Time to Stay Home...

 Someone was quite happy to see Grandpa when we arrived back home from visiting Liberty's family in South Carolina. When AJ and Jameson come over, they always ask for Grandpa.  We flew into SL late on the 29th and stayed overnight before driving up to CV.  Tiffany and Abigail had arrived in Utah on the 28th for a homeschool conference at Utah State.  They rode the shuttle to CV and Hilary picked them up at the drop off point.

 Their conference lasted until Friday so they were busy during the day and they went to a family dance one evening.  I think they had a great time, learned a lot and won some neat prizes including a very nice microscope donated by USU.

 While they were at the conference, we were busy working in our yard and house trying to get the heavy stuff caught up and organized.  We moved the decorative houses from the Murray house to the ledge above my desk.  Steve was able to add some nice lighting so I think it looks cozy there. We had more houses than we had room so some of them were donated to DI for other folks to enjoy.

Steve had ordered his new zero-turn lawn mower so that it was ready when we returned.  They delivered it to our house and an expert reviewed the operation and maintenance with Steve.  I think Steve knew more about it than the guy did, however.

 Steve was pretty excited and immediately took it out for a trial run around the yard without using the blade.  He quickly learned how to maneuver it on the slopes and also learned what it could and couldn't do.  Within about 10 minutes, he and I had to work together to pull it back up a slope behind the barn with the pickup.  The grass was long and slippery and the tires couldn't grip it enough to back up the slope.  Hence the pickup.

 This new mower is a great, well-deserved Father's Day gift.  I am confident Steve will love it!

Late Friday afternoon, we got a text from Heather.  Aaron, Quinn, and Elsie were on their way to Preston, ID to watch Jantzen in a basketball tourney.  They came to our home to spend the night while Jantzen stayed in a hotel with the team.  It was a fun surprise to have them visit.

 It was a joy to have these cousins together for a few hours.  Abigail loved that she got to have an unplanned visit with Elsie as well as Korinne.

 After we said our goodbyes on Saturday morning, we all made a trip to Lowe's for home and gardening supplies to complete our latest yard projects.  Steve has been digging around the trees and putting bark and edging to keep them looking groomed.  It's a big job.  I just wanted to get all of my flowers planted and doing well.

 Here's our Sunday morning selfie.  I love it when our kids and grandkids are in town to attend church with us.

 Dinner afterwards is usually hectic but lots of fun.  We love it when family members get to visit and eat with us.

Monday, we packed up Tiff's stuff and headed back to Murray.  Abigail stayed in CV with cousins for one more day while Tiffany and I had hair appointments with Jana that afternoon.  We needed to get the final furniture items out of the garage and loaded onto the pickup in preparation for our tenant to move in upstairs.  Fortunately Steve K. was at our house doing some cleaning upstairs and he was able to help Steve load the mattresses instead of me.  Nice.

Steve drove the pickup back to CV and off loaded the stuff in the barn while Tiffany and I got our hair cut.

 After our haircuts, Tiffany, Steve K. and I drove to Provo to meet Ann for a birthday dinner.  Ann's 89th birthday was the next day, Tuesday June 4th.

 We arrived early so I drove Tiffany past the old house Steve lived in his first year at BYU.  It was one of the old mansions in town and has since been remodeled into a really beautiful Bed and Breakfast.  Steve and I lived in a trailer behind the house and Steve took care of three other trailers for half off of our rent.

 We took this selfie at the restaurant.  Since we had just had our hair done, we looked extra beautiful.

 Tuesday morning, Steve and Abigail drove back to Murray from CV.  Tiffany and I were able to get a much needed pedicure and do a few other errands.

 Our rose bushes in Murray were absolutely GORGEOUS and loaded with roses this year!

 Our friends, the Briggs came over on Tuesday evening to assist Steve in giving me a priesthood blessing prior to my upcoming bladder repair, etc. surgery on Wednesday, the 5th.  Their kindness was very much appreciated and it helped me feel calm and confident that everything would go well.

 Vickie went home with a bouquet of beautiful roses.  It was nice for Tiffany and Abigail to see Briggs again since they became friends on our visit to San Antonio in February.

 We enjoyed a walk on the parkway later that evening.  I love walking there and enjoying nature.

Tiffany and Abigail flew home on Wednesday morning.  We loved the short visit from the Salters and were so happy that we were in town for most of it.
They plan to come again in the summer so the goodbye's weren't too hard.

I was doing a little last minute shopping for a few supplies, etc. when the hospital called and asked if I could come in early.  I hurried home and quickly cleaned up and we rushed on over to Alta View.

 It turned into one of those hurry up and wait experiences since the surgery ahead of me took about an 1 1/2 hour longer than expected.  I arrived early and was wheeled in late so I sat in a paper gown for quite a long time.  I wasn't allowed to eat or drink but Steve enjoyed the snacks.

 They finally put on my cap and wheeled me out to the operating room.  That's all I remember.

 When they got me to my room after the surgery, I was starving.  I wasn't in any pain at that point due to the anesthesia, so I enjoyed a hearty meal.  My overnight stay went fine but I didn't get much rest as they are constantly checking you.  I was so happy when they let me leave just after lunch the next day.  The big surprise was that the doctor didn't want me to travel back to CV for at least one week.  I had expected to go back home the next day.

Therefore, Steve worked on projects at the Murray house, including cleaning out the shed while I recuperated, went for short walks and napped.

 Steve was determined to discard most of my real estate signs and equipment.  We gave Wendy a lot of stuff.  I guess it's the end of an era.  I'm certainly not as active in the business as I was before our mission.  Briggs came over and brought dinner on Thursday evening and shared it with us.  It was enjoyable to eat and visit with them.  I had made a big batch of soup too so we had food for several days.  Each day I walked a little farther.  It felt good to walk.

 On Saturday, we took a little drive to see one of our favorite young missionaries from our mission in Missouri.  Sister Siena Franco had been home in AZ from her mission less than a week when she had to travel to UT for a wedding.  She contacted us and we were able to visit with her for a few minutes.  She is a delightful young lady and she is writing to one of our  favorite elders.  It will be interesting to see what happens after he is released at the end of August.