Arizona

My Grandparents (who are more like parents to me) celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday, August 22nd (and if you've been following the blog, you understand what a miracle it is that Grampy is still here to see the day). We had a family party for them on the 21st, so my sister Laura (who lives in Helena) and I decided to fly down together and attend the festivities. She arrived at my house on Wednesday night and slept over so we could leave at 5am to catch our 9am flight from Billings to Mesa, where we would meet our sister, Lisa, and proceed to Tucson.Laura took this picture of Thursday's sunrise near Columbus, MT

***

After Lisa picked us up and Laura got her rental car, we stopped in Casa Grade to pick up Laura's oldest son, Tallon, who was adopted in 1992 and raised by an LDS family (The Smiths! We love them!) in SW Colorado. Tallon decided to find his birth mother a few months ago and he met Laura earlier this summer. He was born during the first month of my mission in North Carolina, so I never got to see him or hold him like other people in my family. Here is our very first hug:

Tallon & Me

Tallon & Lisa
***

TUCSON!!!

We drove down to Tucson and checked in to our hotel, then went over to see the Grandparents. There we learned that mom (who had arrived from Utah the night before) was in the hospital. So we went to see her, then got some eegee's for dinner and went back to rest at the hotel.

Sam, Kristen, & Owen stopped by to visit us. Owen brought Grover ("Gwo-gwo")

As you can see, Owen is looking a lot like his pappy these days, and his mommy is still gorgeous as ever.

Mini-Sam!

This is the beautiful little garden around our pool

Tallon had fun swimming with his "Uncle" Marshall & "Aunt" Abby

I loved these courtyards at our hotel...I really want to take my family to Mexico!

Laura & Jared with Gramp & Gram

Me & Uncle Matthew hangin' at Gram's on Friday

Friday afternoon we went out to the Linden Chapel to help Sam & Kristen set up for the party.

Starting to make Kristen's vision a reality!

There's my alma mater!

(facing east on Speedway & Euclid--note the huge thunderheads coming from the southeast...

they would later bring a monstrous monsoon storm that lasted well into the night on Saturday. My wish for a full-blown, thunder-and-lightning monsoon storm came true in a big way!)

Tom, remember getting slurpees at this sev? It's totally pimped out now.

(the 7-11 near the Institute on UA campus)

***

I slept over at the G'rent's house on Friday because Aunt Marti went home to Sierra Vista for some R&R (it was Uncle Ralph's bday Sunday and Cousin Maren had her baby boy--Cooper Ralph Allred--on Saturday morning). It was delightful but too short! I loved eating oatmeal with my Grampy Saturday morning and vacuuming and visiting. Sam even stopped by and helped me fix the vacuum. It was just like old times, when we lived there, the 4 of us, 14 years ago. *sigh* Saturday afternoon, we got dressed up and the Mayberry's picked us up for the big party.

Me & Gramps--his hair is growing back after chemo and it really does feel just like bunny fur.

Kristen made this beautiful poster for the entrance to the party.

Cousins gathering

Sam & Owen

Our two baldies: Grampy and Mom

[mom released herself from the hospital and came to the party, but she is still very sick and back home in Utah]

Cousin Cortney brought this pretty little cake from Gram & Gramp

Uncle Matt and my little baby Candace Kay

Uncle Matt & Yarky--Larkin, my cutie cuz.

Cousin Bill and his baby, Bruin

(aka Bruiser...they bred him for rugby)

Cousin Dave Mayberry's family with the Grandparents:

David, Lucy, Papa, Gram, Lacy, and Penelope/Peeps

[see all the family shots here]

Cousin Elise with Robby, Sarah, and Jeff--such a cute family! We talked about how awesome Jeff is on the way to Phoenix after the party.

Dave & Peeps

[I have video of Peeps talking about the party--"it's for Gramma Lyn because she got married" how long ago? "2 hours ago"--and her new cousin, Cooper; I'll post that bit on vimeo soon]

We invited Michael & Anna Gregg to the dinner since we knew the Posties couldn't make it from Australia. These crazy Gregg boys--Marcus & Zachary-- were pretty good substitutes, but we missed our Liam & Spencer and the rest of the fam! (Thanks for coming, Greggs!)

Sam MC'ed a little family history quiz.

Elrey cousins: Bill & Cort, Pearl, and Affee

(and the back of Samantha's head).

