Aaron & Janice

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2009-02-04T00:50:00.004-07:00

Well, someone should really post on this blog, so I, Tearsa, decided that I should do it. I don't know if anyone has even looked at this blog recently since nothing new has been posted on it for months, but I would like to direct your attention to the new header that I personally think is marvelous. We were taking Christmas pictures and this was our "funny one." I wanted to use it for our card, but Mom wouldn't let me. (If you didn't get a Christmas card from us this year, don't feel bad. It wasn't too exciting [just a picture, no letter], and you get to see the funnier picture here on the blog anyway. And if your last name starts with one of the latter letters of the alphabet, your card could possibly still be in the postal system, since some of the cards didn't get sent until recently.) I personally like this picture because all of my brothers look ridiculous and I am taller than all of them!

Everything is coming up Roses

2008-11-21T10:07:00.004-07:00

Every thing is coming up is really how I should title this post! Right now I am getting ready to do a Bazaar (Knull Grange) that happens the weekend after Thanksgiving, those things need to be turned in Monday. We are also making plans to travel to Utah for Thanksgiving to be with Tearsa. So in a week or so look for a post about our travels, but hopefully I can get another done before that on Drey's eagle scout award. We have been busy here, but healthy. And the weather has been good.

Note: The beautiful roses came from a funeral that we attened last weekend. It was for Aaron's Aunt Gin, who is his Grandma Viola's sister. Genevieve Rose Wright, who was 99 1/2 years old.

The roses held up beautifully for days....and then I fed them to the chickens.

Candy Bar Brownies

2008-10-29T19:52:00.003-06:00

This week I have been working on making mixes of candy bar brownies. There are new cellophane bags at the local store....and I think they are beautiful! The above photo is of a few bags on the kitchen counter, and the sun steaming in.
I made a lot of mixes! I haven't decided if it is best to buy 'fun size' candy bars before Halloween on sale, or afterwards at half price. I decided I wanted a good selection without the shopping battles, so I bought them early. Taft came into the kitchen after I finished getting all the candy bars into the packages and said "You wasted all the candy???" The next morning I gave him a kit kat bar, since I did have a couple bars left, only to find the wrapper laying in the carport. I think I know why I wasted the candy bars! Anyhow I am making the mixes to sell and to have some in my pantry. Last night I wrapped them in ribbon (while watching Perry Mason) now I need to get labels made ( so I can watch more Perry Mason).

Taft's Broken Nose

2008-10-22T14:12:00.006-06:00

On Oct 7th Taft broke his nose. How you might be wondering how? With the metal bar of the trampoline coming down on the top bridge of his nose. It was later in the evening (dark) and the boys were out playing on the trampoline. Someone had the great idea of having the tramp on it's side then jumping on it. Well, Drey jumped (he is rather large) and Taft was holding the tramp on its side....which came down with great force on his face. I might have 4 boys but I really don't understand how they think.
Never the less it was a painful evening. When I got to Taft he was leaning over the brick sidewalk, with a puddle of blood down below him. I got him in the house, where it took a while for it to stop bleeding. Taft isn't one to be crying, and he deals with pain better than anyone I know, but he was having a difficult time. After a bit, I had him lay down on the sofa with some pillows propping him up, his nose just keep a slow trickle of blood draining. Then he started shaking, and we got more blankets on him. I couldn't believe how quickly and how much swelling his nose did those first few minutes!
Aaron wasn't home, but at a meeting. I knew I couldn't take him to the doctors, the office being closed left us with the emergency room for a choice. But I didn't think they could do anything that night. But I was having a hard time handling this one alone. I called Aaron and was able to get him out of his meeting and home. He was able to give Taft a priesthood blessing, which brought great comfort to me. We worked hours that night with ice, a bag of it was too heavy on his face, so two ice cubes in a wash cloth, that way we could position the ice on both sides of his nose. Even with Motrin (adult strength, "do I have to swallow these whole?") it took till midnight for him to fall sleep on the sofa.
Come morning I called the doctors office. I understand with a broken nose that it needs to be checked, in case there is a problem with the sinuses. The doctor (Trotter) looked at his nose, said it looked broken....but he wasn't going to bother with an x-ray. Why? Because he would treat it the same way rather it was broken or not. He said that Taft's nose was in alignment, which meant he wouldn't have any troubles with his sinuses. Also that there wasn't a blood clot, which is another concern. Taft was given a spray for his nose to use twice a day for two weeks to help reduce swelling and heal quicker.
By the way, before we went to the doctors office I borrowed a camera from the neighbor. I wish I had it the first night, since that was when things were really huge. But I took a few days worth of photos so you can see his progress, but it is hard to get the true effect of size and color in these photos. After the first night he said that it really didn't hurt, unless he bumped it. The color around his eyes came and left quite quickly. Actually the whole thing has healed very well.

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play!

2008-10-22T13:55:00.004-06:00

Sorry, no photo for this post....Aaron didn't think it was a good idea to have a photo anyway.

Taft shot himself a Deer! He put in for a draw this year and was able to get a deer tag....and shot his first deer. His cousin Jared was with him helping him. They dreamed up the idea of having Taft get up on the pivot to get a better shot at them....but he might have been better off staying with his cousin at the stack of straw. Jared helped skinned the animal and cut his thumb, getting 5 stitches put in it. This all happened when we had our California relatives down to visit; June & Ken and Sally & Ted. (who should have stayed longer!)

A couple of days later Drey was out with his dad and a few brothers hunting for his Antelope and shot one. I am ever so grateful that the boys have decided to fork over some money and have their wild meat made into jerky. They saved some of it, which Drey and Aaron have been cooking over the grill the last couple of days, which is really good.

By the way, we have LOTS of deer and antelope this year on our property. Nice, well I think so....but it is a different story when you start thinking how your crops are feeding them!

This last weekend Pheasant Season opened. Our friend Dave from Utah came up and spent the weekend with us. Drey with his eagle eye was able to get two birds.

A Huntin' we will go.....

When the Cows Come Home

2008-10-22T13:42:00.003-06:00

The heifers (last years calves) arrived last week. They are unloading and coming into corral next to our house. Aaron isn't wild about having them come home, since it means feeding them morning and night. The bulls are in a field across the road from our house. The cows are in other fields on the farm. That snow the other weekend brought them down from the hills.
Here is the truck that brought one of the groups (there are a couple hundred heifers) of heifers. Aaron is in front with the hooded sweatshirt. Did you know that these cattle trucks have two layers of cattle space? The guy is up on the truck trying to get the upper group of cattle to move down the ramp. By the way, pig trucks have 3 layers for the animals.

Love those Chickens!

2008-10-22T13:14:00.005-06:00

I love chickens! My father was raised on a chicken farm (they sold eggs). I have been begging Aaron for years to get some chickens. Thankfully Drey loves chickens too. So last winter/spring he worked on making a chicken coop, out of an old building, wiring it etc. He bought chicks (yes, his own money) in the spring, and we have all been enjoying them since.

I bought a few odd chicks at the local store (Drey studied and ordered his chicks, I went on how cute they were) so we have a variety. The above photo is a gathering of them, when I bought down the old stuff from the garden. Notice the roaster in the top right? Yes, he is crowing, and they do that all day long....I like it but a minute doesn't go by without them making noise.
This photo has a couple of our odd birds. Drey could tell you the varieties, but I can't. The black one in front really has feathers on its head and looks odd. At first it looked like a stylish hat, now, it has grown to just a 'bad hair day' look. Little Peeps is in the back, he is full grown and half the size of everyone else.
Here is a couple of roasters, the one on the left is beautiful and a favorite variety. That is either Scobby or Elvis, (I can't tell them apart, but Drey can). I love those polka dotted birds, which next spring we are planning on buying some hens of that variety. They are so friendly and make a great pet....but as roasters they are a pain in the neck! The one on the left is much smaller than the average bird, with feathers on his legs.
Here is photo 2 of the two of them fighting. It is something to see them raise their feathers up like this. I am thinking soon we will have a lot less roasters, and have peace at the chicken coop.

We have started selling eggs, so that we can raise money for feed, and next years plans for chicks.

So Tearsa Won't Forget What Her Brothers Look Like!

