The Tall and The Short Of It All

Fish and Freezer

2012-03-03T09:04:00.005-08:00

When your life is so full of the necessarities of life you tend to rejoice over the small things. I treasure the time I have at home even if it's to clean the fish tank or defrost the freezer. I was able to do both of those things one weekend in Jan. Oh my goodness, how good it felt to see them clean once more. (Not to mention the blessing of warm weather- warm enough to defrost a freezer out in the garage in the month of January!) :-)

And Seth Returns - If Only For a Weekend

2012-03-03T08:45:00.008-08:00

Mid January we get this call from Seth saying he's coming home. What? He's in Germany for school and we haven't seen him (except on Skype Christmas day) since August. But now, he's coming home? you ask. Yes! Coming home to see his sweet Alaisa.

Seth met Ali while going to ISU and as he says, they were "good friends".
Now, she's a bit more than just a "good friend" and he's coming back to Idaho to visit her. She had her tonsils out and he thought a visit would cheer her up so he flew into Boise and stayed a few days with her family there and then they drove over to our side of the state for a weekend. Ali has family in the Idaho Falls and Rigby area so she stayed with her granma and Seth stayed with us.

We got to visit with both of them and they went to Church with us Sunday morning.
It was so good to see Seth (clean shaven this time) and visit more with Ali. We had met her once before but this time we really got to talk. It was so fun!!! I'm amazed at what a sweetheart she is. She's so kind and patient! She wonderful with Seth and levelheaded. Did I mention she has her Bachelor Degree and hopes to be a Speech Pathologist??? True, but it's not the only reason to love her.

Thanks Ali, for bringing Seth home - if only for a weekend.

A Wonderful Week in Baltimore

2012-03-03T07:47:00.005-08:00

On Wednesday night, Feb. 8th, I had just closed up the pharmacy with Joe when I got a phone message from Dalynn. "Could (I) please come to Baltimore?" Daniel was in the hospital and Dalynn wondered if I could come help with the girls. Could I come? Of course, I could come. I spoke to Joe right then and there and it was arranged. I would take a week off and head to Baltimore. I called Luke and he kindly arranged the flights. I just happened to have one leg of the flight already on hand so on Thursday morning I flew to Denver and then got a Southwest flight to Baltimore. Dalynn picked me up and we headed straight to the hospital. It was good to see Daniel for a few minutes and then we went on to their home.

Talk about a fun week... Mika, Ember and little Maren kept me entertained the whole time. We had tea parties,

went to McDonalds in Reisterstown, did a little shopping and found some pretty fairies, went to visit Papa and went out to dinner with Mama at Apple Bees.

One experience I have to write about happened the day before I was to return home. Dalynn had come home to take us all in to see Daniel and then we went to a McDonalds close by; pretty much "downtown Baltimore". It was clean and friendly but maybe not in the best location. Anyway, we got our lunches and I had my little black zipper bag so I paid. We ate and talked and then cleared our table and left. When we got home I was getting ready to purchase a shuttle ticket from the SL airport to IF so I went to get my card out of my bag and couldn't find it anywhere. I told Dalynn and the girls and we all searched the house! No bag! We knew I had had it at McDonalds so Dalynn looked up the resturant phone number and called to see if they had found it after we left. Nope, no bag. Oh my goodness!! My life was pretty much in there. All my cards, my temple recommend, my license (ID) that I would need to even board a plane to get home, my car key, cash for the trip. You name it and it was probably in my black bag. And now, no bag! My heart dropped! How was I going to get home?? How would I replace all that I had lost.

Dalynn asked the girls to come kneel down with us for prayer. Mika offered to say the prayer and it was the sweetest one I'd heard. She simply asked Heavenly Father to help us find "Granma's purse so I would be happy". Then Dalynn said we should just get in the car and go back to see if it was there since she wasn't sure she had called the right McDonalds. I was so pleased that she would do that. It was another hour ride there and then home again, but she suggested it so we went. I was a bundle of nerves hoping beyond hope that it was there but pretty much knowing it wouldn't be and worried sick about how I would "fix this one". It would be so easy for someone to just pick it up and walk out. There were plenty of reasons to do so if they had looked inside. I was almost beside my self with fear.

When we got there, Dalynn and I went inside and up to the counter. I said to one of the ladies, "We were here for lunch a bit ago and I wonder if you found a little black bag I might have left?" Before I had even finished speaking I could see a spark of something in her eye and in a flash I realized that she knew what I was talking about. I felt like I was passing out for a second. I can't explain the feeling I had when I thought she might even know what I was talking about. She was excited as she said, "Oh, it's yours." "Yes, we have it." "We tried to get ahold of you, but....." There it was, my little black zipper bag, right in her hands and she was giving it to me. It really was like someone was giving me my life back. My first thought was "Now I can go home." What a relief! What a miracle.

Through the whole thing Dalynn had been an island of peace and reassurance. She said she really did think that we would find it after all. Wow!

When we got back into the car, I looked at Mika and told her that she could always remember how Heavenly Father answered her prayer and helped us find my bag. What a wonderful blessing for all of us! Thank you Dalynn for your faith and support. Thank you Mika for your sweet prayer. Thank you Ember and Maren for your patience.

After that, I was able to schedule a shuttle ride home and Luke helped me list for flights home. The flights into SL were full all day Thursday the 16th, probably because it was the weekend before Presidents Day and people were heading west to go skiing over the three day weekend. I got out of BWI and into DEN but had to fly into Phoenix and stay the night there before flying into Salt Lake the next day. Dan picked me up at the IF airport on Friday morning and it was good to see him again. I had missed him for a little over a week. But, I sure had fun for a week in Baltimore and will never forget the miracle of Sweet Mika's prayer.

The Announcement

2012-02-14T06:54:00.000-08:00

The time has come and bells will ring. Patrick has proposed and Tessha has accepted. They are now engaged. The wedding date and details will follow. We can't be more excited for both of them. YEAH!!! Interesting that this is being posted on Valentine's Day. :) Tessha can fill you in on all the details.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas is always a favorite time of mine but nothing makes it better than to have children and grandchildren around. I don't care where we are but I love having family close by.
This year Elizabeth, James, Gwenevere and Gracie Li made the trip over from Tacoma as did Tessha and her friend Patrick. Alisha and Gracie were also with us.

We waited for James to arrive to help me get the tree down from the garage and put up in the living room. I have to think that without James around we may have gone tree-less this year. Thank so so much James!

Gwenevere did her part to decorate the tree then ended up playing with Auntie Grace and the empty tree box.

We hung the stocking by the chiminey with care and went off to bed for the night.

Morning brought Santa and stockings and presents to unwrap.

We were able to skype with Seth in Germany but I think we put him to sleep before we were done.

It didn't take long and others drifted back off to sleep, too.

Others began preparing our Christmas dinner.

Most of all we simply enjoyed the time with one another.

Thank you all for spending time with us. You made it another wonderful Christmas Day.

Granma Great's Quilt

2012-01-15T18:41:00.001-08:00

Most of my growing up years my mother made my dresses, as she did for my sisters. Obviously, we had lots of scrape fabric left over. One day she decided to use the scrapes from our dresses to make a wonderful quilt. She and Dad kept the quilt and used it often. Eventually, it came into my possession. I used it as an extra quilt for when we had company. Kristi found it and asked if she could have it. I was a bit reluctant to give it away because of it's sentimental value to me, but then I realized that if Kristi valued it, too, then it would bring her much joy.

One time when we went to Kristi's new house I saw it used as Marley's bedspread. I commented to Kristi how fun it was to see this dear old quilt on Marley's bed.

She told me that Marley loves the quilt. I believed her but didn't realize how much until I saw these pictures. Beautiful Marley in our beautiful Granma Great's quilt.

Gracie Comes Home

2012-01-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

Gracie was coming home and I was SO excited. I had missed her dearly and although I was extremely pleased with her mission service, I was excited for her home-coming.
We went to Provo the night before she was to return to Salt Lake. Laura and the kids flew in and we picked them up later that evening. Now we were ready for Grace to come.

The morning of Dec. 6th while we were making posters in Provo,we got a phone call from Luke. He and his family were with Gracie at the Atlantic Airport. Grace had a short layover there and Luke and Jenn had brought their family to the airport to see her on her way home. Here are a few pictures they had taken.

Later that day we all went to the Salt Lake Airport and waited and waited. Finally there she was at the top of the escalator.

We spent the night in Provo and the next day we picked up Alisha at the SL airport. She flew in from Tacoma to spend Christmas break with us. It was so fun to bring both of our youngest daughters home for a while.

Gracie reported her mission to the ward the following Sunday and we had a small dinner at the house afterwards.

It was good to get together with family and friends.

Enduring

2012-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Many scriptures speak of enduring and sometimes I wonder what it means to "endure." I used to look at the wonderful widows in the Thomas 4th Ward and think it meant attending church even after your spouse has pasted on. Regardless, it usually meant something in the future. However, this winter I've seen it differently. Just outside our doors are pots of marigolds. We buy them in the early summer and put them on family gravesites for Memorial Day. We've had the habit of gathering them after a week and repotting them around the house. It's such a reminder of those who have passed before that I love watching the flowers continue to grow.
Usually as the winter weather comes on, the flowers freeze in the cold and I have to remove them from the pots.
This year, even through the freeze spells, some of the marigolds have "endured" the cold and continue to bring a smile to my face.

I will try to remember these sweet flowers when I am called on to "endure."

Thanksgiving in Baltimore

2012-01-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

Dan and I were invited to spend Thanksgiving with Daniel and Dalynn in Baltimore. We were so excited! At first we thought Luke and Jenn and their family would be able to join us, but Luke was on call and they had to stay in Atlanta. Although we missed seeing them we had an absolutely wonderful time with Daniel, Dalynn and the girls.

They gave us beautiful flowers and painted my fingers and toes. The girls made a "pattern"; dark pink, light pink, dark pink, etc. I have not taken the polish off of my toes and although it is fading and peeled in places, every time I see my toes I am reminded of three little girls and the fun we had together.

