The Beehive - Day 293

On our hike, we notice quite a few bees.  Upon closer inspection, we found a hive in one of the most unlikely places.  I somehow, never imagined that bees could make a hive in the cavity of a rock.  I wish that you could see the hundreds of bees that were flying in and out.  It was pretty impressive!!

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."  Ashley Smith 

"Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway."  Mary Kay Ash 

Another Fire - Day 292

The Wash Fire, six miles from my house.  It is still burning, but expected to be out before the weekend.  It has burned nearly 2500 acres.  Please, please be careful out there.  You never know when a moment of carelessness can cause a significant amount of damage.

The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than them.  ~Chinese Proverb

A spark neglected makes a mighty fire.  ~Robert Herrick

Sacred Ground - Day 291

The family went for a hike in the forest and came across some indian ruins.  I loved finding such a treasure, not very far from home. 

Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.

Joseph Campbell

Standing Alone - Day 290

Every man who is truly a man must learn to be alone in the midst of all the others, and if need be against all the others.  ~Romain Rolland

Wild Grapes - Day 289

Walking in the late afternoon, yielded a wonderful surprise.  We found these wild grapes not too far into the forest.  With all the dryness here, it was wonderful to see that some things are managing to live and thrive.  

"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. 

A good deed is never lost; 

he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, 

and he who plants kindness gathers love."   Saint Basil 

"Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life. 

It starts with recognizing your talents 

and finding ways to serve others by using them."   

Thomas Kinkade   

Dry Forest - Day 289

This is why the fires are raging across my beloved State.  The green is on the trees and the brown is all around them.  

"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools."   John Muir

"I think we are bound to, and by, nature. We may want to deny this connection and try to believe we control the external world, but every time there's a snowstorm or drought, we know our fate is tied to the world around us."  Alice Hoffman

The Bottom of a Creek?? - Day 288

The grass looks beautiful and green.  It is only an illusion as this is normally the bottom of a creek.  It is usually underwater and not normally this vibrant color.  The water is all dried up in our forest.  We need rain!

"Things are not always what they seem;  the first appearance deceives many;

the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden...."

Sweet Moments - Day 287

By three methods we may learn wisdom: 

First, by reflection, which is noblest; 

Second, by imitation, which is easiest; 

and third by experience, which is the bitterest. 

Confucious

Love my Mommy! - Day 286

My mom is a never-ending song in my heart
Of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words
But I always remember the tune.

Les Miserables - Day 285

We took the older girls to Les Miserables in Phoenix.  We loved it (of course).  Here are a few of my favorite quotes as well as some pictures.  There is nothing quite like an amazing evening at the theater.   

Be it true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.

The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.

It is a mistake to imagine that man can exhaust his destiny, or can reach the bottom of anything whatever. Alas! what are all these destinies thus driven pell-mell? whither go they? why are they so? He who knows that, sees all the shadow. He is alone. His name is God.

To love another person is to see the face of God!

Hmmmm - Day 284

Every child comes with the message that God
is not yet discouraged of man.
 ~Rabindranath Tagore

Cooking For Daddy - Day 283

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.  ~Author Unknown

Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!  ~Lydia M. Child

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.  ~Clarence Budington Kelland

Birdhouse - Day 282

A perfect home is just a matter of perspective

A bird does not sing because it has the answer.

It sings because it has a song.

Almost a Greenhouse - Day 281

Spectacular achievement
is always preceded by
unspectacular preparation.
Robert H. Schuller

The best preparation for tomorrow
is doing your best today.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Through the Leaves - Day 280

The leaves on this tree outside my window are still green.  I love the way they look and the quiet beauty that they remind me of.  Today, I am tired, but I found some peace beneath the branches.  

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.  Mother Teresa

Napping - Day 279

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."  Robert Fulghum

Yard Art - Day 278

My yard is decorated with useful things to eat!

The only problem is getting the berries before the kids and the birds beat me to them!  

".....He spoke to his wife in the door, 'Let me see,
Mame, we don't know any good berrying place?'
It was all he could do to keep a straight face."  

Robert Frost

Littlest Petshop Graveyard - Day 277

The girls buried all their littlest petshop animals today.  Then it took forever to find them again.  Kept them busy for hours!  (That is a good thing!)

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet 

and the winds long to play with your hair."  Khalil Gibran

Bike Riding - Day 276

There is nothing quite like being on a bike, with the wind in your hair, strenth in your legs, and good tires!

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles.  A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom.  The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.  ~Sloan Wilson

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.  ~Albert Einstein

I'm So Pretty - Day 275

Anya, with her new hair cut!  She looks like such a girl!

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.  ~Phyllis Diller

Home from the Trek - Day 274

When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body.  I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

She's home at last!  Slightly rugged for wear and extremely dirty, but her spirit is sparkling!

Little Weeds - day 273

I always think of my sins when I weed.  They grow apace in the same way and are harder still to get rid of.  ~Helena Rutherfurd Ely, A Woman's Hardy Garden, 1903

I See You! - Day 272

Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear.
-- Dave Barry

Summer waits - Day 271

This shot is straight out of the camera with no adjustments.  As you can see, the mountains that I love are very dry.  The grasses are brown and ready to burn.  There is currently a very big fire a little over an hour away from us.  I don't see it coming this far, but with the dry conditions and the wind, who knows.  My prayers today are with all those who have lost or are in danger of losing their homes.  

It is with our passions as it is with fire and water; they are good servants, but bad masters.  ~Roger L'Estrange, Aesop's Fables, 1692

Pioneer Girl - Day 270

I have the Trek on my brain this week.  One of the wonderful Sisters in our ward made this outfit for Miracle. The kids were gone for four days, they wore one outfit the entire time and had one extra outfit for "Sunday".  This was her Sabbath outfit.  It all matched and it is her favorite.  The white peaking out the top is a t-shirt. 

A dictionary defines a pioneer as “one who goes before, showing others the way to follow.” 

I believe the world still needs pioneers today!

"True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right." 

 Brigham Young

"Pioneering goes on all around me. It did not begin in the 1800s, and it did not end when all the wagon trains and handcart companies reached their destinations. A pioneer is someone—anyone—who goes first. That happens in the 1990s as well as in the 1770s or the 1880s. It happens in every village and barrio, in every city and suburb where someone has the courage to lead out in righteousness. Blazing trails along the way, they mark the path for others to follow. I have met some of these pioneers, and my life has been enriched because of them."  Mary Ellen Edmunds

“I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it. … I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.

“Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company” (as quoted in David O. McKay, “Pioneer Women,”The Relief Society Magazine, Jan. 1948, 8).

Trekkies - Day 269

Once every four years, our stake (this is a group of churches)  puts on a big event.  It is called a Pioneer Trek.  My daughter was fourteen this year and is old enough to go.  This is an amazing opportunity for the kids.  It is hard!  So hard!  But they learn so many things.  I think one of the most important things is that they can do hard things!  They push these handcarts for three days.  They eat the same foods the pioneers ate, the dress like the pioneers, and they even get to play a little too.  This sweet daughter is my own little trekkie!