Wildflowers in Albion Basin

Yesterday was our RS Field Trip (focus group)....that Elsa and I planned to the Wildflower Festival (meaning the wildflowers are blooming) up in Albion Basin and truly....you must go. We live right here at the base of this amazing canyon (Little Cottonwood) and I'm ashamed at how little we go up there and enjoy its beauty. Keep driving up the canyon, past Snowbird ski resort....past Alta ski resort ( the place our son Ben loves more than all of us....)(just half kidding) and continue on the gravel road. You actually can ride the lifts and tram up and hike down....or just continue driving until you come to the Cecret campground. Most of us hiked up to Cecret Lake (about a mile).....just being outdoors and smelling the woodsy smells and seeing, really, the incredible wildflowers.....it was just what each of our souls needed....since we were all feeling the feel the loss of a friend and neighbor......and aching for our friend, Lynda.

Lunch is always a part of our field trips (of course!) We then tried out a Mexican restaurant in the canyon, El Chante (meaning the blackbird)....but it really should have been called "La Ardilla" or "the squirrel" as one kept coming inside and sending Cecily W. into terrors! I never knew she was such a scaredy-cat. It was hysterical! Oh, I can't WAIT to find a stuffed squirrel to secretly plant in her car or bed. She'll never live this down...

Up Little Cottonwood canyon, there is a famous rock. It is gigantic. A car could drive in the dark space underneath. It is like a 2-story building. I wish you could see in reality it looks like it is ready to tumble...... it could squash a small village. And everyone in it. Even those who prefer not to be squashed.

But thankfully, look at what is holding it up. A stick! A mere toothpick!

This rock is a metaphor for my life sometimes.....

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

- Mother Theresa

A Fun 50th Anniversary Bash

It started about six weeks ago with a note to "Save the Date." It was dang cute and I would show it here but I put it in a place so that I would be SURE to remember the date....
and I am clueless where it is now.

Then a few weeks ago, the REAL invitation came (as opposed to a fake one.) Of course, Lynette had a hand in it....she's turned into the party girl. She must have had a FABULOUS Young Women's President and Laurel advisor....that's all I can say. (She was actually one of my Laurel class presidents....before her "biker" stage!) I heart Lynette.

cute invitation....much cuter in person.

This convertible greeted guests in the driveway. Blow-ups of the happy couple.

Trailing clouds of glory.

Every table had fabulous floral arrangements. But just one thing.....
If MY CHILDREN EVER use pictures of David and I in our bathing suits as table decorations, let me just tell you right now, I will cut and fillet you like a fish! I do not know how to fillet fish but I will take classes at LaSur or a fish market or go where ever I need to go to learn to fillet....and I WILL skin you alive! Understood?

More gorgeous flowers. Fabulous food.

Instead of having little menu labels, look what a cute idea to announce the food. Simple wall plaques. This picture doesn't show it but for the smoked pulled-pork sandwiches, they had squirt bottles labeled with about 5 kinds of BBQ sauces. Loved it.

And the yummy fountains....

Congratulations, Marilynn and Jan Mikesell! 50 years! I can't even imagine. David and I got married on my parent's 25th anniversary....so when they had their 50th, it was our 25th! We still have many years to go....

Half Mast

Lynda Raddon's sweet husband passed away last night. My heart just aches for my friend and their family. This is what Kelly, their daughter posted:

Gerald Hollis Raddon passed away at 8:19 p.m. this evening with his family around him. In true Gary fashion, he fought to the last minute trying to beat the disease. My mother really wanted him to pass while it was light out, and he took his last breath as the sun was setting over the Oquirrh Mountains. We will sorely miss him. We love you dad!
Funeral arrangements will be posted in the near future.

Three Things

Three things I’ve got on my agenda today:
1. Nails
2. Visiting teaching lunch-love these women
3. Attend a 50th anniversary celebration for Marilynn and Jan Mikesell. The Mikesell’s used to live in our Ward before they divided it. Her daughters are totally creative and will be sure to really put on a party.

Three things to look forward to this week:
1. Tara Bawden’s wedding reception tomorrow!!! Tara is the daughter of my friend, Marilyn Bawden (I know, I know, how many Marilyn’s can be in the world? And they all live here, around me!) I have loved Tara since they moved into the Ward when she was teenager-ie. She used to hula dance (Marilyn too!) and then got called to Hawaii on a mission. Perfect! For their wedding reception they are having a BBQ party at Sachs Gardens in the mouth of Parley’s Canyon! It will be so fun. And I can’t wait to see her mom, who will be here from their mission in Guatemala. Tara is the one, through her mom, that actually got me blogging. And I’ll finally get to meet Tara’s roomie, Darby, who we blog-stalk together!
2. Annee, Tanner’s girlfriend’s little girl, is getting baptized this Saturday!
3. Some quiet time. My current company leaves tomorrow and I’ve loved having them and EVERYONE for weeks and weeks now....but I think I’m ready for at least a day of quiet time. Or normal activity, whatever that is!

