Fun With the Ostlers

Layne turned 75 last Monday.  As his twin reminded him, that is the age at which both his father and grandfather died.  Hum.  Could he really be old enough to die?  Could I?  It doesn't seem so.  Not until I consider how old we really are.  But I'm not worried.  Somehow I feel full of life and still very connected to this mortality.  I feel that there are still things to do here.  But I'm beginning to feel an urgency about getting them all done.

When I was younger I longed for what I would call a "balanced" friendship; one where the give and take between us was somewhere around equal.  As the years have passed I have found a few friends that fit that model.  One of them is Trudy Ostler.  I met Trudy and her husband Bill in Fremont, California, where we worked together on various Church projects.  We seemed to find a meeting of the minds on most things and tended to think down the same mental roads.  We understood one another and seemed to have very similar life experiences and goals.  Bill and Trudy moved to St. George, Utah.  We eventually moved here to Star, Idaho.  Because we enjoyed our shared mental journey our friendship has continued.  And so we have developed a tradition:  every year since we have moved here they visit us and we visit them.  In between visits we rarely talk, but when we are together, things pick up where we last left off.  There is little need to become reacquainted.  It just so happens that Bill and Layne are very compatible as well.  So our visits have been so pleasant and fun.

The Ostlers arrived for their yearly visit on Layne's birthday.  We celebrated with his requested dinner and dessert.  Every birthday Layne says he doesn't want anything.  Every year I try to find him something anyhow.  It has to be useful.  This year I decided on sunglasses.  His favorites are years and years old.  It just so happens that his old ones broke several days before his special day.  So the gift I offered seemed to fit perfectly into his needs.  Score!  It is rare so I've got to brag.

This is the first house built in Idaho City, an hour north of us, and it was built by Galbraiths!  Gotta be related.  Its located next to a blacksmith shop, seen to the right in this photo.

We spent a fun-filled week with Bill and Trudy.  We saw the movie, The Martian (very good), toured the almost ghost town of Idaho City, went ATVing, and, most daring of all, we went zip lining.  I was too chicken to zip line at our July reunion, but decided to try it, since all I read about the company here was encouraging.  We took a leap of faith and reserved a spot on Wednesday.  I admit right now that standing on a platform high above the ground was a bit unnerving.  And I admit that leaping off of said platform was even more so.  But I was not about to let anyone know that I was so nervous.  So I made the leap.  Over and over.  Because I did it, so did my chicken husband, Layne.  Bill and Trudy leaped with pure delight.  By the end of the experience my fears were somewhat dissipated and it became sort of fun.  Perhaps I can do it again.  Sometime.

Here we are, gathered, confidently, for our first zip line adventure.

We are standing on top of the first zip line platform, safely connected to the wire cording you see around the tree.

First zip line challenge:  cross the bridge.  For us greenies it was challenging.  I am leading here, with Layne following.

Here's Layne, newly arrived from a zip.  "Zippin'" the worker with us called it.

There are two zip lines here.  Layne is on the left, I'm on the right.  We are about to race to the other end.  As you might imagine, the heaviest guy wins.  I not only lost, but didn't have enough momentum to make it to the very end and slid slowly back to the middle of the zip.  I had to be rescued by grabbing onto a rope and being pulled to the end by our young worker.  It was quite a workout for him.  Kinda embarrassing actually.

Our three days together came to a quick end when Bill and Trudy drove off Friday morning.  We will see them again in the spring, when we visit them in St. George.  I'm looking forward to it.

We will be finished with our pornography mission in another month.  During our two years doing this we have been asked to speak about it three times.  Three times in almost 2 years.  Now that we are in our last month, we have three more speaking assignments, all this month!  How strange is that?  Layne is very ready to be finished with addiction. I don't think he will miss it.  But I will.  The women I work with every Sunday night have been an inspiration to me and, in many ways, have changed my life.  I'm grateful to be ever learning what appears to me to be important concepts.  After tonight, theoretically we have just 3 or 4 more addiction meetings.  Wow.  Then what?

Florida

Layne isn't much for traveling.  But our friends the Wintersteins pressed us into going with them to Florida, mostly to see the Epcot Center in Orlando.  We joined them and another couple, Fred and Linda Denison, in Orlando for a week of touring.  Larry rented a house with a pool for our week.  Florida is experiencing an unusually hot summer, we were told.  The heavy, humid air of Florida multiplies any summer heat.  We felt weighted down by it, but soon adjusted fairly well.  After all, there was a pool if we really wanted a cool-down.  Here's a view of the pool in back, surrounded by a screened enclosure.  Lots of yards in Orlando have these enclosures.  The locals say to keep the many bugs out.  Or maybe alligators?

