October 9

October 9, 2011
Dear Family and Friends,

Hurricane: Hurricane likes to go to t-Ball. He gets to sit on a blanket and play with the other children while Underfoot has t-Ball practice. He likes t-Ball better than the Zoo. Funny Hurricane story for the week- during the passing period at church, Hurricane was so excited to see his friends that he took off without us. He found his way to the room, only to find it empty.

Underfoot: Underfoot likes t-Ball too. This week was his first t-Ball practice. Underfoot got a book from the library. He has memorized the book and will “read” it to anyone that will sit still. Mama thinks this is the first step in reading. At least she is hoping so.

Mama: Mama has been busy all week with her new calling. On Saturday night she finally finished the Visiting Teaching schedule (much to my relief!) She went with some other ladies (and their children) to the zoo and had a picnic. Thursday they played at the local park (not in our HOA) so they could make it to the local library bus.

The wind was so strong! One child took her shoes off and the wind blew them away. (It was the same day Utah got snow.) On Saturday she drove all over town getting parts and price checking tires for the Pilot.

Sweetheart: On Friday night I worked on Fred. On Saturday morning Mama discovered that the Pilot had a flat tire. Not low, flat. No air at all. I discovered the cause- a 3 inch long nail. Since Fred was on the jack stands, I had to use several blocks of wood to support the Pilot while Mama went into town to get the flat tire fixed.

It turns out that the tire place won’t fix a flat tire when the steel is separating from the tire and it needs to be replaced altogether. So, we got 4 new tires instead of 1 flat fix. This took all day, along with a trip to an auto parts store to get one more part for Fred.

We went to bed some time after 10. I worked on Fred for the better part of 10 hours. I think he’s better. Hopefully, the parts replaced will help Fred last a little longer. This email comes to you a little later than intended. Hurricane treated us to some sass, throwing mom’s nail polish bag across the room. Does anyone know how to get black nail polish off of cheap carpet?

Be Well.

October 16

Underfoot participated in the Primary program today. He sang a solo in the microphone and did a good job. He decided before church that he wasn’t going to do it. We talked about singing, and he said he would for an orange cupcake and then added a blue cupcake to the order. He gets shy when asked about what he did. Hurricane wanted to sit with his Dad who is now a Primary teacher but alas sat with me for sacrament meeting.

This was the last week of our fall break from Joy School. The boys and I went on two adventures. We went to an air-conditioned castle full of taxidermied animals and a fall-esqued you-pick apple orchard and pumpkin patch. The International Wildlife Museum was better than the zoo Underfoot and Hurricane said. They liked that they could look at all the animals and touch some of the displays. I liked it because we stayed together better, and the boys liked it. Apple Annie’s Orchard is a fun place to pick apples (but the place had picked most the apples) and to have a picnic. After visiting the tourist attraction, we went and bought a 40 pound box for 60 cents cheaper a pound. The boys liked the hay ride the best.

We went to a cake party. The invitation said something about the cake party being a warm up to the Locey pie party (btw - November 18th - 6 pm - 8:30 pm). How exciting to have that coming up around the corner. The party took an exciting turn when all the children were screaming a death scream because a rather large rattlesnake wanted to join the children on the trampoline. The firemen got to come and remove the snake. Apparently children were thrown from parent to parent to get them inside. It turned out to be lovely party.

Eleven year old Scouts is now held at our house. Sweetheart is thrilled! He is so excited to have Scouts “closer” than at the church. He attended the HOA meeting.

With my new position in church, I worked visiting teaching routes. Visiting teaching is putting women in a companionship of two so they can bring a spiritual message and check on the other women’s families that they are asked to visit. Since we are a new congregation all the women needed to be given the opportunity to say if they would minister to each other or not.  It is wonderful to have done.

We hope you are well and safe.

October 2

This weekend was LDS General Conference. We spent the time together at home listening and learning lessons on how to be better in our testimonies of Jesus Christ. A lot of the talks focused on the family, morals, the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon), and prayer. We have made goals to improve our relationships in our family and with God.

Kirk: My train goes to on the track. Yeah. President Monson is my favorite guy. He is on the wall. I like the temple. President Monson likes the temple.

Lucas: Dear Aaron, I want you to go on another mission. And be back home again. We are watching General Conference. We get to stay with Mom and Daddy. You should get a sandwich on your birthday. And one more grade after my birthday. That means I’m five. We were on a picnic on a mountain this week. I ate apple. Lucas.

