Well We are going to find out what were having Nov 4Th so we are taking bets on if its going to be a boy or girl.
About Us
- Ben and Trina
- Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
- Lets see, we like camping, hiking, and being outdoors in general. I like taking photos (most of the time). We have one little girl Paige, and Ben is in school and works. Right know I'm home with Paige which is fun. Family photo taken by my friend Heidi Lee.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Time to place your bets!
Hey Every one i hope your all doing fine Ben and I have been doing a lot lately, Ben is do working on that house (Yes! I'm so happy) I think Ben is too. This last weekend Heather help me and Connie can fruit the we got for free from friend is Alamo. It was fun but i knew i would run out of steam before we would get it done so having Heather there really help a lot we would have never got it all done with out her. Ben tried to go camping this weekend and got his truck stuck in a wash so he had to dig himself out by had witch took him 3 hour and not knowing how close to his Buddy's camp he went back and stayed the night with josh. Poor guy it looks like he got in a fight all of his hands and arms are scratched makes me feel bad when i look at then.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I made it to 13 Week's
Hey everyone sorry I have not been posting much, today it my 13Th week mark and online it says that it is about the size of a medium shrimp and weighs nearly an ounce. Connie, Robin and I have started walking at 7:00 am every morning at sunset park and we up to two miles a day. Then we let shay plan on the new kids play ground that they finally fixed and put in that soft rubber stuff on the ground, She love to swing! I'm doing alright not liking the fact that I'm getting bigger and its just going to keep going but oh well that's what happens when you want a kid. Ben has been working on a building project that is taking all of his extra time, so I'm home by myself a lot witch I have not been liking very much but hopefully he'll be done soon. My brother Cody and Luci are engaged and are getting married Nov 29Th the last Saturday of the month. Well Braden is crying so got to go.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Peanut Photos
I'm so sorry for not writing this month but it has been a really busy one for me. Now for the big news, I'M PREGNANt!!! I know what some of you are thinking, "you're prego and you didn't even tell us". Well maybe not my side of the family, they've known for awhile already. Yes, I'm 9 weeks and 2 days, the pictures say 4 days but when they measured the baby it came out to be 2 days less then the predicted date.
The Wyoming Trip
I've been meaning to try my hand at this "blogging" business for awhile now. I guess its not just for computer geeks and lonely "Star Trek" conventioneers anymore. Look out everybody Ben is entering cyberspace, wish me luck.
It seems like most of August has been spent in our Toyota Corolla driving to and from some family function. We started the month by driving 15 hrs straight from LV to the metropolis of Powell for my Grandma Hopkin's B-day and, unfortunately, my Grandpa Wharton's funeral. He passed away from complications of a stroke and just plain old-age. He lived a good life and was 86 at the time he passed away. We loved him and continue to, he will be missed.
The trip wasn't all doom and gloom though, we did get to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. I think Trina felt a little lost amidst all the Hopkins (that's how I felt with just her immediate family for the first year) but she did well and was very cute, as usual.
After most of the family had gone home we were able to spend a few days doing what we wanted and I, of course, wanted to get uo in the mountains. We decided to head for the Big Horn Mtns to the east of Powell. I've always liked these mountains, they're not as well known as some of the other ranges but I think they are some of the prettiest. We invited Mom and the Grandmas to head up with us for lunch the first day. Thankfully, they drove their own car, that much old ladiness in a confined space might have had me looking to join Grandpa Wharton. Just kidding, it was fun to have them along and I'm sure it was the first time in a few years that Grandma Wharton had been out somewhere.
Trina and I had rented a room at a lodge on the mtn so after lunch and after the old folks went back to town and we went and checked in. Being true Whartons, after check-in we promptly took a good two hour "nap". After nap time I was getting the itch to chase the wily trout so I looked at a map I had borrowed and came up with a plan.
