“There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart”

August has been a busy, busy month. First – At the beginning of the month I sanded, stained, and finished a couple of bathroom cupboards a darker color. They were blond wood before, and I used ‘walnut’. I plan on doing our master bath also, but I haven’t had time yet.

Before

After

Randy had knee surgery where the doctor went in arthroscopically and cleaned up his meniscus. He was on crutches for several days, but it is healing nicely and he is now recuperating. Hopefully he will be able to walk without a limp soon!

Ingrid’s female Vizsla had her 3rd litter of puppies – 7 males and 1 female. They figure they will let her have one more litter and then ‘retire’ her from being a ‘mama’.

By far the most exciting thing to happen is that Dylan came home from his mission August 22. Jesse and Amanda arrived from Texas on Tuesday evening and then Jesse did a stand-up bit on Wednesday night at Wise Guys. I hear it went real well. Then on Thursday we went to the airport to pick up Dylan. Words cannot express what a great feeling that was. 

We took him to see the Stake President that evening to get released as a missionary. On Friday afternoon/evening we went out to Ingrid’s place. First was target shooting, then dinner, then games. Fun times. 

Randy

Jesse

Tyler

Amanda

Jeff

Ingrid

Dylan

Saturday some of the family went up to Park City and rode the zip line. Dylan talked in church on Sunday. He did a great job – it was spiritual, humorous, and he even included quotes from the Primary children from letters that they had sent to him. On Monday several of my kids went to a sculpture garden and then hiked up to “The Living Room” above Salt Lake City.

On Tuesday morning we took Jesse and Amanda to the airport early in the morning and they flew home. Dylan cleaned out his dresser and closet and got rid of a lot of clothes that don’t fit him anymore and some other miscellaneous items. It was a great week - life is almost back to normal.

A Brief Update on Family

Randy – He has been walking about 4 or 5 times a week for exercise ever since he had all his health problems a year ago. He sometimes would walk for an hour and a half at a time. I’m not sure if all this walking contributed to his knee problems, but it has been bothering him for several weeks now. Last Friday while he was walking from one job site to another on the BYU campus, the pain got so bad that he had to stop right where he was and get some of the roofers to help him back to his truck. He went straight to the doctor’s office (he could drive since it is his left knee) and they could not determine anything from an xray, so he had to have an MRI done on that knee yesterday. He has been using my crutches to get around. Hopefully, they will find out what needs to be done soon.

Jesse – He got a promotion at work. He works at a theater where they bring you food. He used to be a runner, but now is a regular waiter. He is also the MC for comedy shows at one venue every week. This has enabled him to get to know a lot of the comics in town. He and his wife, Amanda, continue to do work on their house. We will see them in 3 weeks when they come here to see Dylan when he gets back from his mission.

Tyler – He graduated from UVU in computer graphics in May. He has been able to do some free-lance work lately and now he has a regular job in that field that he will start on Monday. He has decided to stay in the rental house where he is for now, and put money away to go towards a house purchase in the future.

(photo-shopped picture from Mother's Day)

Heidi – She hurt her ankle at work a couple of months ago. She was trying to break up some fighting at graduation, and a couple of large Samoans fell on her ankle. It was not broken, but had a really bad sprain and some torn ligaments. She has had to use crutches or a rolling cart, and do physical therapy. But, she has now been released to go back to regular work. She is so glad – she was getting really tired of doing just desk work.

Ingrid – She has been on a no-junk or no processed foods diet this past month and has lost 20 lbs! Pretty exciting. It is not easy to take off pregnancy weight – especially when you are still nursing.  Both Kalvin and their dog Rusty had to have surgery this past month, so it has been especially busy for her. Talynn is crawling and trying to walk. Their female Visla is expecting a litter of puppies any day now, so things will really get hopping around their house! Jeff has had to miss church most Sundays because of work, but he hopes to get his side business of making car speaker cabinets going soon and turn it into his full-time work. 

Dylan – We are pretty excited that he will be home from his 2 year mission in just 3 weeks! He has mentioned how changed he is, and it will be fun to see. I have heard it said that during the 2 years that a missionary is gone and serving others, they mature about 5 or 6 years mentally (and spiritually). He will not go to school until January, but will be looking for a job right away.

And Me – I’m just trying not to have a break-down!!