The Big Month

So, I’ve already talked about the Father’s Day events. But, June has ended up being a big, huge month of events around here, so here’s the update on the rest of things.

Rachel and Rob had a great honeymoon trip in Puerto Vallarta. After they got back, the Captain and I met them at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and got to hear all about their Mexican adventures.(Ask them about the 4-wheeler ride sometime if you want to catch a glimpse into living on the edge.)

Later, we went to their cute apartment to watch them open wedding gifts. Yes, for all you smart alecks, the Mountain Dew was from me! (just kidding)


Rob put out quite a spread... Mexican theme, of course. Muy delicioso.


June is also the big birthday month in the family. Spencer on the 16th, Jon on the 17th and Rob on the 18th. We split the difference and had everyone come over on the 17th for steaks on the grill and birthday cake.







And then there's this... Hmmmmm....


And, finally, may I say... the Eagle projects are officially DONE! Spencer actually did his project a few months ago, but this month he was getting all his final paperwork turned in to beat his birthday deadline. Jon, on the other hand, waited until June 15th to even do his project, and had to have it and all paperwork completed by the 16th at 8:30pm. The project took two days. The first day, there were mainly ward Scouting people there to help him in the morning, and then Matt and I came in the afternoon. The second day, it was the family troops that saved the day. The Captain took the day off from work. Katie decided it was the best way to distract her from Garrett’s pending entrance into the MTC and, since her best friend is a true friend forever, Kylee Hill and her little brother Porter (all of 13 years old and so stinkin’ cute) came along as well. So, the Captain and I manned one booth. Katie and Kylee worked another one, and Porter walked around giving out the promotional handbills to everyone. Then in the afternoon, Matt and Jaime came to take the next shift. In the end, Jon had enough hours and got all the paperwork written up and submitted.

I guess that means there will be a couple Eagle Courts of Honor later this summer.

Goin' With the Flow... or Catchin' What Life Throws

So... sometimes it doesn’t make a hill of beans difference what you plan to do for Father’s Day. Sometimes... well, the hospital has to be staffed and that means your spouse, who almost never works Sundays, is suddenly working a Sunday. Father’s Day Sunday, no less. And... no mention of it to anyone until the night before it’s supposed to happen. Grrrrr! Good thing I’m such a football fan. I know how to punt at the last minute.

Have car (and casserole dishes). Will travel. We just packed up the dinner (modified a little, but hey, flexibility is a strength, right?), and took it to him. Our regular Sunday dinner crowd all made it, including Matt (my nephew) and Jaime (our honorary older daughter).






Hospitals are weird places. Who knew you could have your own wheelchair Olympics in the hallway outside the CT department? Who knew the gold and silver medalists would look like such... dorks?






Now, on another note... it’s been a somber week for Katie. Garrett (the boyfriend) went into the MTC last Wednesday. I remember when I sent boyfriends out into the field. I believe my mother would have described the aftermath as ‘weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.’ Katie is, of course, much more controlled and subdued a personality (encouraging to think the ‘drama queen’ gene may not have been passed on to another generation). No wailing. No gnashing of teeth. Just a lot of dignified sorrow and heartbreaking quiet tears. Man, that’s hard to watch as a mother! We wish Garrett well and hope his mission is a great experience for him.

Oh, and for those of you who might be feeling caught in a bit of deja vu,... yes, there was a different boyfriend who went out over a year ago. That would be "the old boyfriend." This one is considered "the real boyfriend." Okay, so that part definitely did get passed down from one generation to another. Her mother did the same thing. But at least Katie has the good sense not to have two boyfriends end up called to the same mission. Uh... her mother wasn't so smart.

Speaking of missions... less than six months to go and Kauheke Chichoni comes back from New Zealand.

Just Sayin'...

I stole this picture from Juliann's blog just to say... Mae is a hot-guy magnet.

The Demise of the Kingfisher II

Yes. It happened. Our houseboat, the Kingfisher II, sunk last week in the Bullfrog Marina at Lake Powell. They pulled her up from 80 feet of water. Heck of a storm, they said. Four foot swells in the covered slip area means likely double that out on the buoys where the Kingfisher was. Sixty mile-an-hour winds and eight foot swells. Unrelenting, not letting her get her bearings or catch her breath. Keeping her disoriented and off-balance. It was more than she could withstand. Some things are like that.

They've got her at Offshore right now. The Captain heard from the president of our houseboat shareholders association. He sounds like he thinks she's not salvageable. I hear my father-in-law is going down on Friday to take a look.

I've spent a long time trying to figure out how I feel about this. I think I'm okay with letting this be the end of the voyage for her. For awhile we imagined that she could be repaired. We figured she'd need a new name... like maybe the "Born Again" (since the whole immersion thing definitely happened!) or perhaps the "Coming Up for Air" or something along those lines. But the more I think about it, the more I have embraced the idea that things change. Times change. I confess that while so many of the images in my memory of my time and the faces of the people who were with me at Lake Powell bring me soul-deep smiles inside, not all my memories about being aboard the Kingfisher II are happy ones. Perhaps I like the idea of being able to disassociate from that.

But, at the same time, I'm hoping there will be lots of years making new memories at Lake Powell... seeing my children and their friends (for now) and their spouses and children (in the future) jumping off the side of a different houseboat, coming down into the galley for Monte Cristo sandwiches, having toilets that consistently flush, riding around the grottos and inlets in a ski boat, and having to remind myself to inhale when the beauty of Lake Powell takes my breath away as we turn into the Escalante.

My kids have happy memories and for that I'm grateful. Had it not been for her existence, I would likely never have been introduced to Lake Powell -- now one of my favorite places on earth. For that, I'm grateful, too. I don't suppose Davy Jones' locker applies to inland lakes... but nevertheless... a fond farewell to the Kingfisher II.