Getting Blown Away In Las Vegas With Sarah's Family

Our trip to Las Vegas began to be eventful when we spotted smoke up ahead. Just as we were about to pass the smoking trailer, a big fiery explosion happened that made me very thankful we were able to pass by without getting caught on fire ourselves.

The streets leading to Jeff and Sarah's neighborhood are lined with palm trees. 

Sarah and family were all ready for us to join them for dinner, and what a yummy dinner it was with grilled shrimp, fried rice, broccoli and strawberries. Lemon cookies for dessert were the perfect finisher for me to a very delicious dinner.

The four boys and Glen preferred popsicles for their dessert.

The next day we met up again with the Excells for lunch and an excursion to Red Rock Canyon. 

I was on the bench with these two little buddies whenever we were in the van.

The scenery was beautiful!!

We got out of the car and hiked on three different hikes while we were there. The Willow Spring hike was going along just great until we had to walk on a wooden bridge which was swarming with GIGANTIC black flying insects. 

The boys refused to go forward any further. Let's face it--we girls were not fans of going through the swarm either!

Sarah shared informative information with us as we hiked along the trail. Jonah took great interest in every sign we saw along the way.

The lone pine tree seemed out of place in the barren desert.

We were hiking over rocks and every once in a while we had to take a break to sit on some rocks to take a rest.

Our second hike took us to the Petroglyph Wall. Notice Jonah looking at the sign.

The petroglyphs are on the rock behind Eli and Carson.

Lincoln and Carson enjoyed adding to the rock stacks (called cairns that are used to mark the way on trails).

Our third hike had many tempting rocks for the boys to climb on.

Lincoln needed Glen to rescue him after he climbed up on the rock leading to a cave.

Jonah fell down and needed a bandaid on his knee.

Jonah inspecting another sign.

And another sign.

When Jonah heard we were on our way to Lost Creek, he became nervous and didn't want to go on. I think he thought we would get lost and didn't want any part of that.

Eli's favorite activity, besides climbing on rocks, was hunting lizards.

We ordered food from Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers for dinner. Glen bought a boatload of chicken fingers which turned out to be a great thing so we had food for lunch the next day.

While Eli was at his baseball practice, we watched the other three boys playing outside.

After picking up Eli, we went to Dairy Queen for an ice cream treat. 

As I was cleaning my glasses that evening, one of the nose pieces broke off. UGH!! Thankfully, the next morning we were able to find a place that replaced both of the nose pieces for free and in plenty of time before we had planned to meet up with Sarah's family. BLESSING!!!

First thing on the agenda was looking for Waldo with Lincoln and Jonah.

After lunch, Eli had a baseball game. 

The three other boys rode scooters or played in the back of the vehicles. Carson had a relaxing few minutes reading a book.

It was SO WINDY while we were there. The first day I asked Sarah if the wind always blows in Vegas. She said she hadn't noticed it being windy in Vegas.

Let's just say that after 29 mph winds--with gusts that had to be 10 mph or more over that--while we were watching Eli's baseball game, I think Sarah might agree that it was windy in Las Vegas that day. OH MY!! 

We felt like we had been beat up for 2 hours with the wind whipping us. Eli commented about how hard it was to see the ball because the dirt was blowing so much. The ball players lost their hats several times during the ball game with the crazy wind gusts.

We went to Ohjah for a Japanese dining experience. 

It's always entertaining for children to see the fire on the grill.

Glen, Sarah, Jeff and Eli tried their skill at catching the flying shrimp in their mouths.

The park was our final stop on the itinerary for the day. The Excell family calls this one the castle park. 

Back at home, Sarah and I played games with the boys while Glen and Jeff watched a Jazz game. It had been a fun and relaxing few days for us for the first time going out of town in over a year. 

Quotes of the Week

 I plead with us to work together for peace, for mutual respect, and for an outpouring of love for all of God's children.
--Russell M. Nelson

We are here in the ongoing task of making His love, His godliness, His mercy, and His manner ours, and to have those characterize the way we live, the way we talk, the way we think, and the way we act.
--Jeffrey R. Holland

Sometimes--in one way or another--we too can feel broken, whether due to our own actions or those of others, due to circumstances we can or cannot control. In such moments, we can place our will in His hands.
--Walter F. Gonzalez

The Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifices, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy.
David A Bednar

Wynne's 6th, Jonah's 4th and Carson's 9th Birthdays; Kidney Check-up; Glen's Root Canal

 Wynne celebrated her 6th birthday by having a unicorn-themed birthday celebration.

Newland wanted in on the FaceTime action with us.

Jonah was excited for his 4th birthday. 

He had a French toast birthday breakfast.

Time for playtime with presents!!

He was eager to show us what he got for his birthday.

The boys helped make a garbage truck birthday cake. The circle on the top is where the trash gets dumped into the truck. 

A guy came with a big machine to chew up the tree stump at the corner of our house, so that project is finished now.

