Have you ever

Have you ever caught a hummingbird and held it in your hand and looked at it closley. I did today. It was quite exciting. I was in my backyard and saw the hummingbird sitting on the ground. I thought it might be dead so i crept up and picked it up. It looked around and started to flap its wings and then it flew away. I think it is incredible that iI was able to hold a hummingbird. Every day holds fun surprises. Have you ever laid awake at night and listened to the crickets. They make amazing sounds. They are loud and noisey. In just a moment they can quit and there is no more sounds. All of a sudden they start again. It is quite interesting to listen to night sounds. I love the sounds of night. Have you ever been in the wilderness and listened to the coyotes howl? I have done this quit a fefw times. It is amazing the feelings that one can have when they start to sing. It can be scarey and meloncoly and it can also bring out the primeval nature that we possess. Run or fight. I like to have different feelings and thoughts. It is fun to evaluate how we feel when things affect us. Have you ever been skinny dipping? When I was young we used to swim in the Carson River. We would go rabbit hunting and take a dip to cool off. I guess in todays world that doesnt happen. It is fun to shoot down the rapids and then swim to the edge of the river in a calm pool; and then get out and run and do it again. Have you ever held a wild chipmonk. I enticed one to take a peanut out of my hand and then it sat and caracked one while I held it. Its funny the things that we remember. I have a picture of me and that chipmonk. Have you ever petted a wild deer? Nicole and I have. We crept up to a deer in Glacier National Park and She rubbed the deer. It didnt quit know what to do. All of a sudden it struck at us with its front foot and then it ran away. I hope she remembers this. I dont think that deer had ever been by a human being. I wish we could have seen nature three hundred years ago. Have you ever caught a lizard and rubbed its belly and put it to sleep? If you hold a lizard in your hand and it is on its back you can gently rub its belly and it goes to sleep. Isnt it interesting all the things that you can expeience in you life. You can also rub an alligators belly and it will go to sleep. The hard paart is to get the alligator on its back.That is kind of the way life is. There are many haard things that we face,but if we can get through the hard part then good things happen.

catch up

Well I guess I need to write something since it has been a while since I blogged. I have been reflecting a lot this past week and I amm ging to try and write about what is fun for me. I watched the movie The bucket list and I liked it very much. I really liked the end where Jack Nicholson kissed the most beautiful girl in the world. I too haave kissed the most beautiful girls in the world. I am in love with them. There are seven girls that truley qualify. Not only beautiful physically,but they are beautiful inside as well. I truley love Kathy. She is very amazing. I dont know how she does all she does. She always has someone else come first. She is fun to kiss. Nicole was so much fun to kiss. I started to kiss her the day she was born. I loved her to hug me and read stories.Jessicawas truley a doll. She looked more like me and I just loved to take her with me and hear the comments that people would make about beautiful she is. Kimberly is so cute. She liked to walk and hold onto my finger. She loved to be tickeled and kissed. Next comes Lexie. Where could we fing a more beautful little girl. She has personality and looks. I am keeping my shotguns to ward of the boys. I love her and love to kiss her. Lucy is a doll. She likes me. She likes to lay her head on my chest and suck her thumb. Hfow much more could a grandpa ask than to kiss and hold such a sweet girl. Whenever she does something she looks to see if you notice and then smiles as if she knows that I approve of what she is doing. Anna is next. She is so cute. She likes grandma and it is so much fun to watch her take off to be picked up by Kathy. She has the biggest eyes. When she looks at you you just want to hold her.She also likes to be tickeled and kissed. These are the most beautiful girls in the world. I couldnt have been more lucky. I am so happy to be in love with them. It makes my day when my girls call and they bring the little girls for a visit. I am glad that it happens as often as it does. When all things are said and done the things that matter the most are not the things of the world but the girls that you can kiss and consider them the most beautiful girl in the world. I love my girls

Fathers Day

I am a little late with this post. I want to tell my girls how much I love them and appreciate all they do for me. I do appreciate your encouragement and the nice things you do and say for and to me. I had a very nice Fathers day. Thanks for the gifts. I have read the book the last lecture. It was good. I think Randy is a good man. I think all of you are doing a good job raising your kids. They are all wonderful and I love them. They each on give in different ways. A smile, or play kaboom read to me. The Little things do mean the most. I love the hugs that you give to me. I love the phone calls most every day. I could use a few foot rubs,but I guess those are a thing of the past. Well anyway thanks for being my girls I am most fortunate for having you in my life. I am proud to be your Dad. I love you. Dad

