Growing Too Fast

 The Wee Lad is growing up very fast.  Here are a few photos from this summer.

We got him his own sunglasses but he prefers to wear Gil's.  He always puts them on upside down though.

He still does his own dishes and is getting better at it.

Sometimes he's pretty good about wearing a mask.

My mother gave Wesley her old flip phone and he loves it.  It's not a functioning phone anymore but he still enjoys picking it up and giving whoever he's pretending to talk to a running commentary of what's going on in the house.

The chair in the above and below was mine when I was little and it's been popular since it was pulled out of storage.  I had to wash the cloth seat and Wesley still wanted to use his chair.  So, he used a toy box to sit on and leaned against the couch.  Smart kid!

He walked into the kitchen the other day in Gil's shoes and holding his diaper changing map and announced he was going to work.

At the library, he was immediately drawn to the computer, sat down, and announced he was working.  We're not sure where this idea of "work" comes from, but he's very serious about it.

We visited the splash pad a few times this summer. 

He loves to sing and dance.  When I go during the week to church to practice the organ, he sets up his music stand and sings his way through the hymn book while I play.  This particular day he found these massive sunglasses and was absolutely adorable (notice they are upside down).

He also insists he has his turn to play the organ as well.  In some ways it's nicer than the piano because I can pick only one stop and turn the volume as low as it goes.

We got a train set and he loved it.  We were able to find my brother's old set and the two sets fit together perfectly.  We've had a lot of fun setting up more elaborate tracks.

I love this little boy!

Utah Visit

Labor Day weekend we headed to the Salt Lake area to attend a baby shower for my brother-in-law's wife.  She texted us right as we reached the NV/UT border that she was having the baby and the shower was cancelled.

We spent the morning instead with Grandma Sharon and Uncle Bryan at Wheeler Farm.  The boys climbed into the tree house.

We tried the barrel cow ride.

Wesley loved the tractor and would have stayed on it and pretended to drive all day if we let him.  He is fascinated with cars, trucks, trains and other large vehicles.

Sunday afternoon we headed to southern Utah.  Gil and my dad flew on Tuesday to Houston to help Gil's sister move to Missouri.  Wesley and I had a lovely week spending time with Nona and getting to meet Baby Kensley, my brother's little girl.  Wesley was very, very excited to hold her and was very attentive to her needs.

We went to the Dinosaur Discovery Park in St. George.  It was not a place for Wesley but there was a dinosaur we could climb on.  

It was a nice week and good to spend time with family.

Caldor Fire

I worked for the Eldorado National Forest for almost four years.

The ENF is divided into four districts, Georgetown to the northwest, Pacific to the northeast, Placerville slicing through the middle, and Amador to the south.  I worked on the Placerville district.  During my time on this district, I hike a fair share of it, found my favorite places, coordinated with business owners who operated on the forest and was liaison for private land owners within the forest.  

The last two weeks have been hard.  The picture below shows the Caldor Fire's footprint as of this morning (minus the part that's dropped down into the Tahoe Basin).  Everything you see in red is my old district.

This map shows the fire's progression, from when it first ignited to today.  I have former coworkers who have been evacuated, two of them with homes where the fire got really, really, close.  The whole eastern half of our stake is evacuated.  Gil's boss was also evacuated and he and his wife are camped out in their trailer behind the shop where he operates his business.

This is a photo of what remains of the Plummer Guard Station.  It was an old cabin where rangers would stay while out on patrol.  The fire burned incredibly hot here and little remains. We were working on getting it ready to be rented to the public.  The structure in the back is solid concrete.  One of my former seasonal employees who sent me this picture said there are places where the fire burned even hotter and not a single tree survived.  

One structure I was very worried about was the Harvey West Cabin.  It was built in the early 1900s and was a private retreat until becoming part of the ENF.  It is fairly rustic (no electricity but hot running water) and we rented it out every summer.  The cabin was saved, though you can see the flames to the left side of the photo.

We are watching this fire very carefully, praying for those evacuated and for the safety of all the firefighters, and a swift containment.