August Through October

Our home remodeling was still far from finished by the time August 2017 rolled around.  Bob sent me out west to spend time with our kids so that I could get away from a process that was causing me lots of anxiety and frustration.  While I was away, the framing of the fireplace was completed and the upstairs carpet was installed. Installation of new floor tile began downstairs - a perfect choice!

I arrived in Salt Lake City on August 2 and stayed with Bobby's family for a couple of days.  Stephanie's family was also in town with doctor visits, so the cousins enjoyed having some time together.  Michael's family joined us one day as well.

 

I rode to Green River with Stephanie's family on the 4th and stayed until the 16th.  It was a very busy time as we got their house listed for sale and had several showings. But between all the work, I managed to have fun with Emma and Paige at the library and craft activities; at the park, and at Paige and Bennett's soccer games; and celebrating Bennett's and Emma's birthdays.

 

Now that the dirty work was completed and the house packed up for their move to Paris, it was time for me to return to Texas. Bon voyage, Johnsons!

 

My plane flew directly over the Grand Canyon on my way home.  It was a unique perspective on the vastness of that incredible landmark on our beautiful world.

That weekend, August 19-20, Bob and I drove over to Temple to participate in Holly's baby blessing.  She wore the blessing dress which we had purchased when Emma was born.  Thomas' parents, Rex and Kris were able to be there as well.  What a beautiful family!

The following weekend, Hurricane Harvey hit Texas.  We experienced winds and tons of rain, but no damage to our home.  Because of the ground saturation, we had a tree leaning over and nearly uprooted, but Bob was able to anchor it back in place.  Water flooded the backyards of homes in our neighborhood, but none were flooded.  Further south, however, was another story. The flooding and damage was unbelievable!  Even the LDS Houston Temple flooded.  Our ward and communities throughout the greater Houston area spent the next several weeks organizing supplies and cleaning crews to help those who were victims of the storm.  Truly, Houston is the "Big Heart" city!

Everything came to stop for a while in Houston.  It was not until the end of September that we finally had the stone installed on our fireplace.  We were pleased with the result!

On October 2, under the recommendation of my dermatologist, I had minor surgery performed to remove a basal cell carcinoma removed.

Chelsea, Knox and Holly came to visit us October 4-9.  We had fun at home, in the pool and playing with our wooden train track.  We had a good time going to The Woodlands Children's Museum one day.  And went they left, we discovered squirrels getting into our attic via the dryer vent.  Oh, the challenges of living in the wild!  The nutty story actually ended in November when we came home from our trip to the middle east to a horrible smell in the laundry room. We thought all the squirrels had been extracted and the vent sealed up prior to leaving.  When Bob pulled out the dryer to investigate, there was a dead squirrel's tail hanging out of the dryer vent tube!  I wish I had captured a photo of Bob's face!

Speaking of spooky thrills, our friends, the Nunez's invited Bob and I to a Halloween party at their home the end of October.  We had a blast reconnecting with friends and enjoying the good cleverly displayed food.

We finished out the month of October with an overnight visit by our niece, Karina.  To convince her of the merits of Texas, she and I feasted on Texas barbecue at one of my favorite places, Pit Master BBQ Cafe.

 Yeehaw!