Rick's doing better!

Yes, he had another surgery, with many new attachments, etc... No he is not bionic, now. His food does travel through rather fast though. He slept for about six hours today and when he woke up, he was able to drink some lunch (clam chowder and juice mostly). The important thing is the nausea is gone now and the pain is down to a level three (on a scale of 1 to 10). See for yourself - he is looking pretty darn good now. We love him so much and our prayers are with him every day. He hopes to be able to go home later this week.

The Nest at Big Horn

Okay, so we went camping this weekend at the Big Horn Ranch. Kerry had built a bird house last summer and we hung it on a tree by the fire pit in our camp. When we went up to move the trailer in, we noticed that the bird house was stuffed with twigs and the seams were coming apart. Kerry made the comment that maybe a family of mice had moved in - I suggested chipmunks as a possibility. Anyway, Kerry pulled the birdhouse down and pried off one side only to find a bird nest with 7 to 8 eggs inside. We snapped a couple of pictures and assumed that the nest had been abandoned. We called Kadee down from the swing to see it. She peeked inside and quickly asked, "Are those mouse eggs? Oh wait, mice don't lay eggs." After we regained our composure, I pulled out one egg to get a better look and told Kerry that it felt warm. His response was that it was just a warm day. Kadee held the egg and snapped a couple more pictures. After Kadee put the egg back inside, Kerry nailed the side back on and hung it up on the tree again.
About 15 minutes later we saw a Momma-bird and a Daddy-bird fly in and the Momma-bird went inside to sit while the Daddy-bird sat on the roof for a bit and then went off (bug hunting, I suspect). We think that they are some kind of Mountain Finch or mouse-bird, we're not sure...

Milford Obsidian

We drove down to the Milford Obsidian quarry following Bo's instructions. We learned that Bo is bad at estimating distances. (1 to 2 miles was actually .9 mile) The site is actually quite interesting. From the highway you can't tell that there is anything of interest. When you get up close the entire hillside is full of obsidian flows. It is not a high quality obsidian but is sufficient for our needs in learning to "Bop" also called percussion. The hillside is steep and there are lots of dig sites (holes) from previous excavations. We learned to walk around and look at everything before settling in to dig. This obsidian has lots of inclusions that vary in size from the size of a BB to fist sized chunks of fractured spherical detritus (crap). Most will be workable if you are selective about what you bring home. Some looks to be about the size of a Volkswagen but we were not willing to keep digging to confirm the dimensions. It was a beautiful day - about 70 degrees and sunny. Kerry wanted to go right back with a sledge hammer to break apart some boulders that were about three feet across that we could not lift. At one point Kerry was driving the 4 Wheeler down to the truck with a load of rocks and Kadee and I were walking down carrying the shovel and water bottles. Kadee was complaining that it was harder for her to walk down the hillside - it was steep - because she had the wrong kind of shoes. Then she said, "Well this might be easier if I did not have so much weight on my body." She cracks me up! Don't you just love what kids say.

Extrordinary Opportunity

A remarkable series of events lead me to an opportunity to take a trip with my Dad and my brother, Rick:

• Rick recovered from abdominal surgery with a mid line incision in only ten days
• Dad was able to stay in Utah during Rick's recovery
• My friend/visiting teacher Tricia was able to watch Kadee after school
• I am not currently employed
• My husband is generous and understanding

We spent ten days (mostly on the road) fulfilling some of Rick's "Bucket List" wishes. We made some lasting memories and were able to provide a happy surprise to quite a few people. The last visit in November was just after the tragic news of Rick's terminal cancer and everyone (without exception) was reeling from grief. This trip enabled us to leave them with some happy memories and to (possibly ?) leave on a high note. I say possibly because Rick would like to do some more traveling and enjoy what time he has with family and friends.

