We are having a first this week...we are kitten sitting Pippin, the Weaver's new kitten, while they are at Lake Powell. He's such a funny little thing. He's always busy cat fighting with something...until he's all tired out and has to take a catnap. We are having fun with him, but know that we are not ready for a pet again yet. It's too hard find tenders for them when you want to leave town whenever you can.
With Paul's knee surgery we may be limited in some of our vacationing this summer. I have to have a small surgery myself pretty soon too. But we took a quick little get away that did us both good. We have been seeing ants in the house, so Paul wanted to spray for bugs and then get out of the house for a day. We were able to get a little cabin over at Jacob Lake and spend a night/day over there before Pippin came to stay. It was so beautiful and cool! The food was delicious as always...especially the cookies! I am still doing the driving, so I don't see quite as much scenery or get nearly as much rest, but I don't really mind. It was a great little get away! Happy Summer! It has finally arrived for me! We were able to take a few short walks and took a nice drive on a forest road. The mountains are calling...
School's out, graduations are over and it's onward toward Summer vacation! But, before we take off and get going we always enjoy the Memorial Day Picnic that has become a tradition now. This year was better than others in some ways, and a little bit scary in other ways. The Weavers usually have a Sheffield boat trip/picnic conflict which makes things hard for them, but this year the boat trip was scheduled just a bit later and that did away with the conflict. Yea! We had 31 people able to make it. We missed quite a few, but we do what we can with who we have. Jay and Brynn always come for that weekend and that's pretty much how we got the tradition started. This year Paul was a bit down for it because of his recent knee replacement surgery. We took a cot for him to lay down on and an ice chest full of ice to put on his knee. He actually did pretty well. And, it turned out that the cot was a good thing to have there for another reason...that was the scary part. Moss brought along a hammock and he and Jay hung it up in a couple of trees. It must have seemed solid, but not long after Moss lay down in it, it crashed to the ground dropping him on a chopped off stump which hit him in the back near his kidney area. He sat rather dazed for a little bit afterward. I know it hurt lots for him to do that. Luckily he didn't land on his backbone on a big rock that was also below it. Then he came over by the tables with Christie and suddenly he was turning pale and passing out from shock. She and other people caught him before he hit the ground and managed to get him on the cot. He was having a hard time staying conscious for a little bit and then Ferf stepped in to help with her skills and nursing bag. She got his blood pressure and did other assessments. Supe had 911 on the line just about to head our way when Moss seemed to come out of it so they didn't need to come. They got him laid down and into the shade and calmed down and with Ferf's skills she found that nothing seemed broken or injured internally. He did have some scratches on his back which she carefully took care of while keeping a close watch over him. Christie was just about to lose it herself I think with worry for him. So thankful that it wasn't worse than it was. He's fine now. It really showed me how much shock can do in a situation like that. Moss is very able to do first aid on others, but this time it was his turn and there was nothing he could do to get past that shock without the help he got from others. I don't think that he thought that it would hit him so hard. The rest of the day went well. The weather was wonderfully cool. Pine Valley is such a beautiful place. The cousins and older peeps had fun visiting. We had a great lunch of sloppy joes with lots of sides to go with it. Games were played, hikes were taken, people caught lizards and saw snakes (non-poisonous). Juge and Lance brought their new kitten, Pippin, who was a real hit. Supe and Beacher brought their dog, Auri, and she is much loved too. Later we broke out the s'mores and had a good time roasting marshmallows for them and getting very sticky eating them. It was just a wonderful, relaxing - except the incident with Moss - day! I always want to stay longer, but the time came to leave so we could clean up and head home. Jay and Brynn and girls went over to Moss and Christie's after we got home so their kids could swim in their neighborhood pool. Paul and I stayed at the house because he needed to rest and get his knee up with ice. It was a great day! Happy Memorial Day! I remember Weed at this time when people are visiting graves of military and other family members. I don't remember Weed by visiting her grave usually, but that doesn't mean I don't remember her. So grateful for family members alive and those gone ahead. And so thankful for those who gave so much for our freedoms. I am thankful to live in the "home of the free because of because of the brave."
Had a lovely Mother's Day this year with calls, visits and sweet gifts to enjoy! We had a nice little dinner with just Paul and I since he's still in recovery. One of the gifts I wanted was a fondue set...and I got one! We enjoyed using it for Mother's Day dinner!
Right about the same time as this Torin came over to hang out one Saturday afternoon. He and I (mostly him) built a new smoker table for Paul. He couldn't actually help with his knee the way it is right now, but he read and interpreted the directions for us and gave us instruction on how it should be done and it came out perfectly! Great work Torin! It ended up being a fun and satisfying project. Wish we had gotten some in progress pics.
