4th of July

This past week was a Zone Conference week.  Steve has to attend all four but I get to select the day I will attend - which was on Tuesday this time.    It was held in Prescott Valley, about an hour and a half away and about fifteen degrees cooler!  On the day I attend, I don't go into the office.  

The Anthem community holds their 4th of July fireworks show on the 3rd of July.  Hmmmm.  We were invited to the home of Bob and Sue Hall that evening for a potluck dinner and the opportunity to view the fireworks from their back yard which provided a perfect, unobstructed view of the city park where the fireworks are launched.  Many fireworks displays were cancelled this year due to the extreme drought conditions but the Anthem park is green and well watered and they evidently sprayed down the washes (full of desert-type growth) so the fire hazard was minimum.  Temperatures at 9:30 were still pushing 100 degrees but we enjoyed a pretty spectacular show.  We even got to watch the Lake Pleasant fireworks show in the far distance.   

On the actual 4th of July, the mission office was closed so I got to stay home a second day. BUT, Zone Conferences were still held.  It's location was quite close and Steve just went long enough to make his vehicle safety presentation which is always just after lunch.  We invited our ward missionaries over for hamburgers that evening.  Because of the holiday, they were not allowed to proselyte after 6:00 so they just stayed and we played games (Spot It and dominoes).  In-between, Steve and I watched the Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers (a pre-mission tradition).  We watched The Return of the King Friday night.  And, because we had some free time Thursday night, we watched Life of Pi.  And, last night, we watched Penelope on Netflix.  Quite the movie-watching week!  

On one of our morning walks this week, I spotted this nest built in a cholla cactus.  I believe it belongs to a curve billed thrasher based on the egg color and nest shape

On that same walk I took photos of other bird nests - no eggs in them as far as I could tell.  The first one is in an ocatillo. The last three are in cholla and you can see how the birds use all kinds of materials for their construction.  They might belong to a cactus wren....

The prickly pear are now in fruit...which are also prickly!!!

This is what the tall stalk in our front yard now looks like...

My poor tomatoes are struggling with this extreme heat.  I water them every morning but the plants are not producing blossoms any longer and the tomatoes just seem to bleach rather than turn deep red.  The basil in the middle, however, is doing very well.  I think I already reported that I pulled up the squash and beans over a month ago.  They just couldn't cope with the heat and sun.

Kid's news:  

Steven and Tamara linked up with cousins Brent and Susette and their family in Nauvoo on July 4th.  The Bowdens are doing an epic church history tour and Steven and Tamara were on their way up to her brother's in Michigan for a week.

Sarah was offered a full-time, permanent job at the Ogden Nature Center!  This is what we have all been hoping and praying for.