grandma broke her coccyx

Like a scene from a bad movie, we received word that Tony's Mom had a 4-wheeling accident last Friday. She had been 4- wheeling in the dunes with Dad and some friends when she tumbled over a cliff and got separated from the group. The 4- wheeler fell on top of her and broke her pelvis and ankle. No one realized she was missing for a half an hour and then it took another 4 and half hours to extract her from the middle of nowhere by, ironically, 4 wheelers. We are very grateful that she is alive and in the hands of an excellent orthopedic doctor in Provo. We are grateful for the power of the priesthood and of fasting which reassures us that her healing will be complete.

Prior to this disturbing news, we were enjoying a wonderful Fourth of July camping trip with the Workman family. It was hot hot hot at the lake and quite windy. Cooper was in fishing heaven and Wilson spent many hours catching crawdads. We did a little skiing, wakeboarding and tubing and of course spent our favorite afternoon at "Crabclaw Beach." The best quote of the trip came from Max who said to his best friend: "Oakley, you are totally awesome," to which Oakley nonchalantly replied, "yeah, I am." Betina and I agreed that those couple of hours watching our kids play in the sand and collect shells trumped even Silverwood theme park for vacationing fun. We have discovered the perfect campsite as well as the best solution for staying dry when the sprinklers come on at 1:00am. Brother Kenneth Workman brought along his ultra potato gun with propane fuel and laser site (for accuracy). Nothing says happy independence day like shooting taters into the water. We are so lucky to have such great, and equally nerdy, friends.

Tony was on call on the Fourth of July (again) so we dropped him off at the hospital and enjoyed our annual "bacon at the Bishop's Fourth of July breakfast." The kids spent the afternoon napping so we were refreshed for the Endicott Fireworks show. Max was really excited about the fireworks this year, but Marcos fell asleep despite the lights and noise. We started a new tradition this year of feasting on strawberry pie after the fireworks show. I swear pie made with homegrown strawberries from our own garden taste so much better than store bought.

Saturday was recovery day. I had a baptism to attend in Pullman so I grabbed my bike and rode the trail between Pullman and Moscow. It was a short, easy ride but reminded me of why this is my favorite exercise in the whole world. We are getting into some bad habits of playing late into the night and sleeping late in the morning, but I've realized it isn't worth fighting. Like the rule of never waking sleeping babies, I am embracing the summer-time rules of: never serve less than a triple scoop of ice cream and never stop happily playing children.