7/31/18 A New Lamp and Cousin Play

Papa's new lamp arrived today. Heidi lead the charge installing it. She got this picture of me helping.

Papa demonstrates the motion sensor activation.

This lamp will allow him to read in his man cave without light glaring in his eyes.

Today David solved his dodecahedron for the first time.

The kids had fun playing LEGO Rock Band.

David and Nate had many fun play projects together. They seemed to really enjoy Minecraft together.

Next, the kids made a pyramid of all of their stuffed animals.

It is fun to see them enjoying time together.

7/30/18 Fridge Sale and Clean up

This morning Heidi cleaned out the old fridge and posted it for sale.

We got responses right away and a nice family came and picked it up later today. We hope that they enjoy it.

Rebecca and Sarah teamed up again for clean up and photo documenting the things they've outgrown. They took many photos, though I am only including one. Heidi and I are proud of them for sharing their blessings with others.

7/29/18 Quiet Sunday Afternoon

Today, after church, we did some quiet activities at home. Heidi and Rebecca worked on Rebecca's birthday puzzle.

David used his tablet.

Sarah, Joseph, TJ, and Nate played Sarah's gear game.

Peter shared his big grin.

7/28/18 Prepping for School

Here is Peter, in a box.

This morning Heidi and I took the kids to Walmart to pick up school supplies. It was quite a list. The kids did pretty well at not getting into things they weren't supposed to.

After that, we stopped by a music store and picked up a string for Sarah's violin. The kids did ok at this stop but it proved a little too exciting for some of the younger crowd. Heidi and I decided to not take everyone to Milano's to compare a Tenor and a Baritone ukulele. The Baritone has a more guitar-like sound but requires learning new names for cords as it is also tuned more like a guitar. The Tenor has a rounder sound than a Concert but not as full as the Baritone. It has the benefit of using the same cords that I have already learned. Right now I am leaning towards the Baritone but it has not been easy to decide.

This afternoon, Papa and I did some online training that is required as part of becoming official "guardians" for Becca B. It was a little dry and depressing but it felt good to get it done.

7/27/18 Temple and Kelly and Melissa Fly Home

Last night Kelly and I did the time math to figure out when we had to leave for the Temple so that she could be back in time to make her flight. Heidi and Kelly each did 4 Initiatory ordinances and I did two. We also got to see Grammie and Grandpa Mangum there. We made it back in plenty of time.

Kelly used the coloring page that Jon designed to work as Origami paper into a crane.

Here is a close-up view.

Melissa and Gram

Kelly, Gram, and Ganon

Rebecca, Peter, Joseph, Sarah, and David saying goodbye to Melissa.

Several kids teamed up to make a letter box.

Papa and Becca B and I got Kelly and Melissa to the airport with time to spare.

7/26/18 Heidi Handiwork

This morning, Heidi, Melissa, Nate, David, Rebecca, Sarah, TJ, Joseph, and Peter swung by Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's house. Heidi worked on the cupboards. David and Nate mowed the lawn. I was on the phone with a client (feels like a lame excuse for not helping but there it is). Afterward, we went over to Humanitarian to help out there for a while.

I believe that this is Kelly's completed coloring page from Jon.

This evening Heidi had commissioner meeting. The rest of us had fun swimming in the pool. Gram even joined us. She was feeling well enough that she wanted to practice Swing dancing. I'm glad to see that she is beginning to get her strength back.

7/25/18 David B-day Party

Today David invited his friends Rushton Shirts, Gavin Wadsworth, and Joseph Jarman over for a birthday party. They played in the pool and played computer games together.

During the party, I got to bake the cake. Heidi took the little kids to see a magic show at the library.

Another fun thing that happened during the party was getting a call from Sister Postert. Brother Postert needed some help moving a recliner. Papa, Becca B, Nate and I all went to help. They were surprised but grateful to see all of us. Nate was a big help moving things around. Poor guy even got a small cut on his knee but did not complain. He is tough.

Jon gave us some fun coloring pages that he designed while he was here. Becca B loves to color and got right on it.

This evening David went over to the Shirt's house to work on some of the merit badges they started at camp.

