Shortly after getting back to the house, Ellie hollered for everybody to come see how weirdly orange the light was outside. I was slow on the uptake or otherwise occupied, until Laurent called from down the street telling me to get outside with my camera.

I don’t need to be told twice!

I rushed out and took about 20 pics before realizing my camera settings were mucked up and everything I’d just taken was nearly black. That bummed me out because it looked so cool with the dust cloud half covering the sunset!

I reset everything and went back out, and stayed out in the wind as long as I could till I started feeling grit in my eyes.

Once I got them into Lightroom I was able to salvage the first three, though they are a little darker than the rest, but that was fun. I’ve driven in one a few times before, definitely NOT as fun! Hope everybody stayed safe out there.

Going to the ranch for July 4th weekend was never a sure thing, but we had talked about it on and off. When I said I really wanted to go along, we solidified the plans. I made innumerable trips to Walmart and Walgreens leading up to Wednesday, made a list of everything we could possibly need and then packed it all, and after Paul finished work around 12:30pm, we loaded Tom Truck with our gear and Efrain, Ruben and Ellie, and the five of us headed for the hills.

We wanted to take the Beeline Highway, but as we were driving east, signs indicated there was a fire that had closed the northbound lanes of HWY 87, so we detoured and made for HWY 60, which takes us through Globe and the Salt River Canyon. I am never sad to take that route as it is so picturesque. Paul was gracious enough to stop once in the canyon so I could take a few pictures. Ruben’s tummy was acting up, so the fresh air was a tonic for him too. Unfortunately, my camera settings were all mucked up. The last thing I had done with it was attempt some self portraits with the timed shutter release, but I forgot to reset it, so when I went to take a photo of the canyon, it beeped for several seconds before clicking. I couldn’t remember how to fix it and felt ridiculous, but the photos turned out alright at least. When we got to our next stop at the Maverik in Snowflake where there was phone coverage, I got online and found the answer and solved my problem. Whew!

We rolled into Saint Johns right around supper time so we stopped in at the Subway and grabbed some supper subs, then hopped over next door to the grocery store for a few essentials for the evening (mainly S’More’s ingredients), before heading out to the ranch.

It was a beautiful night for a campfire, and we sat outside gazing at the constellations as the stars came out.

Pole Knoll

We were up bright and early Thursday morning while it was still brisk out – in the 50s I think! We headed in to town for some breakfast from the Maverik, and ate it at the park. Then we did the rest of our grocery shopping so we would have some sandwiches and cookies for our trip into the mountains. Finally we were off to Springerville!

Paul has a fairly consistent pattern of stopping for a hike on the Pole Knoll trail. We wondered if there would be a lot of people there, but we had it mostly to ourselves, but for a mountain biking family and a couple who brought their three dogs and a horse.

Although I am not yet ready to go on an actual mountain hike, I did wander around the picnic area and up the trail a little ways to find interesting photo material. I could call this chapter of the blog post “Pine Cones and Tree Bark and Lichen – Oh My!” I racked up a lot of steps there and felt so powerful.

Greens Peak

When Paul and the boys returned from their wander in the woods, our next stop was a place Paul has taken the kids before, but I had never visited: Greens Peak. It looks unremarkable from the foot of the mountain, a smooth grassy slope topped by radio towers and a ranger station. The road up was exciting though, extremely bumpy, with a drop off on one side and switchbacks up the mountain. I was *a little* nerve-wracked, but by the time we reached the top I’d recovered and was in my ecstasies over the views from all sides. I took many photos in every direction and kept almost all of them because it is glorious to behold the far reaching vistas and the pine forested slopes between wide grasslands. I wore myself out there, and was ready for a sitting break on our drive to the next stop on our White Mountain tour.

Hawley Lake

Another lovely site to which I had never been was Hawley Lake. There’s nothing like the clear waters of mountain lakes! The kids enjoyed wading and splashing in the water while Paul explored the shoreline a little. There were even some boaters floating out in the middle.

