Quilts at the Elkhart County Visitor Center

 Elkhart Visitor Center always displays nice quilts, including the quilt mural outside.  

Joshua Tree National Park: Spring Break 2021

 Our first big trip from Kingman was to Joshua Tree National Park.  We coudn't find camping inside the national park so spent the day before at a boon-dock camp north of the park, and the day after south of the park; both on BLM land.  

Tony on a rock

Mohave Yucca

 

Chola cactus

Yucca

Juniper

Joshua Tree Visitor Center art

Lunch on a rock

Skull Rock I found

cactus

caterpillar

Joshua tree

tortoise rock

window rock looks like an elephant

Skull Rock

Tony and White Tank Arch Rock

Chola Cactus Garden

Tony's sign pictures

ocotillo plant

sunset

Joshua Trees was a three-day trip.  One day to.  We discovered park camping was full and spent the night on BLM property north of the park close to Copper Mountain.  Second day we drove through the park.  We hit many interesting sights as can be seen from the pictures.  The highlight was stopping for lunch and eating on the rocks.  This also afforded a short hike.  Another short hike was to Skull Rock which was close to Jumbo Rocks.  The rocks there satisfied any bouldering desires we had.  We all climbed some, but Tony really went all out.  He also hiked to the arch by White Tank Campground.  This was our longest hike.  We stopped for pictures after that at a couple groves, but were tired out and headed for camping south of the park in another BLM spot.  

Grandbaby 15

 Just after we had moved to Kingman AZ out 15th grandchild was born in Stockton, MO.  Grandbabies are always such a blessing.  He spent his first week in NICU.  Charity and Anthony now have five and a sixth on the way.  

April 2021.  This is looking back at our 15th.  We are now looking forward to our 21st grandbaby.  Born in the heart of COVID. 

Charity and Anthony had their fourth child and second boy.

Sheri visited California Grandchildren When Charity's Baby was Born

May 06, 2021

 We moved from Manteca to Kingman in March of 2021.  We left Caleb in Manteca and Charity in Stockton.  Charity was pregnant.  Charity's baby caming early.  Miranda and Sheri left for California.  Sheri was able to see all the California grand babies except for the new baby who was in the NICU.  (He was in the NICU for a week and is now home and doing great).  Sheri could not go to the hospital due to COVID restrictions.  Miranda stayed b ut Sheri had to come home.  I coaxed Sheri into sending me some pictures.  She even got to go with Camberly to a baseball game.  Camberly is getting so big.  

The red is make up

 

Argentine Tongue Twister: Erre con Erre Guitarra

 I learned this one while on my mission.  It is a good way to practice the erre sound which is the double R but sometimes shows up without the double R but at the beginning of a word.  The erre sound is like that a child makes for a truck.  

Erre con erre guitarra

Erre con erre barril

Rápido corren los carros, 

[cargados de azucar] del ferrocarril.

Erre like the erre in guitar; Erre like the erre in barrel, rapidly run the trains loaded with sugar, of the railroad. 

I learned this without the bit about sugar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piU9CAoOrGg

Poetry I like: The Woodchuck: Children's Tongue Twister

 I saw several yellow-bellied marmots (woodchucks) at the Bannock County museum running around the outside exhibits.  I caught a couple pictures as they ran around.  

Reminds me of a childhood rhyme. 

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck; If a woodchuck could chuck wood?"  This poem actually has a second part-the answer.  "A woodchuck would chuck as much wood, as a woodchuck could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood."  Woodchucks actually do not chuck wood, but dig burrows in the ground.  Their name comes from the Algonquin word for them, Wuchak.