The weather outside is frightful

My last blog was over 2 months ago! I guess I’ve been extremely busy. And since we’re in the midst of the holidays, it will only get worse for awhile. A winter storm rolled in and there is snow outside. It looks very pretty – but it is cold, and I HATE being cold!!

Randy’s knee is not getting any better. He is still putting ice on it a lot when he’s sitting down in the family room. He still walks with a limp. He has realized that he will never run again and that’s somewhat depressing. Getting older is not for sissies!

For Thanksgiving this year we (Randy, Tyler, Dylan and I) drove over to Ingrid and Jeff’s house – it’s about 1 hour away. I took some cold cuts (carrots, celery, broccoli, peas, etc) and a pie, but it seemed weird to not be cooking. All the food was wonderful and we had a good time playing a game, enjoying each other’s company and just relaxing.

She let us know about their new baby that is on the way!

Ingrid’s birthday is this week, so I took her gift with us and she opened it then. Talynn’s birthday is next week, and they’ll have a party on the weekend for that. They also have their anniversary and Jeff’s birthday – besides Christmas! December is a very busy month for them. My brother Derek, his wife Rita, 2 of their boys Jeff and Alan, and Rita’s mom Letha came to visit my mom and Connie and to bring them Thanksgiving dinner. I am amazed at all the blessings that I have in my life to be thankful for.

I have most of December off from work since the temple will be closed for cleaning. I’m giving people at work my CD from last year since I have some left. Randy and I took mint brownie mixes around to the people on our circle and we will give them to the people we visit for church. And I will make up some fudge for Randy’s work and just to have around. We have decided on a theme for this year’s Christmas card and Tyler is working on it. I wonder how much longer we’ll be able to do this since the family is getting bigger – it has really been a fun project for us each year!

“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date” – William Shakespeare

Well, it is now Fall and Summer is gone. Every year about this time I find myself digging my heels in and wishing summer could last longer. It’s not that I don’t like the changing of the seasons, but I grew up in southern California and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to cold weather – never. I really enjoy the holidays – but the weather could be warm and I would still like them. 

Here’s what we have been up to this month: Randy, Dylan and I went to one of the church’s canneries on Labor Day and spent a few volunteer hours canning corn.  There are a few big fields near us where some of it was grown and Dylan worked out in the trucks that brought it in (he was FILTHY when we were done). I worked at a station where I stood and eliminated ears that were gross or too small (they end up in animal feed) as they came down a production line. It reminded me of the TV show “I Love Lucy” where Lucy worked on an assembly line in a candy factory. Except I didn’t stuff any corn in my mouth! And Randy worked at a station where he could sit down most of the time, since he’s recently had knee surgery. He made sure the kernels of corn and the waste were separated.  

We celebrated Dylan’s birthday one day early and all my kids except Jesse were there. It’s hard to believe my youngest child is 22! I’m not that old ! !

A week later my mom celebrated her 95^th birthday. We had over 50 family members here and ate cake and ice cream. (I had lots of pictures, but they were REALLY candid and had someone making a funny face in each one – oh, well. I don’t want to get sued!! :)

We attended the evening portion of Stake Conference on Saturday and there were 2 different couples that spoke first. Then the Stake Presidency spoke. All of the talks were great. For the Sunday meeting we had a broadcast (along with the entire southern half of the valley) where the speakers were a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, Primary General President Rosemary Wixom, Elder Russell M. Nelson and a taped talk by Pres. Boyd K. Packer. It was wonderful, as usual.

Randy had a band job down in Provo at the Riverwoods Center at an outdoor pavilion. I was going to be one of the back-up singers (along with Dave Wayt) since the 2 girls that usually sing couldn’t be there, but Dave’s daughter ended up being able to come, so I got to sit and listen instead. It was a good thing since I had a sore throat and a cold and almost no voice.