Little Creek

On our way up to the lake we passed an absolutely charming little creek that I mentioned wanting to stop and photograph, so on our way back down, Paul stopped there. It was too steep for me to climb down, but he took the camera and Efrain joined him down by the water’s edge where he got some nice shots. I don’t remember if there was a sign that said what the name of the creek was, so I’m sticking with Little Creek.

By the time we made it back to the ranch there was just enough time to take a little snooze in the cabin while the generator charged all the batteries. Since it was on anyway, Paul plugged in the swamp cooler – the hoses that used to connect to the water tank have deteriorated too much to actually turn on the cooling part, but the fan was enough. It blew out a mighty cloud of dust when it spun up, right in my face (cough-cough-sputter) but after that it was very pleasant.

As the sun set, we got the fire started and enjoyed our hot-diggity-dogs for supper. While dining on our fine cuisine, we kept hearing loud mooing through the darkness from down below us in the valley, and halfway wondered if one of the calves had somehow gotten inside our fence and separated from its mama, but eventually the mooing moved on down the valley and out of earshot.

Once again we settled in to the cabin for a well deserved night of rest. It took the boys a while to settle down, which I found highly amusing, but Paul was out the second his head hit the pillow. He’s just lucky like that…

Breakfast in Saint Johns

We had nothing planned for our Friday after so much driving and site seeing the day before, but I wasn’t done with my mission for the weekend – making it to 1,000 photos! Paul knew of one little spot right outside Saint Johns that I’d never seen, so into town we went, grabbed yet another breakfast at Maverik (they have yummy breakfast food!), and went to the park to enjoy it al fresco. It’s such a cute small-town park, with tennis courts, a public swimming pool, several ramadas, a playground, an all the green grass your eyes could hope to absorb. They were gearing up for the grand 4th of July town picnic Saturday, with a stage already erected on one side of the park, and light poles festooned with American flags.

Patterson Ponds

It was a five minute drive to Patterson Ponds. I was completely captivated! We set off down the trail that goes around the edge and branches off half way around to encircle the second pond as well. I was busy snapping photos of flowers when I heard a voice from behind me on the trail, hollering, “You fishin’ or takin’ pictures?” I turned and saw this guy carrying a bucket and fishing pole. I grinned back at him, “Pictures!” He struck a pose and said “Here ya go! Take one of me!” So I did!

Paul brought along a chair for me so I could rest whenever I needed to along the way, which I was happy to use. There was a picnic table where the kids were hanging out for a few minutes, and we sat there with them for a while when we caught up. There were three kids fishing beside the pond nearby and it was just so wholesome to see! True Americana.

On the far side there were trees that arched over the trail, and I sat down by the rope swing for another rest in the shade. It’s moments like that when I most particularly notice the lack of mosquitoes here in Arizona. In Minnesota, sitting lakeside like that one would be eaten alive!

I can’t believe I made it all the way around the pond. What a triumph! Maybe next time I will have the stamina to explore the second pond as well!

Visiting Joe

While we were walking around the pond and the kids were off exploring the other one, Paul and I decided that instead of staying one more night and then driving home in the morning, we would make one last stop before going back to the cabin, and then have lunch, pack up, and get home Friday evening. That way we wouldn’t lose a Saturday for chores (chore days are essential) and the kids would be back in time to attend their baby cousin’s first birthday party.

So we headed out to the ranch, but instead of turning in to go to our place on the south end of the Carrizo, we went all the way to the north edge of the ranch so we could pay a visit to Joe, who serves as the VP of the ranch association and has quite an operation up there, where he s also building a home. Paul has taken the kids up to his place before and they loved visiting his chickens!

