Calgon, Take Me Away!...

Ever have one of those weekends? This last weekend was one of those weekends for me. We had planned to go to the Heber Powwow, a tradition for our little family. With our truck currently not working, we are down to a single vehicle. Dwayne had to work Friday night and got called in last minute to work Saturday night. Emerson had to work Saturday night too. Dexter is on the staff for a Boy Scout camp and they scheduled a last-minute planning meeting for Friday night and Saturday morning. I soon realized that it was going to be impossible to get to the powwow and decided to make the best of staying home. On Saturday morning, we discovered that our dryer wasn't working and had to start hauling clothes to the laundromat. Dwayne has earned his final merit badge for his Eagle rank, but I spent all weekend searching for the paperwork from his eagle project. The next little disaster happened when a friend of Dexter's came to confess that she had broken one of our windows. This had happened three days earlier, but the damage was hidden behind blinds, curtains, and an entertainment center. Her parents brought her over to own up to her mistake. So now I had a broken truck, broken dryer, broken window, missing paperwork, no sidewalk (that one's been missing for almost a year now), and no chance of going to the powwow to lift my spirits. First time we've missed this powwow in all the time we've been married.

What a difference a day or two makes...
Late Sunday night, I found the missing Eagle paperwork. On Monday night, a friend helped me figure out which part needed replacing on the dryer (a simple fix). The same friend is coming back later in the week to see if he can help us with the broken truck. Tuesday morning, our neighbor mentioned she might have a lead on getting some bricks to fill in our sidewalk. I stayed home Wednesday to get the broken window pane replaced. Things are definitely looking up. It's so nice to know that prayers do get answered and that God really is paying attention to little ol' me down here losing my mind.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, I decided to cook one of Emo's favorite foods - beef ribs. I know how to cook pork shortribs, but not the beef ones. After researching the Internet, I found a decent recipe for slowcooking the ribs in the oven. Things were looking good and I was optimistic....until the very last step. I added the homemade barbecue sauce (my great-grandma's recipe) and set the oven to broil according to the instructions. The sauce was supposed to bubble and carmelize. Unfortunately, I managed to char them (see picture, upper left). Emo was pretty nice about it and said he assumed I had cooked them on the barbecue so he didn't mind the burnt touches. They actually tasted fine under the burnt sauce. Dexter got a little creative with the strawberries on the dessert (see picture, upper right) and turned some of them upside down to honor his dad. Dwayne cooked some corn - sorry, no picture. Looks like another entry in the memorable meals history book. I just hope they remember the taste more than the burnt sauce...

Heber Powwow

This year's Heber Valley Powwow will be held June 23-25 at Soldier Hollow. It's the first outdoor powwow of the season for us and usually our first family camping of the year. Attending this powwow has become a tradition for our little family. We've never missed it. The one year we thought we wouldn't make it, it got cancelled. Dwayne and Dexter were initiated into the dance circle at Heber and it continues to hold a special place in our hearts. Our friends, Jay and Angela, will have their tipis up. We invite anyone who can make it to join us.

Dwayne's First Job

Now that he's 16, Dwayne decided to look for a summer job. After searching for just the right job, then learning you can't be too picky when job hunting as a 16 year-old, our young man had his very first job interview and landed a job at Little Caesar's Pizza. The odd twist (with Dwayne there always has to be one) is that the job is in Pleasant Grove. Fortunately, he can ride the bus there. He got his food handler's permit today and starts working on Monday.