I got a cemetery

I love cemeteries. I'm hoping to make it to NYC on Halloween to take the one day only, annual tour of that big cemetery that you can see from the train on the way to Coney Island. Until then, I'll (Beck and I actually) make my own in the front yard.

"I think it's my new PARTY dress!"

Macie got some dresses from the neighbors. She tried them on and gave us a little fashion show. Thanks for the dresses Archibalds.

It snowed and now the yard looks perfect

Taming a Forest: Year Two

When I looked back at the pictures from last year, I thought this year was an improvement--except for that dyer's woad. I still want to kill you dead. Elsewhere in the yard we see little successes here and there. The wild flowers bloomed. The 25 cent mums bloomed. The dog wood grew, and more of them popped up. Five of the new baby pines are thriving. Sadly the aspens are struggling from neglect. And luckily only two baby pines died.

Not bad considering we don't have actual dirt or any horticulture know how.


A little better.


A little cosmos, I think.


Pure evil.

Next year, let's hope for no dyer's woad, lot's of wild flowers, bigger trees, money for some top soil, and of course more wood chips. Is it too early to mention that all I want for Christmas is a bunch of dirt and horse poop?

I finally logged on!

Macie's private b-day tea party.

Jonas jumping on rocks, in his PJs, in the Uintas.



Macie and Kjersti at their 5/30 b-day party.

A Bunch of Munchkins

Macie Advice

A recent conversation with Macie: At breakfast everyone was complaining about something. Macie interrupted with, "Do you want my advice? Give up! Never try, never fail! Those are the words I live by."

It's a quote from "Robots", but the fact that she knew when to throw it into the conversation, and could say it with a straight face, is amazing and hilarious.

Macie and her friend snowshoeing

(Pictures snagged from our friend's blog.)

Grrr

Jonas scowled for two days, and our friend documented it.

Auto Math

The other day we saw a Smart car and Macie chanted, "Smart car, smart car, tell me what 8+8 is." Beck thought it was so funny, he wrote it down.

A Macie t-shirt

Macie could work for a Japanese t-shirt maker. Tonight at dinner she declared, "Farts are the apple root of dalmation sicknesses."

Later she told a joke that went like this..."Dine-a-co. DC. Exclamation point." Followed by only her laughing very loud, for a long time.

She's been big on the exclamation points lately. She also likes to say, "Certainly not."

Father Son Photos

So Jonas does look like Daryl.

Jonas' Throne

The little prince found his throne. He's obsessed and likes to rule his kingdom for long periods of time. However, we're pretty sure he doesn't know what this place is really for.

How lazy are you?

On a scale of one to ten, how hard is it to mop a floor? Probably about a two--even Jonas can do it. But someone still invented the iRobot Scooba http://store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3334444&camp=Google, and I still want one. So I guess I am that lazy.

But it makes you wonder where we'll stop. What task is easy enough, not to be automated? On this 200th year anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, I've been reading one of his biographies. I wonder if his mom would have liked a Scooba. Probably not--they had a dirt floor.

So here's to using your own strength and ability to live life. (Maybe I should write this by hand, and mail it to everyone.)

Enjoy life with technology. And enjoy life without technology.

I wish I was Canadian

A recent conversation with Beck (who hates ham, but loves bacon.)

B: Gross ham pizza.
J: No it's Canadian Bacon.
B: What's that?
J: It's like bacon without any fat.
B: Why, because Canadians don't like fat?
J: Um, yes.
B: Ah, bacon without fat. Then I wish I was Canadian.