This time there was an extra treat in store. When we arrived, Joe was nowhere to be seen, until we heard the roar of an engine, and he rounded the side of his big garage driving an ATV! After greetings, he invited the kids to jump in and took them on a tour around his property. It was a rugged little road, and he wasn’t going slowly, so they had a very bumptious time of it! We followed in the truck, and at one point, I saw that the road took a sharp right angle, but Paul didn’t and we ended up nose downward heading into a ravine. I may have screamed a little, but Paul was cool as a cucumber, and got the truck back up onto the trail with relative ease. Good job, Tom Truck!

Then, back in the main yard, the real fun began when Joe turned the wheel over to Efrain and let him drive the kids around for a while. After that, we went in to the chicken coop to see the chickens. As many pics as I kept, I deleted more, I assure you. The kids just loved every minute of it! I even got a great shot of Joe.

Before leaving, Ellie got a chance to drive the ATV too! First Paul rode with her to make sure she knew how everything worked, then he let Ruben ride along, and after that I even got a ride. She drove like a pro – a testament to Laurent’s excellence in driver’s training! She lets all the kids practice in her car whenever she comes up to the ranch with us.

After a tour of the house we thanked Joe for his hospitality and said our goodbyes, then headed back to the cabin. When we announced we’d be leaving that evening to drive home, it was gratifying to hear the disappointment from the kids. It’s always nice to leave them wanting more!

I could not have been more delighted with the entire trip. Every single thing went perfectly, and I had more energy that I even expected. I failed to get 1,000 photos, but did manage an even 700, and after culling and editing had 324 keepers. Can’t do much better than that!

Thankful. Blessed. Can’t wait till next time!

So, last weekend he undertook a major project. First he had to order, build, and install new shelves. That meant clearing off the walls in the hallway of ancient photos that were mostly hanging askew and whose frames had suffered greatly through being stored and moved many times. Which meant getting all the photos scanned into the computer first. So after all that, he then began moving boxes into the hallway, opening them up, and figuring out if they would be thrown or kept, and then getting them onto the shelves. This process took roughly 3 days.

In the end, the truck was heavily loaded down with all the books we no longer needed and weren’t worth giving away or selling. Those were taken to the dump, along with the empty boxes from the shelves. Ufda.

But look at how nicely what’s left fits into the hallway now! (And bonus – the entire top shelf of our closet used to be full of Catholic literature — that’s emptied out now and can be used for other storage – yahooo!)

Such a good feeling – and now there’s room in the shed for — whatever needs storing. I think there’s a bunch of stuff in the back yard that I’d rather be hidden away in the shed… We did discover that years of supporting hundreds of pounds of books has bowed the shed floor, but, oh well, it’s still usable.

To recap the health progress to date: I’ve now undergone two steroid injections, one in the lumbar spine and one is the tailbone. As they have worked their way into my system, I have been able to:

• Make dinner for the family several times
• Clean in the kitchen, washing a few dishes at a time
• Easily walk around the house for up to 15 minutes at a time, doing various chores, picking things up off the floor, clear the table (leaning forward, standing up, carrying things)
• Start going places by myself (without Jacob along to push my wheelchair or go into run an errand on my behalf)
• Including driving alone to physical therapy, walking in, doing 40 minutes of work, and walking out again, solo
• Going shopping in a grocery store
• And, for two Sundays in a row, walked into church, sat in a pew with the family, stood easily for all the standing portions of the liturgy, walked forward for communion, and walked out again afterwards – all with zero pain or fatigue.

The amount of joy filling my soul as I perform every one of these activities is incalculable. You really can’t understand what doing normal life stuff means to me! I mean, seeing my weight drop even further, 292 at last check, is great and all, but I have bigger plans…

So, I am stepping up my game (pun entirely intended) by adding step climbing to my home workouts. While I could wish I had a two-story house right now, I’m making do with one step, on repeat. I’m trying to do sets of one story at a time (20 steps per story), working my way up to 5 story sets, which is what I had to climb several times a day when I lived in a dormitory at Prairie Bible College so many years ago.

Two sets done already today, and I feel like this guy:

I’m telling you, when I can take the laundry job back from my husband I’ll know my recovery is complete!

