our first eggs

We got our first eggs this week...two so far. they are perfect...and I was surprised to see they weren't gross and dirty...that is just how it was found. We haven't opened them up yet...we were kindof waiting for everyone to be here together. Kas was so funny. She said she wanted to make a cake with the first eggs. :)....

I kindof think I want to wait awhile until the chickens get the hang of things. I don't know if the first ones are going to be good right off the bat. silly me. I really don't know if I am ever going to be able to eat their eggs without my stomach churning a bit. But, this really is our goal...We lost two of our chickens to our new dog, Alli...shame on her! So, we have 10 now. The kids are loving having them. We will see how their eggs are....but,

Look at the size difference. They are tiny! I wonder if they are going to stay small.

Isn't it soo cute! Kaleb found the first one, and Elijah found the second one. funfun.

Fresh Peach Pie

Don't you love peaches? well, yesterday I made a few fresh peach pies....and thought I would share the recipe with you. I really can't remember who I got the recipe from...but whoever invented it is a genious! it is easy and so yummy...I do not have photos or anything great like that...just sharing a recipe.

FRESH PEACH PIE

slice 3 large peaches into baked and cooled pie shell (or graham cracker...or shortbread...I usually use a baked shell, but the shortbread ones are just as yummy and easier) after making the following:
Mash 2 large peaches into a saucepan. Add 1 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp cornstarch and 1/2 cup water.
cook until boils. add 1/2 tsp almond flavoring ( I don't use almond, I use about 1/2 tsp vanilla and 2 Tbsp butter. stir until butter melts and pour over sliced peaches. Chill. and enjoy.

night ride

J and I took a night ride last night. It was fun. I haven't been on the bike for a few weeks. I do love it....and loved being back on. I have been very tempted to learn to ride myself. We have the perfect bike for me to learn on...so..we will see. Can't decide if I am going to like it or not. I don't particularly enjoy driving. But, I read ride reports on advrider, and it seems so fun. and if I rode a bike and J rode a bike, in a few years Kaleb will have his license, so we could do family trips. Might be loads of fun. there is nothing like biking it.

KALEB'S HOME!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!!!! I missed that boy!

rain rain go away....

it's raining....it's pouring.....I wish I were snoring! i think we have rain all week. I don't know what's happening with the weather. but...we have not had a great summer! Oh well. it's green...and I LOVE that!

Jeremy and Kas trip

I was getting ready to blog Kas and J's trip and decided maybe Kas would want to do it...since she knows more what's going on...I am just afraid she will hog it from now on out...I imagine she is going to get hooked on it! Let's see how she does:

so this is when we started out!!! we are at our house and my dad is helping me with my helmet!!!

we are driving out!!
isn't my dad crazy???he is driving while taking a picture!!!!!but there is an awsome sunset behind us.
this is at paytons house in kennewick we are getting ready to go! this is at one of the camp sites and when we got there it poured down tablespoons of rain!!! at night there was a thunder and lightning storm!!!!!!(we are like RAIN???!!!)
guess what, we were walking to the lake and then the park and on the way to the park a buck LICKED my finger!!!!!!!!we are at wallowa lake.

GET TO SHELTER ITS RAINING(again!!!!!)we found little shelters!!!
thats herman!!! the chipmunk!!!
this is hell's canyon.....very short bench!!

we ate lunch there. i ate chicken strips. ICE CREAM ALLEY.....YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!this is in mccall. we love going here!!

cookie dough yummmmmmmmm!!!!!!!and HUGE!!!!
me making the fire.
looks like we're indian dancers!!!
on the way to stanley.
an old mine.

this is where my dad stayed when he fought wild fires! this is elk creek.this is our camp site at craters of the moon.
me pumping water!
my dad is touching ice .this is at a cave at craters of the moon.


we have to climb out of this hole to get out of the cave. unless you back track!!

im petting our new maskot:cocoa my bear we bought on the way(it makes a baby bear noise!!)

we didn't tell grandma jello and grandpa pudding we were coming to see them. They weren't home, (actually camping in McCall). my dad broke in and when we were hiding the motorcycle in the back, I accidently left the front door open. So when they drove in the driveway they thought someone broke in and the door had been open for two days while they were gone! Grandpa went inside, and we snuck up on Grandma on the front porch. She freaked out! and Grandpa came running! He thought she'd fallen down the stairs! So we freaked him out too. It was funny! They told us it was Megan's 3rd birthday party that same night. Perfect timing!

