They're Back!!!!

There are a lot of reasons why we don't have a dog.... a whole list!

One of the main reasons we don't have a dog is that they POOP in your yard and then you have to pick it up - yuck!!!! That is the only reason I need for not having dog! Oh yeah and then there is the fact that they make me SNEEZE!

Well for the last two weeks, each and every morning we have found one or two piles of POOP right in the MIDDLE of our backyard - and we don't have a dog!

We tried to figure out how the dog was getting in - we barricaded the gate on one side, we covered up a hole in the fence they could possibly get through and we still found POOP every morning on the lawn!

This weekend I was at the beach - enjoying this......

Scrapbooking at the beach with this view! And it was perfect weather - in the 70's and no wind. Heaven!

And in the evening we got to look at this.....

I got to do this while Jim was home picking up POOP!

I mentioned to the ladies I was scrapbooking with about our POOP problem! One of the gals said - it sounds like you have raccoons. We hadn't even considered raccoons - not knowing how big raccoon POOP can be (the size of a medium dog according to my friend) Sorry if this is getting a little too gross for you......

Given our history with raccoons I figured this could be a real possibility so I called Jim and let him know.

We left a few eggs out near the spot where the mystery animal likes to do his business to see what would happen - we learned with our last raccoon episode that they like eggs! Sure enough this morning the eggs were eaten (along with two fresh piles of POOP! - so off we go to borrow the raccoon traps again!! Maybe we have two raccoons!

Kid update:

Logan called via Skype this morning from Finland. He sounds tired. They are having an amazing time. The tour planner( Logan) really planned a full tour so they are running very hard. Some time for sightseeing but not alot. Logan actually called our home phone through his computer using Skype - yea for technology. They return to the US on Thursday. He will recover in Provo for about 5 days and then be home for a week - yeah! Can't wait to have everyone home - as Jack Johnson says "It's always better when we're together!!"

There are several video clips of some of their community outreach performances on the YA blog - check them out.

http://byuyas.blogspot.com/

Clark: - is enduring working at Costco. He is busy planning his European adventure and every day seems to add a new country to his list - think he will be visiting 15 different countries. Greece was just added. He has been on several dates since he has been home.

Cali - is enjoying working at the UPS Store. She only works about 18 hours a week so is hoping to pick up a few nannying jobs too. She is having fun hanging out with Hannah and working out at the gym. She is also having fun reconnecting with high school friends as they return home from college.

Tessa - is still in school. She is busy at ballet getting ready for their Spring recital. She also had a fun weekend attending the Taylor Swfit concert with a friend.

VIdeo Cam Fun

Thanks to gmail video we have been able to see and talk to Logan while he has been in Scandanvia. With the time difference , which is 9 hours he is usually in a theater getting ready for a show about the same time I am working in my office about 9-10 a.m. Fortunately alot of the theaters have wireless.

It has been fun to see his face and hear his voice!

The other day Cali got a hold of my camera while we were all in my very messy office chatting with Logan. Please excuse the mess in the background. I had to move all my scrapbooking stuff out of the boys room when Clark came home and it is now all piled in my office.

Tessa loves the camera!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day started off with a yummy breakfast prepared by the girls and Jim.

After a crepe maker malfunction they moved onto plan b and and fixed pancakes with whip cream and strawberries instead. They also made my favorite sugared bacon too!!

Clark built quite a layered pancake creation and commented - "It's pretty enough for the blog" so we had to take a picture for the blog!
We went to church and then home. Cali's Mother's Day gift to me was preparing dinner. With a little help from Jim she did a FANTASTIC job! She fixed honey sesame pork tenderloin, spicy potatoes, spinach salad, roasted asparagus and she made her first yeast rolls - they turned out perfect. Dessert was compliments of Marie Callenders - Razzleberry and Lemon Meringue Pie!

Grandma and Grandpa Best and Uncle Rich and family joined us for dinner.

Here are the three Mother's!

and me and my mom.

Jim brought me some beautiful Mother's Day tulips.

And Tessa made me a darling new apron

And Grandma got a shoulder rub from Cali.

The girls enjoyed relaxing while the boys did the dishes!

Happy Mother's Day!