June 2022

Wednesday 6/1

We are in the Meridian Idaho Temple District but this week begins its semi-annual two week cleaning closure, so . . . .

today we attended the Boise Temple. 

We worked in the Boise Temple for 5 1/2 years before our mission to Nauvoo. While we were gone, they built the Meridian Temple so this is the first time we have been back to the Boise Temple. It was nice and brought back lots of sweet memories.

Thursday 6/2

This morning we are off to . . . .

We will attend Sydney's baptism and see Debbi's new house for the first time.

The car is loaded up and we are off before 10 a.m.

The Snake river looks full and

the lush green farmland with snowcapped mountains in the background is beautiful.

A few random pictures 

 Shea's high jump!

Sydney's handstand!

Crew & Sydney learning to draw

Shea, Sydney & Connor riding their scooters

Connor is in a mountain biking club . . .  he tries to ride every day to get in shape 

Kevin goes too!

A new umbrella for the backyard patio table

makes a nice shady place to sit!

Uh-Oh....  COVID

 

We spent some time at Debbi's new house!  We planned on having a long visit with Debbi today, Friday. We were going to help out with her "to-do" list, go shopping, have visits from Linda's sister, Karen, and Kevin's family.  All that changed in a flash when Debbi received an email, after her last flight of the day, saying the Covid test she had the day before came back positive.  We were already at her house waiting for her so we decided that we could still do a little bit of work outside and Debbi could wear a mask and we could all "social distance".

 

fixing a gutter downspout

working on the sprinklers

Debbi trying to help while keeping her distance.

Steve also replaced a door knob and deadbolt on one of the back doors and answered a lot of questions. After a couple of hours Debbi wasn't feeling very well, so we loaded up and headed back to Kevin's house so she could get some rest.  Though our plans for the day changed, we still got to see Debbi's house for the first time and meet her friend, Meredith, that is co-owner of the house.

Given Debbi's job, we are actually surprised she hasn't had Covid before this. She is fully vaccinated and boosted so hopefully it will be an easy road to recovery.

Tomorrow Sydney, Kevin's daughter, is getting baptized. Linda is giving the talk on the Holy Ghost and spent some time today preparing visual aids for her talk.

Each of these pictures are reminders of ways the Holy Ghost can help Sydney. After Linda tells what each picture means, all the ribbons will be tied together so Sydney can hang them on her bedroom wall.

BAPTISM DAY

Saturday 6/4

Lani getting food ready for the family luncheon

Lani French braiding Sydney's hair

Sydney in her beautiful Baptism dress

Shea wanted a picture with her big sister... sooo cute!

A family group picture outside with the bright sun in their eyes 

Lani, Sydney & Kevin

Grandma & Grandpa Waite with Sydney

Sydney and Daddy (Kevin)

It was fun to have so many cousins come for this special occasion. All these Wiseman cousins live around the Salt Lake Valley!

Congratulations Sydney !!

Sunday 6/5

This afternoon a storm passed through Star. It rained harder than we have ever seen since living in Idaho. It lasted about 20 - 30 minutes.

the rain gutter drain flowed at more than capacity

the wind blew . . . .

 blowing clouds of rain mist down the street and across the rooftops

the hail came

the full gutters on the eaves were running over and . . . .

the street gutters were overflowing nearly to the middle of the street and up on the sidewalks.

Tonight another storm passed by . . . .

This time it brought with it, not only rain, but larger hail and some very active lightening & thunder!

The aftermath wasn't too bad. We lost one limb out of our large maple tree and . . . .

This is what our side yard usually looks like . . . . 

This is what it looked like after the storm.

The bark mulch floated around in the deluge of water and the stepping stones are nearly completely covered now.  

Wednesday 6/8

Today Matt & Jen's daughter, Jetta, graduated from High School

She earned a well-deserved diploma from Ridgeview High School in Redmond, Oregon

we are so proud of her and the beautiful young women she is becoming

CONGRATULATIONS JETTA !!!

Thursday 6/9

Today was our Waite Siblings reunion.

Dave, Marilyn/Keith, Glenda/Selwyn, Lila/Don, Cheryl/Ron, Steve/Linda

We met at Mastrude's house in Baker City, Oregon. Steve, Linda & Dave rode together, Fuller's picked up Parkers and Waldrop's drove over from La Grande. We had a nice time visiting, having some lunch at the truck stop and taking this group picture.

Friday 6/10

A few months ago, Linda's right earring hole got infected and in the healing process it closed up sooo . . . .

today she got it re-pierced. In about 3 weeks she will, once again, be able to wear her earrings, yay!

Wednesday 6/15

Tomorrow is Steve's Birthday and he wanted to go see the new "Top Gun" movie. Since today was the last day at the theater, we decided to celebrate today, a day early!

We invited Steve's brother, Dave, to go with us

Just relaxing in our lounger seats, waiting for the show to begin.

After the show, we stopped off at the nearby Sonic Drive-in for something to eat 

And back at home, Steve opened up a birthday gift, 2 TriBurst led lights for the garage, something he has been looking at lately. Thank you Dave, they are the perfect gift! 

Update: both lights are installed and looking GREAT!!

Saturday 6/18

It is a bit cooler today, but still, a good day to work outside

Steve is spreading new mulch in our flower beds and it looks so nice and makes a big difference!

Sunday 6/19

Happy Father's Day!!

It has been a nice day. After Sacrament Meeting, they had all kinds of homemade desserts for the men of the Ward. There was so much that they invited the rest of the Ward to help themselves.

This evening we spent some time with Matt's family.

I

Jen, Sienna, Jetta

Steve, Matt

(missing Camrynn, Linda taking picture)

We enjoyed a potato bar dinner and ice cream sundae's for dessert. 

Steve received this cute T-shirt with our kids names on it - so fun.

Thank you everyone for helping to make this a special day with text messages, phone calls and Happy Birthday/Father's day wishes on fb.

Monday 6/20

On our trip to Utah a couple of weeks ago, we got hit by a rock that cracked our windshield. Today Safelite Mobile Auto Glass came to replace it. Our insurance covered it 100%.

The rock hit below the windshield wipers then gradually sent a crack in two directions across the glass.

Max was our tech, he dismantled things then used this gizmo to run a string all the way around the windshield. He cranked it to tighten the string until the seal broke.

and out came the old windshield!

He did a lot of prep removing the old gaskets and debris and cleaning things up to get the frame ready to receive the new windshield

Out came the new windshield

after prepping it, he attached it to a swinging arm unit that suctioned to the driver-side window

it allowed him to swing the glass around and fit it in place. It took a few tries, but eventually he got it to fit perfectly.

After nearly 2 hours, the job was done. It looks good!

Sunday 6/26

Today Linda had the opportunity to play her violin at church

Linda, Dawn Johnson, Amber Smith

She played "Redeemer of Israel" as a duet with her teacher, in her teacher's Ward. She likes playing with her teacher because it makes her sound better than she really is...lol (Linda's perspective)

Monday 6/27

Today is the 178th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum.

It was a humbling experience to serve in Carthage, give tours of the jail and share our testimonies with those that visited this sacred historical site. Our love for the prophet and our pioneer ancestors grew so much while serving in the Historic Nauvoo Mission, now 5 years since returning home, and our gratitude and appreciation for their sacrifices remain in our hearts.

We have enjoyed the month of June with a little bit of travel, spring storms & celebrations. We anticipate an event filled July which will include our Family Reunion!