2008-10-22T12:58:00.003-06:00

O.K. Tearsa, here is a photo of the brothers you left at home....anyone changed since you last seen them? Probably not, they are still the same old goof cakes you remember.

Anyhow we had a weekend with snow. Not perfect timing since Aaron was trying to get some wheat planted and we still had some hay down....but the boys loved it.

Cold? Not too bad, the top photo was taken before we headed off to church...no one wore a coat. The weather had warmed up since then, so now we are finally having fall weather.
Tilmann in the Saturday snow storm.

New Cats

2008-10-22T12:43:00.003-06:00

Here is Tilmann with our new extra fuzzy pot-belly kitten. I knew one of the wild cats was pregnant, but we don't normally have kittens in the fall. Apparently she only had one big kitten, who is under our porch. He would dash under the porch when anyone came near it....unless there was tame cats around too, then it would stay out like one of the gang. Tilmann was able to catch it and hold it. Fun....but now that momma has taken it some place else, so we haven't seen him in a few days.
We had a weekend of snow on the ground.....and low and behold another cat showed up. It is about the size of our spring kittens, and coloring like a few others around, so I think it is a kitten from another one of our 'wild' cats. Very pretty with long hair. But now that it has warmed up, I haven't seen it again. Makes you wonder how many cats we actually have on the farm!

Rug Hooked Face Dolls with Elsie

2008-10-22T12:02:00.003-06:00

This is my mother-in-law, Elsie. Last week was her birthday. (I was going to post this earlier) She loves making dolls, and these are her latest. When she asked if I would take a photo (she was hoping she wouldn't be in the picture) of her dolls, since she didn't have a camera....well I borrowed one.

Rug Hooking has been her latest passion for over a year now. She cuts her own wool, often from clothes that she has bought from a thrift store. With these dolls, you can tell the color variety that was used to make up the face. (might need to click on the photo to enlarge) The clothes are also made out of wool, such as the pink dress made from an old Pendleton shirt...notice the collar?

Concord Grape Juice -Grapes in a Jar

2008-10-21T16:09:00.006-06:00

This year I decided to do some concord grape juice like the old timers did- by putting the grapes in the jar. Normally I steam the juice from the grapes in the steam juicer that we have. My mother-in-law has done it this way for years, and honestly, it is more fun! My father-in-law grows plenty of grapes, so I thought we'd try a new method.
Tilmann and I worked on this together. Gathering a cup of grapes for each quart jar. The recipe (in the Ball book) says to add 1/2 -1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water, boiling it so the sugar is melted, then fill the jars.
Here is the finished product, some grapes floated, some didn't. I think the jars are pretty. To drink the juice, you strain off the grapes. Big change in color from the first photo's grapes.

Camp Bradley with the Family

2008-10-10T20:35:00.008-06:00

Last weekend was a longer weekend, school being out on Thursday & Friday. The older 2 boys spent Thursday with their father trying to get the hay done before the rain came.

Aaron had heard that they needed help at Camp Bradley, (a scout camp that is up past Sun Valley area) volunteers to work on a new building, a shower and bathroom. He decided it would be a fun weekend....and when he had called ahead finding out that we could stay in a cabin (they have them for the merit badge leaders) and be fed, well he was all for it! Besides his birthday was on Monday....so it was a good idea to have some fun.This is our cabin #5 which was the largest cabin. I found sleeping together in one room...interesting....the noises, snores & even a sleep-talker. But the hardest thing to get use to was the wood stove! The boys were so sure if they filled it with wood, I mean piled in the wood, that come morning the cabin would still be warm. Problem with that idea is come midnight I'd be awake sweating! (and opening the door) And then the idea that a cabin that has lots of holes and cracks can keep in the heat...nope it didn't work. So come early morning we'd be awaken by the fire builders.
Friday the day was beautiful, warm & sunny. Aaron, Drey & Taft worked on helping put up trusses for the new roof. The younger boys and I went hiking through the woods (actually Taft & Drey were with us some of the time) walking down to the lake and such. The Lodge (above) was where we ate....and ate well! By the way, these aren't photos that I took, I found them on the internet. I am getting so creative without a camera!
Saturday it rained off and on all day. But the pool was freshly cleaned and so very tempting! That is to 3 younger boys. No, we didn't have swimming suits....or even towels! They went swimming in their pants....and shook all the way home to the cabin! The water is warm, some type of hot spring filling it. p.s. the above photo looks like my boys- in action, but it isn't them.
Saturday the group worked long and hard finishing the roof of the shower building.
The mountain tops around us come Saturday morning had snow on them. But the most beautiful part was the fall colors of the trees! Traveling up past Sun Valley to the camp was just perfect timing on our part. We stayed over Saturday night, and had such a great weekend. It was so nice to get away and so some camping!

Halloween Hangman & Cat Bowling Games on Computer

2008-10-02T11:28:00.010-06:00

Cat Bowling or Halloween Hangman

These are two favorite games that we like to play this time of year.
So click on the name and have some fun!
Side Note: Drey has an all time high score: 198 on Cat Bowling!

p.s. like the photo of the 'bowled over' cats? This was one of last years bunches, we have two of the kittens photographed, that added to this year's abundance.

The Acid Smell of Smoke

2008-10-02T11:04:00.003-06:00

The acid smell of smoke fills the hazy air of a new morning. The glow on the hillside of late last night, still glows in the dark dusk of the morning......

Monday afternoon Aaron and a couple of the boys head up South, to help with the fire. The fire was in the South Hills, heading up the road a few miles past Nat Soo Pah. There were 6 BLM Fire Trucks there to work, but as usual the one Fire Truck from Hollister did more work than the others...combined. 'Volunteers' vs 'Paid Employees'. Aaron thought they would have the fire under control by that evening, but it wasn't until two days later, burning up "6800 acres in the area 3 miles east of Rogerson". Tuesday morning it didn't matter where you were, there was tons of smoke and the odor of it drifted everywhere. There was quite a haze of it on the horizon that made it hard to figure out where the fire really was at. At school that afternoon (I'm there working in the library) they had a fire drill.....all the kids are lined up outside, and who shows up but a fire truck! It was just a drill, but it sure sparked some intrest!

Now normally fires don't happen this late in the the year, even if everything is real dry. But I thought I would also point out that yesterday was Oct. 1st and it was 91 degrees!

I don't have a working camera, so I thought I could take a photo off of the newspaper....the above photo made the front cover of our daily paper.....somehow I thought it could have been a wee bit better, so I decided to throw in a more dramantic fire shot.

Mom's New Puppy.

2008-09-25T13:01:00.003-06:00

My Mother bought a new puppy last week! Her name is Samantha, and she is a Havanese pure bred. Her size will be 7 pounds. I think it is great for my mother to have some entertainment, company, and someone to keep her on her toes! She loves her new puppy, which is sure a cutie!

Chopping Corn

2008-09-25T10:21:00.009-06:00

We have a field of corn across from our house this year. We raised the corn for a neighbor who has a small dairy. Which means when it comes to harvesting it, we don't do a thing! All week long we can hear the chopper....watch trucks go by, and not worry a bit. I say worry because it is a production to get that much corn harvested, and equipment always seems to break down. Instead Aaron is focused on cutting hay.

These photos by the way are from a few years ago, but since the only person who sees them is the computer I thought I would post them.(Besides remember my camera isn't working?) Aaron normally is the one on the corn chopper, so I went out one afternoon rode and took some photos. The top one is on the tops of the tall corn stocks, I was standing on the chopper and was amazed how beautiful the fields were, it is the closest thing around here to a forest.
Here is the old chopper- on the front, the two extending points cuts the stocks and in the middle they feed in then get chopped into small pieces.
Photo of the stocks feeding into the machine.Beautiful long straight rows.

There is an arm which shoots the corn pieces out, into the back of a truck which will drive along side of the corn chopper. Does this look like equipment that might break down....from time to time? But it would surprise you the value, the cost of this equipment!

