Our Summer Fun

I am going to try and not let it go three weeks again between writing.  Our week has gone much better than last week.  We got the electrical issue resolved, mostly.  We had an electrician come out and he told us it wasn’t our house but the wiring coming into our house from PNM (the power company.)  We called PNM and someone came out Wednesday evening to take care of it. The problem was that there are two 120 V lines coming into the house.  One was working fine.  The second one was only giving about 90 V.  Since only one line was working, only the circuits connected to that line worked in the house.  And since both lines weren’t up to correct voltage we weren’t getting the 240 V needed to run the larger appliances, like the AC and stove.  The PNM man was able to connect our house to temporary wires.  Soon someone will come and bury the lines.  Right now we basically have a very large extension cord running from our house to the box that connects us to the power company.  I am just thankful that things are working.  I wasn’t kidding that we had issues the hottest week of the year.  Last week was awful.  We were close to  100 degrees every day and at night it was only dropping to about 80.  Over the week end we had a change in the weather system.  Now we are into the summer time storms.  Late afternoon clouds gather, wind blows and the temperatures drop, and sometimes we get some rain.

Last Tuesday I did my BCA class of a book club.  I enjoyed having the kids over.  We had a nice discussion on the book “Rascal” by Stirling North.  Then we watched the movie that is based on the book.  We will do another book in July.

On Wednesday I went out to eat lunch with my visiting teacher.  I enjoyed visiting with her.  We went to a small cafe type place that wasn’t busy, so it was quiet while we visited.  I enjoyed the food too.  It was a good break in my stressful week.

Thursday we had our activities at the church.  Ruth actually went to a leaders home for a swim party, Andrew had scouts and I had Activity Days.  We enjoy being with the ward members.

Friday was a hot day.  I told the kids I would take them swimming.  We went to the store first to go shoe shopping.  Andrew needed every day shoes, Spencer wanted some sandals and Ruth needed church shoes.  After the store we drove by the swimming pool.  We wanted to see how busy it was.  We saw a sign that said they were at capacity and no one was being let in.  We were disappointed.  Instead the boys played in the water in the back yard.  We filled up our little pond area and they have enjoyed playing in the water the last couple of days.  They like to take our little reptile toys and play stories.  They also like to make little houses with sticks, bricks and rocks.  I am glad that they can find things to play with in our yard.  Caleb and Spencer are out there now.

Friday evening we watched the movie “Moana.”  I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed the music and the story of determination in completing a goal.  It was a fun show.

Saturday Andrew went on a BCA class hike.  They went to Tent Rocks.  He had fun hiking around and being with the other boys in the group.  I didn’t mention in my last letter that he also went to Tent Rocks with the boy scouts earlier in the month. I understand it is a cool place and I should go there sometime.  

Andrew also fixed us his Mediterranean dinner Saturday evening.  It turned out pretty good.  It was a bit dry with the lentils.  We had a lot of it and had another meal of it yesterday.  For the second go of it I made a garlic cheese sauce to go over the lentils and vegetables and we all liked it that way.  Saturday we also gave the boys a much needed hair cut!

Sunday in Primary the kids were so active.  It is so hard to keep all of them paying attention.  I felt like we were playing musical chairs during singing time.  The kids kept getting up and moving around and going from one teacher to another.  One little girl is always begging to go get a drink, even after five minutes of being there.  I think she is just looking for a reason to leave.  One boy kept asking “how much longer?”  Then when we got to class he continued to ask when his mom would come get him.  Then some of the kids brought toys or candy in their pockets and bags and kept getting them out.  It is all so distracting.  I am learning their personalities and also learning what will work with them.  I understand why they felt they needed a second teacher for this class.  All the kids are just squirmy and disruptive at some time or another. 

Yesterday the boys and I went to a neighbors home and picked peaches.  We got some from them last year too, so I knew it would be worth the effort.  We picked enough for me to bottle 17 quarts yesterday.  They took a lot of work too.  They are cling peaches, hard to peel, needing to be cut off the pit and many were ripe and the texture was soft.  I bottled them because they tasted so good last year on our hot cereal.  They are very juicy and I don’t add much water to it at all and so it really is like a peach sauce after it is all cooked up.

Today has been busy too.  This morning I went to the temple.  I am thankful I can go often.  I went last week with our ward temple night.  I am glad that the kids are old enough that I can leave them for a couple of hours to go.  I felt the spirit so strong today there.  It helps me have peace of mind as I deal with all the stresses of life.  I also enjoy going for walks every morning before breakfast.  I get up early and leave while the kids are still sleeping.  It is cool and just nice to have some quiet time and exercise.  Andrew usually gets up early too and goes for a bike ride in the open space.  He is very diligent in doing his exercise.

