JULY - Cabin Time with family and friends; boys camp

     The morning after our Chilean Mission reunion we found a Sacrament Meeting (never hard to do in a Utah town) and then immediately afterwards left for the cabin.  Becky had just finished one group of HER guests.  We were hosting another group just before the 4th of July and then Becky was hosting her Bishop and his family from Vegas over the 4th of July.

The first to come were Rob & Sarah Peel Parry - Victor's cousin from his Rasmussen side.  They came to also enjoy some Shakespeare down in Cedar City, but we managed to get in some relaxing, good eating and ATVing!  Fun kids, fairly recently married.  We are always so pleased when the younger generation actually likes hanging out with us!

 This, of course, is a big cabin appeal:  The relaxing part!

Not a great picture because I was laughing so hard, but this is the typical look after 2-3 hrs on an ATV when the season has not been very rainy!!

 Sarah and Rob with their share of dirt, too.

 Rob's feet after sandals are kicked off.

This is my favorite photo.  The morning they were leaving to go on to Mt. Pleasant to join her family for Independence Day celebrations Sarah and Rob said they had something they needed to tell us.  They wanted us to know they are expecting their first child (due Jan. 1st!) but made us hold off posting anything on Facebook or the blog because they hadn't had time to even tell their own parents.  I was excited to be first notified and thought their concern that WE would feel bad if we heard later and hadn't known while we were together was a wonderfully amazing thing.  This will be one lucky child to have such good parents! 

Here are two more really lucky children!  These are the cute kids of Sarah's sister Andrea who was able to get away from Richfield for a day and join us up on the mountain.  Maren Peel, Andrea's mom, was pregnant with Andrea when she & her husband lived with us briefly in the Verona house not long after we were married.  So we have loved the Peels a very long time!!  Fun when relatives can also be some of your best friends! 

Days were still dry and pretty hot.  The little people found a way to cool off.  Aria was in heaven in this little wading pool!  (Her diaper soaked up so much water that we weren't sure there would be anything left to play in!)

Just get enough of these dimples and smiles

 Sometimes you just NEED watermelon and a simple, summer meal.

Exit Peels;  Enter Warners   Fourth of July

     And switching "hosts."   Becky's turn again - this time to welcome HER friends and time for us to recede into the background.  

      I felt like a fly on the wall watching a well-oiled machine roll into the driveway and just take over with precision and charm!  The Warners have 7 children, expecting their 8th.  Sometimes you just need to sit back and watch an amazing, committed, loving (and very NORMAL) LDS family in action.  Ginger and her husband spoke, children obeyed.  They cooked, they cleaned, they watched out for one another, they squabbled, a few even cried, they even tried their hand at resisting authority.  They read scriptures, they prayed, they thanked, they hugged, they shared knowledge of things we needed to learn.  They shared deep Gospel feelings.  They put up with cramped quarters (our cabin isn't THAT big), but enjoyed the adventure of sleeping outdoors or on floors and did just fine.  

The ultimate moment was when we were cleaning up to ready the cabin for departure.  I walked into the kitchen to find Hannah on her knees damp mopping my kitchen floor!   I almost cried I was so astounded and so grateful!  My first thought was "Cinderella" but this little lady was not distressed or "put upon" because she was doing something so "menial."  I will never forget how I felt and how much their service enriched our lives that week.    Thank you, Bishop and Sister Warner!

Taryn, proud to get down and dirty on a good ATV ride!

The best gift of all was a thunderous downpour on the 4th of July!!!  Oh, how we have needed the rain.  And watching a summer rain storm from our front deck is by far the favorite past time of cabin dwelling!

The kids love it!   

Amazingly, Brianhead fireworks show went ahead as planned.  I guess you can't rain out a modern firework.  I was especially festive.  I opted to stay at the cabin and catch up on some computer work.  Instead I felt very tired and was in bed by 9 p.m.!!!  There is a lot to be said for just letting the body systems rest, too!