A fun display of pictures Kristen & Lacy put together

Aunt Elaine & Pearl at the treat table

My cute mommy

Me & my Grampy

Me & my Gram

Tallon & Gram

As we were leaving, we got this picture of Uncle Matt's family:

Aunt Lorelyn, Uncle Matt, Samantha, Larkin, and Candace with the Grandparents.

It was SOOOOO great to see Larkin and Candace. I spent so much time with those kids when they were little, I feel like they're mine.

After the party, we drove up to Phoenix to sleep over at Lisa's house and catch our plane at 4am...here are Lisa and Tyler hanging out on the stairs while Laura and I got packed up. After this, we went out in a torrential downpour and got some Wendy's and watched SNL together and laughed ourselves to sleep (for 2-1/2 hours, then we left for the airport). Thanks for all the fun, Lisa--I love you! PS: Cody's the big spoon and don't you forget it!

***

We flew out of Mesa at 6am, landed in Billings at 9am local time (lost an hour--the flight is only and hour and 45 minutes! That somehow makes the 20-hour drive even more painful!) and were on the road back home by 10am. We got here at 11:45 and Laura got in her car and drove another 2 hours home. I had a hour to cook some lunch (warmed up chicken enchiladas and made brownies) and take a quick shower before my family came home from church. It was a joyous reunion...

Me & Addie

Me & James

Me & Heidi

My cute "Welcome Home Mom" sign...

so glad I went, but SOOOO glad to be home!

Just a Peek...

I'm in my post-trip funk right now, plus trying to get the kids ready for a trip to UT and back-to-school next week, so no time for a photographic recap of my AZ trip just yet...but it's coming! Here's a peek:

Gramp and Gramp at their 60th Anniversary Party on Saturday.

Me & Grampy on Saturday

One, Two, Three, Four

James is turning four on Sunday, September 5th. Won't you come celebrate with us along the Yellowstone River on Saturday the 4th? Click to enlarge the invitation below.

Sublime

"adjective; tending to inspire awe because of elevated quality or transcendent excellence."

I am surprised, over and over again, that I am completely smitten with BOTH my home in Montana and my home in Arizona. When I am in Montana, even in winter, I am often overcome with the feeling of awe, of asking myself, "how did I not live here for 30 years of my life? This is heaven on earth..." And I no longer get homesick for Arizona (well, I confess, except in February or March...then I wish I could visit for 3 weeks and soak up some sun).

However, when I get to Arizona, East Tucson, to be specific, my heart strings get yanked big time and I think to myself, "It's just so beautiful--so starkly gorgeous--how did I leave?" Yes, I even said that this scorching morning, sitting by the pool after an invigorating morning swim, sipping a leftover eegees, looking at the bougainvillaes climbing the adobe wall next to the trickling fountains decorated with cobalt Mexican tiles of intricate design...all things I took for granted growing up that I love now. Bright, sharp, stinging sunshine, the scent of hot pavement, cresote, mesquite wood, and chlorinated water...mmmmm, home. Other home.

Weekend in Wyoming

We spent last weekend in Cody and Powell, Wyoming, as I have mentioned before. We drove down to Cody in the afternoon and set up camp around 5pm. After that, we had a picnic at the park and got ready to watch Igor and the Red Elvises: Your Favorite Band. The show was great fun! Heidi and James chose ring pops for their dessert after the picnic...
...they like playing Wonder Twins.
Heidi loved rockin' with the Red Elvises.
Igor

Igor, Milka, and Oleg--Dig that bass

Addie and I were kind of wiped out from getting the house clean and packing up to go camping, so we just chilled on the grass.

Addie & Igor

James, Heidi, Oleg-on-bass, and Addie after the show

The tour van

After the show when it got dark, we wanted to go see a hot air balloon festival"glow" party at the park in the dark, but the wind came up and the balloons couldn't launch. So we went to visit Aunt Debbie at her hotel instead (the Holm family was in Cody for a family reunion at the same time we were there). Then we went to bed in the tent trailer and slept pretty soundly, even when the biker gang camping next to us got up and left early.

***

Richard got up early and cooked us a yummy camping breakfast. After breakfast, we got dressed and went to Tecumseh's Trading Post to see the miniature museum of the West.

Heidi was excited to see this elephant.