The largest river on this mtn is the Tongue. It has two forks, a north, and a south. I found on the map where the two forks converged and thought it looked like a good place to try my luck. It was a little off the highway (only 2 miles on a dirt road and another mile by foot) so I thought we could avoid the crowds. First, let me say that it takes a real man to drive a Toyota Corolla on a pot-holed mountain road. Anyone can drive a 4x4 with two feet of ground clearance but only the boldest (craziest) do it with a vehicle with six inches of clearance.
We made it safely down the dirt road(didn't bottom out once) and found our trail head. We loaded up and were on our way. The trail was large, it was at one time a road but was all over grown now. The hike went well, it wasn't too steep and the weather was good. I was thinking to myself as we walked "it would be cool to see a moose or elk today" and about that time we came around a corner that opened into a clearing. At the edge of the clearing I quickly noticed a large dark colored animal feeding. For a split second I thought "cool a moose" then immediately realized it was too short for a moose. About the time I realized it was no moose it raised its head and there was no mistaking it anymore. About 25 or 30 yds in front of us was a black bear.
Trina was about two steps ahead of me when I realized what it was so I immediately grabbed her by the arm and told her "there's a bear". Luckily for us, as soon as the bear realized what we were he turned straight around and was gone in a flash. In my mind it seems longer but the entire encounter probably lasted 5 or 6 seconds. By the way, a bear makes a lot of noise running through the woods.
Trina say she was worried as soon as we got out of the car because of all the dead and rotting wood on the ground. She said a silent prayer for safety while we were walking. It might have been the prayer that kept us safe but I like to think that that old bear saw my 185 lbs of mean muscle on the other side of the clearing and ran for his own preservation. Ok, it was the prayer.
After our encounter with the bear and discovering that the two rivers converged at the bottom of a canyon we decided to call an end to this adventure and try our luck closer to the highway. I had some decent luck, nothing too big but lots of bites and a few fish.
Cut-throat, kinda skinny
Nice brookie.
This moose (not bear) was hiding in the willows about 10-15 feet from where I was fishing.
It seems like most of August has been spent in our Toyota Corolla driving to and from some family function. We started the month by driving 15 hrs straight from LV to the metropolis of Powell for my Grandma Hopkin's B-day and, unfortunately, my Grandpa Wharton's funeral. He passed away from complications of a stroke and just plain old-age. He lived a good life and was 86 at the time he passed away. We loved him and continue to, he will be missed.
The trip wasn't all doom and gloom though, we did get to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. I think Trina felt a little lost amidst all the Hopkins (that's how I felt with just her immediate family for the first year) but she did well and was very cute, as usual.
After most of the family had gone home we were able to spend a few days doing what we wanted and I, of course, wanted to get uo in the mountains. We decided to head for the Big Horn Mtns to the east of Powell. I've always liked these mountains, they're not as well known as some of the other ranges but I think they are some of the prettiest. We invited Mom and the Grandmas to head up with us for lunch the first day. Thankfully, they drove their own car, that much old ladiness in a confined space might have had me looking to join Grandpa Wharton. Just kidding, it was fun to have them along and I'm sure it was the first time in a few years that Grandma Wharton had been out somewhere.
Trina and I had rented a room at a lodge on the mtn so after lunch and after the old folks went back to town and we went and checked in. Being true Whartons, after check-in we promptly took a good two hour "nap". After nap time I was getting the itch to chase the wily trout so I looked at a map I had borrowed and came up with a plan.
The largest river on this mtn is the Tongue. It has two forks, a north, and a south. I found on the map where the two forks converged and thought it looked like a good place to try my luck. It was a little off the highway (only 2 miles on a dirt road and another mile by foot) so I thought we could avoid the crowds. First, let me say that it takes a real man to drive a Toyota Corolla on a pot-holed mountain road. Anyone can drive a 4x4 with two feet of ground clearance but only the boldest (craziest) do it with a vehicle with six inches of clearance.
