Brighty of the Grand Canyon--Marguerite Henry

We finished Brighty of the Grand Canyon which is another true story by Marguerite Henry but this time it was telling the adventures of a burro named Brighty. Brighty was a wild burro in the Grand Canyon who would befriend the different people that came to the canyon for whatever reason . . . mining, art, etc. He had some especially close friends that were rough and tough men of the canyon. One of his close friends was killed and the story tells how "the wheels of justice" turn. The kids were THRILLED that in the end the man that had pushed Brighty's friend into the river and captured Brighty and used him to get out of the Canyon, mistreating him in the process, was captured and made to pull the tobaugan with Brighty's body on it out of the snowed in area. Brighty took a bullet from Jake Irons (the bad guy) and saved his friend. The kids just loved, loved that after being mistreated that Irons had to pull him out!! I was surprised the President Teddy Roosevelt was part of this true story of a donkey!

Now we are on to the next book Caddie Woodlawn! Whew, talk about exciting and again a true story! Well, I've decided I am not good at summing up a book but at least the jist is here.

Where Shall I Work Today?

Where Shall I Work Today?

"Father, where shall I work today?

And my love flowed warm and free,

then He pointed me toward a tiny spot

And said, "tend that for me."

I answered quickly, "Oh, no, not that!

Why no one would ever see,

No matter how well my work was done,

In that little place for Thee."

And the word He spoke, it was not stern,

He answered me tenderly:

"Ah, little one, search that heart of thine;

Art thou working for them or Me?

Nazareth was a little place,

And so was Galilee."

-Anonymous (from a PCC publication)

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My day got off to a start with a bang or should I say a plop. Carson had gotten into the bathroom and played in the toilet and with the toilet paper. Toilet water + toilet paper= MESS. I was not aware of the extent of his mess. Ross had to go to the bathroom and saw the mess and didn't want to sit in or on it and messed his pants due to the delay or shall we say his delay in waiting to the last minute to go. I went in to help him and took his dirty away and had him stand on a towel while I started cleaning up the mess Carson had made and it did take me awhile but I thought he had done his duty but when I walked back into the bathroom he had pooped on the towel!!! AHHHH! Again, he wanted a clean bathroom particularly a clean stool. He thought the wetness on it was pee and really it was toilet water from Carson having his jollies in the toilet. I hadn't cleaned the stool yet. I walked away again to either throw something away or put it in the laundry and when I returned he had pee'd on the floor and the shower curtain! Triple AHHHHHHHHHHH! Yes, Ross was not being responsible or acting like a big boy and he was reprimanded and he knew better. He sincerely asked if I forgave him and I did although I was exasperated to say the least! YUP, he's human and makes mistakes like the rest of the human race. I say all that to say one, I want to remember days like this when I am 60 years old! I really do!! Second, I am attempting to tend the tiny spot God has given me to maintain and keep. I know I don't do the best job (but I do try hard at it) and I will win no awards but at least my plot of earth to maintain is well fertilized!!! ;-)

Memorial Day Fun!!

Memorial Day was packed full of things to do! It would have been great to go to a Memorial Day celebration/remembrance but we didn't find out about the one on base until it was to late! Oh well, I think that will be on our plan for celebrating next year. Babe had a lot of school work to do anyway and had to spend most of the day at school working on school work which was a bummer but at least he had the free day to work on it!

Gabriel has started to learn to weed wack and since Daddy is buried in studies and hasn't had time to work on the backyard we wanted Gabriel to help out so he and Grandpa J spent the morning out there working and it was A LOT of work but they go it DONE!! So nice for Babe not to have that on his mind as something to get done!

In the afternoon we were able to cross many things off our list of "Things to do when Grandpa and Grandma are here . . ." Picnic-check, paddle boating-check, climb trees-check, Dennis the Mennace Park-check. Not bad for one day!!! Babe did make it to some of the fun in the afternoon when the kids were playing in the park. The picture above shows him on the climb aboard train with Rosser. My hubby is so good looking! I'm thankful!

Gabriel and Grandpa worked hard!

Paddle boating with Ross steering was interesting to say the least. We definitely got peoples attention going into the trees and Grandpa yelling!

The kids LOVED feeding the geese unfortunately the geese had left a lot of leftovers on the ground making it hard to let Carson out to roam around! YUK!

