First Frost 2007

The kids and I were excited this morning to find a
beautiful frost covering everything in sight.

Among the most interesting were these

patterns of frost crystals.

Can you guess the surface on which they formed? :-)

FARMHOUSE HONEY HARVEST

This is the honey that bees make.

These are the combs that hold
the honey that bees make.

This is the hot-knife that removes the caps
from the combs that hold
the honey that bees make.

This is Ben who chews on the wax(YUM!)
that is cut from the combs
that hold the honey that bees make.

This is the barrel that spins the combs
to release the honey that bees make.

These are the kids who turn the handle
on the barrel that spins
to release the honey that bees make.

This is the bucket that catches the honey
from the barrel that spins
to release the honey that bees make.

This is the story of how the Carter's made Honey with Uncle Ben at the Farmhouse. :-)

GUNS AND ROSES!!

Well...I've been sort of a blog-slacker lately, but I have NOT been a mom-slacker, wife-slacker or PE teacher-slacker. Life is hard work, you know! So, instead of cleaning the bathrooms, I'll take a break in blog world for a little while. :-)

A couple of Saturday's ago, I went to the Utah County Firearms range with my mom. This was a follow-up to a class that we'd taken the previous Thursday. It was for women only and it was called "Guns and Roses." During the class we were shown how to load and unload 3 hours worth of different types of guns. Now, you may not think this would be a very exciting class, but really...what would you do if you lived in Spanish Fark and your kid came home with a shotgun he found in the neighbor's barn. Man alive! You'd need to do something about it! So now I can, even though I don't expect it to happen in the civilized city of PG. Hahahahaha!

So, back to Saturday. We went up to the range near Thistle to practice loading shotguns. We also practiced unloading them mainly in the direction of bright orange clay pigeons which were launched into the air. Now, if this is something you've never done before, you are REALLY missing out!! With my adrenaline pumping and a sincere desire to be the best shooter in the group, I picked up that shotgun and I WAS WOMAN!!! I hit 4 out of the first 5 pigeons! Was it beginner's luck? IT WAS NOT!!! By the end of the morning both mom and I were inducted into the Five for Fivers group of elite women who could shoot a perfect five in a row. Pretty nifty, eh? We were even given roses and a clay pigeon memoir. :-) That's me in the first picture and mom in the second.

So, if you don't know The Firearms Safety Rules or the difference between a clip and a magazine or that there are pump-action shotguns, break-actions shotguns, can't remember the other-action kind of shotgun, double barrelled and single-barrelled shotguns, as well as muzzle-loaders, hunting rifles, target rifles, sniper rifles, single-action and double-action revolvers, semi-automatics, etc. then maybe you should sign up for a class like this!

Plus, the scenery up there is fabulous this time of year!

A Long-Awaited First!!

After being isolated for the most part from the rest of society for nearly 4 years, our little Logan made his debut into the 'real world.' Because of his chemotherapy treatments for leukemia, Logan has never been in a organized environment with so many other children, yet he was excited to see what this "school" thing was all about. He'd heard many stories, of course, from his sister Julian and he'd seen countless episodes of children's shows depicting the experience.

That first morning he did not appear to be nervous in the least and didn't even mention his prior concern about bullies. With big sister Julian and Grandma Patty by his side he crossed the street and entered into new territory. It was sure to be an adventure!

Logan's blood counts have been high enough for him to attend for the past 7 school days. Even though he is likely to miss some days of Kindergarten when the chemotherapy is doing it's hardest work, we hope those days will be few.

Grandma Patty has been attending school with Logan to help the teacher(who is fabulous) get used to all of his 504 Accomodations and to be a support to Logan. She is now known as the Kindergarten Grandma(a.k.a. KG) and is an invaluable help to the teacher not only with Logan, but with the other children as well.

Some have commented that I have an angel for a mother. Nothing could be more true! It's only because of her that I finally feel like I have my feet on solid ground. What a blessing she is!

CABIN FEVER!!!

This past weekend we had the rare opportunity to make an impromptu trip up to Jarid's parents' cabin...just the four of us. The last time we went up was last fall. (You may remember out Christmas card picture.) We had a great time relaxing, reading, playing, riding and having fun together!

Here is a picture of the view from the main deck of the cabin and one of the same view through binoculars. Fun, huh? It would be easier if my camera had cool lenses, but I love my camera just the same!

Here is a picture taken of the interior of the cabin from the main deck. Isn't it great? Julian is standing in front of the bear Grandpa Carter shot many years ago. That was before he started shooting only pictures. :-)

Here's Logan looking large and in charge on the side deck. This is where chipmunks are frequently seen scampering through the decorative rocks in from of the front steps.

The first day the kids went on a 4-wheeler ride with Jarid. They are always up for a ride! They like him to do tricks at a little clearing where the dirt trails are like a rollar-coaster ride.

I barely caught the sunset after watching a silly movie with Jarid.

Before bed we roasted marshmallows in a cool portable fireplace on the main deck. I made sure I had all the ingredients for s'mores. I think I'm the only one who really liked them, though.

On the second day I took the kids on an adventurous 4-wheeler ride to "The Lookout." Check out the serene view! You can see miles and miles of untouched wilderness up here.

Jarid and I would really like to make a trip up here on our own soon, but I also think it would be great fun to host a Girl's Get-Away! Let me know if you are interested. It's an hour from my house, plus another 20 minutes up the mountain. Now, doesn't that sound like fun??

Algorithm March! with Ninjas!

Don't You Wish You Had My Job??

