Busy Bees near the Honey House

I was taking a walk with my boys one morning, when we found some bees gathering pollen from some little flowers near the road. The bees were interesting colors, so I decided to see if I could get a nice picture of them.

The first bee had a bright, almost-metallic green body. Just check out the pollen he is toting around on his legs! If you click on the photo you can see the pollen dusting his body as well.

I thought the rust-colored band on this bee was interesting. He seemed quite a bit larger than the other bees, and the flowers almost nodded down when he landed on them.

I was really happy with these macros! What do you think of them? Bee Honest!

Saucy Saturday

If I had known how busy I was going to be today, maybe I wouldn't have stayed up past midnight last night while my Honey finished some work he had to do (I can't even remember the last time I stayed up so late!).

So what I did today?

*fed the boys breakfast
*folded a load of laundry
*ironed Honey Daddy's shirts
*cleaned up the kitchen
*made homemade spaghetti sauce (with tomatoes from our garden)
*canned 21 beautiful pints of homemade sauce

Don't these look yummy?

*ran to the grocery store and did a little shopping (alone!)
*made a steak dinner for Honey Daddy since he is leaving tomorrow to go to a conference in San Francisco for a week (*sigh)
*cleaned up the kitchen (again)
*cut Honey Daddy's hair
*gave the boys a bath and put them to bed

*took a picture of my sauce so I could blog about it!

Now I think I will go upstairs, get a bowl of ice cream and RELAX!

Fruit Snacks Revisited

Just when you think you have everything under control, you've packed everything and planned for every contingency ... that's when it happens!

I already mentioned that we drove to Wyoming over the weekend, but I didn't tell you about our "adventure" on the way there.

One thing I like about traveling is that the car usually lulls the boys to sleep. So during our travels Honey Daddy and I usually get some "alone" time. This particular day were having a good drive. Eli fell asleep and Jonah was having a good time "pretending" that he was asleep. He was even making snoring noises for our benefit (in between giggling fits). Check out this face.

You're not alseep, you faker!

Then we stopped at my sister's house for a potty break before starting the second half of our trip. I was surprised when little Eli did not instantly fall asleep again in the car. I could tell he was SO tired. As we drove through a canyon and out the other side he started whimpering. I should have known something was up. Instead I told him, "Just close your eyes and go to sleep, buddy".

Then I heard it... the sound that is every parent's nightmare, especially in the car... the squishy sound of a burp that is more than a little juicy.

"STOP THE CAR!" I told Honey Daddy, just as Eli started to throw up.

I had forgotten that a one year old can't exactly say, "Mommy, Daddy, I don't feel so good!"

Luckily the vomit was mostly contained to Eli, his clothes and the carseat. Unfortunately it was the nasty, milky-smelling, chunky kind that makes you gag when you breathe (or look at it).

I stripped Eli and put his clothes in a plastic grocery sack I had handy, while Honey Daddy dealt with the seat. Fortunately we had stopped in front of a lumber business, and they had a bathroom and lots of paper towels.

I got Eli's face, arms and legs all cleaned up and returned to the car. Honey Daddy got the car seat as clean and dry as he could get it, and I was impressed that he had done so well with it (even when he told me later that he gagged a couple of times).

It was then I realized that all Eli's spare clothes were packed in the trunk... the trunk that had a bike rack and two bikes strapped to it. So there was no way we were going to get to his spare clothes, but I didn't want to just strap him to his soggy car seat in just his diaper.

Luckily Honey Daddy had thrown an extra t-shirt in the back seat last-minute, so Eli got to wear it the rest of the way.

My poor little toga-boy.

He fell asleep nearly instantly and slept until we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house. He was fine the rest of the weekend, so apparently it was just a bout of carsickness.

I learned some very important lessons from this experience:

1) pack a set of spare clothes in the diaper bag (not in the trunk!)
2) don't assume your kid won't get carsick because he hasn't before
3) pay attention to the cues that your child is giving you!
4) it takes fruit snacks a very long time to digest (yuck!)

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Ride 'em Cowboy! -->CASVAR 2009

A year ago I completed my first ever bike tour. I was so proud that I accomplished that 45 mile ride on my beautiful new road bike.

What a difference a year makes!

This weekend our little family traveled to Star Valley, Wyoming to once again participate in CASVAR (Cycling Association of Star Valley's Annual Ride). This year I signed up to do the 100 mile distance with Honey Daddy.

I have been cycling a lot more this year and had already completed a 100 mile ride in June, so I was geared up and ready to ride! I was excited to get a chance to ride with my Honey on my home turf.

The day started out a bit cool, but it warmed up fast. Especially after we got done with the part that went uphill at 7 percent grade for 3 miles or so. Here we are at the top!