Wendy: We had our traditional Priesthood Potluck on Saturday. We hold it so men can eat before they go to priesthood meeting (where the men ages 12 and up are taught to be better men) and then return for dessert. The women and their children get to see a different set of walls after being at home watching conference for 2 two-hour sessions. Fall break started this past Monday for our Joy School group (and our local school district.) We have 3 weeks off. In preparation for the impending question “Is today Joy School?”, I organized a few outings. One day we went on a picnic to Mount Lemmon and let children run up and down the mountain. Another day we went bowling. I got 3 strikes (1 on my own and the other 2 with the help of the bumpers.) I learned how to make pumpkin rolls. They are one of my favorite treats my Grandma Hoggan would make. I remember eating it with her at least.

Lance: I got sick early in the week. On Tuesday I was too sick to fix Fred. Fortunately, a friend was kind enough to work on Fred while I slept. (I went to bed around 7:30 on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.) Wednesday was the big meeting at work. On Friday the doctor diagnosed bronchitis. Some antibiotics should help me get better.

September 25

Hurricane:  Hurricane did his duty to rip off the keys from the laptop (for the third time.) He also pooped in the tub while taking a bath. (A friend tells me that poop stories are the best, so long as it is not his child!)  Hurricane wants nothing more than to get his hands on Dad’s tools and help fix Fred.  Hurricane says, “I want cereal.” It must be his favorite food for every meal.

Underfoot: Underfoot loves to play with his shooter toy. He got it out of Grandpa H’s treasure chest on one of our stopovers in Utah. It is a green McDonald’s Happy Meal toy that has retractable wings. Underfoot will frequently say (after making a suggestion) something like, “Isn’t that a good idea guys?” His big grin is hard to resist. He has taken an interest in writing letters and numbers.

It is fun to watch Underfoot and Hurricane play together. They laugh and giggle and then run across the front room and repeat the process.

Some weeks are busier than others. Last Sunday evening we learned that our congregation would be split into two congregations. We are now part of the newly formed Corona Ward. We also learned that a new church building would be built right down the street from us. Currently we drive about 15 miles each way to church. The new building will be just 1.4 miles down the road- close enough that we could walk to church in less time than it takes us to drive now.

On Monday we had family home evening. Tuesday I had to work late. I didn’t get home till after 8. On Wednesday I had scouts and Mama had to go to the church to fulfill an  assignment related to the creation of the new ward. (She had to do a bunch of paperwork to get the new Scout troop organized for the new congregation.)

On Thursday I came home from work a bit early so we could meet with the Bishop, who’d called earlier in the day. (This is a telltale sign that a new calling is coming.) We met with the Bishop after Supper. He called Mama to be the Relief Society President in our ward. (The Relief Society is the women’s organization, which includes all women 18 and older.) After our meeting with the bishop we headed off to a Marriage Enrichment class where we learned about anger and techniques for managing it. After the class we went with another couple for ice cream and enjoyed having a few minutes to visit. It was great to be outside at 9 p.m. and have a nice breeze. I really love the weather in Tucson. Mama prefers the change in seasons that we had in Pennsylvania.

On Friday I went into to work to make up a few hours. I have a big customer meeting next week and it seemed that everyone was there even though it was an ‘off’ Friday at Raytheon. I came home and got ready for a scout camp-out. I took off for the camp out at 4 p.m. I didn’t spend the night because Mama and I had a class early on Saturday morning and for each Scout there was an adult present.

On Saturday we started the day turning over dirt in the garden and baskets. After that we drove across town to attend a class about money. The course was offered through Raytheon and is part of Dave Ramsey’s CORE Financial Freedom University. We enjoyed the class and were glad to see that we are already living in harmony with a number of the principles that he teaches. After the class we spent some time shopping for Mama. She wanted to get a new dress for her first day as the Relief Society president. We went to 4 stores and got a number of items to enhance her wardrobe. After shopping, I dropped her off at the church so she could attend a women’s broadcast. She said all the talks were very enlightening especially about the new book, Daughters in My Kingdom, and President Uchtdork's talk about the Forget-Me-Nots.

At home I asked the boys what they wanted to do since Mama was gone. They wanted to watch a movie. While they watched a movie I decided to change the motor mounts on Fred. In the process of changing the first mount, I discovered that the front right shock mount had deteriorated so much that the rubber was no longer attached to the frame of the car and the shock was ‘free’ to move around. I knew that the shocks needed to be replaced and had ordered the parts earlier in the week, but I was hoping to replace the shocks next Saturday. The shocks were such that the car was not  safe to drive, so I decided to change the shock. A good friend was willing to loan me the tools, so around 7 I got started. My friend ended up staying until about 10 and we got the really bad shock replaced. I collapsed into bed around 11:30. Fortunately, our new congregation meets at noon instead of 8 a.m.