We spent two days in Epcot.  I tried to talk our gang into making those two days week days, but was out-voted, so our first day was a Saturday.  If you like mobs and mobs of people it was a good pick.  But we didn't.  Layne just barely tolerated that first day, walking along the crowded, steamy paths in between the mobs gathered for the weekend tour.  I think we all thought that people would be involved in school and so the crowds would be thinner.  No way.  Somehow the sights dull a little when viewed in between bobbing heads.

Epcot is a lovely park, mostly built to appeal to adults I think.  But there were plenty of children there as well.  It is mostly about featuring various countries, recreated in the form of small villages, offering some films of their countrysides, occasional live performances, food and lots of overpriced souvenirs.  There are fireworks every night.  We loved seeing them on Saturday night.

Three girls in Epcot:  Linda Denison (the screamer), me, and Carol Winterstein.

We dragged Layne along for another day at Epcot on Monday.  The crowds were much thinner and so it was more enjoyable.  Larry used a wheelchair both days, which got us into various rides and shows ahead of the line.  That was pretty nice!  Our favorite ride was a 5 minute one called, "Soar!"  It offered an imaginary ride over various sights in California, putting us right up next to the screen.  With every shift of scene, Linda squealed in abandoned delight.  It made that 5 minutes quite magical.  The best of the day for sure.  Layne and I stand in front of one of the many lovely sights in Epcot.  I'm holding my one and only souvenir:  a fan, bought in "Japan".

Here's the Orlando Temple

There were other sights to see in Orlando.  The Church has a huge 290,000+ acre ranch there.  We took the time to tour it.  The ranch is one of many that the Church has and runs on a for-profit basis.  The profits go to the humanitarian arm of the Church.  I had no idea of the scope of the Church ranches!  We also saw the Orlando temple and the nearby beach.  Beaches are pretty special to me since they were the recreational place of choice when I was growing up.  The Florida beaches offer warm water and lovely, white sand.  It was a beach paradise.  Here's a scene from the LDS Ranch.  Don't the cows look happy?  They should; their job is just to do what comes naturally and bear calves each spring.

Orlando started out as a fort named for a man named Gatlin, in the mid 1800s.  It was built to protect early settlers from the Indians during the Indian wars of the mid-century.  Dr. John Gatlin was a young surgeon when he found himself involved in an Indian battle.  Sadly, he was killed in that battle, along with almost all the white men involved.  But the fort that was built soon afterwards was named for him.  There is nothing left of it now except a marker and a street named for him.  When the Indian Wars ended, the fort was abandoned.  The area was later renamed Orlando.  But it so happens that John Gatlin is a distant uncle of mine, so it was exciting to be able to talk our gang into checking out the marker for what is assumed to be the site of Fort Gatlin.  Historical sites are much more exciting when family is involved!

Our last night we ate at an all-you-can-eat lobster feed.  I think this guy would rather not.

All of us flew home on various flights last Thursday.  We were pretty tired for a couple of days but soon recovered.  Well, Layne is still dragging a bit.  We vegged out this weekend while watching General Conference.  What fun that was, and special too as three new apostles were introduced.  How wonderful it is to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ.  I feel overwhelmingly blessed on every level.

Layne turns 75 on Monday.  We plan to celebrate it all week since our good friends Bill and Trudy Ostler will be spending it with us.  So next week promises to be full of new adventures.  

Uneventful But Nice

I was sitting on our couch with Layne a few minutes ago.  As we looked out our front window, we had a great view of one of our rose bushes.  One branch was poking out above the rest, protruding several feet beyond the nice round shape of the rose bush.  I told Layne that I'd prune it back as soon as time permitted. After all, the bush branches look best when they are all the same size.  "But it is reaching for the sky," said Layne.  "What a shame that it should be cut back when it is trying so hard to reach greater heights."  That gave me pause.  In fact I think I will use it as an example of reaching beyond the crowd to my Addiction Women.  Then I'll cut it back.

Here's the energetic rose branch!