Three Books on my Read List:
1. Well, since my father-in-lay died....and summer....and Inga, my military-style day planner who kept me on a tight ship with goal setting left, I have fallen off the wagon of my daily Bk of M. studies. Of course I am still reading but I got behind. When you start missing a day, a day turns into a few and then you’re out of your pattern. I can’t believe I let that happen. Too much stuff going on out of the ordinary. Still not a good excuse!
2. I am currently reading "Eat Pray Love" on the New York bestseller’s list, by Elizabeth Gilbert. She is funny and a fabulous writer....who writes outside of my moral compass....whatever that is. If you like Anne Lamont, you’ll like this.
3. I’m anxious to pick up a book called "The Shack"...a book recommended to me by my friend, J.

Three Things That Made Me Sad this past week or so:
1. Missed the Tillotsen/Daniels over-the-top wedding reception while we were at Bear Lake. The "theme" was carnival and they brought in and sodded an entire arena so they could bring in a full-sized Ferris wheel. A picture-taking booth. Guests did two strips of photos...one to keep, the other went into the guest book. Cotton candy, amazing cupcakes, an entire candy center, gourmet hot dogs with tons of condiments. Loretta and my son Tanner BOTH promised to take dozens of pictures for me to drool over. Nada. Neither. Drats!
2. When someone who should know better was thoughtless towards others....3. That my parents went home. That it might be months before I see them again.

Three words that describe me right now:
1. Pooped
2. Anxious
3. Contemplative
I'm in need of some changes in my life. I'm ready for some. I need to get a good jump-start.

"The act of contemplation then creates the thing created." (i wish...)

Thumbnails

This is a little thumbnail of what has been going on this past weekend.



First of all, my cousin's daughter, Danelle and her five kids came and stayed with us Friday night. After the Bear Lake reunion, they went to visit family in Rupert, Idaho....then stopped for the night here and then were headed back to Texas where they live. I just adore Danelle and her kids are darling. She helped me finish the scrabble necklaces that we did at the reunion. I did one for each of my little girls. Danelle and Isabella joined us for water aerobics. The kids swam until they turned into prunes and then David gave them a horseback ride. For dinner I got take out pizza and served the homemade pesto with angel hair (at "their request)....I couldn't believe all of her kids love pesto! I'm impressed!

Here's Rylee. Honestly, she doesn't have lipstick on. Isn't she pretty.

We had some great cloudbursts this weekend. I have an obsession with clouds and pull over at any given time because one is "speaking" to me.

My son, Travis, did the triathlon in Burley this weekend. He's such a crazy boy...always ready to do anything athletic. There was this hysterical video on Youtube.com (search for Clif Bar swim or use this link:) about how to train for the swim. He said, "Really, that's about what it is like!" I guess not so funny in lieu of one man drowning....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_6tOzt-nfM

Saturday as one carload of company left, two others arrived. Two of my nieces, with two friends and a mother all descended to stay until Wed. Two of the girls are here for the American Idol tryouts. It has been fun to hear all the details....so far they got up to be at the Energy Solutions Center at 5:00 a.m. Sunday. The information said no one in line until 5:00 but when they got there, the line was already huge. Thousands of people. They go back tomorrow (be in their seats at like 5:00 a.m. Just crazy!) and they are called to just give a few seconds audition in front of a variety of judges. You go up in groups of 3 and they say, "sing" and you sing for just a few seconds and they either say "enough" or "sing something else." Crazy! But the whole thing is a party for those involved. It has been fun having them here and have all this singing going on! And all of the girls have amazing voices....it just blows me away!

Parker, Gracie and Rylee start school today. Well, for Grace and Rylee it is just meeting with their schoolteachers in 1st grade. I'm going to MISS them....

After a day of school shopping. Why do girls like this so much better than boys?

This past week, one of Brandi's dearest friends, Lizzie, had her 5th baby at home and asked Brandi to be her coach! Brandi was so excited and honored. Lizzie knew Brandi would be a great birthing cheerleader since Brandi and Lizzie cheered together at Alta High School all three years! Brandi was actually blown away by how well Lizzie did. She said she didn't break concentration once and was so determined and serene during the whole event! We think she is a wonder woman! And bonus of all bonuses.....she got a little girl! After 4 rambunctious boys! Oh happy day! The next day Brandi found this cute little outfit to celebrate...