We went to the party and then came back and spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma. me and meagan on her new"birthday tricicle"!!
meagan on the motorcycle!

My mom was coming to grandma's house from Utah. And I had the choice to either go with her or stay with dad. and I decided my trip wasn't over yet, so I went with dad. It was very, very hot! It was a long drive, but it was worth it in the end. It was an awesome trip, and everyone asks me this....so I will just tell you the answer.........................I'd do it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Utah Trip photos

the day before we left for Utah, J and Kas left on their daddy/daughter trip. They were meeting up with another friend and his daughter. I will post more on that later. But, they did have a great time! Even though the purpose of the trip was a funeral, we still had some great times. I love my family and appreciate every opportunity to spend time with them.
The boys spent an awful lot of time in Carrie and Glenn's theater. It is cleaverly called the Glenneplex! cute, eh...there are lots of great features of the theater, but I just posted a few. they have a small fridge with an endless supply of soda and water...one kid asked where the pop machine was, so I won't be surprised if they have one next time we go...no, that actually could be a disaster. Carrie found an old fashioned popcorn machine, for behind the bar. Red carpet, curtains, pillows, go with black recliners, and the drk khaki walls.

Carrie and Lori have a vinyl business, and have used it well, to decorate. Their other wall has action heroes, but I mostly posted the Star Wars wall for the Moyer clan!
Carrie (I think) told me that one day a lady turned to her and made this expression..that Kaleb is modeling for us....WOW! it took her by surprise and cracked her up at the same time. Kaleb adopted the expression....love it!
Jyj got a little more time with Glenn and the guitar...in fact Glenn passed down his old guitar to Jyj after restringing it and all..isn't that awesome. I am VERY grateful. I love that Jyj is picking it up. He's already learned a few Green Day songs, and Plain White T's.....love it!
A few months ago, Kristy's tombstone was placed, so we took the opportunity to go see it. It was our girl's day....It was awesome, we met Ann and the boys down there, and just sat around her stone and relaxed. It was so nice. The boys played. It broke my heart that they are going to become very familiar with hanging out at a cemetary. We looked at other gadgets from other gravesites, and then B started climbing on some of the tombstones...I asked him if he would climb on his mom's, and he looked at it, looked at me like I was crazy, and said..."I can't," I thought, good he get's it...and then he said, "there's flowers on it!" oh well. I hoped we wouldn't be haunted for the boys playing! ;).

See Carrie, Olivia, hiding behind the flower, Lori and Amber.

This is a poem Kristy wrote. I wonder if it was a song, but can't remember.
Our trip there and back were long. Both times we drove straight through...which meant about 16-18 hours on the road. On the way home Elijah entertained us with his practice. I read a good book, and crocheted. they had games, and music, etc...so it wasn't too bad.
some parts were a little boring.
One interesting thing, we saw a guy walking with a dog...he came into a reststop the same time we did. He had a backpack, and dreds, and looked pretty dirty and road weary. He had a milk jug, that he filled at the water spout. We still had half frozen water bottles in our cooler, I wanted to give him one, because it was very hot, but you know...I have already admitted my shyness, that gets in the way too much, so...I made my kids do it! HA I love it! They are handy to have around. What amazes me, is my quiet Kaleb had no problem at all approaching a stranger. good for me! ;).

J and Kas arrived home about 1/2 hour before we did. It was great seeing them and that they had a great time. I am so greatful for the opportunities we all had to take these trips. We are blessed.

Jason Callahan

Jason had his funeral saturday. I am glad I was able to attend. It was a beautiful funeral and I walked away wishing I'd worked a little harder at getting to know him. His interests were similar to ours. hiking, camping, climbing, snowboarding, music, humor, etc. He served his mission in Argentina, near where I served, so I imagine we had a lot of similar experiences. He lived a good life, I am honored to be his relative. I feel like he went because he had a greater work on the other side, and that is comforting. He was 23. I guess I had met him...when he was under 6. I really regret I didn't try to keep in better touch. Life is so busy. There are so many choices that bombard us everyday...of ways we can spend our days. I think this year, reunions and spending time with family have taken on a whole new meaning. I want to make the best of it all. I have a tendency to be shy, and even though I resolved to do better, I still was too chicken to approach his brothers and tell them how impressed I was by their contributions in honoring their brother, so I do have work to do! something so simple can feel so overwelming to me! silly.

more later on my trip.

