Birthday boy

Luke is four! He asked for a froggy theme and we had a very fun day. Grammy and Grandpa decorated a room at the youth and family center to look like a froggy jungle. There was a lily pad musical pad game and frog toss and fun swimming. Luke and everyone else had such a great time! I did not get very many pictures because I was enjoying all the festivities...but here are a few.

Pancakes for breakfast



and the frog toss



Some things I don't want to forget about my Lukey at this age:

-he likes to make little animal noises (sometimes loudly) all the time

-he snores loudly and I know because he loves to sleep with us, cuddling right next to me

-he is generous and loving with everyone...he willingly shares things that are special to him

-he enjoys putting his things in containers, any and all containers he can get his hands on are very quickly filled with goodies
-

Canyon de Chelly

We had a great time on a family camping trip to Canyon De Chelly which is a National Park in the heart of the Navajo Nation. The scenery was fantastic and the kiddos had a lot of fun camping with s'mores, dirt, and mud. We also saw the oldest continuously operating trading post on the Dine lands as well a one in Gallup. It was pretty cool to see how old everything was and that they were both operating in essentially the same way as they had been for over a hundred years...

David at the Navajo fortress rock

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Lukey and Leyla



the cliffs made me nervous



another shot of fortress rock...they actually climbed it and shot intruders



ruins



"the place where two fell off" the story is that the women, children, and old men were hiding on this ledge when Spanish troops were invading and a woman called out and gave the position away. The soldiers massacred the people up there and in the fight a woman fought with a soldier and both fell from the cliff (hence the name)



Logan and plug



Camping time (thanks to my friend Angie for the great coat right in time for camping)



Mud anyone



This is at Spider Rock, which was probably my favorite spot in the canyon -- people actually hid up at the top of these spires during the Kit Carson campaign that resulted in the "long walk" these people were the only that survived to live on in their lands -- amazing!



better shot



You were there too Mom!

Fun shots

Luke at work



and at play

Horsey

First post of September woohoo!

Driving lessons

at the local car show...

New Moon

Other news

Firstly our baby is now 2! We had a nice little family get together and Logan revelled in all the goodies. We had a safari theme with animal shirts, cakes, and lunch boxes.

(Not from his birthday but cute and messy enough to be)





The summer is winding to a close with our friends kids going to school and fall right around the corner. In NM, fall is also marked by green chiles. The grocery stores sell the delectable chiles in 30 lb bags and offer roasting services as do various stands on the side of the road. This year, Fred decided he wanted to can these green chiles himself so we bought a pressure cooker and cans and 30 lbs of chiles. Fred spent the better part of two days roasting, smoking, and then peeling and canning jars and jars of goodness.



We also have wonderfully generous neighbors who let us raid their fruit trees. We have been able to do peach pies and apricot jam as well as apple butter and soon other apple goodies. The spaghetti squash is also ready and yummy.



The tomatoes are right on the edge of being ripe and we hope to do salsa. YUM!

And finally the gratuitous shots because I can

Beautiful flowers from the farmers market



and "singing" Lukey's been working on the railroad all the livelong day (his current favorite song)...