Hand fish catcher with a pole

We saw this moth this morning. It's about the prettiest one I have ever seen. It's wing had been damaged so it couldn't really fly--so we thought. We left to go fishing at Murphy's lake and when we got home it was gone. Maybe a kitty got it or maybe it miraculously healed and was able to fly away. I hope the latter is true but I fear not.

We had a wonderful day. I love going to Murphy's lake and I couldn't believe it but Dave has never been. We took our raft to get to the middle but didn't really need it as we caught 7 (actually more but let some go as they were small) fish. Just enough for all of us to have about 2 for dinner. Delish! FYI Sam used a pole not his hand.
Dave and Sam trying out the casting for a bit. We actually go to the far side of the lake. You can't see it but on the right by Dave's head (on the far side of the lake) is a fantastic rope swing. Dave did it. Sam just would swing on it without dropping in to the rather chilly glacier lake. However, he did swim later. So go figure.
Look at this fish..it had this clear "tubing" come out of it's bum hole. Weird. I have never seen anything like it. What is it?
Just a pretty pic of Sofie Sue--at dinner actually. But I'm getting ahead of myself. She was a great sport today. She fished, didn't actually catch anything but got a lot of nibbles. She did a lot of errands and would help at a moments notice. We let her graze today and she got a nap yesterday. It's amazing what a little grazing and sleep will do for this peanut.
Here's our catches. I believe Sam (pole fish catcher) actually caught the most. He found the jackpot place where all the fish hide.
Preparing our fish to steam in aluminum foil on the fire. We were simple. Lemon, parsley and salt and pepper. Sooooo gooood.
Can't have a fresh trout without sheep herder potatoes. Oh my gosh even Sam liked them and he doesn't eat any white potato. He asked why we didn't make them with sweet potato. Hmmm

Finished product. Heavenly. It really was.

And of course, you can't start a fire without roasting a few marshmallows. Not with Pyro boy and his sister around anyways.
Good night sweet Valley. This was our evening sky. Red sky at night (Sharps) delight.

Banner Day(s)

Well we had some great past days. The most of the "bannernis" comes from Sofie and Sam. They both crossed some milestones yesterday. Sofie rode Sam's old green bike--YEA!!!! And Sam learned to tie his shoes--YEA!!! I mean he's only 7 :-) But it's great we're so happy for both accomplishments yesterday. Below are some videos of both. Please don't look at that ever expanding behind of mine :(.

Above is Dave and the kids at the Lincoln County fair. Yes, we filled ourselves up with ice cream dippin dots, cotton candy and funnel cakes. Nothing like some good ole processed, fried and artificially colored sugar to make the medicine go down. That is the 20 minute ride home from Afton with some very tired kids.

We're almost done with the playhouse. We have some touch up painting to do and Dave needs to put on the roof and the cedar siding. Sofie is sad that all the houses here have to look the same. Brown and green. We told her that's what makes grandpa happy and when grandpa is happy everyone is happy. She still needs more convincing. As far as the painting. I hate it. Especially painting ceilings. What a mess. Sofie, Sam and I still are covered in paint from hair to toe--literally. Sam has ruined two pair of shorts from painting. Why is it that boys think that all clothes are for anything, any activity, no matter how nice they may be?
We had to hold up on the painting a few days because we had some wacky weather. We actually had hail a couple days.
The wacky weather has really put a wrench in our running up the canyon as well. Two days ago Dave and I were running up the canyon and when we were near the top we saw a storm brewing. We knew we had to make it fast back down because our little playhouse was still outside without the roof yet and would have been ruined if we didn't get back and put it back in the metal building. Well me, being "grace" as I am, stumble on some rocks on the trail and do a mighty fall--ouch! Fortunately the endorphins kicked in and I was able to finish my run. The wound didn't even hurt either until last night--now I'm just a gimp.
Below are some pics of our night at the fair.

Sofie and Sam's bounty- won throwing darts at balloons and other ridiculously priced games they offer at county fairs. Dave and I noticed that the names the kids give their stuffed animals are not as creative as we would hope. Sofie's dog's name--barky. Sam's is blacky--changed to fire--for obvious reasons. No name for the pink monkey as of yet but I think he's been long forgotten. But look Sam won a gun! What a surprise. He did however fit in with every other boy redneck or not here. You should have (not) seen all the blow up camouflaged guns around.
Sam's video of tying a show and Sofie riding the bike!!

