It's been over 110 in Phoenix! I've spent most of my days at places I can get internet...a coffee shop, an outdoor mall, and the library. I've run some errands and otherwise, not doing a whole lot. I drop the kids off in the morning, pick them up in the afternoon. We all read, go swimming, eat dinner and do it all over again! The kids LOVE school with Nana. They've done all sorts of fun stuff. Each day they bring home samplings of their work. It's been fun!

We had a busy and fun week in Raton. Terry and Beth and cousin Cody all came to town on Monday evening. Jessica and I went to exercise class with Grammy in the morning. we had a great time. Jessica stayed right up with all the ladies, even with the weights. You could tell they were heavy, but she did it! We did 30 min. of aerobics and 20 min. of weights. It was a good workout, despite the fact that the ladies were all sr. citizens. I didn't expect to get such a good workout. i expected the altitude to cause problems, but I didn't have any at all! Grammy's friend Davita was there and invited us over for a drink. We enjoyed seeing all her antiques and getting a drink. Ray helped Cody pack his belongings that were being stored at Grammy's house while the rest of us took a tour of the Raton Museum. They had some more stuff from last year. We heard lots of interesting stories about the history of the area. It's a great museum. Our name was highlighted in the guest registry. I looked for other highlighted names and realized it was people from out of the country. I also found Ray and I in the old registry from the first time I visited the museum in '96. When we were leaving I was mentioning all that and the museum director told me to be sure I put Paris in the registry again.

During the week relatives drifted in each day. Ray, Terry and the kids did a hike up to "crack butt", the mountain behind Grammy and Grandpa's house. They were gone for hours and had a great time. We went to the Ranch and saw all the changes on the house then the kids hiked through the water to a beaver dam. The 4 yr old grandson of the tenants came with us. He was great at catching critters like tiny frogs.

Thursday was the big flying day. Cousin Sterling brought a plane and took us all up on flights. Some were more reluctant than the others but the kids were all very anxious to go. Jessica and cousin Ellie went with Nana. Jessica had a great time and held Ellie's hand at the end. She did want to do some tricks, but didn't get to. Joshua got to FLY! Cousin cody had told him all about flying and told him Sterling would take him flying. Sterling worked out the weights in the 4-seater and Joshua got to fly. They also did various stunts. Ray and cousin Ean accompanied him. I was going to go alone, but Lori decided to go so we went together. We flew over all of Raton and lake Maloya (where we went fishing). It was pretty amazing! Both kids came running of the plane yelling about how much fun it was. jessica yelled "it was awesome" very enthusiastically. i turned on the video and asked her again how it was and she said flatly, "good". Ray and Jerm flew back to Santa Fe with Sterling to drive him back to Raton.

Terry, Beth, Lori and I took the kids to the Ranch and they got totally soaked in the creek. They had a BLAST!!! Lori and I took pictures and talked with Terry and Beth walked in the creek with them.

We spent a lot of time at the house playing games, catching up, talking and eating. We got family pictures at the Ranch. It's the first time in a long time that all the Wrights (Beth's family) have been together in Raton. 

The guys went golfing Friday morning. Ray took Joshua. He said Joshua hit the ball really straight and didn't lose any balls (most everyone else did). The ladies and Terry went to Capulin Volcano and drove over the mesa. It was interesting, but lots of driving. We didn't have time to hike much, but did hike into the crater which was pretty neat. We saw a beautiful bird...some type of Tananger. Jessica filled out her Jr. Ranger Book and took it to the park ranger. They had her say an oath and then she got a jr. ranger badge. It was really cool and she was very proud. We had a great lunch at the Capulin country Store. There were 8 tables in the restaurant, but they only had a total of 6 menus! Funny. Becky and I split Frito Pie and a Cheeseburger. The cheeseburger was amazing. We didn't get back till 3!

On the 4th of July there was lots of rain the parade was canceled. the fireworks still went, though. they were beautiful but it started raining again. some of us watched from inside some from outside in the rain.

Ray left for Singapore the morning of the 4th. We missed him as we celebrated America's birthday. The kids spent the night with Terry and Beth and headed to Phoenix early the next morning. I got up around 8, packed, cleaned, ate and spent a little more time with some of the family. I took off at 11. my GPS said I'd be in to Phoenix by 7. I thought I might make it, but got too tired. I stayed at Joey and Becky's, even though they're still in Raton. the kids start summer school with Nana tomorrow.

I'm at the Raton McDonald's using the free Wi-Fi. We had a great day fishing today...but I'm about a week ahead if I talk about today!

Nashville was a blast. We had a Graduate Christian Fellowship alumni gathering Saturday afternoon. There were 3 babies there (Meredith, Debbie, Carolyn's babies) and lots of kids. We usually only had Don Paul and Ginger's kids when we were students on campus. Many of our friends have been having children lately! In fact, it's pretty amazing how babies I held over the weekend! Ray hadn't seen most of these friends for years. I'd seen most of them last month or last year, but it was great. The Gross' recovered quickly from their busy family week and the morning with Kara and Jeno! We had everything turned around by 4.

Sunday was Father's day. We went to church with Don Paul and Ginger. The kids came to church service with us and did surprisingly well. We've taken them to a number of very boring services in the past 6 months that were much more difficult for them. Though this style was similar to some of those long ones, it was much better. After service, our friend Maggie (Joshua's age) had planned a worship through dance time for the children. It didn't turn out exactly as she had envisioned, but it was great, despite the 100 degree weather! The kids went to Sunday school with many of their friends and we went to Sunday school with DP and Ginger. I go every year so had met everyone before. Joshua was thrilled to meet Tony EArley, author of a book we read last fall. The name suddenly escapes my mind. Google it and read it. Great book. It's not a children's book, but the kids enjoyed it (they should be a bit older than mine though). the discussion on technology and Chrisitians was fascinating and thought provoking. I do realize that in general, we are way behind everyone else in technology. We own a simple, old cell phone that we never use, no dryer, no dishwasher, no voicemail (well we have it but can't figure out how to use it), etc. On the other hand, we use skype (and voicemail) and each have a laptop that we nearly live on and can't live without. Anyway, the questions are the same regardless of how many gadgets you have...do I need this? How will it impact my life, time, relationships, etc. We had lunch at home with the Gross'. DP's parents came over for Sundaes on Sunday and then DP & Ginger took us out for Japanese food while Olivia babysat. We had a great evening out and we love Japanese food! I think it's probably our favorite these days.

More next time I get online...Ray's talk, other friends, and where are we???