New car!

My faithful mode of transportation finally died.  The plan is to replace the engine in the Tahoe and then sell it.  So Merril looked on the auto auction site in Las Vegas and found a 2010 Ford Expedition, which said had a "foul odor" and a few stains, so we got a really good deal on it! We went down to get it and it wasn't running very good at all, the A/C wasn't kicking on and Merril was kind of bummed.  We just got rid of a car with engine problems and our new ride has a really rough idle. But when I jumped in I couldn't detect any sort of foul odor. Which is good. So we put it on the trailer and hauled it home and the kids are so excited!

They can't believe how much fun that new Expedition is. Everything so nice and new inside. We'll probably need to be scrub the upholstery but I think it's going to be a great family car. Merril told me that even if I don't like the expedition in the future, we'll be able to sell it and make a pretty penny on it so no worries!

A week later, Merril got the parts for a tune up and started to take off the ignition coils and said, "This is loose."  He went over to the other side and the other ignition coil was loose too.  He plugged them both in, the idle smoothed, the A/C turned on and everything is working great!  Yay!  We're pretty excited about it.

Jack's concussion...

After waking up from a nap, looked at my phone and saw I had a few missed calls from Amanda Ruesch. Her son Connor and daughter Olivia play with Jack and Juliet sometimes. I started to call her back and Juliet burst into the door and started crying about how Jack hit his head and he wasn't making any sense. So I stood up and saw Amanda half carrying/half walking Jack to the couch and she said, "I'm so sorry. Something's wrong with Jack."

Now let me back up and explain what happened. Jack was over at Connor's house and they had a box that was tall and skinny. Jack put it over his head and was being silly and Juliet pushed him and he fell over. Because his hands and arms were pinned down in the box, he fell over and his head hit the tile. He just laid there inside the box and wouldn't get up. The kids pulled the box off of his head and he started sobbing. Amanda came out and looked at him and tried to get Jack to tell her where he hurt and he had very slurred speech and just kept crying and trying to fall asleep. So she put them in the car and brought him home.

He laid on the couch in my living room and I kept trying to get him to talk to me but he would just say blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, start sobbing again, and then lay back down and IMMEDIATELY fall asleep. Red flags are going off in my brain.

Juliet and Maxine stayed with the kids and I took Jack to the emergency room. I kept pulling over every 5 minutes and shaking Jack to make sure that he would wake up and he'd sit up and seem confused and I'd say it's okay Jack lay back down we're going to the doctor.  He'd lay down and go right back to sleep.

We got to the hospital and it was completely empty in the ER and they rushed us right back to a room. By then Jack was starting to make a little bit of sense and his speech wasn't so slurred anymore.

He kept saying that he wanted to go home and kept crying and then he'd fall back asleep. Logan Phipps and Darryl Wright came and gave him a blessing. Just super nice of them. Merril was in California and rallied the priesthood brethren to give him a blessing. By the time the doctor came in, he was making a lot more sense and didn't seem as confused. Jack was able to do tasks like stand on one foot and hold his arms outstretched with his eyes closed.  The doctor said he didn't think that he needed an MRI or a cat-scan and that we were going to go home pretty soon. Jack had some food and then we came home and he was really tired and went to bed. Doctor said it would be normal for him to be very exhausted and really slow for the next couple of days. Jack was really mellow for a few days and then perked up and seems just like he always was.

The doctor said we have to be careful with him for a couple of months because multiple concussions can cause long-term damage. So we have to be really careful with his noggin.

Japanese friends...

Merril has a friend from Japan, Shota, and Merril ships cars to him in Japan.  Shota needed to come to California to purchase cars and get then ship them to Japan and needed a translator.  Shota brought his family to America for the first time.  Aya is the Mom and they have 2 kids, Ren who is Mikayla's age, and Goonji, who is Mark's age.  When they finished their purchases in California, Merril suggested they come up to St. George and see the sights.  We took them to the sand dunes at Snow Canyon and to the lake. 

Goonji was the cutest thing ever!

Mark had fun being burried.

They thought the lake was super fun!

I didn't hardly take any pictures of the parents.  This is one of the only ones I took of Aya, she's holding Goonji. Aya was super nervous in America.  She didn't want to be left alone and wanted to stay by Merril all the time.  After they came here, Aya and I went to Walmart to buy souvenirs.

She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Japanese but we both had Google translate on our phones.  We were able to muddle through and communicate well enough.  As I was having something translated, a random passerby commented, "Isn't technology awesome!"  It sure is.

They stayed for a few days and then Merril took them back to California so they could fly home.

