Corn

Here are the highlights for the week:
As a family:
We harvested and ate our 12 ears of corn.
We pulled out the corn field.
We went to a baptism of a neighbor and enjoyed a BBQ with them.
L4:
helped a neighbor fix his car.
worked to bring home a paycheck.
directed an HOA meeting.
got to work from home!!!
Mama:
went to the midwife for an appointment because she had a set back with
healing from K2's birth.
is taking it easier.
Underfoot:
got to play at different people’s houses.
chased blonde haired girls at the BBQ. (He likes blondes.)
is learning his ABCs and recognizes the letter H and I.
K2:
hit a growth spurt because he ate for about two days straight.
loves to be held and loved.

Things I Am Grateful For....

Certain things are happening in my life to have me reflect on what is important and what I want. Instead of waulering in misery and despair, my Mom suggested that I write a list of things I am truly grateful. They are not in a particular order. All the listed items touch the atonement of Jesus Christ in some way. Some are obvious and others are private experiences to let me know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me. I struggle with giving up my will (a.k.a. stubbornness because I think I know better than others). I'm grateful for the atonement because I sure don't know how most of these things would be in my life without the toning (pruning, plucking, humbling) process of coming to know the Savior.

1. A husband that adores me
2. Two healthy boys
3. Marriage with my husband
4. Parents that listen and give advise and comfort (a tenderhearted Dad and a go-getter Mom)
5. Priesthood blessings
6. Agency
7. Growth in plants but mostly life circumstances
8. In-laws for support and that gave me the best thing they ever had (my husband)
9. Grandparents who taught through love and by example
10. The chance to give life and know that it is a most precious gift
11. Sunshine to remind me that Heavenly Father loves me
12. My husband's employment
13. Family history and remembering the past
14. A visiting teacher that came immediately
15. Opportunities to be humble and ask for help
16. A little boy who prays for Mom
17. The sacrament
18. Siblings that have great perspective about life circumstances
19. Forgiveness and change with repentance
20. The chance to learn to be obedient
21. To know what sorrow is to know what true joy and gratitude are
22. Scriptures
23. Walking with my family at night
24. Job charts
25. Endless lists of things to do
26. Neighbors
27. Kindred spirits
28. Pictures of family, friends, and memories
29. Tears
30. Temples
31. Enthusiasm
32. Louis L'Amour books
33. Nursery Leaders
34. Primary classes
35. Monsoon rain
36. A clean scrubbed kitchen floor and Grandma Melba
37. The desert
38. The Portneuf Gap
39. Education
40. Life after death and the thinness of the veil
41. Health Insurance

Small Things

This week we got a day of rain. Our back yard is getting greener each day! On Saturday I picked two small ears of corn. I also picked a ripe watermelon.

This is a muskmelon. We bought the seed at Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home).

We enjoyed it with friends on Saturday night. We celebrated the Fourth of July in a fairly casual manner.

On Thursday night we went up to P. to stay with Mama’s BYU roommate and her family. In the morning we went to the temple. On Friday night we stayed up late and cracked 20 dozen eggs.

They were for our congregation breakfast celebration on Saturday morning. Mama is part of the activities committee. Underfoot and Daddy cracked most of the eggs while Mama put the mixed up eggs into 1 gallon containers. Underfoot and Daddy had fun cracking the eggs on the back patio while there was thunder and lightning. We got a lot of thunder and lightning, but not a lot of rain.



After the breakfast on Saturday, we came home and rested. We decided to have an impromptu BBQ at our house. Some friends came for ribs and other tasty treats. We visited as the children played on the swings and in the house. It is nice to finally have the back yard in order such that Wendy feels comfortable having the children play outside.

Later that evening, a friend took me for a ride in his homemade sports car. It is an early 1960’s Lotus replica. It weighs about 1500 pounds and has a supercharged Pontiac V6 motor. It certainly was fun to ride in. It was loud, too. It wasn’t the engine that was so loud, but the wind noise, even with ear plugs. After the ride we put on a DVD for the children while the adults played a game of Settlers of Catan. It was a lot of fun.

