Another week.  We are neck deep in melons.  I never imagined that watermelons would take over my world, but they kind of have.  The melons are ripe, we are still trying to conquer the weed problem in the new section, and most of my time this past week has been spent in the melon field.  The weeds in the new section have gotten so big that anyone from Rooshkie on down, just cannot pull them.  We discovered this, and so for the most part, Ryan, Sags, and I have been weeding most mornings.  Jams has had drill team.  The weeds are the big and thorny tumble weeds.  When they are small, they are still soft, and not too difficult to work with, but these have gotten big, and thorny, and they smell like fish of all things.  Fish are not my favorite, and that is for sure.  If anyone has a market for tumbleweeds that have a fish odor, then we have got your product!
     This week we also moved eleven bins out of the field for sale.  This has got me super excited.  I am so grateful that we ran into Greg Kerr at the Wholefoods market in Vegas last year.  He has gotten those melons in the store for us, and we were just not able to do that last year.  Our melons are delicious as well.  Seriously it must be something in the blood of the Bundy family.  Ryan's ancestors have been growing melons for years and years.  Tomorrow-we are supposed to get 24 bins out of the field to go to various markets in Vegas...it is also Chloee's birthday, and sophomore orientation at the high school.  I am hoping that Chlo won't require a lot of hoopla tomorrow, but I know that Chlo is a big deal, and that her birthday should be a big deal.  Thankfully, I went and got her a few gifts bought, and she will be satisfied riding around in melon bins on Monday.  It is still new to her, and fun.  Ryan and I will probably try to spoil her in the evening too by taking her to a movie of some sort.  Thankfully, Greg's family is always there to help us pick, and things move along quickly.  All of the hard work is now paying off...I just hope the vines keep producing for awhile.
     All of this hard work has got me looking and smelling kinda scruffy.  Mo informed me the other day that I smelled like "amatoes"...  that was my cue to go in and have a long shower.   We actually usually get knee deep in mud picking weeds, and so we then go and jump in the ditch and try to wersh a bulk of it off before even leaving the fields.  It has been so hot, that by the time we reach home, we are pretty much dry.  Ryan pulled the travel trailer into the field so that the babies have a place to play out of the dirt and heat.  I can go take care of Dill whenever she needs me, and usually this gets one of the kids out of work for awhile.  There are usually scuffles over who gets to take care of Dilly.  Wazz usually gets my vote, but then Rooshkie usually has pain or strain going on somewhere within her body which makes her reluctant to get too busy working.  Sags always keeps track of who works the hardest, and who doesn't because she is our record keeper.  Ryan has her set up with a quickbooks program, and if Oak or Rooshkie don't work, she happily reduces their hours.  Sags and Wams are powerhouses in that field.  I am so proud of my kids really, and as much as we all complain about some of the early hours, and heat, it has been great to keep the kids busy and working by our sides most days.
      We have had some drama going on this week because Rooshkie and Wazz have not been getting along too well lately.  This made Jerusha want to trade rooms around.  She wheeled and dealed some ideas to Ryan, and honestly, with all that he has on his mind, I don't think he had the energy or care to protest too much.  She moved all of her stuff out of the room that she was sharing with Wazz, and moved Chloee down into the room with Wazz.  She then took Chlo's room over.  This had all of the girls upset because well, Wams has been begging for her own room for years.  Technically she should get the first choice at that, being that she is the oldest.  However, we have Dilly getting bigger by the day, and so we made it clear to everyone, including Rooshkie that she doesn't get her own room, but she gets to share with the Dill.  Even though Dilly still sleeps in the room with Mom and Dad for awhile longer.  I am actually hoping some good can come of all of this, because Rooshkie and Wazz were fighting quite a bit, and Chlo was too scared to sleep in her own room.  Well, Rooshkie has become extremely territorial over her room and her things...there was a huge scuffle the other night with actual screaming, when she discovered Oak using her toothbrush, and not caring either way about it.  Seriously, I thought someone had died with the amount of noise she made....toothbrushes are like two bucks.  Anyhow, she woke up Dilly that night with her dumb fight, and Ryan threatened to move her back downstairs.
     Some of the real problems have come up because she is so worried about her room, and her stuff.  This has just made the little kids drawn to her room like a magnet.  She has it clean and orderly, she has trinkets, and it is off limits because she wants no one within a two mile radius.  She is constantly screaming and hollering about people being in her room, messing with her stuff, and jumping on her.  To top it off, her room just happens to be the first room that the air conditioning hits first and it is the coolest room in the house.  That is kind of sought after in my book because it has been so horribly hot lately.  It has been 115 all week.  I freaked out to a large degree one day, when I walked in, and she was cold, and had opened her window wide open.  Thanks a heap Rooshkie!  Our power bill has been extremely high due to the air conditioning and high temperatures.  I told her that the next time she got chilled to hike around outside for five minutes.  Anyhow, all of that aside, the kids want to be in there nonstop...she picked up Mo just a few moments ago, and dropped him because he wouldn't leave and wouldn't quit jumping on her.  Jazzerz solution for not being welcome in her room is to take Dilly with her every time.  Technically it is Dilly's room too and so Rooshkie cannot kick them out.  She will go in there and hang out in the closet with Dilly for hours, just to tick off Rooshkie.  It really hasn't been too pretty.  We always have to have drama.
     Moroni is still being lazy as far as the potty training stuff goes too.  He does just fine if he chooses to, but he gets busy playing and has accidents because he doesn't want to stop what he is doing to attend to his bathroom needs.  He doesn't care about smelling bad at all either.  The other day, I got after him again because he wasn't smelling like a summer breeze.  When I asked him if he had gone to the bathroom in his pants he told me that he had not.  Why I even asked is beyond me because I knew that he had, and he smelled accordingly.  I asked him why he smelled bad then.  He informed me that he had been sprayed by a "stunk" and that was why he smelled.  I like the name stunk for skunk....it is quite appropriate.  However, I cannot have him lying to me....man there is constant pressure from this parenting stuff!
