July in the rear view mirror

The month of July went by in a flash. During the month we enjoyed a lovely weekend visit to Logan,  & Bear Lake and later to Rupert, ID.  It was great fun to spend time with extended family members.

The 4th of July is a big deal around here.
Tim McGraw performed at Stadium of Fire this
year and we all loved his concert and the fireworks. 

Tommy boy loved the parade 

Jord and Ellie enjoying
some homemade icecream

Dear friends and family always attend

Lots of good visiting and swimming going on

A bumper crowd this year again!

Dig in!

My little helper Liz baking cookies

Celebrating Mom's 90th birthday early
 while everyone was at Bear Lake.
Happy birthday Mom!  Sure love you!

The whole crew at Bear Lake!

Slurpees for Will and Liz

Hanging out and playing with second cousins in Rupert.

We enjoyed such a fun weekend
with these nephews and their darling wives.

My wonderful sister Janet

My darling niece Lindsey threw a summer party
to welcome Jordan and her family to Utah.
We enjoyed great games, food and entertainment.
Thanks Lindsey!

Water + kids = a winning combination

A fun luau!

Little Miss Margaret in her 4th of July dress.
She is the sweetest girl.

Other activities included:

• Attending a family reunion with the cousins on my Mom's side of the family and enjoying a great evening of visiting and good food catered by cousin Bryce's catering business.
• teaching the scripture study skills I learned at the MTC to women in my ward at my home in a mini-lesson format (vocabulary building, comprehension and retention, using a study journal, looking for symbolism)
• tutoring missionaries at the MTC several times a week
• took a friend to euthanize her dog and helped Rick bury it.  Sick.
• pass my annual mammogram and exam with my oncologist
• I got called to serve as a gospel doctrine Sunday School teacher in my ward.  Yikes! I was released as the Relief Society activities leader after 2 1/2 year.  Phew!  I was out of ideas anyway.
• Took a Spanish class to refresh my 40 year old Spanish conversational skills.  I realized that I started my mission on July 7, 1976, exactly 40 years ago.  Wow, that is along time ago!
• Played with the six grandchildren that were (are) living in my home temporarily.  Put puzzles together, baked, swam, went to 7 peaks swim park, read stories, went on outings, etc. etc. etc.  Ecstasy!!

Happenings in June

We got a new fence!  It took about a month from beginning to end for it to be built.  Two guys tore out our old fence and put in the new fence.  They both had other jobs and would work on the fence as their time permitted.  It was a huge project for them and took longer (and cost more) than any of us anticipated.  It looks lovely now and I'm so glad that it is done and that we can enjoy the summer with the new fence in place.  Hooray!

Rick's family had a five day reunion at a beautiful home in Midway, owed by my MIL's brother.  He so graciously invited our extended family to use their home for a reunion.  We were able to attend the reunion with Claire, Lizzie and Will and it was fun to be together with everyone.  I was only able to stay for one day before leaving for AZ to help Jordan and her family drive back to Utah.

I don't advise going to Phoenix in the summer.  Holy cow!  It was so incredibly hot (as shown below.) I was able to attend a going-away pool party given by some of Jord's friends the evening I arrived. There must have been 200 people come and go during the open-house hours.  It was so wonderful to see all the people who love Jordan and Jake and their family come and wish them well as they leave Arizona and move to Utah.  Sunday was more of the same as they attended church for the last time in their home ward.  Monday and Tuesday were loading days and movers came and loaded up all their belongings into three pods for storage and transport to Utah.  Jord also rented a Budget truck to bring up their bikes and other necessaries while they are waiting to get into their new home in Utah.  Our dear friend Mark P. flew down to drive the truck back up.  That was so incredibly good of him to do that.  My assignment, along with darling SIL Jessica, was to keep the kids busy and out of the house while the packing and loading was going on.  I can't say enough good about Jake's brother Matt and his darling wife Jessica who live nearby. They have offered so much time, love and support to this little family over the past several years.  I don't know what they would have done without them.  We went to a movie, to a fire station, to lunch and the kids played with their friends one last time.  It was terribly hard for Jordan to say goodbye to the home they have loved and lived in for 9 years and to leave the place where she and Jake had made a life for themselves. My heart broke for her.  I mourn very deeply with her and know that it will take time and the atonement of Jesus Christ to heal her broken heart, or at least make it somewhat better.  Time. 

