A visitor to the bird bath....

In late June, we noticed the head of a finch lying on the patio in the front yard.....just the HEAD. It looked like it had been surgically removed -- a clean cut -- it certainly didn't look like the work of the neighborhood cat. We pondered and disposed of it. The number of dead birds has steadily increased the over the past few weeks. A neighbor across the street asked us last week if we'd seen the huge bird that's been in our yard, and told us of a his near daily visits to our bird bath. Eric spotted it last week a few times. I've been watching, but never caught a glimpse. Thanks to Steve, who was home when in came yesterday, I now have a picture of what I'm guessing is our finch-killer. Steve said that it played in the bird bath for quite some time. As you can see from the pictures, it was thoroughly soaked by the time it left. I will say this, I would not want to be the finch that fell victim to that beak or those talons. How about you?

Roos-N-More Moapa, Nevada

Shanna found an amazing petting zoo in Moapa, NV. It's called Roos-N-More and it was started by a husband/wife veterinarian team from Las Vegas. Steve and I took Starlee and Brendon to check it out. The Scovill's and the Emerson's went too. Since Jordan and Morgan were out of town and we were tending Drayce, he got to go along as well. It was great to spend the day with the kids and grandkids! It was an AMAZING day and we had lots of fun. However, it was June, in Moapa and it was very, VERY HOT! We're looking forward to going to Roos-N-More again ... in December! Brendon and Starlee check out the lemur. They were able to pet one that was out on a leash.

Eli loved the camels!

Eli, Starlee and Grandpa stand watch as the bearcat checks out Drayce.
He was on top of the stroller looking right at Drayce,
but I wasn't quick enough with the camera.

My favorite part of the trip was holding the baby "Roos". They had four out for the
kids to play with, each in a hand-made fabric pouch. All of the pouches had
shoulder straps so the kids could pack the babies around safely. They were so cute!

Maddie loved the baby zebra...and it looks like
the little guy likes her too!

Brendon holding a baby kangaroo. How many kids
can say they've done that?

Starlee went right to the guy with the reptiles. This one is
native to Australia.

Brendon and Starlee with the corn snake. Maddie loved it!
Eli only liked it :o)

I had to drag Maddie away from the snake. She wanted to take it home!

(You may have noticed that I didn't post a picture of Dash. Yes, he was there! And he had a great time right up until the crazy little parrot thought his finger was edible. I had the camera ready to take a picture of him with the cute little birdie, but when it got his finger his little heart was broken.)

With the exception of being in Moapa in June (and nearly cooking as a result) we had a great time! It was very educational and everyone loved the hands on approach they had there. The kids were able to touch and pet animals that are rarely found at a petting zoo. I'm not really sure if Maddie appreciated it when the monkey jumped on her head and I'm pretty sure Eli wasn't too pleased when the Toucan bit his finger, but we're all ready to go back again, but not until WINTER!

Cathedral Gorge, Nevada

We've always lovingly referred to Starlee as our "Energizer Bunny". She truly just keeps going and going and going. During a recent trip to Cathedral Gorge, I was amazed to look over and see Starlee doing this! She could run across this whole row of posts. The kid is crazy! I loved it when she took the time to show Brendon how to do it.

Blessing Day for Drayce James Woodbury

Jordan, Drayce, & Morgan
It's always a special day when a baby is blessed. Drayce's blessing was no exception. We love this little guy to pieces!

2011 Track Season

Quick Feet Runners

St. George, Utah

First Place Relay Team @ Regionals
Utah State Champions 4 x 100 Relay

Starlee's had another great year on the track! She took 1st place in her school meet in both the 100 meter dash and the standing long jump. This advanced her to the district meet where she again took 1st in the 100 meter and 2nd in the standing long jump. After the district meet, she tried out for a relay team. She made the "A" Team, running the final leg of the race. Her wins at district advanced her to the regional meet which was held in Richfield. UT. We were very proud of her races at the regional meet. She took first in the 100 meter and her relay team also took first. She decided that she did not want to participate in the standing long jump and no amount of "discussion" changed her mind. (Yep, she's an almost-teenager!) The first place finishes took her to the state meet, again in Richfield. We were very proud when she ran her personal best 100 meter in 13.26 seconds! She took 2nd place in this run with the 1st place runner's time of 13.18 seconds.....so close! The relay team smoked all the competition, easily taking 1st place. Their time even handily beat all of the boys' teams. We're waiting to hear if the relay team made it to nationals which are held in Hershey, PA. Our fingers are crossed!!

Rain, rain, and more rain

The churning water of the Santa Clara River
I'm guessing that some of the debris in the river had floated down from Gunlock.

Santa Clara River

Santa Clara River bridge on Dixie Drive (near the golf course)

Santa Clara River

This huge tree floated down the Santa Clara River and was plucked out by a back hoe that was positioned on the bridge. The back hoe prevented debris from being caught under the bridge and kept the water flowing down stream.

Starlee and Brendon on the banks of the Virgin River near the Man-0-War Bridge. There is usually about a 15 ft space between the water and the bridge. Today it was only a few feet.

Brendon in WalMart's parking lot with the Virgin River in the background.

Virgin River near the Man-o-War Bridge.

Another "One Hundred Year" Flood in St. George

December 2010 brought a repeat of the "One Hundred Year Flood" of five years ago to St. George. Weather forcasters put the blame on the Pinapple Express. The sight of the Virgin River and the Santa Clara River (usually more like very small creeks than rivers) in flood stage was amazing! Huge trees were tossed downstream like toothpicks. The churning, muddy water gave a clear picture of how distructive nature can be. Brendon, Starlee, and I spent several hours driving around Washington County to see the flood. I'd like to say the Star and Bren were as interested in it as I was, but to be honest, they were pretty bored until we found the back hoes that were perched on the bridges with their buckets in the river. The skillful operators used the buckets to catch the trees and other large pieces of debris that were in the river! In many cases, things were moving so fast, they simply picked the tree up and lifted it over the bridge and let it continue downstream. We ran into Shanna, John, Eli, and Phil who were in Santa Clara watching the action and enjoyed spending some time with them on a day we'll always remember.

Fort Pierce

One day while exploring Washington County with my two baby buddies in the back seat, I discovered a sign pointing the way to Fort Pierce. I'd never heard of the place, so true to form I decided then and there that it was a place I "needed" to visit. So, I headed out the dirt road into the desert on a "Grand Adventure" of my own, but not before calling Steve to tell him where I was headed. Sadly, it only took about 10 minutes for me to decide I was not on a car-friendly road so I turned around, determined to head out the next day in the van. Eric was nice enough to ride along on the second trip and I was very glad to have him with me when we encounted a sand dune that had to be crossed in order to continue down the road! The sand was about 10" deep and I honestly was not sure the van would make it through! With a nice running start we made it. This is a picture of the pioneer fort that we found out in the middle of nowhere. Awesome, huh? Two weeks later I convinced the Scovill's and the Emerson's that this was a "must-see" place so we trekked out there again. This time the desert was in bloom! It was a perfect day for the hike -- warm with a nice breeze.....here are a few of the pictures from the trip.

Shanna and Eli are on rocks that had obviously had water running over them at some point in time.

Eli and Maddie found some nice sand to play in.

Shanna and John are ready to hike to the fort.

Kami and Matt at Fort Pierce.

Beautiful desert flowers. It never ceases to amaze me that flowers can bloom in this environment!

Colleen, Starlee, and Steve -- the only Woodbury's willing to make the trip!

Petroglyphs near the fort indicate there were people near the water source before the pioneers.

We had a great time exploring this area with the family!