Of Geese and and Tortoises and Snakes

Of Geese.  Just about every day when we stop at Jeff and Amy's home on our way home, we see the family of Canadian geese that live there.  They are such beautiful birds and fascinating to watch.  Lola, especially, wants to go see the "ducks" as she calls them and says, "Come on, Papa," while grabbing his hand.

When I was looking up facts about them, I saw all kinds of posts of how to keep them away from settling near you.  I was shocked!  We love them!  Maybe we won't be saying this later, but right now, we think it is so amazing. 

The first year Jeff and Amy lived in this neighborhood, there was just a mother and a father.  Last summer, they had four little ones who have now grown up.  Canadian geese find a mate usually during their second year and stay together for life.  (However, if one mate dies, the other will re-mate.)

As Lola gets closer to them, you hear, "Honk . . ."  Then from another, "Honk, . . .  I found out that they communicate with different sounds.  In fact with about 13 different calls for things like greetings, warnings, and contentment, they may be one of the most talkative animals after humans.  Goslings, or baby geese, begin communicating with their parents while still in the egg! 

Then there was a whole bunch of "honking" and in perfect unison, they all take off together.

They had definitely given the "warning" honk, and they all obeyed!

Of Tortoises.  Another animal that lives near our home, is a tortoise.  They live in holes in the ground which they dig with their powerful claws.  Friday night while Jeff took the boys to the "Father and Sons" Outing with the church, Amy had to help with a school carnival, so George and I took Lola exploring for our tortoise.   

We were disappointed when we found his hole empty and full of leaves, so we wondered where he had moved to.  Soon we found a new hole, but he wasn't home.  After driving about a half mile away, there he was crawling along. 

He doesn't like a lot of visitors, so we didn't stay long.  See you later, Tortoise!

Of Snakes.  Saturday was "clean up the rain gutters" day.  George was outside with the ladder in the pick-up next to the garage since the ladder  wouldn't reach from the ground.  Danger!  I couldn't believe he had started before I was out there to hold the ladder.  Little did I know that falling wasn't the biggest danger!

After George could breathe again and wasn't so pale (Hah!), he re-enacted what had happened.  He had climbed the ladder, luckily with his gloves on, and pulled out the first handfull of leaves, but as he brought the leaves downward, they were wiggling in his hand.  The he noticed that not only did he have a handful of leaves, he had a handful of snake which was about two feet long!

After throwing him on the ground and covering him with the recyling bin, he showed him to me. 

Fortunately, he didn't look like a poisonous snake, but when you grab a snake unknowingly above your head, your heart doesn't care whether it's poisonous or not.  It starts racing!

We called the kids to come over.  Isaac was definitely the most brave at first. 

Then Jeff decides to pick him up behind his head . . .

The little guy didn't like that at all and gave Jeff a bite on his finger--it actually broke the skin!  What if it had been posionous?

George has his gloves on and lets the kids touch the snake. 

Jeff puts the snake in a pillowcase so we can transport him to a new home--a long ways from ours!

 

We released him in the field by the landfill area.  There are lots of critters around there for him to be friends with!

Off he goes.  Bye-bye, snake!  Don't come back!

We had brought all the yard waste to the landfill.  The kids had fun playing while George and Jeff emptied the truck. 

Yes, Florida is a "wild" place to live.  You never know what "wild" thing you'll meet next!  This was enough for one weekend!

Strong Women

Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by strong women.  By strong, I mean they have been not only physically strong, but strong in spirit, strong in their love of their mates and children, and strong in their love of the Lord.  They have been great examples to me of what a woman should be.  For example:

My great great-grandmother, Sophia

 

She had 14 children!  While my great great-grandfather was helping with the colonization of several areas in Idaho and Utah, Sophia worked hard to keep up the daily chores.  She would feed and milk the cows and make the butter, tend to the chickens, gather the eggs to sell at market, help with the planting and the harvesting.  Additionally, the family had a large herd of sheep and when it was sheep shearing time, Sophia could shear as many as 30 sheep in a day.  She, also, did a lot of spinning, dyeing, and soap making.  An interesting note:  She and the children gave water to an army regiment who was traveling over to Wyoming.  The grateful soldiers tossed the boys a dime for their troubles.  Unbeknownst to them, these men were under the command of Lt. Colonel George A. Custer, and they were sadly marching off to the fated Battle at Little Big Horn.