We've had a rather ordinary week.  But I am giving most of my attention to preparing for Christmas.  I believe I have a plan for being fully ready by October.  I'm so excited about it!  Imagine having all the gift giving all figured out already.  I'm so proud of myself.

I'm also giving lots of time to beefing up our emergency storage.  There is lots of interest in this both in the Church and in the community here.  It seems to be in the air, this need to be ready for whatever situation may develop in the future.  There are certainly many things one can acquire to be prepared for virtually anything.  I'm trying to find the right balance.  What potential hardships should we anticipate?  Prepare for?

When I was in Utah, Layne went to dinner with a couple of men friends to a little restaurant in the countryside specializing in steaks.  Layne loved it.  We've returned several times, including this week.  Layne  has a passion for steak dinners these days.  I'm trying to hold him down to no more than two beef meals a week.  He keeps coming up with new people to invite to his little restaurant.  I suppose I should just enjoy it.  So OK.  I will.

Our friends the Wintersteens will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year.  So will we.  So we've been talking about what fun it would be to celebrate in some way together.  Yesterday Larry came over with a fist full of possible cruises to all sorts of places.  "Pick your place," he said to me.  We've never been on a cruise.  Well, I haven't ever been.  Layne tends to equate a vacation cruise with his experiences on Navy ships.  Not the same I keep telling him.  He resists any kind of traveling, but Larry and Carol keep pushing us with these sweet offers.  So, perhaps, we will wind up going to some magical place on a cruise ship next year.  If Layne will go for it,

In the meantime, I love just being home.  It is Autumn and the outside is sweet with a coming coolness as the leaves think about changing and dropping for winter.  I love this time of year.

As I arrived at our ward building yesterday for Super Saturday I was surprised to see this balloon, landing in our parking lot!  It generated lots of attention from the Church bunch, who gathered around it soon after I snapped this photo.

To California and Back

For several weeks I kept telling Layne that I was going to visit the kids in California.  Each time  I invited him to come with me.  "Think I'll stay home," he kept telling me.  But my nudging and the encouragement of Audrey and Rayne eventually paid off,  for, as my departure time approached, he decided to come along.  It is a 10+ hour drive to our part of California.  There's no way around it; its a fairly long drive.  But this time I asked Layne to tell me about some of his flying experiences.  Bingo.  He talked on and on and the hours passed quickly.  Plus I typed all he said into my laptop!

As we left Idaho and entered Oregon on highway 95, the view was pretty much black.  Forest fires have plagued many acres in Idaho this summer.  We drove mile after mile through parched hills.  It was pretty dramatic.  But on the way back home, there were signs of new growth sprouting among the black earth.  It was lovely to see the earth renew itself.

The charred hills of Idaho and Oregon took up the first hours of our drive to CA.

We stayed with Audrey and Cliff.  They always welcome us and provide such comfortable accommodations.  Talking with Audrey is sweet to me, as she is so good at expressing what is on her mind.  Her thoughts and feelings come out in conversation easily.  She is "out" in that way, while most of the rest of us are "in."  I often have trouble finding the words to express what I am thinking and sometimes I don't even think to bring them outside of myself at all.  Yet I admire the ability to do so and think more of us should, more of the time.

It seemed like Layne and I spent almost all of our five days in California in the car.  We drove somewhere every day and got lots of visiting in.  Once I get Layne going with visits, he likes it.  He resists, then enjoys.  We visited our Sunol neighbors, Bev and Ernie Trutner in Sonora.  Ernie is struggling with health issues.  I suppose that will happen to us and our friends more and more often.  After all, we are getting to be at that time of life.  We also visited our friends Marsha and Byron Dansie, also in Sonora.  We met them years ago, when we lived in Millbrae.  They are solidly good people.  We spent some time with Reed and Dorothy and kids.  They have two foster kids now that they may decide to adopt.  They are Jamaican.  They are darling children but I wonder if they would do well growing up in a white family.  It would be one obstacle to overcome for sure.  But who knows, it may not be an obstacle at all.  

Marcia and Byron Dansie, long time friends and amazing people.

My Uncle Mike lives in Healdsburg, a three hour drive from Mountain House, where Audrey and Cliff live.  We didn't have time to make that drive but did go to San Francisco to see his daughter, my cousin Judy and her hub Stan.  They live in a little tiny house sandwiched between much bigger ones in the City.  We enjoyed our visit with them so much! I really want to spend more time with Uncle Mike and my cousins.  So often I don't think of them when we visit the Bay Area and I should.  So I'm going to change that.

