Paul - Happy #69!

 All Paul wanted for his bday was a trip…to get a load of stone in AZ! We had fun eating out with our favorite breakfast at Cracker Barrel and Navajo Tacos at the Cameron Trading Post for lunch. And seeing the lights in Flagstaff on our evening walk! And we got our load of rock of course. And back at home the kids brought gifts and we all ate Paul’s favorite cheesecake! Oh how I love this wonderful, loving, hardworking, forgiving, sharing, kind, funny, helpful man. He is always there for me. He's my best friend and the love of my life. He's with me in good times and and in hard times.

Catching up!

I've gotten a little behind!  But can't forget these fun things!  I'm so glad that cancer or not, I'm still able to work.  I don't know what I'd do without my job.  Yah, some things, like interventions, are not my favorite thing, but for the most part, I really do enjoy it. This year we have a dream class.  We have 18 kids who had older siblings in the class and their parents requested to have our teacher.  She puts her heart and soul into it.  These are great kids.  Out of our 23, we only have two who are a bit of a challenge which is so great.  Last year we had some very tough kids.  We went to Staheli Farm for our first field trip in a very long time.  The kids had so much fun!  

Halloween came and Jem was so funny with his little blue head.  He was based on some cartoon character.  Eliza turned 9!  She's such a cutie.  And Fall came along with a walk in Pine Valley just to get out of the house.  

One afternoon the Weavers invited us to go on a bike ride up West Canyon road in Snow Canyon.  I felt happy that I could still ride it even after 4 Chemos.  I wasn't fast, but I did make it.  It was a fun ride.  And I had time for a walk on the Red Hill another day when we got out early for PTC from school.  Getting out really help me feel good.  

Another afternoon Paul and I walked Hell Hole Canyon - another of our favorite walks.  The geology of this little canyon amazing us every time we go.  

Paul and Bean made a beautiful fireplace and chimney for Supe and Beacher!  Jem and Auri got in on the action here and there doing forklift supervision and rock chip removal.  

Zion turned 8...and we didn't get to go, but Juge sent his excited pictures! Sarai had a singing recital via Zoom.  She sang well and looked so cute!  Tasia had a piano recital...sorry no pics.  It was in the chapel.

Paul's back has been super bad lately.  He's going to have to have some nerves cauterized to cut the pain.  Our salvation is to take walks to get out a little bit.  Getting old is not much fun sometimes.  We have really had to curtail our outdoor adventures because of our health issues this year.   We love to take the walk between Brookside and Baker Dam...in any season.  

Brady and Ellie cracked us up with this picture they sent from when they took their gift certificate swim at the Homestead Crater.

I feel bad that the only picture I took on Thanksgiving was this one.  We had kind of a different year.  It was the kids year to go to their inl-aws, but Christie's parents are on a mission so they were nice enough to invite us and Bean, Supe (Beacher had to work) and Ferf and kids to join them for Thanksgiving at their house.  Ferf is getting a divorce, so she had no in-laws to go to this year either.  G'ma Kurtz had company, so that left me, Paul and Bean home to ourselves.  We had a great meal, good hanging out and took a walk afterward to see the new Red Cliffs Temple in process of being build behind their house.  I have to say that it wasn't my best day.  I was dealing with some bad after Chemo effects and didn't really feel to great, but still, it was a nice way to spend the day.  A funny thing happened while we were walking over to the temple.  Kennis jumped a ditch thinking she was going to land in a good spot...which ended up with her burried up to her knees stuck in the mud.  We finally got her and her shoes out.  She was very muddy with giant globs on both feet.  She was laughing, so we could all laugh with her!  

The Saturday after Thanksgiving the Randalls invited us and the Borrowmans to go Christmas tree harvesting with them on Cedar Mountain.  There was almost NO snow.  This is the same place we got stuck last year!  We all got trees and then enjoyed hot chocolate in the sunshine.  We almost didn't need our coats.  We need rain and snow so badly!  But it did make getting trees much more comfortable and easy than when it's knee deep snow.  It was a fun time.

Glorious Fall, October birthdays and Gaige rocks it!

Went on a little hike with Ferf and boys the other day to see the Fall colors.  It did not disappoint!  It was on the afternoon of Koen's birthday and a day off from school.  Happy #13 Koen.  Later that week we took Tasia out for DQ to celebrate her #17.  I had Chemo #4 this week and didn't think I'd be up for much celebration on her actual birthday!  

Then on Saturday, I still felt good enough after Chemo that Paul and I took a picnic and walked the trail in Pine Valley and then ate our lunch.  It was so peaceful (the gate was locked) and almost no one was there.  The Fall colors were on glorious display and we saw some wildlife; turkeys, a blue jay, a red tailed hawk, and some fish in the stream.  It was a breath of fresh air...literally!  Then after we got home we got to go and see Gaige play in an honors recital.  And he did wonderfully!!!  What a great Saturday it turned out to be.  

Trista and Michael Thomas tie the knot in Moab!

 They did it and we are so happy for them - Trista (Sanderson) Winder and Michael Thomas became Mr. and Mrs. Thomas at the Old City Park in Moab on October 16th.  We felt happy to be invited as we had met Michael previously and thought he and Trista were a perfect match.  We went a little early because it was Fall Break from school and enjoyed taking the scenic route there and then a scenic route up to swim at Ouray the next day.  Then we drove the scenic route of Hwy. 128 the morning of the wedding as well.  We had a great time connecting with the Sanderson family as well as enjoying the wedding time.  We hope they'll be so wonderfully happy! (We got to stay in the cutest little cabin!)

Rain!!!

