Easter Eggs

We have 6 hens and 6 different colors of eggs. It makes the daily chicken chores a little more interesting :)

Quick Bits

Matthew freaked out when a bug kept trying to climb up his leg. We had a closer look and it was a firefly nymph just figuring out its wings. That turned Matthew's attitude right around. In this picture, Alex is retrieving the bug from his helmet after a long climb up his arm and body. This dude likes babies. 

James and Matthew exploring the edge of Homer Lake. We brought the kayaks, but lake kayaking just isn't as fun as river kayaking.

Matthew wanted a picture of himself tossing a hat into the air. 

James pooled some birthday money and earnings from mowing lawns to purchase a metal detector. It's for kids, but a high end model. He's been trying it out in different places. Unfortunately, this model didn't include the patience and diligence a 10yo needs to successfully find something on his own...sigh. Maybe that will come with experience?

Alex's 3 jobs have kept him very busy. And rich. He's quite happy these days. He's been commuting by bike ~45 miles a week, so I figured it was time to outfit his bike like a real commuter mobile. He picked out a water bottle cage, rear rack, and pannier. We installed them together. He rode the new setup to work today and looooooved it. He can't wait to take it to the grocery store. I have grand, romantic visions of him turning into a lifelong bike commuter when the reality is, I just wish I were a bike commuter. 

Robert went on a camping trip with the YM. The outdoor camping part was pretty much torture. And the menu wasn't flexible enough for him, so he went hungry a lot of the time, too. Getting home was a relief. 

Bobby helped two families move this week. I'm taking dinner to a third. The new families that move in each summer keep our ward dynamic and fresh. Every time, I think, "Well, I don't have much in common with this family so we'll never get to know each other in any meaningful way." And I'm happy to report that I'm pretty much wrong every time. 

We test-drove a new minivan on Monday. It had a skylight and heated/cooled seats. James loudly declared, "Forget a Tesla, I want a Chrysler Pacifica for our next car!"

My personal and community garden projects continue to make me happy. So far, our community garden has donated 225 pounds of produce to neighbors in need. A whopping 40 pounds of spinach alone! At home, I've been able to eat, share, or preserve 90% of the harvest. Some snap peas got away from me :( 

Our new hens are laying beautiful eggs. I'll have to take a picture for you. So many colors!

Camping #6 Sunburned Shins

Our camping adventure this week took us to Kickapoo State Park just inside the Indiana border. We stayed at the campground on site, which gave us potable water and pit toilets, but we also had access to a free shower house. Huzzah!

This was our first time using the tent. Brilliant! We had ample space to spread out and a cool little breeze all night. 

When we arrived at 3pm, we set up camp and hopped back in the car to tour the Park. We found several playgrounds, saw wild deer and turkeys, and walked a trail in the woods along High Lake. We're in a drought, so it was more like "Lower than ever, stinky, and brown" Lake, but the trail was nice. 

Back at camp for dinner, I started a fire. It occurred to me that next time I could make James our "Fire Master." At home, I encourage him to learn these things, but once we're camping, I completely forget all of that. And when we're camping he's usually so engrossed in the audiobook-of-the-day that he forgets to ask me. This trip, we listened to "Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin" by Liesl Shurtliff. Very good! We finished it and started on "Grump: The (Fairly) True Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." Also good, but it took a little longer to get into it.

Well, once the fire was lit and ready for hot dogs, I decided that I didn't care if mine was warmed up, so I started preparing one cold. The boys, upon realizing that they didn't HAVE to roast their hot dogs, eagerly prepared cold ones for themselves, too. Gee. That was easy. We did use the coals for marshmallows, though. Those simply MUST be roasted. And, once the food was done, we lit the dried out "cow chip" I had brought home from South Dakota. 

Why would ANYONE use those for fire?! They must have been desperate. So much smoke! And it was the burning grass kind of smoke...all choking and sharp...it smoldered for an hour before I just had to douse it. I was probably doing something wrong.

The boys had a great time brushing their teeth that night. James' water bottle got stuck in my shoe for some reason and he thought that was HILARIOUS. 

