Christmas and snow

We went to Provo for Christmas because Shanna is expecting Jan. 9. David and Amanda were kind enough to let Bruce and Brian stay with them while Milt and I stayed with Shanna and Evan. It was great to be with our kids and to see lots of Milt's family. The dinners were very nice. I thought that with all the Christmas candy and big meals that I ate, that I would be very fat when I got home, but I didn't gain any weight. (Or it just hasn't shown up yet.)



There was snow in Provo. In fact, it snowed some while we were there, but mostly it was clear and sunny and FREEZING.


We got home Monday night. Yesterday, Brian and I went to exchange his dud Christmas present. When we came out of Fred Meyer, it was just starting to snow ever so lightly. By the time we got to Target, there were big flakes of snow. We had to go to Bed Bath & Beyond to get a wedding present for Shanna's friend she had through high school and college. (Because of the snow we didn't make it to her reception. I guess I'll take the gift to Provo with me next week.) The snow was starting to stick by the time we got there. We made it home in the snow. The roads weren't bad yet because it had just started. When it quit snowing, we had a beautiful yard with white trees and shrubs and lawn and driveway and everything. It only took Milt an hour or so to get home from work as opposed to the usual 15 minutes. It is now 10:30 the next day and it is all melting. the roads are a little slushy, but there is still snow on the lawns. That's how I like the snow. Beautiful and fleeting.

Leaving primary

Yesterday in primary we had a marathon singing time. After opening exercises, we ran through all the songs for the program on Nov. 9. After the program, I will be released. I have loved primary. It is great to teach the truths of the gospel to the cute little things through song. Coming up with ideas to teach the songs to make it exciting for the kids is fun too. This upcoming primary program will be my fourth one in a row. Our ward boundaries were changed recently, and the primary chorister from Beaverton 3rd ward was moved into our ward. She had only been the chorister for about 4 months and was pretty enthusiastic and excited about it. I told the primary pres. that if they wanted to put her in, it was okay with me, but I still like primary. So they are replacing me--after the program.

Anyway since we had singing time at the first yesterday, I was able to go to Relief Society. We had a great lesson. Maybe I AM ready to go back with the big people. I still visit teach five people and play the organ every other week, so I don't feel like I don't have anything to do in the church. I am looking forward to what else the future might bring, but I will miss those kids--even the ones who don't sing much.

Thanks for my family

I was just thinking how lucky I have been all my life to have such good families. The family I grew up in may have had a few problems, but I really don't remember many. We all get along well as adults and did pretty much when we were kids too. We had our sibling fights like everyone else, but they were over almost as fast as they started. All my siblings married people I like and have children that I like (at least the ones I have been around a bit). I don't think there will be any contention after my parents die like some families have about who gets what (if there is anything to get). No one gets offended easily.

My family with my kids is pretty much the same. All the kids seem to get along well with each other. In fact, they are good friends with each other. They play games together, invite each other over for dinner, go to movies together, and just generally get along well. So far, their spouses seem to fit right in with the family. Of course, this doesn't mean that everything is always blissful and happy. We do have a few squabbles, but not often nor long.

The family I married into is pretty much a good family too. There is some hurt and unforgiveness there, but for the most part it is a good family to belong to. They are all hard workers and giving people.

I have seen families that think the only way to communicate disappointment or disagreement is to yell or go on a tirade. They expect you to think like they do and know what they are thinking. Maybe they get over their anger quickly sometimes, but the imprint of the yelling is strong in my mind. I am ever so grateful for parents who were patient, understanding, and slow to anger. I hope I can always be like them and be a good example for my children as well.

Our bishopric was released today. We are having some ward boundary changes. We have a meeting tonight at 5:30 to find out what ward we are in and who the bishopric will be. The only sure thing is that things will change.

Why blogs?

What are blogs for anyway? I guess they are for people who have something to say. I apparently am not one of those.

Our New York and Canada Trip

Our trip to New York started out with visiting the Log Home where Joseph Smith lived in Palmyra.  This is our family looking pretty in front of it.

Here are David and Amanda in the Sacred Grove. (Evan is in the back.)

We  went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and this is what the "kids" did while we were waiting for it to start. Get a good look at David's and Shanna's cards.






Okay, so I haven't figured out how to do blogs with pictures yet.  Up there is the stage for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.   

Monday, we went to Corning Museum of Glass and made stuff.  Brian's finished flower is up there, then Dad blowing his paperweight, his finished paperweight, and Brian working on his flower.  When Brian gets home from Scout Camp with the camera, we'll have to take a better picture of it.

The next picture is from Tuesday. Brian and I are in our cheapo plastic raincoats waiting to get on the Maid of the Mist boat to take us near Niagara Falls.  We were already wet because it poured while Brian and I were waiting for Milt to take a necessary side trip.  

We went to a bird and reptile place after the Falls and lunch.  They wouldn't let us take any pictures because THEY took pictures and wanted you to buy them at the end.  