7/24/18 Four Paintings, A Fridge and a Party

It's taken more than a year to do but Papa's for Book of Mormon paintings are hung in his man cave. Heidi led the charge. Much thought, planning, and measurement went into this moment and it turned out beautifully.

Later on, we got a delivery from an anonymous benefactor.

Two big dudes delivered a fridge and helped us get it set up.

Today was also Rebecca's birthday party. She invited her friends Krissy, Missy, and Maggie. Here they are having fun preparing the brownies.

Maggie gave Rebecca a fancy coloring book and some colored pencils.

Krissy and Missy got her a large inflatable pineapple and a Barnes and Noble gift card. Heidi took on the task of filling it with air.

It floats! The girls had fun in the pool.

Later on, Heidi and I loaded the new fridge. Everything from the old fridge fit nicely in the new one. This is the style that Heidi has wished to have. It is a great blessing to have a place to store food for our large family.

7/23/18 A Big Step

Today was Gram's big dental procedure. It was an ordeal. Kelly and Papa went with and did the best they could to be a comfort. While they were gone, Heidi and Jon teamed up to paint and permanently attach the ramp that Heidi made for the front step. It took some sanding, cutting and painting to get the wooden piece to fit just right. Jon had the idea of using paint to help spot where the ramp rubbed against the door. Between the two of them, they figured out just what to do so that the door opens and closes smoothly. In the future, I expect that Gram and Papa will enjoy the improved ingress and egress at the front door. Good job Jon and Heidi!

7/22/18 Rebecca Speaks and Jon, Cathy and Nate arrive

Rebecca gave her first ever talk in Sacrament meeting today. She wrote almost all of it herself. Heidi provided a little editorial help. She was poised and confident. More than a few people told me how much they enjoyed it. Some couldn't believe that she is only 12. We are proud of the hard work that she put in to be ready. She spoke about how our testimonies are influenced by our ancestors and how we, in turn, influence our descendants. 

This afternoon, Jon, Cathy, and Nate arrived. Jon and Cathy are in route to Texas for the annual Mary Kay gathering. Nate will be staying here during that time.

It was a fun visit.

Here is Jon doing some tech support with Kelly.

7/21/18 Baptisms for the Dead

Today Becca B, Papa, Gram, Melissa, Kelly, Rebecca, Me, Heidi, David, and Anthony all went to the Gilbert temple to do baptisms for the dead. There was a huge youth group ahead of us in line and they told us that it would be a three hour wait. After some discussion, we decided that our best option was to wait and hope that things went along quicker than they estimated. Grammie and Granpa Mangum had the four younger kids and we didn't want to overburden them. In the end, the wait was about half what they had said. It gave us some time to read and reflect in the waiting area. Becca B took an hour getting dressed so we wouldn't have been much faster even if there had been no line. The experience was a spiritual one. I heard more than one person say that it made them feel closer to their ancestors.

I took this picture because it was Rebecca Noelani's first time getting to go inside an operating temple. She's done prededication tours but this was her first time doing ordinances. She has a talk to prepare about testimony. I am so glad that she had this opportunity to be in a place where the Spirit can be felt so strongly.

Kelly made it home first, since Heidi and I had to go pick up the others, so she took the hot dogs and bread out of the freezer. They thawed out fast in the 110 degree Arizona heat.

7/20/18 David's Birthday and Kelly and Melissa Arrive

Today Rebecca and Sarah worked hard getting their room ready to have company. Melissa will be sleeping in their room.

Look how nice it turned out.

Grammie recently gave us one of their water coolers. They now have one built into their fridge. Peter has loved being able to get a drink whenever he wants. So far I haven't even found any puddles. This is a wonderful blessing during this hot time of year.

At dinner, David received gifts from the family. Melissa and Kelly gave David this backpack featuring the logo from Random Acts. It's a BYUtv show where they do hidden camera service projects.

We got David this skateboard game. It was a cool idea but, unfortunately, it is missing a key component. That's the risk of treasure hunting at Goodwill. Oh well, David was a great sport about it. It would've been cool if it had worked.

You can see Kelly in the background. Papa and Becca and I picked up Kelly and Melissa at the Mesa airport today. They are in town to help Gram go through her dental surgery. They have already been hard at work helping out.