July 22

Underfoot started kindergarten on Monday last! He was so excited that he got up on his own early throughout the week. By Friday, he was tired and went to bed around 5 pm and got up the next morning around 7 am. He got to the play ground and never looked back.
Hurricane, on the other hand, is missing Underfoot desperately. Since we walk Underfoot to school, Hurricane and I have to walk home. I do it for exercise and take the long way home. We walked in the door about 35 minutes after dropping Underfoot off at school and Hurricane asked if we could go get Underfoot right then. He asked every 15 minutes until we got Underfoot.

As for Sweetheart and myself, we don't have much to report. Lance worked. I did household stuff and downloaded the 1100+ pictures from our trip. I've been working on putting the pictures on our blog. We were all exhausted by week's end with the transition to going to school and the schedule changes with that.

Just wanted a quick check in for last week.

July 15

On Monday I flew from California to Idaho. Mama packed us up, we said good bye to family and headed to Salt Lake for the night. On Tuesday morning we got up early and had breakfast with K F, one of my college roommates, and his family. It was fun to spend some time with them, as the last time we were together was when we lived back East. We then started south. Oh it is a long drive! We decided to have supper at my sister's house in Phoenix. This added another hour to the drive, but it gave us all a chance to stretch our legs, get some good food, and spend a little bit of time with two of my sisters - the one who lives in Phoenix and my other sister and her family who live in Bountiful, Utah. (They had not yet returned home after all their summer travels!) We finally got to bed early morning Wednesday.

Wednesday was a difficult day at work. Mama began the process of getting our lives back in order after being away from home for almost 3 weeks. We were pleased to see that most of our grapes survived (more about that later!) Our young ladies were considerably larger too (a.k.a. chickens). Wednesday night was a special evening as it was our first 'Back to School Night' - Underfoot is so excited to attend kindergarten starting tomorrow.

On Friday I came home from work a little early. I spent the afternoon and evening harvesting our grapes. It was fun to go searching for the grapes. Our two Thompson Seedless vines produced the most grapes, but they have also been in the ground the longest. Mama did a heroic run of shopping and other school prep errands so we wouldn't have to go into town on Saturday. We got two heavy thunderstorms, so the ground was soggy.

Saturday is a special day. It is the day we work our guts out. Mama got up early and went off Bountiful Baskets. The truck was late, so instead of returning home around 7:30, she didn't get back until closer to 9. We started steaming our grapes right when we got up. I weeded the front yard and part of the back yard. (It is so much easier to pull weeds when the ground is wet!) The boys helped out some.

The grape juice was done by about 2 p.m. We canned just over 2 gallons- a half gallon of purple grape juice and the rest a pink color. After that we pitted and froze about 18 pounds of cherries for pies and other delicious treats. We collapsed into bed that night.

Sunday is the Lord's day where we spent it at church and came home for a rest. I fell so sound asleep that Mama told me that Underfoot would come and pinch me without waking me. I must have been tired.

Be Well.

July 9

After leaving Arizona, we traveled to Utah. On Saturday, Mama's family met together in Salt Lake and used the City Pass to visit multiple locations for one price. We went to the Gateway Children's Museum, the Lion House Pantry (for lunch - SO YUMMY!), and the Leonardo. It was so good to see each other. The children played and played. The funny part was that we walked from the Children's Museum to the Lion House. Afterward we rode Trax because we learned that it was free to ride within certain blocks. We were SO TIRED from walking. We did ride Trax back and were happy to do it! We went and swam at my Grandpa H's house then to supper.

On Sunday we attended the Mormon Tabernacle Broadcast for the 4th of July. To attend the broadcast you need to be 8 years old. My Mom made arrangements for our boys and niece to be babysat. The babysitter was great! Sweetheart and I enjoyed the broadcast. Grandpa H invited us to his new apartment which is beautiful. We returned to Grandpa H's condo and helped pack up. 

Monday: We didn't have one of our finer moments, and after breakfast traveled to Idaho. We all ended up at the family cabin with a good supper. 

