The Forgotten Orchard

Excuse

2010-01-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

I have a good excuse for not posting for the last little while.

It’s a nine pound excuse. Nine pounds and four ounces to be exact.

Sawyer is here.

I thought I would post a few pictures of him. Nate keeps asking me if he is really cute, or if he is just biased? I think some of each. His middle name has caused a little stir. We have also found that it is often mistaken for some kind of jellied holiday fruit. So the conversation goes something like this…

Them: “So what did you name him?”

Us: “Sawyer.”

Them: “That’s cute.” (Then their eyes narrow a little bit, and their voice gets a little more furtive, because they have already heard something about his weird middle name and they feel they need to do a little more investigation into what we have cursed our son with.) “Now…what is his middle name?”

Us: (We begin with the disclaimer) “We gave him a family name- Nate has a couple of great grandfather’s named Nathan Granberry.”

Them: “Oh ya?”

Us: “It’s GranBarry.”

Them: “Oh…I thought it was Cranberry.”

Us: “Nope- GranBarry”

*Awkward Silence*

Them: “So I heard he was a big baby…”

And that is how the name conversation ends.

Poor kid. Who knows what he will really get called anyway. Right now Nate call’s Rori “Horace”. (No offense to all the Horaces out there- but I think GranBarry is better than Horace.) Nate is already planning on naming our next son “Finn”. After 9lbs 4oz I don’t know about a “next.”

He has had a little bout with Jaundice that we are having a hard time keeping under control. He has had the light bed for almost a week now- and he hates it. Totally detests it, but it seems to be helping. He will go from a totally deep sleep to scream-his-head-off-get-me-off-this-thing theatrics just by placing him on the lights. I don’t think his favorite color will be blue.

Corneritis

2010-01-09T09:21:00.000-08:00

My husband has never been to medical school. I think he took human biology in high school, but I still don’t think that gives him the credentials to be throwing out diagnosis like he sometimes does.

After a quick review of my symptoms he has declared that I have a very severe case of corneritis.

Never heard of it? Neither have I. So here is the definition provided by my husband:

Corneritis /- [kawr-ner–ītis]
n.

Congestion of the corners in a domicile, caused by lack of organization or stashing and uncontrolled squirreling away. Symptoms include large stacks of stuff in corners, including books, bills, strainers, pressure canners, toys, beanbags, clothes, and baskets. Sever symptoms could cause irritation of the husband.

He requested that I post the following photos as proof of my problem:

Exhibit 1: Corner of the dining room

Exhibit 2: Other corner of the dining room

Exhibit 3: Corner of the nursery

Exhibit 4: Corner of our bedroom

Exhibit 5: Corner of our daughter’s room

I’m not sure what drives this obsessive compulsive disorder that I have. Nate is always threatening me that our next house is going to be round- with no corners. I tell him a big problem is there is no storage. He tells me there is but I don’t use it. I guess I will go clean the bathroom, I think it has a couple of empty corners that could use some filling up!

The Dumpster Books

2009-12-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

Rori and Gracie have dumpster books. Yup – snatched right out of the hands of the local sanitation engineers and thrust into the sweet hands of my daughters. Grandpa Barry brought them out. Told the girls “look what I pulled out of the dumpster for you.” – and handed over some kids books. And they read them. They know and remember that they came from the dumpster. In fact they call them “The books that grandpa gave us from the dumpster”.

Nate says he remembers his grandpa doing the same thing. Bringing home stuff and giving it out that was thrown in the dumpster, and he just happened to find. Like boxes of candy bars. These Pilcher boys are pretty scrappy. I guess when I find Nate with his posterior hanging out of a dumpster I won’t be surprised. Sounds like it runs in the family.

Nativity Brawl

2009-12-01T08:52:00.001-08:00

We never planned on collecting nativity sets – but it is neat to have a lot of them all set up together. We arranged them on the top of our computer hutch this year, and after placing them we lifted Gracie up to see them. She carefully looked them over, then looked back at us and said:

“Wow- that looks like a fight!”

So much for peace on earth and good will toward men.

It does look like some kind of yuletide mosh pit.

Makes me wonder who would really win the First Noel Smackdown. I think I would probably place my bets on the shepherds. They’re used to hard physical labor, and they have those wicked looking shepherd crooks –like a pastoral bo staff.

The Three Kings though – it sounds like some kind of tag wrestling team.

“LADIES and GENTS we welcome you to our seasonal Christmas Cage Fight! Do we have a show for you tonight!”

“In this corner, having just cameled in from the far east, THE THREEEEE KINGS!”

“And in this corner, abiding right here in the fields of the City of David, your very own bucolic brawlers, – the BETHLEHEM BAAAAASHERS! They’re not looking sore afraid tonight - if you know what I mean.”

Yeah- my money is still on the shepherds.

What are the wise men going to do anyway? Sprinkle you with frankincense?

Watch out New Moon- we’re ready for you

2009-11-29T08:39:00.000-08:00

I admit it. I read the Twilight books. Guys who sparkle in the sunshine don’t do it for me. Come to think of it- I don’t think I’ve seen Nate sparkle anywhere. I’ve seen him do other things that I can’t share on my family oriented blog- but not sparkle – no way – nuh-uh.

But Nate must be afraid of vampires. Or he feels threatened by how dreamy Edward Cullen really is – because my husband has planted more garlic than we could eat in four years. When I know he is doing something weird, and he knows I know it – talking to him never works.

“So why are we planting so much garlic?” I ask.

“This isn’t just garlic this is Susanville softneck- the perfect garlic for our climate.” His number one tactic is to confuse me with the facts. He thinks if he can spew enough facts out it will sidetrack me. He is pretty good at it. I am often sidetracked, in fact I remember when… But not this time, he was filling all my flower beds with garlic bulbs.

“So what are you going to do with this much garlic?”
“Braid it.”

