mom is on her way to a quick recovery.  

She is great and reminds us all 

that we ain't no sissies in this family! 

When I returned home, my brother Tracy was up in Logan with four of his wonderful children. (His wife Alyssa & oldest daughter, Audrie were away at Girl's Camp) Tyler & Morgan were attending a Basketball Camp.  We got a lot of one-on-one time with Jim and Avery.  LUCKY us!

We made a trip to the little zoo here in town and had a great time checking out the many residents there (Even if most of them were birds - I think it was a great stroll on a beautiful day!) The little monkeys are very entertaining.

Cool Bald Eagles and sooo many varieties of ducks!  The peacock put on a real show for us and we won't bore you with all the photos we took - but we really enjoyed ourselves.  I have to tell you about a very funny thing, though.  We were looking in one of the cages and Jim spotted this adorable little mouse that had just made himself a little home in the rocks and was happily entertaining us with his antics.  There was a couple standing right next to us and they were struggling to see what was in the neighboring cage they were viewing.  I decided they must see this little guy so I tapped the lady on the arm and said, "Excuse me, there's a mouse ...  and that was the end of it.  She jumped and shrieked and I nearly fell to the ground laughing. My intent was to share, not scare!  (Although I find great pleasure when I succeed in a good scare.) But it sure was funny!

Avery is enjoying some shaved ice and if I would have included the other photo that was suppose to be here - you could see Jim and his every-flavor-they-had concoction!

One of our all time favorite summer sandwiches is pictured below.  

I will be linking the recipe soon.  (Thanks, Shauna!)

It is divine and summer flavor at it's best!

Here we have Emily finally getting her birthday cake 

with two cuties to help her blow 

out the candles.  

This cake recipe must also be shared.  (Thanks, Shelley!) 

Unbelievably delicious. 

We have the best extended family in the world.  The sad thing is that our times together are far and few between!  One good thing about that is when do get some time together it is heavenly!

Looking forward to summer of fun memories with ALL of you!

Just a little teaser ... stay tuned for Mark's unfortunate event.  We need a few more days of colorful pictures - they get better every day!  AND - my camera gratefully thanks all of you kind,  well-wishers.  She seems to have made a pretty good recovery - and yes, Kris - it was my good lens. whew!

Searching for Beauty

The last few days I hadn't seen my camera around anywhere ! 

I started re-tracing my steps and remembered that a few days ago, 

I was after a deer in our yard that was munching  on one of our trees.  

After some serious searching and a quiet prayer, 

it came immediately to my mind...the back porch! 

I couldn't have!!  

But I did.  

I guess I was distracted pulling weeds or checking on flowers 

and I had set it down.  

If you're from around these parts, you will 

appreciate the panic that filled my soul as the 

clouds were just simmering after a huge rain/hail microburst.  

(Only one of the many storms to pass through 

our yard and over my poor camera 

during the past few days!) 

The outcome of the fate of my beloved friend is still unknown. 

She is carefully drying out as we speak.  

Tonight the light in the yard was sweet.  

I wanted so badly to capture a piece of it.  

Then I thought of a good friend of ours who is a 

very gifted and talented photographer.  

Lately he has been posting some 

pretty spectacular shots with his little iPhone on FB and I thought, 

"why not?"  I don't have a cool iPhone - but I do own 

a cell phone. Let's see what happens.  

Take a little peek through the 'so-so' lens of my phone. 

 

I think it goes to show that you can find 

beauty in simple ways that you might not

have thought about before.

(and never have my photos uploaded

so quickly before!!)

quiet light

the road we go up and down so many times in a day

home sweet home

water color pavement

old glory

 a summer pillow ~ patiently waiting to bask in the sun

a cold japanese maple

sweet little droplets of rain waiting to 

be taken by the visiting fairies of the spring night...

more cool refreshment for the fairy folk

and a pretty little parade of the bleeding hearts who thrive in the cool weather.

I dare you to find some beauty around you in a way you haven't thought of before.

enjoy your journey!

Emily is a Teenager!

Today Emily celebrated her 13th birthday. We are so proud of her and can't wait to see what she does with her teenage years! We LOVE you, Em!

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