They have made so many lasting friendships and they will miss their friends and neighbors who came to their rescue so many times.  She was exhausted by the time we pulled out, headed for our home. I drove the entire way and let her just rest.  While I am happy to have them closer to us so that we can help, I too miss Jake and mourn his loss.

At our lunch at Panda Express, we saw some
 firemen who invited us over to tour their station.
That was so nice of them and we learned a lot about what they do.

 It's been a busy month full of lots of changes and activities and I'm excited to see what the future holds.

4 years down

When the 4th of July comes along, I'm reminded of another anniversary that comes before it.  July 2, 2012.  That was the day I found out I had breast cancer.  It's been four years now and time marches on.  We have seen some highs and some lows in our lives. So much has happened in those four years. Some of the major events were:
     My mom's husband David died and she moved back to Utah.  Her dementia shifted into high gear.
     We got two new grandchildren:  Margaret and Tommy
     Andy married Chelsea in the Los Angeles LDS temple
     I retired from working at BYU after 25 years
     My sister Carol lost her husband Robert to a brain tumor
     Our country lost the chance for Mitt Romney to be our president
     Rick and I finished our goal of visiting all 50 states
     Jake was diagnosed with brain cancer, went through all kinds of treatments and died on April 23, 2016

I learned many lessons through that trial and those lessons have not been lost as the years of good health have continued.  I value life more.  I feel more gratitude. I'm grateful that advancements have been made in breast cancer treatments and that the drug Herceptin is on the market as a target therapy drug to treat aggressive cancers like mine.  I value relationships more.  I value time on earth more.  I value people more and recognize the contributions they have made and continue to make in my life. I understand the great good that comes from reaching out to people in need and serving, as I try and pay it forward.  I realize that my trials are small compared to some people and by helping them with their challenges, it lessens by own burdens. I trust God more and know that ultimately whatever happens will be for my good and that all trials bring the opportunity to learn and grow if we let them. I love my husband more and appreciate him and his love for me.  Our love, friendship and appreciation for one another is stronger.
Every year I go in to the cancer doctors for check ups and every year that I get a good report I am grateful that I get more time to enjoy life and all the opportunities it affords.  Life is good.
   

America! God shed his grace on thee!

The paratroopers are always awesome to
 watch and the jet fly over from Hill AFB is my favorite.

LaVell Edwards stadium is a perfect place for Stadium of Fire!

The fireworks show at the end is always spectacular.

This year the headliner was Tim McGraw.  He was so good!
 He is such a personable entertainer, handsome, and he has great songs.

This was his first time in Utah and he said he love coming here.

Sun set and the jumbo screen make for a great combo

The 4th of July is a holiday that we all love around here.  We love our traditions of attending Stadium of Fire, running the 5K or the 10K, going to the parade, having a huge BBQ in the park, swimming and playing games, and finally lighting off fireworks in front of our house.  We started our traditions about 30 years ago when we moved to our little grey house and they have continued on all these years.  I think we have only missed two times, once for a family reunion in Logan and another time when we went to Rupert.  Otherwise, we do the same activities, eat the same menu for lunch, and we love it!

Sweet little Tommy boy watched the entire parade from this
 spot while waving his little flag.  He said he didn't like
 the loud noises, but loved seeing the big blow
 up balloons of Nemo and Kung Fu Panda.

We had a crowd of about 60 this year including our
many family members, their extended family
 members and our close family friends.

We borrowed this awesome shade tent from a neighbor
 but will probably need to get one of our own.
It helped a lot since the shade of one tree can't cover our big group anymore.

Cutest boy at the parade!

We say the pledge of allegiance, pray and then eat!
Our menu includes: hamburgers and hotdogs and all the fixings,
(or whatever meat people want to grill), fresh fruit, two pasta salads, spinach salad,
 red, white and blue jello, fresh veggies, potato salad, chips, baked beans,
home made rootbeer and sodas, two freezers of home made ice cream,
cookies, cupcakes, and rice krispie treats - an obscene amount of food!