Bethany, SJ, Wil and I went to $2 Tuesday at
Thanksgiving Point on August 9th.
Baby Wil Bethany patiently explained everything to SJ.
Dino puzzle together.
SJ digging for dinosaur bones.
We enjoyed the picnic we brought before
heading on down to farm land.
Ride em! Sarah Jane Horse and wagon ride.
Baby Wil's First Birthday 8-11-2016
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Grandpa and Grandma K.
Wil and Leia Combo Birtday Party at Salem Pond
Leia in her new birthday dress from Grandpa and Grandma K.
Gathering at Salem Pond.
Pizza and rainbow cupcakes. Does it get better than that?
Present time.
Feeding the ducks and geese.
Katie and Gabe, Beth and Wil, Grandpa and Ty
Playing on the beach with the ducks.
Leia and Sarah Jane
Some one is tramping on my bridge!
Spending time with Dad can be painful.
Malea goes to the dogs.
Malea and Hank. (His owners found him Dog #2: Gryff- short for Gryffindor
and reclaimed him. :( )
A day at Nephi Park
ASH GROVE PICNIC AT YOUNG LIVING FARMS IN MONA
so she and Leia stuck together.
Katie in the bubble.
Katie and Bethany in a bubble.
Katie and Bethany were the only adults brave enough to try water ball war.
Gabe, Katie, Bethany, Leia, Luke and Tyler awaiting a wagon ride.
Saying "Thanks" to the horse power.
Many dangers lurked around every corner...
But everyone survived and had lots of fun.
Autumn came early this year so Darrel and I
went in search of Autumn on the 4-wheeler.
There were lots of elderberries this year.
We also found Autumn on the Nebo Loop drive
Autumn at the homestead.
We had a trio of Sister missionaries over for dinner.
This is the afghan Maggie had made for Rusty.
An inmate designed and crocheted it.
Darrel went on a dream fishing trip to Canada.
The had to fly into the lake on this plane.
This was their home for a few days.
Each team of two had a boat.
Gordon and Darrel were one team.
Fish were the fringe benefit of the trip.
Jens and Matt were the other team. This was a bait fish.
Gordon
The soon found fishing at night was more successful,
but the mosquitoes made that more miserable.
This is the plane coming back to get them.
LEVAN HOMESTEAD NEWS
(August 2016 Edition)
Dad: My big thing in August was
my fishing trip to Canada with Uncle Gord, Matt and Jens. The day before I left, the pipes in the well
house broke and flooded the pump house. It took the whole to pump out the water and
get new pipes and fittings to replace it.
Mom was glad it happened then and not the day after I left. The fishing trip was fun. We flew to St. Paul
and then on the Winnipeg. From there we
drove to Vermilion Bay where we were picked up by a puddle jumper and flew
into Crooked Lake. We were in a remote
wilderness area where the only electricity was from a generator. There was a bunk house for sleeping and a
cook house for food. We had an old out
house and a little shower house, too. We
ate like Kings and fished all day every day.
It didn’t take long for us to discover that the best fishing was in the
evening. We caught Northern Pike, Wall
Eye and small mouth bass. Gord and I
shared a boat, and Matt and Jens shared one.
The only wildlife we saw was loons, eagles and seagulls. We flayed the fish and dumped the waste
across the channel. That brought in the
eagles. We had a lot of fun. I learned a few new fishing tricks and we are
already planning another trip Lake Powell. It was also the Ash Grove Family picnic this
month. I got invited so I took the Wilkins
and Bethany with me. (Mom was supposed to be on a bus run that day, but it got
cancelled so she stayed home and blogged.)
It was at Young Living Farms in Mona and it was fun to watch Bethany and
Katie in the giant gerbil balls that float on water. I think they were the only adults to try it.
Mom: AUTUMN has arrived! Dad and I started the month out by going to
an estate planner, so if there is some “possession” we have that you would
especially like someday…..let us know .
