What my mechanic has been working on this morning

It's only about 7:30 in the morning and my mechanic has already been working on the Suburban.

The radiator needs some TLC before a trip and my mechanic is taking advantage of the cool, pleasant morning to remove it to take it to a radiator shop.  Lucky me--my mechanic is Bill.

Several years ago "someone" (not Bill or me) wrecked the front end of the Suburban.  The body parts were replaced and the vehicle looks fine, but the radiator and the air cooling unit in front of it both got pushed in and both are shaped like a saggy mattress on edge.  Both cooling units have continued to function until now.

We are hoping the old radiator can be repaired because a new one won't fit into the slot the old one came out of.  The front cooling unit impinges on the space for a new radiator.  Unless we can get the shop to put a nice curve into the flat unit so it matches the old one's curve . . . .

Barring that, Bill is going to have to do some frame work to straighten it to accept a new radiator.

If you give a mouse a cookie . . . .

Bon Voyage!

Today Caroline and Elizabeth are leaving on a trip they have been anticipating ALL SCHOOL YEAR!

They'll fly to Washington D.C. tonight and start touring just about as soon as they get there tomorrow morning.  They have had hours and hours of extra classes to learn about the history of Washington D.C., and by extension, about American history.  When they arrive for a tour of the White House or the Washington Monument or the Holocaust Museum, they will know why it's important to our history and to them personally.

ANOTHER passport photo!

We got our visas and really, really thought we were done with passport photos, but NO!  In order to rent a car in Brazil, you have to show your International Driving License.  You can imagine that bit of news produced a little stab of fear in me, after the visa battle.

Luckily, it turns out getting the license is easy, not expensive, and the office is actually very close to the house.  However, part of the application is a set of passport photos which Bill has in abundance.  Except we couldn't find them.

Lucikly when I took my own pictures for my visa, I blogged about it and thus I just went back, followed the links and directions there and sent Bill's picture off, to Walgreen's this time, for printing.  I'll pick them up on my way to get the license.

I think this trip is going to happen!

Thinking about a trip . . . .

What about something like this?

I need to find someone to go with me because the price for a single is almost the same as a room for two and it would be cheaper and more fun to go with someone.  Perhaps next year, but I'm keeping it in the back of my mind.  :-)

Why I shouldn't watch House Hunters International

Bill, David, and I watched an episode of House Hunters International that took place in Rome, Italy.

source

Now we want to go to Rome.

source

Don't watch that show.

School's out--a trip to the zoo

The girls are on Fall Break this week, so we went to the zoo and had a picnic today.

Although it is autumn here, it's almost 90 degrees today and that's cooled off from earlier this week. 

While we were watching the new baby zebra . . .

. . . we watched a robber squirrel.

It was in the tortoise area and it was stuffing greens into its mouth as fast as it could.  And it turned out to be a good idea!

The robber squirrel hid behind a branch and didn't come out again until the tortoise moved on.  It seemed to know it was a thief!

One of our favorite sections of the zoo is the elephant area.  We like it because there is a lovely habitat for the elephants as well as an education area the girls really like.  I watch the elephants, they play in the education area.

Our zoo had three baby boy births the last week of August.  The zebra was one, and this cute flamingo was another:

I never knew baby flamingos were gray.

 



I always like to take a few pictures of the girls so in a year or two or twenty I can marvel at their growth.  Here is Elizabeth on our favorite brass sculpture:

And Sophia . . .

. . . and all three girls.

At the egg:

And finally, my tiger girls:

A wonderful rest stop in Oklahoma

I have a few more pictures from my summer vacation to share.  This is a wonderful rest stop in Oklahoma.  I know most people don't post pictures of rest stops, but this one is picture-worthy.

It celebrates its location on Route 66.

There was a great play structure with nice shredded tire ground cover beneath it.  Appropriate, don't you think?

And believe it or not, this is the bathroom building:

Inside are men's and women's restrooms with marble counters and beautiful tile murals on the walls, two tornado shelters, and an Internet cafe'. 

It was the nicest rest stop I've ever seen.

Why my vacation was much more fun than usual

Due to a variety of reasons, none of them bad, Bill and I seldom vacation together.

He's my favorite travel companion and it was DELIGHTFUL to vacation with him this year!

Heading for home

The slow way?

Every night we were in Nauvoo we attended the Nauvoo Pageant.  It's a grand play/musical about the history of the Mormons in Nauvoo.  It's a wonderful production.

You can see the Nauvoo temple in the background.  It was rebuilt ten years ago after being destroyed shortly after the Mormons left Nauvoo in the 1840s.  The outside is a near-exact replica of the original and many aspect of the interior are also the same as the original.  Modern conveniences abound, of course.  I like my air conditioning!

 The girls liked it almost as much as the adults did.  It's fun for everyone.

Pioneers!

Pulling a handcart--hundreds/thousands of poor European Mormon immigrants crossed the American plains to Utah pulling handcarts because they did not have enough money for a wagon and team.  Some of my mother-in-law's ancestors came to Utah by handcart.  A handcart this big would carry about 500 pounds of a family's supplies.  It was rare for anyone but tiny children and sick people to ride.  Almost everyone walked.

