St. Patty's Day Dinner (A Day Early)

Tonight for dinner with the Barretts (minus Nate) we had corned beef, cabbage and potatoes in celebration of St. Patty's Day tomorrow. I was amazed at how the girls seemed to LOVE it. Riley ate her dinner so fast, in fact, that her tummy hurt and she had to lie down for awhile after dinner. Lindy said Riley's tummy isn't used to getting food so fast. For dessert we had yummy peach cream pie which the Barretts had purchased from the LaCrosse team boys who were doing a fundraiser. Surprisingly, it was very good. I say surprisingly because the boys had supposedly made the pies themselves. It actually was very good. Riley and Camden asked for seconds. After dinner we talked to Tiff, now back in Illinois, on the phone. When Riley first arrived this evening, she asked, "Where's Tiff?" We had to remind her that Tiffany had gone back to Illinois. When we tried to get Sidney to talk to Tiff on the phone, Sid just looked at the phone like "why is she in there?" Later, however, when Lindy brought up Tiff's blog page, Sidney (who was sitting on Lindy's lap), raised her hand and smiled and said a big "HI" when she saw Tiffany's picture on the blog. She was happy to see Tiff. The girls are already planning their next sleepover to be held in May.

Earlier today I went to Springville to Cousin Jacob Rawle's mission farewell. He's entering the MTC on Wednesday bound for Nicaragua. Steven took care of his branch president responsibilities at the MTC (including giving a talk on "Follow the Prophet") and I had a day with the extended family. (Too bad I wasn't able to speak at the MTC, but I'll have another chance in a few weeks.) It was a very nice meeting, and Jacob did a good job on his talk about the Apostasy and Restoration. He did such a good job, in fact, that Grandpa T. told him he hadn't heard a better talk from a missionary leaving for his mission. Speaking of Grandpa, he got along very well today. He enjoyed the meeting (with the help of a hearing device) and stayed a couple of hours over at Pat and Jim's visiting with everyone. There was a lot of good food there at Pat and Jim's plus lots of family to visit with. It really was a very nice day. Steven and I will be looking for Jacob at the MTC. Unfortunately, he won't be in our branch; but we'll get to see him, I'm sure.

Richard attended church at the 8th ward and reported that we now have a new counselor in the bishopric to replace Bro. Loveless. The new counselor is Bro. Runnells, just back from a trip to Morroco. Richard had guessed that it might be Bro. Runnells. He's a very good guesser. He guessed two members of the new Stake Presidency and he guessed Bishop Knell when he was made bishop awhile ago.

Goodbye, Pres. Hinckley

Tonight we got the news that Pres. Hinckley passed away earlier this evening. It was kind of a shock and surprise (even though he's 97 years old) because I think we all just assumed that he would go on forever being the prophet and president of the Church. Many of his talks in the not-so-recent past kind of referred to the fact that thought he might be going soon, because he felt like he was ready and had accomplished what he needed to; but then recently, when he's spoken, it hasn't been so much like he's telling everyone goodbye but more like how he's planning to be around for however long the Lord wants him to be. At his last birthday celebration he even talked about maybe being around for a 100th birthday party. Steven and I are glad we were able to hear his son, Elder Richard G. Hinckley, speak last Tuesday night and the reference he made to Pres. Hinckley's recent remarks when he sealed his last grandchild in the temple and said of sealing all of his children and grandchildren in the temple: "I consider this to be the finest thing I've ever done." In talking to Tiff tonight, we decided that that must have been the last thing he needed to accomplish before he died--to have sealed all of his children and grandchildren in the temple. When he dedicated the Nauvoo temple, he thought, perhaps, that that was the last thing he was to accomplish. But he went on to give several more years of dedicated service and then to seal the last of his grandchildren in the temple before finally being able to join Sis. Hinckley on the other side of the veil. Tiffany and I thought that would surely have been a great reunion, plus being able to meet and greet Joseph Smith (and Brigham Young and all the other prophets). The next few days will be a nice time for reflection as we think about Pres. Hinckley's love and service and how he has blessed not only millions of people worldwide, but each of us individually. And we can look forward to Pres. Monson becoming the next president of the Church. Tiffany and I thought he must spend all of his time going to visit and bless people who are sick or discouraged because we hear so many stories of when he has done that. Just last Tuesday, Elder Hinckley told how Pres. Monson had gone to visit Elder Hinckley's father-in-law and had been there with him when he died. It was Pres. Monson who called the Hinckleys to tell them that Sis. Hinckley's father had passed away.

