Sons bring days of sun!

Before we moved to Oregon I was told that summer weather really started after July 4th.  I thought that was a joke.  But the joke is on me, it is true!  You can't count on good weather until about July 5th!  Matt and Scott came to visit on that very day and true to the predictions the weather was perfect! And we completely enjoyed our time together!

Matt, Scott and I found a great food cart with barbecue almost (but not quite) as good as the White Pig Inn in North Little Rock, Arkansas!

 We went to a great outdoor concert at the park near our house.

 The sun even shined on us as we hiked on the Oregon Coast.

Seeing David Beckham was the highlight of the Portland Timbers/LA Galaxy game!  Ok, to be honest, it was a highlight for me, the boys went to see the game and even booed handsome David!  He showed them though as he scored two goals!  One a real beauty that made the goal.com best goals of the week!

We love when they come to visit because we sure love those wonderful young men!

Howie

Our second foster dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind just went back to his family on Thursday.  Howie was only with us for a week but we really enjoyed him.  Howie is 13 1/2 years old.  I've looked on the internet to translate that to human age and I get anywhere from 86-96 years old...suffice it to say he is a senior citizen. He did spend a lot of time 'resting' but he loved slow walks with lots of time to 'smell the roses'.  The most excited we saw him was when both of us were scratching his back. A doggie four hands massage!   I would have loved to see and hear him when his family came to pick him up. I imagine that he was ecstatic!  I'm glad we got to be his 'family' for a week while his real family went on vacation.

Funerals, Family and Small Things

 We recently went to Phoenix for the funeral of our 27 year old niece who died quite unexpectedly.  During the tough times it is so wonderful to be surrounded by family.  John and Katherine and their children, and especially Kevin, Andrea's husband were strengthened by their knowledge that "Families are Forever."

Even during this sad occasion we enjoyed being together.

The members of John and Katherine's ward were wonderful examples of service in every way possible from cleaning the house, to fantastic meals, to providing places for us to stay.  At this funeral I particularly noticed the small things in the decorations that honored Andrea.  She was a girl who liked a bit of glitz and glamour.  The meal and the picture display would have made Andrea so happy!  Notice the little additions that were so elegant. Candles, pink fabric, pearls and other decorative touches.....

Made me think of the love shown to my Arkansas Razorback Fan mother when she died.  No frilly centerpieces or pink fabric for the family meal after the funeral....Razorback red and ferocious hogs all the way!!!!

A friend of ours here in Oregon recently passed away.  He was a Vietnam Vet and a great patriot, also a wonderful family man.  For the meal after his funeral the centerpieces were red, white, and blue with family pictures and plaques with quotes about family and being a Dad.  Fit him so perfectly!

I know that we aren't supposed to sweat the small things, but sometimes the small things mean a lot!

Me encanta ver el templo

 During my years in Spain I led the music for the Primary, our church's program for 3 - 12 year olds.  I remember standing in front of those kids singing"Me encanta ver el temple; un dia ir podré" which means "I love to see the temple; I'm going there someday".   I never dreamed that years later I'd get to go to the temple with a couple of those great kids but that is just what happened last week when George and I went to Salt Lake to attend the wedding of Canaán.  Her sister Judea is serving a mission on Temple Square so she also got to attend and their Mom Isabel came from Barcelona. I just couldn't stop smiling!

We also went to my cousin Doug's son Sam's wedding reception so I got to spend time with my family on the Boyle side.  I love them all and was so happy to see them!  That is my aunt Dawn, cousin Scott, his wife Cassie, daughter Trisdan, and 5 of the grandchildren.  I wish we could see each other more often. 

Safari

For most of our time in Kenya we were hardworking Kenya Keys interns!  But for a couple of days Dr. Liz and I did play 'tourist' as we went on Safari at Tsavo East National Park.  Mbote was a wonderful, knowledgable guide and his smile brightens any day!

Even before we saw any animals I was impressed with the beauty of Africa.  The light is just magical and the sky seems to go on forever!

Pretty quickly that beautiful scenery was made even better with lots of animals. 

Zebras and Giraffes

Baboons The hotel posted warnings to close and latch the windows to avoid unwelcome Baboon guests!

Lions They were quite a long ways away but still exciting to see thanks to binoculars and zoom lens.

This pretty guy is called a Common Waterbuck.  I'd call him a deer with 'uncommon' antlers!

The balcony at our hotel overlooked a large water hole. You could see long lines of animals walking towards a refreshing drink.

Sometimes the place was taken over by Water Buffalo.

Every time I looked at them I was reminded of my high school hair....the famous 'flip'.

Then it would seem to be elephant time and the buffalo would all wander away.

Liz and I loved watching this baby elephant.  His trunk was too short to reach to the water so that he could get a drink.  He just keep trying and trying.  Finally his Mom squirted some water into his trunk.  Very cute!

Mupa

I had been told that before we left Kenya we would each be given a tribal name.  I worried that I would be something like, "She who complains" or "Picky eater who refuses our goat stew".  When we had been in Taru a couple of days, Joseph, the Kenya Keys Director said to Rinda, "Your friends are quite fine.  Dr. Liz is very smart and Marilyn is most jovial."  So I started hoping that maybe my name would be "Jovial".  I was pleased when my Duruma name was "Mupa" which means, "Cheerful Giver."  I like that and will try to live up to it! 

 

After Joseph told me my name, he invited other Mupas from the audience to come and join me for a photo.  

Just as we were getting in the van on our very last day, this sweet young Mupa came for one last hug and picture.

From now on, I will really try to be Mupa - a Cheerful Giver! 

Kenyan Ingenuity

The children in Kenya amaze me!  Not only are they just adorably cute, they use their ingenuity to create all kinds of fun!  I guess that is what happens when you have no toys.  You make you own!

We saw homemade trucks and cars similar to these everywhere.  The young boys use sticks and twine to make amazingly steerable vehicles.  They are so proud of them.

 This picture is a bit hard to see.  The neighborhood boys made a high jump using a strong, tall weed to hold a stick as a cross bar .  They spent hours running and jumping.  Most amazing of all was to see them jump with baby brother or sister tied to their backs

 Don't have a ball, no problem!  Just get some things out of the trash and make your own.

 A few pieces of styrofoam provided hours of entertainment as a drum set.

No need for plastic play food when you can use the seeds from the papaya.  I'm not sure if they were playing 'store' or 'house' but they were watching this baby as they played.....yes, these two were babysitting!

This boy worked on his tire for a long time.  I never figured out what he was planning to do with it but he obviously had something in mind.

And if you can't find anything else to play with, how about a plastic bottle and good old dirt!