Some of the highlights for me were; surprising Gail and Joe, spending most of Thursday, April 30th playing hookie - rescue mission to relocate plants and moss, surprising Mary Cray and Rick and Michelle Smith, surprising Uncle Bill and Debbie and visiting their ranch, surprising Mom with a new digital TV and flip video and seeing her use them both, traveling with Cindy and re-learning how to interact with her, visiting Uncle Jim and Melody and the gold mine, and arriving safely home before the motor home broke down.

The two most spiritually rewarding times were attending Sacrament meeting with Rick and having the opportunity to hear him bear testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel, the plan of salvation, and the power of the Prophet. I, along with half of the congregation, was moved to tears. The truth is a powerful thing and when told by a man of faith is beautiful beyond words. The second time I felt the spirit was sitting on the rocks watching Rick watch the ocean. He turned to me and simply said, "Such power!" That really brought home to me the power of God.

We kept Rick well stocked with food and brought him home at 158 lbs!!! I am especially excited about that because I did not gain even one pound over the course of both trips. I was traveling for 20 out of 30 days. It is so good to be home with my family - I missed them so much. Kadee is especially appreciated because she had such a hard time with me being gone. Here are a few pics from the day we played hookie...

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Tuesday, the 14th, Grandpa George and Cindy accompanied us on a trip down memory lane. I carefully maneuvered the truck through the Auburn grade (at some points only 10 mph) and started the day at Coloma by visiting the American River just across from where Rick was baptized.

Then we toured the Sutter's Mill Museum and looked at some gold nuggets.

As we drove through Garden Valley into Georgetown, I was surprised at the things I remembered after being gone for nearly 30 years. We stopped at the elementary school to show the girls and the little park we used to play at.

We decided to stop in at the Wadsworth's house to see if they were home. Dorothy recognized me right away and was full of warm hugs. Jeff and his son, Owen were there for a visit so we got to see them, too. They are still just as kind as I remembered them.

There are more trees at the homestead I grew up on and the barn has been replaced. The thing that really struck me about all of it was that it was not as big as I remembered. I showed Megan the spot where her mom broke her arm by being thrown from a horse on the highway in front of the house.

After a quick trip to the Stifle Serpentine Mine site, I drove the grade to Placerville. I was seized by the old fears of childhood being on "The Falling Road." So I had to drive quite slow. (When I was little I used to cower on the floorboard.) Overcame that obstacle and stopped at KFC for a quick bite to eat on the way to John Crays - we had to pick up some timber Bamboo for Rick. The girls jumped on the trampoline while Grandpa, John and I cut up the bamboo so it would fit in the truck. We are blessed with good friends.

Family Night 04/13/09

On Monday we were able to meet up with Gail, Robert, Gerri, Jamin, and Ronan for a nice dinner at the Macaroni Grill in Folsom. The company was great and so was the food. A talented lady sang "Happy Birthday" to Grandma Rose in Italian. After dinner Grandma Rose and Grandpa George drove us to the Sacramento Temple site at sunset. I remember when the stake center used to be at this site - playing on the rocket ship in the playground when I was little and then going to stake dances when I was older. This night we enjoyed seeing flocks of wild turkeys, herds of deer, and most of all, the spirit of the lord. We are thankful for the opportunity to be members of the church. We are blessed with the knowledge that families can be forever.

Easter Sunday

The Easter Bunny found Kadee at Grandma's house! There was so much stuff that it filled the chair. Grandma made a deliscious breakfast and then took a nap. The girls were impatient for the easter egg hunt and it litterally got to the point where Kadee was asking every 43 seconds. Grandpa and I decided that we would hide the eggs and then let the girls find them. Then when Grandma woke up we woulde hide them again. But, Grandma heard the excited girls and came out half was through. We ended up not finding two plastic eggs and kept looking for quite a while. We all got tired of it and decided not to hide them again when Uncle Bill and Debbie arrived for lunch. We had a great visit with Bill, Deb, and Grandma Bohall. Bill gave me a shed from a black tail deer that was found on the homestead where I grew up in Garden Valley. It is a huge example of a great A-typical shed. Can't wait to put some obsidian blades on it!