Baby Beeks update!

Tyler took this photo on the 16th - a day or two after they hatched

I took this one this morning (the 21st)- it looks like things are getting crowded in there quite quickly! 

4 Baby Beeks - it'll only be a few more days before they start learning to fly. 

Last night I watched as Momma and then Daddy Robin fed them some worms.  It's amazing to see these baby robins grow!

Field Trip!

We really enjoyed this field trip with my daughter's class!

First we heard from one of the handlers. The tiny owl was my favorite.

And I loved the peacock. Gorgeous.

And of course I had to take this photo of my son- he climbed up there before I could tell him no.  Then it was time for a little lesson in Zoo etiquette. And my daughter is growing so fast.  I actually remembered to give the camera to my husband to take a quick photo with me in it.  This was my favorite.

And for those of you interested we took our nikon D70 and used our 70-200 mm f 2.8 telephoto Nikkor lens and 12-24 mm wide angle Nikkor too.

Garden Therapy

Today I have my post cancer check up.  They are every 6 months now.  

It's a LOVE/HATE thing for sure!

I spent 10 minutes in my garden this morning and if I can catch up with my primary presidency (children's organization at church) stuff I'll go back out!

Warning: all of the photos were taken with my crappy iphone camera.

So far I have transplanted the lettuce and all of my onion starts (red and green bunching onion) finally. I transplanted my dutch round cabbage (9) and kohlrabi (3) back in April.  The cool thing about the red onions is that one of my onion plants went directly to seed last year and so they are grown from those seeds.  The bad part is that most of the seeds sprouted but like 90% of them died.  So I still had to buy a one bunch at the garden center along with a bunch of Big Daddy yellow onions and a bunch of Walla Wallas.  That means I have like 120 onions not counting the green bunching onions.

What you see here are my plants getting some sun or hardening off.  I am getting them used to the sun.  I started out with 2 hours the first day. They are out most of the day now. At night they are on my bedroom floor.  I know my husband is ready to see these in the ground!

My daughter wanted Zinnias for her project this year.  Last year it was pumpkins.  So we planted the Zinnias in the smaller jiffy pots and fit 32 in a flat.  4 didn't take so I have replanted them and we'll see if they are ready in time for a mid June planting.  I have 9 jalapenos planted and 6 bell peppers.  I also have 21 tomatoes started.  Some are romas, some DX52s, and some early girls.  Oh and my son wanted to start one jack-be-little pumpkin vine which should sprout soon.

My  flox is looking nice.  Last year I took some starts from these and planted them elsewhere.  Looks like I'll be able to try some more this year.  And the tulips divided like crazy so it's time to move some of them too.  I'll wait until the blooms are gone on all of these before I start digging around them.

Here you can see my garlic plants in the northwest corner of my garden.  You have to plant garlic in the fall.  After my neighbor plowed my plot for me I planted the garlic in this corner.  I counted today and there are 15 potato plants that have sprouted - much faster than last year! Next to the row of green bunching onions I planted carrots but I only see one sprout so far.

And here's my peas.  I waited until I got back from Minnesota and stuck these in the ground.  They are very hardy and like the cooler weather.  On the left half-row I planted my spinach right next to it. I discovered by accident last year that if I plant my spinach behind my peas it shades it from the harsher evening sun.  I had spinach growing perfectly through July without it bolting.  And the guy at the garden center said to replant it the first week in August for a fall crop. (Right after I rip all of the pea plants out!) Yum! I can't wait.  The spinach is a flat leaf called Correnta and the peas are Early Grey (a sugar snap I guess) and the other half-row on the right is my favorite, Snow Pea!

Multi-Tasking

In fact that's what I'm doing right now! I am waiting for photoshop to chill out while I update my blog and remind all of you that class begins June 2nd - so if you haven't registered yet the time is drawing short.

In that past 5 weeks I've recorded 52 Video lessons, edited them all, and typed up a written guide for each and everyone one of them.  This class is packed full of knowledge that is geared towards the beginning to intermediate photoshop or photoshop elements users.  That means if you are a mom who loves to take photos of your children, or if you're a hobbyist photographer and would love to learn more on editing photos, this class will be perfect for you!  

Anyway, looks like photoshop finally made up its mind.  Hope you'll join me for class.  You're going to love it!

My sweet husband

On Thursday I finished planting my cherry red onions, big daddy yellow onions (stores well over the winter), and my walla walla onions (perfect for salsa), and green bunching onions.  I put about half of them in the ground back in April. I get tired easily so I have to pace myself. I counted my garlic plants - 60 + - I planted them in October and now I need to figure out when I can harvest them - I think it's August. I plant the garlic and the onions along the outside edge of my garden - they help ward off pests that way. I planted a row of carrots and another half row of spinach. My son was a huge help and so sweet to see him want to be so helpful. My peas are looking good and so is the half row of spinach I planted back in April.   Of course I have no idea when the potatoes will sprout - I planted them about 12 inches apart this year.  Sometimes gardening is about experimenting. 