July 8-13.  Victor was off to camp with the Young Men of MonteBello Ward.  I guess you could say it was a vacation for me too, because when you are home alone you can get a lot done and you can do it any time of day or night that you want to.  And you can be lazy some days.  And productive other days!  At the end of the week we got to have Carol Mills Barber and her family back for a couple of days when they were en route from Utah to their family reunion in California.   We know some really nice people!  These are "2nd generation friends.  Carol's mom, Cindy, and I were genealogy teaching buds in Los Angeles before I was married and before Carol was very old!  We've stayed close to Cindy and Rick over a LOT of years and have hosted most of their children as they have grown older, married and begun families of their own.

While it was raining daily in Utah at home in Las Vegas firefighters were still battling the Mt. Charleston fire which had already been burning several weeks.  The constant cloud of smoke from across the valley made for some really bizarre-colored skies & sunset.  Hauntingly beautiful.

While sitting in the chair reading one afternoon I noticed the orange colored shaft of light shine across my floor!  Jumped up immediately to catch all these photos

 The reflection of the setting sun in our swimming pool

My camera could not capture how red the sun really was.  Brought to mind a latter-days scripture!

June: The All-Graf Birthday & Swimming Party, Mission Reunion, Balloon Rally in Panguitch

Becky & Charles have decided to celebrate all their birthdays at one big bash this year (instead of so many of them being close to the winter holidays).   Venue:  The Austin Swimming Pool- June 22nd.

Charles did get a cake on his birthday in May.  Jill and Peter and Aly also happened to be here that weekend for a baptism of their friend young friend, Emma West (who actually didn't end up getting baptized that weekend after all!)

It was a SUPER HERO super party planned & executed by Becky, the super Mom

Bat Man & Spider Man

 

Super Mom, complete with pink cape (also made the beach towels)

Super baby Hulk

 

Charles - Captain America

The Super Hero Jumping House

I think virtually every present the kids received was also a super hero toy or game of some sort! 

The day before the party found Becky at our house working on food for 50 + people who would be attending. Call it extra mile or supreme craziness, but Becky made a separate small cake for each of the five Grafs!!  [I'll have to get photos from Becky's camera]  She held it together pretty well when my oven did its weird thing and decided to try to broil the cakes instead of baking them!!   We were able to shave off the burned spots and make it work!

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At the end of the month I taught a family history class at Becky's ward Home Making Meeting.  It went pretty well.  Next day fed 6 missionaries and then early on July 26 we left again for Utah.  The ultimate destination this time was American Fork where we had our Chilean Senior Missionaries Reunion in the new home of Laurie and Steve Sowby. 

Spent a couple of days with Aly and Jill and her parents at their home before that.  Had a nice visit with them.  Aly just couldn't get over that she had two grandpas and two grandmas at everything we did!  We especially loved our trip up Emigration Canyon on Saturday morning to go to breakfast at Ruth's diner.  What a glorious peaceful and cool outdoor setting!   Here is Aly striking (all on her own) some sort of pioneer pose for us at the conclusion of our meal.

Ancient Forsgren documents.  While on this visit I was able to get in touch with a Forsgren cousin who has many artifacts that belonged to Peter Adolph Forsgren.  Some books and papers were in his own handwriting and in Swedish.  LeAnna was also amazed at things we were coming across, because suddenly we found we were looking at some papers with dates of 1839 and 1854!!!  I quickly realized that these papers needed to be taken to the Church to be digitized and hopefully to have someone translate them!  There was not nearly time the morning we went to even begin to scratch the surface of things her family still has!   I felt in awe.

 This small notebook is only about the size of my open hand & palm.  Inside front cover bears Peter's name.  It appears to hold some accounting of expenditures and at the back some other notes about things pertaining to his second wife Elise Thomassen  - things which we have yet to get translated.   My next project is to get more of this uploaded to the Peter Forsgren blog  (peteradolphforsgren.blogspot.com) during the next couple of months.

LeAnna who is a great granddaughter of Peter Forsgren who has some of these things in her possession through her grandfather Elias Peter Forsgren, the child of Peter Forsgren through his 2nd wife, Elise Thomassen.