This past week has been scary.....companies keep laying off people and people that we know and care about have been let go. Ryan C.'s company is in the building industry and so they keep downsizing. One of our dear "almost kids" (he's like one of our family) lost his job there this week...only to find a great job two days later! Yeah!!! We hold our breath for Ryan and others...

So, on a happier note, last night our Ryan (as opposed to Brandi's Ryan--Ryan C.) called from the airport laughing. Ryan was there with all the kids picking up Marci who attended her grandfather's funeral in California. The television was going on about a Ladies Night Out sleepover with hundreds of women in pajamas with tons of chocolate and tons of makeup. Joshie, age 8, said in all seriousness. "Boy, THAT doesn't sound fun at all!!! (pause) Well, except maybe for the chocolate!"

That's my boy!!!


"The chocoholics 12-step program: NEVER BE MORE THAN 12 STEPS AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE!"

Legacy

My daughter-in-law, Marci, is in California this week for her grandfather's funeral. I was touched as I read her tribute of this man she loved...then my son, Ryan, shared this article that was in a LA newspaper about him as well. I wanted to share a part of his story here.

Monday, July 21, 2008
Lloyd Raymond Apperson
I just received word that my grandfather passed away last night. I am deeply saddened. I regret not going to visit with him one last time. I really wanted to visit him and soak up his sweet spirit and tell him that I love him. I hope he knows. I am grateful that I was able to see him last August before we went to Guatemala. He said goodbye like it would be our last. In January he took a turn for the worst and we thought he would not make it. He made us think that he had the nine lives of a cat. We have prayed for him ever since to be comforted and not suffer.He was born May 13, 1919 in Missouri. He loved to play the fiddle, sing, and write music. He served in WWII and was injured. He lived with shrapnel imbedded in his body since that day. He was the construction foreman for the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, The Bob Newhart Show, and many others. Here is a link to his resume

http://posters.imdb.com/name/nm0032289/

He survived a car accident. He survived cancer. He loved doing family history. He loved to build. He loved being surrounded by family. My favorite memory of him is when he would play "The Reseda Blister" on the fiddle with Grandma playing the piano alongside him. He mowed our 2 acres in Missouri on his riding mower and I remember bringing him lemonade when he was done. I remember him making big birdhouses for the sparrows. I loved how tender and choked up he would get when he would share something special. I loved how he called me "Tuts" or "Toots" (however you spell that) and love to hear that name as my Heidi is called the same by her Grandpa Williams. Grandpa, you are free at last from the pains of this world. No more restricted diets, bad knees, or allergies (just to name a few). Now we will pray for Grandma to be comforted with your loss as I am sure she will miss you the most. Grandpa, thanks for leaving us a wonderful legacy. You have given us the gift of music. You have given us a love of God. You have given me your good looks(lol). I never knew what to say when people would tell me that I looked like my grandpa and my dad since I'm a girl. However, I'm grateful that I can look in the mirror and see a bit of you. I'm grateful for the living memory I hold in my arms. Our baby Noah (aka "Little Lloyd") looks just like you. I love how through the generations we can pass on bits of ourselves. We love you and miss you greatly. We all look forward to that sweet reunion on the other side when we are all whole, young, and wise. How happy it will be!

This is an article that appeared in a California newspaper


THE GREATEST GIFT WIFE'S BIRTHDAY SURPRISE REUNITES HUSBAND WITH WWII LIFESAVER.
Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY

