Sweet 16

Yesterday was Nick's 16th Birthday. He has been looking forward to this one. He got his learner's permit at the start of summer and has been driving all summer long. He told me he was not quite ready to go solo to get his actual driver's license yet. He wants a little more experience. I think he is doing a great job. We did the birthday cake thing, and I had a couple of boxes of candles. Some of them were trick candles that will relight after you blow them out. It was funny to watch Nick try to blow out the candles. He is such a good kid. I really enjoy him.

School begins

Don't they look cute for their first day of school?

Becca got a cute new haircut with layers,

and Nick got his much shorter with highlights.

Monday, August 13th, was the first day of school for this year. Nick and Becca looked so cute, and I think they were ready to go back. You know, that summer boredom sets in at the end of the season and they kids are looking for something to do. I don't think they consider school the thing they are look for, but it seems to help get rid of the "I don't have anything to do" mentality. Becca wishes her favorite friends were in her block. She was a little sad last night over the class divisions. I hope she can still have a great 8th grade year. Nick is already involved with 6:30 AM drum line practices and is missing Seminary to do that. He did some home study sessions last year so he could get credit. I'm not sure how we will handle it this year. There is a group of Cortez students that meet one night a week to make up their Seminary. Maybe we will do that....

The first day of school at work was very busy and hectic with those who waited until the last minute to register for school. Why do people do that? The first thing I did when I moved here was get my kids registered for school! And I didn't wait until school had started.

The DREADED School Shopping!

Tonight, I bit the bullet and took the kids school shopping. It has not been a favorite activity of mine in the past, as I have been told not to walk too close, not to talk, and not to contribute anything but $$$ to the expedition. However, it was a whole different experience this evening. I took Nick and Becca together to the Arrowhead mall wondering what on Earth I was doing to myself after a long day at work. But they both found lots of cute outfits and had great success. There were no cross words or impatient comments. It was actually enjoyable! They were even patient while I cruised my favorite store - Christopher and Banks. I treated them to Carl's Jr. for being so good. It was difficult to get them to pose for the pictures, though. Becca was just so cute while laying her stuff out on the floor, but tried to avoid the photo. I asked Nick to put on his clothes so he took the plastic bag with an outfit in it and put it over his head. His comment: "I'm wearing my clothes." I missed a great Kodak moment there. I'm so glad that I have such cute and good teenagers in my home. It is truly a great gift. Two very good looking kids! Aren't they cute in their outfits? Becca looks so beautiful in blue - it really brings out her eyes. Nick is such a cute boy! I'm so glad they get along and are such good friends. It makes my life a whole lot easier, and it is fun to be around them.

Happy Anniversary to me!

Rod and Karla at the top of Sawtelle Peak near Island Park, Idaho. It is one of our most favorite view places. When on top of the peak, you can see in all directions. It is near the continental divide. This was taken on our first anniversary trip to Lenny and Janet's cabin.

Today is our 4th anniversary. It is strange that my daughter has been married longer than I have. But between us, Rod and I have over 55 years, so maybe that counts for something. I have posted some pics of Rod and me. I just want him to know that I have loved every second of our relationship. He has been such a blessing to me, and I hope I have likewise blessed his life. We sure have had fun. My favorite part of every day is when he walks through that door!

Rod at Fairy Falls in Yellowstone National Park. This was such a fun hike. We even had our lunch here and walked out to some geysers.

Same trip, but now we are at the Bar J, waiting for that good ole trail dinner and some great entertainment.

Here we are in Texas. We had only been married a year in this one.

This is a funny one - we were just dating at the time and we were on our way to a session of General Conference at the Conference Center in SLC. We got rained and snowed on as we ran back to the car after the session.