Anna Cecilia and Josephine

My great great grandmother Josephine sailed alone with her mother, Anna Cecilia, from Sweden to come to America after they joined the Mormon Church in Sweden.  It took eight, long dreary weeks to cross the ocean.  After traveling by rail to Wyoming, they still had to cross the 1000 miles in order to reach the Salt Lake Valley.  However, they were willing to do this because they knew the Church was what they wanted in their life, and my great, great, great grandmother was willing to give up everything, even leaving her husband behind because he didn't care to have the Lord in his life.

Mary

My great grandmother Mary's husband (my great grandfather) was called on a two year mission for the Mormon Church.  This left Mary with five children under the age of 11 to care for, in addition to the farm to take care of.  (They had a total of eight children eventually.)  Her brother came to help her, but during those two years, Mary saved enough above the expenses to clear the debts and keep the farm running.  Later, her husband would be called as a Bishop for 23 years, and during that time she took care of the people in their ward, plus she boarded many of the school teachers in the area.  The young and old were welcome in her home where they were greeted with mountains of bread, cakes, and pies.  They say her fried chicken, once tasted, was never forgotten!

Hattie

My grandma Hattie, the grandma that lived only about a mile away while I was growing up, was the one I got to know the best.  She was one of ten daughters.  She could do anything!  Even though she was tiny, she could plant a garden, bottle every vegetable and fruit there was, kill a chicken, have it plucked, and in the pot for dinner a couple of hours later.  She and her husband served a three-year mission for the Mormon Church in the Samoan Islands shortly after they were married.  Their first son was born there, and she nearly lost both him and her husband to illnesses while they were in Samoa.  So she made a promise to the Lord that if He would just allow her to bring them home to bury them, she would serve him the rest of her life.  Both her son and husband lived to a good old age, and she did as she promised--served her family and the Lord the rest of her life.

My mother, Lola

What can I say!  I could go on and on about the selfless life my mother lived.  She wasn't out front where many could see what she did--but the countless hours of service that she did for the people in the community as well as the seven children, their spouses, and their children, will never truly be known by any of us.  We are still discovering many things that the others didn't know that she was doing for them.  There was no grey area in her life--right was right, and wrong was wrong.  You could count on her word as gold.  And always, she showed her love of the Lord in her daily life.

My four sisters: Beverly, Joyce, Beth, and Natalie

To this very day, we still love to be with each other and know that we can always count on each other, no matter what.  Although we live on opposite sides of the country, we keep in touch almost weekly.  They are all fantastic wives and mothers (and some are grandmothers, too), strong in their communities, and there is no doubt of their testimonies of the Lord.  We seriously are like little kids when we get together--we just spent three days in Disney World with our 88 year old Dad, and had the time of our lives! 

 

My mother-in-law, Ruby 

Very fortunately, I was able to marry into a family with a strong mother.  George's mother, Ruby, was one of the hardest working women I have ever known.

She would have her wash out on the line by 7:00 a.m.  (She liked the fresh, clean smell of the outdoors, rather than putting them in the dryer.)  She was the epitome of organization.  She had all the cakes, pies, cookies, roast beef, ham, potatoes, vegetables, everything started by 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon for dinner--and everything was always ready on Saturday so she didn't have to do all of the arrangements on Sunday.  She loved the Lord and helped my husband to love and to serve Him, as well.

I have only mentioned a few in my past--there are so many more in my ancestral line.  I salute all of them for the wonderful mothers and women they were.  But today, I want to tell seven other women how much I love and appreciate them--my fantastic daughters and "daughters" in-law.  They are truly strong women in every sense of the word.  They, too, teach me so much.  I feel welcome in any of their beautiful and tidy homes, I know that every Sunday they will have all of our grandchildren all scrubbed up and attending church, I know they love their spouses, and I know that even through difficulties in life, they will always support one another. 

Angie

Alison

Kim

Amy

Anne

Natalie

Cassie

Thanks so much for all you do.  George and I truly love all of you!  Happy Mothers' Day! 

Thanks, Kevin, for the beautiful Mother's Day flowers.  They were a wonderful surprise on my doorstep!