It was one heck of a present that Louise Apperson got her husband, Lloyd, for his 83rd birthday this year. Finding the buddy who had saved his life 58 years ago in World War II. Mike Booker is his name, and he was sitting down to have lunch on his farm in Davenport, Wash., on May 15 when the phone rang. It was a woman named Louise, calling from Reseda, Calif. ``Are you Mike Booker?'' she asked. ``Yes,'' he said. ``Did you serve in World War II?'' ``Yes.'' ``Were you in St-Lo, France?'' ``I sure was!'' ``Do you remember Lloyd Apperson?'' ``Are you kidding?'' Booker shouted. ``I've been looking for him most of my life.'' Louise closed her eyes and smiled. After years of searching unsuccessfully through library phone books and records from all over the country, it took just a few minutes on an Internet Web site to find the right Mike Booker.
"Could you hang on a moment, Mike?'' she asked. Then Louise walked the phone into the next room and handed it to her husband, sitting in his favorite chair watching TV. ``Happy birthday, honey,'' she said. They met soon after the D-Day invasion and became friends - a couple of young GIs sitting in their foxholes at night talking about their families back home, and what they wanted to do with their lives if they ever got out of the war alive. Lloyd was 25, Mike, 20, and they had were lead scouts for the Army's I Company, 357th Infantry, 90th Division - one of the most dangerous jobs in the service. ``We had become good buddies by the time we found ourselves closing in on a huge battle at St-Lo,'' Lloyd said. ``We were scouting ahead of the front line, and Mike was a few steps ahead of me. ``A German soldier raised up across the field and began firing at us. I took my last grenade and threw it at him.'' Lloyd scored a perfect hit, but what he and Mike didn't know was that in some brush near a chateau up ahead, German soldiers in a mortar and machine gun placement were watching their every move. ``They zeroed in on us,'' Lloyd said. ``One of the shells landed about five feet from us. I was left full of holes and helpless.'' Mike got hit in the back with some shrapnel, but he quickly saw his buddy was worse off. ``I crawled over to Lloyd and asked if he could move,'' Mike said. ``He said 'Some,' but then I heard a bolt go click, and knew there was a sniper nearby ready to finish us both off if we got up and tried to make it back to safety. ``We were behind a hedge grove and I told Lloyd that we were OK as long as we stayed low,'' Mike said. He told Lloyd to crawl onto his back, wrap his arms around his neck, and hang on. Mike was going to belly crawl his buddy the 100 or so yards back to safety. ``Mike had been a football player in high school, and I thank God every day that he was,'' Lloyd said. ``He had shrapnel in his back and me on top of it. It had to hurt like hell. ``He could have left me to save himself, but he didn't. He crawled with me on his back. The bullets from the German snipers sounded like bees buzzing all around us.'' Mike got Lloyd back to safety, leaving him sheltered by a hedge grove before rejoining his company in a fierce battle for St-Lo. ``See you soon, buddy,'' Mike said. They never saw one another again. Louise Apperson couldn't remember the last time she had seen her husband cry. But Lloyd was crying now, on his 83rd birthday, as he talked on the phone. So was Mike. Not a week has gone by in their lives for the past 58 years that they didn't think about each other, the men said. Didn't wonder whether the other had made it home alive. Not every day, of course, because they had to move on with their lives like all the GIs coming home. They had careers to start and families to support. But when a guy saves your life or when you save his, you don't ever forget him. ``I told Lloyd I was hit by shrapnel again in the Battle of the Bulge and busted up my ankle, so I was sent to England and then back home,'' Mike said. Lloyd told his buddy he was picked up by an Army patrol after Mike left him behind. They took him to a farmhouse where a doctor gave him three pints of blood and a 50-50 chance of surviving. ``They moved me from a M-A-S-H unit back to England, then decided my leg would never be well enough to go back to the front,'' Lloyd said. He still has 32 pieces of shrapnel in his body and two artificial knees that keep him laid up and homebound. Mike, now 78, is homebound, too, he said. Neither man can travel, and it's driving them crazy because there's nothing these two old war buddies would rather do right now than have the chance to hug each other. But they can't get closer than a telephone call, and that's what they've been doing two or three times a week since Lloyd's birthday. ``They never run out of things to talk about - from their families and old jobs to what's going on in the country today,'' Louise says. She says she'd like to meet Mike, too, because in many ways he also saved her life and gave her a future. While Lloyd was fighting in France, she was pregnant with their first child and working part time as a bookkeeper for a local department store. One day a man walked into the store looking for her. He handed her a telegram and left before she could rip it open. ``We regret to inform you your husband Lloyd Apperson has been ...'' it began. She felt her knees go weak and thought she would fall. But the man who owned the store held her up until she got to the next word in the telegram. ``I thought it was going to say 'killed,' but instead it said 'seriously wounded,''' Louise said. ``It's strange to say now but I felt good, relieved. ``Lloyd wasn't dead. He was alive and coming home. We would have a family, a life together.'' Because of a guy named Mike Booker. Yeah, that was a heck of a present Louise Apperson got her husband, Lloyd, for his 83rd birthday.

Empty Spaces

Everyday is such a conflict. Each day I laugh. I play most days with a grandchild, talk and laugh with my friends, count blessings at nighttime with my husband, pray with gratitude at the beginning and end of each day and sing praises all day long.

And yet there is that part of you inside that, if you dwell there too long, or start making lists of sorrows, can take your breath away. You know what I mean. I know God wants us to be happy. He doesn't want us to drown in the heartaches of the world. And yet...

