Amanda and Shane added a Havanese puppy to their family. His name is Naruto (pronounced Nar toe). He is a small dog and is very cute and sweet.









From Amanda's e-mail:

He's doing great. We took him to Erin's (a friend's) after your house. He got along with all the dogs (she has 3) and people great, but it was clear he knew who his owners were. He hung out pretty close to his blanket and slept under my chair while we ate. He slept in his blanket on my lap the entire way home which was great because now he's associating the blanket with being safe. All we had to do was put the blanket in his kennel to get him to go in. He only got out of his kennel once last night (we didn't close it because we want it to be his safe place first) and he's had a great day. Him and Shane fell asleep in front of football which was the cutest thing ever. He may be the mellowest dog I've ever met.

I finished my batch work for the day late on Thursday night. Needing to wind down before I went to bed, I checked on a couple of friends' blogs. It was just weird--my good friend Nancy, whose family of husband and twin boys is bicycling from Alaska to the tip of Argentina, was in Jaco (wherever that was), Costa Rica, and our next door neighbors, whose business had gone down in the housing crunch, had moved to Costa Rica (hopefully temporarily)--living near Bejuco, wherever that was.

The chances of them meeting--about zilch, but why not at least make a comment? So, at 11:45 p.m.
I left this comment on the Ririe's blog:

"Check this out. It is strange to have two families I love in Costa Rica. familyonbikes.com then click on blog.

Thanks for sharing your incredible experiences!"


Friday afternoon, I checked Nancy's blog, and my mouth dropped:

From Nancy's Blog: http://familyonbikes.org/blog/?paged=2

Can the world get any smaller?

So this morning we were pedaling along the coast watching waves crash into the sandy beaches when Davy started complaining about his stomach. A mystery pain that just kept bothering him. Eventually we figured we needed to find a cabina and check in for the night ? Davy couldn't ride any more.

So I took off ahead of John and the boys and found a delightful little place near Bejuco. I sat down to wait.

A few minutes later, a big black SUV pulled into the parking lot and a woman popped out. "LouAnn is my neighbor!" she told me. "She just told me about you guys this morning. I spent a bit of time browsing around your site and saw that you were in Jaco ? and now we find you on the road!"

Now wait a minute? One of my dearest friends in Boise just happens to be this woman's neighbor? And she just happens to be here in Costa Rica? And we just happened to check in to a hotel right around the corner from her house? Can the world get any smaller?

We will be heading over to Tonya's house in a few minutes for hamburgers and a swim in the pool with her kids. Should be a fun evening ? but whodathunkit??

comment from Tonya:

Thanks for a wonderful evening! It was great meeting your family!

From Tonya's blog:

I jumped on the blog this morning and noticed a comment from my friend and neighbor. She mentioned that she had a dear friend travelling on bicycle with her husband and twin boys down the Pan American Highway from Alaska to Argentina. They left on June 8, 2008 and happened to be in Costa Rica.

I was referred to their blog and what a neat family. I noticed that they had last blogged in Jaco and thought it was kind of cool that they were near the same area but never in my wildest dreams expected to actually see them!

We were heading into the Surf shop to return the surf boards when to our surprise the Vogal family was pedalling our direction. No freaking way! I whipped the car around and as crazy as I am I jumped out of the car and was completely acting like a loony fan!

I couldn't believe that just this morning I heard about the Vogal family and now they were standing right in front of me! The Vogel family being dear friends with our friends and neighbors! What a small world! We insisted that they endure us for a little bit longer and had them over for the most pathetic dinner I could whip up. Poor family! I do not enjoy cooking, and it shows! My apologies! They are staying just down the street from our house and will be hitting the road first thing in the morning. Check out their blog at http://www.familyonbikes.org/. It was an awesome day!

comments from Nancy:

Thank you so much for the hamburgers - and no they weren't pathetic!! Given the fact that we ran our of gas for our stove a few days ago and haven't filled the tank yet - which means nothing cooked for us! - the burgers were GREAT! And, of course, it was delightful chatting with you guys all evening!

