June 2025

 June 2nd - Avian is back to work at LNC for the summer.   I spent the day in my office printing up all the year end data on the students and getting it all put in their files.  I just need to get final grades put in for the students I have been following all year.  

June 5th- Steve booked a flight to Utah to see his mom.  He will be leaving the morning of the day I come back from camp.  I am sad to have two weeks without him, but am grateful that he gets to go visit with her and make sure she is doing okay.  

June 6th - Avian and I spent the morning reconfiguring their closet so all their college stuff would fit in there for the summer.  That afternoon we met Val at Vista Auction to help her bring the leather recliner she won in an auction home.  It was an incredible find for her.  She got it for only $100 and it was valued at $800.  It is a great and relaxing addition to her room.  

June 7th - Steve and I cleaned out closet in the bonus room.  So. Many. Empty. Boxes.  We took them to the dump and it felt good to have so much more space in the closet.  Avian and I got to help pack 1,800 meal bags for kids who needed help with food over the summer.  It was amazing to see a room full of people working together to help the community.  On the way home, Avian and I stopped at Robb's Ice.  We have driven by it for years and have never stopped.  The slushies were really good and it was fun to sit under an umbrella with our feet in the sand while drinking our slushies.  It felt like being a the beach.  

Steve worked in the garage.  He is making some oak shelves for my office since I have limited space in my office now.  The fun thing about the wood that he is using is that it comes from an oak tree that he helped remove from the school property years ago.  He was a happy camper.  That evening, Steve took the shavings to the McOwens for their chickens.  

The gardens are looking really good!

Grandpa's flower garden is in full bloom.  

Another project is organizing all the memorabilia I have been collecting over the years.  

Family photos through the years.  

June 8th - We spent the morning at the Licastri's house helping with Rose's graduation party.  I am so proud of her for working so hard to graduate.  She deserved a big party.  

After the Licastri party we headed to the Page farewell party.  President and Sister Page, our previous stake president and his wife, are headed to Brazil to be mission presidents.  I am so excited for them.  I wish they had been there when Val was in Brazil.  The missionaries are lucky to have them.  

All the friends sitting in the front room just talking.  

Percy the porch pelican has a little friend - Penelope the porch windchime.  

June 9th - I was able to renew my license for another 8 years online - Thank Goodness!!!  Steve is still trying to teach AI how to sort food categories and it is not going as well as they had hoped at this point.  He and his coworkers are getting frustrated.  

I went to brunch with Rebekah, Shelli and Nancy.  Shelli is being released and we wanted to spend one last morning together.  She is going to be missed.  

June 10th - It was Val's last day with students.  She was excited and sad at the same time.  

June 12th - It was Val's last day of work until the beginning of the school year.  I think she now understands why I love summer so much.  

June 13th - Avian's roommate, Maggie, was staying with her family on Lake Wylie and invited Avian down for the day.  They had a lot of fun exploring the area and spending the day together.  All four of the roommates are having a hard time adjusting to being home and they really miss each other.  

I delivered some alterations I had done for Betty.  We had a great conversation and realized we have a lot in common.  

June 14th - Steve took the day to do things that he wanted to do and I got to spend the day with Nick.  I have missed helping him with his weekly meal preps so I went to his apartment and helped him cook his meals.  I worked on keeping the dishes cleaned up.  It was a fun day.  Steve fun day.  I got to help Nick with meal prep and other errands.  

Avian spent the day with Mags again.  That evening we went to Talkin Taco for dinner and it was really yummy.  I came home and packed for camp.  

Mom and Kathy sent pictures of the Byrd house reveal.  Amanda had submitted her friends name to Christmas for Cancer and they came together to build this deserving family a house.  It was their daughter's cancer wish, to have a house they could all live in and have their own rooms and a playroom.  It was a beautiful project and the reveal went well.  I am so proud of Amanda.  She is quite a lady.  '

June 15th - Father's Day was a quite day.  We had dinner with the kids and kept it lowkey for the day.  

