The Blackberry Bush Family Home Evening

For family home evening on Monday, we visited Nancy and Felton Turley in our ward. They were kind enough to let us come dig up a few blackberries for our garden. They live on 50 acres and plant a pretty big garden every year. Sweet Nancy put the kids in this wagon and drove them out to where the blackberries are. They loved the ride!

They also gave Ginger a ball. She didn't want to let go of it.

Here are the blackberries. There were lots. They said that they started with only 3 plants. Now blackberries are popping up everywhere, between the rows. They have to mow those down so we dug those up for our garden.

We only brought one shovel. Guess who got to do the digging? What a good husband.

Here we are loaded up and heading back. I loved this little tractor.

So did the boys. On the way back, we stopped to water the tomato plants. Shane and Wyatt took the opportunity to look at the tractor a little closer.

And guess who got to drive the tractor back to the house? He was smiles the whole way.

A future in farming?

I ran ahead to get this picture. You can't tell from this picture how he was weaving all over the path. It was cute! He was also very concerned that I was going to be run over by the tractor.

Cute Ginger and the sippy cup. It goes everywhere with us.

It was a great evening. Thanks Turleys for sharing your blackberries!

Shane's Mother's Day Book

To celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day, Shane's kindergarten class invited the moms and dads (and brothers and sisters) to school for a picnic. It had rained the day before so our picnic ended up being inside and it was VERY crowded, but fun. They had made these cute little books for the moms and dads. I will post the Father's Day stuff a little later, closer to Father's Day. It was so cute I couldn't resist sharing and being the proud mom. This first picture is from an interview with Shane, I'm guessing. I love his answers and wonder where some of them came from.

This is the cover of the book, so cute.

Not sure where Taco Bell came from but I love how he spelled it.

I love Shane's drawings.

Hmmm . . . he got my age right but has no idea how much people weigh or how tall they are. Love it!

Awww . . . pretty as a unicorn! Shane is so sweet.

I loved this drawing with my arms out and the "I Love Pink" above my head.

Such a sweet boy.

Mike really laughed at this one since we haven't been hunting and cooked deer meat maybe once since we've lived here. It's fun that he thinks about doing stuff that his dad likes to do. I think that was Mike's favorite part. I'm glad I could cook the best "dyr" meat for my family.

Thanks Shane for the adorable book. I love it. I'm sure I'll keep this one forever! Love, Mom.

Cystic Fibrosis and Grover

Okay, do you remember this guy (on the left)? His name is Ehren Grover Girardin. He goes by Grover. And since I forgot that his initials spell EGG, I think I'll call him that now. I like it. He sure is a cute little EGG. He's one of Wyatt's best buddies. They get into all sorts of dirt and mischief together.

Here's Wyatt giving Grover a ride in a storage tote/redneck sled. They had so much fun.

Wyatt and Grover throwing snowballs at a telephone pole.

These four - Wyatt, Shane, Oscar (Grover's brother), and Grover - are often found together doing something. Here they are watching something riveting.

And here is Super Grover jumping off a rock to his Dad. You might remember this from an earlier post.

And here is the whole Girardin clan on our hike to Cloudland Canyon last September.

Well, Grover, our good buddy has Cystic Fibrosis. He's one tough kid. He's had a lot of Dr.'s appointments and appointments with specialists. He's had a lot of medicine. He wears a special vest every night that hooks up to a machine that pulses powerful bursts of air for 30 minutes to shake the mucus out of his lungs. And still every time I see him he's full of energy and smiles. On May 21st, this little EGG has a team of people going on a walk to raise money for a cure. It's hard to imagine a cure for something like Cystic Fibrosis but Marci has told me that with all the medical advances, the life expectancy for those with CF is increasing! It's great news. I still can't imagine thinking about my child's life expectancy. This would be a personal nightmare for me along with all the doctor, specialists, medicines and other stuff. I have watched Marci and Emil do all these things with grace. They are strong people. So I am going to walk with them for Grover. If you would like to support Grover you can make a donation for our walk on the 21st by clicking on the link on the top right side of this blog. I know it's tough economic times for all. Even $5 or $10 will help. I myself can't give as much as I would like. Keep smiling that adorable and often mischievous smile Grover. You're a cute little EGG!