 Quilting for area charities.

 Our friend G.W.P.

 A braided headband like pioneers braided rugs.

The leader of the parade!

The brass band came by the pioneer play area and played in a quick parade that was for everyone.  The leader got to choose where the band went and you can see how delighted Elizabeth was to lead the musical parade!

 And Sophia brought up the rear.

My little pioneer girls

Aren't they sweet?

How big is a Clydesdale?

This big!

A little family history

One of Bill's dad's great-great grandmothers was born into slavery in the early 1800s.  Since the descendent is actually my f-i-l's stepfather, we don't have any blood relation,, but Bill's father changed his name to that of his stepfather, so we feel a kinship.

 For years Bill has wanted to visit the historic family home in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, and we finally had a chance.

 We arrived after the house had closed for the day, but the tour guide was still there and when Bill made an impassioned plea to see the home of his ancestor, Pelagie Amoureux, he relented and gave us the grand, family-only tour. ;-)

Here is some information about Pelagie Amoureux:

Her timeline

Grant's Farm

Grant who?  Ulysses S Grant's farm, a president of the United States, that is.

He summered in St. Louis, Missouri and had quite a spread there.  Around the turn of the 20th century the Anheiser Busch family or corporation bought the farm and it's been open to the public for decades.

We started off with a tram tour of a deer park--lots of deer and good commentary from our guide.  This fence top (the upper uprights) was made from gun barrels!

 The most interesting part for the girls was the goat feeding area.  You could get 4 ounce bottles of baby goat formula to feed the (satiated by then) kids.  The bottles were exactly the same Evenflo bottles and nipples I used to feed my older children and I'll bet more than one has made its way into a child's mouth.

 Above: Bald Eagles, the national bird of the United States

Below:  a nonplussed Sophia, along with Caroline and Elizabeth

 This was Sophia moments later.  Just add water.

Hermit crabs!

The last day in Mexico our host used a mask and snorkel to look for hermit crabs.  He found six nice ones.

 If you look at the opening of each shell, you can see the crab.  Some of them practically crawled out of their shells while they were being held!

Note: the wind was blowing and puffed out dh's shirt--he's not Santa-in-training!

A long weekend in Mexico!

We just got back from a long weekend in Mexico at the beach.  Such fun!

We took a pleasant drive there (about 7 hours), listening to audio books, singing, chatting, and reading.  We did find out Mexican toll roads aren't as nice as American ones usually are.  No problems though.

My pictures aren't loading well, so look for more in the coming days.  Just a note that we really appreciate our friends' warmth in welcoming us on this excellent adventure.

Planning a trip!

In a few weeks we are going to Mexico for several days of R&R.  See that bay?  Our condo is literally a few steps away from the water.

We are going with some good friends of ours.  No phones, no Internet, just the beach, the water, and lots of board games.  I can't wait!

A few of my favorite pictures from our vacation

This is my father-in-law Bob. He's 81 years old and has been an amputee since he was in his 20s. He's always in pain from the effects of the electrical accident that caused his amputation, yet he hikes, camps, plays with grandkids, and is a very funny guy.
And here is my mother-in-law Jane. Those cute boys are her grandsons, my nephews. Jane is honestly one of the nicest people I know. She is thoughtful of others, never wants to give offense, and is a great conversationalist. She raised very kind and thoughtful sons, too. Girls too, but I see such kindness in her sons that I know she did a great job with them.
Here are my three younger daughters. They'll soon be entering 2nd grade (S) and 4th grades (C & E). They are lively and smart and super affectionate. We have a lot of love going on in our family!


I was really happy to take them to this pioneer outpost called Cove Fort. One of my favorite memories of my older children was taking them here at about the same ages. For some reason D didn't go, but I took H and K on a trip here. I hadn't taken too many road trips back then and it was kind of a BIG DEAL to pack up the car, drive there, take the tour, stay in a KOA cabin, tour the town about 35 miles away, then return home to Salt Lake City.

On the way home from this trip I stopped to see my old friend Kathy. Kathy and I met through her mother Peggy. Peggy was my neighbor across the street when I lived in Salt Lake City. She didn't know anyone who wasn't a friend and she gathered me right in. Her daughter Kathy and I became friends some time after Peggy and I met. A year ago Kathy developed some serious health problems and was hospitalized for a long time, then moved to a nursing home. She's doing a lot better, but you can see the vent, and it's reduced her ability to be out and about as she has always been. Her husband Andy is very attentive to her and she dotes on him. They are a wonderful couple. Just a note: I was startled when I came into Kathy's room because she had lost some weight and she looked just like Peggy. Peggy had snow white hair when she died a couple of years ago, but other than that, it was almost like I was looking at her when I saw Kathy. What a nice memory for me.
This is my son Kevin. He'll be going on a mission soon and it's probably the last time I'll see him before he leaves in October. It's scary how often we think or say the same thing at the same time!
And finally, a shot of two of the big focuses in my life--my family (part of it!) and Jesus Christ. Yes, I'm aware that this is a statue depicting Him (LOL), but I really try to live as He wants me to live.