TUCSON!!!

 I know.

I'm TERRIBLE about taking pictures.

I just finished teaching and now

I'm heading over to Nancy and Reid's house

to have a bowl of tortilla soup.

She's FAMOUS for this soup.

YUM!

And I'll try to get pictures, but EVERYBODY

will be there and it's a little crazy.

Speaking of crazy.

Yesterday, Reid had to go in for

emergency Retina surgery.

He had 2 tears and a slight

detachment to his retina.

So he is doing the whole

face down 24/7 for 30 days

except for bathroom break.

But the doctor was pleased

and he's doing well.

Chris' heart decided to act up

after he was outside in 110 heat

and 57% humidity (which is a LOT

in the desert) and dragging around

trash cans and doing other stuff

to help tidy up.

He may possibly be heading to the

hospital to check and make sure he's good.

It's been a little nuts.

But (as far as I know...)

Sondra's entire clan arrived today.

Some drove, others flew....

Nancy's Jeff and his girlfriend arrived safely.

(And are watching the StarShip launch with

a true insiders commentary!!!!! Wish I 

was there to watch!)

This is us in the jetway.

Sondra took a picture of Mom and I

yesterday, but I haven't gotten it from her.

I'll do better.

The internment is 9:00 tomorrow morning.

The funeral service is AFTER at 11:00.

(NOBODY wants to be outside after about

9:30 in this heat....)

Rod and Greg had the honor of going over

today and dressing Dad.

It was tender and difficult,

but Rod was honored to be asked.

OK.

I'll check in again.

Probably tomorrow afternoon.

And hopefully I'll have pictures.

Nite all!

Septic!!!

 It's not PRETTY,

but it is EXCITING!

Yes, I took the picture through the screen.

lol.

They started working on the septic

yesterday afternoon.

It went GREAT.

Until they hit a layer of solid limestone.

Who knew.

But they persevered and figured out a

way to get it in the hole

and then build up the ground AROUND

and over it, so it's still buried at the

required depth.

(It gets inspected tomorrow morning...

fingers CROSSED!)

Notice there is a LOT of space under the house.

Even the AC unit is WAAAY up there on a platform.

The plan has always been to put some

cinder block around the base and then

bring in fill dirt and raise the land up

so there isn't such a HUGE drop

(and fewer stairs from the future deck...)

So the plan should work out.

We hope.

Phew!

Hopefully it will pass.

We are so grateful for these men who

are so willing to do what it takes

to get us into our new house.

Meanwhile.......

Rod and I will be driving down to Wichita

in the morning for an 11:30am flight

to Tucson to join the rest of the family

for a Celebration of Dad's Life.

We will be back late on Tuesday.

I'll be teaching from there (as usual)

so will have the computer with me.

I'll try to post some pictures while I'm gone.

But you know I'm terrible at that...

lol.

So...

have a good weekend!

I'm excited to see the house when

we get back.

It's basically DONE.

Just some minor stuff like a bench

in the prep room and one to sit on

in the mud room,

shelves,

handles on the cabinets,

that sort of stuff.

So.

Next week?

MOVING!

But first, we have important matters

to attend to and family members to love on.

Love you all!

Kent Stoddard 08-31-1931 - 07-18-2026

 This is a hard one to write.

This will forever be my favorite picture

of my Mom and Dad.

And this is how I choose to remember him.

We lost our Dad on Saturday.

He fought a long, hard battle with Alzheimer's.

That is an ugly disease.

But he maintained his cheerful, kind

countenance throughout.

He played his beloved harmonica til the end

when he could hardly draw a breath.

But was able to play and end with his

patented flourish.

He had the deepest love for 

"My Joyce".

They were always together.

They were always holding hands.

They were always in love.

He blessed our family.

Lead with humility.

Taught us the skills we needed to

live life.

From changing a tire to serving others.

He worked hard, provided well.

But more importantly, made memories.

How many weekends did he come straight

home from work, to jump in the car and take

us to tent then trailer in so many different campgrounds.

We fed squirrels,

climbed mountains and waterfalls,

identified rocks and berries,

"felt the pain (pane)"

fished (not very successfully...)

skied, water and snow...

made bear track casts,

identified stars around a campfire,

and created a family foundation that will

last through the eternities.

He served as Bishop, High Counselor,

Stake Presidency Counselor,

Home Teacher,

Missionary.

And all he served, loved him deeply.

Because he loved THEM deeply.

And now, we know he has gone on

to continue the work on the other

side of the veil.

Oh, how I would have loved to be

there to witness the joyous reunion

as he arrived.

All those who I know were there to greet him.

Most of all.

I know there was the well deserved

"Well done, my GOOD and FAITHFUL servant."

We will miss you Dad.

I love you.

I am so proud of the life you lived.

I will strive to make you proud.

Bathrooms are DONE!

 Jim is the KING of the bathroom

installations!

We now have a grab bar!

(We were going to have the

toilet paper holder, but I bought

some that weren't big enough for

our large Sams toilet paper rolls...)

Gotta return those and get

bigger ones on Tuesday.

The half bath is all finished!

Looks good, eh?

It's a little.... bland.

So we will be looking for a 

colorful picture for the wall

next to the toilet.

He got the sink and faucets and

mirror in the master bath as well,

but was READY to come home

and didn't take a picture.

The fridge was installed and plugged in,

but there's no power to that wall right

now, since we needed to wire in the

stove hood. Since there are bare wires

hanging out, that breaker is off.

Looks good though!

