I'm Back From Arkansas...Woo Pig Sooie!

I've been home for a week from taking Allie back to Arkansas. I'm all out of whack. I don't know what day it is. Time to start back to work so I at least know when Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are.

Friday, August 21: Allie and I headed out around 10:30. I went walking with "the girls" first. I've been walking with "the girls" for years now. Sandy Hewlett, Sherie Ritchie, and RaDawn Mehr. They're the best. Anyway, Allie and I drove to Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where we spent Friday and Saturday nights with Karen and her family. The drive to Colorado was uneventful. We took sandwiches and snacks so we didn't have to eat. We got to Karen's in time for dinner. We had leftover mac and cheese and layered Mexican dip. It was just fun to be there and talk. We did get somewhat bad news that day that Keenan lost his job. :( He's feverishly looking. Something will come up.

Road Trip Day #1. Both wearing Arkansas shirts. Woo Pig!

Hahaha. This was in the bathroom stall in Fruita, Colorado. Don't throw used TP on the floor. Put it in the toilet, please.

Saturday, August 22: Since Allie couldn't move into her apartment until Monday, we decided to stay Saturday at Crockett's house, too. That was a fantastic decision. Elle was with friends on a lake, all the boys had stuff, and Karen, Allie and I went to the mall. We had a blast. We even met up with Elder Tibbitts mom. Elder Tibbitts is a missionary that Kamiko trained about a year ago. That was really fun. After the mall, we went to Old Navy, Marshalls, and Nordstrom Rack. Karen and I bought matching Tevas for only $12/pair. They're usually $40. I know, that's not really saving money. It's spending money. They were a great purchase, though. I wore them the whole trip in Arkansas, taking them off only to sleep. We got Chinese food for dinner and watched a movie while Karen made the best darn cinnamon rolls ever. Another fun day.

Me, Karen, and Allie at Park Meadows Mall

Me and Nancy Tibbitts at the mall. She has all boys and isn't used to the mall. She's great. Someone said we look alike and I think we do. Love her and love that she loves my son.

The shoes!

Hahaha, Allie's fortune. Worst fortune EVER!

Sunday: We got off early. Around 7:30. We drove east to Burlington, Colorado. It's right on the border with Kansas. We went to 10:00 church there. It was their branch conference. It was a really small congregation in a small building. Lots of stake visitors were there, so I'm sure there are usually fewer people there than we saw. There were 3 converts confirmed at the beginning of the meeting. A mom and her two teenage kids. There was also food in crockpots in the kitchen for a potluck dinner after conference. We didn't stay, but I thought it was so cute. Sunday was a long day. Counting church and a short detour to see "Little Sweden," it was a 12-hour day. Lindsborg, or "little Sweden" was hilarious. It's a town of 3,000 people. It has a gift shop and lots of big painted dalahast around town. I think most legit Swedes would be a bit disappointed. They also had a huge Santa Lucia and on the bleachers of the community college was the word "Swedes." I'm guessing that's their mascot. Classic! We drove until we found a Subway Sandwich place to get dinner. We just wanted Subway. Kansas doesn't appear to have any, but Oklahoma did. So, we got a sandwich to share and headed to Bixby, Oklahoma, where we were staying. We stayed at Allie's friend Kelsie's house. Her family is so nice. We really had a nice visit til it was time to go to bed. We all had to get up early on Monday since move-in time was 8:00 am.

On the road again!

Creepy giant Santa Lucia with Allie

Lindsborg or "Little Sweden"

Monday: Got up and on the road by 6:30. Allie got pulled over by the Po-po on the way, but he was nice and gave her only a warning. Allie was great. When she got pulled over, she said "don't say anything mom. Let me take care of this." I did stay quiet and she did a great job. I watched the speedometer the rest of the way to Fayetteville. Pulled into the Grove Apartments and Allie got checked in. She's on the 3rd floor, in room 303. That's good. I like the number 3. Her building is near the pool and sand volleyball area and the main building. We got her moved in with the help of Razorbacks for Christ. This group of Church of Christ students were there to help Allie's friend Taryn move in. Taryn wasn't there, so they helped us Mormons. Allie has 5 friends living right near her. 2 are in her apartment and 3 are downstairs. We all just kinda worked to get everyone moved in. Then we realized we had no toilet paper, so we went to the store to get the basics.

Allie talking with the po-po. He even told her a joke about Mormons. It was funny.
The pope's secretary comes into his office and says "Guess what? Jesus has come back!" The pope says "That's fantastic." The secretary answers "Well, it's not that great. He's in Salt Lake City."

