Happy anniversary Summer and Jake!!!!!

This is a short post on two very long and wonderful days. Last May 29th, Summer and Jake had their wedding reception...this way...

They were getting married the next day, on May 30th, 2015, so today is their first anniversary.

Summer came home for a month before her wedding to help get things ready. She made darling favors...

...and a guest book.

She painted letters...

...and made a lot of terrariums with dinosaurs using cherry jars from Dairy Queen. 

There were even dinosaurs on the cake.

She and Jake were (and are) very much in love.

I was (and am) so happy to see her happy.

The reception was at a church building nearby with an outdoor pavilion. It was a lovely evening...

...for celebrating and eating cake.

The next day, we were all back in our wedding finery to see them married In the San Diego Temple.

While we were waiting for Jake and Summer to come out of the temple (The adults were in the temple with them, but they have the bride and groom come out of a special door.) I took a few pictures. Here is my little flower girl with her flowers.

And Michael with some of my favorite people wearing his bow tie that matched the bridesmaid dresses.

Heather Gwen and Kelly were bridesmaids and didn't appreciate my camera.

Finally, they arrive!

Here is the wedding party....

...and a picture on the beach...

...and the happy couple looking off into their future.

We love you Summer and Jake!!!

Sad, very sad.

Something very sad that happened last year was, we had to take out the big, beautiful tree in our front yard. It was always one of my favorite things about our house. Sigh.

One day in May, my mom, my sister Sara and I were sewing quietly for Summer's wedding and the whole house shook. Living where we do, we assumed it was an earthquake, but when we went outside, our silver maple had dropped a branch on the roof. 

You can see here that the tree was rotting in the middle. Oh, well.

Finally, a year later, we have planted a couple of baby trees. I look forward to watching them grow. Grow, trees, grow!

Summer Road Trip - July 2015

Last summer, we went on a road trip. As we drove into Twin Falls, Idaho, there was a place to stop with a scenic view of the Snake River. We were entertained for a while watching skydivers jumping off the bridge.

We headed up to spend a couple nights with Randall and Gina and their kids. We were there for the fourth of July and they set off fireworks in the backyard. Pretty thrilling for the California cousins who live in a city where they are illegal.

Heather took Kelly for a ride while...

...Keaton explained things to the city cousins.

We had a wonderful time visiting with loved ones and were sad to say goodbye.

After we left, we took a half hour detour just so the kids could say they had been in Oregon. And, we bought gas where someone else pumped it and washed the very dirty windshield of the van.

Next, we headed to Nevada to see the bristlecone pines, because that is what botanists and their families do for vacation - see famous trees. We've already gone on trips to see the redwoods and sequoias. Any suggestions for our next vacation?

There was awe...

...kissing...

...life lessons...

...and five adorable siblings.

Beyond the bristlecone pine grove, there was a trail heading up to Nevada's only glacier.

There it is! See it before it's gone!

Naomi practicing her photography skills.

We started to hear thunder and decided it was time to go back. On the trail down, we first got hit with hail, which was a novelty, then rain, which was wet.

We went back to the cabin we were renting and asked the very nice owners if we could throw our wet clothing in their dryer. We had an afternoon appointment for a tour of Lehman Caves and knew we'd be too cold, underground, in damp clothes.

The caves were very cool. They used to have parties down there and all the dancers, musicians and food had to go down a rope ladder one by one.

In the little town near the caves, we saw a swallow feeding its babies.

After Great Basin National Park, we drove on to see Jeff and Teresa. I'm sad I don't have any pictures of our time with them, but I think I was afraid to take my camera on the boat. Sheena came over with her kids and Jeff took us out on Lake Mead. We had a wonderful time!

On the way to Teresa and Jeff's place, we saw a nondescript sign on the side of the road, passed it because we were too slow reacting, flipped a u-ey and stopped at the Oak Springs Trilobite Site.

We got sweaty, dusty and, yes, bloody, but we found trilobites! Smashing rocks and finding fossils were definitely favorite activities on the trip.

Michael"s Birthday and Cricket Tacos - October 2015

Last October, Stan took the kids on a hike. The nearby nature center was having an event where they were letting people sample some local Native American traditional foods, including cricket tacos. Michael said they were spicy...and crunchy. 

Speaking of Michael, he had a birthday that same October (it comes around every year...) and he turned eleven. Now he is more than halfway to twelve, but here are a couple of pictures for history's sake. I made my usual Cake Wrecks worthy confection, and...

...he opened presents. We love Michael!

Random Stuff - April 2015 and a little bit of Mother's Day 2016

Easter 2015, we tried dying eggs with vegetable matter. It didn't work very well, but this is a cute picture, so I stuck it in here.

Our neighbor is from Bangladesh and actually spends most of his time there while his family is here working and going to school. He brought Stan and me some Bangladeshi clothing back one time.

I pointed out to Stan that he looked a lot happier sitting next to Huda than to me, but he said that was because in the first picture, he was looking at me. :)

Now, to Mother's Day 2016. Summer and Jake are here and brought presents for all the family members whose birthdays they had missed. Summer made the cutest little doll house for Naomi. The rugs are cowhide, the pictures are postage stamps and it even came with a little plant.

Kelly, with help from the family, made an amazing Indian food dinner with aloo gajar, chicken makhani, homemade naan, spinach salad and mango lassi. We had French macaroons for dessert.