Solar Cooking in Arizona

It has been very hot and dry here in Arizona. We are waiting for the Monsoon rains to come. The Temperature ranges from 100 to 114 this week. So I decided to use the sun to cook with instead of heating up my house or using any electricity. A ten pound turkey barely fit into my Sun oven. I preheated the oven for two hours, then it roasted for seven hours. By five p.m. it was falling off the bones, as you can see in the photo. Anyway it was delicious.But I missed the smells of a turkey cooking in the oven in the house. This the turkey baked in my solar oven
I decide to make Homemade whole wheat bread today in my sun oven. It didn't rise very much and so was very heavy.It baked an hour.I guess I had the water too hot for the yeast, so it killed the yeast so it didn't rise.My husband says I wish you would learn to make it correctly.You waste so many ingredients when it fails.I tell him I am still learning. The is my failure for today.

Family Reunion in Canada

Austin Wake Boarding at Tie Lake B.C.
Ready to Play Glow Stick Dodge Ball, in the Dark at Tie Lake
More Glow Stick Dodge Ball
Glow Stick Dodge Ball
Glow Stick Dodge Ball
Brooks Family
Prince Of Wales Hotel,Waterton Nat.Park
Sarinah and Brother Craig
Having Fun Tubing on Tie Lake, B.C.Canada

Devin, celebrating Canada's Birthday
Austin Canada's Birthday
Dawson Canada's Birthday
Canada's Birthday July 1, 2010
Family Reunion
Gough Cousins
Gough Reunion 2010
Up the lake without a paddle. Make your own,using Tennis Rackets covered with plastic bags It worked great.
Dawson Bare foot Skiing
Dawson Wake Boarding
Dawson and Mackenzie Wake Boarding
Cameron Falls,Waterton National Park,Alberta,Canada
Brooks Family, Waterton Lake
Beautiful British Columbia
Beautiful British Columbia
Rob Bare Foot Skiing
Rob and Devin driving the boat

Beautiful scenery in Alberta and British Columbia. The Brooks Family and their adventures in Canada this summer.The grand kids did a lot of water sports,at Tie Lake in British Columbia.They paddled a small dingy boat, using tennis rackets for paddles covered with a plastic bag, because they didn't have any paddles. They water skied, wake boarded, knee boarded, drove the boat, skied bare foot. Watched Uncle Rob do his bare foot skiing. Drove the Quad up mountain trails. When night came they played Glow Stick Dodge Ball in the dark with glow sticks, hanging around their necks and wrists,throwing a lighted ball.They also lit up perimeter's of the field so no one would get hurt.They had a fun time with all their cousins.

My Pitcher Runneth Over

For an example take a water pitcher and fill it with golf balls. Each ball represents the routine things we do each day. Like: prayer, scripture reading, personal hygiene, cooking, cleaning, buying groceries, preparing meals, caring for children and husbands.

Now you think your pitcher is full. No! You can still add marbles, lots of them. Each marble represents: being a taxi driver, taking children to school, ball practices,piano lessons, dance lessons, soccor practices, swimming lessons, PTA meetings, and Church meetings, Visiting Teaching, Service to others, helping the poor and needy.

So now, you think your pitcher is full. No way! You can add water to make it full and run over. This represents the other fun things, we like to do. Exercise, Crafts, and Hobbies, maybe a full or part time job, education.

Now your pitcher runneth over.
This week I actually said NO!
No, to hemming a Prom dress for someone else, the solution was to buy higher heels,that worked.
No! To Speaking in Relief Society, due to I couldn't see good enough to prepare a lesson. The President did a great job.
No! To teaching a child to sew, because I can't even see well enough to thread a needle yet. I suggested another lady to teach her to sew.
No! To exercise each day, because my hip was out of place.
Yes, I actually said NO! Can you believe it, I finally decided, it didn't hurt me to say No!