Tuesday: Games were played with nieces. Guns were shot with big boys. Tours were done with 4-wheelers.

Wednesday: The 4th of July was an eventful day. We attended the parade, and the ISU mascot, Benny, picked us out of the crowd to have his picture taken with our family! After the parade, we went to the car museum, ate lunch, and rode on the Jeep and old fire engine. In the evening we had a BBQ and watched fireworks at my sister's in-laws home. They were beautiful.

Thursday: We cleaned up because I only packed 5 outfits for each of the boys. I, on the other hand, always over pack for myself. This time though I wore everything at least once. That's an accomplishment because sometimes I pack clothes I never wear. :) We were given the assignment to go back to the cabin and put the linens in plastic bins to protect them from rodents. We drove to the cabin and all promptly took naps. I guess we've been going really hard.

My Dad and his siblings are going through the belongings of their parents. They spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday together. In the evening when he would come home, we would listen to him share stories of the day which was fun to remember my Grandparents and what they valued.

Friday: Sweetheart went to California to help his parents move. We drove him to Idaho Falls and returned to Pocatello to see my sister and our niece. They are moving to Missouri for her husband to attend medical school. We helped finish packing their home and then went to supper together with my siblings and their families and my parents.

Saturday: We got up early to see S (K's husband) and A, my brother, off to Missouri. Tears were shed, and they left. We were lucky to have S, our niece/cousin, for the day. Hurricane and Underfoot wanted to sit by her, get her food and especially candy, and to take care of her when she cried. As sisters and parents we spent the evening together. I enjoyed it very much.

Sunday was church. After church, we ate lunch with my Dad's siblings and one of my cousins and his wife and their friend from Chicago. It was good to have a family dinner because my Grandma K loved to get her family together. In the evening, I went and saw my college roommate from Ricks. We talked and talked. Ann has a darling family of 5 warm, kind children. Her husband is finishing Pharmacy school, and they are very optimistic for their future. It has been 17 years since we met. I think that we've gotten better with age.

Today we will pick Sweetheart up from the airport and return to Arizona. We hope you are well.

Be well.

July 1

We spent our first week of vacation with the Locey family for our annual family reunion in Arizona. M and M, Sweetheart's sister and brother-in-law, offered their home to shelter, entertain, and feed us all. M did a marvelous job planning and carrying out a reunion.

Monday: We spent the day playing in the pool with water toys and squirt guns. Hurricane and Underfoot were thrilled to be with their cousins all day long. 

Tuesday: Canyon Lake was the destination for the day with ski-doos, blow up toys, and talking on the beach. We recently put a hitch on our Pilot and pulled the ski-doos. We all slept very well after being in the sun and water all day. 

Wednesday: Sweetheart stayed home with the boys while I went to Last Chance. Last Chance is the rejects from Nordstroms. I got a darling pair of shoes and some shirts. Later that day we played family games. We were going to go to a Rawhide but it looked like a monsoon was going to come into the area with a lot of wind. We got all ready to go but then decided to go and swim. Hurricane took off on swimming. He wanted to swim anywhere we would go. Hurricane even jumped off the diving board over and over and over again. He LOVED the pool. 

Thursday: In the morning the adults went to the temple. After the temple, Grandpa L took everyone to dinner at Costco for pizza. Then the whole crew went to a water park. The boys loved the slides and wanted to go over and over and over again. Hurricane loved the speed. Underfoot loved being together. Uncle A celebrated his birthday with cheesecake and a tuxedo cake after the water park. 

Friday: We left to go to Utah. We love the drive and to be together.

We were so glad to spend time with family. The boys loved to play with their cousins. When we weren't in the water, they were playing with their imaginations or watching a movie. Underfoot loved his cousins, A and M. He stayed by their side at all times. When A went to leave  Underfoot  was brave and gave her a big hug and then went to the bedroom and cried hard. He didn't understand why A was leaving and not staying with him. When A walked back in the door, he got the biggest smile on his face and asked if he could write her letters. We are grateful for all the care given to ours boys. A BIG THANK YOU to M and family for their hospitality and kindness. 

Be well.