Fourth of July in Puyallup

We had a great time with family on the Fourth of July.

 On the Fourth of July we celebrate Independence Day for the United States of America.  We are grateful to be Americans and for all the freedoms we enjoy.  Here we are with James, Ethan, Ashton, Elliott and I putting a large American flag on the room.  Down below watching - is Jacquelyn with Ashton, Joslyn and Agnes.

 July 4th is also Malachi's birthday.  He and Layne invited us over to their house to celebrate.

 They prepared an enormous breakfast feast with pancakes, fruit, eggs, sausage, cupcakes and more.  It was amazing.  Malachi is in the back cooking and talking with Joshua while Ethan, Elliott, James, Andrew and Kim are starting in the food line.

 We had long tables set up outside with patriotic decorations.  Spencer, Christian, Asher, Elliott, Joslyn, Kim, Monroe and Dorian are ready to eat.

 Inside tables too.  Andrew, Jacquelyn, Ashton, Julia and Ethan are all there.

 A view of the other direction on the outside table with Agnes, Joslyn, Isaac, Kim, Dorian, Talitha and David.

 There were decorations set up all over the yard by Malachi's family.  Spencer and Mallory are up on the hill.

 Julia and Asher on the trampoline.

 Baby Monroe is a champion crawler and thinks he can now go wherever he wants.  He was the youngest grandchild there.

 Ashton up on the back property line.

 Two little cutie pies - Joslyn and Agnes.

 Joslyn, James, Christian, Andrew and Agnes on the playhouse slide.

 Ashton pushing Asher on the swing.  Caleb behind Christian.

 On the trampoline is Agnes, Joslyn, Dorian and Asher.  Caleb in the background.

 After the food we had time to set and talk and tell stories.  Joshua, Rebecca, Layne, Jim, Jacquelyn, and Kim with Monroe.

 Malachi opened up all his presents.  At this moment he was reading a card Mallory got him that she she thought was just hilarious. 

 We also went to a private bird aviarium to see the birds at Layne's Mom's house.  They built the aviarium themselves from scrap material and she has about two dozen parakeets and finches and cares for birds people don't want any more and are getting rid of.

 Joshua in the yard playing a stick game with Joslyn and Agnes.

 Jim and Tianna.  They might be moving and have made an offer on a house in Pocatello.

 Spencer and Elliott having a sword fight.

 One interesting thing to see, they had little baby birds that had recently hatched.  The parakeets let you handle them and don't seem to care but the finches do and will abandon their chicks if you handle them.

 Back at our house for the rest of the day the kids had plenty of room to play in the back yard.

 Ashton seemed to really like making fires and has been making one practically every day since they got here.  Christian and Isaac were helping with this one.

 A popular game was around the house with frisbees.  You start on the deck and see how many throws it takes to get around the house and back to the deck.  Of course there are lots of trees and some fences in the way.  You're not supposed to land on the roof but it happens.  Elliott should not have been up there getting his down.  He wasn't the first one and probably won't be the last.  At least no one has gotton hurt and it's a lot of fun.

 We also played bench ball.  It's kind of like a free-for-all dodgeball game with every person for themselves.  If you get hit you go sit on the bench but if the person that hit you gets out then you're back in.  You play until there's only one person standing.  All ages play, and in this picture James, Ethan, Joshua, Ashton and Christian were scrambling for the ball.

 Dorian setting on the bench, which was our deck.  He loved to play and didn't care he was an easy target for the bigger kids.

 Joshua about to throw at Ethan, which would then leave Joslyn as one of the last two standing.

 And of course in the evening we had fireworks, before the little kids bedtime.  We did sparklers and Asher, Agnes and Joslyn had a lot of fun on the driveway.

 Everyone else had fun watching.  Caleb, Rebecca, Julia, Christian, Elliott, James, Ethan and Tianna.

 Asher playing with sparklers.

 Agnes and Elliott with sparklers.

 Also Dorian with a long sparkler.

 After dark we had our large fireworks to shoot off.  We had a lot because Jacquelyn got a bunch at the fireworks stand.  When they heard she was a veteran they were giving her all kinds of good deals and free ones.

 Setting off fireworks in the street in front of our house.

 We had a lot of good ones that shot up into the air and exploded.  I think it was more than we've ever done before.

 The next day was Sunday.  The children took part in an online Primary Program from Isaac's home ward.  Then we had a family Sacrament meeting.  Then an online Sunday School class from Manorwood Ward.

Finally bedtime.  This picture was taken the next morning and shows three of the four hammocks the children set up in the back yards.  Staying at our house with us we had Caleb and Tianna and Isaac and Joshua and their families for a total of 20 people.  Then we also got to see Talitha and Malachi off and on and their families.  We had a great Fourth of July weekend.  The best part was getting to spend time with everyone.

Apache Junction to Puyallup

We left Apache Junction where we live in the winter and drove to Puyallup where we live in the summer.  With three stops along the way it took us several days to get home but we had a lot of fun along the way.

 We live in two amazing places.  From the brown jagged ridges and cliffs of Arizona

 To the white and green snow and forest covered volcanic mountains of Washington.

 First stop was in Utah to see Nathanael's family.  Although Nathanael was gone on a deployment to Texas to help fight the coronovirus with his reserve unit, we got to visit with Mary-Anne, Jacob, Hannah, and Jonathan.  There was no school because of the virus and all the children are schooling at home.  Also we got to visit with Amery and Josiah and got to see their new home.  We did walks around the neighborhood and got to play a lot with the kids.  The weather was beautiful.  One day we went on a hike to Bridal Veil Falls.

 Jacob climbing up some rocks.

 Mary-Anne with Jonathan and Hannah.

 Amery and Josiah with Jonathan.  The water was icy cold.

 Second stop was in Idaho.  We got to see Joshua and Rebecca and their family.  Joshua was working from home because of the virus.

 We did a hike in Pocatello at Ross Park and saw some some interesting rocky walls.  Julia and Asher in this picture.  We also saw all these marmots that the kids had fun chasing.

 Ethan, Agnes, Christian and Elliott in a hole in the wall.  They love to climb.

 We also went fishing one day.  Christian reeling in a rainbow trout.

 The fish was biting and Agnes got one here.

 All five of the kids that came fishing bagged their limit.  Even Asher here catching fish.  Made a total of 10 rainbow trout.  Joshua cooked them up and we had fish tacos.

 Last stop along the way was in Spokane.  We saw Tianna, Jim, James, Ashton, and Evan.  We played a lot of games and watched some good movies on TV in the evenings.  It was almost time for Evan's graduation ceremony, which is not going to happen and got cancelled because of the virus.  We visited a display the school set up outside the High School.  It reads: Mead Class 2020 Spokane.

They couldn't have a ceremony so they painted their names in the grass where they would have sat.  Congratulations Evan.  Now on to bigger and better things. 

Back in Puyallup everything is still mostly shut down because of the virus.  Still under a stay at home order with no school and all places of business and recreation shut down, except for essential businesses such as grocery stores, hardware stores, gas stations, and take out restaurants.  Lots of people here are wearing masks and lots of people staying in their homes.  Malachi and Layne are not allowing visitors at their home yet.

As of today there have been:

     343,000 deaths worldwide
       97,906 deaths in the USA
         1,055 deaths in Washington State
              74 deaths in Pierce County
                9 deaths in Puyallup and South Hill

We personally know one person that has died.  The physical, mental, emotional, and economic impact has been tragic.