The end...

I was hoping the end of visible snow on the Wellsville's wouldn't come until September. Today, from my vantage point in the Providence Highlands, I can still see one little patch of snow. It has been shrinking daily and with the hot temperatures I don't think it will last.

The end of summer vacation means back to school for most of the grand kids. Tanner and Landon started first as they are on year round school. In this household there are 4 different schools for 4 kids. Some grand kids are having new experiences and a few going to different schools than last year. Riley is in high school now, Mason is in Jr. high, Ashlyn transferred to a different charter school and will be in the same school with little sister, Katelyn, who has just entered kindergarten. Miles is in Pre-K, which is mandatory in Oklahoma, and is in the same school as Owen. Olivia started pre-school at the same place Miles was last year. I think Candace and Jory are also taking classes. Jodi and Ty decided to keep Owen with his age group but he will spend part of his days in upper grades and with the teacher for gifted students.

I think these are the grades our grand kids are in this year:
Home taught: Aubrey, Abigayle and Brooklyn
Pre-school - Olivia
Pre-K - Miles
Kindergarten - Katelyn
1st Grade - Owen
2nd Grade - Brynlee and Ashlyn
3rd Grade - Landon
4th Grade - Kaden
5th Grade - Jayse
6th Grade - Tanner
7th Grade - Mason and Natalie
9th Grade - Hailey and Ashley
10th Grade - Riley
11th Grade - Courtney

Grandpa turned in his keys and binders so has come to the end of his bus driving. One of the several reasons was that the district took away all mileage and hourly compensation for travel to and from bus runs. Reed often had to drive to Newton to pick up a bus, go on the run, drop the bus off in Newton, then drive home. That would be around 44 miles in his pickup and over an hour of his time that he would give up without pay. It just isn't worth it!

I was released as a temple worker, thus coming to the end of three years of service, one year this time around. I'm really going to miss it!

The end of Reed's stint as 1st counselor in the 1st Ward of the Logan YSA 1st Stake officially took place today as he was formally released.

I am hoping I have come to the end of my health issues for now. I had 10 nosebleeds in 10 days and it seems to have aged me 10 years in that time. I've had sinus pain, headaches and even my teeth hurt. After two trips to the doctor to have my nose cauterized and three prescriptions, I'd better be on the mend! Because of the nosebleeds, I had to miss an HVC missionary reunion and my temple group's summer social.

The end of summer brings fewer hours of daylight. Yikes, we've already lost nearly 2 hours. I'm not liking that. We've been feasting on garden produce but I know the end of summer is coming when the peas and beans quit producing and the corn and tomatoes ripen.

It would be nice if I could say that we are at the end of our house hunt. I'm sure those in this household are wishing the end is near. Some day, hopefully sooner than later!

Family Camp-out

Robin arranged for a family camp-out at Mutual Dell up American Fork Canyon. Regretfully, not all of our family could be in attendance so we were few in numbers. For a day and a half Kaden and Natalie had some friends from Herriman spend time with us. We arrived on Monday afternoon and left Friday morning. Here are some random pictures:








This view of the sky and mountains from our fire pit was really unique at night. The trees on each side of the clearing perfectly framed the Big Dipper. Also, when it was getting dark the outline of the mountain top looked like a facial profile of an old man at sleep with his mouth gaping open.

It is time to retire our trusty old canvas tent. It has been with us a long time and has served us well. It suffered a broken pole during strong winds at Martin's Cove when we had the youth of our Millville Ward there. We have to splint the break with a board and duct tape because replacement parts are no longer available. The back window has had to be pinned up for years. The entrance zipper just isn't working anymore. I doubt we will replace it...I think our days of air mattresses and sleeping bags are over. I use the same sleeping bag I got when I was a kid and it is incompatible with Reed's sleeping bag...they do not zip together. My sleeping bag has my name and address written on it with black marker...my childhood address where I lived eleven moves ago. When I was about nine I remember being mad at my dad because he lent my sleeping bag to an older kid in our ward to take to scout camp because he didn't have one of his own. But I remember being impressed that when the bag was returned it was rolled up tighter and smaller than it had ever been. Even though the bag has been washed many times in the ensuing years, it still bugs me that Jerry slept in it.

