Summer Round-up

Last week I told you about Allison & Christian's lovely wedding.

This week I'm backing up to July again!

After the 4th and fireworks, Nick began a tradition he has looked forward to I think since he found out he and Diana were having a baby boy. He took his little buddy to a Saturday morning

 Home Depot Kids Workshop "make-it/take-it" activity. This is something he and his brothers had done with his Dad when they were younger. The item of the day was a "Bug House" for holding all those caterpillars and creepy crawly things little boys tend to collect! Lucas got his own work apron and when the project was finished he got a Bug House pin to put on the apron.

He loved using the little hammer and helping his Daddy!

He also loved hopping off of his bucket and running off to see what everyone else was doing! 

That's what Pa came in handy for!

When we got home from that event we found that Roxie's new kennel had arrived by UPS.

 Nick helped us put it together and Lucas thought it was a dandy place to have his juice!

We also enjoyed visiting the local shaved ice shack called "Shiver". So cold and yummy!

 I love this shot of Auntie Britt and the boy so focused and looking cool in their shades.

 Um, yeah. We could not keep this guy out of the "Puppy House"!

The week was capped off by a giant family sprinkler run and water fight! I did not get the memo that said, "Hey! Wear turquoise to the water fight!"

 Summertime brought on a new obsession for our grandson. he loves "Choo-Choos"!

Cool summer evenings mean lots of playing fetch out in the backyard. It's Roxie's favorite game and she always dresses to match the ball!

Dee's garden was just taking off in July and looked so pretty. Even the onion flowers can be appreciated as long as you don't stick your nose in them and get a whiff!

We also took a little trip to Bloomfield, NM for our annual "Mother and Child Reunion". It was held at my brother Dean's house again this year. I love the drive south through Utah's red rock and arches country!

We try to get together every year. It doesn't always work out that way but this year we were all there. We just didn't pose for any group photos.

Roxie came along for the ride this year and she did very well.

 She's a very drowsy traveler (just like me!) but when she is awake, she's a character!

 

 This is the same trip we took when we went to visit my parents before my father passed away. There are some really bleak and dreary parts, but I love Green River through Moab! First you come to "Hole 'n the Rock". It's a strange house built in a cave on the other side of this bluff. Our kids always got excited to see it because it meant we were half-way to Grandpa and Grandma's house! The kids always wanted to stop and go inside, but at this point we were 16 hours into out 22-24 hour drive and Dad always said "No!"

Wow. We really missed out! I include these photos for my poor deprived children! Apparently this man started this home for his family in the early 1940's by blasting and carving away at the rock. He then opened a roadside diner that was a great place to stop and rest on your long journey...Dad!! 

You can pay big bucks for a tour but I prefer pulling pictures off of the internet. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Hole 'n the Rock, a great American roadside oddity!

Wall-to-wall carpeting...no dirt floor here!

I would NOT live in a rock without some pretty big windows!

Think, "Flintstones"!  Oh, and do you SEE the horse in there?!

I would take this furniture when nobody was looking. I love it!! It's a shame it lives in a rock...

 Hey Honey! How about a bumpy little bath!

The graves of the Mr. & Mrs. are even there!

 Speaking of oddities...I've always wanted a llama in my living room!

 This is all we ever saw of the famous house...The creepy carving 

of Franklin D. Roosevelt over the entrance!

Wilson Arch comes next along Highway 191. The kids always wanted to stop here too and run up to the arch. You guessed it...we must be the worst parents in the world. SO what do we do when the girls are all grown up and we only have the son along? We got into so much trouble with the girls for posting this on Instagram! 

We finally arrived at Uncle Dean's house and immediately got into the family friendly game playing! About all we did was play Farkle and card games. It was a blast just to sit around the table and be together!

Here are my three living siblings, Richard the Great, Georgena the Amazing, and Dean-o the Wise!

  Here are R-L husband Dee, Sis-in-law Renda, and Richard-the-Younger watching the former CPA keep score. No cheating in our group! (Was that thunder I just heard?)

 Roxie was a hit with the dog overs in the gang and Renda was a sport for letting us bring her along.

She even took the opportunity to curl up with my Mom and nap every day! In fact, that blankie that covers Mom's lap is actually Roxie's. They shared!

The guys took an afternoon to go fishing up on the San Juan River below Navajo Dam.

They caught a lot of fish, but brought home Blake's Lot-o-Burger for dinner!

Here's their attempt at a Selfie.

It's good for The Master to get out and fish once in a great while! He loves it so much!

We have a favorite little place we go to every year we are there called Panda Garden. It's a great Chinese food place in what used to be a western themed steak house! Kind of odd and fun!

Steven, we missed you this year!

 L-R Mama Helen, Renda, Dean, Dee, Richard Loose, Gena, Richard Ellsworth, & Sherri.