Tuesday: We went to the Farmer's Market downtown in the morning. Allie treated me to almond croissant and cream puff at "The Little Bread Company." We did more shopping, went to the bookstore, and just did general get-ready-for-college stuff. We went to my former TA Elisa Freeman Muller's house for dinner. Over the summer, Elisa married Scott, who was Allie's home teacher last year. Scott is working on a PhD and Elisa is a graduate of our FACS program at BYU. She's looking for work in AR. She had been teaching in Evanston, WY, for the past 6 years. She's great. They fed us yummy breakfast burritos, peaches, juice, milk, and brownies. Allie had fun with her friends while I stayed out of the way. This is when I started watching Netflix on my phone. I could tell Allie was ready to have her space. I stayed in her room and watched movies.

Elisa and Me. BYU Food Labs Forever!

Wednesday: I got up and went walking. We met up with Michelle Blankenship for lunch. Michelle is a cute Texan momma living in Arkansas. I met her more than a year ago when she and her husband brought their daughter, Drew, to check out BYU. Drew was friends with my TA Annie. Well, Drew came to BYU from NW Arkansas and Allie left Utah for UofA. Michelle and I have a deal to take care of each other's girls. They didn't need us for much except for rides to the airport and an occasional free lunch. Michelle stored some boxes for Allie. We went to lunch to visit and to reclaim Allie's stuff. We also went to the bookstore and to the mall. I bought 2 t shirts. I bought Chinese takeout for Allie and her friends for dinner. Allie and friends made s'mores at their fire pit that night. I watched another movie.

Allie had all of her stuff. She could now decorate. Her bed.

Her desk. Behind all the pictures is a really ugly headboard that we covered with corkboard, then fabric. Crafty girls!

Allie's adorable bathroom. She made the shower curtain! Bought those cute sunflowers at the farmer's market.

Thursday we had time to go to the bookstore and return one of my shirts. I liked the long-sleeved one from the mall much better. Then Allie took me to the airport. She dropped me off just in time for me to find out my flight was delayed. REALLY DELAYED. We didn't take off until midnight. We were supposed to leave at 4:15. Because of the delay, I was going to miss my flight in Vegas. I rearranged everything with my flight without a fee and spent my $8 on food. The airline gave me a voucher. I found a comfortable spot and watched more Netflix. I had forgotten to bring a book, so I was stuck with Netflix the whole trip. I didn't mind. I don't often watch movies and it was kinda fun. I also visited with other travellers. I was just glad I didn't have anything pressing and that I was travelling alone.

Oh, wanna know something REALLY funny? Allie's friends commented "your mom is so cute. She's so sporty." She told them I'm not really sporty; it was just the clothes I brought for the trip. It's true. I had mostly running tights and athletic t-shirts. Allie said to me: "I never thought I'd hear the word 'sporty' to describe you, mom."

My "I'm stuck at the airport" face.

Friday: I slept on the flight. We got into Vegas at 1:00 am. I found a quiet place to sleep. I slept until about 5:30, when the airport started to "come alive." I left on the first flight at 9:00 am and got home at 11:30. Only 12 hours late. It was ok. Keenan was available to pick me up.

The Continuous Atonement for Teens - A Great Read

I just finished reading this book. I think a book for adults might be too much for me. I actually loved it. Very interesting thoughts on the temple garment, that I shared with Allie. She had recently said she's not sure how she feels about having to wear garments when she goes through the temple. I assured her it's really not a big deal, but this little part from the book helped.

Look how pretty my nails were!

Another part I loved was when the author, Brad Wilcox, likened sin to touching a hot stove. Would we ever rationalize touching a hot stove the way we rationalize sin? Check out some examples:

I really love "how will I know it hurts unless I touch it myself?"

A Sad Week for Manila 2nd Ward

On Sunday, July 19, sometime after church, a 14-year old boy in our ward took his own life. Sam Perkins had just been coming back to church. His family moved here about a year ago from Saratoga Springs. Before that, they had lived in 1st ward in our stake. Some of Sam's family came to church regularly and some didn't. Sam was one who didn't, until recently. His older sister Liz was a laurel, who always comes and has plans for a mission. His older brother Tanner also comes and is Melia's age.

