December 26

Merry Christmas! We hope that your day found you with the memory of the Savior and the power of his birth!

Over the past week, we had activities, sickness, family adventure, and child happiness. I like to write our letter by person and some times by day of the week. I think it is easier to follow our week by person instead of events. Pictures: Click here.

Family

• Sweetheart received an early Christmas present of an annual membership to a local museum. The museum membership allows us to visit reciprocal museums outside of a 100 mile radius. We chose to go and see the light at the LDS Mesa Temple visitors center Thursday night, stay in a hotel to use up our Marriott points (so we could cancel the credit card), and attend the Arizona Science Museum the next day. We all had a blast.
• We finished our Advent on Sunday before running down the hall to Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. We have enjoyed opening a “present” each day to remember the birth of our Savior.
• We went from Phoenix directly to our ward Christmas party.

Sweetheart

• On Monday he went to work and felt lousy. The rest of his team also felt lousy but didn’t want to go home so they didn’t have to work the whole week just a few days of it. Sweetheart finally gave up and came home early. He went to bed and immediately fell asleep. Underfoot had a performance that night and asked his Dad to go support him. Sweetheart dragged himself out of bed to go watch his boy perform. Underfoot was ecstatic. At the potluck before the performance, Sweetheart ate his food very quickly and then sat on the stairs and watched. As soon as the performance was over, we headed out the door. Sweetheart said that he was having tightness in his chest, was hot, had a headache, and that he was in pain. I panic thinking he was having a heart attack. Sweetheart took a hot shower, got a few good burps out, and his chest pain went away. He had indigestion. So if you think someone is having a heart attack, check the internet for symptoms, burp them, and then call the ambulance.
• Sweetheart finished his hours at work for the break on Wednesday night and has been home since. He has been very cheerful this year at Christmas.
• Sweetheart is a champion. He has let me sleep in and read Louis L’Amour books (it’s how I’ve learned to like Arizona better.) What a great guy!

Mama

• The long awaited Christmas came. I conspired with my Auntie, and we arranged for her brother-in-law to made a book for my Grandpa H and his children. The story was an oral story that Grandpa H has told over and over. Since I wrote the story during high school, I have always wanted to have the book illustrated and one day published. Since giving it to Grandpa, he has given his permission to have the book published. It is part of our family history, and I did my best to keep it a secret. It paid great emotional dividends.
• My college roommate and her family joined us on Thursday night at the Temple lights and then at the hot tub in our hotel. It was a lot of fun to catch up and watch our children interact.
  

Underfoot

• In our family the 3 Kings bring presents which means 3 times the gifts. Underfoot this year has answered the question many different ways when people have asked him if Santa is coming. He started out by saying that Santa doesn’t come but the 3 Kings do, and by the end of the season, he would say, “I want Star Wars Legos.” The 3 Kings did come, and Underfoot received Star Wars Legos. It is amazing how the 3 Kings just knew exactly what he wanted.
• The Joy School nativity performance was Monday night. Underfoot was so proud to say “his” line of “There is no room, but you can stay in my stable.” He beamed when he said it. He had invited his friends (who are also our neighbors) to come and watch him. He felt very special that night.
• Underfoot said his favorite part of the week was opening up presents. He has become very helpful lately.
• We helped someone with the last 5 days of the 12 days of Christmas. Underfoot was the perfect height to go to the door, ring the bell, and not be seen. He would put the package in front of the door, ring the doorbell 2 times, and run. He would come sprinting from around the corner with a HUGE smileon his face. When we made other deliveries later, he would ring the door bell twice and run away. (Even when someone would open the door.) He smiled each time.
  

Hurricane

• Lately Hurricane has started to say, “My Grandma says I will ride on an airplane. And I say yes.” He has told many people this phrase, and they in turn ask,“Are you going on a trip?” No we are not, but Hurricane thinks we are.
  
• Hurricane loves the trains he received for Christmas. He stopped opening up presents after he saw the train and begrudgingly opened more presents. He was thrilled when one of the other presents was more trains. He refused to eat on Sunday for fear he wouldn’t get enough time to play his trains.
• He got to ride on the light rail in Phoenix. He loved it. Once we were on the light rail, he settled into his seat and said, “This is fun.” He told anyone that would stand still long enough at the ward party that he rode the train.
  

Be Well.

December 18

This week we tried to put together all of our Christmas. We packaged, shopped, and mailed packages. I spent a few days finishing up a birth to one year old book for Hurricane and then a surprise book for Sweetheart. He figured out the that I made him a book but doesn’t know the topic. I am anxious for him to receive it.

Sweetheart pulled out the GeoTrax trains, and the boys have spent hours and hours playing with the trains. They love the trains (Sweetheart included).

Sweetheart attended an HOA meeting this last week. There were some home owners who were very angry come to the meeting. Another board member told me that he handled their anger and the situation very well. He was able to help with a compromise between the home owner and the adherence with the HOA rules.

At Scouts this week, the boys came to our house and had hot chocolate. Hurricane spilled the hot chocolate down his body. Sweetheart got to practice first aid and then the boys got to review their skills.

Later that night, Hurricane “attacked” the hot chocolate. He put multiple knives in the hot chocolate container. We found it after he went to bed. I guess that is his way to get back at the hot chocolate. It is kind of a Clue game: the Hurricane in the kitchen with the knives.

Underfoot continues to blossom. He has a great love for painting and coloring. He has only started this skill in the last month or so. He painted a picture this week of the wind, the sun, and Mama watch Underfoot and the flowers grow. These are all three different pieces of art. Hurricane decided to paint too and poured a 1 inch pile of paint on the paper, spread it around reducing the pile to about 1/2 an inch and let it dry for the next 2 days. A friend also sent us a phonics website that Underfoot loves to play.

