July 31, 2023

Just like Brigham's birthday, I felt like I didn't give enough in my time and efforts for Hyrum's birthday.  He wanted to go to Lagoon with Arika and the family but didn't feel comfortable enough to leave the kittens alone with Momma just in case something happened.  So this Momma stayed home.  I know he had a blast though.  He loves spending time with Arika so much.

I asked them to take pictures while at Lagoon and this is what I got!  Hahahaha!

Hyrum's birthday didn't look the way I envisioned it but the thing is, he had a blast!  Memories were made.  And that is what is important, right?

 

July 13, 2023

Sadly, I did not journal Brigham or Hyrum's birthday on their actual birthdays...or even in their birthday month...or even the month following!  I already felt like I did not give enough attention to both of their birthdays as it was.  Okayu was in labor on Brigham's birthday and with this being her first birth I was nervous with leaving her alone.  So Daddy and the boys took Brigham out to a steak house while I ordered in cake pieces to have ready for him when he got back.  The only thing that made me feel somewhat better about it all was that one of these kittens was going to be his to keep!

And here she is!  Bip (or "Red") is officially the kitten Brigham has chosen.  She is 8 weeks old today and I really feel like she is going to be a perfect fit for Brigham.  She came out being really vocal and feisty but since being mobile, she is real chill and quite the cuddler.  I took this picture today and it just doesn't do justice to how beautiful she really is.  Kinda like a certain boy I know.  Just beautiful!

Bip's presence in Brigham's life is a neat story.  Neve was Brigham's cat and when she passed away a few months ago, it really hit him hard.  This Momma's heart broke a little bit having to witness pain like that in him.  He wasn't ready to say he wanted another cat for a while but when he was ready, we jumped on offering one of Okayu's babies to him.  Okayu went into labor on his birthday...is that not a wonderful gift?!  To make this experience even more special, we got Neve on Brigham's birthday years ago.  Full circle.  I am so grateful I believe in a God who is so very in the details of our lives.  Thank you, Lord, for loving my son so much.

Summer Happenings

Like the last few summers have been, this summer was full of days of me either taking Ruger hiking or swimming.  On both activities, we almost always met up with friends.  

Levi ran a race on the 4th of July and met the cast of "The Chosen" with some of his friends.

Just a cute picture of my Dad that my Mom sent me.  It's a picture of the things my Mom loves to cuddle with...including my Dad!

And then there was soooooooo much kitten time.

Momma with "Orange."  We just call them by the color of their collars.  I put collars on them because they looked so much alike and I wanted to accurately weigh them every day.

"Red"

We had lots of visitors that wanted to see and hold the kittens.  I was grateful for this because I wanted to get the kittens used to other humans other than just our family.

This is my very favorite picture.  One night I looked over and Okayu's head was leaning on David's arm while she was nursing "Orange."

As the kittens got older, they loved to play around my legs.  This is a picture in the early stage of my leg scratches.  You should see them now!

Seiiki has been the best co-momma to the kittens.  She pottied them when they couldn't go to the bathroom on their own and now plays with them.

The kittens are now 6 weeks old and love to play.  They are nursing less and less.  They are eating soft food and try to eat Momma's hard food any chance they can get.  They love drinking water and are fully potty trained (which they taught themselves).  Next week they will get their first round of shots.  Only 2 more weeks and they will go home to their forever homes.

 

Hiking, Hiking and More Hiking!

I journaled about a couple of hikes in June and July but was really bad about the remainder of our summer hikes.  Our very first hike this year was actually as a family at Big Springs Hollow Loop.  We went on a Sunday that we didn't go to Church and had "Church in the Mountains."  Here is a picture of David teaching us.  We found this tree swing and decided to have our lesson on this part of the hike to entertain Ruger while Daddy talked.  I wish I would have taken more pictures because there were actual random springs coming out of the ground here and there and everything was so green as we were coming out of a very wet winter.

Cami, her girls, Ruger and I hiked the Timpanogos Lower Falls.  It was 2 1/2 miles long with a 770 ft elevation gain that I was not quite ready for.  That was a tough hike but so worth it, as they always are.  This one was especially worth it as it was really hot and when we got to the falls, there was snow!

