Delighting in the joy...

Just coming up on 10 years ago, we were shocked and elated to hear 
we were expecting our fourth child. 
We knew full well that the likelihood of all going well with the pregnancy 
was tiny owing to our less than "spring chicken" ages 
and our decades long history of difficulty having twigs.

We decided to celebrate and delight in the joy while we could

 so we gathered the twigs together for ice cream sundaes 

and had them guess our exciting news. 

It took a while (cough, cough) but eventually with some hints 

they figured it out. 

It was actually more of a question than a guess 

"Are we going to have a baby???" 

There were cheers and tears all around!

We miscarried that baby a few weeks later 

but I still remember vividly the immense joy I felt and delighted in for a time. 

This last week, our girlie and I celebrated our birthdays. 

It was a biggie for our girlie, she turned 16!!

We've been delighting in the joy all month!   :)

There was so much delighting that there was little picture taking

 so all we have are the great memories

 and some silly selfies.

We started the celebrating with a great night of racquetball - my favorite thing!

Then there was a trip to the temple 

to do work for those who couldn't do it for themselves - my favorite thing!

My icing on the proverbial birthday cake was a night of theater and show-tunes

at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square...

 

 ...followed by

 yummy frites and waffles at Bruges - my favorite thing!

Our girlie's icing on the birthday cake 

 was getting to go on a real date! 

She's been watching her brothers have a blast for years on group dates. 

Sometimes it's hard being the youngest. 

She had so much fun on her first date playing blindfolded croquet. 

You may have noticed that this picture is not a silly selfie
but rather...a picture by stalker mom.   ;)

I could not help myself!

Thank you friends, for celebrating with us, 

for the happy birthday wishes and for the yummy treats. 

Thanks for giving us so much joy to delight in!  

xoxo

I ran to the window...

The first day of School for our twigs didn't look like this...

  or like this.

In fact, it all happened so quick I ran to the window and barely caught this.

Then lickety split they were off with their backpack and smiles

 to High School classes, amazing teachers, and tons of fun friends.   :)

Bonne chance mes petits!
xoxo

Followed it in...

Soccer season is here again!

Hunter has the same great coach.

Last time their uniforms were green and their team name was "Raptors".

This time their uniforms are green but "Raptors" is out...in favor of...

...wait for it...

..."Grass".

The Mr. says it should be "pitch".
He's a clever guy.  :)

Hunter took this shot.

It looked like the goalie was going to have the ball but it just slipped away.

Hunter followed it in and
(oops, I was too busy watching to take a picture)

goal!!!

We sure love watching that boy play soccer.   :)

A dog's diary...

Years ago, Theresa shared "A Dog's Diary vs. A Cat's Diary"

in a Presidency Meeting. 

I've never forgotten the message, 

(possibly because I have a living, breathing, furry reminder.)

It was golden!

The Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary
Day 983 of My Captivity

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape...

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now ...

 Theresa then expressed with some emotion in her voice, we have the choice every day

 to see our life and opportunities like the dog sees them or like the cat sees them. 

They're the same opportunities, it's the same life.

See what I mean?

Golden!!

 (Rascal missed this ball but look at his crazy tenacity!)

 His favorite thing!    :)

No animals were harmed...

Our girlie got her drivers permit

just before school and Drivers Ed started 

so the practicing has begun. 

The island seemed like the perfect place to go for her first time driving.

And it was!

It was so pretty! 

No animals were harmed in the practicing of this new driver. 

Actually there was a snake she might have squished just a little bit 

but when we turned around to see if it was okay, it was gone - that's a good sign, right?   ;)

:)

Big-eyed salamanders...

This was the second little hike we got to do before school began
 when we took off to go play in the woods.

A few years ago, Zac's friend hiked to Cecret Lake
and her pictures looked so fabulous I put the hike on our bucket list.

This hike had a little of most everything we love,

bouldering, 

 

rocky trails,

 water,

and much to Hunter's delight, salamanders!

Hunter loves salamanders and has since 1st grade.

He's caught frogs, lizards, and snakes
but hasn't ever had a chance to catch a salamander. 

When he heard there were salamanders in Cecret Lake he was pretty excited!

He's a patient guy and just kept working to get the little critters to swim toward the surface 

and the next thing we knew he had one. 

What a cute big-eyed critter!

We took a detour on the way down to look at a waterfall Hunter found - cool!

Our girlie loves big dandelions
and took this picture as the sun was setting and the moon was rising.

We made some good summer memories to tide us over the upcoming homework filled months.   :)

A donut and certain death...

We've seen beautiful pictures of a place called Donut Falls 

so for our last hurrah before school began, we went to see it for ourselves. 

It was a pretty ramble out yonder with some tree root paths 

reminiscent of many fun hikes in Washington and Oregon.

 Loved the rocky little stream crossing. 

It was all fun and games till I saw the sign. 

It's just behind the tall trees in the picture above. 

The exact wordage escapes me...but the sign said something like 

"DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT - CERTAIN DEATH AHEAD!"

Donut Falls was "beyond this point"
at the tippy top of the boulder field.

With water running beneath them, 

it only makes sense that the rocks are unstable
and could shift at any time causing "certain death". 

As I stood at the bottom watching several people negotiate the rock-choked canyon,
 suddenly the twigs and the Mr. started heading up. 

What was there to do but follow? 

They must have missed that sign about certain death.

A little disclosure, we've had lots of fun in the outdoors

but the "zombie bite" that the Mr. got here last year has changed something in me. 

I hope it's the proverbial "falling off a horse" experience 

and I just need to get back on the horse.

This little scramble was a real gut check for me - especially after reading the lovely sign. 

I didn't enjoy it like I usually do.    :(

I'm hoping the fear goes away and the fun comes back. 

The twigs got to the top of the rocks and then disappeared...

with the Mr. into this cave.

Tada!! Donut Falls!   :)

It was a magical place.   :)

It was also a very popular place so we couldn't stay for long
as there was a line of hikers wanting their turn inside too.

One of my friends says we should do this in the winter.
He and his family snowshoe in when the pines are heavy-laden and glistening with snow.
Let's go!