More Summer Visitors

I've come to the conclusion that great-grandchildren are as wonderful as grandchildren.  Mandy and John's family came to see us this summer, and we loved the energy, the activity, and yes, the "cuteness and charm" of these delightful children.  We're always grateful when our offspring makes the effort to come to our remote part of the world to touch bases and allow us to get to know our family better.  Perfect!

Summer Family Visits

Sara, Hayden and Frank came to see us before we made our Washington trip.  We had such a nice visit.  Hayden, at 12, has really grown - taller than both of us.  He doesn't look so tall in these pictures, because both Sara and Frank are very tall.  Hayden's great sense of humor is evident - kind of like his father's wit.  Sara is still suffering the indignities of adult braces, but her smile is still there - gives her more empathy with her daughter who had to undergo the same procedure.  We feel blessed to have family come - the distance of travel is still great, and we appreciate the effort.

Hail Does Come through the Downspouts!

Tony took this picture at the corner of the shop.

More pictures from Saturday's Hail Storm

These pictures tell the story.  Be sure to enlarge each one.  We laughed at the evening news weather lady when she showed a picture of the hail under a downspout and said that the photographer may have piled the hail up - no, and no.  This size of hail makes the garden a destruction zone.  We feel so sorry for the farmers around there, who are losing their grain, hay, and corn crops.  Disaster!

Late Night Visitor

After having a day of pouring rain on Friday, continuing into the night, we had a visitor ring the doorbell around 8:30 - It was Tony!  He had ridden his red motorcycle from Las Vegas, intending to surprise us with a short visit. Little did he realize that the beautiful day he experienced in southern Utah would turn to pouring rain and freeway bumper-to-bumper traffic as he got into Salt Lake and headed north.  By the time he got to Preston, all of his really high-class gear was soaked, and he was one solid chunk of ice.  The good news - he missed the rock slide in Sardine Canyon by at least an hour, and got here safely.  A long session in a hot shower, the clothes dryer, and inventive way to dry all of his gear solved any problems.  We had a good visit, and he headed back this morning with a more positive weather forecast.  This was one time when a surprise was better than having foreknowledge of a visit!

 Tony's picture taken in southern Utah

Taken 24 hours later from our back porch.

We've Been Deluged!

 In between the buckets of rain we've been receiving, we had this incredible hail storm this afternoon!

I took a video, but can't figure out how to make the booming sound from the film be heard on the blog.  Any suggestions from those who low how?