Grand Canyon and Muscles

Two weeks ago:
Hurricane has been praying for our white chickens to lay white eggs. Two weeks ago on Monday, Hurricane runs into the house yelling, "We've got a white egg! We've got a white egg!" He has been so happy about the eggs. All the chickens have started to lay and we are getting between 4-5 eggs a day.

Later in the week Sweetheart planned a trip for us to go to the Grand Canyon. 

Our friends shared a cabin with us for the weekend. Kirk tripped the first night and cut his head. We are using aloe to reduce the scar but think he might have a permanent token from the trip.

Underfoot was driven to get his Junior Ranger badge. He convinced his brother and the other 2 boys to get their Junior Ranger badges as well.

We went to the Canyon for 2 days. Our bikes came with us on the adventure. The first day we rode our bikes up Hermit Road towards Hermits Rest at the end of the road.

Little did we realize until we were riding back down the hill that the uphill grade was 6%. For 2 little boys with only 1 gear on their bikes, they did amazing! We stopped and ate lunch at the first bus stop then continued to Hopi Point. 

At Hopi Point, we saw a condor through a telescope. Hurricane was saying he was going back down the hill with or without us. We went down and found the 6% grade that was now easy. No wonder he wanted to go back. Underfoot and Hurricane slept soundly that night.

The 2nd day we returned and rode the bus to Mojave Point. 

The drop off is a mere cliff that drops for hundreds of feet. We held onto to Hurricane with a death grip.

Note the Death Grip in the picture....

He is like a bouncy ball. Underfoot is more conscious of his personal space and stayed a healthy distance from the edge. Later we hiked the rim trail from Hermit Road to the Amphitheater then to Mather Point.

Pennies line the rim trail and embedded in the ground. Hurricane wanted to dig the pennies out with dad's knife. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Noticed the penny in the ground

Trying to "pick" up or pull out the penny

At Mather Point was a Ranger presentation for the boys to finish up their Junior Ranger. They listened and answered questions.

All 4 boys finished up their Junior Ranger badges, and we returned back to the cabin. S'mores were had each night. 

 

We took our time coming home earning another Junior Ranger badge at Montezuma's Castle,

 took a detour into Mesa. In Mesa, the boys picked grapefruit off the trees at the temple. The temple has pickers available if you want to pick the fruit. Hurricane's reaction follows his Mother's love of grapefruit as Underfoot's reaction follow his Father's grapefruit love. We returned home and had a fun time.

Last week:

After getting hurt one month ago, I saw my PCP. She had me go for an electrical test for my nerves in my ankle and then a follow up appointment with her. My nerves work fine. She did say that I have strained my trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and the 2 muscles that go under that. She said it will take time for that to heal (like 9-12 months) along with my ankle. I'll start physical therapy and not be running. Swimming and biking are great. I will partake in physical therapy, massage therapy, and at-home exercise. At the Grand Canyon, Sweetheart helped a lot so I could participate in activities with our family. With his help and ibuprofen, the week went great!

Sweetheart worked a lot this week to accomplish a task that he had been given by his boss. He was loaned out for the last 8 weeks to a different program to accomplish certain tasks. He and his co-worker wanted to complete the tasks and made it happen.

Hurricane and Underfoot resumed school this week. They practiced swimming laps in the pool. Hurricane does not want to do swim team this year, and Underfoot does. The boys have caught on to the idea of the treasure maps (a consistent routine) and are doing well with have a routine to follow. The weather has "warmed up" at night so they have started to star gaze again.

My counsin, Steve, sent me a surprise in the mail. He had interviewed my Grandpa, Dale Kirkham, in 1997. The interview was about my Grandpa's experiences during World War II as a quartermaster on an LCI ship in the Pacific Ocean. 

