Poor Little Thing

Well, the Frampton family can add another notch to their bird killing tally! The poor guy tried to play chicken with the Excursion and lost. He had several friends that made it out alive but he was not so lucky. He met his demise just south of Winnemucca, NV. Unfortunately for the bird, he became a bit of a hood ornament.

We didn't realize he was there until we stopped for dinner in Reno. The lady who made our sandwiches at Subway motioned for us to get out of the car to see the bird "perched" on the grill.

Road Trip

Today we took of on our annual road trip. We are on our way to California. We decided to go hang out with Aunt Suzie (Quinn's sister) for a few days then we will spend a week in Monterey.

On our way out of town we stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The sun reflected to bright off of the salt that it really hurt our eyes. I had to take the picture with my eyes closed.

Campin' Out

We had a great Thursday night camping out with the Smiths and Newmans. We decided that since Dexter hasn't had a scout camp yet we would consider this trip scout camp. He was able to pass off a couple of requirements for his First Class Scout badge. He learned how to pitch a tent, build and start a fire, and split firewood. We worked very hard and he was exhausted when bed time came around.

Paw Paw took all of the boys fishing. They caught a brown trout which Paw Paw cooked over the fire, then they all ate it. Afterward we were all delighted to hear several rounds of "Fish Heads" from Max, Dex & Rex.

I have to claim temporary insanity because I let Max and Dex sleep by themselves in a small tent next to the creek. I didn't sleep well that night with worries that Dex would wake up and end up in the creek. Every noise woke me up all night long. We all survived and the boys really had a great time.

The boys loved to chase around and take pictures of the black and white bunny that roamed the campground during the day. During the night there was another black and white visitor. I am relieved that the boys didn't chase that creature around.

On Friday afternoon almost everyone went swimming in the creek. Since I didn't bring swimming suits for the boys, they swam in their underpants. They had a ball!! Maxwell was determined to be the first to sit and lay down in the water. Then completely immerse himself in the freezing creek. Apparently this encouraged others, because soon after PawPaw worked up the courage to get all the way in too.

We had such a fun time and we are so glad that Jer and Karla invited us.

Vacation to New England

This week Quinn and I have been on vacation in New England. We were able to visit Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We also went to New York, but Quinn doesn't like to talk about that...maybe he'll add his own post. Quinn had to work for Redbox, but we were still able to find time to fit in lots of site seeing and several adventures.

Since we have never been to New England before, I had several things I HAD to do. I needed to eat clam chowder in Boston and lobster in Maine. We managed to eat chowder in Connecticut, and we got to eat lobster in Maine. However, I will seriously consider ever doing that again.

We went to the docks in Freeport, Maine, right where all the lobster men bring in their boats. Turns out, one of these families also owns a restaurant right on the dock. They serve their catch fresh. I was so excited. REALLY FRESH LOBSTER! I ordered Lobster Delight (it seemed like an Anne of Green Gables sort of thing to order.) It included 1 lobster (that I got to hold first) 1 ear of corn, and 12 steamers (clams.) We eagerly awaited our feast. Our number was called, and Quinn delivered our food. Unfortunately since we are from Utah a land locked state, we didn't know what to do. We both just sat there staring at our beautifully arranged meal, wondering what to do. The lady who cooked our meal noticed, and she came out to give us lessons. We ate (I use this term loosely) our steamers first. Really we gagged on our steamers first. Words cannot adequately describe our experience. The clams look disgusting...they have this black neck that hangs out of the shell like a dogs tongue (you are supposed to eat it!) The texture of the rest was just WRONG! I dry heaved a couple of times. Quinn and I kept counting how many we had left. They never seemed to end. We made it through though, the lobster was better, except it wasn't cut out and sitting on a plate, we had to tear the creature apart to eat it. It was pretty good, but have you ever seen the liver???

We had a great time, we loved the covered bridges, the light houses were breath taking, and everything else was very peaceful...Until the night after I ate the steamers. I had nightmares that the cook who helped up learn how to eat was just joking about actually eating the clams, and she was standing behind the door laughing at us.

Maxwell's Baptism

Today was an exciting day for Maxwell. He was baptized! He has anxiously waited for for this day for 8 long years (seriously!) What makes it even more exciting for him is the location. Due to unforseen scheduling difficulities Max was baptized in his Grandma Ann's backyard pool.

It was a beautiful day, and the yard looked lovely. Bishop Childs came down from our ward in Clinton to officiate. Uncle Jeremy and Grandma Ann spoke, and Gammy and Aunt Suzie said the prayers. Quinn baptized and confirmed Max, and Pawpaw and Uncle Matt were the witnesses. When it came time for the baptism, Max was a little nervous because of the temperature of the pool, but he got in with out a whimper. Just as Quinn started to say the baptismal prayer the pool took on a whole new look. It suddenly reflected the sacred nature of what was about to happen. It didn't look like Grandma's pool anymore. It was a sacred place for Maxwell to be baptized.

Max was just beaming when he got out of the pool, and he couldn't wait to get his new suit and special tie on. He looked to handsome as he strutted around for the rest of the day. We figure Maxwell had around 70 people there that day. Thankyou to every one who supported our family.

An interesting fact about Max and his baptism...Max was born on his late Grandfathers birthday May 22, 2000, less than 1 year after his death. We know Grandpa was there today, and we feel him near often. Max was also baptized on his Grandma Ann Frampton's 66th birthday.