As part of the dance curriculum, (I call it "Rythmn and Movement" in class. Haha!) I taught the steps to this Japanese March, from a Japanese children's show, to my 3rd-6th graders last Friday. Next Friday we'll put it together and see what happens. Fun, huh? It's cool to see how all the steps fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
All the kids were on board with it too...even the boys who acted like they didn't want to do it were secretly enjoying it. :-) I'm sure it's cuz I told them how popular it's becoming. That what great teachers do, right?! Besides, they get to play Ultimate Frisbee Tues-Fri.

Beauty of the Valley!

Okay, everyone! I have a really great friend who moved to Hawaii a couple of years ago. Since then she has posted GORGEOUS pictures of the island's flora, fauna(turtles) and beaches!

See http://www.thesummerillsurf.blogspot.com/. Well, it turns out now that she's moving back to Utah and I'm actually sad for her having to leave such a beautiful place, because I wouldn't want to. But, I'm simultaneously happy for me since she'll only be a few blocks away! :-)

The following trio of pictures was taken over the last couple of weeks...our last weeks of summer. Erin, my friend, has an eye for seeing beauty all around her, so I'm posting these pictures in her honor. We can find beauty everywhere when we look!

From the Walmart parking lot after grocery shopping...

From our back door...Logan discovered this one.

From a fun walk up the canyon with Grandma Patty...

CABBAGES AND THINGS!!!

"The time has come," Cecilia said,
"To talk of many things:
Of R.A.D. for Women--shorter hair--
Of cabbages--and kings--"

Julian got a little cabbage plant during an assembly at school in the spring. She kept it alive with vigilance and love until we could plant it. It grew into a beautiful plant in our flower bed. People would comment on how pretty it was! This week it looked ready, so we harvested it. After peeling back many holey layers to get past the slugs, we discovered a gorgeous, KING-SIZED, head of cabbage! It weighed 6.2 lbs and was equal to about 4 store-bought cabbages. I made the yummiest salad with a recipe from my good friend, Shanelle.

This past Saturday I "graduated" for the second time from a class called R.A.D. for Women. The first time, I took the course with my sister, Melissa. This time I took it with Mom!! She did great! I did much better this 2nd time around. Practice makes perfect. And with the Free Return and Practice policy, I expect to attend again with some of you!! Come on...you know you want to. It's so liberating and empowering! It's taught by the same guy who was in the red suit at my r.a.d.KIDS classes, and his wife. They are fantastic!

Last, but not least, and thanks to my good friend Stacee who is a fabulous stylist, I went short. Julian did, too. Here we are without the long locks! (Yes. I took that picture of myself.) Logan went for the platinum curls!! Will he ever forgive me???

Our cake is on the web!!

We may not be famous, but it's still cool to see something of ours on someone else's website!!Check out this website to see the cake the kids and I made for Jarid's birthday party in the spring!! http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/guitar_cake.html You'll need to scroll down a little ways. Ours is the Guitar Hero Cake #19. Looks just like the real deal, huh?

IMPORTANT: For anyone who is interested, scroll down to the July 20th post where you can now read interesting facts about some of my friends and also read my Birthday Comic Book!! :-) (Illustrated by Peggy and written cooperatively by the rest of the ladies described in the post.)

P.S.If you have any questions about the "inside jokes" feel free to ask! You might just be in for a roll on the floor in stitches. Hahaha!

July started with a BANG!...and ended with a Fizzle.

Movies, movies, movies!! We celebrated the 4th of July with a trip to the movie theater to see Fantastic Four:Rise of the Silver Surfer. Logan came out of the theater shouting, "I LOVE that movie. It was full of ACTION!" Later that week, Julian and I went with my friend and her daughter to see Nancy Drew. How could I pass it up?? I read over 100 of the books when I was a youth and I still own them all!! The next week Jarid took Logan to see Transformers and now, of course, he wants to earn money to buy the all character toys he doesn't own yet.

The night of the 4th we also went to Grandma and Grandpa Carter's house with the rest of the Carter Clan. The adults had fun eating and visiting while the kids were entertained by the Slip-n-Slide and firecrackers! Then we came home to watch the city fireworks show from our backyard. We are so close to the field we can actually hear the music!

Logan had a mysterious playdate with his friends at our house...or was it the potion that was mysterious? Playing laboratory is something all the kids could agree on and Logan is a pro since it's been one of his favorite things to do in his hospital room this last year!


The kids and I slept over at "The Farmhouse" with Gma Patty and Gpa Burk, who took care of the kids for two days while I attended my blog and podcast class.

Some of my closest friends surprised me for my birthday with a Hawaiian window display (pictured), gift certificates to a Hawaiian restaurant, and an amazing comic book they wrote and illustrated about my "super hero family!" The comic book is hilarious and FULL of inside jokes. It may possibly be featured in an upcoming post. :-)

I've already posted about Logan's recent stay in the hospital. We were home a couple of days and then he became sick again. The doctor allowed me to keep him at home where I monitored his IV fluids and gave him IV meds to keep him comfortable. No culprit was found. He's been feeling better, though, but his blood counts are very low from whatever he's been fighting.

Thus the fizzle, the isolation that ends the fancy freedom of summer fun. I am SO glad that we made the most of every moment earlier in the summer while we had the chance. It never seems to last and I would have hated to miss all those good times.

I have put the hours of sitting next to Logan to good use, though. :-) I read the 7th and final HP book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Here is my take on it with NO SPOILERS, of course..."Rowling REALLY knows how to unfold a story!!! All the answers fit perfectly into place, yet still they were mostly unpredictable. One can tell she had the story very well planned from early on. This book is fairly fast paced (unlike #5), but the last 100 pages made it VERY hard to put down...even for me, a non-member but supporter of the Harry Potter religion.

:-) Hehehe!"

So, less than 3 weeks left of my glorious and much appreciated summer break! I think that now I ought to do something about the house I've neglected while we've been having so much fun!