Labor Day

The trampoline, the swingset, and lots of digging. That about sums up our Labor day!

We were so happy to have Connor, Brenna and Alastair come visiting--and wished Emma and Marta were here to play with their cousins.

All the pictures are courtesy of Elizabeth!

Does that look like a happy grandma! And here's a hopping grandpa... literally.

Connor was a bit tentative about the trampoline at first, but once some neighbor children showed up and demonstrated how fun it was, then that became the place to be all weekend. There was even an hour of jumping before heading for home on Tuesday morning. And when the afternoon got hot, the sprinkler added to the experience! But I mostly included this to show Kevin and Aaron with the wheelbarrow. They unloaded a friend's trailer of mulch/dirt and spread it in various gardens, as well as dug up and moved two arbivitaes and one other bush to put along the new fence, which is looking REALLY good. We moved plants out of several gardens and Aaron helped Kevin plant them out in the field, until Aaron's allergies started kicking up. By the way, this must be a bad year for pollens because Elizabeth and Alice are bothered as well.
Catherine and I (and Alastair), began planting irises she had brought from Wisconsin, as well as roses and other things we'd planned. Alastair liked his bouncer and also napped quite well so we got a lot done, even though it was a hot and sweaty day. As the day heated up, we went inside and watched a movie.
And somewhere during the weekend, we even made it up to the school playground. Wish we had a picture of Brenna in the swing. But then, that's where Brenna ALWAYS is. And there are tears when she can't be outside.
On our last evening, we even got in a game of croquet, and then Bocce, until the mosquitos drove us indoors. All that recent rain has brought a large hatching of the pests!

The view from here...

For the past 7 days, this has been what Iowa skies have looked like, more or less. Some days there were brief periods of sunshine. Others, no sunshine at all. With another 2 inches of rain last night, our total is now over ten for the week. That's almost a third of what we usually get in a year. On the radio this morning, there was a list of school cancellations due to flooding. I've never heard that before. Due to snow, yes, flooding, no.

In the midst of all this, all the growing things are bright green--like it should be April (spring showers and all). Normally, August is hot, dry, brown. I think we can safely put away all the talk about a drought for this year.
Our magnolia tree even thinks it is spring and has three blossoms opening right now! (Or maybe it is just making up for not blooming this spring because of the late frost).

School's begun

Yesterday was the first day of school--Time for the traditional picture.

Elizabeth (Elly) is a true 8th grader--spending quite a bit of time getting her hair just so (but by the time she got to school, the humidity had changed it a bit). Alice is heading into 5th grade. Weather update: We've had over 8 inches of rain in the past few days, but we missed the storms last night. The night before, lightning played across the sky almost constantly.

The rain caused a change of plans for our Young Women. We had planned on doing wading-pool-kickball last night at our house (this was planned a month ago, when we thought August would be hot and dry--why did we ever think that?). Instead, we played "Thimble", but mostly, the girls just wanted to talk about their first day of school--"Did you get Mr. ---?" "Oh, I didn't like him." Etc. It was still fun.

Now, I just have to find a time when the lawn can be mowed. If it is too soggy, the lawn mower leaves muddy tracks. If I wait until it dries more, we could (and are supposed to) get more rain. And if I wait too long, we could bale it and sell it for hay. But I'm not complaining. Our house isn't flooded (and there are plenty around our state and others who are flooded), and our lives haven't been disrupted too much. And everything sure if GREEN!

The Fence is Done

We wondered if we shouldn't have built our own picket fence from wood, and then had to paint it every couple of years. Nah! Although the vinyl fence doesn't seem as sturdy, it will look nicer a lot longer. Once the posts were in (and Kevin very wisely put the caps on them--since they were hollow--before the major rains), the fencing sections went in quite quickly.And a view from the backyard of the finished fence...
When we drew up the plans for the gardens, I had forgotten about the slope. So I'll probably do the flower beds in segments, to correspond with the level of the fence section. And, we'll probably just do bushes on the inside of the fence to increase the privacy of the backyard.

About those weekend plans...

