BACKYARD BEAVER

We are in love with our backyard. Our property line ends right at a beautiful field that borders the Teton River. We spend a lot of time back there playing in the trees and the water. It's really fun how much wildlife we see in our mini wilderness. We've seen turtles, snakes, quail, ducks, Canadian geese, herons, bald eagles, coyotes, red foxes, and signs of or reports of moose, deer, bobcats, and even mountain lions.

The most conspicuous animal however, has been the beaver. The. dam. beaver. 

We actually lived here over a year before we ever saw the thing. But we knew it was there. It's home is huge...like, bigger than our bed, huge. Bigger than our bathroom, huge. If it just swam happily in the pretty river, I wouldn't complain. But instead, it spends its spare time cutting down half the trees in our private forest. 

I'm not exaggerating. We've counted 40+ trees downed! This spoils our back window views and makes me steaming mad.

The day we formally met for the first time, was a special day in June. Special because my little sister was visiting us all by her big-self from 2 states away. And special because it was as if the beaver's emergence was preserved specifically for her.

Throwing sticks in the river for Moose to retrieve, we heard what sounded like large rocks getting thrown into the water from the opposite bank. When there was no sign of anyone, we figured some boys were trying to be funny by hiding in the reeds. We ignored them. 

But it kept happening. And it was LOUD. 

Finally I spotted this guy! That beaver was slapping his tail against the water in an attempt to be threatening and scare us away! 

Fat Chance. We weren't going anywhere.  

At the time, all I had was a cell phone, but I caught this sweet action shot. 

And a video.

Soon, Andrew joined us with my camera, so I could get some real shots. By this time, all that tail thumping must have made the beaver hungry, because he was got out to munch on a bush...keeping one cautious eye on us at all times. 

This gave us an opportunity to see how big he really was. 

And he was fat. Fat from eating 40+ of my trees! 

I tried to get Moose to eat him, but our playful pup was only interested in the stick my sister was holding.

Like a big rat.

And then he was back in the water. Eventually, our excited family hiked home while I pondered the fashion forwardness of a beaver pelt hat. 

ASHMORE HOOPLAH

That weekend the walls went up so fast, the Ashmore clan had driven up from Utah to help out. With eight visitors, our current little home was bursting at the seams.

The boys slept in a tent in the backyard {something I doubt they minded}, because the guest room and the living were both taken.
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Andrew thought it would be hilarious to surround their tent with our collection of baby trees. We only offer the most realistic camping experiences here at our place.

It was fun to see the family affair our home building turned into: men raising walls...woman providing food...nieces getting the garage built...
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I felt like we all should have worn coordinating plaid shirts and ended the day with a whoopin' square dance.

But in all seriousness, everyone's pitching in put a special mark on this new home of ours.

While the men worked, the ladies spent the day roasting in our non-air conditioned home. Ninety-five. flippin. degrees.
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To illustrate my point, poor pregnant Gabe woke up from an afternoon nap and promptly stuck her head in my freezer.

I though it was a camera-worthy moment.

Lucky for us, Idaho tends to drop thirty degrees the moment the sun sets. So we spent our evenings eating on the red picnic table, lounging on the grass, and playing with explosives.
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Andrew and I shot Harry Potter spells at each other with our magic sparkler wands, before the guys experimented with how dangerously close they could shoot bottle rockets off without losing an eye.
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In case you were wondering, we all survived the weekend. And we're excited to have the boys here again to help with the roof soon...hopefully, with lower temperatures this time!

SNAPSHOT SATURDAY {cooling off}

I saw this picture on a blog I stop in on every so often. Doesn't it look glorious?
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I don't think it would have had such a huge impact on me if my house wasn't so BLASTED HOT right now. Idaho doesn't believe in air conditioning.

Imagining an Ocean Swim,
Rachel

LAZY SUMMER DAY

Too lazy to blog today. But do you like my picture?

IDAHO IN A NUTSHELL

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haha!

Sad, but true. 
Though it does make summer-time all the sweeter.

SUMMER PARADISE

I cannot even express the joy of being home all day.

Quiet. Calm. With lots of time to do...whatever the heck I want.

For example, I can't remember the last time I made myself a beautiful lunch, sat down, and ate it. Without the phone ringing, cafeteria duty to be to, kids needing to make-up work, lessons to plan, materials to gather, papers to grade, messes to clean, copies to make, e-mails to answer, and band aids to apply.

I can arrange flowers from my yard and be at home to enjoy them.

I can spend all morning weeding and seeding and enjoying the sunshine.

I can get started arranging past blog entries into a printed book.
{Something I've wanted to do for a long time. And what a great family journal/scrapbook to have!}

I can even sit at my window and watch that tree go from this...

to this...in less than twenty-four hours.

