Decided I had better write more about my exciting summer vacation.  Actually it has been pretty boring.  Just the same thing day after day.  There will be a change now as the ball games are over so we won't have them to look forward to each night.  The family got beat out pretty easy.  Josh's Playboys lasted a little longer.  1st Ward ladies and 1st Ward Juniors are still in the running for church teams.

We wanted to go to Manti and watch the pageant up there.  But we're not going.  We don't have a car that would make it and none of the kids want to go, so we could go with them.  We went down to Roger and Cathy's and ate cake and ice cream for Roger's birthday.  Sure do love and appreciate him.

This next week I plan to buy some paint and start on my house so I can get it all painted before school starts and I have to go back to work.

Cathy has certainly put out the work this summer.  Making a new lawn.  Jogging every day and swimming every day and teaching swimming.  I don't know how she keeps up.  If I had that much ambition I think I would spend it in my yard and on my house.  Pooey on wasting time jogging and swimming but then everyone to their own likes.

The summer rains have started (thank goodness) we really haven't had any hard rain yet, but we have had some nice sprinkles.

This is the time of year when it's nice to get up early and hear the haunting sounds of a mourning dove.  When everything is quiet and about to wake up for the days work ahead.  Or at noon to hear the lazy drone of a bee or in the evening to hear the cheerful chirp of a cricket or if it has rained the noisy croaking of the frogs.  it is indeed a nice place to live.  Although I think I would like to live out of town a ways.  We have roads and neighbors all the way around us any more and we used to be the last house on this road and had things pretty much the way we wanted, but now it seems everyone can check and see what we are doing.

Chan and Lynda and Willie came back from Alaska early this year on the 19th.  Said they ran out of work.  Sure was a short summer for them.  Hardly worth going for.

Josh has started working for Ronald and Keeven.  Hope he is as happy as he thinks he will be.  He plans to move to the valley this week. (Oh the agonies of a mother as each child leaves home.)  I'm really not happy about it at all.

Loye has been working in Heber today with Mark, Roger, Jared, Jason and Willie.  They should be coming home soon.  Loye said he would take us out to dinner tonight.  Sounds good to me.

Today started the 24th of July celebration in Snowflake.  It sure isn't as important as it was when I was a kid.  We had to have new clothes and be some of the first people at the rodeo ground in Snowflake.  To listen to Happy Jack play music on his loud speakers, and watch the Indians who had come to town the week before from Whiteriver in covered Wagons.  Course we watched them go through Taylor as we sat on Grandpa Shumway's picket fence.

The rodeo, barbecue and fights were all held at the rodeo ground and you paid one ticket and everything was paid for.  "Oh the good ole days."  Tomorrow me and the girls will go to Snowflake and watch the parade and maybe take in the barbecue then come home and wait for the ball games and fireworks.  It really is a pretty nice celebration.  More so than anything Taylor does.  Another thing I would like to do tomorrow is to go to the program and listen to President John Taylor talk.  He has just returned home from Canada where he served 3 years as a Mission President.

Leon Ballard, my cousin (Aunt Thora's oldest son) is now in Brisbane Australia serving a 3 year mission presidency.  They just left recently.

Well I keep getting worse at the Journal keeping.

The ball games are all over for the kids.  My "Little Angels" came in 3rd on their league with Teree Webb (I think it is supposed to be Fuentes), and April Ellison making the all star team.  I thought Cristina would make it but she didn't.  Ann Rogers made it from her team, "The Blue Jays."

The little league ended their season with the "Pirates" coming in 3rd.  Ryan Hancock, Garrett Hancock and Clinton Neff all made the all star team with Scott Hall getting honorable mention.  Lyn Hancock and Jerry Peck was the coaches for the "Pirates", but I can honestly say these boys knew less about playing baseball when the season ended then when it started.

We made rolls one day for the 4th of July barbecue and another day we cut up slaw for the same purpose.

Dahl and Shelley came up for the 4th as Dahl was playing in the ball tournament at Show Low with his Mesa Ward team.  They played 3 gaes but got beat all 3 games.  Last year we were in Alaska for the 4th so it was sure seemed nice to be home at least for the celebration as last year nothing exciting happened in Alaska and the boys never took any special time off from work.  However, the 4th was on Sunday last year.

It was nice to hear the Anvil as it exploded and made these earth shattering blasts.  And not everyone gets reminded by their Stake President that "it's time to get up to celebrate the 4th of July", as he rides around in the parade of cars, ambulances, band and Anvil to wake everyone up.  Of course the band with the Jennings Drum is always a highlight.  However, this year Judge Jennings had passed away so one of his family members played the drum.  At 6:30 am we went over to the rodeo grounds and ate a pancake and sausage breakfast prepared by the Kiwanis Club for $1.50 per person.  It was a real tasty breakfast.  We came home and got ready to go to Show Low to watch Dahl play ball.  But when we got there his team had drawed a bye and they didn't play until noon.  We went down town and watched the parade.  I have seen much better parades.  Taylor's Rodeo Queen rode in the parade.  Calli Lee was queen with Wendy Webb and Tana Lewis as attendants.  Tana looked real cute.

After the parade we had to come back to Taylor so Loye could help serve barbecue.  Jason, Loyelin, Mark, Liza and their kids all ate barbecue.  It was really good.  We then went back to Show Low to watch Josh play with the Video Magic team, but they got beat.  So we came back to Taylor and just got here when we found out that Dahl had a game at 3pm but we didn't go back up to watch it.  At 6 Loye had to go help with the barbecue again.  As soon as he got through we went back to Show Low where both Dahl and Josh were playing ball.  We watched Dahl's game but they got beat.  Finally we came home and watched the fireworks.  Then Dahl and Shelley went over to Mom's and slept and we went in here to bed.

Chan had come home from Alaska about 1 week ago and he sort of wanted us to keep his care here so it would be out of Keeven's way so Sunday morning Loye, Jason and I rode to the valley with dahl so we could bring Chan's car home with us.  We went straight to Keeven's where Dahl and Shelley left us.  We got in the car that didn't have any air conditioning.  We went over to the Red Lobster, went by the Price Club, then came home (and it was hot).  We got home about 8pm.  On the 4th we did absolutely nothing except wash clothes.