Despite the rain Saturday morning, the work commenced! I wish I could say that "we" got a lot done, but it was 99.9% Kevin doing the work. I took pictures.After "measuring twice" the hard work began. Although we'd had a lot of rain, after one foot of depth, the hard clay was dry, and HARD! It took Kevin several hours to dig the first four holes.It took every ounce of his power to grind away at that clay with a post-hole digger.Talking to him at that point, I thought he was about to finish for the day as his shoulders were sore, and we'd rent a movie or something for the evening. Then, he thought he would just "mark" the spots for the last 5 holes. Before long, he had them dug--the hard clay was either absent or was wet all the way down and it didn't take him long. (These were also closest to the house, so perhaps the dirst was still loosened up from the construction of the home.)

Then, once he had all the holes dug, he couldn't leave them like that--that would be dangerous if someone walked through our yard. So he trucked over the concrete bags and the pea gravel,
assembled the arbor, and by dark, all the posts were set. All that remains is to put on the fence sections (which are currently stored in the window well). Kevin just doesn't stop until the job is finished. Of course, on Sunday, Tylenol was his favorite friend, and he even slept in a bit on Sunday morning--till 7:30 a.m.!

The flower beds will take shape slowly. Of course, with this rain, the sod would be "easy" to take up! We'll see...

Not a lot of sleep last night...

That's right. Five inches of rainfall last night. That's on top of the 1.5 inches on Saturday morning. You would think we were in a typhoon or something! The sump pump ran all night, and before bedtime, the emergency sump pump kicked on as well. It too ran most of the night. But... no basement flood!

And why did that bother our sleep? Well, the emergency pump has a high-pitched wail to signal that it was needed, and it continues the whole time it is running. After awhile, you kind of forget it about it and it fades into the white noise of the house, but on one level you remain aware that the basement could be on the verge of flooding. So several times during the night, either Kevin or I got up to go check on things.

Weather forecast? More heavy rain tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday. It's too bad we can't send some of these clouds out West where they NEED the rain!

Weekend Plans

Sorry, there are no pictures with this post, as the plans for this weekend are still just in my head, and it's hard to get a picture of that!

Well, Catherine will be happy about this as she has helped plan it and continues to encourage the building of a fence in our yard. Not just any fence--a white, picket fence (vinyl) with an arbor. It will stretch from the chimney on the south side of the house, to the neighbor's fence--a length of about 40 feet. When it is finished, it should add to the cottage feeling of our house. I've already purchased a couple of hardy roses to go on each side of the arbor and I look forward to putting other flowers there--like an English cottage.

We've been researching, and have decided on Lowe's as our supplier. We'll go purchase everything either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Now, if you thought this is a simple project, well, that's what I thought too. Then I realized you have to call all the utilities to come and mark their underground lines so we don't hit a gas line or cut off our phone.

Then, the pricing of the fence says, $xx per 8 foot section. So, naive me, I thought you would just multiply that for the length you need and you would have the price of your fence (not counting the arbor, or course). Wrong. You also have to order posts (aren't those included??), hardware, and some kind of system for anchoring to the ground. So this means digging post holes, and putting concrete in. Suddenly the cost has increased a lot!

Then we have to either dig up the sod, or else kill it to make the flower bed along the front and back of the fence. I did know that part, though I'm not looking forward all that back-breaking labor. (I think we'll spray the grass with Round-up, then after it dies, turn it over. If we were to dig up the sod, then we have to dispose of it somehow, and the city won't allow it to be put in the yard waste containers.)

Everyone is welcome to come help dig post holes, or dig the flower beds!

(Pictures will be posted during the process.)

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/1178659764627.xml&catref=cat10004

for a picture of what it might look like when it is finished.

A lot of money for a straw poll...

Heat, humidity, sweat. All that must add up to being in Iowa in August!