Live and Learn.

And then my hard working man cleared the weeds out of my front flower bed in front of our driveway and my back flower bed along the rocks.  Incredible. And he even had little helpers for a tiny bit. He's been an amazing help in the yard this spring.  We tried the mulch out front but I think we are going to have to go with river rock for the rest - I mean those 50 mph winds did some thinning out of the mulch in our flower beds already.  

We cleared out the lemon thyme along the stairs and then I recently planted Red Dragon's Blood along the edges of those outdoor stone stairs.  It's a beautiful succulent with leaves that look like roses in bloom and when it does bloom,  the flowers are a gorgeous hot pink like a dragon who spit fire. And did I mention that they bloom all summer long and into the fall.  Pretty cool.  I'll try to remember to take photos.  And they climb along the rocks and stay pretty dense.  When they fill in, you will not have to worry about weeds.  And they transplant quite easily, especially in the spring and fall.  

My peppers and tomatoes are right on schedule for a mid June planting.  I even bought a few walls of water for those that I can already plant. And I have been hardening off my lettuce to transplant - next time I am going to throw those lettuce seeds right in the ground.  What a pain!

That's all for now - I better get back to editing my videos for my online Photo First Aid class due Monday!

Mother's Day

Last year I didn't ask for a thing. In fact I asked my family to just save the money and I was serious.  

This year I finally knew what I wanted - a $10 watering can. It's a 2 gallon powder coated bright orange metal watering can.  It's truly the watering can of my dreams.  That's 3 fewer trips up the hill with a half gallon version.  And it's still something I can handle carrying.  No, I don't water my half acre by hand.  I use this to apply fertilizer and root stimulator for trees and bushes that I recently planted. 

 And I also wanted a printed version of my 2008 scrapbook.  I love shutterfly and my 12x12 scrapbooks.  Where else can a person get 60 some odd pages printed for such a great price - of course I couldn't argue with the 50% coupon I received via email.

And the last thing I asked for was a homemade card from my children.

I'm in Mother's Day heaven.  I felt totally spoiled this year.  My husband went out of his way to grant my simple requests - that watering can wasn't easy to find.  I felt loved most of all and that's really what a mother wants to feel in return.

We went hiking last weekend

And normally I'm a total wimp when it comes to hiking.  Let me tell you, my lungs shut down and my quads cramp up.  But I started the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels and I did amazing on this hike.  And so I dragged my fanny downstairs this morning for another 20 minute beating so that I can keep up with my family on the trail. The reason I even tried out the video was to strengthen my heart so this is all bonus.

Gorgeous Views and Happy Kids!

(even after 2 hours and total refusal to pick him up)

I love nature and its elegant lines

And I loved the beautiful green of this tree against a perfectly blue sky.

And these river rocks.  It was weird, some of the river was dry like it suddenly went underground and some of it was full of water - like this spot.

My kiddos ...

Sunglasses indoors and showing off his army hummer.  He is a doll! (oops - handsome) and I'm a lucky mom.

And I LOVE this look - the Handy Manny swim trunks and the button down shirt with it's only pocket filled to the max with two paper flowers, a pencil, and an old Nokia cell phone. He got the stick horse from preschool.  I love his teacher!  And then the white socks and the huge backpack. There is nothing so fun as when a child starts dressing themselves.

And here's my reader.  She qualified for the pizza party at the end of the year.  You need at least 75 AR points to qualify.  Most books are a half a point.

And she also planted her own flowers this year.  We started zinnias - we've had a mold problem so some of them died but most of them have 5 or 6 leaves and we are looking forward to moving them outside.  I guess they do best planted when you plant your tomatoes.  So it'll be the middle of June before these babies go outside.

Upcoming Check Up

Next week I go in for yet another post cancer check up.  My Oncologist is a part or rather an extension of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. We are so grateful to have our own little cancer center in our valley now. A little side note, Mr. Huntsman used to be the mission president for the Washington D.C. North Mission but that was way before I served in the same mission.

Since November Ben (my husband's sister's husband, architect and LDS Bishop in Salt Lake City) has run over 330 miles in preparation for the Ogden Marathon this coming weekend. The purpose of this running is not just for the health benefits (he's lost over 50 lbs) but to do something to fight cancer. This is Ben's third year of running with the Huntsman Cancer Foundation as a part of the Hometown heroes. It all started after Terry Burt from Elko, NV died from  cancer. Since that first run for him Ben has added others to his reason for running. Ben is adding Laura's name to my jersey and grateful that she is on the survivor list.

