Germans, Apple Pie and Rain

I don't know if you have heard about the fires here in Utah. They've been quite bad; thousands have been evacuated from their homes. The dark clouds have been ever present and ash has been periodically falling on us. Then, very suddenly, it rained all day Thursday. The day before and the day after we had our typical sunny, hot summer days but Thursday it rained almost the whole day. Today I was told that the missionaries in the MTC fasted for rain. Now the smoke is totally gone and the air is clear.

There were still some puddles left over on Friday and Saturday and the dogs took advantage of them. They get overheated very easily, especially Lucy. She's half pug and half chihuahua which are both lap-dog breads. That means she's very affectionate but not very hearty.

Above is a cake that Becca made for the 4th of July. This week we took it easy. Becca has had a horrible, mysterious pain in her left leg which the doctors were only able to tell us what it was not. Since the schools were pretty much off this week I was able to take care of her myself. Fortunately, keeping her leg elevated has helped her recoup. If she can manage to stay off it this week I think she'll be just fine.

Our neighbor was very helpful to Becca the week before last while she fixed our sprinkler system. To say thank you she baked him an apple pie. Our sister-in-law Lorena came over and helped.

I had quite the cultural experience yesterday. I got together with a German speaking group in Salt Lake. I realized that it was the first time I had ever interacted with so many Germans at once: five of them! The other four of us in the picture are not native German speakers. Three of us were Americans and one was from Buenos Aires. The intermediate stage of language mastery can be frustrating. I was never lost in conversation but MAN do they still sound like they're speaking fast to me. The group will be meeting again in August and that will give me date for getting my German more fluent.

Our apple tree is really fruitful. We've still got a ways to go and the apples are already so big!