Tonight for Sunday dinner we had hamburger and rice casserole, corn and rolls. It was quite a hit with the girls. Sidney liked eating the corn off her mom's plate as opposed to eating the corn right in front of her. For a treat we had valentine sugar cookies from Allen's and peppermint ice cream. Camden and Riley were glad it wasn't cherry ice cream.

I went to cousin Brianna's mission report this morning. She was feeling much better this week than she was last week. Her subject was "Reverence," and she did a good job of speaking on reverence and also telling about her mission. She talked about how much she loved the English people and how glad she was to have served the Lord in England. She told about cleaning the house of an inactive sister who was discouraged and sad. She said the house was pretty bad. The living room was bad enough, but then it just got worse through the rest of the house. As she was cleaning, Brianna said she thought to herself, "What am I doing here? Why am I doing this?" Then she thought, "Because I love the Lord and I love this woman. I want to help her have a better life." After the meeting we all went over to Clark and Barbara's for a tasty meal of Cafe Rio style food. I must find out from Barbara how to fix it like that. It was a nice gathering of family and friends there. Grandma Cathy was there to represent Grandpa T. who wasn't able to come.

After lunch at the Roberts, I went to the MTC for sacrament meeting. I got to meet the 12 new missionaries that came in last Wednesday--eight elders and four sisters. Bro. and Sis. Ahlander spoke about temples. Sis. Ahlander said that the temple is where heaven and earth intersect. Also, the Lord is able to bless His children through temple service. Bro. Ahlander said that as the gospel is inexhaustible, so is the temple endowment--we should learn something new each time we participate. The missionary speakers were Elder Thompson and Elder Darrington. Before the meeting, Elder Gooch asked me if I knew whether or not he was going to have to speak. I told him that when a missionary asks me that, then he or she usually ends up being called on to speak; so that worried him. But he wasn't called on, much to his relief.

Sunday Spaghetti Dinner

So tonight we had spaghetti (MTC style) for dinner. That spaghetti we had at the MTC last Tuesday was so good, I wanted to try to duplicate it. So I did. I used the can of organic crushed tomatoes with basil that we inherited from Joel and Sarah, plus a can of Italian style diced tomatoes, plus a can of tomato puree. I added that to some sauteed onions and celery. Then I added a small can of mushrooms and a small can of sliced olives, then a 1/2 lb. of browned ground beef and let it simmer for awhile. Voila! MTC-style spaghetti. When Camden arrived and found out we were having spaghetti, she was very excited because spaghetti is one of her two favorite dishes. But, alas, I think she was a little disappointed in the MTC-style spaghetti--it was a little too crunchy and chunky. (What are all those things in there?) That's okay. She was brave and slicked up her plate. Riley did, too. As for Grampa and me, we thought it tasted as good as the MTC spaghetti did. I don't know if that's saying much, but we thought it was good.

I joined Steven at the MTC for sacrament meeting. We both got to speak. Our possible topics were chastity, Word of Wisdom, and fasting. Elder Silcox spoke on the Word of Wisdom and Elder Rodee spoke on chastity. Their talks were in Spanish, but I could tell which topics they were speaking about. I spoke about fasting, and how, when we combine it with prayer, we are more receptive to receiving answers to our prayers and blessings from the Lord. Steven spoke about chastity and the importance of being "clean." He told the story of Joseph F. Smith on his mission in Hawaii as a young boy and how, in a dream, he arrived at a mansion and was greeted by his uncle, the prophet Joseph. Joseph told him he was late; but young Joseph F. Smith replied, "Yes, but I am clean." President Hinckley had related that same story in a priesthood session. Then Dad told about the "miracle to Slovakia" which was reported in the Church News last year; about how an army of 60 missionaries from the mission in the Czech Republic went into Slovakia and gathered the necessary 20,000 signatures needed for the Church to be officially recognized in Slovakia, a seemingly impossible task. But, as Dad said, when missionaries are clean and worthy and desiring to do the work of the Lord, they can accomplish great tasks, even miracles.

Today we said goodbye to District C--the other half of the large group that came in several weeks ago: Elder Opheikens, Elder Lewis, Elder Cox, Elder Ortiz, Elder Lofgran, Elder Stevenson, and Elder DeKay (his dad is a dentist, get it?). For their departure number they sang "Senor te Necissito" (I Need Thee Every Hour). They were pretty bad singers, but the spirit was very strong as they sang. They put their whole hearts into it. So I was glad to be there to hear it. Also, Sis. Bankhead was there and she looked good. She hasn't been there for a few weeks as she is undergoing chemotherapy right now. She said this has been a good week for her, so it was nice that she could be there.

