Spring Photo Album

Some photo's of previously mentioned happenings. As requested by Mel, there are a few of Nana & Papa's mugs!

Isn't Spring in Utah inviting? This was Apr. 17. No pansy planting today!








Spring fever makes Nana & Papa anxious to head for Lake Powell. We are soooooooooo excited to use our new boat, especially after Mike & Rita sent us this picture of them enjoying the boat last summer.





LONGEVITY IS IN THE GENES!






Guess who is 90!










Aunt Helen and great grandchildren
(Kennedy, notice Jesse)


aging cousins...
is one of them younger or does she color her gray?

CANCUN JW Marriott Hotel

in the lobby

the ocean, beach, and pools






para-sailing...
reserved for another lifetime!


Reflections on blogging...I have been quilting and blogging this week. They are similar uses of time. Small cuts of fabric/pictures/memories are pieced together into larger blocks. However, these activities are for those who are not 'time challenged' as untold hours can be spent on both activities with little to show for it!

Cliff Notes for February and March

Time flies when you're having fun... or... time just flies! Where did Feb., March, and half of April go?

• Feb. 16--Trip to Houston for M's baptism. What fun it was to celebrate M's decision to be baptized! Scalding hot water in the font only added to our fond memories of the day. It was fun to have Texas and Georgia cousins together, if only for a few days.

• Feb. 20--AG trip to Cancun. Hot, humid, hot, windy, humid, and hot describes our trip. The hotel was beautiful, the ocean was beautiful, the lunar eclipse was beautiful, and the people were interesting. We sat at the pool overlooking the ocean wondering about parasailing behind a boat. We watched several people and decided it looked fun and safe when we watched someone get dumped head-first into the ocean. We were once again content with our 'spectator' status. Despite the positives, it is still Mexico which we were reminded on our return trip. The Delta Airlines employees were running a little scam at the airport. One agent would put his foot on the scale (making suitcases weight 50+ lbs.) as the other agent offered to sell you a "cheap" extra bag to check. You could pay him $20 for the bag or Delta $50 for the overage. Several AG couples got caught in the scam. We watched our suitcase as it went on the scale (42 lbs) and then a few minutes later the agent said it was overweight as the scale was bouncing between 50 and 55 lbs with the help of his accomplice's foot. Dad asked what was going on and we were quickly checked in without a penalty.

• Feb. 28--Golf trip to St. George. Just leave the suitcases in the bedroom so they can be repacked after the laundry is done!

• Mar. 17--Mailed last Capstone assignment. School is officially finished, awaiting the grade on this last class. Dad kept saying I wasn't going to finish. Sometimes I thought he was prophetic because there was so much 'busy work' that at times even I thought it wasn't worth it. However, I kept telling myself that I hadn't taken statistics, college algebra, physical science, and 30 other classes to 'almost finish.' It was a huge relief to submit the 40 pages I had written for this class. (I ended up with a 97% in the class. I think it was a test of tenacity and I still wonder who read all the stuff I wrote!)
  

• Mar. 24--Ann P. died. What a great lady. Once I experienced serving with her I remember thinking I couldn't ever serve in a leadership position without her. She was by my side for many years in Young Women's and Relief Society. Nothing was too much work for her. She was a great example of courage, faith, testimony, and dignity in life and in death. I was touched as I visited her a week before she died. Her body was weakened and emaciated but her Spirit was larger and stronger than it had ever been. It reconfirmed my testimony of the separateness of the body and the spirit and how the spirit can continue to live on without the body.

• Mar. 29--Ann's funeral. An emotional day to honor a friend. I remember her phone call in January asking me to speak at her funeral. She said she had planned everything but the date. After I finished crying I told her I couldn't think of her funeral because I was still praying for a miracle but I would do for her what she had always done for me, whatever was asked. I also suggested a date--the 12th of Never.

