The Shumway Corral

This summer Dad worked on the Shumway corral down the road. Funny that we call it the Shumway corral...it seems like it should be called the Howe corral. But the land was called the Shumway place, and we already have a corral at Glen's house. So to avoid confusion, we call it the Shumway corral.

We started working on it in 2007. I did a little bit the first summer to help clear the area, but Dad has largely done it by himself. With a tractor to lift the heavy stuff, and straighten the small building inside the corral. The bulls knocked out one side of it and it was tilting alot.

Dad's pretty pleased with it. He even put up a cross post at the large gate. That's a first. I told him I want one at the house, where you turn at our driveway.

This corral is built to last.

5 Weeks

You know, I was gone 5 weeks visiting my family and I just got back. My friends asked me if I took a lot of pictures. Sadly, I did not. I was just so engrossed in what everyone was doing, and often my hands were full. Those are my excuses. But here are the few I did take.

Yellowstake Lake.    Richard and I stopped at the Lake Restaurant for breakfast on our way to CA.   We had good food, and a great scenic view!

Don't you love the Tetons! I think they are amazing!

    My Sister and I went to Folsom Lake while I was out there.  It was beautiful.  A perfectly relaxing solitary beach day.  We both went swimming and enjoyed the hot, sunny day!


Uncle Glen is looking good following his surgery! He's cooking dinner here.

Martha took Emily and I to Griffith Park to see "Love's Labour Lost" -- Shakespeare in the Park!  Photos were prohibited during the play, but I snapped a pre-play shot of the set.  We sat pretty close and enjoyed the wild antics of the cast.

Labor Day weekend found us at the beach: Rachel's boys, and Jess's Family, Richard and I. The beach is my favorite place to be.

Dahlia  likes it too.  She really loves sand and seaweed.

Next time I visit I promise I will take more pictures....that is, if I'm not too busy holding Audrey, or Jayce, or Dahlia.   I'm going to need some practice taking pictures and being "Grandma."  Wish me luck.

Two Weeks Old

Baby Audrey is changing everyday. Eating like crazy and gaining weight. The close up makes her look older/bigger than she is.

  So I put in this one of her yawning.  Look at how Rachel's hand covers Audrey's little body.  She's still tiny!

Home Again, Home Again....

Easy flight.  Fell asleep on the plane and I almost didn't get off when it landed.  The steward woke me to the departure of all the other passengers.  Funny!  I wasn't the last one off, though.  They said the last one off had to clean the plane!  I guess the guy behind me did that job.

Dad was nervous.  He had time to study all of the arrivals and noted that young people took the stairs and old people and mothers with children took the escalator down.  I told him old people and young mothers were the smartest people on the plane. 

We stopped at Costco (too many people!!!!) and Walmart (ditto!) and headed for home.  Dad did a good job of keeping house.  The place looked just about the same as it did when I left 5 weeks ago. 

Grace bought tickets to a fundraiser dinner for Sat. night.  We had 2 hours to rest before going off to the Lovell Community Center to have an evening of Country Music.  The locals are raising money for a Lovell-Kane Museum. 

We snuck out before it ended to watch the BYU-UofU football disaster.  Nothing more to say about that.

And tomorrow we are going to get up bright and early and head to Yellowstone, before the temperature drops and winter sets in!  It gets cold early at 10,000 feet. 

Things are back to normal here.

Oooohh Baby, Baby!

WELCOME BABY AUDREY JOY MONTGOMERY!!!
Born 12:45 a.m. August 28, 2011
7 lbs 5 oz 20 inches long

Audrey came into the world safe and sound.  She seems calm and comfy and is surrounded by loving pats and kisses from her big brothers. Tyler took a peek at her this morning as she was fussing just a little and patted her, saying,  "Don't worry, Audrey.  We're here." 

I think that says it all.

Huntington Beach Fun!

 

Sand, sun, family and the roar of the ocean...what could be better?

Miraculously everyone appeared for our beach party in good spirits and with snacks to share! 

What do you see?

Bathing Beauties!

Jayce had a pleasant nap under the canopy. There's nothing like a snooze at the beach.

Guess who's being buried ALIVE!!!

Em's back from NYC! Hooray!

Fallie at full speed!

We missed Dad!

The Evolution of Monster Cookies

I wanted to make  Monster Cookies, but alas, I had no M&Ms.
I discovered a Choc chip recipe which had the added benefit of oats.  Close to Monster cookies, minus the peanut butter and the M&Ms.
Knowing Martha doesn't really like chocolate chip cookies, I downsize the recipe.

Let the baking begin!  Tues night, thirty minutes before Fallie's target bath and bedtime, we begin.  Fallon, thrilled to be baking cookies, screams at every stage, grabbing measuring spoons and cups and raw eggs---"Me, Me.  Let me do it!"  As the frenzy to complete the cookies in time builds, I  hand Fallie the eggs to crack.  She is a whirling dervish cracking eggs and handing me shells, one after another.

Will hovers, anxious to begin the bedtime routine.  I grab a cookie tray and begin to dish out the dough so that a cookie will be eaten before nighttime irrevocably falls.   Except....

Something is wrong with the dough.  It is gooey, and goopy (I don't want to say slimey).  What have I done?   I reread the recipe and realize that the adjustments were all made, except for the egg frenzy.   Three eggs were added where only one was called for.  Hmmmmmm.  There's no question, we'll have to triple the recipe!

Three batches:
Tuesday night I baked chocolate chip and oat cookies.
Wednesday morning I purchased the missing M&Ms and threw them into the mix.
Thursday I sent Will to the store for peanut butter and added that to the third batch.

Monster Cookies by degrees.