     The other evening Jazzerz had been with a secret friend at the shrsh cleaning it.  She has spent a ton of time with this little friend this week, and it has been great for my Wazz.  She has needed some close friends like Rooshkie has found.  Anyhow, in the midst of Jazzerz and her service in cleaning the shrsh, Ryan called me and told me that we needed to come out with a crew, bring some meat???? and pick melons.  He also wanted us out there quickly.  I stopped by the shrsh to grab Wazz and I sent Rooshkie in after her.  Rooshkie came back out a moment later looking a little confused.  She explained that Wazz was not in there, and that there were only people in there that were fixing either a dead guys hair, or a guy that was sleeping???  She told me that a guy was laying on a table, and that there were a bunch of people fixing his hair.  It kind of reminded me of my experiences in Panguitch High School.  Anyhow, we went to Jazzerz friend's house to see if she ended up there.  Her friend's mother apologized and explained that they had to hurry and finish up at the church because they were getting ready for a funeral and a viewing.  So, I guess that Rooshkie walked in on a bunch of people fixing the hair of a dead person.  Not to be disrespectful, but I bet they were not too happy to see Rooshkie at that moment.
     Because of all of the time spent picking weeds and melons, my food preparations have left a little to be desired.  Mo the other day wanted me to make him meat and sugar, and that actually sounded pretty good to me.  I can fry a steak, and just set out a bowl of sugar...easy.  Chlo would be delighted at this dinner.  The other day, she kept hopping in and out of the bath.  I figured out later that she was going in and getting spoonfuls of sugar, and then coming back in the bath where she would eat her sugar and splash about.  Sounds delightful, and I am too tired to care.
     Yesterday, we were able to spend a lot of time getting the house in order.  I was a little ticked off at the kids because they were throwing soggy washrags around the living room.  I didn't see how this helped our cleaning situation.  Oak explained that they were throwing the damp cloths at the ceiling fan and that the damp cloths were dusting it off in the process.  It was actually working like a charm...great idea Oakers!  Oak, Chlo, and Mo had a ball chucking the damp rags around and dust bunnies went flying.  Sometimes I need to realize that the kids are helping in their own odd ways.
     Today was shrsh day, and Mo was up to his usual antics.  He got sent out in the hall with Wazz which just ended up with him shrieking and running to escape her.  I was in taking care of Dill, and so I wasn't in there to see that Sags be the one to take him out....Sags puts up with none of Mo's nonsense.  Here is the kicker...Mo was all appalled at Dilly for making some cute happy noises.  He was actually shushing her....I really couldn't believe it.

the kids cleaning the fan blades with their damp wash rags

Dilly has been walking around with minimal assistance

    

     Just returning after a wonderful vacation!  I want to try to remember all of the details if possible.  Ryan had decided that we needed to hurry and take a family trip because the melons are almost ripe, and we will be crazy busy with harvest.  The kids had been working very hard and deserved a break too.  I must say that I am so very proud of my kids.  They know how to work, and they prove it every day.  What a wonderful opportunity to teach them the value of hard labor.  They can outwork just about anybody, especially my older ones.  We still need to work on some of the younger kids, for sure, but I am so pleased with my older girls.  They are definitely some good people!
     We left Mesquite kind of late in the day last Thursdee.  We had decided to pull the travel trailer because Ryan and I wanted to head for the hills.  Any cool mountain top with refreshing breezes, and a fresh lake.  That is what Ryan and I wanted.  When we asked the kids, we got way too many opinions.  None of them very feasible either.  Chlo wanted to go to Lake Tahoe?  Rooshkie was definitely leaning toward big city adventure.  Wames was against the idea of camping altogether...Sags wanted to do some hiking.  Anyhow, none of them could get on the same page about what they wanted to do.  We finally decided we would just drift around with the travel trailer.  We had a blast too.  I am so glad we went.
     We had a few stops to make.  I needed to stop at Costco, and Ryan needed some stuff at Cal Ranch.  We stopped and split directions...we then headed over the mountain to Hatch.  We arrived pretty late, but my Dad was still up.  The kids of course, began raiding all of the food he offered.  They were eating ham, and chips, and fresh salsa.  Dilly was excited and I had a hard time getting her to settle back down to sleep.  Mo was out when we arrived, and he woke up in the night, and didn't know where he was.  When he woke up, and realized he was at Grandma's he got quite excited.  Needless to say, it was hard to get much sleep.  I also got up and decided to run the 2 and 1/2 K that they have every year in Hatch.  I was late, but it was fun and I got a shirt....I definitely didn't finish first, but I was fifteen minutes late, and I didn't finish last.  All the time, I couldn't get over how cool and fresh everything was.  It was green, and cool, and fresh.  I was loving the change of feeling kinda cold.  Hatch is breathtaking in the summer.  I seriously took Utah and all of it's beauty for granted when I lived there.  After the run, we got ready, and a few of us walked in the parade.  Mo, Sags, Oak, and I walked around the parade picking up forgotten candy.  Saggers looked authentic, but the rest of us...not so much.  The kids then had a ball at the festivities at the park.  Once again, we purchased way too many tickets, and I hollered at the kids to use them up.  I think I told them to fill another jar of colored sand about fifty times.  We still ended up leaving with a handful of tickets.  My brothers and I went to lunch at Homers and then we had a delightful evening watching their wonderful fireworks display, and laughing....seriously the fireworks went on and on.  I think they were eating sandweeches in between launches.  Once again, all of the cows were mooing and scared.  Seriously, one of my favorite things about the Hatch firework show....the cows and their scared little hearts.
     The next day was crazy busy.  We had Oak's baptism, and Jazzerz birthday, and I wanted to make the day memorable for both of my special little people.  We began by getting a bunch of the food lined out for the dinner, and we wrapped little Jazzerz some gifts.  OK....so maybe Jazz is getting bigger.  Anyhow,  we had Gary and his girls there, Barry and all of his family, plus we had some wonderful people from the Bundy side show up. Davey and his family came, and Duke and Shiree brought their kids. Carol and Cliven were only an hour and a half late, because they tried to go through Zion's on a busy weekend.  But hey, Oak wanted his Grandpa to baptize him, and everyone was chill about it.  I love my family, on both sides.  Each cute little member, I love them all!  Anyhow, before the baptism Mo realized finally that the day was not really about him.  This bugged him to no end.  He begged and begged to get baptized too.  I explained to him over and over that he had to wait until he was eight.  He just didn't seem to understand.  He finally bawled trying to get his way.  He then got in the building and threw himself on the floor because his feet were hot.  Yep, hot feet had him all unable to function.  I left him throwing his fit, and went in and enjoyed the family and some singing time.  I did send Sags out to help Mo out with his hot feet after awhile.  I just think he sometimes needs to realize that just because we don't always center all of our attention on him, life is fine, and it goes on.
