New Experiences

Jacob is faithful about practicing his trumpet.  His scales are excellent.  He's wishing he brought music and I'm not sure what to do about that.

He finished polishing the geodes from earlier in the week.

It's a little random what happens around here.  Once in awhile we find time for a little Star Trek.  I'm setting Jacob up for some DS9 episodes.

Jacob encouraged me to increase my skill set and learn to play pool.  I kept my camera nearby and was happy with this picture.  We had a lot of fun.

Amazon Prime Day was a success for all of us.  Papa Ben's egg cooker arrived and it works better than he expected.

I was pleased when these arrived.  I didn't realize they are heavy ceramic.

Jacob made a new friend and I took them swimming yesterday.

Joseph has a good aim.

Jacob's tramping is paying off in the pool.

More friends wanted to join Jacob and Joseph.  However, their pool behavior is poor and they are not allowed in.

Yesterday Jacob got serious about coaching my pool game.

At the same time, my camera skills in connection with moving balls also increased.

If you can believe it, he also coached me in pin ball.

I accept that no one will be impressed, but it's my all time high score.

Papa Ben took Jacob to a rodeo last night in Spanish Fork.

Ben had orders from me to take at least two pictures.  Jacob had a great time and wants to go back tonight.

Bull in a China Shop

The roasted almond ice cream didn't last long, and maybe we need to never buy it again for that very reason, if you get what I'm saying.  For the record, this was Jacob's dish.

Jacob likes the birds.  He took this picture.

Jacob likes tramping the most.

These tramp pictures were taken Monday, when a new rule about special socks went into place..

I like to see Jacob have fun, but another reason I like this place is the music.

Let's just say it's not what I normally listen to.  I like it.  A lot.

However, Jacob has forbidden me to dance.

Not even with my toes.

He's pretty strict about that rule.  Oh well.

Dodgeball is still exciting.

But Jacob has been practicing new moves on the regular trampolines.

He learns by watching other trampers.  A few are excellent.

I am aware that some in my family are not fans of my camera.  Jacob is not one of those people.

Last night, Papa Ben needed French fries for dinner.  Jacob helped him out.

Papa Ben planned a big project for today, one many years in the making.

First, we had to move the car out of the garage.  It's moving.

Cell phones and cars aren't supposed to mix.

Jacob had planned this part of the work.

Then, Jacob selected a geode from Papa's supply.  The saw is cutting it in half.

These two are having a fun summer together, just so you know.

The geode turned out to be beautiful.

Papa calls this powdered sugar.

Papa taught Jacob how to polish it.

Smaller geodes cut much faster.  This one wasn't hollow.

The next job was painful, yes, even excruciating for me.  This look expresses Jacob's feelings about what's to come.  Mine were 1000x that.

Over the years, for various reasons, some favorite dishes have broken.

I've been saving them in a box in the garage.

Ben brought this platter home from his mission 50 years ago.  It was chipped, ironically, during our move to Japan 19 years ago.

Jacob was excited and nervous at the same time.

Ancestral voices screamed in my head and heart.

I couldn't watch.  I couldn't look away.

Even cropping my pictures was painful.

Having said that, I am pleased with how they turned out

Jacob loved this cup and tried to talk me into saving it.

I convinced him that it had to join the rest of the shards.

He's going after it one more time.

Chink!

We took a break for lunch. I promised Jacob he'd love my mango meatballs over quinoa and spaghetti squash.  He resisted.
Then he had seconds.

Papa Ben put the salad together.

After lunch, Ben and I went back to the garage to put the shards into the tumbler.  In a month I'll tell you how this project turned out.  My heart is still a little heavy.

While Ben cleaned up glass all over the garage, Jacob safely read.