Cousin Brianna was supposed to report her mission today, but her talk was postponed because she had been sick to her stomach all night and Barbara said she was in no condition to speak. Plus her voice was almost gone when we saw her at the baby shower yesterday.

Tiffany called from Pennsylvania and said that she and Angie had gone to Fort McHenry (where the Star Spangled Banner was written) and to the Hampton House National Historical Site. It sounds like she is still having lots of fun.

Fun with the Barretts

Today we got to do some fun things with the Barrets. First, I met up with Lindy, Camden and Riley at Aunt Barbara's this morning for a shower for Cousin Davian and her new little baby, Violet. Camden and Riley got to see the baby and meet lots of cousins and aunts. I sat with them at the "kid table" while we ate our lunch, and we had a good time. They were good eaters and had such good manners. We saw Cousin Brianna, who just got home on Wednesday from her mission to England. She'll be speaking in sacrament meeting at their church tomorrow.

Then later today, Grampa and I went over to tend the girls while Lindy and Nate went to the temple. Riley and Sidney were asleep; so first, we just had fun with Camden for awhile. She and Grampa worked on her math. Then Riley woke up, then Sidney, so we had fun with all three girls. They fixed us lots of food down in the playroom, and then they wanted to show us how they could jump on the jumpoline. They're good jumpers. Sidney liked holding on to the side from the outside and jumping herself. She didn't like it inside the jumpoline unless she was by herself. She fixed some food for Grampa by putting it in the oven, but then she would "eat" it herself before she could give it to Grampa. Riley talked on the phone to her friend Callie. She said that Callie's mom was on the potty reading the newspaper. Then when Grampa and I started to laugh, she felt bad. When Lindy and Nate came home, they brought Arby's for dinner. I had gone over to pick Richard up, so we all had a fun Arby's dinner there together. Then Camden and Riley wanted to play hide 'n' seek for a little while. Riley and I seeked/hid together, and Grampa and Camden seeked/hid together. For the finale, Gramma and Sidney hid and the others looked for us. Sidney didn't like hiding in the dark closet with Gramma, but she thought it was funny once we were found. Then it was time to head home. What a fun evening!

Tiffany called and said she and Angie had been to Hershey Town and had a good time there. Then it's on to Baltimore tomorrow and Fort McHenry. We'll be anxious to hear about all of her fun adventures when she gets back.

F Family Christmas Party

Last night (Saturday) was the F Family Christmas party at the clubhouse at Dennis'. It was especially fun this year because Mom and Dick were able to come. It started at 4:30, and I drove up with Tiffany, Camden and Riley. On the way, we came to some construction and I said, "Oh. Oh." When Camden in the back seat heard me say that, she said, "What? What?" I think she was a little worried after being with me when we got stuck at the Ahlanders a few days ago. Lindy was sick, so Nate and Sidney stayed home with her. Richard was still working at the temple, so Steven waited to pick him up at 5:00 and they came later. Our food assignment was rolls (from Shirley's) and two dishes of potatoes. Lindy sent along the cream cheese with chilli sauce and crackers appetizer and some carrots and dip. Scott and Paige brought another dish of potatoes, Dennis and Relva brought the jello salad and condiments, Karalie and Scott did the ham, Danielle made her pasta salad, Elisa was in charge of the paper goods, and Kevin and Wendy brought the peppermint ice cream and cookies for dessert. We kind of have our menu down pat by now. It was nice that Christopher could be there with his kids this year. I was pretty occupied keeping Camden and Riley fed and entertained, so it seemed like I didn't visit much; but I think everyone had a good time. Steven and Richard made it there around 6:00. Richard especially liked the shrimp and cocktail sauce appetizer (left over from Kara's B day party), which I forgot to mention earlier. All in all, it was a good party. Mom said she couldn't believe that she was really there.