My Grandma answered the phone and passed it to my Grandpa. When her voice came on, I almost started to cry. It has taken a long time for me not to pick up the phone and call her. She passed away in 2005. The realization of her being gone clicked in during my brother's wedding one year ago. Hearing my Grandpa's voice, I felt the urge to call him too. I wanted to tell him that Steve had sent me such a precious gift of an interview with him. I then remembered he was gone too. The DVD was sent with pictures as Grandpa talked with Steve. I am grateful for the time that Steve took to share with me.

He sent a letter that said, "Hearing about Grandpa's experiences during the war was meaningful because it proved that someone can pass through very difficult and uncertain times, and still have a happy, enjoyable, and successful life. ... He did not allow his fears or his doubts to destroy him."

I'm grateful for the boost Steve gave to me as I am starting to recover from a physical pain and that I have good examples of others that did hard things.

Last night was an LDS Women's Broadcast. I was reminded that we all have struggles and need to look at how similar we are instead of how different we are from each other. When we see our similarities, we can extend help and kindness and even be the recipient of that love and service.

Be Well.

Birthday and Trains

Below are the highlights for each person.

Underfoot: He did a countdown for his birthday. 

He would tell anyone who would listen. His excitement was contagious. For his birthday, we celebrated with pizza and cake.

 He went to the pediatrician, and she said he is a health boy. 

 As he talked to her, he told her his favorite job was to clean the bathroom and hope to have a start up company to cleaning others' bathrooms. We are grateful for his kindness and zeal for learning.

Underfoot attended a symphony concert with his Dad. He has mentioned how he would like to see a cellist play. The visiting artist was a cellist. Underfoot liked the concert. He struggled to stay awake, and Sweetheart and he came home at intermission.

Hurricane: Sweetheart got tickets to a model train tour. Hurricane loves trains of any size. At each house, he attended he ran after the trains around each garden. 

He can't wait to go and see his next train. He is enamored with the number 100. He counts to 100 daily over many things. He has a goal to see or go on 100 trains this year.

Hurricane bonked his lip on the wooden bench in the front room. This is the day after. The wound never bled but bruised the gums.

Sweetheart: He is loving the project he is working on at work. He and a coworker have been given a task that was assumed to take 1 year to complete. Between the 2 of them, they have completed a large portion of the task in the last 6 weeks.

He reads to the boys before bed. Sometimes they all pass out.

He is perplexed by the aquaponics system as things aren't growing as he would have hoped. He is learning a lot about how it works and what to do to make it work well. He is very excited about our backyard with the growth of the trees with the blossoms and fruit growth.

Mama: Instead of my normal canning and running around, I've been doing a whole lot of recovering. The pinched nerve in my neck is healing very slowly. I am icing, having deep tissue work done in the area, stretching, being still as counseled, and asking for help. The last one is a learning curve for me. I did decorate Underfoot's cake to look like a monster. 

The boys during spring break have played at others's homes. One day we hosted a sidewalk chalk drawing. The goal was to use every little bit of chalk.

Be Well.

Monster Pants and Rain

I'll start the letter this week with a funny story. Hurricane came to  Mama one morning this week and said, "Mama, will you light the candle in the bathroom so our house smells good?" Sure Hurricane. ...  Mama went off to answer the phone. Not more than 3-5 minutes later, she came back to the bathroom. Hurricane was there, with a huge grin on his face, and a lit sparkler in his hand. He offered the lit sparkler to  Mama so she could have one, and he could light another one. He loves fire. He is very good at figuring out how to get what he wants.

Underfoot loves to play. He especially likes playing in the back yard.

Mama played on the monkey bars (she even made it across 1 of the 2 times) and wrenched something that effected her whole left side. She has been in a lot of pain the last few days. I have rubbed her shoulder a number of times. I think she is getting better, but I know it hurts her a bunch because she winces in pain when I rub one part of her back.  Mama has slept a bunch the last two days. She has also visited the chiropractor a number of times this week.

On Saturday I got up early to get a bunch of outside chores done. I am glad I did. It started to rain at about noon and continued throughout the evening.

We got 1.1 inches of rain, which we desperately need because we are still far below the average rain fall for the year. Our backyard is alive with growth. We have buds on all our trees.

