Capture the day

Trip to Idaho Falls

2011-12-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

Celebrating our 51st Anniversary

Married on 29th of December 1960

Idaho Falls, Temple

Our day with family

2011-09-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all, this past weekend Dan, Donna, Dion, Corey and Randy went for a long ride! We first went to Boise where we spent the night with Lois Ann (Dan's sister) and Paul. We left there and attended the funeral for Tom Minow. We learned so much about him from a former Bishop who spoke of Tom's support of the Bishopric as the Ward Clerk. He evidently served for many bishoprics in the line of duty. We then left there and went to Mt. Home, Idaho the place where Dan and I first lived after our marriage in 1960. Dan was assigned to the B-47 squadron at this base. If you have ever seen the movie "Thirteen Days", it happened during the time we were stationed there. Dan happened to be with his squadron in Guam at the time and he tells the story of how the B 47's were lined up ready to go and bomb Russia, knowing that they would run out of fuel before making it all the way home. They were all grateful that President Kennedy was able to bargain with the Russians and stopped that potential war. (If you ever want to see the movie without all of the "bad" words, we have a cleaned up one!

We attended an air showthat day that was put on by the Air Force Thunderbirds. I will attach a few pictures. We were saddened when we heard about the tragic airshow where one of the planes went into the crowd and killed and injured many people. Dion did all the driving and we were grateful and were happy that when we ended up in Logan that they spent the night here resting. Now for the pictures! I thought I had many pictures of the Thunderbirds, but it appears that by the time the shutter closed the planes were Gone!!!! You have to be fast when they are not on the ground. Neverthe less, it was a great day~

Dion hard at work

2011-09-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

We captured Dion for several hours while he got
our computers back on line.
You can see all around him the boxes
that we had not yet unloaded.
We have several boxes in one half
of our garage that still need to be
sorted. Fortunately inside the
house things look fairly organized.
Unfortunately it is hard to decide to
throw some things away and not
store them anymore!

Back to my childhood/ 55th HS reunion

2010-10-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

The trip from Logan to Payette, Idaho was a
beautiful one as you can tell by the look of the
sky as we were traveling. Couldn't have
asked for a more glorious drive that day!

The picture below is the place where my mom and
dad and all of us children used to go to have
so much fun with all the neighbors on the Oregon
slope. I was blown away when I saw it, because I
don't remember it being "underground" and
I thought it was just huge. We kids loved
the accordian and piano experts who helped us
have a wonderful time with games and dancing.

This is a picture of the place where I grew up on
the Oregon Slope. The garage was built by my
father out of cinderblock. The house was really
changed and probably wouldn't have recognized
it except I knew where it should be. When we
lived in the house it only had a basement and one
story...they have built a second
story on the house and painted it GREEN!!!!

Our journey that day was very nostalgic as I
spent the first 18 years of my life in this
area of Oregon. The big willow trees that
my father planted and as kids we lived in
those trees...we all gone!!

Ryan's celebration at IHOP

2010-10-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

Doneen won't like me for this one,
but catching folks off guard is part of the
fun. We had a wonderful time together
eating pancakes and all sorts of things while
we enjoyed Branden, Ryan, and Deb from
Massachusetts. Ryan was to enter the MTC
to prepare
for his mission!
We enjoyed the food and the company!

It is so great when we can get
together. As parents and grandparents
this is the ultimate joy to watch children'
and grandchildren making the right
choices.

We love you all and Elder Hill....
We will look forward to hearing about
your success in Tuscon, AZ!!! What a
great place to spend the winter months.

Dion and Dad following the graduation ceremony

2010-10-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

A wonderful day of Dion's graduation from the Executive MBA program at BYU. Not bad while working full time, fulfilling his responsibilities as hubby and father, working with the Young Men in Church and still smiling!

Family day at Doneen and Alan's

2010-10-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

A fun day at Doneen and Alan's home...celebrating birthdays for the month
and Chelsie's call to Paris, France (enters the mission home October 20th)
Branden and Chelsie enjoying the conversation!!...
I think Ryan would like a nap! Cute little baby Kate

More clouds and the RV Park

2010-05-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

Our temporary home away from home. Hopefully
the trees will soon have green leaves. It's so close
to work and keeping house takes only minutes instead
of hours!

This bear is carved out of a log...and sits'at
the gate to the park.

Beautiful Wyoming Cloud Formations

2010-05-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

These cloud formation pictures were all taken in
one walk around the area where our RV is parked.
They were all so different and beautiful. I wanted
to capture them for our memory book!

Capture the day

2010-05-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

Capture the day

Happenings in Lander

2010-05-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

I bought these flowers

for Nurses Day and we

had a wonderful breakfast

ready for them that day.

This is a picture of the graduating

nursing class of 2010. The college is

Wyoming Community College. My

boss and I attended. We have

hired the top 5 in the class.

This picture is of the graduation for the nurses in the class of 2010.
We hired the top 5 in the class.

This picture was taken in our Cafeteria on the day of
celebrating National Hospital
Week. I think the Cafeteria was a recent add on to
the hospital. It is very nice and the food is
always wonderful.

This picture was taken while I was in line to
get my food. My boss is the man with the dark
shirt about 3rd in the line. He has a family
of six children and 5 of them were in
attendance. His wife is the one in the
white or pink shirt whose face
you can't see. She is a
beautiful woman. They are
members of our Church...He
plays the piano in Primary!
Well I'll try to get more pictures so
that you can know where we are
and what we are doing!

Beautiful Scene

2010-04-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hi all, you may get two editions of this post, so if that is true
I apologize. It has been so long that I almost forgot how to do
this. Anyway, enjoy! I did!

Beautiful Sunset

2010-02-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

The wonders of nature!

These pictures were taken on the same day while we waited for the sun to go down.

Fire truck Ride

2010-02-13T10:56:00.000-08:00

Our fun day at the annual pie auction. $4000 raised for the Mesa Fire Department. We paid a few extra dollars and were able to have our picture taken with the crew and went for a short ride in this "huge" FIRE TRUCK! I thought Randy would especially like to see these pictures as I know he loves fire trucks.

They put headsets on us so that we could hear them talking to us from the front of the engine. We felt like little kids having the thrill of riding with real fire fighters. We could talk to them and ask all kinds of questions...just like kids would!

You can tell I was enjoying the ride!

Here we are with the crew and another couple that shared the ride. We bought two big pies and we still have a couple of pieces left. I should have taken pictures of the pies too! It was a fun day for us.

Hi everyone...after seeing all the wonderful pictures on Dion's blog, mine is pretty tame! The last time I tried to do this my computer refused to do anything. I downloaded onto a flash drive and CD's more than 8 GB's of pictures and today everything is working again! Of course I did this backwards and should have written this first.

Projects and pictures

2010-01-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry that these pictures are a bit blurry, I guess I need to practice more. I think I must have moved the camera. I hope you will still enjoy the beauty of the sunset here. Many evenings the sky looks like this or better and I don't seem to have my camera with me when I need it! But that doesn't stop me from trying.

I am sitting in the patio area and it is early evening. Dan is back at the RV working on his Brass plates and it gets a bit "boring" for me, so you get the benefit of me "running away from home"...The pictures below are two little bags I made from scraps of material for James and Beth. I put a little car in James bag and some stickers of all the Disney Princesses in Beth's.
I sent some of these pictures on an email to our children, so this will be a double exposure if they look at my blog!

This little quilt was made for the new baby girl due in early March. If you look at Diane's blog you will know why the lime green is the border. (It is actually brighter than it looks in the picture.) I knew I couldn't send something for a baby that wasn't born yet and forget the other two little ones, so the bags are the result. Diane says they loved them!

I have started another quilt, and after sewing for several hours I realized that I had done it wrong, so spent 5 hours picking out thread! Such fun...So we'll see if you get a picture of that quilt finished! It will be a surprise for all of us.

I am feeling a bit homesick, I think it is because I miss all of you and the people in our Ward. The ward here is wonderful, but I had a knot in my stomach most of the day. It may be left over from thinking of Darryl yesterday and the fact that it was his birthday. We did spend the morning of his birthday in the Temple, so that was good. I knew that being in the temple would make me feel his presence even more. Well enjoy and keep up those blogs, I love them!

Dan and Donna's 49th Wedding Anniversary visit

2010-01-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I thought you might enjoy some of these pictures that we took while we were enjoying our time at a Airplane Museum in Tempe. Our guide was a WWII pilot and knew so much about all of these planes. He and David and Dan had lots of fun talking about flying and the narrow escaptes etc. These pictures were taken during our few hours together after everyone arrived early afternoon on Monday. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden and loaded up enough food to last for the week. Although I heard that David, Dion and Lauren ended up going out later in the evening for "dessert"....I think they were just going out to "chew the fat"...or something like that! We had a wonderful time together. I didn't get a picture of all of us in the RV at the same time, but we did it and had a wonderful time just reminiscing and enjoying being together. The Spirit was strong in our home on wheels! Stacey's brother who is here doing an Internship at Maricopa County hospital to become a Family Physician also spent part of the evening with us and telling stories of life as an Intern. He loves what he is doing. How grateful Dan and I were for the visit and the joy of seeing some of our children together and having so much fun doing it. We know that if all of the children and grandchildren could have been here that the fun would have multiplied with all those personalities. We love you all and hope for a Great New Year for all!One of our beautiful granddaughters....Sara! She looks great in blue!

In the air museum contemplating and listening to the stories that were told about the courageous flyers in WWI & WWII as well as Vietnam.

They still look like Newly Weds!

And so doi they! What a joy it is to see our children and with so much love in their lives.

Love this picture! We all had something great to smile about!

What a wonderful way to spend our 49th Wedding Anniversary...surrounded by these planes that reminded us of so many years in the Air Force and our gratitude for the many friends we made over those years. But even better to have some of our children and grandchildren around us (wishing they could all be here) to remind us that "Families Are Forever" ....How grateful we are for that knowledge.

It's almost Christmas

2009-12-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Hi all, well in four more days it will be Christmas. We are feeling a bit lonesome and are grateful and Daren and family and David and family will be coming to share their time with us. We are enjoying being here, where the weather isn't yet really warm, but better than Logan weather, so we won't complain. We enjoy our ward and meeting new people here at the RV park.

These pictures are of Dad with one of his new toys. A replica of a car he used to drive when he was 15 years old and living in Burns. We have had a fun time stopping at all the little white tents that go up on Saturday and the displays are usually home made items. He did also get a plane and a car that were carved from wood. They are beautifully done. Take care and hopefully I can now get on this blog more often.

