Happy Father's Day and Happy Birthday

 Father's Day and my birthday are always close together.  My mom used to tell me that I was my dad's Father's Day present as I was born the day before Father's Day that year.  This year, Father's Day was on Sunday and my birthday on Monday.  We celebrated together.

On Monday, we went out to lunch at a local Japanese restaurant.  The walk up to the restaurant is lined with beautiful artificial cherry trees in blossom.

We went together and bought Ken a smart birdfeeder equipped with a camera.  And I got him a book about the building of the Panama Canal.  He loves to read about history.

We received many cards and letters.

Ken got me perfume and a book.  Michelle made me a book that included Patriarchal Blessings of many of my ancestors.  Kristen and Michelle got me a coupon for a reflexology appointment.

Shonna had previously made me this beautiful vase and for this birthday she painted this beautiful picture.  She also gave me several bars of delicious smelling soaps.

These pictures turned out blurry, but our Japanese lunch was delicious.

We love the salad and Miso soup.

Celebrating Father's Day and my birthday brought us joy!!

The God of the Woods

 

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I guess I DO like mysteries! This was a well-written double mystery that kept me turning pages. Some language issues. 3 ½ stars from me.

View all my reviews

Cleaning and Organizing

 While Michelle and her boys were here for a week, she helped me clean and organize several rooms in the house.  She is amazing at doing it and says she loves it.  She blessed my life so much!  I haven't seen that countertop in my laundry room for a decade!  We threw away a lot of stuff and cleaned and cleaned.  We also worked on our bathroom and bedroom and my vanity area.

She got me organizer trays  and containers that make such a difference, and she cleaned out the drawers.  

Thank you so much Michelle!  I am so happy!

Jumping for Poke'mon Cards

Michelle brought her two youngest boys here to take swimming lessons for a week in June.  They had a great experience.  The teacher had a trampoline right next to the pool that the kids could jump from into the pool.  William was trying to get up the courage to do it.  

You may remember one of my "Grandma's Stories" where I talked about trying to get up the courage to jump off of the diving board in the Blacker's pool next door to us when I was a little girl.  I was so scared.  But the tipping point came when Janis Blacker said she would give me the Barbie outfit I loved if I would jump right now.  I did it and I loved it! I just kept doing it I loved it so much.

I read that story to William.  I told him that if he would jump from the trampoline the next day I would buy him some Pokemon cards that he was wishing for.  We looked on Amazon and found just the ones he wanted.  He said he would do it.

This is the Barbie outfit I jumped for.

Sure enough!  The next day he did it!

I am so very proud of him for overcoming his fear.  Just like me, he wanted to do it over and over again.  When he got home, we ordered the Poke'mon cards.

A few days after they got home, his Poke'mon cards came.  His mom sent me the picture.  He was so happy!

That's Me!

 

Welcoming Rick and Sherrie Home

 Rick and Sherrie, Ken's brother and wife, recently completed their mission in Washington DC.  They took the long way home, stopping and visiting family along the way.  They came through St. George and those of us who live here gathered for breakfast at IHOP.  It was so wonderful to see them.

Ken, Kay, Leslie, Jim, Mark, Kathy, Dave, Gerri, Sherrie, and Rick.

Michelle and boys had arrived the night before, so they got to come along for the celebration.

The boys were so excited to eat out.  Kenny ordered a hamburger for breakfast .

William ordered sprinkle pancakes.

Michelle had French toast.  Doesn't that look yummy?

Camera, Purse, Cheese

 

Camera, Purse, Cheese

During my 5^th grade year, my friend Lee Ann Frank moved to Moscow, Idaho.  I think her dad was going to be a professor at the University there.  I was sad.  Lee Ann lived just down the street from me and we played together almost every day.  I remember once Lee Ann got very ill with the flu and was sick for several weeks.  I thought I would die before she got well and we could play together again.  Her mother Ellie and my mother were good friends.  Ellie was a kind, good woman and I felt very comfortable in their home.

During the summer after fifth grade, the Franks came to Caldwell to visit for a few days.  Ellie invited me to come back with them to Moscow for a week.  She and my mom made arrangements that I would ride with them, spend a week there, then fly home.  There was a prop jet airline that flew from Moscow to Boise.  I was so excited to go with them and then to fly for my very first time.

I had a wonderful week with the Franks.  I don’t remember everything that we did, but I have a few memories.  On the first day there, Ellie asked my favorite kind of cereal.  I told her Cap’n Crunch.  Lee Ann chose Fortified Oat Flakes.

I loved Cap’n Crunch, but I really loved those Fortified Oat Flakes.  I wish they still made them.

They treated me like a queen.  They took me across the border of Oregon to Pullman to a cheese factory.  I bought a wheel of cheese in a can to take home to my family.  Ellie was so kind, helping me choose what kind of cheese to buy.

We went swimming one day and I’m sure did a lot of other fun things that I can’t remember. One day, Ellie made Congo Bars.  They were like chocolate chip cookie bar cookies and were so delicious.  I thought they were the best thing I had ever eaten.

As I prepared to go home on the airplane, I was very nervous.  Ellie taught me to chant over and over and over, “Camera, purse, cheese,” the three things I needed to remember to have with me when I got off the plane.  I so enjoyed the plane ride home, seeing clouds up close for the first time.  The whole plane ride, I chanted over and over in my head, “Camera, purse, cheese” as Ellie taught me.  It so embedded itself into my head, that I still can remember and chant it.  I guess that is a lesson to memorize scriptures when you are young so they will stick in your mind forever.  “Camera, purse, cheese!” 

This is a story about a chant, but mostly it is a story about good people who made a little girl feel important.

 

Michelle and Boys Come to Stay!

 Michelle and her two youngest boys came for a visit.  Her two oldest kids were at FSY at Snow College.  She enrolled the boys in swimming lessons down here.  We had a wonderful time together.

They loved having breakfast out on the deck.

These guys are artichoke fans and wanted to see how they grow.

When Fred nags you for food, he puts his chin firmly on your knee and looks up at you with very sad eyes.

Michelle was sauteing mushrooms and he wanted some.

These boys are readers

Michelle's sister-in-law also came down from SLC to enroll her kids in swimming lessons that week.  The cousins had fun together

A Cooper's Hawk has started hanging out in our backyard and drinks from our bird bath.

One day they had fun at the Children's Museum

Both boys passed their level of swimming lessons

Michelle had fun reconnecting with friends from high school at the swimming pool.

They love going to the all-abilities park.  It is so fun.

And the public swimming pool.

Time to say goodbye.  Thanks for coming.  It was such a fun week!