The Help

It's been a while since I have mentioned any of Bob's projects, mainly because this latest one is a little time consuming with very few prime photo ops. We have been surrounded with piles that look like this

and this.

Pretty exciting stuff in my book, ha! In Bob's book it's the ultimate dream project for the barn which is pretty labor intensive. Some great friends asked Bob if he wanted these insulation panels they were tearing out of a project. Bob has always dreamed of being able to insulate the barn and was pretty excited to score on these panels. Now the labor intensiveness is power washing each and every panel and hanging them one by one in the barn, whew! Week after week this summer he has been working on this enormous project by himself in the intense heat that a steel roof in a barn tends to generate. Finally this past weekend the boys came out to lend him a hand, wahoo!

Things went so much faster for Bob this weekend with two extra pairs of hands helping him, which in turn meant less worrying for me wondering if he's okay back there in the heat.

 In one weekend they were able to get this section completed and painted. For a little perspective he is only about a quarter way done and he's been working on it for about six weeks.

There may have been some bribery involved to get the youngest one here to help. You see he needs to use his dad's shop, but the only way in there was to get some of this material used and moved.

I'm okay with having this kind of leverage to get some physical labor out of the boys, after all Ian's going to need a lot of Bob's mechanical know how to put this engine

into this car.

I think Ian's going to owe his dad a few more labor intensive weekends for this project!

A Year Gone By

It's hard to believe a year has gone by since I took pictures of these twins as newborns. Now they are one year olds with distinct personalities and walking up a storm.

 I haven't seen them for a year, so it was fun to see how much they have changed.

This post may get a little picture heavy because I just couldn't decide which ones to post.

What better way to end a one year old session than with a cake smash. Every one year old should be able to enjoy cake this way.

 

Albion Basin

Each night as I watched the weather the weathermen have been commenting that the flowers are blooming at Albion Basin and each night I keep trying to plan my opportunity to go. Thursday after work I stopped by my parents and once again the weatherman made a comment about the wild flowers only this time my mom said how she would love to see them. Done deal, my plan was made, I would be taking my mom for a ride the next day.

We were not disappointed, the flowers were in bloom. We ventured to the top of the dirt road and decided to make the hike to Cecret Lake.

The flowers had not quite fully bloomed higher up the mountain, but you could still find them in the warmer spots against the rocks.

Cecret Lake is in the background as well as the traces of snow still remaining from the late winter storms. How lucky am I to have a mom that will get out and do a little hiking/walking with me.

The flowers were in abundance just below the Cecret Lake trailhead. Gorgeous views on a gorgeous day. To top off the day I spotted this guy on the Snowbird hillside as we were heading down Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Capture Life

It finally arrived! I decided a couple of weeks ago to order the necklace I have wanted for almost a year. There are a few places around the internet that I have seen the stamped image of a camera, but this one has the perfect caption, "Capture Life." That's truly what this photography hobby of mine is all about.

While on the subject of capturing life, here's a little video of Harley deciding he wants to begin diving for rocks.

Gizmo

Let's say hello to Gizmo.

Gizmo is a Blue and Gold Macaw that was part of the package deal when I married Bob. So would the official title be step-bird? She's around 24 years old and has the possibility of out living us since their lifespan can be 60+ years.

This is the only way that I have known Gizmo, bare chested, because she began plucking her feathers after Chase was born and she was no longer the center of Bob's universe. Too bad, because the full feather versions are so pretty.

I

It's been nine years and she only tolerates me because I happen to feed her and clean her cage. She's pretty temperamental and isn't afraid to let me know when I'm not welcome. Birds are very loyal to one person, and if you're not that one they might torment you a little by lunging and nipping at you. Get her around Bob and she's as sweet as can be.

This is her mighty eagle,

and roll over tricks. With some encouragement she'll play peek-a-boo and cluck like a rooster. What's the scariest is when she starts to talk and you can hear your phrases being vocalized like "bad bird," "mmm (for yummy),"  "har bar (Harley's nickname)."  and the funniest is when she starts out with "Bob, Bob, Bob and then screams Bobby" just like Bob's mother use to do when he lived next door in an apartment. She might not be as lovable as my dogs, but I'm always greeted with a "Hello" and as my car pulls out of the garage you can hear her saying "B bye" with a wave.

Oh yes, that's a little too much closeness for me, but Bob is the only one she'll respond to like that. I may think she is a pain on a day to day basis, but I'm pretty sure I'd miss her constant noises that I've become accustomed to. "B bye" for now!