Fathers, Fur, and Friends

As it has been a little while since I last posted, I will have to play a little catch-up.

First, let's talk about Fathers, and how Craig is a good one:-) Cameron REALLY loves his dad. Craig can often be seen playing video games with his boy, or playing Magic: TG (their own special version), or just hanging out together. They have a very special bond, and it is great to see the two of them together.

In honor of such a wonderful dad, I baked a wonderful cake! It has been a while since I last did a cake. This one was only a 6in, but by the end of decorating my hands were almost numb with pain, and I could barely move my fingers. In case you all were wondering, that is why you do not see very many cakes from me anymore! But I was happy to do this one, and even happier to see that I had not lost the old skills:-)



Here is a Cameron funny. As we were getting ready to cut into the cake, Cameron said, "We already had Mother's Day, and now it is Father's Day." There was a little pause, and then he asked, "When is Little Boy's Day?" So, we decided we would have to put together an "unofficial" Little Boy's Day. Stay tuned for that!

Things have been going very well with our puppy, Orion. I am happy to report that he very rarely pees in the house anymore. However, he still has the habit of pooping on the carpet. Yuck! Just yesterday Orion pooped in the living room. Craig was the one who found it (I was downstairs) and I had assumed he had cleaned it up. Nope. He waited for me to get it. Next thing we know, Cameron had JUMPED in the poop, and SMEARED it across the carpet. it was really ground in there! Fortunately, I have a special enzyme cleaner that took care of it - no stain, no smell.

Of course, Cameron went to time out. I told him he needed to think about what he had done. Through his tears, he proclaimed, "I think I need a nap. I need some quiet time." I could not agree more!

Orion is still a great motivator for exercising. We still go on two walks a day, and I am now in my third week of jogging. I can now jog about 1/3 mi. Still not much, but baby steps, right? I am also keeping up with my pilates. And all this exercise has made a noticeable difference. I think I have probably lost at least an inch off my waist, and my whole body feels leaner and firmer. I am feeling really good! I am not sure if it is due to the exercise, but I have also had FAR fewer migraines this month. It may still be too soon to tell, but I am hoping that this good be what my body has really needed all along.

Another good thing has come from my new exercise regime, and that is that Craig has now taken up running and other exercise again! I think he has seen how much it has benefited me, and it motivated him to do likewise.

The exercising has been great for Orion, too. He is well on his way to becoming a very healthy and balanced dog! But I was feeling a little guilty for spending so much time with my dog, and not as much time with my son. So now Craig and I have committed to taking Cameron to the park every day so that he can run and release his own energy.

Hmm, can one little dog really help a whole family get in shape? Stay tuned!

This past Saturday we met with Craig's cousin Jessie and her family, as well as Clin and his family down in Salt Lake. It was a gorgeous day as we toured Temple Square. I have been there quite a bit lately for photoshoots, but it was nice to just wander around leisurely, and it was nice to see family.

My favorite part was when we saw the Joseph Smith movie. SO AMAZING! If you have not had the chance to see it, GO SEE IT! It was just incredibly powerful, and only served to reinforce in my mind that I know Joseph Smith to be a true prophet of God. He did more for us than can be imagined, and sacrificed even more to make those things happen. He was truly inspired, and loved by so many. I realized later that we actually saw the movie on the anniversary date of Joseph's martyrdom - June 27, 1844. Coincidence?

And finally (I know this is getting long, just bare with me), Saturday night was our Ward party. We went to the Layton Surf n Swim, which is a bog wave pool located in the park next to us. We had not been there before, but we had a lot of fun! The food was great, and Cameron LOVED the wave pool! It was pretty shallow for the most part, and he could walk out pretty far, but mostly he enjoyed sitting in the inner tube and riding the waves:-) We decided we will need to go back again when we get the chance.

Well, that is all for now. There are a few other things, but I will cover those in another post later.

