A Long Overdue Update...

Some may be wondering what we have been up to these last few months in far away South Jordan, where hardly any one comes to see us.   It's a long drive to a barren subdivision.  Since we have moved we have become small time farmers in the beekeeping sense.  So not really farmers at all, more like beekeepers or raisers, or just nerdy.  The idea popped into my head one day after Jake had been complaining about his lack of employment.  A gentle whisper said, "You should get bees."  And once that idea planted itself in my cranium there was no getting it out.  This is Reed and Taylor "hiving" the bees.  That's bee lingo for putting the bees in the hive, which simply put is that you bang the box until you knock them out and then pray they all go in the hive while still stunned.  It got a little hairy on the second hive when Reed dumped in the bees before the queen.  I'll let you imagine....

 Here is a little close up of the box of bees.  We got two boxes totally about 40,000 bees.  We now have probably triple that, due to breeding, but we keep losing count.

 This is Torey.  She is the family photographer, so she is constantly getting left out of shots.  She has to take care of number one occasionally.

 This is Taylor and Jake as they helped Reed build the hive stands.  Things got a little dicey with a neighbor after this.  If you know Reed you can imagine how that went.

 This is Taylor.  She is a poser and a little self-important.  She also has a deep fondness for props.  This was the perfect pairing of the two qualities.

So the backyard is finally all the way in, minus some gravel.  The grass looks lovely, the zucchini are thriving, and the bees are working hard.  More pictures to come.

Happy Independence Day...

This year we shook things up a bit and instead of waking up early to go to the Fire Department Breakfast, we woke up early to eat at Jim's Family Restaurant.  After which we went shopping at Macey's, made a batch of strawberry jam, and then went to Reed's parents for a barbecue.  Following that we went and watched the fireworks extravaganza with my family in Lehi.  Miraculously we didn't get caught in traffic and were home in a half an hour.  Which considering road construction was pretty noteworthy.  It was a very busy day, but we had a great time.

We are patriotic from the top of our head...

To the tips of our toes!

Trek

Taylor had the opportunity to go on the handcart trek this year, and we were pretty excited.  We spent a lot of time getting ready.  We made her pioneer clothes, read books, and researched our handcart ancestors.  She trekked for her Grandmother Charlotte Priscilla TAYLOR Richins.  We thought the name thing was pretty cool.  She was quite the lady.  She lost a daughter, gave birth to a son, had her hair frozen to the ground and subsequently cut off, and arrived in the valley with frostbitten feet.  Taylor wore a necklace with her picture on it and it provided a lot of opportunity for discussion.

The family had the "opportunity" to drive to Wyoming and pick her up.  Jake and Torey saw their first buffalo, so that was exciting.  They trekked at a place called "Muddy Creek" which is along the actual trail.  The landmarks included pioneer graves, wheel indentations, and "Brigham's Arrow" which is a rock formation Brigham Young created to point the way to Zion.

We welcomed the weary travelers in by waving the white handkerchiefs.  Some of the kids looked tired and dirty but we were met with a smile!

We were so happy to see our baby after a long three day absence.  We discovered that she does about 95% of the talking in our house, and we couldn't stand the silence any more.  We were unable to get a trek family picture because as I gave her a welcoming hug, she clearly stated she needed a hamburger now.  We happily obliged and made it to McDonald's before the crowd.  Some of her trek highlights included the women's pull, and a special outdoor Sacrament Meeting.  She was a little disappointed that they wouldn't let them cross the creek, which was at flood stage, and also that "all they did was walk."  Turns out that is exactly what the pioneers did too!

Yankees

This year Jake and Reed were fortunate enough to be on the Yankees.  Jake as Center Fielder and Reed as Coach.  We had a great time, and it was a good way to get to know other people.  The baseball is a little different here, not as competitive or political, but we had a great time.  The highlight was probably when Jake hit a triple, which he wanted to stretch into a home run.  He rounded the corner on third only to be met with a clothesline from the base coach and loud instruction to stay put.  

On another note Taylor also played softball this year.  We decided to try a rec league, something that didn't require our whole summer, our whole paycheck, and our very souls.  She did well, and even learned how to play third base, which is like first base except exactly the opposite.  It was a lot for our lefty to wrap her brain around.  As our coach did not draft any pitchers we kind of had a struggle, but even then we had a good time.  Taylor likes things a little more competitive though, so maybe next year she will be on a better team.

Sixth Grade Party

Our new school does not do an official sixth grade graduation, but they do know how to throw a party filled with fun and snacks.  Torey had a struggle at the beginning of the year, with the move and making new friends, but by the end of the year she was having a lot of fun, getting good grades, and even talked us into a boy/girl party.  I'm guessing it won't be the last!

Sometimes you just can't stay away!

On the way home from Sunday dinner we stopped at the weir to check the water levels, because that is what we do.  We ran into Grandpa Mark who was trying to pull a tree trunk out of the American Fork River and one of us was glad to help.  It is in his blood.  It kind of reminded us of old times when we use to do this a lot.  I think he misses it a little...