Ice-Rain Storm

Santa Clara got POUNDED today (Friday) with a freak ice and rain storm. Amelia was SUPPOSED to be having wedding pictures taken...that got cancelled. Within less than 10 minutes there was a RIVER of water bigger than any we've ever had filling up Canyon View. Once the ice stopped blasting out of the sky, Kristy and I got out the boogie boards and took advantage of the "high tide."

Here are a few pictures, too.

Dad's Surgery

Dad is a VERY good patient, even when the surgery doesn't go like we would have preferred!

The Grand Canyon

With Dad's shoulder surgery scheduled for tomorrow, we decided to take a "day trip" to the Grand Canyon since only Dad has ever been there(...can you believe we have lived in Santa Clara for 25 years and this is the first time we've gone to the Grand Canyon???)

Anyway, it was a fun trip. We enjoyed being together (Dad, Mom, Kristy & Dallin) and also had fun stopping at Jacob's Lake and eating hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches at the little dinner, along with strawberry milkshakes! Yum!

We didn't have cell service once we got past Fredonia, so it wasn't until we were nearly home that we found out the doctor's office was trying to reach us to tell us Dad had been scheduled for surgery TONIGHT!! No one told us they were even thinking about it. Oh well, it's rescheduled for Wednesday, and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip today!

WE

July 15, 2010 – Thursday

This morning I was working in the community garden for a bit before needing to head home and, with Dad, take Dallin to get his wisdom teeth removed. Marv Wilson was working on his boat, so I called over and asked if they were heading out to the lake today. He responded that they had been out yesterday and he was simply cleaning up. We chatted a minute, then he said, "Yeah, we broke the key off in the ignition and were stranded on Quail Lake for awhile..." We laughed about their predicament, how long it took to get help, and the need for a locksmith come look at the boat later today. And then I went home to get cleaned up before we went into town.

It was while I was doing my hair that thoughts started to infiltrate my mind. Marv's words played over and over in my head -- "We broke the key off in the ignition." -- and then I thought, "YOU are a terrible mother!" as different thoughts started flooding their way onto my brain's stage. Luckily, I recognized the source of the emotional attack, was able to shut it out, and then paid attention to the rest of the thoughts. This is what came through, loud and clear:

"We" broke off the key in the ignition. Not "I" nor "Nola" nor "Weston," but "We." Even though "one" person probably actually broke off the key, Marv's declaration of "we" made it a family affair. And it was. They were stranded together, they worked together, they made it through together. It became very clear to me how powerful that one word of "we" is. And what makes "we" is "the family." What fortitude that is!! The FAMILY is strength, it's unity, it's togetherness, it's power, and it's security! No wonder the adversary works SO hard to destroy it!!

Although I haven't been aware of the importance of saying "we did this" when something went wrong – more like DALLIN left the freezer door open and everything has melted in the freezer!! Or KRISTY backed into the light pole at Dixie High School, crunching the Suburban's back bumper, or AMELIA totaled the Dynasty, or DENZEL baptized the Subaru, etc. – I recognize the reality of the strength that comes from our family! It always has, for which I'm grateful!! I see it as you kids want to be together; as Dallin wants Kristy to hold his hand as he lays on the couch recovering from his surgery; as Amelia and Hans work to fly Jaimi to Utah for their wedding; as Brandon makes sure Dallin comes along to climb the Grand Tetons; as Denzel wants to "pass inspection" on the newest beaus being introduced to the family; and LOTS more!

I am SO glad that WE are a family. That we strengthen, support, encourage, test, try, grow, and even groan, sometimes, together. I feel the POWER of our WE and I am grateful!!

Love,
Mom

Dal's Wisdom Teeth

SLIDE SHOW






VIDEO

(click on the video to view -- it may to go the Picasa website, but you should be able to watch it... This is just a VERY small sample of lots of video taken!!

From Wisdom Teeth

ONE MORE. . .

From Wisdom Teeth1

Vacation with Natalee

NOW A LADDER...??? AND MORE!!

While we were gone on vacation, a few more things showed up...a naked mannequin ended up on our roof; an orange construction barrel; 17 pairs of shoes; and a different door mat! VERY STRANGE PEOPLE IN SANTA CLARA!!
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So this morning Dad and I got up to yet another "odd" site out our bedroom window...a tall ladder was perched on top of the horse trailer!! I hope these guys (girls wouldn't do something like this!) figure out that what I REALLY want them to leave me is a nice Dodge Ram Truck with a Cummins engine, extended cab, preferably silver or white, but I'm not THAT picky!!

Horses on vacation...

Yup, the horses are on vacation, too! Dad and I drove out to the middle of nowhere and ended up someplace between Beryl and Modena...12 miles from the paved road, running alongside the railroad tracks.

Allen Bailey has a stud (the black and white horse that isn't Morning Star...) that has produced some beautiful colts (the little brown and whites that look so much alike) so I guess we'll see what we get a year from now. If nothing else the horses have 12,000 acres to run on, they won't have tons of flies to bother them, and unrelenting heat during the day! HOORAY!!

Poor Zoro didn't get to stay with the "girls" -- we took him to Pine Valley for the month. Come August I'll see about bringing him back down to Santa Clara, and maybe the "girls" too.

In the meantime, I hope the stud doesn't get kicked to death!! ^_^

RUN n' PICK!!

From Garden 7-1-2010

I got an 11 mile run in with Elizabeth and Summer this morning...and we "cooled down" by picking at the community garden.

From Garden 7-1-2010

When I got home I was talking on the phone with Nat, and I looked in OUR garden while we talked about her plans for the day. And then I started saying things like, "Oh! There's a lot of zucchini! OH!! There's a HUGE yellow zucchini!! Oh, man! There's a BAT (giant-sized zucchini)!! So here are a few pics of what we got from both pickings!!

From Garden 7-1-2010