 Friday we had the most wonderful all day rain!  It was slow and gentle and perfect!  We needed it so badly.  Early Saturday morning for our walk we went out to Snow Canyon to see the rain pooled in the red rocks.  It may not have rained as hard there as here in town or the rocks were just so thirsty that they soaked it up, but the pools were not as filled as we expected.  So after we walked there, we went up on the Red Hill on a hike that Supe showed us to where a pool usually forms.  And it was there.  And it too was not as full as usual, but still beautiful!  And the lower parts of town were covered in fog, which is a rare thing to see here!  It was lovely to see the affects of our wonderful, rainy day the next morning!  It made for a great morning walk! 

Fall and picnic

 We haven't gotten out to see enough of the leaves...or rather, I haven't taken enough pictures of them.  Last Sunday afternoon we went out to see them on Cedar Mountain and took Grandma along.  We  did see some beautiful ones.  And we had planned to have a picnic up there, but then we got done before we got hungry, so we waited until we got down and ate it at the park in Cedar City instead.  Good thing probably since it looked like it started raining and being cold after we got down from the mountain.  It was good food and a good time.  Another evening Paul and I went for a walk up on the trail by Brookside.  No leaves turned yet up there, but it's just such a lovely little hike anytime of year that we enjoyed it too!  Getting out is always good!  

Brian Head Campout

 We wanted to get away from being boxed in all day Saturday during the Ironman, so we went camping the night before.  We got away a little late after Paul finished up a job.  When we got there we cooked up and easy dinner of chili and quesadillas, apple sauce and pumpkin bread.  Soon after it was looking like rain, so we got our tents up and went to bed early.  It started raining after a while and it seemed like it pretty much rained gently all night long.  It made for good sleeping.  In the morning it was pretty cool, so we sipped hot chocolate while we got breakfast ready.  Just right!  After cleaning up camp, we just went driving around to see other nice places and ate lunch at Grosvenor Arch.  We changed out driving plans when it started to rain again so that we wouldn't be on the dirt road we had intended to take home.  It rained a lot, so that was a good change.  We listened to a great book along the way and it turned out to be a nice little get away!  We did have a lot of things to dry out, but it didn't take long in the heat that was here to greet us when we got home.  

Labor Day weekend fun!

 Th end of summer is nigh and this holiday weekend is not to be wasted.  We slept in...how nice!  And then we went on a 13-mile bike ride down on the trail by the river.  Seeing the river made us want to kayak in it...which we did later this afternoon.  We thought about eating late after bike ride breakfast at Cracker Barrel, but it was so crowded that we decided to come home and make our own pancake, egg, bacon and OJ breakfast.  It was so good.  Then we just took another nap.  It has felt good to take it easy between our bouts of exercise and catch up on some much needed rest.  Still don't know what we will do on the Monday part of the holiday, but hopefully it will contain elements of cool...either in the mountains or in the water!  Tomorrow some of us are getting together for dinner so grandma has the chance to visit with kids on a smaller scale basis.  So Derek and kids and Ferf are coming over for hotdogs, potato salad, watermelon, beans and pie.  Sound like Labor Day type picnic food, doesn't it? 

Monday we just took a drive and leftovers for a picnic on Cedar Mountain.  It was cool up there.  We drove a new road we had never taken, took it easy and warmed our hot dogs over Paul's little stove!  A nice relaxing day drive.  

Cancer Update

 I keep a cancer log separately from here, but I have now finished one-third of my chemo treatments!  I'm a pro...not really.  I've only done 2 of 6, but I feel much easier about it now and it has made a big difference so far as my lymph node size goes.  I can't no longer find them/feel them.  They have shrunken way down.  I haven't had any scans and probably won't till a few weeks after the last chemo in December, but I have lost about 8 lbs. along with everything else which I am absolutely loving.  It's certainly not all I need to lose, but it's the only time I've lost weight without really trying to.  So, that's another plus.  I have felt the power of prayer and blessings in this experience and it has helped so much.  I have not had any really bad reactions to either chemo thankfully; just a little bit of after nausea which pills have done a good job of taking care of.  So, I don't really have anything to complain about.  I have been able to go back to work as I had hoped.  I do wear a mask when no one else does, but I'm fine with that.  I do have to stay home the Sunday after chemo and watch church, but that's not bad since they are still broadcasting it anyway.  I went on vacation after the first chemo and then after this one we spent the day in Pine Valley hiking and walking and picnicking.  So I feel grateful and blessed and like I'm getting the care and results I need to get this into remission hopefully.  

August birthdays!!!

 Clara Lenae has the first August birthday on the 10th - and she turned gloriously 5!  Now her world will open up with the big leap forward of going off to school (kindergarten)!  Clara is always excited about new things.  This will be over-the-top wonderful for her I think!!! Happy Birthday Clara ~ we love you!

For Bean's birthday gift we took him on vacation with us to CO.  But for the day of his birthday afterwards, we took him to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then to a movie and then came home and had his requested birthday cake - baked chocolate chip cookies with ice cream!  Happy #33 Bean!  We love you!  

Tavin is on his mission, so we just had to send him some $ and fun stuff and hope he enjoyed it.  He's rather uncommunicative, so we just hope that #20 was a great day for him on August 25th.  Here's the latest pic I can find of him.  

Torin's birthday is the last one on the 26th.  He turned 7 and we celebrated with Ferf and kids the day before so I would be able to be there. (The next day I was doing chemo.)  We put in with Ferf for a new bike.  It was good that Paul could be there to put it all together with a little help from Bean.  Torin was pretty happy to have it and went out to try it out right away!  It was a nice birthday - even if it was a little early!  (Ferf and Ryan are in the middle of divorcing right now, so we didn't get to do our regular with the Borrowman grandparents celebration. Sad, but true.)