We’ve gotten a lot of rain this month. To date, we are twice our monthly average of rainfall for December.

Sweetheart is a miracle worker. He was able to help get our house clean and bring flowers home as a surprise in the same day. (It was the same day that I finished the “book” project(s).  I’m lucky to have a good husband.

This evening after church we attended our neighbor’s children’s Christmas pageant church service. On the way home, Underfoot thanked us because he was so happy to see his friends.

Advent continues 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

December 11

A couple funny stories for the week: Underfoot prayed tonight that the Christmas Tree wouldn’t break down (as though it were an old pinto or something...) Hurricane has learned how to turn on the charm when he wants something. He will cock his head and say, “Well...” and he purses his lips, and bats his eyes. He may not yet be three years old, but he has certainly become aware of the ladies around him.

Underfoot performed in a Christmas Pageant this week at a local nursing home. After the performance he came up toMama  and asked if he did a good job. He did a great job singing.

Mama had a Relief Society Meeting where the women got together to share their Christmas Traditions of Christ. She returned home glowing. The meeting was a great success and she was so relieved. This is what we've been doing this year. Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11

I’ve learned a new skill this week. Mama hasn’t been feeling well, so I have helped her blow dry her hair. This is something I’ve never done before. It takes a long time because she has a lot of hair. It isn’t rocket science, but it has a very soothing effect on her.

Today we attended Stake Conference in lieu of our regular Sunday meetings. One of the speakers shared with us his conversion story and the trials in his life which have brought him to great joy.

This year has been filled with the stuff of life- trials, joys, heartaches, headaches, smiles, and lots of laughter. Too often I forget to count the blessings which enrich my life. Underfoot and Hurricane are so wonderfully different, but they manage to laugh and play together in a way that is delightful. Mama has given me the most precious gift- life.

As a family we have been reading in the Book of Mormon about Helaman’s 2000 Stripling Warriors. They were all young men, but they had been taught by their mothers that if they did not doubt God, that He would deliver them from their trials. I was overcome with emotion as I read the story about these valiant boys to my own sons. The 2000 thought more about the freedom and safety of their families than their own lives. Those 2000 young men chose to go to war to defend their loved ones with the very real prospect of not surviving the ordeal.

Reading to my own boys brought a host of emotions I have not often experienced. I’ve read the story many times. I know it well, and yet, this time it was new to me. I hope that I will have the discipline to teach my sons, that they may be like those 2000. I want them to know that I know, that God does hear and answer our prayers. He does know each of us.

December 4

We started our Christmas advent on Thursday. Our boys have been very excited to open a “present” a day as we participate in the Advent Jesse Tree. Mama has done a blog post each day on the ornament that we have done. She included the pictures on a daily basis.

Check them out. Each has different pictures of boys....
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Hurricane likes to flip the pancakes with the flipper (a.k.a. spatula). Pancakes are one of his favorite foods. He can eat as many pancakes as I can.

Underfoot is very kind to Hurricane and doesn’t like to be teased by him. Hurricane loves to tease Underfoot. Underfoot loves to sing and “play” the piano.

Mama worked on some Christmas surprises this week too for family members.

On Friday night Mama and I went to the Botanical Gardens we some friends. The Gardens were filled with paper sacks that had candles in them. After wards we went for a late supper. We went to a place called the Village Inn. We were pleasantly surprised at how well the food tasted.

On Saturday we went to a t-ball game. After that we ran some errands. It seems that every Saturday we run errands after the t-ball game.

Today we went to church and choir, and I did a home teaching lesson. Tonight as a family we watched the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional. We enjoyed the gift of Bible movies made about the birth of the Savior.We hope you have felt the love of the Messiah in your life today.

Three New Posts

I have been behind and have added three weeks of our weekly letter....

November 13
November 20
November 27

None are in order.....

November 20

The annual pie party was on Friday. We had a wonderful time with the friends that came. Many different types of pie were served, and children ran wild in the backyard. The adults talked and talked. We have portable fireplace and enjoyed  a small fire. The older boys loved to add kindling. The adults sat around the fire and talked. We sent all the leftovers home with others so there is no pie left in our house.

Sweetheart

• Sweetheart worked a lot of overtime to meet a deadline at work. Most of the work was accomplished by the time the customer presentation took place. Sweetheart presented a lot of his work and was able to have a successful week.
• Sweetheart did all the heavy lifting and cleaning up outside before the pie party. The backyard looks great!
  

Mama

• I went to another conference on Monday to complete the live credits I need for licensure. The conference was on grief and how to support and counsel individuals in their grief process. The presenter talked mostly about death grief.
• I made pies this week. I had a goal to make the pie crusts. I did it. I made 8 pie crusts. It was a little daunting because I didn’t want to fail. One pie I looked forward to making was a banoffee pie (a banana and toffee pie). It was a hit.
  

Underfoot

• Underfoot finished his music class. He loves to go to music class and sings throughout the week.
• Sweetheart and I have been talking about what we need to do as parents to get Underfoot ready for kindergarten. One night Hurricane fell asleep early, and the three of us just sat and talked and talked. Underfoot told us all types of things and asked lots of questions. He is a really good boy and eager to learn.
  

Hurricane

• Hurricane continues with his boundless energy. He has a new thing he does when he is really tired. He will run in circles so he doesn’t have to go to sleep. If he sits still for just a moment he will go to sleep.
• He has an iron-will. When he does something he knows he probably shouldn’t, he stands on his feet and looks us straight in the eye and says, “I am Hurricane.” Some times he says his whole name. This is the signal to us that he is firm in his decision. We hope that it will focus him to do good when he stands for something.
  