Honey Daddy was nice enough to wait for me, even though he does hills much faster than I do!

We had a good time riding together. I practiced drafting so I could keep up with Honey Daddy. This basically meant I spent a good portion of the ride looking at his rear end... not a bad view at all :o).

Actually, Star Valley is really beautiful and we enjoyed riding around it together.

As the day progressed, the weather got hotter and hotter. It was in the upper 80s, which it HOT when you are working as hard as we were. I think I started to get a little overheated, even though I was trying to drink tons of water. It didn't help that one of the water stops mysteriously disappeared. Luckily my sister lives nearby and she brought us some lovely cold water.

I was really starting to struggle at the end of the ride. I was blazing hot and I kept pouring water on myself to keep cool, which only helped a little. Plus I completely ran out of energy, which happens when you don't take in enough food while you are burning over 7000 calories (Honey Daddy says that I "bonked").

So I sent Honey Daddy to go the last few miles without me and come back and get me. I kept pedaling and managed to finish 100.1 miles before I stopped because I could not go any further. There were only a couple of miles to the finish, but I was DONE.

It was still a good experience for me, even though the end was tough. I learned a lot about what I need to do next time. Yes, there will be a next time! Honey Daddy and I are doing another century (100 mile) ride the day before my birthday in September. Then I will have done 3 century rides before I turn 33!

What is Fuzzy, Round, and Hangs from a Tree?

I frequently go on walks with my boys in the morning, especially now that the weather has cooled off a bit. I don't usually take my camera with me, and sometimes I find myself wishing that I had. One week I saw some strange fuzzy balls hanging off a tree that we passed beneath. I was so intrigued that I found myself returning another day with my camera specifically to photograph them.

What are these? Seeds, maybe?
Why have I never noticed them before?

Too Cool for the Pool

Summer is starting to slowly give way to Fall, and I love this time of year! The temperatures have cooled down about 10 degrees during the day, and it is deliciously cool in the morning and evenings.

Fall is not too incredibly different from Summer for us because we don't have anyone in school. However it does change our daily activities.

One summer staple has been the pool, but now it is starting to get too cool for our little pool. It doesn't really get hot enough during the day to warm up the water. So about a week ago we had some friends over for the last splash of the summer.

Don't you just love how Jonah and his friend have their eyes shut tight while they splash with their feet? After all, you don't want water in your eyes!

As you can see, Eli loves to splish-splash too!

The pool kept many small people happy when it was "too hot" to want to do anything else. Now the swimsuits are washed and the pool is all rolled up.

It's a bit sad that summer is almost done, but now we get to look forward to playing outside... even in the middle of the day!

Playing in the park, riding bikes around the neighborhood, digging in the sandbox, running around the yard, taking walks ... the possibilities are endless.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Two Dollar Dinos

Not too far from my house is the "world's largest dinosaur museum". Sounds pretty cool, huh? The only problem is the ticket prices. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for kids. Isn't that crazy-expensive? Needless to say, we don't go there very often.

When we do go to the museum, it is usually on a Tuesday in August.
You are probably thinking, "Huh?!"

In August the dinosaur museum has $2 Tuesdays. Admission for anyone is $2. What an unbelievable deal, right? I am all about saving money while having fun, so we decided to go this year with a friend and her son.

Last year we tried to go, but the lines were insane. So this year I planned ahead and we arrived at the museum about 1/2 hour before they opened. We were amongst the first in line, and got right in when they opened. Good thing too! Check out the line when we left the museum a little over an hour later:

Here is the entryway and the front of the Museum. Not bad, right?
Ha! That's not the end of the line.

Yep. The line was starting to wrap around the building! You can't even really see the end of the line in this photo. I am glad we got there early because we had a fabulous time!

Not only do they have tons of dinosaur fossils to look at, they also have fun activities for the kids. Jonah's absolute favorite is the "Erosion Table". It has water, sand, plastic trees and plastic dinosaurs! What more could a boy want? We headed there first and spent some time there playing before it got crowded.

I even let Eli play at the erosion table. I hadn't ever let him play there before because I was afraid he will try to eat the sand. Surprisingly he did just fine.

Another favorite is the part where the kids get to "dig" for dinosaur bones. They use little paintbrushes to sweep the sand away from the bones. They had a blast!


I let Eli play in the sand again, thinking that he had done so well earlier. I guess being tempted with sand twice in one day was just too much for him because the next time I looked at him I got this:

Yummy. There's nothing quite like a mouth full of sand!

As you could probably guess, Eli's digging privileges were revoked after this.