The best thing is that I have the time to take pointless pictures of weeds and daydream on a piece of land that Andrew and I own as of 8am this morning.

That's right. Breaking ground this afternoon.

Boo-ya, baby! It's gonna be a great summer.

MEMORY MONDAY--Desert Storm

Fifteen years old. Gilbert, Arizona. Monsoon season. 

This picture perfectly portrays the joy felt by Arizonians when water falls from the sky. It's like Christmas, rain is such a rare occurrence. 

Storms always roll into the valley in the same way: 

White, fluffy clouds build up on the horizon throughout the entire HOT, sunny day. Then, sometime after 5pm, a vast wall of desert dust a mile high, picked up by sudden winds, rip at palm trees and hinders sight on the freeway stacks. Next, dark clouds rumble closely behind, accompanied by a lightning display like none other. And finally, it rains. And it pours. And all the neighborhood kids run out into the street to dance, sing, and frolic barefoot on the steaming blacktop. 

*sigh* Happy memories. I miss monsoons.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

The prophet's recent words:

"My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love...

...Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings.This is a wonderful time to be on earth! While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are may things that are right."

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I don't want to get so caught up in the stresses and busyness of life so much that I forget how bounteously the Lord blesses us. So, let me introduce another weekly installment: Thankful Thursday. Here goes...

Changing Seasons- Isn't it amazing the way this earth cycles in such complete, beautiful ways? Every few months, the world takes on a completely different face--just as picturesque as before. It keeps life interesting, provides an ever changing composition for my camera to capture, and reminds me all year of the fact that God is the ultimate artist.

RED PICNIC TABLE

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We inherited an old picnic table (shout-out to the Grimmers!) earlier in the summer, and had big plans for its makeover.
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We spent several afternoons sanding it, priming it, and painting it red.
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Then we laid down on this blanket to watch it dry...
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...And make eyes at each other.

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We do that sometimes.

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Anyway, for 2-3 weeks out of the summer in Rexburg, it gets to be unbearably hot. I know that my Arizona relatives are laughing at me right now, as they sit in their 120 degree temperatures.

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But THEY have air conditioning.

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By about 4:oo in the afternoon, when the western sun is pouring through the largest window in the house, and I have to start thinking about firing up the oven for dinner, I get to feeling that we live in a literal oven. Our only escape is the shady patio and our happy, red picnic table.
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.It is so heavenly out there. I've gotten to where I just automatically set that red picnic table for dinner every night.
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. And we invite friends over for foil dinners...
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...or barbecued hamburgers.

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Our standard of living since this red picnic table entered our life has improved significantly.
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You guys should all go out and get one.Just be sure to paint it red. The color will make it or break it, I'm tellin' you.

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Happy Summer,

Rachel

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FOURTH

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I don't know what the rest of the country did, but here in southeast Idaho, the Fourth of July was a Third of July event. Too many darn Mormon Sabbath Day observers.

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It was okay with us though. We're a couple of darn Mormons ourselves.

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Keeping with tradition, we watched community members parade down our small-town main street. Here, little ones anxiously await the candy tossin' floats.

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Sweet Land of Liberty
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.We all showed up in our shorts and flip flops, but were taunted by unexpectedly chilly temperatures and overcast skies.
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I took this picture in honor of my first-ever red toenails. I had never been brave enough before.
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.Here we are on our claimed curb.
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I was a fan of this group's solution for parade comfort.
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Entire outfits made from newsprint. Check out those adorable dresses and tuxes!

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We saw some fun things...

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But nothing compared to this display of patriotism.

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Anybody got any tots?

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An annual highlight is the free milk. The adults swarm that truck worse than the kids do.
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The extent of our holiday home decor

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Celebrating the freedom of a day off.

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Flag-lined fence.

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Country pride.

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Lemonade Stand.

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Peaceful afternoon.

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I love old barns and American Flags.
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For the firework show, we drive half an hour to Idaho Falls. We're always shocked at how much we forget about city life.

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The show draws as many as 100,000 spectators every year.

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We all sit along the river near the Idaho Falls Temple.

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Here's our especially reserved grassy knoll. And there's the rest of the bishopric all bundled up. I couldn't believe how COLD it was!

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I had to laugh at this couple's perfect set-up for the show.
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I guess it's the "thing to do" to bring a couch into the great outdoors in celebration of the 4th.

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Or the 3rd. Whatever.

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And as always, the show was AMAZING. I love the star-like sparkles in this shot.

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I hope everyone had a happy Independence Day! Hooray for America. We live in a great land.

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