“Braid it?”

“Besides eating it, braiding is what you do with garlic. You braid it and hang it.”

Now I have images of his next project which includes garlic hanging from various fixtures in my kitchen. Very Italianesque – but never in my decorating plan.

In the end I talked him into giving one of the bulbs away to his sister, who went home and planted more garlic than they will eat in a number of years as well.

At least Nate doesn’t have to worry about some debonair vampire coming in to sweep me off my feet. He’s got that covered, and braided, and hanging.

Thankful

2009-11-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

I’m thankful for little reminders of the blessings I have…

French fries scatted through the back seat of my car.

Crayon sketches on the backs of my dining room chairs.

Soggy Cheerios floating in warm cereal bowl milk.

Princess dress-up clothes scattered around the house.

Chalk drawings on my sidewalk and driveway.

That macaroni and cheese is a delicacy.

That bread crusts are nasty.

And the sweet call of “Mommy” both day and night, to remind me, I am the most important person in their world.

The Poison Apple

2009-11-24T07:38:00.002-08:00

I know why wicked step mothers poisoned apples. I know why the forbidden fruit is often portrayed as an apple. Why do the Halloween psycho paths pick the apple to hide their razor blades? Because the fruit is just plain downright evil.

When we constructed our house Nate carefully preserved the last two apple trees that survived in the once-orchard where our home is now built. By the end of each fall I always wish that he had simply cut the malevolent things down. We are always inundated with apples.

We pick them off when they are little to increase the size and decrease the yield. All summer long our daughters are paid a dollar a 5-gallon bucket to pick up the windfalls. And still we have bushels of apples. We gave some away, we made quarts and quarts of apple sauce, we made pie filling, we made apple butter. Still we had more apples.

I want you all to know. Once again, this year, I have conquered the apple tree.

Armed with my Vitorio Strainer, boiling and bubbling stockpots and gleaming jars I have won. The sink may be full of the casualties of my apple canning, the floors may be sticky from their lifeblood, but the last box of apples off the apple tree has been canned.

I didn’t do it all alone this year. I had help from a few stalwart individuals who would not feint at the site of buckets and boxes of apples. On the last batch my best help was Gracie. She turned and turned the handle on the strainer, mashing mountains of apples to mounds of mush.

In my canning frenzy, and halfway through eating a can of jellied cranberry sauce (I guess it must be one of those pregnancy cravings) I decided to try something a little different. I threw in some of this and some of that, our last batch ended up being Cranberry-orange-apple butter. The recipe, as best as I can render it is listed below

Lots of Apples

Couple cans of Cranberry Sauce (each containing over 600 Calories)

Orange zest

Orange Juice

Cinnamon

Cloves

Quarter apples and boil for 20 minutes. Remove from pot and press through strainer. Return to the stock pot and add all other ingredient to taste. Let simmer stir every few minutes for the next 2 hours or until the most of the liquid has evaporated. Pour in to jars and process for 20 minutes.

Pile it ON!

2009-11-21T15:39:00.002-08:00

I am good at making piles.

There are piles of clothes in my laundry room.

There are piles of paper at my computer.

There are piles of dishes in my sink. But the piles I like the best are the piles we make in the fall. Brown, red and yellow, each tree adds to the ante with its own shape and size of delicately fading leaves.

Autumn leaves have played an important part in the life of our family.

Nate proposed to me at the top of Butterfield Canyon in a late fall snow storm. On the way down the canyon he stopped and gathered leaves off one of the many chameleon like scrub-oak trees that were trading their glossy greens for the sun bright yellow and brilliant red. I keep those leaves carefully pressed in a book on our mantle. I don’t remember how many leaves he picked off the tree – he said we could give each of our kids one when they got married. Some part of me hopes he only picked three.

When we lived in Nate’s grandparents house, as they served a mission. we were cursed with three giant ash trees and 17 or more towering poplars. They dumped leaves all over the lawn. It felt like all we did was rake and mow leaves all fall. Nate was out raking up the leaves one night when he lost his wedding ring.

A combination of the cold and the work let it slip right off his finger. We had cousins and aunts and uncles, flashlights and metal detectors. My mom finally found it. Nate says that was the point she either wanted us to stay married or figured she didn’t want to give me the chance to do any worse – so she gave it back.

There is something magical about jumping into a pile of leaves. Something magnetic. Something that whispers to the child that dwells quietly in each of us “Come and jump into me, burrow through me.” Piles of leaves capture the smell of the earth, when the tops of the trees, so far from our reach are finally ours to play in.

It’s not truly fall, and winter cannot come, until the leaves piled so high, are scattered and tossed, by those who pounce, bury and burrow.

This Chicken Loves me!‏

2009-10-23T13:27:00.002-07:00

Every once in a while we make a decision spontaneously. For the most part it has worked out well for us without any regrets. One of our spontaneous decisions this year was to get chickens.

Chickens are cheap. Their food is not that expensive. But when Nate builds a chicken coop the cost increases dramatically.

We got seven chickens- they are called Brahmas and We have 4 light brahmas (Flower, Daisy, Helga and Contessa) and 3 dark brahmas (Clementine, Dixie, and Hyacinth).

The girls love them- and it has been a great experience for our family. We are learning a ton.

Gracie was sitting in the run with one the other day- and as she hugged it she told us “This chicken loves me!”

I am glad they are at least reciprocating the love- because they ain’t doin’ nothing else for us so far. Eggs should be due by February. We’ll see how it goes.

Beauty is...

2009-10-22T15:40:00.002-07:00

Now that Rori is in school she had her first stab at reflections. The theme this year is Beauty is...

After talking with Rori about the different types of project she could do she decided she wanted to take a picture. I asked her what she wanted to take a picture of and she said, "the chickens."

To tell you the truth I think the chickens are cute, but definitely not the definition of beauty. So I asked Rori how that fit the theme and she said...:because its a new baby chicken and new life is beautiful."