Today Tiffany and I went to Relief Society at the MTC. Sis. Bird, wife of a former MTC district president, gave the lesson on Joseph Smith, which was appropriate since today is his birthday. After R.S. we went over to Susan Black's for a visit. It was fun to see her, and she was glad to see Tiffany. She said this has been a slow year for her because she has only had four books published this year. She and Harvey were busy preparing dinner for the missionaries, so we didn't stay too long. Susan gave Tiffany a copy of her latest book in the "Son of Man" series for a Christmas gift. That was nice of her. Tiffany said maybe she'll be able to give copies of her Zion book next year. Let's hope.

After we left Susan's, we returned to the MTC for lunch in the cafeteria, then we went to sacrament meeting with Steven in his branch. Tiffany enjoyed meeting the missionaries, especially my friends, Elders Skinner and Tadd. She thought it was quite funny how Elder Tadd likes to give hugs instead of shaking hands (only to the other elders and branch presidency members, of course; not to us).

After the MTC we came home and got ready for Sunday dinner. We had pot roast tonight, and it was quite good if I do say so myself. Lindy and Nate and the girls came, so that was fun. The little girls are thrilled to have Tiffany here to play with. So, all in all, it was a good, busy, fun day.

Christmas Stories

Tonight after Sunday dinner, we went downstairs and had some Christmas stories around the fire. Lindy read two stories from their "Christmas Devotions" book--one for Dec. 1 and one for Dec. 2. It was a lot of fun to be down there by the fire with Lindy and Nate and the little girls. Sidney sat in the little rocking chair and rocked and rocked with a big smile on her face. At dinner Lindy handed her about a half a slice of bread and Sidney looked at her like, "For me? You're actually giving me a big piece of bread instead of breaking it into little pieces?" Then at treat time, Lindy gave her a whole cookie and Sidney looked like she couldn't believe it. It was a fun evening. For dinner we had meatloaf, potatoes, corn, and bread. Riley had a harder time chowing down on the meatloaf than usual, but she made it through the required number of bites. After dinner she sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" into the microphone while wearing the purple crown on her head. Camden enjoyed playing and listening to the stories.

After the festivities were over and the Barretts went home, Steven and I went to Berg Mortuary in Provo for my friend, Colleen Hanks' mom, Vera Millett, who passed away. She was 97 years old and had actually been doing pretty well until she got a staph infection. Last Christmas, for our club Christmas party, we had dinner at Sandy Dallin's and then put together three gift baskets to take to three of the girls' parents. We took a basket to Mary Ann Jackson's dad, Bob Bunker; one to Susan Rogers' mom, Noreen Payne; and one to Colleen's mom, Vera. All three were still living their in their homes at the time. Colleen said her mom really appreciated the visit and talked about it for months afterwards. I'm glad we were able to make those visits--especially to Vera since she has now passed away.

When I talked to Tiffany this evening she said she had seen Elder David Loveless at stake conference today. He told her to tell her mom to tell his mom 'hello.' So I delivered the message. That's fun that she runs into him occassionally. Eleven more days and Tiff will be home for Christmas break. We're looking forward to having her home for awhile--Camden and Riley are especially looking forward to their sleepover with Auntie Tiff.

Today at the MTC, I just went for Fast and Testimony meeting since there was no Relief Society there today. They have mission conference there on Fast Sunday and no Relief Society. So I attended Relief Society in the home ward. Susan Allen gave the lesson from the booklet, "Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple." Two things from the lesson stood out especially to me: From p. 1 it says: "The temple transforms the individual and makes abundantly worthwhile any efforts made to get there." (I added the italics.) Then on p. 18 it says: "As you put your clothing in the locker you leave your cares and concerns and distractions there with them." That is a good visual reminder, I think, of how we should leave our worldly distractions and concerns in the locker as we leave to attend a session. Just put everything in the locker and lock it all up while we go concentrate on the spiritual aspects of the temple.

Karalie called this morning and said that her birthday party was a success and all who made it there (about 100) had a good time. I'm glad everything went well. I was sorry that we weren't able to make it, but sometimes we have to defer to the weather. It's a beautiful sunny (but cold) wintery day out there today. Too bad the storm couldn't have been a day earlier or later. But Happy #50 Birthday today, Karalie!

