I am trying really hard to let L take care of the pics of baby D, but these two just took my breath away. The story behind the fiddle is too funny. The bass fiddle was Grandpa O's and we've had it for about 20 years. It is missing a string. I remember how hard Grandpa worked to refinish it and he would play for us once in a while. It is one of our family treasures. The photographer wanted to give it a try but we were worried baby D would fall off so L hid behind it and held him up. She folded herself up really small because you can't really even see her shadow. The blankets that he is wrapped in for both of the photos were crocheted by Grandma G. Again, family treasures. All of our grandparents have "gone the way of all the earth." We miss them, we remember them, and hope they are smiling down upon us. We look into the eyes of baby D and hope he met them before he came to Earth. Sometimes we don't want to think of the whole circle when it comes to the circle of life; we just like the beginning or the middle, but the ending becomes the beginning again. It seems like just yesterday that we took a six-day old baby up to the cabin and now she has her own baby. It is a joyful thing to see L & R as parents! They are so cute as a couple and I knew they would be great parents too! The circle keeps moving and it is our turn to be the grandparents. We are glad to have that responsibility and look forward to what the future will bring.

We went to Yosemite for a few days and rode around on the bike trails. Not only was the scenery so incredibly beautiful, it was a lot of fun to be out on the bike. After looking at the picture, I realized "wow, my legs are really white this summer!" We had a great time together and it brought back some fun memories from B's childhood. His family used to go camping a lot and Yosemite was one of their favorites. It is certainly a place of magic and awe.

New Book: Work Song by Ivan Doig.

It is a follow-up book to The Whistling Season and its main character is Morrie, the school teacher who is now a jack-of-all trades librarian. Again, Ivan Doig knows how to use language to convey feeling, action, history, and knowledge. I really liked it but then again I have enjoyed most of his books. I'm going to have to give Sea Runners another try. I'm also in the process of reading a book about Alexandria. What a place! I wouldn't have been considered a great thinker/scientist/philosopher but I would have loved to see the manuscripts in the great library and toured the great museum and stood at the top of lighthouse on Pharos. I liked reading about the legend of how the Septuagint (first Greek translation of Hebrew scripture) came to be.

Went up Webb Hill today x 3. It was hard but then again it really isn't ever very easy. My only goal at this point is to make it down on the third time without collapsing and so far so good. One of these days, I will move the goal up to actually keeping up with my walking partner.

Easy Going

My sisters, M, M, B, and I went to the Romero Family Reunion hosted by our cousins, L Romero and his wife, J. They did a fabulous job. It was a lot of fun. After talking with our aunts, we decided the Romero part of us is "easy-going." I like that -- go with the flow, roll with the punches, let it slide off your back -- I'd like to tap into my Romero side more often.

The first Romero that we can trace to is Francisco Xavier Romero, who came to New Mexico in 1693. He was a shoemaker and he practiced medicine. Two of his sons, Bernardo and Nicolas, had sons named Julian. One of the Julians died but parents weren't included in the burial record. Nicolas, Bernardo, and Julian (along with other Romero men) were part of the Truchas Land Grant of 1754. Julian Romero and Ana Teresa Montoya had a son named Salvador Manuel Romero. He married Maria Ramona Torres, and they had a son named Juan Antonio Romero. Juan Antonio Romero married Maria de La Luz Martinez, and they had a son named Jose Rumaldo Romero. At this point the Romero family had stayed in the Truchas area but sometime between 1860 and 1870, they moved to the Santa Barbara Land Grant that was near the Picuris Mission. Rumaldo Romero married Maria Dolores Fernandez and were the parents of Abel Romero (my grandfather) who was born about 1873. He married Bernardita Miera (his second marriage) and they were the parents of my mom, who is fondly remembered as "easy-going." I miss my Mom and Dad very much. They come from a very proud heritage and I hope I can bring honor to that heritage.

This month's family history lesson for the college stake is on military records. I have been able to locate WWII records for both my father and B's father. I have also found WWI records for both my grandfathers.

One of the most amazing military records is one I found for my 9th great-grandfather, Bernardo Miera y Pacheco. He was age 65 when he signed the military enlistment in 1779, and had recently returned home from the Dominguez-Escalante expedition of 1776-1777, having been the mapmaker. He was 5 feet 5 inches, with greying hair and eyebrows, blue eyes, with a grey beard, and a white rosy color. He was a member of the light dragoons -- his sons were members of the leatherjackets.

Because he was in the military in 1779, he is considered a New Mexico Patriot by the Daughters of the American Revolution. His maps were instrumental in the all of western US exploration. Lewis and Clark, John C. Fremont, even Brigham Young used the maps or had knowledge of them.

I'm sitting here by little D and I can say he's pretty "easy-going" except when he's hungry or has an uncomfortable diaper. He smiles at me.

