Yellowstone/Jackson Hole Weekend!

The Brenchley family (hopefully new) annual Yellowstone trip!!  This is the first year Grandma and Grandpa Brenchley got to come, and we were so happy to have them with us! We didn't find out they were coming until the week before and I was thrilled. My dad is a super-scouter, any camping with him is amazing! One evening he made lasagna and garlic bread...honestly how awesome is that, garlic bread over the campfire! My dad's amazing!!  We love Yellowstone and our kids have so much fun when we are there. They are great, no fighting or crying...only enjoying all that Yellowstone has to offer!! We are already planning next year's trip!  Emmy brought her brown bear along with her this trip, he seemed the perfect companion!  We saw six grizzly bears!  Out of the six there was a Momma bear with two cubs, we watched her along side the road digging for bugs under rocks with her two little cubs! They are amazing animals! Grizzly bears and wolves are the highlights of Yellowstone, we didn't get lucky enough to see wolves but six Grizzly bears that's rare! We hope to see wolves next year even if we have to get up at the crack of dawn!  We rented an awesome little cabin the last night. It was so tiny, but so so worth it, to sleep in a bed and shower my kids.  Brody hated the shower, it was like torpedo jets spraying out! It kind of hurt! The last night in Yellowstone, Emmy started to cry because she wanted to go home and sleep in her own bed!  On the way home we stopped and viewed the majestic Tetons, visited the shops at Jackson and ate at Bubba's. What's a Yellowstone trip without a stop at Bubba's!

Emmy Learns to Pedal!

The young women and young men in our ward were playing this fun scavenger hunt! They brought us this little used bike and said..."we need to trade you with something bigger and better!" So Emmy got this little bike and she loves it! She has learned to pedal!  I'm sure Dan will have her riding without training wheels by the time she's 3 yrs old as well!

Catching tiny moments!

I thought I should put together some cute recent memories.  Emmy busy cutting with the scissors, being so independent and saying to me, "I can do it!!"  Batman drops in quite frequently these days for a visit, he  is always welcomed at our house!  I also snagged a picture of Brody as he was sneaking in a snooze he is so cute when he sleeps!  Emmy and Brody..."I'll eat you up...I love you so!"

Sunday Drive up Temple Fork!

Dan finally upgraded his truck! We are so excited, now my kids will actually have their own working seat belts and we have room to get the car seats in! We decided to drive up Temple Fork up Logan Canyon to enjoy the sun that has finally decided to show itself this spring!  We found the neatest little meadow with a beaver dam and all, it was really fun, we had a picnic, went on a little nature hike and then came back and roasted some marshmallows!

Emmy's wishful thinking!

Brodyn, Emmy and Dan were outside playing, when Brody decided he needed to "Pee!" So he of course drops his drawers and starts peeing on the nearest tree...'bare-bum' mooning all the neighbors. Then Dan, the great example he is, adds a second 'yellow arch' to the scene. This is the conversation that followed, as my little 2 year old girl stood on the side-lines watching the whole show-down!

Emmy: "I wanta pee...me too!"

Brody: "Sorry Em, you can't you don't have a weenie."

as she cocks her head and gives her classic "eyebrow lift, eyes wide open, and 1/2 frown" face.

Emmy: "maybe I go to tocter (aka doctor) and tocter give me weenie."

Brody: "No Em, girls don't have weenies."

Then this morning while both in the tub together Emmy explains: "When I big I grow weenie!"

Brody: "No Em, you'll have big boobies!"

I guess this is all part of the deal when growing up as the little sister of a big brother. I love you Emmy 'Sue Sue' thank heavens you aren't a little boy, because you are practically perfect in every way!

Picking Up Yet Another New Hobby!

Have you ever heard that when a married couple has kids, the wife looses all hobbies and the husband keeps gaining them...here is proof to that! Dan has just started up two bee hives. It is actually pretty neat, and bees are amazing creatures! Hopefully, I can at least benefit a little from this new hobby by getting free honey!  We started with a couple of boxes full of bees. They are amazing, all together it seemed as if they moved as one unit, because there was so many of them!  First Dan got the hives prepped and ready for the bees.  Before dumping the bees he had to reach in and retrieve the queen, who at that point was in her own special box that keeps her safe from the other bees. She is a new queen and to protect her she stays in her little box amongst the others so they can get used to her scent. The box is closed off by a marshmallow cork. It takes a few days for the bees to eat through the marshmallow, and reach their queen. Hopefully by then they've accepted her as Queen Bee!