Ah! Je Veux Vivre

Charles Gounod would have been proud of our girl on Saturday as Janene played Romeo & Juliet to a packed house in Centerville, Utah. Janene said she would kill me if I put this up, but I'm a pretty disobedient husband. I thought she did a great job. And did you catch Sharon Griffin in the star role as pianist extraordinaire? Sharon sacrifices her time more often than we will ever be able to count aand never gets the appreciation she deserves for her efforts. Sharon wanted all the other accompanists (is that how you spell that word?) to know that she was the best of all. That is why they saved her ( and Janene's) performance for last. They brought down the house!!!

Really Lily!

It's official! She's really Lily. Stephen gave Lily a beautiful blessing. Brooke prepared a feast for everyone who came to the house afterwards. She is a wonderful Mom and homemaker. She made a gorgeous baby blessing dress (check out her blog) and Stephen's mother sewed a beautiful baby bonnet with meticulous little stitches. I'm a guy - I don't know what it's called, but our little star was darling in it. Even Michael thought she was cute and gave her a few extra brotherly kisses. Our family dominated their ward Fast & Testimony meeting. We all felt right at home, and I think the rest of the ward felt like visitors. Oh well! They will all know our family now that Brooke and Steve are in their ward.

Dr. David Landon

David was awarded his doctorate in Electrical Engineering yesterday. Janene was able to attend the ceremony for part of the time. His family was there ALL DAY LONG! They must really love this guy. David was heard constantly reminding people (in his best Henry Kissinger voice - you know, with a heavy German accent) "You must call me Doctor Landon now". Yeah! like that's gonna happen. We are proud as can be that he has accomplished this goal of his. You notice that Angie has a big grin? That's because she knows that he will be able to be home more often. She should hang out a sign on the front door - The Doctor is In!

MAY DAY!!! MAY DAY!!!

WHAT WILL POOR ROBIN DO THEN? POOR THING!

MAY DAY!!! MAY DAY!!!

Just a little bit of frost on the rhubarb!

MAY DAY! --- MAY DAY!

Is this any way to run a garden? It looks like Bambi isn't doing to get his mitts on any tomatoes after all. Even after surrounding the tomatoes with walls of water, we woke up this morning to fresh snow covering them and the water frozen solid in the tubes. The future looks grim for these tomatoes.

Waiting for Tomatoes

These hungry little critters know we just planted our potatoes, onions, peas, lettuce and tomatoes. They watched us the whole time. If you look closely, you will see that two of these guys are just drooling at the thought of getting into the garden and feasting on our famous tomatoes. Janene and I have found a deposit of rich black compost in the oak behind our house. We have been "mining" black gold for the last few days. Today, every time I dug out a wheelbarrow load of the stuff, I would come back to find a deer laying in the hole. He would leave long enough for me to extract another load and them he would lie back down. We are a little uncomfortable knowing that they know we are planting nice food for them if only they can figure out how to get in.

Spring Time is Bee Time

What better thing to do on a warm windy day than take care of the bees? Janene put another super on each of the hives today. A super is the box that holds nine of the frames that the bees cover with honeycomb, and then fill with honey. Here she is checking on the brood ( little baby bees) to see if the queen is laying eggs. This little mama bee is hard at work doing her job. The hive is healthy with lots of bees going to work, but we still gave them their medicine and some sugar water. With it so early in the season, the bees will probably need a supplemental food source. That will change as all the fruit trees come into blossom and the bees can start making us some of their famous Bountiful honey.

Last Days with Lily

Janene and I are bracing ourselves for the day when we will not have our little Lily to play with all day. Brooke and Steve will soon be leaving us home alone since their home is all but complete now. They have announced that they will be moving on the 18th of April with a big moving party planned starting at 5:00 PM. Words cannot describe how much fun we have had with Michael and Lily at our house. There is so much we will miss when these little bundles aren't around. We felt the same way when the other grandkids were living with us - the time we have with them is too short. Lily has started "talking" ( more like sweet little coo's) and Michael is smart and talkative. We will miss them - and Steve and Brooke, but are excited for them to be able to start their new life in their own new home.

Marshmallow Roast

Here is the scariest picture of Chelane in Guatemala. Yes, that is real LAVA! She roasted marshmallows on the hot lava. No wonder she came back needing new shoes! Naughty girl! But we still love her!!!

Chelane just got back from her adventure in Guatemala. Dad was worried about her the whole time she was gone but she made it through a few scrapes, an active volcano, quake destroyed churches, and the most amazing place she has ever been, Semuc Champey. That is really saying something considering that Tikal was one of the places she went. She has amazing photographs she wants to share with us all. Welcome Home, girl!

March Trip to San Rafael

Janene and I went to the Swell (ostensibly to photograph wildflowers, but really just to get out of the smog) and went for a short hike ( 5 or 6 miles). The weather was beautiful, the sky clear, and the air fresh. We got a few pictures, some dinner in Price and then headed home.