Since 2003, Hometown Heroes have raised more than $900,000 from donors like you. Huntsman Cancer Foundation relies on the generosity of community members to support cancer research programs. 

To learn more about the Huntsman Cancer Foundation or make a donation please go HERE.

reading...

It took me a little while to learn to read, but when I did I fell in love with it.  I've read every Nancy Drew and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys super mysteries ever written.  Did you know there are two version of the very first Nancy Drew book? I think it's The Mystery of the Old Clock or something like that.  It's been a while.  Anyway, my mom had all of these old books in this photo and I loved the mysteries the best.

The first book I ever read on my own is in this stack.

Henry and the Clubhouse.

What's your favorite book?

By the time I was 13 I decided I wanted to write for a magazine someday.  Well, that wish came true with Digital Scrapbooking Magazine.  I was the photography editor back when it was owned by April Anderton.

 I don't have TV although we do rent movies now and then.  I really hate books on self improvement.  I probably don't read enough just for fun books.  I'm reading The Promised Messiah right now.  It will take me at least until Christmas to finish that one - it's not light reading at all.

What's the last book you finished?

For me it was Christ and the New Covenant by Jeffery R. Holland. And before that it was one of the Twilight series books.

I have been diligent to read with my children.  It's showing - finally - my daughter's reading level has improved so much. She's definitely off to a better start than I was.

Who knows where her love of reading will take her...

Win a seat in my 4-week online Photo First Aid Class!

My class is Online at ReneePearson.com so anyone can enter.

It's for MAC and PC users alike! I even share shortcuts for both.

You can sign up for a Photoshop CS4 (earlier versions are OK too) class
OR
Sign up for the Photoshop Elements 8.0 version

If you haven't had the opportunity - head on over to my photo blog and leave a comment under this post.

Want to enter more than once - share it on your blog, twitter, or facebook and add the link as a comment HERE.

You can even learn how to make a sports collage like the one above!

We are expecting Baby Beeks!

After the baptism yesterday, and after the big lunch and small birthday party, I took some motrin and tried to get a nap.  My head was killing me.  I think it was a sinus headache all though I've never had one before. I've got plenty to do for my class at ReneePearson.com and need to be feeling well in order to get things done.  My in-laws came over to see if we still had a photo of Uncle Budd and Aunt Louise for her funeral on Tuesday.  She passed away this week at the age of 91.  We were discussing the mess on the front porch and we could only come up with one answer.

Then we headed out for a drive.  Everyone was bored.  I could have taken a nap but I knew I needed to spend time with my family since I've been so busy with work lately. We drove up Prov Canyon.  We saw wild turkeys, several deer, and the water falls.  

The turkeys were gone before we could get a photo but this guy just stood and stared at us when Tyler got out of the Jeep.  Then he started pawing the ground and pranced off with his ears in the air.  We were wondering if Tyler was going to get charged by this really tall deer. I've never seen anything like it before. 

So we drove up to the quarry.  The sun coming through the clouds was so beautiful! And then we drove back down.

So, I'm guessing you'd like to know what made the mess on my front porch and meet our Baby Beeks.  First meet Momma Beek. She has taken up residence in my wreath on my front door.  We're sort of short on trees around here, although we now have three baby trees - a maple, a peach, and an apple tree.

And her three little ones.  Now I know why there has been plenty of hay on my front porch, and why the berries keep falling off my wreath.  She's been tossing them! 

I can't believe she's come back after all of the traffic through our front door yesterday, but she has.  Good thing we mostly use our garage door.  And after the wind we have had this last week, this is definitely safer than any nest in a tree around here. I can hardly believe how intricate this nest is.  It's just one of many amazing creations.

Baptism Day

Today was my daughter's baptism day.  We wait until our children turn 8 before they are baptized. I spoke on Baptism.  Great Grandpa LaMar spoke on the Holy Ghost.  Aunt Carey sang a song about the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  Daddy Baptized her and also Confirmed her.  Grandpa P and Grandpa V were the witnesses for the baptism.  Grandma P said the opening prayer. Grandma V played the piano and said the closing prayer.

The Primary President spoke to her and gave her a cute plaque with a painting of Jesus being baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist and next to the painting was an photo of my daughter I took a few weeks ago.  

Afterward we had a little birthday party at our house and a lunch for all our family and friends who traveled to be here.  

A special thanks to everyone who took part in the program and helped with lunch.  We really appreciate the support.