We Are Back!

The work monster came and devoured our home computer and now after two years has finally decided to regurgitate it back up, therefore allowing Ashley to update her blog! Life has happened at our house and instead of updating you all we have been barely getting by living it! I will try...yes, try being the key word...I will try and update you all every few months on how our little family is doing in Salmon.
Well, we are busy and well and yeah! Jeremey is working hard as Weed Superintendent...yep, he's the big guy at the weed office now and Ashley is enjoying her boys and having time off from the pool and directing plays. Rowan is learning so much with preschool and is counting down the days till Christmas and Kael bug is potting training and loving life as a 2.75 year old!

Final months of 2011

Busy, busy, busy can pretty much sum up these last few months of
out lives, as I'm sure some of you can relate. Jeremey is still trucking away for the county weed control and is enjoying more responsibility as he is climbing the work ladder. He got his elk in October and filled our freezer, woo-hoo, and now has the itch for whitetail with his bow. When he is not providing for our family, Jeremey loves spending time with his two little rascals and giving mommy me-time.
Ashley tried out for Salmon Idol this year along with big sister, Jenny, and placed third out of all the contestants which was a fun experience and her hard work finally paid off when her school kids performed "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" in the beginning of December. Ashley is now finally enjoying baking holiday goodies again, spending evenings with the men in her life, and of course, rearranging/cleaning her house after turning her downstairs into a drama shed. She will be back at the drama grind at the end of January and is excited for her upcoming adventures with the ones she loves.
Besides being a ball of energy and Mr. Independent, Rowan is loving childhood (well, hopefully, anyway). His first day of pre-school was on his 3rd birthday which he has been just a thriving at and he seems to give the bus driver a hoot with every short bus ride, or so we've witnessed. Rowan went as our little stinker, a skunk for halloween, and is excited to see what Santa brings!

Little Kael is growing like a weed, can sit up all by himself and is very close to crawling and cutting his first tooth. Like Rowan, he is a special spirit, smiley to all he meets, and is not Mommy's but Daddy's little boy! (Jer wanted me to be sure to mention this, neener, neener!) We hope all of you are staying warm or cold or whatever suits you for the remainder of this year. We love you and hope you keep in touch.

August 2011

Our family, like all of you, have been nothing but busy this summer. The newest member of our family, little Kael, turned four months old on August 13th and is just a thriving. He is getting stronger everyday, is quite the little vocal man already with his goo goo ga ga's, and will be cutting his first teeth soon, (we're sure of it!) Rowan has taken more of an interest in being in the outdoors with his daddy, hiking, fishing, camping, and collecting bugs, the Cyphocleonus Achates to be exact, which is a root boring wevil that attacks spotted nap weed. The other day Rowan spotted some type of noxious weed that Jeremey taught him about and asked me if we could spray it, he he he. He will be quite the outdoorsman we think! Ashley has been working at the pool part time teaching lessons and guarding which has been just about the right amount of "out of the house time" and social time that she needs. Her activities coordinator calling has kept her busy and she has been finding opportunities where she can sing more in church or for the community and will be the assistant drama coach for the school district again this year. Jeremey has been extremely busy this summer with work, work, work and taking people down the river. He can't wait for the hunting season to begin and is perfecting his aim with his new bow. As always, we hope you are all well and we send our love your way!

Summer Lovin'

This is a short one but at least it's an update of what is going on in our lives. Jeremey is extremely busy with weed work and can't wait for the hunting season to arrive. Ashley is enjoying being a mother of two and will be teaching the Mom's and Tot's swimming course again this year at the Salmon City Pool.
Rowan is getting smarter every day and is preparing for his first over night camping trip with his daddy and friends, can't wait to go hiking and fishing he says. He has recently been liking Go Diego Go and Dora on the netflix and can now count from 1-10 in Spanish. Kael is thriving and is now 24 in. and 12 lbs. at 2 months old. He is starting to recognize those close to him and gets in a big belly giggle now and then. We are soaking up the sun and are waiting for the river to drop so we can enjoy it's rapids! We love you all and wish you a Happy 4th of July and a great summer!