Family

• On Saturday, we had a family day. We spent the time doing some errands and then came home for a nap. All of us napped. It is very unusual for all of us to take a nap.

Happy Thanksgiving this coming week! We hope this letter finds you surrounded by joy, peace, and loving friendships.


More Pictures.

Be Well.

November 13

This letter comes one week late. The week previous we went 100 miles an hour and this week we got hit with being sick. Underfoot, Hurricane, and I were sick while Sweetheart worked 12 hour days for a project at work.

Sweetheart

• Sweetheart worked a lot of overtime to meet a deadline at work. He took one day off because boys were sick and I had registered for a continuing education conference for my licensure. Sweetheart would leave for work early each day and come home late.
  

Mama

• I got ready for a $1 sale. A $1 sale is selling clothes or other items for $1 a piece. I went through all our clothes to organize and inventory what we had and what we didn’t need. I did it with a group of ladies. In the end, I donated a lot more clothes than I sold. It was a great way to purge and be prepared for the future.
  
• On Tuesday I went to a conference on the brain. The topic was teaching the brain new habits and how the pathways within the brain are created. It was interesting to learn about how the hormones in our body will create automatic responses.
  

Underfoot

• On Wednesday, Underfoot was diagnosed with a double ear infection. He had a high fever since Sunday evening until Thursday morning. He was a champ and would lay down when he was tired and sleep. Once he started the antibiotics his fever broke, and he started to feel better.
• Underfoot played t-ball and has caught on to fielding. He loves to get the ball in the shortstop position and throw to first base.
  

Hurricane

• Hurricane’s boundless energy finally slowed down, if for only a short while. At his doctor’s appointment, he was diagnosed with bronchitis and given breathing treatments along with an antibiotic. He hated doing the breathing treatments and would cry and cry. The crying helped the medication get into his lungs and his coughing went away. He would come and crawl in our bed and breath on me all night long. He shared with me his cold but not the bronchitis.
• On Thursday a vintage steam engine #844 came through our neck of the woods. It is in commemoration of Arizona statehood in 1912. Hurricane is a HUGE fan of trains. He didn’t really care for the whistle but has asked frequently about riding the train since that day. He has even said we need to pack our clothes and go to the train for an overnight adventures.
  

Family

• We bought a fire pit a few months ago. In our efforts to get ready for the pie party, we cleaned the backyard and had a campfire. Hurricane thought it was too hot. Underfoot sat by the fire and just watched.
  

Be Well

November 27

Hurricane continues to amaze us with his determination, his funny facial expressions, and his occasionally hilarious comments. On Saturday we went with some friends to the Desert Museum. While watching an exhibit on live raptors, Hurricane said, “I got guns.” He would take a leaf off of a tree and pretend that it was his gun. Hurricane has started practicing using the big boy potty. We are so excited for that! On Saturday Hurricane told us numerous times of his desire to “climb the mountain.” We told him that we “climbed the mountain” at the Desert Museum.

Underfoot has taken to writing his letters. This is very exciting for  Mama. He also likes to draw Star Wars figures for Daddy to take to work. Luke Skywalker is his favorite Star Wars guy.  Underfoot has also expressed great interest in Legos.  Underfoot says, “ I saw animals. I saw snakes. I saw scorpions. I walked on the path at the Desert Museum.”

Mama has kept her self busy this week with a Jesse Tree Advent. This is a way of preparing for Christmas.  Mama made 25 copies of 4 ornaments- a heart, a sling, a star, and a stem of Jesse. She shares her ornaments with other women who have also made ornaments, so that each family gets a set of 25 different ornaments. Then you wrap them up and open one “present” each day in December.

Mama also whipped up a Thanksgiving dinner on 24 hours notice. We had planed to each with some friends. They called on Wednesday afternoon to let us know that a child was sick and they were canceling their plans to host Thanksgiving Dinner.  Mama pulled a rabbit out of her hat and prepared a delicious meal on Thursday evening.

Sweetheart took it easy at work this week. No long hours. On Wednesday after work and on Thursday he helped some friends put in a laminate floor. The work brought back memories of State College, PA. On Friday  Sweetheart removed a mesquite tree from our front yard and transplanted one from the back yard to the front yard. He also changed the oil on Fred.

On Saturday we enjoyed the day together. The Desert Museum is a unique Tucson experience. We all had a good time and will likely go back. After the museum we braved the crowds and did some Christmas shopping.

Be Well.

More Pictures

November 6

100 miles per hour. Maybe faster.

Halloween

The week in bullets:

• Sweetheart was in San Diego from Sunday night until Wednesday evening for an Acoustical Society of America meeting.
• Mama taught the lesson for the ladies at church today. She attended a ‘Time Out for Women’ conference in Phoenix on Friday and Saturday.
• Underfoot says, “I want to write a note to Jilli- Dear Jilli, you must come to my house some day. And Grandpa Kirki. And your son Aaron. This is from Underfoot.” While I was gone, I told Underfoot that he was in charge of taking care of Mama. Mama shared with me that as soon as I walked out the door, Underfoot told Mama that it was time for bed and that everyone was to go to be because he was now in charge. He also assumed that meant he was to sleep in daddy’s bed next to Mama, as part of his duties. One night Mama was cleaning and Underfoot refused to go to bed until Mama was done cleaning. He fell off the table onto the floor, onto his head, and Mama stayed up another hour and a half to make sure that he didn’t have a concussion. It was a long night, but the kitchen floor was clean!
• Hurricane has developed a cough. He is still as capable as ever.