Rode aye oh

We had a great day despite the hail storm the previous day. We have the craziest weather here. It really does live by the old saying if you don't like the weather just wait 30 minutes. Yesterday we met with some architects. Yea--finally. We were going to shop around but were so impressed with these guys we decided to go ahead with them. Mitch Blake and Tom Ward. Mitch is Merissa's family friend and we were so happy to hear of her recommendation. They seem great and right now seems like a great time to build so we did it and we called and hired them today. They'll be down Tuesday to look at the landscape and yes folks it looks like we're finally on our way. We are hoping to break ground next summer but really who knows how long it will take. So many factors but weather is certainly one of the top concerns. I'm almost giddy I'm so excited. While Dave and I went on our walk today we got to talking about some of things we would like. His main concern is that we don't divorce over this. Valid--yes, I've heard of many of break up over building a home. I know I can be a pill but when it comes right down to it I'm really only "passionate" about a few things and will probably hold my ground. The other issues I can probably be talked right out of them so with hope we'll have only a few sleepless nights.

After meeting with the architects we went and slid down the Alpine Slide. Something we all love. Too bad it's so expensive, we could stay there all day. Sof and I kicked tail--girls win! I don't think Sam can reach all the way down to clear the brake or else he's a bit a chicken because we cruised, he only slightly cruised and Dave was the camera man so he couldn't cruise.

We then attended the JH Rodeo (held every Wednesday and Saturday nights) We were really thinking twice about going because Sofie had an episode. High fever and incredibly irritable but we decided to chance it and leave early if needed. Well we had a great time. Both Sam and Sofie are into "Herses" as Sofie calls them. It is so cute I can't stand it. I know we should correct her but I just can't yet. She wants to ride a "herse"--yikes! When she grows up she's going to feed "herses." I told her to talk to aunt Micah about that. Sam too thinks a lot about horses. He is really into Rudy right now. I don't know how aunt Micah thinks about that but he goes to the pasture almost daily for a visit. He either loves Rudy or it's yet another opportunity to ride the 4 wheeler.

Last night at the rodeo they have an opportunity for kids 12 and under to go out on the field and try to grab pink ribbons that have been attached to 3 calves. Those who are lucky enough to grab a ribbon win a prize. Well Sam was all over this. Sofie wasn't but that didn't really surprise us. Needless to say Sam didn't get a ribbon but he now wants to attend every rodeo from now until when we need to leave because he really thinks he can get one and he really wants that prize of a steak dinner--yeah right. He also thinks he can ride a bucking horse, no problem. Well, in fact, he reminds us, he did learn to ride at Sotir's last summer. He knows all about horses. It's great he loves the ranch and maybe even the simplicity of life that is here. I am hoping he realizes this is only a holiday lifestyle--please no cowboying all his life. All of the sudden George Strait's and Garth Brooks songs are playing in my head.
Daddy and his girl at the rodeo.
Well here we are with our summer family project. It is really coming along. Sam made the 2 stools for he and Sofie (above) He is very proud of them as are the rest of us. Sofie's is just her size and Sam's is 3 legged so it won't rock too much.
Here's Sofie on the top floor. It's just a loft area so only Lucy and Charlie will be able to stand but I think it will be great fun for the kids to sleep. Dave is really doing a great job. As of today he has the roof and sides fitted with the OSG(?) board. We ordered our store items and they'll be here Monday so we'll be able to open shop pretty soon :-). Sam has made a table and a bench for Dave and I to join them for tea sometime. Painting starts tomorrow. We're just having the kids prime the heck out of it so hopefully it will be somewhat spared from the elements here. After that Dave will put on the cedar siding. It's coming along! Love to be where Ron keeps some great tools! Projects get done.
Sam's making a table. His little ole body pushing down as hard as he can.

Pyro boy with some fireworks. He usually buys just some smoke bombs and such but this last time he went for some heav(ier) duty ones. Ones that would be quite impressive at night in the dark so we let him stay up--and dang that ends up being late. The fireworks show only added to the great love that already existed for sparkle, bang and fire. Thank goodness tomorrow is payday.
Sofie would only wear her hat for about 30 seconds so I "got" to wear it.

Small town Wyoming

Dueling Barbie cakes. I really thought we needed to put these two cakes on the blog. After all if it hadn't been for LuLu's genuine delight at her 2nd birthdays Snow White cake (last year) I wouldn't have attempted the Barbie cake for Sofie's 5th birthday this year. Sofie's was a strawberry cake (duh) and Dave thought it one of the best cakes he'd ever had. I thought it was good but then nothing can beat the red velvet. LuLu's cake? Well let's just say her outer beauty exceeded her inner beauty. I'm still learning.