Just a few comments about children.  Kids are kids, no matter the culture.  Ren and Mikayla and Goonji and Mark didn't speak the same language and somehow that didn't matter.  Tablets, cars, scooters, and mud just cross cultural boundaries.  They played so well together and laughed and we all thought it was so funny.  

On a sad note, we were going to take them up to Kolob and the Tahoe engine started making the most horrible noise.  Merril said it sounded like rod noise and that the engine was done.  So we towed it home.  After towing me for a while, the steering decided to go out as we were going around a corner and I just about plowed into the side of a car.  I was able to stop and the car moved out of the way.  What a crazy turn of events.  

We've been talking about replacing the Tahoe for about 6 months.  I guess now is the time.

24th of July Parade...

We often use our trailer and truck to pull the parade float for the Primary on the 24th of July.  This year, Merril was out of town in California with some Japanese friends and someone else got the priviledge!  We were missionary superheroes this year!

We even got the missionaries for our stake to ride on our float with us!  They were good natured and had fun with it, especially Brother Brown.  They wore masks on the float, just like the kiddos.

Valerie Brinkerhoff and I were the only 2 of the presidency who could attend this year.  Libbi was working and Mandy just had surgery and will be down for 6 weeks.  I could not ask for better ladies to serve with.  They are flipping fantastic and where I'm weak, they are strong!

Swim lessons...

Since Maxine is a swim aide at the pool this year, I put as many kids in swim lessons as I could.  Julie didn't want to but Jack, Mikayla, and Mark all took lessons this year.  Jack was placed with Maxine's group!  Yay!

Mark was pretty shy at first.  For the first few lessons, he cried at first and wanted me to sit by the side of the pool.  We got him to warm up and he did great after that!

He wouldn't jump off the diving board but had to be lowered into the water.  

He kicked the whole way down.

He did fine and Maxine was there to get him from the guard.

Mikayla had no qualms about it and jumped right in.

Jack got really good at diving from the edge.

 Here's Maxine, with her mandatory swim hat.  I make her wear it everyday so she doesn't roast her face.

Good times were had by all.

It was fun to have Maxine be able to teach Jack in swim lessons too!  I can't believe she has a job!

Speaking of her job, she says she's saving up for a car.  Go get it kiddo!

Face medicine...

In December 2016, I went to the doctor and told him I was tired of breakouts at 36 years of age.  Mean, cyst-like pimples that took a week to heal and hurt.  He recommended Accutane, which would be expensive and has horrible side effects if I were to get pregnant.  We also had to check my liver function because Accutane can hurt your liver.  I took blood tests and said I'd be careful and we started Accutane.  The pills are expensive, $6 a piece and I took 1-2 a day.  I also took vitamin E to help my skin.  These are my before pictures...yikes.

I was on pills for 5 1/2 months.  My lips were so dry!  I applied chapstick every 10 minutes, I'm not even joking.  The skin on my arms hurt all the time, like I'd sunburned the day before.  Except I wore long sleeves and stayed in the shade a lot.  The first month was crazy breakouts, and then it slowly started to get better.  The skin on my face became soooooo smooth!  Like crazy smooth!  I finished my regimen and my skin stayed smooth and has for months. Wow!  After pic:

I'm not going to lie, it was hard, and Merril was going through his whole cancer at the same time.  I'd been on it a month when we found out about Merril and said I'll quit to save money and he said no way.  Finish it strong.  After stopping the pills, my arm skin returned to normal thankfully!  Clear skin was NOT going to be worth it if my arms hurt forever.  Accutane permanently shrinks oil glands so I use an oil treatment on my hair once a week now.  I have some scarring, which will improve over time.  It's so nice to wash my face and feel smooth skin instead of lumpy bumps.  Glad it's over too!

Campbell cabin...

At the Campbell reunion this year, Merril wanted to go on a hike with the kids.  We went early one morning and it was a little chilly.  Mark stole my jacket.

Mikayla stole Merril's jacket.

It was a pleasant morning for a hike.

After a while, there was an advance party of hikers and then me and the littles hanging back.  We turned around early and all met up at the truck around the same time.

Timmy stole Merril's beanie.

This was the truckload of hooligans.

These hikers made it all the way to the top of the little hike.

Playing at the cabin is hard work.

Church in Pine Valley.

The theme was Christmas in July and we made gingerbread houses.

Ours had a light inside with fruit roll up windows.  It was silly fun.

Numerous bike rides were had.  Mikayla did great.

Max had fun.

Merril took the slow ride with Marky sharky.

Mark's a little rockstar on a bicycle.  It's so teeny and he's killing it!

Jack was one of the first ones out.

Julie wrecked right at the bottom.  She scraped her hands, chin and knees and ripped her shirt a little.  Poor kid.  She did really good up until then.  Darny darn.  

The kids had fun playing with their cousins.