Welcome home Duke

So here's a picture of our new pooch Duke. He has been really cute to watch. He likes to climb in the back of Cody's dog house and sleep with her. He is really good with the kids and the other animals. I think he will be a great dog, hopefully Natalie will warm up to him soon enough. I feel a lot safer letting the kids play outside in the backyard alone with two dogs out there instead of just the one. He is an Australian Shepherd / Golden Lab mix aka mutt. I don't think that he will get too big. The kids were way cute when we went to get him. This is actually the one that Corbin picked out.

Warm weather & family picture time.

So the weather in Idaho has finally warmed enough that we spend a considerable amount of time outside. W decided that we needed to have a new picture taken since the kids keep growing like weeks. This picture will have to do for a while. We keep talking about have one professionally taken, but we haven't got around to that yet. Life is good though and we are well.

Man's best friend.

This past weekend I went back packing with the varsity scouts. We had a great trip. When I got home Cody, our australian shepherd/border collie dog sat by my truck door wimpering while I climbed out. She seemed sad and afraid, but I thought that it might have something to do with her possibly being pregnant, but we never know. I didn't think too much of it and went inside to see how the family was doing. Later on we cleared the garden spot and a couple other spots around the yard. Cody stayed close by and moped the whole time.

After lunch Natalie and I decided to go out to the forest and clear some of the trees that had blown down with the heavy winds we had this spring. There are probably a hundred dead pines that have tipped over and need sawed up. While we were figuring out where to get started noticed something on the ground. To save the gruesome details, Nat's Shitzu was eaten.

He had been a part of our family since the start. A great deal of the time he caused trouble, like marking all the carpets in the house & jumping out of the jeep while driving down trails hanging from his leash. He ate pine cones, liked to paw on the window in the middle of the night, and licked himself while you were sleeping till it almost drove you nuts. He was Natalie's friend and protector. He would always sit in the same places and she could count on him to protect her while I was away. He liked to tricks and loved banana's. We miss him cleaning up food under the table and tearing around the yard, just because he was excited to be outside. We will miss our little friend Edes.

Life in the big city.

I finally got all of the cool things that Mom and Dad Jackson gave me for my birthday mounted on my 4-wheeler. They all fit perfectly and I am way excited to go out and give them a whirl. I also had a tray built on the back so that I could carry a small gas can with me when the family decides to go for an endurance ride. An oversized tank would have cost a fortune.

As you can see the grass is finally starting to turn green and we were able to spend a little bit of time outside for Easter. We set the trampoline up while my family was here, minus four springs that wandered off over the past winter, and the kids have been jumping on it daily.

That was until the freak snow storm that has kept the kids indoors once again. We enjoyed having Ashby's come up and visit. It was just a quick trip, but we really enjoyed the visit.

My wife was really into drooling over my four wheeler as you can see. This is the way that we see her most of her waking hours. We might have to have the violin surgically removed once she gets done with school. She loves what she is doing and is excited for the upcoming break. I doubt she will be excited about it for long and she will be ready to go back to school after a week or two. I am just ready for it to warm up enough for us to do some camping and wheelin'.

Birthday for a Princess

Our princess has grown a year older and wanted a pink castle cake. Even though mom didn't think it resembled a castle I thought it looked pretty darn good. It passes Sara's approval and that's all that matters.

Due to the business of the day she opened presents in the morning before school, played out in the yard while we made dinner, and then had cake and colored easter eggs for family home evening. Her dinner of choice was macaroni and cheese. Yum Yum. It was fun. We still need to find the present from grandma Ashby. She sent it up about a month ago and we hid it good. Natalie and I had even forgot that we had it. That will be a project for tonight. We love our Sara and enjoy her being a part of our family.

Sunday Afternoon Drive

Sunday Morning we decide that a captive audience is better than a disruptive one. We take to the streets for a Sunday afternoon drive through Northern Idaho, a region we haven't spent any time in up till now. It was amazingly beautiful. The kids listened to the conference speakers and we were surrounded by some of the most beautiful country we have traveled through. The Salmon River was gorgeous. There were many people fishing along the edge of the highway. The temperatures were pleasant, but there is still quite a bit of snow in the mountains. The kids had a great time getting out and playing in the snow. I am always amazed as we travel through the craters of the moon area. It is some of the most amazing lava formations that we have ever seen. It is a bit scary to think that lave once covered this whole area. We enjoyed conference, a great drive, and some family time.