I had the chance to fly home a week ago for a quick trip. Matt wasn't able to come but we'll make it back this summer. One of the first things I do when I get home to visit my family is go out and look at the beehive on my parent's property. (See above) My dad raises bees for a hobby. Bee keeping is kind of a sacred thing in our family because my Great Grandfather made a living raising bees and selling their honey. Great Grandpa's son, my Grandfather, also helped to raise bees and sell honey before he became a physician. My Dad, as a way of keeping the tradition, learned how to raise and care for these cool insects. I love to watch them bring back pollen from Mom's flower garden. They are pretty docile and won't hurt you if you keep out of their way. In fact, they really just ignore you because they are so busy. Aren't they cool looking?
My baby brother and I like going for long runs together when I come home to visit. He is quite the athlete. He is not a good picture partner though. He hates getting his picture taken so he makes lame faces like the one above. We were just about to go for a long run when Mom came out and asked to take our picture.
My Mom plays the cello and has some friends that play violins and the piano. They practice at Mom's house every week as a hobby. They are quite talented and play at many many weddings throughout the year. Mom is even asked to play in church quite often. I like to listen to them practice. It's very calming.
My main purpose in going home on this most recent visit was to go to a women's conference with my Mom called "Time Out For Women". It is a tradition we have been carrying on for several years. A lot of people from our faith or church come and speak at this conference and give inspiring talks. This is a picture of that day in between speakers of the conference. It was a perfect day. Such beautiful weather and a fun date with Mama.
Here are some more pictures of Dad's bees. They were so busy all day long that day!! When the weather was warm like it was, they are more active and you see a lot more of them out gathering pollen. Dad calls the bees his "girlies" because 90% of the hive is female. They work all day long never stopping to gather pollen.
I think these photos capture their busy nature pretty well.
Below is a photo of my little brother about to open the hive to change out the sugar water in the hive. Bees make their own food but sometimes when it is cold they need extra help getting enough to eat. Sugar water is one way to feed these little bees. My brother is pretty brave in working with these little girls.
GLACIER LILIES!! In April and May where I grew up, you can always find Glacier Lilies all over town. They are my favorite flower. They are wild so you can't find them in stores or even grown in planters. They pop up wherever they want and only bloom for a short period of time. I miss seeing them every spring.
Above is a picture of my dear dear Grandfather. He is my Mom's dad. He's also a San Francisco Giants fan like Matt and me. (As evidenced by his hat). Grandpa lives down the street from where my parents live. It's pretty great seeing him when I visit.
Below are some photos I captured of Mom and Dad jumping on their trampoline. Dad was laughing hard in these photos.
Isn't little bro handsome? It's his senior year. Soon he'll be getting ready to go on a mission for our church! I'm glad he's in our family. :)
Little Bro and I racing on a running path near Mom and Dad's place. He almost beat me…..almost.
On a family walk. I think I got my brother picking his nose unawares……Har har.
Here is a photo of some close family friends of ours. Mom and Dad spend a lot of time with a family at their church that has four kids. These little ones are so fun to spend time with. We always go get ice cream with them at my favorite ice cream parlor when I visit. Below is a picture of my Huckleberry ice cream cone. It's my favorite flavor.
Every morning that I was home, Mom, Dad and I would go for a walk by this horse pasture. This little guy would walk up to the fence and want us to rub his nose. So cute. I wish I would have brought some apples with me to feed him, or her. I love horses!
My Grandma passed away several years ago but fortunately Grandpa got remarried to this beautiful lady. I was home for their anniversary so I made our family dinner and cake in celebration of this day!
More family time!! I wish Matt, my sister and other brother could have been there with us. We missed them a lot.
HA HA!!! Do you just love this little guys T-ball shirt? That's a real team name: "GREGORY"S CUSTOM SAUSAGE!!!" I had to get a picture of it.
Below is Mama with her buddies. These kids always are at Mom and Dad's playing and jumping on the trampoline.
