A few of my favorite things...

Would be the nice weed/vine I have growing right through the wall next to my nightstand. Did I mention that all our walls are straight cinder block. And the many creatures that we find through out the house. We used to have an infestation of earwigs but we have had the house sprayed several times which has kept them at bay. As for this big crawly, Josh doesn't have the heart to kill little things so he gently picked him up and took him far far away from the house.

pUt Me iN tHE ZoO

Whitney is going to hate that I am dishing out this great little secret but here it is... the BEST time to go to the Zoo, here in Utah, is . . . right now!!! The weather is nice and cool, there is like half the people than in the summer. And the biggest plus, I mean THE biggest plus, is the animals are super, super active. They are actually roaming about in their habitats instead of sleeping!!! We had a ball. Chamberlain and I went with Tim, Shelbie, Hudson, and Kelly, Whitney, and Gunnar. I love living back in "Happy Valley." I forgot how many friends we have up here as well as how many places to go. Its great. So since living here we have been trying to hang out with our cousins at least once a week. Which I love. I especially love when my girl cousins get together. Like at the zoo, several ladies came up to me and just asked, you guys must be sisters. Again, I love it. I think that my grandma (who has gone the way of the world) would be happy to see that all her granddaughters are so close and actually enjoy spending time with each other, kids and all. Anyway, back to the zoo. It was awesome, the monkeys were singing so loud you could here them all through out the park. We saw the baby elephant and Giraffe. And we were also lucky to hear the papa Tiger growling or roaring at his cubs because he wants to kill them. It was great. However, after seeing all the animals Chamberlains favorite was the Rattle Snake. I was beside myself, thinking there are all these cool animals and this is what you like. I was in shock. I HATE snakes! Chamberlain also told me that when he sees snakes he is just going to pick them up!

its official

my son is another year older. Chamberlain wanted a horse for his birthday. One that he could feed and ride in our backyard. Since getting a real horse is totally out of the question we went down south where horses are abundant! We left the valley late in the evening arriving in K-town around 11:30 pm to our surprise Grandma and Grandpa weren't home. Chamberlain was determined to see his Grandma before he went to bed! He ended up waiting for them until 2:30 in the morning and we could not get him to sleep no matter how hard we tried. Needless to say this boy LOVES his grandma, and she loves him right back because she arranged a horse ride for him with our old friend lindsay, and not only that, Grandma outfitted him with some real cowboy boots and official cowboy garb! He was in heaven. We spent most of the afternoon "riding the range". To end the day we headed over to the cotters house for the unfortunate (that we got slaughtered) cougar game, on their fancy TV. While over there some of our other cool cousins came to visit and the kids had a ball. Especially when they got to hold the turtles. Goodness time fly's! We love our little guy, and couldn't imagine life without him!

is summer really over?

Lots of things have been happening here at Burgess Junction. Our garden is growing and ready to harvest, Uncle Tanner came home from serving a 2 year mission in Sao Paulo Brasil, we moved, Josh starting school and much much more, I just haven't had the time to update. So here are a few pictures to remind me of what we have been up too!

Goodness, we have been busy! As soon as I get on the line here in our new digs, I will update on all of the things we have been doing, going etc... but for now here is a picture to remind me of all the fun we had at our family reunion over the 4th! Happy 4th of July. . .

Monumental day . . .

Last week we hit a milestone at the Moqui Cave. After 16+ years we are finally getting a sign! My grandpa had a sign you couldn't miss for miles and then when my parents retired the dinosaur and built the cliff dwellings my parents just never put one up. Its still a work in progress but there is a buzz in the air at the Chamberlain house hold. Another monumental note. In the making of the sign Chamberlain was able to get his "Junior" Crane Operator License, courtesy of Joe. Chamberlain got to raise, move and lower the crane as well as drop the ball. It was an exciting day to say the least, we spent all afternoon at the cave watching the crane hoist the 15 foot monument onto its eternal bed. There was some sacry parts when the straps started to slide and the chains started to buckel but alas it was put to rest. To kill sometime while waiting for the cement to dry I took Chamberlain to my favorite place at the Cave. A little alcove where I spent most of my time as a kid. It was such a great day.

livin on the edge

I love the summer, and to start it off Lesa and Chris came to visit. Its always nice when we get to see them. Which, is only in the summer, since they are world travelers in the winter. We didn't let this visit go to waste. We took them to the North Rim of the GRAND CANYON! It was Chris's first time overall and Lesa's first time as an adult. And to add a little sentimental factor in there, Sandi, my mother-in-law, worked there in the 60's she played the Organ and stuff when they had the shows in the grand hall there at the lodge. That would be the picture of the pictures on the rock wall.
It was quite the challenge to round up all 4 kids under 4 and squish into the pilot. We could have taken two cars but honestly where is the fun in that! I guess the real battle was the three kids in the back Chamberlain, Kelli Jo and Zoey, they kept hitting and teasing and crying. I started to highly doubt that we made the right decision to see the Canyon. But once we parked and the kids were free it was awesome a little nerve wrecking but awesome. I forgot how HUGE the canyon is and how small we actually are and how there is NO I repeat NO railing with the mile drop. I mean you are littleraly walking along the rim of the canyon and if you were to drop a tape measure down the middle of it it would be over a mile long! Now, why did I think it would be a good idea to take my 2 year old, full of restless energy, along with his two cousins that have that very same energy and walk them along the cliff? Beats me. Most of the time my hands were so sweaty from squeezing Chamberlains hand so hard. Its scary. So if any of you are planning a trip to the Grand Canyon this summer, moms you have been warned, hold on to your kids!!! We got some great shots. But only one with Chris because he is afraid of heights (which is pretty comical for a 7 footer). So after the first look out point he went back to lodge and waited with baby Ava while the rest of us had fun! I just want to throw this in there. Chamberlain had so much fun with his cousins. Each night we set up camp in the living room, with the Tipi and they got to watch movies (warm up by the campfire) before they went to bed. Thanks Chris and Lesa for stopping by. We love you!