Fourth of July

There are tons of beautiful places to visit in the mountains around our home, so we went camping on the fourth of July weekend. We camped next to Worthen Meadows Reservoir in a nicely secluded campsite.



We had plenty of yummy campfire meals, including tinfoil dinners, corn on the cob, and trout.

My goofy husband wouldn't give me a decent face to take a picture, I picked this one to post because it is the least retarded.

Josh was our little trooper, he hung out in his chair most of the time when we weren't carrying him. I'm glad next time we go camping, his leg will be out of the cast!

Mike, the little fisherman, using his father's day present since his fishing pole got broke last year at the trailer park. I gave he and Josh a pole so they could fish together. We went fishing several times.

Josh got to meet each fish as they came back to shore. He would sqeal in delight when any of them would flop, but he wouldn't touch them.

Case, Mike's cousin, has stayed with us several weeks this summer, and he came camping with us.

It has been fun to have him stay with us, he is good help and a fun friend for Josh.

The Circus Came to Town!

While our friends Matt and Kolay were in town, we went to the Shrine Circus that came to town. For a small town circus, they did a pretty good job! Josh had his eye on everything and clapped when he saw things he liked. I think I got more entertainment out of watching him than the circus!


Here are some pictures of Josh enjoying the show.

They had three motorcyclists riding in this thing together! Josh kept sqealing and wiggling, trying to get a better look. I think this was his favorite.

This is his face watching the dirt bikers!

The elephant show was the only animal performance, but the show didn't lack because of it. They had trapeze artists, and lots of different acts and performances. During halftime, they had elephant rides, horse rides, face painting, snake photos. The horse ride foreman felt sorry for Josh's broken leg, so he got to ride for free, and loved it!

Landscaping Mom's Yard

When my parents built their house three years ago, I volunteered to do the landscaping for them. The landscaping included the installation of the sprinkler system, laying 5000 square feet of sod, spreading 4 dumptruck loads of gravel, and 2 loads of wood chips. I never got pictures of it after it was installed, so I finally snapped some when I went down a couple of weeks ago to finish the last of the landscaping.


This was the last project to finish, curbing, sod, flower gardens, gravel, patio, fence and waterfall.

We hauled in so many loads of soil, I can't even remember how many. Everything had to be graded, and the flower beds, mounded and shaped.

My dad hauled in several loads of 4 foot boulders to make walls and decorate with. I contracted the curbing to a local guy I went to school with, he did a fantastic job!

There are 14 Pallets worth of pavers in this yard that were used to make paths and patio areas.

Jack, one of my dad's welders did several fabricating projects, including this Grape arbor, a bridge, and swing set.

It is amazing to walk the paths of my mom's 2 acre yard. I never tire of looking at the new life that comes up.

My mom wanted a greenhouse and herb garden, so I placed raised beds to contain the herb growth and weeds. She has also used this area as a small veggie garden that is convenient to come and pick from the kitchen.

There are lots of places to sit and enjoy watching birds, flowers, or grandkids.

When my parents bought this place, there was a cabin by the creek and a deluxe tree house on the property, so they decided to keep them, and I designed around them. This is the path that leads to the creek and firepit area by the cabin.

They wanted to keep this area with a rustic feeling so I didnt do much besides the path, firepit, patio, and some plants.

Little Farm Boy!

I think this picture of Josh is about the cutest thing ever! But I have been known to be biased! My mom took this picture of him while he was diligently laboring in the garden! Hmmm, wonder where he learned to work?
Taking a moment to enjoy one of mom's favorite fruit together!

Grandma Bingham came for a quick visit, Josh loves the attention and doesn't mind the four-wheeler rides either!

Josh learned to weed from his dad, Mike hates weeding unless it is on an excavator!

I don't know what goes through Josh's mind, but he is earnestly leading this goat all around the pen!

Being the boy that he is, Josh CANNOT resist throwing rocks in the water, whether it is a watering trough or a pond, or whatever else may be around!

Here we go, off to feed the chickens, if you look close, you can see Josh is pulling his wagon full of kitchen scraps to feed the chickens. To call the birds, Josh says "BOK, BOK, BOK" and beckons with his hand for them to come. They usually dont come until I call them though!

Mom, feeding the cows.

Summertime Fun!

Josh loves water, so I set up a little kiddie pool and the hose for him to play in. He will spend hours playing in the water until his diaper is so soggy and heavy from the water, it just falls off!

Joshua's Birthday

Josh had his second birthday at the end of may, a couple days before he broke his leg. We had a fun afternoon full of activities. We went to Jaycee Park where we opened presents, had cupcakes, and games.
Mike brought us some yummy pizza, from dominos (so much for the cheap stuff!) and some drinks.

Josh and I made a little lamb pinata a couple days earlier, that we took turns hitting. We finally took the kids blindfolds off, and let them beat it, because it wouldn't break!

We played water tag, which ended up turning into an all out water fight, for some reason they all came after me!

We opened presents at our house from the family. and as always, Josh was so fun to watch. He is so appreciative of the gifts that it took him about 4 hours to open them all. We had to keep coming back and opening another one when he was ready! At least he isn't greedy!

Josh is all boy, he loves his wheels in any shape and form! Happy Birthday Joshua!