Highlights From Summer 2012

BAILEY AND MILES ARRIVE!

Bailey and Miles came to Idaho so they could be here when Isaac got home. I of course forgot to take the camera to the airport to get a picture of them arriving. Plus their flight was early so I wasn't even there to greet them getting off of the airplane. But here is a cute picture of Miles we had taken while he was here. It is a good thing he is crawling in the picture because he learned to do that while he was here.

 

 

 ISAAC'S HOMECOMING

 Isaac returned home from serving his mission in Teresina Brazil on June 13, 2012. His sisters were excited to have him home. So was I!

 The whole family at the Idaho Falls airport. Since leaving on his mission our family added Miles and Brooke. Well done, Good and Faithful Servant, Elder Robertson.

 

TEXAS OR BUST

 At the end of June, Eric and I set out on a road trip to move him to Houston, Texas. This was construction going on in Wyoming near Kemmerer. It is a tunnel for migrating animals. The traffic goes under and the animals go over. We drove through a lot of smoke! I saw smoke from the Fontenelle fire, Ft. Collins fire, Colorado Springs fires. The trip took us 2 days. The first night we stayed in Westmeinster, CO and the second night in Ft. Worth, Texas. We arrived in Houston on the third day and got Eric moved into his appartment. It is a lovely place complete with a pool and fitness area. The photo below is Eric in his new place.

 Saturday we had a chance to drive around and get a feel for the area. It was a rainy day which made it a bit cooler, but not much. Our first stops were to find the temple and the church. The Houston Temple is beautiful. I don't know why the photo is sideways. I tried to change it, but it would not budge. Just turn your head sideways :) Sunday we attended church in Eric's new ward. It was a very diverse ward. Much different than Idaho! The people were friendly and I think he will enjoy it there. Then the bad part of the trip came....I had to leave to return to Idaho. Bailey and Miles were still here and I had to get ready for our next summer event. I must admit I shed a few tears while sitting in the airport and still do everytime Eric comes home and has to leave. It will be a very LONG year.

MIRANDA THE STUD!

Miranda decided to train for a half marathon this summer. She worked very hard and was very diligent in getting her runs in daily. She was also working full time. These are her running shoes all lined up. I think the first pair are from her early XC days, the middle pair are from her senior year and her freshman year of college and also the pair she did her 1/2 marathon in. As a reward, I bought her a new pair to start training for her next event. Who knows when or how far that will be?

 Coming into the finish line and she still has a smile on her face! Maybe she has the smile because she is coming to the finish line.....hmm. The half Marathon she ran was in Driggs, Idaho. It was the John Colter Half.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT ARRIVES!

On Aug. 4, 2012 our foreign exchange student arrived. Her name is Shu-Han Liao but she goes by Micon (Mee-Ko). Abby and I were at the airport awaiting her arrival. She is joining our family for the upcoming school year from Taiwan. Upon arrival we came home and she promptly took a nap. I could tell she was exhausted. 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

We wanted to show Micon around the area before school starts. So on a weekend when Eric was home from Texas we took a drive to Yellowstone. Micon had never heard of it before. We assured her that we were taking her to a very famous place and she would see people from all over the world touring there. The very first people we saw and heard were speaking Chinese. That brought a smile to here face. 

 Geyser Basin

 Old Faithful

 Brink of the Falls - Notice the beautiful rainbows.

 

AROUND THE HOUSE AND YARD

 Even though we will be moving to Texas, we planted a big garden. As I am taking care of it by myself I often ask myself why? This is the garden shortly after planting. Probably the only time there wouldn't be any weeds. We planted a couple weeks earlier this year. Eric just couldn't wait! All would have been well except for the freeze in June just after the plants were all up. We covered most of the garden so the freeze only stunted things for a little. Now it is a jungle!

 We gave Micon a chance to pick beans. She was a good sport about it. We have a ton of Sunflowers this year. We did plant some, but most of them came up from seeds that dropped last year. They are pretty and the bees love them.

 

OTHER PROJECTS THAT HAVE KEPT ME BUSY

I talked Eric into letting me get a new bedroom set, one with matching dressers and headboard, night stands. It didn't take much talking...he is so good to me. Anyway we had this old dresser for the past 22 years. It is a sturdy dresser and well made but it was pretty banged up from so many years of use. I decided to refinish it and put it in the room Micon is in. Paige helped me do a lot of it. I learned some valuable lessons...the most important is to not put a coat of polyeurothane on at night. I was doing this project in the garage and the lights were one and the bugs were gathering around the lights and then dropping into my wet paint....I had to sand it down the next morning and try again. I think in the end it turned out nice. And notice the blue wall..Paige, Abby and I also painted the room a nice light shade of blue.

 

ANNIVERSARY!

Eric and I celebrated 27 years together on Aug. 24. Luckily it was a weekend he was home from Texas. We were able to spend the day together, go out and eat and walk around the greenbelt. It was just very nice being together! I am looking forward to many more years together.