On Saturday, Kevin and I went to Ames, Iowa, to participate in the Republican party's "Straw Poll". Years ago this began as a fundraising event for the GOP--charge $35 and get to meet the candidates and take part in a popularity vote. It has come to be a benchmark for the presidential campaign--the first hurdle. Already since Saturday's poll, at least one candidate who didn't do as well as he'd hoped, has dropped out of the race. There were 8 candidates there, although Rudy Guiliani and John McCain skipped the contest--candidates like Ron Paul (the libertarian), Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, Tommy Thompson, and others that I can't remember their names. All are either senators, former governors, or congressmen. What is a straw poll? Part carnival, part BBQ, part campaign speeches.
The last time I was in the Hilton Coliseum was when Deborah was in All-State Orchestra. The air-conditioning was a nice reprieve from the heat. As we listened to the promises from different candidates, I found myself being a bit skeptical-- "That's nice, but how exactly are you going to accomplish it, especially if Congress doesn't want to go along?"
Mitt Romney, in the blue shirt in the center, came in first in the poll, but he also had paid LOTS of money for buses, t-shirts, food, music, etc. A radio report this morning said that if all he spent were divided by the number of votes he received, it came to over $4000 per person!
We kept wondering, wow! How much money is being spent here today??? It's too bad that politicking takes money these days.

I have ambivalent feelings about living in Iowa during the presidential campaign, which actually began this past January. On one hand we get to personally meet the candidates and put in our two-cents' worth. On the other hand, we have been getting political phone calls since January, sometimes as many as four a day. That is VERY tiresome! We really enjoyed late November and December when all that had stopped after the last election. I was sorry it started so early for the next one.

You wanted a close-up?

Now Kevin knows how it feels to be pursued by the paparazzi. (And can you see the red glow off his shoulders and chest???)

Mother Nature

A week or so ago we had a lovely storm come over and drop some much-needed rain. Nice!--until the hail started falling. The sound of rain hitting the roof changed to crash! bangs! and we ran to look out on the deck to see what was happening. (Obviously, the water shoes were no longer drying out).

Most of the hail was about the size of large marbles, but every so often a much-larger piece would fall. When they hit the concrete sidewalk they exploded. The piece I'm holding in my hand had been on the deck for a short time before I dared poke my head out and pick it up. Kevin said someone at work put on a motorcycle helmet to go out and retrieve a softball-sized hailstone. Now, hail like that can cause some damage. A friend has about 25 holes in their siding. Others are having roofs replaced. We don't have any visible damage, but have begun the process of having roof estimates to make sure all is well. And we certainly were glad our cars were in the garage! The dimpled hoods betray all those that were out in the storm. Some cars had shattered windshields.

Yes, Mother Nature can be a bit unruly.

Why is Redfish Lake So Fun?

Is it the hike in the mountains? Probably not, as most of the kids didn't really want to go on it, but they did well anyway. Or being with my sister, who I only get to see once a year?
Or is it watching Grandma Beth stroll along the lakeshore (at almost age 88)?
Or is it the crystal clear water, and the beautiful scenery?
Or is it just because it's a tradition now? Anyway, we sure had fun and hated to come home! (When it gets hot outside, I wish I could go grab an inner tube and either head for the lake or the canal--either one would be cold and wet.)

Baileyville, Idaho

Does anyone else have a fond memory of the pile of shoes at the bottom of the stairs at Grandma and Grandpa's? Or of the massive amounts of food Grandma produces for family dinners, breakfasts, or snacks? Did anyone else realize that all the "tail-end" cousins are girls? Wow, did that make for a fun time of giggling and games!
7:30 a.m., July 4th--we ate breakfast at the Iona Square, hosted by the Lions Club, with Cousin Adrian running the wheeled-version of the Beazer Train. I hadn't even known there was such a train, but apparently they run it in Iona on the 4th and also the 24th. So our kids DID get to ride a Beazer train this year. (Though the real train wasn't available--again--for the Beazer Reunion. That was a disappointment).
9:00 a.m., July 4, Rexburg--waiting for the parade. What a Bailey Clan!!! Chris looks like Mr. Western man, and Kevin has found a hat that he doesn't mind having his picture taken in. Grandpa gets to use the office chairs from the Post Register office (behind), so we watched the parade in comfort, not to mention having shade! Kirk and his family have moved to Pocatello, so they are available for whatever event is happening, and I'm slightly (well, probably more than slightly) jealous!
That evening we went to Idaho Falls for the big fireworks display. It was absolutely amazing! And we parked such that we were out of the mob and home (in Rigby) in 20 minutes. We like celebrating the 4th all up and down the Snake River Valley!

