Berry Picking on an August Afternoon

We had a blast! Gwen recieved a bite from one blackberry bush and was DONE berry picking. It had been 10 years since I have gone berry picking, I completely forgot how unforgiving of an activity it truly is. After failing to find big juicy ones on the rim, we drove down to the girls camp where we found the Jackpot! Litterally. Matt, Myself, Kevin, & Heather were out there picking and we picked every ripe berry within a mile radius......Gwen slept the whole time and wanted NOTHING more to do with picking them, just wanted to "chef" them when we got home. She did too! She helped make cobbler and it was DELICIOUS! There are plenty unripened berries that will be waiting for us in the next couple weeks! Can't wait! I will remember glove & clippers this trip though.

Have you ever picked this many berries before???? It's a first for us!

Sweet tasting success!

Gwendalyn & I started a garden a year back. This will be the second year we have attempted to "grow" veggies & feed them to the family. SUCCESS! It's truly wonderful! We are proud of this garden....and look forward to sharing it with everyone!

Matthew & I worked our buns off for 5 years trying to get this property presentable.....and it's almost there! A few roof patches and we should be in the clear again for a while! Waiting for the bus to arrive I went camera crazy & took a million pictures of the property!

Yes, that's pumpkin that took over that WHOLE corner! It's so pretty though....we hope to have one by Halloween this year! One last thought....for those of you on the Tayrien side of this blog experience, what does yellow squash, pumpkin, & cabbage make YOU think of???? They bring me wonderful thoughts of a very special person:)

Cinderella's duty!

I never imagined what this year would feel like. I remeber sitting there looking at my beautiful baby girl trying to imagine what she would be like when she was ready to go to school. The tears that welled up in my eyes when my friends would send me sappy emails that had to do with sending the little ones to school for the first time. This day wasn't even about how "sad" it was, it was about how "happy" it makes me to see my daughter excited to attend the same school I went to!

Taking pictures in front of the tree was the most emotional time of this morning for me. Cinderella has ALOT of meaning to me. She was the tree my mother use to line us up in front of (even though it meant making one more stop before school) so that she could take pictures in our new school outfits. It struck me when Gwen was posing in front of that tree that Seth & Hayley were the babies only a short while ago! HOW ARE THEY 17???? How is Gwen 4 already! All the more reason to blog! Everyone is growing up so fast! Including my princess Gwendalyn!

For example, this picture was taken 3 years ago when seth & hayley were Freshmen. Now they are 16 taking college prep classes in high school! When did the babies grow up??? When???

Motivation for Blogging, with a hint of Introduction.

What do you know...it's been 4 years since I sat in the Den and wondered what it would be like to send my baby to school for the first time. It's amazing!!! Wasn't she JUST learning how to talk?? How does time go so fast. I look at the relatives blogs and truly enjoy the "journal" and "sharing" aspects of it. Now that Gwendalyn is starting school tomorrow I feel the need to document more of our family development & activities somewhere else other than all these pictures sitting in files on the computer.



I probably should have started this blog 3 months ago when the fun began....but we can catch up. It's OK. Fossil Creek is Gwen's FAVORITE spot to play in the water (during the week it's a quiet blast)! It was the cheapest "staycation" that we enjoyed this summer. We are still trying to get up to Telluride to visit friends, let's just say I'm not going to hold my breath. We had LOTS of fun with friends & family.


Really, the pictures speak for themselves. Check out the captions & enjoy.









Like I said....fossil creek is BEAUTIFUL worth it! Bugs & ALL! DON"T JUMP INTO THE BUBBLES that's my Banged knee that took 3 weeks to heal! That's what happens when you're having too much fun!

Brooke came with the kids in April. Andrew was already a year old before I ever met him! That was a first for a nephew! Emma is one of my favorite people she's always singing and talking to herself, and the curls! They remind me so much of........well me! There's not a whole lot of kids out there (including my own) that have a thick head of ringlet curls! Don't mind Colt (amantha's husband)....he was really excited to have his picture taken with Emma!

This picture is just fun. Gwen & I are having a blast with her ponytail! I have never seen a 4 year old be as articulate with their hair as Gwen is. She has several different shapes.......they include a "heart" hairdo, & a "rainbow" (you'll have to ask her for an explanation).



With this maturity of such independent thinking comes school. Wish me luck at staying strong as I walk her in, give her a kiss, and walk out the door. No crying is the goal!