The aquaponics system is a hit with a local bee hive. At any given time of the day about 30 bees are enjoying a drink. They do their part by pollinating our trees. The smell of the citrus and jasmine trees is marvelous.

Every night Hurricane prays that our white chickens will lay white and black eggs. We have three white ladies who have yet to 'produce'. The older ladies are giving us one brown and one green egg each day. We are excited for when the chickens will get back to full production.

Underfoot says, "this week I will celebrate my birthday. I can't stop waiting for my birthday. " He is very excited for the big day. He is planning to have Mama bring treats to his class to celebrate his birthday. He has a daily count down that can be given without prompting.

Mama has turned several pairs of the boys' jeans into 'monster pants'.

 She puts a monster mouth where the knee is, along with teeth and two eyes.

The result is a fun pair of pants. Hurricane and Underfoot want to ONLY wear his monster pants.

Today we attended the dedication of the Gilbert Arizona Temple. A few weeks ago we attended the open house. We are grateful for the love we feel from God in our lives and the hope that knowing that loves brings.

Be Well.

Rodeo Days

Many had President's Day off of school commemorating the birth of Washington and Lincoln. Here we get TWO days off for the rodeo at the end of the week. Rodeo Days are free days. No school for teachers or students, and the weather was warm (low 80s.) Sweetheart took the boys trampoline camping. They lasted for about 5 hours then came and crawled into their own beds for the duration of the night.

Sweetheart hosted the 16-18 year old young men in our home on Tuesday by letting them use our kitchen to hone their cutting skills and egg poaching skills. They enjoyed laughing and eating what they made.

I went to a continuing education class about the nutrition of the aging brain. The class talked about vitamins, supplements, and whole foods.

The presenter sited research studies about the different whole foods, herbs, and supplements he presented. Some is well researched and other doesn't have the research to prove that there is any benefit. I found it very interesting. Sweetheart cared for the boys while I was at the class. He said he knows why I'm tired at night.

I ran the Bountiful Baskets site for the first time in a long time. We worked around the house and are happy that the bees have found our aquaponics system. The trees are in full bloom and we are benefiting from their work.

Saturday night we hosted a game night for the same boys from Tuesday. It wasn't a church event just a place for young men to come and hang out. We played games, laughed, and ate yummy food. I won Apples to Apples with these words.

 Hurricane and Underfoot love game night because they get to watch a movie.

Be Well.

Valentine's Day

Kindergarten Round Up: Kindergarten Round Up is a school event when the coming in kindergarteners come to check out school. Hurricane has said that he isn't sure if he wants to go to kindergarten or not. He participated in the class and liked it. When I picked him up, I asked if he wanted to go. He said no. He will not be attending kindergarten. On our way out of the school, someone else asked if he were going to attend. He then said yes. We gathered all his information and registered. He now tells people that he is going to 2 schools for right now - Joy School and Kindergarten.

Window Decor Change: Hurricane had cut up snowflakes for our kitchen window. 

We replaced them this week with "stain glass" hearts. It took us a lot of time to cut them out, but Hurricane loves the change. 

Student of the Week: Underfoot was selected as student of the week. The PTA has a recognition evening. We attended the evening when the teacher's explanation for the nomination was read. She said that,

Underfoot always follows directions and tries his best. Underfoot goes above and beyond with everything that he does which makes him an amazing student. Underfoot is also a great friend to others in class and is always looking for ways to help others and make our school a better place. I know that Underfoot will go far in school with all these great traits.

Board of Review: Sweetheart presented one of his Scouts for his Eagle board of review this last week. This introduction is outside of the normal weekly activity and Sunday meetings. The young man met the requirements of the board and is now an Eagle Scout.

Etiquette Dinner: We were given a new idea to have an etiquette dinner for Valentine's Day. 

 This way we all can practice on our table manners.

We had a four course dinner - soup, salad, main course, and dessert.

We used our own asparagus that we grew. The boys had fun with the goldware and glasses. By dessert, the tired monkey hit, and the boys were ready to move on to bed.