On Wednesday evening Brother Hickman cave over and we recorded Dan's history. He had lights, camera and microphones. Brother Hickman had asked to record Daniel's history, but Daniel suggested doing Dan's. Brother Hickman records histories and makes two copies in different forms of medias. Then they are stored in vaults and each time the form of media changes, the histories are transposed onto the new form to be kept for future viewing. What an amazing opportunity and blessing for Dan. We can never thank Daniel and Dalynn enough. We have since then recieved a DVD copy of the interview and will treasure it.

Thursday morning we began preparing Thanksgiving dinner and Dalynn had lots of great help from the girls.

On Friday (the day after Christmas) we went out looking for the perfect Christmas tree.

cut it down, took it home and set it up...

We had a Tea Party...

went for walks, saw beautiful sunsets and played on the deck out back...

Saying goodbye was sweetened with wonderful memories. Thank you for the invitation Daniel and Dalynn. It was so good to spend time with your family.

Sugies Buy a House

2012-01-13T23:14:00.001-08:00

When we came back from Tacoma we were able to visit the Sugies and see their new house.

Birthdays and Babies

2012-01-13T22:55:00.000-08:00

What more can you ask for?
For my birthday this year I got roses from Dan and a trip to Tacoma for Gracie Ligaya's blessing. Gracie was born on Dan's and my anniversary and blessed on my birthday. (Last year Taylor was also born on our anniversary and blessed on my birthday.) I decided this was a tradition I'll like to keep every year. Of course, that's not up to me, but still it's been fun.
Here are some pictures of another great day.

Back to School/Pharmacy BBQ

2012-01-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

Just before school was to start we decided to get together for a Back to School/Pharmacy BBQ. Haini was the chef and came all the way from Orem, Utah to feed us his famous BBQ chicken spread. Kristi and the kids came, too and that's when it became a real party!! Several of my pharmacy co-workers were able to be there. We ate, visited and watched the kids enjoy the hot tub. Fun times for all!

Our New Toy

2012-01-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

Last fall Dad and I got a new flat screen TV. It's been a fun new toy and we've both enjoyed watching TV and Netflix movies on it.

Yellowstone with the Girls

2012-01-08T19:43:00.001-08:00

I know it's Jan. 2012 and that just shows how slow I've been with blogging this fall, but I'm working hard to get caught up. I've spent several days downloading and organizing photos and I'm ready to begin again. I'll start where I left off. The last two days with the girls and grandchildren were spent on an overnight trip to Yellowstone National Park. It was a fun and wonderful trip. Here are a few of the pictures I have.

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2011-10-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Joys of Summer - Part 2

2011-10-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Oh, the Joys of Summer(part 1)

I love the times when the children come home with their children. I stand amazed at the beautiful parents they are to my dear grandchildren and in awe of each child as they grow, share, love and enjoy life. These are just a few of my favorite things ~

A Fabulous Train Ride

2011-09-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Several years ago Dan took our family on a train ride. It was so relaxing and serene to sit in a large windowed car and watch the beautiful landscape go by. I will never forget the peaceful feelings I had that day.
Ever since then, when things get too rushed, too busy, or too confusing, in my mind I take another train ride. This time I travel from the Northwest across the country to Maine and down the East coast ~ all by train. Just the thoughts of this train ride help me relax and carry on. My dream is to one day really take that train ride.
I love train rides!
Thanks to Jenni, I had another fabulous train ride.
While at Elizabeth's she asked if I'd like to take Gwenevere to go see Will, Jenni, Preston and Taylor for a couple of days. Of course!!! So, Sunday morning Gwenevere and I took James and Elizabeth's car and headed north. I have to say Gwen was a perfect traveling companion. We talked, sang songs and she even took a short nap on the way. We got there in time to attend Church with them. Afterwards we hurried home and played with Will and the boys in their huge backyard. Jenni fixed us a great dinner and then we all went for a walk together. It was a fun way to spend a Sunday evening.
When the boys were in bed, Jenni worked feverously on her computer to arrange for us to go on a train ride the next morning. Elizabeth had sent up two T shirts for the boys and a matching one for Gwenevere. They all had Thomas Train on them and the kids were in love with them. Jenni thought it would be fun to take all the kids on a real train ride with their new T shirts on. It wasn't easy but she figured out a way we could do.
Early the next morning (not as early as it was when Will left for work) we hurried out the door driving two cars into Stanford; a neighboring town. We left one car there, all crowded into the other car and quickly drove to Mt. Vernon where we purchased tickets
to ride the train all the way back to Stanford (a 15 minute train ride). The kids had fun exploring the train station while we waited for the incoming train. Preston and Gwenevere had to check out the maps to see where they could go on trains. Then we went outside to wait for our train.

Before long the train came roaring to a stop right in front of us. It was our turn for a ride.

And there we were looking out the windows at the beautiful scenery just flowing by.

Fifteen minutes of wonder and excitement and then we were deboarding in Stanford, right where we had left the first car. We got one more picture of Preston by another train before we all climbed into the car and drove north to pick up the other car.. On our way back to Stanford we decided that we would end our great adventure with a stop at McDonalds.
We ate...

We played on the toys...

Oh, what a glorious day; a train ride and McDonald's.

Waiting for Baby Sister

2011-09-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

I was able to spend some time with Elizabeth, James and Gwenevere from August 8th through August 13th. Baby Sister was supposed to arrive sometime during that week, Obviously she had other plans but we had a blast just waiting for her.
We took on several projects: Gracie and Gwenevere's blankets:

Gwenevere’s is the green one and Gracie’s is the purple one.

We sorted through one very big pile of baby clothes!!

Oh, which ones do we keep and which ones do we give to someone else?

We made aprons for Gwenevere since she didn’t get to come to Granma’s to make one with her cousins.

We even had scraps for fun stuff!

The zoo was a favorite place to spend time together just waiting for baby sister.

Even though Baby Sister didn’t come, we had a great time waiting for her!

From the Gardens ~ Fruits and Flowers

2011-09-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Strawberries for the Grandchildren

Silver Dollars for Granma Grace

Pink Peonies for Granma Thomas

An Orange Rose for Gracie & A Yellow Rose for Friends

A White Rose for My Love -Dan

Red Roses and White Daisies for the rest of us.

New Fences ~ All Around

2011-07-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

This summer we took on the backyard fences. Anyone who's looked at (or worked on) our gate knows it wasn't any good and that we needed a new one. So, I talked with the neighbors and suggested that we replace the fences. I had a bid for materials and labor and they both suggested that they could save us some money if they did the labor. I said I'd pay for the materials since I had already saved for the project so it was a good arrangement for all of us. I paid for the project and they did the work.

When Adrian was taking down the north fence he dug up a ivy root. We have ivy that is beautiful but very enduring. No matter the amount of pulling or Round-up, it continues to grow and grow and.... Anyway, Adrian showed me a root that he had dug up where the new fence was going in.
Here's a picture of me holding it so you can see the comparative size of it.
The finished north fence and gate went up first...

Then the south gate took form...

It feels so good to have it all done and paid for, too. Now let the winter winds blow. Our fence will stand and our gate stay closed.

The Ending With "A First"

2011-07-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

"All good things must come to an end." At least that's what "they" say. And although I'm not sure I like the idea, it does seem to ring true.

Fairly early Monday morning Will came next door to help us load up the car and get on the road back home. It was so good to spend time with him, Jenni and the boys but regardless we had to head home.
We drove most of the day and people slept on and off throughout the trip. We stopped in Battle Mountain for a late brunch at a little cafe. Hometown cooking always tastes just right and I think Sitani got the best deal with a stack of pancakes.

He even shared some with Granpa.
Somewhere along the way we decided it would be most fun if Sitani came on home with us to Idaho and then Tessha would take him back to Orem in a few days. He liked the idea so we called "mom" and asked her permission. She said she'd have to ask "dad's" permission and a few hours later she called back to say he could come.

Just think about it. We've waited 60, almost 61 years to have a "grandkid sleep over". Oh the wonderful memories I have of spending time with my Grandmas and Grandpas in Idaho during the summers. We were so excited to have more time with Sitani. He really was the perfect traveler and I'll say it again, "I'd take him anywhere, anytime." So, this was like frosting on the cake.
Of course, we had to jump on the tramp with the sprinklers near by.

We even slept outside on the tramp both nights and he was such a good sport while waiting for me to get home from work so I could join him.

I couldn't have imagined a better ending to a wonderful trip. Thank you all!!

And the Race Begins

2011-06-30T06:56:00.001-07:00

The next morning we got up at 3:45, packed up the kids and headed to Squaw Valley to watch the start of the race.

Will had a bite to eat
and then at 5:00 they were all off and running. The first part was almost straight up the hill. You could see runners all along this tiny trail going up the mountain.

While Will was running the first 60 miles of the race, we went back to our room, slept, had a little more pool time and then packed up the cars and headed to Auburn, CA. We checked into a our rooms there, swam in the pool, ate lunch, bought groceries, slept and waited out the day till we could meet up with Will at Forest Hill School that night. He would be there sometime around 8:30.
Tessha and I walked up the trail a little watching for Will but it was so dark we couldn't tell one runner from another. As they passed us going down the hill we would say something like, "Good job" or "You're almost there." They would usually reply back. One man answered us and we both said, "Will?" We had recognized his voice and he ours. He came over and gave us both hugs and then we walked on down the hill where Dan, Jenni and the boys were at. He looked good and didn't seem to be having any problems. He said his body weight had stayed the same and that's really important. If a runner loses too much weight he's disqualified. We met up with his pacer, Hugh and they walked on into the check station.
Jenni had some hamburgers for Will (We found out later he could only eat one of them because his stomach couldn't handle more than that - after running 60 miles, I would guess so.) Will adjusted things for his night-time run and then they were off again. They were in and out of that station in about 10 minutes. Only 40 more miles to go (can you imagine?) We went back to the hotel to sleep :-)
The next check point where we could meet up with Will was the next morning at Horse Crossing.

After a minute or two he was off again.
We only had to wait about an hour before we could see him again. Just down the mountain at El Dorado was the next checkpoint and it didn't take him long to get there.

After that he was in the home stretch. We drove on down the mountain to Robie Point and Jenni went on to the High School track field. Tessha and I left our car about two miles from the field where we met up with Will and Hugh and ran with them to the finish line. Will was so kind as to slow down a bit for us to run with him. It was so exciting to enter the field with him and watch him finish off 100.2 miles in 28 hours and 32 minutes. He was even still smiling at the end. He truly is amazing!! We're so proud of him.