Getting water from his shoe water bottle.

If there's a picture with a pose, it was Matthew's idea.

The night went as well as any camping night. The boys couldn't fall asleep until 10. I woke up every couple hours uncomfortable or really uncomfortable. Matthew rolled into me all night, looking for something to snuggle up against. Dawn came far too early.

The next morning, we took our kayaks to Kickapoo Adventures for a ride up the river.

Matthew loved "falling out" of this boat.

Matthew's idea. Again.

Aaaaaaaaand also Matthew's idea. 

The river was pretty low. I believe the official water level was 0.8 feet, and that's pretty much what we saw. The boys' little sit-on-top kayaks glided over most things. My inflatable kayak would only stay half inflated (!!) and I weigh more than the boys, so I did a lot of dragging and walking. Ugh. Most people can kayak that part of the river in 2-3 hours. We took 4.5 hours. It was quite the slog. The boys got on and off their kayaks a lot, though, and they stopped to explore pretty much everything. I was trying really, really hard to enjoy the moment, but I was worried about my half-inflated kayak, the fact that we brought NO FOOD with us, my shins getting roasted by the sun, and the moment the boys would decide this was no longer fun. That moment came. We were all tired and hungry. But there was no early out. We had to finish the 7-mile run. Matthew got wounded, James got peevish, I got snappy. Then we saw the 3rd landmark. We were only 1 mile away from the finish! That last mile was hard, and slow, but we got happier the further we went. And finally, finally, we saw that golden flag. Whew.

There were a couple straight cliffs along the river. The boys got out to explore a little.

Guess whose idea this was...yup.

James discovered heaps of huge freshwater mussels (clams?) all along the river. He mostly found (and collected) empty shells, but this is a live one. And one even squirted him with water. We also saw several bald eagles and blue herons, an enormous carp and catfish, and many little schools of fish fry that would jump out of the water likes pods of dolphins.

The trip was looooong, though. We all got tired.

But we kept going! 

Exhausted by our kayaking adventure, we snarfed down our lunch, broke camp, and headed home. I didn't let James bring home all the shells he found. Just his favorite 5. He spent the next day cleaning them up.

This was a pretty good trip. I keep learning more and more about how we like to camp. Maybe by the end of these 11 camping trips we'll finally have it all figured out!!

Love for Bobby...and biking...and visiting family

I love that Bobby could take my old, painfully slow, and outdated laptop and return it to me with a fresh new operating system and a new lease on life. 

I love that Bobby is a competent, caring, and diligent father who will take his kids swimming and picnicking and hiking through the wilds of eastern Urbana while their mom is halfway across the continent riding her bike 150 miles in 4 days. Not only that, but he babied my baby plants just right, too. I think I squealed with delight when I saw how big everything had grown.

I love that Bobby and I can go for a run together and end up talking about all sorts of things. 

I love that Bobby keeps me on an even keel, even when I drop my cell phone at Grand Tetons National Park, destroying it, and start panicking that I won't be able to get on the plane home the next day or communicate with him or ANYONE ever again. It took a few hours to remember how I navigated the world before getting a cell phone...

I got back Saturday night from a week-long driving and biking adventure with my friend Rachel. We rode 50 miles each in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. That means Rachel's completed rides in 25 states!! I'm still at 17, but that feels pretty significant. I'll catch up sometime.

This was a Benadictine Monastery/Abbey at the end of our 50-mile ride in North Dakota. They have a website and everything. 

Selfie in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

South Dakota again. I love this spangly, geometric stone that made up a lot of the cliff faces. We were in a state park, so I didn't feel good about bringing any of it home for James.

Iridescent close up. I didn't bring home any rock, but I did find an especially large and dry cow patty (from private cattle ranging on state park land) that I brought home. I figured the little boys and I could play pioneers at our next camp out and use this "chip" for wood. 

