June birthdays & Father's Day

 Madi starts June off on the 1st and is turning the BIG #16 this year!  She had a friend party before the big day that looks like lots of fun!  She made her own, very beautiful, cake! Another great thing happened for Madi's birthday!  She got her driver's license!  Yippee!!!  

Lance came next with #48!  He was actually down at Havasupai with the fam on the day of, so he had to wait till they got home to have cake and presents.  We just mailed it and luckily it got there to be waiting for him.  Happy Birthday Lance!  I'm sure you had a fun birthday...at Havasupai and again at home!  

Happy #49 Derek.  His girlfriend, Niki, organized a gathering for him even if he didn't want a party!  It was fun to go and hang out and visit with people there.  Happy Birthday Derek!  Hope the next year it a great one for you!

Father's Day - Had a great meeting at church to start it off.  Next we had Paul's choice of dinner:  Ham/Pinto Bean soup, corn muffins, melon and German Chocolate cake with coconut pecan frosting and Costco vanilla ice cream.  It was just Paul, Bean and I.  In the evening Moss and Christie and family and Ferf and Jared (boyfriend) came over to visit and bring presents and eat cake!  It was a fun time.  Other kids called or texted to wish him a happy Father's Day!  We talked about how grateful we both feel for our own fathers who were great examples to us.  So thankful for being blessed by great fathers who were role models. So thankful to know that we also have a Father in Heaven and Savior who also love us and are the fathers of our salvation and redemption.  

Moss's birthday #42 - I started the day reading my old journal of the day he was born and for a little afterwards.  He came at a pretty challenging time, but we were happy he came and joined the family...finally, a little brother for Jay!  There's quite an age gap, but at this stage of life it's not such a big deal and I'm happy I persevered to have the promised sons and did not stop after Juge. I would have missed some wonderful people joining our family it I had. Happy Birthday Moss!  So glad to have another great son to bring joy into our lives.

On Moss's birthday (June 23rd) Lou, Joel and Afton came down and brought us a wonderful lunch.  We didn't know they were bringing it for us too, but they did, and it was a delicious salad!  After lunch they had a few hours to spend and one errand to run before heading back up for Joel's swim team practice.  What a nice time it was to spend with them.  We went to see the Eccles Fine Art show of Fire & Ice.  I loved seeing it again and sharing it with them.  Next we stopped in at the Red Cliffs Reserve center and they enjoyed seeing all the desert critters and such.  I love that place too. Oh, outside before we went in we saw a stone well with a bucket.  On closer inspection we saw that it had a plexiglass bottom leading into an old early St. George stone well that a family that was called to live here by Brigham Young. The had built the well for their home that had been on the property where the county office building is now.  As it was being built, they discovered the old well and saved it and put a historic site sign next to it.  So cool! Last we went to the St. George Art Museum.  They had changed the exhibit I was hoping they could see, but they had one that was quite interesting about people in prison in the the downstairs gallery and up top they had some religious art that was deep, lots of reading for interpretation, but worth it.  There was too much to see/read for the time we had, and the kids got a little bored of it, so we left some unseen.  Then we went back to the house for root beer floats!  Such a fun time visiting and going fun places.  Yesterday had been a very hard day for me, and this morning started with a scorpion in the garage, but the day just got better and better!  I feel like my birthday started a day early.  Oh, Lou and family gave me another James Herriot DVD that I'm excited to watch!  Happy Birthday #71 to me!  Thank you Lou and kids for making it such a nice day for me.  Time truly is one of the very best gifts you can give.  