We made it safely down the dirt road(didn't bottom out once) and found our trail head. We loaded up and were on our way. The trail was large, it was at one time a road but was all over grown now. The hike went well, it wasn't too steep and the weather was good. I was thinking to myself as we walked "it would be cool to see a moose or elk today" and about that time we came around a corner that opened into a clearing. At the edge of the clearing I quickly noticed a large dark colored animal feeding. For a split second I thought "cool a moose" then immediately realized it was too short for a moose. About the time I realized it was no moose it raised its head and there was no mistaking it anymore. About 25 or 30 yds in front of us was a black bear.
Trina was about two steps ahead of me when I realized what it was so I immediately grabbed her by the arm and told her "there's a bear". Luckily for us, as soon as the bear realized what we were he turned straight around and was gone in a flash. In my mind it seems longer but the entire encounter probably lasted 5 or 6 seconds. By the way, a bear makes a lot of noise running through the woods.
Trina say she was worried as soon as we got out of the car because of all the dead and rotting wood on the ground. She said a silent prayer for safety while we were walking. It might have been the prayer that kept us safe but I like to think that that old bear saw my 185 lbs of mean muscle on the other side of the clearing and ran for his own preservation. Ok, it was the prayer.
After our encounter with the bear and discovering that the two rivers converged at the bottom of a canyon we decided to call an end to this adventure and try our luck closer to the highway. I had some decent luck, nothing too big but lots of bites and a few fish.
Cut-throat, kinda skinny
Nice brookie.
This moose (not bear) was hiding in the willows about 10-15 feet from where I was fishing.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Saturday Craft Night!
Saturday night ends up being a girls night because all our husbands go play basketball for 2 hour or more. We are always trying to think of what we can do besides site around talking and eating food witch is fun but not all the time.(Got to keep my size under control) So Connie and I made glycerin soap and we have found a new way to make decorative soap by using acrylic stamps that you can put into the molds and they don't melt witch we were worried about. In September for our enrichment night I'll be helping them make soap so were trying to come up this different ideas. What Do you think?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Becoming Self Reliant
My Sister Connie and I have been trying hard to become self reliant, we want to learn how things are made and what does it take to do it. Lately we have been studying up on soap making I know its pretty easy to just go to the store and buy our soap, but if there comes a time that we can't just go to the store and get it I wanted to know how to make it myself. So I started looking up books online through the library to see what kind of books they had and if any that I liked. I have made soap before buy just going to Joans and buying the bricks of glycerin and meelting it down and adding what ever I wanted to it, and it is nice and easy to do. But I guess i want to know what other tipes of soap there are and how to do it. The book I have been looking at is about Milk Based Soap and it calls for Lye. I know the stuff your grate grandma used to clean everything that could take your skin off if you weren't careful. Well there are two ways to get lye now days that is buy it already made or make it your self, but you wont find it in stores I guess about 3 years ago they had some kind of scare and they pulled it out of all the stores. (You can buy it online) I found some websites that teach you how to make lye from ash and rain water if your interested in reading about it I have post the artical and put the web link at the end. Hope everyone is doing well
www.wikihow.com/Make-Lye
How to Make Lye
Lye, also known as NaOH, sodium hydroxide, or caustic soda, is used in making soap, and also in biodiesel fuel production. You could easily buy lye from a chemical supply house or online, but you may find great satisfaction in doing it all yourself, not to mention the money you will save.
Steps
1)Start a rain barrel to catch soft water. This is a key step. Depending upon how much lye you want to leach, make sure that you have 2 or 3 gallons of soft water before you proceed.
2)Find a local brewer's supply house and pick up a wooden barrel and a cork about 3" long. You can use a cask-sized or waist-high barrel.
3)Take the barrel home and drill a hole in it approx. 2" above the bottom. Make sure that the cork will fit snugly into the hole.
4)Find a place that the barrel will be undisturbed. Lye is caustic. Take the necessary precautions. Put some bricks down and place the barrel on top of them. The brick base must be stable. It raises the barrel up so that you can easily drain off the lye into a container when it is ready. Give yourself room to work.
