Catching Up One Blog at a Time

It has been quite awhile since I was able to blog.  There are several pictures I'd like to post, but they are on separate computers, so we'll do this one at a time.

First of all, we'll go to Gabe's Birthday.  Plans -- to invite everyone to our place, go to the park and let everyone spread out and play.  Reality -- it snowed!  So, 23 Pieps and Jorgensens piled into our limited space, and we had a blast.  It was fun having everyone get to know each other a bit better.  That would not have happened if we'd been at the park.

 On April 6, Gabe and I met the Pieps up in Wellsville at the Jensen Historical Farm for their Baby Animals days.  It was a fun day with the Piep cousins.  We got to see baby goats, rabbits, horses, pigs, etc. 

 The pioneer woodshop had a coffin all ready for the next occupant.

 Baby bears?!

 Gabe wanted to see what it would be like on these old-fashioned farm implements:

 And, I just had to put in a picture of Ninja.  He just absolutely loved these pionies.  He would get on the table and bury his nose in the flowers.  This was a good shot of him that I really liked.  He has really been a joy added to our home.

Ok, so we did get a little bit of snow this winter.  This was the first storm in November, and Gabe used it all to make his snowman.  Not bad -- and the only time all winter we had enough snow to even make a decent snowball, let alone a snowman.

I'll wait a few days and post a few more pictures from my cell phone.  They are on the other computer, so this is being done in stages. 

Kitten and Car Show

Meet the newest member of this family: Ninja! I thought that, since so many of you already met Ninja in Castle Dale, I would give you a bit of an update. Ninja has proven to be a mischievous little tyke. He loves to hide under the bed, behind walls and other corners and then jump out and attack toes, ankles and any other parts of you he can reach! He is getting better at doing this closed-paw, but we've all got several new scratch marks. We have all fallen in love with him. He usually sleeps with Arden, but last night he even spent the night on our bed. He woke me up by dancing on my leg and then biting my ankle.


Arden did some research and determined that he is a Himalayan breed: a combination of Persian and Siamese. Whatever he is, he is beautiful! Especially after a bath, blow dryer and brush. He is sooooo soft!

We bought a scratching post, but he doesn't use it too much. However, when he did find it, he attacked it with a vengeance.

Yesterday we went to the Car Show -- Again. John and I have not missed that since we were married. And Gabe has gone with us several times, too. This first picture was taken with the yellow "Bumblebee" car in 2010. The second one was taken yesterday - same car, same kid 2 years difference. Is there much difference in Gabe? Height, but, otherwise, he hasn't changed much.

Gabe got to get into a HUMMVEE (Whatever), and sit in the sling and turn the turret. He loves that stuff.

Arden and her friend Miranda also went with us. They disappeared as soon as we got in, and then met up with us towards the end, 2 1/2 hours later. Here are the 3 of them sitting in a Dodge Challenger. There were some really great cars there!

Ok, so Blogger always puts the videos in at the end. The first one is of Gabriel and his new Hot Wheels track he got from Santa. The second one is of Ninja and Lalo. Ninja loves Lalo's tail, and he will chase Lalo around the house just to attack it.

A Little of This, A Little of That

Ok, so here's a little update of the last of our summer vacation and some miscellaneous things. First of all, here is are the pinwheels for the quilt. There are 72 of them. Not all perfect, but they are done. Now, the next time I sit down, I will begin assembling them with the other pieces. I'll keep you posted (no pun intended)!

About a week before I went back to work, John, Arden, Gabe and I went on a day trip to Bear Lake, stopping in Brigham City, Tony Grove and coming home through Huntsville (whatever that canyon is -- I don't remember).

In Brigham City, we stopped at the Tabernacle, which has always been one of my favorite buildings. The Brigham City Temple is being built right across the street from the Tabernacle, so we got some great pictures of both buildings.

The blue sky really outlined Moroni on the top of the temple just beautifully!

At Tony Grove, we had a picnic and then wandered the hill down to the small lake. If you've never been to Tony Grove, it is a pretty, quiet little lake. No motor vehicles are allowed on it. Only rowboats, rafts, etc. The hillside was covered with wildflowers that the camera just couldn't pick up all the colors!

When we got to Garden City, we stopped at LaBeau's for their famous raspberry shakes. We also bought 2 flats of raspberries in Laketown (they were cheaper there) and spent the following Saturday making freezer jam. We''ve really enjoyed that!

It was great to see Bear Lake full! I haven't seen it that full since before I left school at USU! We went to the State Park and let Gabe wade in the water.

Random picture of a full moon.

Finally, we have harvested our beets -- huge beets! John and Gabe spent a good hour digging and pulling off tops.

Beet greens, anyone?

Here is what John and I did yesterday: from 9:00 a.m. to about 11:30 last night -- 57 pints of beets!!!! We're taken care of for the next year!

There is something very satisfying seeing the fruits of your labors set out in such pretty rows.