On my birthday it looked like we might not find something fun to do because our truck was in the shop and we had already taken all of the pretty paved drives we could think of to get out of the house with Paul's foot restrictions.  The day dawned cloudy, a little bit rainy and so much cooler.  I took a nice morning walk and stopped by that old well we had found and read more about it.  While Paul was fixing the faucet in our camp trailer I went in to read scriptures and found a fun card and present from him.  He and Bean had very sneaky like gone shopping for it the day before.  It was a brand new Lifetime card table and a pink Lowes bucket, both things I had been wanting!  After lunch we went out with Bean for some fun.  On the way to our destination at the Kayenta art galleries we spied some historic  buildings we wanted to see in Santa Clara...and the caretaker, an old friend, just happened to be there to unlock them for us.  She had to leave and just said to close the doors when we were done.  It was an old pioneer home and Santa Clara Relief Society building.  It was so fun to look through them.  Next we did go out and look at a couple of the art galleries at Kayenta Arts Center.  They had some beautiful and unique works of art that we enjoyed very much.  Then we took a beautiful drive out to Gunlock reservoir and then went out to early dinner at Olive Garden using a gift card I had gotten for Mother's Day that paid for all of it!  That evening Ferf came over bringing lots of nice gifts from all of the kids and we enjoyed my free Nothing Bundt Cake and my free cheesecake from Olive Garden and a little visiting time with her.  I got some nice phone calls and texts from the other kids throughout the day too!  Lots of FB friends wished me a happy one too!  That evening Paul and I relaxed watching the fun James Herriot DVD movies that Lou and family gave me.  What a nice day it turned out to be!  Today, I got a really nice phone call from Janet too.  Paul and I had a good visit with her.  Happy #71 to me!  Thank you to everyone who made it a lovely birthday for me.  And that's all of the June birthdays!  

One more cool thing I got for my birthday a few days after was a bday card from my best teenage friend, Malinda Carter.  We had such fun times together and then she moved.  Lots of my teenage friends moved before we graduated.  But, we did keep in touch some through the years, mostly writing letters after we were both married.  She has been the good one at instigating I have to say.  I get busy even with my own sisters and don't keep much in touch.  But for my birthday, she send me some old pics I had sent her, the graduation announcement I had sent her and some letters I had written to her after Lou, Jay and Ferf were born.  It was a fun walk down memory land to read them.  I wish she could do FB or Instagram, but because she once had a job at a prison, she feels unsafe putting herself out there.  Maybe we are just going to have to get in the habit of a yearly Christmas or birthday (darn, I forget hers) letter/card.  Thanks for the memories, Malinda!  

 

Getting out on Cedar Mountain - Paul still has his boot on!

 I'd rather be camping...but the check up only gave Paul another two weeks in his boot.  So, Friday we were ready for a day away.  Cedar Mountain is close and cooler, so we opted to go there for a drive and a picnic.  We first drove over to check on Navajo Lake.  It is lower than I think I've ever seen it, but still beautiful!  We saw lots of flowers blooming and found out there is a little lodge/general store and little rental cabins.  Who knew?  Not us!  We checked them out and enjoyed the find.  

Next we drove around the the mountain and stopped off to see the stream by Aspen Mirror Lake.  I love that spot.  Then we continued on over to a great little picnic spot near some ginormous lava piles.  It was a peaceful, unhurried picnic...so nice.  More beautiful flowers there.

 Next we drove on around and to Cedar Breaks.  I always love to go there.  They have the best store and it is just so beautiful and awesome!  Paul took a little nap in the Chessman Overlook parking lot, and Bean and I took a little hike along the ridge trail there.  Then we went to the Visitor's Center. I got a Jr. Ranger book this time.  We walked a tiny trail and saw lots more flowers!  

Then it was time to head down the hill.  We took the Brian Head way.  We drove some side roads and discovered a historic steam engine from Brian Head's past.  It was used to power lumber mills at several sites around the area from 1903-1939.  Very interesting to see it sitting there among today's giant "cabins".  Then we went down the hill to Parowan and stopped in for shakes/root beer float at the Dairy Freeze.  Then we headed home.  It did us the good we needed to be up there in the cool mountain air and among the forest beauty!  And, it made me want to go camping.  

Family Camp 2026...it's a win!