June 16th - I left for camp early.  Susan, Pamela, Sheryl and I shopped our way to Camp Coker and then unloaded everything in to the kitchen once we arrived.  It took a bit because all four of our vehicles were filled to the top with groceries and everything we needed for the week.  We then went to our dorm to get things settled there before a long day of cooking.  It would be nice to come back to a bed ready for sleeping.  I am glad we did because there were mouse droppings everywhere and this gave us a chance to get things cleaned up and ready for the night.  

Back at the kitchen we got lunch fixed and started on dinner.  On our way back to the dorm after a long day, Kiki (the camp nurse, who is completely amazing) asked if we all wanted to take a shower.  Being very tired, and channeling my dad like I had been doing all day, I said, "I don't think the shower is big enough for all of us."  I was horrified for a moment until Kiki quipped back, "Darn, that would save on water."  I think Kiki and I are going to get along just fine.  This is a fun group of ladies.  

Steve had a family Zoom about how to help Mom. They talked about organizing her things and getting her finances in order.  They also created a schedule of who will be with Mom during her recovery.  

Susan making the banana pudding.  

The kitchen.  It had everything we needed, and then some.  

The window into the eating area. 

Our home sweet home for the next few days.  

My luxury accommodations

June 17th - We cooked all day long without much of a break.  This was the middle of the week so it made sense that everything would be busiest on this day. It was busy and exhausting and exhilarating.  At one point, Avian called and I went outside to talk to her.  They wanted advice on how to ask for a raise. They had found out that everyone that was hired that year come on with a higher hourly rate.  I told her that if her boss knew, he would take care of things immediately.  He is a fair man.  When I hung up I heard meowing from Pam's car.  She came outside and opened her hood for us to find to blue eyes staring at us.  It was the cutest little, black kitten I had ever seen.  Unfortunately it ran away when I tried to get it out.   She opened the hood and there was a very small, incredibly cute black kitten in her engine. 

Another view of the kitchen.  

That's a big bowl of mac and cheese.  Pamela is so happy to be fixing food for all these boys.  

The view from the porch of the kitchen area. 

I could barely see the lake, but it was there.  

After a VERY long day of cooking, Pam and I got in the car to go back to the dorm.  Both is of us were really lookin forward to a shower and our beds (which is saying a lot because the shower did not have a shower head and it felt like getting pelted in the face with a power washer and there was evidence of mice in our dorm).  We were driving down the road from the kitchen to main camp road when we head meowing.  Pam slammed on the brakes and we immediately checked the engine.  No kitten.  Every time I would meow it would meow back.  The meowing was the coming from the back passenger side.  We checked the back seat in case it was in the car, NOPE.  We checked the trunk in case it was there.  NOPE!!! I even crawled under the car to look behind the wheel.  NOPE!!!   I ran back to to the mess hall to get some of the men.  The first person I saw was Bishop Romney and I could say was "There is a cat in Pam's car and we need some help getting it out."  He gave me a funny look and I was so tired all I could say was "It's not in the the car, but IIIINNNN the car and we can't get to it."  This intrigued a few other men and they all followed the crazy lady out to the car to solve the simple cat problem.  I meowed and the cat meowed back. The men checked the back seat and the trunk and thought maybe it was just behind the tire.  Brother Barnes moved the car to a flat surface and they took the wheel off - no cat.  I meowed and it meowed back.  I, once again, said, "It is IIIINNNNN the car".  Someone got a flashlight.  They discovered a small hole in the wheel well.  Brother Kivi laid down and really started investigating things.  I few seconds later he exclaimed, "The cat is IN the car, just like she said.  I just saw it peek out of the hole.'  We got some gloves and Brother Kivi reached in the hole and pulled the kitten out.  The men finally understood the ravings of an entirely exhausted woman.  They asked me what I wanted to name it and I declined with the excuse that my bishop was standing next to me and I wanted to keep my temple recommend.  He laughed.  Brother Kivi handed the kitten to Pam and she quickly dropped it because it tried to bite her.  It ran off into the woods meowing and was never seen again.  

All the men trying to help us find the kitten.  