Finders Keepers on Whidbey Island

2008-09-19T20:10:00.018-06:00

These are photos from our annual family vacation to Whidbey Island. Not too family of a vacation, since more were home than traveled......they were working with the hay or just plain working. Anyhow I went with the 2 youngest with my mother, who wanted help driving her motor-home home.
On one of the last days that we were on the island, I was walking alone, and noticed on the sidewalk near me, some paper money. Honestly my first thought was that it was fake- since it has colors, (new bills), but I picked it up, and it wasn't.! The total was 4 $50 bills, a $10, $5, & a $1. I faithfully walked up to the police station and filed a report. They had never had such a wad! ($216.00) and I think surprised that I would file a report, instead of just keeping it! Anyhow they had to run a ad in the local paper for a few weeks, 'undisclosed amount etc.' and if it wasn't claimed in 60 days I could check back with them. Well, Finders Keepers Worked! I called and a couple weeks ago, they sent me a money order....now how about that for lucky???
Lucky Dog!
On a bench in front of a hot dog stand- one of these people is mine.

Tide flat in Coupeville- I love the buildings in this town. If you take a closer look these are muscles laying on the flats.
I went into the shop...and this is how they were when I returned...such clowns!
We were on the island earlier this summer, in June.....the flowers were lovely!
Daisies- they are a favorite of mine! The hillsides, roadsides were covered with these happy flowers!
The boys know how much I love daisies so they were showing how much they love them too!

"Lend me your ear..." notice the daisy in it? But look at the beautiful wild field!

Opening Events of the Temple Celebration Dances

2008-09-13T17:08:00.009-06:00

On August 23rd, the night before the Twin Falls Temple Dedication, there was a performance of a dance. The place is at our local fairgrounds in the rodeo arena, which took some doings to make it functional! They made a huge stage, (which has the kids sitting on in the top photo, waiting for the show to begin) that was 160 by 88 feet to have an area to dance. There was also sod brought in that is around the stage. Added in one corner is a large water fall representing the Shoshone Falls. You can see all kinds of tents around in the background...it was an amazing production to put on! The youth (ages 12-18) from the 14 local stakes in the temple district are making up the dancers....that is 3,200 youth!!

By the way, you can click on these photos to be able to enlarge them!
To the right of the stage are bleachers of singers! Tearsa is in the bleachers over by the tents.
Above is the falls and the sod. It is so nice to see the arena look so green! On the back bleachers and on the grass are leadership that help put this production together. Everyone is waiting for the keynote speaker!
With the sun bright in their eyes, our prophet Thomas S. Monson has arrived. He talks to the youth, one item he mentions is the 3D's -Decision Determination Destiny. Also on the stand visiting for the weekend are, Pres. Henry B. Eyring, Elder Quintin L. Cook & Elder Claudio Costa.
After the Prophet moves to the bleachers the show begins, with the whole group (this is only part) and blue ribbons, representing water. The theme of the evening was 'Living Waters' "In Magic Valley our physical lives depend upon mountain streams, irrigation wells and the Snake River. Our spiritual lives depend upon the living water from the Savior."

Tearsa, Drey & Taft Perform in Temple Celebration

2008-09-13T17:04:00.006-06:00

O.K. is is HARD enough to find my children while they are dancing, let alone photograph them!
In the above photograph Drey is in the very back by the stage in a white shirt, off the center to the right. He is dancing with Natalie H. who is in braids, a white shirt and a light blue skirt. Did you find him? If so, then I can point out Taft, who is the couple dancing to the left of Drey. Taft is in a dark blue plaid shirt, dancing with a girl who has short hair, white shirt and another light blue skirt.
The boys are dancing a square dance, (also a line dance & two step) Drey is in one square, Taft is in another, but their squares are right next to each other....of course at the back of the stage. In the above photo Drey is in the very center, white shirt, dark hair. He stands out because of his height.
This photo was taken before the event started. Tearsa sang in the choir, which she was also able to watch the whole show. She is on the third row up, sixth person counting from the right to the left. She just got her hair cut shorter, and has her head turned.

One of the best things of the evening was the fact that we were all there! Tearsa, Drey and Taft were performing, and Aaron, I and the two younger boys, Tavin and Tilmann were sitting in the bleachers. Aaron was able to get us front row seats....which weren't too far away from the Prophet! After the show was over Tilmann walked over to where the Prophet was, and stood by his side. I hope he will always remember that.

My mother was also with us, but up higher in the bleachers. I was so grateful that she could come down and watch the event! The whole performance was so amazing!!! I also want to point out that the photos on these Temple Celebration posts were taken by three people. Aaron, with Tearsa's smaller camera, I with Tearsa's larger camera, and my mom with her camera.

Part One of the Temple Celebration Dances

2008-09-13T16:52:00.010-06:00

Let the dancing begin! There were LOTS of dances- which were staged to celebrate the heritage and history of the area. Remember there are 3,200 youth involved in this event, with all kinds of costumes and everything fast pace...they even ran off the stage when their number was over! These photos are just a section of pictures, but not one from each dance...but hopefully it will give you an idea of what happened.
The dances paid tributes to early Native American traditions, pioneers of the west, European and Mexican immigrants who built mines and canals. Also highlighted the Big Band Era, U.s. patriotism, the 1950's and the small town country fair. They even did a dance for the famous Idaho Potato!

On the two above photos with the shovels and pickaxes you can see a screen off to the side. They had large screens on both sides of the stage area, for those too far away to see well. Also they broad casted the event to the stake centers- church buildings, not enough room for everyone to come to the fair grounds.

Part Two of the Temple Celebration Dances

2008-09-13T16:37:00.009-06:00

The Idaho potato rap dance. (above)

Remember the youth started dancing and singing back in April- spending 4 months practicing once a week, then as the event got closer, multi times a week!

Closing of the Temple Celebration Dances

2008-09-13T16:32:00.005-06:00

The closing of the Dance Celebration was a grand ....even if I didn't want it to end! The youth came in from both sides onto the stage, with banners and flags, while the choir sang out their hearts.

Then with the youth in rows with colored flags in their hands, their flags danced....some went up, some moved down, across....it was colorful to watch as they all worked together to create rhythm. Very impressive!
What an event! I am sure my children will remember preforming in it, and doing it for the Prophet. Afterwards Aaron caught this quiet moment, with the beauty of the clouds.

Champion Pigs This Year!

2008-09-06T10:03:00.010-06:00

Tilmann & his pig Gobber. Tilmann's pig won First in his Class, overall placing 12th. Tilmann also placed 4th in his class for showmanship. Showmanship is judged on how they show their pig, not the quality of the pig. All the boys were able to get their pigs penned. Which means the jugde takes the top half of the showman and has them put their pigs in the pen, and then send the second half of showers back to the barn.
Tavin and his pig Obama. (mostly black with a little white and the worse of the bunch) Obama injured the pad of his foot the night before so Tavin was showing a limping pig. The pig was good quality like his brothers. Tavin's pig placed 4th in his class, overall 42nd. Tavin was able to place 2nd in showmanship in his class. I love this photo for he is so involved on keeping an eye on the judge.

By the way the placement of these pigs is for selling purposes. There was 387 pigs that weighed into the fair.(That is A LOT of PIGS!) Some kids bring spare pigs, but can only sell one, or there are many who don't make weight, which can't be sold either. They sold 147 pigs....so with that in mind, being 42 doesn't seem so far down on the list!
Taft and his pig Bob won First in his Class. Then went on to show and made 2nd in his Division. He then had his pig chosen as Reserve Champion Market Swine....which is 2nd place overall. Grand moment for us! Happy that my mother was able to be there watching. Taft was placed 5th in his class in showmanship.
When the boys are showing their pigs, the show ring has at least a dozen or more pigs and kids....kind of difficult. Here is a photo of Taft and the neighbor boy Charles, they grew up together....born just a month apart.
Drey and his pig Fatty (weighing a couple pounds more than the brothes pigs at 284). Drey's pig placed First in his Class, and went on to place 2nd in his Division. His pig placed 5th. For showmanship Drey placed 7th in his class. His pig wasn't behaving very well, making things difficult.
Drey talking with the judge, Rex from Iowa. When they pen their pigs, the judge will go around and ask them questions. We really liked this judge, he judged well, and instead of making the kids feel bad on what they did wrong, he would point out things that they could do to improve. He was impressed with our sons and their pigs.
Days are long at the fair...are we having fun yet? The boys & Aaron spent the nights at the fair in the back of a Horse Trailer. Air mattress and even a home-made hammock. They made due, for they had to be up in the pig barn by 6 a.m. cleaning out the pigs pens. I would arrive later and bring breakfast & lunch (most days), they also had an assortment of junk food in the trailer.
The last contest with the pigs is a Pen of Five. Here each 4H Group can get their best selection of pigs, also the ones that are most uniform to each other. This was Aaron's grand moment, since the group choose 5 of our 6 pigs (we brought 2 spare pigs) and then WE WON the showing! Which means money for our club for a pizza party! We had GREAT PIGS THIS YEAR! (This is our pen in the barn afterwards, moving all the pigs into one pen)
Another shot of our Amazing Pigs!
Here is Taft with his trophy & metals for his Reseve Champion Market Swine.