We had a community yard sale on Saturday. It rained early in the morning and it was cold. We didn’t have a lot of traffic. We made a few dollars. Mama and I have really enjoyed taking the Dave Ramsey class at Raytheon. It has really changed our perspective on money and helped us to have a common goal. I would recommend it to anyone, at any stage of life.

While Mama was at the conference on Saturday afternoon, I took the boys to an open pit copper mine here in Arizona. We learned that it takes a lot of electricity to mine copper. We saw several very large mining trucks. Hurricane did not like standing underneath the large mining truck.

October 30

Balance. We are striving for balance in our family. Hopefully we will find the correct rhythm soon.

One week ago we shopped at our favorite thrift store and discovered Halloween costumes and Louis L’Amour books. Both are incredible finds. Underfoot decided he wanted to be a cowboy. We found a cowboy shirt just his size. Hurricane found a Thomas the Train costume and fell in love. Both costumes were put to use yesterday at our ward’s trunk-or-treat. Trunk-or-treat definition: A group of people come to a parking lot and open up their trunks as children pass from car to car collecting candy.

The reason for the trip to “Dillards,” as we called it, was to find an appropriate cowboy costume for Underfoot because he was not going to have me pull out a plaid shirt from his closet to be a cowboy. Underfoot caught on that his Mama makes Halloween as simple as possible by using what we already have. Hurricane decided at the last minute to change his costume to a cowboy (moments before the trunk-or-treat. Unlike his brother, he was okay that I pulled out a plaid shirt from the closet to be his “cowboy” costume with his cowboy hat. He then put Thomas the Train over the top of the cowboy get-up and was a Thomas the Train cowboy.

Before the trunk-or-treat, a lovely family hosted a party and DINNER!!! It was lovely to go and let children play while adults chatted. I was very excited about not making supper.

Our week held its regular activities of Joy School (with Halloween party), work at Raytheon, music class, and Scouts. We have also been getting ready for our community yard sale. We are going to participate this time and have been collecting, cleaning, and labeling the odds and ends we hope that others will think are great treasures. The new discipline tactic is that if the toy doesn’t get picked up it will be labeled and sold this coming weekend. There have been more tears and prompt responses when that threat has been issued. Only a few things have been labeled and tucked away.

Underfoot, at his t-ball game, got the ball after a hit. He promptly pick it up and held it high. He yelled, “I got it!” He was so proud.

Hurricane pooped in the potty. He has no interest since then.

Sweetheart rearranged out library. From our Dillards visit we found a desk for me. Now Sweetheart will have space on his desk instead of me using it and walking away and leaving the papers on it. It also removed one of the two computers that was on it. We are very excited to have some personal space. We will put a table in the room for the boys to work at and hopefully make it our school room.

No crazy home preservation projects this week.

Be Well.

October 23

It is funny how your perspective on life can change in an instant.

On Saturday afternoon we received word that Mama’s brother was in a car accident. A combination of Divine Intervention and a split section decision on his part made all the difference. We learned that an oncoming truck veered into his lane, demolished the mini van in front of him, and sideswiped his 3/4 ton work truck with such force that it knocked it on its side, shearing off the rear axle. Mama’s brother and two nieces are okay. Four other people were taken to the hospital. One little boy, about Underfoot’ age, is in critical condition. If Mama’s brother hadn’t veered out of the way of the oncoming truck, what was a side swipe could have been a full head on collision with a very different outcome. We are grateful that they are safe.

On a lighter note, the phrase for the week comes from Hurricane. It is, “I do it.” Hurricane has determined that he is capable of doing everything. Among other things, he told me this week that he could wipe his own behind. I didn’t let him try. He is a happy boy, except when he’s not feeling well. Today during church he was not a happy camper. He has some sort of tummy ache which gives him very toxic gas, making his backside  raw. I held him for the last hour of church. Mama attended a conference on Friday to keep her Counseling Certification current. We chose to stay the night at my sister’s house. She was in Las Vegas with her husband who was attending a conference of his own. My father was in town to hold down the fort. It was fun to see the interaction between the boys and their grandpa.

While Mama was becoming ethical (at her conference of course) my father, the boys, my niece, and I went  to a train museum in Scottsdale. It was a great time. Hurricane and Underfoot loved riding in the cattle car of the train. Underfoot really liked the carousel ride. Another highlight was the model train exhibit. Hurricane was enthralled with the little trains and the little lights and the moving parts.

We hope you are well and safe.

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.

August 28

Underfoot

• Joy School and music class were on his schedule. He loves to wake up for Joy School and get ready. His favorite day to wake up is Sunday because he gets to eat sugar bombs (cold cereal) before church.
• Underfoot is learning how to react to situations. He will laugh, cry, yell, or hit. Some times being 4 is hard because there is so much to express.
• Hurricane would not go to bed one night. After 3 trips to our room, we locked him out. Hurricane came to the door and cried until we heard Underfoot come down the hall and gently and sweetly encourage Hurricane to go back to bed. Hurricane went with him. Underfoot tucked him in, and they fell asleep. I’m glad they have each other.
  

Hurricane

• Hurricane has been my buddy this week. He will stay up late and sit next to me as I do different tasks. He usually wants to be on my lap.
• Hurricane loves to laugh and make faces. When he is made if I make his same face he will start to laugh. I hope his laughter stays in my head forever.
  

Sweetheart

• Sweetheart participated in jury duty selection this week. He was chosen as a juror while the selection was still being made. Then he was excused. It was a criminal case with 17 meth drug and racketeering charges.
• Sweetheart listens to books during his commute to work. He listened to Unbroken:A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. The book sucked him in.
• He is the weed warrior as we have had monsoon rain. He attacks any weed that shows it’s sprout face.
  