Brother Kivi finally got the cat OUT of the car.  You can't really see her because of the black gloves, but she was tiny!!

June 18th - Brother Barnes stopped me the next morning and asked what I had decided to name the kitten.  I told him we settled on Stinkerbell, which is the G-rated version of the name.  This got a good laugh.  

After a morning full of prepping, serving, and cleaning up we took some time to soak our feet in the lake and just relax a little bit before dinner.  The cool water and beautiful scenery was just what we needed to recharge for the rest of the day.  I got to talk to Steve as well and get caught up on everything that was going on at home and with his Mom.  I''m not going to lie, I missed my family, but I was also have a great time getting to know these ladies and serve these boys and men. 

During one of the afternoon classes, being held in the mess hall, the leaders burst in armed with water guns pretending to be the mob that pushed the saints out of Missouri.  A huge water fight started and we got in on it as well.  We pretended to be taking water to the adults so they could refuel, but we actually just poured the water on them.  The boys loved it.  

Brother Wright, the stake Young Men's President, helped with the sandwiches for lunch.  The boys loved seeing him help. 

The lake is so peaceful.  

June 19th - Today there was a change in the routine.  I got to go into Cheraw with Susan to get some more watermelon, ice cream and a few other ingredients.  We had a great talk to and from the store.  I am glad to be getting to know Susan better.    For dinner we served Hawaiian haystacks.  Before dinner, Kiki taught the leaders how to hula dance.  It was hilarious.  The highlight of the day was helping Susan prep the cinnamon rolls for the next day.

The leaders dancing for their dinner.  

Susan and her amazing cinnamon rolls.  

Steve has been up to his eyeballs in data and Val went to Greensboro to visit her boyfriend, who just moved there.  

June 20th - The cinnamon rolls were a HUGE hit the next morning.  After getting everything from breakfast and lunch cleaned up, Susan asked me to take a cooler full of popcicles to the gaga pit and the lake where the boys were playing.  I had an idea to play icecream truck music on my phone while delivering the popcicles and the boys loved it.  

The men helping with the quesadillas for lunch

Taking popsicles to the boys at the lake. 

More of the beautiful scenes from camp while I was out.  

The final night of camp was Bishop's night and we served an Italian dinner.  There was a lot of prep that went into this fun, last night of camp - and it was all worth it.  

This is an industrial pasta cooker.  We did all the pasta in one batch.  So cool!!!

Sheryl and me dressed up to serve dinner.  

Susan, Nellie (President Johnston's wife who came up the last two days), Sheryl and me

After dinner there were a bunch of activities for the bishops and we were all very entertained.  

Bishop Romney representing the UC during the watermelon eating contest.  

Bishop Romney completing the relay and doing a great job.  Our team won!

June 21st - Avian took Steve to the airport first thing in the morning. After serving breakfast,  I helped clean up the kitchen and get everything packed up into the vehicles.  Avian met me at the door with food and I was so grateful.  I didn't know just how hungry I was.  After eating I got a second wind and cleaned the truck inside and out.  It felt extra good to take a shower that didn't pelt me in the face. 

Steve called and said his mom is really struggling to remember things.  He was going to dinner with Dianna and Julie.  

We did some grocery shopping, cooked pizza and watched a few episodes of "Phineas and Ferb" before falling into bed, MY bed, and slept all night long.  

June 22nd - Steve spent the day fishing in the Uintahs.  I taught his primary class for him.  They are cute kiddos.  Monica Arias was my copilot and it was the perfect Sunday for her to be there.  We had a visitor who only spoke Portuguese and Monica had just gotten back from her mission to Brazil.  The Lord's hands are in everything.  

Nick came up after church to ride his bike.  He is getting ready to do a triathlon.  He called about a half an hour into his ride to tell me he had popped a tire and I needed to pick him up.  We got him back to the house and he went to the pool to swim some laps and blow off a little steam.   While he was at the pool, I Zoomed with Mom and Kathy.  I love our weekly calls.  They keep me grounded.  

