Good Times

What can I say? Life has been good to us. We are still "kickin", we are relatively healthy, and we are still best friends, which is saying a lot now-a-days. Plus, Kevin gets to work from home, I don't have to work, and we HAVE work. So we are grateful... at least for another day!
Plus, we were surprised to have Kira and Michaela show up late Friday night, right during family prayers! All four of the kids took off to the Valley of Fire the next day for a fun hike and play day... and they didn't even come back too sunburned!

I am especially glad that it was a holiday today and there was no school. I think I am ready for my alarm clock to go on strike...although I don't look forward to the kids staying up till THEY think they should go to bed. But I sure love the "down" time we all get. So here's to summer, not necessarily the heat, but here's to no school!

"Kit Love"

Today we said goodbye to Kit, our family dog that has been with us for the last 12 years. I was grateful that she stayed right at home to die, and not go off into the wild, like most dogs will. She has been battling a tumor for the last few months, and while some of you may think it's cruel - we don't take our dogs, or any other animals to the vet. We just don't have the money for it, and we feel that however long our dog can be with us, then we are blessed for that amount of time. So we said our goodbyes last night and this morning. Yes, she made it through the night, which surprised me. But knowing Kit, she was not going to leave us without letting us know that she was okay with it too. So this morning, at 5:30, Tibi went out to say her last goodbyes...she died seven minutes later.
Last night as I was taking trash out, I noticed Kit was walking very gingerly and like she was in a lot of pain. She has been deaf for the last few months, so I stroked her ear while talking to her to let her know that I was concerned. I immediately noticed blood on the back of her, on her tail and down her leg, and instantly knew that it must be the tumor finally taking over. Kevin and I got her to lay down on the porch, covered her with a blanket, and although hoping for the best, knew that she would not make it much longer. Even our cat sensed something was very wrong, and tried her best to console Kit...which I though was very sweet.

We have had many dogs at different times, but none like Kit. She was loyal and thrived on affection from us, even if it was just acknowledging that we noticed her. She would come up to you if you were sitting on the porch, and dig her nose under your arm, so that you would rub her head, or pet her - something that usually annoyed me, but that I will miss.

We actually were lucky to have Kit as long as we did. She delivered three litters of puppies for a total of 24 puppies a few years ago - which I'm sure makes her a granddog by now. No matter how old, or tired, or how much her bones hurt, she ALWAYS managed to have enough "puppy" energy to go on our walks, or a run with dad. It's like she transformed into a puppy all over again. It was the craziest thing...

Everybody loved Kit, even people that didn't "know" her. She would bark at everyone that came around (I think it was that protective "mother" in her that she never got over, even though we never kept any of the puppies she had), she would let us know that someone was around, but NEVER ever did I see her nip at anyone. As soon as you touched her, or called her name, she was your lover for life, even if you were a stranger.

I always thought I knew which kid loved Kit the most...but now I'm not sure I do. They were all so sad when I told them that she had died. Maybe it has to do with them not being here, to at least say goodbye. I do know that they are not too excited about us getting another dog anytime soon - which is fine with me. I'm not sure I ever want to go through this again.

So goodbye Kit. I will miss your barking in the middle of the night to let us know that you are keeping an eye on things. I will miss seeing you play with the grandkids, and having grandma say hello to you when they come to visit. Most of all, I will miss my "walking buddy" - walking out the door with my ipod and stretching will be pretty lonely without you jumping all over the place, knowing that we would be off on another adventure into the wild! Thank you for loving us and being part of our family...

Two Milestones

This little guy has made his grand entrance into our eternal family this last week. Little Amar'e Willard Hill was born two days early, on April 30th to Lexie and Sharrid. He wasn't due until the 2nd of May, but Lexie was wanting an April baby since they already have Phoenix's birthday in May. So he made it by the skin of his teeth, and all 8 lbs. 8 oz. of him too! He sure is a cutie though, and grandma got to go to Arizona for a week to take care of mom, baby, boys, and dad too. So here's to the newest little sweetheart...
While I was gone, Tibi had her own milestone...she went to Prom with this handsome boy, Ty Askeroth. They had a great time with about 17 other couples going on an "amazing race", and then getting ready in their lovely orange duds and heading to the dance for a while, and then over to a friend's house for a late-night movie. Thank you Ty, for spending a fun day and night with Tibi!

A full length shot of her beautiful bright tangarine dress - borrowed from good friend Jordan Chappell. Jordan also did Tibi's hair for her. Thank you Jordan! (Ty did his own hair...)

While Tibi was off having a blast at Prom, Landon had his own party with some of his friends...the friends that didn't go to Prom. They called it their "anti-Prom party." You know...getting together at a friend's house, goofing off, eating goodies, and watching movies. Almost as much fun as Prom...