I don't want you to think for one moment of my silliness, my laughter, my goofy way of dealing with the everyday that I forget my list of my loved ones that are in the middle of the storm. There are so many. And if I dwell there too long, without the comfort of the Spirit, since it isn't "my" trial, I know that all sorrow is my sorrow too. Everyday I reflect on those in my life with heartache at their front door. Not only are they prayed for but ached for.

Kelly Raddon Frye keeps us all updated on her father, Gary's, declining health. She writes:

Days and nights are getting harder...and although we expected it to, it still does not make this any easier. My father has basically lost the ability to communicate. Every once in a while he can get out a few words, but they are usually mumbled and hard to hear. Swallowing has become extremely difficult as well, food needs to be purified and then still it is sometimes difficult for his mind to tell his body to swallow. The hardest part for us as a family is that we get the sense that he still understands what is going on around him. He doesn't remember for long, but when he is able to get a few words out, they usually make total sense as to what we are talking about. My mothers days are filled with caring for Gary's every need. " and


" Although my heart aches when I spend time with my dad I would not give up these moments for the world. These are truly tender moments. Fighting back the tears I try to express to my dad how much I love him. We have been looking at pictures with him and talking about the fun memories we have had as a family. We do feel blessed as a family to feel the close bond that we do feel towards each other. As I spent time over at my parents house today, holding my fathers hand, I know he was feeling how much I loved him. I didn't have the strength to say it in words, but through my thoughts. I had the distinct impression my father understood my thoughts and I felt like he was expressing his love back to me the same way. There is truly a very special spirit at my parent's house and I do feel like his family members that have passed are close by helping my dad and us. Although I want my dad around forever, for his sake, I do hope his journey on this earth is near the end. I just have to hold in my head and in my heart all the wonderful moments we have shared together on this earth, and to know I will see him again."

I have shared how our dear friends, the Gwilliams- little granddaughter has had a relapse with her cancer. She is less than a year old. The young dad, Brandon, writes: "I've been looking at this for five or ten minutes (this journal entry)...and I'm not sure what to say. I will say this: I'm very hopeful! Regardless of what happens to our sweet little McKensie, our family will persevere; we will not be bitter toward God, people, or life in general; and we will look to find the good in all that has happened and all that will yet happen."

Oh, the faith of these people in the face or the belly of the storm. Sometimes I struggle to find the balance between joy in life and mourning with those who mourn. I am reminded of the first poem I ever read that made me cry. A poem that shares in a very harsh way, the reality of life going on.

"Out, Out - "
by: Robert Frost
The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside him in her apron
To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,

As if it meant to prove saws know what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap -
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all -
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart -
He saw all was spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off -
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
So. The hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then - the watcher at his pulse took a fright.
No one believed. They listened to his heart.
Little - less - nothing! - and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.


I hope that all the people in my life know of the "legions" that keep their family tucked in their hearts and the prayers that are extended in their behalf. I hope no one ever reading my day-to-day thoughts thinks that my life is so carefree or that I don't struggle with trails of various kinds and demons or that I turn a blind eye to the suffering of people around me. Or my family. I do choose to accept life as a glass half full....
but totally am aware of empty spaces.

Daily Report

Yesterday I watched Hallee and Addison while Brandi took Parker and Gracie school clothes shopping. My kiddos are starting school NEXT week with "year round." Now I’ve always been a lover of year round school....especially when my "olders" were in junior high and high school and I just had my two youngest in elementary (when we switched to year round.) But I’m SO NOT READY for Gracie and Rylee to be in first grade. On Monday’s, when I watch the kids, I will miss them terribly. It will be just Hallee Babe, Addison and me. Wow, I can’t even imagine...
Last night David and I went to the Days of 47 rodeo again...this time with Kirk and Cathy and their kids. We always have such a great time with them. I think we’ve FINALLY gotten our dates on the calendar for our fall trip (October) to New England. And I think my "girlfriend" trip is falling into place with a beach house in California in September. Two awesome things to get excited about!
Today will start with water aerobics with Brendalyn and Loretta in a few minutes. Then hustle and houseclean all morning. I have lots of company coming today. My closest cousin on my mom’s side, Deanna, has a daughter, Danelle (Dan-el, not Dan-yell) that lives in Texas with her family (four kids.) They are on their way home from the Bear Lake reunion and an Idaho visit and will be staying tonight. I’m so excited. She’s such a darling girl and cute family. THEN...two nieces on David’s side of the family and two friends and one of the friend’s mothers are ALSO coming tonight! I think some people are going to stand in line all day and night (Monday and Tuesday) to try and try out for American Idol! And really just coming to play as well. For 5 days! So, THAT shall be busy!
Been thinking about pioneer day yesterday. How different our lives are. When my parents were here, they and my mother-in-law would start talking about life when they were young. All made butter. My MIL made soap. They all talked about scraping a pig....first it was scalded and then you had to scrape (not an easy job) all the bristle hair off the skin. Yikes! Almost enough to have me turn in my love of bacon. And they talked about refrigeration, or lack of it, and how the ice man came several times a week for your "icebox." And how extra ice was buried in the grain bins. They aren’t even pioneers and yet, sometimes I can’t even comprehend the changes they’ve seen in their life. Here they had to make the "basics" and comparatively, today I’m making pesto from my basil! And putting it in cute little freezer cups in one of my several freezers. Just for fun and enjoyment. (If anyone has a better recipe, please share it quick! Cali? Anyone?)