We waited lunch as long as we could, then Paul went and picked up Alyssa’s choice – In-N-Out burgers. I brought a Caesar salad to go with it instead of fries. Good thing the kids all LOVE salad! After lunch we hung out and waited for Laurent to finish her 11am mass and drive over from the Basilica. Ruben has been reading through Genesis with Grandma on his weekends, and got to read Genesis 3 for us. That’s a rough one… He also tried starting on the book of Judith, but the names (Nineveh, Nebuchadnezzar, Assyrians) were tripping him up so he left that one for another time.

He also grabbed my camera and took a slew of photos, mostly of Paul. Many suffered from motion blur (impatient little hands) but he caught a few good ones! He’s interested in photography so I’ll have to take him out more often and let him do some practice. I was feeling good so I wandered around the back patio getting some photos of Grandma’s Mexican Bird of Paradise and giant Agave cactuses.

As I say, low key, but a celebration nonetheless. Can’t believe she’s a rising freshman!

But a quick re-cap back to the previous Friday – I didn’t have any photos from the senior dinner, but snagged some from one of the teachers who got lots of all the graduates receiving honors, so these are those:

Friday was a half day at school, and the afternoon was spent on final preparations: Natalie had lots of primping and curling of hair and lashes, and I had a few last minute items to pick up at the store for her gift basket, and then since Dollar Tree was right next to McDonalds I figured it would make a quick supper for the crew since the grads had to be at the school by 5pm, and the rest of us by 5:45. There were cards to pass around and sign, and Paul went to pick up Ana and bring her back to our house for a few minutes before heading over. I got a text from Laurent saying she was on the way to get balloons, and she met us there after a mighty struggle getting them all tucked into her little car for the drive over!

Our seats were in the back row of the floor seating of the auditorium (where there is handicapped seating) so I couldn’t have had a better view, either of the stage or of the entrance walk, which went right behind my chair as they came into the building! It was a treat to see all the faculty process in wearing their academic regalia – there were a whole lot of degrees in that room!

There were some opening remarks, and then the student and faculty chorus performed a beautiful choral rendition of “For Good” from the musical Wicked.

I was so happy I got to sit right behind fellow-mom, Katie, so I could give her a congratulatory hug after her daughter (and Natalie’s best friend) Kaylyn, gave a wonderful Salutatorian address. SO PROUD!

The Valedictorian, Sergio Montalvo, Jr., is such an impressive young man who, besides founding the robotics club on campus, graduated summa cum laude with 30 college credits! The sky’s the limit for that one.

The commencement address was given by a fantastic member of the community, whose name I had heard over the last decade but had never met personally. Cande de Leon gave a truly inspirational address, and I wanted to include here the notes from the program about his life and work.

Mr. Cande de Leon is the author of Heart of the Mission: Simple Ways to Bring People to Jesus. I’ll just include here the biographical info from the program, because it was so fascinating to learn more about him. He currently serves as the Chief Mission Engagement Officer for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, Arizona, supporting Volunteer Operations, Community Engagement and 80 Vincentian conferences, including, of course, the one for the Cathedral, where Paul works every Tuesday. Prior to this, Cande served as the Chief Advancement Officer for the National Eucharistic Congress and the Executive Director of the Office of Mission Advancement for the Diocese of Phoenix, raising over 200 million dollars throughout his career for mission driven projects.

Cande has a unique blend of business acumen and ministry experience with proven strategies in teaching mission advancement through capital campaigns, annual appeals and parish stewardship. Cande has received international recognition with several awards from the International Catholic Stewardship Council, and is often requested to give missions and workshops throughout the U.S. Catholic Church.

Cande served four years in the United States Marine Corps, graduated from Texas A&M Corpus Christi with a BBA, and earned a Master of Arts Degree with Holy Apostles Seminary and College in Theology, Sacred Scripture, and an MBA from Grantham University, Arkansas. Cande has been married to his wife Rosemary for 29 years and they have four daughters.