more memories

Tonight I am continuing my childhood memories. I think I was a happy kid. I was always doing something. Playing some sort of make believe game. I always wanted to help my Dad. When I was 5 years old I would always ask my Dad if I could help him milk the cows. He would let me try but it was hard for small hands. When one finishes milking a cow we do what is called stripping. That is where you use two hand and squeeze the last of the milk from the cow. I started to do that and then low and behold my job was to milk a cow every night. So I milked the cow every night. I did not have to milk her in the morning. I think that is one reason I have had strong hands. I also had to bring in col for the stove each day and also chips of wood to start the fire every morning. When I was six I got a BB gun for Christmas and it was my most treasured possession. I took it wherever I went. I was allowed to shoot sparrows and no other living animals,except bugs , grasshoppers and other vermin. I was so proud the first time I killed a sparrow. I became a very good shot with my Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun. I got into big trouble one day when my brother Louis went to the Out house. There was a knothole in the door and I took aim at the knothole and shot away. There was a loud scream and Louis came running through the door. I had shot him dead center one inch below his belly button. I think he still has a scar. Needless to say I did not get to use my gun for over a month. What are the chances of hitting the knothole from 30 feet. I can remember when I went to Kindergarten. I was five and it lasted six weeks. I rode the school bus to Sutherland grade school which was about ten miles way. I caught the bus about a fourth of a mile away. It seemed kind of crazy to go that far just to take a nap and eat graham crackers. Like Ive mentioned before I liked to play cowboys. I remember when book matches first appeared on the scene. I got a book of matches and decided to build a fort. There was a new straw stack in the field by the house and I dug out a big hole in the middle of the straw for the fort. I then thought a fire wood be good. I burned down the straw stack, the field of wheat stubble and the fence along the road. Things got pretty hot after that escapade. I was only four at that time. Its funny how much a four year old picks up. I decided to be a bull rider when I was five. I climbed up onto the roof of the barn and when the cow walked by I leaped onto he back. What a ride I went up and up and came down very hard. It wasn't nice in what I landed in. My backside hurt for a long time. The ground is very hard. I gave up on bull riding. I like to watch it but it hurts to much for the amount of fun involved.I din not go anywhere when I was small except to Delta. Once every couple of weeks we would go to town. Each one of us would get a nickle to spend at the drug store. That was five suckers or ten strips of licorice or five packages of kits and other penny candy. Life isn't that simple anymore. Well I guess I will close for now I have remembered my first six years.

Things I know for sure

Kimberly asked me to write a blog about the things I know for sure. This hard because these things are close to my heart and are hard to write.
1. I know for sure that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer and that he knows me and
that he loves me.
2. I know that I love my wife Kathryn.
3. I know I love my five children and they are my greatest treasures.
4. My grandchildren are included in my greatest treasures.
5. I know that families can be together forever if we all work to that end.
6. I know that everyone has hard times and life doesn't seem to be fair. Life is not fair.
7. To make marriage work both people have to be totally committed to that end.
8. I know that life is full of hard work,but the rewards are worth the effort.
9. I know that character is important in men, women, dogs , horses we are defined by our
character.
10. The sound of falling rain is beautiful.
11. Smiles are infectious.
12. Hugs and kisses gladden the heart.
13. Foot rubs and back rubs are the best.
14. Hot water is a luxury.
15. I know that fathering a child is easy,but raising him is very hard.
16. I know I love to talk to my kids and am glad they live close by me.
17. Nature is Awesome. Thunder and lighting show how power full God is.
18. I know that sharing makes one feel good.
19. Lying in the sun is a great feeling.
20. These are some of the things I know for sure not all are profound maybe none of the are
are,but they are what I feel are important to me. I know that we have to have balance in our lives and are lives are what we make them. Little things mean a lot and make up most of our happiness. I think that blogging is good. we need to write more of our thoughts and feelings and need to expand our circle of friends.

catch up

I still can't work the computer. I wanted to write a few words about Mothers Day. Sunday was a great day for our family. We saw all he grand kids and their parents and had a nice time together. When the kids are all together it is a zoo. 15 people all doing their own thing. It is great.Wednesday was even a better day. Our girls all wrote a tribute to their mother. They are so kind and show their love for her so much. All I can say is that I too admire her and her great qualities. I am grateful that Kathy is my wife and the mother of our children. We couldn't have been more fortunate with the way our lives have gone. Not that there hasn't been ups and downs,but overall we couldn't have been more blessed. Michael sent his mom a card form Canada and it arrived on Wednesday. He wrote such nice things to her. He is a great boy and I hope he will continue on the path that he is on,not that he could not with all of the watch dogs that he has.Three sisters and his Mom.So anyway the week has been good. Now on to the next topic. King size beds. We went on a road trip last week with our friends Frank and Vikki Larkins to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore and all of the Motels have king sized beds. Why would anyone want to sleep in a bed that large? They have 6 pillows and room for Grandparents and 6 grandchildren. One might as well sleep alone as in a king sized bed. Marriage and sleeping are like building a good camp fire you need to be beside each other with a little space to move. If the logs are to far apart the fire goes out,but if the logs are close the fire feeds of the logs. I know no one will agree with me but, that's the way I see it. We had a great trip. Mount Rushmore is amazing and it is a testament to what hard work can do. Not one person was killed building the monument. That is truly amazing. The Black Hills a gorgeous and they contain a lot of early American History. Wild Bill Hickcock, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and of course the famous dufus General George Armstrong Custer. Calamity Jane was also a big part of Deadwood and that Era. She could out shoot most men. Except Buffalo Bill Cody. Anyway we had a good time with our friends. We will remember how bad the town of Custer is for accommodation. No place to eat,but maybe that is providence stepping in. We don't need to eat. I will close this for now, remember that for a good camp fire there needs to be two logs close together,but with a little space to breath.