• Mar. 30--Hawaii. The perfect day to leave for Paradise--snow in Utah. Off to soak up the sun, surf and sand for 10 days. Motsomoto's shaved ice, Turtle Bay Brunch, Temple, movies, pineapple, papaya, Swap Meet, North Shore sunset, Ted's Bakery macadamia nut pie, etc. Two airlines went bankrupt and the volcano on the big island erupted but that didn't hinder our good time. The only bad thing about Hawaii is coming home to face reality!

• Apr. 12--Aunt Helen's 90th party. If my aunt is 90 and some of my cousins are 80, then as 'crazy Janet' told me, "S___, that means we must be getting old too!" What fun to see relatives and remember a great heritage. I really felt my mom and aunts' presence as we watched the video on Aunt Helen.
  

This is Papa's first posting

This is the material that Nana has chosen for her new hobby, quilting. She is meeting with the Relief Society quilting club. Also has the support of Rita Grider, a professional quilter.
This is the box of cut (and uncut) denim squares which Nana has insisted saving for 25 years in the basement because she is going to make some quilts "when she gets a little time". Thank goodness we attended the worldwide broadcast yesterday on peace in the family so Papa didn't make any unwise comments about buying more material!
This is the stuffing material rolls that go along with the denim squares.
This is evidence for posterity. When I have Nana committed you will know that her memory is going fast. The bottle at left was sitting BESIDE the pan on the stove with nothing in it and the burner turned on high. The bottle used to be square in shape. Thank goodness we didn't have something like a towel by the pan. Later this morning she turned on the oven, only to remember sometime later that the oatmeal squares were still in there from yesterday when she cleaned the counter off. Unfortunately the oatmeal squares were in a tupperware container - which melted. We call this recipe "twice cooked oatmeal squares in plastic". I am now afraid to go to work in the morning and leave Nana with a live stove.
This is Nana later with a brand new pan (containing Chef Brad Mush). Note that the kitchen has been cleared of smoke.

Feb. 7,2008

"One must be the change one wishes to see in the world."

Mohandas K. Gandhi

I am a novice at this, but took my own CHALLENGE to start blogging in hopes it will help me be better at journaling. I also hope it will put Micaela's mind at ease about what I really do all day now that I am not working and I don't have any kids at home... I got a new camera so I am going to start using it more. Here are a few photo's to update our goings and comings over the past 3 weeks. I will leave it up to you to label the young, young at heart, and the restless...

• January 13, 2008 Changes in Olympus 4th Ward Bishopric.

Former Bishopric--Todd Morgan, Ray DePrizio, Papa, Dan Eastmond, Jim Peterson

New Bishopric--Gary Spjut, Mike Anderson, Papa, Todd, Jim

• Jan. 27, 2008 Papa's birthday--you can have your cake and eat it too! and Papa's favorite gift--a nap with Kayman. Steph looked at them and wondered if Kayman was safe--would Papa drop him? Not likely, Papa has the art of sleeping with children perfected!
  

At dinner, Jess took one look at the steamed vegetables and announced, "I don't like bikini!" She did like 'bikini' last summer but she seems to have forgotten; and no, she did not eat any bikini.

• Feb. 6, 2007 Babysitting. Steph and Rew got away for a 'secret date' to see "Riverdance". Papa babysat for an hour until Nana got home from Visiting Teaching. He chummed them with juju heart treats until Nana fixed dinner. After dinner, as we watched VeggieTales version of Esther, the real treats came out--root beer floats and oatmeal fudge bars, to which Sydney exclaimed, "Jess, isn't the chocolate in the middle yummy!"

• December, January, February 2008 What do you do in the winter time?

Shovel snow...

Shovel moooooore snoooooow...
(Nana's new best friend is Papa's snow blower)

Sew new pillows for the living room...
(I hate piping!)

Time trips to Sonic Happy Hour between snow storms...
& study--one last class pending!!!...

Fill the fridge with things that scare even Papa--
like sourdough starter!