4th of July

Our fourth of July started out well, but ended on a sour note. During the day, the kids and I, were out doing the "little fireworks"... snaps, smoke bombs, and poppers. Even a few little fountains. The previous night, the neighbor had her grandson over and they were doing the smoke bombs. She was letting the kids hold them. No harm done. The next day (July 4th) I was lighting our smoke bombs and letting Ash and Eli hold them.

Everything, still going well.



Later that night when daddy got home he was out lighting more smoke bombs. He lit one and wanted to put it on the ground. But Ashton insisted on holding it. Considering he had already done it so much already, he let him. WELL....itWAS NOT a smoke bomb, it was a firecracker that looked just like a smoke bomb. It exploded in his little hand and he ended up getting a powder burn (very painful!) on his thumb and index finger. More so on his thumb. I was in the kitchen at the time and heard the popping then the screaming. He came running into the house to tell me. His thumb definitely had black on it, so we stuck it in cold water. Ashton wanted to do more, but was quickly learning how painful his burn actually was. I, at that point, didn't know how bad it was yet and tried to put aloe on it, but it kept hurting so bad he wanted to keep it in ice water. The fireworks were then put away for "another day."

Eli....is TERRIFIED of fireworks. I was impressed with the participation i got out of him with what we had already done. But as it turned later in the day and the sun started to go down. The fireworks were getting brighter and he decided to run in the house when i went to go light a fountain. (He actually locked me out at one point!)
Eli braving the little ones.




Ashton said to me later that night, "mom, i want to call grandpa Lewis." So i called my dad and Ashton told him the bad news. While grandpa was expressing his sympathy, Ashton broke down and started to cry more, but held it in enough to be able to continue talking to grandpa. It made me cry too. If grandpa was here, I know Ashton would be craddled in him arms for comfort. (He REALLY REALLY loves grandpa.)


When bedtime rolled around that night, Ashton was still in a lot of pain and keeping his hand in the water. I had him propped up in my bed with his hand in a cup. Everytime he fell asleep and relaxed enough, his hand fell out. A minute later he'd wake up crying from the pain and i'd put it back in, refilling it with ice. It wasn't until 2am that he was able to stay asleep after it falling out. He woke up to quite the blister. AND of course he had to call grandpa, first thing, to give him an update. Even this morning, (I popped it last night) grandpa asked about his finger and Ashton told him his concerns about his thumb and how it was healing. Luckily in Utah, we get a second chance with the firework display on the 24th. Hopefully it will be more enjoyable and more safe.

i LOVE flowers

I've decided that the area in which i reside, has the best soil around. But then coming from St. George where you have red sand...ANYTHING is better than that. (Although my mother-in-law has been able to produce an amazing yard/garden. She truly has an oasis in the desert. Love it there!)

I have always loved growing flowers and i finally live where they flourish. Here are a few more that have opened since my blog posted previously.

The red from the center looks like it's bleeding onto the petals. Very cool effect.

I liked the yellow on yellow with this flower.

I've had a few more sunflowers bloom and it's really cool to see the different varieties. I think i would be a sunflower if i were a flower....

Mykael took this picture because she thought it looked like a butterfly. It's actually a california poppy. (am i right, mom?)

These next few are actually flowers from my neighbors on both sides. I liked their flowers too and added to the bunch.

(When your neighbors have great looking yards...they add beauty to yours too! *So be a good neighbor and make your yard look nice.)

"I will never completely let go"...

...I once heard that quote by someone's husband. I just wished that it was MY husband that had said it! ;o)

(Note: No babies were harmed during this stunt. Just a minor heart attach from the mother. She is recovering well. The baby was smiling during the whole ordeal.)

See? He's still happy. (I think)

Before and During...

I have always loved before and after pictures. Whether it was a nerd in high school that was now a hot buff man, or a make-over that resulted in a beautiful confidant woman. BUT today...my before and after shots are from the blood, sweat, and tears, i have shed during the "growing season" (My husband's too!). The cool thing is that the 'after' isn't quite here yet. There will be more after shots to come. That's why we call this the "before and during."

All the way back in April...

Pole beans
sweet pea

Corn (I've got 11 ears growing!)

watermelon, pumpkin, or squash...not sure yet.

Sunflower and Zinnia with a mix of wild flower.

I'm SO excited how everything is turning out!

And now for the flowers....

Clean your mess up!

I have decided that before we holler to our kids, "make sure you clean your mess up!"...That you find out exactly WHAT that mess is, and HOW they intend on cleaning it up. This is thanks to (of course...ELI.) At least he had help from Korah.

Lavendar Days

Once a year in Mona Utah, they have "Lavendar Days". And every year during those days, we always seem to be driving by on our way, to or from, St. George. And every year i always tell myself, "Next year, i'll make sure i go." WELL... 'next year' finally came (3-4 years later) and we went as a family. I'm glad we all went because it was fun for everyone. I was thinking that it was one of those things that are more on the boutique-y side, but it wasn't quite that bad. There was a reptile show and HUGE water slide for the kids. Old western shoot-outs, and medevil sports (like jousting) and rides that were powered by man's own strength. AND of course lavendar for me! They even had lavendar icecream and lavendar lemonade and booths to make your own lavendar craft. I opted for one of the wreaths (which smells great!) and Mykael made a lavendar bottle of 'liquid' that could be used for cleaning, cooking, decoration or whatever you'd like. (It's acutally just white wine vinegar with fresh lavendar shoved down into it to bring out the essence of this great plant.)

One observation that we had as we were driving home from a fun-filled and relaxing day was that EVERYONE there was calm cool, and collected. Sometimes so much so that you would find people sleeping. Yes, sleeping...under tents, under trees, on chairs, in strollers (i'm sure the lavendar was affecting the infants also.) And anyone you came in contact with was really nice. Not like the typical attitude you'd get a a carnival or fair. AND everyone was happy. I am now a firm believer of the power of lavendar. I really slept great that night because i had that huge wreath above my bed.

(sorry for the blurry pic. Camera was acting up.)

Water babies and monkeys in the trees.

We LOVE summers here. In St. George, we went four-wheeling or take a trip to the cabin, but we really couldn't do a whole lot outside because of the heat. You'd have to run into the house every five minutes to cool down and get drinks. The concrete literally gave you burns that left you unable to walk for a time if you were bare footed. But since being up in the "north" we have become quite the outdoorsy family, even more. Everyday is spent outside, whether its playing at the park, swimming, fishing or gardening...we are definitely in our element, outside. Here are a few of those moments.