Deborah and children joined us on Monday to spend the week. They are a diverse group that brings laughter and joy into the home.There may also be a few unhappy moments, but they don't linger long. Wednesday evening Rebecca and children arrived from their drive from Utah, having delivered Dan to Springfield to catch his plane back to Okinawa.
I had noticed a decrease in our daily egg production and Sandy suggested it was due to a snake. I had not seen one there for some time and didn't pay much attention to that, until this past week. Over the nesting boxes we have a hinged lid over the top of the boxes. I peeked in there this past week, and there he was. Life was good for this guy; he just had to lean around the box and pick out an egg or two when ever he was hungry. I removed him, all 6 1/2 plus feet, to the field, but suspect he will be back. Meanwhile, we are getting more eggs each day and I thoroughly check the coop for snakes.
Thursday evening we had a strong gust of wind blow through for only a few minutes, but the accompanying lightening and thunder made for a spectacular light and sound show. Very brilliant. Then about 7:30 am Friday, an intense tempest and blustery storm blew through dumping hail and rain on the area. This cell may have been associated with the storm that hit Branson and resulted in the capsizing of the 'duck' boat on the lake. I was on my way to the St Louis Temple at the time with 10 other ward members and missed all the excitement. Deborah photo journaled the event and you can see that the children had a great time.
And they were most helpful with the cleanup that morning.
Saturday was the official 'Pie Celebration' day from 2-4. We had invited family, friends, church members and neighbors to join us. Since Rebecca is the pie maker, she had to hustle to get all the pies made. She had prepared 4 or 5 that she froze before they drove to Utah, but she had less than three days to get all the other pies made. I did my part by baking two pumpkin pies, and Josh made two Irish Beef pies but the remaining 18 (yes we had 22 pies!) were all cooked by her. Here is a list of the various pies: Chocolate truffle, pecan, chocolate chess, lemon chess, toll house, pumpkin, apple, banana cream, oreo carmel, Irish beef pie, and chicken pot pie. Several of the grandchildren 'helped' peel the apples for that pie. We rearranged the living room furniture to accommodate chairs for seating, primed the younger children to go into hiding and had everything set up by the time the first guest arrived. A wonderful time was had by all; we had approximately 60-65 come (includes family members). It was fun to sit and visit with people. And when the dust cleared, we still had 6-7 pies remaining. One attendee brought three of his own pies which were well received. We unleashed the grandchildren on the remaining pies, but will still be eating pie for a while. Deborah and crew left shortly thereafter to return to their home. Next year I think we can make fewer pies!
With both Deborah and Rebecca here, we did some serious planning for our upcoming Fox family gathering in Nauvoo. We have the food mostly arranged, housing assigned and are now trying to 'herd' the cats as to what time we can get to the temple as a family.
And oh, today is my birthday!
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