Happy Pre Fourth Of July!

Stan, Megan, and I spent every extra moment last week slaving away at the duplex. It's hard to believe we can still find things to paint after all this time, but we can!

 You'd think after all this paint experience, Megan would have learned how to not paint herself into a corner. Apparently she needs more practice. That's OK, Megan, I'm guessing Dad will turn up more things to paint.

A quick trip to get away from the duplex and go to Red Lodge on Sunday afternoon with the grandkids would be fun, don't you think, Megan???

You just don't know how long an hour and 15 minutes can be until you get in a car with little people.  Makayla spent the entire time begging for her binky--it has mysteriously disappeared recently. I told her she is too big for a binky and Makayla would reply "No, I'm tiny!" complete with hand gestures. We had that conversations 38 times between Billings and Joliet.

Hailey was equally fun to have along.  She want to know "how many more minutes till we get there?" every 30 seconds. Finally, I manage to distract her with a rousing game of "I Spy With My Little Eye". Hailey: "I spy with my little eye something like hair in Makayla's area."

Me: "Ummm, Makayla's hair?"

Hailey: "Yup!!!"

Yikes, I hope these don't get any harder.

Finally we arrived at the cabin. Everything is extremely green and river levels are very high.

All of Cliff's family and Kent's family were there.  Megan and Hailey checked out Easton. I'm pretty sure he's still bigger than Brinlee.

Makayla and Hailey with their very favorite Aunt Megan.

 Finally it's time to head to the woods for dinner.

Makayla was eager to eat. Makayla is always eager to eat. 

 Makayla ate three hot dogs--she only dropped them a few times. It's astounding how much dirt and ash one little person can consume. Two of her hot dogs were even slightly warm.

She managed to down a few smores, too.

The mosquitoes were out in full force. We used enough repellent to kill a horse. 

 Unfortunately, mosquitoes are not horses. I swear our Deep Woods Off was enticing them, not repelling them.

Grandma and Grandpa enjoying the chaos.

It's fun to see all of the grandkids now having families of their own.

Warning: Hailey is trouble when holding sharp, pointy, hot items.

 We had a good time sitting around the fire, enjoying each other's company and being eaten alive by swarms of mosquitoes. Did I mention there were a lot of mosquitoes?
Finally it was time for the fireworks.

Fireworks are a little louder than some people like.

Hailey didn't appreciate the noise, either.

Cameron put on another amazing show and didn't burn down a single tree.

We headed home late Sunday night. Don't the girls look comfortable?

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

We celebrated Grandma Jones' 85th birthday Saturday evening. 

Grandma's actual birthday is May 5th.

Cliff and Diane are always so nice to host the gathering at their house.

Diane holding Kenzie, Nick and Lisa's baby.

 It's been a busy Jones party day. Crystal, who is due the same day as Ashley, had a baby shower this morning. She's having a boy.

Thank goodness Stan took this cute picture of Crystal so that I didn't have to use

this one

or this one.

My favorite dentist and his wife were there.

Katie and Laighton

Kent bought all the food for hot dogs and hamburgers so all we had to do was show up and eat.

 Lisa and Kent

An early picture of Grandma Jones--isn't she beautiful?

Doris Logan Jones, date unknown

 Here's a Christmas card from 1955 when Stan was a baby. Grandma made the family card each year--without the benefit of computers and photo shop. Grandma and Grandpa took in foster children over the years. Betty Ann, the little girl on the left, and Danny, the little boy second from the right, are siblings who lived with the family for 3 or 4 years. The girl on the far right is also a foster child.

 Christmas, 1955



Here's a baby announcement for Konni. 
Do you suppose Grandma was excited to proclaim the arrival of a girl after all those boys?

 1959

Grandma is 39 in this picture.

 1965

A family portrait from 1972. Kent was 18, Mark 22, Stan 17, Cliff 15, Konni 13

1972

Happy Birthday, Grandma! We love you!

The Blooms of June

 Peonies have always been one of my favorite flowers.  When I was growing up my neighbor, Mrs. Powell, had a huge peony garden.  Her entire back yard was basically peony plants.  She would always give us bouquets of peonies to give to Mom, or to put on our Dad's grave.  This peony from my garden was given to me almost thirty years ago by Stan's Aunt Miriam.  It came from Stan's Grandma Jones's garden.  The original plant it comes from has to be more than 40 years old, probably closer to 60.

When we lived in West Mountain, Mom had a large iris garden on the right side of the front yard. 

 It had dozens and dozens of different colors of iris in it. 

Mom had one iris plant that she said was root beer colored.  I can remember standing in that iris garden as a little child, irises as tall as my shoulders, and looking at the brown iris.  It looked just like root beer.

I've seen a lot of different irises over the years, but I don't think I've ever seen another root beer iris.

I do have some beautiful yellow irises, also from Aunt Miriam, and originally from Stan's Grandma Jones.  She gave them to me when we lived at the duplex.  I moved them with us to our current house.

They are gorgeous when in full bloom,

and they make the perfect cut flower for the vase Lisa D. made.

My columbine is also in full bloom right now.  My Grandma Kenison had a large bed of columbine on the side of her house closest to the road.

My Kenison cousins, Marvin and Gordon, showed me that if you bit the "spurs" off of the back--those long, thin petals-- they contained a sweet nectar.  I helped them suck a lot of  nectar out of Grandma Kenison's columbine. She must have wondered what was happening to all of her flowers.  

 I've never mentioned to my own kids or grandkids that they taste so good. 

Don't you mention it to them either!

My Grandma Kenison had a beautiful hedge of lilac planted in her yard along what I think was an old chicken coop, or maybe an old work shed or animal shelter.  I used to love to walk in the space between the hedge and the coop and just enjoy the smell of lilacs.  I've always associated the scent of lilacs with Grandma Kenison.  My yard isn't big enough for a traditional lilac bush, but I do have this fabulous Korean lilac in my front yard. I planted it shortly after we moved to this house, and over the last 23 or 24 years it has grown to its full size of 4 feet. It doesn't have the same scent as Grandma Kenison's lilacs, but it smells so heavenly that I look forward to the 2 weeks in June it's in bloom.

This bleeding heart that endured so much smooshing and a couple of late snow storms is completely recovered and blooming its little hearts out.  I originally planted it in the front year 20+ years ago next to the faucet, but I couldn't get my kids to stop trampling it when they played in the water, so I moved it.  I was pretty sure it would snap back because it has endured so much abuse in the past and managed to recover.

It's amazing to me how long some perennials live, growing stronger and more beautiful each year.  If you can bottle that, I'll be your first customer!