Mama

• At our family reunion in July, my extended family teased me for being the canning queen. My weeks are filled with preserving food. The food adventures were Zaycon 40 pounds of hamburger and 1 1/2 bushels of Hatch chiles. Sweetheart roasted the chiles on Saturday night as I washed and prepared them. This week I’ve peeled the chiles. I repacked the meat from the 10 pound tube to 1 pound containers.
• I went with a friend on Friday night to watch The Help (very good) and ate sushi (Yum!).
• I got sucked into Unbroken (my favorite quote) too and listened throughout the weekend.

August 21

Funny: So on Saturday afternoon (after working our guts out in the morning) Mama and I decided to take a few minutes for ourselves. We figured that a good John Wayne movie (McLintock!) would keep the boys’ attention for a few minutes. About half way through the movie Underfoot came to tell us that Hurricane had gotten out some food. Before this Hurricane had “gotten out” the milk and spilled it all in the frig. We went in the kitchen to find a 5 gallon bucket of wheat everywhere.

He scooped out cup by cup 1/2 of the bucket and was enjoying the feel of the wheat in between his fingers and toes. It took us about 30 minutes to vacuum it all up. Hurricane had fun with the vacuum.

 The chickens will enjoy the wheat.

Underfoot has some dental challenges. On Monday unfortunately he had 3 cavities filled, a root canal, and a silver crown put in. The cavity started in between the molars and wasn’t identified until the tooth was awful.

Apparently we are awful parents in the area of dental hygiene (which has improved significantly since the verdict with flossing 2 times a day). The dentist said that these things (children with cavities) some times happen. Underfoot likes to show off his new pirate tooth. He will open his mouth and show it off. So we have met our child’s dream of being a pirate.

Mama and I started to take a Strengthening Marriage class this week. The class is free except for the baby sitter. We thought that it is a good idea to take advantage of a free class that will make our marriage stronger. Mama got tired of not baking because it is so hot and has baked up a a storm of bread, muffins, oven roasted tomatoes with garlic, doughnuts, roasted veggies to make into a sauce, and pie - sweet potato and pizza.

Sweet Potato Pie

She is tired of the heat and needed a creative outlet. Food is where she can find that outlet. Even though we have had temperatures of over 100 degrees, it has brought tranquility to her soul and enlarged my waistline.

Mama did baskets on Saturday morning. I sprayed for weeds and put down pre-emergent. We’ve received a lot rain this monsoon and the weeds are very intense. I went to a shot gun shooting tournament in the afternoon with the men in our congregation. I shot 15 out of 20 clay targets. It was fun. The gun I shot was a Winchester 1100, which I am told is a 1100 dollar gun. It was a lot of fun. After the shoot I did a little work to Fred. His AC works but not very well. Hopefully I can fix it.

August 14

Underfoot: On Friday my friends A and W came to my house. They slept here. We watched a movie that night. We watched the Heavens of Oz (Wizard of Oz). But they left (their parents came at 11:30.) We ate supper and popcorn. I picked up the trains. I dipped strawberries and cherries and bread (pound cake) into chocolate (fondue.) It was yummy. I got my head shaved this week.

Hurricane: Hurricane likes to use the spray bottle to squirt everyone. He giggles when he gets someone wet. Hurricane frequently will say, “I show you something. I show you something.” He then climbs up onto his horsy rocking chair and has at it for a while.

Mama: On Friday, I put up a tent in our front room to have a movie night. The boys loved being in the tent, but when it was time for bed, they went and crawled in their beds instead of sleeping in the tent. They didn’t want to sleep in the tent.

I made a killer cherry pie - crust and all. It was my first pie crust that wasn’t like paper mache. I was pretty happy with that. Later that week I signed up for a contest to go to a pie tutorial in Oklahoma. My odds of winning were 1 in 1150 ish. Needless to say, I will not be going this coming weekend to Oklahoma, but it was fun to dream for a minute.

L4 decided our chickens needed to range. The ladies have not eaten our garden but have scratched around our backyard. I have decided that I want grass instead of dirt, rocks and weeds. We started by clearing out the weeds. I’m still not use to the heat and working in the heat. I guess I don’t have to earn my living in the heat at this point so I enjoy the air conditioning. We (all four of us) worked hard weeding, picking up rocks, and picking up weeds. After we sweat so much that clothes dripped (I don’t sweat that much usually), we stopped and took cold showers. We were wiped out the rest of the day. Earlier that morning we had gone to our community clean up and Bountiful Baskets. Back to the grass... To get grass the weeds need to be gone as well as the rocks. It will take us ages it feels like but by small and simple things great things are brought to pass. I think we might opt for some fake grass and some real grass.

Hurricane decided this week that he was done using the high chair and would like to sit in L4’s lap during all meals. This is irritates me. L4 responses with, “He won’t always want to sit in my lap.”

I also read a great article on modesty and more the do's instead of the don't of modesty.

L4: This week I had a long board meeting. It seems that the HOA is much like being a parent. Sometimes it extends mercy. Sometimes it cracks down. In all cases it has to treat the homeowners like children. Establish the rules. Enforce them. Try to understand and keep peace.

In my personal study I’ve been reading in the New Testament. I’ve learned a lot about the life of the Savior. I am grateful for this experience, as most of my personal study has been devoted to the Book of Mormon.