I got the idea for this from Cindy's blog or facebook post: We told the kids we had only one labeled cup for each of them for the duration of camp. (I had at least 300 in the supply box) The cups would hang on the clothes line in the screened supply gazebo between uses. It worked great! I tried another camping hint that worked well: Rub liquid dishwashing detergent on the bottom of pans which will be used over flames or fire. Clean-up is easy. The blackened bottoms wash up quickly. After going though one roll of paper towels, we used another tip that Ron showed us once on the next roll: Make a hole in the center of the plastic wrapping on a new roll of paper towels where the cardboard tube is located. You might have to make holes in both ends, but keep the roll wrapped. Work out the cardboard center and dispense the paper towels from the center hole. (like a skein of yarn) The towels stay clean and they don't unravel from the roll unexpectedly!

Tibble Fork These canoes were available at Mutual Dell for our use. We just had to haul them.

Reed got up and started a fire each morning so we could warm up from the chilly overnight temperatures and heavy dew. He fired up his Camp Chef and heated water for hot chocolate. He cooked things like hashbrowns, eggs & bacon or 'Egg McMuffins' or French toast for breakfast with milk, Sunny Delight or hot chocolate to drink. We used the fire pit, Dutch ovens with charcoal or the Camp Chef for cooking. Lunches and dinners were also good...pulled pork sandwiches, Dutch oven chicken and potatoes, taco salads, tin-foil dinners, baked beans, hamburgers and hot dogs etc. We had lots of treats as well. The following picture shows some 'No-No's' that Jill made a couple of times. I would call them 'dessert burritos.' Put a flour tortilla on a small sheet of foil and spread about a two inch swath of peanut butter thinly across the center. Place chocolate chips and miniature marshmallows on the peanut butter. Roll up the tortilla like you do a burrito, folding the ends in so the contents don't come out. Wrap the foil around the burrito and place over warm coals. After removing from grate, unwrap partially using foil to catch drips as you eat. Yummy!

Deer wandered through camp. We saw lots of squirrels too. We had some unwelcome visitors at night. They got into Robin's supplies and chewed up things like bread and tortillas. Plastic bags and food bits were scattered everywhere. The critters even hauled off whole packages of food, ate the contents, then left the bags on a trail above the amphitheater. Garbage sacks tied to lantern poles were not spared either. One morning there were footprints all over the table tops and benches. Raccoons!

While at camp we ran into Elder and Sister Fryer (Karma and Gary). They were fellow missionaries who served with us at Heber Valley Camp. They are living at Mutual Dell in their motor home as Gary was called to do some restroom construction. I think there is actually only one "missionary" couple there. The rest are volunteers or those with stake callings or assignments. The missionary couple has been married 70 years. The guy is 94 years old and is kind of crotchety. He works from before sun-up until after sun-down. He putters around on his 4-wheeler. We saw him out mowing the lawn and it wasn't a ride-on mower. He'd gripe at us over one issue or another. He told us we had to pack all our garbage home, which was fine by us. We burned most of our garbage. But he expected us to haul all the bathroom garbage which was generated by large groups who used pavilions, lodges and the amphitheater.

There was a zip line. It was enjoyed by even the younger kids like Katelyn, who is five. After coming from Heber Valley Camp where there are so many rules, regulations and safety concerns and where the operators had to be schooled and certified, I was appalled at the laxness at Mutual Dell. Really! We each had to put in 200 hours on the challenge course to meet certification requirements. A guy explained the hook-up procedures to Jill and Robin for a couple of minutes, showed Andrew and me what to do on the bottom end, handed us the harnesses, then he left.

Playing in the mud at Tibble Fork:

Kaden wasn't wearing a shirt so they made him one of mud.

We arrived home safely. We are still exhausted. It was wonderful to have a shower and sleep in our own beds last night. I am suffering from nosebleeds again. Poor Robin and Andrew. Camping with two-year-old Aubrey was very difficult. Robin ended up going home with her for two nights. Luckily it was just 20 minutes away. I hate packing things, loading them and setting up camp. I also dislike taking down the tents, hauling everything back home and getting everything washed and put away. I'm not a fan of sleeping in a tent anymore. Visiting around the campfire, being with family, beautiful surroundings, great weather, fun relaxation, outdoor cooking and eating...now that is the part of 'camping' that I love! My thanks go to Robin. I'm sorry it was such a sleepless and unenjoyable time for her with her little handful.