I went to visit on Monday. Took Liz some flowers and gave Tanner a hug. Mel and her friend Brooke Walker reached out to Tanner. They've known each other since elementary school. They went to visit him on Tuesday night because they were very worried about him. I told them to go. I told them they wouldn't regret going to visit. They are good girls. They also took him Thursday to get frozen yogurt. I drove and we had a fun time, just talking and eating. At one point Tanner said "you guys...I'm really nervous about the funeral." Turns out he was to give the opening prayer and he really wanted to know what to say and to be able to say what would help others. What a great kid.

The funeral was Saturday afternoon. There was a huge turnout. Mel came with me and Keenan. It was a very nice service. Tanner gave a wonderful prayer and specifically prayed for the youth of the stake to know where to find hope. Brother Perkins spoke and shared that Sam had come to him with a message. He was ok and he's sorry. His message is to choose the right and stay true to covenants. To find the truth and live it. President Livingston spoke and shared excellent quotes on suicide and repentance and accountability. He started by complimenting Tanner on his prayer and telling him that it was "God's words." I don't think he could have known of Tanner's concerns about the prayer. Inspired, for sure! He also reminded us that Joseph Smith was a 14-year old boy who almost gave in to dark despair, then he saw a light. We can all find our own light.

It's been an emotional week for everyone. Mel has been sad, but has reached out to Tanner and done good things. She and Brooke and Kobi planned a double date for yesterday and Mel took Tanner. They rode tandem bikes and ate lunch in Provo. She said after they dropped the other boys off, all three girls stayed at Tanner's house and just talked with him. Tanner and Spencer, the younger brother, both spend a lot of time with Keenan. In fact, Tanner called Keenan right away when he heard that his brother had died and told Keenan to come get him. I just came home from WW and Spencer was here with Keenan. They were on their way to set up a sound system for a ward party. Good boys.

Sister Perkins shared in Sunday school that it had been a revelatory week and that she has answers to all of her questions. The Holy Ghost is really helping this family and they, in turn, are helping build testimonies of others.

My Adventure "Off the Grid"

Starlyn always talks about her trips to "The Ranch" and her visits with family in Panguitch. We've often talked of my desire to join her there. Well, it happened this week! Starlyn parked her camp trailer in her cousin's driveway for the month and it was the perfect time for me to go there for a couple of days. Panguitch DID NOT disappoint! It was a blast!

I left Wednesday night, right after our awesome combined youth activity in the park. The kids got wet, played games, ate ice cream and had a ball. I left at 8:00 pm, dropped some modest-length skirts to Mel at SOAR, and got on the road. I got to Panguitch around 11:30. Shortly after midnight, we texted the picture below to wish my sister Jenny a happy 50th birthday.

Thursday: We got up and had some breakfast. I began meeting the family. We stayed at Randy and Debbie's place. We used their bathroom and hung out in their house, but slept in the camp trailer. It was great. Randy is retired and still farms/ranches. He was waiting for his hay to be dry enough to bale. Debbie works at the building license office. They also run the only screen printing/embroidery operation around. So, it's from one job to the next.

We first went to "The Ranch." I saw where the whole Hatch gang camps on July 24 every year. They feast on mutton and potatoes and hang out. We went to Tom's cabin. He and his wife returned recently from a public relations mission in Africa. The cabin is beautiful. No phones, but TV. There was peaceful music playing and I could see how someone would just love it there. We took their 4 wheeler to visit other family and get even better views. The meadow with the creek running through is absolutely gorgeous!

The meadow

The creek where they all camp

Houston drives us around

"I don't want to be in a picture" -Houston

My chauffeur

You can see Tom's cabin in the meadow

How's that for gorgeous!? The meadow!

My vacation buddies

We then went on a hike to Cascade Falls. I can't get over how beautiful the scenery is. It makes me want to explore more of Utah. God certainly created an amazing earth for us. On our way back to Randy and Debbie's, we stopped for dinner in Hatch. I got an amazing chicken sandwich.

Hike to Cascade Falls

Just resting at the falls

Just look at that!!!!!!