To College with Care

2008-08-28T19:27:00.002-06:00

I have decided it would be better if I posted SOMETHING than nothing. But since my camera won't even turn on --sorry no photos. Tearsa took both her cameras to school, and thought it was past time for me to buy a new one. I'm thinking maybe it would be a good gift suggestion for Christmas - that is if Aaron gets the hint!

Tuesday, Tearsa and I made it off to College. Personally the traffic around SLC was about to kill me, but since she drove, we made it fine. Pure delight to be on the campus grounds again. Even the D.I. store is worth spending hours at! Unfortunately I had to return home the following evening, so I wasn't able to gather enough 'campus life' yet.

Aaron on the other hand was at the fair with the boys. All 4 of them have 4H pigs this year. First is the open show, which was yesterday (weigh in the day we left for college)....that is where anyone can enter their pigs, and cash money (because it costs to enter) is awarded. They were ahead of the game and actually made over 150 dollars! YaHoo! The boys have been sleeping at the fair....in the parking lot....in a horse trailer. I decided to sleep here tonight and will join them in the morning for the 4H showing. My Mother came down for the fair, (she is sleeping in Tearsa's room) she loves watching the boys show their pigs.

By the way, you can keep in touch with Tearsa by way of her blog. Right now her computer is at Apple, minor damage fixed....and she is waiting for it to be shipped. But she has been adding to her blog faithfully by way of cell phone...throughout the day! I love catching her comments! Do I miss her? You bet, but I am so Happy to have her where she is at, so it is fine....for now.

Tearsa

2008-08-19T23:42:00.002-06:00

I'll be going to BYU in a week, so I've started posting things on my blog. Currently Mom's camera isn't working...and with me not around I don't know if much will be posted on this blog anymore...but hopefully it will...anyway, I will be doing my best to keep my blog up to date, so you should at least check it out :D

Graduation--Tearsa

2008-08-02T18:10:00.008-06:00

Alright...these posts are a little out of order... :)

I graduated from high school this spring. Yay!

Mom, me, & Grandma Dad is on the school board so he was able to present me with my diploma
Kelsey, Nat, & Kayla

Graduation--Tavin

2008-08-02T18:07:00.005-06:00

Tavin graduated from the fifth grade this year and is moving from Hollister it Filer! Middle school already!! Wow!! Note: His poster is a 3rd place winner....receiving a $5 check!Note: This is the whole graduating class of Hollister this year!

Twin Falls Temple

2008-08-02T17:10:00.007-06:00

Mom the Tour Guide
Security :)

:D

2008-08-02T16:59:00.003-06:00

I'm not really sure if this picture is appropriate...but I'm pretty proud of it. I got my wisdom teeth out a few weeks ago. While I was still kind of drugged there was blood all over in my mouth, so I took a picture of myself. At least...that's what I think happened. The details are pretty fuzzy...Haha..it makes me laugh every time I look at it!

The HAYMINATOR

2008-08-02T16:54:00.006-06:00

Janice probably didn't make it real obvious last winter but she was pretty much a widow and this is why. I started building one of these machines in November and then had the opportunity to buy another truck in December. That meant that my winter project of building a stacker turned into a marathon of building two. The first one was out of the shop in February and the second one needed to be finished by the middle of May. Fortunately, summer came late because I didn't have either one ready to go until June. I could bore you with lots of details about the building process and how they work but will refrain. The pictures kind of explain how they work and if anyone really cares about knowing more, you know where I am. Drey & Taft have both learned how to operate them and we're getting close to the point where they can just go out and do a job on their own. Incidentally, both machines have worked exceptionally well so far.

Chickens

2008-08-02T16:53:00.000-06:00

Drey got chickens a long time ago (March?), but we've never posted about them. Since they're not my chickens, I'm not going to write about them. I just take pictures.
More recent pictures:

Father's Day???

2008-08-02T16:15:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure if this was from Father's Day or not...it was so long ago that i can't remember! But anyways...we went to Shoshone Falls for a picnic:

Prom

2008-06-14T02:56:00.010-06:00

okay, so we're way way way behind in blogging...i'm just going to add some pictures to this blog, and then hopefully someone (mom) will add some words!

The girls [I'm really not that tall :)]

The guys

Happy Birthday Janice!

2008-06-14T02:47:00.007-06:00

I don't know if the boys made the cake, but they did frost it!

Drey's 16th Birthday!

2008-04-27T14:45:00.000-06:00

We went bowling for Drey's birthday (Feb. 9th). Drey is now 6'2.5" and has size 13 feet. Drey is getting closer and closer to becoming a licensed driver.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T23:30:00.015-06:00

Black & White

2008-03-13T22:48:00.004-06:00

few words of the day: i am beginning to really love black and white. & music. but not dancing.

things i like, pt. 2 - last.fm

2008-03-11T19:30:00.001-06:00

last.fm is like a really cool online radio.

you can listen on the website, but i prefer using the downloadable player.

to get started, all you do is type in an artist name, and it automatically plays songs by that artist and similar musicians. if you don't like the song you can skip it or ban it. or you can "love it" and/or add it to your playlist.

why i really like this - last.fm is like a great musical discovery center. most of the songs and artists i listen to i have never heard (heard of) before. i like expanding my listening selection, and last.fm does all the work for me. also, when last.fm is playing a song, it shows a brief biography of the artist. i love learning about who i am listening to. it makes it much more personal, which i think enhances the music.

plus, when you listen online like this, it is totally legal and costs nothing. which appeals to me very much.

things i like, pt. 1

2008-03-10T00:43:00.014-06:00

currently, i believe that this family is failing at blogging. drey's birthday was on feb. 9th. we do have pictures and a story, but the pictures are still on the camera. eventually we will get the birthday posted, but i'm counting on mom doing that, not me. also, mom recently went to arizona and mexico, but again that is for her to write. so, in the meantime, to add something to this blog, i've decided to post about random things that i like.

pt. 1 - isight camera

my laptop has a built-in camera. the photo quality is poor, but it still has the ability to entertain me for a very long time. it's also a big hit with other people. here are some pictures to give you an idea of what this magical camera is capable of making people do (sorry they are mostly of me, but, well, it is mine):

on a side note, i played guitar hero for the first time this weekend.

Cookin' Good!

2008-02-12T14:44:00.005-07:00

Cooking is now done on our new gas top ! We had a glass top, which months ago something fell on it and made a chip.....which turned into a crack, and cracked a few more directions. It was past time to do something about it.
This is our old model glass top. And the drawers that are below the stove top.
It took some time for Aaron to do the wiring/piping for the new stove top. But it is nice to be able to work with 4 elements again!

Plow & Pile!

2008-02-10T15:37:00.001-07:00

Snow storm weekend (see below post) This is Monday morning....a snow plow did come out and clear some of the road better....but by 11:00 Aaron gave up on them and took it in his hands to clear some of the real mess. Soon after he started a road grader came. They talked for a while then worked together clearing and cleaning the road up. Aaron spent 3 hours out there- the other man 2.....now that is some kind of mess! Instead of just piling it up higher by the side of the road, it was moved into a couple of snow piles/hills. School was canceled again....Making it a 5 day weekend ! ( They sent the kids home Thurs. morning due to snow problems & canceled school Fri. & Mon.)Here is Taft standing on the road beside the snow drifted new plowed road. We worried that if the wind picked up- it would all be back in a hurry.
Tilmann climbing the huge pile that was made!Taft on top too! It will be sad to see this all melted! Actually it will be a large mud hole!