We held the dinner the night before because Sweetheart went on a scouting ski trip on Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day: We had yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast in the shape of hearts.

There were extra so Sweetheart took them with him on the ski trip.

Ski Activity: The Scouts needed to complete their Snow Sports merit badge and went to the White Mountains to accomplish the task. Sweetheart agreed to go before a date was set because he wanted to go skiing and has had the goal to go to the White Mountains. The date was set for this last weekend. He accomplished his goals for an over night ski trip. He returned home late Saturday night after a full day on the mountain. He had a lot of fun. The Scout Master wife invited the boys and me to a party on Friday night.

Cleaning House: While Daddy was away, we worked. We deep cleaned the house except one room that looks like a bomb went off in it. The cleaning took us all day, and I thought we'd get the room of disaster as well. I think I don't always have appropriate expectations for what two little boys can do. We are all growing up and learning how to work together.

Birthday: My birthday was this last week. Many wonderful people remembered me, and I appreciated them remembering. We celebrated with nice dinner of steak and potatoes. My Aunt Karol took the old t-shirts I had and made me a beautiful quilt. She sent it for my birthday.

She made quilts for my boys as well. She has made 20 quilts. We are super lucky to be the recipient of her creativity and hard work. The week previous Grace, a neighbor,  made me a white cake with lemon curd and white icing. It was fantastic.Sweetheart remembered with a gift.

Be well.

Science Galore!

The Great Paper Airplane Project was the destination this past weekend! Sweetheart learned about a paper airplane throwing contest for children ages 6-18 from a co-worker held at the Air and Space Museum. Since Underfoot is 6, Sweetheart thought it would be great.

The contestant entrant was allowed to bring 4 family members, have lunch (hot dogs, chips, and lemonade) with their family, get a t-shirt, and throw an airplane for free - no entry fee. Underfoot threw his airplane and was done.

He is talking about doing it again next year. Hurricane and Underfoot learned to fold airplanes. If any piece of paper is left unclaimed it becomes an airplane.

Sweetheart loves airplanes. Our boys like airplanes. An airplane is awesome if it is taking me somewhere.

Mars International was one of the sponsors and brought a candy spinning wheel, a race car simulator, and a real race car.

 They boys loved the candy spinning wheel because they got 6 different types of candy each time they spun the wheel. So much easier than Halloween - no dressing up and no purchase necessary for Mom and Dad. Hurricane asked if the race car ran on M&M gas.

Science Fair: I volunteered to be a judge for science fair and judged 4th graders' work. The 4th and 5th grade students are required to participate in science fair. The Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade (K - 3) classes rooms do a project as a class. There is also an option for K-3 to do an individual project if they like. We didn't participate in a personal project. Underfoot's class' project studied if wearing a helmet was important. They used eggs to see what was best protected - no helmet, a hat (a piece of fabric wrapped around the egg), or a bubble wrap/paper towel wrapped egg. The conclusion was that wearing a helmet was best after the eggs in plastic baggies broke to bits from being dropped. His class was awarded full points for the process. I didn't judge his class project. Underfoot wants to do a project next year.

Blue and Gold: I have the assignment of the Cub Committee Chair in our congregation. Our Blue and Gold banquet was a dessert bar with cupcakes made by the cub scouts. Awards, a slideshow, and a speaker talked about how the boys are developing character traits through cub scouting. It was a nice evening. Underfoot and Hurricane did well as Sweetheart was with the Young Men of the ward.

Sweetheart and Underfoot: Both of them had their work/school reviews this last week. They both are doing well and progressing in their lines of work. Hurricane attended parent teacher conference with us. I didn't think he was paying any attention to what was being said. Mrs. Miller complimented Underfoot on something he was doing, and Hurricane turned to Underfoot saying, "That's awesome Underfoot!" It is amazing what children hear and absorb.

That night we had a fancy dinner. I made a rolled tenderloin roast. It was super yummy! So much so I took a picture of the meal.