2009-12-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone...just thought I would let you all know that we are now in Mesa, Arizona spending a few months where it is supposed to be warmer than Logan. I suspect it is, but last night the temperatures dropped to about 35 degrees! I am sitting in a covered walkway where they let you hook up your computer free! I have on two coats and I'm still shivering. Oh well. Dan drove to Logan last night arriving about 5:30 this morning (called me and said it was 18 degrees there...so I guess I'll enjoy the sunshine even if it is cold. Tomorrow will probably be warmer...I hope.) He will start back later today after sleeping and picking up a few more things that we want to have here. We bought us a used Motorhome to live in and are staying at the same trailer park where my parents stayed for many winters. Our address here is "Good Life RV Resort, 3403 E. Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85213, Lot #3270. We are planning on being here until March...or when the snow goes away in Logan. I thought I had pictures of our motorhome on this computer, but can't find them...so I'll send pictures soon. Much love....

A wonderful wedding day!

2009-08-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken the evening before the wedding. They had a little time to relax and just enjoy being together and of course we loved just seeing them together! Here they were playing a great game of chess at our super-duper chess set table. I think Berit was not quite warm enough. We should have turned on the fire place...oh well. I'm not sure who won the game and they could probably care less!

As you can tell this is Daren's daughter Chantel enjoying the quiet of the bedroom downstairs and relaxing for a time before the big day tomorrow. She slept on the Twin Bed and Daniel and Jared slept on the couch in the family room. They like that big soft couch...plus the TV is close by!

This the back yard of the place where the wedding was held. The home was gorgeous and as you can see, the table were beautifully set with all the fine linen and flowers.

This is just another view of the back yard and somewhere I think I have a picture of the pool and the tennis court that is also close by. They also had a tree house that was up on stilts...evidently the evening before a big wind storm caught the little house and lowered it almost to the ground. The Bishop, the owner of the home had put it back on its stilts that day and you would not have known that it was at ground level that morning. I thought I had a picture, and will probably find it later.

This picture was taken just after the ceremony.. The Bishop standing next to Daren performed the ceremony. His thoughts were very tender and caring and brought most of us to tears. It is obvious that they have a great deal of respect for Berit and her family. The parents of Berit's first husband were also at the wedding. They were wonderful people and were so happy that Berit had found Daren.

The picture below are many of Berit's family friends. The luncheon that was served was delicious and beautiful. We felt like we had known these people forever.

This picture is of Daren, Berit and Berit's parents. They were so easy to talk to and were so grateful for Daren. The place was just beautiful and yet everyone there was so friendly and made us all feel like "old friends"..

As you can tell, Daren's children were very much a part of the festivities and were looking very beautiful and handsome.

Now a much more formal picture of the family all together. Daren looks like King Tut! I know he was excited about having his children by his side and having someone so lovely that will now be his loving companion.

Here we are with Daren and so very grateful that they found each other! Thank goodness for the Church Website!

Now a picture of the father of the bride, the father of the groom and the father of Berit's first husband Rob. The whole afternoon and early evening was very special and everyone at the wedding were grateful that two "young" people found each other. We all wish for them all the blessings of a wonderful marriage. They set off on their honeymoon at Park City, and then off to places in Canada etc. They will be gone for about 2 weeks. Dad took Daniel and Jared back to Albuquerque yesterday and will stay with them until Daren and Berit return. Chantel will be going to school at UVU in Provo and Andrew is already working in Salt Lake and hoping to soon start school at the University of Utah and pursue the goal of medical school and perhaps a mission as well. It was a lovely day!

Our trip and time in Colorado

2009-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

You will find this blog a bit confusing as I start out with three pictures that are not where they should be. I just couldn't figure out how to get them in the right place. I'm flying to Massachusetts on Thursday, so maybe with Debbie's expertise she can help me straighten all of this out! So this first one is the crowd of bicyclists that were waiting for the race to begin. There were several age groups competing. There were some as young as 6 years.
How do you like the profile of David??This one is definitely out of place, but it was part of the very pleasant environment we were in while at Sulphur Springs...the white tent structures were covering some of the hot tubs...shade!!!!

This next one is a picture of a road we traveled coming home from Branby winding through the mountains of Colorado. Instead of going into the rock to build the road, it stands next to the mountain on concrete pillars....sticking out over "nothing"....the road going the other direction is also built on pillars and is right on the edge of the river.

I tried to listen carefully to the radio music and keep my eyes closed as much as possible. I about broke the grip off the side of the door!!! I make a great traveling companion...when I"m sleeping...

The picture below was taken at the Dinasour pit museum in Vernal. This is an actual bone from a Dinasour leg that is in the visitors center..

Now back to Granby where we caught up with David, Stacey, Sara and Dallin. We had a great dinner in downtown Granby and dad had a steak that covered his whole plate. These westerners really know how to eat. None of us left hungry! We had a great time and all went to bed as soon as it was dark since the day had been a very long one. Sara stayed in our "cabin" with us since we had an extra bed and that gave them more room in their Roadtrek that they drove from Southern CA. It is a great home on wheels for all their trips related to bicycles and whatever else seems to come along. I should have taken a picture but for some reason I forgot to do that!

Now I am going back in time to the beginning of our trip, we left Logan about noon and arrived in Vernal early evening. We decided to spend the night there and continue on to Branby, Colorado the next morning. We enjoyed being able to spend some time around the Vernal Temple. It is so great that they saved this older chapel and made it into a beautiful temple. The new Chapel sits right next to the temple.

The flowers all around the grounds were just beautiful and the sun on the Angel Moroni was especially great. This is the first time either one of us have made a trip across this part of Utah. The Strawberry reservoir and the river running into it was beautiful with the sun shining on the water. I was amazed at how big it was. We also spent time at the Dinasour center in Vernal as well. This would be a great place to bring the children to see all the prehistoric areas where they have found the bones that we now can see at Thanksgiving Point. They had a tour that would have taken us to the places where these bones were found, but we knew we needed to get on the road to Branby.

The picture below is where we stayed after we arrived at our destination. It is actually in Sulphur Springs about 10 miles outside of Branby. There are about 18 different little hot sulphur tubs where you can climb in and feel the wonder of very warm water when you are cold...or just soak and relax those tired bones in the sulphur water. I couldn't smell, so dad had to tell me that it smelled like "sulphur"..amazing. We were in these hot pools as often as possible while we were there. We were able to take David, Stacey and family into the tubs as well. They all loved it. Especially Dallin after his bicycle race!
This was one of our favorites. The water fall was very warm and standing under it and feeling that very warm water coming down your back was great. This was the largest of the hot tubs.

This was the bedroom area of the "cabin" that we stayed in. It was really one big room with a living area. On the other side of where the bedroom was, we had a nice kitchen with a stocked refrigerator! It made it nice to have this room where we could all relax after the race and in the evenings. It was great to eat together and just enjoy being together. This is another of the hot tub areas that was right outside our door.
Dallin relaxing on the "couch" in our cabin.Another hot tub...looks a bit "grody" on the bottom, but that is mostly from the age and the Sulphur water. We wore our flip flops when we went in the hot tubs.

Now you can see our handsome son David and his lovely daughter Sara....in our kitchen. He made pancakes for all of us. Dallin was supposed to load up on carbohydrates and pancakes are suggested. Lauren was not with the family as she is in Portland spending time with a good friend. We missed her!

Now for the "main event"...the race. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted, but at least this gives you a feel for the beautiful surroundings in Granby. The race started here and went 9 miles nearly straight up a huge mountain. It was to be an 18 mile race, but it started to cloud up and they were concerned about lightning etc. So they shortened it to 9 miles and Dallin was very grateful. He has been riding his bike at sea level and was about to race in a mountain that was eventually 0ver 9,000 feet. He said at the top he felt like he could not catch his breath....it's called "no oxygen".....

The race begins. The crowd that you saw in one of the first pictures broke up into age groups and this picture was the beginning of Dallin's age group...He got right out in front early!

After the race the medals were presented. Here you see Dallin getting his medal. We were all very proud of him and his ability to excel in this sport! This picture was taken just prior to us all leaving Branby and heading in separate directions. We had a delightful time with David, Stacey, Dallin and Sara and are so grateful for the opportunity to spend an exciting time with them.. This beautiful cloud picture was taken somewhere along the way..I don't remember exactly where we were but knew I needed to include it in this blog.
The time we spent on the road and with David's family was great!.

July 4th Weekend

2009-07-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

This is a late entry, but a cute picture of Kari also being put in the locks for just thinking about eating too much! Not really...she was just a great sport! I tried moving this picture to be next to the one of dad, but no luck. I'm thinking that someday I'll have this blog stuff conquered! I hope I live to be 100 because it will very likely take that long. Fun stuff anyway!

A wonderful few hours on Temple Square prior to going on to Dion's to spend the night and part of the 4th with them.

We arrived at Dion's and while dad slept in I went with Dion, Summer and children to the local parade. It was a fun start to the holiday celebration and we saw lots of beautiful horses and old cars! Brought back memories of parades in Payette during my childhood. Except I got to be in the marching band in a very warm uniform on usually very hot days! We later went to Doneen and Alan's home where we had wonderful July 4th meal with baked beans baked in a special outdoor oven. The picture below is a new way to keep dad in tow! We had a great time, ate too much and marvel at how wonderful the Larsen's back yard is becoming. There is a watefall over rocks, but I did not get a picture of it I guess. Couldn't find it if I did. It will soon be the best "park" in Provo! This was taken prior to our attending the Stadium of Fire!

This picture was taken near the end of the beautiful program presented at BYU to celebrate the 4th of July. Following this display, we watched the explosion of so many fireworks that we knew that we were definitely in a Stadium of Fire!
This is about where our July 4th weekend came to a glorious ending. We thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks and the patriotism of the whole event at BYU stadium. This picture was taken of the special ending of the flag that has been used for many years at the Stadium of Fire and for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake. This was just a symbol of it's ending, as we learned that it was made of nylon and would have made "toxic" smoke if it had burned...but it was beautiful anyway!

