So here is my attempt at catching up on the sharing of photos. It is all random, just enjoy, even if it's a sloppy job of throwing it together.

We found these cool eggs in our birdhouse, and couldn't wait to see baby birds soon, but unfortunately, one of the children (hint: the one in the photo) tried to help things along by placing a cloth and some chick food in the birdhouse. I don't think the mama came back after that, and we ended up with three rotten eggs. So sad...

Check out this lovely snake I found in my flowerbed- I was sure it was poisonous, but after we killed it and checked for fangs, we were surprised to find none!

No luck catching any fish, but had a blast anyway!

Who doesn't love the beach and the big blue ocean? Can't get much funner than that!

This poor guy came home with a bad case of poison ivy after the pioneer trek... He posted this photo online and said he had been in a bad fight- guys just love to act tough, don't they?

The kids had a blast at the Japanese Maple farm where we went on the grand tour and learned all kinds of neat stuff...

Comin' home

I'm heading home (as in the homeplace, where I grew up, got fed, nurtured, and spanked) on Sept. 12 and will stay through the 22. Can't wait to see my people! For those who want to bother my property while I am gone- don't even think about it. Down here in the south, we take tresspassin purty serious.

Be careful what you believe...

Thank you, Thank you, sniff, Thank you. This is the happiest day of my life! I am so proud to represent the people of potato country, the land of my father and my fathers father and my fathers mother and my fathers mothers father and my, well you get the idea...

Yesterday, I recieved the surprising news that I once held the title of Miss Idaho. The nice lady responsible for this lovely rumor has kindly spread the news over a number of years to hundreds of people- enough it sounds like that I may be truly famous one day. To think this could have continued to be my legacy for years to come- had I not been in a conversation with someone else while she was nearby and she overheard me telling them I was from Utah. "Utah?!" she says "how can you be from Utah- I thought you were miss Idaho!" Giddy with delight, I halfheartedly exclaim (as my head begins to grow) "Oh no, not me, I'm from Utah, but my dad's from Idaho. Where did you get the idea I was Miss Idaho? Goodness me (blushing, come on keep those compliments coming), I don't know where you would ever get such an idea!" She replies that she's been telling people that for all these years. (She has known me for 15 or so).
So anyway, I just felt I had an obligation to set the record staight, in case the news has drifted out to any of you (you know, the possibility this has made me famous all this time unbeknownst to me). I choose to live with integrity and do not want the world to think I am something I am not. Potatoes should never be represented by an imposter, so though I love potatoes dearly, I leave them to their true representatives, all the real Miss Idaho's, those past and future, who truly deserve this title. My final note would be to thank any of you who actually believed this or would have believed it had you heard it. Thank you for believing in me. I would feel even better if you would have believed I could have been Miss Texas or Miss California- not that I think Miss Idaho any less of a beauty queen, it's just that, you know, all those ones who became Miss America, well there are lots of Texas's and California's in there, you know...