Family Camp was at Pine Lake/John's Valley Group Site!  It was June 9th-12th (Tues. - Friday).  If there was any downside to it, it was that the water was not on to begin with, so we had to bring lots.  Everyone did, and we were just fine.  Then they did get it turned on, and it was so full of chlorine that you really couldn't use it yet.  The only other thing that could have made it better was to have had it include a Saturday so that people weren't taking quite so many days off work.  We had to be out by 11 am, so it was kind of a waste of people's Friday off work.  We had some people that couldn't make it at all.  Supe and Beacher and kids had to bail at the last minute because Jem got sick.  Ferf's Brynnli, Tavin, Kennis and Koen didn't make it either.  Derek and boys could only come  up for a day because of work and football practice, but Kaebri and Tasia came on their own and stayed the whole time.  Some people had to leave early for this or that, and Brady could only come up for an evening/morning.  Ellie is on a mission.  Ferf brought a boyfriend.  We took a family picture at the time the most were there on Thursday morning after brunch and before we left to go to the lake.  

We changed how we did the meals this time.  We had brunch at 9:30-10ish and then had dinner when it seemed like time in the evening.  During the rest of the day there were lots of yummy snacks available - some healthy, and some not so healthy!  It seemed good to not feel as stuffed all of the time.  Probably count that change as a win.  

Tuesday was a get there and get set up day. We brought our own dinners.  Then things got rolling with games, a national park jigsaw puzzle, badminton, and Zion brought a little solo stove and some s'mores were made and consumed after people were done with their own dinners.

Wednesday, we had a leisurely morning, brunch from Supe and Moss - yogurt with fruit, Danish, homemade sourdough bread with peanut butter and Nutella, cherries, etc.  So good.  Then we headed down to Losee Canyon and did a red rock arches hike and then another one at Red Canyon.  It was beautiful, but just a bit hot that late in the day.  Then it was back to camp for hammock time, games, playing in the stream by camp (Clara found a frog), delicious Asian Pork Bowls for dinner by Juge/Brynn and a walk around the Pine Lake later in the evening.  The lake was much smaller than usual, but it made for good walking on the extended shoreline.  Lots of visiting happened and scenery was enjoyed. Then we had a fireside evening and people shared family stories.  It was really great!  We learned some new things about people and enjoyed old things again.  We just stayed up visiting by the fire.  

Thursday was a slow wake up/play games/puzzling and visiting until brunch by Lou/Bryan/Bean of quesadillas.  Delicious again!  Then we took a great family picture and headed to Pine Lake with a canoe and 3 kayaks, snacks and chairs.  We took turns in the boats and played games, ate snacks, napped, skipped lots of rocks very far out, played in the water and just chilled.  The lake was pretty calm most of the time and very nice and cool.  Late afternoon we packed it up and headed back to camp. Games and fun and the jigsaw puzzle got finished until dinner by Paul/Bonnie/Ferf - Hamburgers, chips and cottage cheese, watermelon and Costco S'mores. We had the big spoons game for a bit.  It's always fun.  Then we had another sit by the fire time and people told jokes and laughed and then Juge suggested rose, bud, thorn - a way to tell about good things happening in your life, things you are looking forward to having happen and things that were a thorn for you in your life right now.  It was a great time sharing around the circle of the fire.  Some more s'mores came out for those who wanted them, some of us hit the sack and kids stayed up a while playing games.  Jay and Brynn and Moss and Christie had to leave this night before the fireside chatting.

Friday - Ferf had to leave very early to be back for a class, so Kaebri and Tasia put out the cold cereal, juice/chocolate milk buffet by 6:30 and people came and ate as they were ready.  We all enjoyed the buffet of many types of cereal!  Then it was time to clean up and get ready to leave by 11 am.

This was a great, very private campsite.  It had 3 bathrooms, it was close to the lake.  It was pretty cold the first night, but warmed up after that.  There was a lot of shade and lots of tables. We put up a couple of awnings to shade some of the tables.  There were enough tables for games/snacks to be left and still have enough to eat on.  It was good to go this early in the year.  It might have been too hot later on. I  paid $410 early in the year to be able to reserve this site. 