This afternoon I took Andrew and Spencer to a class/activity at the library.  It was one were we had to register for beforehand.  The boys were on a waiting list and we didn’t think they would get in, but we went and I am glad we did because they got into the class.  They did a 3D Pen activity.  Basically it was like a hot glue gun with colored plastic that they could make little 3D objects with.  They enjoyed it.  While they were in class I went to wash the car.  It had some kind of sticky stuff all over it and I wanted it cleaned up.  Then I decided to run into the grocery store for some bread and milk.  I ran the milk home and then as I was driving back to the library to pick up the boys, it started to rain!  Remember I just mentioned I washed the car!  I was a bit distressed.  But it all worked out.  When we got home I dried the car off and it still looks clean.  Then the rain went away, it was that afternoon cloudiness that I mentioned earlier. Then when we got home the boys went outside to play in the water.  

Spencer keeps asking to go to the Natural Science museum.  I decided to take time to write today so I could take him there for a bit tomorrow morning.  He wants to see their new temporary exhibit.  It should be fun!

Summer Time

17 June 2017

I had thought that with school being out we wouldn’t be so busy, but life is busy.  I have also found that that the computer is a popular place to be.  The kids have enjoyed working on things with it.  Ruth has been doing some research on ancient Greece and early England.  She is also writing a story and likes to check her email often too.  Andrew likes to look up information about trains and places he is interested in.  He is working on a research study time with learning about native animals of New Mexico.  Caleb likes to type random things and play with calculators or look up random facts.  Yesterday he looked up what state was bigger, Nevada or New Mexico.  Spencer doesn’t do much with the computer, maybe because the others keep it so busy.  Spencer and Caleb both enjoy playing on the iPad games like “Stack the States.”  Spencer is working on learning the states and their capitals in preparation for fifth grade state history.   Today is Saturday.  I normally wouldn’t even be starting a letter on a Saturday afternoon but Neal took the boys fishing.  They just got home. I might need to stop writing for now.  They had a fun trip, but didn’t catch anything.  I am glad that they could go spend a day together in the out doors.  Ruth and I have had a quiet day at home.

Ruth is excited to attend her first stake dance tonight.  She went over to the church to help decorate and set up.  She has been waiting for this.  Her friends tell her how fun the dances are and I hope she isn’t disappointed.  

At the beginning of the month Andrew went fishing with the Snow’s.  It was with the Bear Canyon Academy (BCA) summer classes we do with others in our ward and the neighboring ward.  He really enjoyed it.  He also went on a hike with the Wheeler’s as a class.  He enjoyed his time with his friend Adam.  Caleb did a BCA class that was “Christmas in June.”  He had fun with that and was singing Christmas carols all week.  Spencer did a “Lego, Seven Wonders of the World” class with the Stuart’s.  Brother Stuart taught the boys about the Seven Wonders of the World and then they used Lego’s to build models of them.  Spencer enjoyed it.  I am glad that the boys are having fun with their summer classes.  I taught a BCA science class this week.  It was fun to do some science things with the kids that were here.  Yesterday we had fun doing some reactions and playing with dry ice.  I am glad that I have that class done.  It took up a lot of my time this week, preparing, teaching and cleaning up afterwards.

Well, I will need to take a break.  Neal and I plan on going to a Shakespeare play tonight.  The city does “Shakespeare on the Plaza” every June.  It is free and we just go and get a seat and enjoy watching a play under a summer evening sky.  Last week we went to a performance of “Macbeth” tonight we will be seeing “Comedy of Errors.”  It should be fun.  I will try to finish this later.

20 June 2017

I will try to finish my thoughts today.  We have had an eventful month.  I bought about 30 pounds of strawberries and made jam, syrup and ate them fresh.  We enjoy eating the low sugar syrup I bottle on pancakes.  

Andrew is working on a Family Life merit badge and thought for his project to help his family he would cook meal from different countries.  He has made some good things so far.  I am glad that he enjoys cooking.  This week he found a Mediterranean meal that we will try to fix.  I bought the things he needed at the store yesterday.  Andrew had fun going to his train club this month.  They visited some homes to see private collections and train layouts.  They saw some pretty amazing things.  Then later that afternoon they were given a simple layout for a HO train.  The boys got it working and have really enjoyed playing with it.  Andrew was wearing Neal’s fishing hat a lot and so Neal took Andrew to a store and bought him his own!  He loves it and wears it a lot.  We have spent some time shopping for hiking boots for Andrew too.  So far we haven’t bought any.  But since he is enjoying the outdoors so much we would like to get something for him. He had fun fishing Saturday.  They didn’t catch anything but loved being in the mountains together. 

Ruth enjoyed going to the temple earlier this month with the youth.  She is enjoying some more independence with things.  One day she needed a few simple things from a store and I suggested she walk to a Dollar store that is about 3/4 a mile away.  She enjoyed her walk and was able to buy what she needed.  She is also volunteering at the city library this summer.  Last week she went in for three mornings.  The teen helpers work at the table for the library reading program, giving out the rewards for the kids who are doing the reading and signing people up for the program.  Some times it is a bit slow, but she has been working at the same time as her friend Brianna, so it is nice for her.  The library is just about 1 1/2 miles away.  She walked there one morning for her exercise time.  The first week of the month (the 6^th - 10^th) Ruth attended the church girls camp.  She loved being there with her friends and had many wonderful experiences. How I mentioned in what I wrote Saturday that Ruth was going to a dance, she loved it.  She had a lot of fun and enjoyed being with friends and dancing.