With a mind that says "Keep going", feet that can carry you, and a heart that can endure it, I guess Will can go just about anywhere he wants to go. But then, we knew that before the race.

From Reno to Truckee

2011-06-25T23:20:00.001-07:00

We got to the Reno World Mark at almost the exact time that Will and Jenni got there. Will was just walking out from registering when we were walking in. We had reserved a two bedroom condo and it was large enough for all 8 of us - no problem.

Thursday was Jenni's birthday so Gr&Gr watched the boys while they went out to dinner.
The next morning the boys entertained theirselves with DVDs, swimming with Granpa and eating the yummy breakfast that Jenni and Tessha made everyone.

And Will packed all his little baggies for the race. He had meetings at Squaw Valley that day and needed to have everything ready to go.

Then we packed up the cars for another drive, this time to Truckee, NV. The scenery was beautiful; reminding us of our beloved Oregon. Will and Jenni went on ahead and our car found the Reno WalMart for an oil change and a stop to buy T-shirts and paints. We were going to be making our "crew shirts" for the race.
When we got to Truckee we found our motel and got our rooms (side by side so the boys could be together) and got unpacked and settled in again. It was almost like the times we used to go camping as a family. We would get to a campground, set up the tent, lay out the sleeping bags and spend the night. The next morning we would get up, eat breakfast, fold up the sleeping bags, take down the tent and drive to another fantastic campground. We got to go lots of places and see lots of things that way. It was a fun memory during this trip, too.
Will had reserved a large room with two double beds and a sofa bed for all of us to share. Again, we spread out and slept. But of course we had to enjoy the pool

And Jenni painted everyone's T-shirts

And Will made a map of how to load up the car for Jenni. He was going to be running while we were to move our troop down to Auburn. (It reminded me so much of Granpa Harmon and his attention to details and his concern for others.) That tub beside him was filled with pasta salad for Will to eat for dinner. He had to fill up on his carbs because he would burn off 12000-15000 calories during the race.

Tessha and I went for Chinese and filled everyone's tummy before crawling under the covers for a fairly short night.
We had to be up by 4:15 the next morning to get Will to the starting line by 5:00 so we put a DVD on for the boys and all climbed under the covers.

Let the Games Begin

2011-06-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

If you've followed Will and Jenni's blogsite "Sleepless in Seattle" you will already know that Will (our Adventure Runner) was picked to run in the Western States 100 Mile Adventure Race. He qualified for this honor by completing a previous 100 miler adventure race during the past year. You'll want to read all about it on their blogsite.
Anyway, when we heard the good news we took about 2 seconds to talk it over and decided that we needed to be there to support this fabulous event. I was able to take time off from the pharmacy and Tessha thought she could go with us. We asked for and received permission to take Sitani with us to cheer Will on.
We left IF Wednesday June 23 after I got home from Summer School and went straight to Orem where we had a room for the night. We met up with Kristi and the kids at Red Lobster. Dinner was fun but not near as fun as eating with the Sugies
and holding Larry the Lobster.
After dinner we all went swimming at the hotel. In fact, Mark, Peggy and 3 of Afton's girls came over and swam with us.

The next morning (Thursday)

we drove to Reno, Nevada. Of all the times we've driven that road, I've never taken the opportunity to walk out on the salt flats
so during a rest stop that exactly what Tessha, Sitani and I did.

And of course, Sitani watched DVDs while we drove.

All this fun and we haven't even gotten there yet. More to come....

Number 227

2011-06-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

- June 18, 2011 - Race Day

My First Day at Home-

2011-06-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hanging Out Sheets and Other Fun Activities

Always a treat, is my first day home after school is out. Even though I'm still doing summer school 1-2 days a week and 40 hours at the pharmacy, I thoroughly enjoyed my "first day at home". Here are a few of my fun activities.
Weeding flower beds

Straightening bed borders

Potting new flowers

Eating peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch

Smelling sweet apple blossoms

And putting out the patio flowers

Then finishing the day by going to Reed's Dairy for ice cream with Dan.

California, Here We Come ~ or The Spring Break of a Life Time

2011-06-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Growing up you hear about wonderful Spring Break vacations that people take. You see pictures of college students on the beaches and fun parties everywhere. Well, this year I decided to combine my Spring Break with a week paid vacation time from the pharmacy and Tessha and I headed to California for a week with Kevin and Ellen.

We left Idaho Falls after I got off at the pharmacy around 10:30 PM on Thursday, April 22nd and drove down to Mark and Peggy's house. We stayed the rest of the night with them and then dropped off Sitani's and Marley's bikes at their place the next morning. After that, we were on our way to California. I get excited even as I'm remembering it now. It was nice weather and a beautiful day.
We went down I15 and Tessha asked if I had ever visited Fort Cove before. I told her that's where my Granma Harmon was born but no, I'd never been there before. She said she had stopped there one time and thought I would enjoy seeing it, too. So, we stopped at Fort Cove and took a short tour.

It was the home place of the Hinckley Family when they were asked by the church to go south from SL and begin a colony in southern Utah. Veva Daw Harmon was not actually born at the fort but rather in the area around there.
Later, we stopped in St. George for a Mediterranean lunch at a little Greek cafe. (I think Tessha has some better pictures but this is the one I got.) It was interesting food ~ not at all like a hamburger. Tessha say's I'll need to get used to it just in case we go to Greece.
Somewhere near the Nevada/California border we stopped for dinner at a little gas station/sandwich place. It was just turning dusk and the sky was beautiful. The air was warm and we enjoyed our dinner at a little table outside. We saw the strangest cloud in the sky. It was pink because of the sunset but it was also shaped very much like a flying saucer! We watched it for a while and eventually it started to dissipate. Until then you could have sworn it was a pink flying saucer.
We got to Kevin and Ellen's around 11:00 Thursday night and they were still waiting up for us so we had a nice short visit before going to bed. It felt so good to be there and to see them both again. This was just the beginning to a wonderful Spring Break.
The next morning we went out to breakfast at a pancake place. I had an omelet and it tasted wonderful. I don't think it was just because I was back in California and enjoying the sunshine and the company. While we were eating, Kevin told us about a place they wanted to take us for dinner. It is their very favorite place ever and they serve Vietnamese food. Kevin was having a hard time explaining it and ended up calling it "FOOD ON RICE". That was so funny that he and I nearly lost it laughing. Afterwards, we would just say "food on rice" and we would both crack up laughing again.

Then we went home and Ellen opened up her closet. We had so much fun going through it and her saying, "Take this" and "Take that". "I never wear this" and "I never wear that". When we were done Tessha had a whole new wardrobe and we both had LOTS of new shoes to take home. In fact, after that Ellen said she needed some new shoes so we went out shopping. Of course we all came home with new shoes. :-).
We were almost home when we got a phone call from Linda. She was waiting for us at the house. She had been staying with Jenny in LA and was on her way home to Carlsbad so she stopped by to see us all. We had such a fun visit that she ended up staying longer and coming to have "food on rice" with us. This all made Kevin one happy man.

Linda went on home with promises of getting together again on Saturday and the rest of us settled into Kevin and Ellen's home theatre room for a night of good movies. ah............. or was it bowling??? :-)
Saturday morning we sat around the house and visited and visited with stories of every kind. Finally, we decided to hit their favorite bagel shop before beginning another day of shopping. Our excuse was (and I'm sticking by it) that we needed groceries for our BBQ with Doug and Linda later that afternoon. However, we found ourselves buying purses, jewelry and other non edible items. :) So fun!!!
And yes, we did even buy some groceries. Doug and Linda came up and we sat outsideon the patio. I must say that Kevin and Ellen have the closest thing to a resort back yard as I've ever enjoyed.

Later that afternoon some of us went for a walk while Tessha fixed us
a fabulous dinner of grilled vegetables and chicken.

We waited somewhat patiently, well sort of.

Dinner was amazing and we all enjoyed every bite of it.
Sunday morning we got ready for church and then headed on down to Carlsbad. It was Easter Sunday and Linda was speaking in Sacrament Meeting that day. We had decided to attend church with them and then have dinner and visit with them down there.
On our way to their place after church we noticed a Porsche dealership and "just stopped by to see what they had".
Here's a little phone conversation between Kevin and Will:
Kevin: "Your mom needs your bank account info asap :- )"

Will: "I thought your email account got hacked into and I was getting spammed, until I saw the picture. LOL
Tell my mom that my bank account info won't get her very far. We could probably spring for the 12:1 model with that account. If she wants the real deal she'll need to rub shoulders with my loan officer.
Happy Easter,
Will"

Kevin: "This also will work, Actually she wants both. Hope you have enough :- )"

Will: "If she wants both, she should have given me a twin brother. lol She'll have to settle for one."
Kevin: "She said then one Porsche will do just fine."

But since technically it was Sunday, we decided we'd better not buy it that day. Oh well....
Instead we went to Doug and Linda's place for a nice dinner and a very relaxing afternoon. Linda and I took a walk to the beach. It was heavenly and the visit was wonderful, as always.

and a bit of ice plant

Monday Ellen had to go back to work so Tessha and I went with Kevin to a little cafe nearby for breakfast. It was a beautiful day so we sat outside on the patio and ate and visited.

After which we went to Costco. This was fun because we don't have a Costco nearby in Idaho Falls so we don't have membership and thus, we never go to Costco anymore. It was fun to do a little shopping there before we headed down to the Marina. Driving the streets close to the beach brought back fun memories of growing up in Manhattan Beach and the ocean being part of our daily lives. I loved it!

Kevin took us the the Mall when we got back to Mission Viejo and we did a little shopping for thank you gifts and souvenirs. We had Jamba Juices and went home to start packing the car. Kevin helped us load up our car since we were bringing home much, much more than we took down. It took a little work to take the Ellipical apart and put into the car and then we packed dishes, shoes, a printer, a telephone and many more "souvenirs" around it. Oh my goodness!
Tuesday morning Kevin left early for work and called later to see how our trip home was going. We went back to the mall for a few minutes and then got on the road again. We had made reservations to stay that night at the World Mark in Las Vegas and it was nice to finally get there after a long day's drive. We checked out our condo and then took a little R&R in the hot tub before heading out for dinner.