The miniature museum was amazing and so fun to look at. It had audio narration with stories of the western migration, including Indian battles, gold strikes, etc. To give you some sense of the size of it, I am off to the right in this picture in the pink shirt--it's huge!)

There were two little running trains in the display, which James loved, of course. This is a model of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Cody back in the day.

They even had a piper in the Wild West Show!

After the museum, Daddy took us to lunch at Bubba's BBQ, which was a yummy, local version of Famous Dave's. I just had a BLT, but I tasted the baked beans, cole slaw, appetizers, Addie's ribs and and Rich's BBQ beef sandwich and they were all delicious. Thanks, Daddy!

***

After lunch, we drove to Powell for the main event--Lacey Gilmore Huhnke's wedding reception. But first, we spent a few hours at the Powell Aquatic Center. Yes, this town of 5K people has a nicer pool that most cities I've visited, probably thanks to Wyoming oil money. Anyway, there is a lap pool and everything, but also a little beach/splash pad, a lazy river, a whirlpool, etc. and a kiddie pool outside. The kicker is that admission is the same as for our ghetto-rific city pool in Livingston (which is just that--one small pool). *Sigh* It's okay--this is the price of no sales taxes in MT. Anyway, on to the reception. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

This is Sean, brother of the bride. He recently returned from a mission in Argentina-Buenos Aires West (same mish as cousin Brent). I love this boy--he makes me wish I had a 20-year-old daughter for him to marry. But I digress...

These two darlings, Ebin and Rhiannon, are Chris Huhnke's children from a previous relationship. They are super lucky cuz they now have a fun stepmom and wonderful step-grandparents.

The Gilmore Family--Mike, Page, Lacey, Rhiannon, Chris and Ebin, and Sean. Mike and Page are two of our dearest friends.

Lacey and her matron of honor, Kim. Remember Kim?

The kids' favorite feature: The Candy Bar!
Me, James, Addie, and Heidi enjoying the candy bar.

Heidi and Ebin were happy to be reunited after their "first date" at Kim's wedding reception.

Heidi loved holding baby, Kailee (she's Kim's niece).

Two Cuties: Sean and Chelsie went to high school together here in Livingston (Chelsie was my favorite beehive at one point)--they are both adorable and they are both BYU students now--Sean at Provo and Chelsea at Rexburg.

Heidi and Ebin figure out how to dance together.

Lacey dancing with her dad...love this pic!

Me dancing with my boy, James

Addie dancing with Rich.

***

We went to bed super late on Saturday after the reception, then broke camp on Sunday morning. We drove home through Yellowstone Park. I had never--in my zillion visits to Yellowstone--driven in from the east entrance. It was beautiful. The Cody part looked just like Arizona to me.

Look at those cool rocks.

Here's our rig--the Lexus pulling the camper on our way into Yellowstone.

It was a beautiful drive--dry and deserty at first, then a climb through grasslands, then a little rain storm as we entered the park amongst the pine trees. Around a few curves, we got to the east shores of Yellowstone lake--another first--so beautiful. We got stuck in a buffalo jam shortly thereafter, in which we drove about 3 miles in an hour (slower than I walk). I counted about 600 buffalo from my window and estimated we had passed about 2K in the jam. It was pretty cool. I felt pretty sick, so when we got home, I unloaded a bit, took a shower, and then went to bed, I fell asleep just after 6pm with every intention of getting up again, but I didn't. I slept like the dead until 6:30am. Good weekend!

Watching the Perseid

It's time for some late-summer stargazing! Here's your guide to watching the Perseid Meteor shower this week, courtesty of The Transient Sky (click for source):

"If you’ve never seen a meteor this is the week to see one...a few times a year the Earth encounters a major shower which produces enough meteors to be noticeable by anyone. This week marks one of those major showers as the Perseids meteor shower will be best seen on the morning of August 13...The peak of this year’s Perseids is predicted to take place around August 13 at 3h20m UT (11:20 pm EDT, 8:20 pm PDT, 8:20 pm Tucson time) which is not a great time for us in Tucson. Still, the maximum is broad and can last for many hours. The last 2 years have also seen a number of spikes in activity on the night or 2 around the predicted peak...