The Letter F and The Number 8

Today's update is brought to you by the letter F and the number 8.

Highlights for January 20 - February 2

Family Trip to Gilbert Temple Open House: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints is hosting an open house for a new temple built in Gilbert, Arizona. We decided to go as a family and invited our cousins and sister to go with us. At the temple, there is a video before a volunteer tour guide takes a group through to view the 4 story temple. Before entering the temple, little booties were put on each person's feet to help protect the white carpets through the building. Hurricane and Underfoot thought the booties were slippery on the marble floors. The building and interior are beautiful with stain glass, paintings, and the colors.

I decided to take the boys back again to see the temple on a 1/2 day the next week. We noticed the use of the agave plant throughout the flooring, stain glass, door knobs, hand railings, paintings, and even the water fall outside the temple. The agave has the older leaves on the outside to support the younger leaves on the inside. Similar to grandparents and parents supporting, teaching, and guiding their children as they grow up to support the next generation.

Hurricane's favorite rooms were the "baptize" room and "marriage" room.

Underfoot loved the 18 foot chandelier in Celestial room and the eternity mirrors (one mirror on this side, one mirror on that side of the room.)

The boys loved both adventures.

Flour Wars: Since we were visiting, we stayed for Christian's birthday party. He and his friends threw flour bombs at each other. A flour bomb is flour wrapped in nylons (double the nylons if you don't want to lose a lot of flour and have more "hits".) If you wear black the flour shows up of where you've been hit.

The party was a blast. Hurricane caught a bug and slept on on and off for the day. He was awake for the flour war and would go and get the bombs for a personal stash until he unleashed on a cousin or Auntie.

Hurricane's Birthday Present Flair: Hurricane has talked constantly about his birthday - every day since his last birthday party. He talks about what he'll give and who he'll invite to his next party. Since we only do birthday parties at ages 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20, this year might be hard for him to swallow. He was invited to a party and decided to give gum and ice cream. We arrived at the house and told the parent that the treat had to go into the freezer. The parent laughed. Mr. K-man, our neighbor, told his Mom that he liked Hurricane's present and hoped he would get that for his next birthday present from Hurricane.

Fever: Underfoot woke up super early one day. I thought he was being responsible until he asked to go back to bed just before leaving for school. After taking his soaring temperature, he stayed home from school. He slept on and off most the day. He loved his day off and especially liked being with his brother.

Fasting: Hurricane was at Mr. K-man's house and was hungry. He told the Mom that he was fasting but he needed something to eat. She texted me and asked if Hurricane was indeed fasting and if she should withhold food from him. I laughed out loud. He wasn't fasting but had a fast breakfast that he left in the car. We had been talking about fasting and how it helps us to come spiritually close to God. Sweetheart and I thought it was interesting how he interpreted the information.

Fred: Sweetheart has found that high school has an auto mechanics class. Fred, his commute car, has sprung a leak from the head gasket. Sweetheart made arrangements to take Fred to the high school and have the students repair it. Sweetheart needs to provide the parts. The students provide the labor and hopefully learn how to do something.

Family Search: This is a free website that helps with genealogy. A new feature on the website is that you can upload pictures of your family and then have a picture tree instead of just a faceless name tree. I have upload some pictures of my family members and love to see the picture tree. The other night Underfoot asked to see a picture of one our great-Grandfathers, John Scott. We looked up how many generations he was from Underfoot (6 generations) and what he looked like. Underfoot thought it was AWESOME! I do too. Thanks to the family members who have upload pictures I don't have. Anyone can join the website which is sponsored by the LDS church.
 
Fascinating Gem Show: Every year there is a gem show here. We went on Saturday, and it reminded me a lot of a pow wow mixed with a swap meet. The venders were from all over the world. There are dinosaur bones, geodes, Chinese market stuff, skulls, pearls, beads, petrified rocks, fossils, and much more. We didn't go to every tent and see everything. Our family doesn't know enough about geology to know how unique the differences are between the rocks and gems. Something new to learn.

Be Well.