      There was an awesome spirit at the baptism...Cliven baptized him, after a few minor difficulties.  ( He kept wanting to call him Oak Wiley Cox)  and Ryan gave him a beautiful blessing as he blessed Oak with the Holy Ghost.  It seriously was a nice blessing.  He blessed Oak with courage to stand alone for what is right, which is something the Bundy family did not too long ago.  Luckily, we didn't stand alone for long.  I will forever love all those who stood with us and for us.  It just reminded me that Satan's war for our agency is not over.  We may have stand as a family again.  I only hope that this time, I will not be scared, I hope and pray for more faith.  I was so afraid when they arrested Dave.  I really thought that they were going to shoot the rest of us too.  I hope to be like Aaron with Moses...in the Prince of Egypt movie.  I never want to doubt my Heavenly Father again. Anyhow, he gave Oak a lovely blessing filled with the spirit, and courage to stand alone.  He also talked about his name and why we chose it.  Oak's do not waver...they are strong and immovable, and beautiful.  And that is my boy.  After he was baptized, the first thing he did was come in and pick up his baby sister.  He loves her, and his whole purpose most days is to make her happy.  Sometimes his sound effects and attempts to make her laugh get loud and annoying to the rest of us, but I am so grateful that he loves his little siblings.  He has always been the best big brother.  I love my Oak....I am so grateful that the Lord sent him to me.  He works hard side by side with his Dad and Grandpa most days.  He is turning out to be such a wonderful little man.  After the fourth girl, I thought I would never get a boy.  It has been such a blessing to be a mom to a few boys.  They are loving and loyal to me.  I never have experienced the adoration before that a little boy bestows upon his mom.  My little boys love me, and I am crazy about them.
     We went to the cabin and had a nice dutch oven dinner.  I am always so grateful for my husband in this regard.  He can cook a great dinner with a fire, a few ingredients, and a dutch oven.  We had such a lovely time with all that attended.  I am so grateful for all who attended.  Some of the family hung out while we threw a party for Jazz too.  She opened gifts, and then a group went to the movie.  Gary is so great in this regard....I told him that we had to make a big deal out of Jazzerz...he bought her some nice gifts, and took his girls to the movies with her.  He is great on any party and fun committee.
     The next morning, we headed north.  Ryan wanted to attend shrsh with our friends in Mount Pleasant....Lane and Rose Talbot are where its at....I seriously love them so much.  They always make us feel welcome, and accomodating. The problem was, we ended up at the wrong building initially.  Mo was not seeing to his reverent side.  He came in the hall and bawled and bawled that his feet were hot....again.  He finally removed his boots.  I didn't realize it, but he didn't have any socks on.  No wonder his feet were bothering him.  I wandered out to the trailer to grab him a pair of socks.  I grabbed some, as he was throwing a fit on the sidewalk making fireworks noises.  We went in the building, and I started putting his socks on his feet.  He was way upset because the socks didn't have red hots on them???? I think Ryan had purchased him some socks in Cedar that had some red marks on them maybe????  I really must say that Mo  can throw a fit over nothing. We were able to spend a great Sabbath with Lane and Rose once we found the right building.  I loved their Sunday school, and their building was old and interesting.  We invited Shad and Mindy Hardy over after shrsh...Shad is Ryan's first cousin, and we grilled some awesome hamburgers, and had a great time.  Lane has a popcorn maker in his kitchen.  I am not talking about a popcorn popper, I am talking about a movie theater popcorn maker.  The kids ate bag after bag of the stuff.  Lane also brought out a bag of tootsie rolls that was bigger than anything I had ever seen.  Those got munched on all afternoon.  The kids played goofy games, and had a ball.   Shad and Mindy have a boy getting ready to leave on a mission in a month or so.  He is going to Hawaii, and I am glad that they got to know him before he leaves.  I will expect them to write him on his mission.
     The next day, we went to the store and got a few supplies, and headed for the hills.  We really did not know where to go, but we had gotten a few suggestions from Lane and Rose.  We decided to go up Ephraim canyon.  The truck began to act up immediately.  Our truck is not really excited about pulling a load uphill anywhere.  It has a tendency to overheat.  A kind man stopped by to see if he could help us in some way.  He suggested to Ryan that he put the truck in 4wdrive, and that this would take some pressure off of the engine.  It actually worked like a charm.  We also turned the heater on, and made a slow climb up the hill.  We stopped at one point and Mo told me that he needed to go to the bathroom.  Ryan was chatting with some folks who had stopped to see if we needed anything (seriously...I love Utah for this reason....people trying to live the like the Savior are always willing to help).  In my opinion, Ryan should be dealing with Mo and his bathroom needs...I have helped all of the girls along, if he is around he should assist the boys.  I mean really, we are 2 to 6 here.  Anyhow, Ryan was occupied, and so I started talking him off of the road a little ways so that I could help him.  He instructed me to climb a tree, and help him go to the bathroom in the top of a tree????  Whatever....if that is what it is going to take, I will definitely let Ryan assist the Mo boy.
     The two men that Ryan had chatted with, told him about a lake just around the last bend in the road.  We went back and found a beautiful little pond surrounded by quakies, and pines....absolutely gorgeous, and just what we were looking for.  The trailer was really nice to have.  Beds were easy to make, and we still cooked over a fire.  The kids headed out with their poles, and Wams jumped right in the pond.  Ryan had purchased Chloee a barbie pole, and he had bought Mo a cars pole.  They had little rubber fish on the end, and those dum fish were played with for hours and hours.  They also spent all kinds of time casting the poles over and over until Moroni's just ended up in a tree.  There was a gentleman from the Sherrif's department who was there at the pond fishing with his son.  They had figured out what the fish were biting on, and were catching fish on almost every cast.  He was a really nice man, with a southern accent.  He let each of my kids take turns reeling in the fish that he was catching, and he also shared some of his bait with Ryan.  On this whole trip, I found good, Christlike people who just enhanced our experiences a ton.  This guy was one of those kind angels, who just made our trip so much better.  He gave us all of the fish that they had caught, and the kids were all kinds of eager to cook their fish over the fire.  Jazzerz even came up with some kind of a lemon, and spice rub concoction that Ryan loved.  I cannot say that I enjoy fish a whole lot, but the taters were delish.