We ate at the Palazzo and watched the Water Show. The music it was set to was Andre Bocelli's "Time to Say Goodbye". It was astounding!! and a fantastic finale for our trip.
Wednesday morning was the last leg of our trip and I was sad but happy to be going home. Sad to leave California, Kevin, Ellen, Doug and Linda, but happy to get back to Dan. Of course, no trip south would be complete until we stopped off in Orem to see the kids! So, we went to MD's and got some happy meals then met them at the park.

And that is the story of the Spring Break of a Life Time!

Dan's Garden

2011-05-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

While Tessha and I cleaned cupboards, Dan got into it in the garden. After a hard Idaho winter, it take a lot of work to get a new garden in and Dan's just the man for it.

As you can see we added two new garden boxes and hope to get walkways around each box. Maybe next year.
Dan's got tomato, cucumber, squash, peas and potatoes planted along with some herbs. The strawberries are in bloom and now we're just waiting for the grandkids to come pick and eat whatever they can find.
Thanks Dan!! Looks good!! But where are the trains and freight cars?

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was a little girl and my Dad would drive us over to Overton, Nevada for Memorial Day weekend, I have loved visiting the gravesites of dear family members. We used to make the trip to Aunt Marilyn's where we would visit for the weekend, clean and decorate Granpa Sam Harmon's grave, visit with family and maybe even do some waterskiing. I don't often get back to Granpa (Sam) and Granma's (Veva's) gravesites anymore but I think about them when we do our Idaho run.
Yesterday Dan and I took flowers around starting with a new cemetery. Last fall I found my paternal Great Grandparents (Allen and Emma Harmon- Sam's parents)burial site in the Rigby Cemetery so that where we went first.
There was an amazing feeling as I placed some flowers in front of their stones. It was like we had finally met and I loved them instantly. I am so grateful for the lives they lived and the posterity they had. My dad is one of them and he's wonderful.
Then we made our usual way down I15 to Blackfoot where we stopped and placed flowers on Dad's (Ed Harmon) grave.

Mom had a bench put in as his marker and just as we were leaving some little girls came wondering around. They found the bench and decided to have a little "sit". It was so cute and so very appropriate I just had to take a picture.
I know Dad would be pleased to know that someone was enjoying his bench. We got to visit with a Vetern who was placing flags at the gravesites of the vets in the cemetery. He said there were over 800 veterns buried there. It felt so good to see a small flag in front of Dad's bench. I am so grateful for the many vetern's who have served our country. I take great pride in the fact that Dan is a Vetern and will be honored with a small flag each year. One day I'll even get to share his flag with him.

We placed some flowers at Aunt Tippy's and Uncle Dave's site before we left.

Then we went on down to Pocatello. Grandpa and Grandma Rohde's graves were next. I'm so glad we had their marker mixed a couple of years ago. It looks really nice now.
After that we went to Seth's bike shop but he wasn't in so we stopped over at Perkin's and had breakfast/lunch before heading back to the Thomas cemetery.

As always, we placed flowers on Granpa (Daniel D.)and Granma (Martha Lois England)Thomas's site as well as little Darin Nissen's (Dave and Jolene's son)site.
We moved across to Aunt Helen's and Marie's spot
and then went over to the Moreland Cemetery and left flowers at Granpa (William)and Granma (Eliza Geddes) England's graves as well as Uncle Billy's.
Since it was such a good day for flowers, when we got home I went and picked out some flowers to plant in our backyard, too. Nobody ever said you have to be dead to enjoy a pretty flower.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY EVERYONE!

Spring Cleaning in the Rockies

2011-05-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Since my blogging is more of a journal keeping for me, I'll just say that I've been dreaming of having some time to catch up with all the wonderful posts I have in my head. However, being the end of the school year and all the "To Dos" that go along with that and since they've added hours to my pharmacy job, I seem to only dream of time to blog. I patiently waited knowing I'd have some time this Sunday morning. So I woke up early excited to get started.
Well, I started with my banking - got that done. Next I went to email. (I figured I'd start with the quick things and then have lots of time for blogging.) In my email there were some notices from FB so I quickly went there and.... a couple of hours later I'm starting one of the blogs. Such is life and life is wonderful. Even if I spend some of my blogging time, I was able to catch up with all my children's FB accounts and visit several friends accounts. Now wasn't that worth every minute!! YES!!!
On to my post.
A couple of weekends ago Tessha and I got into the spring cleaning mode and we spent the morning going through many of the kitchen cupboards. Our inspriration was finding places for our new dishes that Kevin and Ellen gave us while we were in California (one of the upcoming blogs!).
Now, not only do we have new dishes we have a clean place for them. Thank you, Tessha!! Thank you Kevin and Ellen!! It probably wouldn't have happened without you!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

All Sunday mornings are wonderful but since this year we're on the 1:00-4:00 Church schedule, we get to sleep in a bit. Obviously, Sunday mornings are some of my favorite mornings! I lie in bed and read my scriptures and my RS and SS lessons. Sometimes I sew on my apron project or my cross-stitch. It’s so relaxing and restful.
Yesterday morning I called my mom and had a nice visit with her and then I got up and went into the kitchen. There was Dad fixing us both breakfast.
He was making me an omelet and himself 3 eggs like he always has. We had toast and coco and time together.
It was so sweet and thoughtful of him to do that. He knows I love a good omelet.

After breakfast he gave me a Mother’s Day gift. It was a Willow Tree figurine titled “The Quilt”.

I love it!! It’s a mother rocking her baby with a quilt over the top of the baby.
It so reminds me of the quilts I made as we prepared for each baby to come. Afterwards, I would wrap up that baby in the new quilt and rock to my heart’s content. Such good memories!!

What a great Mother’s Day gift that I will cherish forever. It sits on the mantel next to my Mother and Child figurine.

Thank you so much, Dan! Tessha gave me a beautiful notebook that I can keep in my purse and jot down my notes when I think of them. She knows me oh so well! Thank you, Tessha!

When we got home from Church Seth was there. He was waiting with us for Gracie to call home. Kristi and the kids called first so we had a good visit with them. They sent me a picture of Sitani with his soccer medal on and Marley sent me a picture of flowers that she had taken. I'd take them off my phone and show you but I can't :0It is always fun to visit with them.

Gracie called soon afterwards and we all got to talk with her. She told us about her transfer that is coming up and all that they’ve done in their last area. She’s feeling better now but will most likely visit with a dr. when she gets home just to make sure things are all ok. I think everyone enjoyed her call.

Tessha fixed us all a wonderful dinner. You really had to be there to enjoy it like we did. Thank you Tessha.

Daniel and Dalynn and the girls all called and we had fun talking with them, too. Alisha called later that evening as she was walking home from a park near their place. I visited with Elizabeth and Gwenevere for a little bit and Will called home, too. I love talking with my kids! They are such amazing people!!

Laura left a message because she couldn't get through with all of us on the phone with Gracie. Sorry!!

I have to say, I LOVED Mother’s Day this year. Thank you all!!

Spring is Coming to Idaho

2011-04-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

It may not be beautiful children in the sunshine, cherry blossoms trees, kites flying in the blue sky or any of the other wonderful signs of Spring, but....

It's definitely evidence the Spring is coming to Idaho soon.

Now the yard work begins. Yeah for Spring!!

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

2011-04-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

And hear the words of God....

Sister Stevens - Primary Presidency "Behold your little ones." Embrass them with our eyes. Recognize who they really are and acknowledge the divine in them."

Elder ??? - Seventy (who can fill in the name for me?) "He healed all. None were turned away." "Become as little children. Wait paitently to be healed."

Elder Cook - Quorum of the 12? "LDS women are unique because of the way they face trials." "The errand of angels has been given to women."

Elder Paul Johnson - Seventy "Often we see marvelous blessings on the heels of trials." "It is not enough to be good, we want to become like Christ."

Bishop Burton - Bishop of the Church "Be kind to the poor."

A Beautiful Heart

2011-03-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Some people naturally have a beautiful heart. It's easy for them to be happy, to be grateful and to be kind. Today I was given a beautiful heart.
It doesn't necessarily change me for the better but it is something that I can love and appreciate. Maybe one day I'll have a naturally beautiful heart,too. If so, it will be in part because of the heart I was given by my sister, Peggy.It hangs on my "Wall of Hearts" at school along with many other beautiful hearts given to me by loved ones over the years.

Enjoy! That's what I do everything I look at it.

A Valentine to Remember

2011-02-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

We cheated! We started celebrating Valentine's Day early this year. In January, Dan reserved a condo at Bear Lake for us. I had to work the weekend before Valentine's, so the weekend before that (Feb. 4) I took Friday night off and Dan and I drove down to Bear Lake. Well, actually we picked up Heidi and a friend of hers here in IF and took them down to Logan first. We had a nice dinner with Penny and the girls and after that, we drove the Logan pass in a snow storm. We were never so glad to get to Bear Lake as we were that night. Thank goodness, Dan was calm and level headed while I drove a winding, slick mountain road in the dark.

At the condo, we had the best time ever! We slept in. We read and I stitched on a project I'm doing for a friend. We watched TV and a couple of good movies. Basically, we did whatever we wanted to do.

Later in the afternoon we went for a ride along the West side of Bear Lake.
Dan showed me where we stayed when we had a Harmon Family Reunion one year. We got out and walked around a bit wondering if it would be a good place to hold a Thomas Family Reunion one of these times.

When we got back to our condo we changed into our suits and went and sat in the hot tub for a while. Later that night we had salad and steaks and then we went to bed.

Sunday morning/afternoon we packed up the car and headed back over the clear, lighted mountain pass. It really is a beautiful pass when it's not dark and blizzardly. (I know that's not really a word, but it works here.)

We went to see Granma and then we all went up to Kelly and Julia's for a wonderful Sunday dinner. It was so good to visit with everyone. Before too late, we headed home ever so grateful for a very relaxing weekend together. Thank you, Dan. It was a Valentine's gift to remember.

I gave Dan a CD of The Dan Diaries for Valentine's Day. It took me a year to write them but it only took him a couple of days to read them. Aren't we glad he's here reading them?!