Homemade Pesto
3 cups chopped fresh basil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Just put it all in a food processor or blender and presto! Pesto! Will store in the refrigerator for about a month or 5-6 months in the freezer.

I read a great tip recently. When cooking pasta, save about a cup of the water that you boiled the pasta in. Add a little bit of that water to your pesto....it will make a sauce that thickens from the starchy water that you added! I like it!!!

"Life is a combination of magic and pasta."Fellini

The Williams Posse

Red Eyes. Closed Eyes. Hee-Haw! A Good Time Had By All!!!

Happy 24th of July

The rodeo last night was fun and extremely chaotic! The definition of our family all together (except for Ben and Susie) might be chaotic. Is your family like that? Last night we had 23 of us ...13 little kiddos 9 and under.....really hollering, climbing on you, climbing over chairs, a little crying, LOTS of laughing, visiting, winning prizes. What a fun night for our family.

(picture of Tanner in Las Vegas. Apparently what "happens in Vegas" doesn't "stay in Vegas!")

Already this morning (at 6:00) David and his buddies are down at the arena team roping. It is David's passion. It is what he loves more than me. Horses aren't my passion, in case you couldn't tell. I like'em. But I don't really need one more thing to love. And I'm pretty protective of my heart. But today, in honor of the 24th of July and in honor of my husband, whom I AM passionate about....you'll get a Top Ten List.

Ten Things You Won't Hear Your Horse Say

10. Don't clean out my stall. I adore the smell. David thinks it smells like perfume and I agree!

9. No thanks,I'm dieting. One can of oats is enough for me.

8. I just love traveling in a hot trailer, loaded up with several other sweaty bodies. I never get car sick....I mean trailor sick.

7. Mr. Farrier, please don't stop pounding nails in my hooves.

6. There's room for one more on my back. And I don't care HOW much you weigh!

5. I feel like galloping another 20 miles. Uphill. In 102 degree weather.

4. No, really, I LOVE being covered in horseflies. Heavens no- they don't bite. They're my little buddies.

3. You can go ahead and leave, I'll wash myself down.

2. Can we do this again tomorrow? Oh, please, please. I know Marilyn wants to go as well.

1. Low Branch! Duck!

(picture of a "quarter horse...."

Happy 24th of July! Thank you, thank you, thank you Archibald McPhail....my great-great-great-grandfather...who lost his life with the Willie Handcart Company...coming to America for a better life for his family in Zion. Thank you, thank you, thank you Henrietta, his daughter, who persevered as well. Your posterity thanks you for this gift. Thank you Jane and Sarah and the Eckersells and the Darleys and the Thirkells and Wooleys and the Andersons.....thank you. Thank you. I know that you are all there...here...pulling for OUR family with the same strength you used to pull handcarts across sagebrush and raging rivers, oxen out of mire. That all you did wasn't just for you.

July 23, 2008

Every day this summer has been busy and crazy and.....

I’m about ready to slow down. But not quite yet. Have a few more things on my plate for the next few weeks. Then it will be quiet.

I take my parents to the airport this morning. It has been a marvelous visit. I have creamed my mother in Phase Ten most days . We have an ongoing battle. I had one with my father-in-law as well. I miss him so much...

Last night, as per tradition, David and I and Mom and Dad went to Red Lobster to celebrate our anniversaries that are coming up. We ate and ate until we all looked like stuffed lobsters. If you like the cheesy biscuits they serve at Red Lobster, here is the recipe. I have posted it before but this is easier than looking it up again:

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuit

2 cups Bisquick
3/4 buttermilk (I use reconstitute buttermilk powder)
1 cup grated cheese
2 T. butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. parsley flakes, crushed fine

Mix together and spoon flattened 12 spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the butter and garlic. Brush each biscuit immediately after removing from oven and sprinkle a dash of parsley over the top of each biscuit. (I crush the parsley flakes between thumb and forefinger.)