Brenda,
Janna, Bradley, Kaylee, Leia, Wil and Tyler are all a year older. Did you know
that Bradley and President Monson share a birthday? It was a tough month for Aunt Brendie. She did finally get her gall bladder out, but
she suffered a lot before she found a surgeon.
Her recovery has been pretty rocky, too.
Dad and I took them some dinner and visited the day he flew back from
his fishing trip. By the end of the month she was starting to feel human again.
Work days: Most mornings started with
cleaning ANOTHER district bus or vehicle.
Bethany was up and out early every morning and worked like a
trooper. Dad and I assisted some when we
could. (Dad more than me.) That routine provided her with the biggest
check she has ever seen with her name on it. Dad harvested the beans from our garden
and I canned 13 pints. We also harvested the onions and peppers and dried
them. Dad helped Bethany get her stuff
out of storage and up into the top of the barn, which he had cleaned out
previously. School started on the 17th
so I am back to my bus driving routine.
I had a couple of activity runs, both with the cross country team. Bethany covered my pm run on the 31st
for her very first solo bus run and everything went well. She is in and on her way! Just for the record, I got 23,000 steps one
day this month! (August 6th)
Fun Days: Here’s a highlight of our
fun days. SJ and I went shopping and
found some fabric to make new curtains for her bedroom. She wanted rainbow curtains and that turned
out to be more difficult than I thought.. Our annual primary dinner and dance
was a great success. We had about 60
come and they danced until after 10:00 p.m. Bethany and I took the kids to
Thanksgiving Point for $2 Tuesday. (That only happens in August.) We were able to see the Dinosaur Museum and
Farm Land for only $2 each and it was a lovely day. She went back later in the month with Katie
and kids to see the new Discovery Museum. We also had a little party for Wil’s
1st birthday on his special day and later met the Wilkins at Salem
Pond for a more official celebration. I
am glad to report that Baby Wil rolled over by himself for the first time in
his life this month. Now he crawls and climbs like lightening! Dad and I went to two plays this month. We
went to South Pacific at BYU and PCT production of “Into the Woods.” Of course I loved them both! We took Bethany
to a movie, too. It was the new “Pete’s Dragon.” It has little in common with the old one, but
I enjoyed it and am considering owning it when it comes out. Pete was adorable
and Elliott was like a BIG fluffy dog that breathed fire at times. Dad and I
went on a 4-wheeler ride in search of autumn for FHE one week & found
it!
Perhaps
my favorite fun day was picking Ben up from the airport as he flew in to attend
BYU. We went out to dinner and then did his shopping (from the list Laura had
provided) before moving him into his apartment. He is in a great place and
being a part of this new adventure brought back a lot of memories for me. I was grateful Grandpa and I got to be a part
of it.
Sad days: Patrece Aagard was killed on August 5th in a tragic
accident on the ridge. That impacted me
pretty deeply. I was so grateful the
Bishop called and asked me to help with the music for her funeral. I had wanted to do something more personal to
let her family know how I felt about her and that service helped. Dad and I also went to Sandra Mangelson’s
funeral. She died of leukemia. It was a huge funeral and she was a
remarkable person. I came away wanting
to do better in some key areas.
Learning days: Dad and I made it to the temple twice this month and he also took
Bethany once as well. I got to go to BYU
Education Week for one day! I loved
it! My favorite classes were “How
thoughts contribute to stress”, square foot gardening, and one on strengthening
your marriage by John Bytheway. The
first year I retire I am going to celebrate by attending the whole week! I was able to go visit Maggie at the prison
again this month. It was been an
edifying relationship for me. She does
so well in an environment where there is little agency. She has made her way nearly to the top in one
year. My fear is how things will go when
a full range of agency is restored to her.
I have wondered if Heavenly Father and Mother have a similar fear with
the birth of each new baby born into mortality.
Sister Kenison: See andreaapril.blogspot.com
