Smithfield Scoop

 Congratulations to Emma for possibly taking first place in the "Funniest Blog Post Ever" category! Just don't tell Rosie (who has a fettish for cleaning) the toilet bowl scrubber story or she may find the used one at home and try it! That was so funny! Dad and I had a great, long laugh over that one! Didn't your mother teach you anything useful, Emma??!! And we love your title - especially since we already have Hart Happenings. Keep the hilarity coming!

We did have a delightful time with family these last couple of weeks... Fun facetime with JJ and his parents - he really enjoys eating these days and is very cute to watch. Eliza's baptism was very special. Visiting overnight with the Mannings is always very entertaining as well as inspiring. The walks in the sunshine, playing at the park, and digging in the dirt in Snowflake was quite refreshing. Cheering Jack on at his soccer game caused a few more gray hairs to appear for both Dad and me, but was quite fun. A short, spur of the moment visit with Joe and his children was very pleasant! 

Preparing soil for planting

Making music with Grandpa!

Painting with pudding (but mostly eating it!)

I saw this barn from the back and thought it would be a great one for Ruth to consider 

building. Couldn't figure out why a barn would have a parking lot... until we saw the sign...

Look them up! But don't convert! I think I can only

 appreciate this because of the cowboy genes in my blood.

Fun birthday activity for Henry and Millie. They got to pet rays and a tortoise, 

have birds land on them to feed them, have "doctor fish" clean their hands/arms, 

and see a porcupine out for a walk!

Then there was the absolutely hilarious interaction with Lauren about her baby boy. It was the best thing that has happened in a long time! We loved everything about it - especially the name suggestions! We are holding our breath to see which name is the chosen one for this new grandson. It would be hard to choose from the list of options. From what I could gather, here is the compiled list: Willie, James, Moses, Thor, Wolverine, Black Panther Claws, Captain, America, Donald, Oliver, Joseph, Cameron, Maverick, Cole, Brigham, Maxwell, Bert, Neil, Buzz, Bubba, Claude, Alejandro Ignacio Fernandez Manning!, Nacho, Burrito, Chimichanga, Pepe, Joseph, Hyrum, Samuel, Don Carlos, Lars, Glenn, Gus, Roy, Stan.... What is truly priceless is the commentary in between the suggestions. Good luck choosing from such a thorough list, Lauren and Nick!

We had a great time yesterday celebrating Henry and Millie's birthdays with lunch, a visit to the aquarium, cake and ice cream and some fun visiting with the children and parents. We also stopped at Elise's to see the canned light progress, which was.... still in progress! 

It's hard to express how very much we love to be with, or at least virtually be with, all of you. We hope it continues for many years to come, in any way it comes. Two folks in Smithfield are really looking forward to discussing the book "All Things New." Thanks to Elise for getting that going! It will be very eye opening and mind expanding, I'm sure! 

Love you all loads and hope to see you again before too long!