POTD - Not Hawaiian Picture

I know you are probably expecting a picture from Hawaii since that is where we are, but here is a quick picture to get me back on track for now. Pumpkin Spice doughnuts with buttermilk glaze. 

POTD - Make a Happy Life

Lots of things to be happy about today!  Hawaii right next door, victory for Cody in court today and my Halloween quilt is moving along. This background shot is a little bit of the quilt top. Finished product picture will come after we get back!  Aloha!!

POTD - Here's the Buzz...

I LOVE my new camera!

POTD - A Tribute

Today's POTD is a tribute to our buddy Toby.

Five years ago we lost our boxer Ruger after 15 years with us.  We were all heartbroken.  We decided we loved having a boxer so much that we looked for another one and found little Harper.

We had to wait a few weeks for her to get big enough to bring home with us.  While on a trip to St. George, we decided that Harper would need to bring a friend along with her and so we called them and asked for a second puppy.  That is how Toby came to be part of our family.















McKell decided to name him Toby after Toby Keith the country singer (much to my dismay).  Toby and Harper quickly became part of the family, but as much as they loved to be with us, they loved each other more.  Toby and Harper were inseparable.  One time after Landon's soccer game, I decided to walk home with Toby while Ron took Harper home in the car with him.  I had to drag Toby the whole way home because he thought we had left Harper at the school and wasn't going to leave without her.

As much as we loved Toby and Harper, it was hard for us to leave them home in their kennels for so long each day while we were gone to work, sports, and other things.  We made a really tough decision to "rehome" them.  We were lucky to find a family that lives on a horse ranch in Beaver.  They adopted both dogs and took them to live in the country.  They have been so kind and send us text updates and pictures of the dogs occasionally.  We even tried to stop by and see the dogs last month on our way to Las Vegas, but timing didn't work out and we couldn't stop.



Yesterday we received a very sad text from Beaver saying that a mountain lion had gotten in with the horses in the night.  Toby and Harper did their job of protecting the land and family and fought with the mountain lion.  Sadly, our little Toby didn't make it out of the fight.  They said that there was a significant blood trail from the mountain lion going back up the mountain, so we know Toby fought hard.

Even though you have lived away from us, we still think of you as our own and will miss you so much.  Love you Toby!

POTD - It Never Ends Well

Landon always likes his dad out in the driveway with him while he is shooting some buckets. Somehow a friendly workout session like this:



 Always ends up in a wrestling match like this:





 Looks like the youngster was the winner tonight!

POTD - A Hard Day

POTD - In My Lovely Garden

Our garden area had some major reconstruction this summer.  We tore out the cinder block wall and chain-link fence and had a new wall poured.

Goodbye to the messy grapevines.  Ron, Landon and my dad worked hard to build a new fence on the west side of our yard.  My dad so graciously came over every day in the 100* plus temperatures and stained it for us (thanks again dad)! 

Our garden plants started inside in February and were planted outside as the temperatures started to get really hot.  It was a slow start, but after we had them all settled in and starting to grow, we decided to tear out our old garden boxes and put in curbing around the planting area.  So...the poor little things were moved again.  I wasn't sure they were going to make it at that point.  But...after we got home from California it was amazing to see how much they had taken hold and grown in a week!

It has been a long, hot summer and I would have been happy to get a tomato or two out of the bunch, but they are growing like crazy!  If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and grab a handful or two!  We have Early Girls and Roma tomatoes.  This is the first year that our zucchini plants have produced anything and we have kuboka squash taking over the fence.

Happy summer!  I love this time of year!

POTD - Our Favorite Little Blonde Girl

We have been so lucky to get to know this cute little thing this summer!  I don't know anyone that can talk Landon in to doing puzzles, playing card games, doing side-walk chalk or watching the Disney Channel like she can.

Thanks for sharing her with us!

p.s.  I think I'm going to make a feeble attempt at my photo of the day again. The blog has been pretty neglected this past year.  

POTD - Basketball Molli

All this time, we have been thinking that L was the basketball player in the family!  Turns out, we have another player.  Molli thinks she is part of the team and gets in on the action when L is out in the driveway.  

This is after the game and Molli was cooling off.  That isn't what you think it is...it looks like the team dumped the cooler of Gatorade on her! 

POTD - One of THOSE Days

I left the house at 7:00 this morning and finished my day at 8:30 tonight. I had just enough time to grab Cafe Rio with Ron and L before I left again to teach a class of ninth graders how to handle their money during their trip to Spain...yep - one of those days.

Best of POTD

Of all the POTD's I've posted, I think this one was my favorite for January.

Not a great fan of Ogden, but really love driving past this area.

I have worked super hard to remember to post a picture each day to document our lives. I can't wait until the end of the year to choose a favorite POT-Year!