Yesterday Mom and I went and saw Mamma Mia at the theater. I actually liked it better than the stage production. I was never a big Abba fan but the tunes are bouncy and catchy. The storyline goes against everything I believe in so it is hard to say I loved this movie but I liked it okay. Maybe because I knew the storyline before going into it, so I was prepared. My very favorite scene, which was in the stage production as well, is the bachelor party scene when the guys are dancing in flippers. I really want to do some funny Relief Society number with that choreographer. Don’t you think, Lisa? Or better yet, the roller skating scene from Funny Girl (or was it Funny Lady?) Really, before I die, I want to be in this number. Or numbers. It is now officially on my bucket list....

Tonight: our family as the firm suite for the Days of 47 rodeo. This is tradition although usually we go on the 24th. The whole family is going....and I try to spice it up as much as I can. Now I enjoy rodeos a little bit better than a basketball game and a whole lot more than a football game. So I guess that makes me a semi-fan. But it can get loooonnng. And people may start nodding off. Not David but normal people. So, what I do, is to get the daily (the list of events and the contestants) and put one of our names by each contestant. During the evening, everyone has a chance to ride or participate in several events. If you know that the cowboy riding is "you", then you tend to cheer more, be more involved. There is bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping (now called "tie down" to make it sound less barbaric) barrel racing (which David thinks is sissy stuff....wait! Barrel racing IS sissy stuff! I love it!) and the grand finale, bull riding. I get gift certificates for the winners of each category and candy bars for second and third places. Everyone gets involved and it is so much fun. I’ll post the winners tomorrow.

I’d love to know what traditions YOU do on the 24th. I realize that it is only a holiday in Utah....but those who live here...do you start with a special breakfast? The parade? BBQ? Go to work, as usual? Dress in pioneer clothing and parade around?

If you do that last one, please post a picture. It would make my day!

I read where a "cowboy" quoted the following:
"Rodeo embodies the frontier spirit as manifested through the aggressive and exploitative conquest of the West, and deals with...the reordering of nature according to the dictates of this ethos. It supports the value of subjugating nature, and reenacts the 'taming' process whereby the wild is brought under control"
Then he said, "I don't have a clue what it means but it sounds right to me." My sentiments exactly!

A Tree with Branches and a Few Nuts

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each another." -Mother Theresa

Every other year, my mother’s family has a reunion at Bear Lake. It used to rotate from State to State, but it has been at this location for about 10 years....and that makes it especially nice for our family. My parents fly in from Washington and usually spend a couple of weeks with us. We love that. Mom and Dad and I drove up on Friday, with hubbie, David and grandson Parker in another car and son Tanner and girlfriend, Brooke, and her little girl Annie and our granddaughter Gracie, in another car. (All those cars because everyone had to come home at different times!) The rest of the kids couldn't come this year.

My grandparents, George and Nancy James, were each married previously and lived in Kansas. My grandfather was married to a woman named Leota and had four girls. Leota died (flu epedemic) and he then married a woman named Ellen and had one daughter named Zora. Her parents visited them, saw the conditions their daughter was living in, with a new baby and 4 step-children, and hauled her home. They were soon divorced. My grandfather and my grandmother ( who was previously married to a man named Willie Sparks who died in the flu epedemic as well- and they had 5 kids) then met, married and combined this huge family. Please pay close attention to all of this because there is a quiz at the end. My grandfather and grandmother then proceeded to have 4 additional kids, of which my mom is the second. This reunion is that combined legacy. We had about 130 people there.

Coolest thing about my grandfather....he made several musical instruments....once he made a violin with the top entirely out of matchsticks! It is beautiful! My grandmother boasted she could ride a galloping horse and shoot off a quail's head. I used to think that was cool until I started loving quail! She also ate fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy until the day she died....and lived to age 94.....so that gives me hope....

My Aunt Christine and Uncle Wayne (James) from Taylorsville have access to The Bluewater Resort...a fabulous facility for our reunions. Bluewater has a few condos, a small hotel, RV parking and camping. The beach is great, the water cold and there is a pool and hot tub as well. Cousin Nancy and husband George (Thompson) from Rupert, Idaho are our main cooks and the "in-charge" people and we appreciate all they, and all the individual family members do. Here are a few of our traditions:

Two meals a day are served. A humongous breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit and homemade sweet breads is served.

Dinner is traditional as well:

Hamburgers and Hotdogs the first night-everyone brings salads. Birthday cake for all those celebrating.