But, unbeknownsed to me (I know that's not a word, either, but...) Dan had another gift for me. Last night he gave me a beautiful heart shaped, diamond necklace with matching earrings which I proudly wore to work today.
But, that's still not the end. When I got home today I found a beautiful bouquet of red roses on my dresser.

Not only do I still have Dan with me. I have a Valentine's Day to Remember.

Don't I have it pretty good????

YEAH!

A January Project

2011-02-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

Some people might ask, "What good is January? It's cold, it's yucky and there's nothing to do." And they are right. It is cold and it is yucky but it is good for getting caught up on projects. This January I realized that I had a lot of projects that needed my attention. For one, I hadn't ever finished putting my 2009, not to mention my 2010 blogs into document form and burning them on to CDs. In fact, I hadn't even begun transposing The Dan Diaries, either. There you have it, 3 huge projects that needed my attention.

So between work and work... I began the process. I can say I was doubly excited for those few days when I didn't have any school so I could spend the whole day at my computer. As I finished up each of the blogs I realized I hadn't even burned by pictures for those two years. I think it had something to do with the fact that last January we were so involved with Dan's health that pretty much everything else was put on the shelf.

However, with a year behind us and Dan making great progress, it was time to catch up.

I'm pleased to say I have burned CDs of The Tall and The Short of It All for 2009 and 2010, as well as The Dan Diaries and I have burned 5 CDs of pictures from both those years. I feel a little like my journal is up to date.
YEAH!!! Did you just say "YEAH"? I thought I heard it. Maybe it was me. YEAH again!

I might even change by blog wallpaper. It's Feburary and almost Valentine's Day. Fun Blogs to come.

Thomas Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

We were so pleasantly surprised this year to hear that several of the children were coming home for Christmas. It was our "Christmas Year" but with growing families and us being so far away from everyone in Idaho,we really didn't know what to expect. You can only imagine our excitment to find out that Will and Jenni, Preston and Taylor, Haini, Kristi, Sitani, Marley and Elijah as well as Laura and Mark, Jace and Anabelle would be joining Dan, I, Tessha, Alisha and Seth here in Idaho Falls for Christmas 2010.

I started early this year in hopes of getting packages out to Gracie in Florida, Luke, Jenn, Karly, Spence and Noah in Georgia, Daniel, Dalynn, Mika, Ember and Marian in Maryland and James, Elizabeth and Gwenevere in Tacoma in time. We started the ornament tradition with all the grandchildren and so they got either a Christmas angel or a toy soldier cross-stitch.

Lindsay came over to make fudge with Alisha.

Will and Jenni were the first to arrive on Tuesday. Will found my "over Christmas break - to do list" and started in on several projects. He actually finished it off within a short time (much shorter than the time it would have taken me to do it). Thank you, Will!!! That was a fantastic Christmas present.

Preston had left his "blanket" at Granma Great's house on the way over so we found a "Cars throw blanket" and stayed up one night tying off the sides for him. I think he enjoyed playing on it as much as sleeping with it.

Haini and Kristi were the next to arrive on Wednesday. Marley joined me on my bed one afternoon for some quiet time
and Elijah played with the Christmas blocks my friend brought over for me.
At breakfast, Preston ran his car "McQueen" around the edge of his bowl.
I came home from work one day to find two snowmen in the front yard. Haini had been outside with the kids and although Sitani wanted a snow"man", Marley wanted a snow"woman". She actually asked for her snow woman to be far away from Sitani's snowman so "he can't tackle her".
Jenni and Kristi brought stuff to make Gingerbread houses and everyone joined in the fun. Some houses were castles of candy before they were done.

Then Jenni made us a pot of wassle and it was wonderful. We kept it on the stove top so we could enjoy a cup anytime we wanted. Afterwards, Preston found a good book, his Cars blanket and settled into Granma's chair for a while.

Haini did all the snowblowing while Sitani did the shoveling and then they joined the family for a snowman picture.

Mark and Laura came in just in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Mark hadn't been well for a couple of weeks so we were really pleased that they could make the drive from CO. to join us.
The girls all helped in the kitchen

and before too long we were stuffed little piggies. Granpa shared his therapy toys with the grandkids

and Jenni played the piano for us.
Will and Jenni lead us in a wonderful Christmas Family Night where we dressed up and acted out the Nativity Story. After FHE we opened a few presents - pajamas, Christmas books, stocking hangers and ornaments. Nearly the whole mantel was covered with stocking hangers.
Elizabeth had made and sent over the cutest owl ornaments for everyone.

We had family prayer and headed off to bed to wait for Santa to come.
In the morning everyone enjoyed the Santa gifts and before long the phone started ringing. I had it close by waiting for Sister Gracie to call home. This was the first time we would have talked to her since she left on her mission in June. Needless to say, we were pretty excited to hear from her. As soon as I answered the phone and said hi, she said, "Mom, go find Laura." I thought she wanted to talk to Laura first but everyone was telling me to "go find Laura". So, I went and found her at my desk on my computer. I started to hand the phone to her when I noticed - it was Gracie on my computer. Laura and Mark had purchased a Skype Webcam for Dad and I and they were already connected to Gracie's webcam in Florida. She was at her neighbor Diane's house using Diane's phone and camera. So, we not only got to talk to her we got to see her and really visit. It was fantastic. Everyone got a chance to use it and we even took a picture of Gracie on the other end
She took one of us and posted it on her blog, too.

Everyone took their turn to leave for home or other Christmas visits so we ended with a fun pancake breakfast with the Sugu kids before they headed home.

Oh, Christmas Time! Oh, Christmas Time!! How fun it is with Family.
(I know it's not really the way they sing it, but I love it anyway!)

2010 ~ The Year of Extreme Blessings

2010-12-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

2010 ~The Year of Extreme Blessings

Here we are again at the end of another year. Christmas is upon us and we are feeling joy and appreciation for so many blessings. This year was been a year of extreme blessings! That is, we’ve experienced blessings in every aspect of our lives, involving every member of our family.

In late January, Dan’s health began failing very fast. We thought the Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s was taking a mighty toll on him as he quickly lost most of his ability to eat, talk, walk, etc. He slipped into unconsciousness and we rushed him to the VA hospital in Salt Lake only to find out that he was on the blink of death. There was very little hope that he would revive as he remained in a coma for almost two weeks. However, one morning as I entered his room and said his name, he opened his eyes and looked over at me. (I still cry just thinking about it.) He was with us again! He spent a month in a rehabilitation home in SL before returning to Idaho and he has made significant progress ever since. In fact, just last Friday at a VA follow up, it was determined that he doesn’t have, nor did he ever have Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. The medication he was taking was presenting as such. Obviously, they’ve changed his meds and he is making great gains. (You can read more about Dan’s experience at www.thedandiariesbysandy.blogspot.com)

Tessha is also showing signs of improvement with her health. She is currently exploring the east coast, visiting family and friends and all the sites. She will return home just in time for Christmas. We can’t wait. We’ve missed her.

Luke and Jenn have recently accepted a position with Trans Air Airlines (recently bought out by Southwest Airlines). They have waited a long time for such a position to become available and now they are on their way to big times in the skies.

Will and Jenni presented us with another wonderful baby boy this year. Taylor will get to spend his first Christmas with us in Idaho and we are so excited!!!

Haini and Kristi are working hard in Orem and Haini has just completed all his tests and exercises to be accepted to the Police Academy. YEAH for Haini!! YEAH for Kristi!!

Daniel and Dalynn had another beautiful baby girl last summer and we were able to go east and spend some time with them. It was wonderful to be together with their family.

Laura and Mark accepted a position in Colorado Springs where Mark is working with the Army Corp of Engineers on a construction project. And little Anabelle has now joined their family. She is so sweet!!

Elizabeth and James are going to school and managing apts. in Tacoma. James is getting ready to begin his internships in the field of Physical Therapy. They organized the most wonderful family reunion for us this summer at Discovery Bay, WA. We spent an entire week all together on the peninsula and made memories that will last forever!!!

Seth continues working at the Bike Shop and going to school in Pocatello and the blessing there is that he’s close enough to come home and help us with projects we need help with. We so appreciate the many times he “stops in to see what we need done”. That is a blessing that can’t be replaced!

Gracie is serving as a Sister Missionary in the Florida, Tampa Mission. You just have to read her letters to see what a great missionary she is. She LOVES it!!! Her service there has been a special blessing to us this year. (You can read her letters by accessing her blog site from the family sites at www.thetallandtheshortofitall.blogspot.com)

Alisha graduated from High School and has moved out and on with her life. She lives with James, Elizabeth and especially little Gwenevere in Tacoma. She loves life and all the opportunities of life outside the nest.

I’m sure you’ll agree that this has been an exciting and fulfilling year for the Thomas Family. But, our blessings don’t just end there. We continue to be grateful for all the wonderful family and friends that support us and love us every day. Mostly, we are thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ; for our testimonies that He was born as a sweet babe in Bethlehem; that He lived and taught eternal truths and that He loves us and blesses us as we try to keep His command-
ments. We know that He lives and we celebrate His birth with gratitude and love for all.

Merry Christmas!

Love, the Dan & Sandy Thomas Family

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

2010-11-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving comes every year but not every year do grandkids come to help you get ready for Thanksgiving. This is not our "Thanksgiving" year which means, this year we are not expecting a lot of family to come home. Instead, this is our "Christmas" year so whomever can come for Christmas will come then. But, this year we enjoyed a special surprise of a "Getting Ready for Thanksgiving" visit from Mark and Laura.

They were in Salt Lake for some meetings for Mark, so they drove up to IF to visit us after his meetings. They came on Friday night and left this morning. I know, way too short of a visit, but oh, so fun!!

Saturday morning Mark and Jace joined Alisha and I for a shopping trip to SAM's. We had more fun seeing all the Christmas things out. This was especially fun for me because I rarely see the inside of a store other than WalMart. We tried out all the sample booths (we even "tried out" the same booth a couple of times) and we stopped to play with all the cool Christmas toys on the shelves. (We even bought a few - but don't tell anyone. It's a surprise!)
When we got home Jace helped Alisha and I make pumpkin pies.
He made a little one for himself to take back to Granma Jeanne's and share. He was an awesome helper and stayed with us till we were all done.
While I made dinner, Jace practiced being Uncle Will and running races. He ran around from the living room into the kitchen and back to the living room (a complete circle) 104 times. Will, you may have some competition with this one.

