Week of September 3 - September 9, 2023

Spiritual

Our new ward had many familiar faces as well as many new ones. Presidencies were filled this Sunday. Primary went well and the two new boys in my primary class are delightful. We had a very good Fast and Testimony Meeting with many pure and simple testimonies shared of their knowledge of Christ. 

Dad was able to attend a session at the temple on Friday evening. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 12,822 records and reviewed 19,779 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

I talked to the family via Marco Polo on Sunday. Car challenges continue to come up, but Mike is  stalwart and works hard to get batteries changed, tires replaced, etc. He will soon start a new job at Amazon and is looking forward to that. There has been a deluge of rain and hail this past weekend which made traveling around difficult. Adam has been offered a job as a chef at the school so he will be taking that job and leaving the theater job. Grace had a great birthday which included breakfast and a ride from a young woman leader, a surprise party with the young women in her class, lots of personal birthday wishes, a purple velvet birthday cake, cinnamon toast crunch breakfast, and her favorite meals plus a shopping trip. She is one happy 17-year-old. 

Joshua broke a bone in his foot. He likes to be private about his injury but he is doing well and many are concerned about him. 

Sam has been one busy guy. He auditioned and received a couple of parts in the school play. He also joined the band, playing the baritone. He sounds pretty good. Everyone seems to be doing well and weathering the storms that come. 

The Ethan Rice Family

I Facetimed with Kaylee on Monday as she got ready and headed to her softball practice. Ethan had gone to bed early not feeling well, and Wade had stayed home from school for the same reason. Kaylee is excited to begin chorus at school this week. They had a great Labor Day weekend full of camping, and fishing and they were invited to a crab boil which was very yummy. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran worked hard on Kelsie's birthday cake, and then got pretty darned sick right afterwards. He was able to return to work on Tuesday. All the family is doing well, and work and school are good. 

Morgan

Morgan and Cassie have had two weekends of yard sales and more and more hauling off, and can now actually get a vehicle in the garage. They are winding down their time here in town and are readying to return to Flagstaff. It has been a blessing, often, that he has dropped in at just the perfect time to help us out. 

Kayty

Kayty did well, and had a pretty good work week, other than a very glitchy Friday. She continues to have success in her Poshmark sales. 

One major save. 

The Nathan Rice Family

Emma is getting to be so grown up...She even FaceTimed me on her own on Tuesday. The girls called later and shared their fun weekend trip to the lake and riding on floatation devices on the lake, plus a yummy barbeque with church friends. School is going great and Ellie has finished reading her first chapter book. 

Dad's Garden

I picked a bunch of basil on Tuesday which became a few caprese salads and Sam Chicken for dinner. 

 

Other highlights

Morgan happened to be at a Walmart that was discounting tires and they had two of the 15-inch tires we needed for Dad's truck. Now they need to be mounted, which is his next project. 

Dad and I worked for a while and got the rest of the front yard mesquite tree cleared up, hauled out to the bulk trash pile, and wood stacked. 

No dove hunting this year. Everyone else is very busy with their lives, so after trying to go out for three years, tradition is done. Things change...

This week, our solar panels were supposed to be reinstalled, but the crew only came on friday and had the incorrect tar paper to waterproof the panel supports...so we wait till Monday. Still also waiting to figure out the blown electrical outlet. 

Week of August 27 - September 2, 2023

Spiritual

We enjoyed a wonderful Sacrament Meeting with two missionaries reporting on their missionary service. Primary was crazy. I think the kids sensed the change coming. As for the boundary meeting, our stake president explained that the ward south of us had ten youth, and the ward north of us had 80 youth. So, to make accommodations for that, half of our ward was put in the Arrowhead Ranch Ward. Our ward was not huge so it will certainly be interesting this Sunday to she who is, and who is not in my class. 

Dad attended a session at the temple on Friday evening.  

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 12,747 records and reviewed 19,653 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

Happy 17th Birthday to Grace on Wednesday!

Grace enjoyed an early birthday celebration with her friends on Saturday evening. Bowling, ice cream, and lots of fun.

Mike shared the wonderful activity day project that Sam has been working on. 

And, sadly, Joshua was playing basketball in PE and broke is ankle.

The Ethan Rice Family

This family had a good week full of work, school, lacrosse, and soccer practices. 

The Doran Rice Family

Happy Birthday, Kelsie on Saturday. 

It was a good week of work and school for this family, and then on Saturday Kelsie had a birthday party complete with a wonderful cake made by Doran. 

Morgan

Morgan and Cassie continue to work on her friend's yard cleanup. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week and 

The Nathan Rice Family

Happy Sixth Birthday to Ellie on Sunday!

The family is doing well and Annie shared their girls' trip to the beauty parlor for Mommy to get a really cute haircut. 

Dad's Garden

Dad has prepared the garden beds and is planting seeds in packs indoors. 

 

Other highlights

Monday morning, bright and early, two workers came and removed all the solar panels from our patio roof. They were kind enough to also help move the solar water heater panel and push the red truck away from the roof. Then on Tuesday, again bright and early, a roofing crew of five men was on our roof and the removal and replacement began. They put in long days in 110-plus-degree heat and completed the job on Thursday. Looks amazing!!