I Missed the Party

Steven and I headed out to go to Karalie's #50 birthday party in Salt Lake tonight, but the weather got the best of us. After snow had fallen all day long, it had finally stopped by evening. So we left for Salt Lake at about 7:00. The roads didn't seem too bad, in fact, they were pretty dry until we got to about 90th South and then the roads were wet. At about 72nd South there was a big accident involving about six cars that had wrecked because of black ice. As we kept driving, we could see that the black ice problem was only going to get worse; so, even though we didn't want to miss the party, we decided to turn around and play it safe. We had been talking to Tiff since last night about not driving on icy roads, so we thought we better practice what we were preaching. Sorry Karalie. I really hated to miss the party, but safety won out as it did for Tiffany today when she decided not to drive to Springfield to meet Greg because of the ice storm happening back there. We're glad she decided to stay put in Charleston--even though she was getting pressure from Greg to do otherwise. We have to try to be safe out there in this winter weather. It looks like fall has gone and winter is here with a vengeance.

It's Called "Francom-ite-ess"

Last night at the wedding dinner for Cousin Michael and his fiancee, Sarah Francom, we found out that Sarah is not really being what we thought was grumpy or mad. During the dinner speeches, they explained that it's just a family trait, which they call "Francom-ite-ess." That's where people think they don't smile and they're being mad or grumpy, but they're really not. Actually, they're happy, they just don't show it. So at the bridal shower the other day, I guess Sarah wasn't really being grumpy or mad, she was just exhibiting "Francom-ite-ess." How was I supposed to know? Last night at the dinner, however, she seemed genuinely happy and she was smiling a lot. There were a lot of family members there from both sides. The dinner was at "Granny's house," which we wondered if it was a restaurant that we hadn't heard about or something. But it was, indeed, at "Granny's" house. She's Sarah's "Granny" and that's all they call her. The dinner, prepared mostly by Aunt Tamera and friends, was delicious--pulled pork, mashed potatoes & gravy, and green beans almondine. For dessert, pumpkin pie. The highlight of the dinner for us was the French bread, served with the appetizer salad, which was all made by Granny, who is French. It was the best thing we have ever tasted! Grandpa T. and Cathy were even able to come, and Grandpa got along pretty well. He said he surely would have felt bad if he had stayed home knowing what he would have missed. Bob and Sandy were there along with Clark and Barbara and David and Tamera's family (except for Kristin who arrived late last night from Texas). So all in all, it was a very nice evening.

Yesterday Karalie called with the news that she has cancer occurrence #4. That's not good news. Just before her upcoming birthday party, too. She'll find out soon how the doctors want to approach everything. We're praying for you, Karalie.

Today Steven and I went over and played with the little girls while Lindy went to the store for a few minutes. Nate has been on a business trip to North Carolina since Thursday, and will come home tonight. So while Lindy was gone, Steven and I played with them in the playroom and enjoyed all the delicious food they prepared for us, Sidney included. There was also some dancing going on. Then we had some hogi sandwiches for lunch before playing outside for a little while. It was a lot of fun.

Now we're just doing some laundry and packing for our trip on Monday. We talked to Tiff on the phone this morning as she was headed to Chicago from Mattoon on the train. She should be in Chicago right now headed for the airport, then off to South Carolina this evening. We hope she has a good trip. We're all excited to see Sarah and Joel and Eliza this week.

A Fine, Fall Day

It looks like another beautiful fall day outside today. It's gotten a little chilly, but it's still nice weather to be outside. I don't think it's going to last, though. Today I'm scheduled to go have my mammogram at 9:00, so that should finish up all that stuff for this year, hopefully. Then, this evening, Steven and I are going to Cousin Michael's wedding dinner over in PG at "Granny's Place." Here's hoping that his fiancee, Sarah, will be happier than she was at the shower. They're getting married tomorrow in the Salt Lake Temple. We think that the dinner tonight will be the extent of our involvement.

Yesterday turned out to be a good day to get things done around here--laundry, walking, etc. I went VTing to Kelli Johnson's and found out that she is going to have to have surgery on her foot. I'll check with her today to see if she got it scheduled. After VTing I got my hair done and then I was set for the day.

Steven got along well at the MTC on Wednesday night. It turned out that there were only 19 new elders who came into the branch rather than 22. Nineteen is still a lot. Steven was able to interview all of them before the evening was over, so that was good.

Well, I'm off for my mammogram.

Lunch with the Girls

Today I had lunch at Thai Village in American Fork with Lindy, Camden, Riley and Sidney. We had a lot of fun and the food was delicious. When we got out of the car at the restaurant we could smell that yummy Thai food, and it turned out to be as good as it smelled! We had the usual--fresh spring rolls, Pad Thai noodles and Mussaman curry and rice. Camden loves the spring rolls and rice and Riley loves the noodles. Sidney loved sitting up at the table like a big kid. For dessert we had--you guessed it--mango rice. Camden thought she was in heaven it was so good. So we had a fun outing today.

