PREMONITION

For a few weeks now,

I've had the feeling like we need to make our 72-hour kits

in case of an emergency or natural disaster

where we'd have to run.

For Personal Progress and my work C.E.,

I started thinking about our Emergency Preparedness Plan

and making to-do lists and to-buy lists and to-learn lists.

Now I'm starting to see why I felt like we needed to do that.

Because we didn't get a lot of snow or rain this winter

(which, let's be honest, I absolutely LOVED).

Because stupid, careless people (like some of our neighbors)

don't watch the news and aren't using "common sense"

when it comes to fireworks (and guns).

Because you never know when it's going to be YOUR city.

Praying for rain.

Praying for those who have lost their homes,

who may lose their homes,

and who are risking their lives to save them.

And preparing for the worst.

Because it's probably going to get worse.

CRUISE TEASER

Sadly, these are all the pictures we took on our cruise.

Luckily, we went with a group,

so other people have more pictures

which we will try to acquire and share soon!

Hot Stones Massage Sample

 Funny towel animals

 An ugly busted toe from playing beach volleyball

 The beautiful St Thomas

(where we went snorkeling)

 To-DIE-for brisket sandwich

from a little hut on the beach in St Thomas

Wish we were there still.

SURVIVOR

A few weeks ago,

Phil went with the scouts on four-day Wilderness Survival Campout

 They dropped the boys off about 8 miles away from camp

and told them to find their way in.

 They gave them:

two granola bars, three pieces of fruit, and two packets of oatmeal.

For the whole week.

 If they walked away from their pack,

the leaders would steal their food.

And no, they didn't get it back.

 A few leaders followed the diet,

But a few had to keep up their energy to make good decisions.

Phil was one of those.

For the boys' sakes.

 They tried to fish to supplement their diets

But no one caught anything.

 They broke them down physically, mentally, and emotionally

 And ended with a rabbit-killing/cooking

and a really strong testimony meeting.

And Phil's famous "Heart Attack Breakfast"

(bacon and deep-fried eggs on an English Muffin)

to end a ridiculous week.

They can't wait to do it again.

GRIEF

We were having lots of fun with our little unnamed pets.

Playing with their reflections

And falling on their butts

But then Saturday afternoon, Phil came home from a long hike

and found one of our little guys stuck in the filter.

It looked like he got his arm sucked in

and then his whole body got wrapped up.

After some tears and "surgery"

he managed to get the poor guy out of the filter.

 When I got home that night Phil told me what had happened.

More tears.

Just knowing what he had gone through was so sad!

As you can see, his entire right hand was gone

and his whole right abdomen section was beet-red with internal bleeding

We hoped he would make it through

but he was gone when we woke up Sunday morning.

I already miss him.

TECHNOLOGY

What we pay for vs what we use:

Obviously I have lots of friends.

That I keep in touch with oh-so regularly.

Depressing. In a funny way.

BABY NAMES

We took a big step this weekend.

We're getting our first pets!

Those who know us know that this has been a long battle discussion.

Phil wants a dog, I tell Phil he's never getting a dog unless I die

(whose house does he think this IS, anyway?)

So

at Orem's Summerfest, we stumbled across this booth

With some tiny African Dwarf Frogs.

Even though I lost the Ping Pong Ball toss-in-a-can game

(which explains why my oh-so-mean mother never gave me money for carnival games)

we ended up with two webbed friends.

We'd been getting ready for a fish tank for a little while

(DIY post coming soon!)

and thought this would be a perfect addition!

We love them, but can't decide on names.

Heaven help our children.

So help us decide!

Top choices:

Princess Peach and Toad

(Frog)Lips and (Frog)Legs

Frog and Bunny

Oh yeah, and Phil likes the name Glenn.

VISITORS

Phil's been having a little fun with his phone lately

Capturing some fun visitors from the animal kingdom.

Disturbing the Priesthood Session of Conference

and bringing pets into the house 

 And, as always, entertaining the nieces and nephews.

 And adults...

 And convincing the other scouts that they actually spotted an eagle

in the middle of Utah

This is what happens when I leave the picture-taking up to Phil.