updates

Okay I finally got my blog updated. It had been way too long. There are lots of pictures, so far the summer has been lots of fun. Although Lia still asks for homework. Mom has been staying with us for a week and we are getting ready to head to Utah for the family reunion. The kids are excited and can't wait to spend time with the cousins.

Branding night part 1

Branding and Castrating!

Our neighbors across the street invited us over for Family Home Evening, they also said they needed a little help taking care of their steers....they wanted Sean to help brand and castrate these not so little steers. Of course he said yes, not knowing what was in store for him. Mom and I laughed and said we would have our cameras ready, poor guy had no idea the fun that awaited him. We had dinner and of course as soon as the fun was about to begin it started raining. Still the job had to be done so we plugged on. Lucky the rain didn't last. Sean was up first to get his steer down, he did awesome. They had a hard time keeping them down, they were big (it's bad when they outweigh you). Sean had acquired a branding set up that we got at an auction so we used those. You never forget that smell of branding....I didn't think Sam and Lia would stay out there, but they were fascinated by the whole process, even when it came too castrating one of the steers. They cut off one of the steers horns, but I wasn't paying attention so I missed getting the picture when the blood squirted and got Sean in the ear...it was messy it always is. After that we left the horns on the other 3. The Brewers nearly died when they realized this was Sean's first time. Didn't realize the ranch he worked at was a horse ranch and he drove the carriages. They just laughed at being able to break him in. It was lots of fun and brought back lots of memories.

Pony Wash

A friend of ours needed to borrow our pony so we decided to give her a much needed bath. The kids were unsure of exactly how this was going to happen. Sam even asked if we were bringing her into the bathtub like we do the dog. They had a blast soaping her up and rinsing her off. Sam's favorite part was being able to run her around while we waited for her to dry off. I should have done a finished picture, when she was brushed and beautiful. Next time we'll add that!

Krista and Jonathon's Visit

We were lucky enough to have Krista and Jonathon come and spend 5 days with us while Kristi and Kevin were at girls camp. Oh my gosh we packed a lot into those 5 days! We milked cows (which they were amazed by), played in the woods waiting for Dustin to finish, we went to a Bull's night out and they got to get real up close and personal with some bulls, rode horses and just played until we were to tired to play anymore. Sean and I were exhausted but had so much fun with the kids. They are so gullable, it was hard not to take advantage. What a blessing they are to the family! Since playing on the ropes with Uncle Dustin Sam is always trying to rope a tree, so he can climb down it like he does. I finally had to remind him after watching him fall down a tree he had actually managed to rope up, that he didn't have a harness so he couldn't do that yet. He was so cute, just said "Dang it, I forgot about the harness!" Hopefully that saves him from killing himself in the tree for a while, at least until he figures out to rig himself a harness. My favorite part about the rodeo was watching Sam and Jonathon's faces as they watched the bull toss a cowboy after they just had sat on him. I forgot to tell them the bulls are fine until you put a bucking strap on them. They thought they had just narrowly escaped death!

Krista and Jonathon's Visit

Kaylani's blessing

Things worked out so that I was able to take Mom to Kim and Adam's for Kaylani's blessing. What a neat experience both to be able to have time with Mom and to be there for the blessing. Watching this family grow and change over time has been so special, it reminded me of the changes to my own family and the blessings that have followed. So much joy! It was great to be able to visit with Adam's family for the afternoon. I definately have to bring Sean back down so he and Adam could play rock band! It was a great trip and kind of fun to be able to do it without kids!

Mother's Day phone call

This Mother's Day was pretty special! We got to talk to Josh for quite a bit. To be honest I felt a little guilty, of course it didn't stop us from visiting with him. It was amazing to hear his voice. We went to Safford and the whole family was able to talk to him for a bit. It was so cute to see the kids lined up waiting for their turn. We even mangaged to have family prayer over the phone, he finally has been able to pray in Spanish and he said he couldn't remember how to pray in English. Of course Lia offered to help him. We had him pray in Spanish and by the time he was done Sean and I were both so moved. I may not have understood much of what he said but the spirit was so strong. It was definately hard to hang up the phone. He still cracks me up, and I loved hearing how much he loves the people he serves. It is comforting to me to know he is loved and being taken care of in spite of earthquakes, swine flu and all the violence and drugs. We miss him terribly but are grateful for this experience and what we are all learning. It was the best Mother's Day ever!

School is over!

Poor Lia wasn't ready for school to be over :(. She has loved every minute of kindergarten and was stressed out as to who would give her homework over the summer. We loved having Mrs. Larsen as her teacher and she sent her kids home with the cutest video of all the highlights of the year and some of their favorite songs from class. The last week of school the kids had their music program and Lia kept telling me there was a very embarrassing song they had to sing...the chicken dance! It was so cute! Now we just have to survive the summer, especially with her asking everyday if today is the day when she gets to go to first grade. Either that or "I'm bored!" I guess we'll have to get better at a set routine, she seems to do better with that.

T-ball

This year Lia was able to play t-ball! I wasn't sure if she would stick with it but we wanted to give it a try. I was afraid Sam would be too upset about not being able to play. They both did great! We had a lot of fun cheering her on! It was tough for Dad to realize that there are no outs in t-ball...everyone gets a turn to bat and make it around the bases and everyone wins! She loved it. Now they are both looking forward to soccer where they can both play and hopefully be on the same team.