And I missed it all - including the talk on Mother's Day that Landon had to give. Hmmm....

It's kind of weird not being home on Mother's Day...but I definitely was doing "mother" things!

Mother Nature's Wrath

Today is a "nice" day. Last week we did not have very many nice days. Last week was "Fair Week" - a week that we hope for great weather. Everything was great...except for the weather. Mother Nature is a funny lady - although at the time we didn't think she was very nice. Thursday we had horrible, bitter cold wind, not good for a fair full of vendors and goods, entertainment out in the open, and people we hope will show up. Friday we had horrible, bitter cold wind, and much of the same thing. Saturday we had high hopes of at least a warmer wind...the wind died down a bit, but it was just as bitter cold. It's not a good thing when you wake up every morning and see new snow on the mountain out your front door. Sunday, the day that none of us go, of course, was gorgeous! Not that I cared so much about us - but after all the hard work of putting on a fair (that my husband happens to be the manager of) I was very happy that we could at least see the sun, feel the sun, and see no wind. Long story short...here is what my front yard looked like after the first day of wind. I'm talking strong wind - wind that we haven't seen for a while, and we get a lot of wind living in the desert. These are palm tree "droppings" that could have done someone in had they been standing under them when they came down. These things are deadly, and they all came down in one big crash. This is the culprit tree - the pole you see is the top of our flagpole. These trees are huge!

After everyone went home from the weekend, we had another windy day, which brought down even more palms that ended up on the other side of the yard, which meant the wind had at least shifted. Yay, more work. They landed clear over on the other side of the driveway. It pays to stay indoors when it's windy...

We know what we will be doing on Saturday...

Tackling THE Project!

This is the project that has needed to be done before the heat sets in - and this is no small project. Because we have had a good share of rains this last season, our yard is green, but not the kind of green we want. The weeds have taken over the place, so when we woke up today and saw that the weather was cool and breezy, we knew that today was the day. I think the clincher was when Michaela drove in from Rexburg for the weekend and called our yard a "jungle". I didn't dare take a "before" shot...I was too embarrassed. So here we are, in the middle of weed pulling, with the family and even the missionaries, who just happened to drive by and lend a hand.
Almost done!

After much hard work, and sore hands, we headed into the house for a well-deserved, though LATE, breakfast of crumbcake, pancakes, bacon, eggs, and juice. Mmm boy!

I almost feel bad that Michaela brought her guy friend with her for the weekend - he got roped into helping. He was a good sport and probably saw that it was going to take ALL hands to tackle a project like this!

Now we can at least keep a handle on the weeds that pop up from time to time. (Actually, there's really more weeds in our lawn than LAWN!)

Dad's Girl

The older I get, the more I am SO much my dad...and I am SO okay with that. I used to complain about some of the things I got from my dad, but now I see that they are all things that don't matter anyway. I have come to focus more on what I DID get from dad...and I am so grateful for it all. For any of you that TRULY know me, you know that I am just as blond as my dad...eyelashes, eyebrows, and all! (Thank goodness for eyebrow dye, mascara, and self-tanner. I even got his white legs!) I got the red in my hair from him, which has turned to a nice "platinum" (I like to call it "celestial"), my freckles from him, and even my crooked smile from him. All things that I thought were nuisances, but have become so endearing to me.

I even have the rough, wrinkled, thick skin of my dad! Who would have thought that something that detailed could be handed down to a child, all the way down to not being able to close off that last finger next to the rest. Yep, dad can't do that either! That's pretty cool, I think. (At least I can grow my nails out to help the look a little...)

But with all of the "nuisances" that I've been given from my dad, my hope is that I eventually get so much more of him - the parts that I have come to love so much. How he never says anything bad about anyone. NEVER. How everything he does is for someone else. EVERYTHING. How he is so devoted to God and the cause that he would die for it. How he has always put mom first. I hope I can someday put Kevin first in all things. Sure, it's taken dad 80 years to become who he is today...but frankly, I have never known him to be any other person than who he has always been to me. Now more than ever, I am so thankful I am so much like my dad.

Another Bummer...

I've decided that I hate transfers. I thought it was aweful to have to let the sisters go back in January, but this is just as bad. I usually don't get so attached to Elders, but these guys have taken up where the girls left off and outdone themselves. Our ward has had baptisms up the wazoo, and it's because of Elders like these. Well, after only 6 weeks, Elder Gibson is gone :(
We better get another Elder on fire...that's all I have to say.
Elder Arbizu, Elder Gibson, and the rest of us (minus Tibi, who had already gone to bed!) On a lighter note, this kid has finally graced us with one of his headstands!