Easter Weekend

Jeff and Amy's wedding anniversary is usually pretty close to the Easter weekend, but this year it landed right on it.  Jeff planned a wonderful trip to Orlando for the weekend to stay in a beautiful hotel, to get pampered there, to go out for dinners, and to attend the temple.  When they asked us to tend the kids for the weekend, we immediately started thinking of some special things to do with them.  So, of course, I planned a trip to the zoo.  I don't know whether George was really on board so much at first about this, but I know he loved the day almost as much as the kids.

Waiting to get on the zoo train--a must with every visit!

They wouldn't look our way--but this is a mother zebra with her new baby born about a month ago.

The boys were so excited to go to the snake house, but Isaac was certainly not excited about turning his back on that huge snake behind him!

This snake has a long pointed fang.

This is a little hard to see, but there is some kind of a lizard on this snake.  Look how the snake is eyeing him, however. 

A huge toad burrowed in the dirt.

Notice how Lola was taking this all in--snakes are behind glass and they don't make noise, so she wasn't a bit afraid. 

We soon noticed all kinds of birds going overhead with bits of tree branches and leaves in their mouths.

They were adding them to their nests.  They were everywhere in the trees. 

From the sound of it, some of the eggs had hatched and the little ones were squawking for food!

Notice again--Lola loves birds and is so happy to be watching them.

Now it's off to the children's play area. 

Running through the maze.

But now it was time for what we had really come for today--to see the dinosaurs in "Dino-Alive."  There were clues along the way which the boys loved searching for in order to get to the dinosaurs. 

When we finally got there, the first dinosaur looked friendly enough . . .

as did the second.

But when they started roaring and moving,

Lola started crying.  Isaac told her to just cover her eyes. 

Well, Lola then began to scream so loudly and was shaking so much, George started running as fast as he could to get out of there. 

I guess it was just a bit too much for a two-year-old.  Actually, some of it was pretty intense now that I think of it. 

But the boys loved it.  They had a little picture map to identify all the dinosaurs with their names. 

This was a bush filled with little dinos who were all moving and making baby dino sounds. 

Then came the biggest--the T-Rex. 

The boys were in seventh heaven!

And where were George and Lola?  This is how she looked for at least a half hour afterward.  She kept saying, "Hurt me."  I hope we haven't traumatized her for life!

After the dino trail, they had an area for the kids to dig up dinosaur bones.

And they had an area for the kids to see how they animated the dinosaurs. 

The boys wanted to go through the trail again because they loved it so much.  This time I stayed with Lola. 

After a hot day, we then headed for the Splash Zone to let the boys cool off.  Lola was done for the day and just stayed in her stroller.

The zoo was ready to close and the boys said, "But, we haven't seen everything!"  I told them we had to leave some fun for another day.  "Well, we just have to go by the gators, please."  So, we walked that way on our way out.  There is always so much fascination with these creatures that look like dinosaurs themselves!

On Saturday, I took the kids to the church Easter party.  They had a huge jumping fun place which the kids loved. 

Now, notice Lola's hair.  Everyone knows I don't do the kids' hair as well as their moms can.  But, I did my best.  (At least I just didn't put in a barrette on each side like I used to do for the girls in the 70's.  Hah!)

After the Easter party, we came home and dyed eggs.  We tried to make it simple so that there wouldn't be a lot of spills or stained clothes. 

 Ta-da!  The finished products.  Not too bad, huh?

Jeff and Amy got home late Saturday night after the kids had gone to bed.  They said they had a wonderful weekend.  George and I did, too.  But I'll tell you, I was bushed!  I forgot how much work little kids are!  So here are the kids at church the next morning.  You can tell their Mom did their hair and dressed them. 

Lola truly looked like a little princess in her birthday dress that Grandma Barlow sent her. 

These pictures were all taken after church.  While Amy was putting all the Primary items away, I just started snapping pictures of Lola having fun.  This is my fun--taking pictures of my grandkids. 

George and I had been the speakers in Sacrament Meeting.  Our choir sang, so I played for that, and I, also, taught the Relief Society lesson for the women.  So, it had been a very busy, but beautiful Easter day.

George then wanted to drive to the cemetery to visit the graves of his parents and other loved ones who are there. 

George's father died in 1992 and his mother in 1998.  My mother died in 2002.  Of course, we both miss our parents very much, but that is the beauty of what we are reminded about on this Easter day--that death isn't the end.  That through Christ's resurrection and Atonement we can be together again.  That is such a comforting thought.  So, truly as the Apostle Paul said, we can also say, "O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory? . . .But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."