September 18

Dear Family and Friends,

Personal Points by individual this week.

Hurricane

• Hurricane would take the squirt bottle, put it next to his eye, and shoot himself with the water in the eye. He would then say, “Eye. Eye.” and laugh.
• Hurricane woke up with four rather red bites on his arm, neck, and ear. The bites continued to grow through out the morning. The result was going to the Minute-Clinic to have the bites checked out. Fortunately he was only bit by an unknown spider - but not black widow in nature. One of the bites from the time we saw it at 7 am had swollen, pustuled, and  popped before going to the clinic at 10 am. He was given an antibiotic and a topical cream for the burst bite.
• I told him he couldn’t itch his bite. So he said he wouldn’t and put his arm against my body and rubbed up and down. He didn’t itch it with his own fingers....
• He loves to sing anything Underfoot sings.
• He has taken to being very mean to Underfoot by hitting and then laughing an evil triumphant laugh. Underfoot does pretty well to a point and then retaliates by biting. The nurse  practitioner asked if Hurricane had ring worm because of the bite marks. There are only 2.
  

Underfoot

• He loves to sing. And sing and sing. He loves action songs and singing a solo. He will stop singing if we start to sing with him and say, “It is my turn.”
• Underfoot loves his brother very much and protects and plays with him all the time. He tries very hard to include Hurricane in all his play. It really hurts Underfoot’s feelings when Hurricane says that Luke Skywalker is a bad guy. Hurricane gets some  satisfaction out of teasing Underfoot.
• Underfoot is a tender heart. He loves babies and wants to see and hold them.
• He loved Joy School this week because they got to play with balloons, color, make popcorn, and play. He is very interested in sharing. I think it is more to be in the spot light. He asked if he could bring supplemental treats at Joy School. We called the teacher and he was the snack helper. He was very proud of his contribution.
• Underfoot has impressed the Primary music leader. As they are planning the Primary program, she has asked if he would sing part of a song all by himself. He will be pleased when he learns about.
• Unfortunately Underfoot got his second (and hopefully last) pirate tooth this week. He is such an optimist.
  

Sweetheart

• We attended our Strengthening Marriage class this week. Sweetheart offers a lot of insights into our relationship. It is wonderful to spend time with him.
  
• On Friday Sweetheart received an award for his continuing hard work. When he is given an award it helps with those frustrating days as he works on his program.
• He replaced the fuel filter on Fred. Fred is kind of the new Scout. He likes to tinker so he can get it to work. One day he will drive his dream car that he will never need to work on. The question is what will he do if there is no car to work on? (Feel free to send me your suggestions!)
• We have had a lot of monsoonal rain this week. One day at work, Sweetheart was notified that he could not leave work because all of the roads were flooded to get out. The water in some places ran about 4 feet deep. It was reported that 7 inches of rain fell at the plant site where he works- all in about 5 hours.
• Sweetheart went to swimming lessons on Friday with Hurricane while Underfoot and I went to the dentist. Sweetheart will at times buy the boys a treat at the gas station. It is their thing. It is usually a 44 ounce 79 cent Slurpee. At the dentist office, Hurricane comes waltzing in with this huge sugar filled cup to the dentist office while Underfoot is getting cavities filled and a root canal. Great impression!
  

Mama

• I helped run a new site in Rio Rico which is about 10 miles North of the Mexican border. After the site was done, we drove through the country side and took the long way back. We saw part of our area that we have never seen. It was lovely after all the rain we got this last week.
• I helped with an additional Relief Society meeting. This is when only the women get together and have an evening. We learned about water and food storage. Our church recommends that we gather at least a 3 months supply of food and other resources such as cash, cleaning supplies, household products, etc.
  

We hope you have enjoyed our personal points this week. We have had a busy week and hope you are well and safe.

September 11

Underfoot: Underfoot remembers riding with Grandpa K. in a dump truck. I played. During Church today Underfoot wrote out the entire alphabet, all by himself. This is a first for him, and it is a great relief to Mama who is ever concerned that he won’t be ‘ready’ for kindergarten. Underfoot read lots of books this week with Mama.

