All That is Simple and Good

I know I'm not the only one who is feeling discouraged these days.  Covid19, social unrest, social distancing, politics, mask-shaming, traditions cancelled.  Blah.  Sometimes A lot of times I feel anxious and frustrated.  I haven't been as regular about keeping up on my blog, which really doesn't negatively affect anyone but me, because I really enjoy keeping this family record.  So this afternoon, it's just me and the blog looking back at the last few weeks and all the good times.  Are there some not-so-good times as well?  Sure.  But I think I've dwelt on the negative quite enough.  This time is to count the blessings.  

Outdoor summer play dates with your best friends.  Lots of time this summer for small gatherings.

Deacons Quorum Nerf gun battle.

Date night dinner and games in the park.

Sisters double date

Friends enjoying a cookout in the backyard.

Our cat that WE SERIOUSLY LOVE!!!  It seems to genuinely enjoy us as well.  

It cuddles with us all the time.  I did not know there were cats like this in the world.  We can't get over how different Mushu (pictured above) is from "The Cat" (RIP)

Is this enough pictures of our cat?  It's just so nice.  And so tolerant.  

There is a special bond between Greta and George.  

Park Explorers: Skate Park Edition

While Greta goes to her gymnastics classes, the boys and I go check out the skate parks in the nearby cities.  So far, Riverton is still our favorite.

Faith has gotten to do a couple swim meets and she is dropping time in her butterfly and freestyle-- which she is thrilled about.

Faith put in a lot of work to fill in and flatten out "The Hole" in the backyard.  She also cleaned out the corner of the yard where the chicken coop used to be.  She and Abe planted some flowers and it's all quite an improvement.  Faith is one hardworking, determined little thing!

Shaved ice for the hard workers.

That little cutie in back on the right got baptized a few weeks back and we got to join in the celebration!  

It wasn't a huge gathering, but it was lovely to get to be together.

 It's a blurry picture, but it's got my favorite people in the world and we're eating the best summer meal-- hamburgers, watermelon, and corn-on-the-cob.  Yes, please!

Family hiking-- just can't get enough!

A birthday dinner for me with Daniel and Lori-- our longest and still most fun double dating partners.

Not a terribly inspiring, but between a sprinkler, a trampoline, a play structure, a kiddie wading pool, a couple squirt guns, and good friends, we're handling summer in the backyard just fine. 

Father's Day and Family Dinner

We went to church on Father's Day for the first time since the middle of March!  Darn COVID!  It was nice to be at church.  The Spirit is the Spirit.  Taking the Sacrament, singing the hymns, hearing a great talk.  All really good stuff.  And at the same time, it was sad and empty and we missed seeing our friends and neighbors.  I'll be going again next week to play the organ.  I guess under the current circumstances I prefer church at home-- only because now that we're kind of used to it, it feels more normal than a mostly empty chapel with very limited contact among friends.

A picture of Abe with his fan club.   Who knew our genes would combine so well!

We hosted a family dinner with my extended family Sunday evening.  We haven't seen my dad since the middle of March-- he and Bev are being very cautious (understandably so).  It was great to have him with us for the evening.  And of course, we love anytime we can get Clark for a visit. 

We celebrated Chloe's 5th birthday with cake and cousins.

The older kids don't have much by way of Cannon cousins that are close in age, but the younger certainly do and they love them!

My brother got a couple of commercial grade electric scooter and he brought them to the dinner.  They were the hit of the party!

Grandpa even got in on the action!

And yours truly.  And you know what?  It was outrageously fun and I can't stop thinking of when will be the next time I can go for a ride.

My siblings and I.  We're all busy with kids and jobs and life.  I am grateful to have them-- even if we don't get together as often as we'd like.

Another fun thing from this weekend was getting a weed whacker.  We have been in dire need of a functioning weed whacker for quite some time-- as the weeds in our front yard and all along our back yard fence line have attested.  Anyway, we're feeling pretty good about it.

Greta with her real live kitty in a stroller.  JOY!! Have I mentioned that kitties are her favorite thing?

Camp Out and Hike

A summer backyard camp out.

The top picture is Faith, Cannon, and George in June 2014.  The bottom is Peter and Greta in June 2020.  Miraculously, our tent has survived and isn't much worse for the wear.

We watched Back to the Future on the big screen outside.  I had the brilliant idea to bring a mattress outside to lay down to watch the movie.  It was heavenly for the 15 minutes I stayed awake for. Greta snuggled up next to me and we promptly feel asleep:)

Everybody had a good night's sleep.

And it's a good thing, because they next day we attempted quite an ambitious family hike up Butterfield Canyon.

Neither Abe nor I were familiar with this hike or the drive up the very winding, narrow road.  It was nerve-racking for me and our big van was ill-suited to the journey.  But we made it unscathed.

It doesn't appear so in the picture, but after the first quarter mile, it was very steep.  We didn't end up reaching the peak,-- I ran out of steam--which was our goal, but we deemed the hike a success anyway.  It was a really beautiful hike.

  Everyone copied Peter's gang sign:)

We found a log to rest on.  We named it the Log of Tribulation.

Guess what?  Today is our 23rd wedding anniversary-- June 24th.  It's been a very good 23 years.  There have been unbelievably happy times and incredibly sad/hard times.  And we've learned a lot and we're still learning.   And we have a beautiful family whose lives will also be a mixture of happy and sad.  And they'll keep on learning and growing.  And I am so grateful to have Abe for a partner and companion.  We have been very blessed.

The Brothers Fox.

The Foxy Ladies.

Elinor was Greta's companion and she was so helpful with her all the way back down the steep trail.

A boy and his dad.

A girl and her dad.  Father's Day was this past Sunday.  These kids definitely got the best of the best with Abe for their dad.  We are all blessed by his love and service to our family.
Here's a couple more fun anniversary pictures--

Abe put this collage together.  I guess the years haven't been too rough on us:)