August 2025

 

August 1 - Beautiful sunset!

August 2 - A new game to try - Jazzminton.  Kind of a combination of Badminton and Pickle Ball.

August 3 - The kids having fun on the tramp at Brian and Aubrey's. 

Now the kids are playing a video game (are they even called that anymore?) Some of us are playing 5 crowns at the fancy table.

August 4 - 5 chickens, 2 ducks and 2 cats came for a visit.

August 7 - Starting the day off with this sight is perfect.

I got to tend Scottlynn for a little while. I think she was feeding Bluey her applesauce.  She loves books.

August 8 - Amazing cloud formation!

I had an interesting creature visiting one of my planters.  It's a longhorn beetle.  It was making a huge, weird noise as it circled the pot trying to get out.  I don't know how it got in there.  I sprayed it with Dawn and killed it. 

August 10 - More visitors.

I think Penny enjoyed her brownie!

August 11 -  Looks like a petting zoo.

Beautiful full moon!

August 12 - Another gorgeous sunrise.

The "Brody Tree" has a very different look this year. It's hard to believe it's the same tree.

We've got some beautiful roses this year.  I can't believe how big the blossoms are on the "Brody Tree".

August 14 - Clouds help the sunrise to be more colorful.  

August 15 - Little man, Cole is always busy and on the go! He kept me on my toes as I got to watch him for a few hours.

August 16 - A wonderful start and finish to the day!

We bought another new car! We traded the Ford Edge for this Toyota RAV4.

August 17 - Randy, Brian, Jared, Nikelle and Maden trying out the new Jazzminton game. 

August 18 - On our way to Casper, Wyoming we saw this view of the other side of the Grand Tetons. 

We stopped in Dubois, Wyoming to visit the National Museum of Military Vehicles.  It was huge and consisted of restored military vehicles from World War I to vehicles used in Desert Storm.  They are remarkably restored, and very nicely displayed  It was quite interesting.

It was an interesting, long drive to Casper.  We saw a girl with a pet raccoon at one of the gas stations. 

August 19 - We were able to go to the Casper temple.  It's a very small temple, but very beautiful. It is perfect for the people in Casper.

August 20 - More beauty to wake up to.

Just minding my own business deadheading flowers when this little cat scared me to death by jumping off the patio right in front of me.

August 23 - Another perfect beginning and end to the day.

Declan and Scottlyn love to pet our visiting cat.

August 24 - Penny gets a turn to pet a cat.  These three are growing so fast.  They can almost play together now.  Cole was shaking the trivet in his mouth like a dog.

August 25 - School starts! Maden is a Sophomore at Bonneville, Annie is a 7th grader at Rocky Mountain Middle School. Clark is in 5th grade at Summit Hills, Molly and Ryder are in 5th Grade at Groveland, Declan is in 2nd grade at Summit Hills, and Hallie is in 1st grade at Groveland. 

August 26 - I got to tend Declan and Scottlynn for a little while.  They love to "bounce" as Scottlynn says.

August 27 - Scottlynn spent a long time making towers with these cans.  it was very entertaining.

August 29 - We arranged for transportation for my Mom and Dad and met them at Sizzler.  Shauna, Troy, Lynne, Rob and I had a great meal.  The bus that was supposed to pick Mom up was 50 minutes late, Shauna and Mom and I just hung out in the shade outside of Sizzler.  

August 30 - The flowers on the Brody Tree just keep getting bigger and bigger.

This cat thought it needed to sit on my little gardening bench more that I did.

August 31 - If you have Sweet Chex Mix, the girls will come to you.

July 2025

 

July 1 - Somewhere in Illinois on our way to Cindy and Ken's. Might take us a while if that's how fast we have to go.

We were able to go faster and made it! We got there in time to eat, go for a walk, sit on the patio for a bit, and see which cats were going to like us. This time it was Noodle.

July 2 - The cats are funny watching Cindy work out.  They really want to work out too!

We went to Dutch Creek Farm in Shipshewana, Indiana.  Cindy and Ken were kind enough to pose for me in front of this silly Kangaroo statue.