Today started out OK. Didn't sleep a wink as Sofie is still quite under the weather and I was up

with her sick, sicky, sick. Initially we thought she was dehydrated so we pumped her up with some gatorade. But she still has a very high fever and has thrown up 3 times now. When she peed she said her wanna hurt so I then moved on from dehydration to her having a urinary tract infection. I was thinking maybe we should take her to the emergency room today. We called Ron and he thought no on the UTI from her symptoms she would be peeing a lot and she isn't. Yes, he said your initial diagnosis is probably right and she may just have a touch of the flu along with dehydration . BUMMER. She has been so lethargic today, she has slept a lot and is incredibly fragile--that being a nice word for cranky. It's so sad to see. She doesn't even want to be held, she just wants to sleep on the sofa. Sam is tired of her being sick. He wants to work/play with her. Too much pressure for our little princess. We'll give her tonight then maybe we'll need to head to the emergency room. Yikes--in small town Wyoming.

This was taken during Christmas break at Mom and Dads. This is exactly how she looked today.

No new pics today. Sam did the same thing as he does everyday. Worked a little and rode the 4 wheeler a lot and Sof just alternated between bed and sofa. It was a hot one today too with no afternoon wind relief. We thought of rafting down the Salt River but with Sofie out we couldn't make it work. Tomorrow perhaps. Dave and I went for our daily run up Webers Canyon. Gorgeous. Sam earned a dollar for watching Sofie. She was asleep so that worked out well for all parties.

I did want to tell you about a yummy (summer) dinner we had tonight though--wish I had taken a picture. I bought some couscous with spinach and lemon we then topped it with a roasted dish of tomatoes, olives, feta and dill. I assembled all those together in a baking dish (not the couscous), sprinkled with some olive oil and baked at 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. DELISH! I would have used basil initially but the grocery store didn't have any. We are, after all, in small town Wyoming. It is however, pleasantly surprising what they do carry at the Valley Market. They do have a small, pretty well stocked organic area. Some items they carry are not too surprising at all. Like for instance--pigs feet. I don't get that either but my Uncle Harris loved those things. But then he is from small town Wyoming.

Friday night too I made this new take on a "grilled cheese" sandwich. Dave loved it! Rather than using Cheddar cheese spread bread with your favorite goat cheese then top the goat cheese with an olive tapenade. Butter both sides of bread and grill it. Can't be beat and its pretty to look at as well.

So again no new pics of family or friends but of some past cakes and a delectable flavored popcorn.
I LOVE this citrus flavored popcorn. I make a kettle corn initially

KETTLE CORN:

3 TBS coconut oil

3 TBS sugar

1/2 C popcorn

Salt to taste

I then pour the citrus sauce over it. After pouring the sauce on the popcorn sprinkle with some lemon zest for a bit of an extra umph.

CITRUS SAUCE:

Juice of one Orange

Juice of 1/2 lemon

4 TBS cold butter

--Put all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until butter is melted. Sauce will thicken slightly. Let cool. This sauce is delicious over a roasted halibut or most incredible over a slow roasted salmon.

This is my 45th birthday red velvet cake. I thought it turned out well--because let's face it this cake is a crap shoot. One never knows if it will turn out or not. I gave some to Barbara, our cleaning lady to be nice but also to get rid of it as my will power is zilch when it comes to this cake. She said it was really good for a homemade cake. :-) I know I thought it was supposed to be said the other way too. ("This is pretty good for a box cake") She's a funny one that Barbara. But let's be clear not all red velvet cakes are created equal. I do not like cream cheese frosting on this cake, carrot cake yes, red velvet cake a resounding NO! I will take a light, well made, buttercream but that's about as much bastardization I can handle.

dorkus is a term of endearment

As you know Sofie has been a little under the weather. We have filled and pushed liquids down her in hopes that perhaps she was just slightly dehydrated and not something more serious. As a result Sof has spent a good amount of time on the toilet. Good, I think....After her around 8th time Dave and I were sitting in the kitchen and we hear her say "Mom, come here please." I get that a lot with no real good reason to respond so sometimes I will don my "Sam ears" and pretend I didn't hear anything. Well she persisted and yelled "Mom, quite acting like a dork head!" Dave got a little up in arms and yelled back at her that's not a nice word. She responded.."Well she calls me that all the time." I couldn't deny it and I couldn't stop from laughing. I do call my kids dorkus' or dork heads. But it really is a term of endearment coming from a Davis. When we were growing up we (the sisters) called each other princess. We did for a long time and still do. But things changed now we interchange princess and dorkus. How did we ever get to dorkus--Jason perhaps. And how can I be so cold hearted to think that calling my kids dork heads is OK?? However, as I write this I am still chuckling. Maybe I'm subconsciously hoping this will better prepare them for their days of possibly being bullied. Or not.