After dinner, we cut one of the pies and Anabelle ate all of it!!
After dinner I got the special treat of keeping the kids for a while so the others could go to the show. Jace slept through it all but Anabelle and I enjoyed each other's company for a little while before she went to bed, too.
They left this morning and I was sad to see them go, but I sure enjoyed the time we had with them. Now, I can go on and enjoy Thanksgiving with all big kids, including Dan!!!
And then, as if to add the perfect ending to the perfect weekend, Sister Reilly came over with the floral arrangement from Stake Conference as a gift for me. Who would have ever thought? I especially love the orange roses because they remind me of Gracie. Now we even have the center piece for our Thanksgiving table.

Sitani Turns 5 - "Let's Go!"

2010-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Dan and I were getting ready to go to Church. Dan was dressed, I was not yet but my clothes were laid out on my bed and I was "getting there". Kristi called and we talked for a bit and she mentioned that they were going to Church and then to the park for Sitani's birthday party. My heart felt sad. We were in Idaho and they were having a birthday party. After hanging up the phone I told Dan what they were doing and he said, "Do you want to go?" I said, "Of course, but you're all ready for Church and I'm just about ready." He said, "Well, I can change clothes. Do you want to go?" I smiled and said, "Oh, yes, I want to go!" So Dan changed clothes and I got dressed in Levi's and we were off in a flash.
Here are some pictures

It wasn't even all that late when we got home. I wish we could just "Let's Go!" to all the Grandkids birthday parties, but we'll be thankful we could go this time.

A Fabulous Find - A Fun Story to Tell

2010-11-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I was born in Pocatello while my Father was going to school at ISU. He transferred to the University of Utah (SLC) to finish his Electrical Engineering degree and then we moved to Southern California where he took a job with Hughes Aircraft. Most of my growing up years were spent in Manhattan Beach, CA. where I finished HS and 2 years at a Jr. College (It was very inexpensive.) Afterwards I met and married Dan L Thomas and after serving in the Army for two years, we moved back to Idaho - Thomas, Idaho to be exact. There we built a home and farmed the Thomas family farm for 13 years. In 1990 we moved to Oregon for 10 years where Dan was a School Superintendent and I began my SLP career. In 2001 I moved back to Idaho Falls, ID. with several of the younger children and took a job with the Rigby, ID. School District, just a few miles north of our home in Idaho Falls. Dan joined us within a year and we have been here ever since.

As I was job searching for our return to Idaho, I was offered several jobs but choose to work for the Rigby SD mostly because of the good people I had met there and because Rigby was closer to Idaho Falls where Dan could continue to enjoy doing Temple work.
I enjoy working in Rigby and as I've traveled around the district I have discovered some wonderful finds. Soon after beginning with the district I realized that I was driving right past the house that my Father had spent most of his youth in right there in Lewisville. In fact, I often recalled the time he took our family there for a family reunion. We even took a family picture in the front yard of the house.
Dan and I were living in Thomas at the time but I can still remember driving down the roads of Rigby as Dad told us about different places he remembered from his childhood. It is so fun to be driving right by some of those places again.
We only had a couple of years back in Idaho before Dad passed away but during that time I would ask him questions about his youth and he would tell me stories of things that happened in Lewisville/Rigby. He went to school at the Rigby HS which is on the same location as the Rigby JH is now. It is not the same building but the old HS was bulldozed and the new JH was built on site. (I work in that building one day a week.) He told me other stories but I won't share them all here. However, I will say that driving around Rigby with stories of my dad in my head was/is a very fun experience. Grandma Veva Daw Harmon even worked as a Pharmacist at the Rigby Drug Store. She had been trained as a Pharmacist as a young woman before she met and married Sam Harmon. They lived in Lewisville after getting married and raised their family on the farm. So, now as I go to work at my second job, a Pharmacutical Technecian, I think of her.
After serving in the Navy, Dad returned to Idaho and began school in Pocatello where he met and married Mom. Dad build a cinder block home for them on South 5th Street and when they left for Salt Lake City, Grandpa and Grandma moved into that home. (Oh, the fun memories I have of spending time with them in the summers there.) Grandpa had sold the farm and was working for the Railroad by then. Later, Grandma moved to Overton, Nevada to help her daughter Marilyn and family. Grandpa stayed in Idaho but after he passed away he was buried close to Grandma in Overton. Grandma was later buried next to him.
Anyway, on to the fabulous find.
A couple years ago a friend from Rigby gave me a book to look through. It was on the history of Rigby and he thought I might enjoy reading some of it since I'd told him a little about my Father's history. I guess it should have been a "no-brainer" but I was surprised and pleased to find out that my Dad's Grandparents were also residences of Rigby. (I think I can sort of remember Dad talking about them, but at the time I didn't really let it register up stairs.) Anyway, the book mentioned Allen Ithmar Harmon and Emma Henderson having lived and died there. Although the Rigby Cemetery is not on my "everyday" drive, it is not far from town and occassionally I would drive out to see it. I had hopes of finding their grave sites someday. Although it isn't a huge cemetery it was too big to look through on one lunch break, so I took it a little at a time. In fact, one Saturday Dan and I were out on a little road trip and we stopped by the cemetery to take another look. I even called Aunt Lorraine for help in locating their tomestones. She gave me the best directions she could but I didn't find them. I was a little depressed because winter was coming on and I was afraid I wouldn't find them before the snow fell. Each day the weather report predicted cold and snow but so far each day has been gloriously warm and beautiful. I went out to the cemetery again last week and walked the same section as I had walked before but still couldn't find any Harmons. Just before leaving I decided to walk just a tiny section of another area and there you have it. I found Allen and Emma's site, their son Walter and his wife, Mary and a smaller stone for Fred. I was so excited to finally find where my Great-Grandparents lay. I feel especially blessed! Obviously, the next day I brought my camera to school and took pictures.

Because we have been blessed with an extremely beautiful, warm (50*-60* degree weather)fall, I was able to continue my search. That was on Friday. On Monday we had a blizzard and it has been white and cold ever since.

And there you go - A Fabulous Find and A Fun Story to Tell.

Our Red-Leaf Maple

2010-11-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

A few years back we planted a Red-Leaf Maple in the front yard because that was the tree Dan wanted there. It was for his birthday and he got to pick his own tree. I was especially glad that he picked the Red-Leaf because I LOVE it in the fall. And since it's fall - I LOVE it.

I took several pictures of it as it slowly changed it's leaves from green to red and I loved watching it glitter in the sun light.

Yesterday I spent some time cleaning up the front yard flower beds. Here are before and after pictures.

From the after pictures it doesn't look like I did much work, but I did. I'm sure there will be more to do when all the leaves have fallen. I'm thinking of using them for ground cover on the flower beds this winter. I may regret it in the spring but we'll see. Until then we'll enjoy the colors.
While I was working I kept getting softly hit by falling leaves and I remembered when we lived in Drain. I used to love to walk down past the pool, through the trees and over the bridge to the library. I would swear I'd never seen such BIG leaves as were there in the fall. So, I would pick up one or two and wish I could send them to someone I loved so they could see the beautiful leaves, too. Yesterday, I actually relived that experience and picked up a few leaves to send to my grandchildren. I even put them aside and while putting away my tools I tried to think of a way to send them so they wouldn't get smashed to pieces. But when I got back to them, there were only two leaves left on the chair. They probably wouldn't make it in the mail, anyway. So,grandchildren - that's you;
Karly, Spence, Noah, Preston, Taylor, Sitani, Marley, Elijah, Mika, Ember, Maren, Jace, Anabelle, and Gwenevere ~ This one's for you!! I LOVE YOU!!! Grandma

Especially at Home

2010-10-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Of all the places we've visited this fall, the prettiest place has been here at home. The roses have continued to bloom (better than they did through the summer) and the leaves have stayed on the trees to turned colors. We've had warm temperatures and little to no wind. It's been just about as perfect as it can get.

Coming Home From Logan

2010-10-17T17:35:00.001-07:00

It's Sunday evening and Dan and I just got home from Logan but, we didn't leave Logan and just come home. We had another fantastic Fall time adventure.
Let me start at the beginning. Yesterday, Dan and I left IF and went straight to Logan. We had a room at Super 8 there for the night so we went there first and I dropped Dan off to rest a bit. I went over to Mom's and picked up her and brought her over to our room. That's where I finished the last blog while Mom and Dan watched some TV. Around 7:00 we went to The BlueBird Restaurant where we met up with Kelly & Julie, Dave & Dodie and Penny. The 8 of us had a nice dinner and a good visit together. Those times are all too rare.
This morning we got up early and got ready for Church, picked up Mom and then went to Kelly's ward for Logan's welcome home from his mission. He gave a great report and shared a strong testimony of Faith and the Gospel. Afterwards, we went to their home for Brunch. They served waffles, eggs, fruit, juices and just about everything else you could ask for. There was lots of family there and we had a fun time. Dan and I left fairly early to make the trip home.
Instead, just as we were pulling out of Logan and remembering all the great back roads with beautiful scenery we'd been on, I turned to Dan and said, "So, what's a pretty way to go home?" He said, "Well, you go down one of these roads and it takes you over the pass and down to I15 just north of Malad." He wasn't sure what road but we decided to try it anyway. Sure enough we were headed over the pass.
So, here's where the pictures come in. Just look at what we saw.

We even drove by the "Thomas Ranch". No, it wasn't our Thomas Ranch but it did make us think of our Thomas Farm.

So, when we were almost to Blackfoot I said to Dan, "Do you really want to go home yet or should we drive out by the Homestead?" He thought we could drive a bit more so off of I15 we went again. This time we drove by homes of people we know and love. It felt good to be in Thomas again. The old place looks good and pretty well taken care of. It was good but also almost hard to see our "little girls'" bedroom window and remember the time there were "three in a bed" in that room. Such good memories!!!
Anyway, we decided that while we were in the area we would stop in and make sure the Christensen's were doing ok. We didn't know if they were home or not but Dan rang the doorbell and pretty soon there was President Christensen standing at the door say, "Come in, come in." They welcomed us in as always and we sat in the living room and had a great visit~ again. It's always good to spend time with them. They are doing amazingly well and yes, of course, we had ice cream. This time with fresh raspberries from their garden and a homemade cookie, like always. What a treat ~ both the visit and the ice cream. When it was time to go they walked us to the car and I just had to take a picture of them both. You just never know when you won't be able to do that. So, here you go!

