Rocky the Squirrel

Most of you know Rocky.

My parents rescued him about 10 years ago.

They found two brand new baby squirrels (I don't even think their eyes were open yet) laying in their yard...obviously fell out of a tree.  They waited hoping the mom would come back to get them...but no such luck.  So they took them in.  They fed them with a little eye dropper and kept them safe and warm.  Sadly, shortly after taking them in the female died.  The male on the other had was doing great...active and healthy...they named him Rocky.  My parents have a large aviary in their backyard that surrounds a lemon tree and decided to make that his permanent home.

At one point he escaped!  Sad of course...but we thought perhaps that was best, he's back in the wild. 

However, a few days later Rocky came back...beat up, but alive!  He apparently got into a scuffle and decided the wild was NOT for him and he liked it in his little lemon tree after all.

These pictures are from when he was still a young little squirrel.

If you had long sleeves and pants he would zip all around your body...it was pretty amusing!

He also curled up into Haley's hood of her sweatshirt and fell asleep.

Sadly, a couple of weeks ago, Rocky passed away.

We were all sad to hear the news.

Hopefully, he's somewhere enjoying a big pile of peanuts.

R.I.P. Rocky.

Easter 2017

Last weekend we celebrated Easter!

First things first, the girls hunted for their Easter baskets as soon as they got up...Morgan being the last one up (she almost slept the morning away!).  

We had a leisurely breakfast of French toast and then relaxed (and watched a couple of their new movies) before we headed off to Grandma and Grandpa's for the Easter egg hunt and dinner.

 The girls with their cousins, Jett and Rowan.  Rowan just turned one April 1st!  

Wow, did that year go fast?!  She is such a doll and Rory is absolutely obsessed with her...she follows her around and helps her with anything she needs.  It's awfully cute!

 My mom had the house looking so festive!

And the dinner was top notch!

 And it wouldn't be Easter without the annual sibling picture on the porch!

Unfortunately, this year Andrew wasn't able to be here for the event...sad face.

But the show must go on!

 And just for kicks, Ryan and I posed for a few!

 The opening of the annual Easter balls!!

Every year my mom makes each kiddo a ball that's made of crepe paper.  As they unwind it they find all sorts of little trinkets hidden in between the wrapping.  So they must unwind it slowly so they don't miss anything!  The little ones (mostly Piper) are still working on this concept.  Everything is a race with that girl.

 It's good fun and makes a huge mess!!

They love it!

And also, this year Easter was a beautiful, warm day!

I just love it when the weather cooperates, don't you?

And that's all she wrote.

Happy Easter!

The end.

Spring Break 2017

Usually we try to camp for our Spring Breaks (at least for part of it), but again, my darn knee kept us from doing that.  So we made the best of it and tried to do some fun things from home.

We kicked off the break by taking the girls to see Beauty and the Beast at the theater.  Now, this is a big deal for our family...we usually hit up the dollar theater when we do movies. Sadly however, our local dollar theater closed down recently making way for a larger shopping center...don't even get me started...I'm still mourning about this.  

I don't think my two youngest have ever been to a regular theater!  And let me tell you, they were blown away with the big recliner seats they got to sit in! 

We loved the movie...and it was beautifully done!  And then after we got some lunch.  (Yes, we hit up the early bird showing time...and goodness sake, it's still expensive for a family of six!)  

But anyway, it was a fun day!

Later in the week, we took the kids into Salt Lake City to visit the Capital Building.

But first, we hit up some lunch.

 It was a little vegan eatery that Ryan has been wanting to take us to.

They serve things like Philly Cheesesteaks, Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches, Barbacoa Burritos...all vegan.  Ryan says it would fool any meat eater.  I was skeptical.  But, actually, I thought it was quite good!  The kids however, not so much (except for Haley...I think she liked it.)  But it was a lovely day, and we got to eat outside...I call that a win!

After lunch we traveled over to the Capital Building.  But first, right across the street from the Capital Building was the Pioneer Memorial Museum that we wanted to hit up.

This museum is huge!  I can't believe we hadn't seen it after all these years of living here.  It has all sorts of artifacts from the pioneers that traveled west and settled the Salt Lake Valley.  Clothing, handcarts, wagons, tools, furniture...you name it, they had it.  It was really interesting. 

 And then we walked over to the Capital.

It was such a beautiful day...all the blossoms were out in full force!

I have to admit, all the walking completely wore me out, but it was well worth it.

What a fun day!

Our Spring Break also included a lot of late nights, movies at home, and playing with friends.

Maybe next year we'll be able to get back to back to some camping.

Piper turns 7!

Piper's birthday was pretty low key...I hope she wasn't too disappointed.

I know that she wanted to have a big friend birthday party, but I just wasn't up for it with my knee still the way it is.  I'm just very slow at everything I do and I walk with total concentration so I don't over extend it (something I'm very fearful of doing).  So hopefully she understands. 

 Her birthday landed on a Sunday.

We woke her up with her birthday breakfast and then headed off to church.  We enjoyed a very relaxing afternoon and then celebrated her birthday with hot dogs, strawberries, and sprite (her request).  We even found some pretty good meat free hot dogs for Ryan and Haley, and I must say, they were pretty good!

Morgan made her cake! 

(I helped with the frosting of it.)

 And then presents!

I was so proud of Morgan...she used her own money to buy Piper this doll she had been wanting and she was so excited for Piper to open it.  Piper was thrilled!

 I gave Rory some money to pick something out for Piper and Legos it was.  It's funny because my kids love the bigger Duplo Legos (even though they are geared for younger children).  And to be honest, I prefer them as well...you can't lose the pieces into the carpet (to be stepped on!) and it's easier clean up.

Oh how we love our Piper Cub!

Happy 7th!

We love you!

Peter Pan and a new smile.

This semester Haley tried out for her school's play, Peter Pan musical.  She was part of the Neverland Ensemble, they did a lot of singing and they also were in charge of a bit of the stage crew.  She was so busy these past few months with all the rehearsals!  For weeks her rehearsals went until 5:30 and then she'd ride her bike home and walk in just in time for dinner.  And although her role wasn't a lead, she put just as much effort in it, and I kid you not, she could have substituted any role as she knew everyone's lines by heart!  I'm just so super proud of her!!

The production was amazing!

The teachers did a wonderful job putting it on, I was so impressed with the talent (so much singing and dancing!) and the set design!

We went as a family opening night...and then Ryan and I went again ourselves on closing night.  While Ryan and I were gone, Morgan and the little ones decorated the dining room with streamers and balloons.  They set the table and had cupcakes and flowers waiting for her (I may have helped buying that part).  And as a special touch, when we walked in the door it was super quiet and there was sign that said pointed Haley to the dining room.  When Haley opened the door the girls jumped out and surprised her...it was pretty awesome, as Haley had no idea.  She was thrilled!

I just love it when my kids do nice things for each other.

And speaking of Haley, she got her braces on today.

She's been kinda dreading it for a while...I have too for that matter...these puppies aren't cheap, I'm still recovering from the initial shock of their price tag.  BUT, I keep telling her how lucky she is to even get them and how much she'll thank me when she's older, ha!

Happy Monday ya'll!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to Piper!!

Today she turns 7!!

I know I'm super duper behind on updating life...I will need to do that...soon!

For now though...we are celebrating this girl!