I have started working “on call” at the Jordan River Temple helping with banquets served down in the cafeteria area. So far, they have only needed me one day a week, but the weekend of General Conference I will also be serving the authorities and their wives up at the Conference Center in between sessions.

We attended a farewell for my cousin Sande. She is leaving for a mission to Raleigh, North Carolina this week. She just retired from teaching accounting at the high school here, and she will be helping with accounting in the mission office, so it will be perfect for her. It is not too far from where she served her first mission over 30 years ago in Roanoke, Virginia.

We will have the annual Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting the last Sunday of this month.  The kids have been practicing the music all year and practicing their speaking parts for the last few weeks. I love the fact that the speaking parts have been in the kids own words the last few years. I think it means a lot more to them, and gives the rest of us something to grin about! They are pretty cute.

Well, that’s been our month of September. Look out cooler weather – here we come….

“There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart”

August has been a busy, busy month. First – At the beginning of the month I sanded, stained, and finished a couple of bathroom cupboards a darker color. They were blond wood before, and I used ‘walnut’. I plan on doing our master bath also, but I haven’t had time yet.

Before

After

Randy had knee surgery where the doctor went in arthroscopically and cleaned up his meniscus. He was on crutches for several days, but it is healing nicely and he is now recuperating. Hopefully he will be able to walk without a limp soon!

Ingrid’s female Vizsla had her 3rd litter of puppies – 7 males and 1 female. They figure they will let her have one more litter and then ‘retire’ her from being a ‘mama’.

By far the most exciting thing to happen is that Dylan came home from his mission August 22. Jesse and Amanda arrived from Texas on Tuesday evening and then Jesse did a stand-up bit on Wednesday night at Wise Guys. I hear it went real well. Then on Thursday we went to the airport to pick up Dylan. Words cannot express what a great feeling that was. 

We took him to see the Stake President that evening to get released as a missionary. On Friday afternoon/evening we went out to Ingrid’s place. First was target shooting, then dinner, then games. Fun times. 

Randy

Jesse

Tyler

Amanda

Jeff

Ingrid

Dylan

Saturday some of the family went up to Park City and rode the zip line. Dylan talked in church on Sunday. He did a great job – it was spiritual, humorous, and he even included quotes from the Primary children from letters that they had sent to him. On Monday several of my kids went to a sculpture garden and then hiked up to “The Living Room” above Salt Lake City.

On Tuesday morning we took Jesse and Amanda to the airport early in the morning and they flew home. Dylan cleaned out his dresser and closet and got rid of a lot of clothes that don’t fit him anymore and some other miscellaneous items. It was a great week - life is almost back to normal.

A Brief Update on Family

Randy – He has been walking about 4 or 5 times a week for exercise ever since he had all his health problems a year ago. He sometimes would walk for an hour and a half at a time. I’m not sure if all this walking contributed to his knee problems, but it has been bothering him for several weeks now. Last Friday while he was walking from one job site to another on the BYU campus, the pain got so bad that he had to stop right where he was and get some of the roofers to help him back to his truck. He went straight to the doctor’s office (he could drive since it is his left knee) and they could not determine anything from an xray, so he had to have an MRI done on that knee yesterday. He has been using my crutches to get around. Hopefully, they will find out what needs to be done soon.

Jesse – He got a promotion at work. He works at a theater where they bring you food. He used to be a runner, but now is a regular waiter. He is also the MC for comedy shows at one venue every week. This has enabled him to get to know a lot of the comics in town. He and his wife, Amanda, continue to do work on their house. We will see them in 3 weeks when they come here to see Dylan when he gets back from his mission.

Tyler – He graduated from UVU in computer graphics in May. He has been able to do some free-lance work lately and now he has a regular job in that field that he will start on Monday. He has decided to stay in the rental house where he is for now, and put money away to go towards a house purchase in the future.

