Tug-o-war with David

Nathan, Spencer, Kacy, Will, Ed and Jared are trying to out pull David with our new tug-o-war rope Grandpa David made.

Uncle Dandy's Birthday

Uncle "Dandy" had his 57th birthday on Saturday, so we helped him celebrate a day late when he came over to visit us on Sunday. We didn't have quite enough candles, so we just made the number 57 with candles.

ALL the kids LOVE Uncle Dandy because he's the best "tickler," and bug him to death when he comes to visit. They are crowded around to watch him use the engraver.

Extracting Honey

Last Friday, David decided it was time we extracted honey. He was planning to take some hives up to Ryan's place for the winter and wanted work with the bees and get a little honey first. Matt and Julie came over to help.


Julie and David are uncapping (scraping the wax off the top):

Next, the frames are put in the extractor, which is cranked to make the honey come out by centrifugal force. Oscar came to help too, and everyone took a turn cranking: Then, the honey is put through three filters to take out the wax and impurities. You might think there is a lot of waste, but after I was all through straining and bottling there was only about a quart of wax with "yukkies." We could actually reuse the beeswax, but we haven't got the equipment to filter it properly. I ended up with about 70 pounds of honey from 15 frames:

New Bikes!

In preparation for our big backpacking trip next summer, we bought these bikes. We have been walking and dieting, but felt something a little more strenuous might be needed to help us get in shape. Stair stepping seemed kind of boring, so we went looking for bikes. David had read that they are often discounted in September to make room for the new Christmas models. We found a great bargain. Mine was marked down $180.00 and David's $150.00. The only problem is the last few days we've been so busy with projects that we haven't had much time to ride. Today for SURE! And I doubled my walking time today.

D. Spencer's 5th Birthday

Spencer sure has been looking forward to his birthday this year. Maybe because he started school. or maybe just because birthday's are fun. Anyway , he requested a rocket ship for his birthday cake. I put what I thought was a carton of frosting in my basket at Smart and Final and it ended up being whipped topping instead, so when we went to decorate the cake we decided a chocolate rocket would be just fine. As I have said before, kids are easy to please. We celebrated on Sunday, when all the cousins came, even though his birthday is September 2nd. For dinner, he specified spaghetti and meatballs. Now an articulate speaking, bouncy and imaginative kid, Spencer has captivated us all since he was a baby and had that spikey hair we adored. He loves school and showed me the "Student of the Day" sticker he recently received on one of my recent visits to the Delgado boys room. He had it taped above his bed. "Teachers use a lot of tape, " he said. I know he'll have a great year.

Everyone likes to watch the gift opening.

Will's 4th Birthday Party

We celebrated Will's 4th birthday yesterday, although his birthday is actually today. Kacy thought we should put 3 candles on the cake since he wasn't quite 4 . He wanted a monster truck like Nathan had, so we made it a different color. I let all the kids help decorate, then we put it up high so Ed couldn't reach the donuts this time. It kind of melted as the pizza (Will's choice) was cooking, but nobody seemed to mind.

We had a good time watching Will open his presents and later had root beer floats. Will's a fast talkin', big smilin', tender hearted loveable kid. It's been fun to watch him grow into a terriffic four-year-old.

Last Days of Summer

The week before school started the grandkids came over and splashed around in the backyard one last time. I had to retire my puppy pool that I got when Nathan was the only one around. It just wouldn't hold air anymore. This new model hasn't got as much personality, but there are more pieces to throw around, and they had just as much fun!

Jessie & Ryan

We haven't seen Ryan too much this summer, because most of his days off have gone to either boys or girls camping excursions. But, one Sunday he was able to come for Sunday dinner and walked in carrying Jessie. She was really enjoying her dad, and did not even want to lift her head off his chest.

Backpacking 2009

Sky Blue Lake Basin

Dusk at Sky Blue Lake
Yup, That's someone swimming in

Sky Blue Lake

at over 11,000 feet elevation One of Ryan's scouts caught this guy.

Panoramic view of Mt. Whitney

The old folks (us) have decided we want a little adventure. So, David and I have drummed up a couples backpacking trip for August of 2009. That should give us time to lose a few (well, maybe more than a few) pounds and get in shape for a High Sierra trip. Our destination is Sky Blue Lake. When Ryan and Karl heard about this they started laughing. Keep in mind that both of them have been to the area we plan to go. Ryan just got back a couple of weeks ago after taking his scouts there, which is what got David jazzed on the idea. Me? I was actually SHOCKED when David suggested it. I love backpacking and could never get him to go. He hated backpacking in the days when we went to girls camp. I led the 3rd and 4th year hikes for several years, but David preferred to stay in camp with Pres. Davies. Maybe it's the picture of the golden trout that Ryan brought back that convinced him. I know it impressed Uncle Dandy. Anita said she would rather go on a cruise, but it might be do-able since we have a year to get ready. When Gaye told Karl he WAS going with us, he didn't seem too excited. His memories of the place date back to the 70's when he was YOUNGER and in better shape and he thinks it's TOO HARD for us now. We'll see, 'cause I'm not backing out.

P.S. I told Anita maybe we could do the cruise too. (How 'bout to somewhere with a tall mountain we could use to get acclimated.?)

Jessie's Eyes

The other day I watched the kids while Karrie went to buy food for Ryan's backpacking trip. This is how she looked when I went in to pick her up after Ed woke her up from her nap.

I think it's the flash from the camera that makes her look "surprised."