A Sad Tail

When our baby bunnies were a week old, the girls went out to check on them. Sadly enough, they had died. I had found out the night before that many times the male will kill the babies so he can mate with the female again. I was planning on separating them that day, but I was a little too late. I felt kind of guilty. I know I did my best with the information I had, but I still felt some responsibility for the deaths.

We traded with our neighbor our female for another male. That living situation did not last long. Our male was biting the tail of the other male, causing it to bleed. He would not share his bunny house with him either. After a couple days of this behavior, we decided to just give back the other male and keep one bunny. Besides his homicidal and aggressive tendencies, he's a great bunny. He likes the kids to hold and pet him, and he'll eat out of their hands.

We did have another bunny move in today. I'm not sure she'll fit in the bunny cage though. I see a strange resemblance between this bunny and Azie.

Put That Guy in a Spelling Bee

Me: Annika, go get dressed.

Annika: Dressed?

Me: Yeah, you know, clothes.

Annika: Clothes?

Cameron: Yeah, you know, C-L-O-T-H-S

So Ugly They're Cute

About six months ago we bought our kids two baby bunnies from the neighbor. I hoped and prayed we lucked out and got two of the same gender. It's impossible to tell on rabbits until they're adults. Last week I noticed that Coconut was pulling out her fur. This was a bad sign. Sure enough, when Kayja went to feed them yesterday she noticed (to her delight) that we had two babies. Our rabbits have a tent-shaped wooden house they like to huddle in, and under it Coconut had built a sort of nest for her precious offspring. It was made of wood chips that we keep in their cage and lots of her own fur. I did think that was quite cool. The bunnies, however, are quite ugly. They look like four-inch long hairless mice with bunny ears stuck to their head. I went out today to take a picture, and Coconut had covered them with even more fur, making it difficult to see the babies, but I did get their little movements on video. They are kind of cute in an ugly sort of way.

I (Fern)

I have been asked by my sister-in-law, Camille, to help type her (and Cameron's) grandma's journals. She was a faithful journal-keeper for much of her life. I have only typed about a month's worth of entries but have already learned a lot about the woman. She loved to cook. She loved getting fresh fruits and vegetables from friends and family and often canned them. She appreciated the assistance and enjoyed the company of her granddaughter, Colette. She loved her husband Howard very much. I am typing the journal she kept not long after Howard suffered from a stroke. It made her sad to see him struggle. She also does some funny things. There are many times she writes, "I (Fern)" as if the reader would forget whose journal it was! She also comes back to a blank page years later and inserts an entry. For example, I just typed an entry for September 23, 1991, and the next (inserted) entry is April 1, 2003. This woman would have been a queen blogger. She would have exceeded her storage limit in no time.

I have few memories of Fern, as Cameron and I married just three years before she passed away. We visited her months before she passed, and she told us at least 20 times to keep a journal. "Just four lines a day. Make it your goal to write at least four lines a day." Another memory I have of her is when I went to the Care Center to perm her hair. She told me the story about her and her husband making the drive with their infant daughter Coleen to be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. They had their luggage strapped to the top of the vehicle and at some point along the way it fell off, scattering clothes all over the highway. She told me this story twice, started in on it again, and asked,"Have I already told you this story?" I admitted to never having heard it before, so she told it again, nearly word for word. Funny how she could remember something so vividly from 50-something years ago but nothing from 50-something seconds ago.

Who Knew?

People often ask me if Annika and Kayja are friends. I think they generally are good buddies, but this note I found really surprised me. It reads:

To: Kayja thank you for playing with me it is alout of fun. Kayja I think you are a good sister cause you play with me and laugh with me. It was funny when we were in the car. Why did you put your head down. Love Annika

Summer Time

It warmed up to 55 degrees today and there's hardly any snow left on the ground, so we all broke out our shorts and flip-flops. See what you come to appreciate when you live in Siberia?

To Cut or Not to Cut

I slipped on the ice and landed on my tailbone when I was pregnant with Azie. Maybe it was the loss of weight, maybe she adjusted it on her way out, but after Azie was born I had no pain... until I slipped on the stairs and landed on it again when I was pregnant with Tamzin. After Tamzin was born, the pain was minimal until a few months ago. It's getting worse. Today at water aerobics I couldn't do all the moves because I hurt so bad. It's so upsetting - the more I try to get in shape, the worse it hurts. So now I have a decision to make: exercise despite the pain, sit around watching Oprah and eating Bon Bons, or cut the thing off, which I'm sure I'm not ready for. It sounds a little freaky.

Poor Baby

Little Tamzie has been very sick. She started with a cold and a cough on Saturday, then a fever that night. Diarrhea followed on Sunday and into yesterday. She finally ate and drank her bottle last night at dinner. She slept all night last night and woke up without a fever. She seems to have turned a corner, but yesterday she just wanted to sleep and be held. I have to admit I enjoy the cuddle time when my babies are sick.

Darion's Blog

Darion created her blog today. The address is www.dee-bug.blogspot.com

Annika's Baptism

Annika got baptized last Saturday. Grandma and Grandpa by the Beach made the trek from California. Grandma and Grandpa by the Hill came from St. George. Colby, Marcela, Cohen, and Marcela's mom came from Grand Junction. Our neighbors, the Mercados, were there. Annika's primary teacher, Sister Morrill, her church classmate, Dillya, and her mom, and Bishop Storey were there as well.

There's something about seeing my child hit a major milestone in her life that makes me feel a little older.