The dinosaur museum was super fun! We may even go back the last Tuesday in August (next week). Hopefully it won't be quite as crowded because school starts this week!

Oh Boy! Bugs!

Boys like bugs. I didn't pay much attention to insects before, but now that I have two little boys I find myself watching around for interesting bugs

I used to avoid bugs, but now often when I find one I will find myself trying to catch it to show it to them (especially if it's harmless). Here is a ladybug that I showed my boys as it crawled all over my hands (and theirs).

It was fun to watch Jonah giggle and squirm when it was his turn to hold the ladybug and it crawled around on his hands. When we were done watching the ladybug we gave him a new home on Mommy's flowers.

Of course I don't try to capture the "dangerous" bugs... except with my camera, of course.


For other close-ups (but not necessarily of bugs!), check out Macro Monday:

Laughing Gas Does NOT Make the Dentist's Office More Funny

I have a confession to make... prior to this week, I hadn't been to the dentist in about 6 1/2 years. I know you are probably appalled, and I can't say I have a really good excuse. Sure, I have some excuses like:

(a) I just hadn't found a dentist for us to go to when we moved here (yes, that was over 6 years ago).

(b) The only time we went to the dentist growing up was when something was wrong. I've never been in the habit of having regular check-ups.

(c)The dentist's office is home of many yucky sounds, needles, and pain. I don't enjoy any of those things.

I can't even say that we didn't have dental insurance because we do (and we have for a couple of years)! Well, this week I finally had no choice but to go to the dentist. On Sunday after I finished breakfast, I noticed that a little chunk of my premolar seemed to be gone. No big deal, I told myself. One of my composite fillings probably just fell out because it doesn't really hurt and the tooth looks fine besides the little hole.

So I finally asked around and found a dentist that a couple of my friends recommended. I was able to get an appointment for Friday and went to see the dentist. (cue scary music)

Ok... the dentist wasn't scary, but the X-ray sure was. Apparently the little hole in my tooth was the tip of the iceberg. The dentist said he might have to do a root canal, but he'd try to avoid it if at all possible. I've never had a root canal, but I know I don't want one.

Then I had some laughing gas (which my friend recommended) and then some numbing shots, all the while hoping for a cavity that could just be filled. Before long I felt all fat-lipped and they started the drilling. I swear, why do dental drills have to sound so awful? I should invent a silent dental drill because then I would be filthy rich.

I have to say that I like my new dentist, but I didn't like the news. I have to have my very first root canal and crown. The doctor was really surprised that I hadn't been in pain because apparently I should have been. The decay was all the way down to the pulp (doesn't that sound gross?).

So they prepped me for the root canal and put me on antibiotics. In about a week I have to go back and have the procedure. I put my appointment back a few days because I thought that having a root canal the day before I ride 100 miles on my bicycle is probably not a good idea.

So now I am shaking in my shoes. On the bright side, apparently I don't feel pain in my mouth as much as most people (which apparently can be a bad thing too). So hopefully it won't be too painful. I guess it is also good that I have insurance because the estimate of how much it will cost with my insurance almost knocked me over!

I shall probably be seeing more of the dentist in the near future. After fixing this tooth I guess I'd better get the rest checked out. I guess one good thing that has come of this is that I am definitely going to be more diligent with my kids (the oldest is 3) so they don't ever have to go through this!

100 Miles of Riding Could Give You an ULCER

Last weekend Honey Daddy completed the Utah Lake Century Epic Ride (ULCER). This was his second century (100 mile) bike ride this year! So far I have only done one century ride, but we are going to be doing a century bike ride together in Wyoming next weekend. Wahoo!

The distance Honey Daddy completed was actually 111 miles- which went completely around Utah Lake. I wished that I could have gone with him, but luckily he had some friends to ride with. So the boys and I just followed him around in the car... for the first 50 miles or so.

The route went all over the place in Utah County. Honey Daddy and his friends were so fast that I would hop ahead of them to find a place to take a picture and before I was even ready they would speed by! I did manage to get a couple of nice shots though.

Here is a nice picture that I got of him near some railroad cars.

Go Daddy, Go!

The boys were really patient, even though I basically had them in the car for a couple of hours so we could cheer Daddy on. It was actually hard to find him at first because there were about 2000 cyclists on the ride that day! So once we found him we kept a close eye on him.

Not bad for a photo I took from the car, huh? (Not that I was driving and taking pictures at the same time... that would be bad, right?)

This last picture is one I took just before Honey Daddy's lunch stop. After this one we abandoned him to head home so I could feed the munchkins and let them get out of the car.