Here are Stan and Judy, in their front room.

Our granddaughter Rayne invited us to visit her at her place in Dublin.  We spent a pleasant afternoon and evening with her.  I believe she is still sad from her apartment burglary.  She is such a lovely girl; I don't like seeing her sad.  In spite of that, we had a good bond, I think.  It seems to me that she likes family stuff so I designed a special picture for her for her birthday, featuring photos of all the grandmothers in our family that I could find, along with her picture.  My idea was to bind her to our family women and to show her some of the women she came from.  I feel an absolute passion to connect my grandchildren to their family, living and dead.

Here are our family women.

 We spent Friday with Ben and Jes, then left for the drive home late in the afternoon. We spent the night along the way.  What a good decision that was; it made the drive easier.  And I got some more of Layne's history written.  Daughter Jessica suggested that I write family stories and put them into books to give the grandchildren for Christmas.  Every year I can add a story or two and over the years the kids will have a collection of family stories.  I found her suggestion inspiring!  I'm starting with Layne's stories.  After all, thanks to our trip, they are already written! Two of them anyhow.

Ben and his girls, Olivia and Victoria, sit in their living room, with Alexis and Abigail below.

It is good to be home!  I feel embraced by this house and the people here.  We've had fun catching up on things and socializing with friends.  But I wish we had some family here too.

Looking Back

The end of July brought an end to the massive amounts of company we enjoyed.  So I crashed.  So did Layne.  We mostly rested and looked at each other for a week or two.  But a girl can only do so much resting.  A couple of Mondays ago I packed my bag and drove to Utah to see my sister, Maryanne, and her hub, Bob.  Layne decided to stay home so my buddy Pat Green traveled with me.  We talked and talked all during the 6 hour drive.  Can you believe we still had things to say by the time we arrived at her son's home?  When you find a kindred spirit, there is no end of conversation.  It made the drive fly by.

Maryanne and I explored the boxes she brought home from Mom's storage in Cedaredge.  What fun that was.  It was a bit like going on a treasure hunt.  We found documents, pictures, letters and a fair amount of trash.  Trash to us anyhow.  I came home with a pile of duplicate photos and took pictures of the rest.  It was a happy journey into our past for three pleasant days.  In between our exploring, I spent a bit of time in Bob's beautiful yard.  He has turned their back patch into a lovely place that fills the eyes with pleasure, especially during the morning hours.  It was then that I found a comfy chair in their pergola and read scriptures.

Here's one of the pictures we found of Maryanne and me, taken when we lived in Hawaii.

I so enjoyed my Monday through Thursday with Bob and Maryanne.  Friday morning I picked Pat up and we drove home, again, chatting all the way.  What a great way to travel; stimulating conversation makes time fly.

There have been lots of wild fires here.  The skies are filled with smoke much of the time, giving our sunrises and sunsets a very dramatic red hue.  This picture doesn't quite capture the dramatic look, but gives some idea.

Here is the pergola in Bob and Maryanne's yard.  So nice to sit under in the early morning light.

Maryanne didn't want her picture taken but I think this is cute of her and Bob.  He protects and cares for her in every way needed.

Since being home, I've been working on the 1935 Tappan stove we brought back from the Kiser Ranch.  It has been stored there since our early marriage so was in great need of cleaning.  I cleaned it all and painted all the parts and it looks so great!  Now we just have to figure out how to reassemble it.  Layne is confident he can get it to work.  It sits on our back patio, near the gas pipe we are hoping will feed it.  I think it will make a great outdoor stove as it works with gas and also has a wood burning side.  I'm so excited about it and now it looks like we will soon find out if it will actually work!

Here's a look at the Tappan stove, unassembled.  Parts are in the box and underneath the stove.  Here's hoping we can figure out how to put it all together properly.

When we lived in the house with the Tappan stove,  many years ago, Layne built a simple, sturdy table, to mount his stock charting tablet on.  Once he stopped doing that, the table served all sorts of other functions over the years, the last of which was as a gathering spot for the Tappan stove supplies.  Now that they are all cleaned, painted and ready for installation, the table needed another purpose.  I decided that it would make a great table for my art supplies.  So I cleaned it, sanded it, and painted it to match my art room, adding a few artistic flourishes, just for fun.  It is a bit wild, but wild is good in the right place.  Like an art room.