Below is a picture of one of the gardens at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens.  It is free and they have several gardens to see.  The picture next to that is the Flower Clock.  Every year they plant it in a different pattern.  If you go around behind it, there are pictures of it for almost every year since they started doing it.   It has been there for several decades.

This picture on the right is the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.  It is kind of a cool building, although it is pretty old.  They have 12 "houses" in it.  Some of them are:  Begonia House, Orchid House, Tropical House, Desert House, and Victorian Ivy and Herb House (where Dad and Brian played a giant game of checkers).  

This purple flower is one of the strangest I have ever seen.  It was in the Tropical House.  Maybe Shanna knows.  They also had HUGE hibiscus flowers in there.

Below you can see the HUGE twins that Shanna and Evan are expecting, one each.  A boy for him and a girl for her.  Ha ha.  That was the big news of the weekend.  

The video is the Christmas ornament from my glass blowing debut.  

Another Beach Experience

Milt, Brian and I went to the beach again.  On June 22 (Monday), we drove to The Inn at Otter Crest.  We arrived a little before sunset.  We hauled all our stuff up the hill to our room, went on a short hike to Devil's Punch Bowl, and went back and watched a movie.  Then we enjoyed the sunset.

Tuesday morning, low tide was at 7:30?  So we got up and went out there. The tide pools were awesome.  We went on the beach towards Devil's Punch Bowl so we could see different tide pools than we had seen in June.  Low and behold, you could climb all over the rocks INSIDE Devil's Punchbowl.   There was a whole wall with starfish just hanging all over it.  Anemones too.

When we got back, Milt had a nap while Brian and I went swimming in the pool.  It was a little chilly in our apartment and outside, but the swimming pool was nice and warm.  It felt good to get inside.  Brian forgot his goggles so we didn't stay too long, which turned out to be a good thing because I forgot to put sunscreen on my face.  My nose was red and right around my hairline was very tender and red.  Brian got a LITTLE red too.  We climbed the thousand stairs back to our place.  

Milt was working in the afternoon, so Brian and I hiked over to Devil's Punch Bowl (968 paces according to the sign, however Brian counted 1,111).  On the way back we took a smaller trail, but ended up at The Inn at Otter Crest anyway.  

Wednesday, we went to Yakina Lighthouse area.  They were supposed to have some great tide pools, but they weren't nearly as spectacular as the ones just down from our beach place.  They did have cobblestones though.  They are small lava rocks that are roundish and smooth.  They are all over just above the beach near the lighthouse.  They are a little hard to walk on because they roll when you step on them, and they were on an incline.  Most of them were probably about 6 inches in diameter.  (These ones in the picture are in the water, but you get the idea.)

On Thursday, we headed out to go hike to Drift Creek Falls.  After a 45-minute drive up a narrow winding road, we made it to the trailhead.  It was cloudy and threatening precipitation (I say that because it could have been rain or mist).  We put on our hiking boots and hiked to the falls.  There is a suspension bridge you go over to see the falls.  The hike was only a little more than a mile and there wasn't too much elevation gain (but some).  It didn't rain until we had been by the bridge for a few minutes.  Then it started to sprinkle, but we headed back.  The rain quit and every once in a while there was a mist or slight amount of rain, but not too bad. Back at the car, there were some people just arriving, and they asked us about the trail.  They happened to be from Utah with married children and one on a mission.  (The children weren't with them, of course.)  It's a small world.

THE banana slug

That was the end of our excitement until we go to NEW YORK and get to see most of our kids because we are going to the Hill Cumorah Pageant!!  Cant' wait to see you all again.

The beach, the wedding, and the play

I know. You can't believe it. The old folks are blogging. All you need to know is that we went to the beach a week or so ago. The tide was lower than it had been for quite a while so we were able to go out on the rocks quite a ways and see tidepools with starfish, anenomes (sp?), mussels, irridescent seaweed, some crabs, and lots of barnacles. Dad, Kristy, and Brian were able to see a few sea lions swimming nearby.



The next day Kristy and I went to Sea Lion Caves. Most of the sea lions were out on the rocks, but a few were in the cave. (Dad, Brian, and I went during spring break and the sea lions were mostly in the caves because it was stormy. About 220 of them supposedly.) It was fun to get out and see some new things.



Last weekend, Kristy and I went to cousin Shanna's wedding. We stayed with Steven and Pam so we could help Linda get the food and church ready for the reception. Our Shanna did the live flowers. She did flowers for the cake, but the arrangement was slightly too big for the bottom layer, so she and Evan and Kristy brainstormed and came up with a plan to make it fit.



It was fun to see Steven and Pam, Linda and Alan, Gaylynn, and some of their kids again. We went to Mom and Dad's for Mother's Day and made them a too salty meal. Dad was just getting over a nasty cold, and Mom was just starting it. I wish we could have stayed and helped them a bit longer, but we needed to get back home.



Brian is in the school play, "Beauty and the Beast." We are going to watch it tomorrow night. That's the report around here until something slightly interesting happens.