Summers at Cinnamon Creek

The famous Chicken Dance!
Pam

Beautiful mother, beautiful daughter!

Savanna had a kite at the end of that string!

Sierra was not a willing model!

Chloe and Grace

Autum

We had a great time at Cinnamon Creek! We all went up on Friday and had dinner that was to die for: sweet pork and burrito fixings! We are pretty good at eating every time we get together!

Each family had to put a skit together. Our family did the Ya Toast song. The White's did the Chicken Dance, the Norman's did the Ugliest Man, and the Summers did 2 Suckers on a Stick. We are all such thespians:) (not)

The next morning some of us went for a lovely hike to the Yurt and then breakfast was served. Wade brought his dad's sourdough pancakes and they were delicious!

Di had a cute HOME craft for all the girls and the kids got to paint bird houses while the men were supposed to be putting down the tents. Bryan had it easy, we had the camper!

Thanks Di for putting it all together for us! Can't wait till next year's Chicken Dance!

Moving Sprinkler Pipe

Savanna
Sierra

All Done!

This is my children's least favorite summer activity--

moving sprinkler pipe.

How to move sprinkler pipe:

Unplug the end plug so the water will drain

Walk to the other end of the pipe and shut it off

Move the valve opener to the next head and put the valve on carefully and turn on the water

(no one likes a cold bath first thing in the morning!)

Now, move each 40 foot section of pipe, twenty-one steps and hook it to the valve opener and then each section of pipe--one at a time--NO WHINING ALLOWED!

Depending on how many sections there are, and how deep the hay or grass is, this job can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. We move a minimum of 2 lines each morning. The west side of the river is the worst. The stickers are terrible, the pipe is old and bent and doesn't go together very well and it is not fun!

We have seen the "pipe dance" many times. It is hilarious what the kids will say and do to get out of moving pipe! It isn't that bad of a job and we laugh together when we aren't cussing each other and the pay is pretty good for them, thanks to Grandma Marj!

One month out

Finally, one month has passed since he got cut up!

The hind isn't healing as fast as the front but it was by far the worse wound.

He is moving around very nicely and doesn't limp at all. I think that is very lucky. He runs with the other horses now and I am ready to put him up on the mountain for the rest of the summer to eat green grass and get strong legs and feet!

Update to "All cut up"

Our little brown horse is healing nicely.
This is two weeks after the accident.
The bottom picture shoes just how much flesh is gone on the front because there isn't supposed to be a divot in that spot and there is one. He has been a good patient and we've kept it covered most of the two weeks.

Uncle Gus's Birthday

Millie and the other kids chased this bunny until they finally caught it. It was good entertainment.
Blow out the candles!
The cake was so cool-- twenty extra-large cupcakes!

My mom and Uncle Gus.

We had a fabulous cookout last weekend with my cousin Sherry.

Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Gus are my favorite! We loved going to their place when we were kids! They live just off State Streeet and we would watch for the Dee Burger Clown to know where to turn to go to their house! (I know, that tells you how old I have become!)

Uncle Gus was celebrating his 78th birthday.

Old Drills

This is the box that the seed goes into.
This is the company's initials on the side of the drill. I have no idea what they stand for or how old this drill is.

Yes, I know it is on it's side, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to get it turned around!

Now, this drill is much newer. The tree growing up the middle shows just how long it has been retired to this spot. It also makes it a little hard to move.

It had this cool dial

and it is dated June 29, 1937.

It's name is Oliver!

A drill is a piece of farm equipment that we use to put seeds into the ground. Thankfully both of these have been retired and live out on the hill across the river. We did get a newer drill last year and it is much nicer to use.

chopping hay

This is our chopper and our old truck

You will notice that there is no AC button.

The steering wheel is so cool!

And, the gear shifter is even more cool!

Unfortunately, it is one of the few things that are "cool" about chopping hay for silage. It was a hot day, of course, and a slight breeze was blowing, which on a regular day would be good, but not on a day when feather-light chaf is blowing all over!

I am glad that I was on pipe duty and lunch duty this day. I made a couple of trips with Bryan and then it was time to fix lunch!

I have had a bad experience with driving the silage truck.

One year, I was coming off the hill behind Allan's. My brakes were poor at best, so I geared down and hoped for the best as I approached the highway. Luckily, there were no cars coming. It was the last load so I opted to go on the highway instead of the back road--bad idea--and I had even less brakes as I approached Marj's house to pull across the bridge. Thanks to a few tender mercies, my guardian angels and I made it across the bridge only to end up on the lawn instead of the driveway. I was so glad! I got my load dumped, but I swore off driving the truck off the hill!

More Reno

It is hard to take pictures in the ballroom where the auction is held.

Cowboys are shy and don't like to be in pictures.

There are about 250 people in there at any one time and it is very loud with the auctioneer's call.

These are my favorite purchase this year!

Reno Bound

We had a great room at the Silver Legacy!

Linda Larkin and I had a great lunch in Truckee.

Reno--The biggest little city in the world

The view out of my 18th floor room--looking east.

Bryan and I had a good trip to Reno to the Western Video Livestock Auction. It is fun to put names to voices that I hear on the phone and to see old friends. Of course, the shopping is fun. I went to the temple this year. It is so peaceful there-- especially after all the noise of the auction and the casino!

It is nice not to have to cook and clean for a few days but it is also good to come home!

The wind in my ears

Chelsie loves to go in the car. She is so hairy that I don't let her come very often and then only with a sheet down! She loves to stick her nose out the window and let her lips flap and her ears flap.
I am sorry to say that I was the driver as well as the photographer in the first two pictures.
I did have my seat belt on.
I was not texting.
I don't have any other excuses for my wrecklessness.

July 4, 2010

While we were waiting for the fireworks to begin in Hyrum,
the girls lit their GIANT sparklers!

Hyrum 7th Ward Float!
Bishop Steve Jensen at the wheel of the tractor and pioneer Debbie Wiegman and kids on the float.

Beth Allen and her daughter Lacie let us come to their house to watch the fireworks!

With both grandma's watching, Savanna spent time with her cousins, Shayla and Chelise.

Caroline and Grace Summers waiting patiently for the candy--I mean the parade to begin.

The beginning of the Hyrum City parade!

Owen and Holden Nielsen showing their respect for the flag