So here you have her entry entitled "Beauty is New Life"

Although she did not do the color adjustment she told me what she wanted. I did not crop the picture or adjust the sharpness for the most part this image was strait out of the camera.

Well today we went to the reflection assembly and Rori's picture is going on to the district level. She won a her first trophy.

We Picked a Name‏

2009-10-21T11:45:00.002-07:00

"Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?”

The brush continued to move.

“Like it? Well I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”

That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a touch here and there—criticized the effect again—Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said:

“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

- Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

We had absolutely no problem picking out a name for either of the girls. It was so simple, we both immediately agreed on both Rori and Gracie – “boy” has this been a different experience.

We haven’t been able to agree on any of the names for one reason or another. Nate’s supreme test of any name is if it sounds good in the name game song… “banana-fanna-fo- facie….Gracie”. Everything from “I knew someone named that in high school”, “that name sounds too ‘hard’”, “I don’t want his nick-name to be…”, to “that’s a good old man’s name- but not a little boy name” has been presented to disqualify various monikers.

Well I think we have the name.

We talked about this one a few times- and off-handedly disqualified it each time. Nate told me the other day that he had always wanted a little boy named Sawyer- because of Tom Sawyer. Nate is a big Mark Twain fan. I like the name too- and so- simply as that we settled on it.

Sawyer- because we like it- and Nate likes Mark Twain (He says he still gets to call the baby Huckleberry – his other Twainian choice)

GranBarry- Because Nate’s great-grandpa was named “Nathan Granberry”, Nate’s dad is named “Barry” and Nate’s middle name is “Barry”

Pilcher- Because that’s just the way it works.

We are excited. It even works with the name game- it must be right…

“Sawyer, Sawyer bo-boyer, banana-fanna-fo-foyer……”

Hackers Stink....we are going private

2009-09-09T15:21:00.002-07:00

Well I had my Identity stolen. Thank you if you are reading this post. So we are going private. Please send me your email address and I will invite you to or blog.

It's a.....

2009-09-04T16:24:00.002-07:00

Well after never officially announcing I was pregnant, I thought I should at least announce that we have found out what we are having....

Any guesses? Gracie said it should be a baby girl so it can have all of her old clothing. Rori said it should be a boy, cause she already has a sister and needs a brother to play with. As far as Nate or I, we were thinking it is a girl cause we can not agree on a boy name. So here are the results...

Yep it's a boy!!! I guess for Gracie's sake he will wear a little bit a pink and Nate and I will begin fighting over the name.

mean old woman....

2009-05-26T21:59:00.002-07:00

Yep that is the title I received tonight when I went to put Rori to bed at 8:00 pm. She informed me that I was a "mean old woman". I did not think that this day would come this soon, or that it would hurt so bad.

After I was done being mad, Rori and I talked about what had happened and she told me she just felt mad in her heart. I love Rori's ability to understand people and the way they feel along with how she feels. As she was apologizing she was crying, I asked her way she was crying she told me "i just feel sad about what I said".

I love you Rori even if I am a "mean old woman" at least I will always be YOUR mean old woman. Sleep well my little Roo.

my little lou

2009-05-16T22:52:00.002-07:00

Lately Gracie has really been keeping me on my toes as she begins to discover her independence. I thought I knew a lot about parenting and child development but Gracie has taught me great humility.

After one of her potty accidents I took her to the tub to get cleaned off. As I was looking for some clean underwear (which is virtually impossible to find lately) she decided to take off and this is where I found her.

Yes this is the front yard and yes that is a pile of dirt. As I watched her fascination with the dirt I realized how fleeting these childhood moments are, I love her and her determination to figure out the world. Being a mother is the greatest job ever.

To Bee or not To BEE‏

2009-05-16T21:55:00.002-07:00

When Nate was a teenager he would visit his great-grandmother Larue on her farm in south west Montana. His great-grandfather had passed away when he was around 10 or 11 years old. Each year as he visited his grandma (who he christened “Grandma-Far-Away” as a young child) they would have various projects to complete. More often than not, some of those projects would involve cleaning up or out some of his great grandfather’s belongings.

While cleaning out a storage room one summer Nate found his great-grandpa’s bee veil and smoker. Since that time he has been fascinated with the idea of keeping bees “just like grandpa did”.

So we bought a hive and a package of bees this year. It’s definitely a big change to not “freak” out when the bees land on you- but we have had an incredible time managing the hive to this point, as well as learning about the incredible lives of bees.

About five days after we placed the bees in the hive they swarmed and deserted the hive. No one is sure why- sometimes they just do that. We have a hard time keeping track of two little blond-headed girls- I guess 6,000 bees is even harder to keep tabs on.

Nate was pretty discouraged- but I wanted him to do it. I knew it was important to him. So I made some more connections and got help in catching another swarm. This time we have 30,000 bees.

We are in the process of getting it prepped to go into our own hive now.

We will keep you updated on our hive, our rogue bees, and try to stay away from anymore overly used and corny Shakespearean-referenced-blog-entry-titles.

the man i love

2009-04-14T10:52:00.002-07:00

Last night Gracie was really sick and was running a high fever. Whenever she runs a high fever at night she has night terrors. Sure enough at 12:00 she work up screaming. As Nate went to comfort her she told him that there was a scary guy in her room. Nate was so sweet. He asked her were the man was and then he went over and told the man to leave. Nate did not stop there he told the guy he had to leave our house. Nate walked out front opened the front door and then told the man never come back.

When he came back into Gracie room he had a prayer with her and talked to her about having faith and asked if she believe that Heavenly Father could keep her safe and happy. She said yes and then came to our room to sleep. Even though she still was concerned about the scary man through out the night she was easily calmed down each time.