Another dating shot - Rod took me to Richfield to meet his brother. When his daughter saw this photo, she said she had never seen her Dad smile like that and to keep on doing whatever I was doing. This one is at the Salt Lake Temple when my niece got married. We have enjoyed so many wonderful events together. I have loved our hikes, our walks, our long long talks, sitting together at church, grocery shopping, temple trips, meeting for lunch, Friday night dates and sleeping late on Saturdays, taking the kids to Sam's for lunch and grazing on the samples, planning for our future and saving money, walking the dog, just sitting in the same room and reading, talking politics (this one can really get him fired up!), gospel discussions (he is such a great scriptorian), sharing sunsets on a mountain top, calling each other to say "did you see that sky?" Christmas shopping, deep frying our Thanksgiving turkeys, meeting new friends, and just enjoying everyday life together. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: "Truly my cup runneth over." I love you, Rod!

Funny Pics

I was just browsing through our vast library of digital photos and found these two. I thought they were hilarious. Where ever did these kids get the idea they must have this kind of form when diving??? It is obvioius that the dives end up as complete belly flops...

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

Yesterday as I walked the dog in the early hours of the morning I was so touched by the evidence of God and his love for me. The sky was still cloudy from the previous night's rain, especially in the west. The sun had a couple of rays that were splaying out of the clouds in the east making the light that really warm golden-amber color. Because of the angle of the rays, there was just a strip of a rainbow in the west, and it said to me, "My daughter, I love you. Have a wonderful day."

PSSSSSST! Hairspray

As I mentioned yesterday, it was my turn to pick our vacation activity today, so I did have Rod take me to the matinee to see the new movie musical, Hairspray. He was such a good sport! He tolerated it pretty well. Just let me tell you, I loved it! Musicals are right up my alley. The music, singing, and dancing was incredible. John Travolta was hilarious. Michelle Pfeiffer can really sing! The new stars were amazing. Nicole Blonsky was an amazing singer and dancer, and she really shakes her stuff. The story was very predictable, but made important statements about controversial subjects. Bravo for all of us who are different in any way! I recommend this movie if you just want to sit back and be entertained the old fashioned way - by real talent.

Summer Movies

I just love to go to the movies! This summer there are so many exciting movies out and we have tried to see them all. It started out in May with Spiderman. We took our kids to this one, of course, and we all loved it. We then saw Oceans Thirteen in June. It was a good one! I also saw Ratatouille with my Grandkids. It was hilarious and very clever. On July 4th we took the kids to see Live Free or Die Hard. It was soooooo exciting! I loved the part where the kid says "you just took out a chopper with a car" and Bruce Willis gives his crooked grin and says "I was out of bullets." I laughed so hard... I just think it was funny that Bruce Willis was such a hard-butt cop with his bald head and with these dazzling white teeth. There were a couple of big bloopers with the makeup too, like he was all bloody and banged up with cuts and gashes all over his neck and face, and the next minute some of the injuries had miraculously healed, swelling, blood and all. But it was a great and entertaining movie. And of course, we saw Harry Potter the day it came out. In fact, I took the kids to the 12:01 AM showing. I was so mad that they would not let me wear my wizard hat and robe! I can't figure out why they think it would have been embarrassing! I think it looks pretty good. I just know I could have won the costume contest. Oh well . . . The movie was fantastic! I got to see it again Friday night with Rod. I don't know how they can do such great special effects. The plot for this one was very involved and I think they did a great job capturing the story. The Wizard's duel with all the death eaters and Dumbledor and the kids was so awesome! Lord Voldemort is a particularly sinister villain and I really love the Harry Potter books. Mr. Malfoy is also a great villain in this particular episode. I have the new book on order and it will be sent out the day it debuts. Can't wait to read it! We are on vacation this week, so we will see lots of movies. Here in the middle of the heat, going to the movies is a good way to stay cool. Yesterday, Rod and I saw Disturbia at the Dollar Theatre. It was scary but predictible. Nick recommended that one. Today we went to the matinee again and saw the Transformers. I LOVED that movie! It was amazing! I think it was my favorite move of the season. I liked it way more than I thought I would. (It had the same kid in it as Disturbia - he was after a cute girl in both movies!) I highly recommend seeing the Transformers! In fact I recommend all of them. The only one we haven't seen that I wanted to see was Shrek III. I also want to see Hairspray. (I love John Travolta. I think he is a versatile and very talented actor.) It is coming out tomorrow, and I think I will have Rod take me to the matinee again. It's my turn to pick! Ha!