5)Cover the bottom of the barrel with some palm-sized clean rocks (e.g. river rock). Cover the rocks with approximately 6" of straw (this can be hay or grass). This will filter the ashes and help your lye drain cleanly.
Gather branches and/or logs of oak, ash, or fruitwoods. Remember that the best lye is made from hardwoods. Avoid pine, fir, and other evergreens.
6)Burn it outside in a pile, or better yet, use it in your fireplace or woodstove.
Scoop the ashes out and put them in the prepped barrel. (Make sure that the ash is completely cold, or you'll set your barrel and anything around it on fire.) You can fill the barrel with ash but it is not necessary you can make smaller amounts with less ash.
7)Put a pan under the hole and remove the cork. Pour the soft water in until you see it start to drain into the pan, then put the cork back in tight. The water level should be about 6" from the top. After a day, the first ash should settle and you can add more ash.
8)Let it sit for at least 3 days. You can add ash all week and drain it regularly on a specific day of the week.
Check to see if your lye is ready. For what purpose are you leaching this lye? Body soap or heavy cleaning? Lye concentration gets stronger with each leaching. For average soap making, you can use these measures: Drop a fist-sized potato or a raw egg into the barrel. If it floats enough for a quarter-size piece to rise above the water, it is ready. If it doesn't, you need to add more ashes or drain all the water and re-leach it (pour it back into the cask and let it set one more cycle).
9)Make sure that you have a wooden crock or glass container to catch your lye when it's ready. Put it under the tap, gently pull the cork, and fill your containers. Leave enough head room that they will be safe and easy to pour. Make sure that you have tight fitting lids.
10)Store your lye in a cool dark place until use. (The sooner the better.)
Tips
Do not start this project until you have collected 2-3 gallons of rain water and have purchased or scavenged all of your supplies.
Make sure that your lye barrel has a stable foundation and is in a secure place where it cannot be knocked over by, for example, roving children.
If you run a dehumidifier its collected water is an alternative to rainwater.
To dispose of old leached ashes, dig a hole away from everything and pour the muck into it. Don't cover it until the ashes dry thoroughly.
Warnings
Lye is a base, also known as an alkali. Both acids and bases are caustic; they "burn" anything that they touch. Please use common sense and follow the tips provided.
Wear rubber gloves and eye protection when draining off or handling your lye, it can burn your skin and blind you!
For all backyard chemists, chemical-resistant gloves (the yellow kitchen ones will do), safety glasses and arm and body covering are mandatory.
Educate yourself on poison treatment before you begin making soap or biodiesel. visit www.poison.org [1] for appropriate actions to take if lyewater or lye crystals spill on you, are accidentally swallowed, or get in your eye.
In the instance that lye should come in contact with your skin, brush off any solids and do not run it under water. Neutralize the burn with vinegar. Water will only make it hurt worse. The strong base can cause severe burns, and you may not feel the effects right away due to nerve damage. So always (see next dot)
In any emergency, call 911 or your local poison control center's emergency number.
Another Website that has instructions is www.ehow.com How to Make Lye
www.wikihow.com/Make-Lye
How to Make Lye
Lye, also known as NaOH, sodium hydroxide, or caustic soda, is used in making soap, and also in biodiesel fuel production. You could easily buy lye from a chemical supply house or online, but you may find great satisfaction in doing it all yourself, not to mention the money you will save.
Steps
1)Start a rain barrel to catch soft water. This is a key step. Depending upon how much lye you want to leach, make sure that you have 2 or 3 gallons of soft water before you proceed.
2)Find a local brewer's supply house and pick up a wooden barrel and a cork about 3" long. You can use a cask-sized or waist-high barrel.
3)Take the barrel home and drill a hole in it approx. 2" above the bottom. Make sure that the cork will fit snugly into the hole.
4)Find a place that the barrel will be undisturbed. Lye is caustic. Take the necessary precautions. Put some bricks down and place the barrel on top of them. The brick base must be stable. It raises the barrel up so that you can easily drain off the lye into a container when it is ready. Give yourself room to work.