Steve spent Sunday fishing in the mountains of Utah

June 23rd Val and I took Nick's bike into the shop to get the tire replaced.  

June 24th We were back in South Charlotte picking up Nick's bike.  I also got the iris beds cleaned out and some of the extra bulbs from around the butterfly bush transplanted to their new location.  

Steve spent the day with his mom and they went to her storage units so she could show him some things.  I am glad he is spending time with his mom. 

Avian and I went shopping to find a birthday present for Anthony.  He is a fun one to shop for as there are so many options. He likes a lot of things.  

June 25th - I got the gardens mulched in a hope that the weeds won't grow back so fast.  Val and I celebrated by going to the pool to cool off.   

Mary Jane has room to grow and the flower beds look amazing.  

I love my gladiolus.  

Steve found this picture at Ginger's house.  This sums up Steve and his family.   

June 26th - Steve got to spend some time with his dad and EllaRene.  They had come down from the cabin for a pre-surgery appointment.  

July 27th - I worked on things in the house and went with Val to Vista Auction to pick up some things she had won.  Kathy called while she was driving up to Mallad to be with Amanda and the kids.  Avian worked all day and then went out with their friends that night to a birthday dinner and pride bowling party.  Steve sent a text of him and my mom.  He went over to visit and to have some banana creamies.  They both needed the visit. 

Steve and Mom with their banana creamies.  

June 28th - Avian and I went Goodwilling.  Avian is looking for some sweatshirts for a couple of projects.  That night we picked Steve up at the airport and went to a surprise party for one of our neighbor's dads.  It was good to have Steve back home.  Two weeks apart was hard.  

June 30th - Rick had his surgery to remove one of his kidney's and all went well with the procedure.  I met with Blair, a referral from a friend, to help her make some blankets and teddy bears out of her grandmother's clothing.  Steve is still battling the AI issue and Nick's bike is back down in the shop getting ANOTHER tire repaired.  

May 2025

I started off May with my new standing desk.  I love it!!!

May 3rd - The day of Women's Conference finally arrived.  Steve and I were at the church early to get the breakfast started.  My committee was amazing and the women really enjoyed being served by the Stake Presidency.  The classes were a hit and ending the day with the musical portion was the absolute right choice.   The theme for the day was "Expect Miracles".  Just as we were cleaning up and packing up the cars, a woman approached us and told us her story.  She had just left an abusive relationship that morning and she didn't know where to go.  She felt drawn to our building.  We loaded her up with water and breakfast bars.  Rebekah and Nancy got online and helped her find a bed in a women's shelter.  The shelter even arranged for a policeman to come and take her safely there.  It was a miracle and the perfect way to end the conference.   

The centerpieces

All the tables looked beautiful.  It really created the mood for the day.  

After breakfast, Rebekah gave a key note address to set up the day.  

We collected items for one of the local women's shelters.  

We set up snack for anyone who may be hungry throughout the morning.  

The musical portion of the program.

Kaleen is such a good model for the photo area.  

We asked several sisters in the stake to sing songs that helped with feel miracles in their lives.  

After the Women's Conference I hurried home and changed so we could go straight to a Hunter and Natasha's wedding.  Hunter was one of Steve's scouts.  It was a beautiful ceremony and a fun evening.  It was fun to see one of my favorite students there are well.  The best part was seeing Hunter so happy.  

May 4th - we woke up to find a nail in Val's tire.  Thank goodness it was quickly fixed and Val was able to carry on with her day which included moving Val's room around.  She has been having a hard time sleeping because her room is too warm.  Steve mentioned that the computers and electronics may be making it hotter and there was a lot of  stuff in a small room which would decrease the circulation of air..  Val is renting Nick's room for a minimal amount and we turned it into her office.  All her electronic equipment and supplies are now in her new office and her room is MUCH more organized and relaxed.  She said it was a lot easier to sleep as well.  Win-Win!!

May 5th - Avian is selling another piece to SCAD.  They want her third place piece.  I can see why.  It is one of my favorites as well.  

