Summer Selections

In trying to play catch-up.  I think I'll just quickly run down a list of key events that took place the remainder of our summer in the Cache.  With our busy move, and being in a new-to-us town, we spent much of it at Grandma and Grandpa's - helping harvest something, or simply just to finally have someone to visit close by!  That's sure been nice - for them and for us!

A daily ritual is called "Finding Patches" so we can give him a bowl of milk!

 One Sunday Dad called us and said, "All hands on decks!  We're picking cherries today!"  Apparently the cherries had ripened to perfection, and fearing the birds would eat them at their peak, the "ox was in the mire" so-to-speak, and we had to harvest them right away.  Will you look at those baskets of cherries?  Heaven!

Another bountiful crop was Dad's basil, which he grew in walls-of-water containers, and I think he did four huge harvests of basil!  It was amazing.  We made pesto out of most of them, which makes delicious homemade spaghetti sauce!

Mom's birthday she requested a hot dog roast in the late evening.  Just simple.  Hot dogs.  No side dishes, no fancy desserts or salads.  Just a hot dog roast around the fire pit.  She's so dear!  

Our corn crop deserves its own post, but I'll just write a bit about it.  Josh tilled "the rock pit", Dad helped me plan and plot the rows, the kids planted the seeds, and after weeks and weeks of weeding, hoeing, watering and fertilizing, our rock pit produced the most  beautiful crop of Sugar Buns and Ambrosia corn! It made a beautiful fence to give us a bit of privacy from the neighbors, and I loved looking out at it every morning and see how it seemed to literally grow overnight!   It was such a fun project!  One of my favorite memories was watering the corn in the early mornings with my Mom.  She'd come over and help me as the rows were getting established, and we'd talk about everything and nothing.  It was so sweet.  Definitely a memory I'll keep forever.  Just Mom and me - working and talking together.

Josh planted me two rows of beans for me, because he KNOWS I love green beans!  Little did I know how well they would produce.  Bushels and BUSHELS of beans!  We couldn't keep up with them, and gave lots away.   We were expert "Bean Counters" by the end of the season.

A few of the local events:  The Cache Valley Cruise-in, where people from all over bring their vintage cars and their cloth diapers and lovingly buff them as we all stroll past and admire their automobiles.  

 On the opposite end of the spectrum we have the Demolition Derby, where people take an old car, knock out the windows and weld the doors shut, and drive around and try to smash eachother to pieces!

 It was a really LOUD but fun time!

July 4th, Grandma and Grandpa treated us to a visit to the American West Heritage Center.  Josh and Ben were down in Salt Lake for a race.  The day began with a flag ceremony, and gun salute, followed by demonstrations and activities including horseback riding, milking a cow, starting a fire, wagon rides, writing with a feathered quill!  Diddles had at least 10 pony rides, and was in absolute heaven!   It was a really fun place, and the kids would love to go back.

It was a pretty hot June and July, so we tried to do things in the mornings and then hide inside during the heat of the day!  One Sunday morning we escaped up to Tony Grove to see the tail end of the wildflowers before church at 1:00.

Peter's Catherine got us tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Pioneer Day concert, starring a broadway star Laura Osnes.  We got a late start out the door, and I didn't factor in that the parking garage under the Conference Center would be closed to the public!  We almost gave up hope and turned around for home, when we discovered a parking garage under the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  We found a perfect parking spot, jogged across the street to the conference center, and sat down in our seats just in time!  It was truly a MIRACLE.  I couldn't believe it.  When we left the parking attendant didn't have change for a 20, so he let us out for free! The concert was wonderful, and Come, Come Ye Saints was my favorite!  

 Laura had a beautiful voice and a charming personality.  She wore this gorgeous beaded gown that I wished came in my size and price range, so I could walk around the house sparkling as I go.

Our summer was capped off by a trip to the Oregon Coast.  Josh's cousins had planned a combined family vacation back in December (when we lived a bit closer).  We stayed in a cute little condo with a kitchen and cable, so we all enjoyed watching Food Network and HGTV, while making food and enjoying the sand and surf.  The first day was the best weather, and it was great to watch the kids experience the ocean waves for the first time.  

 Josh was the favorite uncle of his second-cousins!

 We did lots of beach combing, marshmallow roasting, and kite-flying.

Nice fire, Scouts!