The same week as girls camp was the Cub Scout Day Camp.  Spencer was able to attend that.  They also needed adult volunteers to help with the boys.  Neal went to the day camp on Tuesday and I went on Wednesday.  Caleb went with me and attended a children’s class for the volunteers children.  It was a pretty place in the mountains and the boys had lots of fun.  I got to shoot a BB gun for the first time, they had time to let the adults try if they wanted to.  

Caleb had the idea of making “Ticket to Ride” game boards of new maps.  The other boys have done some too.  They have drawn new maps, made tickets and then played their new games.  I thought that was pretty creative that they made their own maps.  This week Caleb is doing a BCA class on Space.  He enjoyed talking about stars this morning.

On June 3^rd we went to the Albuquerque BioPark.  We went into the botanical gardens and enjoyed walking around.  The gardens were beautiful and there was much to see.  One area that the boys loved was a G-scale train layout.  It was fun to watch the trains drive by and see all the details of the layout.  Included in our ticket was going into the Aquarium.  We looked at the gardens all morning, ate out lunch and then went into the Aquarium.  It was a small aquarium but fun to watch the fish for a little bit in a cool building after being outside all morning.  We did this trip with our friends Thane and Judy.  It was nice to visit with them as we looked around.  Ruth didn’t go with us that morning, she was helping at the library at the time.

 

A friend from church posted on facebook that she had a bunch of red bricks she didn’t want and if anyone could use them.  I took her up on it and with the help of Andrew and Spencer got about 200 bricks from her.  It was a lot of work to load them from her yard to the suburban, then come to our house and unload them.  I am excited to get them. We want to build up the boarder around our garden with red bricks, matching what is around it already.  But we had decided to wait on the project.  Now we have the bricks for free, they are stacked neatly in a corner of the yard.  This winter when the weather is cooler and the garden isn’t growing we can buy some cement/mortar and get the bricks in place.

On June 8^th I hosted Activity Days at my house.  The girls came over in the evening and we crossed our fence into the open space and went for a 1 1/2 mile hike through the area.  Then we came back to the house and ate ice cream.  The girls loved it.  I turned on the fountain that day.  The boys had fun playing in the water in the afternoon and the girls enjoyed watching it and splashing some in it.  It was a pleasant evening.  I have enjoyed working with the girls.

I had a change in my callings.  I was released as a Relief Society teacher, which I enjoyed doing, and now teach the four year olds in Primary.  I am getting use to Primary again.  The kids are a bit rambunctious but I am getting to know them and seeing their cute personalities.  I realized that I am teaching the same lessons that I taught two years ago when I was a Primary teacher to the 6 year olds.  I miss having kids know how to read.

Last week I took the kids swimming to the city pool close by.  The city encourages people to use the pools and not play in ditches and streams by giving away free swim passes for kids. We picked some passes so when we went I only had to pay $2.25 for me and we all got in.  The kids enjoyed the time and I tried to help Caleb and Spencer with some swimming skills.  They are all getting more confident in the water.  We will try going swimming again this week.  I would like to try to take them once a week if I can manage it.

Last Friday we had a ward picnic at a park near by.  We enjoyed a pleasant evening sitting out in the shade of a big tree visiting with friends in the ward and eating.  The boys had fun playing games on the lawn with their friends.  It was a good evening.

Yesterday I took the kids to the Explora museum.  It might be our last time for awhile since our pass ends this month.  We have enjoyed playing there.  Ruth didn’t really want to go but she came with and sat and read while the boys played.

Saturday evening Neal and I came home from our date and were cleaning up the kitchen from the kids dinner and waiting for Ruth to come home from the dance.  We noticed the lights were flickering and wondered if the city was doing a “brown out” or something.  We turned things off and unplugged things.  We went to bed and hoped that things would be good in the morning.  Sunday morning areas of the house were without power.  The morning was a bit cool and pleasant so we had some windows open.  Neal turned the main power of the house off and then back on and things did come back on.  We went to church. In the afternoon we turned on the AC to cool the house.  We noticed that the upstairs unit wasn’t cooling things down and turned it off.  We started to wonder if the electrical problem was just our house, not the power company.  It was a hot afternoon.  By about 7:00 I noticed that the down stairs AC wasn’t cooling very well.  I decided to turn it off.  When I did half the house electricity went out.  Most of the main floor is out, except a few random outlets still work.  Thankfully the refrigerator is one that works.  The electricity in the master bedroom works fine.  We have a few extension cords running things right now. It is very frustrating that yet something else has broken.  I feel this is a year of broken things for us.  (We also had to do some more car repair on the Suburban this month too.)  I have been trying to contact an electrician and they aren’t returning my calls.  It is one that has come very highly recommended to me, so I will keep trying.  Anyway, that is what I am dealing with again today.  

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer time.  We are enjoying activities and things together.  I just wish we could have the electricity all working in the house, especially in the AC, the stove/range, dishwasher, washing machine, garage door opener, lights....  I keep reminding the kids and myself that we need to be patient and this is only a temporary situation.