     The next day the kids fished, and swam, and played.  It was fresh, and clean, and cool up on that mountain.  I went out for a nice morning run, and just really enjoyed our time.  Rooshkie had decided that for her ultimate relaxation and enjoyment, she needed a float tube.  She began digging in the trailer bins and cupboards looking for one.  She did find one, but it had multiple holes, that they attempted to patch with duct tape.  It slowly would leak though, and this just wasn't helping Rooshkie with her floating needs.  Finally she took the spare tire off of the tire and rolled it over to the pond.  I can honestly say, that because of the rim and all, it didn't look all that relaxing for Rooshkie, but hey, it did float.  The kids all took turns floating on the spare tire.  All of the kids, aside from Mo, who got his pole stuck in the tree caught fish that day too...including Chlo.  Once again, they smoked their fish over the fire, and had a great time roasting fish and marshmallows over the fire.
     We got up the next morning, and went back to Lane and Rose's.  They weren't there, but offered their home, and so we showered and headed up to Salt Lake to meet Ammon and Lisa at the Hogle Zoo.  Luckily, Lane had suggested that we leave the trailer at his mother's home.  This turned out to be a huge blessing because she offered her stroller and wagon to use at the zoo.  Just that morning, I was wishing that I had both of those items if I was going to drag the kids all over the zoo.  The little ones usually get tired, and want to be carried, and that gets kinda tiring after awhile.  I just found that kind people saw to our needs the whole trip.  I witnessed people blessing us every day.
     The zoo was awesome.  I have always loved the zoo.  Ryan actually bought a year membership because the guy at the counter suggested it after seeing what the bill was going to be.  It was only like ten dollars more.  Mo wanted to see an elephant, and Jazzerz wanted to see an alligator, and Oak wanted to see a giraffe.  Saggers wanted a selfie with a giraffe, which did not happen really.  The giraffes were not excited about getting close enough to pose for a selfie with Sags.  Mo's wishes were fulfilled and Jazzerz saw a crocodile which was close enough for her desires.  Ammon and Lisa were a lot of fun to hang out with too.  Little Emrie is as cute as the come.  And their baby is really satisfying.  Anyhow, the seals were probably my favorite.  They were swimming and swirling and putting on a real nice show.
     After the zoo we stopped at a Red Robin for dinner.  I had never eaten at such a place, and taking all of the kids to dinner is chaotic and expensive at best.  But, this place had bottomless fry baskets, which was great, and Oak purchased a ball on the way in, which wasn't so great.  Dilly was a little excited crazy girl the whole time.  She was eager to be on the table, and made attempts to kick over drinks, and slosh in the food until I was ready to scream a little bit.  I finally took her, and a bunch of the kids outside because I had seen a nice grassy area when we had gotten out of the car.  Well, when I got over to the grassy area, I hadn't realized that it was a cemetary.  For whatever reason, all of the headstones were the kind that lay down instead of headstones popping out of the grass.  I tried to keep the kids respectful, but yeah, we might have aroused a few ghosts at that location.  We stopped and grabbed ice cream and cones before we got to Lane's mothers house, and we had ice cream with one of Lane's sisters that lived nearby.  It was nice to get to meet her, and her grandson.
     The next morning, Jams and Sags woke up with fevers.  They just didn't feel good, but that didn't stop Ryan from taking the scenic route.  We also spent a few hours at the Delta park letting the kids unwind.  I could tell that Jamie and Sage wanted nothing more than their beds.  It was a woozy time at best...we inched through Milford and Minersville...then we got to Cedar.  Ryan had a few things that he needed to do in Cedar.  This didn't excite Jams and Sags at all.  Yeah, their situation was pretty crappy.
     We spent one night in Cedar.  I miss a few people from Cedar, and I miss the summer weather, but it just isn't home to me anymore.  Jams and Sags got blessings from Ryan, and we headed home.  Seriously...it has been great to be back.  We went to shrsh in our own ward today, which was all sorts of great.  I love our ward.  The biggest problem arose when Oak made Mo a nice paper airplane to fly right during sacrament meeting.  Not the best of all ideas that is for sure.

    

     It is another beautiful and restful Sabbath.  I am wishing there were clouds like last week, but we are back to blaring sun and full heat.  I enjoyed shrsh today.  Our Stake President came and spoke a few words and it was awesome.  He always carries such a spirit about him, and he always lifts my spirits.  I have loved today.
     Last week was intense.  We have been trying to get the weeds under control.  The melons are growing like mad and so are the weeds.  We worked our tails off every morning in the field.  I was quite proud of my kids.  We had no distractions as far as camps and activities were concerned in the mornings.  It was just sun, and weeds and family.  We did also have some helpers from the ward come.  There are a few young men saving for missions that have been coming to help.  Oak always finds a way to make this situation extremely awkward and embarrassing.  Jamie had a crush on one of the boys when we first moved into the ward.  He made sure that he mentioned this loudly when she was standing by him weeding.  He also mentioned it several other times just to make the atmosphere awkward again.  Jace is another boy who has come out to work with us.  Jams had a meeting with a young women leader one morning, and Jace was leaving anyway, and so Ryan asked him to drop her off at the meeting on his way.  Oak loudly mentioned that they were leaving for their date over and over until things were nice and awkward.  Jamie vows revenge, but I doubt she will care at the point when Oak is dating.  Hopefully Mo and Dill will make things awkward for him.
     With that being said, my whole world has become extremely unorganized.  The house needs cleaning, and the laundry needs to be done.  I feel bad about getting so behind.  Chlo and Mo, and now Dilly have made all of their regular messes without anyone to clean up behind them.  I definitely need to just spend some time at home getting things back in some kind of order.  What makes me sad is the Dilly messer.  Why did she have to join in the mess making so fast?  She likes to empty cupboards and get things messed up in hurry. 
     We had a lovely time yesterday though.  Ryan's great uncle passed away this past week.  It was sad, and yet he was old, and he lived a great life.  I always enjoy these types of funerals because it feels so wonderful to hear about other people fulfilling all of their challenges in wonderful ways.  His wife had already passed too, which made us happy for them to be together again.  The atmosphere was wonderful and spiritual.  Mo was acting strangely on the way into the funeral.  He laid down between two parked cars, and was determined to stay there.  I told him no, but wondered why he would want to lay in the parking lot....still confused about some of his ambitions.  Guy Bowler was a military veteran as well, and so the 21 shot salute was fired.  Mo was upset by this because someone had included a huge, and beautiful bouquet of balloons on the casket.  Mo thought that they were popping when the gun was fired.  This saddened him.  It is the wonders of the cursed balloon again.
