The BO-LINDA #2

When I was a little kid, my dad made a folding Kayak out of wood with stretched canvas.  I thought it was the most amazing thing ever.  The kayak was named "BO-LINDA" We went on some fun adventures floating the marsh lands west of Farmington and discovering the "secret of egg island" in the Great Salt Lake.  So Saturday when I saw an old Kayak at a garage sale, I couldn't resist and bought the thing for $15.  Took it home and cleaned it up - then dragged it to our friend's pool to see if it would float.  It will from now on be known as BO-LINDA #2!

Miss M learns to ride a two wheeler!

We have been trying to teach Miss M to ride a bike - forever!  I even set it as one of my Personal Progress goals.  The four previous children had the little blue Schwinn to learn to ride, but I gave it to a friend before M learned to ride.  The other day I found out my friend still had the little blue Schwinn, so I got it back!  That is a magic bike and in about 10 minutes Miss M was riding around the neighborhood.  The first picture is her and the little blue bike.

Life in Bolivia

 A note from Elder CTR's last letter..

"C, what are you doing sick?!  It's summer!  Sorry you're feeling lousy, that's the worst.  If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't feeling my best after I ate cow stomach last week.

Things are awesome here, I love being a missionary.  I'm really grateful for this opportunity to be here among these people.  It's a dream come true.

Hope all is well at home, I love you all!

Elder CTR"

What a difference a week makes

So the caterpillar eggs were a wash this year - but last Tuesday, Boo and a little friend went to the cemetery and found 6 small caterpillars on one milkweed. We only kept one. The first picture is him on the day we got him. The second picture is him a week later. This growth is amazing. He should be hanging in a day or two.

The Amazing Metamorphosis

I think it came from growing up in the home of a 35 year Kindergarten teacher - but every year as a child my family would head down to the fields in West Bountiful and fearlessly hunt the milkweed looking for monarch caterpillars.  So, not wanting my children to miss out on this tradition, each August I would load the kids in the car and head to Utah Lake and fearlessly search the milkweed for monarch caterpillars.  Every passing year, with the disappearance of milkweed to homes and shops, it would become more difficult to find even one caterpillar.  Then a good friend in the ward (thanks JME) clued me in to an important part of the caterpillar metamorphosis - CATERPILLARS START AS EGGS!  DUH - it is a little easier to find caterpillar eggs than actual caterpillars!  Many small caterpillars lose their lives to spiders and other critters before they are even big enough to see.  So the last few years we have looked for monarch eggs and have had great success!  It is even more fun because you get to watch more of the process.  The other night AB and her good friend H found a couple of eggs on milkweed just around the corner.  Thanks to H's eagle eye and great ability to find eggs we now have 2 eggs that we will see through to Butterfly.  I will post pictures every few days - it is so amazing how this works and how quickly a little dot becomes a butterfly!  Keep watching or better yet go and find an egg.  Call me and I can guide you through this process - sometimes butterfly spit looks like an egg - an egg will always be on the underside of the leaf.   The egg is small and oblong shaped.  Check out the first pictures.  I wish I would have put my finger in the picture so you could see how small the egg really is - now I'm 40 I really need my reading glasses to get a good look at the egg!

Tuacahn Dance Video

This video shows some of the highlights from the clogging clinic and performance at Tuacahn in St. George. You can see Boo and AB both dancing for the theater crowd and in their workshops.

Dancing at Tuacahn

Boo and AB had the chance to go and dance for the preshow at Tuachan - it was such a fun mini vacation. We stayed a few nights in a hotel - played in the pool, went shopping, went to dinner, had a great workshop at Tuachan High School. It was a fun three days. These are a few of my favorite pictures of the trip.

I LOVE BEAR LAKE

A few weeks ago T and me drove up to Bear Lake for a fun day - we just went up to get away for the day. It was cold and rainy but beautiful. These are some pictures of the lake and a couple of wild turkeys that we saw on our adventure.

Show Me "Paint the Fence"

For the last 4 years we have been needing to stain our fence. Finally on Saturday we got around to it. This is a picture of AB and T busy at work. Look how much better the fence looks. Our yard really looks great this year.

Camping in the Driveway

Last Saturday night we had no plans so I suggested getting a movie and the trailer and having a movie/camping night. So that is what we did - watched a movie, in the trailer, in the driveway!

First Day on the JOB!

This is AB's the first day of her new business. She actually had two families call and want their cans cleaned out. I think about 4 cans per week should be her limit. At first I thought 7 dollars per can might seem a little expensive, but after watching her clean them - I think she is earning her money.

AB's New Business Venture

AB is trying to save money for a ripstick (two wheeled skateboard), so this is her latest idea to earn money. She made up these flyers today and delivered them around the neighborhood.