Nate I love you and the wonderful father that you are to my children. Thank you for the support you give me and the girls. I love you

more from the photoshoot

2009-04-14T10:14:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I meet with Justin Hackworth to go over the rest of the images form the shoot. Here are a few of my favorites.

Justin is an amazing photographer. Right now he is running a deal to go along with 30 Strangers anyone can email him and he will give you the scope. Justin captures who you are and truly values the lives of people. He says he is not just taking pictures but creating history. Thank you Justin for capturing my history. I will treasure this pictures and the time we had to get to know you! Thanks for making us smile.

april fools

2009-04-14T08:52:00.002-07:00

Dinner anyone?

What about a drink?

Rori helped me cook this Dinner for Nate on April fools day. It was a lot of fun to see her giggle as Nate tried to drink his jello and eat his spaghetti which was cake. Nate really played it up as he ate. For dessert we had cupcakes with pink frosting (meatloaf with pink mashed potatoes).

All in all the day was a lot of fun. Hope your day was filled with trick also.

photo shoot

2009-04-06T15:25:00.002-07:00

Over the weekend I had a great opportunity to have a 4 generation picture taken. Justin Hackworth is doing a project called 30 strangers in 30 days. This year he is photographing mothers and daughters, and I was one of the lucky 30 people. As part of the project, he is raising some money for the Center for Women and Children in Crisis, a shelter and safe house in Provo.

This photo session was a blast. Justin is a wonderfully unique person, who has a true love for photography and also people. I highly recommend him. Thanks again Justin.

PS I will post a few more pictures when I get them.

updated

2009-04-06T15:10:00.002-07:00

Well I think I am back to blogging, I hope! But in the process of the update I lost all my blogging friends. Please send me you blog addresses so I can start stalking you again! Thanks, I will be stalking soon

The Many Faces of Gracie

2008-11-17T07:52:00.002-08:00

While I was trying to take pictures of Gracie's new haircut, I realized she if full of different face, it only took 5 tries to get a smile.

Hair Cuts

2008-11-17T07:01:00.002-08:00

We all have Bangs (except nate). Last saturday night I cut the girls bangs. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Rori

2008-11-17T06:23:00.002-08:00

Rori turned 5! I am so grateful for Rori, she has such a sweet spirit and has a great understanding for how people feel. This year Rori wanted to have a friend birthday party. Which was fine with us, but Nate had one request. He ask that Rori put on the invitation "No gifts please." This was a hard decision for her to make but as Nate talked to her about why it was a good thing she agreed to go along with the request.

I am so proud of her. She is growing and learning so much! I wish I could be the one to take credit for who she has become but I think it is just who is she is. She has taught me so much about who I am and what is important. There have been many time that she has taught me about missionary work and the importance of it. Our lives are so blessed because of Rori! Happy Birthday Rori we love you!

For Rori's Birthday this year Nate got her a amaryllis bulb. It was a lot of fun to see her open it. She asked Nate why he go her an onion.

He told her about the amaryllis, and how it would last for 28 years. She then told Nate that by then she would be married and Nate would be old! I am excited for the next 28 year and so glad that Rori will be part of it.

New Look...

2008-11-14T22:50:00.002-08:00

Well, I finally did it! We have a new look, and I am ready to blog again. Please stay tune for many new blogs!

Second Birthday

2008-09-15T16:28:00.002-07:00

Gracie turned 2! Over the last couple of day I have remembered all the fun moments we have had with Gracie. She definalty is very unique. She loves to tease, and laugh with Rori.

She is also very strong willed. I have had to learn alot about how to direct her and help her learn to be the best she can. While also learning alot about my self and Nate.

On her birthday we would ask her how old she was, she would respond "four" finally my Dad asked her how old I was she said "two".

I love being a Mom, my Girls have changed my world and taught me so much about the meaning of life.

Happy Birthday Gracie we LOVE YOU!

Canning Remains

2008-09-15T16:04:00.002-07:00

After I finished canning on Friday I set the water tub outside for a few minutes before I dumped it and Rori and Gracie put it to good use.

I wish they would have got in the water on a day I did not do their hair. Oh well, I know that one day I will wish I could open a jar filled with the memories of my children.

ps Thanks Cali for taking the pictures!

Canning

2008-09-12T14:48:00.002-07:00

Today I spent the entire day canning tomatoes and peach jam. This is the first time I have done jam and I think it was pretty enjoyable. It is easy compared to apples.

I just had to post the pictures to remind me off the beauty so I can now face the mess of neglected children and a canning kitchen.

Hardwood Floor

2008-09-12T07:38:00.002-07:00

For years I have hated the light color of carpet we put in our house. It showed stains and daily wear horribly. So Nate let me get hard wood floor and installed for me too. At first Rori was very upset that we took her carpet out, but yesterday she found the benenfits of hardwood. You can lick up your spilled fun dip packet.

As for Gracie she does not care where she sits or even if she has clothes, life is good as long as she has George the Monkey.

Bug Bite

2008-09-12T07:18:00.002-07:00

This is what happens when you get a bug bite on your eye! A little while ago Gracie had a rough night sleeping and we had no idea why until we woke up to this. Poor little Gracie! Nate loved the fact that it was Sunday morning which meant Gracie aka the Hunch Back of Notre Dame could ring the bell at church.

Luckily after a few days her eye returned to normal with no problems.

Bountiful Harvest

2008-09-12T07:09:00.002-07:00

One of Nates' favorite times of the year is when he can eat the food he has grown. Each year we try to do a little better with the garden. This year the girls helped through out the entire process. I has been a lot of fun watching the enjoy the garden. Now if the the squash would slow down just a little we would be in great shape!

Catching up

2008-09-06T20:39:00.002-07:00

I can not believe I have taken a month to post something new. I guess I have finally slowed down or maybe just gave in to my desires...

So here we are camping a few weeks ago. I just though I would share this moment as summer seems to be fading quickly.

