Wheeler Farm

Li'l Blue loves the duckies!

Growing up in Mormon Utah I always was taught about the "spirit". Like when you feel nostalgic about something in Utah it's generally described as "feeling the spirit". We have a farm down the road from us called "Wheeler Farm" and it's honestly my favorite place in the world. If I die tomorrow and my "spirit" is stuck on earth that is the place where I would roam. It's beautiful, simple, fun, easy to get to, and most importantly to me; I love the way the place makes me feel! 

She's always had a special relationship with the animals

We have gone their ever since our little girl was born so it's a place filled with memories for me. Whenever we go their I would say that's the most nostalgic I get. There isn't one corner of the farm that doesn't have some fond memory. Whenever we have a free day to do whatever we want nine times out of ten I'll say," lets go to the farm." We love it because it's so easy for us to get to, it's free, Li'l blue loves to go and feed the ducks and ride the tractors, and it feels like you step into a different world at a different time. It's a place to get away from the world and clear your mind and think about what is most important to you. Obviously mine is my family.

Li'l blue with her mommy during our 2007 Halloween visit.

My mom and I are both unemployed right now. I wish she lived closer to where we live so I could take her with us their and we could just go for walks and get away from the stresses of the high tech, fast paced world. I believe that our system, while it's the best in the world, takes the human spirit away from us. And that we need to actively fight to keep it with us. Wheeler Farm to me is it! Every time I go I leave feeling more clear, and confident about things than when I arrived. And I believe it's because it's what the human mind needs. Time to be among earth, it's creatures, it's trees and dirt, it's clear crisp air, it's people, and water. 

Li'l blue and her dorky dad!

I highly recommend everyone who reads this to have a place like this where they can go and get away from computers, tv's, high tech gismo's, and other worldly influences to find themselves. I promise you you'll have more fun going for a walk outside among nature than anything a corporation has to sell you. Because deep down it is who we all are. We are merely creatures of a planet that is no more than a spec in an entire galaxy! We need to try to stay within our world and fight to stay away from cyber space as much as we can. Because while it's fun, in the end, it's just inevitable junk.

Li'l Blue pretending to be a farmer while Daddy makes sure his armpits don't stink, 2011.

I love her with every last gut in my body!

Me and Li'l blue in 2006! We both look completely different now.

I had a daddy daughter day today with my girl and just wanted to make known my thoughts and feelings about her! She is such an amazing person and I take next to no credit for it! Her mother has raised her, cared for her, been her constant companion since the moment she was created. So many times I am taken back with how smart, funny, and intelligent she is. But most of all, how deeply she loves.

Us in 2007.

As she has gotten older she has developed a fear of growing up. She hates it! Nothing upsets her more than the thought that she's getting bigger and smarter, and older. Her first words were "Mommy" and she was up and walking around at 12 months. She loves music and art. She loves cooking and crafting with her mom and grandma. She loves making stories and movies. She wants to be a movie maker when she grows up. She loves to play games and rough house with her dad. She has a song in her heart and there usually isn't an hour that passes that she isn't humming a little tune.

She has such an interest in life. She has such a spark! We are teaching her to be intellectually curious and to be open minded to things that are different. She loves animals so much but she is so deathly allergic to them that she can't own any. She would be such a great sister but our circumstances don't allow us to have another child. She loves her cousins on both sides so much and she loves both sides of her family so much.

 This picture absolutely breaks my heart but I wanted to document how much she adored her pet kitty of three days. She named her Charlotte, she was such a sweet little kitty. She would have been such a great owner of her. But a day after we got her Li'l blue was wheezing, hacking, coughing, and unable to breath.

We learned that she has a level 4 allergy to cats, and a level 5 allergy to dogs. In other words, she cannot have any pets who produce any sort of dander. The rest of the story is too heartbreaking for me to type so we'll just say we had to give Charlotte back to the Humane Society and were glad to see she was chosen just days after she went back.

Someday when Li'l blue is older, maybe seven or eight, we'll be able to try again. A child with the love she has in her heart should be a pet owner so I'm truly hoping and praying for the best!

This is her with her favorite cousin at lagoon. I love to watch her play with this one in particular because she is just a bit older than her so they are pretty close in age. They both have similar personalities and are pretty much best friends. If only this cousin lived a bit closer.

 I can tell these two will be close throughout their lives. Their kindred spirits for sure!

This is her with another one of her cousins on Halloween a few years ago. She loves her so much as well and has a special relationship with her too. I love her when they play because they are also so similar. They both love and adore each other. I cannot begin to tell you how often she talks about this cousin and she really looks up to her as if she were an older sister.

I know this is standard for parents to say but I truly believe in my gut that we're raising someone special. I can't explain it, she has such an ability to reach people and connect with them. She has had a pretty hard life for a five year old. She has had a sub-par father with an amazing extraordinary mother. She's had more heart-ache and heart-break than a five year old should. But I believe that it's made her a stronger person who has an incredible amount of empathy for such a young kid. 

I've met alot of people in my life but I can honestly say that she is special. Every now and then you meet someone who you know is gonna make a difference in peoples lives. I'm fortunate enough to live with one of those people.

Me and Li'l blue a couple weeks ago.

I wrote this post because during the day today I realized that she teaches me more than I teach her. I tend to be a distant, moody, crass guy. Li'l blue is anything but those. I was layed off at my full time job a month and a half ago and ever since then I've been able to spend a lot more time with her than ever. I can feel myself becoming a more happy, more gentle person because of her. I wish I was more like how I am now back when she was born, I would have been ready for her. I'm grateful to have her in my life and I love her so very much and I always will. To the day I die and beyond.