May 5th - 8th  was teacher appreciation week.  Our PTO spoils us and this week was one of the best weeks they have ever planned for us.  The theme for the week was "Together We're Unlimited".  Everything was centered around Wicked.  They joined us in the mornings for carpool in full costumes and danced around while helping the kids unload for the day.  We had lunches and dancing and treats, and a spa experience all week long.  

They decorated the Digital Citizenship room for our lunch.  

A full spread of wings.  

Recreating the yellow brick road on the ceiling so the students wouldn't destroy it.  

Witches hats were hung in one of the halls.  

Places to write nice things out everyone.  

Fun, decorative bats on the walls.  

A golden arch on the way into the cafetorium. 

They even painted the rock out front of the school.  

I ended the week with a yoga and meditation activity at church with the other Relief Society sisters.  

Watching the sisters do yoga.  My knee is still not happy about some of these moves.  

May 9th - I got to go grocery shopping for the first time in WEEKS for our family now that women's conference is over.  It was nice to shop for food we wanted to eat.  The other really fun thing about the day was it was the senior walk.  Ms. Pandya, the Teacher of the Year, led all the seniors in the parade around the school.  I loved seeing all the students in their graduation attire.  I can't believe they are already graduating.  

Ms. Pandya leading the group while we all lined the halls and cheered.  

May 10th - We had another of Steve's scout's weddings.  Ezra and Aryana as so good together.  Thye really complete each other.  I know that sounds cheezy, but it is completely true.  I have never seen Ezra so laid back and peaceful.  Avian texted to tell us that SCAD was under a tornado warning, but not to worry.  They played D&D the whole time.  

May 11th - I go to speak in church on Mother's Day.  It was a good experience really looking into how I partner with Christ as a mother.  I got several complements on my talk and one lady wanted to talk about how to be a good mother to her LGBTQ babies.  The boys fixed dinner and showered me with flowers - roses, and a clematis and hydrangea plant.   Here is a link to my talk.  Copy of talk here. 

From late on May 11th to the 13th is rained nonstop. The yard was very soggy afterwards.  

May 16th Steve and I attended a farewell concert for Kev and Jo at The Cove Church.  They are going to South Africa to start a mission for 12-18 year olds.  They want to empower the youth to help transform their community.  It was a beautiful night of song and testimony.  

May 17th was the Highland Creek garage sale.  Steve and Val went.  They found a few good things as they always do.  Steve then went to help clear trees at McOwen's.  I walked with Sandra.  We got lost a little bit, but found a really nice new trail and got in a few extra steps.  While we were walking I heard a man's voice asking what the emergency was.  I thought maybe it was someone's television but then realized I somehow activated the 911 feature on my phone while walking.  

Nick called to excitedly tell us he had bought new bike - the bike of his dreams.  Val continued to organize her office.  Steve and I went to Dr. Kendrick's and Mr. McKay's retirement party.  They had been planning this for years!!!  It was fun to see everyone and celebrate their amazing careers teaching math.  

MAY 23 - THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!  We have a new kayak addition to the family.  Steve sold his fishing kayak and got one that is lighter, like mine.  We now have Kiki and Kojak the Kayaks.  Steve is fixing his arrows.  They needed new feathers.  He watched a couple of videos and is really enjoying the process.  

I am getting a new office mate - the ESL specialist is moving in with me and she has A LOT of stuff.  We will make it work.  

May 24th - I am fitting a lot of walks in with Sandra before she heads to Florida for the summer.  She is a lot of fun to talk with.  Steve mowed the lawn and then we went to Lowes to find a solution for planting the clematis is good soil.  We decided on a decorative pot that we will partially bury so we will have enough soil for the clematis to thrive.   We had to come up with something because the foundation pouring comes out so far we couldn't plant it near the house where it will be protected.  We also bought an outdoor griddle and had time to rebuild the firepit.  

It is a start at getting everything put back together.  