Honey Daddy and his buddies were fast! I think their average speed was something like 19.8 miles/hour! He was tired and a bit sore, but he says he is still ready to go another 100 with me next weekend (especially since we won't be going quite that fast!).



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Praying Mantis

We have seen some unusual flora and fauna around our house this summer. First there was the mushroom invasion, then the enormous snail, and who could forget the deer that I chased around in my pajamas?

Recently we had another visitor to our backyard. While I was at work Honey Daddy spotted a praying mantis in our yard. He picked it up on his spade and transferred it to a mason jar so that I could see it and take photographs of it the next day.

Jonah was absolutely fascinated with the praying mantis. Of course he wanted to keep it as a pet, but I told him we would let it live in our garden. So we got ready to let him go, but first we had to watch him for a while.

I opened the lid of the jar expecting the mantis to make a run for it. Surprisingly he just sat there at the edge of the jar. It was almost like he was asleep.

I kept getting closer and closer until I got to the point that my camera lens would no longer focus. But I suppose I got close enough.


I wish I had a macro lens... but I have to say that my camera does a pretty nice job regardless!

The mantis never did consent to leave the jar. So I took the jar to the garden and ended up tipping him out, and we haven't seen him since.

Don't Bug Me I'm Taking Pictures!

Sometimes it can be surprising what is right in front of your face.

Recently I was out taking photographs of some pretty wildflowers (ok, I admit it... these are from Wyoming -again!). I had my eye glued to my viewfinder as I moved from one little clump of flowers to another. I would take a couple of pictures and then look at my screen to check out the focus and composition of my capture.


Once when I looked at the screen I thought, "What is that in the middle of those flowers?" As I zoomed up on the picture I realized they were bugs! Sure enough, when I looked past my camera to the flowers, the bugs were still there.

Sometimes the most amazing things can be found right under your nose.

Wyoming Water

Yippee! It looks like this weekend we are due for some relief from our hot weather, just in time for Honey Daddy's century (100 mile) bike ride on Saturday.

Lately by the time 10 am rolls around it is already over 80 degrees, with temperatures reaching the mid 90s most of the time. It was so hot I didn't really want to take the boys outside too much. Their little faces turn beet red after being outside for 10 minutes because it is so toasty out.

The heat has almost made me want to drive back to my parent's house in Wyoming where it is usually at least 10 degrees cooler than here. Plus there are some gorgeous things to see not far from my parents' house.

Refreshing isn't it?

We took a little drive up the canyon to go to Cottonwood Lake when I visited last month. It was a beautiful evening and I got lovely pictures of the river, flowers, local wildlife, and of course the lake.

My boys thought the lake was great fun. Grandpa skipped rocks and it was all I could do to keep my boys from going in too far... especially the little guy.


We tried to have fun this week by playing in the water at our house, so I got out the little pool and filled it. The bummer is that you fill it when you want to use it, but the water is FRIGID. The first time we tried to get in I had little boys with chattering teeth.

So we decided to wait a bit. Then last night we were too busy to play in the water. Today the water is finally warm... just as the thunderstorms roll in and the wind is throwing dust all around. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday, so I emptied the pool this evening.

Oh well! I guess we'll try again next week.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Toddler Temperature and Teddy Torture

Why is it that my kids don't get sick until it is the weekend?

Saturday morning Eli did not seem like his usual rambunctious self. So I checked and sure enough, he was burning hot. We gave him some ibuprofen and he spent a large portion of the day sleeping and cuddling on Mommy. I seemed to be the comfort item of the moment.

I also spent a large portion of Saturday night being Eli's preferred cuddly comforter. I didn't really appreciate being up most of the night, but I did enjoy the cuddles. My boys are not terribly cuddly babies. Usually they prefer to cuddle with their teddies.

Sometimes Eli even tries to jailbreak his teddy from the crib.

Too bad Tan Teddy is too tubby to fit through the bars!

Eli's fever continued through Monday. I called the pediatrician, but since he had no other symptoms and the fever was "low-grade" there was nothing to do but wait. Happily today the fever is gone.



(By the way, thank you for all your kind words on my post about my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day on Thursday. I am happy to report that Friday and many days since have been MUCH better.)

Stuff N Fluff

I have been a fan of Macro Monday over at Lisa's Chaos for a while, but haven't ever participated yet. I don't have a macro lens for my Canon yet, but I have been practicing my close up shots.

Here are a few that I took recently while I was at my parent's house in Wyoming that I thought turned out really nicely.

Look at all the little seeds, ready to be carried away on the wind.

I don't even know what kind of plant this is. Probably some kind of weed, but I still thought it was beautiful in it's own way. It was reminiscent of a dandelion, but much bigger.

How was that for my first attempt at Macro Monday?