Okay so it has been over a month. But in my defense, I have been busy. Way back in May, I went up north to hang out with L while R went into the forest for work. I got to go to doctor's appointments and had the BEST lunch at Crumb Brother's. Then we traveled south to get ready for when D came home from his mission. On June 1, we traveled north again for more doctor's appointments and Crumb Brother's. Baby was due June 8. L was induced June 16 and had Donovan Sawyer Derek Denter via C-section. We were all there to witness the fun and joy. Then I traveled south for a few days because Buster was sick. And then on June 21, I traveled north again to hang out with L and Donovan while R is in the forest. We will head to the forest ourselves on Monday, then I will go to SLC to travel with my sisters to NM for a reunion over the 4th of July holiday, and then I will travel south with L for a few days in the heat, and then I will travel north to babysit Donovan while L works for a few days, and then on July 17, I will travel south to sleep in my own bed.

What an adventure. I am so glad I-15 is in good working condition!

One More Week/Three More Weeks

We have one more week until D.O. comes home. ONE MORE WEEK! I can hardly believe it! It has been a frenzy at our house with cleaning, and getting things ready and just thinking about him coming home. Did I miss the boy? You bet I did, but I was also very glad to have him gone for two years serving the Lord on a mission. I know he will be all the better for it and I'm grateful for the individual growth I've experienced myself. There have been some difficult times here at home but he had to face those same difficult times on his own. Our boy left two years ago and I know when he comes back, he'll be a man. Just with the same goofy sense of humor.

AND THEN in THREE WEEKS! L and R will have their first baby, and our first grandbaby. We've been lucky to have her here with us while R is up somewhere in the middle of Wyoming working for the Forest Service (and he's loving it by the way!). We travel between our home and their home periodically for doctor visits and then back again to work on things for the above-mentioned homecoming. They eventually plan to be together -- all three together -- at the cabin. R gets to be a ranger (complete with uniform) around the cabin area (LUCKY!). I just had to take a picture of L in her tie-dye. When she walked in the kitchen, I said, "Wow!" She is beautiful.

Can't wait to get up in the woods to the cabin. So many things to look forward to. I am happy for today, for this moment, to enjoy the happiness right now. Although looking forward is always a good things, my Mom told me to enjoy the here and now. Here and Now is looking pretty good and it is with a grateful heart that I thank Heavenly Father for the bounty in my life.

So sad. It had been 7 weeks so I tried having the splint off for a day. The Finger Bent. So it looks like six more weeks of winter . . . oh wait a minute . . . I mean six more weeks with the splint.

But we always tell the truth . . .

I haven't been able to type very well because . . . well because I had a torn tendon in my finger (ring - right hand). I did it taking off a sweatshirt! In my defense, I was taking off the sweatshirt and it caught on my glasses and I didn't want them to break and then it got too tight around my neck and I started to choke and I started seeing stars and I panicked and then I pulled really hard and then it felt like something bit my finger. So I have had a plastic splint on my finger. It has been an interesting adventure. Think of how many times you wash your hands in a day. Yeah, and the tape needs to be changed every time. I started wearing plastic gloves to do the dishes which is something I've never liked to do. And I wore a plastic glove in the shower so the splint wouldn't fall off when I washed my hair. When I told my neighbor friend (who by the way is age 7) how I did it, he looked at me so incredulously that I almost fell over laughing. Then he ran home to tell his Mom. They came over because they couldn't believe it. When I said that I'd have to make up a better story, my little friend looked at me in all seriousness and said, "But we always tell the truth." So every time someone asks, my little friend's voice runs through my head and I tell the truth (to be honest, I couldn't have made up a crazier story). The worst that has happened is the splint got caught in my brake handle when I was barreling down a hill on my mountain bike. The funniest is when my niece's daughter was afraid of "The Finger." The doctor ordered 6 weeks to wear it day and night, and thereafter an additional 6 weeks at night. If the finger got bent, the six weeks started over again. So I've actually been wearing it for about 7 weeks. I think I have only 1 more week to go. Yeah!

I was sort of feeling sorry for myself -- especially on the aforementioned day when it got stuck in the brake handle. Then at the top of the hill I saw a fellow who was riding his mountain bike with a prosthetic leg. He was amazing and I instantly realized that there are those who have it tougher and keep on going.

We've had L & R here along with their friends S & T for the weekend. It was a lot of fun. We went on an amazing flower hike. The desert provided a beautiful garden for us. The hill was pretty steep. L is 8 months along and S was toting her 8 month son, but they were like mountain sheep and scaled it without a problem. I was very proud of both of them as I huffed and puffed my way behind them. When we got back to the truck, we lost track of Buster for a minute or two. Then R said he had him. As I approached I couldn't see Buster. R told me to look down. There was Buster smiling at me underneath the storm drain. Thankfully, the grate came up easily (Thank you, R, for your bicep) and apparently it looked like so much fun, Buddy and Prana wanted to climb inside too. Needless to say Buster enjoyed a bath when we got home. Buddy, too, because he had rolled in something. Not sure what but he was happy. I am going to take B on the hike so he can take pictures. We will need to identify the wildflowers.

I have been reading The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. It is amazing; he is amazing. I knew he was an important figure in early Church history but . . . wow, it is well worth the read. The next book I am looking forward to is The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick. He is the authro of Mayflower and In The Heart of The Sea, both very very good books. I think I've read In the Heart of the Sea a half dozen times and loved it every time. I've read several books about the battle of Little Bighorn so I'm familiar with the story. I am excited to read this one also.