And the day wasn't over. I then got to meet other family members. Paul and Nicol and Ron and Cathy. Paul and Nicol moved their home from town to the spot where it lies now. Nicol described how they did it. Amazing. Nicol is a champion barrel racer and wears the belt buckle to prove it. She is absolutely beautiful. A long braid, wrinkles and tan from being in the sun. She makes and repairs horse saddles and is going to start making cowboy boots. She was invited to a special course to learn how to do it. This is a life I know nothing about. It was so interesting. Paul was anticipating the auction the next day. He was auctioning off about 200 calves. It would be make it or break it for him financially for the year. Ron and Cathy have a beautiful house right next to Randy's. Ron is retired from running the lab at the hospital for YEARS. Cathy is from Arkansas. It was fun to visit with them about her mom's 60 years of working at Timex, to Obamacare, to night scope rifles (why would you want that unless you were going to become a hitman?). This family is great. I loved every minute visiting with them. I see why Starlyn and family loves visiting them all. And, they are technically Lee's 2nd cousins. For Hatches that doesn't matter. They are all close family...no matter what. Debbie had a cute saying in her home that I loved. "Grandma's house...where cousins become friends."

Friday: We had to rest from all the stuff we did Thursday. First we watched the calves being auctioned off. It was broadcast on some random channel on TV. Paul did well. I imagine when my grandpa Hunter was selling cattle, it was quite different from videotaping your cattle and having people bid from the footage they watch on a computer or TV screen.

We did go up the road to find Butch Cassidy's boyhood home. He's an infamous outlaw. History says he died in a shootout in Bolivia (of all places). However, Star's family says a relative remembers all of his family stopping in on their way to Wyoming, then coming back a couple of days later. Just enough time to attend a funeral for Butch. They think Butch died in Wyoming and the family attended his funeral. While at the house, it poured rain. We even got hailed on. You can just drive up to the little house and even walk in. So we did.

Saw this in town. I like to call it the "Wall of Shame." Butch, Sundance, Etta, the whole gang.

We then went into town to get burgers at Henrie's, where Lacey is working for the summer. That was some yummy food. Cheeseburger, onion rings and a brownie shake. We walked around antique shops downtown. We went back "home" where I took a nap and so did Star. Then we went to the Senior rodeo around 6:00. That was fun. Nicol and more family were there. Nicol wanted to see some old friends that were participating. Senior is for over 40. It was fun to watch the old guys tie down calves. There were only 2 that were brave enough for the bull riding, though, and neither made it the 7 seconds. One came close. It was a fun, relaxing and educational trip. I love meeting new friends and learning about different ways of living. Farming is hard work. These guys know how to work.

At the rodeo. Isn't Nicol beautiful!?

I left after the rodeo. Got on the road around 8:00 pm. I wanted to get back for Dave Chalk's memorial service in the morning at AF cemetery. On the way home, I stopped in Holden. Now that is a story on its own. I thought I'd stop in Fillmore and buy flowers at the grocery store. I got there at 9:25 pm and it closes at 9:00. You gotta get your groceries early on a Friday night in Fillmore. So I stopped to get gas and see if there was something I could buy in the gas station. Nothing. I guess I could have settled for a cigarette lighter or bottle of soda. I decided to head across the parking lot to the "Garden of Eat'n" (no lie. I've eaten there with grandma and grandpa Hunter when it was the ONLY place around). They had a tiny gift shop. I settled on a $1.80 American flag. So, in the dark and with the help of my cell phone flashlight, I found grandma and grandpa's grave and left the flag there. I was surprised and happy to find the shell lei's still there that we had taken a year ago. It was a nice drive home. I got in shortly around 11:45.

Should have found a better place for my keys. Oops.

The World is a Dance Floor...Thanks for Dancing, Dave!

Yesterday was a graveside service for Dave Chalk. It was at the AF cemetery, so I was able to attend. So glad I could be there. His sisters shared memories of Dave, including mentions of his love for food, travel, baseball, and dancing.

There was a funny story of his sister working at EFY and Dave was a participant. She got a call on the walkie talkie to come down to the dance floor. She assumed there was a fight or something. When she got there, all the kids were circled around something going on in the center. It had to be a fight. No, it was Dave dancing! He danced to and from class on campus. He caused damage to their bathroom from too vigorous dancing in the shower. He was always up on new bands and good music. When he was in my class, his chemo theme song (to get him pumped up) was Taio Cruz's "Dynamite." I heard it on the radio yesterday afternoon. It made me smile. Dance in heaven, Dave!

I also learned that he loved show tunes and musicals. That's what happens when you have all sisters.

Dave loved baseball! He was buried in a Padres Blue casket. He and his dad travelled to see over 20 ballparks. When I told him Keenan proposed at an A's game, his response was "I don't even know the guy and he's the coolest guy in the world." Dave will lay to rest within view of the AF rec baseball fields. In fact, there was a game going on during the service and another team was doing warm-up drills. The Steel Days parade was also going on. Everyone was sending Dave off in grand style.