More pictures from the Air Museum

2009-06-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are again at the Air Museum. It was fun being with David and family and seeing all these aircraft.
The story behind the man in the picture below was very interesting. It turns out he was stationed at Mountain Home AFB. at the very same time as we were and was a pilot in the B-47. They got to talking about their experiences and the time of the Cuban Crisis...the movie Thirteen days tells of this crisis. Anyway dad was sent immediately to Guam in the Pacific and this man was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma. All over the nation every B-47 was sitting at the end of the runway with engines running prepared to go wherever the mission would take them. The goal was to protect Americans and America.

I just remember the time when Dan left in the middle of the night and I knew better than to ask where he was going. Later in the week the wives were told where the crews had been sent. I packed up Darryl (then an infant) and went home to be with my parents in Utah. It was a scarey time for me. My parents had no idea that anything was going on and I couldn't tell them very much. Anyway, Dan and this former officer had a great time reliving a critical time in their career. (I thought he looked lots older than Dan !)

As you can tell from the picture below that this plane was lucky to make it back to the base where it was stationed at the time.. The tail was very shredded by bullets...the engine as well. I think this one came in on a "wing and a prayer"!

They didn' have a B-47 or a B-52, but had the miniature set up that depicted many of the planes that were flying at the same time these bombers were.

They told us that every person that worked at this museum fixing and shining and showing people around were actually men who flew or worked on these planes during their career. It was fascinating to all of us.

The day at the Air Museum

2009-06-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all, well here are a few pictures from our Saturday venture to see the Air Museum located in Chino CA.
The picture above and the plane below go together. This plane was flown during the production of the movie "Pearl Harbor".

Here we were walking around in the very warm weather viewing all the wonderful aircraft and hearing dad tell of his many adventures related to some of these planes.

You probably can't tell, but here we were listening to someone tell us some of the stories related to how these planes got donated to this museum. Of course all of this brings back memories of our days in the Air Force and David's experiences with flying as well.

There will be a few more pictures to follow (another blog)..that show a pictue of dad with a man that was at Mountain HOme AFB the same time we were.

Our time in Southern California

2009-06-28T15:51:00.001-07:00

We left fairly early Friday morning and traveled to the San Diego Temple. We got there in time to do the 11:00 session. Just driving on Interstate 5 and seeing this beautiful structure almost takes your breath away. We had a wonderful session and then at the end while we were in the Celestial room, they asked if we would be willing to do some sealings. Of course we said yes! The officiator was great, and the end of the sealing he had us embrace across the alter as we had done the day we were married and then go around to the side of the altar and look into the mirrors and see the images that go on eternally. In one of the towers there is a beautiful atrium at the top and it is filled with beautiful planted flowers. There you are looking up to the top of these incredible towers as well. The glass work is glorious! We got back to Tustin early

and enjoyed the evening together. I'll continue our day on Saturday on another blog as I am having trouble getting to the pictures! Big surprise...I never have problems doing a blog...I wish!

This is the front of the apartment where David, Stacey and family now live, It is a very nice place and we have enjoyed the pool and other amenitites here. They live on the second floor.
We stopped in Flagstaff for the night on Wednesday and journeyed the rest of the way and arrived at their home about 8:30 that evening. I couldn't help but capture the sign on the road that directed us to Carlsbad, but we were good and didn't even try to find Elder Hill. Deb, the sign is for your benefit. Palm trees lining the road let us know that we were getting close! As you can tell, these things actually happened in reverse. I need to think more about the story I am trying to tell and put first things first! I keep trying to move the pictures, but they are being stubborn...so you get last things first!

A Fun day in Riverton

2009-06-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I now have all the pictures that I wanted on the blog and realize that everything is in reverse in terms of times of the day. So we'll start with the end of the day and go to the evening before. This makes for more entertainment...or maybe not!

The big sandwiches and the trimmings were enjoyed by all. By this time those who had participated in the triathlon were very hungry. I know that Beth and Austin seen in the picture above were winners. Beth beat everyone in her age range and I think Austin was second. So Beth is taking after her athletic parents. Anthony and Delos were working on setting records and I think Anthony may have done that. (I know I'll hear the real story if this is wrong). Kristi and Gordon did great stuff too and the younger kids had their own bike races etc. Diane did the swim and the run and Ryan rode the bike. We didn't stay to get all the statistics, as the rain started to come and everyone was going for cover. Uncle David and Aunt Carma were there to help with children and with the food!

The pictures below were taken the evening before in Diane and Ryan's backyard. Nice shelters were in place to keep off the sun or the rain! Dion and Summer and children were there, but Dion had school the next day so they did not participate in the triathlon. Summer would have whipped up on a few of the runners.

It is too bad that we all don't get enough to eat! The great food and company was enjoyed by all. Aunt Carma stirred spaghetti for several batches and finally got to eat some. Dad and I spent the night at Diane's place so they could leave early for the races and grandpa and grandma could bring the kids...which we did. Arlene is currently in Iowa City, Iowa with Valerie, John and children and Larry was unable to come as he had responsibilities in the Logan Temple early Saturday morning. They were missed!

Probably the most fun of all is watching aunts, uncles, neices and nephews, and cousins enjoying just being together as a great family that have grandparents and parents who have watched the love and respect that we have for one another grow and deepen each year. How blessed we are as generations enjoying the fruits of the gospel and the fruits of love for one another. Thanks everyone for all the effort to make this happen. Debbie, they all missed you!

The life of the John Deere tractor and other monster things!!

2009-06-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun going through the John Deere museum almost across the street from where we are living. I was wishing my dad could have been with us....he would have loved it. We were sort of like little kids in a "big" toy store. This picture was taken from outside the building. It is an impressive sight.
I guess they thought that an important part of being a farmer was knowing how to milk cows. So I tried it on this one (he doesn't kick) and I could still get the milk (white water) into the bucket. I really did feel like a kid again....except in those days I don't think I was excited to try this!

This and another picture are engraved stones with the stories of some of the tractors. I am sure that one of them was the kind our dad had. If I'm not right, don't tell me! The kids would have had so much climbing on all this big machinery and then going to the store next door and buying minature toys that looked just like them. I think this picture was the closest to the one I remember.

These tractors go way back....They told us that we could also go on a tour of the Harvester company that takes you on a big golf cart and drives you through the buildings where they put together all of this huge stuff. We are going to make sure we take advantage of that opportunity as well. Being a farm girl hasn't left me totally!

I guess you recognize this face having so much fun in the big tractor place!
This is an incredibly looking, almost angry, piece of machinery that I guess harvests all kinds of grains and maybe even corn. It only cost approx. $500,000!!! Everything except the smallest tractors were over $100,000...amazing that anyone can afford to buy them.

This huge piece sits outside and guards the entrance to the building. I guess they don't worry about someone carrying it off! When you get bored with these exciting pictures, show them to the little kids. They'll love them. (like I did)!

These smiling pictures tell the story. Such childlike fun we had remembering our lives on the farm. Dan never lived on a "real" farm like we did..but he does a good job of enjoying all this with me. The smallest tractor they had...I think it ws built sometime in the 1920's. No not dad...he came a few years later!!!!Ha Ha (I'll have to think about whether I'll show him this blog. )

My home away from home!

2009-06-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning all. It is so nice when I have a day off and can take a few minutes to do what I want to instead of what I need to! I just finished exercising and dad is still snoozing so I thought I would send you a couple of pictures. One is a rainbow I captured on my camera coming home from work. It had rained most of the day, so it was nice to see this rainbow in the sky. Such a beautiful reminder of a promise made to Noah. The other is a picture of where I work every day. It is one of three Trinity hospitals in this area and it is a part of the Iowa Health System Corporation. Lots of good things happen here. We are a level 2 trauma center, so we don't get the very worst patients. We do lots of auditing of just about everything that happens here. In some ways that is good, but in other ways the staff feel it is a punitive environment. I'm trying to figure out how we can always know what is going on and have the staff embrace the "why".. I try to be very visible in my areas, and am now working on improving some of the systems that are not working the way they should if we are to protect our patients. I am learning lots of new ways to do things as well, so that is good! I do come home from work feeling pretty drained, but by the next morning and after exercising....I'm ready to go again. Last evening dad and I went to a movie and saw the new Pixar movie "UP"...It is a great movie and I know that the children would love it..we did! The Pixar team definitly have great imaginations. It is supposed to rain here today, so we will see. The last 3 days have been beautiful as you can tell from the picture. Have a wonderful weekend. I'm so grateful for BYU TV and their programing especially on the Sabbath day. Have a great weekend!

Nauvoo, the Beautiful

2009-05-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Mississippi river just close to the place where I live in Moline. We had something to eat after returning from Nauvoo. It was a wonderful day and hopefully the pictures that follow will give you a glimpse into a day filled with fun and a few hours of a spiritual feast inside the Nauvoo Temple.

I had to pinch myself to remember that I was in a place that was once known as the "City of Joseph".... This picture was taken off the patio where we were eating and it was more beautiful looking over the top of the railing.

After Valerie and I attended the temple, we took this picture with the Mississippi behind us. John had attended the temple earlier and we had taken turns playing and being with the children.

Below is a picture of me on stilts...we actually took a video of both Valerie and I staying on the stilts and walking a few steps. I don't think I have been on stilts for at least 60 years. It was fun and even made me remember what it was like to walk on them and not have any fear of falling off!

The picture of Valerie was just as she fell off, but the truth of it all is she could have run circles around me. It was fun to be a kid again...

This beautiful temple that overlooks the giant Mississippi is awe inspiring. I tried to imagine in my minds eye what the pioneers must have felt like when they were driven out of their city and watched their

Temple burn. I'm sure if they are allowed that they would walk these halls and be grateful that the temple was rebuilt. I suspect that many of their posterity have attended this beautiful edifice.

While we were waiting for John as he attended the temple, we had a great opportunity to spend time in a place called..."Things the pioneers did"..or something like that. We dressed up in pioneer clothing and then spun tops made of carved wood.There were some wooden teddy bears that were strung on two ropes. When you put the ropes in your hand and pulled them alternating right then left, the bears would climb the rope. I didn't get a picture of them.

Below is a picture of the "charming" children of John and Valerie. We have become great friends and had a wonderful time together enjoying our picnic lunch and the beauties surrounding us in Nauvoo.

This beautiful flower was just outside the visitors center. It almost didn't look real it was so perfect...just like the other creations of our Father-in-Heaven.

A lovely flowering tree in the gardens at the Visitors Center. We had such a wonderful day together.