Death

My cousin passed on this morning. His death was expected. He's been fighting cancer. He is young, early 20's. That is the tragedy. But, with the unexpected cancer taking him, it does seem like it is definitely his time to die. We have had so much death in my family, and with people I know the last year or so. It has been amazing to me. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. And that I know we will live on, and continue becoming. Otherwise, I can imagine this last while would have been unbearable. I did not know this cousin at all. I come from a large Mormon family, and even though I am very close to my immediate family, there are many cousins I haven't had the chance to get to know. I was an adult and into my own life when he came along. But, I mourn for his parents. To lose a child in the prime of his life....must be difficult. Even when you know he is in a good place, and the time is short til we meet again.
Life is so unpredictable. I have already faced that fact head on in my life, but it keeps getting thrown at me. We never know what tomorrow brings. We never know how long we will have the association of those we love, or even how long we will dwell on this earth.

While I was sitting here contemplating these thoughts, I looked up and saw my picture of Jesus looking back at me. You know, HE makes it alright. He paid the price, He overcame death. We will live again. What joy!

Crabbing

We decided this morning, since we could squeeze a little free time, we would go crabbing, if the fog would clear. It did, and turned into a beautiful day, so we went for it. We got this little popeye boat a few months ago, and hadn't had a chance to take it into the bay yet, so this was going to be our maiden voyage! We called Travis (a fellow ff and friend) and brought him along. I was glad he came...to help out with getting the boat in and out of the water! Plus he is fun to hang out with...anyways. We had to do some work, but were able to get out to the water about 12:30! We had a great time. Each of the boys had an opportunity to drive for awhile. You can see how calm the water is and how blue the sky is. Wonderful for our neck of the wood.
Grandma Jello...this is your spot, waiting for you to get here! Hopefully when it is still warm enough to enjoy! the breeze was blowing, the surf was splashing my face just a bit. I couldn't sit there and not know that you would find that spot and not budge!...there is even a little pad for the seat! perfect!
We caught about 8-10 crab, but only one was large enough to keep, which was fine for us. That was mostly the excuse for getting out there. We had such a good time. Crabbing season is almost all year long...so if you get a hankerin for crab meat, or want a sweet ride in the Bay, I can hook you up! I know a cute captain! or a few for that matter!
I don't even think that was one we could keep....but it's a cute shot.
Kaleb and Kas were there too...I just didn't get any good shots of them!
Man how I love living on the Ocean! It's a good life. Work hard, play hard!

on another note. J and Kas are leaving on wednesday for a daddy/daughter ride. they will meet up with a friend and his daughter, and ride around for about 5 days. I am excited, a little jealous and a little nervous for them. But, mostly excited. The kids decided they each get a trip with J...since I have had a few. Elijah's planning on next month...for his birthday. maybe heading down towards California. We'll see if that works out. Hopefully they will take good photos for us!

STOKER FAMILY REUNION

We attended the Stoker family reunion in Seaside Oregon last weekend. Jeremy's mom's mom was a stoker....We were excited to go, because we haven't been for quite a few years, and were looking forward to catching up a bit. We were also happy for a quick little trip. Jeremy rode his bike and usually had a kid in tow, and I brought the motorhome down. We were going to trailer the bike down, so we could use it in Seaside, but I accidentally loaned the trailer out...forgetting the plan. I know Jeremy didn't mind at all biking down, though. and cause it was only about 3 hours, I didn't mind driving separate. The kids enjoyed riding with him too. Both Kaleb and Elijah had to swap out though, because they kept falling asleep. I can't imagine falling asleep! I'm too paranoid! This photo is right before we crossed the bridge to Astoria! While we were in Seaside, Jeremy kept seeing helicoptors flying around. He finally asked about helicoptor tours..and found out there was an outfit right out of town...so he ended up taking the kids on a helicoptor ride. There were only 4 seats, so I opted out. The trip was maybe 5 minutes..but they all loved it and thought it was worth the price.
Here is the LaRene family that were able to attend. can you see us? cute bunch, eh?
Katie was wanting a new do so, I told her I would be thrilled to do it for her. this is her before shot. I totally forgot to take the after shot! NOT SMART! she went short and sassy, which is always fun to do. This is a good before picture. she's a cutie no matter what she does! We had a great time. I am so grateful for awesome family. I have been very blessed to be born into a great family and then to marry into one as well. The Stokers are a fun, friendly group!