Adventuring!

This is basically our "backyard."  This is what we see when we look down the road and up the hill out our front door.  This is where we go when we want to get out of the house and do a bit of adventuring!  This is also something to miss when we leave here.  We can only hope we can find things just as rewarding wherever we end up going!

This last one has to be my favorite of the group!  Coming from the plains where you can see forever in every direction I often feel closed in when I look up at the mountains.  As beautiful as our particular mountains happen to be there is still that bit of panic of not being able to see as far as I would like.  This spot proves it all wrong, looking out this way gives me that peace only wide open spaces can give a girl from the plains.  I guess you just have to go to the top of the mountain and look down to see forever!

Scarlett's Birthday!

West and Kali

It is spring time summer time, here in our part of Wyoming.  The birds are eating the food out of our feeder almost faster than we can keep it filled, the grass seems like it needs mowed every other day, the kids have long since forgotten their pants and jackets (although we still need both on some occasion), our bikes are being used more often than the car to go up town, the kids are needing daily baths from all the dirt and things they get into outside, we are sleeping with the windows open, and Kali is shedding fur like no other.  She is a lab with some chow mixed in there as well so she has this coat of fur that is nice and thick with this incredible under-coat.  But when the weather changes that fur ends up all over my house.  So West has decided this year it is his job to keep her brushed on a regular basis.  This mama hen couldn't be happier!  I think this first picture is my favorite of them all, doesn't she just look like it feels sooo good!?

Birds

I was standing at my kitchen window the other day and heard a bird talking in my tree.  I looked out and spotted this little spot of very bright yellow.  A few months ago I picked up a bird book for this area to see if I could recognize any of the birds that come to my feeder.  I haven't had much luck but am hoping it gets easier once I get used to how the book works and what to look for and such.  Anyway, I saw this really bright spot of yellow and thought it was very pretty and I had never seen one like this in my yard before so thought I would take a few pictures and see if I could figure it out.  By the time I got my camera it was already on the ground so I hope you can see it in the pictures.  You should be able to click on the picture to open it in a new screen so maybe that will get it big enough.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler would be my best guess as to what it might be.  What do you all think?

First Day of Summer Break

I can remember the first day of Summer Break growing up!  It always seemed to take forever to get there and then when it finally was my sister (the only one left at home) and I would be free for two whole months.  I can always remember it being sweltering hot so we would be in cut off shorts and a tank top to see if we could possibly stay any cooler by having less clothes on. 
I looked at my two kids the first day of summer break and what do they have on?  West has jeans on and Ruby is wearing a long sleeve shirt with a scarf.  It was only 63 degrees for the high that day.