Wednesday, July 28, 2010

July 25th

The week in bullets -
  • We picked lots of tomatoes
  • Underfoot went to a birthday party
  • Mama and I went on a date Friday night
  • On Saturday we went to the Safford AZ pioneer day festival. (Pioneer day is a celebration of the arrival of the vanguard company of the Mormon Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24th, 1847.)
  • One of our grape vines has reached the top of the pergola
  • K2 gets his cast off tomorrow

July 19th Later than usual

We got a clean bill of dental health from dentist. No cavities!!! Underfoot got his teeth cleaned too. He opened his mouth when he needed and spit when he needed. After the dentist, we took a family day and went to Mesa to the temple, my friend’s house, multiple home improvement stores, and the Pro Bass Shop. The Pro Bass Shop has a taxidermy zoo of sorts (stuffed bears, deer, sheep, and birds) with live fish and waterfalls. The boys were a little scared at first but enjoyed it by the end.

L4 took the car in this last week. The Scout is in multiple pieces on the floor of our garage. It will be in multiple pieces for a little while yet. L4 is doing some much needed replacement of hoses and seals and general maintenance. It is a very frustrating circumstance because L4 loves the Scout but the Scout is an old car. Someone told him to buy a gun and put a bullet into to put the Scout out of its misery. L4 smiled half-heartedly when it was mentioned.

I’m learning how to use dried beans and a pressure cooker. We had some pretty good chili. (L4 said he could eat the chili at least once a week.) We are also trying to implement morning jobs and evening jobs for Underfoot and a meal planner. So far so good.

Monday, July 12, 2010

12 July

I had last Monday off in observance of the 4th of July. We spent time working in the yard. After a couple hours I went from the yard to working on the Scout. The Scout is getting new motor mounts, a new rear main seal, and new seals for the transmission and transfer case. It is a lot of work. When I’m done there should be fewer oil leaks. (That’s the hope at least!)

Mama had a doctor’s appointment on Friday to learn more about the growth in her jaw and neck. The doctor explained the options for having it removed as well as the risks. We’re glad that it is benign. Mama will likely just let it be for a while, as the procedure to have it removed is quite painful and it poses no health risk.

On Saturday Mama decided to get up early (about 4 a.m.) and follow the Bountiful Basket truck from site to site so that she could meet the women who run the sites. She discovered at the first site that the truck had been improperly loaded at the warehouse and had produce for a site not normally on its route. She was able to work out the problems because she was on the scene to deal with them. I was sorry to see her leave so early in the morning but it certainly was good that she was able to fix the problem.

On Saturday we canned 4 quarts of tomato sauce from our garden (a far cry from the 40 or so quarts we did when in Pennsylvania) as well as about a quart of grape juice from grapes that we grew. I let Mama take a nap while the boys were asleep and I went to work on the tomatoes. In doing so I made a mistake (that’s what you get when you try to do it without the expert.) Mama was able to salvage my mistake and we still got 4 quarts of sauce. We’re excited to see our yard grow up. It has been a lot of work but it is slowly coming together.

K2 is getting another upper tooth. Underfoot loves the color orange.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Catch Up!

Happy Independence Day!!!!

So last week we didn’t send a letter. For the brief version please follow the bullet points below. For a more elaborate version, continue reading for the detailed
events.
  • Celebrated Father’s Day with Mama's family.
  • Monday & Tuesday were Gramps Camp (a cousins’ retreat with activities and food).
  • L4 and K2 fell down the stairs. Result a sad Daddy and an injured boy with a broken leg.
  • L4 returned to work in Tucson on Wednesday morning.
  • We returned to the urgent care for a splint and an appointment with the orthopedic for a cast because of a broke leg.
  • Jilli came with us to Tucson.
  • Friday evening Underfoot, Jilli, and I attended Tarzan at Tuachan Theater in St. George. K2 stayed with Aunt R, a dear friend’s mother.
  • We returned home late on Saturday night.
  • K2 vomited during sacrament meeting all over me.
  • Jilli returned with a voucher from Southwest.
  • K2 got a cast.
  • The Scout broke.
  • A ward breakfast was on Saturday.
  • We spent the evening at a BBQ.

We spent Father’s Day with Grandpa K, Kirky, L4, and my brother. Jilli made a delicious dinner in a Dutch oven. Stake leadership meeting was canceled because we came to be their Dad. The next day started Gramps Camp. Kirky explained the importance of the flag of the United State of America. The children then performed a flag ceremony. We then had a our play shops. We went canoeing in the pond, colored cups and flower pots, and drew murals at the 1st Street Car Museum. After lunch, the men got out lots of the old cars from the museum and took everyone for a ride. The highlight was riding in the 1914 fire engine around town. We waved flags and waved at people. That evening we went to the cabin for a steak fry and shooting guns. Grandpa H came and shot the gun he used for marksmanship in the military. He is still a very good shot. The men then proceeded to shoot skeet until dark and there were no more bullets. They all left with big smiles. Tuesday we went on a treasure hunt and found that the treasure is our family of course with a treat at the end. We had a marshmallow gun fight. Grandpa K found them to be very accurate. A pig party followed with no utensils unless you are 75 years old or older. Baby K2 won at the being the biggest pig.

L4 prepared to go and was carrying baby K4 down the stairs. He slipped on the feather boa that was in the middle of the stairs and tumbled down the stairs. Baby K2 did not stop crying unless he was held. L4 left with Grandpa H to return to home via Salt Lake airport. Later that evening, Jilli and I took baby K2 to the urgent care. An x-ray was taken without any clear results. We were told that a radiologist needed to look at the x-ray to have something more conclusive. Baby K2 didn’t sleep very well. The next day we returned for a splint, and baby K2 was a different person. By immobilizing his leg he could then do all the things he did before. We made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at home to cast him.

Other highlights for the week were a picnic at Meridell Park, watched a movie at Tia and Tio.’s house, and Underfoot got to play with his cousins, and both boys drove a backhoe tractor with Uncle S..

We ventured to St. George and stopped to watch Tarzan. The theater is amazing because it is outdoor which opens up a lot of possibilities for blocking. They flew the apes, Tarzan, and Jane. Underfoot enjoyed the first act but got tired and wanted to go home in during the second act. One of the songs is a Kala, the mother ape, singing to a young Tarzan about how much she loves her child. Underfoot turned to me and said, “Look Mama. That’s just like us.” He knows that he is loved. We loved the show.

Saturday was the end of the trek. We stopped at IKEA before returning to Tucson. L4 was happy to see us.

On Sunday K2 erupted on me during sacrament meeting. He gagged on my ring he was playing with. I was able to run home and change my clothes to return to teach Primary. On Monday we went to the orthopedic surgeon to get a cast for K2’s leg. K2 and I waited for most the afternoon before we saw the doctor. Because we waited so long, they gave us a gift card to a frozen yogurt store. One positive side effect of K2’s cast is that it will force him to use his left leg more often which should help to strengthen it.

The week was spent on unpacking and returning all things to their places. It took about a week. On Tuesday morning the Scout got sick so L4 had to take the Honda to work the rest of the week. L4 hopes to fix the recent malady for an fully operational vehicle. We had a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning early for church. The night before we cooked up 15 dozen eggs for the event. On Saturday night we bar-ba-cued, swam, and enjoyed delicious food at a friend's home. L4 worked with S. while in New Mexico, nearly two years ago. K2 enjoyed the water. (K2’s cast is waterproof.) Underfoot was a bit more reserved but did get in the water and got his hair wet. On Saturday morning we got a case of blueberries at Bountiful Baskets. The boys have already eaten 4 of the 12 clam shells.