Nauvoo isn't far

Spent a day at the temple all by myself. It was so quiet, no one talked to me unless I requested it. It was heaven. I loved the peace and serenity of the whole day. Finally ate lunch at 2:00 and was very grateful for all the blessings of the day. Boys were excited to get a couple of new Tennis Shoes books, we look forward to finishing the series one of these years.

How's the Weather?

Well, funny you should ask. It feels like spring. It's been almost 36 degrees now for the past 3 days. We're loving it. Pipes in the house have thawed and hot running water is always a plus. We don't even need our coats anymore, no sirree - the sun is out and the ice is melting. The wind even stopped blowing, so it doesn't feel like 23 below anymore. Life is good!

Hey, your horse is out!

Really, our horse is out? Imagine that! He never gets out, wow! I wonder how that happened? Oh, that horse, yeah - he's a free agent. Well, he might get hit one of these days; well he might, but he's pretty savvy about the traffic around here, rush hour consists of about 7 cars going by at 6:45 a.m., plus a bus, and a pig truck or two flying on by. It happens again at 3:45. Other than that, what traffic? It only takes one you say, yes - that's true. We hope it never happens. After returning dear Chance to the pasture for the third time that morning, we just let him be a free agent, so far no dire consequences. He needs a job!

These bugs are still here?

After eating a scrumptious spaghetti dinner, Alex stands up quickly and starts flailing his arms around his head and calmly announces that he's got a bug on his head. Of course, we looked to see where the bug might be, and it showed it's gruesome head on the side of his face, right between his eye and his ear. He kept feeling it and trying to brush it off, finally successful. We clapped with joy that he was free from this invader. I guess that 27 degrees is a balmy change from the 0 and below temperatures that we've encountered this last month, so the Japanese beetles little orange bodies have warmed enough to start moving again. We were so glad to see them come to life once again, being that we just can't get enough of these annoying little creatures brought to Missouri by a crazy Floridian. These little mockers of the friendly lady bug have no natural predators, they're almost impossible to eradicate, and they stink when brushed off any surface. They swarm when it's warm and huddle in the corners together when it's cold. That's the ideal time to attack - vacuum hose or torch. They both work. The vacuum is my preferred weapon. So, it's January after a month of below freezing temperatures which froze all our pipes but one, and yet these little buggers are still crawling around our place. That's perserverance for ya!