July can be summed up in three bullet points:
- We survived both a July 4th 6.4 and July 5th 7.1-magnitude earthquake, with epicenters within miles of Ridgecrest. I type that out in a sentence and it feels so surreal, but it's true. Thousands of aftershocks, which really haven't stopped but have lessened in intensity over the past week or so. It's probably worth a separate post for all that we have experienced and learned the past 18 or 19 days, but for now, I will say our family and community have been miraculously blessed in many ways and we have learned good lessons, but it's also incredibly traumatic and we are still dealing with the effects of it.
- Both Rhiannon and Wade have been busy this month with dog- or house-sitting jobs. Rhiannon is grateful for the 10-day house-sitting job she's doing right now because the movie theater was damaged during the earthquakes and she's out of a job there until further notice and repairs are done.
- We got a new patio cover and it's beautiful!
Here are some pictures!
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| Visiting a friend from our ward whose family had to stay at the Red Cross shelter several days until their home could be cleared. |
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| Shelter-in-place in our backyard. The dogs were really good! We had access to our home the whole time, but we slept outside in a tent the first couple nights after the 7.1. It was terrible to be standing outside during that, watching our house move. |
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| All of our shelter-in-place gear that we moved into the garage on a windy day. Here's what I had to say about that on Facebook: "I haven't taken many pictures through all of this--you don't really think about selfies when you're on constant earthquake alert, but this one kind of captures it all for me. That's most of our shelter-in-place gear that we’ve used in the backyard the past two days, moved into the garage for now because of high winds today, and ready if we need it again. Cars are all out on the street. "Go" bags with a change of clothes, few snacks, etc, are right inside the back porch door, large pictures are off the wall. Today we will have "family-centered" church at home as both church buildings need to be inspected, try to rest some more, and see who needs help. I'm not sure when it's "over", so we are still proceeding as if another large quake could come at any moment, that's the hard part, and hard on the mind and body. Thanks so much for the prayers, texts, and support. We feel them and need them. ❤️ LOTS of miracles amidst the trauma; after some much better sleep in the tent last night, my perspective is a little brighter today." |
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| A sign I put up on the fridge to help me out mentally. I've really struggled with anxiety. |
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Rhiannon and I drove out to Trona one night in a caravan with other friends to assemble and deliver meals to homebound seniors and other residents, working with the World Central Kitchen and some pretty amazing Trona folks. We only stopped by 4 homes, but, boy, was it a shot of gratitude and joy to my system to do that. One sweet old lady said, “You came at the perfect time!” We also stopped by another home, not on our list, to get help with directions, and the two women there took some meals and explained they were evacuating because they were red-tagged. To drop in on someone in the middle of that was so sad, but I think they were grateful for the meal. ❤️
| Trona’s Trails Drive In is OPEN, with a limited menu. We got shakes for the drive home! 🤗 |
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| Go bags by the back patio. Wade and I still have ours there, 18 days later. |
We love our new porch! It is a major improvement! We had scheduled with Lapham Construction, based in Lake Isabella, several weeks before the earthquakes hit. They did the job in 1.5 days, taking down the old and putting up the new.
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| Old |
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| Old |
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| Old one gone! |
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| New! Much larger, aluminum construction, with two ceiling fans/lights! |
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| We love it! |
June 2019 highlights:
- Wade had a fun trip with friends from his Priests quorum up to St. George for a few days. We are grateful to leaders Lee Cox, Trevor Hedman, and Ryan Hedman for making that a FUN experience. Wade said they shot guns, ate well, hiked, and hung out in a really nice cabin.
- Rhiannon got lots and lots and lots of hours working at the movie theater!
- I went to Girls Camp and had a good time there, too.
- Wade got his learner's permit!
- We enjoyed a great Father's Day with Jason!
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| Our long-time, WONDERFUL piano teacher Melanie and her husband Michael moved to Utah. What a blessing she has been to our family! Before she left she recommended that Wade take advanced lessons with Patrick Rindt, another great teacher, so Wade has been able to continue lessons this summer. |
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| Wade at seminary graduation with his friend Aaron and teacher Sister Penny Belt. Wade said she was always happy, every day, at 5:30 am! |
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| Coach Barnes, in the middle, got a special award from the LDS youth community at seminary graduation. This is a cool Educator award they've been giving to teachers or coaches who've had a positive impact on youth in our community, and a good missionary opportunity. Notice Rhiannon and Wade are both in the picture! |
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| Ah, summer! I made the kids eat breakfast with me outdoors one day, and it was fun! |
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| So good to have this lovely lady home for the summer! She knocked her freshman year OUT OF THE PARK at UNR! |
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| Love this teenage boy who is patient with me! |
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| Using the solar oven to bake bread since it was over 100 degrees outside. Cooked in about 75 minutes. |
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| Only Girls Camp picture I'll post--that's the project I helped with at camp, cutting out diaper patterns for infant bereavement packages, for the Teeny Tears organization based out of Utah. |
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| Pics from Wade's St. George trip--he had a great time! |
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| Love that smile! |
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| Good group of young men! |
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| Kids cooking dinner for Jason on Father's Day |
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| Happy Father's Day! Kids got him some shark socks and a Godzilla t-shirt! |
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| Golfing with the Bakers--good times! |
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For family history’s sake, I needed to document this. I came home one night to the kids having a serious intellectual conversation as they ranked Pixar, then Marvel Universe movies, going from least favorite to favorite. They shared their lists and defended their choices. Then they went on to Christopher Nolan movies, and then Star Wars. This morning the ranking continued with Coldplay songs.
| Who are these amazing humans? They are so much cooler than me! |
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| Wade got his learner's permit--hurray! |
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| Garden has been great this summer, especially the zucchini, lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, peppers, and basil |
May 2019 highlights:
- Wade finished up a very busy, fun spring semester of drum line AND golf. And managed to get a 4.6 GPA and go to early morning seminary, too. What a rock star!
- Rhiannon successfully completed her freshman year at UNR and turned 19!
- Jason and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary!
- I had a great Mother's Day!
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| With his friend Lars Bartels at final drum line performance |
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| Drum line was a big commitment, but, like his sister, Wade thoroughly enjoyed it. He's towards the right of the picture. |
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| Rhiannon had a fun date with friend Tyson |
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| More fun with friends up at UNR--Rhiannon with buddies at the Reno temple |
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| Jason, Wade, and I enjoyed a Los Angeles temple day, too. Jason and I went down the night before and stayed in the temple apartments, as an "anniversary trip" with good food and time together. |
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| Look at those babies! Rhiannon found this picture from our early days. :) Happy 22nd Anniversary to us! |
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| Golf Banquet with Coach Sappington |
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| Another great group of kids! Wade had a good experience! |
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| I SURVIVED ANOTHER YEAR AT SCHOOL. This one was full of challenges as well as great experiences! |
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| Rhiannon was home for her 19th birthday! LOVE! |
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| Dead neighborhood bullfrog in the bottom of our pool. I learned that the bullfrogs who'd enjoyed our waterfalls and such had moved to the neighbor's koi pond when our front yard was redone. I'm sorry the guy didn't make it. |
April 2019 highlights:
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| Sandi Collins came for a nice long visit! We LOVED having her stay with us! |
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| More golf for Wade |
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| Drum line competitions |
March 2019 highlights:
- Spring Break stay-cation with everyone home!!! We enjoyed good food, went on a family hike, and just spent good quality time together!
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| Family hike up by the college |
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| Rhiannon helped me put the garden seeds in, too! |
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| A cute note in the mail from our niece Maggie! |