Cousin Jerry Sparks famous BBQ ribs the second night. Baked beans. Baked potatoes. Salads. The works. Brownies and watermelon for dessert.

BBQ steak the last night with corn on the cob, salads and strawberry shortcake.

Aunt Christine sets up a two-day snow cone shack at her RV. I bet they made hundreds. I ate 4 or 5 myself.

A blow- up bouncing pen made all the little kids happy.

Watching David, Tanner, Brooke and the kids frolic on the beach was one of my favorite parts. Getting a sunburn is always a priority for me.

Two days of crafts!

My favorite cousin, Deanna and her daughters, Danelle, Monica and Holly, always find the cutest things for everyone to do. This year anyone who wanted to make fuzzy flip flops could. The kids also made leather necklaces, lizard tie-tacs, sparklie bracelets, foam swords and a few other things. All my kids LOVED the crafts!

Entertainment:

*There is always singing and guitar playing.

*A burping contest. I know, I know. We're civilized folk!

*A pie eating contest.

*Prizes for all. Everyone’s name is put in a basket and the MC calls out a name at a time. That person gets up and tells their family line...who their parents are, kids, etc. Then they tell a joke. Then they get to pick a prize. It is a great way to get to know everyone.

*This year was a jousting contest with the foam swords...the participants stood across from each other....you couldn’t hit in the face (ha!). If you got hit in the arm, that arm was out of commission. If you got hit in the chest, you were gone.

But the best game was head jousting. The competitors each have a nylon knee stocking over their heads, with a tennis ball in the toe. You swing your head around so the tennis ball swirls around and you try to pull the nylon off the head of the other person (just using your head and the swirling ball.) It is wild and crazy and fun!

Some family trees have beautiful leaves, and some have just a bunch of nuts. Remember, it is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking. ~Author Unknown

There is always a raffle. Tons of visiting. Fun time had by all!

This is Brenda, a cousin I had never met before. She is the daughter of Zora, the long-lost daughter to my grandpa, who was scooted away by her daddy. Brenda had some brain injury during birth. She spends most of her days happy as a clam and loved hugging and squeezing everyone at the reunion and saying, "Hi, cousin!" in her best Oklahoma accent. She also spends her time making bible covers and this is one she is making for me. It will be a treasure. While Parker (age- 9) and I were sitting at the picnic tables doing crafts, he wanted to know why "that one lady goes around hugging everyone and calling them cousin." I said that she was mentally handicapped...a term Parker didn't understand. I tried to explain but didn't do a very good job of it. Later, another cousin said she was going to be extra nice to Brenda because in the next life, she was going to be perfect. Deanna's son said it another way. Scott, according to D. is a little irreverant...he said, "Mom, do you think it is too late for me for you to drop me on my head so I can live everyday in a happy world?" Or something like that. Brenda was a highlight to me. I think God put her "specialness" in the world to give it more light.

I have another cousin, Bert Eddie, who lives in Oklahoma as well. He and his wife Saundra have taken in dozens of foster kids through the years....some that have practically burned down their house. One little guy, Timmy, has really been a handful. They knew if he went back into the system, he wouldn't make it. So they adopted him. Imagine making the choice to take a hurricane into your peaceful home? I'm amazed and touched by their Christlike service.

(above- Timmy at 16)

Another cousin, Susie, has two boys getting ready to go to Mexico on a missionary service for their church...to help build a church. Awesome! Another has a son preparing to serve an LDS mission. Some of the families pray, some don't. All denominations are present. And guess what? The same wonderful God smiles on us all! Blessed!

The generation of names of my mother’s family is so typical of that era. Try a few of these names on:

Cecile Beatrice Goldie Mae Annabelle Francis Melvina Zora Gladys Leona Pauline Mary Maxine Martha Lois, LeRoy John Clarence Denver (I LOVE the name Denver) Wayne.

And here are just some faces of a reunion. Everyone has different lifestyles. Different trials. Different accents. A few different skin tones. They traveled from New Mexico, Arizona, Okalahoma, Kansas, California, Washington, Idaho and a few of us pulled handcarts from Utah. (I just had to throw that in since our trip was so easy, comparatively.) Gas is expensive this year....and I'm blown away by the dedication of these people. I have gone most years to the reunion because of my mom. I go to take my mom and dad. I go to support them. I am close to and adore my cousins from the last 4 kids in the family. They are AWESOME! But the others I hardly even knew. I still don't know very many. But each year I go and I talk one-on-one with one, then another. I come home grateful for my blessings, my family, my life.

Just a few faces of a family....

The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you. ~Kendall Hailey,