More Adventures for Dan and Donna

2009-05-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful sunset that I captured while we were driving home from Manti, Utah...pictures I will add later. The rest of the pictures on this blog are taken since we arrived in Moline, Illinois. I flew here and Dan drove. He drove about 1800 miles in two days and then yesterday he took off for Albuquerque where he will spend a week with the grandchildren while Daren is in Boston. Then he will head back to Salt Lake to baptize Trey....and then another 1800 miles back to Illinois . It's a good thing he loves driving! The pictures below are taken in Moline, Illinois where I am now the Interim Director of Critical Care at Trinity hospital in Rock Point, Iowa. I was hired for 12 weeks, and we hope that we will be back home by fall. Our home away from home is in Moline...only about 5 miles from the hospital. The pictures below are from our current apartment that is called a cottage in the Stoney Creek Inn. The light in the kitchen is very yellow, so it makes the kitchen look yellow and it isn't! We are on the 3rd floor and get lots of exercise climbing the stairs. There is an elevator, but it is at the other end of the building. I will include pictures of the amenities in another blog. It has a very pleasant environment.
This part is our bedroom...it is just between the kitchen and the living room, so very handy if you get tired on the way to the next room. Interesting design. It has a look of being a log cabin, but tastefully done.
We have someone who comes in every day and cleans the bathroom, replenishes towels etc. and then two times a week the sheets get changed! Not bad having a maid!

This is our desk very covered with computer equipment, a bit messy because of so many cords, but it works! We have two TV's one here and one at the end of the bed...about 3 feet away from this one. Oh well I guess Dan and I can watch separate programs if we so choose.

This is the living room and the couch is facing the TV and desk in the last picture. To the left of the couch is a large window and a small outside patio where we can go if we so choose. It is getting pretty warm and more humid here, so staying inside agrees with us. This picture below is one of the Mississippi River that is just about a mile from our house. It is amazing how big and mighty it is. Sure hope it doesn't decide to overflow while we are here!

This is a beautiful Paddle boat that is sitting right on the walk way that follows the Mississippi. They are Casino boats, but we may have to go on one just for the trip...it would be an adventure we need to have while here close to the Mississippi River.

Another view of a second Paddle boat that I passed while finding my way to where the LDS Church is located. I am trying hard to be adventurous, but am a bit afraid of getting lost and not making it back home. I did find my way home today, so tomorrow I think I'll be fine getting to the church. I'll be glad when Dad get's back because he has such a navigators head that he can get anyplace and not get lost! The picture below was also taken in Manti...Oh well it adds some variety to the blog!

Black bird baked in a pie!

2009-05-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well now you have seen a blackbird baked in a pie! Dad and I watch Good Eats - Alton Brown- and are so fascinated with all the stuff he does. Well today I used his "Super Apple Pie " Recipe and even bought a special tart pan, rather than using a pie pan, and then used this little black bird that takes the steam from inside the pie and then it is not necessary to cut slits in the crust! I used 4 different kind of apples and he doesn't use many of the spices etc. that are in most of our cook books. This has apple jelly, apple cider and a few other unique pie ingredients. It only took me two hours as you drain the apples and that keeps them from juicing up so much that they shrink in the pie. I can hear you all saying..."mom doesn't have enough to do"....you may be right, except that I cleaned house real good before starting the pie. It has to cool for 4 hours before cutting.. we can hardly wait!

This is the box that this pie bird comes in...We got it at Kitchen Kneads here in Logan. I didn't know there were such things! Oh I'm getting such a great education.

Then I decided I had some bananas that were about to go the way of all "too old" bananas. So yesterday my Visiting Teacher brought us a loaf of the best banana bread I have ever eaten. She said it was a "last day of the month" treat! She has 4 children and I know her youngest has been very ill. Anyway I ask for the recipe and made two loaves. It has sour cream as one of the ingredients and the sides and bottom are covered with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar! You would think all we do is eat, but we are keeping ourselves at one light meal a day and the rest of the day we try real hard to ignore the goodies. Wish I could hand you all a slice of warm banana bread! I thought Daren and Beret would be here this evening, but they will leave Alb. early tomorrow morning to return to Logan. I ask Daren how things were going and he said "real good"....I said "REAL GOOD" and he said YES! Of course I knew she was in the car...they were headed for Sante Fe. He said they had gone boating on the lake yesterday when it was 80 degrees. It sounds like fun. We are excited to see him so happy. Well enough for today!

Catching up!

2009-04-27T15:18:00.001-07:00

I have not posted for a while, so you are going to get to see a variety of pictures related to our activities over the past couple of weeks. We started out making a quick trip to Grand Junction, Colorado hoping to make it there before my dear brother Odell left this life for a better one. These pictures are of the hospital and the beautiful Hospice where he spent the last week. We were grateful that we were able to be with him if only for a short time prior to his death. We then spent a few days helping with the plans for his funeral that would be held in Logan, Utah. He wanted to be buried close to our parents. It was a beautiful day in Logan and a wonderful funeral where great tributes were shared in both music and song for a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and cousin to many!
He was a great example to all of us and lived a life that took his family through many adventures around the world. He left a great legacy and memories for me of a loving older brother.

This is a picture of St. Mary's hospital where he received most of his treatments and had wonderful care from many Doctors and Nurses.

As his condition worsened, he was moved to this beautiful new Hospice facility especially designed to provide a peaceful environment for both the patient and the family. We were grateful to see the tender loving care provided and the quiet space for family to be with him. We appreciated so much the opportunity to spend time with him prior to his leaving this life. Craig and Dixie were very gracious to us during this difficult time.
This picture was taken at the Logan cemetary where many family members met to show the respect that such a great man deserved.His funeral services were wonderful. The Bishop from our Ward here in Logan conducted the services and found out that at one time Dixie and Odell had met his parents and may have actually stayed at their home when they first went to Washington DC on one of many of Odell's assignments. His father worked in the same area of the U.S Agriculture department where Odell worked. This coincidence has to be one of those tender mercies of the Lord. The picture of the three younger brothers was taken at the cemetary as well. How grateful I am for brothers that chose to make their families, the Gospel and the Priesthood so important in their lives.
Now we will turn to some of the lighter side of the past couple of weeks.

Diane, Ryan and children,Dion, Summer and children as well as Danielle, Lauren, Heather and Trey came to our home on Sunday for dinner. I only got pictures when Diane and Ryan arrived a bit earlier than the others. You'll notice a picture of one of the tables ready for company. Another table was set up in the living room. I think I got too busy with dinner and didn't take anymore pictures when everyone arrived. So sorry!
James with his beautiful brown eyes just shining with the joy of being at grandma's. Of course he always has that big smile and beautiful eyes!And here is Beth exploring some of the beautiful little things we have around the house that are okay to play with. She loves pretty things!
I believe Ryan and Dan were trying to figure out how they made this piano so that it would play itself after hooking it to an I-POD...I'm not sure they ever figured it out, but made for a great picture.

Our next adventure was a trip to Sandy to spend some time with Dion,Summer,Corey, Jenna and Randy. The special occasion was
a celebration of the Webelo awards for Corey and other young boys. It was a great evening. We were all very proud of his achievements...and we know that mom played a big part in the motivation! Great work Corey, Summer and Dion.. We were happy to have our picture taken with him as well.

The next important event was our opportunity to meet the beautiful young woman that Daren brought to our home. Her name is Beret and she is a delightful and talented woman. She brought a special feeling into our home and we spent several hours just visiting,eating, and enjoying one another. She shared a poem that she is writing about the Prophet Elija (it is a masterpiece). ..She is a master at the piano as well. It is so great to see them both so happy. They left Sunday to travel to Albquerque to meet Daren's children and then I hope that they will be able to make some plans for the future. We know that the Lord is looking out for them. She lost her husband a little over a year ago.Well, now you have spent the last 2 weeks with us. There have been many memories made in only a short time frame.

The bedspread and the quilt made from scraps!

2009-04-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

The original bedspread made back in 2003. This is
a recent picture taken from our bedroom in Logan.
I will hate to see it wear out, as it was a triumph after
many months of putting little pieces together.

I especiallyremember one long day after sewing the pieces
when I realized that I had sewn them wrong and had to take
it all apart and start over! That was a sad day.
The happy day was when it was all finished and on our bed.

This creation is from material left over from that
bedspread! Hopefully this experiment has helped me learn a
few things about quilting on a machine. The sewing machine
even cooperated! I consider that a miracle..

I spent about 6 hours doing this stitching and then
another hour to let the machine do the fancy stitch on the
border. I was determined to get it done in one day!

Doneen was kind enough to tutor me over the phone
and I know that I made many of the mistakes that she
warned me about, but I'm excited that it actually
looks like a small quilt!
This view is obviously the back side and you can tell there
is no ryhme or reason to the sewing, but just being able to
move the material under the machine is what made
it fun. I thought about trying to do a pattern and knew I
would probably get discouraged and scrap the whole thing!

I've had the machine since 2002 and am just now starting
to find out all the fun things it can do...even for folks like me!

I have some pieces of a quilt that Arlene (Larry's dear wife)
gave me when we were living in Arizona and I'm now flirting
with the idea of piecing a quilt and then quilting it!
Who knows it might even look like a real quilt.

The picture below is just one more view in case you missed
the last two!

A quiet day at home.

2009-04-08T14:13:00.001-07:00

This is dad quietly studying the book of Isaiah and taking great notes so that he can get them on his brass plates. He is also doing all this work so that even I can get a great understanding of that important book in the Bible.

This is evidence of what I'm spending my time doing... These are ginger cookies and a new kind banana bread with lots of different spice. The spices came as a result of me having two recipes on one page and was looking at the wrong one until the spices were added. I said to myself "I don't remember putting all these spices in banana bread". Sure enough I was looking at the wrong recipe, so I finished out with the right recipe. Can hardly wait to see how it tastes. It looks and smells good!

I do enjoy sharing homemade goodies with the 2 widows living close by and Danielle and her children are coming to spend Easter weekend with us. Jeff flew to Alabama today to attend a funeral of one of his cousins.

It seems strange even yet when I don't have to walk out the door and go to work, so I'm trying to keep myself busy. My next blog will show you what I did yesterday. Can't seem to get this blog to let me add a picture so I'll do it as a separate blog.

