Elna P. King

Elna P. King
This picture was taken early December 2010

Monday, August 22, 2011

Zucchini and Pumpkins and Corn, Oh My!


Aydia and Daxton enjoying the harvest--sorry--you'll just
have to indulge me with the grandchildren pictures for a minute!

We've been very busy harvesting the garden--Sarabeth and I did over 60 pints of green beans--so grateful for the bounty. Mother snipped a lot of the beans for us--not sure we could have done all of them without her help--she's the best! We've also enjoyed corn, cucumbers, zucchini, potatoes and, for the first time today--tomatoes. The squash and pumpkins are kind of taking over the world, which makes us excited to think about our annual pumpkin-carving party in October. Here's a contrast--our biggest pumpkin--still growing--and one of the "baby" pumpkins we planted this year for the first time.




The squash really is taking over the world

Today (Sunday August 21), mother went to Sacrament Meeting with us--it was so nice to have her come--she hasn't felt like going to church for a while. I love sitting next to her in Sacrament Meeting and hearing her sing the hymns. It transports me back to my childhood, I remember sitting next to her in church and listening to her sing the hymns--seemed she knew them all. It's always tender for me to  sing the beloved hymns together in church.

One Friday evening Sarabeth was kind enough to let David hang out at her house and Amy went on an outing with a friend. Art, mother and I went for a drive through Provo Canyon. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and were happy to see Deer Creek Reservoir full of water. We went to Fanny's Grill at the Homestead in Midway for dinner. The food was delicious and the ambiance was fabulous! We had a table on the patio--watched ducks enjoying the pond and the beautiful scenery of the golf course with mountains in the background--so quiet and relaxing! I was so proud of myself for ordering a healthy shrimp salad, mother had salmon and Art had a steak. The waitress asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu--Art and I bravely said no, but mother asked what the choices were. When we looked at the menu she chose the hot fudge brownie, then Art caved and ordered peach pie ala mode. I stayed strong until the desserts came and they both insisted that I "taste". One bite of the hot fudge brownie and I was a goner--it was HEAVEN--I was soon eating more than mother and the peach pie was wonderful too. I think I got the best deal--"helping" them eat their desserts. So much for weight loss this week!

We had a nice surprise one Sunday evening when mother's cousin Margene and her husband, Warren visited. They were here from Texas for about three weeks--they came for several family events including a granddaughter's wedding and their daughter's graduation. It was such a pleasure to see them and so nice of them to take time from their busy schedule to stop by. Mother was thrilled to have visitors.

Warren and Margene Anderson with Mother--July, 2011

One Sunday a few weeks ago mother was planning on going to church and got all ready, then decided she didn't feel well enough to go so she changed into some pants and laid down on the couch. It reminded me of a friend of mine who is around 85 years old. She always says, "I can either get ready or I can go, but I can't do both!" I think that's how mother feels sometimes--after getting ready, she's just too worn out to go!

Kent was in town for just one day while traveling for work. I was scheduled to volunteer at the Relief Society Building that day so I took mother and Amy and we met him at the Joseph Smith Building Garden Restaurant for lunch. Art works close, so he walked up and joined us. I so wanted a picture of us in that beautiful setting with the temple spires in the background. I took my camera, but then left it in the RS Building--guess we'll have to go again!

On Monday, August 15, Sarabeth and her kids met us at the American Fork Concert in the Park. They had come to the concert the previous Monday and enjoyed it so much. Well, this week it was a group that played what they called "rock classic".  Okay, I was thinking more classic than rock---WRONG! There was a Harley on the stage--revved it up at the beginning of the show and they played a lot of very LOUD, older (I guess that's the "classic" part) rock music--think Beatles era. We moved from the front row of the amphitheater to the grass behind the stage so we wouldn't be left with a hearing deficit. We all enjoyed it; the kids really thought it was fun and David couldn't resist standing up for a minute and "rocking out" (brought a few stares!). I thought mother would be unhappy with the type of music--so different from the other concerts we've been to, but she was a good sport and said it was "fun".

One of the recent concerts was Sam Payne and Cherie Call--favorite local singers--really enjoyed their music. Heather went to high school with Sam--you might have heard of his father, Marvin Payne, who was a popular singer and songwriter when we were younger.

Sam Payne and Cherie Call

There are only two more concerts and I'm so sad to see them end--we've really enjoyed them. It's such a nice summer activity to do with mother.

That's all the news for now. Have a great week--Mother/Grandma sends her love to all--she always says how thankful she is for her family.

One of the cute pictures Katie took

Our Whole Family!