Sunday Ramblings

Life goes by so fast and furious sometimes. The last two weeks have really been a blur. I have had a few 10-12 hour days at work with getting ready for graduation. On top of that, I have had church duties, family events to hostess, an emergency dentist appointment for Nick, shopping for girl's camp, and a job interview earlier in the process. I am so thankful for this 3-day weekend. Thanks to the brave Veterans who died at war, and made this possible without even know how badly this 21st century woman would need this long weekend at this time in her life! I have posted several pictures here and put a notation under each to explain their importance in my life. I am so blessed with myriads of events, a huge variety of people and numerous tasks that help me enjoy each and every moment of my existence!

We saw McKaela, Becca's good friend, at the Cheesecake Factory when we went there for her celebration dinner for making it through the 8th grade.

Nick ordered the "ultimate," huge hamburger at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so tall that he could not even fit his mouth around it. This is the first time I have seen him leave food on his plate. I think I owe someone or some thing a big thanks for filling up his hollow leg just this once.

Life is always more fun when Julie is around. Even though they were here for just a few hours, Katie, Julie, Becca and I made the most of it and laughed until our sides hurt! Thanks for coming, girls, and staying with us.

I am so glad that Katie brought Luka. He is the best natured baby I have ever encountered. (Except for maybe Julie and Katie.)

Julie is just plain hilarious! What else can I say?

Dear Opal Bee, a sweet lady in my ward. I saw her Thursday at our enrichment night, Friday at the Ice Cream Social, and again at church on Sunday. I love her so much!

I have adopted her as my "Auntie Opal."

Beautiful Bethany - she and I love to play piano/flute duets. Even though I am old enough to be her mother, she is a dear friend. She also has a darling son that fills my aching arms whenever I have a hankering for my grandbabies who live so far away. She is one of Becca's Young Women leaders and is such a great example of what a faithful and obedient daughter of God should be.

This is an Ironwood tree. They were dotting the valley near Thunderbird Park in all their their pink glory when Rod and I went hiking later on Saturday morning. The sky was still very cloudy, so we actually had cool temperatures. It was perfect. And the rain made the desert smell delicious!

The view from the summit was so beautiful - the air was clear because the rain washed away all the pollution. I think we will do some more hiking on Monday, for sure! The sky got darker and darker as we finished up our hike. We did hurry back to the car so we wouldn't get rained on.