 One afternoon we were all inside when Dean's attention was caught by a delivery truck out front. "It's the UPS truck! It's here! My birthday present is here!" I asked if someone had told him they had sent him a gift and he said, "No! I ordered it for myself!" IT turned out to be an awesome new pellet gun! (Oh, my brothers!) He was a really nice guy and gave everyone a chance to shoot at the little fake rabbit target that Miss Roxie attacked when she saw it!

Four days goes by too quickly and we were soon on the road home. I love the way we go, up through Mancos and Durango, Colorado. We used to vacation in those very mountains nearly every summer when I was a little girl. I can tell you about some harrowing jeep rides my Uncle Smitty gave us kids nearly to the tops of those peaks looking for Fool' Gold!

Here's another little roadside attraction the girls always ached to stop at. 

It's a Trading Post with giant Native Americans, apparently!

We didn't stop...

Below you see a photo of what the early settlers called "Church Rock". I always thought it looked like a snowman but...

 Do you see that little cave door at the base? Oh, how the kids wanted to climb through that barbed-wire fence and go exploring. We didn't go exploring, but we DID stop!!

Sorry girls!

I love how the wind makes Roxie look like a bat!

And that ends our July! 

One more post to go and summer will be all wrapped up...and I'll be sad!

A Surprise for the Fourth!

I know...I'm running behind!
Our Fourth of July was so nice this year. We had the most wonderful surprise! Early in the week Dee and I were in our room watching a movie. It was pretty late, a bad habit we must curtail, when our door opened. We both thought Richard needed us for something but who should appear? It was Lucas, Nick , and Diana! I was overcome with joy! (Really, we need to stop surprising each other like this or someone may have a heart attack!) Their plan was to come in late, only letting Richard and Brittany know when they got to LasVegas. They were going to go downstairs and get in bed, surprising us in the morning. That would have been amazing too! They let Britt and Richard know when they would arrive and gave Richard instructions to just get the bedding ready on our little toddler bed for Lucas. Just before I went to bed I came upon my son getting into the linen closet in the hall. "Oh! I'm just looking for a blanket", was his excuse. Really? An extra blanket in July? I told him he could also turn his ceiling fan down! When Diana's little family pulled up into our driveway at 11:30 that night they saw our bedroom light on. "Dang it! Why are the old parent people still awake?!"  I ask myself the same thing every morning. They decided to just come right up and so they did! Who can go to sleep after having been so happily hugged by a little blond boy, knowing he is just downstairs?

The following days were full of fun and just good times being together. We got up early and watched "Nemo" and then Lucas helped Gramma do the laundry.

 

 Later that morning we took the boy to Cookie Cutters to get an affordable haircut 

(as in NOT California Prices!)

 

 I love this photo I caught of this sweet family, Lucas all fresh and clipped with his red balloon! That's Uncle Richard on the right who as Grandpa George would say has become "a tall drink of water"!

We drove on down to Provo and had lunch with Auntie Britt at Brassa's Mexican. Oh, was it ever good!

 Sisters and goofs!

On our walk back to Google Fiber HQ we found a store front with Lucas' favorite superhero "Steeeeve!!"

Auntie B brought out one of the fleet of Google Fiber bikes. Isn't it cute?! I want one, really, a lot! The team ride them all over downtown. They were getting them ready to ride in the Freedom Festival Parade.

Each bike had been equipped with an awesome bubble blowing machine for the parade. Lucas loved it!

At home, later that day I heard some noises from the powder room and found my grandson being very conscious of his dental hygiene, as well as his dirty feet!

 I took him outside where he met our neighbor's friendly tree. Of course he had to give it a big hug!

Then he and his Mama made some driveway art.

 We pulled Uncle Richard's out lawn mower out of the garage and Lucas had a blast!

If only it really cut grass we'd be in business!

 There is always some monkey business going on with this kid. I don't know what he was doing in the tub, but he was having a great time!



Then he went across the hall and had some fun jumping on Aunt Rachie's bed. Have you seen those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles prints-gone-viral online? I have the originals in my house! I'm also painting this room a calmer color now that the artist lives in Provo!

The men and I ran to Wal Mart to grab a few last minute items on July 4th. We found a bin full of those personalized Coke bottles. They literally spent the next 30 minutes trying to find one for everyone in the family while I did the shopping. That was very helpful. They were there so long that they were helping everyone who came by because they knew where all of the different names were!

See the little guy in the green Monsters Inc. hat? Yes, that's my grandson mowing all of the grass at Thanksgiving Point where we gathered for fireworks!

 Along the way he made friends with some cool kids and their way cool air rocket launchers!

It was a lovely, cool evening to relax, read, and play games while we waited for dark.

Here's Nick and Diana after they had chased Lucas for the millionth time and brought him back to the fold!

I swiped this one from Diana. It's all of us who were there. Poor Brittany had to work an event that night and we missed her, but she wouldn't have liked to be at her old workplace anyway. 

It was a fun, fun Fourth of July! The fireworks were spectacular and the grandson just made it sweeter!