I finished it! and a Precious Picture

2009-04-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

I just had to put this on my blog. Don't look to closely at the work, but I just had to take a picture of this quilt that I finished today. Believe it or not I put these scraps of material together

in 1995 in Sacramento,CA. thinking that I would make some kind of a quilt out of it. I have carried the top around for the past 15 years and somehow don't know why it never got left behind in all of our moves. So about 2 weeks ago I started tying it....didn't mark it or anything. Did it with the quilt on my lap on the floor or in the back seat of the car. Today I finished the edge with my sewing machine and a fancy stitch. It is not a quilt that I would show to anyone who is a quilt maker. (Doneen don't look to close!)It will be great for picnics and that sort of "lawn" sitting. I was so happy to have it done that dad took me to dinner!

You should see all the needle holes in my fingers! No, I guess you shouldn't....

A Great Memory Picture

This is the picture that was taken when our grandfather Larson

was leaving for his mission in Colorado...probably about 1906. I know

you cannot make out the features, but wanted to just give you a glimpse

of a very precious photo.

I have the original with all the names of the missionaries, but had

this wonderful old frame and so took the original to "Inkleys" and had them

take a picture of the original and make it a bit smaller (the names are not on

this picture) and then it was cut to fit the frame. I now have a DVD

with the picture and will send one to each of you soon.

April Birthday Party

2009-04-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 31st the family that were close enough got together to celebrate the April Birthdays. (Also remembered Branden, serving as a Missionary, today is his 20th birthday)
We celebrated Daren's, Jaime's and James' (Diane and Ryan's youngest) birthdays...A good time was had by all. As you can tell by the pictures, we had lots to eat and great fun just being together. Doneen always manages to feed us well and those of us who come to her home add the needed additional items. Dad and I brought the cake...cheated and bought it at Costco! I'm getting lazy in my old age!

The kitchen is the hangout as Doneen puts the finishing touches on the side dishes.

What did we do before cell phones and texting?????
There is no end to our need to communicate and I guess
that is great!

It was a real treat that Daren and three of his children
could be with us. I don't think I captured Jared in
any of the pictures. Daniel is the track star and Chantel
will soon be a high school graduate and plans on attending
Utah Valley University this summer (I think)... She is
a beautiful young woman. Andrew was on his way to Provo
but did not arrive before we left.

In case your mouth is watering over the rolls, they
tasted even better than they looked...is that possible????

The cake had all three names on the bottom line..hard to
read here, but they were there. Note the 2 (James), 46 (Daren), and
18 (Jaime)...this is her lighting the candles.

This is a picture of Miles...a dear friend from our
days in Albuquerque. It was nice to see him again.
He is currently teaching "Interior Design" at Salt Lake
Community College. It was a great day of fun and visiting
and renewing friendships. There were so many I didn't
get pictures of, but I guess you will just trust they were there!

Our Day in Grand Junction

2009-03-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that David and Larry and I went to
Grand Junction to visit with Odell and Dixie.
We had a wonderful visit and Dixie made us a
great lunch with a beautiful table. She knows
how to make everything look lovely.
We enjoyed about 4 hours of remembering
our life experiences and the fun we had together.
Since Odell and and I are a few years older than
David and Larry, we had a few more tales to
tell of our growing up years . I know that
I thought I was really picked on and he
remembers that in some ways it was fun
to be the big brother and pick on his "little"
sister. Fortunately we have grown out of those
childish activities and now our love for each
other goes deeper than we can express.

David drove his car and it was fun for me to
listen to Larry asking lots of questions
about all the things that he missed in our years

at home before he arrived as the 3rd brother.

And we hassled him
a bit as he and Steven were always able to
go with mom on dad on their traveling ventures.
Probably the one that took the longest was a driving
trip to Alaska from Oregon. I know mom used to
say she thought they were going to drop off the
end of the earth. We have pictures of her
sweeping out the camper at 2 a.m. with the sun shining brightly.

Odell, David and I as the older children
only remember having to make sure the
cows were milked, chickens were fed, and
the pigs were given whatever left overs
we had. I'm sure we did fine, but it wasn't
as much fun as traveling !!!

We all wished that Steven
could have been in Grand Junction with us as I know
he has his special stories to tell as well.
Larry and David gave Odell a beautiful blessing before
we departed for Utah and the Spirit was
so strong that tears flowed freely as soon
as the blessing started. The power of the Priesthood
was certainly there in abudance. I am personally
grateful for brothers who have chosen to make
the gospel the center of their lives.
How grateful we are that Odell's life has been
preserved for many more months than others
who suffer from the same terrible diagnosis.
We know that the Lord has heard and
answered many prayers in his behalf.
This picture below shows that no matter what is going
on at the time that he still has a wonderful
smile and words of gratitude for a great
family and more experiences than most
men get the opportunity to enjoy in two
lifetimes.
We are all grateful for the time he has taken to
write his life history for all of us.

Odell and Dixie, thank you for sharing your lovely
home with us. But most of all, thank you
for being a very special part of our lives.
This day will stand out in our memories as
a very special one because of the two of
you and the spirit you have that abounds in your home.

With much love, Donna, David, Larry, and Steven (even
though he was not able to be with us)

An exciting Evening!

2009-03-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday about 10 a.m. Dan and I left Logan with the final destination before returning home was Provo, Utah. The goal was to be able to hear our granddaughter Jaime play her flute as a soloist with the Utah Valley Symphony. It is called the "Young Artists Concert" program. Prior to going to Provo, we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants in the Joseph Smith Building. It is on the 10th floor and I think is called "The Garden Room"....this picture is the view out the window where we were seated an enjoyed a light lunch. And just outside the restaurant is where the picture of the two of us was taken by a lady passing by!
We then journeyed to Thanksgiving Point where I took my first tour of the Dinasour Museum there. What an incredible sight all those huge creatures make. I'm glad I didn't live at the time they were on the earth. It is hard to even imagine having those around in your back yard!!

We continued our journey to Provo where we stopped and spent a few hours at Doneen's...I managed to bump my head and it even bled! Today only a really big lump and a very tender spot remains. After helping where we could at the house, we went with Chelsie as our Chauffer to Los Hermanos, a wonderful Mexican Restaurant, where we met Diane and Ryan and had dinner...eating again!. It was Ryan's birthday so we were celebrating together. Following the meal we went immediately to the Concert Hall where Jaime was to perform. This is a picture of Chelsie, Dan, Diane and Ryan after being filled with wonderful food walking to the Concert from the Restaurant.

Below is a picture of the stage in the Concert Hall after all the Young Artists had performed. They were all incredible performers and the oldest was 19 and the youngest 9. It was truly a wonderful evening. On the stage the one in the beautiful turquoise gown is Jaime.

We took this next picture after she arrived home and we were going to eat dessert. We were all very proud of her for being selected as one of the Young Artist's to perform at the concert. She is a very accomplished floutist! (that means she plays the flute extremely well)!

The evening would not be complete without a picture of Jaime with her mother Doneen. She supported Jaime by staying backstage and being there for her through all her many tryouts and concerts. Jaime will be going to BYU in the fall of this year. We are very proud of her and her musical accomplishments.

In fact we are very proud grandparents of 25 wonderful, talented, energetic, committed, smart , helpful and so many other adjectives that could be used to describe children who love their parents and their Heavenly Father.
I couldn't pass up this picture of little Christian having his own 1/2 gallon of ice cream! He thought everyone should have a dish like his! We were invited to Doneen and Alan's for dessert when the concert was over. We had a slice of wonderful cheesecake and ice cream...I know that Dan and I are eating very lightly today to make up for a day of too much, but wonderful, food!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2009-02-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

These pictures sort of speak for themselves.

We are getting lots of snow here in Logan,

but I suspect it still does not compare with

Massachusetts. Uncle Larry came last

evening after Dan had left for Albuquerque

and helped me get the snow blower started.

He then did the driveway and the sidewalks. This

morning I was able to get it started after only 3 tries

and cleaned the driveway and walks again after

about 3 inches of snow fell during the night.

Actually it is quite beautiful when the sun

comes out and especially from inside the

nice warm house!

I know spring will be welcome

this year...

Birthday Party

2009-02-17T16:50:00.001-08:00

On Monday evening we gathered at Dion and Summer's home to celebrate the February birthdays. It was a cold wintry night, but warm inside. I didn't get all the pictures I needed to, but some is better than none...right? Diane, Ryan and children and all of Doneen and Alan's family were there as well as Danielle and dad and I. We were celebrating Heather and Trey's birthday as well, but they were both home sick with the flu so Danielle was the lone representative of their family, so their presents went home for them to enjoy.

The food was great...it was the "haystack" kind of stuff. I'm sure there is a better name than that, but it starts with rice and then the wonderful chicken sauce, pineapple, crunchies, coconut, cheese and other goodies go on top. The cake was a Costco special with all the names on the top and delicious strawberry mousse inside.

The children watched a fun movie downstairs while the adults visited and then Dion opened presents. The biggest present he got that day is not in the pictures, and I'm sure it will show up on his blog real soon. A fun time was had by all. We then headed back to Logan. We had snow most of the way and were not able to go over the mountain pass, but fortunately there is a way to go around the mountains and still get into Logan. We made it safely and now Dan is somewhere headed for Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am praying for good roads for him as he makes that trip. He will spend the next 4-5 days with the grandchildren while Daren takes a trip to somewhere in Canada.

Dion eyeing the cake with Jenna looking on
Doneen and Christian getting out of the cold.

Diane looking great and enjoying the festivities!

Dion with his new BYU shirt and Jenna with a great big smile...

Birthday Party

2009-02-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

Home Improvements

2009-02-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I think I have put together a blog with pictures that I took in our home to show a few of the changes. I spent 2 hours with Debbie on my computer yesterday moving pictures to where I could find them . This morning I ran into another glitch and Diane rescued me from that one! It is a good thing I don't have to pay the going wage for computer genius' as I would soon be broke.

I went around the house and took a few pictures of things we have changed. The living room looks very different since most of mom's furniture is now living in other grandchildren's homes and her piano went to Houston to Steven and Larry got the grandfather clock. Since that time with some of my earnings from San Francisco we bought a grand piano and a new grandfather clock. We are cleaning up the cupboards in the kitchen and restaining where necessary and adding new more modern handles. Over the next 2 weeks we will be getting new counter top. It was supposed to happen next week, but something got back ordered so we were "frustrated" about that. In the bedroom we took down wall paper and added new blinds. The picture over the bed is one we bought in San Francisco. I couldn't resist because of the colors.

So thanks to my daughters and sons, I may even learn how to do this without being afraid that I may do something stupid and lose everything! Have a wonderful day.

