planting a tree

We love to plant tree's at our house. When we dug the hole for our newest tree, Eli got very excited and climbed right into the hole. He thought it was the perfect fit and he just loves all of that dirt!

2008 Adventure Vacation Book

I really like to make digital photo books of my family. This is one I just finished from our vacations last year. I try and make one for the family, one for our vacations, one for my mom's family and a Christmas book each year ( we just have that many pictures :). I also make my children a first year book and a book of them every five years.

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/shared/32639/9ruyj7xbpmdczkh

Fair Food

One of the things I love about summer it eating foods you wouldn't normally let your self eat. I call these fair foods, cinnamon roasted almonds, churros, navajo tacos, just to name a few culinary delights. But the mother of all fair foods for me is...Cotton Candy. That spun sugary goodness that melts in your mouth and all over your hands is just one of the best thing ever...It's neck and neck with my favorite camping food (also it's own food group) perfectly roasted marshmellows.

Pioneer Day Adventures

I'm always looking for ways to celebrate Pioneer Day, the Utah History teacher in me can't pass it up. This year our play group did a pioneer party complete with sack races, we went to a pool party and went to Fort Beunaventura to dip some candles, ride a train, paddle a canoe and milk some goats!

Buck Family Visit

We've had some fun adventures this July!

Brian's brother Richard and his family came from San Antonio for a visit!
We had fun hiking and going to fireworks.

We've got Eggs

Our chickens are all grown up and laying eggs. Hyrum loves to go out and check for eggs (about once an hour). We get any where from 4-6 eggs a day. When we got our first egg Hyrum said we couldn't eat it until we had enough to have an egg party. We had boiled eggs for dinner one night and we asked Hy if it was our egg party, he said, "No we need more people and some games."

Happy Birthday to Elijah

Elijah Dean Buck turned one year old on 23 June 2009! What a darling baby boy!!

Quiet...Too Quiet...

We camped up at Bear Lake this last weekend, after coming down from hiking in the mountains, I thought to myself that Eli was being pretty quiet, I was rather tired and was relieved for the silence. When we got out to get the traditional raspberry shakes we beheld what are little elf had been so industriously working on. He had grabbed the formula container from the food basket next to him and had proceeded to open it and scoop most of it's contents onto his lap...guess we are going to milk a little sooner than expected.

Brian's Birthday

Happy Birthday Brian! Flag Day shares the honored distinction of also being Brian's birthday. The boys had funny giving daddy pruners for his fruit trees and the emergency potty kit from Steph and Robert was a big hit :)

Baptism Talk

Hyrum gave a talk in primary last month, I asked him some questions and wrote down his answers, then he drew pictures to illustrate, he did such a great job!!

I wrote his talk on the pictures and turned it into a book. (The second picture is of Jesus, that is all of his light)

Sweet Boys on Easter Sunday!

First Soccer Adventure

Hyrum has started playing city rec soccer this year. They had a couple of practices and this week started games. When I told Hy he had a game today, he asked me if it was a practice or a game, I said a game. He said, "But I don't know how to play soccer." After his first week, I asked him what his favorite part was, he said, "The Ball War." (Hyrum is # 7)

First Soccer Adventure

First Goal kick!

First Soccer Adventure

Hyrum's first soccer game! I know we've seen it before, but it's always fun to watch 5 year olds play soccer!

Look Mom, no training wheels

Hyrum decided to try riding his bike without training wheels, he's growing up too fast!

Eli Kicks

Elijah has always loved to kick his little legs!

The Chicken Chase

One of the chickens had a worm and a chase ensued!

5 years of Hyrum Photo Book

I gave Hyrum a photo book of his first five years for his birthday. He was such a cute little boy. Click here to view the book.

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/shared/30896/r0bglu4z7dpoaqw

Five Adventurous Years with Hyrum!

Hyrum turned five years old Sunday!! It has been a wonderful five years. Hyrum loves trains, he loves his family and he loves to tell stories and he loves to talk!! He was a darling birthday king at his birthday party!!

I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he told me he that he wanted a berry pie with some raspberries on the top and some strawberries in the middle. I asked if he was sure if he wanted that instead of a cake and he said, no after the cake. So that's what we did!!

Chicken Adventure

The chicken's have flown to the coop!! The Chicks are settling into their comfy new home. Brian did a great job of building a cute coop (cute is my number one requirement in chicken coops). They have a heat lamp in the hen house with them, since it's been a bit chilly (3 inches of snow) this week. The girls like exploring around their home as well.