I got to visit briefly with his mom and dad and a couple of sisters. They said they were going through his stuff and found the apron his class signed for him. He was a joy to have in class. Dave will be missed by many. One of his friends said that Dave's "ability to be courageous as he dealt with cancer was so superhuman that I expected him to live forever, so it is surprising today, and quite sad, to realize that our friend is really, permanently gone."

The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was a great morning. I'm glad I could be there. His family graciously visited with us and made us feel important. What great people.

Cleaning and Funny Stuff

I cleaned the storage room and the office on the 3rd. It is always nice to purge. While doing so, I found some cute things. I found Kamiko's baby Air Jordans and his regular Air Jordans. I also found Mel's first swimsuit. So, I took pictures. I sent Kamiko the pic of his shoes and he loved it. He misses his Jordans. I love a clean house. I hope someday my kids appreciate a clean house. I'm trying to teach them.

And...Mel and I went and got drinks at Sonic the other day after pedicures. I got Mel a pedicure to thank her for the cute swimsuit she got for me at work. I don't even need one, but I sure do love it. We thought the straws in our drinks were funny. That's all.

I do like the 4th of July

In anticipation of the 4th of July, I thought it wasn't one of my favorites. I love America. I just didn't think the 4th was a big deal to me. I don't love the money and mess of fireworks. Well, this year, the 4th was GREAT. I LIKE THE 4th of JULY!

It started on the 3rd. Mom and Mel and I went down to Orem to watch the Candy Bomber drop candy over a park of thousands of onlookers. The Candy Bomber is Gail Halvorsen. He was an airman in WWII and became famous amongst children in Berlin for his drops of chocolate bars. He would tie little parachutes to his candy rations and drop them. He got more and more rations from friends and they dropped a lot of candy to brighten those kids' lives. He is featured in last year's movie "Meet the Mormons." Orem City arranged for him to do a drop on the 3rd. We went first to a mock colonial village that was interesting. We sat in the shade of a tree, playing Yahtzee on my phone, talking about how hard/awful life must have been way back then. We are so fortunate. Then we waited for the appointed hour for the drop. We got close to the crowds, but only close enough to see the plane. We didn't need to see kids trample each other for candy. The plane really came low. It was loud and cool. I was just so grateful to be there and to see a recreation of history.

92-year old Candy Bomber, ready to drop. July 3, 2015

Saturday, the 4th, we slept in. I cleaned the house and went on a nice walk. The weather had been super hot. The 4th was perfect, with clouds and slightly cooler temps. It was a great walk. Allie made red, white and blue pancakes. Yum. Then Allie and I ran some errands. We then went to the Mehr's for their annual snow cones and homemade root beer. We talked about Arkansas, BYU, and other stuff with the Bishop, RaDawn and their kids. We headed up to Ogden around 2:00, making a stop at City Creek on the way there to replace a broken bracelet of Mel's. She found a dress for homecoming, which we purchased with high hopes that she'll get asked. ;) It's really cute.

The tradition continues. Red, white, and blue

We spent the afternoon and into the evening at Jen's. We swam, ate, said our goodbye's to Andrew, who leaves on Wednesday for his mission to Canada, and had an early birthday cake to celebrate Jen's upcoming 50th. It was really fun. I'm so excited for Andrew, but glad it's not me starting on 2 years without my boy. Kamiko will be home in 4 months and I'm really glad about that. He's grown, learned, matured, loved, served, and all that is good. I wouldn't give it up, but don't want to start over.

"God Bless America and Jen on her 50th"

Allie and I had an especially good day. She rode shotgun to and from Ogden because I knew Keenan and Mel would just sleep. She's so fun to talk to. I love that girl. When we got home, Mel went off with friends and Allie and I went to Walmart. Then we decided to go get a better view of all the fireworks going off all over the valley. So, we drove for a bit and just looked around. It was just the perfect 4th of July and end of the 4th of July. I love that girl. And, to quote her: "America is cute."

It was also a big day in Chile. They won the America Cup for the first time ever. It's a big soccer tournament with all of South America. It was held in Chile, and they won. Andrew and I watched the written play-by-play on my phone as it went into penalty kicks. We read (not watched) as Chile beat Argentina. That must have been pretty exciting down there. So happy Kamiko was there. He didn't watch the game, but heard people shouting in the streets. He says it's so great to serve where the people love soccer as much as he does.

Life is good. America is good.