R.I.P. Bonita

**I recently learned that Sarah does NOT know that Little Man actually was the one who killed Bonita. If you ever have the opportunity to talk to Sarah about this, please don't mention anything about the cat. Thank you**

I have to say, I'm a little upset right now. Court just called me and told me how their new cat, Little Man, killed their fish, Bonita. (The picture isn't actually Bonita, but that's what she looked like.)

I'm of two minds with this. The first is that I feel so badly for Bonita. We "fishsat" Bonita for about 3 months while Court and her family were in California. Every night I would come home and say, "Hola Bonita." It was fun. Plus, this is Sarah's pet. Basically, Chloe's pet just killed Sarah's pet. Poor Sarah. Poor Bonita. Makes me sad!

But...I also can't help but laugh because it's kind of funny. When Court first called me she couldn't find Bonita anywhere so I was picturing a little fish head on someone's bed or something. Court did end up finding her.

All I can say is, this is why we don't have fish anymore! It's very hard on me when they die!

Improving

We have been working outside a lot lately. We still have a lot to do, but we did get the beds around our house done. They look awesome! I have to share!
This is the front of the house. We have some crocosmias, impatiens, columbine and a little azalea that will get a lot bigger in the corner.

This is the north side of our house. Being the north side, we had to find things that were shade loving. There is a hosta, fern and a few others that will fill in. We bought a hydrangea to put in the back corner. It will be so pretty!

The beds used to be about 1-1/2 feet wide and just straight. We don't like the straight look, so we've improved them. I can see where we're heading with all this stuff. Sometimes it doesn't feel like we'll ever get there, but then we finish something and it gets that much closer!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Happy Birthday!

We just wanted to say Happy Birthday Ryan! It was great talking to you! Hope you had fun at Safeway!

Happy Birthday Steve! Brent had a good time talking to you too! You're so funny!

Are there Seven Things You Don't Know About Me?

I got "tagged" by my friend to share "Seven Things You Don't Know About Me". Are there 7 things that I would like to share? Hmmm...

1) When I was a kid, I would climb up in the apricot tree at my Grandma's house and just watch the horses. I would make mental notes about what they were doing. It made me feel like a real scientist.

2) I love the smell of dirt! There's nothing better! It always makes me smile!

3) I never got in trouble at school. I was never sent to the principles office. I never had detention. (That's kind of embarrassing. Talk about a goody two shoes!)

4) I had two chickens when I was in 2nd grade. As a class project, we got some chicken eggs, put them in an incubator and waited until they hatched. Once they hatched, the teacher said we could bring in a note from our parents if we wanted one. I went home and told my mom that I wanted a chicken because I never had a pet before. She laughed at me, then wrote out the note. My Grandma Cherryl picked me up from school the day I brought the chick home. She felt badly that it was going to be all alone, so she took me to a very smelly chicken farm and we picked out another one for a friend. One was black and one was white. Their names changed almost daily, so I can't tell you what they were named. Then, they ate all the seeds out of our neighbors garden (they'd get out of the chicken coop all the time) and the neighbors made me give them away. My dad gave them to one of his friends who had a farm. I realized when I was older that that's normally code for "we had them killed." I asked him and he PROMISED me that he really did give them to his friend with a farm. I hope so.

5) My cousins and I would climb up in my grandma's apricot tree and pretend that we lived there. We decided that we weren't going to come down, so we had better find something to eat. We tried some sticks and leaves, then decided we weren't going to stay in the tree and got down and had good food from my Grandma.

6) I have played with and fed lion cubs, servile cubs, baby goats, baby antelope, a miniature horse foal and 100 tarantula babies. I have made "mouse balls" for owls. (Mouse Balls are made by taking some horse meat and making a meat ball out of it with a mouse in the middle. Maybe that's why I don't like to make meat balls anymore.) I've fed armadillos and pygmy pigs. I've been scratched by iguanas and rabbits. I have petted a emu and been followed around by it. How did I do all this, you ask? I worked at Hogle Zoo from when I was 12 years old until I was about 16. The lion cubs were the most fun. They had HUGE paws!! The tarantula babies were the ABSOLUTE WORSE! I would have to pick out small crickets, open up these cups with lids and throw the cricket it. Sometimes the tarantula would jump at the cricket and I would always jump because I thought it would jump on me. I have always hated spiders. I do love animals though.