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June 29 - We get to spend time with some of the best people on earth - our fellow senior couples from our Mission to Chile.  They include mission presidents, office missionaries from the 4 Santiago-based offices and couples from the temple, the MTC, Perpetual Education, Humanitarian, Executive Secretary, field couples, family history, health, etc.  Most have served multiple missions and we just delight to get together as often as possible.  We loved seeing the Sowby's completed home for the first time.  There isn't a wall or nook or cranny that Laurie didn't think about in great detail!  Most of the upper floor is given over to areas specifically designed for their grandchildren!

Sowbys and Slingerlands are currently serving in branch presidencies of the MTC and have remarked about the amazing young people who are coming through the doors of the training centers.  Pretty fine band of emissaries going out to all nations!

On the same weekend we were "re-uning" we were missing another favorite annual event:  The Hot Air Balloon Rally at Panguitch, Utah.   Becky had a family from her ward there at the cabin to get to go, though.  Aria's first adventure watching these bigger than life amazing balloons grow before your eyes: 

Just a reminder from last year's rally.   

Mother's Day with the Mountain Men

Mother's Day Weekend at the Cabin
     The kids confessed to me that originally the idea had floated out there that they would all congregate at the cabin as a surprise to me, but with the changes of our attending Julie's funeral in Oregon we had just spent a lot of time with both Nathan's family and Becky's family.  Becky was "traveled out" and Nathan & Colleen knew it was quite a ways to come just for a couple of days.  But Peter and Jill still wanted to come to the cabin.  They were in need of a getaway.  And we were happy to oblige!!   I love being with everybody.   But I also love the time we spend with each family unit separately!!

     It was fun to hear the stories of Peter's job with Mountain Home Youth Camp.  Though it is rough being gone from your family for a whole week at a time, Peter has learned so much and has loved being a "Mountain Man".   He brought his fire starter apparatus to show us how you can start a bonfire with a stick and friction!!   His recalcitrant youth on the mountain are required to learn to do this.  We were impressed!!  He had our fire started in less than 8 minutes!!!

First you rub really hard & fast till you get a spark.  (I saw no spark)

Then you transfer that little glow into a pile of smooshed up soft mossy stuff

Then you blow gently to get it smoking & burning brighter

Then you set it into your prepared fire bed and blow some more!

And there you have it!!  Simple as that!!

We held fast to tradition.  The ladies do not go into the kitchen on Mother's Day.  The men-folk take care of the meal! 

He doesn't just do fires!  He cooks steak as well!

Aly helping to set the table

 

The perfect Mother's Day gift for an Idaho girl!!  (It's actually pretty good stuff, tho not my favorite smell!)

Darkening skies brought fresh breezes and some hail!   Loved it.

Hard to believe my "baby" is himself a Dad with a 5 yr. old!

 Jill, Alyssa, Peter still in their Church-at-Panguitch-Lake finery.

OTHER GENERAL CATCH-UP - Pt.1 (Feb. 2013-May 7)

We do our best to fill all travel experiences with meaningful activity.  So no matter what the destination we find good relationships and good activity, and (of course) - always good food!

Way back in March our good friends Dennis & Margene Taylor graciously fulfilled Victor's "I've had enough of the cold" longing to go to the beach.  We once again got to spend time with them at their cute round house on the ever-shifting sands of San Felipe, Mexico.  I was in an exhausted place and found that I probably was not very good company.  Margene had made the mistake of having the "Hunger Games" Trilogy beside the bed at their home in Corona, California.  So I just wanted to sit and read.  (Needed to catch up on vols. 2 & 3 in anticipation of the November movie release)  Or I just wanted to sit and sleep.  Or sit and play Canasta.  And the worst part is that I got home and found that even though I had more seashells (which is one of the great joys of their beach), I didn't have a single photo!!!!   But as always they are generous and kind and just let us be our quiet selves!  Good place to go in the early Spring when you want to warm up the old bones.  We also got together with our friends/fellow Senior Missionaries,  the Browns, for dinner and a Canasta game before we left for Mexico.  Such good people!

This is a photo from when we were there in Nov. of 2010, just so you can see why it is so inviting.

