♫ Oh, What do You Do In The Summertime? ♫

I am loving this summer weather – I can’t hardly get enough of it. I am in the middle of 3 weeks off from school, so I am trying to get a lot done. I have still been doing a lot of yard work – both in my yard and service projects. I love it. I have also painted the window-well covers in the back yard (metal grates) and stained the pole on our patio table. While I was working in the back yard I discovered a toad in one of the window wells. I don’t know if he was lounging around the pond and accidentally jumped down there, or what. It’s about a 5 foot drop. Anyway, he seemed to be OK so I rescued him and let him get away while the dogs were in the house.

Randy, Tyler, Dylan and I were able to fly down to Aurora, Colorado and stay with Ingrid, Jeff and Kalvin for a couple of days over the 4^th of July weekend. It was nice to be able to actually interact with and hold Kalvin rather than just see him for a few minutes in the ICU. Jeff’s mother was also there, so we got to know her a little better. That Sunday Kalvin received his baby blessing and all the men got to participate. We all had a nice time. Since 4^th of July celebrations were going on, we just watched a few fireworks from our bedroom window when we got home that night. Heidi participated in a 'dirty girl' run here in Salt Lake that weekend - they run in mud. She seemed to have a lot of fun. Their team was nicknamed “Guns and Garters”. Because there were so many people that signed up for the race and they could not all be accommodated, another race has been scheduled for this month. It is the same weekend that Amanda and Ingrid will be here so Heidi got them signed up to run it that Saturday morning. Hopefully, we’ll be able to go and watch.

We’ve had a lot of work done on our cars lately. Obviously, “when it rains, it pours.” We’ve had to have new brake pads and rotors on the Honda. We also had to have a dampener removed from around the axle because it was making a lot of noise, but didn’t serve any useful purpose. I had been driving around without air conditioning in the Blazer because it was out of coolant. I finally had time to take it into the shop, had them plug the leak, and fill it up with freon. Now it is very comfortable. Of course, then there seemed to be a leak in the radiator, so I replaced the radiator cap. Since that didn’t seem to do anything, I put some stop-leak in and it seems to have done the trick. I’ll have to keep my eye on it for awhile, though. I need to get the oil changed soon, also.

I shampooed the carpets on the main floor and up in the bedrooms. It’s still not looking great, but it’s better than it was. I also rearranged our bedroom – just for a little change. I put new blinds on our French doors (with Randy’s help) since the old ones were falling apart. I also did my best to clean out the garage, but it is rather hopeless!

Connie had a full week to celebrate her 60^th birthday. She took the day off on her birthday which happened to be a Wednesday, then we had the extended family over for cake and ice cream on Sunday evening, and then the following Tuesday Becky Preece took her out to Tucano’s restaurant where she got a free lunch.

Randy and I taught Dylan all 6 of the Temple preparation lessons and we did the same for another young man in the ward that has recently received his mission call. Randy and I went with Dylan to the Jordan River Temple so that he could receive his endowment. It was a wonderful experience. I have had to send $500 to the Cleveland, Ohio mission for a bike, helmet and chain. I guess missionaries there ride bikes. I have started his monthly payments of $400 a month, also, since he reports in 3 weeks. He has started purchasing the clothing and miscellaneous items that he will need on his mission. Tyler is going to let him use the luggage that he used for his mission eight years ago. John Preece just came back from a mission in Hong Kong, and Kenny and Susie Lovell (he’s one of the Bartlesville Boys) just came back from Chile where Kenny was a Mission President. I wasn’t able to attend either of their homecomings.

Finally, I got both the puppies coats trimmed for summer so they wouldn’t be so hot. I think they actually look cuter with more fur, but they are easier to scratch this way, and I’m sure they are a lot happier!