7) This one is a little embarrassing, but I'm going to share it anyway. I knew from the moment I met Brent that I was going to marry him. He was almost instantly my best friend. I'm so lucky!

Ok, everyone who is reading this is now officially "tagged"!

Good Things

Here are a few good things from our life recently...

We finally built our garden. I wanted to get it built a long time ago, but things always take longer than we think it will. We have 3 tomato plants, 1 zucchini plant (under the black pot), 2 potato plants and a row of carrots. I'm looking forward to it working out. I hope it will work out.

I have this pot on our deck. It's been empty all winter. Well, to tell the truth, it wasn't empty, it was full of the dead plant from last year. :)

I wanted to fill it with something for some color on the deck. I found these violas that are the perfect color and then jammed 12 plants in the pot. It looks instantly filled and just like I want it to! :) Pretty huh? I keep looking at it and it just makes me smile!

On Saturday we got to go to Sarah's baptism. It was so awesome to be there! She was so excited and looked so nice in her dress. Here are a few more pictures from that day.

Look at all that family that was there to support Sarah! It was pretty fun to be apart of that!

I never realize how short I am until I see pictures. It's kind of silly really!

And this is just a funny picture of Kyle. I just had to include it.

Today is also Courtney's birthday! Happy Birthday! I'm so glad we talked in that geometry class something like 16 years ago! You're the best!

Have a great day! I hope it's as pretty where you are as it is here!

Sometimes you just have to say what you think

So, this is going to be kind of a rant. If you would rather not read, that's fine. I just have to get something off my chest.

This morning I was kind of watching the first part of The View. I used to really like the first when they sit there and talk about current events. Ever since Rosie got on, I don't watch because I'm pretty sure that 90% of what she says is just to make people mad.

So, today they were talking about the Republican debate that was held over the weekend. I can't think of what the red head's name is, but she started talking about how we can't have such a backwards president who doesn't believe in evolution. She couldn't believe that, with all the scientific evidence to the contrary, anyone could be that backwards. Apparently the announcer asked those who didn't believe in evolution to raise their hands and 3 or 4 of them did. I don't know exactly who, but...

First of all, what scientific evidence is she talking about? There's nothing that I know of. I know they've never found the "missing link" that they keep saying is the link between apes and people. I know that we are created in our Heavenly Father's image. I know that Adam and Eve were our first parents. Those are things I know. I also believe in science. I love science. But, I think it's so sad that you are considered a 19th century person if you don't believe the THEORIES that scientist have now. Downstairs I have a dinosaur book from when I was a kid. I loved reading about dinosaurs. This was the "truth" then. Most of it is now considered wrong. Who is right? We have no idea. No one has ever seen a dinosaur. All of science, except for a few real laws, are just theories. I love what Robert Baker says. He tells us that we need to learn everything we can about the science of the day and then try to prove it all wrong. Because most of the time, it can be proven wrong. And I hate it when scientists feel they have figured it all out. They know it all and all they know is completely right. What a bunch of crap! Learn what you can and think for yourself. Knowledge is a gift!

Second of all, how dare she attack someones beliefs. In this day and age where evil is considered good, for 3 or 4 men who want your vote to show their beliefs is amazing! She acted as if they had said that they believed that the Earth was flat. That's one of those things that we KNOW is not true. We KNOW what shape the Earth is. They were talking about what they believed. When did it become requisite that we as a country all believe the same. And you know what I think? I think there are more people out there who don't believe in evolution than those who do. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sometimes the silent majority should be a bit more squeaky.

I am most assuredly not saying that she HAS to not believe in evolution. I'm offended that she tells me that I have to. That's the point. Shouldn't we all be able to believe what we believe without getting attacked for it? Without being called a 19th century idiot?

