Trek

This was our cute family

Gabby, Scott, Jasmine, Kim, Olivia Ben and Sam there on the front

Gabby is quite young...doesn't turn 14 till November, so I'm not sure how she got to go.
She was pretty quiet and kept to herself. Ben was quiet too. The other kids...not so much! They were really outgoing and fun.
All of the kids got along with each other and we didn't have any problems that way.

Jasmine was an interesting gal. She was put with our family at the last minute, so we didn't know anything about her. She was really straight forward and would let you know whenever she needed anything or thought things should be run differently. She was very mature in many ways, but then would have tantrums and cry over other small things like losing her hand sanitizer.
The first day it was pretty windy, and she had this big bonnet on that kept getting blown all over. She would get really frustrated and yell and stomp her feet. She kept pulling so much on it, that it finally broke. Then she was really upset. I tried to fix it for her, but it was pretty much impossible without some sewing stuff.
I told her she could wear mine, but she was pretty hesitant, saying her mom was going to be so mad that her bonnet was broken.
I finally got her to put my bonnet on and she liked it and wore it the rest of the trek.
When we started walking, it seemed like she was having trouble, but we thought it was because she had her apron so loaded down with stuff, she was about to tip over . I had her put some of her stuff on the handcart so it would be easier to walk, but she was still struggling.

Then sister Sorenson (the trek missionary...a really neat outgoing lady) came up to Jasmine and just came right out and asked her why she was walking like that.
She was walking right behind us, so we heard the whole story.
She was adopted by her parents from an orphanage in china. She was born with legs that turned the wrong way, so she spent her childhood in braces. Then they tried to get them to turn by cutting the tendons. It left her with very tight legs...cant bend them much at all. Can't sit cross legged or squat down. And when she runs, she keeps them her legs straight and just swings them out to the sides.

She said the things she had been through had been hard, but it had made her a stronger person.
Kelley and I just looked at each other like "man what a couple of jerks we are!"
She had a real hard time the second night. It was a lot colder and she didn't have a very good sleeping bag. I could hear her thrashing around trying to get comfortable. Then I heard her shivering and crying. I told her to snuggle down in her sleeping bag and cover her head. She said she couldn't breath like that. I gave her my coat and told her to put the hood up so her head would be warm. That seemed to help and she finally fell asleep.
My heart went out to her and by the end of the trek, we had become quite close. I learned from people in her ward that she is a pretty amazing young woman and has overcome a lot in her young life.

You just never know what people have been through in their lives...until you have walked a while in their shoes. Jasmine taught me about not judging a book by it's cover and being more compassionate and kind.

This guy, Eduardo, was a special kid. He is not a member of the church, but came on trek with Sam. He told us the missionaries had been teaching their family and he believed what they were teaching them. I think he had some good experiences on trek... Him and Kelley really hit it off. He was definitely the life of our family's party! He was always teasing the girls, spraying them with the spray bottle, or trying to get us all to sing songs or telling us funny stories. He taught Kelley a lot of Spanish and shared some of his favorite recipes of Mexican food.





This was the awesome women after the woman's pull.

It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done (physically)

We started out pretty good, but it got harder and harder the farther up the hill we went. Olivia and Kim were in front and Gabby, Jasmine and I were in back pushing. We were all really struggling. The girls in front hollered for me to come up front and pull, so I ran up there. We were barely moving and all of us in tears.

We came over this first hill then could see all the men standing on the sides of the trail. They were singing 'come, come ye saints' Oh man, then we really broke down.

We couldn't go another step...completely exhausted. Suddenly, there next to us were other women who had already made it to the top and had turned around to see us struggling, and had come to
save us. They didn't say anything, but just gave us the extra strength to make it to the top.
It was pretty wonderful when we got to the top and were surrounded by all of our men, telling us they were proud of us.

The Ma's and Pa's weren't supposed to help, but Kelley stepped in when the going got really rough.




Making our tent out of the handcart and two tarps....Not an easy task. But everyone pitched in to help.

This guy, Scott, was a hard one to get to know. He had written on his bio, that the reason he was going on trek was because his parents were making him go, and that became pretty evident. He was always respectful and did what was asked, but you could tell he didn't want to be there. Kelley and I tried to talk with him, but he was pretty closed up. His little brother was on trek too, and Scott kept wandering away from our family to be with him.

He got way ahead of us at one point and I think the other kids were kind of resentful cause he was just walking and they were having to push the cart over some pretty tough terrain.

Kelley caught up with him and told him that his family really needed his help. He stayed with us after that.