Fire Tower and Elbow Canyon ATV road -BLESSED!

 In February of 2025 we tried to drive to the Black Rock Fire Tower out on the Arizona Strip.  It ended up being too wet and muddy to make it to the top and turned into a pretty slippery, scary drive down.  Today, we had thought about taking a drive up to Beaver, but realized we may not make it back in time for Bean to be home for his med drop.  We decided to try to make it to the fire tower instead...and it turned into another harrowing adventure, worse than the last time. I was driving since Paul is still in his boot and we made it to the fire tower just fine other than some pretty bumpy parts of the dirt road there.  When we got there a lot of workers were there and said we couldn't come in while they were working.  It was still cool to at least get a look at it and the forest around it and the views from up there were amazing.  It was tricky to turn around on the narrow road to go down, so Paul said he do that part...and then decided he'd just go ahead and drive down.  We drove on a few other little roads up there enjoyed seeing a bit more.  Then we saw a sign saying one of the roads went down to Mesquite.  We thought it would be fun to take a different route home and started down that one...after not too long we found that this road was not as good as it looked like it would be.  We actually got to a  point where steep, slick rocks made it impossible to go further, so we tried backing up and turning around and got into some soft dirt on the roadside and got stuck.  We found the jack and jacked up the stuck tire and put rocks under it and were able to get out and get turned around.  We realized that going back the way we came was probably not going to work.  We didn't think we could make it up some of the steep rocky places.  We came to another fork in the road and could go down either the Cottonwood Canyon road or the Elbow Canyon Road that were heading down the mountain toward Mesquite.  Elbow Canyon looked like the better road.  So we were off again...and pretty soon we saw some markings that let us know this was actually an ATV road...but we couldn't go back, so onward we went.  It soon got very difficult.  The road had many elbows and it was steep and it was very rocky.  It was so rocky that we had to stop often to get out and figure out how to navigate around or over the rocks.  Sometimes I just walked ahead down the road moving sticking up rocks out of the way ahead of time and also to not watch how they had to drive to get over the rocks.  Lots of praying was happening and lots of stress was being felt.  It was turning into a very slow, harrowing drive.  There were some steep drop offs since it was a canyon.  The dirt and small rocks made it slippery and hard to walk when we needed to.  And then...we got to a place where a stream had washed out one side of the road and the other side had BIG rocks to get over.  We would have to do a lot of building up to and down from them to get over.  We stopped for lunch and then went to work putting in the rocks.  Then we heard an ATV coming down from above.  It was a couple in a pretty fancy ride, and luckily we weren't blocking the road for them.  They stopped and after looking at our situation they said they had room for two of us to ride down if we wanted to.  We didn't really want to do that.  Paul and the guy talked about how we could get over that spot and figured out what might be the best route.  They went over it first to test it out and it worked.  Then we did, and the truck got stuck on top.  The guy said they would pull us a little to get us over that spot.  That worked!  Then he said they would go on down the trail and if they came to a spot that looked like we'd need help they would stop and wait for us.  They did, and ended up giving us another pull to get us unstuck.  Then they went on.  They guy thought that was the last of the really bad places.  There were not more that we got stuck on, but there were still lots of rocks to navigate around and move, but it finally got to be just a mostly dirt road when we finally got down into the foothills and then to Littleton.  We had to stop and get drinks.  We had just finished up all of our water on the way down and it was really hot and we were so thirsty.  We were SO THANKFUL that we didn't have to walk out with no water when it was very hot.  We were SO THANKFUL that we got down at all!  The step rails on the side of the truck got so bent that the doors are hard to close. The air dam under the front bumper came loose and is halfway off. Oh, and we got a flat tire on the way down too from the sidewall getting scraped on rocks.  It would puff air out of the scape every time we went over a bump.  We had a good spare, but the valve cap was old and broke to pieces and it started puffing air out of the valve stem over bumps too.  We took the cap off the flat and put it on and that helped but didn't entirely stop it.  Thankfully, it held out to get us home being just a little low.  After the fact Paul told me the truck had gotten a little stuck on a steep place and he and Bean both pushed it to get it over a rock. Then, even though it was in park, it started sliding down the road driverless! OH NO!  Paul, with his clumsy boot foot and slippery road was still able to open the door and get back in and STOP IT before it careened down a cliff.  I was glad I didn't hear that story until we were out and on our way home!  I am not feeling too excited to do anymore dirt road exploring at this point.  Pavement sounds really good right now!  I took no pictures on the way down.  Just too stressed and busy moving rocks and not in the mood to feel like taking pictures.  Feeling very, very blessed that things fell into place for us to get out. Blessed even though we made a less than wise choice.  Blessed to not have more damage to the truck.  Blessed that no one got hurt. Blessed that people came along to help us out.  BLESSED in those and so many other ways!  Many thanks to the couple who turned out to be our guardian angels yesterday.  They blessed our day!  