     After a lovely lunch that the lovely relief society prepared, we took the kids swimming at the Veyo pool.  I have always loved the Veyo pool in all of its refreshing cleanness.  Yesterday did not disappoint.  It was packed when we arrived though.  I love the whole setting of the pool too, settled in the bottom of the canyon, with all of the green trees, and the sheer cliffs.  It was so beautiful.  I was mildly irritated by some raucous boys who were having a big game of catch over everyone's heads in the pool, and it was just plain crowded.  Dilly, loved the water though, and seemed to be delighted for quite awhile.  The clouds moved in, and thunder and lighting began striking pretty close.  This got everyone out of the pool, and the rain started, so people packed themselves up, and left.  Everyone but us.  When everyone left, and I could no longer hear thunder, we all got back in, and had the whole place to ourselves for quite awhile.  It was raining, it was fun and wonderful.  Dilly was sitting on Ryan's lap playing with fry sauce while the rest of us swam and played.  At one point a little family that spoke Spanish came for awhile...they were racing each other across the short length of the pool in the shallow end.  I was appalled at Jazzerz who was standing in their way with her arms outstretched dancing, and preventing them from having their race....I yelled at her, she moved and they resumed...one of the the Mothers chuckled at Jazz, but  I was quite appalled...why?  Jazzerz is seriously one of my better behaved kids.  When she causes trouble I am quite impatient with her.  Again it started raining hard....at this point we had swam for four hours or so, I was ready to get out.  We then stopped at the Veyo pie shop, and bought a pie to split with the kids.  It was one of the best days that I have had in a long time.
     We are still struggling to figure out Mo and his behavior.  I have noticed that keeping my phone away from him in the evening helps.  He is now no longer able to watch cartoons on my phone after dark.  This always turned into a huge bawling fit when anyone needed the phone, or wanted to watch with him.  I have also been going to the park most evenings to work with Sage on developing her Volleyball skills.  I usually take all of the kids, and they ride their scooters through the splash pad that is at the park.  They have a total ball.  Mo usually ends up making some nice sand castles in the Volleyball pit too.  He has been better to sleep in his bed most nights, but the other night he came and slept with us bringing a whole bunch of magnets that he needs to return to the shrsh.  We had to clean the shrsh a few weeks ago, and he took a whole stack of magnets that were there for people to use with their lessons.  I am actually thinking of just buying the shrsh some new ones because he has played with those dumb things nonstop.  I always forget to grab them on Sunday morning anyway.  Anyhow, I couldn't figure out why we needed to share a bed with the magnets.  It's never just him that wants to sleep in our bed...he always wants to bring some other objects with him as well.
     Oak's teacher told me a story about him that made me kind of chuckle.  They were writing to some of the missionary's in the ward as a class.  Oak decided to write to Jared Walther because we know our Jared friend, and he is serving in New York city.  Oak mentioned in his letter how awful New York must be ( I seriously have no idea where he got this idea.)  The teacher encouraged him to at least mention something positive in the letter.  Oak erased what he had written about how terrible New York was, and said, "I am positive that New York is terrible."  That was his idea of being positive I guess.  Oh how I wish I could figure that boy of mine out.  He makes all sorts of loud and obnoxious noises, and he regularly insults the girls.  Not sure what to do with him.
    
    

     It is a beautiful Sabbath day, and we have some clouds in the sky.  Wow...I love clouds.  I love any break from the blaring heat.  It has been a lovely rest today, and I love Sundays.  I love the Sabbath because every day is such a challenge.  There are so many things that I would like to accomplish, and I never get caught up with all of my ambitious desires.  I always feel somewhat disappointed in myself at the end of the day, even though, my days start early, and I work many hours.  The Sabbath is an excuse to forget about all of that stuff and focus on the things that really matter.  I have really enjoyed my Sunday's lately.
     We have been so busy trying to juggle our big melon patch, and all of the activities that summertime brings.  Jerusha did a basketball camp, Jams and Sags were also at girls camp last week, and the week before last was the Bundy reunion.  I love the Bundy reunion.  I am so glad that we went.  I had a twenty year class reunion that was scheduled at the same time as the Bundy reunion, and Ryan and I considered skipping the Bundy reunion to attend.  Of course, the kids would not hear of it.  It was so hot, and Ryan had the horse trailer filled with all sorts of odds and ends from our garage in Cedar.  I seriously did not know what half of that stuff even was, but it had to be unloaded before we could load up and go out to the strip.  It was between 115-120 degrees that week, and wow.  It was hard to come up with the motivation to clean out the horse trailer, and pack up for the reunion. Finally, we got up at like 4am on the day before the reunion, and just got stuff done.  It was hot, but there were some clouds and a breeze.  That gave me the boost that I needed to get things done.  I always forget how much work the reunion is.
     Last year the reunion was kind of a fiasco because it rained and rained.  We were not prepared with a proper tent or trailer for the kind of weather we dealt with.  Because of that, we had to scramble to try to dry everything by a campfire.  Kind of a scary situation.  Anyhow, on the way out there, I asked Ryan what he had brought to keep us dry.  In the extreme heat, it seemed like such a ridiculous question.  There was no rain in the forecast according to Carol., but, we always get the whole family fasting for rain out there, and I have seen huge storms out there because of the faith of the family members. He kind of shrugged which told me that he hadn't done much to prepare for the rain.  When we all have to sleep in the horse trailer, it reminds me of a can of sardines.  We are crammed in there like little fish.  I was hoping for some beautiful nights out under the stars uninhibited by little squirming bodies.  When we finally arrived at the school house, the sun was setting in the west.  The air was cool and fresh, and the sun set was beautiful and pink.  I had not felt so alive for awhile.  It felt great!  I was so glad that the kids had made us go.  We have so much riding on our melon patch, that Ryan and I almost didn't dare leave it.  I am so glad we did.