Mama has returned to teaching piano lessons. She has several students who come for a 30 minute lesson. The piano lessons motivate Mama to keep the house tidy and provide her with a little bit of extra cash. We are grateful that she can do that.

Mama started a job chart for Underfoot this week. It has been very helpful for him and us. He has 4 morning jobs and 4 evening jobs. Each time he completes one of his jobs he is rewarded with a Cars sticker. He chooses the sticker, Mama or I peel it out of the booklet for him, and he places it on his job chart in the appropriate box. If he completes all 4 jobs (in the morning or evening), he gets a 5th sticker that he can put on his shirt. I’m very grateful that Mama has implemented this simple reward system for Underfoot. It helps us teach him about chores and allows him to contribute to the overall cleanliness of our home.

K2 has developed a heat rash this week. We really didn’t know what it was until Mama asked a nurse in our congregation about it. We’ve learned that children don’t develop sweat glands until they are 6-8 months old. Because K2 doesn’t have sweat glands, his body uses the rash to cool down. We have been trying to keep him cool.

This week we have both learned about the small and simple things in life. Regardless of how tough things get, it is the small and simple things that we do which make the difference- both in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

On Saturday we decided that we’d had enough of work for a while. To celebrate K2’s one month birthday, we went to downtown to pretend that we were tourists. We went to a free transportation museum. They have a big steam locomotive and their web site indicated that on Saturday mornings they had an up close and personal tour of the locomotive. When we got there we found out that the tour was not available for some reason. We were able to take some pictures and learn about some of the town's history associated with trains and the downtown area.

We had lunch in a famous hotel. It was a creepy place and have decided not to go to the restaurant again. We learned that a famous (I guess not too famous because I can’t remember his name) bank robber was caught there when the hotel caught fire in the 30’s.

Birthday Boy


We’ve seen some interesting behavior from Underfoot this week. As I’ve been spending more time at work, Underfoot’s behavior has changed. I’ve learned that he needs Daddy time. When Underfoot gets attention from Daddy he is pleasant. When he doesn’t, he is grouchy. He has learned how to pedal a tricycle and wears his new Thomas the Train helmet. He also wanted to try on one of K2’s diapers. It fits about as well as a little Speedo. Kind of reminds us of a guy we saw running on the beach in Mexico! (This was from a family vacation.)

Underfoot received a gift from his Uncle AGK - a pair of flaming Converse shoes. Underfoot loves to wear them, along with his cars swim suit and swim shirt.

I went to another doctor this week and found out that I likely don’t have valley fever, just allergies. The irrigation system continues to cause me headaches. I thought it was all working well last Sunday, only to find out on Tuesday that another part had failed. I disassembled and reassembled one component for the fourth time on Friday and it is finally working the way I’d originally hoped it would. With luck, it will work now.

Mama decided that she needed to back off some stress this week. She made 12 loaves of Zucchini bread, 12 loaves of regular bread, plus 2 loaves of stuffed bread and 12 dozen cookies. My coworkers and our neighbors have been very pleased with the results! I think her record is 48 loaves in one weekend during her graduate studies. (I wasn’t around back then. . . .) Underfoot brought me two cookies this afternoon. He’s learned how to open the freezer, open the plastic bag, and retrieve the goodness.
I picked a watermelon and ate it for breakfast the other day.

Watering & Haircuts

Happy Father's Day!

What a week! I have been working a lot on a temporary assignment. When I’ve been home, I have spent time working on the irrigation system. On Friday I got home from work and discovered that one valve had been stuck open all day. I have spent a lot of time figuring out how the irrigation system is supposed to work.

On Wednesday, Mama gave Underfoot and I haircuts. I was sad to see Underfoot's locks go, but it was time. Mama has gotten much better about giving haircuts than she did when we married. While Underfoot was getting his haircut, he kept wiggling around. As he would wiggle, the cut got shorter and shorter. Even with a candy in his mouth, he bolted for an escape to the sandbox. As he attempted to jump into the sandbox, he dove into the railroad tie and got a goose egg on his forehead. He sat still for the rest of his cut. He even cuddled with his Mama.

