12 July 2021

 Last Sunday evening Kera arrived with Charlotte and Elder Fox - he had been set apart earlier that afternoon in Little Rock by his Stake President and was going to attend 'at home' MTC here in Mountain Home for a week.

Monday Kera helped me finished installing the vinyl planking in the kitchen. It was still early in the day, but I did not want to push things so we stopped there. It was great to have additional help putting planking under the fridge and stove. And Kera knows how to do flooring! Later that evening she headed home, leaving the two children behind.

Tuesday I had a follow up appointment with the urologist in Rogers. I drove over there, arriving just in time for my appointment and saw the PA; she was also involved with my surgery so she was familiar with me. It was a good visit and she exclaimed that I was above average in recuperating. Only a few days earlier I had downsized Depend size from maximum to light and that impressed her. She also explained that those occasional uncomfortable internal rumblings will continue for a few more weeks. I do find that I am able to do more and feel more 'normal' as time goes on. Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped for the usual hot fudge sundae before returning home. There was a stop at Aldis for additional food before arriving home in time for dinner. Rebecca continues to cook excellent dinners that are well received.

Wednesday we went to breakfast and in the afternoon went to visit a good friend that had invited us over to go swimming at their pool. The girls had a wonderful time playing while the adults talked. I left early to come home to cut and install quarter round in part of the kitchen. This is one time when I measure multiple times before cutting; these cuts need to be exact. I need Nathan to bring me the stained baseboard so that can be installed prior to the remaining quarter round. But the kitchen is beginning to look more like a kitchen. We are still trying to find the best place for things; what should go where. I don't lack for storage space; the challenge is there are more items than space in those highly favorable places.

Thursday was a big family day. Isabelle was slated to fly into Kansas City in the afternoon from UT for her endowment session at the temple. Several family members had coordinated to support her; Rebeca's children had offered to babysit as needed. Our plan was to leave Thursday before 9am, check out a couple of thrift stores in Branson, check into a motel 90 minutes south of the temple, drive to the airport to pickup Isabelle, join other family members for dinner, attend the temple and then drive back to the motel. We were half way to KC when we got the text that said Isabelle's flight out Dallas was cancelled. But we were committed and continued on our way. Rebecca and I dropped off 5 girls at the motel, bought them Subway sandwiches for dinner, and drove to IKEA since we had time. Deborah was able to link up with Miranda and drive to the temple. IKEA did not have the specific items I had hoped to find, but we both found some useful things we didn't think we could live without. We enjoyed their Swedish meatballs 

and then drove to the temple to meet up with the other two girls. We enjoyed a great session, 

did the traditional stop at Andy's and Rebecca and I drove back to the motel. You might wonder why we chose a motel 90 minutes away, instead of in KC. The original plan was to go to Silver Dollar City on Friday, and we didn't want to drive to far in the morning.

We got to the motel to find all the girls sleeping soundly. We were up and on the way about 7 am the next morning. Two hours later I missed the turnoff to the park. It seems the highway that was previously designated as '465' is now '76 East'. We were able to link up with Dan Mc who drove three MO Fox children plus Elias English (he is staying there for a few weeks) while Miranda drove her 4 children and we had 5 more children. We spent over 8 hours at the park; ate funnel cakes, 

cinnamon rolls, kettle corn; there may have been a time when the parents thought one of their children was missing, when he was perfectly happy enjoying a ride by himself. A good time was had by all. We got home about 9; I was impressed that 5 teenagers and two adults could all shower and still have hot water!

Isabelle was able to reschedule her session at the temple for 1030 on Friday, while we were off playing. Hopefully, she knows she is loved!

Saturday was a recovery day, that didn't include much recovery. I mowed the yard and helped my neighbor with some issues. Rebecca made more pies. 11 Pies are ready for Saturday's Pie Celebration. We found out today that a ward member passed away this past Friday and her memorial service will be held 20 miles south of here about the same time, so we plan to modify our times to accommodate anyone wanting to attend the service.

Charlotte helped me make blueberry muffins using Adam's recipe. Our bushes have a lot of ripe blueberries this year. Had three members of a family speak in church today, all on the subject of obedience. The two youth stressed that while obedience often lead to affliction in the scriptures, there was always a happy ending. The same should apply to us.

Rebecca is off this afternoon taking Charlotte and Elder Fox back home. Elder Fox flies out to the Provo MTC Wednesday morning. Callie is intent on buying some rabbits from her cousins and will return here with them. They will reside in the old chicken coop until the drive to Utah for Katie's wedding and then to CA to their new home.