     A few funny things of note....Ryan and Jams love sardines.  Yeah, really gross.  Anyhow, Ryan decided to crank open a can on the way to the reunion.  The smell was something awful.  Sags just couldn't handle it.  She stuck her nose out the window and was still whining and bawling about the awful smell.  She complained that it smelled like pee.  I chuckled at her behavior.  We ended up passing a pasture that was heavily manured, and it kinda cleared out the fishy smell.  Thank goodness for cattle.
     About two miles before we arrived at the camp, we ran into a regular traffic jam.  A Bundy jam of trucks and cars trying to get to the Bundy property.  A big cloud burst had left the roads almost impassible.  People were sinking up to their axles in muck.  I was nervous, but Ryan seemed chill as always.  All of the kids were eager to get out, and they all started walking.  All except Mo and Dilly.  Mo had fallen asleep.  Ryan got out just as someone in a rhino arrived and began jerking the stuck vehicles out of the mud.  Another Bundy arrived and pulled enough people out that he ruined his own transmission.  This is so typical of the Bundy family.  They always help each other out no matter what the cost.  I love the family I married into.  When the bottleneck was cleared, we sloshed and slid our way to the reunion grounds.  Luckily the reunion grounds have plenty of gravel, and I was no longer scared of getting stuck.  Ryan backed the horse trailer into a spot, and we began the task of making beds for the night.
     I hate arriving at camp late at night to try to make beds in the dark.  Mo was asleep, and Dill had fallen asleep on Aunt Bailey's lap, and I had to try to grope and sift through all of our camping gear to try to make beds in the horse trailer.  The sky was threatening again.  I once again asked Ryan if he had at least thrown in a tarp of some sort to cover up the horse trailer.  He started dragging out a cover to an old real estate billboard sign.  Yep...this would have been the kind of solution he would have come up with at the last minute.  I am not sure where we acquired the old sign, but it is heavy, and tarp like.  I was fine with it, as long as it covered the horse trailer completely.  Last year, our tarp didn't cover the trailer completely, and we got rain in from the sides.   Luckily, some of the cousins were excited to see my kids, and invited them to sleep in some of their tents.  Molly had a pitched a tent for Alice and her friends, this was great, because Jazz and Rooshkie both ended up in there.  This saved us a little room in our sardine can.  Ryan and Sags covered the horse trailer with the billboard, I made beds, Dilly and Mo woke up in the process, and it was a little bit of a fiasco to try to get them back to sleep.  Mo finally gave up his fight, but Dill, was so completely excited.  I would try to get her to settle down, and nurse her, and she would get all excited and squeal in delight.  This happened for a good hour, before she finally gave up her excitement and fell asleep.  Cute and silly Dilly.  It had rained enough that the still campground was filled with the sounds of bullfrogs....something I had never before heard out there.
     The next morning arrived, and Ryan and I were in charge of breakfast.  Ryan made rice and raisins, and I made a batch of pancakes.  The reunion was being run on Utah time, which made everything an hour earlier.  Opening ceremonies began before we were even done with breakfast.  None of my kids seemed interested in joining the roping contest except Rooshkie, which kind of surprised me.  I have seen Jams practice roping, and Oak, and Mo, but never Rooshkie.  She ended up tying for first in her division too.  They had a rope off and she was beat out by one.  So she came in second in her division.  Wow....Rooshkie the roper girl.  Maybe she needs to go out with cowboys more often.
     We also had the .bb gun shoot that day.  Rooshkie, and Oak both wanted to compete.  Ryan and I ran the .bb gun shoot a few years back, and I was floored at the stiff competition.  The Bundy's are shooters, even when they are small.  This was Rooshkie's last year to be able to compete in the event.  I noticed that she had manipulated her Uncle John to wait in line for her with all of her stuff.  I also decided to check on her camera and the pictures she had been taking.  I have ruined several cameras at the reunion because of the dust.  When she was determined to take hers I asked her to take the pictures for our family with her camera so that I didn't ruin my expensive phone and camera.  She readily agreed, but at this point in the game, there was nothing but a series of selfies with her cousin Emma.  When she sauntered back over to shoot, I kind of got after her for making John hold her stuff, and for not getting pictures of anyone but herself.  She apologized, and then asked me to get a picture of her shooting, because she could not figure out how to do a selfie with her gun....whew...nothing changes with that gal!
     Rooshkie shot a good cluster and so did Oak.  He seems especially disappointed because he had not hit the bulls eye at all.  He came up with some excuse that he was using the wrong eye???? I thought his shooting was quite good though.  He hit the target in all the same area which was close to the bulls eye, but not quite on it.  I know how stiff the competition is though, so I figured we weren't good enough for a win.  I was kinda mad at Ryan, because he should have been instructing Oak a little better, but he had gotten lost in some book about the history of Orderville of all places.  It was such an exciting read, that he couldn't put it down for the .bb gun shoot.
     I had packed up a cooler with just drinks for the kids to have and share with their cousins.  I had not packed very many snacks though, because Ryan complains that it is a waste of money.  I did pack a few though, so that the kids didn't beg off of everyone else.  I had put in a pack of Oreos because one of my cousins had introduced me to S'moreos at the Huntington reunion the year before. Basically you add a toasted shmallow to the center of the cookie. I had also packed some chips and crackers etc.  Well, Chlo was feeling way generous during the festivities.  Don't get me wrong...I plan on the kids sharing and all, but Chlo was dispensing drinks and treats to people that were not even hanging out with her.  One little gal was sitting on a chair getting her hair fixed when generous Chlo saunters up and just hands her a pop.  She seemed a little bit confused, but grateful.  I would look up at the horse trailer, and Chlo would have ten kids gathered around the cooler dispensing goods.  At one point I finally got after her because they got into the Oreos and ate a whole package of just the frosting out of the Oreos.  When I did get after Chlo...she ran to the loving arms of Cliven and told him how heart broken she was.  This was on Friday, and we were out of drinks for the rest of the reunion.  Poor Chlo....I was more or less getting after her because some of the rest of my kids were upset.
     We had the best time at the dance that evening.  Steve Gifford knows how to get us all out there dancing.  I love dancing with the family and with my kids.  Because the reunion was being run on Utah time, it ended at like 11 which was great.  I put my kids to bed in the horse trailer because it had rained off and on all day, and I would go up and periodically check on them.  Mo and Dilly didn't sleep good though.  They were up a lot bawling for whatever reason. 