May 26th - Memorial Day I did a little weeding in the iris and Steve did some woodworking in the garage.  Nick came up so we could take Kojak on his maiden voyage.  We had a blast and ended up kayaking 8 km all over Mountain Island Lake.  The weather was overcast so there were no other boats on the lake.  It was perfect.  Afterwards we went to the Cowan's Ford Bird Refuge so Nick could reminisce about his days on the cross country team.  It was beautiful.  I had never been there before.  

That evening Steve and I went to pick up a joint planer that he found on Facebook.  The gentleman had an entire garage for his shop and it was fascinating to see his set up.  I can see why Steve would like to have a dedicated space.  We were both exhausted at the end of the day.  

Nick is fun to kayak with because he really likes to explore.  

The view from the deck at Cowan's Ford Bird Refuge. 

May 27th - we got the news that Sharron, Steve's mom, had had a stroked.  She was in the hospital and doing well.  

May 28th - I got to spend the morning and afternoon helping with the LNC graduation.  We set up signs and made sure all seats were in place for the ceremony.  All the teachers wore Hawaiian shirts to honor Mr. McKay who was the student-voted keynote speaker.  I sat in the dugout with the other teachers and stood in the teacher tunnel for all the graduates leaving the field.  I ran up afterwards and helped hand out diplomas.  One last time to see these amazing kids before they head off in the world.  

Avian was in the heat of finals week otherwise they would have been there to see their friends graduate.  

Avian's bestie, Rose, getting her diploma

She did it!!

Afterwards I stopped at a little soda shoppe I had passed multiple times on my way to 

various church activities.  They had the BEST fried pickles.  Definitely bringing Steve back here.  

May 29th Steve drove me to work as he was going to pick me up after my meetings and we were heading straight to Savannah to bring Avian home for the summer.  I was so excited and focused on packing for the weekend that I forgot my computer at home and Steve had to turn right around and come back to bring it to me.  Coming back out to meet Steve, I scared a squirrel in the garbage can.  It made me jump and then I had to laugh.   

After a very productive meeting getting things set for next year with each grade coming up with plans for helping students, Steve picked me up and we headed to Savannah.  We drove through a HUGE hail storm.  It was so bad that we had to pull over and wait it out.  We eventually arrived in Savannah and found our hotel - The MacMillan Inn A-MA-ZING and only two blocks from Avian's dorm.  We were able to leave the truck parked at the Inn and walk everywhere we needed to go.  

Our room - the LaFayette

It had a fireplace

Our entrance through the patio at the back of the building. 

The hallway view from the back door.  Our room is just to the right. 

We got checked in and walked around until Avian finished their last final.  We picked them up and went to dinner at a little Thai place on Broughton.  It was really yummy.  Afterwards we went back to Avian's dorm and helped them get things packed up.  We headed back to the inn pretty late because we had to wait until a huge rainstorm passed.  

May 30th Steve and I took a walk in the morning.  I had not been to the other end of Forsythe Park so we walked around and then met Avian to get a load or two to the truck before heading to breakfast at the Inn.  We didn't even have to move the truck from the inn.  That is how close we were.  Avian joined us for breakfast which was homemade biscuits and gravy, fruit and a berry cobbler.  So YUMMY!!  Afterwards we went back to finish the last load.  The RA checked Avian out and that was it.  Year one done!  One last stop at Starlandia and then we headed home.  We stopped in Columbia for lunch and decided, since we were so close, we would stop in at Deseret Book to get some more garment tops for Steve.  Sister Millet, from the Reedy Creek ward, was working there.  

When we finally got home, we had french dip sandwiches for dinner.  I think that is going to be a tradition as it is what Avian has requested for the first meal at home each time they have had a break from school.  There was also a trip to Sipco for a drink.    

We found this cute little car while walking around in Savannah. 

Everything is packed up and we are ready to head out.  

May 31st we all slept in until 8:30.  Avian and I went grocery shopping to get meals for the week.  It was nice having a helper again.  Back at home I helped Steve pull out another dead azalea and we planted the hydrangea as well as transplanted some iris.  Steve got another bike hanger put up in the garage so we could hang Nick's new bike.  

Avian's art projects for the quarter

An orchid mantis and coyote