"So how can you observe the Perseids? The key is to get outside Thursday night/Friday morning. The reason these meteors are called the Perseids is because they appear to radiate (move out from) a point (called the radiant) in the constellation of Perseus. For most of the night Perseus is located low in the northeastern sky so most meteors should come from that direction. Late in the night the radiant will be located just north of overhead. Note, you don’t have to look directly at the radiant. Meteors will be visible all over the sky and it is usually best to look about 45-90 degrees away from the radiant. Though the radiant will be visible for nearly the entire night it will be too low in the sky to produce high numbers of meteors until after midnight. The later in the night you observe, the greater the number of meteors."

For You, Brent!

This video/song is dedicated to my cousin Brent, who is serving our country in DJBOUTI...

"Get Djibouti on the floor tonight--Make my day!"

Peerless Lady Wing-Shot

We got home from Cody and Powell, Wyoming last evening. It was great fun (aside from a bit of a tummy bug which sent me to bed--sound asleep--from 7pm-7 this morning), and no, we were not on the look out for nor did we spot the escaped convicts from Arizona (we were, however, surrounded by biker gangs wherever we went, so it would have been hard to spot them anyway, no offense to bikers). I was surprised how desert-ish the Cody area is since it's just over the Beartooth and Absaroka Mountains from us. It reminded me very much of south eastern Arizona. Our drive home through Yellowstone (from the east gate to the north gate) was beautiful, although we got stuck in a buffalo jam for an hour (we saw close to 2K bison in the 3 mile stretch just before Artists Point at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone). I'll post pictures later, but here's a postcard I bought:***

On an entirely different note...
The city girl (or, suburban girl, to be more accurate) in me still finds some things about my rural life hilarious (full-on visits in the supermarket aisles) and/or disturbing (meth, the meth look, wranglers). Some of those things have become heartwarming. Like the mid-session grain report at 11:30am on our local am talk radio station. Nothin' says "Country Roads" like following wheat futures.


I admit I know little to nothing about agriculture and even less about commodities futures, but I find myself rooting for local durum and hard red, feeling a little deflated when they've fallen in Chicago, but they're hangin' tough in the Kansas City market. Today I learned that there is a World Supply/Demand report (it's due out on Thursday--isn't that a helpful bit of info?) Who knew? All I know is that my affection and respect for the rancher, farmer, and cowboy/girl [ranch hand? I don't know]--Ag Life, let's just say, has increased exponentially since moving to Montana. [Aside: did you know that farmers and ranchers will resent being lumped together --if they read my blog, that is--? Previously, I didn't know they had a thing--like the Swedes and the Norwegians, they seem similar and pretty equal from the outside, but I hear the ranchers making farmer jokes all the time. Here's one: Why do farmers wear those baseball-style caps? So their heads will fit in the mailbox when they pick up their subsidy checks! LOL! Ag Humor!]

I have repented of my ignorance and really do feel deep gratitude to people who make it their mission to supply my family with fresh, delicious American grains and fruits and vegetables and chicken and pork and tasty, tasty beef. My corner of Montana has nearly every kind of farm or ranch you can think of and I feel so lucky. If I want, I can actually know my dairy farmer or meet the cow who will be next year's quarter of beef, or even get a loaf of bread that was wheat in a field just an hour or two ago. Hillbilly Hell or Eden? I'm leaning toward Eden. Time for the next report on the Northern Ag Network--gotta run!

UPDATE:
Mi amiga, Lisa, reminds me that I should have remembered that the ranchers and farmers "had a thing" from watching (starring in) Oklahoma. Here's the refresher she sent me:

Back in the Saddle Again...

We are, once again (sigh) heading out to go camping. This time we'll be in Cody and Powell Wyoming for three days. Yippee-tie-ie-ay!

Today is my Aussie niece Melanie's 12th birthday...

Happy Birthday, Melanie! Also, my cutie baby cousin, Candace, got engaged last night to her long-time boyfriend, Neil Jordan.

CONGRATULATIONS, Candace & Neil!

Lastly, Heidi packed up her lap desk with art supplies for our little trip and she made this while waiting for Daddy to come home on the front porch (click to enlarge). I really love it...

It's all of us in our van, pulling the tent trailer, and Daddy is clearly the favorite passenger.

And on that lovely note, I say adios for the weekend. I might post pix if the campground wifi is decent. Love ya's!

Just Copying Jill

Here are my results (nothing new):

Global Personality Test Results

Stability (53%) medium which suggests you average somewhere in between being calm and resilient and being anxious and reactive. Orderliness (76%) high which suggests you are overly organized, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense too often of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun. Extraversion (60%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

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