     The next morning was the races.  The sky was a dark gray, and the air was fresh.  It was so nice.  It rained a little just to keep the dust down.  All of my kids raced, and Jamie came in third, and Rooshkie came in third in her race.  Mo didn't do so hot, but kept wanting more and more candy from the reward committee.  I refused to let him have any more though.  One piece of candy for all runners was plenty.  The kids also took a trip to the ice caves that day.  Richard took Oak and Kaden out, and Savhanna and Ammon Seely took my older kids out.  We had also invited some of the Kerr girls out.  They have been helping us with the melon patch because their Dad is our business partner.  Ryan went out there to try to scare some of the kids in the caves.  It turns out that he didn't have to scare them because they ran into some rattle snakes.  I am glad he was there to deal with them.  Ammon Seely almost jumped on one.  Luckily it's head was down a crack, but Ryan knew that they couldn't leave it there for someone else to step on.  He ended up grabbing it by the tail, and throwing it with a lot of force against the cave wall.  They also killed another one outside the cave.  Once again, the Bundy angels were working overtime to keep our family safe.
     The dance with the live band was a lot of fun too.  They started up some square dancing which they have never done before.  We did the Virginia Reel, and the Waltz....so much fun.  At one point, I ran up to the horse trailer to check on my sleeping kids.  Dilly was sitting up in bed just crying.  She had never been left alone before and she didn't even know how to deal with it.  It was so sad to see her there sobbing with her cute little pig tails on both sides of her little head.  So sad!  I laid by her and fell asleep myself.  The older girls stayed out long after the dance so that they could play night games with the Hughes camp.  Once again, we ended up with Mo and Dill wallering our bed all night.  I don't know why they wouldn't sleep soundly, but they didn't.  What was a great surprise at the next dance, was that they announced the winners of the .bb gun shoot, and Oak took first in his division.  He was rewarded with a .bb gun and some .bb's.  This has been great for Oak.  He has shot that dumb gun non stop and is getting really good.  It is so fun to see him take his gun out and shoot for awhile just like his Dad.  He is learning gun safety, and how to aim and hit a target.  This has boosted his confidence a ton. 
     I love the Sunday meetings at the reunion.  I enjoy hearing about all of the stories about the Bundy ancestors.  The lady that they discussed this year was named Edna, and she had dealt with some trauma with the birth of her last child.  She pushed so hard that a blood vessel was broken in her brain, and she was never quite right in the head after that.  Life on the strip would have been so tough.  I admire those brave family members who lived and dealt with such a harsh reality.  I also enjoyed testimony meeting.  There are so many Bundy youth going on missions, and returning from missions.  I hope my kids hear all of the wonderful stories, and join them someday.  They had their melon bust, which on one from our camp was interested in, because they had brought seedless melons, and in a flash, it was over.  People began packing up and heading home.  We had decided to stay one more night.  I always love the reunion grounds that last night.  It was quiet, and usually the few people left sing hymns.  The girls ended up with Hughes camp again playing night games.
     Ryan, and I crashed pretty early with the remaining kids.  I was really hoping for some decent sleep because we really had not gotten any at all.  We were all sleeping soundly when the kids arrived back from playing games.  Sags wasn't being the quietest as she tried to settle in for the night.  There was some stuff on her bed, she needed her scriptures, the lights went on and she began banging the trailer around so she could sleep.  She was not being very quiet.  Jams kept telling her to shhh, which really angers her, and she would loudly proclaim that she hated being shh'ed.  In the process she woke up Mo, who bawled and woke up everyone.  I had Mo crying, Dilly crying, and Chloee upset.  In the process, I had gone out to try and meet Mo's needs ( he needed a drink maybe?) and I ended up stepping on Jerusha ( seriously picture a can of sardines)  this had her bawling.  I was ready to fly the coop for sure.  Mo seriously bawled for two hours.  He had hurt his wrist on the monkey bars.  We had done our best to wrap it, and I had Booda look at it.  He figured it was not broken, but it was obviously still sore because he was complaining about it.  I went out again to get him some ibuprofen.  I finally ended up in the truck with Mo and Dilly.  Ryan's truck is the most uncomfortable truck ever made I swear.  I finally ended up crashing back on my bed after tripping on Rooshkie again.  I was just getting back to sleep when the wind started up. 
     At this point I guess I need to go back to our lovely horse trailer shelter with the billboard sign.  Ryan had draped this big sign over the trailer.  What we didn't realize was that it had some little holes on it in various places.  Ryan's solution to this problem?  He propped some pieces of wood on the bars of the trailer that peaked the roof.  When it rained, the water ran off of the heavy tarp instead of dripping in the trailer.  Sage mentioned that we were the most rattletrap family ever with our odd solutions.  All was fine if the weather was still, but in the wind, we ran the risk of the logs falling off onto people's sleeping heads.  When the wind started up, we had to get up and remove the logs so that they didn't end up in anyone's face.  Seriously one of the longest, and worst nights in all of my years of momhood....that is saying a lot.
     The next day Ryan and I went out wandering, and visiting with the family that remained.  We ran into another family that had their horse trailer wrapped in an old billboard sign....I have mentioned it before, and I will say it again, I love the Bundy's.
     The trip home was a little bit scary.  We were inching down the mountain in the scariest place with sheer ledges on the bumpy road.  It was pouring rain and slick.  Some guy was trying to come up.  Anyone who has been out there knows how scary this hill is in the best of conditions.  The other guy should have backed up to a spot so we could get around him.  We were coming down hill with a heavy horsetrailer.  Well, he didn't and still wanted to run us off the cliff or something so that he could get up the hill.  We got right on the ledge....I was seriously freaking out because we were so close to the edge....and he pulled up beside us.  Ryan asked if he thought he could get around us, and he said no.  He pressed on anyway, inching along so close I was about screaming.  What a weirdo.  Anyhow, we finally were able to get back on the road and get off the hill.  After the school house, the rain stopped.  The roads get so slick out there its kinda scary.  The kids got pretty cranky and crabby on the way home, but it was great to be home and get cleaned up.  I always come home grateful and inspired by the Bundy family, and their awesome heritage.  I hope they never quit putting on the reunion.

     I feel like we have been thrust into the oven of summer.  It is so blasted hot!  I am still so grateful for the air conditioning.  And cold water....and I have a mini celebration if a cloud ever appears in the forecast.  It seriously makes my day.