K2 had the shortest doctor’s appointment ever. From entering the office to leaving, it took a total of 6 minutes. The challenge was mostly with shepherding Lucas in and out of the door.

Mama’s brother, A., started his missionary service on Wednesday. He will be at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT for the next few weeks. He is super-excited to be there.

On Saturday, we went to a potluck with my coworkers. Underfoot was in heaven with all the animated Cars’ figurines.

Irrigation

Grandpa, Grandma, and Grandmother Locey (L4’s parents and grandmother) came to meet K2 on Friday evening. They came with great smiles and energy to help us with our outside. We are preparing our garden for the next phase of planting. Grandma Locey helped pull the onions and other plants to get one of the beds ready. Grandpa Locey helped Lance with putting in an irrigation system. Grandmother’s job was to hold K2. K2 loved being held by Grandmother Locey. Underfoot would play with Grandmother by bringing her a ball to throw to him. He did it multiple times. Underfoot would also push Grandmother around in her wheelchair. We are glad they made the sacrifice to visit us.

When I came home from running errands on Thursday night, L4 was making arrangements for our family to go to a hotel. We packed and went for a short family retreat. The next morning L4 and I took turns attending the temple while our boys played or took naps. It was a lot of fun to be together and not have a mounting list of chores in front of us.

K2 visited the doctor this week and has gained weight. He is 8 pounds 14 ounces. He sleeps pretty well at night and during the day.

Underfoot is using a lot more words. We all enjoy his happy smiles.

L4 has felt very driven to get a watering system in the ground. On Saturday he dug trenches, cut pvc pipes, glued the pipes together, hired neighbor boys to dig trenches, and still has more to do. We currently have six zones. We might add two more before it gets covered up. He worked from the break of day to about 11:30 pm last night. We want our backyard to grow, and it needs water. L4 is working to get it water. We hope for success soon!

I learned how to make pretzels this week.

On Monday L4 was temporarily reassigned to a task related to the one that took him to NM last year. He will support this new effort for two more weeks. L4 is excited to do something different. Unfortunately, his days of working from home have come to an end.

Desert Gardening

This week we were blessed to have J., Mama’s mom, stay with us until Thursday. J. helped Mama and I with a bunch of random projects around the house. She helped us plant, paint, make curtains, and play. Each night Underfoot would ask J. to “sing” with her flute so that he could dance to her playing. After scriptures, we would have “singing” time, and Underfoot would dance. It was fun to watch Underfoot dance.J. also painted our shed, shelled the pecans we were given, and was a consultant for landscape design for the backyard. We are grateful for her help, knowledge, and time. We are also thankful to K., Mama’s Dad, for encouraging J. to come and supporting us. What a great service they have given us!

Underfoot loves his brother so much that he wants to be in all the same places K2 is. Underfoot will crawl into the bassinet, bed, or couch to be next to his brother. He loves to give K2 kisses and to hold him. If we would let Underfoot, he would carry K2 all places. Underfoot is very interested in K2’s well being and will name his emotions or what he is doing. Underfoot loves to give kisses when K2 is asleep.
L4 was connected into the County Extension Office through the University. (Side Note: If anyone has any problems growing anything in their area, contact your local extension office. It is done through the agricultural school of your state and is for public use. That’s where our tax dollars go. Might as well use it.)

L4 has learned all sorts of things about how to grow plants in the desert. He has bought a book called “Desert Gardening” by George Brookbank. It is for elevations up to 3500 feet. He LOVES to read it. We spent our evening at Lowe’s last night getting an irrigation system. The lady at the register gave us a 10% off discount on our purchase (which was significant!). I think she did it because we had 2 screaming children trying to tear the store apart. One by running around and the other by screaming his head off.

K2 sleeps well every other night and loves to be swaddled. We are so happy he is here and part of our family. We are especially grateful for the peace that comes from knowing we are a family forever and that come what may, we will love it.