September 2016

The kids worked together to turn the monkey bars Stephen made last year into a clubhouse. 

Chayce borrowed our neighbor's honey extractor and we tried Langstroth honey extraction for the first time. Prior to this, it was crush and strain the top bar comb.

Daddy's girl!

Stephen's mom uses the term 'pooh-face' when frustrated. So we got her a Halloween mask.

Amy and Stephen made it part way through chicken-out ridge climbing mount Borah in Idaho before...getting too tired and descending back down. They'll try again next year. 

Stephen with the mountains northwest of mount Borah in the background.

Chayce and Payge attended a recruiting event at the airport. They are trying to get more girls interested in being airplane pilots.

Quinton and his mommy making funny faces.

Quinton and Lillyth eating volunteer purple beans in the cabbage patch.

Baby sea buckthorn trees

Baby little leaf linden trees

Chayce decorating the chalkboard for a Notre Dame football party with friends from Indiana

A ten mile hike in Providence Canyon with the scouts. Zachary and his friend Logan Fresz are taking a break.

Jillian hired a friend to sew cushions for her semicircular outdoor couch.

Payge biking to the park.

"Dad, I want to climb da mountain!"

We hiked the upper loop of the Providence Canyon single track trail. Not everyone was keen on getting their picture taken. 

Quinton, being...Quinton.

Walking to the waterfall.

One of the many waterfalls in Providence Canyon.

Drawing the waterfall.

A view of the Providence Canyon quarry from the waterfall.

Payge drawing the waterfall.

Momma and her fox.

The weekend before his 13th birthday, Zachary completed his Eagle project. When our neighborhood was developed, the old barbed wire fence just got bulldozed into piles, which remained around the park. Zachary wanted to prevent child injury and hauled off 8,900 pounds of fencing.

It had rained before the eagle project and it took much washing to get the borrowed truck and trailer cleaned.

Payge ready for church. But not satisfied with her hair. Read on for the big change.

Look, I'm upside down!

Excited about the new haircut!

Quinton started going to karate. When he's in the mood, he does really good. 

Since grandpa sold the cows, this will have to do. 

August 2016

A fire in Box Elder county yielded epic sunsets. 

Zachary, Quinton, and Stephen joined Bryan and Carter Carlsen for a camping trip to Hyrum Reservoire State Park. We kyaked across the reservoire. The next morning, the boys dug up tr(ash)easure from the water at the beach.

Stomping on radish seed pods. This is how we thresh larger pods when saving seed. Then we use a blower to blow out the pods, leaving the seeds (mostly) at the bottom.

Morning hike up Providence Canyon with dad. It took several tries, but we finally got one with all three smiling(ish).

The epic Rosie grin.

Grilled peaches, ready to go visit a bowl of ice cream.

Here Stephen is next to the rocks where the local eagles have their nests in the spring.

Going on a walk to the park. Lillyth and Quinton insisted that everyone hold hands. 

The flag on saddle rock on the south side of Providence Canyon.

Jillian and here little man.

She did her make up. Again. Using paint.

We went to This Is The Place state park and toward about half of it before Lillyth fell apart, needing a nap. Then we went out for Chinese in SLC's china town. 

Stilt walking. Or not. None of us, except Lillyth, did very well.

The reason Lillyth did well, is she had help. 

Getting ice cream. You'd think they would serve old fashioned ice cream, but it was snowman poop (our Stephen's euphemism for soft serve).

Zachary got his first shave from the barber. After being tied to the chair. Just in case.

While Jillian and the older children toured one of Brigham Young's homes, Stephen and the little people did laps on the wrap-around porch. 

A wild tree baby in her natural environment. This girl would frequently be found up trees in the back yard all summer long.