The train at the playground is definitely a hit with the kids! It's amazing the playground has kept it with all the safety concerns of today! I remember climbing around on an old train as a kid in the summer when my parents would take us to get ice cream sundae's! So fun!

Our little chilly Memorial Day picnic lunch at a park in Monterey.

Annalina crawling under the old stationary train at the playground.

Even though this climbing time was set aside for Ross, Annalina and Gabriel had a great time too, in fact, it was one of their favorite parts of the day.

Grandpa hanging out with Ross in a tree!

Ross, a very happy boy to be climbing trees!

This was something Ross wanted to do was climb these trees. He had been here before and enjoyed climbing around and wanted to come back to these trees!

Annalina scaling the wall at Dennis the Mennis park.

Grandpa, is this fun?!!

The boys love running around Dennis the Mennis playground! Gabriel and Ross have so much fun together here and Gabriel is excellent about watching where Ross is which is very helpful since this is a BIG playground and I only have one pair of eyes!

They went a bit more slowly down this slide than Grandpa did!

Grandpa and Carson enjoyed their time together and definitely hit it off!!

17 Mile Drive with Grandpa J

One of the best scenic drives here is 17 Mile Drive which lets you see beautiful Pacific Ocean scenery and also the Pebble Beach golf courses and the famous Monterey Lone Cypress which is the number #1 photographed tree in the world! My Dad got his picture taken with the Lone cypress in the background.

There are different stops along 17 Mile Drive. China Rock is our favorite stop to look for marine life . . . fish, hermit crabs, crabs . . . the kids love it. Last time one of the crabs I caught ended up getting me on the finger and I was in A LOT of pain but Babe pried it off with a pen. OUCH!! That made a big impression on the kids!

I caught this little guy with no problems!

Carson is what you would call "active"!! He is a go getter and he definitely enjoyed exploring by the ocean!

The kids and I checking out the life in this little tide pool there were A LOT of crabs and a neat small fish.

How's the view from here? . . . What a cutie he is!!!!

The kids all had fun climbing around. You can't see it well in the picture but Gabriel found a washed out area here perfect for a fort!!

Here we all are in ONE picture thanks to Grandpa!

Carson Boy with one of his carming smiles!

Grandpa J with Gabriel and Ross. Grandpa really enjoyed the trip exploring with the kids and the amazing scenery!

Ready, Aim . . .

This is a military sniper with his camo on! I am not sure how many hits he has!!

Gabriel has been wanting to go shooting with Daddy so badly and Daddy has wanted to go too but he has just been swimming in school work! Finially, this weekend they made it to the range and Gabriel got to shoot about 70 rounds and he was one happy boy!

Gabriel's 8th Birthday Party

Gabriel picked out this cake! I wasn't sure how it would taste because he requested that it have Bavarian cream for filling but it was fantastic!!

Grandma and Grandpa J got his Axis and Allies the board game which he and his Daddy have been wanting! Later on Babe had Gabriel, Annalina, and Ross playing the game . . . really it was a teaching lesson on how to play. My dad looked in and saw them all playing and said "Only Brian Lysne could get a 8, 6, and 3 year old interested in WWII!"

Annalina uniquely wrapped her present for Gabriel which was a treasure map she had made for Gabriel on left over cork! Cute and sweet!

It was so nice having Grandma and Grandpa J here for Gabriel's birthday!! They are good at celebrating and add so much!! Gabriel got a tetherball, books, and a wallet with his name on it from his Mommy and Daddy!! From friends and family he got t-shirt, watch, water balloons, garden journal, and a digital camera.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk For Gabriel's 8th Birthday

The kids really enjoyed this ride on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk but the favorite ride of all was the log flume which was SCARY!!! The kids enjoyed it even though they were scared!! The kids also enjoyed the playing lazer tag which they had played once before and enjoyed. The weather was PERFECT for a day of walking around the boardwalk with a lot of sun and mild temperatures. God was good. I had checked the weather and up until close to that day it was supposed to be rainy but it was beautiful!!

Me with my Sweet Rosser in Santa Cruz!!

Carson enjoying his time with Grandpa J on the boardwalk!!

The Birthday Boy with Carson Boy!

Carson hitches a ride with Grandpa!

The kids enjoyed all the rides and there were A LOT of them!!

Me with my kiddos.

They enjoyed the carousel!