Here's a look at the art table.  It's a bit crazy, but I like crazy things so it should fit right in.

Our garden is exploding with tomatoes.  I picked all the ripe ones and had two big buckets full.  Layne wanted me to try make vegetable juice.  Like V8.  So I cooked up a pot of tomatoes and added
 all sorts of vegies.  Trouble was I couldn't then process them in a hot water bath like I do fruit because the mix wasn't acidic enough.  The batch needed to be pressure cooked.  I've never done that before but my neighbor said I could use her pressure cooker and she'd help me.  But then Layne offered to buy me one!  I was so excited.  And a little nervous about using it.  But it all turned out OK.  The juice pressure cooked.  Nothing exploded.  Layne likes the juice.  Sweet success.  But it took all day.

There has been much talk in the community and Church about potential economic and moral trouble ahead.  It seems to be in the air. So lately Layne and I have been discussing preparing ourselves for possible future challenges.   I suppose we cannot expect that things will always be pleasant.  But I so enjoy the pleasures of now.

The Crowd Thickens

We rarely get to see our son Gerald, wife Fran and kids.  So while they were here with their Taiwanese English students, Chris and Jessica and kids decided to come for a few days.  Then Ben and his Jes and their kids also decided to come.  If you are counting, that amounts to some 30 or so people.  All here.  At the same time.  We could not turn that down.  So on they came and, for a few days, we had a wild, wonderful time.  As it turns out, the Chinese students really liked our kids and took great care of the little ones.  They went swimming, drove the ATVs around the area behind our house, played volleyball and, just in general, had a good time.  We invited our friend, Evan Green, to do a fireworks show for everyone one night.  It was so fun!  We had beds for the adults and the kids slept in sleeping bags anywhere they wanted.  It was crowded to be sure, but I'm so glad that we were able to host them all.

Here's an example of Evan's fireworks show.  He ties them to his arms and then moves around to music.  Pretty fun to watch.

Here is our houseful, with three of our families joining with the Chinese kids.  Gerald, Ben and Jessica with their families are all here!

Here is our newest grandchild, Olivia, happy on her brother Will's shoulder.

Seth and Angelica are now 10 and 12 years old.  

These three were all born the same year. Miles and  Jacqueline recently turned 13; Seth will in October.

Peyton and Angelica present a lovely contrast, and Alexis makes three sweet granddaughters.

 Monday the 20th through the 24th we all met up in Lake Tahoe for a family reunion.  All but Ger and Fran, who stayed at our house with the Chinese kids.  I'll be so happy when they can join us for reunions.  Reed and Dorothy arranged a place for us to stay--a big house that had room for all of us.  They also arranged a different activity for each day we were there.  Everyone got along great.  I made some family slide shows to show the kids each night and think they enjoyed them.  I'm thinking it is a good thing to include each year.  I showed them a total of 4:  one on Layne and his dream of flying (have a dream and work to make it come true), Layne's g-g grandparents, the Mortensens, who crossed the plains in the Willie Handcart Company (be willing to sacrifice for what you believe to be true), a review of Carmen's life (we must never forget that she is a part of our family), and a collection of pictures of family through the years being together (our family is stronger together than apart).  I felt so tender about the family at this reunion.  There is no one among them that I don't absolutely trust and love.  

The grandkids went fishing in a tourist trap pond and caught all of these.  We had a major fish fry!

Jessica happily entertaining Olivia.

I love this selfie of daughters Jessica and Audrey.

Here's the whole reunion gang!

I am noticing that we are definitely the old people now. There was lots of, "help grandma...look out for grandma...get that for grandma" and so forth.  Gotta look out for the old lady.  To be fair, we were the oldest people there by quite a bit.  So, with our family, we are the old birds.  I'm glad, though, that they choose to look out for us.  They could choose not you, you know.  Next year Layne and I will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary!  I can't believe that it could be here so quickly.  It seems like just a short time ago that we celebrated Mom and Dad's.  And they seemed to be pretty old at that time.  So I guess we are too.  Ger and Fran are going to plan next year's anniversary reunion and seem excited about it. They want to have it here in Idaho.  I like that idea.  Perhaps we can convert some of the kids to the beauty and fun of Idaho.  And that means that Ger and Fran will be at our next family reunion!

