Performing at Granddad's Care Center

Rachel, Amy and Kate joined a performing group during the summer that sang Broadway tunes. When the ladies in charge of the group heard that the girls had performed for Granddad, they wanted the whole group to come. A date was arranged and they came and sang for about 1/2 hour. It was great. There were about 30 kids. All the songs they did were familiar old Broadway tunes, so the residence really enjoyed hearing them. The girls had several solos and did a wonderful job. We were so proud of them!

Back up to the Cabin with Gary

I had just gotten home from the cabin with my friends, when I turned right away and drove back up with Gary. It had been almost a year since he had been able to go. We ended up staying about 10 days!! That was a record. We kept thinking about all of the reasons we needed to come back and then just decided to stay one more day . . . about 5 times. We could have stayed longer if there hadn't been so many commitments back home. The temple had its' closure for 2 weeks, so that allowed us to be gone that long.

We didn't take many projects or work up there, so we had lots of time to work around the cabin and complete some long overdue projects there. Every day, we took at least one ride up the mountain. We would see tons of elk, so we keep going back up. There had been recent fires up by Greer, so we figured that is why the animals had moved down from the mountains and were very active. One day, we made a huge loop around Springerville and Eager to view the fire damage.

We also had rain storms - our favorite. Our friends, the Powell's, came up over a weekend and we enjoyed their company. We took Joni up to view the animals and gave her a tour of that part of the state! In return, she made us homemade ice cream! Nice trade-off! We really hated to come home. We could have stayed much longer.

Kevin's in Town!

We had a very rare occasion! Kevin flew into town!! He was here over the July 4th weekend and was just able to spend 3 days, but we enjoyed seeing him. Nobody was happier though, than the boys because they hadn't seen each other for about 3 weeks.

Kevin was anxious to see the Arizona sun, so we got out the water slide, again. Everyone got into the action. Kevin sunbathed and scorched his white belly really bad. It is now bright red!

Grandpa and Grandma Ellsworth from Globe came down to visit and they brought some burros from the Burger House. We all played in the water, sunbathed, ate and enjoyed each others' company. Even Grandpa got into the action with the double-barrel water guns!

Fun at the Lake!

We went out to the lake today and rented a boat. It turned out to be the warmest day of the year (113 degrees), so it was nice and toasty! We rented a pontoon so that Cameron could run around and we would also have some shade. The boys loved driving the boat with Grandpa and Jen and I enjoyed basking in the sun! We took lots of water and food, so everyone was happy. We stopped the boat for a while and ate our lunch. After we drove the boat back in, we drove to Tortilla Flats and got some delicious ice cream and then watched "Night at the Museum" all the way home. The movie finished as we drove onto our street. Perfect timing, perfect day, perfect boys!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad has his 83rd birthday this week. I asked him what he would like and he said he would like to be able to get out of the care center for a while. It is quite difficult to check him out of the center, wheel him out and get him into a car and then, we really can't get do anything. There is a restaurant right in front of the care center, so I thought it might be nice to make reservations and then just wheel him over there for a little celebration. He was all for it! I made arrangements and the restaurant crew were very accommodating. We decorated with colorful table-toppers and balloons. We ordered from the menu and then celebrated with a cake and sugar-free chocolate cupcakes. Erik, Emily and family, Chad, Carrie and family, Chris, Dana, Paige, Gary, mom and I were able to join in the festivities. Dad really enjoyed the cards that everyone had sent to him. He also got several "happy birthday" phone calls while we were there. The care center had attached balloons to his wheelchair, so he drove in style! Hope you had a good birthday, dad!

Happy Father's Day

Today for Father's Day, Gary and I took lunch down to the care center to eat with Granddad. He has a big round table in his room, so we set it nicely and wheeled him over so that we could eat together. Afterwards, we ate a chocolate cream pie that I had made. That is his favorite. It was sugar free and fat free - except for the cream! I even let him eat two slices. I thought he should live it up on Father's Day! Afterwards, he opened up the cards that he had received. We visited for a while and then let him go back to bed to rest. We hope that you had a nice Father's Day, dad!

Let Me Entertain You!

Rachel, Amy and Kate put together a musical program and performed for Granddad at the care center for lunch. They worked very hard on it and did a fabulous job! They entertained the lunch crew for 30 minutes with a variety of numbers.

Rachel played the piano, violin and sang. Amy played the piano, sang with her sisters and also sang a solo. Kate played the piano by herself and then Emily played a duet with her. She also sang with the other girls. They performed with great confidence and didn't seem nervous at all!

We tried to prepared them for the "crowd" that they would be performing for and they didn't let anything rattle them! Granddad really enjoyed it and was so proud of his great-grandchildren.

I took care of Ryan while he played Kate's DS and ate snacks. He told me I couldn't play with him because it was too hard for me! He was probably right!

Afterwards, I rewarded the girls (and Ryan) with a trip to 31 Flavors for a treat of their choice. We had a great time and I was so proud of the girls. It was a good experience for all!