Hart Happenings

  Ruth is right about weather keeping us on our toes here.  We have experienced some serious extremes this past week.  We spent the majority of the week hiking in St. George in 95+ degree weather and then came home to Idaho where we are hovering around 57 degrees.  So crazy!  But guess which one I prefer......
  St. George really was a blast!  We were blown away by the show Matilda that we went to see at Tuacahn.  Spectacular!  The boys loved splashing in the pool, hiking in the caves and on the petrified sand dunes, and Alex and I had so much fun taking the boys through Zion's park to do some more hiking.  Ian and Alex did baptisms at the temple on Thursday morning while the younger boys and I hung out in the Visitor's Center.  We allowed the weather to cow us that day and headed inside for laser tag and some arcade games, threw in a vicious bumper boats battle, and a round of miniature golf (which I won) and then bid farewell to the southern furnace zone and retreated north.
  Friday we had a wonderful time meeting up with everyone at Joe's house and then moving them to their new one, which is so great!  I loved the neighborhood and the really well organized back yard.  My kids loved the play house and the basement.  We have an exceptional family!
  We had to rush back home in time for Peter's soccer game.  He did a great job and played his little heart out.  Thanks to Ruth for coming.  I was sliding him into bed when we got home at 11:30 on Friday night, sure that he was asleep, when he said: "call Ruth and tell her it is my last soccer game tomorrow.  She will want to be there."  I waited until the morning, but I did let her know and it meant a lot to him that his cousins came to watch him play.  It is one of those parental surprises to me how much I enjoy watching my boys play soccer.  Alex is going to try coaching Peter's team next season which will make it that much more fun!
  The rest of yesterday was spent settling back in and planting a few last items in the garden.  One of Alex's deacons kept everything alive while we were gone, plants and chickens and everything, for which I was really grateful!  And we even had some zinnias come up from the seeds I tossed in the ground before we left.  Hooray for zinnias!  I think I could be the Johnny Appleseed of zinnias.  I truly believe that everyone should have some.
  It sure is good to be home!  But so glad we could see so many of you on our travels.  It made our family vacay that much better!  Back to the glorious grind!