Hunter is 4

Poppa Joe arrived on Tuesday. We are all having a great time together. The farm is busy as the hay is all being cut right now so there is much to do with driving around on the 4wheelers and checking things out, such as the ponds, the cut fields and all the fencing. And, of course the kittens! The kids are just loving it!
This morning, I took the kids up Log Canyon road-this road goes up behind the cabin and is part of Uinta National Forest. All four of us on one four wheeler! But we All fit. Ben sat in the very front, then me, then Hunter and Katie all the way in the back on the attached seat.
When we first started out, the kids were just chatting away. But as we got higher up into the canyon, things quieted down. Hunter hugged me close whenever he looked over to the left down the steep cliff below. In this silence, it was as though the kids were just drinking in all that nature had to offer them. I would look back and both Katie and Hunter would have their heads tipped back, looking up at the way the canyon breeze would blow through the leaves on the birch trees or looking deep into the forest in hopes to see an elk or just being in the moment and in awe of nature’s beauty. It was a wonderful morning of truly just "being" together.
We went all the way to the top and kids played in the snow for a while. I am sorry we are a bit behind with the pictures, but having to run everything off the generator and being in the middle of the mountains- things just take a loooong time to upload. But Scott is working on it! We even thought we saw mountain lion tracks in the snow. Whatever it was, it was way larger than a dog or a coyote.
Hunter's birthday was yesterday. What a fun day! He LOVES the pool and asks to go every day. So we all went. I had taken the kids once before and both Katie and Hunter had the greatest time doing belly flops. They would stand at the edge of the pool, call out "belly flop" and flop into the water. I was laughing so hard! Even the life guards were smiling. SO, our older two kids have perfected belly flops. Hunter attempted the diving board but just could not bring himself to jump that day. But for his birthday, it was another story. I knew if Scott was with him, he would jump off the diving board and he did! Even I was too chicken. It was probably 5 feet above the water, but once he did it, he went on to do it over and over again.
He is really into the thought of buried treasures out here and making treasure maps so that is what we decided to do for his birthday surprise. Everyone took off on the four wheelers while Ben and I stayed back and made the cake. I did the best frosting art work I could and created a John Deere tractor design on the cake. He loved it and that was all that mattered to me. "Moooom, I wust wuv my cake!" And then I got a big hug!
Ben and I worked on the treasure map and then buried all his presents under a bunch of logs out in the field. We had him going all over and him and Katie just kept referring to the map and following the clues. Then there he stood in front of the log pile and was like, "this is it, where are all da presents?" So we had to remind him what a BURIED treasure really was. He could hardly believe it when he started uncovering them and the excitement on his face was sweet.
Alex took a break from cutting hay and came up which was a high light for Hunter! He, of course, brought a gift for Hunter. A bunch of little mini John Deere tractors and they were a great hit!
Hunter's birthday is on mid-summer's eve. And for those of you who do not know this that is a night of great festivities for all the fairies, elves and gnomes. And if you build a fairy house or place for them to come and play, they will visit that evening and leave little treasures in return for your kindness. So, Poppa Joe and Katie spent a good part of the early evening collecting great treasures and creating a beautiful fairy play place. And they came!!
We set a candle out to guide their way and by morning they had eaten all the little decorative tiny cookies we left out, brought over a bundle of fresh flowers and robin egg shells, sprinkled little gems all around, left several sea shells and even left a small fairy swing all sanded and smooth! The look on Katie's face in the morning was of magic and delight!
The dog is loving it here and seems to be getting back into her primal instinctual kind of dog ways. The other day we were in the midst of building a fort and she comes running out of the woods carrying something that looked like a small rabbit from a distance. I made her drop it and then could see that is was actually the back leg of a fawn!!!! It had the spots on it and everything! I had my working gloves on and picked it up to only immediately drop it because it was so fresh looking I actually thought it was still pulsating. Even now, I still get the eeby-geebys!
I do not know where our kids get this from but after the shock wore off, Katie started to ask if there was anyway we could preserve it and make it in to something, like a hook. No kidding. Then Hunter started and he wanted a deer foot hook too!! So, I looked at the dog and told her we had to go back and was curious if she would lead me back to where she got it in the first place. And she did!! Katie was going to go with but then decided she would stay back. I followed the dog up the mountain and got to a clearing where then all of a sudden she was just standing there with another leg in her mouth!! So, I am not sure what the plan with them is but as of now they are laying on top of the propane tank. Ah, the adventures in Utah continue!
There is such history here and am eager to learn, read and discover more. There is a place we stopped at the other day where there is a monument marking a place where the Ute Indians came and murdered a family. This family had traveled out from the east looking for a new home, a place, land they could claim as their own. They where all killed at this very spot. It was disheartening to think of this family never being able to pursue this land and what they believed would bring them such happiness, prosperity and move them closer to their destiny and life they believed they were meant to live. To have put such effort into taking all your belongings across the country and then to have your life cut short struck me as such a tragedy.
We talked about that no matter how long ago it may have been ,that everyone in this world seeks a place to call their own, a place to belong and feel "at home". I do believe we are truly experiencing that that place, our own place - our "home" - is far from our house or anything of material that we own but rather we are blessed with this opportunity and these daily experiences for our family to really know and feel that "our place" can be anywhere as long as we are together. There is just a lot of love there!
It has been such a blessing to slow down and surround ourselves with each other. For it seems as though within that newness and freshness of each day, we are able to get a better glimpse into the very soul and spirit of one other and appreciate the beauty that resides there.