Life From the Window

2008-02-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

A week ago Sunday, during the snow storm weekend, Aaron and I awoke before 5 in the morning. The wind had blown all night, and drifted the road in front of our house...very well. The noise of a couple of stuck cars spinning wheels woke us.. Aaron got dressed and headed out in the tractor to help. I woke up Taft, who is such a weather watcher, he dashed up the stairs to look out our bedroom window. And out the door he was to help dad. I woke up Tavin and the two of us watched the action from the window. Not too hard to spot the tractor. When it was light out, I took a couple more photos. Aaron worked on packing the snow down with the tractor, but that ended up making a bumpy -roller coaster ride....and only one lane too.Can you find our mailbox? It wasn't long after this that the snow started up....they even canceled church ! We called the sheriff to report our road problem, but they never did send out any snow plows. So the boys and I would sit looking out the window watching (or out in the yard) ....not much traffic....but what did go through was entertaining! Some would go fast, and they certainly had a rolly-polly ride! Lots would hit their back bumpers. Others slower, almost getting stuck....we even had a pick-up truck that had hay bales in the back drop one because of the bumpy road!This fence is a 6+ footer....Drey is standing on a snow drift. Here is Tavin and Drey flying through the air into the snow drift!
The road in the afternoon.....still has plenty of problems.We have a hill that the boys practiced their snowboarding skills on Taft in Red, then Tilmann in green.

Snow Storm

2008-02-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

It is difficult to tell by this photo but we are in a huge snow & wind storm. It looks foggy, but it really it snowflakes. (photo taken from bedroom window) This is Thursday morning- it blew all night, but after the kids went to school did the snow and drifts start arriving. They canceled school at 9:30. The snow, wind and snowplows kept up for quite some time. The second photo is today, the day after the storm, to give you a before and after effect. That big pile across the road has a mailbox in it....which didn't get any mail. The following photos Tearsa took this morning, showing the mounds of snow.

Drey's fun

2008-02-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Poor cat.Call PETA.

Anniversary in Manti

2008-02-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary, (19 years) Aaron and I ran away to Utah. Our first stop was at the BYU museum to look at the showing of Minerva Teichert's paintings. I would have love to taken some photos of her work, mostly because their size was so impressive- most were at least 8 feet tall and very wide, kind of like this sign outside- & larger. Her work and colors are beautiful. She painted the world room in the Manti Temple.
The rest of the trip, (we left on Wednesday coming home on Saturday) was spent in the Manti Temple. It was just breath -taking beautiful. (finished in 1888) This is where we were married. The first night we attended a session, the power went out....we used dim lights from a generator. The second day it snowed....a total of 8 inches by the time we came out. It was wonderful to be in such a peaceful place.

Catching Up

2008-02-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

On December 18th the Hollister school had their annual school play. Tavin was an elf, (top back) and Til was a bedtime kid. The play was short but very well done, working with the poem, The Night Before Christmas.

Happy Birthday Tilmann!

2008-02-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well, Tilmann's birthday was one month and one day ago. Happy 8th birthday Tilmann. Tilmann is 67 lbs. and 51.5 inches tall.

For his birthday party, he was going to watch the Bee Movie in the theater, but someone messed up and the theater was closed*. Since all of Tilmann's friends were already at the theater, they went bowling instead. Tilmann had a lot of fun, and he even won the bowling round!! Then he and his friends went to Daisy's for volcano drinks. Tilmann's favorite part of the day was watching his friends' expressions when the dry ice was put in the pop.

On January 12th, Tilmann was baptized by his father. Uncle Bubba and Grandma Elsie spoke.

* Janice wrote a complaint letter to the theater, and it turns out that there was a problem with the newspaper ad. The advertising manager felt bad so he sent us 10 free tickets!

I gave blood!

2008-01-09T22:58:00.002-07:00

(photo courtesy of the Red Cross)

Tilmann's birthday post is still coming.

Sewing Dolls Part 2

2008-01-03T01:39:00.001-07:00

I (Tearsa) was looking back on things we posted at the beginning of last year, and I saw this post. I had to laugh.
We should never do posts in parts!
*sigh* They just don't seem to get finished...

However, here is part 2.

Mom finished making the dolls, adding faces, hair, and clothes. And they look much better than they did before.

This is it!

2008-01-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

I've just posted 26 recipes on the Food Blog. It's possible that I might post a few more recipes every once in a while, but this is basically it. No more. Hallelujah.

Coming Soon: Tilmann's Birthday Story!

Snow Fun!

2007-12-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today the boys decided to go sledding, even though all they had was two discs, a canal, some drifts, and man-power. But they looked like they were having a good time, so I guess that's all it takes!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

May your holiday season be merry & bright.

Love,
The Williams Family The boys skillfully utilized static electric properties to stick about 20 balloons to the ceiling:

Due to a Christmas Eve snowfall, we were blessed with a white Christmas:

Washington, part II |The Rest of the Story

2007-12-22T10:47:00.001-07:00

Did you ever think you would see this?!? For some strange reason we haven't managed to post part two of our vacation to Washington this year, until now. To see part one, click here.

**As alway, feel free to click on the pictures to see them bigger.**

Photos by Tearsa, Janice, and Drey.

After our brief visit to Grey's Harbor, WA, we headed up to Whidbey Island, WA.
Since I don't really like writing very much, I'll just give a few highlights.

Crabs|The boys loved catching crabs:
Sinus Infection|Ok, not much of a highlight, but Tavin did get a sinus infection:
Lighthouses|We saw a total of four lighthouses on our trip. Here is the Point Wilson Lighthouse in Port Townsend:
Kite Flying|The beach is a pretty good place to fly kites:
Coupeville|A town with a sweet wharf:Buses|Nothing beats free bus rides:The Park|This park has all sorts of wooden playing areas, swings, etc.:
Blackberries|Ok, I take back what I said about buses. Free blackberries growing everywhere is definitely better than free buses:
Look at Til's sweet Nacho Libre moves!
The Beach+Ocean|My Grandma lives right on the beach, so....:
The boys buried these huge logs in the sand:
Seattle|Dad flew up near the end of our trip. We picked him up in Seattle, and then spent the rest of the day there:

Pike Place Market Space Needle (do you know how much it costs to ride up? consequently, we skipped the ride)
The Monorail
Drey, risking his life on art
A huge fountain by the space needleWet from the fountain (some of us)

It's here!

2007-12-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

My cookbook came today!

The front cover:

Front & back cover:It's a cute little 7x7-inch book, perfect to have on hand without taking up a bunch of space, but it's still 120 pages, and over 1/4-inch thick.The contents page: Each recipe has at least 1 picture, but many have more, like these step-by-step pictures for pot stickers!

Caramel Poke Cake:The index has each recipe in alphabetical order, along with a little picture of each:

Natalie's New Baby

2007-12-08T21:11:00.001-07:00

Natalie & Mark had their baby December 6th. Natalie is our niece. To see her blog go here.
This is Alexander, weighing 8 pounds 2 ounces, 21 inches long. Isn't he beautiful? I love the cowlick.

Cookbook

2007-12-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

My cookbook is finally finished! I've ordered a proof copy, just to make sure everything looks right, but as soon as it arrives I'll order more. (Unfortunately, they won't come in time for Christmas.)

To see the recipes in it, go here. To see the company I'm ordering the books, click here.

The book:
softcover
7x7-inch
120 pages
56 recipes+a photo of each

If you live by me and would like a book, each copy will be $25.95. If you don't live by me, the price will be about $6 more (unless you order more than one, then the shipping will be less).

If you would like a copy, or are considering getting a copy but want to see the final book when it arrives, or just want to see the book, leave me a comment.

Happy Birthday Pt. B

2007-12-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

By Aaron:
Tearsa had friends over for her 18th birthday this afternoon. I'm not much for writing nor for blogs; however, I wanted to publicly comment about this group of girls. They seem to me to be one of the finest groups of young women that could possibly be assembled. It was a wonderful experience to spend a little time with them and reflect back over the years. Each one of them has matured into a beautiful woman and each has an awesome personality. I am so very grateful that Tearsa has always had good friends to associate with and to be part of her life. I salute each of them and thank them for their friendship and example to Tearsa. Days like today certainly give a dad all of the satisfaction that could ever be expected.Ashley & Emily

Kelsey & KaylaCharlie & Heidi

Happy Birthday Pt. A

2007-12-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the priority deadline for fall 2008 at BYU, so late last night I finished and submitted the rest of my application.