The last day of my trip, I got to spend time with my sister Heidi and her family in Salt Lake City. Heidi and I visited the downtown Farmer's Market where we ate cherries, fresh peas, and a rockin' tasty strawberry rhubarb mini pie. Next, we visited Best Buy where they set me up with a replacement phone. Then, we brunched at a really, really good fried chicken place. Seriously, the best fried chicken I've ever had. And finally, a tour of Gilgal Gardens. I lived in SLC for 5 years and never took the time to visit this kooky place. The sculptures are interesting (Joseph Smith's face on a sphinx body?!) and the garden itself is lovely. Very well planned and managed. Here I am standing next to my nephew Atticus. He's an old soul, and honest and genuine. A lot like the best parts of both of his parents.

Camping #5 "Camping Platinum"

We found our perfect camping spot. 

It's called "Lochloosa River Retreat" and it's exactly what we want in a camping experience. 

First off, the weather was cool, but not super cool. I know they had no control over that, but it sure helped. I actually wanted a campfire!

Second, they had very clean public restrooms with flushing toilets and hot water showers. Seriously. This was our favorite feature. 

Third, they had a creek with shellfish and snails. 

Fourth, they had a river access on their property, and the Tippecanoe River is clean enough to swim in. If we had brought our kayaks, we could get into and out of the river at our leisure.

Fifth, they had a saltwater pool and hot tub. The pool was heated and had a waterside, diving board, and pool floaties.

"Is this even camping?!" you might ask. Well, we did sleep outside. There was a campfire, aaaaaaand we stayed up way too late.

Oh! And sixth, there were hardly any mosquitos. Bobby suggested they probably spray for those...erk. What they hadn't sprayed for, though, was poison ivy. There was a lot of it, but only when you got off the trails. 

It's well worth the 3-hour drive. 

And there's the Lighthouse Cafe just a few minutes from camp where Matthew tasted his first BLT (L and T on the side, no mayo). It was pretty much 4 slices of bacon between two slices of super buttery sourdough toast. And for a kid who adores toast and bacon, it was sheer bliss. Matthew kept saying, "This is so good. This is SO good!" 

Pictures:

Neat little stream. At first, the boys tried to stay on the rocks. 

The rocks ran out and they had to get IN the water if they wanted to explore any more. The water was cold. The boys' excited chatter echoed through the forest. I worried a little if the neighbors would mind. 

A little walking trail on the property where we met a goat that James aptly called "Nutsy."

Poison Ivy. We managed to avoid it just fine.

Hot tub. Hot tub!

Matthew got his brave and adventurous face on to go down the waterslide. Loved it!

Lighthouse Cafe. Yum!

Pictures

Some recent goings on at the Evans residence. It's only the first week of summer and yet...

Fast Sunday Pão de Quiejo. Mmmmm. There are only a few things in this world that make Robert so happy that he says out loud, "They're still warm?!  I love you, Mom!"

Robert's current Sunday School class. The teacher took this photo because one of these boys would be moving with his family to New Orleans after church. So many boys. I count ourselves super, super lucky to have this group at this time. Robert has good friends at church. That means a lot to me. They challenge him to live the gospel more fully. 

Alex's new hairdo. He bleached his hair a couple weeks ago and recently got it cut by his favorite stylist ever (also pictured).

Matthew discovered he had nose hairs while we were waiting for James' haircut to be finished. We started coming to this stylist because she's a newer member of our ward and really friendly with the boys. The haircuts are very reasonably priced and they include a wash, which the boys find novel and luxurious all at once. Those salon shampoos leave their hair soooo silky and soft. They love it!

This is a house finch nest on the light near our garage. The finch eggs are blue and about the size of jellybeans. The brown speckled egg and hatchling are of a different species called a cow bird. They lay their eggs in other nests and let other birds raise their young for them. It's a fascinating and curious evolution. It made Matthew cry when he first learned about cow bird moms swapping out host eggs for their own. He couldn't tolerate the thought of an adult killing one baby to give her own baby a home. A lot of things make Matthew cry. He's doing better today, though. He just needs a little more time than the rest of us to recover. His heart isn't quite as calloused as the rest of us. It's hard. I appreciate the reminders, though, that compassion is a gift and Matthew has been blessed with an abundance of it. 