Petting all kinds of different animals is always fun.

Still getting to know the animals.

Feeding the animals from the horse drawn wagon. They are not shy!

All kids of animals, even a Zorse, which is a zebra/horse mix.

Not sure this is a Highland cow, but sure does look like one.  

We celebrated Cindy's 43rd birthday! Blake even sang a "special" song.

Some of us watched Wimbledon, the cats are becoming more friendly. I even touched Shady.

July 3 -  We left really early to go fishing on Lake Michigan. We were actually out on the water before 5:30.  We got to go on The Fish Stalker with Kevin Roberts as our captain again.

Blake is holding the pole up by a light, so the sinker will glow under the water.  Ken reeled in the first fish before Kevin was really ready.  His was the big one.  Blake reeled in the little one.  

Ken got another one, then Cindy and I had a turn reeling one in.  We got 6 all together.  It's pretty exciting.

We had a great time!

This was funny, Ken planned to wear the same clothes as he did two years ago.  He was sad because Cindy and I couldn't.

Blake had the same sweatshirt, but a different hat.

I didn't even try to get the same poses.

I love Noodle's heart on his side.  Blake in his usual pose on the patio and Shady visiting again.  

July 4 - Blake took Ruckus for a little walk.  Striking his usual pose "watching the cats play".  Shady visits again.  

Stovers U Pick and Farm Fresh Produce.  The cherries were still on and the blueberries were just starting, so we picked both.

July 5 - Fernwood Gardens - We walked the trails of this pretty botanical garden.  We had a map to follow.  Cindy says I was camouflaged.  

July 6 - On our way home - almost to Cheyenne, we hit a really bad rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightning, we drove into it, then quickly drove out of it.

July 7 - The rock formations in Wyoming are pretty interesting.  This is the Montpelier Temple.  We went a lot of miles! But, we got pretty good mileage.

July 10 - I got to spend some time with Cole and Ryder.  I love watching Ryder interact with his brother.

July 12 - I got to spend some more time with Cole!

He's a real goer! Always on the move!

Blake went for an ATV ride with Randy, Ryder and most of Brian's family.  They said it was fun.

July 15 - I couldn't resist taking a picture of these beautiful roses when I was deadheading.  

A beautiful sunset!

July 17 - I got to go the Idaho Falls Temple with my mom! It was great!

July 18 - A gorgeous sunrise.

July 19 - Blake and I went to the new Syracuse, Utah Temple.  It was beautiful inside and out!

July 20 - We went to my nephew Samuel Leifson's farewell before he leaves for the Copenhagen, Denmark Mission.  He gave a really nice talk.

July 21 - Another wonderful sight to start the day.

I got to spend some time with Scottlynn.  She's a little like her mother and won't look at the camera.  

July 22 - I almost missed this sunrise.

Our neighbor's chickens and ducks like to come visit our yard.

July 24 - I happen to catch a hummingbird in the flowers. It's a little hard to see.

I don't know why the circles ended up on these photos too.  Hallie and Penny really enjoyed their cupcakes at the stake 24th celebration.

July 26 - Blake went huckleberry picking with Brian and Aubrey, this chipmunk is the only picture he took.  I got to hang out with Scottlynn.  She took a nice nap on my lap.  Her hair was wild when she woke up.  

She loves the tramp.  It also makes her hair wild.

July 27 - We celebrated Courtney's birthday.  Her birthday is August 1st.  

Shauna and Troy came for dinner and we played a long, fun game of Phase 10 Flip.  Scottlynn and Penny played and played with the toys.  Molly, Hallie and Penny did some painting.  Penny was very jealous when Jared was holding Scottlynn, she had to be held too.

Now, cats came to visit.  Scottlynn and Declan loved petting them.

July 29 - More beautiful roses, adorned with a praying mantis.  

Penny came to hang out with me for a bit.  This is how she napped.  She got to choose a big treat because she went potty!

July 30 - I love these beautiful scenes Heavenly Father created for me!