Cedar Trees

Having grown up with relatives in Southern Utah, I have driven through St George and Cedar City many times.  I just assumed that the city was named for the trees around it that look somewhat like this:

http://cpluhna.nau.edu/Biota/pinyon-juniper.htm

But, in the scriptures, we read about "Cedars of Lebanon."  Somehow, the feeling that I've always gotten from the scriptural references to cedars are that they are tall and regal.  I've also wondered how it is possible to get the valuable cedar planks that line chests and closets from the stubby cedars that I'm familiar with. 

And, at Mount Vernon (home of George Washington), we discovered the answer.  These are real cedar trees, right from Lebanon.

 

Now it all makes much more sense.  And then, as I was searching for a picture of "Utah Cedars" on google, the first result that came up listed Juniper trees.  Utah cedars aren't cedar at all!  They're juniper trees!

Catch up!

 It's been so long since I posted.  I lost my camera cord, so I couldn't get the pictures from the camera to the computer.  Nate hid it.

We took a trip to BYU for a day.  Camden really wanted a picture with the cougar.  He would have preferred to have his picture taken riding the cougar, actually, but he's not quite big enough.

Nate and our shoe rack have had a seriously dramatic relationship.  Mostly, he loves to climb on it, push it around, knock all the shoes off, etc.  But, often he ends up stuck (as pictured) or hurt by a broken part. So, with a little help from the problem causer, Brian made me a beautiful bench.  I love it!  

And, here are a few pictures from the Brigham City Open House.  I think the boys loved the fountain and the cookies the best, but Brian and Camden got to have a few minutes of special time in the sealing room looking at the mirrors. 

 


Anyway,  Nate's been busy learning to jump.  He can't quite leave the ground yet, but he gives a mighty effort.  He climbs on and over everything.  He's been trying to communicate more, mostly with pointing.  He learned to fold his arms, but we're still working on folding arms during the prayer.  :)

Camden is beginning to read simple 3 letter words.  It is very slow going, but I am so proud of him.  He obsessed with dinosaurs right now.  He asks Brian to do "dinosaur fights" and picks dinosaur books from the library.  He talks about carnivores and herbivores, quadrupeds (4 footed) and bipeds (2 footed).  He and Nate growl.  A lot.  He plays Dinosaur Train on pbskids.org.  He wants to know more about all sorts of dinosaurs I've never heard of or seen before.  Amargasaurus and Spinosaurus are his favorites right now. 

Camden and Brian at the Ogden Dinosaur Park.   

We think Nate is either lactose intolerant or milk protein intolerant.  He's had bad diaper rashes for a long time, but I couldn't figure out why.  I just thought he was super sensitive, but he was getting bad rashes probably 2 times each week, which would last 3-4 days.  He has been on a dairy free diet for almost 2 weeks, and his little bum has been so healthy! I'm just trying to learn how to cook without milk and butter.  Thankfully, he really likes almond milk for drinking.  I've been making avacado/banana/coconut milk smoothies to increase his fat and calories.  I've heard coconut oil is a good replacement for butter and only has a very slight coconut flavor.
Mostly I feel bad because as I've been trying to help him gain weight, I've given him extra portions of whole-milk yogurt, cheese, whole milk, carnation breakfast (which contains a lot of milk), and breads with powdered milk for extra protein.  

I think that's all for now.