An unexpected experience

Heber has been really good for reuniting us with old [as in we knew them when we were young and less wrinkly] friends. In June, I was shopping in the grocery store, and saw my best friend [from high school] Aleeca's mom in the store. No, she doesn't live in Heber, but she happened to be at that store on that day, and I was able to get Aleeca's phone number and re-establish contact with her.

About 2 weeks ago, Jared and I were on a date [shocking, I know], and noticed a man who looked a lot like the guy Jared used to go fishing with when we lived in Provo [about 10 years ago, now]. Sure enough, when he turned around, it was Jeff! We exchanged phone numbers, and arranged to go boating with him and his family last Saturday. :)Although the water was pretty cold [we are, after all, in the mountains], riding the tube was awesome. My kids were pretty excited about it, and pretty good sports about being flipped- Jeff doesn't believe in letting you relax on that tube.

Jared:

M and Jeff's boy riding tandem:

I had an unfortunate picture uploading experience, and lost about 50 pics. Now, most of those were either too blurry or too far away to tell who was in the picture, but there were a few I really wanted! Anyway, we stayed 'till dark, then I took all the kids back to our car and we listened to a book on CD while the other 3 grown-ups got the boat out of the water and hitched up to their vehicle. We were all pretty tired and sore come Sunday, but oh, we had a great time!

Okay, time to change subjects. W loves to get the mail, and today he got a letter addressed to him. M and H got letters, too. They were from the Utah State Fair, and each one contained a one-day pass to the fair, a coupon for a drink, another one for a carnival ride, plus a sparkly blue ribbon to congratulate them on being "a Read and Win Winner." They each had to read 10 books, and have a parent or teacher sign the form confirming that they read their books. W and M breezed through their 10 books in a week. H worked on his, and he read each one out loud to me :) Great job, buddy! They've been waiting and waiting and WAITING [not very patiently, some days] for these prizes to come.

Today, we bought new sheets for M's new bed. It's only her bed until we get visitors, then it becomes the guest bed :), but she's thrilled with it. Jared picked up the mattress and box springs on Saturday, but we had no full-sized sheets, so the bed sat in its plastic cover 'till today. That was about all the disorder I could stand :), so I set up the bed, knowing I'd have to find sheets to cover it before tonight. One more thing to check off my to-do list!

We took the kids out to the North Fields again tonight, and I cooked tinfoil dinners [hamburger patty, onion for flavor, sliced carrots and potatoes, all with butter] on the coals while Jared and the kids either read [W], or caught bugs [M], or whacked thistles with a willow wand "sword" [H]. I sat and knit, and enjoyed the cool evening silence. M came back from the river with some flowers she picked just for me, and a song she made up to accompany the gift. She can be such a sweetheart :) which absolutely makes up for when she isn't. We also had s'mores, except without graham crackers, since I forgot them. But who needs graham crackers when you can have chocolate and marshmallows?!?

One more thing: This year, to celebrate Myles' birthday, we're taking a donation of new clothing to the LDS Humanitarian Aid Center. While we don't expect participation from anybody, if you are interested, we would be honored.
*if you click on the above link, you'll go to the home page of LDS Humanitarian Services. the sidebar on the right of the page has several topics; click on "current needs" under "resources" to see what they have enough of as well as what they need more of. there are also patterns for the humanitarian kits available under "resources," most in .pdf format.

Gratitude List:
* NO NEW FIRES!!!!!
* Another chance to spend time outdoors with my family.
* Allergy shots that seem to be working :)
* Finding old friends.
* Jared's sense of humor to remind me that most things aren't as serious as I may believe.
* 3 beautiful, healthy children that I can see every day.
* 1 beautiful angel boy that I will see again someday.
* Music.
* Fresh, steamed squash from our garden [and my FIL's garden], served with butter and a bit of salt. YUMMY.
* School starts next Tuesday. :) and there was much rejoicing.
* Meditation time in the morning.
* I am so grateful that death is not the end; that I will see all the people I love again.
* There are some trees on the mountain outside my living room window that are changing colors. Beautiful.

And yes, I am still planning to post pics of my new haircut. Really. I'm just waiting for a copy of the family pics we took 2 weeks ago. Promise.