Good we had that new roof since it was tested with a pretty big storm late Thursday night. We ended up losing a pretty big limb on the mesquite tree, and the pool was a mess. Dad started cutting things down and I have a lot to haul to the bulk trash pile. Good thing we have bulk trash pickup this month.

Mom's caregiver had to do some extensive paperwork so mom was temporarily moved to another large facility for five nights. It was a week of phone calls, paperwork, questions that I didn't know all the answers to, and a bit of concern as to what will happen when they take her back on Sunday. 

Morgan came over this week for a visit and ended up changing Dad's jeep alternator. It was a great help!

Week of August 20 - August 26, 2023

Spiritual

We enjoyed a wonderful homecoming talk from a sister missionary in our ward. She had served in the Yakima Washington Mission and shared many awesome experiences. We were a bit shocked as they announced that our ward and two other wards would undergo a realignment next Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Our ward is not terribly big and I don't understand what is going to happen. Plus, four weeks before a Primary Program. I won't get to tell any of the kids being moved goodbye either as the changes take effect the next week. Not the first time but I sure hope it's nearly the last time. 

Dee attended a session at the temple on Friday. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 12,537 records and reviewed 19,283 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

The Wilkins Family shared dinner with their ward missionaries. Hurricane Hillary sent some rain to Vegas, but not enough to cancel school on Monday.

The Ethan Rice Family

Lots of work, school, softball practice, and Lacrosse practice PLUS Wade has a very loose front tooth!

The Doran Rice Family

Doran is so enjoying his new job, except the long commute is not a favorite. Amber is doing well. Kelsie and Kooper like school. 

Morgan

Morgan spent last week very sick so all that was needed to be done then was rescheduled for this week. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good week at work. She was also approved to have her own Poshmark selling show and she has tried a few. 

The Nathan Rice Family

I spoke with the girls during the week. School is going well and they love it. They were planning to celebrate Ellie's sixth birthday on Saturday, complete with a Gabbycat cake. I am sure it will be beautiful and tasty. 

Dad's Garden

Picked some basil this week and it still is surviving. Our younger chickens have finally moved to the safer pen Nathan built years ago. It sure was a struggle but they are now going in on their own when it is dark. Dad built them a roost to sit on and they seem to like that too. 

Other highlights

I visited Nano on Tuesday. I will not be able to visit her next week on her birthday so I got her a card and gift and went for a visit. She was the least responsive I have ever seen her. I can usually talk with her and get her to smile but not this time. She just sat and had no expression. I continued to visit, sharing about all the family, read her card to her, and then went home. 

Week of August 13 - August 19, 2023

Spiritual

We had a good Sacrament Meeting with missionary returning from missionary service in Billings Montana. He did not leave from our ward so it was our first meeting. Primary went well. 

Dad attended an endowment session at the temple on Thursday evening. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 12,334 records and reviewed 18,996 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family 

Grace shared some things she learned during her first week at a new school:

Started a new school

attempted to ride the city bus for the first time

learned that touching the coyote's nose is good luck

freaked out about another Taylor Swift album re-release

and the best Saturday night dance ever.

The Ethan Rice Family

This family enjoyed a great fishing weekend after some batting practice at the batting cage. They had a good week at work and at school. 

The Doran Rice Family

Amber and Kelsie traveled to Las Vegas on Sunday night to spend the week working, and relaxing, there. Doran and Kooper enjoyed their men's week at home and school too. 

Morgan

Morgan and Cassie continue to work and help Cassie's friend clean out and get ready to move. They had a yard sale on Saturday. 

Kayty

Kayty had a pretty good week at work. She took a vacation day on Friday. 

One minor save this week. 

The Nathan Rice Family

This family is doing well. Annie is loving school and the girls are enjoying earning some nintendo switch and texting time. 

Dad's Garden

We enjoyed a little rain this week. The garden and citrus REALLY enjoyed a little rain this week. 

Other highlights

Roofing project continues. Our first bid, which we estimated would be the highest, in fact, was not. We had two roofing contractors come on Tuesday and their bids were higher. Our solar panel company gave us a bid on Wednesday. After the bid on Thursday, we prayerfully made our decision and went with the solar company. We are also adding six solar panels to our system. The work of removing all panels will begin at the end of next week and then new roofing. 

Dad spent Saturday morning replacing the air conditioning compressor on his car. It took awhile but he did it and now there are no more bearing failure sounds as he drives. 

Week of August 6 - August 12, 2023

Spiritual

We had a very somber but spiritual Fast and Testimony Meeting. Last month, a young couple in our ward unexpectedly lost their twin baby boys, about three months premature. Then Friday, the adult daughter of a member of our stake presidency went hiking where Dad often hikes, and, while the circumstances are somewhat unclear, she did not return home and was found dead. They were here for the baptism of her son, so what an extra tragedy for this family. The testimonies, mostly from the men and young men of the ward, were so faith-promoting and inspiring. Primary was a bit more crazy than normal this week. 