He opened up a little later on, telling how his family had moved a lot through all of his growing up years. I guess there's always a reason why people are the way they are...once again, the thought came to me " Be kinder that necessary, because every one is fighting some battle in their lives."

This was the moon coming up that first night. It was really a cool sight...light as day all through the night...and believe me, I saw the whole night. No sleep.
Even my sleep potion couldn't help me through this one.

Jerry was photographer on trek. He is such a good guy. Glad to have him for my friend....(although I would like to get ahold of that camera and destroy some of those pictures!)

This is Sam. A real good kid. Was a tremendous help all through the trek.

Packing up our cart...not the prettiest, but it worked.

The trek is run on a huge cattle ranch. We ran into the herds a few times...and their poop was everywhere.

When we walked along we would call back to those coming after us if there was a big hole in the road or something else they needed to watch out for. We ended up calling out mostly to watch for poop on the right, poop in the middle, poop on the left...then there was fresh poop....that was the worst. We were definitely in their territory!

Kim and Olivia were both great girls....Very willing to pitch in and help without being asked.
Olivia was visiting her cousins that are in our stake and decided to go on trek with them. She was from Pima Arizona but fit in perfectly with all the other kids. Real friendly, hardworking, and sweet. She was a great example to me when I watched her reaching out to Eduardo, talking to him about the gospel. ( I think she kind of liked him) Then she suggested we have a testimony meeting with our family to help him feel the spirit.

Kelley put Scott in charge of getting the ropes strung up on the top of the cart....a pretty scary job if you ask me....your life is really in the hands of the ones holding the cart up, and the wind was blowing really hard! I think it helped him feel like he was important to our family.

Kelley taught the boys a fancy knot that helped a lot in setting up our tent.

The second day, the wind was blowing so hard when we tried to set up our tents, it was almost impossible. The tarp would whip around and pull out of your hands. One family had their tarp all ripped up from the wind so they couldn't even use it and had to sleep out under the stars.
President Morton suggested we all say a prayer that the wind would be calmed so we could enjoy the activities prepared for that night. Within an hour or so, it was completely calm.

They had some fun old fashioned games for the kids to play. I think the favorite was the stick pull.

Tug of war...our family ruled!

Kelley with Mike...I think that bonnet is working for him.

I think Eduardo had a thing for Olivia too.

Everyone wanted to do the stick pull with Kelley...he was the man to beat...


Until they found Tye...he was with the cooking crew and a pretty big guy. It was pretty exciting...they held even and strong for what seemed like forever ...the crowd was cheering, then Kelley came off the ground and went flying.

This was the trek missionary. He did a great portrayal of Ephriam Hanks and told story after story of his amazing life. Everybody loved it!

Nancy stepped in a hole the first day and did a number on her ankle. She is a trouper though and wanted to stay with the trek. She gave a great portrayal of Bodel Mortenson...a very touching story.

The last day before we started out, President Mendenhall was talking to everyone. He said he had noticed how some of the families weren't staying together. The stronger ones want to go faster than the slow ones, so they will run ahead and try to be first. One family had one of their boys left behind and he was really sad to think that his family would leave him.

Then he said something that really struck me . He said " It doesn't matter who gets there first, what is most important is that you help each one in your family to arrive there safely" I don't know why, but in my mind this opened up into the big picture of our journey through mortality. What is most important is that we help every one in our family so that they can arrive "there" safely. I had tears running behind my sunglasses I was so moved by the image of the different struggles, temptations, and trials each one of my own children are faced with every day, and how very much I hope, pray and plead with Heavenly Father to help them get through this journey and arrive there safely.There was a change in the route the last day. The cattle were coming through the area we had planned to go, so we went off on some pretty challenging trails. It was a tough pull and by the time we reached the camp, I think everyone was DONE!!!
Kelley picked me a pretty sego lily. They were blooming all over the place.

Another amazing trek....I should never say never, but I think that should be my last. They should let lots of other people have the experience! Kelley and I were recruited to go about a month before trek because three of the ma's had gotten pregnant. We were joking with the other ones that had already gone before as a ma...we decided it's like giving birth... it's so hard on your body, you swear you'll never do it again...then after a little while, you forget the pain and remember how awesome it was and you think...I can do that...

Got to spend another wonderful day with my sisters on Saturday.

We got caught up on everything that's happened since our last get together...talking more about options with the house. Appraisal came in disappointingly low, but then we thought about it logicaly, instead of with our sentimental, full of memories, love of that place way of thinking, it made more sense.