The kids seemed to really enjoy being outside and the weather was great. Not to mention Grandpa and Grandma parry are some of the greatest great grandparents in the world, and yes Abby really slept this way for about and hour!

Ron made a rope swing for the kids and Arlene is always busy helping with some sort of craft project! It is great to be around family and to see how important family is.

Share your memories

2008-08-16T08:53:00.002-07:00

Well here we go...

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Not so Pretty

2008-08-02T20:56:00.002-07:00

Well Nate decide about a month ago to remodel my master bath! I was super excited, for about a year the shower has been leaking into the wall. So we figured we better get it fixed before it got to bad. As we got into it we found out it was already bad. The water had leaked all the way to the exterior particle board.

We figured it would take a while to dry out so Nate has been breaking up the floor so that we could take the shower pan out and try again. As he was jack hammering. Gracie sat outside the bathroom telling us that she was scared.

Everyday she walks by the bathroom she tells me "Daddy Broke."

Look Alike

2008-08-02T20:44:00.002-07:00

Jessica is always asking my mom if she looked like Gracie when she was little. So we took a picture of them together to see what we thought. I was surprised to see a lot of similarities.

The Course

2008-07-31T11:13:00.002-07:00

Over the 4th of July Ron and Arlene had all the family over for a sleep over and breakfast. While we were getting ready for breakfast, Grandma Arlene had the Rori and Joey make an obstacle course.

What good sports! I think almost everyone ran the course (except those with the cameras).

As for the sleeping out part. We were laying on the Grass and Barry stood up and ran to the porch and pulled something off his face. When he got back I asked him what it was, "just a daddy long leg" he said. So I squirmed a bit. When Nate had the same thing happen, I protest sleeping under the stars. I still sletpt out, well more like tossed and turned all night waiting for the daddy long legs to crawl on me. I guess in the end it still was fun.

The Zoo

2008-07-31T10:34:00.002-07:00

Well we made it to the zoo. My parents and Annikan can along for the trip. I am not to sure that Grandpa was as excited as the kids .

This was the first year Gracie really seemed to enjoy the animals. Of course the elephant seemed to be Gracie's favorite.

She kept pointing and saying oot ooh. I asked her what was wrong ans she pointed to her nose. and then to the elephant.

One of my favorite things about child development is the discovery process that children go through. It was so much fun to share this moment of discovery with her.

Then of course we had to ride the carousel which seemed to be a favorite for all the kids. Even the waiting in line part was not to bad.

Legacy of Love

2008-07-31T10:16:00.002-07:00

I just wanted to let my Grandparents Bill and Barbra know how much we love them. As I folding clothes a while ago I folded a pillow case that smelled like my grandparent spare bed room. I remembered all the night I slept in the spare room. I was flooded with year of memories and suddenly became so grateful for all they did to love me, and to see my girls continue to basks in the love of family.

Grandma and Grandpa we love you and feel so blessed to have you in our lives.

Gracie and Instructions

2008-07-31T10:01:00.002-07:00

One of Gracies favorite things to do is get dirty. After a long day of playing I asked Rori and Gracie to get in the tub. I turned on the water and went to get some other things done. A few minutes later Rori was yelling for me. I ran to see what was going on and this is what I found...

I think I need to start using two step instructions. As you can tell from the picture Gracie saw no problem with this situation. In fact after looking at her shirt she was probably just using common sense...the shirt was as dirty as she was.

More to come...

2008-07-09T12:40:00.002-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know I have not given up on the blog! Life has been pretty busy lately and I have put my self on restrictions...no blogging...because I want to change my background but I am building it from scratch so it is taking time. Plus I will not let me self work on it until my house is clean. As you can tell I am on week two and my house is still not clean but I am getting a little bit closer. Hopefully I can post again soon.

PS my photographer friends I need new pictures of the girls if there is any takers. I love the ones Carrie did last year, but my girls are growing up!

No Instruction Manual

2008-06-26T22:25:00.002-07:00

Over the last week Gracie (and I) had some real challenges placed in her way. I began working at Dancing Moose Montessori a few weeks ago. When I started working there Gracie also began to attend the 18 month old class for 2 hours a day.

Starting in May I began to introduce Gracie to her teacher Miss Sam and the environment. From day one Gracie has refused to make eye contact with Sam. The first week of school Gracie cried everyday. I considered this to be normal, she has only been left with family since the day she was born.

Week two I thought I would see a little bit happier behavior. Instead Gracie began to really protest any contact Sam would make with her. As the week went on Gracie decide that school was okay as long as Sam was not in the room.

In desperation Sam began to let Gracie attend the 2 yr old class. Which was great in Gracie's mind (and mine). She had adapted to school.

Week three, a behaviorist is now at the school. To Gracie's dismay Miss Sam asked Cheryl (the behaviorist) why Gracie hated her and what she could do to help the situation. The behaviorist decide it was worth it to see if they could find the "antecedent".

Sam went to get Gracie from the other class. When Gracie saw Sam she clung to the new teacher. Poor Sam had to pry Gracie way from the teacher and take her screaming to her room. For the next hour Gracie cried for me. (Which, by the way, I could hear from three rooms away.)
My motherly instinct kicked in and I went to find out what was going on. I was reassured that this was best for Gracie and it would help her adapt to the environment. Which in my mind she did fine in the environment. The behaviorist and the school director all asked me to give it a few days and to see if she could adapt.

I agreed thinking that it would be okay for Gracie to figure some things out without me to protect her and I could watch everything that happened on the monitor outside her room. The next day we went to school and my baby lost it. Which in turn caused me to lose it. The entire two hours Gracie cried, and screamed and sobbed. She would sit in a corner with her hands in her mouth just sobbing. When they went outside she would lay in the grass and just cry mommy between her whimpers. The entire time this the happened the only comfort she recieved was from the behaviorist. Who would walk over tell her "stop"...."No crying" and walk away making sure her back was to Gracie.