Hurricane: Two things Hurricane announced this week: His name in its entirety plus his brother’s name in its completeness, and he announces his best friends - Kjetil, Underfoot, Thomas the train, his stuffed puppy dog. He knows his name which is pretty cool. He is also starting to repeat what he hears his brother say about personal relationships. Hurricane will wake up in the morning and announce he is spending the day at the neighbor’s house when Underfoot goes to Joy School. I have started to play more with him instead of taking care of my own “tasks.” One day we rode bikes. Another day he and I played pass the ball. The third day a neighbor boy came - they beat each other most of the time.

Mama: On Labor Day, we labored. It cooled off though and we worked outside in a 91 degree heat. It was such a tender mercy as we shoveled out garden beds and cleaned up outside. The boys were very good workers too. We are looking at starting our fall/winter garden soon. We think we are going to plant bok choy, Napa cabbage, and some other fun things including herbs and lettuce, spinach. I think my vanity wants a nice looking yard after the summer heat.

We have set a new rule around here that computer watching (a.k.a. watching movies) only occurs when I iron or it is deemed a family movie night. The boys and myself have been going through withdrawals, but we have replaced it with playing games together, riding bikes, spending more time outside, and working together. On Saturday night we went to a youth roadshow through church. A roadshow is doing a play in 6-12 minutes. The theme chosen by the youth leaders was musicals. The boys enjoyed the shows very much. Underfoot asked this morning on the way to church if we were going back to the shows.

L4: Work has been stressful of late. I’ve been asked to do some very hard, complicated things which have boosted my stress level considerably. I worked on Friday (even though it was my day off.) I received some  divine assistance and made a key breakthrough. I drove the Scout and the trailer in to work so I could
get a load of steer manure (the manure depot happens to be across the street from work.) I had planned to move the manure into one of our garden boxes after work, but we got an incredible lightning and rain storm instead.

Saturday morning I moved the load of steer manure. With the trailer still attached, we all climbed into the Scout and went into town to get a load of garden soil. I wish we had known about the quality garden soil 3 years ago. It is far superior to the soil we originally got. By about 5 p.m. on Saturday I had the soil moved into the boxes. 1.5 cubic yards of steer manure and 2 cubic yards of garden soil moved by hand equals a very sore daddy! One benefit of the intense physical labor is that it gives my mind time to relax and think clearly about the problems I’m dealing with at work. I’m sure Monday will be a very productive day at the office! Mama says that I’m also much more pleasant after a hard day in the yard. Fortunately, the Tucson summer fever finally broke, and the temperature has been under 100 degrees for the last few days, with the nights getting below 70! Hooray for cool nights!

September 4

Hurricane goes about 200 miles an hour. I will leave the room, and he will have half the sugar and oatmeal mixed together or the frig unloaded or the freezer unloaded. It is amazing the speed he works. He has a new talent of walking on his tippy toes. He will curl his toes and then walk on them. He has also found his singing voice. His favorite songs are “Happy Birthday” and “Anchors Aweigh” (only the chorus).

Underfoot asked if he could wake up  Hurricane from a nap this afternoon. Underfoot left to wake him, and  Hurricane started to cry.  Underfoot returned and said, “I gently yelled in Hurricane’s ear that the babysitter is coming.” There was no babysitter. His career hopes are a Jedi Knight number one and number two a cowboy. He usually responds that he wants to work as a Jedi Cowboy Knight when he grows up. Correction from last week,  Underfoot participates in Musikgarten instead of Kindermusik.

Yesterday Underfoot got to spend time with his favorite “princess” (his cousin C). They started to call each other Cowboy and Princess at this year’s family reunion. She cheered  great cheers when he showed up by jumping up and down. We also saw Sweetheart’s Mom as she has come to spend a week with Sweetheart’s sister. We spent a lovely evening together before returning home that evening.

Joy School was at our house. Our learning section was about interest and discovery. During class, we talked about how it is good to ask questions. We also did experiments with soda-vinegar and yeast-sugar to see what would blow up a balloon, sugar water taste testing, made crystal gardens, a jello transformation from powder to solid form (we ate it too with our hands), and lots of playing.  Hurricane decided to be the class clown. He loved participating with the other children.
 

Sweetheart worked. He was also the hero yesterday by being willing to help me get some baskets from Phoenix and bring them back to Tucson. Yesterday morning was very chaotic with Bountiful Baskets. We decided to go to the Mesa Temple and see Sweetheart’s Mom and sister’s family.

We have started a new practice in our home. It is difficult to start, but we hope with time it will merit results. Sweetheart speaks to the boys in Spanish. I speak to Sweetheart in Spanish. Sweetheart speaks to me in English, and I speak to the boys in English or translate what Sweetheart says. Hopefully eventually they will understand. It is worth a shot.

What will you do with your Labor Day? We plan to work.