More Redfish Memories

The girls did such a great job telling their favorite Redfish Memories. Here are some that I can think of.

1. Having the twins ride their tricycles over to our camp site every morning to say hello.
2. Playing in the sand with Jade.
3. Taking Jaden to the store so he could buy a present for all the little kids. We had fun picking out a toy for each of them.
4. Watching Jaycie look at everyone's faces. She would just stare at the face of each person who held her.
5. Having a nice Sunday evening visit with Jenn and Mike outside their trailer.
6. Watching Harlee and Jaden dance at the Lodge concert.
7. Watching the bright pink sunset on Sunday night.
8. Watching all my sons-in-law being fantastic fathers.
9. Getting to know Lindsie and Chennelle better. What fun they were to have at camp.
10. Of course, the one foot standing competition was hilarious. It was fun seeing all the different techniques and the competitive spirit of all the contestants even though it was such a silly thing to be good at.
11. It was fun playing "Go Fish" with the grandkids.
12. Having popcorn from the Curtises new popcorn popper.
13. Seeing Jaden's face when he got to have a tour of the Sheriff's boat.
14. Getting all of Harlee's loves and hugs and listening to her sing. Even though she had a rough time sleeping at night, she was so pleasant and fun during the day.
15. Having Greg be so kind about doing things for me so I could follow the doctor's orders.
16. Walking along the creek with Greg and Zoey in the morning.
17. Watching Madagasgar with Harlee and Jaden.
18. I could go on and on........

Good News

I saw the doctor today and he said that my surgery is healing up perfectly. My nose still has a lot of swelling which is causing my headaches, but the doctor thinks that they will be going away soon.

I am so glad that the surgery is behind me even if it did mean that I couldn't do a lot of the things that I normally like to do at Redfish. Even with the restrictions, I had a great time.

I was able to do some reading there of some wonderful books. They are the Refiner's Fire series by Lynn Austin. I would recommend them for anyone who loves historical fiction. They are some of the best Civil War books I've read. The author does a great job of developing her characters. Phoebe (the tall, homely woman who joined the northern army as a male soldier) might just be my favorite character ever in a novel.




I also had a great time watching the kids play. Boy did they ever love that cold water!! They reminded me of Melissa, who used to play in the lake until her lips were completely blue.

As always, the company was the best and the food was great. The weather cooperated fairly well except for a couple of days that were a little hot. No one was hurt and nothing broke down, so all in all, it was a great year at the lake!!

I needed a smile today

This gave it to me...... This couple is gaining Internet stardom with their wedding processional. You've probably already seen it, but if you haven't, enjoy!!

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Unusual Summer

This has not been one of my best summers. In May I started getting dizzy. Some days it was worse than others. It's a helpless feeling when you are dizzy. I could tell that the problem was in my ears and sinuses. I called the ear, nose, and throat specialist that I had seen in the past and got an appointment, but it was two months before I could get in.

I went to my general doctor and he ordered a CT scan of my sinuses so I would be prepared when I saw the ENT. I got a call from the ENT office. The doctor needed a longer appointment to discuss the CT scan with me. I knew that must mean trouble....

I finally was able to see the doctor on July 9. I did have multiple physiological problems that needed to be fixed....deviated septum, extra sinus, and extra air pocket. There were many areas of my head that were inflammed.

So last Friday, I had the surgery. It hasn't been that bad....it's not fun, but not horrible either. I am just so grateful for all the love, support, and help that has been given to me. I've had wonderful meals prepared, beautiful flowers and plants broght to me, many visits and phone calls, and the sacrament was brought to me at home yesterday. Greg and Melissa have been wonderful to make sure that everything is taken care of.

Now I am just waiting for things to heal. Thursday I see the doctor and hope to get the splints out of my nose. They've been the worst part. I wonder if I will be able to smell things once this heals..... After 30 years of not being able to smell anything, it would be crazy to have that sense back again. At least now I know why I haven't been able to smell. The doctor didn't want to do too much work around the area that controls smell because it is a more risky place to make changes. I'm glad he was conservative in his approach. So I'll just have to wait and see.

This isn't exactly how I planned to spend my summer, but hopefully fall will be great!!

I just want all of you to know how much I love you. I hope that this surgery does the trick and I have more energy and strength to serve each of you.

My Favorite Place

OK, I know that Redfish Lake should be my favorite place, but it's just not anymore. I love spending time with the family there, but I think that Grand Teton National Park is the most beautiful place close to Idaho Falls. We go there so often, but I never get tired of it and am always so inspired by the beauty. We just love to get into the thick of things and hike into the mountains to explore the beauty. Saturday we had the joy of spending a day there again. Since we've had so much rain, the area is especially green and the air especially clear.

We are crazy, but we got up at 3 a.m. to be there for sunrise. There is nothing more beautiful than watching the sun come up on the mountains. Everything just takes on a glow as the sun hits it.

It's fun to visit with the other photographers who are there at sunrise. It's amazing how many there usually are. I bet that there were close to 20 of us at the barn.





The rivers, streams, and waterfalls are incredible.





What fun we have hiking in this glorious place. When you get close to the mountains the vegetation is so lush. There are even ferns. It's almost rainforest like.





On the way home, we ran into a traffic jam because of a motorcycle accident. I sure hope everyone involved is ok. It wasn't bad sitting there for an hour because we got to watch the storms rolling through the mountains....listening to the thunder and watching the lightening was fun.






I wish I could go every week. I can't wait until the grandkids are old enough to go with us....OK, I can wait, I don't want them to grow up any faster than they are, but it will be a joy when they can hike with us. Hope they will want to.

If you ever want a tour, give us a call. We would love to take you with us. We know lots of fantastic, neat little places to explore.

Simple Pleasures

I had a friend tell me once that I am a simple person. I took it as a compliment because she meant it that way. It really doesn't take a lot to make me happy. One of the things I enjoy most is growing flowers. I have quite a few in my yard, and every day I inspect all of them to see now they are doing. For some reason, growing food has never been as rewarding to me as growing flowers.

A friend that I met on A photography forum a few years ago has sent me some iris starts from her ranch in Washington.they are especially beautiful right now. I just wish they bloomed longer.

Storms and Weather Expert

Friday was a relatively nice day for most of the day. But things can change quickly around here. I was outside watering my flowers when I saw the following sight. Needless to say, I didn't need to finish watering. It was quite a storm. I love watching storms move through. I guess that's something I learned from Greg, The weather channel will probably never be my favorite, though. I guess I'm glad he likes it because I can always ask him what the weather is supposed to be. He will know. He also always knows what phase the moon is in and what time the sun will rise and set. I learned, from him, to enjoy storms.