Today in Sunday School a man recounted an interesting story. As a recent convert, he was interested in genealogy. At a family reunion, his extended family questioned him as to why he would join the Mormon Church and why he would want to have his deceased grandmother baptized vicariously into the Church. He then recounted to them the Angelic visitation that his Grandmother had in 1924. She had shared the experience with him when he was a small child. As an adult he was introduced to the Church and was greatly moved by the similarity between his grandmother’s visitation and Joseph Smith’s experience with the Angel Moroni. The two accounts gave nearly identical descriptions of the Angelic visitor.

His extended family, which included several pastors from other faiths, were dumbfounded. At that point, his aged great aunt began to smile as she recalled the experience. She indicated that his Grandmother’s story had made quite a stir that year.

August 7

Underfoot: My mom was a little bit mean to my friends because she kicked me out of her bedroom. I have the choice to not let them in. I went to all kinds of places at the Bike Park (a local bike awareness event at the school on Saturday morning). I went on the lines and to the waterfalls. Joy School is great because I learned a song about never hit or kick or push. I drew my friend J.’s face.

Hurricane: I go to lessons (refresher swimming lessons). Hurricane likes chips on his plate. I played trains. I like trains. I played trains. I built the train station. (Do you think he’s a bit obsessive about the trains?)

Mama and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on Saturday. We got a sitter for the boys and went to the temple. After that we went to a fancy steakhouse in town. We had dessert at The Melting Pot. In all we were gone for 10 hours. It was nice to be able to talk about where we are, where we’ve been, and where we’d like to go.

Author Switch: We are trying to to have each person participate in our weekly letter. L4 said his life isn’t as accomplishment-filled since he got a steady job and works Monday through Friday with Saturday chores and Sunday church. I told him he needed to get a hobby. His response is when would I do that? Any suggestions?

While L4 was hard at work, we had swimming lessons, the beginning of Joy School, a music class, and  neighbor children who came for two different days. This was smattered with doctor’s appointments.

Throughout the week, we have received different videos from my parents and youngest brother who are attending the 22nd World Scouting Jamboree in Sweden.

The boys watch the videos over and over again.

By the way, I doing a blog series on pioneers today. I even made the button.

I read a book called The Pioneer Women. The story is a love story but also a journey.  I believe that I am a country girl at heart and living in a HOA with neighbors close on all sides is a little much for me at times. This book brought some interesting conversation for L4 and I about what we'd like for our family's future. Maybe just maybe homesteading one day was part of the discussion.

Underfoot said to me one night before going to bed. “This is NOT a cold wheel, but a HOT wheel. See right here.” He was pointing to the flames on the underside of the car. Something clicked for him. It was darling. Another thing he has started to say is, “My Grandma made that for me when I was a baby. It was delicious.” Usually we are at supper and it the meal we are eating. He then says, “She made it for you too when you were a baby Mama. I was there.” Another chuckle.

We hope this finds you well and happy. Drop us a line to let us know you are alive.

July 31

Underfoot says this week: I played with trains this week. I built the train track with my dad. We got a new  train set to add to our collection. I got a surprise at the library this week. I got a book that I can keep about Abraham Lincoln. I saw the dentist. I had friends come over on Friday night.

We’ve been getting over sickness this week. Mama had pink eye (She probably picked it up from Hurricane.) Both boys completed their summer reading program and received an adventure pass from the Library. Early in the week Mama started teaching piano again. The local schools are back in session, so people are done with family vacations and such.

On Friday we went to The Gila Valley Temple in Central, Arizona. Afterward we came home and hosted a get together with some friends.

On Saturday we took it easy and didn’t do a whole lot. Mama took a nap (a very rare event indeed!) and I installed some new software on one of the computers. I also assembled an automatic temperature controller for a fan we have in our garage. I’ve had the parts for about a year, I just never took the time to sit down
and put it all together. That evening around supper time we got a quick, brief, but very powerful thunder and lightning show that lasted about 20 minutes. It was so loud that it woke Mama up from her nap- which is another rare event in and of itself.

It has rained so much the last few weeks that we have volunteer green grass in our backyard. We aren’t hopeful that it will last. It is probably just weeds.

Be Well.

July 24

Underfoot says this week: I got my jobs done. All week long. I love to see the temple. I did the scripture in Primary today. It talked about returning to Heavenly Father. I read lots of books this week. I got a world balloon from the library reading program.

Hurricane provided a few firsts for us. He came home last Sunday with weepy eyes that developed into goopy eyes. On Monday morning we made an appointment with the doctor. At the doctor’s office, we (Hurricane, Underfoot, and I) learned that Hurricane had an ear infection that had gone into his eyes causing an infection. The doctor said that it wasn’t pink eye. He prescribed an antibiotic and saying that the infection in his eyes might be viral and not bacterial. So I waffled on getting the antibiotic. Later that evening, Underfoot and Hurricane were launching projectiles at each other before supper. (I was learning how to cook and use rice noodles for the first time.) A projectile hit Hurricane in the eye and cut open the top and bottom lids and under the eye. Since Hurricane had an infection and was bleeding from the eye, we decided to go to the emergency room. There are 4 hospitals here. We went to the one with a pediatric emergency room. We were seen quickly. The doctor was great. Hurricane got his eye cleaned thoroughly inside and out. He got to have drops put in the eye to make sure the cornea wasn’t cut. We were told that he had pink eye and to start the antibiotic so an infection wouldn’t come from the cuts. So our firsts were pink eye and the emergency room. Pretty amazing if you ask me that we haven’t visited before now.

We laid low this week. No social engagements. No going to random stores. We did go to the library briefly to change out books. We have been tackling the 100 books of summer suggested by a friend. I think we have made it through about 30 or so. We started about 2 1/2 weeks ago so I feel like that is good progress. Joy School starts for Underfoot in 1 week. We will continue the book reading until we finish.