Meanwhile, Kyle was down in the garden

hooking up the new hard line for the

sprinklers in the pumpkin patch.

It's an experiment, a lot of work,

and more $$ than I want to spend

for ALL the rows.

So we are going with this one row

with hard pipe and leaving the rest

of them using hose for this year.

We'll see how it goes.

We might change the whole thing

for next year.

You never know.

The orange okra is doing GREAT!

We even have some buds starting!

Maybe we'll have okra in a few weeks!

(Good thing too, I think I'm OUT

of okra from last year...)

I'm excited for this new okra.

Hope it's good!

Speaking of the pumpkin patch,

they are growing!

It's a little more than a "patch".

It's like half an acre or something.

We have several sugar baby watermelon

coming along!

And on the opposite side of the

tunnel we have cantaloupe.

And beans on both sides....

lots of flowers, no beans yet...

but you know beans.

One day there's nothing and suddenly

you are DROWNING in beans.

And a beautiful volunteer sunflower!

Some of our cantaloupe are already

getting their netting!

Not nearly ripe yet, but getting there!

Even the weeds were pretty today!

Plus Kyle and I cut,

blanched and bagged up

17 quarts of carrots.

All ready for the freezer.

We will harvest the other 2 rows

next week and get them in the

freezer too.

(But I saved a hand full to make

some carrot salad!)

I'll take a picture when I do.

But when I got home,

Sabrina was elbow deep in

baking.

Garden City & Carpet

 Rod and I drove down south to the

booming metropolis of Garden City.

Where they have REAL STORES.

(Like TARGET, and LOWES, and SAMS!)

But first we went to see his eye doctor.

His glaucoma pressures looked good,

so next appointment is in May.

(Our Doctor is also in the State Legislature,

so he's going to be in session through April.)

In the meantime, he wants us to get

an appointment with the local optomotrist

(he knows and recommends her)

in case we need anything.

Also, he is retiring in 4 more years,

so... there's that.

Anyhow.

It was a good visit.

Then to Taco Bell (I know, right?) 

but it's good, and it's on the way.

And then Sams.

Where we bought lots of fun stuff.

Like flour and sugar (25# so lots more

and WAAAAAY cheaper) and chocolate

chips, and raisins, and brown sugar,

(and a big jug of peanut M&M's, cuz...

why not???)

AND we got an EXCELLENT price on

some really beefy shelves to put in the prep room!

I'm SUPER excited about that!!!

We also bought the silver metal
one next to it...

Then next door to Home Depot cuz the

boys texted and needed a couple peices

of pvc to finish installing the kitchen sink.

Isn't technology great?

And then the long (2 hour) drive back home.

If you zoom in, that road goes 

straight, all the way to the horizon!

(and beyond...)

Meanwhile.....

We have carpet in the office!!!

(OK, this is the pad... lol)

This one is the carpet.

Not finished yet, but getting there...

Anyhow.

Tomorrow Kyle and I head to Salina to

pick up the fridge (and return the

kitchen faucet I changed my mind on...)

And then this weekend I'm teaching 

the Louisiana class.

As always, our thoughts and prayers

turn to Mom and Dad and all the

Tucson family constantly.

We love you.

I Feel Like Bugs Bunny!!!!

 Today, Kyle and I harvested

CARROTS!!!!!

Is that not a thing of beauty???

(It's a stripe of sunshine, NOT

an actual stripe...)

His patio is SO perfect for 

cleaning up the harvest.

We filled TWO milk crates

with carrots and then took

them up to his house,

sat in the shade (and lovely breeze)

and washed them all.

Tomorrow (hopefully) we will

run then through our chopper and

turn them into nickels and blanch

and freeze for this winter.

We were SO excited to see them

as they came out of the garden!

We have tried and tried and tried!

FINALLY some that look

(and taste) great!

This is maybe 2/3 of them.

We left 2 smaller rows still in the ground

because we aren't sure if we might

pull them Friday, leave the tops on,

and take them to the market.

But I'm teaching this weekend,

so we'll have to see...

Meanwhile.....

Rod and Jim were super busy!

There is now a toilet and vanity

in the half bath!

A new shower head AND curtain rod

in the master bath.

AND a toilet with a LOT of room 

next to it for a trash can and

a laundry hamper!

Also Jim got the hot water heater

all installed and ready to fill with 

water.

Also ALL the lights are now wired 

up. When I went up to say bye,

all the lights were on in the house

and it looked AWESOME!

Tomorrow for Hays Day we are

dragging the stock trailer and

picking up the carpets for the

master, office & closet.

Rod and I have to drive south 2 hours

on Wednesday to Garden City

for his glaucoma checkup.

While we are gone, hopefully

Jim and Kyle will be able to work

on the carpet........

And then Thursday Kyle and I will

run to Salina to pick up the fridge.

Kitchen

 Here's a peak at our new kitchen.

Not DONE, but getting close!

A view from the mud room hallway

as you enter the house proper.

Today I'll be painting the rest

of the cabinets under the

island.

Kyle will build the support

the the top, it's thinner than

we thought it was.

Needs a big ol' hunk of

plywood under there.

Also it's time to harvest and process

the carrots.

I plan to pick them and then take

them up to Kyle's house where

he has a chopper to slice them

in nice nickels and then

they get blanched, ice bathed,

and bagged up for the freezer.

And then we clean up their bed and

plant MORE for our fall harvest.

Meanwhile, the guys are 

going to work on plumbing today.

Hooking up sinks, toilets, etc.