Now keep in mind my parenting style is very motivated by my child's emotions and the connection they have with me. Which from my prospective was being destroyed. Well the two hours ended, I got Gracie, and again was assured that this was the best thing for her and not to give up.

When I got home that night all I could think about the was trauma Gracie experience and how I did not protect her. After many discussions with Nate, and many hours of tears (on my behalf) I logged onto my favorite parenting sites and decided that if there was no change by day three, I was done. I would ask that they put Gracie back where she was comfortable.

So day three came and the same thing happened... but it ended after about 5 minutes. She stopped crying, she left the corner, and she began playing with Miss Sam. I was amazed. I had just learned something about myself, my Gracie and my parenting style.

I have spent a lot of time the last few days evaluating my parenting style and have talked a great deal with behaviorist and have decided that I definitely have some weak points in my parenting style that I need to fix in order for Gracie to reach her full potential.

She is very strong willed, and I am not constant with her because of that. I have also learned some really great strategy's to help me. I have learned how wonderful and bright Gracie is. She is such a joy to me. I love her clever personality, her love for learning and even her stubbornness. (Which I am sure did not come from me.)

Being a parent is such a wonderful opportunity to grow and change as we adapt to fit our children's needs. Now Gracie is still adjusting to Miss Sam and is still having a hard time telling me good bye, but is growing leaps and bound in her ability to problem solve and figure out the world without me by her side. I think Gracie is officially a toddler and no longer my baby.

Our New Neighbor

2008-06-20T10:11:00.002-07:00

This morning when Nate was getting ready for work (at 5:30 in the morning). I looked out the window in our bedroom and notice a large black thing leaning on one of the trees, and then it started to move. I quickly called Nate over to look and he said look at the tree, its eating it...

Any ideas what it might have been? Well we watched it a little more and Nate said I think its a huge beaver. So we went outside to see if we could get any closer. We got close enough it determine YES it was a beaver. Unfortunately Nate was so worried about it knocking down the tree that he scared it off before I could get my camera to prove it. But later this morning when it was day light I went out to take some picture and I am pretty sure I found his home.

So now I am on a mission to photography my new neighbor...Trust me I will post pictures as soon as I catch him again. Does anybody know, are beavers nocturnal?

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-16T09:44:00.002-07:00

After weeks of begging to get the swimming pool out it was finally warm enough to go swimming.

I never really understood why my parents did not let us get the blow up raft we used as a swimming pool out very often in the summer. But now I understand. The amount of time that is put into the preparation and clean-up of water activities is about double the time it takes for a child to become bored with the activity.

I really love watching Rori go down the side. Gracie was not as excited about the side she preferred to just watch.

And just so you know Jessica, Gracie would not let me take off her swimsuit! She had to take her nap in it. Then when we finally got it off she was so upset that she would not put on a shirt. Everytime we got the shirt on she would take it off and just cry for her swimsuit. So she was topless for most of Saturday night.

Grandpa and the Bobcat

2008-06-16T09:24:00.002-07:00

Over the weekend Barry was out doing some Bobcat work with Cali and Chris, and my kids were lucky enough to be passengers with Grandpa.

We would always joke that the Bobcat was Grandpa's favorite form of work. I think if you ask Gracie she would tell you that it is not work at all.

Thanks Grandpa for letting Gracie have a ride

Smashing Pennies

2008-06-14T23:47:00.002-07:00

On Friday night my neighbor and I, along with our kids, went up to the train tracks to smash some pennies. (Great activity for young kids...right?)

After super gluing 9 pennies to the railroad tracks and watching for the train the kids got tired of waiting. So they decide to walk up the dirt side of Cemetery Hill. It is a steep but short climb.

As you can see Rori did great. She basically ran up the hill. (I kept yelling for her to wait.) As for Gracie, it was a bit too steep, and she preferred to crawl. Actually she preferred to be carried but was at least willing to try.

After and hour of climbing around on top we headed down to see if the train came. Still no train. On Saturday night we headed back to the track so we could show the kids what happened to the pennies and much to our surprise the train still had not come.

Moral...Enjoy the things around you instead of waiting for life to come!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-06-01T13:50:00.002-07:00

This year for Memorial Day we spent the week-end down at Nate's Grandparents house. Grandpa Ron made a rope swing and we had dutch oven pizza, and cobblers, and made the flowers to take to the graves on Sunday night. Then we all slept in Ron and Arlene's backyard. Well some of us slept outside but some chickens slept in the trailer. (Sorry!)

As we were making the flowers one of Abby's friends called her and asked her what she was doing. As she told him about making the flowers he responded, "people really go to the graves on memorial day?" I was sad, Memorial Day is one of my favorite days. I love remembering the people that have passed away and the fun happy times that we were able to share.

I am so glad that I am able to teach my children the importance of family and of the gospel and the wonderful opportunities we have to be around so many of the people we love. Thanks for the great week end, and all the memories that we are able to share.

See ...I Do Gracie's Hair

2008-06-01T13:41:00.002-07:00

Just posting this picture to let you all know I do give Gracie baths and believe it or not I even do her hair...

Amazingly enough she does clean up really cute. It's just a matter of making sure you catch her with in the first hour of her bath.

Happy Birthday Nate

2008-06-01T13:03:00.002-07:00

Well Nate turned 30, and for his birthday this year he wanted a splitting maul. (How exciting right.) But it turned out to be pretty fun playing with it. The girls had a great time watching and he had a great time hitting the wood.

Way to go Nate. Even if I do make fun of him for being so into the END OF THE WORLD. I love him and all the efforts he takes to make sure his family will be well take care of not matter how or when the end of the world comes. love you Nate!