Thanks again,
Nancy


This might be the most completely coincidental incident I've ever inadvertently created! Just a fun thing.

Check this out!

http://vigilantesoftware.com/ej/

This is Elijah Daniel Silver--and he is VERY cute!!!!

Now I am a grandma at 60--and I just heard of someone who became one at 78--so I can't complain.

I have been in heaven in many ways. It was WONDERFUL to pick Erin up. We met most of her significant people--and they viewed her as an angel sent from God to bless them. What an experience!

This week has been bittersweet, with Erin being delightful--and me making the good choice to stop and enjoy her--while also finishing a week at school and getting most of two batches done--and gosh--that's been a miracle in itself.

Also, I was explaining that Ivan and I have had a window of time (2 years) in which we were moderately prosperous. It will change a bit downward when Ivan becomes retired next January. And Erin pointed out that during that time she has served a mission, Tyson was married, Ryan joined the service (and we got to support him in San Diego), Alayna had her first baby, and we get to visit, and Amanda is getting married. The prosperity has gone for good purposes, and it has really has been a tender mercy!

Oh, and our flowers have never been so profuse and lush! The place is truly beautiful right now--despite me not getting outside to help out at all. sigh--but another tender mercy that all the other years of work continue to pay off--thanks to Teryl and Ivan. I wish there were time to take pictures--I'm flying out to Austin in a couple of hours--but there have been plenty of pictures--just image the flowers twice as lovely!

and other evidences that Spring is coming--ready or not:

Plum babies


Pear babies--zillions--must be thinned:


Our lilac hill is blooming well


As is our little lilac tree in front:



Tulips are holding on









Now the wisteria--of its many, many years of existence, this is only the second time it has bloomed--and the other year had only a couple of blossoms.

It has been a busy week, and it still is. I am 2/3's finished with my freelance batch. And my short break is almost over before I work again. But the reason I am behind is TWO dates this week! Ivan and I went to the Celtic Woman, Isle of Hope concert at the Morrison Center. I loved it! How can a person dance and leap while playing a violin? Long blonde hair flung back and forth while bowing energetic jig-type interludes? The four women singers were wonderful also. And the drums! Amazing! The concert was visually beautiful, and the music was wonderful. I'm with Tara, in loving everything Celtic!

Then last night, Ivan had his 30 seconds of glory--as part of the American legion, he helped march the flag in at the conclusion of the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra's John Philip Sousa concert! The four American Legion members and their wives were given up front tickets for the event. It was very good. This was at the Morrison Center also.

We came early, and the weather was beautiful. I sat on a bench by the Boise River and worked on faeries while I was waiting. Some of the passersby appreciated my faeries. I have Elena busy making Hispanic faeries to give when we go to Minnesota.

School is fine. Winding down. We have a new student who is motivated and a gentleman. I would almost be willing to pay to work with him. It is nice to NOT be called bad names. But the kid who calls us bad name is on more medicine and not doing it now. It makes you wonder how much free will is involved--and how much of some people's behavior, especially those with special needs, is beyond their control. I only know the answers aren't as simple as we would like to believe.

It's getting really, really close to Erin's end of mission date. We fly out to get her on May 28th.

I
through
blue
sky
fly
to
you.
Why?
Sweet
Love,
Feet
Move
So
Slow.

A Spanish teacher at BYU gave us that 14-word sonnet. It's the only thing I retained from the Spanish class.

I am trying to memorize poetry in my spare moments. I am reading a book on literary terms and studying poems again. It is a love. I just finished memorizing "The Windhover" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. I love many of his poems. Poetry lifts my spirits.

I've done nearly nothing outside. Spring happens without me. Sigh.

Alayna and Tyson and spouses sent us to the Dr. Laura tribute to stay-at-home moms tonight. It was very nice. It was mostly vignettes and comedy and good sentiment. I liked one piece of advice Dr. Laura gave as she was answering written questions from the audience (a California audience--ours was in a movie theatre). She said to avoid the spoken, or unspoken, snobby response following the question, "What do you do for a living?" one should go off into one or more funny or heart-warming stories about one's husband and/or children and then say, "Oh, sorry, I got carried away, what was it you asked again?" She says it leaves them speechless. It really is a pretty good idea to do with any question that one might be hesitant to answer.