So, this week we did find out that the truck won't be totaled!  Glad about that because we spent a morning looking at what trucks we could afford if we had to replace it, and there weren't many and they weren't too great. The only real nice thing that would have happened was that we could have gotten one with 4-wheel drive, but not to be.  The truck needs $6,000 of repairs! Thankfully the insurance will pay all but our $500 deductible.  That's a relief.  Because the truck is in the shop, it has been kind of a stay at home and wait and not go anywhere unpaved time.  We've had to scrounge up things to do.  Maybe it's a good thing.  We are finding some interesting things to do and I am getting some things done I would probably have put off otherwise.  Here's the week's activities. I take nice morning walks at different places, I defrosted the freezer, I deep cleaned the kitchen stove, we went to a really great patriotic concert at the Tabernacle that one of our ward members sings in.  I just try to enjoy any little excuse to get out.  Paul and went searching for ant killer that we had run out of and enjoyed just looking around at IFA and Cal Ranch.  Just leisurely walking around when we went to pick something up at Costco was another thing.  We were those people you hate to be stuck behind at Costco when you're trying to hurry up and get your shopping done.  We have been acting old is what you'd call it I guess.  I'm happy to get some of these things done and enjoy some new things, but I hope this won't last forever!!! Another thing I  found to do was to clean out my genealogy briefcase and clean out a whole basket of genealogy stuff and get it sorted out.  It was actually kind of  fun to look through so many things that I hadn't seen for a long time.  Good work, if I do say so myself.  

Cancer - best check up ever!

 Yesterday I went for my 3-month port flush/labs draw.  All of that went well.  In the process I took a picture of the new bell they have for people who finish their chemo to ring!  They still have the little old one that I rang too.  While I waited, and waited for my nurse to call me I read several articles in the Elephants and Tea magazine (the elephant in the room is cancer. Tea is the relief conversation provides). It's a magazine written for and by cancer patients.  I especially loved some of the poetry people submitted.  One of them has a blog that I looked up.  She is a 36 year old mom diagnosed with invasive breast cancer just months after her 4th child was born.  She describes herself as, "a wife, a mother of four, and a follower of Jesus.  Her blog is truly inspirational, and is called whenwatersrise.com - finding hope in deep waters.  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you." - Isaiah 43:2  I kind of wish I had known about it when I was in the thick of it all.  But I did have the FB group that really helped me and was more personalized to my cancer type.  But it wasn't faith oriented.  But, anyway, I was really touched as I waited for my nurse to see all the different cancer patients and family members supporting them.  They were of all different ages, stages and had all different types of cancer brought there by this huge "elephant" that had come into their lives.  I love the staff at the cancer center.  They are loving as well as professional.  I'm glad I could stay here for my treatments.  Today I enjoyed my appointment and all 4 of the people I had interaction with during it. They were again, loving as well as professional.  My doctor has become a good friend.  We always share the latest good camping spots or other adventures we are having.  And then we take care of business.  Today, my business was great!  All of my labs came back at the highest, healthiest normal levels.  The best they have ever been!  Only bad (actually good) thing is that I have not had any "unintentional weight loss!"  Ha, Ha!  We had a good laugh over that one!  But, I just have to say, it's been a journey and I'm so happy and feel so blessed to have had Jesus, and so many people who are his hands here on earth, to be with me as I passed through these deep waters. I could not have made it without them.  God be thanked and praised!  