The Princess and The Pea

2008-05-21T12:56:00.002-07:00

One of the girl's favorite times is to have movie night with Nate. They love to make a "nest" and all lay on the floor together and watch a movie. Last night Rori decided it was time to be together as a family and watch a movie. Rori and Gracie got every blanket in the house and made themselves a very soft nest.

As you can see the pile was pretty big. So instead of watching a movie I told them the story of the Princess and the Pea. Rori still thinks she could feel the pea. (I guess she must be a princess.)

As for Gracie she thought she was playing peek-a-boo. (Yes, I think Gracie is a princess too...just a bit rougher than Rori.)

The Saver of Snails

2008-05-21T12:22:00.002-07:00

A few days ago while I was out weeding I got out the slug and snail bait and was sprinkling it on the the flower beds. Of course Rori wanted to know what I was doing, and I told her "killing snails." She was devastated and quickly went in the house got a bowl and began collecting the snails from the flower bed. I asked her what she was doing and she told me "saving the snails." (Which according to Nate was a lot worse for the snails than eating poison.)

Sure enough for three days Rori fed the snails (my flowers), gave them baths (I am sure they loved), and let them out of the bowl for a little while each day. Not to mention made sure they were held everyday. Until on the third day the snails got smart enough to realized they could climb out of the bowl and leave (lucky snails).

I wish I could tell you that no snails were harmed in the making of this blog but I am not sure that is a correct statement, so at least I can tell you they were well fed for a few days and just maybe Rori saved them for the awful fate of poison.

Textures

2008-05-01T10:01:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Rori wanted to make "rough paper" I asked her what "rough paper" was and she told me she would show me when she was done. So I went about doing my stuff and when she was done she came to show me what she had made. She took a lunch sack ripped it up into pieces, got each of the pieces wet (so that the stuff would stick) then she went through the spice cupboard looking for textures. This is what she came up with...

I thought she did a pretty good job find such different textures. Now the trick for you is to see if you can name all the spices she made into textures. There are 6 different spices, Good Luck!

Rolls Anyone?

2008-04-27T21:24:00.002-07:00

Today we decided to stay home instead of going to Bluffdale, so I decided to make some of my Moms butter horn rolls. (For any of you that don't know about these rolls it usually takes about five hours to go through the whole process.) I was so proud of myself, they turned out perfect! As I was cooking one of the batches I laid the other on a chair in the sun to keep raising while I cleaned the kitchen. While I was cleaning I looked up to find Gracie sweetly molding my batch of rolls in to a wonderful clump of dough! Luckily as I gasp...I remember...don't be mad, take a picture and blog the story. So Gracie would like to thank you all who read this blog because it saved her little butt tonight.

The Signs of a Perfect Saturday

2008-04-27T20:49:00.002-07:00

Fianlly we had a perfect Saturday, the weather was perfect, and we had only a few church obligations which made it possible for us to work the in the yard-well at least that was the plan-and to enjoy a little bit of time together. After a little while of pulling weeds Rori decided to make a bed outside and Nate decided to join her. As you can see our little Gracezilla was not in any of these pictures, she was simply to busy to sleep. It was a wonderful Saturday, it really made me ready for spring and so happy to see Nate enjoying his family and yard.

Gracie Can Blow Bubbles

2008-04-25T07:52:00.002-07:00

It looks like spit, but that is what it really looks like when you drink bubbles. Our little adventure in blowing bubble ended pretty quickly when I turn around and found Gracie using the wand as a spoon and slurping the bubbles. She does not quite understand the principle of blowing. She must think we are crazy for standing outside and drink that awful stuff from a silly spoon.

James...James is That You?

2008-04-24T10:36:00.002-07:00

Well it only a week away-Nate's acting debut. Nate will be performing as the hero (James) in old fashion melodrama called Loves Labor Found. He has been practicing since January and is ready to roll. It should be lots of fun for everyone. There will be lots of booing and hissing and of course cheering for our hero. Come join us for some old fashion fun. We will also be having water and popcorn for a quarter and penny candy.

Date: May 2 and May 3
Time: 6:45 pm
Location: 8400 west 3100 south (large red church)

P.S. Admission is free

Beautiful Dandelions

2008-04-15T20:23:00.002-07:00

Yesterday while we were outside Rori and Gracie collected me a bunch of "beautiful flowers" they were so proud of themselves. They came in a got a cup and arranged the flowers just perfectly. Then Rori cleared the entire kitchen table and washed it so that it could be as beautiful as the flowers. Then she placed the cup in the center of the table and came over to get me so that I could see how beautiful the flowers made our house.

As I looked at these flowers I realized how as adults we hate dandelions, yet to a child they are just as beautiful as a rose. How different the world would be if we as adults looked at things we dislike through a child's eyes. This world is so beautiful and we are so blessed to be apart of it. Slow down and look at the "beautiful dandelions".

Baby Animal Day

2008-04-15T19:20:00.002-07:00

Last Saturday Loni invited us to Logan to enjoy "Baby Animal Day" at The American West Heritage Center. I must say we are defiantly fans and will be returning next year. Loni and my Mom can along with me and the girls making it even better.

There was so much to see and do and the weather was so perfect. I hope the pictures give the day justice.

Rori was so excited to see the reptiles that we had to cut our visit with the fuzzy animals short. On the way over to the reptiles a man was holding a little water snake that the girls wanted to see. (Despite the fears of their father.) While Rori was touching the snake Gracie started grunting and pointing at the snake so my mom took her over to touch it, but Gracie wanted to kill it not touch it. She reached out and tried to squeeze it. Luckily I got to her before she got to the snake, but not without Gracie striking a little fear into all involved including the snake and the man holding him.

The visit would not be complete without seeing if that Frog would turn in to a Prince...Thanks for trying Lon's...I am sure he will come some day soon.

After the reptiles we went over to watch the candy cannon, while waiting for the cannon to go off I got some pretty cute pictures of the girls, you got to love Gracie's smile (she is still learning).