Yesterday I had lunch in SLC at Tuscany with the "other" girls--Karalie, Wendy, Relva and I got together for a "sisters" lunch. The food was good--I had a beef and polenta dish which was very tasty--but the service was pretty bad. They need to do something about that, because it's a nice place with good food. Someone who wasn't even our waiter brought Wendy's, Relva's and my dishes, but Karalie just sat there and sat there. Finally, she told someone to get our waiter and then he came along with her order. He had totally forgotten about her. But it was fun anyway. We had a good time visiting.

The weather has still been beautiful these last two days. Today Steven took the day off from work and went on a four-wheeler ride up Hobble Creek canyon and beyond. He got back just after dark. He said it was one of his best adventures ever and he saw some beautiful fall scenery. So he thinks he can be ready for winter now after such a nice outing.

On Tuesday night Steven and I had dinner at the MTC in the cafeteria with the Romneys again. Rick's food choices weren't quite so funny this time. We had a nice visit with them, and then we got to hear from Bishop and Sister Richard C. Edgley at the devotional. Sis. Edgley talked about "Faith vs. Fear" and how "courage is to act in the face of fear." I think the missionaries liked that message. Bishop Edgley said that he is the original nerd from Preson, Idaho, and that Bro. Brenchly (the music director at the MTC) is the second nerd from Preston, long before Napoleon Dynamite came along. Then he told about a missionary who wasn't being let in by a lady until he mentioned that he had come all the way from Preson, Idaho; then the lady was very excited to let him in because she wanted to find out about Napoleon Dynamite. Bishop Edgley then talked about the principles of missionary work: (1)Remember who you are and who you represent, (2) Carry the message, (3) Keep the message simple, (4) Remember the worth of one soul is great, (5) It's the Spirit that testifies, (6) Be worthy, and (7) Work hard. So that was good advice. In district meeting afterward, the missionaries all seemed to find something in the messages that they felt was meant for them. It was a nice evening at the MTC.

P.S. Referendum One ended up losing almost two to one. I guess a lot of people fell for the negative ads.

Uncle George's Funeral

Today was Uncle George Jakeman's funeral. He's the husband of my mom's step-sister, Aunt Lyle. It was nice to go to the mortuary last night and see Aunt Lyle and my cousins: Linda, Judy, George Leslie, Elaine and Lorraine. We were close as cousins growing up and spent a lot of time at their house in Orem or vice versa. Elaine and Lorraine are twins and they're about seven months older than I am. I remember when I was young I used to feel so sorry for them having to live in Orem because Orem didn't have a "downtown." There was no place you could go and say that you were "downtown." All they had in Orem was big long State Street with stores and businesses on each side. (That fact hasn't changed much today.) I thought that was so weird and I felt sorry for them, because when I was young I used to love to go to downtown Provo. I remember once when I was probably about 6 or 7 my mom let me take some money I had earned and walk downtown by myself with some friends and go to a store and buy something I chose with the money I earned. Anyway, I got off the subject. But funerals have a way of causing you to relive past days. So it was good to see everyone last night and good, also, today to go to the funeral. I saw more people from my past. Uncle Myron and Aunt Doris were there. Uncle Myron Adair is my mom's step-brother and Lyle's brother. When I was young we also saw a lot of Uncle Myron and Aunt Doris and their children. Their daughter, Vickie, was also my age. I haven't seen Myron and Doris for a long time, so it was good to see them, too. Uncle Myron gave a really nice family prayer. It was good to be there and to hear such a nice prayer. Then I got to see Uncle Gary and Aunt Beverly Adair. Gary is mom and Lyle and Myron's half brother. I have probably seen more of Gary and Beverly in my older years than any of my other aunts and uncles, but we haven't seen them for a long time it seems. Uncle Gary is 72 years old! That's the same age my dad was when he passed away 20 years ago. Gary seems older, but still not as old as Dad was when he passed away. THEN, I saw Uncle Neldon Adair. He was there with his son, James. Neldon is the younger brother of Gary, and half-brother to all the other siblings. He was also my favorite uncle growing up. But he got caught up in polygamy a long time ago and has been alienated from the family for many years. Probably the last time I saw him was at my dad's funeral 20 years ago. So Neldon walked in for the family prayer and stood right by me and I didn't even know who he was. Then Beverly told me that was Neldon! Gary, Bev and I had a chance to greet him before the sevice started, and he was happy to see us, although he couldn't actually "see" us because he is blind. But we were unable to find him after the service, so we didn't see him again. But at least we saw him for a few minutes. The funeral itself was very nice and I learned a lot about Uncle George that I hadn't known before. I always knew he was a hard worker, but I never realized how hard he had worked and the number of jobs he had worked at in order to make a living for his family. When Leslie gave his talk, he said once when they were complaining about the food they were having to eat, that his dad reminded them of how he had had to go hungry some times as a little boy. Then Leslie said, "But you've never had to go hungry since you had us." And that was right, because he had provided a good life for his family and he worked hard at it. His son-in-law, John Chestnut, Lorraine's husband, said that he was there along with the rest of the family when George died and that George was at peace and ready to go, knowing he had lived a good life. So it was nice to be there and to see all the aunts and uncles and cousins and to remember Uncle George and past times growing up.

