50 mile Canoe Run

I don't have a picture but Gavyn just returned this weekend from a 50 mile Canoe Trip. They had hoped to hike 18 miles of it, but a heat warning went out for two days of their trip, they decided to ride the waves instead of taking any risks. He came home sun burnt and tired, but a smile on his face. The very next day left for Springfield, MO for a super Saturday event for the youth. School starts this week, so we are all gearing up for the new school year. Ariona attended her High School orientation. Yes, she starts 7th grade in the High School. Levi and Makenzie have open house this Tuesday. Seminary begins Aug. 23rd. Mom is almost ready to start her 4AM rising again.

Latest Heart Concern

My heart strings are being challenged yet again. My adventurous, indepenant daughter Chelsea is spreading her wings and hitchhiking across the USA. I know I'm not in control and she can make choices of her own, but that does not degate my heart concerns, nor the numberless prayers I pray everyday for her. She left Olympia, Washington Tuesday, arrived in Boise, Idaho on Thursday and is now in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has met alot of kind people so far and have enjoyed her journey. She is enjoying Temple Square today Sunday and visiting with her friend Melissa Harmon. All for our EXPERIENCE!?!?! All I can say is Birth was the EASY part!

Little Ginger

Little Ginger was

born the day I left for Idaho. Dad had to work all night and Ariona was in charge. Gavyn was gone to other activities. Ariona kept the baby calf alive. She called on Uncle Larry to help. The first three days were critical in regular feedings. She was not able to latch onto Missie (Mommy Cow) for the first few days. Now she is doing well and grazing on grass. Ariona is becoming quite the little farm girl. Maybe a vet one day. All these great adventures are building confidence and skills she doesn't even realize yet. She isn't too excited about horse vaginal examinations. She has alot to experience yet. Makenzie and Levi are good little helpers too.

New Calf

Miss Cocoa was the first to deliver. All went well and her calf is progressing well. The weather here has been so hot that the animals have struggled through the heat and lack of water. We have two ponds available to this field, so the animals do well.

Ashley's wedding

I had the opportunity to fly to Boise, Idaho for Ashley's wedding. It was beautiful! It was held in the back yard of this beautiful colonial ranch home. The horse stables were converted into a brides room with kitchen and bathroom facilities. She was a beautiful bride.

Pioneer Celebration

July 24th we enjoyed celebrating Pioneer Day with our ward family. After a potluck dinner, the Primary had some fun activities for the children. I shared Pioneer stories and songs. I showed the children how to clean fleece and spin the fiber in yarn to use to make clothing. I'm sure I enjoyed it more than the children, Ariona says!

Gavyn is learning how to Nurse!

We had baby bunnies born and the mommy would not take care of them. Ariona and Gavyn took turns in helping the babies nurse from the mommy. They eventually all died, but they did their best.

Ken and I were able to go the the burial service for Grandma Pennington Cook, in Arizona. What a wonderful time we had with everyone there. We were sad not to be with family at the time of her death. We were glad for the opportunity to speak to her a few times over the past few months and tell her we love her. At Christmas she begged us to move home to Grants Pass. We knew when we moved, there would be loved ones we may never see again in this life. But we have the hope and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ that reasures us of a glorious resurrection. The sealing power of the temple promises a welding link between generations and families. Not one is lost, not one will miss out on promised blessings. I have been blessed to have visited so often with Grandma over the past few years that she was in Grants Pass. I enjoyed watching her become child like. She truly was ready to meet her Savior, anxious to met again loved ones who had gone before. Not having a grandmother of my own, she truly was dear to my heart.

See ya later Grandma!

Summer time has brought back the extreme heat and humidity. We just love to sweat and work outside. Almost as much as we like to have our picture taken.

The girls are loving their horse, Candy. She responds wonderfully to Ariona. Ariona has been able to get her to gallop through the pasture. Candy is on the overweight side, so you know how challenging that could be. The both look so cute in their cowboy boots and jeans and riding helmet.

Levi is the leader of the chickens. Gavyn is becoming our master mower.

Graduation to High School

Ariona at her graduation from 6th grade, leaving the elementary school and entering a new era, HIGH SCHOOL. She had a wonderful year getting to know new friends, and new rules.