Dad attended a session at the temple on Friday evening. 

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study, and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 12,146 records and reviewed 18,722 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

Adam is enjoying his theater job at Sam's Town Theater. Grace loved Girls Camp and awaits the beginning of school and Seminary this week. She's happy she got the best seminary teachers of them all. Joshua has elective classes and didn't get in a PE class, so Allison had lots of phone calls but got him into a class. Sam loves school and has already participated in the daily announcements.

Allison is enjoying working with her new class now and Michael is a long-term sub in PE at another school. Hurray Mike!

Allison completed the 75 Hard Challenge this week!! She had to endure 118-degree walks and a/c that didn't work well, but she powered through and did it. Congratulations!!! And, in addition to that accomplishment, she completed her math class for her Master's Degree. 

The Ethan Rice Family

Ethan, Cameo, and the kids are doing well and school is going great. Wade started LaCrosse practice this week and is having so much fun. Kaylee also started softball practice later in the week. They planned to spend some time Saturday night enjoying the Perseid Meteor shower. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran continues training in his new job but seems to really like it. Amber is doing great as well. The kids are adjusting to new schedules and times. Kooper loves playing soccer as well as Activity Days at church. They have some fun adventures coming up next week. 

Morgan

Happy Birthday, Morgan, on Tuesday. Morgan and Cassie continue helping her friend clean up the house and backyard for her friend. 

Kayty

Kayty had a busy and good work week. 

The Nathan Rice Family

Annie is enjoying some time texting and she is trying to teach her Grammy about emojis...with little success. Ellie finally lost her dangling front tooth and is very happy. The family is all doing well and is enjoying doing things with their new friends and neighbors. 

Dad's Garden

Dad has been busy preparing garden beds for the next planting. All our bins of saved compost have been turned into the gardens, and every Thursday evening, we travel to a neighbor's green waste garbage can and shovel horse manure into it for our garden. Basil is still doing okay. Our citrus trees are struggling with the extended heat, though the temperatures are more typical now. 

 

Other highlights

The second insurance company now says we have to replace our whole roof or we will not be able to get homeowners insurance after October with them. So we are now proceeding to get bids from companies. The first company came Friday morning. It is a much different circumstance to get a roof from a company rather than a storm chaser, as we have had to do in the past. We are just praying we will choose the one who will be responsible and do good work. We have companies coming next Tuesday and Wednesday mornings as well. The first bid was over $25,000. 

Dad's car a/c had a bearing go out, so he will now need to replace it. Unfortunately, the bearing alone is not available, so he will need to replace the entire compressor. 

Our a/c problems have been solved. Ken came by again, got in the attic, and did some magic so now the fan does not run all the time. Good news. 

Week of July 30 - August 5, 2023

Spiritual

We had a good Sunday. Our meeting included talks from two youth and a high councilman. A new counselor in the stake presidency was also sustained. Primary went well. 

Dad attended an endowment session at the temple on Friday.  

My daily morning foundation of General Conference talk(s), prayer, scripture study and Come Follow Me study continues each day. 

I have indexed 11,937 records and reviewed 18482 records so far this year.

Family

The Wilkins Family

Wilkins are doing well. Allison's school year began officially on Wednesday and she is looking forward to a great year. Grace, on Monday, went to her old high school with a friend for a senior activity: crown decorating. She continues to work on hers. 

Grace shared:

"BEST LAST WEEK OF SUMMER EVER!

Girls camp last weekend was FULL of fun! We went to see “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” at Tuacahn, went swimming, went on some FUN hikes and just enjoyed each others company!

The day after we got back, I went to the LVHS senior crown decorating and had fun hanging out, but didn’t make the best crown

So I remade my crown and today, went to Vegas’s Senior Sunrise and they almost didn’t let me in because I’m not technically a student there, but they did!

Looking forward to Senior Year!!!

The Ethan Rice Family

Kaylee and Wade started a new year of school on August 1st. They were very excited!

It has been so fun getting a Marco Polo from Kaylee or both Kaylee and Wade as they share their start to their day, their new school clothes and shoes. They are just so excited for school. 

The Doran Rice Family

Doran began working at his new job this week. Always an adjustment period but he is looking forward to new opportunities. All the family is doing well. 

Morgan

Morgan and Cassie continue to help a friend clean up and clear out her house after losing her boyfriend one week, and now her brother has drowned in a pool accident. Lots of trauma here. 

Kayty

Kayty had a good work week and took Friday off to see a movie. 

The Nathan Rice Family

Annie, Ellie, Emma and Eve Facetimed after the girls were done with school. 

They continue to enjoy home schooling and had a great Saturday that included attending a baptism. 

Dad's Garden

Basil continues to survive. The oregano we planted a few months ago is also making it through the heat of summer. 

 

Other highlights

Got a chance to visit with Sharynn on the phone this week. So good to catch up. 

I saw Orion finally on Friday morning very early. Haven't seen that lovely constellation since February.