New Car

This morning K2 stood up all on his own to grab a ball. He is developing more personality each day. Lately he squeezes his lips together and says oooh. We find it adorable. Underfoot likes being a big brother. He especially likes it when K2 sleeps next to him at night. They tag-team laugh. Underfoot then K2 then Underfoot. They love to laugh together. We think Underfoot wants K2 close by because Underfoot says he is afraid of the dark.

The Scout has been christened by a friend the Exxon Valdez. One leak is fixed and another squirts out. When you are working with machinery that is almost 40 years old, leaks are bound to come up. I think this is the same with the human body. The older it gets the more it breaks down or wears out or hurts.

I worked on the Pergola this week. (Surprise - Week 6!) On Monday night I worked on it after Family Home Evening. I didn’t sleep well that night (because the Pergola still wasn’t finished.) I took Tuesday off to work on the Pergola. A retired friend helped me for a few hours during the day. With his help I made a lot of progress and got up all the rafters. I spent more time working on it on Saturday. All the vertical posts are now up, the girders and rafters are up too. All that is left now is to put on the stays and attach the decorative copper. Hopefully I’ll have it all finished next Saturday. Then Mama can do some detail touch up.

This week Mama and I did something we’ve never done before. On Saturday night we took our Honda Civic to a place called CarMax. We were there to look at a Honda Odyssey minivan (and hopefully trade in the Civic to get a new car.) The minivan looked great to me. It had all sorts of neat features and gadgets and only 68k miles. When Mama got in, her eyes began to itch. The previous owners had an animal they transported. We didn’t even take it for a test drive.

By that time the Civic was being appraised, so we decided to “walk” around the parking lot to see what other cars they had on the lot. We found a 2008 Honda Pilot. Mama liked it. We drove it. She liked it more. We took a break to get some supper across the street and to talk about the car away from the sales people. We decided over sandwiches that we would buy the car. They took the green Civic as a trade in. We now own a 2008 Pilot with 26k miles on it. This is a first for Mama and I. We’ve never owned a car with less than 56k miles.

In other news, Tucson experienced an unusual cold snap on Thursday and Friday. Highs were in the 50s and lows were around 40 degrees. The cold weather prevented the boys from having swimming lessons. It gave Mama a chance to catch up on some house keeping items.

Busy Bees

On Monday Mama had an MRI. On Friday we learned that she has a benign cyst. She will talk to the doctor in two weeks about treatment options. We got approval this week from our HOA to repaint the front door red and to move the mailbox. Mama repainted the front door on Wednesday and did some touch up on Friday. In addition, Mama primed and painted the chicken coop to match the shed. Mama planted the garden throughout the week. We made some changes to the irrigation system to improve efficiency. Mama did baskets on Saturday morning. She has volunteered to be an area coordinator for Bountiful Baskets.

Underfoot found an action-figure man. His “man” goes everywhere with us. On Wednesday, he named the man J.. J. can go with us on errands unlike his diecast cars. J. is missing in action since last night. We hope he will be recovered soon. Also as Mama and the boys drive to swimming lessons, they listen to songs. The other day Underfoot was singing a lot of the songs word for word BY HIMSELF. Mama was very impressed since the feedback for teaching children isn’t always immediate. One of the songs says “I know that my Savior loves me.” He sang, “I know that my Savior, Mama, Daddy, Baby K2, and President Monson love me.”


Baby K2 can stand on his own but once he realizes that he is standing he sits back down.

I attended a board meeting on Wednesday. On Saturday I got the main posts of the pergola up. I was blessed to receive help from several friends and neighbors throughout the day.

The Civic broke on Friday morning. We are weighing our options because repair costs could approach the value of the vehicle. We have worked our guts out this week.

Run Faster

We wonder especially lately what we can cut out. We have taken on a lot of projects and improvements. We worked our hearts out again this week. Our eventual goal is to recreate as a family and have a beautiful home to return to after our adventures. In our efforts to complete our goals, we aren’t taking as much joy in the journey as we could.

The boys completed their third week for swimming lessons. They are doing marvelous. K2 can float for quite a while by himself. Underfoot is learning how to swim-float-swim. The swimming lessons are more of water survival. Eventually they will learn how to do strokes and hopefully feel confident in the water. There is a video clip on this website to show what they are learning. l

L4 worked on the Scout to fix more of the oil leaks. A man from church volunteered to come help him fix it on Saturday. L4 said that without R’s help, he wouldn’t have accomplished what he did. He was very grateful.

Our ward held its annual Eggstravaganza (a pinewood derby car with an egg as a passenger). My part was to plan and carry out the meal for the evening. We served taco salad. L4 helped me get the meat cooked. We also pulled a lot our lettuce from the garden. I think we fed about 200 people.

On Thursday evening, we ate supper and played games at the A. home. The A. family gave us their chickens and coop (which we are very grateful for) because they were moving to Alabama. This was the last hurrah at their home. It was great fun to get together and to talk and play games.

Easter Week

The week in review:

Sunday: We decided that for the week of Easter we would try to teach something from Jesus’ last week of mortal life. We walked around the block to commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Monday: We did a simple Seder (a passover supper). The boys did swimming lessons and Mama had a CT scan in the morning. The purpose of the CT scan is to determine what the neck mass is in her neck. The doctor was on vacation this week so we don’t yet know the results of the CT scan. We should find out early this coming week. We talked about Christ cleaning the temple and how our bodies are like temples. A friend helped me understand the weaknesses in my pergola plan. (The Fathers in my life expressed concern that the original concept would not work.)

Tuesday: Mama had two more doctor’s appointments. One was a normal checkup, the other was an annual eye exam. We stayed up late and cleaned the house to increase the amount of order in our home.

Wednesday: I worked late (because of the late night). We got an Easter puzzle and used it to teach Underfoot about Jesus. Mama taught piano lessons.

Thursday: I did a redesign on the pergola. This necessitated another trip to Lowe’s. After work I took the Scout and the trailer to Lowe’s. Over an hour later I left with a full load of lumber and hardware. The Scout grunted under the heavy load, but we (the Scout and I) got home safe. We were up late unloading lumber into the garage so it could dry out. We talked about Jesus having the Last Supper, washing the feet of His apostles, and the Garden of Gethsemane ending with the arrest of Jesus.

Friday: Mama had a party at our home with neighbors and friends. Mama and children went to a friend’s house for an Easter Egg hunt and lunch. K2 was able to float by himself for about 10 seconds which is a major milestone. Underfoot swam with Mama and showed off his skills. Later some friends came to play games after supper. We enjoyed a round of Ticket to Ride.

Saturday: We got up early and worked our guts out. Mama did baskets. We got two flats of strawberries (about 16 lbs worth). I made progress on the pergola. (The new design involves a lot of wood with some decorative copper tubing.) In the evening I went to Priesthood session of LDS General Conference with a friend. We made “tomb roles” and put up pictures of Jesus and the events of the last week.\
Sunday: We’ve enjoyed LDS General Conference from our living room. It is nice to be able to spend some time in our home.

We are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and for his sacrifice which makes it possible for us to be resurrected also. We have enjoyed seeing our children develop this week. K2 has shown a lot of personality this week. He is very tender. He lets us know when he is hungry by a scream/screech. He loves to laugh with his brother. Underfoot is having a learning curve about boundaries. He has done great job with toilet training. We even went one whole day on errands without any accidents. We are so glad that K2 and Underfoot are members of our family.