We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto, but...

Sunday afternoon, July 12, a tornado passed through town.


Okay, maybe not a BIG tornado, but it was at least a very large dust devil.


It didn't do a lot of damage. Except on Foothill Court.


One building on Foothill Court received some damage. Lost its roof to be specific. Yep, exactly ONE building. Good old number 702.


Parts of that roof blew all down Foothill Ct.


Did some damage to the neighbors' cars.


Yes, that IS a a bent Mercedes emblem. Do you know how much it costs to replace a bent Mercedes emblem??? You do not want to know...


Note: Did you know if the "forces of nature" damage your building your insurance will cover it? If the forces of nature cause parts of your building to damage your neighbors' vehicles, your insurance will NOT cover it?? THEIR insurance must cover it.

Note #2: This is not a good way to make friends with your neighbors.

All's well that ends well. (Still working on that part, but I have high hopes!)

So Much to Do, So Little Time...

Why does daily life have to interfere with all the fun I want to have? Why do I have to work when I just want to play? Why does my kitchen floor look like it could grow a garden if I don't mop it once (or twice) a day? (Which NEVER happens!) Why do I have to work in the office when I want to watch English movies and embroider cute quilt squares? Why do I have to do laundry when I want to scrapbook or put photos in albums? Why is there no more money when there are so many cool things to buy? Why do I have to scrub toilets when I'd rather watch "The Closer?" Why do I have to sew school bags for Humanitarian Services when I'd rather create a "Betsy Buttons" doll or make a Raggedy Ann dress? Why do I have to vacuum when "Moda Bake Shop" is calling my name? Why do I have to do dishes when I what I really want to do is go swimming? Why is it always work, work, work???

Since we HAVEN'T had paying work for seven months, I think I have learned some serious lessons about the value of work and that people NEED to work to feel good about themselves. I was going to write a post about that very subject, but instead...I am whining about the WORK I already have to do. What is my problem??

Today I'm going to be grateful for my work. And I'm going to go do some. More. Have a great day!

Discovery Museum

We took this wild bunch to the Discovery Museum a couple of Thursdays ago. (Tyler, Sydney, Aubrey, Tyler and Aubrey's cousin Michael, and Nathan. I'm not sure why Ally and Maddie weren't in this picture...)

The "special" exhibit for the summer was "Gross-ology" and it was all kinds of hands-on activities about...ummm...bodily functions. Yes "gross" -ology was an appropriate description. Here we all learn about belches.


Sydney and Allyson climb the "skin" wall. Just after this Nathan climbed the wall, fell off, and flattened Sydney. No lasting damage...


Aubrey, Tyler, and Sydney pay for groceries in the "your town" section.


Nathan makes a huge bubble.


Ally makes an even bigger bubble.


Maddie makes the tallest bubble of all!


Aubrey flies the plane at the airport.


Nathan changes the muffler on a vehicle.


Some really cute firefighters.


Another good-looking firefighter.



Playing wheelchair basketball.



Waiting in line to try the "bubble surround."


Tyler tries his hand at water diversion.


Feeling a tornado in the wind machine!

Allyson learning about hydraulics (?)


This place is so AMAZING!

Next trip...

Magical, Musical Proposal

Yes, there are still some romantic men in the world.

A Great Lady

In our hometown ward we have a lot of older women. I love them all. They are wonderful women who have lived long lives of service.

Sister Elva was one of my favorites. She passed away last night at the age of 97 and I imagine there is great rejoicing in heaven today. Her husband has been gone for over 20 years and I can just see the joy of their reunion in my mind.

Elva taught Primary children for over 55 years. She had no children of her own, but she never lost her love for the "dear, dear ones" at church. She treated the whole ward as her family and she told us individually all the time how much she loved us. "Love ya, love ya, love ya" was one of her trademark phrases, as was her enthusiastic "Right on!" whenever she agreed with us.

She drove her car locally until just a couple of months ago and brought herself to church every Sunday. She dressed to the nines in bright purple and red, fuschia pink, and lime green. Her stylish hats were part of her fashion statement.

Her great love, other than children, was the temple. It was her fervent desire to live to be 100 and keep "doing the pink slips." She loved serving the Lord and attended the temple every week with her dear friends Lilly and Ursula. When Jeff and I would take her on ward temple nights, she was like a queen holding court. Everyone who saw her would stop and chat with her and she would share her love for the temple with them.

Each and every month for years, Elva sent birthday cards to all the Relief Society sisters in the ward. She signed each one with a message of love, included a poem about hugs, and most recently, enclosed a beautiful handkerchief inside. She was always anxious at the beginning of the month to get her Relief Society newsletter with the birthday list so she could get her cards out on time. I've had several sisters who rarely attend church comment to me how much these cards meant to them.

She lived on her own till just a couple of months ago when she fell and had to have surgery on her leg. She rarely asked for anything and was always happy for a visitor. She loved to share the lemons from her trees and always had a trinket or treat for anyone who came to see her.

She was so full of love for all of us and was always looking for ways to serve. She embodied the Relief Society motto "Charity Never Faileth." She will leave a huge, Elva-shaped hole in our lives. We will miss her. Goodbye, Sister P. We love you.

Happy Birthday, America!

We have a mostly traditional 4th of July in our little town.


Flags fly on every streetlight pole on "Main Street." (And apparently on the kitchen counter. We tried the Barefoot Contessa 4th of July Cake this year. It was good. And since the center of it sank a bit - it looked like it was waving!)


We have a patriotic parade in the morning. People stand, remove their hats, and put their hands on their hearts when the flag goes by. Sydney was all decked out for the occasion.

Our parade comes complete with "American" belly dancers. (Yes, the only one in a modest costume is...AMY!) (Sorry for the terrible photo. I need to spend some time learning the settings on my camera.)


We have a BBQ and go swimming at Grandma D.'s in the afternoon. Tyler shows us how he can float.


The pool is full of friends and family.


Then we go home, take a nap, and watch a movie. (For many years it has been one of our favorite cheesy ones..."Independence Day." It contains many of our family favorite lines, "Must go faster," "Stop side seat driving." "Liar." "Uh, that's not ENTIRELY accurate." and several others. Next year we plan to watch "The Patriot" on the ClearPlayer, or "1776" or something truly patriotic. Or, we might watch "Independence Day.")


Finally, we watch our spectacular small town fireworks, which most years outdo Disneyland. We were worried that this year they might be disappointing, due to the tough economic times. But they were better than ever.

We love our little desert town. And we love living in the United States of America. If you want to read a great "vent" about appreciating America, I suggest this one. Thank you, Miss Amy. We sure love you in our family!

Happy birthday, America!

More Ramblings

I have to post SOMETHING because I am tired of those scary faces in my last post that show up every time I open my blog.


This one is MUCH better!


Maddie debated long and hard and finally decided to get her hair trimmed and add some long, side bangs. Doesn't she look pretty?

My niece Kelly received her "Pay if Forward" from me and posted pictures on her blog here.

Leisel, Jill, and Jessica - yours are different and are picked out just for you. I'm actually working on all three...Sorry I'm so slow.


Maddie had an AWESOME time at Stake Girls Camp last week.


She took these cool pictures of the scenery. Ally and Amy didn't love camping, so I had a completely different picture of Camp Kolob in my mind. It's actually quite pretty I think.


Not the dusty deserty place I was picturing.


A HUGE thanks to the men and ladies from our ward and stake who made camp such an AWESOME experience.