The camel back

Since Josh got his new bike, he is excited to go on long trips.

His dad has been a bicycle rider since I've known him. Of course you know that Craig is willing to support that kind of enthusiasm.

I am thinking about scouts and asked what the requirements are for the merit badge.

So Josh and Craig have been on two longer bike rides. A 15 miler and a 10 miler.

To help with that, Craig bought Josh a camel back. A backpack that is a canteen.

This is taken with the cell phone. I blew it up bigger than it wanted to go. Sorry it is a bit grainy.

The boys day with Dad

I think these pictures are from Father's & Sons camp out.

I sent them out knowing the forecast for rain. I was glad to stay home in my bed that was dry and warm.

Even with the tent leaking on them in the middle of the night, they managed to have a great time.

Craig texted me a few pictures of the beautiful wilderness. :)

We both love water falls.

They look very small down that steep place. But they managed to climb back safely to their dad and come home to me. :)

Road side wisdom

Brenda and Tim saw a billboard.

4 out of 2 people have problems with fractions.

Hair cut day

Say good bye to Bozina . . .

And hello to Boaz.

Craig found Bob the Barber.  I've taken both boys to him in the last two weeks. I love him. He does a great job and is much faster than I am. Also the boys don't complain the whole time. He has a shop vac that he uses to vacuum their heads after the cut. I think that is a draw too. :)

He told both my boys that they would be able to run faster and jump higher. Equal force, less mass. I am pretty sure that is one of Newton's three laws. I will have to look up which one. Boaz told me tonight that he can jump maybe 1/2 inch higher.

Now each of my three boys is sporting an "Air Force cut". How awesome is that. Now I just need to get a picture of them all together.

A different Sunday

Josh reached a mile stone today. His first day passing the sacrament.

Craig got to help too.

I watched him from my pew.

He was very aware of what the other deacons were doing. He was very careful. His dad helped steer him in the right direction.

I can't believe he is at this stage.

Now I get to look forward to him sitting the first of the meeting in the deacons' bench.

He is growing up. :)

Kokopelli Quilt

It is finally done. It was for Christmas last year. My sister has been very patient. She is even letting me put the quilt in the fair at the end of this month and into next month. Yea!

Meet Kokopelli. I think the orange fabric is fabulous. I love his attitude.

This is an idea of what he will look like on the bed. It's my bed, though. Not Willa's. :)

Laying on the floor to get a picture. It's a big quilt. I tried several times to get the whole quilt in the frame, but this was the best I got.

The back. It is almost one fabric. But I needed a little on the side.

The label ran a bit, but it is still okay. I love the hand-dyed fabric.

Twelve Years Old

This summer an amazing thing happened. Josh started to wear his button down shirts everyday. That is everyday that there was a clean one available. He also started wearing shorts that are not the basketball type shorts. He is starting pay attention to his wardrobe. I love that.

Here are a few pictures of my sweet, twelve year old boy and his presents.

He has decided that he likes hats. So I got him two. I also got him a man tie and man socks. He also has a new shirt. I also paid for him to get a good haircut instead of a mom haircut.

Wearing a button-down shirt and his second hat.  He is talking to Thea on my phone.

His new bike. His old bike is now Boaz's. Boaz's bike was falling apart and he needed a new bike. So now we can go on another family bike ride.

Happy, Sad Day

Thursday I headed to Salt Lake to see family. Craig was already in Provo. He had to work and was able to visit with the family for a couple of hours.

Karly was in town from Oregon.

We had a family dinner, very informal. Deb filed that day. It was very emotional for her. She wanted to be happy, but really was sad. It is possible that she will be divorced in two weeks. It was a sad, happy day.

Craig had to leave early. It is about a three hour drive back home. He called and told me that our ward member and his six year old daughter was involved in an accident. He was on his motorcycle and a drunk driver ran a stop sign. They were in the neighborhood right next to ours.

He didn't know any details. He got there as the police still had the intersection closed. He was able to get home, our road was in front of the accident site.

I was happy to be with family, but so sad for my friends.

The plan was to take the boys to Lagoon the next day, so the boys and I discovered Lagoon. They were not sure they wanted to go. Roller coasters are a bit scary. (I love them.)

We had a happy day. We found some very fun rides that the boys enjoyed. And they went on some of the rides that I wanted to go on -- with a bit of murmuring.

On the road home, I talked to Craig on the phone. He told me that our friend had died, and his daughter was recovering.

Our friend is 36 and the father of five children, the youngest 3 - 4 months, the oldest maybe 10. His wife is always smiling and one of those women that I wish I could be.

It was a happy day with my boys, but a very sad day thinking about my friend.

Saturday, I talked to my friend, the Relief Society president. I asked what I could do to help. I found out they had just celebrated the birthday of their second son the day of the accident. He is turning 8 tomorrow. We took Josh to the store to get him a bigger bike for his birthday that is today -- Sunday.

A happy day with Josh getting ready for his birthday. A very sad day realizing that another boy would always have the association of his dad dying just before his birthday.

Today at Church, Josh got up in front of the congregation and graduated from Primary. He got out of saying his favorite Article of Faith, the bishop was a bit flustered. Craig's parents and one of his brothers came for the ordination. A very happy day.

My friend who had just lost her husband arrived at church just a little bit late. Her daughter had her hair fixed and was in a wheel chair. My friend had her sister and brother-in-law there as a support. I cried through the sacrament hymn that spoke of death and the grave. I cried when my friend got up and bore her testimony and said she was so grateful for her family, the temple covenants and the love that she felt from her savior. She knows that her husband is in a place where he can still take care of them and they will be fine.

By the end of the meeting, I had cried all of my mascara off my face.

I think every day is a bit like these last three days. It is a sad day for some people. Their whole world has crashed down around them. It is a happy day for others. New mile stones and accomplishments to celebrate.

Maybe that is the way that heaven deals with the many tragedies that there are. For every tragedy there is celebration.

Today Josh went on a Fast Offering route with an excellent deacon's quorum leader. Tomorrow he will help set up the chairs for the funeral. Tuesday he will help babysit for the funeral and later that night he will go with his new quorum and visit the family and do some service.

He is beginning his journey in the priesthood. It is a happy day. A family is saying goodbye to a father, a husband, a son, an uncle, a brother. It is a sad day.