And then there was two...

Welcome home Kael Luke Varley! Kael was born on April 13th, 2011, 6 lbs. 10oz., 19 1/2 in and was just as perfect and beautiful as they come. Kael was a week and a half early and came the day before opening night of our "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" musical so I was not able to be there but luckily had trained all of our tech people on what their duties were. Phewwww! I was a little disappointed to miss the show but Kael had other plans for me.

Kael at 4 days old and getting ready to go home from the hospital

Kael is such a joy in our lives and all four of us, yes, we consider Chai like part of the family too, is enjoying the new baby brother. Besides Rowan's first response of, " We put him back now?" after seeing Kael, he is very sweet on him and tries to share all of his toys already.

Rowan happy with Kael at 1 week old

Kael is nursing well and thriving and mommy is feeling great besides the regular aching feet and being tired at days end. Jer is loving coming home and cuddling with his little "grunts and groans" boy and Rowan loves giving "my baby" a bath. We hope all of you are doing well and that you enjoy the pics! Cheerio!

Kael at just 2 weeks

Marching Forward in March

March has come and gone and like always, we have been busy. For Ashley's birthday, Jere took her to Whitefish, MT for a weekend getaway and we had a blast catching up with Micelle, Wade and Kamryn. Little Kamryn made up Ashley's mind for her and Ashley would love a little content girl, but she and Jere will be pleased as long as baby #2 is healthy. Jeremey is doing very well with his job with the county and has been able to learn many new skills and has been traveling more. He also has had fun with his scouts and is turning Rowan into quite the little, future fly fisherman.

Ashley's musical and church calling will be keeping her busy up till the time she pop's, and Rowan is growing smarter every day and is patiently awaiting for the spring weather to arrive so we can visit the park right down the street. Ashley had her baby shower for baby #2 and received lots of useful items for the upcoming arrival! Thanks to all for the gifts by the way! The baby is growing healthy and strong and if Ashley's body can hold out, he/she will be arriving on the 18th of April, hooray!

Here is a quick video of Rowan. He has grown so much, we love him so much!

January Has Come and Gone!

Hello Family, Rowan (along with Jere and Ash) is sending you a big smooch fom our neck of the woods!

We are trying to be better about updating our blog this year and January has been quite the month for us. Jeremey has been busy helping mom and dad Hawkins get their website going for their business and is now the official Lemhi County Weed Superintendant Assistant and Aquatic Specialist. His first day starts tomorrow and we couldn't be more proud of him and his hard work, way to go Jere! Ashley's first big musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, is keeping her busy during the week nights, along with Relief Society Meetings, and she and baby are getting bigger everyday. At this point in time, we are going to be surprised about the gender of the baby so if any of you have girl clothes that you want to get rid of, please send them our way. Rowan has really taken to potty training and is daddy's big helper during his Thursday night Boy Scouts while mom is at work. Grandma Hawkins and Ashley are in the process of planning Becky's baby shower and will be sending invitations to all you girls soon. We love you all and will blab some more at you in February!

And for the First Post of the Year...

Greetings Everyone! We hope all of you had a wonderful 2010 holiday season and that the spirit of Christ was in your homes and hearts and will be for the 2011 year. The Varley family was extremely busy this last December so forgive me for not posting these pictures sooner. The pictures include the following:
Ashley's set display for the one-act play that she co-directed this winter, "Shock of His Life";

Jeremey and Ashley in Salmon's community production of, "A Christmas Carol", portraying Young Man Scooge and his beloved, Ms. Belle;

Jere's bed frame that he put many hours into for himself and Ashley;

Rowan potty training, yippee!;

Rowan's new jammies from Gma Stults; And last but certainly not least, Rowan kayak-sledding with Beary, his bear. Enjoy!

Baby #2 On the Way

We are so excited to announce that baby #2 will be joining our family in April! We announced our big news on Rowan's 2nd birthday to everyone living here in Salmon by giving Rowan a "future big brother" t-shirt and everyone caught on pretty quick.