Brace Yourself

Today, Becca got her braces. She told me this afternoon that she was a little nervous. I don't blame her. It is quite a process. She is trying to relax here as Melinda puts on the gloves before getting started. Don't you love Becca's expression here?

The firsts item of torture used is what I call the "lip stretchers." Once those little babies were in place, she used a solution to clean the teeth, and then applied this blue gel stuff. It is a primer for the cement for the brackets. She then applied the cement and took the brackets from the mold and placed them on the teeth. The blue light is used to set the molecules in the glue. She said if you look at it, it can burn your eyes like sunlight. There is a special shield in front of the light that she looks through to protect her eyes. She is placing the wire in the top row of brackets here. And ... this is how you thread the floss through to clean each day. Wow, Becca now has a full set of braces on her teeth. She will probably be in treatment for about 20 months. The process is so different now than even a few years ago. In fact, she has a different kind of bracket than Nick does. They are changing and improving all the time with this stuff. I am excited for her to get her teeth straightened. I know she will love the end result. Becca, it really will be worth it!

Heat . . . Rain . . . Monsoons!

One thing I have really learned to love about Arizona is the Monsoon season. It is beastly hot, usually always in the 'teens - like today the expected high is 112. But then we have a storm, like last night. We watched it roll in on the news. It was a HUGE dust cloud that was moving nearly 45 miles per hour from Gilbert to the south of us. The rain also comes. We went outside to see if we could spot the dust storm heading our way. I was barefoot (dogfoot!) and the driveway and sidewalk were unbearably hot. I was hopping around to keep from burning the bottom of my feet. The clouds were rolling in from three different directions and the lightening was already flashing. I ran back in the house for about half an hour and watched more about the storm on the news. Next weather check outside, I wore my shoes. The sky was much darker, and the sunset was amazing as the clouds were everywhere but in the west. The wind had really picked up and it was hot, hot, HOT! Went back in for a while and when I heard the first drops on the roof went outside again. The smell of rain is one of my favorite things, and the air was still agitated with the dust storm. As the rain fell and hit the sidewalk with quarter sized drops, it evaporated almost instantly because of the heat absorbed from the day. Then it really came in full force, and the ground actually started looking wet. The steam rises and the heat starts to diminish. The temperature falls more than 20 degrees as the rains take over for a while. We (Rod, Becca, and I) opened up the garage and sat out in our camping chairs. The mist from the rain was cooling - and we really enjoyed the electrical show put on by the lightening. The hot air from the garage rushed out at us against our backs as we sat facing the rains, but finally depleted as the storm won out. As the last drops splashed down, we went back into the house. Early this morning as I walked the dog, it was so muggy I could hardly breathe and I could still smell the rain - that's the monsoon for you! I love it! We will have many more storms like this through August and September. Give me hot over cold any day! However, the dry heat is easier to stand than the humidity. Thank goodness for air conditioning! Another interesting thing about this season is the house water. Our pipes are in the attic and not buried very deep in the ground. As I showered this AM after the muggy walk (I was totally covered in sweat) (I know..GROSS!), I only used the cold water, and wished I could have had it just a tad cooler. Can you imagine not being able to have the water as cold as you want it? For the next few weeks, I will not have to add any hot water to the shower at all and it will still be plenty warm. And just try getting a cold water temp in the washing machine - oh well... Most people have the same experience when they move here: you turn on the kitchen tap and wait for the water to get cold so you can have a drink . . . you wait, and wait and wait..... and it never happens! It is a little wierd, but then you finally know why you have an ice dispenser in the refrigerator door!