5)Cover the bottom of the barrel with some palm-sized clean rocks (e.g. river rock). Cover the rocks with approximately 6" of straw (this can be hay or grass). This will filter the ashes and help your lye drain cleanly.
Gather branches and/or logs of oak, ash, or fruitwoods. Remember that the best lye is made from hardwoods. Avoid pine, fir, and other evergreens.
6)Burn it outside in a pile, or better yet, use it in your fireplace or woodstove.
Scoop the ashes out and put them in the prepped barrel. (Make sure that the ash is completely cold, or you'll set your barrel and anything around it on fire.) You can fill the barrel with ash but it is not necessary you can make smaller amounts with less ash.
7)Put a pan under the hole and remove the cork. Pour the soft water in until you see it start to drain into the pan, then put the cork back in tight. The water level should be about 6" from the top. After a day, the first ash should settle and you can add more ash.
8)Let it sit for at least 3 days. You can add ash all week and drain it regularly on a specific day of the week.
Check to see if your lye is ready. For what purpose are you leaching this lye? Body soap or heavy cleaning? Lye concentration gets stronger with each leaching. For average soap making, you can use these measures: Drop a fist-sized potato or a raw egg into the barrel. If it floats enough for a quarter-size piece to rise above the water, it is ready. If it doesn't, you need to add more ashes or drain all the water and re-leach it (pour it back into the cask and let it set one more cycle).
9)Make sure that you have a wooden crock or glass container to catch your lye when it's ready. Put it under the tap, gently pull the cork, and fill your containers. Leave enough head room that they will be safe and easy to pour. Make sure that you have tight fitting lids.
10)Store your lye in a cool dark place until use. (The sooner the better.)
Tips
Do not start this project until you have collected 2-3 gallons of rain water and have purchased or scavenged all of your supplies.
Make sure that your lye barrel has a stable foundation and is in a secure place where it cannot be knocked over by, for example, roving children.
If you run a dehumidifier its collected water is an alternative to rainwater.
To dispose of old leached ashes, dig a hole away from everything and pour the muck into it. Don't cover it until the ashes dry thoroughly.
Warnings
Lye is a base, also known as an alkali. Both acids and bases are caustic; they "burn" anything that they touch. Please use common sense and follow the tips provided.
Wear rubber gloves and eye protection when draining off or handling your lye, it can burn your skin and blind you!
For all backyard chemists, chemical-resistant gloves (the yellow kitchen ones will do), safety glasses and arm and body covering are mandatory.
Educate yourself on poison treatment before you begin making soap or biodiesel. visit www.poison.org [1] for appropriate actions to take if lyewater or lye crystals spill on you, are accidentally swallowed, or get in your eye.
In the instance that lye should come in contact with your skin, brush off any solids and do not run it under water. Neutralize the burn with vinegar. Water will only make it hurt worse. The strong base can cause severe burns, and you may not feel the effects right away due to nerve damage. So always (see next dot)
In any emergency, call 911 or your local poison control center's emergency number.
Another Website that has instructions is www.ehow.com How to Make Lye
Gosselin Sextuplets & Twins
Gosselin Sextuplets & Twins
I don't know about you guys but I love this show it is so much fun to watch. I know its just everyday life but she has six 3 year old's and two 7 year old's. If that doesn't make you crazy I don't know what would, I love that they say were not perfect and there just trying to do the best they can with what they have. I always think to my self that someone should convert them. (Just a random thought I had)
My mom had 8 kids but she only have one set of twins Connie and Cody man, and I thought my mom was super women and she is, but this is on a hole different playing filed.
I don't know about you guys but I love this show it is so much fun to watch. I know its just everyday life but she has six 3 year old's and two 7 year old's. If that doesn't make you crazy I don't know what would, I love that they say were not perfect and there just trying to do the best they can with what they have. I always think to my self that someone should convert them. (Just a random thought I had)
My mom had 8 kids but she only have one set of twins Connie and Cody man, and I thought my mom was super women and she is, but this is on a hole different playing filed.
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