Adventures at Wheeler Farm

Cameron and I were invited to go to Wheeler Farm in SLC with some friends. Cameron was soo excited! He has not seen his friend Ethan since we moved more than 6 months ago, so this was a very special treat. And I was happy to see Ethan's mom, Veronica again:-)Veronica

Ethan and Cameron

For those that have not been to Wheeler Farm, it is a great place. There are lots of animals - horses, cows, chicken, rabbits, geese - as well as other fun things. It is also very scenic, and a popular spot for photographers.

Veronica had brought along another friend, Brandy, and her children. It was so much fun for the kids to run around, and such a beautiful day. I think their favorite was playing in the tree house and on the old tractor. Cameron enjoyed riding the little pony:-)
Yes, he STILL has that old sword! A hero is only as good as his sword, after all:-)

We did have one scary moment. We decided to have a little lunch, and Brandy headed to her car to get some food, while Veronica and I watched the kids and found a place to sit. After a few minutes, Veronica suddenly realized that one of the children was missing! I told her I thought I saw him following his mom to the parking lot, but when Brandy returned, little Andrew was not with her.

A frantic search for the little boy ensued. It was very busy, with many families and children around, making the search a little more challenging, but what really had everyone worried is that the river that runs though the farm was running very high and fast due to all the rain we have had. Andrew had been playing near the water earlier, and everyone's first thought was that he had fallen in.

Within moments, other moms had stopped what they were doing to join in the search. Farm helpers went into action, and everyone rallied to find the lost boy. Fortunately, he was found soon after, wandering the parking lot. As I had thought, he had followed his mom out to the parking lot, but she never noticed he was there.

Afterward, many moms came to share their relief that he had been found. Many had tears in their eyes. Even though they did not know the child, they still felt the sense of dread of losing a child, and the ultimate relief of finding him again. Moms can be very protective of their own children, but can also be very protective of other children as well. It is God's gift to us to feel so much empathy towards others, one I am very grateful for.

The funny thing is that Andrew really had no idea what all the fuss was about! All he knew is that his mom and every other woman on the farm was crying and making a fuss over him, which I think scared him more than anything else. It was good I was there, as well, to help keep the other kids calm and their minds preoccupied with other random things. They had started to pick up on the sense of panic, and were very worried, so I helped to calm them down.

Aside from that harrowing experience, i think we all enjoyed ourselves. The kids had fun running around and playing, and us women enjoyed chatting. It was something we all needed. By the time I got home, the day had definitely caught up to me, and I completely crashed. I slept for several hours! An exhausting day, indeed!

Snake in the Grass

I am outside a lot, and particularly in my garden. I love digging in the dirt and helping things grow. Of course, there is a lot more than just plants and soil in my garden. For one thing, there are bugs. Lots of them. I am a little miffed about this, as they are eating up my plants. This is particularly annoying in the vegetable garden. I have yet to be able to pick any edible strawberries. As soon as they start to ripen the bugs get in them. Very annoying. I was hoping to grow things organically, but we have such a nasty bug problem that I don't think I have any other choice than to spray.

Another thing I have a lot of in my garden are spiders. Spiders everywhere! Normally, I am okay with these 8-legged critters. I leave them be, and hope they make a dent in the bug population (it doesn't seem to be working yet). But seriously, I there are times when I feel like I have come across every spider known to mankind! I have seen tiny spiders so small that I can just barely see them. Others are fairly large. Some have fancy markings, and others have no markings at all.

Again, I normally just leave them alone. But we have a major outbreak of Huntsman spiders (daddy long legs). While not dangerous to humans, there are just so many of them, that I end up squashing a few. There is one spider that I don't like. It is a fairly large spider, about the size of a penny, and has a very fat abdomen. The unusual thing is that it is all white - no markings that I can see at all. I have also not noticed any hairs. In essence, it is a naked spider, lol Kind of pretty to look at, but that is where the fun stops. The other day while I was out weeding, I cam across a good size specimen. Not wanting to kill it, I decided to pick it up on the end of my shovel (the big kind, not a little trowel) and set it out of the way. Well, I thought I had moved it, but it just seemed to have totally disappeared. I could not find it anywhere. I went about weeding again, and a few minutes later, I found it ON MY LEG!! I have no idea how it even got there. I brushed it off, and it disappeared again. Could not find it anywhere.

