It's A Grape-Tastrophy.

We had some enthusiastic pruners from south of the border this year. They took pruning seriously, and as a result, many of my plants will need a few years to recover. I think the language barrier might have set us back a bit.

But, none of that compares to the tragedy of the grape field pruning. Not only did our friends prune last year's dead wood, but they also pruned the new wood that this year's grapes would have grown from. Bruce is watching the vines carefully, but as of yet, there is no sign of buds or budding. We may be taking the year off when it comes to delicious grape juice. But, we are trying to be hopeful- maybe we'll see some signs of life yet. If not, them we'll just wait for next year's bumper crop.

He's Doing His Best With A Silky Tie

As you might remember, my missionary son, Peter, has been transferred to a new area and been made Zone Leader. That makes him basically the man, and he'll be having heaps of fun in his sweet as new calling. There. That covers several of his missionary phrases in one sentence.

In his new area, he'll be able to send more pictures home. Yeay!! :D Here's one taken just last week at his first Zone Leader training.

Nice matching ties! We can tell that he's doing his best to make that silky non-Stratford tie look as fat as possible. I love missionary pictures!!

And They Call The Thing Rodeo

 Our Lindsey comes from a cowboy family which means Saturday night rodeos! Last Saturday, her nephew was competing just up the road in Morgan, so we went to watch. He's already qualified for the high school state finals in bull riding which puts him in my Pretty Darn Gutsy category. This particular Saturday night he was also giving Saddle Bronc Riding a shot, since that's what his dad did in high school.

Here's dad and son, getting the ornery ol' bronc ready to ride:

Then before we knew it, he was out of the chute!

He didn't make 8 seconds, but I was amazed that he stayed on as long as he did! I would have been lying on the ground with at least 5 broken ribs and a collapsed lung if I'd been on that horse.

Then it was Bull Riding time! Watching bull riding gives me stress. I'll show you why.

Here it looks like he's contemplating his bull. Or praying.

Then all heck broke loose:

The rodeo clowns can tell what's going to happen next, so they rush in to help. Look at the faces of the boys who are watching in the background. I would judge my true friends by those looks of concern.

Um, I think his hand is stuck.

Time to run for your life! That one clown looks like he's about to be kicked in the face, but his reflexes are helping him dodge out of the way and he's going to be ok.

Once again, he didn't make the 8 second ride, but he's still qualified for state, so it's ok. Time to retrieve the hat.

It was lots of fun to watch these high school athletes go at it at the rodeo!

He Came, He Stretched, He Left

 Spring is here and that means that Bruce is back on his bike, riding the roads of Weber and Davis County. He stopped by the horse show for a few minutes to visit. Being who he is, the visit didn't last long and soon he was on his way again. Horse shows just move too slowly for Bruce and the waiting drives him crazy. I've had people ask me if I was actually married, since my significant other seems to be non-existent. I usually point at my wedding ring and say, "Uh, yeah!" It's better that he's not at the shows because he would want to do something crazy like rig together a make-shift Roman chariot and reenact the race from Ben Hur. Or he'd want to mess with all of our stuff and we'd never be able to find anything. That's just who he is. So, he came, he stretched, and he left and we appreciate that he stopped by!

As The Horse Show Turns...

 Oh, the Davis County horse show. It seems like we always have the most drama here. Rocko did tell the horse psychic that he didn't like it there, but what can you do? Shannon and Rocko had 2 days of riding. The first day was great and they won a class! The 2nd day was not so great, but Shannon was a tough cookie and they made it through. I got some pretty cute pictures:

 

Here's she's actually shoving foam ear plugs into his ears. They keep him from over-reacting to noises. But kisses help to get them in. :)

Thank goodness we move to some outside venues for the next few horse shows and my pictures can actually have decent backgrounds and lighting. I need a break from all of these terrible indoor conditions. Whining is now over.

A Sporadic Craft

Seems like I can't find a lot of extra time for crafting these days, but I did find something quick and easy to do for Mother's Day. At Thanksgiving Point I found this awesome vinyl lettering and picked one up for myself and for Bruce's mom. Bruce was in charge of cutting wood, and I did the rest. One piece of wood (mine) ended up a bit smaller than the other, but that's ok. Edna's hangs a different way with holes drilled for a ribbon hanger, but I like mine just fine. I've always like this "illuminated" lettering. It filled a crafting itch for me!

A Photo Journey Through Elementary School.

Ok, brace yourselves, because today is the day you catch a first glimpse into the staggeringly appalling transformation into ugly that was my puberty. Lucky me, I have copies of all of my school photos. We will tour elementary school today. Please excuse any photographically technical comments I may make- the school photographer in me just can't help it.

1st Grade: Cutest picture ever! But, Mr. Photographer, I'm slouching. And maybe you could have turned my head so that we aren't looking at the side of my face.

2nd Grade: Long hair is gone, I still remember some boy told me I was cuter with long hair. No big smile? I must be self-conscious about missing teeth.

3rd. Grade: My mom made the perfect clothes choice for me this year!

4th Grade: Uh oh. Here is the first inkling of the horrors to come. 10 years old and starting down the slippery slope. I think it has something to do with the hair plastered down with a brush. Looks like I've decided to become my own stylist. My chin is too low- makes me look a bit like the walking dead.

 

5th Grade: AH!! Goodness. Things are definitely taking a turn for the worse. The Shag hairstyle was probably a poor choice for me. Apparently I was also on floor duty in 5th grade- but notice the shirt I'm wearing!!!

This is very cathartic for me. How 'bout you? :) Next Sunday we'll be going where no one has willingly gone before- my junior high pictures. If we can make it through next Sunday, then I can finally put all of this to rest. Feel free to post your own junior high pictures on the 22nd. I double-dog dare you!