Sunflower



On the Walls of your Mind

 James Whistler (the artist that painted his mother in profile sitting on a chair.) said:
"Hang on the walls of your mind the memory of your successes. Take counsel of your strength, not your weakness. Think of the good jobs you have done. Think of the times when you rose above your average level of performance and carried out an idea or a dream or a desire for which you had deeply longed. Hang these pictures on the walls of your mind and look at them as you travel the roadway of life."

Mom's Yard

Bottle Rocket

 The top middle one is my favorite!

Pioneer Day!

Salt Lake is the "place" to be on the 24th. The years I haven't been there were just pathetic. One can't help thinking that a whole state is having a good time and I am not.

This year we went to the Day's of '47 Parade and sat by the KSL set up. Seth was on TV and Luke was on the cover of the Deseret News. It was a spectacle to be sure. We came home and had pizza for lunch. Later we shot off bottle rockets, ate a big meal of Manti Turkey, and we topped it off with fire works.

It was fun to see Margaret and Josh interact. They would sneak food from each other!

Not Jack

This is the house that John built.
The shapes that John sorts.
The tessellation that John made.

On Her Cell

 Some conversations with Dad. I bet she is asking what time he will be home. :)

Two Portaits

John at Sunday dinner.
Clara working on her knitting tower.

Garden Stuff

Beans wrapped around a corn
Bowl full of spinach
Male flower of our zucchini

Fish Tail

Clara chose to have her hair in a fish tail for her group lesson today.

Scout Mountain

Found a good place to wade.
Clara and John would whack the sticks in the water and make a big splash. Margaret would laugh and laugh!
On the days we go out it storms a bit.

Lily to Birds to Little House in the Big Woods

Another type of lily and some Bleeding Heart leafs.
When I was taking the photo of the lily I started to hear a whole bunch of chirping. I turned around and saw cat run between our house and our neighbors house. Chasing it away was a bird diving strait at it. After the cat was gone the bird circled around an took two more passes at me. It wasn't hard to get the message that he wanted me far away. But I was curious and stood on my porch for a while just to watch him. He darted all over, and it wasn't long till he made two more pass so close that I felt like I was in the Birds by Alfred Hitchcock. I supposed he was guarding his nest?
Speaking of birds, I just finished a book that my sister recommended by Gary D. Schmidt called Okay For Now. So good! Each chapter has the tone of, and alludes to paintings done by John James Audubon (Lisa, please tell Emilia about it. I think she would like it). At a point in the story, the 8th grade protagonist has to read 5 bedtime stories to each of the 5 children in the family that he babysits.  I quote:
"Polly had this book about a house in a forest where Laura lives with Pa and Ma and her sisters, you'd be surprised how good this was, especially considering that nothing happens."
It quote was fun for me to read because the book it is referencing is Little House in the Big Wood and we are listening to it currently in the car! I love it when life connects like that. What are the odds that the book that I was reading would allude to the book to which we are currently listening?

More Peas Please

Margarets Day

 We played around in her room for a little while this morning. Clara and John bounced on her bed so she copies them. She successfully carried the puzzle from the shelf to the table without dropping any pieces. It was so cute. She makes messes wherever she goes, climbs on the table, and gets in drawers and cupboards.  She says little words here and there but nothing reliable. I always want to photograph her after I put her down but she is such a light sleeper, so this type of photo is rare. Look at those beautiful, shapely lips!

Morning Breakfast

I am not sure if it was Clara or John who concocted this breakfast parfait of Corn Flakes, Cheerios, and Pepperoni.

The Great Big Flower White Family

Naming was done by John and Clara.

Some Flowers and a Poem

The first is some type of bad weed.
Second, I love that it shows the different stages of the flower.
Third, Day Lily that blooms for literally one day. I have to be diligent.
 Here is an unrelated poem that my Dad reminded me about.

Lips and Ears

If you your lips would keep from slips,
    Five things observe with care:
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,
    And how and when and where.

If you your ears would save from jeers,
    These things keep meekly hid:
Myself and I, and mine and my,
    And how I do and did.

 W.E. Norris