On our way out we stopped by Paunie's and had a nice but shorter visit with her, too.
Ah, the adventures of the wandering old couple. Tomorrow it's back to work we go but it will be with sweet memories and a smile.

Fun Fall Days

2010-10-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Dan, Tessha, Ruble and I spent a wonderful Saturday driving up to West Yellowstone. We took the scenic route out to Mesa Falls. We turned right off of Hwy 20 at Ashton and followed the road up the mountain to the Falls. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

We ended up coming back to Hwy. 20 mid Island Park and then made our way up to West Yellowstone. The weather was wonderful and I even enjoyed an evening walk around town in just a sweater!. Since then it was been below freezing almost every night this week. So, I guess you'd say we picked the "just right" weekend to go.
We went to church Sunday morning at the WY ward where we went when we were there for our Thomas reunion. Dan and I left soon after church to head for home. We took the old highway from Ashton to Driggs. It was absolutely the most beautiful fall scenery I've seen since leaving Oregon. Some call it "Calendar" material. Unfortunately, I was driving and didn't get any pictures. Besides, I couldn't have done it justice. It really was breathtaking. We had hoped to stop by Laquata and Scott's place in Driggs but they weren't home when we got there so we stopped for a bite to eat and then drove on home.
We stopped by the Teton Dam that busted back in '76 and although I took some pictures, I must have lost them.
It was a weekend I'll remember for a long time. Not only did we see some of the most beautiful places in Idaho, I got to spend the whole weekend with Dan. That's the best!

And the Party Continues

2010-10-10T17:15:00.001-07:00

(Before I even start this blog I have to say that I really regret not having the time to blog as often as I'd like. My life is so full of wonderful times and experiences that I could certainly spend many more hours blogging. Also, for all those that have shared these fun times, just know that I've thought about them, looked at the pictures and smiled many times before sitting down at the computer.)

And the Party Continues...
Turning sixty only gets better when you travel to Seattle to visit children and bless new babies.

On Thursday, September 23 Dan and I went to SL for VA appointments and then to Orem for the evening. We were able to spend time with the Sugies and even watch one of Sitani's soccer games. I didn't get take any pictures but Kristi just sent me this one. We sure had fun watching him.We went back to SL that night and stayed in a hotel close to the airport. Friday morning we left the car in the lot and caught a flight to SeaTac. Dan was able to get on the first flight out of SL and I came along later. With the help of a few simple miracles we hooked up in San Fransico and caught a flight together into Seattle. We rented a car and drove to James and Elizabeth's house.It was so good to be there, to see Alisha (who I miss dearly) again and spend the night in their home. On Saturday Will and Jenni came over to visit with us and we finally got to see our newest grandson, Taylor Alexander Thomas.

He's the spitting image of Preston except that his hair has a slightly dark tint to it. He quite big for his age - just like Preston was and he's a doll. He's also a very good baby. Holding him was a joy!
That afternoon some of us took naps.
Some of us read stories to the kids.
Some of us had snacks and James BBQed bratts and hotdogs (with Gwenenere's help - I think she helps him with everything he does except his homework)

while Elizabeth made me a homemade Angel Food cake for my birthday. She covered it with whip cream and berries

and then James started adding candles and more candles and more candles
until he had 60 candles on that cake. And then he started lighting them all.

Everyone sang Happy Birthday (off tune, just for fun) and Gwenevere and Preston helped me blow and blow until all the candles were out.
Then we ate CAKE!!! YUM~YUM!! What a party!! Later that night Dan and I followed Will and Jenni back to their house and spent the night with them. The next morning we got up and all got ready for Church. This was going to be a very special day for all of us ~ especially for Taylor. This was Taylor's blessing day! Preston was ready!

Taylor was ready!
Granpa was ready!
Granma was ready! And after helping everyone else get ready, Will and Jenni were ready too!

We went to Church and Will gave Taylor a wonderful blessing. He gave him the name of Taylor Alexander Thomas and blessed him with every needful thing to fulfill his mission here on earth.
Granpa and Granma Southworth were there with Granma Great and many other friends. It was a wonderful experience. (I got to hold Taylor during the rest of Sacarment Meeting). Jenni accomplied a violinist for a special musical number and she let me hold Taylor.
After Church we had a wonderful dinner all together
and I had to leave all too soon to catch a flight out.
As it would be, I never could get a flight that night and ended up calling Elizabeth somewhere around 10:30 to come get me at the airport. There were no more flights going my way for the night.
She was so good to take me back to the airport again about 4:00 AM and I did finally get out. I had to fly from Seattle to Portland to San Fransico to Salt Lake where I got the car and drove on home. I got back about 11:30 that night but I was home.
Dan stayed a few extra days with James and Elizabeth and then he flew home on Wednesday. What a wonderful, fun time with family!!!

What Happens When You Turn Sixty?

2010-10-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

This year I learned first-hand what happens with you turn 60.

You get up, get ready and go to work just like you did when you were 59. But, when you turn sixty - one of your good friends send you flowers at work.
And another firend invites you for lunch (no picute included).

Then you get an amazing phone call from a sweet lady named Diane.

You've never met her but she calls your cell phone on your birthday and you answer. She tells you that she knows your daughter, Sister Grace Thomas. She lives next door to "the Sisters" and she helps take good care of them. She tells you she has them over for dinner often and she knocks on their walls to make sure that they are home and safe. She tells you that Gracie was over to her place "just last night" and that they celebrated one of the Sisters' birthdays. Gracie tell her that it's her mom's birthday the next day and she tells Gracie that she will call her mom and tell her that Gracie loves her. You cry! You cry with happiness to hear about your daughter. You cry with appreciation for this kind woman and you cry because that's all you can do right then. She tells you to add her to your contact list so you can call and leave messages for Gracie with her. You hang up and do that to that right then.
Throughout the day you get phone calls, voice messages and text messages from your children wishing you a very happy birthday. With 10 kids, that's a lot of calls and messages. A lot of love!!

After work you go home and there are gifts and cards in the mail and on the table. You open them all right then and there and you find lots of fun surprises from lots of wonderful family and friends. After you celebrate for a few minutes you put on your uniform for your second job and you go to work (again).

When you walk into the Pharmacy, there begins a song in the air. Your co-workers are singing "Happy Birthday to You" - to you! They come up with hugs and squeezes and there are cup cakes in the corner. Please don't tell the Wal-Mart Corporate Headquarters about the cupcakes. Techs are not allowed to have any food or drink in the Pharmacy, but your techs break the rules just this once ~ for you. After work, one of them takes you out for a Brown Topper at DQ. You know, the chocolate dipped ice cream cone. It's so big you can't even eat the whole thing.

You go home tired but so totally happy that YOU FINALLY TURNED SIXTY.

Guess Who Came Knocking ~ Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

There was a knock at the door, a package on the porch and guess what was inside.

SITANI!

Then there was a knock on the door, a package on the porch and guess what was inside.

MARLEY!!

We never could get Elijah to play along but he was having fun on his own.

We had all the necessary toys for a great day outside.

The Sugu’s had come for Labor Day weekend and although I had work at the pharmacy Friday night, we had Saturday, Sunday and Monday to enjoy together. Besides, we were going to 2nd Annual Thomas/Sugu Southeastern Idaho State Fair Event on Monday. What could be more fun?

Until then we played with play dough,

savored a Haini Fabulous BBQ

and soaked up the sunshine!

On Sunday with the “old” people were taking naps we went to the Green Belt to see the falls and feed the ducks.

HELP WANTED

2010-09-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

Do you need help? Are your rain gutters falling off your roof? Are your light bulbs all burned out? Is your ladder hanging from the ceiling of your garage and you're only 5'3" and can't reach it to get it down? Does your fence blow apart in the wind? Do you need help bagging weeds from your flower beds?

Call Seth~ He's prompt. He's quick. He's thorough. He's friendly and he's cute!

(LOOKS LIKE HIS DAD)

THANK YOU SETH!

The Red Rose Morning

2010-08-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

They say that the Red Rose represents "Love". I've always thought so, too. I love roses of any color but the true red rose seems to just stand out.

Well, this week has been "one of those weeks" with lots to worry and ponder and pray about. I was feeling a need for some peace and comfort so on Wednesday I decided to go spend some time in the Temple. I got up early and quietly left the house. However, I hadn't even driven out of the driveway before I pointedly realized that I was loved and being watched over by a very kind and loving Heavenly Father.

There at the end of the driveway stood the most beautiful red rose of the season. In fact, this particular rose bush had not bore one rose all summer. But there, where I couldn't miss it, it stood straight up in the early morning light. Thank you Heavenly Father.

"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;"
D&C 59:18

In My Own Backyard

2010-08-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

I love summers outside in the flowers!! I know that's not a news breaker for anyone, but I really appreciate those times anymore. Between the two jobs my flower time is pretty skimpy. However, I had time to take a few pictures. They aren't super camera, super professional but they are things that I find beautiful in my own backyard.

Solitude Lake - Just A Saturday Away

2010-08-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning came early as I left the house by 6:00 AM and headed over to Sara's house. Sara is a SLP that I get to work with at school. She is a sweetheart and an avid hiker. We'd talked about hiking together but almost let the summer slip by without going until... she emailed and said, "Let's go".
She had plodded out a trail (one of her favorites) up Cascade Canyon, across Jenny Lake up the Wyoming side of the Tetons. We would hike to Solitude Lake, have lunch and hike back down. The ferry would take us across the lake to the start of the trail and if we made it back by 7:00 PM we could take the ferry back across. If not, we would hike around the lake.
We were both excited to get going so we left her place by 6:30 and headed north to Jackson Hole. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The sun was shining, the skies clear and the temperature warm but not hot. We left our sweaters in the car.
Dan has hiked this trail before but it was all new to me and I loved every bit of it.
We took the ferry across the still, morning lake

and started up the hill.

We stopped at Inspiration Point to take pictures

and then again at Hidden Falls.

The trail was well cared for with beautiful wooden bridges across the streams
and breath-taking scenery with the Tetons in the background.

The wildflowers were in bloom everywhere.