Just yesterday I found another one in a different area. it was pretty close to the house, so I decided it HAD to go (sorry folks, no spiders in the house. Except for Sheila, but she never comes out of her cage). I aimed carefully with my trowel and smashed it into the rock it was sitting on. But when I removed the trowel, it was gone! Completely disappeared. Again. I find it incredibely creepy for a spider to keep disappearing. Like it is invisible. Gives me the willies.

There is one critter that I always look for, and that I absolutely love. And that is the garter snake! I had no idea we even had any until I scared one out of my mulch pile. I love snakes. All snakes. I think they are beautiful and just cool little animals.

As I was letting the dog out a little bit ago, I happened to look down by my porch stoop and spotted a little garter snake sunning itself in an old seed tray. I quickly caught it (and it peed on me, lol), but I was excited to show Craig and Cameron. It was just a little guy, but so cute! Orion was not at all interested in it, thank goodness. But of course, I had to get some pictures! I promise this little guy was completely harmless to humans, and was not very big, so I felt safe in handling it.

I'm a Jogger

Yeah, did I just write that title? So here's the thing. I am OUT OF SHAPE. I may look nice and trim on the outside, but on the inside I am a pile of mush. And even on the outside the mush is starting to spill over a bit.

Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, says that dogs need LOTS of exercise to help them stay healthy and balanced. A dog with too much pent up energy can quickly develop psychological issues. I didn't want that to happen. Nearly every day for the last month I have been taking my new puppy, Orion, on two walks a day.

We started out simple, just walking around the block. Then I started taking him around two blocks. Then I started taking him on the trail near our house, and then around our block. Then we took the long trail and walked even further, so that the walks would generally last about 30-40 minutes. Twice a day. I could tell this was good for both of us.

Not only were we BOTH getting some good exercise, but I was also helping to establish my role as "pack leader" for Orion. Orion has a few anxiety issues that we are trying to resolve, and taking him on long walks really helps put him in a calm-submissive state of mind.

But I felt like this was still not enough. It was time to step it up once again. So, we started going on shot jogs along the trail. Maybe 100 yards. I am not sure how Orion really felt, but even going that short little distance was like torture for me. Now I know some of you runners out there are probably rolling you eyes. I told you, I am out of shape. But I am working on it.

Now I am working on a new morning routine:

First thing, I let the dog out (because he is still a puppy and will poop or pee on my carpet if I wait to long to let him out). Then I do 20 min of pilates. This helps warm me up and stretch me out. Immediately after I take Orion out for our walk/jog. When we get back, we take a few moments to cool down, and then we can eat our breakfast.

The evenings are simpler. We do not run on our evening walk. It is more a chance to release a little more energy from the day and just relax a little. It is a very calming time for both of us, and we both go to bed tired and wake up refreshed.

For a long time I have been struggling to get into a fitness routine, but I would always start strong and peeter out fairly quickly. This time I took it slowly, and I still am. Baby steps. But I think my real motivation is having a companion to do this with. It would be next to impossible for Craig and I to run together. Aside from the issue of what to do with Cameron, Craig's legs are WAAAY longer than mine. Just walking together I practically have to jog just to keep up with his stride. But Orion is perfect. He is a little dog with short legs and probably only a little more stamina than I have right now. We easily keep pace together, and somehow running with him has given me new purpose. It makes what I normally consider I tedious task into something far more enjoyable for both of us.

Moral of the story? Get a dog, get in shape!

PS. In case you have not seen them, check out Orion's latest photoshoot on my photography blog!