Recent Photos

Today we enjoyed a lovely Sabbath at church, a nice nap, and a fun birthday barbecue at the ranch with Uncle Mike for Christina's (his gf) birthday. Our Gray cousins came, too, but not Grandpa and Grandma because they were doing their high council duties in Big Timber today. We missed them, but it was a delicious day to be outside, worshipping thru our senses! In this photo, Mike and Angie are getting ready to serve cake & ice cream to the cousins, but it looks like Danny is holding them up like some gangster.

Tell me these mountains DON'T make you want to sing, "How Great Thou Art"--

I'll never get over this view.
A view of the festivities from the river
(you can see the pirate ship tree house we built last year there on the left, and the covered foundation where my inlaws will rebuild a house there center-right).


The kids can't wait to dig into Christina's birthday cake.

Make a wish, Christina!

Remember the root cellar we cleaned out last summer? Well, it now has power and this beautiful reinforcing stone wall (since the hill is eroding).

A view of the festivities from the foundation

Hannah's back, Heidi, and James eating hot dogs and lovin' ranch life

(We can't wait for the Florida and Texas Melins to join us in July!)
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Last Tuesday I made the kids Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate for after school snack. They insist it be served in a fancy glass with a spoon AND a straw, so this is what they look like eating it.

"CHEERS!"

(notice the cute potted flowers I got for Mothers Day from Addie and Heidi, and tulips from my MIL--she grew them!)

Here's Addie on the front porch (sitting on last year's Mothers Day gifts, coincidentally), sipping her treat, looking for all the world like a middle-aged woman on a cruise...

what's even funnier...

...is that everyday now she gets out a goblet and makes herself a drink (usually crystal light or lemonade on the rocks). She saved that umbrella off some cupcakes a classmate brought to class and she uses it everyday. This makes me laugh, everyday (in my head, I ask her, "Tough day at the office?").
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Last Saturday, we got to babysit Lydia and Suzy all day long and it was super fun. The kids took these pictures when they were swinging Suzy.

Silly Sooz & Silly Heidi
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This next section is a photo essay called

"AROUND THE HOUSE on May 4th"

First of all, this is a great shot of my newest rug and my grubby son.

And also all the crap under my couch downstairs.

Next is a series of pictures of my kitchen. On this particular day, the kitchen was making me kind of crazy because everything was so cluttery. But then I thought I would take pix to show myself that THIS IS LIVING--we are LIVING in our house, and the mess is good.

I hate having a bunch of stuff on the window sill, but this is such a great place to start plants when it's still freezing at night. So there is an egg crate on the left sprouting cantaloupe and yellow squash, with a jade plant on top of it, and quinoa sprouting in a yogurt cup. There is another jade start in a tiny vase, and pots sprouting sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, hollyhocks, and basil. So the mess if for a good cause.

This is my Mexican Pig. I love him. I bought him at a Mexican warehouse-type store in Tucson with my Grampy. To the left of Mr. Pig is the courting candle my inlaws brought back from Amish country and a jar of sand and stones from the beach at Lowestoft, England.

This is the little craft corner left over from putting together daily treats for teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. There are also planners and calendars and reading schedules and homework all piled up there in a crazy-making mess.

The big picture.

My chaotic fridge doors.

My medicine cupboard, of which a nephew once said, "Holy crap, this looks like some hippy cupboard...just tell me where the frickin' advil is!"

And lastly, breakfast. Also known as "the ingredients for the most delicious yogurt you've ever tasted." The oranges stuff is a blend of mashed yams and mashed butternut squash, mixed with butter and honey and a dash of nutmeg and pecans and coconut, then briefly broiled (to reheat and toast the coconut of course). A few days after I served this for dinner, I figured we'd better finish it off, so I mixed the yam-squash into vanilla yogurt with some granola on top and James and I both thought it was FABULOUS-- Try it!