Ducks, Trains, Mountains, Camping, and Remembering

Everybody put on your seat belts . . . we have some catching up to do. We've had a busy couple of weeks and this post is loaded with pictures. We tried to make collages of many of them so as to not make this too intense, but still, you'll want to hold on tight. Here we go:

First up - about 1 1/2 weeks ago, we drove up to our front yard after school/work one night and a duck had decided that our front yard was a great place to take a break. She stayed for a couple of hours - we fed her, gave her some water and shade . . . and named her "Lucky". How sad were we when she took off right as it was getting dark, quacking her thanks to us as she flew away.

Then, we had an amazing Memorial weekend! We made our usual stops at 5 cemeteries between Thursday and Friday, taking flowers and cleaning headstones along the way.

One of our big surprises for the weekend was a stop in Heber for "A Day Out with Thomas". Thomas the train comes to our local historic railroad once a year and we haven't missed a ride in three years. It is one of our most favorite things!

Then we headed up to Wyoming for the long weekend at the Jackson Lake Lodge. Only one word can describe it all . . . beautiful! It was a bit on the cool side. We saw some light snow every morning, but we didn't let that stop us.

It was the perfect weekend for seeing wildlife! The cold,wet weather had slowed down the calving this spring so most of the trails in the area were closed because of bears and babies. But all the animals were out eating and enjoying some sunshine and we were able to see lots of them. In fact, this bull moose (in velvet horns) jumped right out at us on the Jenny Lake loop. We saw more moose, lots of elk, lots of birds, and this cute little ground squirrel who was busy gathering grass for a nest.

Saturday ended up being such a beautiful day that all the bears came out . . . and we ended up seeing six bears in one day. That is a record that we're pretty sure will never be broken. The first three were a grizzly mommy and her twin cubs - on the Teton Park road right before the potholes turnout. Later that afternoon we saw a mommy black bear and her yearling in Moose. And then on our drive back to the lodge after a yummy dinner near Teton Village, mom and dad saw another big grizzly bear right along the Teton Park road - they could have reached out and petted him. (We had fallen asleep and missed seeing him.)

We saw some beautiful scenery.

We took a perfect hike to Christian Pond - not too far from the lodge. Of course there was rock throwing . . . isn't that what water is for?
And one of our favorite adventures was a stop at String/Leigh Lakes to take our traditional hike down to the lakes. This time the walkway was covered in snow - lots and lots of snow. So we hiked on top of the snow and kept sinking down to our knees/hips. Then when we got down to the lake, I decided to chase daddy down with a snowball and didn't realize that I was running on ice . . . it gave way and I slipped into some icy cold water. It wasn't funny then, but it was pretty funny after I got warm back in the car. Lesson learned - don't walk on thin ice!Here are the boys sitting on the rails on the side of the trail down to the lakes - check out all that snow!We spent some time relaxing and just enjoying! And we spent some excellent quality time with family. We only got pictures with just a few of them, but it was so much fun being able to have time to visit with everyone. We wanted to ride the horses but they were soaking wet from the weather, so we had to make do with feeding and petting them.Splashing in puddles . . . there really isn't anything better than that!
Another family picture - great scenery at every turn, as always.Hum - notice who's awake in this picture? For some reason, staying in a hotel is cause for lots and lots of excitement. A huge thank you to Aunt Nia and Uncle Igor for inviting us - and to daddy and mommy for driving us there.

Finally, back at home - we had some nice warm, sunny weather this weekend and so we finally opened up our new trailer and started getting it ready for a fun-filled summer of camping. We decided to have our first camping trip in it right in our own yard. We played games, had smores, and slept in it. We're so excited to get it on the road!Whew - did you make it all the way to the end? Thanks for reading. See you next week.

Having Fun

We spent the week reading, working, and playing games - you can call that a great week!

Here I am working on my reading - I've got some skills!

We spent some quality time doing yard work on Saturday - which, by the way, was our only sunny day of the whole week. Here I am helping dad saw some branches. Don't ask about the shirtless bodies - no, I said don't ask!
Here we are helping dad move some logs - just cleaning up.
And here we are playing games with Aunt Cathie and Aunt Nia. (Everyone loves Loopin' Louie!)Sam Alert: Howdy y'all. Sam here. It was a fairly quiet week around here. We're just trying to stay dry and wait for the sun to shine. I just wanted to give everyone a sneak peak at one of the father's day presents we're working on - look at these fun pictures of us. Guess what they spell out?Could we be any cuter - NO!!! Sam out!

The End!
(an end of school program and the end of T ball)

It's getting close to the end of the school year. My school had its annual Spring Program. Dad and mom and Sam came to watch. We did a little singing . . . and some dancing . . . and some poetry . . . it was fun - and I was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself! (I'm in the orange and brown shirt.)

Here I am with my teachers - Miss Tiff and Miss Steph.

And it was our last week of T ball. We had so much fun this season.

Sam is a good hitter.Another picture of me running the bases. Sam has been working hard with his coach on throwing. Look at that form.
And here I am scoring my final run of the season.

