Apple Picking!

Gary and I flew back to Pittsburgh for a few days. It was the beginning of apple season, so we took the boys to our favorite farm to pick some. Last year, we went to Simmon's Farm later in the season to pick pumpkins and have a hay ride, but it was too early and the only thing they had available now were apples. We were the only ones there, so it made it extra nice. A ladder was available to us, so we took advantage! Even Cameron tried to get up on it. Each boy has his own bag and filled it to the brim. They let us borrow a wagon because we had to walk a ways, so Connor and Cameron climbed in and Carson pulled! What a good older brother! Since it was the beginning of the season, we got the best pickins' and there were bites taken out of several of them (Connor and Cameron!). We purchased some fresh peaches and a few tomatoes and of course got treats and a drink afterwards(thanks, Grandpa)! We had a great time!

Elizabeth is in Town! (Marc & Laura, too)

Marc, Laura and Elizabeth were able to come into town for a visit. It was very short, but we enjoyed every minute of it. Elizabeth is getting so big and changing so much! We loved holding her and playing with her. Erik, Emily and their family came over and they took turns playing with her. The girls loved it. Elizabeth is such a good baby and she doesn't mind at all playing with her cousins. We were so glad that we had that time with all of them, even though it wasn't long!

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!