RAGBRAI XXXV

Cedar Falls is on the RAGBRAI ("Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa") route this year, with Hudson road being the main avenue. This morning as the bikers were leaving, I walked across the field behind our house to watch the steady stream of riders. Approximately 20,000 people stayed here last night! Not all of them ride bikes though--there are the support teams with rental trucks for spare bikes, tents, and gear. Yesterday afternoon, Alice and I rode our bikes over to her elementary school, and the junior high which had been designated as the "Quiet Camp" (as opposed to the green space around the UNI-Dome which included all the food vendors, a beer garden and rock bands, which we could still hear as we went to bed).
The early arrivees took the shady spots.
And rested wherever they could.

Many riders camped in the yards of volunteer homes throughout the city. A neighbor had a bus parked in their driveway last night, and the bus had a railing around the top for the extra bikes for the team staying there. Many of the riders are in teams with matching outfits.

Some of the riders had tiny trailors with a boom box on to provide music and entertainment as they sweat through 50-60 miles of up and down miles to the next overnight stop. For Iowa, contrary to popular opinioin, is NOT flat.

They used the showers at the junior high, and many went swimming. Alice talked me into swimming as well (we've been going every day and she didn't want to break the habit) and I was amazed at how many of the riders were my age or older. They all had the tell-tale tan/sunburn lines from their biker shorts.

There was such a festive air, and such a camaraderie, it made me think that this would be a fun thing to do--if it weren't held at the end of July when it's so hot and humid!

24th of July Celebration

The pie: cream cheese, cool whip, sweetened condensed milk, orange juice, mandarin oranges, and a touch of semi-sweet chocolate--mmmm! (I tried a new recipe--just because it sounded good to me.)The competition: berry, apple, pecan, key lime (made by Eric West), pumpkin pies...

The judges...

And I didn't win. The key lime pie did. It was good! But the pies were a great part of the annual picnic with Waterloo Ward and Waverly Branch celebrating with us. The pies were the dessert at the end of the potluck.
The celebration was held at a new city park in downtown Cedar Falls, just on the other side of the river. The bike path goes right by, and that brought back many memories of family bike rides to George Wyth park.

It's good to catch up with people from the other units--Doug & Lucinda Johnson are home for a couple of weeks from their assignment in India, the Oesterle's have a brand-new granddaughter, the Shaw's from Waverly are expecting a baby (she's 43 and for some reason sought me out to ask some questions. Hmmm, I wonder why?)

The girls got to fiddle, play baseball, and participate in a mock barn raising (in miniature). A nice breeze kept the heat bearable, so it was a great time.

The Oven is healed!

Over the past six months my oven has not worked well. It would heat up, just not anywhere near the temperature I had it set at. Usually, resetting it a few times would finally trick it into fully heating up. Annoying, but workable.

This past week, it could not longer be tricked. Fortunately, that coincided with the "motherboard" arriving that Kevin had ordered. When we had talked with the service people, they said it could be two different problems--one part was $30, the other $135 (plus service call fees). Of course it was the higher priced part. But Kevin installed it yesterday in about 10 minutes and I baked pizza in it 10 minutes later (at 425 degrees!). So, no service call fees!

Yippee! I hadn't realized how much I was altering what I planned to cook, to avoid using the oven because it wasn't reliable. No longer!

Thanks Kevin for all your mechanical skills!

Huckleberry Hunting

Day three of our vacation: With Grandma and Grandpa Bailey, we drove up Kelly's Canyon, past the ski hill and Tablerock campground, to check on the huckleberries. Ida and Lisa came with us, so there were two cars.
We loved walking through the cool shade, but nary a berry did we find. Whether it was the late frost, or the lack of rain as the cause, there are no berries this year. The forest was pretty, but very, very dry. The dust was a couple of inches deep in the roadways which turns car windows into blackboards. The grass is still green because it is the first week of July (still very early in summer as far as the mountains are concerned), but by August it will be all brown.