James was playing around with some filters on my phone's camera. 

This one blows my mind. I think I knew a kid who pretty much looked like this in elementary school. 

Matthew trying on a goatee and sunglasses. 

James again, I believe. 

Here is Matthew practicing the piano this week. 

The boys and I attempted to make Sister McNabb's unbelievably delicious caramel popcorn Chex mix. Success!!

Matthew couldn't find his church vest, so Bobby helped him with a tie. It's a man-sized tie on a little boy's chest. The knot was HUGE! Matthew loved it. I thought he was so darn cute. Had to take a picture. 

Our ward had a service project last week at Sola Gratia Farm. James, Matthew, and I dug in the rock hard soil to fill in some gaps in the plastic row cover. Bobby and Robert plucked very dry weeds from other rock hard soil. Man, we could use some rain out here! Alex was in heaven entertaining some of the youngest ward members and keeping them away from the perfectly ripe strawberry patch nearby. He found some leaky irrigation hose and recruited them to help him build a little city out of mud.

Robert doesn't like anyone to take pictures of him. That said, he allowed me to take this one picture to show my friend that Robert is almost taller than Bobby. Robert is proud of his height and strength. He's proud of his mind, too, and loves to be perceived as smart.

Camping #4 Not Fun

This week, James, Matthew, and I embarked on the 4th of our 11 campouts together. This time we traveled to Starved Rock State Park for some kayaking fun. It was the first time we had planned to camp for 2 nights instead of 1 and we learned a lot. A lot. We decided it would be our last 2-night campout.

It was hot. Tons of mosquitoes and flies. So hot. No shade. We were camped along the Illinois River, but in a little lagoon that was shallow, fetid, and stinky. Families of Canadian Geese had cute little goslings, but they hissed and honked a lot. Even at night. Raccoons ate all of our food the first night. I didn't have the right air pump to inflate my kayak so I had to rent a kayak. And the one I rented was only available at 11am, so we were kayaking in the heat of the day all grouchy and "hangry". The heat made us all irritable. James kept picking on Matthew over and over again. 

The first night, the boys wouldn't come out of the car except to use the bathroom.  Too many mosquitos. We were completely swamped. The second night, Matthew begged for the A/C at bedtime. I agreed to 10 minutes of it, thinking it wouldn't make any difference. But, oh, what a joyous difference it made!! Moods instantly brightened, kids snuggled down into their beds and instantly fell asleep. 

A couple cool things happened on this trip, though. We got to see several water snakes. Matthew initially FREAKED out at the prospect of sharing the water with snakes, but once he saw a couple baby ones, he was alright. The other cool thing was finding our 20th geocache. That means we can now create our own cache for others to find... that's one of Matthew's goals for this year. 

James got to burn several workbooks leftover from his school year. 

We listened to audiobooks on this trip and finished "The BFG" and "My Side of the Mountain." 

There was no wading/swimming allowed in the part of the river that we were staying at (terrible planning on my part). The boys were too hot and grouchy to want to do much of anything else. We toured the Starved Rock Visitor's Center and took the little hike up to Starved Rock itself, but mostly lounged around listening to audiobooks and wishing it were cooler. 

I'm actually relieved that we're sticking to 1-night campouts for now. If we ever return to Starved Rock, we won't be staying at this campground.

Checking out the full moon. 

James was delighted to burn some math and reading workbooks on this trip. 

Goofing off in our "car tent".

James is trying to play it cool.

I finally got him to crack a smile. 

Kayaking on the Illinois River. Those guys are really good on their kid-size kayaks!

"Hiking" to Starved Rock itself. Pretty neat view. Sandstone bluffs are cool.

The boardwalk over the sandstone all around Starved Rock's perimeter.

Matthew's 20th geocache find! This was a cute one hidden in a birdhouse (see it behind him?) We might use a birdhouse to hide ours. Or an old tree stump. Or the cavity of a rock. Or a lamp post. Or a cluster of trees. So many options!