Our comings, our goings, and our growings

Busy, busy, busy are the Morrisses Four. We have been doing a lot and it's tiring us to the core!

Our Comings--

Practicing our piano. I start playing and usually get bombarded with two "music prodigies" that are more than happy to make my solo into a trio. Here they are practicing, "I am a Child of God." I have a growing suspicion that Makayla is tone deaf. Hmmmmm, wonder which side of the family she got that one from?!

One down, one to go. Natty's quilt is all finished! It was machine sewn for the patchwork part, then everything else has been hand-quilted and hand-stitched for the hem. A lot of work and mistakes, but an awful amount of love in that quilt!


'Tis the season to can and bottle fruits and veggies. Here is some of the things I have bottled. My friend, Tera and I did salsa. It's my Grandma Schneider's recipe that I grew up on and it's yummy! I put up a batch of cherries, another childhood favorite. My friends Annette, Tera, and I bottled 4 batches of applesauce. A lot of work, but so much more fun when there are many hands working and mouths chattering.


The Mischievous Misses. Every time I turn around it seems like I find the girls into a new mess. While I could get really upset with the added work these two like to add to my daily routine, I would rather take pictures to incriminate them later. Here's one of the "fun" activities that they recently engaged in--bathing outside the bathtub.

Our Goings--

Walnut Canyon. We went with the Mortensen and Larsen families to Walnut Canyon for free National Park day. It was a blast! There more than two hundred stairs to get down to the ruins and then you walk around and explore while trying to keep your little ones from jumping off the canyon walls. Makayla almost did the whole thing on her own, bless her heart. That is a lot of walking and stair stepping for a little girl.




The Fire Station. I got pictures this time! We went as a playgroup to the fire station and the kids have a lot of fun sitting in the fire truck, shooting the fire hose, and playing in the foam it created. Makayla seemed to fit right in when we got there, trying to climb up into the fire truck and turning on the lights before they were ready to have us. (You know, she and the fire fighters are tight now. Before you know it, they will be having her on call to go answer emergencies.)




Horseback Riding with the Milnes Family. This one was sooooooo cool! Jeremy works with Glen at Gore and he has horses that he has wanted us to ride. Makayla was really excited and was not scared at all. First, she got to ride around bareback and then with Natty. Natty wasn't too keen on that idea. But when they saddled up the horse and she got to ride with Daddy, she loved it and would wave and smile. Mommy got to ride too and it brought back some childhood memories of riding in Snowflake. Oh, did I mention that they also had 3 dogs, a swing set, and a trampoline?! I felt like leaving the girls there and saying, "When they get tired, you can just lay them on your couches. We'll pick them up tomorrow, because I am tired and they are still going strong, even 2 hours past their bedtime." Thank you Milnes Family! We LOVED it!





Female Bonding Experience--a.k.a.-F.B.E. The girls on my grandma's side of the family (the Hunt family) got together in Cedar City, UT for the Shakespeare Festival for a lot of culture, laughter, "group therapy", and to appreciate our Hunt heritage! It was so much fun to see cousins that we haven't seen in years and get to know them all over again. Oh yeah, the plays were really great too!



The 24th of July Celebration in Snowflake. We celebrated Pioneer Day the right way--in Snowflake with the Schneider bunch. Festivities included Grandma's famous homemade root beer, games of "Ninja" and "What are you doing?", a 2-mile fun run in which I took 2nd place in my age group, the children's races in which Makayla cried the whole way down the "track", the Pioneer Day Parade where candy is thrown--Makayla was in seventh heaven,a big family BBQ at my Aunt Lisa's house with cousins and more cousins, a family softball game, and the rodeo and firework show (we didnt' go to the rodeo and fireworks because the girls were pooped by this time!) Good times!




Camping with Friends at Gooseberry Springs. We went with buddies--the Larsens and the Mackays (with a cameo appearance from the Mortensens) to Gooseberry Springs (south of Flagstaff) for an over-night camping trip. It was a lot fun. The girls got really dirty (best part of campin') and we had a great visit with friends. We even had an opportunity to "save" a lost boy that wandered near our camp. He was just four and had wandered away from his brothers. When we went to help him-trying to talk to him telling him not to be scared we were there to help him (you know what a typical stranger says), it scared him even more and he ran. Finally I ran after him to catch him. He finally told us his name and age. We went up the road and found his family not too far from our camp. They didn't know he was missing. Poor kid, I hope I haven't scarred him for life! Anyway, it was an eventful, fun camping trip nonetheless.



Our Growings--

Probably the most time-consuming of our lives right now have been the growing. We planted our vegetable garden. It is a 22' x 26' spot that has corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, green beans, lettuce, two kinds of squash, zucchini, pumpkins and onions. One would not put in a vegetable garden out here in gopher heaven without first a battle plan. Our friend, Marty was kind enough to come dig out a bunch of dirt so that we could lay down chicken wire underneath the garden, then we had to put the dirt back in--both mechanically and manually. Then we barricaded it with rabbit wire around the perimeter. The onions should also deter the ugly, obnoxious critters. Then came the planting and watering. I have loved having it! I love the anticipation of what will come up and when. I love trying to guess which one is going to produce food first. It's been a lot of work, but so rewarding already. So far we have "harvested" squash, zucchini, and lettuce, more is on the way!



Also, we have put in 2 flower beds in the front yard. I have loved them, just as much as the vegetable garden! I found hydrangeas at Home Depot and didn't think they could grow here, but they have been BEAUTIFUL! Also, I have a honeysuckle vine that has been absolutely gorgeous. It is amazing how growing up, I HATED yard work and gardening, but something about home ownership makes it all worth while and quite pleasant. I have really enjoyed working with Jeremy and watching the fruits of our labors grow.




Jeremy is in the process of moving a bunch of rocks to lay down weed block to the side of our house. Our property is covered in weeds and while we can mow most of them and they kind of look like grass from afar, weeds coming up in the driveway look ghetto. He has been spending so many Saturdays and weeknights doing that and is finally making some headway. He really impresses me how much he works and works and works. I know that is in his genes to work hard but I would like to thank his parents for instilling an excellent dose of diligence in him while growing up. Jeremy, you truly are amazing! UPDATE: We have one side done and one more to do. We planted some more flowers and bushes. It looks so much better! More pictures when this project is completed.