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!

California~ The End

On Thursday, the morning after our three day Disney adventure, some of us went to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping. After we found our souvenirs, the Master and I sat outside in the shade drinking frozen pink lemonades and soaking it all in. We knew that cold weather and rain waited for us back home. You know me, I love a palm tree, so I was just dreaming of living in a sunnier place!

Our "selfie". Not bad for a couple of Baby Boomers!

Nick & Di hamming it up.

The next day was Nick's big day.

After two years of late night study groups, paper writing,

Internships, and plain old work he was receiving his Master's of Social Work 

from

 the University of Southern California.

Diana  made a little cap and gown for Lucas, no pattern!

Nick wanted Lucas to walk with him to get his diploma. We were all worried he might not be a happy camper but he loved every second of it! I swiped a few photos from Diana here.

 Look really close and you can see Nick and Lucas about to get the diploma!

Louie was a big hit! He had everyone smiling. Notice the security guy taking a picture of him!

I absolutely adore this picture! Nick and Diana had been posing for us and Lucas wanted to be a part of it. This photo and the next one speak true joy to me! They did this together with lots of sacrifice and patience

It's always interesting to be in the LA area. You never know who you are going to see. We were standing there and Kareem Abdul Jabar walked by with his SoCal casual Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, and straw Panama hat on. My camera was not at the ready for that!

Then we had a fun photo bomber drop by. Nobody famous,

 he just popped into the picture we were taking and congratulated Nick!

Here are the members of the Mowes family who made the trip.

From left are Jessica, Nick's sis-in-law (husband Cameron is in Afghanistan right now), brother Brandon who just graduated from the Navy's nuclear school on the east coast, father Michael, Nick, Lucas being silly, Diana, and mother Tami. Mike and Tami are back in the States after being stationed in Germany. They live in South Carolina now with sister Hanna who was not able to come because of school.

I would like to mention that Jessica is living her dream while her husband is deployed. She is a member of the San Diego City Ballet! Love her darling personality!

Here we are...the Loose gang! Britt, Rachel, Sarah, Dee, Nick, Lucas, Diana, Richard, & Moi. It was Los Angeles and we were the best dressed people there! I told my men they had better wear a tie, it's a graduation for Pete's sake! Richard quickly discarded his! Dee would like me to point out that he forgot his dress shoes at home, and I had a blister the size of a quarter on my right foot so I wore my flip flops, feeling badly about it until we got there and saw how casual the atmosphere was!

 Also present were Nick's grandparents, Gunther and Hannalore. They are so cute!

Apparently it is tradition to have your photo taken by the Tommy the Trojan statue. The line up front was quite long so we sneaked in for a back view!

The next day we headed south to beautiful Laguna Beach for an afternoon of sun and relaxing.

It was so fun to be all together!

I love my kids and it seems they are all heading in different directions geographically, so I cherished this time.

 Louie is such a little water bug! He was totally in his element having been a beach baby his whole long life!

Roxie, on the other hand, was a bit more tentative and did not appreciate the ocean. 

 We had a wonderful trip! 

The best was seeing Nick get that degree and being all together! 

Isn't family just the best blessing there is?