The house is old....and falling apart. It was built by my dad who was from the use it over and over, never throw anything away, and make do with what you had generation. And he built that house out of whatever he could find. When we pulled up the floor in back bathroom to fix the plumbing, there were boards of every color and kind of wood under there...and when they were remodeling the main bathroom, they found the same thing...just random pieces of wood. (put together very well, I must add...my dad had amazing skills and actually could make something out of nothing!)

So anyway, when the appraiser went through the house, he found it to be kind of a hodge podge of add ons. ( The original house there was pretty small, ( considered a "summer home" by the man that owned the old house before) and daddy just kept adding on to it over the years as his family grew.

We found all the inventive architecture very endearing, but apparently the appraiser did not.

Oh, and apparently, they don't give a hoot about how beautiful the yard is and all the cute things there..(gazebo, dream house, cool fish pond with amazing lilys, perfect large garden space), hmmm, those things don't account for anything either. Only the size of the lot. Whatever.

The appraiser made comparables with other older homes on large lots, and he showed pictures of the homes he was comparing ours to...none of them were anything like mum and daddy's place. There's is one of a kind.

We are still hoping for Mardene to buy. Leslie is contacting her to let her know where we are with that....but the ideal would be if Teina could buy it. We all have a love for that place, but I think she has put more of her heart and soul and hard work into that place than any of the rest of us. It would be a whole lot of work ahead for them to get the place back in shape again, but if we could keep it in the family, I think we would all be willing to help.

We are not in any big rush to do anything drastic right now though, and are thoroughly enjoying these special days we get to spend together....don't really want it to ever end!

We tackled the cupboards in the back room behind the freezer. This was all of mum's crafty, sewing things.

It was so fun to go through box after box of old patterns. We were all kind of in awe at how many clothes she made! We all found patterns that we remembered her making for us. She sewed all of our dresses...and that was what we wore to school (back in the olden days when you had to wear a dress EVERY DAY!)

She was an amazing seamstress! There wasn't anything she wouldn't tackle. I never felt sad that I couldn't go buy a prom dress ...I knew that mom could make me whatever I wanted. She would look at a picture or I would draw a picture of what I wanted it to look like, and she would duplicate it beautifuly!

I remember one dress in particular that she sewed for me when I tried out for the dairy princess pageant. It was a creamy white fabric that was a soft crinkly crepe. It had a scoop neck with little puff sleeves...a high waist with a little pink ribbon to tie around there. Then she put a little bunch of tiny paper flowers that matched the ribbon in with the bow.

I just remembered feeling pretty when I wore it....which didn't happen a lot...I was tall and awkward and it took some doing to make me look pretty!

She spent countless hours there at the sewing machine...and many times would stay up late into the night to finish something special for us. How very lucky we were to have such an amazing, talented mom!

She even sewed me a cute swim suit that I loved and wore for years.

The patterns she sewed for us when we were little girls were real treasures to find....they were very intricate and detailed and so cute! Oh and the price...ones from my era...60 cents...and from Teina's 10 cents! Ha!

I want to try to make some of those cute dresses for Livvy!

I think my favorite part of the day was when we were going over some bills and letters of mums that we had gotten the past few weeks.

Brenda and Teina had both received letters from different people that had just recently heard about mom's death.

The both expressed their love for mom so sweetly and told about some special memories they had with her. I was in tears after hearing how her kindness had touched their lives. She did so many good things for people that I never knew anything about. But that was just like her...going about, serving others without wanting any notice.

Came home to a yummy Cafe Rio dinner Kelly had made himself! He even made the crunchy little strips on top! It was fabulous!

I'm so glad Kelley likes to cook! I'm sure it's partly out of desperation to have good food! I can bake rolls and desserts like a champ, but when it comes to actual meals,...not so much.

Anyway, I sure do appreciate all the effort he went to to have a nice dinner ready for me when I got home... even after working on the pond all day! (more pictures coming on that...)

Miss these guys...a lot
Olivia is getting so smart and grown up. She talks to me on the phone like a 16 year old.

Sam is growing and changing so much right now...crawling, getting into stuff, growing teeth, being adorable.

My arms and heart are aching to hold them.

If I get feeling sad, I watch this and it makes me smile!

Irrigation and stuff

Kelley and I went up to Mum's to do the irrigation on Wednesday.

We thought we would catch a few fish from the pond to bring home.

Well that's easier said than done.
They are just basking in the sun right there at the surface...you'd think you could just reach in and grab them. No! They are speedy little suckers and just when you think you have one, you come up with empty net!