Don't know much more than this other than he's going to move to NYC this summer to do an internship. He's so talented and such a nice guy. Congratulations on a job well done...probably more like fantastically done. He's been a TA and they (BYU Graphic Arts program) want him to stay and teach. I haven't heard what he has decided about that yet. May 2025. Tavin is a good man. He has a great talent and has some hard decisions to make about where his future will take him professionally and personally. God bless you Tavin. We love you!
Another school year is coming to an end. Today was crazy! Our schedule has been rearranged to accommodate the older classes testing needs. We are practicing for our end of year Kindergarten program, and most things are just a bit out of whack and the kids are feeling it and are very end of the year crazy! And I ask myself, do I want to come back next year? Our school, along with many others in town, have lost their Title One status. The high cost of living in St. George has driven up the rents so much that many people of lower income have had to leave the area and that makes us lose the extra funding you get when you have low income/at risk kids attending your school. So my job will take a hit. It will either go away altogether, or next year I will be a shared para between two classes.
A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, touches a heart, and shapes a future!
I have enjoyed being a partner in that process over the years. It's so fun to see kids from past years and feel that connection with them. Then to see them completely grown up is also a real joy!
We went up to Park City on the 15/16th for Paul's two-week check up. It was actually almost 3 weeks. He got his staples out by an assistant and then she put lots of steri-strips on to last until his 6-week check. Then the doctor came in and checked it out and pronounced it good. We had a good trip up and stayed the night in Heber to be there for the 9 am appointment. We didn't stop enough along the way to walk around and did no icing and Paul paid for it that night with a very painful time with muscle spasms in his knee. It was SO painful for him. We learned our lesson, and on the way home we stopped lots and we made sure he had ice on and he also took a pain pill before we left. We had much better results. We stopped in for breakfast at the amazing hospital cafe as we were leaving the clinic. We had a great custom made omelets and other yummy things.
I have still been able to take my morning walks most days while Paul is recovering. We have the schedule working so I can do what I need to for him before I need to go to work in the morning and I'm really glad the walk still fit into it. We are both feeling the cooped up feeling that his immobility is causing. He's doing well with his PT and making good progress. He can walk without his crutches now. He can make his own lunch and breakfast pretty much and take his shower/shave. He just needs a little help getting his horrible TED (compression) socks on in the morning and it's helpful if I can get his ice on his leg for him. Riding in the car, standing or sitting for too long are not good. He is better off laying down with his leg up and with ice on it. A little at a time. I took him and Anna Lou out to Culver's today for lunch for her for Mother's Day (he still cannot drive). She had to ride in the back seat since he has to lay down pretty much in the front passenger seat. She could hardly get in and out. We decided to just eat outside in the shade at Culver's since it was right next to where we were parking. We got her over there. Then while we were trying to eat, Paul started having lots of pain from sitting on the bench and not being able to lay back. He had to get up and walk around to eat. Then she had to suddenly use the bathroom, so I had to guide her inside to do that. When we got back, Paul had finished eating and gone to lay back in the car. My ice cream was soup by then. She finished up her food and made it over to the car. I got her all buckled in. It was such a lot of work for both of them and me. I'm not sure it was the relaxation anyone hoped for. But we made it. Hope not to do it again until Paul is feeling lots better. We went up to see Bean yesterday to go out for dinner and had pretty much the same experience for Paul. Too much pain. Enough! Just gotta take the time to get better. I'm getting very tired because sleep is being very interrupted with all of Paul's discomfort. I may just have to sleep downstairs. I feel very sleep deprived and still need to keep going and go to work too. He can nap all day long as needed, but not me. I'm happy to take care of him, but I'm kind of feeling the strain of the no sleep. Soon he will be up and at it again. Until then, thank goodness for morning walks! I should have taken a picture of Paul and of her with her Mother's Day balloon and chocolates, but it was pretty much a stressful event and I forgot.
On Friday morning I got to take a "walk" with April Moore, the camp director for our home ward. She wanted to have me go along to make sure she knew how to find the waterfall trail that we did last year for stake girl's camp. She pretty much remembered it, but we had to look around a little here and there to find the best path. We left at 8 am and got it done as well as checking out her camp spots in the campground. It was a fun morning in such a beautiful place and I really enjoyed visiting with her and getting to know her just a bit better. She's such a nice girl and has such a nice family. It was a glorious morning walk for me! She felt like she needed to do something for me for taking time to go with her. I told her I was just so glad to get out and go with her in such a beautiful place. I thanked her for that chance!
This morning on my usual walk I got to check out lot of Ironman preparations that were in evidence along the way. It was fun and the morning was cool, quiet and nice. Then I got home and got Paul's terrible socks on and then he showed me how to get the mower started so I could mow the lawn before it got too hot.
