Happy Independence Day

Happy Birthday, America! May God bless you always.

Today's entry appears on my other blog, Just Another American Patriot

"Alex" - A Special Father's Day Story

This is my grandson, Carter. Quite a nice looking young man, I think. But last night when this picture was taken, he had a special glow about him. Little did we know...

Today Carter came to me with the news that he had had a baby. His baby's name is Alex, and unlike moms, whose babys grow in their tummies, Carter's baby grew in his right foot. Since I wasn't invited to the birthing, I can't tell you how that went, but Alex arrived. He is a chunky little thing, a little bluish in color.

Here is Alex in the bed that Carter gave him:



Carter spent most of the day with Alex in tow (pardon the pun), and he was such a good father. He took him everywhere. In fact, when it was time for us to go to the movie (we saw Night at the Museum 2 and highly recommend it), Carter insisted that Alex come along. We didn't have a car seat for the little guy, but we nestled him in the drink holder between the two front seats, and Carter kept an eye on him from the back seat. By the time we reached the theater, Alex had fallen asleep, and Carter reluctantly allowed him to nap in the car while we went inside.

Because Bob was on call today, we had two cars at the theater. When the movie was over, Carter was quite ready to check out his baby, until Brody and Kennedy talked Grandpa out of a few spare coins for the arcade. Carter decided Grandma could babysit for a few minutes. I took Alex home with me. As I was lifting him from his little nest, I noticed he was wet. Hmmm, where did that come from? Imagine my horror when I realized that Alex had sprung a pinhole leak. I quickly ran toward the house with him when "poof"! Alex was no more.



I may be slow, but when a grandson's happiness is at stake, I can think pretty doggone quickly. And besides, I couldn't bear to be held responsible for losing his baby while he was in my care. I quickly found the bucket of Alexes-to-be (aka water balloons), found a blue one, and rushed to the back spigot to breathe life into the little guy. Not quite the same as coming from my right foot, but as surrogate mother, it was the best I could do under the circumstances. I laid the "new" Alex in his bed.



Oh my, they look so much alike, they might've been identical twins!

Carter came home from the movies with Grandpa, and was very happy to find "Alex" resting safely in his bed. All was well. Carter scooped his sweet baby into his arms and continued to carry him along in all of his adventures for the next little while. He only lost track of him once, and was a bit panicked until we found him in his bed on the floor of the camper.

Carter's dad (I guess that would be "Grandpa" Bill), arrived to take the kids home. Somehow, his sweet little Alex, being the fragile soul he was, met a (second untimely) demise. Tears were shed, and poor Carter was almost inconsolable. I knew just what to do -- back to the shed for a new "Alex-to-be", back to the waterspigot, and voila! a(nother) new Alex was born!

Daddy Carter was pleased as punch.






I sent them quickly on their way. I guess I should have slipped Bill a few more "Alexes", just in case.

By the way, this is a true story.

Girls Camp, 1986

Gayle and Karlee at Girls' Camp in 1986. Gayle was 14, Karlee a year or two older. They were very good friends, maybe bests. I can't think of Gayle at that age, almost, without Karlee appearing in the picture with her.

This picture is classic Gayle and Karlee. It is one of my very favorite pictures of Gayle of all time. A moment in time captured the essence of the adolescent who lived in her body for a few wonderful, though sometimes challenging, years. Karlee, too. Oh, how I love these girls. And how grateful I am that I was able to be at that Girls' Camp and several others with them.

Gayle called tonight to ask me to email this picture to her. She is now a Young Women advisor and is getting a different perspective of those years. Older, wiser and she has so much to offer these dear girls. She loves them as I love the girls who were my stewardship so many years ago. She's teaching them tomorrow and this picture fits into the lesson. It must be about friendship.

If I had it to do over...

I would have put this in my bag for the "What I Can't Live Without" Relief Society Enrichment dinner last night.

Not the flag, but what it stands for.

Soccer Camp & Clear Creek

The first week school-free found Brody at Clear Creek camp, where the highlights for him were (trying to) trap(ping) squirrels and howling at coyotes at midnight on the mountain and having them answer back. His absence from his family for those five days was sorely noted. Things can get pretttt-ty quiet with the resident 11 year old missing. Pictures will have to wait until he downloads them.

To make matters worse -- as far as quiet goes -- Kennedy spent each morning at BYU Soccer Camp. She's a great player, but these camps give the kids an opportunity to practice old skills and to learn new ones.

When I picked her up on the last day and took this picture, the coach (Brady, pictured with her here and who the girls nicknamed "Buffalo") said to me, "She was alot of fun."



I think she was sad it was all over...


Carter was quiet this week, too.

Garden Update

Bob and I got a comparatively late start in the yard this year because of the cold weather lingering. Working in the yard, particularly the garden, is gratifying. Take a little patch of dirt, sprinkle a few seeds and plunk in a few small plants, add water and sunshine --- a little love doesn't hurt, either --- and some patience, and voila! you have something to eat. As much as the fruits of my labors, I love going outside early each summer morning, and walking around the yard to see "how does (my) garden grow". There is something truly satisfying in watching things grow and having a hand in it.