Along the way we spotted a moose.

Can you find it in this picture?

Maybe this will help.

We climbed about 3000 feet in the 7 + miles to the Solitude Lake where we soaked our feet, ate our lunch and took a little nap in the sun.
There was a little island in the middle of the lake and some of the hikers took a dip in the freezing water.

The hike down was quicker but we still didn't make it to the dock in time to catch the last ferry back so.... we did the extra 2.5 miles around the lake shore to the parking lot.

On the way around the lake we came across a black bear eating berries in a field. He didn't notice us and we didn't take the time to get our cameras back out. Good thinking on both our parts. It was almost dark when we got back to the car and we were both pretty crippled up and laughing our heads off. Maybe we were delusional but it helped us forget the hurt.
On our way home we stopped for pizza in Jackson. The crowd at the resturant was actually staring at us as we tried to get out of the car and go it. The pizza was wonderful but the best thing was taking off my shoes and walking out barefoot.

It was around midnight when we got home and by morning we were both ready to go again.

Dan had a vase of three roses and a sweet card sitting on my dresser for me when I got home.
A wonderful ending to a fantastic day! Can't wait to do it again!

Sara's pictures are much better than mine and you can find them on FB ~ Sara Kinney. Enjoy!! We did!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-08-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells,

and pretty maids all in a row.

Well, we don't have pretty maids in our garden but..

Dan's garden bears fruit? ~ Nope! Dan's garden bears vegetables

and Sandy's tree bears fruit.

We've eaten lettuce
and strawberries from the garden,

put up sweet peas, snowpeas and will soon tackle the beans.
The squash are taking their time, thankfully!!

We've dried a batch of apricots
and put the rest up in jam.

YUM, YUM! Aren't we blessed!!

A Weekend with the Kids

2010-08-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Dan had an unexpected but appreciated appointment with the SL VA last week. They called on Thursday, saying that they had an opening in the Muscular Clinic the next day and asked if we could come down on August 6th.

Well, of course we could because we knew it would be a good opportunity for help for him. So, we left early Friday morning and made it there in time for our 10:00 appointment.

The Dr. was very thorough and did a complete exam of Dan's right arm. He made numerous notes in the computer and suggestions of things Dan could do to strenthen it. He also made a recommendation for Physical Therapy and he talked about options we consider if the therapy didn't help loosen up the shoulder. Then he made another appointment for us in Sept.

Dan and I ate a late breakfast at Denny's and then went on down to Orem where we had a room for the weekend. Dan rested in the room and Kristi brought the kids over for a fun afternoon swim in the pool.

Laura called on Saturday to ask if I'd like to do some shopping with her and Anabelle. Wow!! That sounded wonderful so I got to spend the afternoon with them.
We had planned a surprise early birthday dinner for Dan but he wasn't feeling up to it so the rest of us met at Red Robin and had a fun dinner together.

After dinner the Sugies brought over a cheesecake for Dad so of course, we all had to have a piece right there and then.

The next day Dan and I went to Church with Mark and Laura and after Sacrament Meeting we headed up the road so we could spend a little time with Mom in Logan before going home.

It was a wonderful weekend!! I just love spending time with the kids!

The Blue Angels Overhead

2010-07-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

On July 23th and 24th Dan and I had the show of a life time. The Navy Blue Angels came to Idaho Falls. We decided not to buy tickets but to watch from the house and see what we could see. Well, we had the "best seats in (at) the house". We set up our chairs in the shade of the red leaf maple tree and sat back to watch. I had a really hard time staying in my seat because those beautiful, stealer fast jets were circling our home and flying directly overhead. It was amazing. At times they were so low you could clearly read the US Navy on the underside of the wings. They proceeded with their program and we enjoyed every bit of it.
On Sunday we ate dinner in the backyard and finished quickly so we could go back into the front yard. It was as if they had planned their whole program around our front yard. Hal Monson, Tessha and Lucy joined us for the Sunday show. Like I said, it was the show of a life time. Here are a few pictures I took. There are also some from a friend who was on the Citizen's Patrol Watch that day.
At the end of the show we literally had a traffic jam on Washburn. It took over an hour for all the cars to clear out so we could get out of the driveway. Amazing!!Enjoy!!!

Glorious Days out East

2010-07-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting a chance to do my blog on our time out East! I'm running about a month behind but I've not given up the race yet and I'm excited to finally write about our trip to Daniel and Dalynn's.

We began this trip the day after we dropped Gracie off at the MTC when we caught an early morning flight from SL to Denver. Because we always fly stand-by we are always so grateful when we get to board the flight. This morning we both had seats on the first flight and on the second flight from Chicago to Baltimore. We got in there early evening, got our rental car and found our hotel. OH, MY GOODNESS!!!

It was actually dark when we finally got to the hotel and because I had booked it on line and had no actual idea of where it was or what it was, it was a REAL SURPRISE!! No, it wasn't nice... it was a dive!!! I had asked for a non-smoking room and I can say you couldn't smell any smoke in our room but from the time we got out of the car till the time we shut the door to our room, we were surrounded in a cloud of smoke. Inside the room, there were holes in the walls and wires loosely dangling under an air-conditioning unit at the window. The bathroom was thrashed and the worse was when I used a "clean" towel after taking a shower. While standing there (stark naked, of course) wiping down with a towel, my fingers got caught in something on the towel. I usually try not to panic when I think something is wrong, but when I loosen my fingers and looked I saw a wad of black, kinky hair.... Now, don't throw up but yes, there was a wad of black, kinky hair and lots of loose black, kinky hairs all over the inside of the towel. YUCK!!! That did it!! We had to get out of this place. (No pictures taken ~ thank goodness)

We hurriedly left and went to Daniel and Dalynn's that night where we had a nice visit with them, Tim and Cindy, Ryan and Tracy. It was most fun to see the girls; Mika and Ember and hold sweet little Maren.

It was wonderful!!!

We ended up spending the night at our "room?" and then checking out the next morning. Dalynn had gotten us a reservation at a "nice place" closer to them and we'll be forever grateful to her.

Now the fun was going to begin. Daniel and Dalynn had made arrangements for us to go to the "shore". Easterner's don't call the beach "the beach" or "the coast". They call it "the shore". So we all piled into cars and we lucked out with Mika in our car and headed to the shore. It was fascinating to travel the highway back east.

Although we'd been to Baltimore before I'd never been that far east. We crossed rivers, drove over the Chesapeake Bay and paid to drive on a toll road. We tried to stay together on the road but eventually Dan and I got separated from the others. We kept in touch by cell phones and we finally hooked up when we were crossing the last bridge to the Chincoteague, VA. island where we were staying. There was road construction on the bridge and things had slowed way down. It was there that we saw Daniel's and Tim's cars just ahead of us.

We stayed at the house that Lee and Lynette Edgar were renting for the summer. They were going north for the weekend and offered to let us stay the night at their place. Can you imagine my surprise at meeting up with the Edgar family on the other side of the country.
The house was large enough for all three families to have their own space and we were all pretty excited to be able to stay there.

We unpacked the cars and then got right back in and drove out to the beach, oops, I mean the shore.
We played in the sand ...

and walked the shore line till it was dark and we had to go back to the house. We had a fun dinner all together, went to bed and were up early hurrying to get back down to the beach. (Having grown up in Manhattan Beach, CA. I guess I'm just a California "beach" girl to the bone.)

Daniel, Dalynn, Ryan and Tracy rode bikes out. Tim and Cindy took the three girls, Dad stayed at the house and I went exploring the small coastal town. It brought back good memories of Manhattan Beach and I loved the time going in and out of the little shops. I bought a couple of souvenirs and then hurried on out to the beach to meet up with the kids.

It was the Fourth of July weekend and of the roads were extremely crowded with the locals and with out-of- towners; people like us. I had to park the rental quite a ways from the beach and walk to the kids. I have to say that I throughly enjoyed the walk. It was rather long but the sun was shinning and I was very content. When I got to the beach I walked up and down but couldn't find any of the kids. There were so many people enjoying the water that day.

I started back to the car when lo, and behold here came Daniel and Ryan on their bikes. They had gone back to the house for something and were on their way back to the others. They showed me where our family was sitting and I found everyone enjoying the beach.

Mika and I built sand castles
and went on seashell treasure hunts.

When she found a couple of good shells, we made a seashell necklace for both her and Ember.

We played in the water.
and had a bite of lunch. Like always, eating at the beach means sandy food. Oh the memories!! Oh, the fun!!!

It seemed way too soon and we needed to head back home. We went back to the beach house, cleaned up, packed up and got on the road. I little while later Daniel pulled over at a resturant and we all went in for a great dinner. After that people in the cars started dropping off to sleep and we had a quiet ride home. I followed Tim and Daniel came along behind us.

Back at their home, we unloaded Mika and her things and went on over to the "nice hotel". Boy, were we ever glad we had a nice place to sleep that night.

The next morning we met up with the others early and then followed Daniel out to their church. It was fun to drive over the green, rolling hills and through little towns on our way to church.

In Sacrament Meeting, Papa Daniel, Granpas, Uncle Ryan and others circled our little Maren and gave her a beautiful Priesthood blessing. I was able to write the blessing down for Dalynn to keep. It really was a special blessing. Then they had Fast and Testimony meeting. Daniel bore his testimony and it was full of the spirit. It had been quite a while since I'd been able to hear his testimony so it was a real treat for me.

We took pictures on the church front lawn after the meetings

and then we headed back home for dinner. We all had naps that afternoon -the best way to spend Sunday afternoons and then later that night we went back to Daniel's for a little while.

Since we had early morning flights again, Dan and I went back to our "nice room" and went to bed. Morning always comes too early but we needed to catch our flights so off we went. Again, we were blessed to board every flight home. WOW!!

I finished our fun trip by walking home from the IF airport, breaking into our back yard, opening my office window, using the tramp ladder to climb in and get the van key. Tessha had kept the car in Utah over the weekend and wasn't home yet. As usual, we had left the key to the house in my car and the key to the van in the house. It was just another blessing to be able to break in and get the key. I drove over to the airport and picked up Dan and the luggage. Always an adventure!! Always a great time!!! Thank you Daniel and Dalynn!!! Thank you! Thank you! We can't wait to come back out!!