I needed to have an ultrasound of my kidneys and get my blood drawn. It was a surprise to see my good friend Jamie Jensen at the Farmington University of Utah Health Clinic. 

I thought, oh no!! She's going to be nervous drawing my blood when she finds out my veins are not easy to jab. Sure enough, she tried once and didn't have success. She asked the other medical assistant to give it a try and she was able to find a cooperative vein. HURRAH!!

I was able to see my results before I went to see the doctor. The creatinine number is what has raised some concern with several doctors now. Even back in California I was referred to a nephrologist because of a high creatinine level. That doctor didn't even know why I went to see him. He found nothing to be concerned about. 

My new general physician and my cardiologist were both concerned and so I got referred to a nephrologist here. I had visited with him in a telemed appointment and he felt like I had nothing to worry about, but he ordered these tests to be done several months after that initial visit.

And now here I am looking at my numbers and noticing my creatinine levels are still high, but are going down. 

The doctor pulled up this graph of my creatinine levels and exclaimed, "Look at that beautiful line!!" He didn't seem to care at all that my line was above the green line. 

My kidney ultrasound conclusion read "unremarkable." Apparently that is a very good thing for a kidney patient. 

What really got me excited was the following chart. I had been upset to be previously diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease. From the looks of my number 63, it looks like I have moved lower down into stage 2. HURRAH!!

I really like this doctor. He's happy, optimistic and personable. 

I tried another new recipe. This time it was cube steak, and I pulled out the brussels sprouts recipe once again to go with it.

Let's face it. I'd much rather have someone else do the cooking besides me. That's why I always get excited when our good friend Jan Evans invites us over to her home for dinner. 

Jan always sets such a beautiful, festive table.

She had Mandarin Restaurant prepare the food for us. YUM!!

Even better than the food is the wonderful group of friends who surround the table: Grant and Diane Stewart,; Rick and Debi Winder; Bill and Jan Evans; Dennis and Jane Crandall; Lane and LaVona Lewis; and Bruno and Colleen Kossin.

We were able to have another night out when we went with my parents to see the play "Daddy Long Legs" at the Hale Centre Theatre. It was the first time we've been back to see a play in over a year. We did have to wear masks, but it was worth it because the play was so very delightful. 

There was only one actor and one actress. They were magnificently talented in their singing and acting. There were also three musicians who played constantly through the whole play. Great music, great singing, great acting, great entertainment!!

After the play we tried to go to Red Lobster, but there was too long of a wait. We ended up ordering take-out from Texas Roadhouse. Horror of horrors--they did not have any rolls ready and Glen did not want to wait the 15-20 minutes it would take for the rolls to be done. That was a MAJOR disappointment!!

Poor Glen has been dealing with a very bad toothache this past week. One night during one of my many wake-ups, I noticed Glen wasn't in bed. I went down to check on him and found one miserable man. 

He was able to get in to see the dentist the next day who then referred him to an endodontist for a root canal on that tooth that already had a crown. Glen was hoping the crown would be able to be saved, but that wasn't the case. 

Dr. Bronson gave Glen a prescription for an antibiotic and told him he could take Advil and Tylenol to help with the pain and inflammation.

Thankfully, the endodontist Nani worked for made room in his schedule to do the root canal on Saturday. Glen's mouth was already so sore and then keeping his mouth open for 2 1/2 hours was miserable. 

He consoled himself by eating his favorite anti-stressor treat--Popsicles. I wish I could say he is doing great now, but he is still in a lot of pain. He decided not to take the Advil and Tylenol today and by this evening, he was hurting and took some so he can sleep.

Rebecca has been experiencing some pain of her own. The pain of dealing with their basement remodeling project. It has been, and continues to be, a nightmare for them. Things are not getting done to their standards nor on their timeline and it has been more than frustrating for them.

To top it off, their washer and dryer have been moved out and she has had to come up here to do her laundry. She and Dallas came up on date night and put in a load and then went off to get something to eat.

Dallas was craving Waffle Love. They said the waffles are made out of bread dough instead of waffle/pancake batter. I would have ordered what Rebecca ordered, with cream cheese frosting.

The weather has been nice enough here for Ben's family to enjoy some outdoor play and kite flying. FUN!!

We're off tomorrow on our first vacation since Covid lockdown a year ago. We are going to Las Vegas to see Sarah's family. That will be a definite rise in temperature for us to experience.

Quotes of the Week

 Spend more time--much more time--in places where the Spirit is present. That means more time with friends who are seeking to have the Spirit with them. Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder.
Russell M. Nelson

If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence then pain, sorrow, failure and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching into the premortal past and into the eternal post-death future then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.
--Spencer W. Kimball

The burdens you must carry in life are made lighter by the Savior's Atonement. The Lord has asked each of us, His disciples, to help bear one another's burdens. I give my witness that the living Christ sends the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, to those we are pledged to help Him comfort.
--Henry B. Eyring