Sam wanted to feed the horses some barley today. I wanted to see if he would actually do it. To tell you the truth the horses are not ever ridden so they are not that people friendly. Well I knew he wasn't going to ride one--which we would never do--I'm not even sure if Micah is that brave, but I wasn't sure how aggressive they would be with a 7 year old coming out with their favorite snack. Sweet barley. Below is the short "slide show"
We've ridden the 4 wheeler out to the pasture. Sam has a handful of barley in his hand to draw the horses in a little so he can leave them the barley bucket. He's playing the brave one but he has rehearsed how to start the 4 wheeler 3 times to me so if we need to let the horses dine and we need to dash then we'll be prepared to do so.
Ahh the horses have been tempted and they are on their way in from the outer pasture to see what the 7 year old boy may have to interest them. I wish you could see how fast he is running. I'm certain he has secured himself a world's record and all I can hear him yelling in a panic is "Start the engine Mom! Start the engine!"

By then I knew we were quite safe and told Sam to put out the bucket and the horses wouldn't give us a second look. Well maybe Savannah, but she's a meany. And she is. She is the Alpha horse. I'm not sure why but she is. She decides who can eat the barley and who can't. Molly and I don't know the other horses name and neither did Dave can--sometimes..but Rudy isn't allowed to. It is very sad to watch. We call the other horses the mean girls.
Well Sam is not going to put up with cliques of any sort and is going to put an end of the exclusion of Rudy. At this point some kids living in Wyoming would find a cowboy hat and get to work. Sam decided a safer option would be his bike helmet. I think I lectured him a little too much about horses kicking. But Savannah always does seem to get excited and will buck for very minor reasons so I thought it better to warn him. I had no idea he would think safety first with his helmet. Well bull riders wear them now. So good for him.
He got tired of the helmet--decides to go in full throttle and he takes the bucket away from the mean girls---t--r--i--e--s-- to give it to Rudy but the mean girls will have nothing doing and to be honest they are a bit intimidating and even though he is far braver then he was at the beginning he still has a little sense of fear and I was always told that horses can sense fear.
Well Rudy in the end did get a few good chomps of barley. Sam still feeling overly protective of him goes up and gives him some love. I think Rudy actually appreciated it.

My "13" year old and the infamous barley bucket
Miss Sassafrass
My 3 loves. Isn't that a book?
We had a great Sunday actually. Sam has a friend and enjoys going to Primary and though Sofie got a slow start with, I must admit a rather stoic looking/acting teacher, we picked her up at the end of the day all smiles--yelling "I learned about Jesus today!" Sam knew what he learned but didn't want to tell us. Yeah sure.

We decided to draw up our plans for the playhouse. We all sat around the dining room table and were to draw what we, individually, would want. Sam surprised me. I know he's not that creative, when he draws it's usually a stick family with a sun shining in the background. As endearing as it is I do wish he would branch out. He protested initially and as Dave talked him through it convincing him that it takes practice to get good--sure coming from an artist--but in fact the argument worked and Sam actually drew a great house--it was really well done. It looked much more like a house then my drawing. But that's not really saying anything. Sofie's was great too but I always knew she had an artistic side. I've never seen a 5 year old color so beautifully. After which we headed outside to enjoy the daily wind storm that always seems to hit around 3 p.m. and lasts for about an hour.

Captains Courageous:

On your marks.....
Get set..........
GO!

family "fun"

This is old man's ridge. Dave and I run up Weber's canyon to get here. The run is 6 miles up and back. It's a gorgeous and challenging run but one I love. I'll even take my pelvis hurting a bit just to do it--again, and again and again during my stay here at the ranch. You can see for miles on top with Idaho to the west and Wyoming to the east. This photo was taken about 2 weeks ago when, anyone that knows me knows I love yellow wildflowers, were in full bloom and so of course I had to stop and roll in them--achoo! The flowers are dead now and their leaves are drying to brown making the run have a soundtrack of crushing with each step. It's still beautiful though sans the yellow carpet. Below is a short video of the surrounding area. I'm a bit out of breath due to the altitude :-).

I just had to put this in here after all Grandpa Sharp was the first to own this ranch. He still loves it and when he comes for visit he still tears up. He's such a kind and loving man. I will admit however as much as he tears up for the ranch I believe more tears are shed each time he sees his family together. His heart is big.

Four generations of Sharp men. All love the ranch in their own way I'm certain. Where did Dave get his height???

