July

Cloudless Summer Sky, Swimming, Parades, Pure Sunshine, Hot July!

July 7 - Cheer-up!

Dave came home from the Farmers Market with a bouquet of flowers in hopes of cheering me up. It's been a long, slow recovery from surgery. The flowers are a little sad looking from the heat, but it's the thought that counts.

July 14 - Piano books

The days of my youth were calling me today.  I opened up the piano bench and took out my lesson books and played some songs. Very elementary and basic. But it felt good! It made me want to take up piano lessons again. Playing the piano is incredibly therapeutic. I remember playing the piano in my youth. Each strike of key took me to a place that uplifted and inspired. I have always loved music. I plan on mastering this beautiful talent in the life to come!

July 15 - Carnations

Dave was out of town and it was my first day back to church. Sacrament Meeting, that is. I had just got back when the door bell rang. My neighbor, Landon, and another young man from church, surprised me with a bouquet of beautiful and very colorful carnations. It was so thoughtful!

July 17 - Swim lessons

One of my most favorite things in the summer.... watching the grand kids at swimming lessons. Sitting in the balcony at the Nat in Tremonton, watching Alia practice her swimming skills, provides a great view of the whole pool and swimmers. Ben pokes his head over the bar to cheer his sister on.

July 19 - Engineer hats

It took a long time to cut out the pieces for the engineer hats that some of the youth will be wearing in the Harvest of Faith celebration. I cut them out; Audrey sewed them. The celebration will take place the day before the new Brigham City Temple is dedicated.

July 21 - Pioneer Day

Another year to celebrate Pioneer Day!  I spent the morning with Audrey, Mike, and kids.  It was an old-fashioned celebration at the Bothwell Park. It took me back to the days of my youth. It was a most delightful kind of day. Bothwell is very small and rural. Just like Spring Glen. After the 5K event that Mike and the kids participated in, the town served up a very hearty breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, oj. and fresh fruit.  Yummy!  No fee required; just donations to improve the park. The highlight of the day... a parade that went a block. Audrey took Alia to the store to pick out RED, WHITE, and BLUE streamers for her bike and Mike helped her decorate it. She was very excited to be in a parade. She lined up with the rest of the kids and rode her brightly decked out bike down the block and around the church house. She is NOT happy at the end of it and wanted to know where the parade was! I don't know if she fully understood that she was in the parade. 

Ben, on the other hand was oblivious to anything around him other than playing in the flag and collecting candy from the parade goers. While we were eating breakfast, he had a MELTDOWN! Audrey got up from the table to get some fresh fruit for Ben. Apparently, he wanted to go but was told to stay at the table and eat.  He cried big crocodile tears and buried his face into Alia's arms.  He didn't want me. He didn't want his dad.  Only a sister could console him. That's love!

July 22 - Fire

Today, after church, I was starting to fix some dinner when all of a sudden the power went off. But not all the way off. The lights dimmed and flickered. The fridge ice maker was going bonkers. The stove was not working. I couldn't fix dinner. I called the power company and reported the power outage, and they came right away. After inspection of the power pole and lines, we found out that the transformer arched, burned out, and sent our hill side on fire. Thanks to Dave's OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) on weed control, the fire didn't have a chance to do much damage. Thank goodness! It burned about 50 feet from either direction from the power pole. A new transformer was installed and our power was restored about 4 hours later. 

July 24 - Happy Birthday!

Heartfelt thoughts and lots of love were in my heart for dad today. After all, today, Pioneer Day, is really all about dad and the many years and happy memories of celebrating his birthday with him. I sorely miss him and think about him, as I do mom, every single day.

July 25 - Over the hill

Today was a BIG day. My appointment with Dr. Larsen, over the hill in Logan. Before my appointment, I went to the temple. I love the temple and taking pictures of the temple. I took this picture and photo edited it with an overlay. I like the way it turned out. And I really liked the way my appointment turned out. Good news. I'm on the mend. Good to go! No need to take the permanent stitch out. I am going on my own. It happened about a week ago. So thankful! I'm starting to feel like normal again. I was worried there for awhile. 

July 29 - Youth Fireside

A youth fireside was held for all the youth in the Brigham City temple district. Since Kelsey and I are in Young Women's, we were able to go. What a treat! It was held at Zions Park, next to my old Stake Center in Brigham City. There were about 4000 youth in attendance. It was quite a site to see a sea of youth gathered in one place. Kelsey spotted me in a picture in a magazine printed and dedicated to the Brigham City Temple. Now I can say that I was spotted in an important magazine, at a historic time in Brigham City and for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Wow!

July 31 - Menaces 

I used to think the little critters were cute. Not so anymore! The squirrels have dug holes and made tunnels in our rocks and landscape. Dirt piles are heaped up, covering steps and making a mess. They have disrupted our outside lighting. They are not cute anymore. They are a menace! Dave got a couple of traps from the DWR. He puts a spoon full of peanut butter on a cupcake holder and sets it inside the trap. The traps are placed around the yard, specifically around the rocks where the tunnels and dirt piles can be seen. At first, we could not bring ourselves to kill the critters, like the DWR said to do. Dave would take the squirrels, in the traps, and release them in other places. Away from home... like parks, fields, etc. We're now up to 27 squirrels trapped. It's easy now to throw the trap, with the squirrel in it, into the pond and drown it. It takes only a few seconds and then they are gone. I know it sounds cruel... but... it's become the best way. I just don't think about it. 

Month in Review