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters."  Psalms 18:16

Here's one of her poems.  They all come with reflections on her blog, but I didn't include that.

Called Forward By What I've Seen - Amy Johnson

I didn't realize I was keeping a record.

Not Intentionally.  Not neatly.

But somewhere between biopsies and scan results, between school drop-offs and oncology appointments...

I was collecting evidence.

Like a photo album lying open on a table.

Every biopsy. Every PET scan. Every doctor's appointment.

If I flip back through those pages now, I see something I couldn't see then.

In those moments. I thought I was alone.

But I wasn't.

There was the nurse navigator who listened as I sobbed.

The counselor who gently reminded me of God's peace.

The Bible verse that appeared on the screen while I waited for the surgeon.

The ultrasound tech who sat beside me when I got my diagnosis--who looked me in the eyes, hugged me, and said. "You can do this.  I went through it too. I'm here. And you will be too."

The neighbor who scooped up my kids so I could tell my husband the results without shouting over the noise.

The song that steadied me.

The friend who cleaned  my entire house without being asked.

The one who took my kids to the aquarium the day of my surgery so they could laugh while I lay on an operating table.

My teenage niece showing up at 8 pm to pick up the scattered debris when I had nothing left to give.

When I look back. I see them everywhere.

Like confirmation.

Like fingerprints.

Like evidence.

It's like looking at an old photo and realizing someone you love was in the background all along--unnoticed at the time. Maybe even before you knew them. You have to squint to see it.

But once you do...it's unmistakable.

Those weren't random acts of kindness.

They were provision.

They were presence.

They were Jesus--showing up in the middle of what I thought would break me.

He didn't remove the pain.

He didn't take away the hard.

But he met me in it.

He lightened it.

Loosened its grip.

Shouldered the weight with me.

Another appointment. (Today.)

More scans in a couple of months.

More unknowns.

Uncertainty looms like a heavy blanket.

So many questions. So few answers.

The pages ahead are blank.

I don't know what they will hold.

But I don't need to.

Because I know this:

He will be there too.

As I look through the album of trials and life-altering moments, the pattern is clear. His fingerprints are everywhere.

Why would He be present in every page behind me...and absent from the ones ahead?

When we look at the heroes of our faith, we see a man after God's own heart come to the same conclusion.

"The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:37)

David stepped forward into something terrifying--

not because he felt strong,

but because he had seen God be faithful before.

I think that's what looking back is for.

Not nostalgia.

Not replaying the past.

But gathering evidence.

So when I face what's ahead...

I don't walk in empty-handed.  

Just like in every moment I thought I wouldn't survive--He was there.

And because of that, I am assured of His continued presence.

So I will turn the page.

Not because I'm unafraid--

but because I am not alone.

And one day, the final page won't be a scan or a diagnosis or a question.

It will be Him--

fully, finally--

leading me into a peace that no longer comes in glimpses...

but never ends.

Essie - Granduation from Elementary School

 We weren't there of course, but we are still excited to see Essie growing up (sort of) and going forward!  Now it's on to the next fun grades!  Congratulations Essie!  We are proud of you!  

June fun!

 Drive to Pinto - we just had some time in the afternoon and wanted to get out of the house and see some pretty.  Driving to Pinto did it for us.  Loved the old homes, scenery and history of this little place.  The stones in the monument are from the old chapel that was built in Pinto in the beginning years of the little place.