Movin' Up To Kindergarten

 There is a song that I find very hard to get out of my head. It is a song that Kessler and the rest of his pre-school class sang during their pre-K graduation last month. It is called "Movin' Up to Kindergarten." It has a very catchy tune and Kessler loves singing it. He even asked Alexa to find it on our Amazon Echo, in which he was successful.

Kessler loved pre-school (in California and Utah) and did very well in learning his letters, sight words, and even the order of the planets. He is definitely ready to move up to kindergarten.

It was a lot of fun to attend Kessler's preschool graduation. One day, he will graduate from High School and then maybe college. This kid is going places.

Fight On

 Jared flew to Utah for a visit on his way up to work in Coeur d'Alene for the summer. He was here for almost a week. As a surprise gift, Jared gave Kessler a mask and cape he had purchased during his trip to Mexico. I guess the professional wrestlers wear these during their fights.

Kessler loved it and wanted to wrestle with Jared practically every day. Jared gave Wesley a mask also, which she enjoyed.

Jared didn't have a cape for Wesley, so I got her one a few days later. It came with a different type of mask.

Although it is nowhere near Halloween, these two kids sure do love to dress up. 

Running The 1K Race in Provo

 Earlier this month, Kessler got to participate in a 1 K race down in Provo. Cheryl and Parker ran a 5 K race the evening before, but we watched the kids that evening so we weren't able to be there to cheer them on.

Kessler was able to run (with his parents by his side) with his cousin Karla Baldwin and her dad Ryan.

A lot of children participated in this event. It was over quickly, but it was fun to be there to watch and enjoy Kessler's first experience at running a race.

Cheryl was slightly behind Parker and Kessler when they crossed the finish line, but she did great in trying to keep up with them.

I'm so proud of anyone who find it in themselves to participate in any running event. I was never a good runner and never found joy in running, so it warms my heart to see family members have a desire to do so.

The Harvest Has Begun

Our backyard has several fruit trees. We have 2 apple trees, 2 peach trees, one plum tree, one apricot tree, one cherry tree. In the past three years, they have yielded very little fruit, except for the peach trees last year. They produced wonderfully!

I love cherries, but last year our cherry tree produced only one cherry. What a disappointment that was! From about the age of 8 years old until I was 16, I picked cherries every summer in a ward member's orchard with other family members and our neighbor friends, the Mendenhall's, to earn spending money. We got paid .05 cents per pound. Looking back, I think of it as child labor, but I was happy to be able to earn money picking cherries for those 8 years.

Fortunately, this year our cherry tree has finally started producing more of it's delicious fruit. Cheryl's family is still living in our basement while their home is being remodeled, and Kessler and Wesley love to go out back with me to harvest the fruit. Cherries are the earliest to ripen so we are currently enjoying some delicious Bing cherries straight from the tree. The kids are patiently waiting while I rinse them before eating.

This bowl is only part of the fruit we harvested this week. We had to thin the fruit on every tree (except the cherry tree), so we are expecting a great harvest as the summer progresses. Looking forward to being able to can more peaches in September. Yum!

Another thing about our garden this year is that my garden angel, Lois, has such a beautiful flowing skirt. Best yet.

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

 When we moved into our home just over three years ago, I longed for a rectangle table to go under our pavilion in the back yard. The round table we brought here from California just isn't big enough to provide enough seating for our family get-togethers.

We did order a table back in 2021, but because of Covid related delays in getting products delivered, we had to cancel our order. I've waited patiently for three years for my desire to become a reality, but it was worth it.

On Ryan's birthday, just two weeks ago, our table and chairs arrived. It was just before Father's Day, so we considered it a Father's Day gift for Alan.  I am very pleased with it. Having backyard barbeques will be so much nicer now. 

This is what the new table set looks like. The chairs are very comfortable to sit in. The two end chairs swivel and rock, which I love!

We put our old table and chairs on the lower patio. This is a perfect spot for it so anyone using the hot tub can put towels on it or people can sit in the chairs to watch kids in the hot tub.

I'm so happy in my backyard. I love my garden and I love sitting out there when the evenings are cool to bask in the joy of nature. I love it here in Utah and will never move back to California. We loved CA, too, but it's not safe there any longer and we are glad to be in Utah where we are closer to family - immediate and extended.