So, there's my rant. I feel quite a bit better. :)

A Wonderful Visit

As I've said, my Mom and Grandma came up to visit the week of April 15th. The main reason of their visit was to go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Well, and...they really like us. :)

Day 1: Brent and I took the Southworth Ferry across the sound and found our way to the airport to pick them up. Mom said that we needed to be there at 9am. We pulled into the airport at exactly 9am. We're amazing.

After the kisses and hugs, we pulled into a Jack in the Box for a little potty break and to decide where to head next. I suggested that, since it was a rainyish day, that we take a little driving tour of Seattle, since it had been a long time since my Grandma had been here. (At the time, I thought she had never been here, but I was wrong.) So, we head up North. Brent rarely comes to Seattle without at least asking if we can go to REI. (REI started up here so the flagship store is quite huge.) We all love REI too, so we pulled out our map and head to REI. It is a fun store to wander around.

After that, we called PF Chang's in Bellevue to see if they were open for lunch. They were!! Yummy Yummy food.

Brent took us past the Seattle Temple since neither of the visitors had ever been there. The grounds are beautiful, but since it was raining, we just looked out the window. We did see this GORGEOUS dogwood that had reddish-pink flowers. Normally the dogwood flowers are white. I love unusual plants!

On the way home we stopped at the Rhodedendron Species Garden. Not all the plants had started blooming yet, but it was still pretty. Brent and I also found a really pretty orange azalea that we planted on the side of our house. Here's some pretty pictures from there.

Day 2: Grandma is a cold blooded person. Brent and I are warm blooded people. Grandma was a little bit chilly. So, today we went to IKEA and found a warmer blanket for her. IKEA is an event! Very fun!!

Day 3: Since our growing season starts on April 15th, I thought it would be fun to go to a garden center and see the difference between Utah and Washington. Basically - a lot more plants! :) We went to Valley Nursery in Poulsbo. This is my favorite nursery so far. There are a lot of different things there. It was really fun. Then we looked around Poulsbo a little bit.

Day 4: And now for the prettiest day - the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Thursday was suppose to be the best day, so that's why we waited. It takes about 2 hours to get to the tulips. We took the Kingston Ferry over to the otherside of the water. Here are some pictures. They don't take much explaining.

Ok, this first one I'll explain. This guy offered to take our picture. He explained that families need to take pictures to remember good days. He was kind of a funny guy.

Apparently there were a lot of chances to take a picture of me, taking a picture. The flowers were so beautiful, I couldn't help it!

Mom wanted to take this picture of us, but Grandma didn't hear her, so I said, "Hey, Grandma, put the spurs on it!" She started laughing, and so did the people next to us. I'm so funny!
When we were walking through the tulip fields, the mud was crusted over, but must have been still squishy underneath. Grandma really liked the squishy mud! She's funny!

We had a great time at the Tulip Festival. There weren't as many tulip fields this time as the first time Brent and I went, but still awesome! If anyone ever wants to come up and see the tulips, let me know! I will go every year! Just remember, it feels a lot colder here - there's more humidity!!

Day 5: Our visitor's last day. We took the Bremerton ferry over to Seattle and saw the sights. We went through Pike's Place Market - pretty flowers, then went over to the Seattle Center. Grandma WANTED TO GO TO THE TOP OF THE SPACE NEEDLE. Ok. I just close my eyes in the glass elevator on the way up!

The red car in the picture, I even circled it, but it's hard to see, is my car. It looks funny from so far up!

After that, I dropped them off at the airport and I took a very full ferry back home.

We had a great time. Thanks for coming guys!!

We're Still Here

Brent just told me yesterday that I hadn't blogged since March. Where did April go? My Mom and Grandma were here for a week. We were working really hard in the basement that last week before they got here so that my mom would have a nice place to stay. But since then, I can't think of where the month went. I guess that the YW's president was out of town, so I've been mostly doing Young Women's stuff.

Ok, enough excuses. I'm going to get some pictures put together to post and try to "catch up".

Happy 3rd Birthday Alyssa!

Happy 8th Birthday Sarah!

Happy .... Birthday Mom!

:)