This morning at 12:05 am I got an e-mail saying BYU has received my completed application and I would receive my admittance decision within 4 weeks. At 12:13 am, I received an e-mail saying that a decision had been reached! And I'm in!!!!

(Yes, I think this falls under the category of bragging, but Mom said it was okay, so pretend she is saying all this, not me.)

Isn't this a great birthday present!?!

Christmas is Comming!

2007-11-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

Tilmann's Christmas branch

Annual Winter Snow Trip

2007-11-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Drey, Taft, and I went on our church youth group snow trip yesterday. We left around noon and came back this morning. Because we went a month early this year, there was only a few inches of snow, and we brought four-wheelers instead of snowmobiles. I didn't take very many pictures, and the ones I did take I don't like very much. Except this one of Drey:**On second though, I decided I'd show some more pictures.**

There wasn't much snow, but it was still really cold:Heidi and her friend Jacklyn:

Hooray for Black Friday!

2007-11-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Mom, Tavin, and I braved the crowds on Friday to fill our trunk with steals & deals!

Rubber Band War!

2007-11-17T22:25:00.001-07:00

Today, Drey, Tavin, and Tilmann decided it would be fun to shoot each other with rubber bands.

Here is Drey trying Tilmann's rubber band gun out on Tavin: Because only Tilmann has a gun, Tavin had to attack with fingers:He loads, aims, and.....VICTORY!Tavin was losing, so he and Drey made a box shield:

In the end, both Tilmann and Tavin got really put out. I guess they don't understand that people get hurt when they fight:

AUGHHH!!!!!

2007-11-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

It's a glorious day! After taking the ACT five times, I finally got the score I needed.

I GOT A 34!!!!!!!!

This mean that I get four years paid tuition at BYU! AUGGHHHHHH!!!!!! Life is sweet.

I found out my score online at school, so I called Dad and told him, and he told Mom (who was in town), and she got me a balloon! Sweet!Also, I got my free complimentary photo from school today (and I think my balloon picture is better):

If you like blood...

2007-11-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

Drey was able to get a Deer Tag this year! Ya-Hoo!! At least it was pure excitement for him. The first day he went out with his cousins, Lance & Jared, as they headed up towards the south hills, they found snow, about 8 inches of it. Lots of deer....but not much on the lines of bucks. Drey is also new at using a bigger gun. The next day he went with his cousin Lance & brother Taft....the next day it was with Grandpa and cousin Jared. Wondering where his father was? He was off with Tearsa for 3 days to Utah.

Anyhow, here is the prize deer. It was a mess by the time they brought it over to the shop, and dark outside.....but we choose the 'less amount of blood' photos. I'm posting this for history sake. This was very important to the 'menfolk' in our household. Yes, we have been eating deer meat, any recipes would be helpful too.

CSI Bazaar

2007-11-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I did the bazaar at the local college. This is a picture of my booth that I shared with a friend. I sold jams, jellies, primitive dolls, purses/bags, and batches & batches of rice crispy treats.

Only one more month...

2007-11-01T18:27:00.000-06:00

...until my birthday! Yep, December 1st is the big 1-8!
I don't think I have any "birthday" pictures of me, so here is a photo Mom took a few days ago:(Sorry for the lame-ish posts recently. If you want something better, convince my mom that she has time to blog more often.)

So.

2007-10-28T19:38:00.000-06:00

So, I've been working on my cookbook, and I've decided that I'm going to put only so many recipes in it. I just don't have time to do everything that I've photographed. So Mom and I went through the list and here is what is going to be in it:

French Toast
Belgian Waffles
Fried Rice
Chicken Chowder
Beef & Vegetable Soup
Chicken & Grape Salad
Acini de Pepe
Cabbage Salad
Ribbon Jell-O
Monte Cristo Sandwiches
Sloppy Joes
Oregano Bread
Blueberry Muffins
Rolls
Bagels
Cinnamon Rolls
Banana Bread
Zucchini Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Poppy Seed Bread
Chicken & Mushroom Dijon
Cranberry Chicken
Chicken & Rice Dinner
Gunpowder Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas
Lemon Chicken
Beef Chow Yuk
Lasagna
Pot Stickers
Snake Bite Beans
Caramel Poke Cake
Berry Pie & Crust
Blonde Brownies
Chocolate Chunk Brownies
French Mint Brownies
Candy Bar Brownies
Molasses Cookies
Snickerdoodle Cookies
Mrs. Field’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Rolo Cookies
Gumdrop Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Black & White Cookies
Wheaties Cookies
Danish Puff Pastry
Lemon Bars
Fruit Pizza
Sugar Cookies
Bonbons
Peanut Brittle
English Toffee
Caramels
Caramel Corn
Chex-Almond Sticky Stuff (?)
Tijuana Tidbits

It's been a month?!?

2007-10-25T18:01:00.000-06:00

Sorry we haven't posted in...like....forever! Busy, busy, busy. School is trying to kill me, but I'm surviving. I've been working on my cookbook, and it should be done by the first of December. Lots of other things going on, but I'll write later (hopefully). Here is a photo of me that Taft took yesterday:

Zachery

2007-09-27T18:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, our family visited our newest cousin!
Zachery, the son of Jared and Lindsay, born September 26, 7 lbs. 1 oz., 19 inches long!
To see more pictures of Zachery, go to the photoblog!

2007-09-19T16:49:00.000-06:00

Sorry we haven't been posting very frequently. We started school again, and it has made our lives a little busy.

However, I did just post on the photoblog! Our good friend Heather had a baby girl on the fourth of this month, so I got to photograph the baby and Heather's other two children!

And here's a picture, so this post won't be boring:

Grand Prize Winner!!!

2007-09-01T16:15:00.000-06:00

This summer at our local library they had a reading program/contest called Summer '007: Licensed to Read. To enter the contest, I had to read a book and fill out a recommendation form on it. The more forms, the more chances to win. And I like to read. Their grand prize was a Zen Stone mp3 player. And guess who won!?!? Me!

Volcano

2007-08-30T08:38:00.000-06:00

Yesterday in Alaska where my older brother Jon spends much of the year fishing, Mt. Pavlof errupted! This is about 50 miles from Sandpoint, which is where he lives. The second photo shows it at night, where you can see a some orange color, that is the lava. Photos sent by Jon's neighbor.

2007-08-24T22:25:00.001-06:00

Yahoo! Check out our new layouts! Click the top links to check out our food blog and the new photoblog!

**Note: All our websites look better with Mozilla Firefox, instead of Internet Explorer. We think firefox is better, faster, and easier to use, too, so we recommend downloading it and saying good-bye to internet explorer. Download HERE.**

2007-08-23T16:07:00.001-06:00

Yay for waterproof cameras! (by the way, we're trying out new photo sizes. do you like the size, or is it too big that it takes forever to load? on our computer it's still speedy, so let us know)

2007-08-21T18:56:00.001-06:00

*Food blog updated*

Washington, part I |Grey's Harbor

2007-08-20T12:37:00.000-06:00

*Feel free to click on any of these pictures to see them bigger*

Okay, here it is! Our first installment. We left on July 24th, leaving our husband/father at home. Our first stop was at the Twin Falls DMV to get new license plates! Nothing like extra delays :-). Here's Taft & Drey working their quickest:This year instead of going directly to Whidbey Island, WA, we made a little detour to Grey's Harbor, WA. (Janice and her bros and parents use to go camping here when they were younger. )Grandma/Mom Bruneau met us there in her RV. We stayed there until Friday, and camped in two different campsites. Here is a picture of Tavin, Drey, and Taft sitting around, staring at the fire:At one of the campsites there was a playground with this really cool digging 'machine' that Til and the other boys enjoyed:One of the attractions of Grey's Harbor is the lighthouse. If you have bought postage stamps recently, you may have noticed that this lighthouse is included in the lighthouses stamp series! It's also one of the tallest lighthouses on the West coast:
Here's Drey on the stairs going up the lighthouse:
Here are the boys on a dock, walking around, looking at boats, etc:
Tilmann on the dock:
The boys weren't just looking at the boats, they also had to push them, hang on ropes, and do other mischievous things:
Her is Drey and Tavin running down the dock, scaring seagulls. Feel free to click picture to see bigger:Another neat thing about Grey's Harbor is they have cranberry bogs! Here is an old house with a cranberry field in the foreground:
And here are the cranberry plants up close (they aren't ripe yet; that's why they're green):
And here's a single cranberry:
And yet another great thing about Grey's Harbor is the beaches. The waves here are much bigger than in Whidbey Island, so it was new and exciting to play in the waves:More water & waves:
You can drive your car on this beach! Drey is driving:Grandma Bruneau and Sam-Sam:Super Drey with a skim board:
It was really fun to just jump in the waves:
Here's Taft with his sweet skim board moves:
Drey and seagulls, by Janice:There was this building that had one side with people painted on it. Janice wanted a picture with her sons mingling with the paint people, and here's what she got:
Well, there's the highlights of that chunk of our vacation. More to come!
by Tearsa

2007-08-16T16:04:00.000-06:00

We're home! Soon we will be posting all about our trip, but for now enjoy Drey:

2007-07-23T19:53:00.000-06:00

We are going to Washington tomorrow, but the car still isn't packed!

