Camping in the Kiabab Forest

Addyson was so excited that she could hardly sleep for the week leading up to her camping trip.  Daron and Addy joined our friend Rob aka. Recycle Guy and his girlfriend Katie who is a HORSE CAREGIVER AT BEST FRIENDS plus other horse caregivers and their families and horses and our friend Kat from Germany.  I stayed home with Opal who has diabetes and who is very bonded to me.  To be honest sleeping on the ground in a tent sounded like a nightmare and a big migraine trigger! 
Addy was in Heaven!  She LOVES horses and Katie let her ride her horse Isabelle two different times.  Her dog Blue would follow along behind.  Rob called to tell me what a delight it was to have Addy. She thanked Katie for taking her for a horse ride and then thanked Blue for keeping them safe.  She also rotated the hot dogs and pork chops on the barbeque and hung out with the three boys that aged from 9 - 12 yrs old.  Daron said she did great but that he was so uncomfortable on the hard ground and in the cold that he could barely fall asleep.  Needless to say they slept great when they got home!

Kat and Addy

Hiking with friends, Kim from North Carolina and Sego Restaurant!

A Teacher for the Ages

This is the "Letter to the Editor" I wrote about Addy's First Grade teacher, Mr. Willardson.  He LOVED it!!!

A Teacher for the Ages!

Um, mostly (5-7)

I am writing this letter to avoid taking for granted one amazing first grade teacher at Kanab Elementary School.  Let me preface this by saying that my wife and I have only one child, and by every standard measurable we are overly protective of this one child…  First grade is a tough one for parents like us (not to mention the actual students) as it is the first kind of forced release of our child into the big world for 7 hours a day every day.  Thankfully on the day they drew which students would be assigned to which teacher we got Mr. Willardson.  Everyone I talked to about him said nothing but great things about this teacher.  I have come to know now that they were absolutely right!  I would even say they didn’t say enough good things to fully prepare us.

Mr. Willardson has an incredible knack for handling those trembling lipped, watery eyed, right on the verge moments in little kids’ lives.  He has made up important jobs for kids that are apprehensive in the mornings when dropped off for school.  He’s scheduled meetings with my daughter to allow her to vent or give him suggestions on how to make her day at school better.  On your birthday he’ll run you around the room on the chair with rollers!  He has handled with great empathy some moments that could have been embarrassing, frightening, sad, or lonely for little kids.  He shows up to support his kids even in their after-school endeavors, and they’re excited to see him!  He talks to his students in a calm, caring, supportive, and reassuring tone as their teacher.  He lets you bring your child over to ride one of his horses as a reward for doing well in reading or even if they just need to feel special.

All of these wonderful attributes heaped on top of the fact that he has done a remarkable job in providing the education needed to complete first grade.  It’s amazing how much is covered and learned in first grade.  I am sure that there are so many more amazing teachers at Kanab Elementary, but for me and my family it’s hard to imagine Mr. Sheldon Willardson will ever be topped!  Thank you for all you do Mr. Willardson.

I Rock! Yes I am tooting my own horn!

I am on the Kanab City Art Council. We are creating an 8 ft by 8 ft mosaic mural to put on the floor of the Performing Arts Terrace.  The problem was we have four folks from the art council ready to glue over 11,000 tiles on 64 12 inch x 12 inch mesh squares.  So we sent out a Facebook event to get the community involved.  That didn't work so great so I called my wonderful friends and included my Kids Art Discovery Class.  About 8 kids participated from my art class but the awesome part was when 27 a Yes TWENTY SEVEN friends came over two days to help!  We actually ran out of tiles and glue.  So when those come in we will finish! My friend Lisha was the first to show up on Friday with her sister in laws, mother in law and kids in tow!  They were having a family reunion.  I yelled " the Calvary is here!"  Saturday was a steady flow of more and more friends showing up to help!

My Art Class and the Kanab Art Council Project

The Kanab City Art Council asked the Kanab Art Discovery Class to help create the mosaic tiles for the Performing Arts Terrace.  They did an amazing job!  The cool thing about mosaic tile murals is you have to use precision and math in addition to creativity which engages your right and left brain.
I wasn't sure how the kids would respond to an hour of lining up 165 tiny tiles on a 12 inch by 12 inch mesh square so I had a second project for the students. They made  bracelets out of toilet paper rolls, string, ribbon, crafting duct tape and washi tape.  I loved to see the difference in bracelet styles the kids came up with. Art is so good for kids and adults.  I read a great article in the Harvard Review that mentioned how art can help students learn the value of deceleration and immersive attention. It may take some kids a little longer to settle into a project but it is very gratifying to see them concentrating, enjoying, and creating once they focus. Most of the kids chose to do both projects.