A few more treasures

2009-02-04T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well here is the rest of the story from the blog
that you will read after this one! I don't know
if I will ever figure all of this out, because I
keep losing the notes I take when I get tutored
by my very amazing blogger daughters and
daughters-in-law. Anyway you will recognize
the bracelet as one I described as my Beehive
bracelet now 60 years old (recently found) and
in the center the pins I earned as a Mia Maid and
Laurel and the one with the small attachment was
my Seminary graduation pin from High School. (1955)
These days of finding treasures has really lit
my fire for memories.

I had the picture of grandma and grandpa Moyes' Wedding
fixed, it was slightly torn. Had a copy made for each of
my brothers and will have the original with a new
glass and touched up frame on my wall soon.

Two miracles

2009-02-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I know that many of you have probably already
read Uncle Davids' blog...If not make sure you do.
In this picture you see him holding a treasure that I
found in an old box in the storage room here at our home in
Logan. Most recently mom and dad's home! We have basically
ignored that room until we knew we needed to clean
everything out, paint and put in some better flooring
and put our food storage in the room. In the process I
found 2 old boxes that were pretty abused. My first
thought was to perhaps get rid of them without looking
in them, but of course my curiosity always gets the best of me.
I thought about throwing them out because I remembered the
time after Dad passed away that there was a wheat sack that
was open in this room and I believe every mouse in the city
of Logan was called to mom's home. It was finally discovered
and the mice were taken care of. So I sort of assumed that
the contents would have been shredded by the mice...Thank
goodness that didn't happen.

In this box were all of my brother David's and my brother Steven's
missionary letters. I gathered them up with a few other things
and sent Steven's to him and we delivered David's to
his doorstep as he was not home. We went to the open house at
the new Draper temple. Upon our return I found I had a message
on my cell phone. On the other end was David...with an excitement
in his voice like I don't ever remember from him. He told me there
was a story behind those letters. He shared the story that when he
was set apart as a missionary that he was told not to keep a journal but
to spend his precious time teaching and finding. He was to ask those who
received his letters to save them.

After returning from his mission and who knows how long after that,
he spent many hours with mom (grandma) trying to find the letters.
She did not seem to recall saving them. He searched the house with no success.
The letters he had sent to Carma were also lost. He had given up on
ever being able to share his mission experiences with his children
and grandchildren. He will now have the opportunity to use these letters to
produce a book sharing his missionary experiences.

It was a miracle for me to find those letters in an old messed up
box in the basement. My feelings after hearing his story were that
the Lord never forgets those who lose their life in his service. Uncle
David has spent most of his adult life as a Father, Grandfather, Missionary,
Bishop, Stake President, or in a Bishopric.
I was grateful to have been an instrument in the Lord's hands.
I haven't heard from Steven but hopefully his letters will also add
to stories he can tell his children and grandchildren.

Now the story behind this picture and a separate picture
to follow. After finding David's letters, I ended up finding
this bracelet (not in the same box) that was my Beehive bracelet with the
charms I earned going through my 12th and 13th birthdays
in the Young Women's program. It was sterling silver so
I had it cleaned up and is now in it's own little box. This
bracelet is nearly 60 years old! I also found a few papers
and pictures that are now in Dion's hands. One of the papers
was some grades of my grandfather's brothers in school in 1891
and 1892! What fun I had those days digging through the boxes
that I thought the mice had destroyed.

In nice warm Tucson

2009-01-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

We are now on Highway 10 driving from Phoenix to Tucson. The picture to the left is just one of the many jagged looking mountains that lead to our destination. Everywhere there are mountains surrounding the highway and these mountains have a very different look than the Utah Mountains...no snow! but also very different shapes etc. We did actually see one mountain that had some snow on the very top.

The picture below was taken at Macayo's restaurant in Tucson. We had a wonderful mexican food lunch. Burt and Ina Hancock are about 10 years older than we are and go way back to our early days at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. Burt was our Branch President while we were there. He was present before I gave birth to Debbie as I had labored for about 25 hours and they were considering a c -section when I asked for Dan to call him and give me a blessing. Shortly after the blessing Deb delivered normally and for that we were all very grateful. Ina and Burt had 4 sons. Their oldest son, Branden, was Dan's first Eagle Scout when we lived in Arkansas. He entered the mission field in France a few years later when they were living in Arizona. Two weeks after he arrived in the mission field he was hit by a car and eventually was taken off life support by his father when he flew to France to be with him.

Dan actually drove to Arizona to attend the funeral. We have crossed paths many times over the past years and spending a day with them was so wonderful. They now live in Gilbert about 3 miles from where one of the new temples will be built. We had a wonderful day driving to Tucson and reminiscing about our lives and experiences. Dan and Burt sat in the back seat and told old military stories and Ina and I visited in the front seat about our children and other life experiences. Ina did the driving as Burt has lost his sight in one eye. We had the opportunity to meet one of their daughter-in-laws who is a nurse at the hospital in Tucson that I was contacted about! Another coincidence???? Anyway we had a great day and I wanted to share it with whomever sees this blog.

Tucson visit

2009-01-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hi, here is the picture that I mentioned of the new bridge being built over the Hoovert Dan. You can see the other end of the bridge at about the same angle on the left side of the picture. They are building a new freeway that will eventually connect with this bridge. Amazing!

Hooray! a nice warm day in Arizona

2009-01-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

Hi all. We left Logan Utah at 4:30 a.m. on Monday morning...We knew a big snow storm was headed for us and wanted to try to out run it. We did! We got to St. George and even though it was still cold there, we knew that we would be okay the rest of the way. I have some pictures I will add to another blog that I took while crossing Hoover Dam. They are in the process of building a new bridge that is now just starting across this huge chasm. I can't even imagine how they go about being out there on the end of what is now hanging over the water and continuing across until it reaches the one coming from the other side. I will never stop being amazed at man's ingenuity. We spent the first night in Kingman , Arizona where we enjoyed a hot tub and a good nights sleep. I am fighting my lungs and head, so hoping that warm weather will help that get better in a hurry.

We drove the next day and arrived in Surprise, Arizona (yes that is the real name) where we took these pictures. This is Del E. Webb hospital, one of the hospitals that I had responsibility for when I worked in Arizona. The newest building on the left of the picture has been built since I left. Most of the people I worked with have either moved on or were "moved" on when Banner Health took over Sun Health. I guess I got out at just the right time. The picture below is Boswell hospital where my office was located. Our visit brought back some special memories. I had a chance to visit on the phone with "Nancy" who reported directly to me and that was fun.

After we settled in to our room in the Marriott
Residence Inn in Peoria...just about a mile from our former home on Utopia Road. I didn't take pictures of that home and need to before we leave here. The picture below is the wonderful Scottsdale Mall. One of the favorite places we enjoyed after going to the temple in Mesa. We had lunch there a number of times. Diane and Doneen, you may recall our shopping ventures as this mall. As you can tell by the picture we were having lunch and dad was enjoying every bite! After leaving the mall we went to the Nordstroms Rack Outlet also in Scottsdale. Dad bought a couple of shirts and I found a few things I liked as well!!! Big surprise. While I was there I got a phone call from a Search firm telling me about a Chief Nursing Officer position at St. Joseph's hospital in Tucson. I was blown away and I think he was too when he learned we were in Phoenix. I told him I would send him my resume' and he said he had it in front of him! Small world. Well needless to say I told him I was a bit interested as Dan and I had spent part of the day before trying to figure out how we could get to this part of the world at least in the winter without spending all our savings...The answer. Take a job here and they move us! Anyway we'll see.

I will add another post with pictures of our dear friends that live in Gilbert and drove us to Tucson yesterday (Thursday)

More Gingerbread fantasies

2008-12-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

This group of pictures were taken on an evening when Dorothy, Larry, Dan and Donna (me) went out for a Family Home Evening. We went to all the sites where they have set up many gingerbread creations for the visitors to the Winter Quarter Sites. It helps to bring more people at this time of year when there aren't many tourists. We had a great evening together. Being here in Nebraska with Dorothy and Larry has made such a huge difference for us. We feel so included in everything and the Temple Presidency, Mission President, Senior Missionaries and so many others that we rub shoulders with on a regular occasion has made our stay so enjoyable and we find it filled with many spiritual moments. We are so fortunate to have these blessings besides being able to continue my Nursing work and hopefully fulfilling something that I said many years ago. Someone ask me what I wanted people to say when I died and my answer was.." That I had made a difference.." I have been blessed to hear many say that in San Francisco and now here in Omaha. The Lord has truly guided us in our wanderings.

gingerbread house/oops barn

2008-12-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I am still not doing everything right as I thought I had three pictures and I have only one! Anyway this is one of about 100 gingerbread creations that are on in display in the Visitors Center at Winter Quarters. When it gets this time of year, there are not as many tourists coming to the Visitors Center, so they have all the places just full of wonderful creations. I took about 100 pictures of the variety and who knows sometime I may get most of them on the same post. I obviously still have a lot to learn about this form of communicating

The team and our marshmallow igloo

2008-12-13T18:16:00.000-08:00

Well, this was at the Hilton. We had some great training for a few hours with a very talented professor from Creighton that taught us some new techniques in Leadership. Then we had an hour of "play time" and were given two bags of marshmallows and a box of foil and we were to make something related to the season. Some were very creative, ours was not the best...but we made up a story about it any way. Left to right...Inglish, Donna, Sandy,Karl and Darren...4 of my direct reports. We all wore "jeans"...even me. I bought some while I was in Mass. with Deb. It was nice to get a break from the hospital and have a little fun together. The food for the day was absolutely wonderful and I even got home before it was dark.

A day in the Life of an Interim CNO

2008-12-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

If I work this right, I am going to blog a number of pictures that I took at work over the past couple of days. In this picture we are celebrating with an Hawaiian Luau theme the beginning of a new Residency for New graduate RN's. This is really a big deal and should make a huge difference for those just out of school. I think we are one of the few professions that have not had a residency to allow Nurses the opportunity to get to know what they need to do to be successful for years to come. This program will allow them to be precepted, mentored, debriefed (when they get frustrated) and give them 18 weeks of partnering before actually taking care of patients on their own. I'm excited that we will be doing this even though I will be gone ( I hope) before the real roll out in February. It takes about 12 weeks to get prepared and that is where we are spending our time at the moment. This picture is from left to right. Linda Ollis, the CEO, Jeremy Falk, the Human Resources VP, Kim, who is our Residency Program Director (she is currently working on a second masters and a doctorate while working full time!) the one in blue is Sandy, who is one of my Directors. Then there's me! The same suit I bought just before Darryl died. The tree is supposed to be on another day of this blog, but I'm still messing up a bit...so here it is. On Friday we attended a workshop at the Hilton in downtown Omaha. This was just one of the beautiful trees throughout the hotel. I have some more pictures, but will try to get them in the right place. This is so much fun!!!