Gila Valley Cultural Celebration

We enjoyed the Satellite Video of the Gila Valley Cultural Celebration at our Stake Center.It was like a BYU Extravaganza. There were over a thousand youth providing a wonderful song and dance numbers. They told the history of Gila Valley with their songs and dance numbers. The area was settled by the pioneers in the 1800's.They cleared the land for crops of corn and alfalfa and cotton. Then they needed water to make them grow so they brought the water down by gravitity from the nearby mountains.
They dug irrigation channels. They mined for gold and copper and silver in those mountains. The youth portrayed the irrigation time, by using shovels and pretending to dig while singing the gals carried picnic baskets to feed the men. Then they did the cotton picking song ,all were dressed with white knit hats with black t-shirts which said 100% cotton on them, lined up in rows, portraying the cotton fields. Meanwhile several large cotton shaped balls, kids dressed like this bounced throughout the cotton field. Then they dressed in Mining Hats with lights on the hard hats.and sang and danced. They told us about the Honeymoon Trail, which was a dirt road which led from Gila Valley to St. George, Utah. If a young couple wanted to get married in the Temple, they would walk, ride in a wagon or horseback to get to the Temple, 650 miles away. It still is called the Honeymoon Trail. Now they will have an Temple close, to get married in. At the end of the program, they showed the Angel Moroni, lifted up into the night sky, with white streamers cascading down from him. That is why, they had a Cultural Celebration.It was a big deal. President Monson and Pres. Eyring were in attendance.President Spencer W. Kimball grew up in this Valley at Thatcher Arizona he owned a Bank and a lot of the town.Back in the 1800's a lady gave $5.00 to help build a Temple here.Pres. Monson said" A lady had given him $500,00 to put some ordinal masterpieces of art in this Temple. We were glad we went to this there were only 15 people to saw this in our Stake Center.They missed out.

Another Year Older

Grandmas Birthday
Grandmas Birthday
Grandkids
Grandpa turns 72
Grandpa and Andie
Great grand Kids
Grand kids

We celebrated our Birthdays together our daughter and grandkids came over and brought us a NEW 47 inch TV set. Ours had given up the ghost. Then the grandkids came and hooked it for us. They all chipped in to pay for it, plus the ones in Canada. Thanks everyone. We loved it, it was a total surprize for me. Ron was in on picking it out. Sarinah made fresh Strawberry pies, and Tina brought an Apple pie for Ron. We all enjoyed the wonderful pies.

A Newborn's Conversation With God

A baby asked God,"They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow,but how am I going to live there, being so small and helpless?"

God said,"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The Child further inquired,"But tell me,here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said,"your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the little child asked," And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me,if I don't know the language?

God said,"Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear,and with patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?

God,said"Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said,"Your angel will protect you, even if it means risking its life."

"But I will always be sad, because I will not see you anymore."

God said,"Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked,"God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angels name.

God said, "You will simply call her, MOM."

Mothers Day

What a special Mothers Day I enjoyed. All my wonderful children remembered to phone their Mother and wish her a Happy Mothers Day and express their love to her. I got a Pedicure and my hair done.Then we enjoyed the Olive Garden's wonderful cuisine,on Saturday night. My daughter, Sarinah sent me a wonderful box of several fruit and nut packages. Which I was thrilled to get. My birthday fell on the same day. We will celebrate it together on my husbands birthday. I went to church for three hours and received a large chocolate bar for Mothers Day with the words " God could not be everywhere so he gave us Mothers." Then an other cute box of chocolate candies in R.S. with a nice card which said " There is no way to be a Perfect Mother, but a million ways to be a GOOD one. "After a light lunch of Yummy Lettuce Wraps, we watched the Hallmark Movies. Our special Channels for only Mothers Day weekend. My visiting teacher brought me some oatmeal cookies she had made. My dear friend I visit teach brought me a fresh apple pie she had just baked. Its nice to have dear friends and family.