Greenhouse in July

Bedroom Flooring

Daron did a kick-ass job putting in our new flooring.  He was meticulous and it looks so beautiful!  The flooring goes out through the hall and then will flow right into Addy's room and closet.  The last spot we will do is the main living room.  Opal is still having too many accidents and we don't want to ruin it! 

Fruit Harvest!

The apricots and cherry plum fruit is ready to harvest.  We have a cherry plum tree but we have to ask the neighbors if we can pick the apricots.  My favorite.  I am going to dry the cherry plums in my dehydrator so I can put them on my oatmeal.  I made jam a few years ago but since we don't really eat anything that requires jam I prefer the dehydrator. I found some other ideas too so I am pasting them on this post so I can refer to them. 

Cultivated cherry plums can have fruits, foliage, and flowers in any of several colors. Some varieties have sweet fruits that can be eaten fresh, while others are sour and better for making jam.

Cherry plums are a key ingredient in Georgian cuisine where they are used to produce tkemali sauce, as well as a number of popular dishes, such as kharcho soup and chakapuli stew.

Grape Vine encroaching on Plum Cherry tree

Addy's Snail Heaven Sanctuary

Addy has gone snail crazy.  She and her friend Cedar have started collecting snails from the yard and creating a spot the call Snail Heaven.  They make sure the area is moist and the snail have sticks to play on and a bowl of water for swimming.  A snail even laid eggs.  Addy also discovered that when snails mate both snails can become pregnant.  She told me last night that "A slug is just a snail without a home."  She also said that she couldn't sleep last night because she was so excited about her snails. 

they put a snail on MY arm

Cedar getting up close and personal with the snail

Addy and her snail friend

snail eggs

snail selfie

July 4 and new flooring

Since Opal has diabetes and would stop eating if we went on vacation we are not going anywhere this year. Although I did tell Daron and Addy they could go somewhere and I would hold down the fort. I haven't been alone in the house for 7 years so I figured I could keep myself busy or just relax in the quiet... Anyhow, we decided for our 10 year anniversary to get something we have been wanting forever, dreaming of forever, imagining for our house and family... FLOORING!!!!!!!!!!!! I had some parameters that Daron and I had to work within. It had to be LEED certified as green flooring. I didn't want vapors seeping out especially with me being prone to migraines and my increased sensitivity to smell. I also wanted the best for Addy. I also wanted it to be made in the USA. I figured if I am constantly bitching about all the jobs going to China I might as well walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. Daron found BEAUTIFUL flooring in our budget with all my stipulations. The shipping was a bit pricey but with that figured it in was an awesome deal. It even came with the water, sound barrier attached to the planks and a LIFE TIME warranty. Daron even called to see if we could get a similar flooring from the Salt Lake or LA distribution centers to save on shipping. The guy sent us samples which were all made in China, not LEED certified etc.etc. and when you figure in the padding etc. it didn't save much plus it only had a 25 year warranty. So almost a ton of flooring was shipped to our house last week and we are starting with the bedroom. taking our time and doing it meticulously. 

Fourth of July - with the heat we weren't in the mood to grill or go to the park.  Thank goodness for the clouds it made the parade bearable. Our friends Rachel and Kristen had done the morning Color me Rad run in which colored powder was thrown on the runners.  Hence their rainbowish hue!  My friend Amberly brought her shy dog to expose him to people.  He sniffed Daron's ear and donned a blue necklace. I saw pretty much everyone I know in town.  It is the place to be and be seen.  LOL.  I felt like that was my socializing for the day so we went home and did flooring! wahhoooo.

In over 100 degree heat Addy and I chose to play Bingo

Color Me Rad racers in blue and pink hue!

Celebrating #lovewins

Day#44 the Andrews celebrating ‪#‎lovewins‬ with Best Friends Animal Society Rainbow shirts! We pulled Addy away from her video game hence the frown. ‪#‎100happydays‬ ‪#‎100daysofhappy‬ #lovewins ‪#‎lightandlove‬

Addy at our Art Reception

Bathing suits, chocolate chip cookies and I read to animals at the library

Addy and I got on our new bikinis texted friends to meet us at the pool got there and it was Closed due to broken plastic in the lazy river. Everyone went to the park to run through the water feature. It wasn't ideal but it worked.  McKenna and Addy making homemade cookies. Taking Opal to the library so kids could read to her.  She loooved it.  She can't see the kids but when she hears them she gets excited. She enjoyed the stories and the belly rubs.  Reading to the pot bellied pig was the highlight though! 

Happy Fathers Day to ALL the awesome Dad's out there!