Excerpt from Elder B's recent letter (as received):

oh yeah! i made 6 months this week. so, of course, i burned a tie. ha ha i made a video that im kinda hesitant to send cause i have no doubts that mom, your not gonna be too happy. :) but if ya promise to just call me an idiot and not call pres or anything ill send it over. ha ha jk. and dont worry i didnt get hurt. anyways.... ( ha i bet that didnt go over too well)

Melo's letter from B had a more complete version. B burned the tie while he was still wearing it--using a blow torch! At least he said, 'blow torch style', so whatever that means. Elder Draudt helped him.

"Idiot" might not be the term I'd use...one word wouldn't be enough to express all the emotions I went through. I could only end by just shaking my head and sighing.

Last Minute Stuff

Things are down to the wire around here--S. A. gets married this Saturday. Five more days to get the quilt done, as well as pioneer clothes for the July 24th Trek breakfast and check-in. I think I'll be busy. And I haven't even checked with Sarah to see what last minute things she has
planned for me! (I think I could copy the previous paragraph and insert if for every week of July and it would be pretty much accurate--sewing for trek and wedding.)

S. A. has had two wedding showers--family, and friends and more family. People were generous and thoughtful. She and N. found an apartment in Orem that will be very nice for them. They've already started carting shower and wedding gifts from here to their currently empty front room.























I got to have oral surgery last week--lucky me. I had a bone graft done to replace lost bone around the lower back right implant. Hopefully the gums will grow back nice and tight and prevent any more infection. Had to go for a double-check this morning. Things didn't feel right. Dentist gave me an on-site injection of antibiotic to make sure things heal cleanly. Finally got some pain pills, too. That was especially nice. On the day of the surgery, the dentist assured me the pain wouldn't be 'pain pill' strong because we only dealt with gum tissue and didn't drill into bone. Wrong. I slept 11 hours that night, and dragged the rest of the week. I had a nice bruise on the jawline as well. Melody rescued me by doing all the housecleaning on Saturday.

S. A. and N went through the temple last Saturday. K and S. E. were able to join J and me, as well as N's parents, a sister, and grandpa. It was a positive, peaceful experience. The temple is always a welcome reminder of the eternal perspective, and of Heavenly Father's love for all His children. With all that's going on, I even put my own name on the prayer roll! Is that legal?


Amidst all the busy-ness, babysitting grandkids is always a bright spot.

Scout Camp in Zion's

John spent last week in Zion's Nat'l Park with the priests and teachers in our ward--they called it their High Adventure Camp. The stories he told were wonderful, but the scenery pretty much speaks for itself. They hiked 'Subway', 'Angel's Landing', and Observation Point'. Some of the older boys also got to hike 'The Narrows'. John got back-country permits for our family for later in August. Maybe I'll finally get a chance to do some hiking myself!

Houseplants

I'm supposed to be cleaning my house today to get ready for Sarah's wedding shower tomorrow, but I made a mess instead! I got working on my plants--watering, pruning--and pretty soon I was potting and repotting all over the kitchen counters. I now have a newly potted swedish ivy, spider plant, draceana palm, and my little avocado trees are no longer root bound. They were looking pretty peaked. I'm going to have to buy more potting soil and pots before I can pot the rest of my plant starts. I still have several jars of pothos ivy starts that are well-rooted and ready for dirt.

So, I've now patted myself on the back for all my new plants, and I cleaned up all the dirt...I guess I now have to start cleaning. Can't put it off forever!

One quilt down, one to go

Melody's quilt is now complete and on her bed. Melody designed it--with the help of my quilt program--and it looks great against her deep red wall. The maroon curtains are temporary until we can make real ones out of Melo's choice of fabric.


Now it's on to Sarah's quilt. I have 3 weeks to finish it!

Great New Look!

Check out my new, updated, fashionable blog! One of Kathy's friends from Bountiful recently started her own blog design business, and I have definitely benefited. Kathy and Sarah had her re-do theirs as well. Beautiful, huh! I highly recommend her work. Check out her site at aquapoppydesigns.blogspot.com.

Busy lives

Things are going to get really busy around here. Sarah Anne is getting married on July 26, and
the reception is in our backyard. There's a wedding shower here next week, and I need to get a quilt made before Sarah's reception. Plus, John and I are going to be a Ma and Pa on our ward's Youth Conference to Martin's Cove. I'm in charge of the clothing committee--making sure people know what's available in helping them gather together all their 'pioneer' clothing, as well as making sure neck coolers and ditty bags are made for everyone. I have most of my clothing made, need to start on Melody's, and get with the YW for planning the activity to make the neck coolers and ditty bags.

Actually, things have been busy around here for quite a while! I'm in process of binding a quilt for Melody's bed. She repainted her room, and I did a quilt to match. I've also been sewing for grand-daughters, daughters, and neighbors. The YM provided homemade ice cream in our backyard as a post-temple session treat, and I made four batches of ice cream for John and the YM to add flavors to while I was gone to the temple. We've also been busy juggling cars because of vehicle repair troubles. We were down to one car for about a week. The truck broke down in Moab on a YM outing. That was a long way to go to pick up the truck after it was fixed!






But I got to see the Slick Rock trail that the boys always go riding on.

Father's Day was a fun day of gathering,
and Sarah Emily's birthday provided yet another photo-op.








Family is what keeps life worthwhile when the busy-ness starts to get overwhelming. I can look at pictures of grandkids, kids, and Billy on his mission,
and always end up with a smile on my face.






















Enjoy the photos--I'm sharing my smiles!