One of the places that we went with Cami and her girls was familiar as we were walking the trail when I realized that I had been there some 22 years ago.  I realized that Cascade Springs was where David and I had taken our engagement pictures!

Usually I go alone on my hikes with Christine but this time Hyrum wanted to go.  He invited Leia as we had a casual, easy strole around the Pleasant Grove Ditch Trail.

One Sunday after Church we decided to go to Dripping Rock, which we have done every summer since we found it (and sometimes multiples times a summer!).  The water was sooooo cold this time but it was still so nice to get in the water.

Christine really challenged me when she asked me if I wanted to hike the Orson Smith Park to Draper Suspension Bridge Loop.  I usually do not do heights.  Like ever.  But I booked it across that bridge and made it!

And I'll save the best for last.  Christine first took me to the Lower Bell Canyon Reservoir Trail and man was it hard.  Those stairs up the mountain was difficult but, oh my goodness, getting to the water was worth it.  You are not supposed to get in the creek or lake but I was so hot that I could not resist at least splashing that clear, fresh water on my face.

This lake had the clearest water that I have ever seen in a lake before!

I loved it so much that I took Cami today.  Here we are in front of one of the sets of "stairs" that we had to go up to get to the lake.

I am not much of a camper and I don't care to sweat but I sure love hiking and when exercise is involved, sweating is good and I expect it.  I have no doubt that my mental health was as good as it was this summer because of all these hikes.  I'm so grateful for Christine and Cami for being my hiking buddies this summer!

 

Introducing: Sushi, Chop Sticks, Tofu, Bamboo, and Wasabi

Okayu has loved having her belly rubbed for the past 2 weeks or so.  If I'm lying on the bed she just plops down on my chest and neck, assuming the position for me to scratch her belly.  

When a mother cat nurses her babies, endorphins rush in.  I'd say more like drugs because she looks high almost every time I rub her belly!

On Brigham's birthday, Okayu was showing signs of the 1st stage of labor.  She was really loud and vocal and very needy.  She also had some discharge coming out.  Hyrum was afraid he'd miss something so he slept in my bed (Daddy slept on the couch...good Daddy!) since the nesting box was in there.  Okayu was up most of the night, but I did catch this moment of her sleeping against Hryum before waking up again.  

Its a long story but she ended up giving birth in my dresser drawer.  That was not at all as we planned but she kept wanting to get in there when she was in stage 2 labor (mucus plug lost, panting, bearing down).  Hyrum and I kept directing her to the nesting box but no luck.  She even completely stopped panting and bearing down at one point.  I knew then that we had been stressing her out by not letting her go where she had planned on going all along.  So much time had passed, she was exhausted, and so were we so I took out all the clothes, put in old towels and doggie pee pads, and let her do her things.  Within 10 minutes, she had had her first baby!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

These were taken on day 3 of one of the kittens that we sometimes lovingly call "fatty" because it was the chunckiest baby out of all of them.

Since Hyrum loves all things Japanese, we decided to call them:  Sushi, Chop Sticks, Tofu, Bamboo, and Wasabi.

 

Battle Creek Falls Trail

The post before this one (4th of July 2023) had a group picture of us with water in the background.  The water coming down in this picuture is what fed into the water from the other picture.  In years past when going to this area for fireworks there has never been water.  Just goes to show how much snow we got this year!

I have been to the Battle Creek waterfalls before but never saw it as 2 falls coming down (or going over this bridge!) until this year.  Again, so much precipitation this year!

This hike is barely a mile (but steep) but just like in times past, it kicked my butt!  It was a really tough hike for me but so worth it getting up to the top.  The cool breeze coming off the falls was so nice!

 

4th of July 2023

We had an incredibly lazy day on the 4th.  We were totally planning on going swimming but we ended up just lounging around the house, the boys and Daddy playing games while I made cards.  

Towards the end of the night, we headed up the mountains (around the Pleasant Grove area) with part of the Doll family and just enjoyed the nice breeze and tons of fireworks.

And there really were tons of fireworks.  My camera does not do it justice!