A memory of Asher

I was thinking today about Asher and our trip to Utah. We camped at Palisades which is a reservoir. Asher was scared to death of the water. No one could get him to go out in a canoe or raft or paddle board. He simply refused.

One time I went to get on the paddle board and Asher said he wanted to go. I had totally forgotten how scared he was. He asked and I went and found his life jacket, buckled him in and then he sat behind me as I started to paddle into the water.

We got about five feet from shore and he started to get scared. Grandma, take me back! He said in a panic. I remembered!. He is scared! Why did he come with me? I reassured him and had him snuggle up next to me and wrap his arms around my waist and we kept going. He had a blast!

The first thing he said when I took him home was "I rode on a paddle boat" which was really a paddle board....... He was so excited to do something that had scared him so much. It felt great that he trusted me enough to come into the water with me. What a cutie he is.

The lasts

Yesterday we went and did a few things in DC. Our lasts. We did stuff we've wanted to do and haven't.

We went to the Masonic Temple in Alexandria VA. It is a memorial to George Washington. We saw a lot of parallels of Masons vs. Mormonism. Mostly symbolic things in the temple. All the masons that we saw on paintings had aprons on. They use the compass and square as symbols...... And another thing I noticed was that they have a rainbow club for girls...... And we use a rainbow of values in our church for the girls as well.

We also went to a museum that we hadn't been to before.... Actually two museums. The Hirshhorn..... Modern art and the Smithsonian castle which was the original Smithsonian but now has very little in it except offices.....a cafe and a gift shop..... And a very small exhibit compared to other museums.

We went out to the national mall and laid down on the grass and spent time just absorbing the surroundings. The national mall is on such better condition than our was 18 years ago when we moved here. No comparison. I was appalled the first time I saw it. The grass was dead and it was in disrepair. Now the grass is green and lush and well kept. A nice place too lay down and relax.

A nice day.

Today we took some furniture to Ceci...... She cut my hair and then we got to visit with everyone. The last of those visits as well.

The beach

Over the weekend Lincoln and I went to the beach. What a wonderful place to be. It was perfect weather. Not too hot, not too humid, and a little breezy. We spent two days basking in the sun, under an umbrella! I will miss the beach. 3 weeks away from our ward also. Felt weird!

We spent more time today getting ready to move. Going through things, cleaning up the yard, doing paperwork that needed to be done.

Tomorrow will be a late night as we are going to see The King and I at the theatre. That will be a "last" for us as well. Last time at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Which reminds me. I'd better print our tickets!!!!

I spy

One of the unique things about living here is that you see things the rest of the country doesn't. Duh! Lol. I work in the flight path of Andrews Air Force Base. The other day I was sitting in my car eating lunch when Air Force One was making its descent onto the runway. It was so close and so low that I felt like I could reach out and touch it. It was less than a quarter mile from me. I will miss seeing those sites.

Yesterday I took my mom to an appointment. We drove down south capitol street and The Capitol was front and center on that street. I've never taken those sites for granted.

A day with my parents

Today I took a day off of work to take my mom to a doctor's appointment. The appt was from 9 to 4:30........a long day! It was nice to spend time with them as we are moving and were may not be able to do it very often later on.

Dad told me one story about when he was growing up. His parents came and got him out of school to go and help herd some cattle. He told me about the camp wagon that they used to trail along with the herd. The camper slept three in an upper bunk. Two in the lower bunk and two on the floor. It had a cook stove and a closet first thing as you opened the door. It was a luxury on the castle drives. He said the lower bunk folded up and a table pulled out with benches on either side. The table didn't have a leg. It had a chain that hooked onto the ceiling to hold it up on one side.

This particular drive started out to be in good weather but it soon started to storm and turn cold. Dad said they could hardly stand it it was so cold. Then it started to rain. They found a couple of box like things that they took shelter in. The shelter stopped the rain and wind but it was super cold nonetheless. Because of the rain they couldn't get the camp wagon to the place needed and they didn't know what to do. Uncle Eugene saw a dim light far off and they started towards it. My grandpa had lit a tree on fire hoping they would find their way to him and food but still they no camp wagon.

They spent the night on the ground, in the cold and when they woke up there was six inches of snow on the ground and on them. Miserable.

One thing that hit me listening to this story was how ingenious they were in their communications. No phones..... No way to get word to each other. Building a fire was the only communication they had and they interpreted it well.

Yes. The camp wagon was a luxury!

If my memory serves me it was a silver roundish trailer. A gulf stream perhaps?