We took a little trip to Fort Bridger recently

This Fort was started by Jim Bridger,

then taken over by the Mormons, and finally taken over to the military.

There are lots of interesting things to see and most importantly room to run.

Here is a bear trap circa 1900

We acquired a bugle player

An old Chuck Wagon and my dearest explaining

that they might have hung a dutch oven off the bottom.

Here is the nice young man who taught Mowg how to play the bugle.

They were both pretty pleased about the experience.

Tiny is excited about finding a ground squirrel hole. 

The ground squirrel disappeared moments before.

Pull the handcart (or just stand by your brother) in the museum

Lots of great benches along the way to just "sit for a little bit" Tiny would say.

Ranch House (or Officers Quarters...I can't remember)

 Boardwalk

We had lunch on the band stand and had a little entertainment as well.

Three hours were gone *poof* just like that.

It was proclaimed the "best day".

Here's a few pictures from our "Friday Fun Day on Saturday" a few weeks ago.

We have "Friday Fun Day" with our cousins and their Mom and I take turns being in charge.

This was her week and we had so much fun with the painting techniques.

We learned the word "Monochromatic" and made coffee paintings.

The paint is made from a little instant coffee and water. 

The ratio of water to coffee determines the intensity of the color.

The kids also traced this cardboard shapes onto a piece of paper.

Then they colored them in with washable markers.

Once that was finished they took a dropper and splashed water on them. 

 I didn't get a picture of any of the final products,

but it gave them a really neat water color effect.

It was a fun day (as they always are)

(and I remembered to take the camera and take pictures for a change.)

OK Jess, this is for you. 

These are the best I got of our cute baby chicks

and I think they're much cuter in person.

Arcana the darkest and feistiest two.

 I think these are Arcana's too, but it's hard to tell

The golden ones without any marks are Buff Orpingtons.

It was so fun to watch them swallowing their first drink upon arrival.

Hanging out under the lamp

Working on some grit

(or what happens when you drop the camera down by the bird and just snap the shutter)

There you have it, some cute baby chick pics.

So guess what?  You'll never guess, so I'll tell you.  We got baby chicks.  Cute baby chicks.  I think they're all going to make it--at least at this stage of the game.  Thanks to some kind family members who will let us keep them out on there property (no room here!).  I was up at 4 this morning anxiously awaiting the call from the post office.  It didn't come until about 8 a.m. (after I'd given up of course).  I learned how to help them take a drink as we unpacked them, what to feed them and what to watch for.  Then we had a fun day just playing, plotting and thinking.    We have about a dozen Arcana's which will lay different colored eggs (blue).  They are wildly different themselves from a soft blue to a dark brown/black stripe on their back.  Then we have about a dozen Buff Orpingtons which are the loveliest yellow.  So mild mannered.  Arcana's not so much.  Practically impossible to photograph or count for that matter.  Well I'm off to bed.  Even when you don't have the dirt a little farming's fun.

I forgot about Tiny's skirt.  She did wear it the other day,

but this was the closest I could get to getting her into the skirt today.

I really love it.

Recently were able to get blackberries at a really great price.  So we made Jam and Syrup.

Tiny Smashed 'em down

Up

Down

See

It made a little jam and a little jelly.

We're going somewhere exciting today, can you guess where?

Hint:  He's blurry and in the background

This girl is definitely a child of this area.  Those are hot pads on her hands.

She put them on along with her brother's snow boots.  Then she asked for a hat and a coat.

"I have my mittens now I can go sledding."

(No snow for the last several days and it's mostly gone on the ground)

Finally in really super big news Mowg lost his first tooth! 

 He's far more excited that he looks in this picture.

There's a hole there!

And here we have a gratuitous sugar pouring shot. 

I just don't want to fight blogger layout anymore.





Add some sugar!

At last here are the pictures of all the "lately mades"

Two log cabin blocks.  I really love the bottom one.

New pants!  He was excited.

A little closer in

I love this quilt top! 

I also think it looks much better in person.

Can you see the mermaids?  Seahorses, octupi and seaweed?

These are just scrap blocks that I was playing with.

I like how they turned out.  I'm not sure how to put them together.

Here is a cousins shot from last fall.  I just love how it shows all the kids in motion.  It really does look a lot like they do whenever they're together:  having fun and moving at light speed.  It really is grand when your cousins are some of your very best friends.

Wow has it really been a week already?!  It's been busy here.  Not much external pressure, but this is what I have been doing:

I was brave and sewed Britt's pants together (they've been cut out for about 4 months) and they fit!  (Thank you Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross)

Made a Lazy Days Skirt (courtesy Oliver Plus S free pattern, which I LOVE found here) for Tiny (couldn't leave her out of the "my Mom made it for me" bliss)

I cut most of my swap squares (400 4" squares and 43 5" squares, only 9 left)

I placed my first order through Bountiful Baskets (dot org....if you're interested.  It's a fresh fruit and vegetable co-op in several states: Texas, Utah, and Arizona to name a few) and I'm deliriously excited for our pick-up on Saturday.   Happy Day to me!  (Yes, deliriously excited)

I've been re-organizing the garage again and while it's coming together slowly there is now a walkable path through it as long as you don't get too swingy with your hips or carry too big of a load.

Began slogging through a mountain of laundry.  Laundry is my Nemesis.

Taking Mowg to his elementary pre-school 4 days a week.  He loves it.  I love that it's gotten him excited for school in the Fall and comfortable with being at the school.

Consoling Tiny who sobs and says, "Mom, I'm going to miss Mowg." Every single day.

Dodging snow flurries as they mix up the sweltering 60 degree days (complete with sunburns)/


That's my busy life and I love the little moments like these:

Saturday night I told Mowg that I would finish his pants and that they'd be hanging on the back of my sewing chair in the morning and he could just grab them and put them on.  I didn't get them done and left them hanging there inside out thinking that he would ask me about them.  Instead when I woke up I found that he was wearing them still inside out and pleased as punch to have them...even though they weren't hemmed.

Tonight after Mowg got in trouble for some interacting with the neighbor kids Mowg and I had a delightful discussion of all the letters he's learned at school.  What their sounds are and what words begin with them.  The sunshine after the storm was bliss.

In response to her Dad's question of "Why are you screaming?" Tiny responded, "I not screaming fast Dad, I screaming slow."

Tiny has also just begun to pray by herself.  When she's done she has to have high five's all around.

One of my favorite moments of the day is the nearly nightly group hug that Tiny or Mowg request in turns.  It is the perfect end to whatever kind of day it has been.