Even though the temperature is still 104, I guess the start of school always means the end of summer to me. 2009 was a great summer! Pretty hot being pregnant, but loaded with lots of great memories. Here are the the most significant events of summer 2009...
My brother Josh is a doctor (anesthesiolgist) in the army and he left in June for Iraq for 6 months! Before he left he fulfilled Curt's special request for a new army outfit, which is now what he wears ALL the time (see photo). The following pictures are of our annual camping trip, this time at Bear Canyon Lake. Josh & Ian tried their hand at fishing. On the way home we did a hike at Horton Creek (from Upper Tonto Creek) BEAUTIFUL! And then we visited Tonto Natural Bridge-- AMAZING! (Only open certain weekends now.) Both have great hikes that we want to go back to.
This was our visit to the circus at the G & K suite. Not the best photo, but a fun memory... if you like the circus...
We got to see a lot of old ladies drooling over Brent with his shirt off as he played the lead in Joseph & the Technicolor Dream Coat. It was fabulous!
Shelly Zimmerman is magical! She has taught almost all my kids to swim in a mere 8 days! Here is Isaac getting his turn at the torture treatment this year. Yes, he cried every single day. But he also swam like a fish all summer & loves it now.
Curt has his own version of summer torture. It's called-- "I will only take the kids to the lake at 4am because I am OCD & I hate crowds." (Consequently--- I've never been with them.) But the boys seem to love it & they are even getting pretty good at wake boarding. Here is Ian at Saguaro lake.
It was THRILLING to welcome home my parents & Lindy from Africa in June. They got back a few weeks early because Mom, our own little superhero, needed surgery on her elbow in the US. It has been SOOOOO nice having them back. Here are a couple of shots from our crazy welcome home at the airport.
We had a family reunion of sorts in July after Heidi, Ali, & Annie arrived with their families. We went up to the LeSueur's cabin in Pinetop for a couple days & played games, did puzzles & ate lots of good food etc. Curt & Dagen pulled through & drove up late at night to surprise us. Ahhhh.....
We all went to see WICKED together.
The "Girls Retreat" at the Desert Ridge Marriot where we enjoyed an afternoon at the spa, dinner out & the kids joined us for swimming the next day. Lots of fun!
At the end of July we fled the AZ heat, for some unusual Seattle heat! Great weather for boating on McCreadie's new boat! This was a perfect day! We cruised Lake Washington & Lake Union getting the tour of Mercer Island shores including Bill Gates home & views of UW stadium/campus.
Ian went to scout camp with Tyler for a week at Camp Parsons. Meanwhile, Josh & Curt hiked Mi Si a 4 mile hike starting at 700 feet & climbing to over 4000 feet. This is the view from the top, where they also saw a mountain goat.
We stayed with Sue this time & the cousins had lots of fun. Here's Isaac & Mark playing superheroes defend the universe.
The latest Keller family photo, minus Scott who picked up a little super bug working in the ER & Keith who is still on his mission. Note: Tyler, who is 14, is now taller than Curt at 6'4-- watch out NBA. There are currently 20 grandkids & our baby next month will probably top things off at 21.
Curt's siblings: Steve, Sarah, Sue & Curt. Curt's sister Sarah is now in SLC (with Carol) undergoing treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Center for Multiple Myeloma-- which is a cancer of the plasma which settles in the bones. Her treatment right now includes intense chemo & 2 tandem stem cell transplants. Our hearts & souls have been completely wrapped up in this experience since her diagnosis in June. Her doctors at Huntsman seem to be some of the best in the world in this specialty & we are praying for complete regression now & hopefully even a cure. We love you Sarah!
This was another perfect day at the river (Note to self: at exit 38 turn right park by Olallie State Park ranger station). Wow! Every summer we seem to find a new favorite spot to visit in WA! This place is magical on a hot day in the 90's-- the mountain water is ice cold, but felt sooo good. It has a nice shady shore, wading for the little ones, a huge rock island in the middle & a deep pool for swimming/jumping on the other side. We heard that up the river a bit they even discovered some falls & really great deep diving spots. We'll have to check that out next year.
Mark, Isaac & Dallin inching across the log-- a kodak moment for the 3 cousins.
Josh in the middle of the blueberry patch. This was a hot, humid morning which made Eliza say, "This is just as hot as AZ!" Well not quite, but it was extra sweaty getting the berries this year!
Now we are back home & the kids are in school. Josh & Eliza started at ALA, a new charter school just about a mile away. They can ride their bikes to school now. Here are Eliza & Lindy in one of their matching uniforms. They are having a lot of fun together & like to spend the night on the weekends. Ian started 8th grade & stayed at Ben Franklin for one more year. Josh is in 5th & Eliza in 2nd grade.
I'm doing a home co-op preschool for Isaac with a few friends from the ward. We are counting down just about 6 more weeks til my due date-- October 22. This will be my first hospital birth! I'm nervous, which seems funny, I know. But, I hope I can "do my thing" there. I was kind of hoping this was my big chance for an epidural, but Dr. Holmes says they discourage that for people on heparin. So they have a water tub room & I'm planning on using it. I'm pulling for "Luke" & Curt likes "Levi." Any thoughts on a name for this little guy?