Mesa Falls

Another favorite place to visit when we are at Island Park is Mesa Falls. This is such a beautiful waterfall. The mist rises and the sun sparkles off the rising mist. I took a few shots that I thought might be interesting. I am trying to be an amateur photographer here, so bear with me. I really love digital photography. I took over 300 shots on this vacation, so I could post tons of pictures! I try to pick the ones I thought turned out really well - different angles that the usual shots, ones with contrast, through tree branches, etc. Hope you enjoy my photos of the falls.

Farewell/Celebration Dinner

While I was in Utah in June, I was fortunate to attend a dinner in Salt Lake City with long time friends, Bob and Becky Cox, and their family. Allan and Diane Asplund and some of their kids were there as well. All of my girls were there, also. It was such a fun reunion! Bob and Becky were reporting to the MTC the next morning in preparation of going to Leon, Mexico to serve as the Mission President there. Bob will be a marvelous Mission President and Becky the most genuine and sincere Mission Mother any missionary could ever want. Allen and Diane had spent a year in China teaching English and have been back for just a few months. We enjoyed our visit immensely, and it was so fun to see our kids catching up as well. Truly my cup runneth over with wonderful friends.

Bob, me, Diane and Allan

Brittany, Karli and baby Ashki

Katie and Becky

Tina and Mark

Matt - just newly home from his mission, and Becca

Melanie, Katie and Julie

I was so sad to see the evening come to an end. These are friends that go back 30 years. We have been through much together - births, deaths, joy, sorrow, work, play, traditions, accidents, vacations, temple trips, school plays, ball games, theatre trips, holidays, graduations, and many more wonderful life experiences! "Party on Dudes!"

Yellowstone - one of the Seven Wonders

We started out our Yellowstone adventure by having a picnic near the river. We were starving. It was sooooooo cold that we actually had to move over to that table in the sun. Look at poor Becca! She was freezing. I think it was the cool breeze that really got to us Arizonans. We just aren't used to that. I took this picture of the river and didn't even see the sign down in the corner. Kind of a neat shot. My poor family. I made them stop at the Artist's Paint Pots. I just love that stuff! The more bubbling mud, active geysers and smelly steam, the better! It was a really neat walk and we saw lots of cool stuff. We then moved on to Yellowstone Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Nick and Becca are looking over the brink of the falls. There is a perpetual rainbow during the day as the spray from the falls catches the sunlight just right. It is so beautiful! ...and here I am with the Yellowstone River in the background. The roar of the falls is something that I enjoy hearing. They say that Yellowstone is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is easy to see why with all of the thermal activity there. But I think my naturally curly hair is also quite a wonder!! Ha, ha!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

I have wanted to post for SEVERAL days and have just not made the time to do it. We had such a great vacation, and I have so many pictures! But here is my favorite one. I caught Cooper kicking his ball at Cherry Hill. I took a couple of shots trying to catch the ball in the air and get him in action. Wow.... I think I got it! And if you look closely, you can see that the ball is positioned perfectly - it says "Life is Good." I mean, really. How often will this kind of shot happen?

We had such a great time in Island Park at Janet and Lenny's wonderful cabin. Rod and I walked around Silver Lake. It is such a beautiful place. We were hoping to see moose, or a bear, but all we saw were tracks on the trail - all kinds of tracks! We also saw the beautiful swans on the lake and some very unusual cranes out in the forest. We could hear them calling. It was almost haunting. Hear are a few shots of the lake.

Rod is checking out a few tracks on the trail here.

Truly Island Park is one of my favorite places. I just enjoyed sitting on the porch one afternoon with my book, as the wind quietly whispered through the tops of the pines. They sky was a brilliant blue, and the bees were busy with their afternoon buzzing. We enjoyed a trip to Macs Inn for a prime rib dinner and the play "The Robber Bride Groom." We tried to squeeze in as much as we could in to the three days we were there. WE always enjoy going to Johnny Sacks cabin to see the big fish in the clear spring water. Here is a shot of Big Springs and the little cabin built by Johnny Sack. Can you blame him for wanting to live in such a beautiful place? The water actually bubbles up out of the ground and flows down to create a river.