I left wanting to have more fun in my life.

We ate at a Chuck-a-Rama, and then because I have not done any physical activity in forever, I wanted to go on a walk. The sky was an intense purply blue--threatening rain. So, I directed Ivan to a big-box Lowe's Store across the street from Edwards and proceeded to walk every isle in the store--even the short isles and displays and around the outdoor plants and the little kitchen rooms, etc. I did not get kicked out of the store--and Ivan even bought a thingy to cover a defunk light socket. He was grateful to buy something because his knees were giving out. It was a lot of walking and some good exercise.

I need some more silly lists of things to do like Elena used to send me. You know, I would do them once, but never figured out to do them more. Anyone have silly things they do to break the routine?

My life continues the same--work and school--work and school--work and school--and then on Saturdays--just work--and on Sundays church and sleep and a little relaxation. It's hard to really put too much description into it.

Ryan is doing well. I think I've mentioned that he is in Virginia Beach at the Norfolk Naval Base. He is loving his mere 13-hours a day of doing something that lets the counterintelligence people practice their stuff on them. It is outdoors, and he can't say anything more about it. He does love it, however.

He should start school May 1st. He says that if the person who described his job to him had told him what it was really going to be like it--Ryan and all of the other guys he had described it to would have peed their pants on the spot. Therefore, they don't tell you. He says it is much more challenging and broader than he thought (though he told me it still isn't more dangerous). He wants it. The school is going to be really, really hard. They can flunk it once--but not twice.

His roommate is two weeks ahead of him, and he is studying with him in hopes of being ahead of the game.

He sounds happy.

I've picked up chat on the net about Susan Boyle being like people's sibling or children who have Aspergers. I think that is interesting.

On growing out of Aspergers, which I would like to do, I think you are continually at square one--but keep trying anyway.

Ryan's stint as a guard ended today at noon! It was a little less than a month, and the last week was a little more gentle--a few 16 hour days--though there was much personal life catch up to do so he didn't get much more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Tomorrow he flies to West Virginia and is put on the waiting list for school. What he does the 2 or more months of waiting is unknown.

Dan and Alayna are settling in in Austin. Dan is doing the same type of work as in his past company, so he is starting at full speed. Alayna doesn't know how it really feels to not be working--because she is still working pretty hard unpacking.

It is Amanda's birthday today. The years have flown. She is lovely.

I have been busy with my jobs--doing extra to finance taxes and our trip to Minnesota to pick up Erin NEXT MONTH! This weekend I enjoyed Conference, worked on fairies (I hope to have a bunch of Hispanic faeries by the time we go to Minnesota), polished my poetry and sorted them into a new, and better, book. The weather is getting better, and I hope to get outside sometime soon. Fortunately, the guys are pretty much on top of the outside work.

Life is pretty good.

I was looking for lost stuff and found this. It was the right time to find it.

Poem to My Mother
or
The Ruined Fudge

Words cannot express
The depth of my love and gratefulness,
So I picked these flowers and made this fudge,
Whose sweetness in smell and taste
Serve to remind me of your sweet and humble nature.
You have always been there to comfort and encourage me
And to lie about the flavor of my fudge,
Which although it is too sweet and the texture too rough
Always tastes just right to you.
You have never been one to criticize me when I made mistakes
Or to chide me about the hard and sticky nature of my fudge.
You always realized that while my fudge is not perfect,
It is made with love and admiration
For all you've done for me.
You are and always have been and will be
A wonderful example for me.
And even when cracking your tooth
On rock hard fudge,
You do so with a charm and grace only you can pull off.
I love you and will for eternity.

Your daughter,
Alayna

OK. I believe the siblings all know (not sure about Erin) that Dan and Alayna are moving. So I can blog about it.

Dan got a good job offer from the Edge of Reality in Austin, Texas. They have a web site, and their games look really good. It is a solid company, and they have treated them right--paid for their two-day interview trip and for their move to Austin.

