It's a Dry Heat!!

This hood ornament pretty much sums up the hot weather we have been having here in St. George! When John first saw it he thought he was back in Texas for a minute.

Our thoughts and prayers have been with the two sister missionaries in the Texas Houston Mission that were attacked by an intruder with a knife early Sunday morning. We are so grateful that they are recovering - it could have been so much worse!

It has been along time since we have added a post to our blog, so we are posting some of the highlights from the summer.

We went to Provo to have a window visit with our mothers who live in the same assisted living home. We got to town just in time to be able to pick up John's mother Betty Jo up from a doctor's appointment and take her home - so we actually got to see her in person! 

It was fun to visit in the car before we had our official window visit.

They were both confused by why we couldn't come inside for a hug and a proper visit - this virus has been very hard for them. They had some cases of COVID-19 in the assisted living center where they both live this summer, so they were all confined to their rooms alone for about a month which was extra hard. But, the good news is that it seemed to have been a mild strain the virus and I don't think anyone was even hospitalized. These two have stayed healthy so far - which at age 98 and 89 is a great blessing!

We also got to visit two nephews, John's brother Jeff's twins - Trev and Bowen Davis - who completed their missions this spring - right at the beginning of the virus lock down. We sure love this family!

We also visited the family graves for Memorial Day - Orem City Cemetery and the Midway Cemetery. 

The flowers were lovely. While in Midway, we got to visit my sister Bonnie and cousin Susan Kohler (outside of course!) and my brother Tom and his wife Linda out on their lawn. We are usually at their ranch in Midway for a Whitaker Family reunion in July - but not this year!

We have loved having this bonus time with our children and grandchildren that we didn't think we would have this summer! We try to get to the pool near our home whenever we can.

Sister fun - youngest to oldest!

Just to prove that we still are doing missionary work - here I am working on our weekly missionary health report.

We have also loved spending time in Pine Valley and in June we had some special time with our oldest granddaughter Eliana and her friend for a few days!

They collected some pretty wildflowers for Ian's grave. For those of you who know our oldest daughter Shauna, you'll see how much Eliana (the taller one on the right) looks like her!

These two were so much fun - even when they crossed this stream which was high with lots of snow melt to get the right photo!

We love getting ice cream at the little store in Pine Valley - how do you eat ice cream with a mask on?!

Elder Davis took a quick motorcycle ride to Enterprise and found some missionaries near the reservoir!

Tending Zelda for Kim and the boys - such a good dog!

Grandkids riding out in the desert - we had to go watch. Will has been riding for a couple of years but Asher is just learning. (Overconfidence and lack of experience both result in some spectacular crashes; thankfully there have not been any serious injuries.)

Asher's dad, Cody likes riding too!

Another day we drove up on Cedar Mountain where Shauna and her family were camping. We had Lincoln with us and he had fun too!

A Father's Day feast - not healthy but it was delicious!

Some gifts from Lauren and Cody.

Little Luna loves to get my phone and put the strap around her neck like I do!

More summer fun with grandkids!

Liam, Asher and Luna had a sleep over - and we survived! 

The great mask debate raged on this summer! I am so glad that most people have embraced mask wearing now and it seems to have made a big difference in Utah. 

I have been busy making masks in my spare time - I made this for my granddaughter Lizzy in the 4th grade and she loves it!

Lilly and I have matching masks.

My sister Anne and her husband Veryl came from Arizona and John and Veryl were able to get a ride in.

The bike behind them was John's first Harley Davidson. Veryl later bought it and had it for many years, then when he was ready to sell it, John bought it back!

We had a fun weekend with Ian's two boys Braden and Lincoln. 

We took Lincoln's training wheels off and he learned to ride without them!

We are so lucky to be able to get out of the heat by driving to the mountains! 

On this Sunday afternoon it was 113 in St. George so we headed for Cedar Breaks.

Such an amazing sight -

We never get tired of it. It was in the low 70's there!

John was riding one of his motorcycles from Pine Valley to St. George when he got a flat rear tire. These fire fighters were working nearby and came to the rescue, using their compressor to put some air in it. 

Lincoln loves babies - especially his cousin Luna! And, she loves him back! Luna always lights up when she sees Linc.

Braden is getting so tall - 8th grade this year!!

For John's birthday I made a German Chocolate sheet cake.

Birthday presents from the kids - Shauna got him a tie that has the chemical structure of caffeine on it - he does love his Diet Coke!

We had a family Zoom call for Betty Jo's 89th Birthday - it was a lot of fun!

We braved the heat one day to help honor a fallen soldier who was killed overseas and was returning home for burial.

There swas a good turnout and I think it is a very nice tradition.

In addition to the police escort there were many fire engines, ambulances, classic cars and a long line of motorcycles including the patriot guard riders showing support too.

When they started forecasting recored heat again - we knew we had to head to the mountains again!

It was a cool 73 degrees on the top of Brian Head Peak - 

and what a view!!

I love this companion of mine!

The problem with escaping the heat - you have to face it again when you come back down!! 116 degrees is just too hot....even though it's a dry heat!!!

Yesterday would have been our son Ian's 35th birthday - so we gathered at the pool to remember him and celebrate.

It has been a huge blessing for us to be with family as we grieve Ian's loss.

John and Cody are good at throwing kids in the water -

and the kids love it!

I made Ian's favorite - Texas sheet cake. I had the kids each tell me a memory or funny story about Ian before they got a piece - we had some good laughs. The pain and grief still come in waves - but not as often. We are usually able to remember healthy, happy Ian and just be grateful that we got to walk with him here on earth. This is the way I like to remember him - 

We are so grateful for the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation that makes it possible for us to be together as families. We love serving as missionaries to help take that message of hope to others.