Guess what this is

2008-11-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

Instead of showing you the usual pretty table and delicious turkey we ate yesterday. I am going to show you the festivities from last night first. They call it a game but it looks like more of a workout to me!

2008-11-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone I had to send some pictures from the last Monday evening when I went with Dorothy and Larry to the Special Missionary evening at the Winter Quarters Visitors Center. This was the wonderful Centerpiece of two tables covered with great tasting food.

This couple are the Nebraska Mission President and his wife. They have 4 children with them. The second picture is a wonderful couple from Salt Lake that are completing their mission the first of the year. They have been assigned to the our ward, so we have become well acquainted.

The couple below are President and Sister Oaks, of the Winter Quarters Temple . He is Elder Dallin Oaks brother. He and his wife spoke last night at a High Priest evening at our church. They both spoke of the blessings of the Temple. I was pretty teary through it all. He mentioned once to Dorothy and Larry that before Elder Dallin Oaks leaves on a trip he always calls him and makes sure they are doing well and where he will be. He is an older brother I believe. These are experiences that are adding a great blessing to being in Omaha.

2008-11-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

I just have to share this beautiful pumpkin that
was carved by our lab at the hospital. I don't know
if I have ever seen one like this...It was beautiful and there
were many more that were so clever.

Halloween Fun

2008-10-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today we had these wonderful carved pumpkins just outside our cafeteria. I will post more , but had to include this one.
It was just incredible and the verse that went with it. If you click on it, I think you can read it. I'll put more on another blog...I think your children would enjoy as well. This was an obvious first place winner!!!

Diane...looking very foxy!

2008-10-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hi. I have to write about the picture of Diane...when I published the last post I thought her picture wasn't on it...and lo and behold when I opened the blog there it was. We took this
picture before we went to her concert...what a wonderful even that was. So that is why there is no writing to explain the picture. I keep thinking some time I'll get this all figured out! Love the picture Diane and you look so great!

Fun at the lake

2008-10-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hi, dad finally got to ride in the boat at Leon's We
didn't water ski, but had great fun and enjoyed
the last boat ride until winter is over...Leon's boat
is being winterized until spring.

Dorothy and Larry enjoying the sun and water.
We did all this between sessions of conference
on Saturday.

This is Leon and I still think he looks
a lot like Dion! I know the two of them
would enjoy a good long visit!

Faces!!

2008-09-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Diane and her great smile

Kari...good chocolate!

Daren lookin' good

Some Fun times

2008-09-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

Dion, sharing stories Chantel and Jaime
about his family

Summer in action Dion and Larry enjoying good conversation

More Family Reunion

2008-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Doneen, Kari, Christian Larsen and little James
who belongs to Diane and Ryan Owen..I had a picture
of Diane but it disappeared. It will probably be on the
next blog!

My brother David and his
daughter Emily enjoying the
music provided by Jay.

Jay Moyes, our talented
cousin that has a marvelous
singing voice and accompanies
himself.. Much to our enjoyment!

Family Fun Times

2008-09-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

Our little Christian enjoying
one more lick of the spoon!

Danielle, Lauren, Heather
and Trey at the family
reunion.

Dion and Randy riding their
fancy bicycle! I want a ride!

Two of our wonderful Albuquerque
Grandchildren. Daniel and Chantel!

The Roaring 20's

2008-09-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

This is the 20's costume that I wore for our
physician party sposored by the hospital. Dad
was still in Utah and he was probably grateful.

The feathers aren't very visiable, but they were
pretty big...A good time was had by all!

I put this one in as the blonde (that is her real hair)
is one of the administrators whose name is Pat.
The fellow in the Tuxedo is our Chief Finance Officer and
the lady on the right is our Quality Director. In the back
ground in the yellow suit is another female administrator who
mostly dresses like a man even at work!

In the water!

2008-09-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

These pictures are part of the history of my
ride and water skiing just one week before my 71st
birthday. I may need to show this to my great-grand
kids someday! Great fun and today I'm not even
sore !

2008-09-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

A close up of my sun hat and life vest...before the
water skiing when I looked like someone scared me
and my hair was standing on end.

Dorothy, Larry and Leon's leg!

I think this was Leon on one ski...you'll have to
look at another blog to see me actually standing up
on two skis....It was fun and I'm not even sore today.

The wonderful boat that took us out on the water
Come visit us in Nebraska and I bet you could go
for a ride!

Pioneer memorial sites

2008-08-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

This is just near the visitors center and the temple.

A beautiful visitors center that tells the story
of the pioneers and leaves one with a feeling
of deep gratitude for their sacrifice for the Gospel.

The statue and plaque outside the reconstructed
Kanesville tabernacle where Brigham Young was
sustained as the second Prophet of the Church.

More pictures from our apartment

2008-08-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

This is the other end of the living room! Dad is
still frozen to the TV!

Our very nice kitchen..refrigerator and more cupboards
on the right side...a see through area to the living room
over the sink.

Our little patio....

2008-08-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is the view from One of our favorite shopping
our little patio on the places. It covers several acres!
second floor of the
apartment.

You may remember that a few years ago a gunman
shot a number of employees in a big mall. Well this is
that mall and this is a plaque inside this store by a beautiful
piano! This mall is only about 3 miles from our apt. The mall
has several nice restaurants inside and all around it, so we
often spend a couple of hours every Saturday here. It is a
beautiful day here in Omaha...weather is not too warm and
just enough humidity to keep us looking young! I Wish!!!

Our home in Omaha

2008-08-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is the bed!!!! there is a dresser on the wall Our very nice bathroom...the tub with glass
opposite and a huge walk in closet to the right doors is to the right.
of the bed. Dad even has some space in the closet
and there is stillroom for more! yahoo!!

This is our dining area and I guess the kitchen will
also be in the next blog...It seems to have dropped
off!

This is the corner of the living room..I have another
picture that shows the other end which has a nice
fireplace. I'll send it on another blog...seems I
can't do more that 4-5 pictures..That thing in dad's
hand is not a growth...but getting close...

a bike ride to die for!

2008-07-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Hi all. David took me for a ride on the back of his bike, it was so great I did not have to do any of the work and just enjoyed the ride!

playing piano

2008-07-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

We now have a baby grand piano that can play itself via an IPOD. Here is an example of it playing "Alligator Crawl"...

Airplane

2008-07-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the video of the airplane flying over the mall in San Francisco. This noise brought back lots of memories from living on air force bases!

Fun with the Grandkids

2008-07-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

After the race was over, and naps were done, we went to the park. This was our leisurely walk home through the grass.

Early morning walk

2008-06-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is a view of ourback yard! I only wish it were
all ours. I got up early and did a 3 mile speed walk along
the Bay...You can tell that it is a beautiful calm day
with lots of sunshine. My Vitamin D level is a bit
low so I am trying to get sunshine when I can.
I then went for a swim, the first time since we've
been here. Laid out by the pool and got some more
sun. It has been too cold so I only used the
hot tub prior to today.

There were chipmunks everywhere, but I didn't
have my camera then. It isn't often that the water
is this calm.

We will miss having this in our backyard, but
grateful that we have enjoyed it for the past almost
6 months. We will be here for another 2 weeks and
then we'll see what we do next.

Brightens my day

2008-06-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone..after work today I took a walk along the bay and took in some sunshine and
water and a little wind. As I walked back to the Inn, I was touched by the beauty of these
flowers and it sort of made my day. The weather was beautiful today and the water is very
blue, and the wind is gently blowing over the bay...Love you all and hope that these pictures
will brighten your day as well.

Fantastic toy store

2008-06-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hi all...yesterday we went to San Mateo and
besides enjoying walking around and a great
lunch, we stepped inside this gigantic toy store
and wished we had had all the grand kids with us...
Here are just a few of the many pictures that I
took, I hope to get some more on the blog including
one of a train moving! Note the size of the giraffe!
We were like two little kids having the run of the
store!

Birthday Bash!

2008-05-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

In Doneen's home...Doneen, Heather and Trey's head!

That's Chelsie in the White and Jamie about to
swallow something good. Dion is in the background
eyeing the goodies!

Diane and little James at the party...then we left
and drove through Nevada and eventually ended up
the next day...in San Francisco!

And Away We Go!!

2008-05-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

These are a
few pictures we took as we headed back to
San Francisco. We went to Salt Lake a little early
and then enjoyed the Utah Symphony (a Christmas
gift from Diane and Ryan). What a wonderful
evening!

A beautiful glass sculpture that stands inside
Abravanel Hall..Couldn't get it all in one picture.

A stop at Doneen's for everyone with May
birthdays'. Another blog coming!

At St. Mary's

2008-05-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would send you one of the many
pictures that I had taken with some of the wonderful
folks I worked with at St. Mary's Medical Center
in San Francisco. I will be going back again this Week
to work for them until the 3rd of July! This was a
wonderful experience for me!

Crazy fun and a visitor

2008-05-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Guess which one is the mom? They were having
a great time. More of the crowd just having fun
being together.

HAPPY BIIRTHDAY Danielle

2008-05-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Danielle, Lauren, Heather and Trey

We had lots to eat and even had leftovers! Jeff
in Afghanistan would have loved all this food.

The Best part of family gatherings..the fun of
visiting and getting reaquainted..Dion, Summer
and their children were there for dinner and then
Larry, Arlene, Anthony, Barbara, Vince and Vanica
and the children made it even more fun. I thought
I had a picture of the rest of the crowd on this
blog, but it must have dropped off. Sorry! .Note the
picture on the fireplace...Our wonderful children.

Getting closer home

2008-05-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

This is our youngest grandson
who is only 10 1/2 months old
and is walking everywhere! His
name is Christian he is Doneen
and Alan's youngest.

At home in Logan with our
newest possession. A beautiful
baby grand piano that we bought
at a wonderful sale at the University.

This was taken on Sunday morning.
We have not had a piano since mother's
passing, so felt it was a wise thing to
do with some of my earnings from San Francisco. We are enjoying it so much already
It plays itself when hooked up to an IPOD.

We are able to play any album that
can be loaded on an IPOD. We have wonderful
Hymns and Mozart and just about everything
in between.