As far as the pregnany goes, mommy is more nauseous with this one (hhhhmmmmm, maybe it will be a girl?) and a little more tired at the end of the day, but Rowan helps her pass the time and is good about having lots of snacks with her. Daddy, of course, is a HUGE help as well and is kind enough to give mommy foot rubs, aaaahhhhh!

We will keep you posted on our fun journey ahead!

Wimpey Creek ATV Date

This past weekend Jeremey decided to take me on a surprise ATV ride up Wimpey Creek and boy, was it a blast! I got to drive an ATV for the very first time and experience the breath taking views near Salmon. Jere taught me a little about the area and we both decided that we would have to visit this place again to get a closer look at the lakes below and the scenery that surrounded us.
There were several cabins we spotted while on our ride and most were abandoned or boarded up. However, some you could tell are visited by hunters often. We also came upon an old mine shaft.

The flowers in this area were to die for, the indian paintbrush with it's vibrant color and the lupin that filled the air with it's sweet aroma. Even though the lupin was everywhere, I didn't snap a picture of it but got a picture of another flower, the Lemhi Pentstimin, which is an endangered flower and only grows in Lemhi County. Pretty neat stuff! We had a lot of fun and Rowan didn't mind us being gone either because he was with GRANDMA! Yahooo!

July 2010

This summer has been very wet but the weather finally held out for us to take Rowan's first river trip ever! (outside the womb that is.) We floated from 14 mile to Shoup bridge where we stopped for lunch and then continued on our way to the salmon bridge. Rowan loved kicking his feet in the water and helping daddy row the boat. He is definitely our child and has no fear of the water.

Rowan has gone through so many changes as he quickly heads towards being two years old. He turned 22 months old today and is learning a new word every day it seems. Besides being mommy's little helper with the mowing and watering, he is a monkey and can climb up the kitchen drawers and sit on the counter with what seems like no effort at all. Also, he has figured out how to unlock the sliding glass doors. Let's just say I have to keep a good eye on this wee one and teach him right off what he can't do!

After completing Rowan's crib almost 2 yrs. ago, Jeremey has decided to make a head and base board for our bed. He went and got some nice pine from the hills and is in the process of getting everything scraped and sanded. He let me take a turn and work my upper arm muscles. Next time he will have to be the one in the pictures with Rowan.

Rainy Days with the Cousins

Rain, rain, go away, but please come back on a hotter day! Puddles have been Hunter and Rowan's form of entertainment lately, and Britton can't wait to ride his new bike where he has a paved driveway.










We were glad the rain clouds held off for a few minutes on Memorial Day so we could visit the gravesites for Mathew, Grandma and Grandpa. The boys all wanted to put their own flower at each site.

Rowan's First Hair Cut

Shame on me for being a bad blogger and not including some fun things that have happened around our neck of the woods. Rowan finally got his first hair cut after 19 months, his hair was finally long enough, and was extremely patient with the whole process and seemed to enjoy it, (the pictures seem to show otherwise though!)

Miss You Jilly Pilly!

Even though she was a stinky dingo dog, would scratch you with her nails till she got a foot rub, and was quite stubborn (always head of the pack), we will miss her not being out at the Salmon house. She had a sweet spirit, loved roughing it with Jake, and couldn't wait to go walking with the kids. It won't seem the same without her around. I'll bet she's having a doggy dog time up in doggy heaven.

I Got A Bite...A Big, Big, Bite

Jeremey's first 30 in. steelehead on his new fly rod, yippee! Rowan was taking a nap so the little cousins decided to jump in instead and have a hand in the fun.

Just Around the River Bend

Last saturday our family decided to go down river and have a picnic near the water and that was where I was able to capture some cute pictures of Rowan on the perfect tree and having fun daddy. After our picnic we went asparagus hunting, walked a few trails and skipped rocks which, of course, was Rowan's favorite part. If we didn't stop him, he would have been having his bath early that day. Overall, it was a nice family outing and I think I got enough asparagus to last us a few dinners. Yummm!