We had quite a few spectators at our last game. And we all went out for ice cream after the game. I had two ice cream cones . . . my own, and I stole Uncle Noley's. Check out my chocolate face!Sam and I each earned a trophy. We had a great season!Sam Alert: Howdy everyone. My foot is feeling a little better. I still have a little limp, but at least I'm walking on it this week. I have two pictures to share this week.

First up - I made a little nest for me and "hop-a-long", Mason's horse. We were both tired.

And one last picture of me playing T ball. Note the mitt on my head. And note the smile . . . I smiled the entire time I was at T ball. That's eight games - two games a week for four weeks! That's a lot of smiling.

T ball made me smile!
Have a great week - Sam out!

More T Ball and Sam's Birthday

Howdy everyone. We're finishing up week #3 out of 4 for T ball. It really has been so much fun! Both Sam and I are hitting pitches now instead of hitting off the T. Here I am making a throw to first base.

And here's Sam hitting a pitch - you can even see the ball in the picture still.Sam turned 3 years old this week. Wow! That went by fast. He had a great birthday day - lots of people dropping by to visit and lots of phone calls wishing him happy birthday. Thanks to everyone! Here he is playing with his new golf clubs from Aunt Cindy & Uncle Sandy. Sam is a surprisingly good one-handed golfer.

Uncle Noley & Aunt Christy brought a fun new game. We tested it out right away - and every few hours since.Uncle Carl and Aunt Francine sent this great new Handy Manny construction set - it lets us crash things. How cool is that!Grandpa and Grandma L. gave him some new Dr. Seuss books. We love books!Here I am getting a good book read to me by Grandma L.The only thing Sam asked for this year was a Little Einstein's Rocket birthday cake. Mom cooked up some various shapes and daddy spent some time creating "Rocket". It is a perfect likeness. In fact Sam said that his favorite part of his birthday was the Rocket cake.Here he is getting ready to blow out his candles.
Here he is with some of the friends and family that dropped by. Uncle Randy and Aunt Ludaun brought over a book and some cupcakes (along with dinner for everyone to eat - - - thanks soooo much!)Cousins Josh and Tammy dropped over and brought Sam a new Thomas the Train toy - I'm "borrowing" this one the first chance I get.Mommy and daddy had some fun presents for Sam too. I gave him a new bowling set - he's loves to bowl.Here 's Sam devouring his cake and cupcakes. That boy sure does have a sweet tooth! And here he is after the cake disappeared in to his tummy. Gotta love that face.

We went with daddy to take flowers to Grandma June's grave today for Mother's day. It was a beautiful weekend - but the rains came back soon after we left the flowers. Oh spring!

Sam Alert: Another big thanks to everyone for such a great birthday. It was wonderful. I have a few pics to share this week - each showing a different side of Sam.

1. The patient Sam - waiting for my brother's T ball game to finish so that I can go play my game. I'm a great cheerleader! 2. The competitive Sam - here I am on second base cheering myself and my team on.3. The goofy Sam - This is me waiting to run to the next base. Nothing wrong with some dancing is there?

4. The soft side of Sam - arranging flowers for Grandma's June's. By the way, anyone notice my cute new walking shoe? I hurt my foot playing pirates yesterday - - the xrays show no broken bones, but I'm still not willing to put any weight on it. Gotta heal fast before my last T ball game this week! Think positive thoughts for me! Sam out.

P.S. - Mom wanted me to share a quick story about my birthday. We were driving to the babysitter's house on Friday morning and I announced that I wanted to drive the car. After all, I'm 3 years old now - I'm ready. I even promised mom that I would be careful. She spouted off a reply about some law that says you have to be 16 to drive a car, and that you have to have insurance, training, and a driver's license. Hooey!! I am definitely ready to drive the car now. Watch out other drivers - Sam is going to be on the road before you know it!

Spring is Teasing Us!

Spring just doesn't want to stay around more than a day or two at a time this year. And when we do have a "warm", sunny day, we have to hurry and try to get things done before it rains and snows (yes, snows) again. Take, for example, our lawn. Daddy fertilized a few weeks ago, and with all the water we've had the grass had grown like a forest. Mommy said she was afraid that Sam or I might get lost in the grass. So after work/school one day this week, we got our lawn mowers out and cut the grass. It took all three of us to get it cut down!T ball is continuing - we just finished week 2 out of 4. We are LoVinG it!

I'm actually very good - that shouldn't be much of a surprise. I can hit and throw and catch with the best of them. Here I am running the bases.
Sam is having so much fun! He smiles the whole game - doesn't matter what he's doing. The fans love him!Mommy couldn't get a good picture of me hitting the ball this week because I'm hitting them so hard and long. But just pretend that you can see the ball in this picture - it was way down by first base by the time the camera snapped.Here's Sam throwing the ball to first base - check out that form.
We finally got around to hanging my antlers. This finishes off the big wall decorations in my room. Now mommy just needs to make my curtains.Sam Alert: Hey everyone . . . Sam here. I have titled each of the pictures I want to share this week.

First up - "Why can't I play T ball in the house?"

Second: "I'm not going to smile . . . I'm not going to smile . . ."
Third: "Who says you can't look good while playing marbles standing on a chair?"Have a great week - Sam out!