At last it was time for the conferring of diplomas. I was so happy to be able to photograph each class member as they crossed the stage. Especially our NATALIEEEEEE!!! Graduating Cum Laude, with cords and awards galore, we moms were in tears of joy and pride. I am SO thankful Ana was there beside me for this fantastic milestone!

All that remained was to present the graduates of the class of 2026 and cheer them out the door. A magnificent night indeed!

We milled around in the courtyard a little afterward… the sun had gone down far enough that the heat was no longer oppressive. Unfortunately it was quite crowded, and I had only my long lens on the camera, so the few photos I got outside were unexpectedly close-ups!

We decided to hold the party until Monday when Laurent had the day off. She and Ruben spent what looked like a million hours over the weekend, making 4 kinds of Rice Krispy bars and giant cookie-cakes! She put up streamers and the kids had fun filling balloons with helium. To my knowledge there were no squeaky voices, which I find tragic. Jeff brought beverages. I went and picked up a big order of Chipotle for dinner – it was a lot of food, and I should not be shocked that we managed to consume it all, but there it is, and we did, and it was extremely delicious, and that wont be happening again for at least a year (It’s Jordan’s turn in 2027!).

I think we have truly celebrated properly and am so thankful to God for his mercies and love poured out upon our familia!

Saturday: Woozy, rested.

Sunday: Felt like a million bucks, walking around upright like a normal person with zero back pain! Went to Dollar tree with Ruben, walked all around the store, went to the park, walked around and took photos for a half hour, could not BELIEVE my new life!

Monday: Went to PT without my wheelchair, walked in and shocked the whole room. Felt smug.

Tuesday: Started feeling regretful. Apparently I did too much too soon, needed to rest. Muscles take time to rebuild. Ended up needing to drive for almost 4 hours taking people to all the things. Tailbone absolutely slaughtered.

Wednesday: Cancelled PT. Keeping chin elevated.

The happiest reminder that even though progress is slow, I did do this thing and here’s the proof:

I loved having all that commotion running through the house, and really look forward to more visits with David and the rest of the boys as well. Love having a house full of family!

I got pictures, because of course I did. I accidentally left the circular polarizing filter in (I got a new adapter for my EF lenses that has a slot for filters behind the lens, which is really cool except when you have the wrong one in there.) so the photos turned out darker than they should have and needed help in lightroom, but I got it sorted and several turned out well.

On Friday night, Paul had his turn in attending the Senior Awards Banquet. She came home laden with certificates, and complained about how she couldn’t get a break and kept having to go up and get more awards. Lol! In all she received:

• Merit Scholarship for NAU
• Merit Scholarship for GCU.
• ACE Award Certificate of completion and cord
• Bank of America Internship Certificate
• A Yellow Cord for graduating with Honor (3.5 GPA or higher)
• A Blue and Yellow Cord for passing her Senior Thesis with Excellency
• A Red Cord for Sports participation

Obviously we are exceedingly chuffed and ever so proud of how well she’s done, and can’t wait for her final hoorah at Friday night’s commencement.

• The blessing of having my MIL with us and gracing ours and our children’s lives with her wisdom, humor, and above all, her prayers – is incalculable!

• The blessing of children who tell me in so many words, in so many gifts of drawings, and yesterday, a stunning bouquet of flowers…

• And of course, my “mother’s day babies” – Efrain and Geneva, celebrating birthdays this week.

All of this we celebrated with Grandma yesterday, enjoying each other, and a wonderful Prime Rib meal, gifted by Paul’s cousin Lynell. Paul did a great job cooking the meat (first time preparing prime rib – it was excellent!); I brought a salad, Paul added the wrong color olives to it; Natalie fixed the mashed potatoes to perfection; and Grandma’s cheesy corn rounded out the feast, followed by fudge-dipped strawberries and birthday cake. And in between dinner and dessert, there was time for bubbles out back.

God is so good!!