For L4 and I, summer caught up with us, and we developed sore throats and a cough. We are too stingy to go the doctor. We saw what happened to Hurricane this week for going to the doctor and didn’t want to end up in the emergency room ourselves.

Underfoot helped me pit cherries. He did a great job and earned extra points for his daily jobs.

July 17

The heat is on and our brains have turned to mush. Here is a quick update.

Monday- Underfoot was so tired he fell asleep at the dinner table.

Tuesday- Mama cleaned the Maud Room and the boys painted.

Wednesday- Scouts was canceled but no one told L4. L4 had a long board meeting. Mama finished cleaning the Maud Room. She started reading a book that night and didn’t go to bed until 4 a.m.

Thursday- Mama invited some friends for an indoor picnic because it was too hot to be outside.

Friday- L4 went in to work to make up some hours. Mama finished the book. L4 worked on Fred while Mama did Bountiful Baskets paperwork in the evening.

Saturday- We cleaned the front yard of dead plant and tree remnants. We did Baskets in the morning. L4 finished replacing the water pump and timing belt on Fred. L4 made some adjustments to the irrigation system. Everyone but L4 took naps. We did a lot of shopping and errands after the naps.

Sunday- In church today a number of people commented on Hurricane’s new found personality and language. He seems to have lost his shyness. He is a chatter box and tells everyone that he fixed Fred Ignatowski (the car.) We had some friends over for supper and Mama made some delicious salmon.

July 10

After almost 19 days away from home, we have returned. In that time we failed to write a letter for last week and will make it up this week as I have finally downloaded the 925 pictures from our trip. I will tell stories with them hopefully over the next few weeks about what we have learned and are growing to become.

The 4th of July was a great day spent with my maternal side. We came together to honor my Grandpa H. for his birthday which he refers to as “Groundhog Day.” The best part was to be together and how well the planning and food came. We did a tribute book for my Grandpa. Each was very excited to see it and read their part. We played (swam at a Cottonwood Heights, had a campfire at Millcreek Canyon, participated in the last 30 miles of the Mormon Trail, went to Temple Square, lit fireworks, and flew a kite), worked (did a clean up at one of the chapel’s in the SLC area), and attended church with my Grandpa. We had to leave before the kite was up. It was a huge American flag kite. We drove into Page, AZ for the last 10 minutes of their fireworks show before bedding down for the night.

We arrived home on Tuesday and cleaned up suitcases and the car before collapsing into bed. The one  miracle of the day was that we were not taken out by a tow truck on the freeway in a monsoon downpour. The driver nearly clipped the front passenger side of our car as we were literally 15 minutes from home. L4 worked the rest of the week. I cleaned up the loose ends of keeping house. The boys played. Our neighbor who is 13 gave Underfoot 4 light sabers. Earlier that day, he had asked me if for Christmas he could be given a real light saber. He said he would even buy one for him and Hurricane so they could play together. We have all enjoyed a few light saber wars.

Saturday was our traditional work-like-mad. We volunteered at our HOA community service day by painting. Underfoot is still sporting orange colored paint in his hair. L4 started to take Fred apart to repair him.  Remember Fred is a car. I started to dejunk a closet. Each boy helped us respectively. In the evening we harvested grapes at a friend’s home and shared them with neighbors.

June 26

Greetings from Pocatello, Idaho. This week we spent in Garden City, Utah attending
the annual Locey Family Reunion.

Before heading to the reunion, we spent time with Mama's Grandpa in Salt Lake. We went to stake conference with him and celebrated Father's Day with Mama's Dad and Grandpa. Later that evening we had a dinner with the Locey family to celebrate Father's Day there. It was a great way to begin the reunion and get a few housekeeping items taken care of before beginning the reunion.


On Monday we decided to go to This Is The Place Heritage Park. The boys enjoyed riding horses, eating lunhch, and going on a train ride. They also made a bunny craft. After the park we drove to Bear Lake.

We played games, rode quads, built a swing set play area, and rode water toys on a boat. It was great to spend time with my family. We are grateful that we were able to have such a great time. We attended a play on the last night of “Who Shot Juanito Bandito?” We laughed and had a great time together. The food and
company were great!

On Friday we headed north to Pocatello to see A, Mama’s brother, get off the plane from his mission in Washington, D.C Spanish speaking. It was great to see him. He left on his Mission shortly after Hurricane was born. He reported on this Sunday. The point he made was that we are all winners in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each has their degree in which they are involved. The bright news is that the Father and the Son will love us regardless and rejoice when we choose to follow, and they will help with our success.

On Saturday we went to Island Park, Idaho to see Cedar Badge graduation for Mama's nephew was graduating from the week long leadership training program. Cedar Badge is a Boy Scout National Leadership training program that teaches Boys Scouts, Varsity, and Venturing Scouting. Mama’s family has been involve for the past 18 years.

After the graduation we went to Mesa Falls for a picnic lunch. We all enjoyed the cool mist of the falls and spending time together. We also stopped to see some property that Mama’s parents own in Blackfoot, Idaho.

June 19

We have begun our “winter” vacation. I mean summer vacation. We’re in Salt Lake and the rain is pouring steadily. It is beautiful especially for us who don’t see a lot of rain. There is a 50 degree difference between SLC and Tucson so we are a little cold but refuse to pull out our winter coats.

For our family home evening activity, we planted our garden. By the time web were done, it was dark. The boys helped build up the mounds for the melons and squashes. They were very tired from the day but were good sports. Underfoot named each of the mounds as a different mountain.

