HARPER & ROWAN @ GRANDMA'S HOUSE
Playing in the sand path at Grandma's is good-messy fun!

But. . .

the best of things to do at Grandma's house is riding the KAWASAKI with Grandpa!

THE BONE SHIRTS THAT GRANDMA BOUGHT US

GLOW IN THE DARK.

COOL!

GOOD NITE LITTLE MONSTERS!

(OOPS! . . not referring to these sweet boys. . .

but their pj's with little monsters all over them)

NEW DISTINCTION - NEW PERSPECTIVE

dog sitting - gus

he was right at home sleeping on the bed

on MY side!
we got 'pinked' by the carbon high drill team
Shauri's sister - Natalie - did it



AND . . .

On Monday - August 30, 2010 - I had surgery on my right eye to replace the natural lens that had a cataract on it with a new, crystal clear, bright , shiny artificial lens. WOW! I can't believe how good I can see from that eye now. The lawn has individual blades of grass - Skilly is no longer just covered with brown fuzz - the grout lines in the tile are really dirty! - the windows need cleaned - the stars in the sky are a pinpoint instead of huge starbursts - there is ONE moon! - and WOW! NOW my left eye is driving me crazy because it is so hazy with the cataract covering it - TO BE REMOVED THIS COMING TUESDAY - and it was my good eye until Monday last. I really could not see well and didn't completely recognize it. When I left the surgical center on Monday afternoon the surgeon said, "Well, that was the worst one (cataract) so far today." They did 10 cataract surgeries Monday. Tuesday morning when I went to the office for a check-up the attending nurse said something like, "You kept the 'worst of the day' distinction for yesterday. Your cataract was ugly - I don't know how you could see much of anything at all." Oh, and there was not any pain. Can you believe how great that is? My eye felt a little scratchy and irritated for the first day or so. It looks a little 'watery' or wavy when I look to the side or down or up, but the surgery was so easy and with such wonderful results. I am looking forward to the new perspective I will have after getting a new lens in my left eye on Tuesday, September 7. Yay!

MISSIONARY blessings - good work - and fun!

While spending some time at the Missionary Rehabilitation Center in Manila for medical tests Elder Pincock was blessed to be able to attend the temple each day.

He wrote, ". . . one day I went to the temple I did not go with the other Elders. They went in the morning and I wanted to go in the afternoon for some reason. I went in the afternoon and when I got there one of the families that I got really close with in my last area named the Floza family was there. I got to see them, it was so awesome to get to see them, I was so surprised to see them. They were there and their daughter was getting married that day. I got to attend the wedding in the temple; it was a really cool experience."

SOME GOOD WORK ELDERS!

sOME iSLAND p-DAY fUN!

CAMPING BY THE BOISE RIVER IN THE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS OF IDAHO

I used to love camping. I am trying to remember why.

Packing up a porta potty with its chemicals to take care of the stink, and a blow-up mattress, food and utensils, clothes, bedding, a borrowed tent, lots of drinking water and additional water for other things, the dog and his paraphernalia, and of course Doug and his motorcycle with all the gear needed, and going off to the mountains of Idaho (that Cory said were only 3 hours from his house) to camp sounds like an great adventure, right? We thought we were breaking the trip in half by going on Wednesday night to Pleasant View and staying at Cory's house and finishing the trip the next day. Except that it took us 9 hours to find Cory and company the next day and we had to hurry to get the tent set up before it got too dark to see (this scenario happens to be one that I remember when I was a child camping with my Dad and remember the stress it caused him to be pitching a tent in the dark!) so the adventure got off to not such a great start.

We worked through it and Doug calmed down with the realization that he was finally 'there' and about to have two full days to ride the 'best trails anywhere' with his son and grandsons. I was dredging up, from somewhere deep within, the memories of happy camping days as a child - when my parents did all the work and it was fun - and began anticipating the joy of spending time with Cory, Kara, Quinn, Dylan, and Trev.

From then on the camping trip truly was fun - except for the second night in the tent. For some reason I was just in turmoil and couldn't reconcile with the air mattress, the quilt, pillows, dog buried at my feet in the bottom of the sleeping bag, the cold air only being okay on my face and nowhere else, and worrying about the one bear that the ranger said they hadn't trapped yet that had been prowling the campground and area where we were. ANYHOO - I finally slept - some. The 2 days were pleasant and Cory and Kara and their friends did all the work and cooked and fed us. I mostly just read and sat by the river on the bank while the dog dug in the sand. I napped a little while each day. The boys rode their motorcycles and the 'young' boys played with their friends. The company of campers went to the hot pots each day and floated the river enjoying the 'diving rock' where they put in their tubes to start floating. It was a great camping place. The campfire (which Dylan built by himself the second night) remain one of the best things about camping. And, oh! of course - the s'mores - thanks Kara!

Watching the boys and their friends and their parents I was able to remember why I loved camping as a child, and even when I was a parent of young children.

And I was glad we went.

MY FAVORITE THING TO DO: WORK TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL YARD

A PRETTY FRONT YARD

OUR BEAUTIFUL BACKYARD - MY FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH!

Our peaceful, pleasant deck.

Our very delicious garden