(photo-shopped picture from Mother's Day)

Heidi – She hurt her ankle at work a couple of months ago. She was trying to break up some fighting at graduation, and a couple of large Samoans fell on her ankle. It was not broken, but had a really bad sprain and some torn ligaments. She has had to use crutches or a rolling cart, and do physical therapy. But, she has now been released to go back to regular work. She is so glad – she was getting really tired of doing just desk work.

Ingrid – She has been on a no-junk or no processed foods diet this past month and has lost 20 lbs! Pretty exciting. It is not easy to take off pregnancy weight – especially when you are still nursing.  Both Kalvin and their dog Rusty had to have surgery this past month, so it has been especially busy for her. Talynn is crawling and trying to walk. Their female Visla is expecting a litter of puppies any day now, so things will really get hopping around their house! Jeff has had to miss church most Sundays because of work, but he hopes to get his side business of making car speaker cabinets going soon and turn it into his full-time work. 

Dylan – We are pretty excited that he will be home from his 2 year mission in just 3 weeks! He has mentioned how changed he is, and it will be fun to see. I have heard it said that during the 2 years that a missionary is gone and serving others, they mature about 5 or 6 years mentally (and spiritually). He will not go to school until January, but will be looking for a job right away.

And Me – I’m just trying not to have a break-down!!

Let Freedom Ring !!

I know a lot of people think July 4^th has become just another day off of work and barbeque-time for people. I don’t think that is true. Although those activities are part of the day, I think most people are mindful of the reasons for the celebration and are grateful for the sacrifices that have gone before. At least, that’s my experience. So, on July 4^th we had some swim time with kids and grandkids,

ate a wonderful barbeque cooked by our son-in-law Jeff,

had homemade cherry pie and chocolate chip mint ice cream pie for dessert,

and spent a lot of time visiting while watching the fireworks go off all around us from our back yard.

The next morning Randy and I started off our stay-cation by meeting our daughter, Ingrid, and her two kids at the zoo. Our other daughter, Heidi, works security there, but she was not there that day. She was able to get us in for free though – SCORE!!

The bird show was fun, although we had to sit in the hot sun.

Ingrid tried a few hats on Kalvin, but none of them fit very well!

There’s a lot of construction since they are re-doing roughly ¼ of the park

. Anyway, it was fun to walk around and enjoy the time with our daughter and grandkids.

Friday afternoon we saw the movie “The Lone Ranger.” It was just OK.

Then we ate dinner at Tepanyaki – it was yummy as usual, but a slow night for the restaurant.

After dinner we drove to Magna where a friend, Carrie Johnson, was in the play “9 to 5” and we watched that. Then we found a hotel for the night.

The next morning we ate breakfast at IHOP and then drove over to Antelope Island. This is an island in the Great Salt Lake. The website for state parks says: “Hike, mountain bike or horseback ride the park's backcountry trails for spectacular views of lake and island scenery; spend a star-filled night in one of several primitive campsites; stroll along sandy beaches and take a dip in the lake's salty waters or step back in time with a visit to the Historic Fielding Garr Ranch. Antelope Island is home to free-ranging bison, mule deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, and many other desert animals. Millions of birds congregate along the shores surrounding the island, offering unparalleled opportunities for birding.”

This makes it sound quite exotic! We did enjoy it, but we didn’t hike, or mountain bike or ride the horses ($50 an hour!). We didn’t spend the night in one of the campsites (I don’t do camping anymore) and we merely looked at the beach from the roadway.

We did, however see some of the views which are, indeed, spectacular, and we went through the visitor’s center that is there.

(he's not real - just a statue!!)

We also walked though some of the buildings at the ranch, which were pretty cool.

I saw one deer or antelope (we weren’t close enough to tell which it was and I'm not sure that I would know anyway!) and a lot of bison from far away – with one up real close that Randy captured on his movie camera. And we saw a lot of birds. We had never been there before and it was nice to get away and walk around a bit.

Then, we headed back home through rocks and rills (the dictionary says this is a small stream!), woods and templed hills.