We got ready to come during the week by doing laundry, packing, cleaning up, having the bug guy come to exterminate bugs, and dropping library books off at the library.

Hurricane, Mama, and Underfoot participated in Vacation Bible School at a neighbor’s house. Prayer, different miracles of Jesus, and loving one another were some of the themes. We colored, created, and ate yummy snacks. I think the boys enjoyed playing with friends a lot. It was a great time and strengthened friendships. We left on Thursday and drove to Flagstaff that evening. The boys enjoyed jumping on beds. They loved it.

We arrived in Salt Lake City on Friday night. On our way, we stopped in Provo at BYU for some ice cream on the lawn. Mama, Hurricane, and Underfoot rolled down the hill on the grass. It was fun to hear them laugh. We spent the night with L4’s brother and family.

On Saturday we went to a train museum in Ogden, Utah. We took S and B, L4’s niece and nephew.  Everyone had a great time looking at trains. Underfoot especially liked climbing on the full size trains. Hurricane was fascinated by the model trains. He wanted to watch them and chase them. It must be part of  his genes.

June 12

We’ve had a few exciting things happen this week.

We harvested 4 bunches of grapes. On three occasions I’ve harvested a handful of berries from our  blackberry bushes. Our garden is mostly fallow but we have harvested a few onions and some basil. We hope to get the garden planted this week.

Mama got me a book at the library about being a bee keeper. It is very interesting. I would very much like to have a hive of bees, if for no other reason than to boost the production of the garden.

We got out the GeoTrax trains this week. Hurricane and Underfoot have spent many hours playing with them. Their affinity for trains must be in their blood. Underfoot says that two of the trains are broken.

We got home from church today and found a puddle of antifreeze underneath Fred Ignatowzki. My initial diagnosis is that the water pump is leaking.

Mama has been busy this week with travel preparations and attending baby showers. It seems that everyone is having a baby except us. We hope to have another child soon. Mama is done with physical therapy.

We had a family over for supper tonight. It was interesting to learn about their family and the experiences they have had. The husband is a principal at a Jewish K-8 school. The wife also teaches at the school. We learned a bit about the differences between public and private education.

Hurricane’s personality continues to flourish. His language amazes us every day. He is very vocal when he wants something.

Underfoot is very patient with his brother. He loves to play. Underfoot says, “Please help the cho-choos to get better.” He wants me to fix the remote controlled trains.

Late with 2 posts.

So this comes one whole week late. So much happened during this week that I thought I would be best to do 2 separate post so it isn’t super long for you. It is for my records also to keep the weeks straight in my  head. I’ll be doing it in a bullet format so that each person gets their highlights and I don’t forget too much.

May 28th

June 5th

Just a teaser.....

June 5

We celebrated Memorial Day by working and then going swimming at friends. We are grateful to the families whose loved ones have given their lives for our lives and to men and women who have given their lives for our freedoms to live, believe/worship, teach our children, and work as we enjoy.

L4

• Our freezer has been on the fritz. On a warm day the inside of the freezer heats up to around 10 degrees. On cooler days, it cools to about 2 degrees. Since we are going on  vacation, L4 wants to make sure the freezer is working when we leave for vacation. He replaced the thermostat, and THE FREEZER IS AT -10 DEGREES!We don’t need to buy a new freezer.
• He also changed the pressure regulator on our house. Apparently the valve had failed before we move in. We didn’t know it was broken until a plumber neighbor mentioned it to us. When L checked the pressure, it pegged the needle at 120+ psi. The maximum recommended pressure for a home is 80 psi. It was changed out Tuesday, and the  pressure is now around 60 psi. We hope the change will save us money in our water bill each month.
• Also L4 found grape skeltonizers on our grapes. Last summer we fought those bugs daily. They attach to the grape vine and suck the sap from it until they lay new eggs to create more bugs. The bugs grow to be the size of an adult index finger. When they are terminated they shrink to nothing. (I guess we haven’t adopted the Hindu belief of not killing any living thing.) He found a spray to kill them and saved the grapes vines and ourselves from bug-picking insanity.
• Because the water pressure has changed how we water has to change also. He spent time fixing how much water is given to what. It is quite the task. We hope we can find a good balance.

Mama I have healed well and am enjoying getting things back to a rhythm. Our library is clean and now we are moving to keeping all parts of the house clean.

Underfoot

• This weekend Hurricane rode a play car off the slide in our house. Underfoot was being obedient and helping pick up. He bent over at the same time that Hurricane pushed the car down the slide, and it collided with Underfoot’s face. He has a little black eye and a few minor cuts on the eye and nose.
• We were invited to go to Davis-Monthan AFB to see an EC-130 airplane. Our neighbor’s husband flies this plane. We got to climb in the plane and then did a tour of the base. We went bowling and shopping at the BX. It was a lot of fun.
• We had two little boys stay the night and day with us while their Mom went to support the young women in our church at a camping event and their Dad needed to work. Underfoot loved to have someone to play with for the evening and the next day. The boys fell asleep about 10:30 pm and were up at 5:15 am. They played hard. We enjoyed having them here.

 Hurricane

•  Hurricane is cutting 4 molars - all at the same time.
• He loved going bowling and seeing things.
• Because of the molars, he has been tired and started to cough. The cough turned into a bark. The bark has gone away and has been replaced with a drippy faucet nose. We kept him away from our over night guests. We don’t think he is really sick, but his body doesn’t like it when teeth come in. He and Daddy stayed home from church today. He has also kept us up at night several times this week.
• I made Hurricane his own cake. The cupcake wasn't good enough for me unfortunately. So here is a lousy looking train cake.