Makenzie moves to 5th grade, Levi to 2nd and Gavyn to 10th. Gavyn got top in ALL of his classes. He is reallllllllllllly smart, just ask him!
Levi's biggest challenge for the year was saying "Yes Mam" to his teacher, every time spoken to.

There is a spirit at these sights that can't be denied or explained. We were all touched and so grateful for the sacrifice of so many for what we now enjoy. We would like to have a family reunion here and share this with all our family. Hopefully before our sons go on missions.

Our highlight for the spring was going to Nauvoo. We had a wonderful time together. Levi said he wanted to stay there forever. There is such a beautiful spirit there you just don't want to leave.

Everyone had birthdays. Gavyn 15, Levi 7, Ariona 12, Makenzie 10. We're all getting a little old and wiser.

Surpirse Aunt JoAnn. This was the first time we had the opportunity to share a birthday with Aunt JoAnn. We got her good.

2010 began with alot of snow and freezing weather. I've never so cold in my life. This is when you really enjoy having worked on storing the wood in the summer months to prepare for the winter. There is nothing like a good snowball fight and then hot chocolate to follow. The children had an extra week of Christmas break due to the weather. They will have to make up snow days later in the spring.

Color

Fall was beautiful. The drive to and from town is delightful as the colors changed from greens to vibrant shades of yellow, reds, and oranges. This is a view from our clinic with these beautiful trees. It didn't last long. The leaves are nearly all down now, but the weather has been comfortable.

The newest additions to our family are two Great White Pyranees female dogs. Their job is to watch over the Alpacas. They are loving animals, but they bark alot!!!!!!! This one with Levi is Molly. She is about a year old and weighs in over 80 lbs. The second one is named Gabby, she too is over 80 lbs. She is more shy and reserved. She is the one lying in front of Makenzie. Our family has gotten much smaller in some ways, and grown in others.

27 Years of Joy!

Ken & I celebrated our anniversary going to the St. Louis, MO Temple. It is beautiful, as they all are. We were able to do family sealings, work we've been working on all year. Our new ward celebrated with us since it was the ward Temple Day. We then spent the next day at the cannery, canning supplies for the ward. We have recently been called as the Single Adult Shepherds for our ward. We have 59 on our rolls. After calling all of them, we found there will be updating the ward records. One sister on the list had been married for 10 years. Today we were called to be Institute Instructors for our ward. Since we have a University here in Mountain Home, we will have surrounding areas joining us. The adults want a class too, so we teach them also. We're calling them, "Seasoned Adults" since some do not like the "Mature" title. We are looking forward to this new challenge.

Ken and I were able to take 8 youth to the temple yesterday and do baptisms. What a wonderful blessing temples are. Be grateful when a temple is so close to you.

Farm Animals

The kids are have wonderful experiences learning how to care for and love the animals on the farm. Ariona is becoming a great horse rider. She tolerates Makenzie getting her turn. Levi had a run in this week with the rooster that is behind him in the picture. I was driving in from work, and I hear him yelling, madder than a hornet, "I'm going to kill you." Thinking that he was yelling at a sibling, I was ready to give the lecture on we speak to one another. I get to him and he is bleeding, sweaty and sobbing. He had been trying to get the chickens in the pen and the rooster attached him. He had a bad scratch across his eye lid and down his cheek with peck holes on the back of his neck. I took him the house and washed him up before he could settle down long enough to tell me what had happened. Grandpa gave him permission to carry a big stick the next time he had to go into the pen. He is armed and ready.

Lone Rock Alpacas, LLC

Meet our boys! The white Alpaca is Swashbuckler, the dark brown is Montegue, and the lighter brown is Philo. They are all three fleece producing Alpacas. We have plans to get females in the future. We had opportunity to get these three and we jumped. They are wonderful animals. We are all learning alot about eachother. We are now looking into the Pyrenees livestock guard dogs. We have a chance to adopt a 2 year old female near the end of the month. We'll see how things are going at that time. The property photos show alot of open area in the center. I have plans to build fenced areas for males and females with a covered barn community area for all the animals. I have a lot of work for Ken to get started on as soon as he gets here. Road to put in, a well to dig, fences to put up, barns to build, not to mention a house. It will take us longer than we had hoped since the house hasn't sold, but one step at a time and dreams come to fruition.