We must have some affinity for ducks...I had one a stuffed one as a teenager... and Rori is still trying to convince me that the duck can live in the house on the tile. She promises that she will let it play in the tub everyday an always make sure that it never leaves the tile. I am still not convince but boy that little duck was cute.

Rori loved the ride home. My mom has a sun roof and we opened it to help cool down the car and it created a whirl-wind in the back seat, the giggles would not stop. Unless you were Gracie who was scared to death in the beginning, but with a little coxing, Rori convinced her it was pretty fun.

Thanks Mom and Loni for the day of fun and tons of memories we love you!

Life is so Tender

2008-04-02T09:45:00.002-07:00

Tuesday morning a dear friend of ours Jenny Pemberton passed away due to complications with her pregnancy. Monday morning she suffered from an Amniotic Embolism causing her to go into cardiac arrest. She was 7 months along. They took her to American Fork Hospital and delivered the baby by c-section, but both of them were without oxygen for an extended period of time. Jenny was bleeding and in a coma and the baby had acid in his blood that they tried to clear up.

Doctors did 2 brain scans, both showing no signs of activity. They give him a name and a blessing Tuesday night before taking him off of Life Support. Jenny left behind her husband Nate, and three kids, Dakota, Sequoia and their youngest, Theran who is 2 1/2.

Because Nate is a contractor and self employed they have no health insurance. There is a donation account set up in her name at Zions Bank. The account name is Jennifer M Pemberton.

Nate and Jenny had a great effect on our lives. When we were first married and living in Bluffdale I love watching the interaction between Jenny and her two daughters. I could not wait to have children in hopes that I would have the same joy that Jenny got from her children. Nate always made sure that Jenny could stay home with their children working two jobs to make end meet.

I am so grateful a loving Savior who made it possible for us to have our families again and a loving Heavenly Father who seems to be some of the only comfort that comes during these moments of sadness.

Life is tender. Treasure the little things, the hugs, the laughter, and friendships.

Thanks to Katie Mortensen for all the information regarding Nate and Jenny

Gracie Loves Books

2008-03-29T22:24:00.002-07:00

Gracie loves to read books. Each night before bed she runs into her room and grabs arm fulls of books for Nate or I to read to her. I try to keep all the books at her level so she can easily access them. Which she does quite often. Today while I was cleaning the kitchen I heard a loud crash in the other room. I ran in to see Gracie quickly chucking every book off the shelf (kind of the she did to Grandpa Ron's puzzle). So I tried to stop her and have her help me clean it up and she refused, so I left the room to finish cleaning up the kitchen and to giver her a little bit of time to finish making the mess because obviously she was not done. After about ten minutes I went back in to check her and found her happily reading her books. She was so content- for some reason books are much more fun to read when you are sitting in piles of them.

My Favorite Thing...

2008-03-28T14:06:00.002-07:00

Yesterday while the kids and I were running some errands Rori asked me what my favorite thing was in the whole world. I thought and thought and told her that I has lots of favorite things. She then told me that her favorite thing is people. This comment made me think about all the things I like and how much people really effect so much of our lives.

Forgotten Orchard Design

2008-03-28T13:59:00.002-07:00

Well it is official. I now have a real business. So give me some feed back on logo design. Maybe one day I will create myself a real live website.

Starting Anew

2008-03-28T13:50:00.002-07:00

Well I think I will try this again... It has been so long since I have written any thing. I really enjoy the chance this blog gives me to reflect on thing and of course to share my wonderful family with all. So now comes the commitment... At least once a week I will post some family updates and stories. Hope you all enjoy and we love you!

The Importance of the Family

2007-11-01T22:13:00.002-07:00

May it be our resolve to build a gospel-centered home, a safe harbor from the storms of the adversary. -L. Tom Perry,

Today Nate and I had the opportunity to attend a funeral of a man in the ward. He was not active and most of his family had nothing to do with the church. The service was more of a wake than a funeral. People got up and talked about him and were so very sad. At that moment I realized how precious the gospel is to me and my family. As parents we have such a great obligation to teach our children the things the Lord has put in place to protect our families from the storms that lay a head.

Halloween

2007-11-01T21:38:00.002-07:00

I am sure glad this Holiday is over... Nate and the Bishopric decided to be the lollipop guild, so I was in charge of pulling it off. I think they sang and dance pretty good for a group of uncoordinated men.

Rori and Gracie were a snow white and dopey. Poor Gracie, got the bad end of the deal, but boy did she pull it off good.

I have some more picture that I will post later this week.

Rori in the Sink

2007-11-01T21:15:00.002-07:00

The other night after our ward Halloween party I was giving Gracie a bath in the sink because it was so late and I wanted to hurry. After I got Gracie out and all dressed I went into the bathroom to clean up and this what I found in the sink. She really had to wiggle her self in. We all laughted. I think this will be Rori's last bath in the sink. (Funny I think I said that 3 years ago.)

Summer in Review

2007-10-20T15:00:00.002-07:00

Well It seems the summer has gone. So here is just a little review of the things that have happened...

Oakcrest
Uncle Merlin had us come and visit him over the summer at oakcrest. The zip line seemed be a favorite of everyone.

Good Bye Friends
Rori's best friend Tori Mecham moved to Arizon this year. Rori and Tori have been best friends since the day they were born. It has been an adjustment for us all not to have the Mechams close but we look forward to still many year of friendship and cross state visits.

Yellowstone
More info to come

The Town of Mercury

2007-10-20T13:02:00.002-07:00

Last week Disney came into town and started setting Magna Main street to film a new Disney movie called "Dad Napped". Main street has been transformed to a totally new place, it is now called Mercury. We all hope it stays that way for a little while.

The Empress Theater is the center point of the movie. It looks a little dead right now but next week I will post some picture of what it looks like while they are filming.