Our Newest Addition

This is a fischer's lovebird. We got her as a companion for Mango. They've bonded already, and are living in the same cage, but she is really scared of people. I've got a few months of working with her ahead of me, but that's no more than I did for Mango.
We named her Onyx, and she hardly makes any noise at all, which is a nice change from Mango's screaming... :)

Day Trip to the Swell!

Alert!

Adam's actually holding a BABY! AAAAGH!
This is Adam and Jack at Pirate Island, as well as a few other pictures of Karissa's graduation party.

Sunday Night

I'm one of those people who has hundreds of pictures on my computer, but am only in about 2% of them (and half of that is because I take self portraits). That's because I'm the only one around here that actually takes pictures. Here's some pictures from tonight.


My gorgeous fish tank!


A self portrait of me and Mango, who is a complete camera hog.


Another self portrait, of me and my sleepy, floppy Gypsy.


Jay with a silhouette of Gypsy.


Here's Adam.

The Swell

Here's a picture of Adam and me, on my second tower summit and first aide lead. The picture without any people is what we were on top of. Cool, huh?

Missing Hamster

Murphy, our little Chinese dwarf hamster, went missing last night. She was exploring on the computer desk, when all of a sudden I realized I couldn't see her anymore. After 10 frantic minutes of looking, I found her in this little squashy place (I have no idea what it's for) that I didn't think even she could fit into. As you can see from the picture, even she was moving around chin to the ground. I gave her some seeds, and she seemed content to spend the night in there, so we had to flush her out with a pen.

Peas!!!

This is the first bowlful of peas from our garden. Aren't they pretty? And so delicious!

Pet Stamp Contest

Hey! I entered some pictures of Skeet in this contest on rubberhedgehog.com. You should vote for one of the three pictures of him. He's numbers 129, 139, and 146. VOTE FOR SKEET!

Double Rainbow!

This is a double rainbow that I saw one evening after work. Isn't it pretty?

Skeet on the Pillow

Skeet loves my pillow, and he'll prop his head and shoulders on it like a little person. In the winter, you see him curled up in a little ball, but it's summer now, so you get all the weird poses... I'm entering this picture in this contest. You should check it out, and enter some pictures yourself!

My Roses

Last summer we weren't in the front part of the house, so we weren't in charge of the roses. The people who lived there chopped the roses to the ground every couple of weeks because they didn't want the bugs that were attracted to the flowers, so this year the poor little things took weeks longer to even show any leaves. While other people's roses were these huge bushes full of blooming roses, my little bushes finally decided that it was safe to come out. Here's some pictures after they started to bloom. Two of the little bushes, though, still haven't bloomed yet. They've had buds for days, but it seems that they're still too scared that they'll get hacked off.

A Cute Picture of Skeet

Adam and Gypsy

Adam recently shaved his beard and let me shave his head. This was after he actually grew a mullet because Christian would buy him a cam if he did. (A cam is a piece of climbing gear.) Thankfully, I have no pictures of the actual mullet...
I also shaved Gypsy, in a lion cut. It's a little uneven, because I've never shaved a cat before, and she started freaking out near the end. I think it turned out well, though. She's now cool for the summer, and she loves being petted even more because of the new sensations due to having no fur... :)

John Bachar

This really famous climber came to Provo and did a slideshow for us! It was really cool. Here's a pic of Adam, Darrin, John, Jen, and Andy.

Pets at the Door

We've been opening the door in the evening so the breeze can help cool down our house. Our cats and Mango actually put aside their arguments for five minutes and stared outside together.

Adam and His Guitar-Playing Kitty

Gypsy decided to see if Adam wanted to snuggle while he was playing the guitar. He propped her up so she was "playing with him," and I made him hold her until I could locate the camera. Gypsy was not amused.

Mango Gets Stuck

If we left the bird food jar open, Mango would lean in and pick out his favorites. This time, though, it was too empty, so he slipped and fell in. He was remarkably calm about the whole thing, just cheeping for help and looking around him. He was unable to get out, though. I just had to take a picture.

I just learned a couple of days ago that my mom actually had two blogs, like me. I'm just used to her calling and asking how to load pictures online or something of the like. I was so used to her being able to do anything, get kicked by a horse and walk away, take in a baby bird or a wounded cat.

There was something there as I read that reminded me of something I thought today. "It is a good experience to come into the kitchen in the morning and have three small, excited beings literally hopping around me. I am popular. I am wonderful. I am unparallelled in their universe." She was talking about her rabbits. I get so frustrated sometimes when Skeet is snuggling next to me on the couch, Mango is shoving his head under my fingers or trying to keep warm inside my shirt, and Gypsy wriggling to get comfortable on my lap. All at the same time.

Today, though, I was on my computer. I stopped and looked around, and Adam had headphones on, Mango was cleaning himself on top of his cage, and the cats were sleeping. I had this sudden forlorn feeling that nobody needed me. I got Adam off his computer and told him this, and he told me he always needed me. The pets were just giving me a breather, because a few minutes later, Skeet followed me into the craft room just to keep me company. It's nice to know that you're needed.

Rock Canyon

Last Wednesday Adam and I went to Rock Canyon and tried out this route that Christian and Adam put up a couple of weeks ago. In the picture of me, the big orange corner is Adam's finger! It was really fun, and I led two out of the five pitches! It wasn't technically hard, but it was good practice for multi-pitch climbing. That first pic was taken at the top of the climb, and you can see the trails that go up Rock Canyon, and Provo city itself!

Jonathan

Here's some adorable pictures of Jonathan that Megan sent me. Isn't he cute?! He's wearing the sweater I made him in the pic with the pacifier.

Candy Buttons

Aren't these just the cutest things ever? I'm planning on getting the mold and making some myself. I'm trying to decide whether to make them out of the colorful candy melts or with dark and milk chocolate. I learned how to temper regular chocolate so you can put it in molds, but I haven't tried it yet. On the other hand, why not make both? :) Bake it Pretty has the blog where they explain how to make them, and you can go through their links to buy the molds and other accessories. I love buttons, and chocolate, so how can I lose?

The Gang

Here's some pics I've taken the last few days... Adam and Carl playing video games, with Gypsy "helping", and Skreeter curled up on my pillow.

Kreeter and Gypse

This is a rare picture of our two kitties actually getting along... Usually if they get this close, it's to wrestle. Aren't they cute? They were even cleaning each others' faces!

Mango's New Nest

Mango has found a new resting place that he likes a whole lot... If I'm wearing a sweatshirt, he'll even climb completely inside! I think he finds our house a trifle chilly. He also likes sitting on top of the fish tank when the light's been on because it's warm.