We returned from the reunion to Ger and Fran and gang for a few more days.  They all left last Monday.  It took us three days, give or take, to get things all cleaned up.  It is now all in good order. Now to get the old lady body back in shape.  I'm so tired!  And so is Layne.  We have been laying around, pretty much, since the kids left.  Except for one day devoted to ATVing with a group of dedicated riders.  I cut my finger pretty badly the day before so it was all bandaged up for the ride.  Our ATV gas pedal is maneuvered with the right thumb.  Mine was already touchy when the ATV day began.  By days end I could hardly move my right hand.  As we progressed along the trail, I tried every thing I could think of to press that pedal besides using my thumb; the heel of my hand, other fingers, left thumb.  By the time the ride was finally through I felt like I never wanted to go again.   Its taken a few days for my right hand to recover.  But recover it has so I'll quit complaining now.


                                        Here's some of the ATV gang, with Layne on the left.

I'm looking forward to a quiet August.  Think it'll happen?

Rain in July!

It has been unusually hot here in Boise.  By hot I mean 100 degrees plus.  That's usual for July and August, but this hot cycle began in June!  Partly to escape the heat, we headed for Island Park, near Rexburg, ID, where we have a family cabin.  Several friends came along with us.  It was 20 degrees cooler there, a welcome reprieve from Boise.  We had such fun!  We floated the river, saw Quake Lake again and drove through Yellowstone Park.  It was Independence Day week so you may imagine how many people were around.  Lots and lots.  But it was as if the Red Sea parted for us.  Everywhere we went we found space for enjoyment without lines or crowds.  I can't explain why since there were people everywhere.  It was a sweet time.

Here we are floating down the river.  Such fun with Roger and Mary Ann Wilcox, and Larry Green.

Layne and I in Yellowstone's Grand Canyon.

The Galbraith cabin, in Island Park, Idaho

We drove home on July 4th, arriving just in time for a party at Larry and Pat Green's.  The Boise area celebrates Independence in a big way.  Every little town has a fireworks show.  If you are in just the right spot, you can be surrounded by them.  It is a joyous experience.  Independence Day brings strong feelings of love for our country.  I feel it every year.  Last Sunday I could not resist sharing my feelings about it at Church during testimony meeting.  I'm not much for bearing testimony, but each 4th of July, I feel compelled.  I felt come out of me an immense feeling of gratitude for the Founders, who established freedom, to be shared with all the world.  Shortly afterwards, our country also provided the chance for the gospel to be restored, meant to be shared with all the world as well.  These two great gifts lie in the middle of our mortal experience here in the USA.  How wonderful to be blessed to be here at this time.  We must never surrender these two great gifts.

I am alarmed of course with the latest Supreme Court decision on marriage.  First of all, they don't have the Constitutional right to decide for the rest of us what marriage is to be.  Now that they have, the category we call marriage will no doubt eventually be expanded to include all sorts of relationships, making the whole concept of marriage meaningless.  Once family life, as it has been for hundreds of years, is muddled, the effects upon our society will be fatal.  Still, I hold out hope that the righteous principles that have made this the freest, most prosperous country the world has ever seen will somehow prevail.

We arrived home from Island Park to cooler temperatures.  Then the clouds came.  Then the lightening and thunder.  And then the rain.  This is July and it rained!  Our days since returning have been filled with this wonderful weather, cooling and nourishing us and giving us such a show.  I love it.  Rain in July!

July promises to be filled with family.  Gerald, Frances, Seth and Angelica, along with 11 Chinese students from their school, arrived last Monday.  Gerald and Frances were exhausted from the long trip, and they thought the kids would be too.  Wrong.  They were full of energy and lots and lots of enthusiastic noise.  It is fun to have the house full of happy activity.  I love having Ger and family here with us once again.

Gerald and Frances' English students.  Well, Layne is an addition.  Seth is wearing the sunglasses in back.  Angelica is in front wearing the white shirt and red shorts.

My friend, Phyllis, left Friday to move back to Arizona.  She moved here just two years ago, but the call of home and family has pulled her back to her Arizona spot.  I hope she loves it!

Ger and gang left for Utah for a few days and will return to us this coming week.  Ben and his family arrive on Tuesday.  Jessica and hers arrive on Thursday, along with Ger and his.  Once everyone is here we will have some 30 people staying here, all at once!  Wow.  I hope we are up for it!