     We have been trying to stay on top of the weed situation out at our melon patch.  Ryan has been rousing the kids at 4am to go and hoe weeds.  I helped the first couple of times, but ended up sitting in the car for the most part.  There is just no where for my little ones to be, and Dilly wants her mom.  Especially, when she is roused out of her bed that early.  I actually really want to help though...I enjoy the work, and the feeling of accomplishment that comes from digging weeds out of the ground.  I was able to be a workaholic in our patch last year, but this year, the baby has made that a real challenge.  We had the Litmer kids help us, and they were great help while they were here.  I was amazed nonstop at Caleb.  Ryan would rouse him, and recruit him all hours of the day and night to help with various tasks, but he was always willing and excited to help.  They did go home this week.  I will miss them.
     This morning Mo woke up really early and demanded a waffle.  I had begun cooking french toast, but that is not what he wanted.  He begged for a waffle several times, and I finally gave in.  Some things are not worth fighting over, and with Mo, I have plenty of things that I have to fight with him about.  So. I mixed him up a quick waffle...no big deal really.  Anyhow, when the waffle was done, and I had it on a plate, he made it clear that he wanted syrup on it.  I brought it to him and got the syrup out.  Only, he was way picky about which squares he wanted syrup on.  He sat there and pointed out which ones, and how full they were to be drizzled.  Do I have the time and the patience for this kid???  He takes being three to a whole new level that I never before even imagined.  After his waffle, he fell back to sleep.  Because he slept in, he was pretty happy when he woke up, but he wanted a bunch of books read to him.  Luckily, Oak was in the mood to read, and he needs the practice.  However, while the rest of us were busying ourselves about the place to get the days work done, I noticed that they must have been reading a book about the number nine.  I noticed them stomping nine times.  How does cheering and shouting nine times help us out with housework?  I would like to know.
     We have had a busy week.  We ran out to Nays with the kids one afternoon.  We had heard that they had a million apricots rotting on the trees out there.  The ride was crazy of course, but it was worth the ride.  It was so much cooler out there.  Sags was way upset though, because one of the major perks about picking fruit out there is their wonderful pond.  It has fresh water trickling into it from a spring, and unlike most of our favorite swimming holes around here, it is cemented.  It also has a nice rope that is hung from a tree that can be used to swing and drop into the water.  Well, they were irrigating the orchard, and so the pond was half full.  Half full mind you, not half empty.  Anyhow, the rest of the kids were a little disappointed, but got in and made the most of it.  It still went up high enough that they were able to swim around, but the rope was too dangerous in that shallow of water.  You would have thought that Ryan and I had been torturing her from all of her complaints.  "Why didn't you call and check on the water level of the pond?"  "This was a horrible idea, why did we come today?"  " The fruit is still too green, and we should never have come out today..."  and on and on.  She was wrong about the apricots though....there were some green ones, but many of the trees had a ton of fruit that was just going to waste.  Dropping off the tree, and the birds and deer were helping themselves.  Ryan and I went to picking fruit because really, that is why we went out there in the first place.  There is always a beehive somewhere near the pond out there.  This time was no exception...because of this someone usually gets stung out there.  Caleb got stung with minimal complaint, and Mo got stung which wasn't a pretty sight....what was sad, was that it got all swollen the next day.  Mo was hobbling around on his balloon foot.  Sags also got stung, but she didn't say too much about it either.  We now have some fresh apricot nectar, and syrup in bottles...it is delish.
     Rooshkie has been a social butterfly this week.  She is currently with some secret friends at the rec center.  She has been kinda making me scratch my head as of late with some of her behavior.  Yesterday, I was sitting in my favorite rocker nursing Dill.  She came up, and casually grabbed my phone and took it in the basement.  Usually she does this so that she can practice her dances or whatever.  Not long after she took it though, an alarm sounded and echoed up the stairs.  She was sheepishly walking up the stairs and of course I asked her why an alarm was going off.  She pretended like she didn't hear me.  I asked her about it again, and she explained that Jazz was napping on the bed and she kinda wanted to hang out with her, so she set an alarm on my phone and walked away casually.  Jeez Rooshkie, maybe Wazz needed to catch up on some sleep.
     Not long after that she got some urgent call from her friends that she was needed.  She desperately wanted to get to Bunkerville so that she could see some prize that one of her friends had gotten on her recent trip.  She paced the floor and begged Ryan until he finally went and dropped her off.  A few hours later, I had to run into the shrsh to drop Wams and Sags off at Young Women's.  I wasn't watching really close, but as I drove by I noticed Lydia, Ivey, and a sneaky person trying to hide behind a baby doll...really sneaky Rooshkie!  Like I cannot see you behind the tiny baby doll.  I slowly stopped and looked at her with questioning eyes.  She loudly made it clear that she was wanting to stay in town longer.  Fine Rooshkie!  Be that way...but, do you think that I am spacey enough not to notice you sitting behind a baby doll?  Nice try.
     Wams got her drivers permit this week.  I have been kinda amazed at the good driver that she is.  All of those hours driving in the field as the men buck bails seems to have paid off.  I was way glad that she passed because I hate sitting at the DMV.  Dilly hates it too.
     We had an unfortunate event happen in the passing of our friend Raquel this week.  We have been half expecting it because she was diagnosed with a brain tumor a year ago.  It was still horribly sad because Raquel was such an incredible young lady.  She always treated all of my kids like they were really important.  She even allowed Oak to hang around them, and for that, she never got insulted by him.  When we found out that she wasn't going to live very long, we have all been heart broken.  Chlo even named all of her dolls after sweet Raquel.  She was a very impressive young lady.
     Moroni has been putting eggs in the toilet.  I am not sure why, or what kind of an impact this will have on the plumbing.  Sager told me the other day that she was in the bathroom primping and saw an egg in the toilet.  When she went back in there a little bit later, it was gone.  He got caught putting one in the toilet a few moments ago...I am all the way confused....that was a conversation that I never thought I would have with my spouse...."Dear, what happens if a bunch of eggs are flushed down the toilet?"  He looked at me with an amused look on her face..."Well, you're not going to get them back."  he told me.  He then started laughing..."why are you asking me this?"  So then I had to explain that Moroni had been caught putting eggs in the toilet.  Then we had to sit and try to figure out why.  Earlier that day, he had also got into a pack of cough drops, and had unwrapped them all...Ryan had to sit and re-wrap them all.  Really, why does he do that stuff?  We will be forever wondering why.