....and "ZEN!"......

When Brandon was a little boy he would say "and zen!...." instead of "and then!..." when he was telling a story. So, as I finish this story of our summer 2015.....and ZEN...... we helped watch Tony and Cindy's kids while they were in Twin Falls as session directors for EFY. Lauren and Reagan have graduated to the point where they are able to look after themselves, so we got the three littles plus a bunch of help from Jane Marie. I'd seen something online about making your own giant soap bubbles out of Karo Syrup and dish soap. The pictures looked awesome, just like this photo below.

However, the camera is a crafty devil and makes things look permanent instead of a nano-second's worth of bubbles. I used up all of my dish soap and all of my Karo syrup and we were diligent little bubble slaves trying our best to create bubble makers out of straws and string. As you can see we did have some success but it lasted less than a zip before they popped. (And I love whatever the heck it is that Jane was doing in the pool).

One of the items on Jane's summer bucket list was to learn to juggle and I think she almost mastered it!

And they got really good at badminton! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Hiatt for the memories. I put this up in your honor, really!! When we got married and I found out Dennis could slaughter me at ping pong, (which I'd mastered on the old dining room table in the basement of 1005 "L"), I thought for sure I could best him at badminton. Hah!

I took Jane to get a pedicure as a thank you for all of her help. I got one for myself too as a thank you for all of the fun I had! I actually lost 7 pounds this summer, I guess because I was up and running around. It felt so good to lose it too! And it has been pretty fun putting it back on again too - drats!

We went to a place called "The Egg and I" and had breakfast.

Their pancakes were serious stuff..hence, regaining the 5 pounds....

....and ZEN!.... Andrew, Andrea and the kids returned for Andrea's graduation from Brigham Young University. So proud of her. What an accomplishment. My visiting teacher keeps leaning on me to do the Pathways program and sometimes I even think about it....but....the math...... I had to post this photo of Andrea's graduation gown because Andrea is THE laundry queen - I have seen it with my own eyes. But ironing is not part of being the queen. Not even a princess. So I always have fun teasing her. Ironing is not part of anyone's world who is under 50. But, my gosh, do you kids realize people used to iron their SHEETS? They really did! My mom, who did not iron sheets, but did iron all pillowcases, (which I do for you whenever you come to town, I really do)!, but my mom would begin the ironing process by "dampening" all of the clothes which needed to be ironed. It involved putting her hand into running water and then gently shaking just the right amount of moisture onto the items that needed to be ironed, then rolling them up on towels to await the actual moment where heat met moisture, creating clean, warm steam. Ahhhhhhhh.
Anyway, back to the future, when I saw Andrea preparing to iron her gown I jumped at the chance to be of service and iron it for her. And holy graduation moley - those things are a BEAST! They need to invent gowns that don't need ironing.

Happy family pose!

Andrew bought the kids Idaho Spuds so they could see what they taste like. They loved them!

and ZEN - happy graduation Andrea Gerber Sweat!

Hip Hip....

HOORAY!!!

And just a few final photos - I've never seen the girls so animated as they were in this display of youth bedroom furniture. They went from piece to piece describing exactly what they would put where. It was adorable.

We took a final scooter ride on the parkway....

...with some specatular photos.

Cutie

Beauty

And Grandma Cuca came too! She is a gem and a joy. What a marvelous woman. Thank you for sharing her with us Andrea! Cindy said the funniest thing last week when she saw that puzzle still out in the basement. She said "It's a good thing it's a Christmas scene!" And that's the truth, we might finish it by Christmas. I was in favor of giving up on it - it's too hard. But Cindy and the kids said we could do it. I may have to invite Grandma Cuca and my mom and dad over to help!

And ZEN....The next week after everyone had returned to their various time zones, dad and I went to BYU Education Week and attended Tony's fabulous class on Joseph Smith. It was riveting and wonderful. So surreal to think that's our little boy who was "slow as a child!" I didn't take any photos of Tony but DID take this photo after Susan Easton Black's class, where she is seen greeting President Uchtdorf and his darling wife right after her class ended. You should have seen all of us surrepticiously getting out our phones...................And did you know that Susan Easton Black married George Durrant two years ago? It boggles my mind! Forrest loved George Durrant, and made me love him too. They don't make 'em like they used to! However, I never pictured Brother Durrant as someone who would remarry when he was in his 80's for Pete's Sake! I don't know, I just don't know. I watched a tutorial the two of them recently made about family history, that was absolutely silly and sweet. So, you never know what the future will bring is all I can say about THAT.

...and ZEN one day this summer I drove Old Bessie all by my big self to get my hair colored. I was so proud of myself that I made the girl who cuts my hair take this photo. I should have had her take one of the entire Bessie for dramatic effect. Still, wow, that clutch, I'm so proud. Thanks for teaching me dad!

We also went to one of Vivi's soccer games and watched her play her heart out!!

We harvested a summer squash and cooked it on the BBQ with olive oil like Andrea did! Yum!

...and ZEN - I kinda went back to work (I'm probably phasing out in the next few weeks). This is an example of how many new hires Valley has every week. Well, not quite, usually 10-12, but then they come back for additional training and have combined groups, and this was a big'un! And yes, careers in social services attract more females than males.

And ZEN, we took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Cedar City to the Shakespearean Festival to see "The Taming of the Shrew" with Lauren (who played "Kate" in 6th grade), Reagan and Jane. It was a blast!! The girls got to have an entire day of "stop touching me!" in the back seat of a sedan. It's good for their character!

We ate lunch at a pretty gross BBQ place  (too much information actually letting us watch them cut the meat - maybe Andrea has a point) and I'll never forget the moment when we sat down with our food and the whole restaurant erupted screaming "HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT I!" and we looked up at the t.v. screen and it was the BYU miracle touchdown throw - the first one in their first game.

And finally - we've heard rumors that sometimes Lauren can "go crazy!" And we got to see it in person. Thanks to Andrea's road trip CD we actually had some songs the girls liked, and one of them ignited this.....

....and this......

XO - Thanks for a wonderful summer.
Mom