Emily

2007-07-23T17:57:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures I took of my friend Emily yesterday. If you can't see the slideshow, click in the white area where it should be, and then it should start up.

Wedding | Brittany+Tyler

2007-07-20T20:37:00.000-06:00

Brittany and Tyler were married yesterday in the Idaho Falls Temple. Here are some pictures from their wedding & reception:

It's Raining, It's Pouring.

2007-07-17T17:07:00.001-06:00

When it rains it pours.....that was this afternoon's motto. It was raining so hard that the drops were just bouncing off our sidewalk and driveway. Actually when it started to rain, the drops were so big that it sounded like hail on the windows. We also had the thunder & lightening and wild wind. The wind blew down plenty of bird's nests in the yard. The lightening must have started a fire somewhere- even in the pouring rain, you could smell the smoke....but Aaron went out hunting and couldn't find the fire.
Later in the evening I took this photo. It's our plum tree...."and this year's plums go to- yes that's right, to the birds!" There is all sorts of green golf balls under our plum tree- way too much wind today. Bummers.

Rain? Yes, In Six More Weeks!

2007-07-16T20:10:00.001-06:00

We are in a drought....and haven't had rain in such a long time. It's been even harder when the temperatures are in the upper 90's- 100's day in and day out. But today we figured out how to get it to rain. The last time it rained was when we were cutting hay (6 weeks ago) .....until today....again we are cutting hay. This afternoon a storm came in, down pouring water, thunder & lighting the whole works. Not really what any farmer wants, when the hay is down. Taft was swathing, Drey raking, and Aaron stacking & baling....but that lovely production has come to a stop for a day or two.

Taft's Birthday!!

2007-07-16T10:27:00.001-06:00

Taft Paxman Williams turned 13 years old on July 6th. He is now just over 5 foot ( 5' 1/4") and weighs 104 pounds. Taft is strong.... he took a bag of sand out of the car trunk, walking across the carport with it, the bag weighed 100 pounds, almost as much as he does!

For his birthday, which has become a tradition, we went camping. The above photo is from camping, he is eating his blond brownie...which was close enough to a birthday cake!

This year he has learned to bale, using the equipment to run the one ton baler. Aaron says he does a better job than the hired man....Taft watches behind him, having less broken bale problems. He also understands where to drop off the bales, making it easier for his dad when he picks them up and stacks them.

Snake River Celebration

2007-07-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

As part of the celebration of Taft's birthday, our whole family went on boat trip down the Snake River. The adults in our family went on the same trip a couple weeks ago, check older post for scenery photos. Here Taft is trying his hand with fishing, which a couple of them did, without luck. One of the high lights of the trip was watching some of the jumpers off the bridge. Sometimes they land in the water, thus the reason for the boat near by. Other wise they land in a flat area behind the clump of trees. There were two jumpers that night, who jumped twice.Tilmann & Taft are looking at a hole in the rock forms. There are a few of these, which happens with the strong currents over time, and smaller rocks in the hole moving around. Often the holes are perfectly round. It is beautiful down in the canyon, peaceful on the water...and a great place to eat. We were grateful for the Jensen's (our potato farmer) to take our family on a boat ride.

Are You Sleeping....Brother Jon? Brother Jon?

2007-07-10T20:20:00.001-06:00

This is my older brother Jon, who lives part of the year in Alaska on the Aleutian Chain of Islands- Sandpoint is where his home is. I've decided that a Fisherman's Life is much like a Farmer's Life....long hours and always something that needs done.
I love the above photo- he is holding a King Salmon. Behind him is Korovin Island. Jon's neighbor sent me photos, so I decided to post them...Mom will love seeing them!
Jon's neighbor- Tina, explains the photos; "The fish in the basket are red (sockeye) salmon and the big fish he is holding up is a King salmon. Reds bring in the highest price. They are a redder and firmer fleshed fish. Jon setnets so he has a net(s) set with anchors or is anchored to the shoreline. He takes the skiff to go out and pick his gear. They then deliver the bags of fish to a tender vessel which comes by during the day or is sometimes anchored near. The small vessel is the boat Jon runs in the summer. It is small, but perfect for setnet fishing and he does live on it during the fish openings and comes in during the closures. He has one crew member. The weather is decent in the summer so the size of the vessel is not an issue. The June season is over now and the July/Aug season on the islands open around the 6th."

Jon's Alaska home...a moment of peace in the morning.
Photo of Jon by the shed stripping a net.

Busted Buster

2007-07-10T19:39:00.000-06:00

This is our suburban....it sits quietly on the back part of our driveway.... But something happened to the window of the car. Could this event tie in with the fact that Tilmann has been saving his money and finally bought a BB Gun? A gun which by the way worked for a day, and now it's busted. But Tilmann says he didn't do it....it's not the only BB gun in our household, and the brothers wanted to try the new BB gun.....so who is busted?
We figured who ever did it, didn't realize that the lilac greenery in the yard does cover the fact that there is a car on the other side. (see below photo) Tomorrow the window is getting fixed.

Friends: Hoyt Family!

2007-07-10T18:57:00.000-06:00

Rex & Denise Hoyt and their Whole Family were in town this weekend, for the celebration of (Denise's parents) Russ & Ardith Weaver's 50th wedding anniversary! We've missed the Hoyts (they moved away a year ago) & I am sure we aren't alone....so I am posting a few family photos. (You can click on the photo to enlarge)

'Knee High By the Fourth of July'

2007-07-04T14:02:00.001-06:00

This is looking like a great corn year. We've been looking forward to the 4th of July so that we could get a picture of our corn. It's a little bigger than knee high - in fact it's close to an elephants eye. Corn growth is one of the miracles on the farm. Our temperatures are right around 100 and the corn grows about 4-6 inches each day.

Very Sad

2007-06-28T12:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I fell into a mud/water pit that Tavin and Tilmann made. No big deal, except I happened to have my camera in my hand at the time. So now my camera is toast. Luckily, Mom has a camera that I will borrow, but getting a new camera is now in my near future. Will I buy the same model of camera on Ebay, or a different point & shoot? Or maybe just go for it and get a DSLR? It remains to be decided. Just thought everyone should know that I am now semi-without a camera.

***Update: I just took pictures for my food blog, and I think I will have to get a new camera very soon. I can't handle using Mom's camera for much longer...

Boat Cruise Down Snake River

2007-06-26T19:25:00.000-06:00

We took a boat cruise down the Beautiful Snake River this month with friends, 5 couples...no children. It was a planned barbecue dinner party, with a boat ride first. Above is a daylight photo of the Perrine bridge. Yes, it is a large bridge with 4 lanes for traffic....cross it, and you're in Twin Falls. Down low where we are, there are two golf courses, each involving the Snake River, but on different sides of the river.
Aaron, with Russ in the cowboy hat, and Gary, up front of the boat, enjoying the view. Russ told us that in his high school days, he & some friends stole a chicken....and dropped the bird off the bridge. Oddly enough it didn't try to flap it's wings, but soared and made it to the side of the river.
Here is our mighty captain...look closely at his shirt, which reads 'Captain Chuck'. He is actually our potato farmer, renting one of our fields again.
Not lots of water falling over the falls, most at this time of the year is headed off to the farmers, but water with noise is wonderful.
Here is a photo of the 'party boat'. It can hold a group, but it doesn't go fast. We are anchored so we can go off and explore. The smoke up front is dinner cooking...not the boat overheating.
The rocks here are large, with caves, holes and other wear and tear from the raging water...fascinating.
Strong Man moving the boulders apart.

