Blooming in my garden right now...

The Columbine Fairy Song

Who shall the chosen fairy be
For letter C?
There's Candytuft, and Cornflower blue,
Campanula and Crocus too,
Chrysanthemum so bold and fine,
And pretty dancing Columbine.

Yes, Columbine! The choice is she;
And with her, see,
An elf in piper, piping sweet
A little tune for those light feet
That dance among the leaves and flowers
In someone's garden.
(Is it ours?)

Yes, it is!

Bee pet? Not your best bet!

Over the weekend our ward had a party at a nearby state park. In our ward we have an entomologist, who also happens to enjoy children, and subsequently brings assorted creepy crawlies to ward events to educate and entertain the kids. He brought a beehive this time, housing 6,000 bees, give or take a few. This made several of the mothers nervous, but the fearless kids were delighted. They got to try on bee keeper hats and see how the smoke is used to make the bees docile, and then caught them in nets.

The best part was getting to eat the honey. Some even ate bee larva. Ewww!
Maddy became enamored with a bee she caught and asked if she could keep it. So, both girls came home with pet bees. This isn't as dangerous as it sounds, since they were both males and had no stingers. They lovingly served them drops of honey and made soft beds for them out of lamb's ear. Unfortunately, Maddy's bee, "BB" was lost as he was carried outside, and Emily's bee, "Bumble", passed away yesterday. It was heartbreaking to them both, but not unexpected, as they had been told they would not survive more than a couple days away from the colony.



Sadly, some %70 of the honeybee populations around the world have suffered tragic losses recently. I guess a mite that the bees get carries a virus that is causing the problem. But, a couple weeks ago the military was able to isolate the virus. Hopefully, they will now be able to find a treatment. It's not just honey that we'll miss otherwise. The bees are relied on to pollinate a huge percentage of the fruits and vegetables we eat, as well.

PS. Cyrus had his 2 month check up yesterday. He is now 15 lbs 1 oz, or just half a pound shy of having doubled his birth weight!

It's My Blogiversary!

My first blog post was one year ago today!

My blogging has gone through phases of greater and lesser activity over that time. I didn't blog as much in the last portion of that year as I did the first. I'm not sure if it was due to winter doldrums or the effects of pregnancy. It may even have to do with the fact that I like to post pictures with my posts, and I just don't have as many fun photo opportunities when the weather is poor and we're confined indoors, or aren't taking as many trips. I do love having documentation of the last year of my and my family's life. A lot has happened in this past year: having a new baby, fun family trips, milestones in my children's lives, becoming Primary President, a new motorcycle...

To celebrate, I was going to leave links to some of my favorite posts from the last year. But, instead, I am going to link to this post. It seems that the world of the world wide web is small indeed. The boy I admitted to having a crush on in 6th grade found my blog post about him and left a comment! I suppose including his full name in the post made his finding it very possible, although it certainly did not occur to me at the time. Anyways, Brant, if you happen to come back, thanks for the visit, the comment, and for outgrowing that hairdo! (And I hope you are well, too!)

On a side note, I started my new year's resolution "to get back into shape after the baby comes" today. I took before pictures to help inspire me. For a moment I considered posting them here. You, know, for the accountability thing. Then thought better of it. They are not pleasing to be viewed. But, more importantly, the previously mentioned incident clinched my decision. I'm pretty sure, "Hey, I used to have a crush on you, and check out this pouch I've got now..." is not the message I'm trying to promote here!

He's Here!

Announcing the birth of Cyrus Grant!

Born March 13th at 1:05 am. 7 lbs 12 oz. 19 1/2 inches long. He's home from the hospital, healthy and doing well!

Spring Nesting or Keeping Busy While I Wait

Yesterday was my due date, and still no baby! I've been trying to keep my mind off the fact that I'm still pregnant by keeping busy. I don't know if it is nesting, my desire for spring to finally get here, or just desperate attempts to distract myself. But, here is what we've been up to...

Practicing cake decorating:



More Spring Cleaning, including organizing the kid's arts and crafts cupboard:



Getting the drapes in the dining room hung:



Please ignore all the pictures all over the table, I'm still rearranging them after
painting:





It may be the fact that I miss the spring sunshine, but I decided I wanted my living room, entry hall and laundry room all painted yellow. It makes them seem much more bright and cheerful, especially the laundry room and hall, which have no windows. It is Wal Mart's Chanternelle, which strangely enough is a type of mushroom. It actually is a bit more gold, and less lemony in real life.

And there is an end in sight to this eternally long pregnancy. I am scheduled for induction Monday. But, I hope we go sooner!

The New Nursery Mural

Remember how the nursery used to be covered with the flower fairy mural? (If not, you can see them here and here.) Well, since we are having a boy this time, we really needed to change that! My inspiration was a painting and poem by one of my favorite artists, Greg Olsen, called Airship Adventures:

"All aboard the kitchen table for a journey to the sky!
It's now our magic airship, and it can really fly!
Off on new adventures, above the clouds we go,
Sailing on imagination's breeze, we leave the earth below.
For fun we like to parachute and quietly float down,
And have our vessel pick us up before we hit the ground.
Up here there are no limits to the sights that one can see,
And we think that we could sail forever into eternity.
Then comes the call that sends us home as fast as we are able,
It's dinner time, and Mother says we have to set the table."

So, the new nursery is based on vintage airplanes:







And close ups of the airplanes:




And my favorite:


I was able to keep the clouds from the previous mural, and it didn't take nearly as much time. Which was really good, since painting with a 2 yr old wanting to help presented a challenge!

My mom has finished quilting his baby quilt, done in reproduction vintage fabrics from the 30's. She'll be bringing it out when my parents come see the baby and his blessing. I'm excited to see it!

Elsie Turns Two!