Chokecherry Picking

In the past few years chokecherry picking involved, packing a lunch, gathering buckets, water bottles, bug spray, sunscreen and long pants to keep ticks off. Then we would drive an hour up the canyons nearby and hope we could find some Chokecherries still left on the bushes. This year however, we only have to walk out the front door. We didn't even know what kind of tree the builders had planted when we moved in but luckily they left the tag on it with the species name. I looked it up on the computer because it was in Latin and to our surprise, it was a Chokecherry tree.

Our tree is just loaded. I've already picked 3 gallons worth and there is still more to pick. We also have a couple of smaller Chokecherry trees in the back yard that are a couple weeks behind in the ripening process as the tree you see in the picture. I think we'll get at least five gallons or more before we're done picking. I'm going to freeze them all for now and then when the weather is cooler, I hope to make some Jelly and probably more syrup.

Trek Has Finally Arrived

Last night at about 11:30 we brought Megan and Trevor to the church for their 14 hour bus ride to Martin's Cove, Wyoming. They left shortly after midnight and hopefully they will get a little sleep on the bus. They looked so cute in their Pioneer outfits. Except for the tennis shoes, they looked pretty authentic to me. I bet the Pioneers wished they had tennis shoes.

They will complete the Trek on Wednesday and then drive to a campground near Salt Lake City where they will shower and get to swim and play miniature golf. Then on Thursday they will celebrate the 24th of July in Salt Lake City. After doing the Handcart Trek, I think Pioneer Day will have a whole new perspective for them. They'll get back to Kuna sometime late Thursday.

We can't wait to hear how it went.

4th of July Fun

Emma and Logan Finished up their swim lessons on Thursday. They both improved a lot. It's nice to know that if they are out with friends, that they can at least tread water and float if they ever fell out of a boat.

We went to the nearby town of Melba to watch Fireworks this year. It was a nice show. Since I'm not a photographer, and since taking pictures of Fireworks is tricky, I took these pictures of the flowers in our yard. They look like Fireworks to me.

Saturday we decide to take the kids to visit with their relatives at the Zoo. It was a nice day, not too hot so we were able to see most of the animals. We had a picnic in the park and walked through a Rose garden. It was a fun day.

Stay off the streets

Trevor had his first official driving lesson today. He got to drive around Kuna with an instructor and two other classmates for three hours this afternoon. He did a great job. Now if only he can figure out the way home from somewhere other than school or church.

The boys are off to the Father/Son camp out tomorrow. They are going to a Hot Spring that is not too far away.

Megan is busy with babysitting and boating with friends, so it'll be just Emma and I for most of the time. Maybe we'll go check out Horton Hears a Who at the dollar show.

Summer Fun and Butterflies

Emma is nearing the end of the Kuna Summer Fun Days. Here is a picture of her with one of her projects. She has been having a great time. She has made Maracas and pencil holders and Chinese yo yos and leis and origami and bookmarks and this cute octopus. Tomorrow they will probably end the week with a big water fun day.

Megan has been a volunteer for the Summer Fun Days. She's been having lots of fun helping all the kids with their activities. She has lots of kids that she has been a babysitter to that love to hang on to her. She's there for both the a.m. and the p.m. sessions so we don't see her all day.

This is a picture I took on our back patio yesterday. I thought this butterfly was way too pretty to fly away without it's picture taken. It really loved our flowers.

Trevor officially starts drivers training tomorrow. We thought he might have to wait until school started again but the class for the summer had some openings so he'll get to finish up right before he leaves for the Handcart Trek in July.

Logan is too old for the Summer Fun Days so he's been keeping himself busy with the Summer Reading program at our library and playing on the computer. He spent yesterday planning the Father/Son camp out with his scout leader. Next week Emma and Logan will have swim lessons right up to the 4th of July.

Camp Survivor

(above: hike survivors)

This is Megan speaking here, to tell you about her experiences at Girl's Camp. I bet you are wondering what the hike survivors picture is all about. Well it starts off on the 5 mile hike we do every year. It was brutal and tiring. Once we got to the top, a couple of my friends and I decided we would get a head start. Some of the leaders followed us too. After a little while of hiking, we realized we didn't recognize the trail we were going down. We kept moving forward. We then got to a fork in the trail. By then we knew we were lost. We said a prayer and figured out as a group, which way to go. We ended up back where the hike began. We were so relieved.

The rest of the camp was spiritual and pure fun. We went swimming in the icey water (big mistake,) did tons of crafts, and played pranks on the leaders. It was so much fun. The food was delicious and we played around a lot. It was very cold in the mornings and nights, but I survived. I have loved the past two years of girl's camp, and am looking forward to next year!

Feeling Old

Watching my sister Terri's son graduating from High School is making me feel very old. At least I've got 3 more years until Trevor graduates. Right now we're waiting to see if he will be taking Driver's Ed over the summer. Dave has taken it upon himself to teach him because He knows I would never survive the anxiety attacks that would occur if I tried to teach Trevor. I was giving him instructions on the riding lawn mower yesterday and was about to flip out, so I will gladly leave the driving lessons to Dave.

Megan leaves for YW camp tomorrow. She has been counting the days and has been packed for a couple days now. She's excited. It's going to be a little cold but at least it won't be a forest full of fire like last year.

Emma's been counting the days until Kuna Summer Fun Days starts. It's put on by our schools for the Kindergarten through 3rd grades. It's a week full of arts, crafts and science activities. It's three hours a day so it's a nice activity for kids who are starting the, "I'm bored" mantra. They use Middle School and High School kids to run the classes. Megan will be a volunteer this year.

Logan and Emma will have swim lessons the last two weeks of June and that pretty much fills up June. July is already filling up. We hope to find some time to go camping this summer. It needs to be close by though, since gas is so expensive. Luckily we have some nice areas all within an hours drive. The kids all really love camping. Me personally, I'll take a nice hotel room please.