We chased them all over the place. I caught two by trapping them up against the wall.

Then I turned the net over to Kelley

He wasn't having much luck on this side cause they would go hide in the plants. So he came over to this side. I was pointing out where I was seeing some and he tried to get closer to them, but stepped on a board on the bottom that turned into a teeter totter and he went down...all the way up to his neck down.

Oh man we were laughing so hard!...until he realized his phone was in his pants pocket.

We tried to dry it out, but it was a goner.

He did catch the fish though.

I sure like it when Kelley does the irrigating...he makes it look so easy.

Thanks so much sweetie!

This and that from the past few days...I was thrilled when these snap dragons came back from last year. They never looked like this last year though...they are so tall and beautiful! We had to stake them up cause they were so top heavy!

Kelley took a break from the pond and we went up to Candice's to help a little bit on her house. He put a coat of mud on her ceiling....got a little big messy!Candice and I made him a batch of nutty cookies for payment.Yes that is Kelley eating a vegan cookie. They are fabulous!

There are a ton of peas in the garden! ( I've already picked two more bowls since these three and it's time to pick again!) There were a long time coming because of the cold weather, but now they are fabulous! I've been freezing them, but I think I will make a chicken and veggie pot pie with the next batch. That was probably my favorite thing that mum used to make and we would have it for Sunday dinner. She would get all the new vegetables right from the garden...baby peas, carrots, potato's...put them in a lovely creamy sauce, then a yummy crust on top!

Candice came over Sunday and wanted some braids...challenging! (Yes, she is still very tender headed! owwwwww!, sorry, owww, sorry, owwww)

We were going to go fishing on July 4th, but Kelley was in the pond up to his neck (literally), so we went bright and early on Tuesday.

It was a beautiful day and we all caught fish!

Dan...5, Me...4 Kelley...1...it was a big one though...right dear? he he

I didn't sleep much the night before, and with the gentle rocking of the boat and nice warm cabin waiting for me, I went down and had a nice nap.

Later, Dan was telling me about something he found that has helped him sleep. It was from this natural foods store called Dave's. He has made a concoction that you spray in your mouth and it's supposed to help you sleep and go back to sleep when you wake up in the night....that's my problem...waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep.

We stopped on the way home and picked some up. He had a tonic for about every problem you can think of.

So before I went to bed, I sprayed it in my mouth. I woke up at 2:00 ( as usual) but felt strange and groggy...not all perky and ready to run around the block like I usually do.

I was going to give myself another spray, but felt so groggy, I just rolled over and fell asleep.

When I woke up ( to Kelley sitting there looking at me like he was checking to see if I was still breathing) I was still really groggy. I laid there for a while, then started feeling better.

I think it's a good trade off...if I can get that much sleep ...it's worth it to me!

Kelley has been wanting to do a little renovation on the pond.

But I should have known he can't do anything just a "little".

We have wanted to have the water fall be a little different so that involves moving the gigantic rocks. Kelley is seriously the strongest man I have ever known...I couldn't believe what I was seeing him do!

We are also inheriting the fish from mum and daddy's pond, and wanted to make the pond a little bigger to accommodate them....so needless to say this has turned into a major project.

He is so funny though. He is truly scared of spiders. ( and there are a lot of angry spiders out there in those rocks)

So this is how he deals with them....He approaches the area he wants to work on, then starts making noise...stamping his feet and banging things around to scare them away. Then he will say things like " You better run suckers...I'm coming to get you."

Then as they scatter, he starts smashing them ( he doesn't appreciate it when I tell him how I hate squishing spiders, so I just carry them outside on a piece of paper if I find one)

Then he gets his broom and cleans their remains off the rock before picking it up.
If you didn't know how scared he is of spiders, you would think he was just kidding....but he is dead serious! He makes me laugh!

He caught the fish ( not an easy task! lots of hiding places!) and put them in their temporary home...

Ha Ha! Genius!Ok...this was pretty funny...wish I could have witnesses it, but I appreciate Kelley telling me about it.

So when he got all the water pumped out of the ponds, there was still a lot of stinky fish poo and sludge in the bottom. Kelley was bucketing it out and throwing it into the garbage can. Well he was up by the top pond and got a big bucket full...and being right there by the wall, he decided to throw it over into Joey's backyard instead of putting it in the garbage.

As soon as he threw it over, his feet went out from under him and he slid right into the pond. Ha Ha! Karma? I think so! We laid the hose out in the shape we want the outside wall to be...

Kelley starts digging. I'll keep you posted on the progress.