This photo of the Perrine Bridge in the evening. Aaron took it. You can look at it sideways, or upside-down and it looks the same...with the reflection from the water. We spent hours out and about, and I loved every minute of it!

Fishing in Alaska

2007-06-24T21:19:00.000-06:00

This is my Older Brother Jon with a Cod Fish....not quite an attractive fish for the cover of National Geographic, but very nice size. These photos are from this winter, right now he is salmon fishing. But I decided that I would post them today, since it is my father's birthday....dad spent part of a summer years ago with Jon on a boat in Alaska....Jon lives part of the year on the Aleutian Chain of Islands in Alaska. I bet you didn't know I had an adventurist in my family.

Crab....crab season was after cod season. These are Opilios crabs. In the below photo my brother is on the right.

Winter....this is the Bering Sea with ice floating upon it. If our Grandma Bruneau saw this photo, I'm not too sure if she would let Jon travel up to Alaska anymore! Who would want to be out in this sea- during this season? I wish my brother a safe....and sane season! Tilmann, "Why would Uncle Jon want to grow up to be a fisherman....it looks too dangerous."

Badger Hunting

2007-06-24T10:27:00.000-06:00

Drey & Taft with their very dead badger. Badgers are wicked animals, just ask Tilmann, if they were good, they would be called 'good-gers'...but they are bad-gers. They are a great problem on the farm. Notice the next photo, and you can see the size of holes that they make. Yep, you can fall in them....often they are going after ground squirrels, but what ever it might be, they make a big mess. The boys had a plan on getting this badger, their holes are deep, so they filled it up with water 50 plus gallons, causing it to come out of it's hole half-drown...then to be hit by 12 gage shot gun & a 22.

I thought I would throw in this photo from winter. I used it to make a trap-shooting poster, and thought it was a good one of the hunting boys.

2007-06-22T06:56:00.001-06:00

***The Food Blog is now alive!***
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Drey

2007-06-21T17:57:00.000-06:00

This is a photo of Drey from this winter, but it's a favorite. I measured him yesterday, he is now officially the height of my older brother, Jon....6 foot 1 inch! (That by the way is 2 1/2 inches in 4 months!!) Drey is 15 and finally has his drivers permit (that lovely class has finally come to an end!) Of course Drey has been driving for the last 10 years, as a lad his dad would put him in a hay truck, shift it down low, and tell him to steer towards something in the open field, while he and his brother & father would throw off bales of hay off the truck. (those days are long gone, since we bale 1 ton bales & a better back plan on getting them off the truck!) But you know driving on open road, with other cars is a whole new ballpark!

Idaho Syringa Girls State

2007-06-16T21:47:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm finally back from Girls State! It was held at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, from Sunday (the 10th) to today. Basically, Girls State is a week of mock government. We were put into cities and counties, and we were either Federalists or Nationalists. We could run for city, county, and state offices, and we debated and passed bills in either the House or Senate. Etc. There were some fun parts, but I don't think I could say that it was a fun experience. Basically, I was counting down the days until I could go home. Here is a group picture of everyone there. I'm the person in the back in the red circle. You can click on this picture to enlarge it, but I don't think it will help much. I'm still just a little dot in the back. This is a picture of the Idaho Governor and his wife. We were able to listen to them talk, and then each city had their picture taken with them. So here's my city: (I'm in the bottom row, second from the right.)Thursday was inauguration of the new Girls State Governor. Everyone had to wear formal dresses, so it seemed like a good time to take pictures. By the way, we had to wear dress clothes every day. Here is most of my city:At Girls State we did a lot of singing, clapping, standing and clapping, and debating bills. We were always doing something, and we generally didn't get to bed until past 11 o'clock, so I was feeling really tired most of the time. I felt overwhelmed, but I also felt bored lots of the time. Contradictory, but that's how I felt. I was incredibly bored during bill debating. I really didn't have phone access to call home, so I spent most of my time writing down everything that happened in my journal. It took my mom two hours to read it today. Really. It's like I wrote a book, not a few journal entries. I'm proud of myself, so I included some pictures of my journal. The middle pages are from Girls State:

On the Road Again!

2007-06-13T16:40:00.000-06:00

My Mother headed off this morning in her motor-home. It's been lonely without her...o.k. not really lonely, but a bit more of an 'empty spot' without her. (how can I be lonely with all these boys?) I've been missing Tearsa, who is off for the whole week to Girl's State. Now with Mom gone too, it's just slowed down. (I could get back into the cleaning mode?) We loaded her motor-home with 22 boxes for our summer yard sale....I've been collecting since last summer! Yard sales on the island are popular, and help pay for gas for our summer vacation to the island! Anyhow Mom's been great company, we've done lots of stuff while she's been here....which by the way was her longest visit yet...but still not quite long enough!

This by the way, was a photo I found in my camera....Tavin was in and out of the house this morning, (with his dad, who is stacking hay) while I was in town with Tilmann, waiting on Drey for his drivers ed. class. Self-portrait I'm sure.....

Hayminator Rides

2007-06-11T20:15:00.000-06:00

Mom took a ride in the 'Hayminator', our hay retriever. Aaron built this out of a garbage truck 7 years ago. There is a front bar clamp that picks up & squeezes together 1 ton hay bales, then drops them up on top of a ramp....the bales sides down to the bottom. The truck can carry 8 bales at a time. The two lower photos show how he can stack them, 4 go at one time, with a stop to hold the others in place, then they can drop down and be stacked. It's a nifty piece of equipment. Mom decided she wanted to ride out in the field and gather first hand knowledge of its skills. It bangs and clangs, and bumps...and when it drops the bale on top of the cab ramp & it slides down....well she decided it was very much like a carnival ride! Yes, she loved it. Taft by the way was working on the same pivot with Aaron, working in the baler. If you notice the hay isn't all bright green, it's because we've had a chunk of a rain storm when the hay was cut.

By the way, Mom was just outside reading a book, sitting on a chair in the grass, when her dog went barking....she quickly grabbed him, before he headed out of the yard, since he had spotted 2 skunks in our driveway!!! I hope they don't find the cat food, because I really don't want any more pets!

Family Photo Out West

2007-06-11T09:23:00.000-06:00

(Click on Photo to enlarge)
Saturday night, we did family photographs up in the hills, at the old Buck Rice Place, which in it's day was a wealthy homestead. There were Aaron's parents, and all their descendants, making about 2 dozen of us. We wore white shirts, and denim bottoms. He also took individual family pictures, which he did ours in front of the house, with the boys in the windows. After all was said and done, I asked our niece, Natalie to take a photo of the family for the blog, so it might not quite be like he had posed us, but at least the same general area. I cropped out part of the upper part of the house, for it is two story, but my niece took a photo of the photographer & his wife, so you can sort of see more of the house.

We loved the photographer, Jim Fort, & his wife Mary. They attended High School with Aaron, Jim a year older, Mary his grade. For locals, his business is Addison Photography.

Grandma & Grandchildren

2007-06-09T08:58:00.000-06:00

Another attempt to take a photo with grandma .....much more difficult than it needs to be. Of course there are the blinking eye problems, but then there are also the goofy kid problems too.

I think this is the best that we are going to get.

Mom & Her New Hair-Do.

2007-06-09T08:44:00.000-06:00

Mom decided to get her hair done while in Idaho. I think it looks great! Cut & highlighted! Doesn't her shirt match our wild roses perfectly?

Here is the back, where you can easily see the highlights. I am not use to seeing my mother with short hair....I was the one with short hair in our family!

My Mother, Joyce with her dog, Samson. Nice photo....notice how her shirt matches the color of our clematis flowers? Tye-dye can do that! It has been so nice to just have mom around....she will dearly be missed when she heads home.