Here is a brief pictoral demonstration of how things are progressing in our little corner of the world.

April 27


May 12


May 18





May 29


There have been days this past week that I was tempted to sit by the beans (in rows on the left side of the garden) to see if I could see them grow. I could definitely see a difference in them from one end of the day to the other.

June 5


Lettuce


Our first tomato


Our first broccoli

Carter's Club, too

A few months ago -- wow! has it been that long? -- when Carter came to visit, he discovered "Brody & Kennedy's Club", a magical place tucked away under the huge pine trees in our back yard. He couldn't understand why his name wasn't on the sign with his big brother's and sister's, who have pretty much outgrown this special spot. He wanted "to be there, too".

Grandma promised he would be, and Carter reminded me each time he has come to visit since then. Monday when he was here, we decided that would be our project of the day.

First, we had to measure...


...then we went to Robert's where Carter picked out the sign. Thinking we had some leftover stain at home, we skipped the stop at Lowe's (bad idea), and went straight to Pebbles in My Pocket to die-cut the letters. Carter is a patient shopper, and a patient helper. At Pebbles, they have a children's area with toys, which makes waiting so much easier. Back at home, we descended to the basement to find...the... leftover...stain..............

Well, so much for skipping Lowe's. The leftover stain had been discarded with the leftover paint in a hazardous substance collection a few months ago.

Project delayed a day. Carter was coming back on Tuesday. First thing, we piled ourselves in the car and headed to WalMart, where we found a small can of stain for Carter's sign. Back home, Carter helped to stain it. And then we put it out to dry.

Project delayed another day. Waiting for the stain to dry. But Carter is a patient boy, and he did not complain.

Carter came over today and helped put the letters on the sign. This little boy's eyes lit up with the words "Carter's Club, too" spelled out before him.

And then the time came to hang the sign...










Do you suppose Carter was pleased?




Yes, he was.

Memorial Day 2009

It came and went quietly here. We remembered why we observe this holiday, and are grateful for all who have given the "last full measure" of devotion, and those who have served and returned.

Memorial Day always conjures up memories of family cookouts in Grandma & Pa Redd's back yard on Victoria Place in Toledo. There was never a Memorial Day, July 4th, or any other national holiday that Grandma, and also Aunty Mary, didn't have their flags proudly hanging from their front porches. Why didn't we take more pictures of those special times with our family? The pictures (in my mind) will go with me when I go -- I will have to create mind pictures for my grandchildren to carry with them when I am gone.

The other memory that Memorial Day (or Decoration Day as it was called) brings to mind was Grandma and Aunty Mary making the rounds of the cemeteries in the Toledo area where family members and friends are laid to rest. Grandma was a house mother to a fraternity at the University of Toledo, and she not only saw many, many young men go off to war, but she corresponded with them regularly. Many didn't return; those who did visited her until her death at the age of 88. They never forgot, either.

Cemetery visiting is becoming a thing of the past. I don't think the younger generation will maintain this tradition very well. Part of the reason, in my family at least, is that I haven't taken my daughter with me when I have gone. My mother and father never took me, either, but I have been to the cemeteries with Grandma and Aunty Mary several times. Pleasant memories. Comforting.

This year Bob and I stayed home. We had friends join us for an informal backyard cookout. Low key. Pleasant. I heard or read many times this year that Memorial Day is not about cookouts. We had one anyway, and I don't think it was disrespectful. I remembered. And do, many, many more days throughout the year. And that is what this holiday is about.

The Project

A week ago we ordered six cubic yards of dirt, something we've needed but have been putting off for a few years. When we stretched our garden this year, we couldn't put it off any longer. When the man from Mountain Topsoil delivered it last Thursday , I told him, "I've never thought about dirt being pretty, but this is some doggone good looking dirt!" It was sifted and enriched with peat, smooth and dark.

Bob is definitely stronger and more focused than I am. I helped -- hauled many loads to the back yard, but I'm sure that for each wheelbarrowful of dirt I moved, Bob moved fifteen.



The first order of business was to fill the added garden space with good dirt. Once that was accomplished, the areas around the deck screamed for their share. Bob moved some plants and extended some sprinklers.





We had help. A supervisor. Named Daisy. She refused to lift a paw in the manual labor


...but she watched to make sure no one else slacked.




Not only did she supervise, she inspected...





...from every angle.



Occasionally, she followed Bob to the dirt pile out front and then back to the worksite. A good supervisor oversees all of the work. (Besides, she's a nosy cat.)



Notice the shape of the garden. Hint: we live in Utah.



Here's the deck area, after dirt, before flowers.


Good thing Daisy didn't see this. She'd have been on him in no time. Literally.




This project took several days. On Monday, we hired some help.





He worked cheap, and made himself at home.





And we had new supervisors, too.



The dirt pile in the street in front of the house is gone, and Bob is glad. The Advil helped to ease his pain, and mine. I've planted impatiens around the deck, and alyssum and petunias in the back along the fence. When they will show up without zooming, I'll post pictures.

I said to Bob, now we need some mulch. I won't tell you what he said.

"Let us" see...

how the lettuce is coming. It looks like lettuce to me.