Soldier Adventure!

Brian's brother David is on an important kind of Adventure right now, he is serving in the Marine Corps and has been deployed to Afghanistan. As a family we had a Family home evening to learn about Afghanistan and to make Uncle David a package. Brian made a really cute card for David (He's the crafty one in the family) and Hyrum made several cards for David. He wanted to make one like Daddy did and cut it out all by himself. We are really proud of Uncle David and can't wait for him to get back.

TV Adventure

Today some of my dearest friends, Melanie Schenck and Alana Swenson, and I took the day off from our kids (Thanks to their great husbands and my great sister) and we went down to the Channel 4 TV studios to see the show Good Things Utah filmed. I had never actually watched it before, but it was a lot of fun. Alana and I both won a book, we got to sample wedding cake and we got the recipe for deep fried Twinkies!! After we went to lunch and did a little shopping. The best part was hanging with my girls. What a fun adventure!!!

Adventurous Dramma (Grandma)!

My Mom is great! She is always willing to help any of us kids out, but this time when I say "She Rocks!", I mean it literally.

Mom works at the Clearfield Library. She often brings home books, dvds and CDs especially if they look new. I was looking today at three such CDs she had brought home. One was Natalie Cole, good Grandma fare, one was some group from the 60s, and the final one was... Bon Jovi! Yes my Mom selected Slippery When Wet for her listening pleasure this week. What a lady!

Fun with a stick

Today we were outside pruning the fruit trees to get ready for spring. Hyrum loves to play with branches that are cut off. He was carrying a couple around when he said to us, "Now it is time for a performance, it will be called Fun with a Stick." Then he proceed to do a 'musical number' with two sticks. It was very funny.

Las Vegas Adventure

This last weekend we had the opportunity to have a small adventure with Kaydee and Paul down in Las Vegas. We really enjoy visiting in the spring and fall because the weather is gorgeous and there are lots of fun hikes to do right out of vegas. We hiked on Mt. Charleston and had a fun time tromping through the snow. Hyrum kept telling us we had to follow him, because he was the "instructioner". The next day we went with little different biome, and hiked around the Calico hills of Red Rock. Hyrum loves "hiking in the mountains!" We also enjoyed hanging out in Kaydee's beautiful home and being outside in the sun, I miss the sun in the winter.

The other day Brian and I were talking about something and Hyrum asked us if we were just joking, we said we were, Hyrum said, "Daddy next time tell a funnier joke."

Eli was the biggest adventure of our family in 2008. He was a much prayed for little baby and we are so happy to finally have him. He has a very happy smile and is such a fun baby. He started army crawling a couple of weeks ago. He loves to crawl and roll around, but he does not like to sit up, he knows how, but he does not like to do it. He has three little cousins that are his same age and it is fun to see him and Charlie (who lives near by) crawling around together.

I snapped this picture of Eli the other day, he was being a real stinker all day, but I think this is the cutest picture!!

Newest Adventure

The Buck family has expanded by six today...six chicks that is. A few years ago Brian and I were watching a pbs gardening show, the spotlighted garden had chickens running around, the host said that Chickens give a garden "whimsy." Brian and I always enjoy a little whimsy, so we knew that when we "grew-up", we wanted some whimsy of our own. For the last couple years Brian's been reading backyard chicken rearing books and for the past month he's been constructing a great chicken coop in the garage. Today six little baby chicks arrived in the mail. I'm not really an animal softy, but they are so cute! Chick mortality rates are apparently a little high, and every one is warning me not to get to attached, but they are so soft and sweet!

New Chairs

It seems that our family is always working on some type of project, It's like HGTV around here. A couple of weeks ago someone gave us some old chairs. The chairs were comfy and in good shape, but didn't match my house, so I decide to give recovering them a try. I looked into slip covers, but can you say ugly and expensive. I decided to use the fabric that I had used to recover another chair in my front room and that I had also made the drapes out of. Luckily I was able to still find it and I found a matching solid upholstry fabric in the two dollar a yard table. I used an old bed skirt and old white shirt to make pattern pieces and with my mom's help I was able to cover the cushions in the stripe fabric, and make a fitted slip covers out of the solid fabric for the bodies of the chairs. I think they turned out pretty nice! Mom sewed the piping which I think really helped them look finished.