Neighborhood Block Party

This evening was the annual Drake Family hosted neighborhood Block Party.  As always, it was a rollicking good time.  We grilled and ate, had tug-of-wars, coaster car races, a dunk tank, and a water balloon throw/catch, plus lots of time to visit with neighbors (adults) and run around wildly with friends (kids).  I suppose the adults could have run around wildly with friends, but I think most of them enjoyed the more staid visiting.  It is a delight to see Brandt and Blythe in their kid element, and it's even better for Kent and me to catch up with neighbors we don't get to talk with all the time.  We love this summer tradition and feel so blessed to live in the neighborhood.

Janie and I are wearing our matching biker chick shirts we got at Little Red.

I'm filling mine out a bit more than Janie.

I'm happy she's my friend.

Water balloon catch.

When we were preparing to go, I suggested the kids put on their swimming suits if they were planning on getting in the dunk tank.  Both of them said, "I'm not getting in," so neither of them wore their suits.  Brandt didn't get in the dunk tank, but after about an hour there, Blythe ran up to me and said, "Mom! Lilly made me get in the dunk tank, and I got soaking wet! IN MY CLOTHES!"  Sure enough.  She lasted until the sun began to go down behind the houses and it got a bit cold.  Forty-two seconds after seeing her across the cul-de-sac looking like she was shivering and turning to Kent to say, "Blythe's going to come tell us how cold she is," she arrived, informing us how cold she was.  We took that as our cue to head home.

Brandt disappeared early on.  He and Paul were eating and chatting together.  Paul has been out of town for the past week, and Brandt has missed him.  They went up to Paul's house to watch Captain American: Civil War.  The block party seemed a funner occasion to me, but Brandt and Paul both love Marvel, and Brandt had a good time.  To each his own.

Canyon Cleanup

Brandt has nearly completed both his Second and First Class Scout rankings, but he needed two more service hours in order to finish First Class.  Early in the week I looked on JustServe.org to see what kid-friendly service projects were available in the area, and found a Friends of Provo Canyon Community Cleanup scheduled for today.  I figured we could pick up trash along the trail, it would be a beautiful morning, and they promised donuts and a free t-shirt, so it was just the ticket.  Brandt agreed and was keen to attend.  Blythe wasn't.  She said she wasn't going, but came in the end.  Grandma Sue joined us, too, and we went to clean.

Grandma Sue said we would likely be cleaning up homeless person sites, and sure enough, we were given detailed instructions of what to do should be find "fecal matter" or anything "sharp" like needles.  Sigh.  While we did find fecal matter (likely animal), we found nothing sharp.  Lots of bottles tucked away in the shrubbery, and a partially smoked cigar, but nothing terribly gross.  The trail was in pretty good shape, considering how much use it gets.

While it felt good to be picking up trash along the trail, the second part of the project was much more satisfying.  The Utah County Fire Department was using chainsaws to cut back brush and dead trees, and we volunteers got to haul the limbs to a wood chipper.  It's so satisfying to see a pile of shrubbery reduced to fine plant matter.  We could all pull branches and see the wood almost magically disappear, and that was great.  We spent about an hour at both parts and came away hot but satisfied with our service.

And Brandt needs only have a board of review, and then he's finished and can receive his advancements at a court of honor next week.  Yahoo!

Blythe looks thrilled, doesn't she?

Blythe complained of complete exhaustion until we passed the sprinklers.

Then, miraculously, her energy returned and she was able to move freely again.

She is a blithe spirit!

Brandt chose to only put his shoe clad toes in the water.

The wood chipper was big enough that they fed that whole tree Kent is hauling

right into the hopper, and it ground it up.

Amazing machine and more amazing man hauling huge dead tree!

Hiking, Glorious Hiking!

For years now, I have had a sister I visit teach who isn't active in the Church at the moment, and who hasn't really wanted me to come visit her like that.  Her name is Kim.  She's very friendly.  Her daughter Ella has been in Brandt's class several times through elementary school, and I know her as a friendly acquaintance.  She's always very receptive to my friendly overtures, she just hasn't been interested in me as a Church representative.  

I get it.  She's not doing the church thing at the moment, and I don't want her feel like I'm pushy or only interested in her because I've been assigned to be her visiting teacher, now minister.  But I've been nudged by the Spirit to reach out in a more meaningful way.  I take her things on her birthday and at Christmas and we watch her dog when they go out of town, but I've wanted to do more.  In March, I was doing a lazy mom Iron-mom, where you swim, bike, and run the distances that are done in an Ironman triathlon, but you do it over a whole month.  I got the biking and swimming in quickly, but the running wasn't a thrill.  I was just walking and had the impression to invite Kim to come walking with me.  It was an out of the blue thought, leading me to believe it was inspiration.  I texted her and asked, fully expecting to receive a "Thanks, but no thanks," reply, but got just the opposite. She said she would love to go for a walk.  

So we went.  Well, we went for a hike.  Kim loves to be in the mountain and so does Hound (the dog), so she hikes up Rock Canyon regularly.  We made a date, she picked me up, and we went and hiked.  For TWO HOURS!!  For two whole hours we talked about all sort of things, and I got to know her much better than I ever have had a chance to do before.  A couple of weeks later, we went again.  Over the past couple of months we've hiked together a couple of times a month, and I'm really feeling like Kim and I are actual friends now.  I've just loved it.  Not only has it been fun to be with Kim, but Rock Canyon and Big Springs have both been so green and luscious, and the chance to get out in the early morning and hike has been as nice as getting out in the early morning to bike.  

Thus far, we've not really talked about Church.  We've had good talks, and I feel like they are getting more personal, like we're sharing more, and I'm glad.  I don't know what has taken Kim and her husband, Stace, from the Church, but I hope she'll eventually feel comfortable enough with me that we could talk about Church related issues.  And even if we never talk, I hope that she'll realize she's got a friend, me, who would greet her warmly and sit by her during meetings if she ever decides to return.  

As an added bonus, the hiking has been glorious!

These are up Rock Canyon

These are from Big Springs just today.

Kim is looking into the sun and the lighting isn't brilliant,

but I took it to give perspective to how tall the flowers are.

They were taller than me!

This beautiful stream with the moss covered rocks is right by the Big Springs campground

where the fifth graders go to camp.

It's a magically little stream.

If I believed in fairies, I would be certain they lived here.

Swimming

This afternoon we met Mikayla and her kids, as well as Grandma Dawn, McKenna, Grayson, and Blythe's cousins Gracie and Kami at Grandma Sue's house to swim.  It was a hot afternoon, the water was clear and cool, and the company was all a good time.  Grayson nearly drowned the first five minutes they were there, but I jumped in and saved him, we got him floaties, and the rest of the time everyone was fine.  We floated on blow-ups, shot each other with the water guns, I dropped Cora off the diving board (she hated it!), she pushed me off the side, McKenna rode an alligator, Grayson wore a bucket, and I took lots of really cute pictures of really cute kids.  Here's the proof!  I must say, I love summertime swimming.

Mikayla and Cora were talking to each other through this noodle.

I got out of the pool to get the camera specifically so I could take a picture of it,

but when I got back in, Cora wouldn't talk anymore. 

She's a punk.

Grandma Dawn and Gracie

Kami

Cora is saying, "I push you."

She wanted to push me off the side of the pool.

So we got out and I obliged.

I might be playing to the camera just a bit.

 

That hair!

Brandt needs a haircut beyond badly.

Cora wanted to take a picture with the camera, but she was looking through the lens to try and do it.

I turned the camera around so she could see, and then told her which button to push.

She took this one of me.

Feets!