Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Here is a picture of our cabin taken from the Ranger as we are coming up our road.  This picture really doesn't do it justice.  I have loved being here this week.  It has almost seemed like a vacation.  I was a little upset when the electricity went off for about an hour on Monday morning.  Note to self and James: "Get a generator for backup."

For scripture study this morning James and I read from Alma 44.  We were reminded that the Lord will defend the righteous. 

For the first time this season James and I went on a Ranger ride.  We didn't go clear to Christmas Tree Trail because we both got cold.  The high in Vernon today was 70.  It's hard to believe that it is getting in to the 90's already in the valley.

Spent time texting and talking to Trina and Stacy about the big move.  I certainly hope every thing works out. 

Watched American Idol this evening.  My favorite was Holly singing "Rolling in the Deep."

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Nice looking elk.  I wonder how James got close enough to take this picture.  One of his favorite things to do is look for elk.  Every morning when he gets up he goes to what I call his "lookouts", the upstairs balcony's and glasses for elk.  Usually if he sees any he comes downstairs and give me the report.  This is the time of year when he, Terry and Dave saw about 300 elk, last year.  They are coming up in a week or so to look for elk horns.  They use them for handles for the knives they make. 

We went in to Show Low again today and got the tire for the Ranger.  We also shopped again at Walmart and Home Depot.  I bought an enamel coated cast iron pot and came home and made meatball stew.  I got the receipe on "Giada at Home" on the Foodnetwork.  We both loved the receipe. 

This evening while James was on the computer I took a trip down memory lane and watched "Gidget Goes Hawaiian."  This movie was made in 1961 when I was 13.  I loved all the Gidget movies and I especially like James Darren.  Afterwards I watched the DWTS results show.  Gavin DeGraw, Karina's partner went home. 

I finally got all my dolls put in the doll cabinet and all of the dolls stored downstairs. 

Monday, April 16, 2012

Happy 14th Birthday to Alexander!  For his birthday we took Alex to dinner.  He had asked to go to Nello's Pizza although Grandpa tried to influence him to go to Golden Corral.  I am glad Alex stayed strong and we went to Nello's.  My pizza was the best I've ever had.  James also loved his crab pizza with whole wheat extra thin crust.  Alex is probably more like his Grandpa than any of the other grandkids except maybe James.  He loves to fish, hunt and be out in nature.  He is a great kid and we love him very much.

When we woke up this morning we had about 13 elk in our side yard.  I didn't get a picture but I will post a picture of some elk tomorrow.  We went in to town today to get the tire for the Ranger but the shop was closed.  It wasn't a total waste though. I got a BBQ chicken pizza at Pappa John's for lunch, we washed my car, and we did a little shopping at Walmart and Home Depot, our two favorite stores up here in Show Low. 

This evening for FHE we read an article from the Ensign entitled, "Receiving and Retaining a Mighty Change".  It was excellent.  Afterwards I watched Dancing With the Stars and James came in afterwards and we both watched Castle.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Object is actually muddier than it appears in this picture. This is a picture of Lexy after driving on our roads to get to stake conference in Show Low.

There was a good spirit at the conference. The theme was "Living up to Our Privileges." We heard from the President of the Snowflake temple and his wife, and the President of the Arizona Tempe mission and his wife, the Johnson's and the Hansen's. There were a couple of speakers who were converts and then the stake presidency all spoke. Pres. Williams spoke last. He talked about the importance of family and encouraged us to study and memorize the Family Proclomation. He quoted from Sister Julie Beck and said that those who are anit-family are actually anti-Christ.

On the way out we saw an old friend from high school, Leon DeWitt. We saw several people from the Vernon ward but no one else we knew. This doesn't feel like home yet.

James grilled us steaks for dinner. We read from our latest Victoria Holt book and then took naps. This evening I worked on my blog and did some indexing. James watched a movie on BYU TV and then we did some more reading. It was a good sabbath day, but I miss my family. I sent out a family email, something I want to do on a weekly basis.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

This is what we woke up to this morning and it was pretty much like this all day long. It was a nice day to stay in by the fire, which we did. We unloaded boxes today and moved boxes in closets so people wouldn't see them if we per chance we had any visitors. In spite of the unpacking it feels a little like we are on vacation. We enjoyed sitting down and watching tv this evening. We watched several episodes of "Harry's Law."

James called our neighbor Chuck Crane and found out that tomorrow we have stake conference in Show Low at 10 am, which means we need to leave here around nine. We talked on the phone today but never saw another human being except for each other. Wow, am I going to be able to get used to this?

Friday, April 13, 2012

Today Sheri went on a fieldtrip with Ben to Wickenburg. They did some scientific experiements and had a great time. Can I just say something about Ben. He is the most kind hearted kid I know. He is thoughtful and considerate of others and a great babysitter for Evan and a great friend for Alex and Max. He is also a good athlete. This kid can really catch and throw the football. He favorite team is the Vikings and his favorite color is purple. So far in our family these are the people that I know of who have purple as their favorite color: Addy, Ben, Joe, Anna and Grandma (me).

Well it's Friday the 13th and we are headed north. James is driving the truck and pulling a rickety old trailer with our stuff loaded and tied down on it. I drove my Lexus and it was filled both front and back. We stopped in Payson for some mexican food at El Rancho but their green chili burro couldn't even compare with the one at the Burger House in Miami. We spent the afternoon unloading both vehicles. I must have had about 10-12 boxes full of stuff from our hall closet. I moved things around a little and parked Lexy in the garage. There is a storm coming tonight or tomorrow and I don't want to see her covered with snow. It's good to finally be here. Is this my home now. A part of me will always be in Chandler, my home for 41 years.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Alex and Michael had their first track meet today. This was Alex's first track meet ever and he was a little apprehensive to say the least. He ran the hurdles and got 3rd out of about 27 participants. I would say that is pretty darn good and Sheri says he's hooked now. He and Michael ran the 4x4 relay and got 3rd. Michael was the anchor and when he got the baton they were in last place. He past two guys to come in 3rd. Michael got first in the 800. He was 20 seconds ahead of everyone else. He also ran the 4x1 sprint. I am very proud of these boys.

This is a more recent picture of Joe than the last ones I posted. I am so proud of Joe. Since before Christmas he has had no sugar and he has lost 25 lbs.! What an example he is to the rest of us!!

I finished cleaning out the hall closet today. I cannot believe how much stuff we had crammed in there. We had planned on leaving for Vernon today but it just didn't happened. I did get my car in to Discount Tire and got a new tire.

Spiritual Thought from Alma 38 - We should bear all thing in patience and put our trust in the Lord. The Lord delivers those who put their trust in Him.