Sunday, May 27, 2012

I am proud to say that all who were at the cabin attended sacrament meeting today in the Vernon ward.  I love my family! Because it is a holiday weekend the ward was filled to capacity.  We were in the overflow area.  The topic for the meeting was conversion and obedience.  One of the speakers had just returned from serving in the army and his testimony of obedience was powerful.  I am glad Joe, Alex, Ben and Max were there to here it.  Evan and Josh were there too but I am not sure they heard or understood anything.  After sacrament meeting there was a mad dash to the car by the rest of the family while James and I stayed for Sunday School, Relief Society and Priesthood.  After Relief Society I went up and introduced myself to the Relief Society presidency and gave them my phone number.  I am anxious to get involved in the ward.  It is hard to go from a ward you have been in forever where you know everyone to a ward where you know so very few.

This evening we had a family home evening here at the cabin.  First the kids roasted marshmallows and made smores.  Next Joshua led us in singing his favorite Primary song, "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam."  I told the story from Sister Ardeth Kapp's book about the two neighbors Mr. Brown and Mr. Jones and we talked about doing kind things for others, especially those who might not be kind to us.  Next James talked about conversion and personal revelation and shared some personal examples from his life.  It was really good.  During the lesson Alex mentioned the speaker today in sacrament meeting and what a good talk he gave.  I love the gospel!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

We woke up this morning to the wind blowing about 50 mph.  I feel sorry for all those people who are camping for the holiday weekend.  For us in our nice warm cabin it is just a minor inconvenience.
Some of the things we did today:  Went on Ranger rides, did some target practicing (mostly Alex and Ian), took rides to Chocolate Lake and a new discovery "The Village."  Worked on jigsaw puzzles, (mostly Sheri and Kim), watched TV, played cards and other games, and went for walks.  Sheri and I walked over 3 miles.
We also went into town and did some grocery shopping and stopped at Little Caesars to bring home some pizza for lunch.

Ben caught a caterpillar.

Joshua, Evan and Max loved going on Ranger rides.

For dinner I tried a new crockpot receipe I got from Marci Coombs's blog.  It's called salsa chicken and it was quite delicious served over rice pilaf.  All in all in was a good day in spite of the wind.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Joshua got up this morning and said: "Today is the big day!"  When I asked him what he meant he said: "It's the day we go to the cabin."  I guess it's settled then, Joshua is going to the cabin with us.
I spent the morning packing the car and truck and cleaning out the pantry and the refrigerator.
It was afternoon before we were ready to go.  We were so loaded down we looked like the Beverly Hillybillies.  James left room in his truck for Joshua, Max and Evan.  Sheri, Ian, Alex and Ben came up later this evening and so did Kim, Brian and Joseph.
We had to stop in Fountain Hills for a drink because the boys were thirsty.  For awhile between Payson and Fountain Hills it was bumper to bumper traffic.  James kept calling me and telling me we should have gone the other way.  There was a ton of traffic but another reason for the back up was there was a car that caught on fire.  We stopped again in Payson to eat and then I stopped in Heber to get something to keep me awake as I was falling asleep.  We did finally arrive at the cabin.

This was the last day of school for Ben and Max who go to Bright Beginnings. Earlier in the month  Ben and his friends went to a science symposium in downtown Phoenix where they won first place for their studies on water. They have been doing experiments all year and when they did their presentation they got first place out of 29 teams from all over the state.  We are very proud of Ben and his team!

The symposium was sponsored by the U of A.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

I am grateful for a husband who can fix and do things around the house.  Today James fixed the lawnmower and cleaned the pool, including the fins, in spite of his pain. 
I actually finished cleaning out our bedroom and bathroom today.  I am not sure James is going to finish his office but he's getting close.  It seems funny to think tonight will be the last night we will spend in our bedroom in this house, or at least it could be.  We have lived in this house since before Jared was born 36 years ago. 
This afternoon James and I both had dentist appointments with Dr. Hillary Douglas.  I got my teeth cleaned and Dr. Douglas told me my gums looked amazing.  James's gums were red and swollen and they did not clean his teeth because of the condition of his gums.  He has to come back in a month and get a deep cleaning.  Physically James has not had a very good week. 

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

No more Whataburgers for James, at least not on a regular basis.  Maybe he could have one once a year on his birthday.  He has to watch his cholesterol intake.
He visited Dr. Wellman today and got some pain meds for his shoulder. 
I went to the doctor's today too.  I had to get refills for my blood pressure medicine.  Dr. Wilson is on a six week leave of absence.  I saw Nicole, the physician's assistant.  When I ask if Dr. Wilson was on vacation she said no he is out for medical reasons and has been since January.  I wonder what's wrong.
My goals for this week, besides working in the yard, were to finish cleaning out our bedroom, clean the pantry and take down the metal shelves to take to the cabin, and clean out the frig.  So far I've worked on the bedroom and bathroom.  I scrubbed down the shower, cleaned the floor and toilet, counters and mirror.
This evening we watched the American Idol finale.  Philip Philips, Stacy's favorite, won.  I was hot and cold with him but loved the song "Home" he sang at the finale.  Because of James's appointment with the cardiologist on Friday we won't be leaving for the cabin until Friday afternoon.  Joshua insists he is going with us and now Evan and Max want to come too.

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

James is still complaining about pain in his chest, arm, and jaw.  This afternoon Darrel and Trina came over and Trina convinced him he needed to go to the hospital, something the rest of us couldn't do.  We left this evening around 6:30 and we were at the hospital until 10:30.  They did lots of tests: An EKG, an enzyme test, chest x-rays, a cat scan and an angiogram.  He has a 40% blockage in one of his arteries.  It's not bad enough to warrant a stint but the doctor on call wrote him a prescription for Zocor and told him he needed to see a cardiologist on Friday.  I am relieved to finally find out what is going on and to get him some help.
While in the hospital we watched the finale for Dancing With The Stars.  William Levy got 3rd, Katherine Jenkins 2nd, and Donald Driver won.  We were disappointed because we wanted Katherine to win.

While we were at the hospital we missed Alex and Michael's graduation from 8th grade.

 The kid in the middle is their friend Dallas.  

No, those balloons are not on Michael's head.

Monday, May 21, 2012

On the road again, this time heading back home to Arizona.  We had a wonderful week with Jared and Tricia.  They fed us well and kept us entertained.  We are excited that the move to El Paso will bring them closer to home.  On the way to Gordon to pick up David and Laura we saw a sign that said: "Texas is Whataburger Country."  It really is and there is one on almost every corner, which made James happy.

Dave and Laura seemed to have a wonderful time at Laura's sister Elaine's house.  As a surprise to Laura her other sister Marsha flew in from Missouri and they all had a nice reunion.

Because James took some medication Dave drove most of the way home.

 Jared is on his way to El Paso today to start his new job.  Tricia and the kids will be staying in Frisco until sometime in July. 

We left Frisco at 5am their time and arrived at home in Chandler around 10pm Arizona time for a total of about 19 hours.  We did make several stops including one at the Denny's in Lordsburg, New Mexico for dinner.