So the store Land of Nod has all these little "crafty" items. They do run about $29.00 bucks a shot but they are worth it! They had this loom with scads of colors included. I have to say I LOVE these colors Sam chose to put on his first one. We also bought the kids some sewing kits. Sam has made a dog and and pillow. Sofie has made some little stuffed "bears". (shown below) They have been a god-send for our travels. The kids love them. I also got some knitting--but I can't figure it out yet. I'm having to watch some you-tube videos. Tried calling Matt today but family's in town and he's "hosting"

Sofie's "Totorro's" She did these herself! They are gorgeous! Love that Land of Nod!

Coppertone, Calvin Klein--or child abuse? Probably the latter I really do put sun screen on him but this manual labor has him soaking in some rays. I can't get him to wear a shirt--we're quite lucky actually to get him wearing pants. He was reluctant to pose for this, I'm not sure if it took him away from working or he actually does have some modesty issues--not sure where that comes from. Thank goodness we had a few clouds today to give that Nordic skin a break!

It was to be family "fun" riding our bikes, but it was really warm, Sofie was still a little under the weather and so whined a bit. I think she got heat stroke. For having 1/2 El Salvadorian blood in her that child cannot take the heat. It's funny. To give her credit she does ride this bike well however, she has voiced--a lot lately, that she's ready for a bike with pedals. I agree. I would like her to get some speed on the flat lands as I'm almost falling over trying to balance with the slow speed. We'll look into it but Sam just had his stolen at Jason's and I'm afraid he's first on the list as he's riding his old green one that should surely fit Sof.

We are hoping to build a little play house for a family project here so we rode down by the church to a home that has a cute little one. The kids were not impressed. "We want ours bigger. We want 2 stories--top floor living area, bottom floor store--No wait I want the kitchen on the bottom floor--OK....but...." It was a long hot ride.

Money is the root of all evil some say. However, it means the world to Sam. Sofie somewhat but to Sam it's his means to allowing his inner pyromaniac boy to bang--so to speak. He can buy so many fireworks with his income. Sofie can buy tic tacs. Hence she's happy with a 1/2 day's work, after all she can buy 3 tic tacs for $1.00. Sam, on the other hand will work a full day to have 15 minutes of fun lighting fireworks. It may seem to some he's not really getting much bang for his buck--but he'll take it.

Below is Friday tally day--pay day. Since Wednesday, our day of arrival, the kids have been taking the four wheeler out that has a wagon attached. They go pick up as many rocks as they can load, go to the scales, weigh them, write what the weight is and then dump the rocks by the metal building--for who knows what. I am hoping Sam will give us a full commentary on a later date. He takes this job very seriously--and it shows. Sam earned $6.00 and Sofie earned $1.48. Sam spent $12.00 on fireworks--this is not his first paying job thank heavens I would hate to see him in debt already. Actually Dave had to borrow a dollar from Sam yesterday. Sofie got sick in the truck (much to Dave's dismay as he won't even let us eat in it) and threw up all over her money. She says she can't use it because no wants money that has throw up on it. We've tried convincing her otherwise, telling her that money has far worse stuff on it, but we still have that money. She's a hard headed one she is. No matter, the taste of mint will overcome her, she'll cave and it's hello tic tacs--come to momma. Good-bye stinky, gross money.

worlds worst blogger

So Jaclyn called me today and said in her ever sarcastic way that she didn't want to hurt my feelings but...I was quite possibly the worlds worst blogger. I readily agreed, have since repented and have promised to devote more time to writing. It's easier while we're here at the ranch as I tend to take more pictures so it is with hope I will write and maybe with a little luck my entries will be more reliable and time predictable.

We arrived at the ranch on Wednesday after 2 days of a forever drive as we were pulling a POD. We checked our weight on the scales in North Bend and came out at 23,000 pounds--whew! Whew, because if we had been 3,000 more pounds we would have had to stop at all the weigh stations along our way. It took us 18 hours rather than our usual 13 hour travel time because our weight made us go slower and our new gynormous F450 that is not cheap to insure had to be filled up every 300 miles--Yes folks we got a whopping 6 miles per gallon. Ridiculous.

We made it and quite frankly we love it. Sam's zooming on the 4 wheeler wanting to take everyone everywhere. He is only allowed to go as fast as he is old but by my sightings and predictions he may think he's 13 now. Sofie doesn't care. She and I got in a rather heated fight over Sam's speed yesterday. She, arguing that it was OK that Sam went fast--she didn't care. She is much better with words than he chooses to be and I believe I saw a smile as he sat listening to his sister's slightly convincing but still failing argument on his behalf.

It is still wonderful to hear them play (well) with each other. Below is a picture of them as a cowboy and a cowgirl whose names are Harry Potter and Hermione. After they have shot me they are off to magic school. It may be the altitude but I believe imaginations are quite remarkable here.