Utah "the beautiful"

2008-05-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here are a number of beautiful scense taken as
we crossed the Southern part of Utah. The Rocky
Terrain is so beautiful and colorful. This part
of Utah looks as though the Lord took the
paint brush in his own hand!

We stopped in Manti to see Dan's Sister Janice
and her family. The Temple is always a great
picture subject. We knew we were getting closer
home when we reached this point in our trip!

New Mexico..here we come!

2008-05-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

Darryl's gravesite in Albuquerque. A tender
moment for us. We still miss him so much!

A family photo of Daren and children with grandpa.
We were on our way to Church and thought this
was a good time to get us all when we looked all
clean and shiney!

My turn to get in the photo.

Would you believe this is Daniel as Abe Lincoln
He did all the costume himself. The hat was
especially good. I think the beard was probably
a bit "itchy"...but great looking.

Phoenix Stop

2008-05-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

After leaving California we drove to the Phoenix
area to relive some of our great memories while
living in Phoenix. This picture is of the stadium that
was being buildt just down the freeway from where
we lived. It was built for the 2008 Super Bowl, and
is now the home of the Cardinals (I think). Quite a
structure.

These glamorous shots were taken inside "Mimi's
Cafe. One of our favorite places to eat when we
lived close by. We enjoyed two nights in this area.
We also connected with some wonderful friends
Bert and Ina Hancock...who go way back to our
days in Arkansas when Dan was in the Missile
Business and Bert was our Branch President. They
lost their oldest son just two weeks into his
mission when he was hit by a car. He was actually
one of dad's first Eagle Scouts. We have a rather
tender connection with both of us losing our
eldest sons.

The Irvine stop!

2008-05-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hi we are going to be sending pictures from our trip
home from San Francisco in May. Our first stop
was in Irvine CA to spend a couple of days with David
Stacey and family (& friends). As you can tell our
first evening was a cookout by the pool. David
Dallin, and Dave's friend(oops I forgot his name)..
had just returned from a very long bike ride and
were ready for food and a swim. We had
a wonderful time with them.

How about these bodies! The picture below is
after showers and relaxing together. We loved
just "hanging" out!

God Bless America

2008-04-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure
what happened, because I thought I had finished
putting these pictures on my blog and they were
gone when I was showing dad...Any way this flag
stands as a Sentinel in the National Cemetary.
It is truly a beautiful setting.

Another look from where the flag stands. Over
on the mountain it says "South San Francisco"

This is a view looking across the bay and at the
bay bridge. Some of those taller buildings are
close to the place we live. We've had a memorable
four months here in San Francisco.

God Bless America

2008-04-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

The flag that
stands as a sentinel in the National Cemetary.

Another view across the San Francisco Valley. All
of this is just across the street from the Chapel in San
Bruno, CA.

This
picture is looking towards the Bay and some of the
buildings close to where we have been living for
the past 4 months.

Remembering

2008-04-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. We are posting a few more
pictures of places that we want to be sure and
remember. This is a picture of the Chapel where
we have been so warmly welcomed and have
been fed so spiritually every Sunday. It has been
a real treat to be in a Ward of so many young people
with young families and with a Spirit that is so warm
that it almost brings tears to my eyes while I'm
writing. The theme for the Ward this year is "A Year of
Inconvenience"...meaning they want to be of service to
others throughout the year to the point of being
inconvenienced in their lives.

This next picture will be easier to read if you click on it. Across
from the Church is a National Cemetary with grave stones of
white as far as the eye can see! It is a beautiful setting and one
that truly tugs at the heart strings. The view before us reminds of
the sacrifices of so many for our freedoms. I hope I never forget
how I felt the first time I saw this Cemetary.

This is truly a sacred setting and so we took pictures from several
vantage points.

The scenery around the cemetary is
truly breathtaking and when you get
high enough, you can see the ocean and
the Bay Bridge in the background.

I thought there was a picture of the
flag that stands high in the center of the
cemetary, so I will put that on another
blog. I want to be sure that we capture
this for our memories of a great four months
here in San Francisco.

More Monterey!

2008-04-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

When you click on this, you will see these
beautiful creatures move! At least they did before
I put them on the blog. I guess I'll have to
figure out how to get them on the blog so that you
can watch the jelly fish dance!

This is where dad and I spent a couple of nights
while we were in Monterey. It was nice to have
a warm place that was close to everything
downtown and not too far from where the
Sea Otter Classic was happening. There were
beautiful flowers everywhere!

As Dad and I were getting ready to leave Monterey
after having attended Church on Sunday morning we saw
this cruise ship in the harbor. Sort of wanted to
paddle out and get on! Someday maybe it will
happen.

This is the restaurant where we had eaten the night
before with David, Stacey, chidren and David's friends
from Portland. The windows on the other side
are looking out over the Bay. I forgot my camera
the night we were there together. We had a breakfast
brunch here before we left Monterey.
It was a memorable weekend for us and it only took us
about 90 minutes to get back to our little "home" here
in South San Francisco.

Fun at the Monterey Acquarium

2008-04-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Sara and Lauren with the Penguin. It's hard to tell
here, but the penguin would come up and pushe
their faces against the window like they wanted to
them to pet their little faces. It was so cute.

Out on the deck it was much cooler than inside and
here Lauren was trying to warm up with her
jacket...It was a beautiful but cool day
by the Bay in Monterey! (a Poet and don't
know it!)

This was a unique display of images of glass ware
that were shaped like some of the beautiful
sea creatures. I have lots of pictures of the
fish in the acquarium, but unfortunately most of
them are a "blur" as the fish swam in front of the
glass!

A fun day for grandma and two of our beautiful
granddaughters. We had a wonderful time and
I think they were glad to be able to be inside a
bit since the day before it was pretty cold watching the
racing. So it was our chance to spend time with
granddaughters that we don't see very often.
We need to do the same for our grandchildren in
Massachusetts some day!

The Sea Otter Classic fun

2008-04-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, thought I would share a few more pictures from our
trip to Monterey to watch Dallin race in the Sea Otter Classic.
I don't have pictures of the medal, but he won one! We
are very proud of his ability. We had a great time and felt like we
put 100 miles on our shoes that day!

This picture was taken from the top bunk over
cab of the drivers seat. They had driven an RV
to the site in Monterey so that they were right
in the middle of all the fun! We enjoyed it too as
dad and Sara were able to take a nap at the appropriate
time.

I love this picture...What a beautiful mother and
daughter! The picture below was taken by the RV
(I don't think the one in the background is theirs,
but close) anyway Dallin is on his way to the racing
ground. It was exciting and their were racers and
spectators from all over the world. What a surprise
for us that are not in the middle of the "bike" world.
We were "almost" wishing we had our bikes with us!

Saturday walk

2008-04-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today is a beautiful very warm
day in South San Francisco.
I went for a walk to recapture
some of the beautiful serene
beauty that surrounds us at
this time.

This is looking back at the
Residence Inn where we
enjoy our quiet time and
sleeping time!

This is just a small sample
of the beautiful flowers that
are all along the walk. There
are some very unique flowers
here that I have not seen any
place else.
'
In this picture it seems one
can see forever and if you click
on it you can see the sail
boats in the background.

Fun Day by the Sea Shore

2008-04-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

This a view of what it is like
inside the acquarium or maybe
under the sea!

A pause from our walk and
probably a good stop for
lunch

Our dessert in Ghiardelli's..
Should have waited and taken
pictures of the huge chocolate
sundaes we ate!!!

Nothing reminds one of San Francisco
like the Trolley Cars! We had a great
day and dad took care of the children

The jumping Beth

2008-03-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thought you would enjoy
watching Beth on grandma's
rebounder!

Saturday in the park

2008-03-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

The lake was full of boats, ducks and geese. The stone
bridge is the only way across the water.

This was a beautiful pagoda at the edge of the
water. Everyone else was in shirt sleeves, but we
still wear our coats as the air is so much cooler and
we still get cold! Of course I know we can't complain
about cold since most of you are where it is really cold!

Golden Gate Park

2008-03-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today we spent a couple of hours in Golden Gate Park.
I know there were several thousand people there, but
it is about 7 miles wide and 4 miles long, so there is lots
of room for all these people. The scenery is beautiful and
there are paddle boats and row boats in the water.

There are Sego Lily's in full bloom all over the park. This
park is a wonderful retreat for the people who live in this
very densley populated area

We could get used to this stuff!

2008-03-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hello again...here are some pictures of the beautiful
"grape" countryside. The golf course in the first
picture is part of the Veterans Home in Yountsville.
Dion, anyone can golf there for free! Dad and I took
a walk through the train and this is the Lounge car..
we went to the back of the train while it was stopped.
The grape vines are just beginning to get green..we
would like to come back in a few months, but I'm
sure we'll be long gone by then. We stopped at an
outlet mall and the way home and I did some shopping.
Surprise! Surprise! A perfect ending to a wonderful
day!

Another weekend adventure!

2008-03-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today we had another great weekend journey.
We left early this morning and drove to Napa,CA.,
where we joined the Napa Valley Wine Train.
We rode for 1 1/2 hours through the beautiful
Wine country and then returned. Along the way
we ate a marvelous 4 course lunch that was beautifully
served and delicious. We were in the dome car, so
that made it even more fun! I'll add more pictures
of the countryside on another blog. (We enjoyed
the sparkling cider!) Some looked at us rather strangely
when we told them we didn't drink wine!...
Maybe that's because most people
come to do the "wine tasting"...we went to "taste the
joy of another adventure."...

People we met at the ocean and the airstream trailer

2008-03-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I thought David would especially
like the picture of the Corvette. The
couple driving it were from the Wine Country
and we had a delightful conversation with them.
They told us of a great place for another weekend
trip! In the corner of the airstream picture you
will see a bit of the cast iron stove that we bought!

Golden Gate to the Ocean

2008-03-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Our trip took us from our little home to the Golden
Gate Bridge and then on up the freeway North and
then West until we reached the ocean. It was so exhilerating
The drive takes you through the redwoods, but the
pictures weren't all that good. A fun day!

Nostalgia

2008-03-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday dad and I ventured north out of San Francisco.
We eventually ended up at the beach on Bodega Bay..
Pictures on another entry! The pictures here were truly a
walk down memory lane. I haven't seen a 5 and 10 cent store or
a General store for probably 50 years. This little town was nestled
in the Redwoods on the way to the ocean. We had a great time and
were truly reenergized.