The real adventure began as we headed for home. Ida led out (but afterwards said she felt a couple of times that we should have let the men lead). But we had Mildred with us and thought we knew the way home.

Now, let me point out that there are numerous forks in the road, with no signs. After a few minutes, one of us mentioned that it didn't look quite like the right road. And the other car was no longer behind us. (We found out later that they had tried to signal us but we didn't see it).

We tried using the cell phone. No reception. Do we turn around and try to find the right turns--the ones we hadn't recognized the first time? Or do we continue and see where we come out? We had water, plenty of gas, and Lisa's medications, so we finally opted for the second option and got to see new territory that I've never seen before. The road we were on came out on the Rexburg bench of dry farms, and as soon as we had cell phone reception we called the others so they wouldn't worry about us--we were just having a better adventure than we had planned on having.

The report is in...

In April, I caught a glimpse of a mole on Elizabeth's upper back that I had never seen before and warning bells went off in my head. Having had a few moles removed myself, I'm always suspicious of new ones, and this one had some traits that are not good--irregular and more than one color. I called our insurance (which was just recently changed): "Can I take her directly to the dermotologist, or do I have to go to our own doctor first?" Since she had a couple of moles already removed last year, it was okay to skip our own doctor. When can we get an appointment? In June, with removal in July! Well, part of the problem was not being in town some of those weeks. Anyway, the mole was removed right after we got back from vacation, and the pathologist report came back two days ago. It contains "atypical cells", cells that are in transition toward melanoma! They now want to go back and make a larger incision to make sure they have a clean border with no atypical cells. That is scheduled for Aug. 7th.

The nurse also said Elizabeth will now need to have a yearly full-body scan to check for further problems, as it is a little unusual for a 12-year-old to already be developing skin cancer, especially the most serious kind. I feel that we were very blessed to discover this so early--very blessed indeed!

Somebody asked...

at church today if we had moved from the ward! Well, no, not at this time. (However, that is a possibility in the future, when Kevin retires and we build our house in Idaho.)

The following photo gallery is for those family members who didn't get to go on the annual trek to Idaho. You'll find that most things are about the same. As we pulled up to the house after driving all night, I thought to myself, "Hasn't it been just a month or two since we were last here?"

By Sunday, we had recovered from the trek, and Deborah had driven up from Provo, so the girls thought that tickling Alice was the best way to spend the afternoon.

It wasn't long before one of the parents suggested a more Sabbath-like activity--playing hymns on their instruments, with Dad accompanying. Somehow, it wasn't long before some fiddle tunes started creeping in. Deborah is amazing at blending in with the tunes that Elly and Alice knew, accompanying them so they felt they were doing great. And, of course, they were. A & E both want to grow up to be fiddlers "just like Deborah!"
Grandma's flowers are gorgeous, and she makes it sound like the whole garden is not a big deal, but then she is always busy watering, weeding, or harvesting. And, she sent some bags of frozen peas home with us. Yummm!!!
I guess she did take a minute or two to sit in the swing in the orchard with Alice and Elizabeth. They sure love her!
Sam is now 19 years old, nearly blind, and moving very slowly. It is painful to watch him get up or walk across the yard. But he still wags his tail and loves petting, and loves treats from the table, like ham bones. I doubt that he'll be there next summer.

Then on Monday afternoon, after freezing our seats in the canal, there's the eternal game of Bocche--"Bailey rules", of course. By the way, it was hot--upper 90's, and Kevin asked for a hat. The quickest one I could find was mine, floppy brim and all. He didn't want me to take the picture but I wanted posterity to know that he did the right thing (protect from sunburn) even if it looked weird. Of course, the sunburn still happened, but at least it was a few more days into the vacation before it came (during the Bailey Brothers Annual Golf Outing That is Supposed to be Nine Holes But Turns Into Eighteen and Nobody Brought Sunscreen). Next up, the Huckelberry-hunting trip that came up empty, but took a long time.