Opened up the Cabin again officially April Conference weekend.  You never know what you will find after a long winter close-down.  We have arrived to find three feet of snow;  we've arrived to find only the wall of snowmelt behind the cabin from where it falls off the roof.  But this year we arrived to find no snow whatsoever!!    THAT was a little worrisome to feel we would have a drought year ahead of us!   Still pretty chilly, but delightful to be back at my special place after so many months!!   Victor turned on the sprinklers and we had fun making and looking at the unique ice formations made from letting the hose run all night!

This is one of my favorite pictures.  I had never seen my chicken wire form a pretty icicle curtain before!!

Individual twigs and leaves each make a unique sculpture.  It is fun to hear shards of ice falling or cracking as the morning sun hits and the ice begins to melt!

Conference watching time is usually also pedicure time.  Ethan felt like he wanted to help put lotion on his mom's feet.  He was so intent and patient about it that we loved watching him!

In the first week of May we had planned a trip to Logan, Utah.  I had given Victor a Bed & Breakfast getaway last Christmas, but when we got news of Julie's death and her services in Oregon we could see that we weren't going to be able to work that in and still get to Oregon.  So instead we changed our plans to go up through Nevada, stopping overnight at Nathan & Colleens in Twin Falls , then did an overnight-er in Boise to see Mildred and the Hunts before we went on to Oregon.  Becky and her three kids went with us - and considering how tight that made vehicle travel - we were pleased with how well everyone did with long hours in the car.  Grateful that the Tundra is so spacious.

Nathan & Colleen's beautiful spring flowers!

Left Twin Falls.  Left Boise & started the long journey on to Portland. 

Not many places to stop on I-84 at the time of day we were passing through, but we had to try the well-advertised "Bozo Burger" joint (aka C & D drive in).  It was just OK in my opinion

  

As we neared Portland I was excited to once again get to go through the Columbia River Gorge.  It was glorious in its early spring splendor!    We decided to take the little side-trip across the river to the miniature "Stonehenge" which was built by a private citizen as a monument to soldiers.  

View from inside the circle

The view of the river and gorge is breathtaking from between the columns.  (Near Marysville, WA)

 Gives you an idea of the height of the columns

We spent several days in Portland with Jim and Elaine.  It was also a reunion to see cousins we hadn't seen for a very long time.  We were so impressed with how Jim and Elaine's children just dropped their work assignments and came to spend days & nights on end with their parents to help with the process of sorting out the million details of an unexpected death.  Julie had been in the process of moving on the weekend of her death so two apartments had to be cleaned out, in addition to all the process of buying a plot and arranging for a funeral and housing out of town guests, etc.

One of Julie's team mates from her Montana team rallied all her team mates from high school and college to come attend the services.  Once Jim and Elaine learned this (that it would be over 100 people) they arranged to have a gathering time in the cultural hall right after the funeral services so they could meet all of Julie's friends they didn't know very well.  I have never seen so many tall girls in one room before in my life!!

Jim and Elaine found a quiet little cemetery not far from their home where they bought plots for themselves and for Julie.  

The last time I saw Julie was March of last year when she joined Elaine & Jim and Aunt Pat and Victor and me for lunch in downtown Oregon.  We had a wonderful visit and she seemed to love her job as an Unltrasound Technician!   She was the favorite aunt to all the little Deming grandchildren.  

So thankful we had this time together!!

We left Portland in the evening and drove through the night so that Becky's kids would sleep better in the car.  Arrived back at Twin Falls about 4 a.m.  This time we stayed a few days to help Nathan celebrate his birthday.

Aria had fun getting to know her cousin Gideon, but mostly she liked all their new toys & kid-friendly chairs!

Gideon was at the drooling stage

We went to a favorite Italian restaurant in Twin Falls that serves fun family meal choices.  These two can eat their weight in olive oil dipped bread & green salad!

Popcorn & movie night was extra fun.  Nathan & Colleen are making their way through a 50 lb. bag of popcorn!

Three generations of people who eat popcorn with their tongue!!  NO!!  The whole point is to get to lick nice buttery fingers!!