They are packed up and leaving next Monday. Last weekend was their heart-breaking garage sell. Their apartment in Austin is a lot smaller--so much of their stuff had to go. Alayna leaves her friends she made in her first year of college. They have had 10 years of fun together. Dan and Alayna are leasing their house and hope to return someday.

They are taking four days to drive down to Austin, making a road trip out of it.

Austin should be a good spot for them. I'm still going there for a month when Elijah is born. I'm looking towards that--and trying not to think of all the wonderful trips we've taken to visit them and the other kids and Elena and Wayne. I really hope we get a few good flight deals so that visits are not much further apart. Ivan is a bit sad because he probably will not come when the baby is born. sigh.

We are seriously thinking about flying to Minneapolis when Erin is released, however. Amanda would likely come, and Ryan just might get to go also.

Life is changing.

I had a nice telephone conversation with Ryan. Soldiers who do this kind of guard duty are chosen randomly from each group graduating from combat training. So, he was very very unlucky. This is a group of 72, with half of them more experienced by two weeks--and they will finished in a week. Then his group will be the trainers. I asked if the two-week senior group was visibly more worn down, and he said, "yes."

His shift is 5 a.m. until 1 a.m. the next morning. They guard in twos. I said that probably helped them stay awake. He said, "Not always." This morning they were walking along a road, and his partner would sleep walk into the middle of the road. On the other side is a cement ditch, and he sleep walked into the ditch and fell flat on his face. He says it woke him up for the rest of his shift.

He drinks coffee with every meal. It is a necessity, but he also likes it. Considering he is of the attention deficit variety that has had trouble staying awake his entire life--coffee might become a medicinal thing. (That is just me speculating.) I told him that I was afraid that by the end of this ordeal someone would offer him drugs, and he wouldn't even be awake enough--and also be so miserable--he would accept them. He said that coffee was as far as he was going.

He told me about the facilities he guards. I asked him what he guarded them against, and he laughed and said, "Nothing." We both thought that made it a lot easier.

He has a cigarette lighter that he plays with to keep awake. He can make flames shoot a foot. We are sending him some games for the hand-held play station. They can play with them at times when they are guarding.

When I've asked how he was going to get through this, he said, "It is miserable, but that is all it is. Just miserable--so a person will get through it."

I told him that I was praying for him several times a day--for his health and for his endurance and resilience. He told me to stop praying for his health--as he can take a sick day if he gets sick.

Ryan feels angry when soldiers verbalize that they are wondering why they ever enlisted. He doesn't feel that way at all, and he doesn't sound that way. He sounds very positive.

22 days of guard duty to go.

Ryan graduates from combat school on Tuesday. He got through his 72-hour crucible OK. He said it was cold, but the hardest part after a lot of hiking and physical exertion at the beginning was staying awake that long. That's 3 days! Since it was war-game like, it was nice to hear that he didn't get "killed."

Next. He doesn't start intelligence school until June 1st. The coming month will be guard duty on base. He says it is 20-hour work days. I keep telling myself that has to be wrong. He didn't know if he would get weekends--and a month of 4 hours sleep a night sounds awful--and I thought he was going to be past the hard part. We both agreed that might not ever be the case.

I've asked myself why blogging has been so sporadic the past year--and I really think it is because my mind and heart have been consumed with my "little" ones so far from home. I mean college is a piece of cake. Missions and military have commanded my focus ... whether it should be that way, or not.

Something inside me says, "Get used to it."

Alayna's ultrasound was today, and Dan and Alayna are expecting a boy, Elijah Daniel, to be exact. All appears to be well! I can't wait until June!

The recruits at the LDS luncheon


There are family days every Thursday and services every Sunday, and seniors called here on missions, and men with distinguished military careers who have worked diligently to make the church easily available to these young men who are going through the most challenging time of their young lives. These men shed tears as they talked to the new privates.


These two were taken at home:

The cacti were happy in San Diego:




I could not believe the size of the blades


Not cacti, but prettish things. I thought they might fly away:


Cabbage varieties thrive:


January bliss:






No need for complicated gardens:


Back to the Cacti (oh, maybe it's cactus):