Yesterday I said that Steven and I were going to Cracker Barrel to have that baked chicken and apple dish (at least I was), but when we got there they were out of it! So I ended up having meatloaf and Steven had roast beef. It was pretty good, but I was looking forward to that chicken and apple dish. We ended up not going to the T's afterall, because when we called, they weren't home.

Then today after the funeral I went to Dave and Tamera's for the bridal shower for Michael's fiancee, Sarah. She sure seemed a little grouchy or moody or something and didn't seem to be enjoying the festivities at all. Let's hope she was just having a bad day.

I'm glad Tiffany had fun in Springfield today and that things are "moving along" for her and Greg. She leaves for South Carolina two weeks from today.

Well, I'll turn my watch back one hour since we go off daylight savings time tonight, and head to bed. Adios.

Another Nice Fall Day

I'm going to keep track of these nice fall days so that when it turns cold we'll remember that we did have some nice days before winter set in. It was cool enough for a jacket over at the track, but a nice day for walking. I wonder how long it will last. I'm waiting for Dad to come home. He was stopping by the MTC on his way home, but he thought he'd be here by 5:30. (It's 5:35 right now.) As soon as he gets home we're going to go to Berg Mortuary in Provo for Uncle George's viewing. Grandma called me on Tuesday, I think it was, and told me he had passed away. He's been sick for awhile I guess. So his viewing is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow at 11:00. Dad and I thought we'd go by the mortuary and visit with Aunt Lyle and the cousins and then go over to Springville. I've been wanting to try that baked apple chicken dish that they have at Cracker Barrel for fall. I hope they still have it. So we'll go to Cracker Barrel and then over to the T's for a visit before heading to AF. In addition to Uncle George's funeral tomorrow is a bridal shower at Aunt Tamera's for Cousin Michael's fiance, Sarah, at 2:30. I think I'll plan to go to that. I just remembered, I haven't told Lindy anything about it, so I must give her a call. Well, I just heard Dad pull in, so I guess we'll head out. I hope everyone's having a good day!

Back from St. George

Karalie and I got back from St. George yesterday about 6:00. We had quite the weekend in St. George! While there, I tried to do a post from the FT's computer, but it wouldn't let me do it. So I realized I'd have to wait until I got home. The weather was just beautiful all weekend. Karalie and I had a good trip down to St. George on Friday. We left about 10:45 and stopped for lunch in Fillmore at the drive-in cafe and had tasty rueben sandwiches. Then we stopped at the cheese factory in Beaver for ice cream, of course. Oops! I just remembered that I left my cheese curd in the fridge at the FT's! We got to St. George about 3:00. Kevin and Wendy were already there. Kevin had brought down a nice TV table from Shopko for the new TV that Grandma wanted to get, so he started putting that together. Grandma announced at some point that the new TV would be Dick's since she had decided to "give" it to him. That explains why he was so adamant about what kind of TV they would get. Grandpa wanted the 32" Sylvania from K-Mart and Kevin wanted to get a 37" Vizio from Costco for $20 more. Grandpa was insisting on the Sylvania because he didn't want some "no-name" TV in the house! Needless to say, things were a little tense around there on Friday night. I went and picked up some pizza and salad from the Pizza Factory for dinner (a margarita pizza) and everyone seemed to enjoy that. Later, while I was talking to Mom as she lay in bed, I asked why she thought she had to "give" the TV to Dick since she was the one who wanted to get a new TV in the first place and she was buying it with her money. She said she thought that if she "gave" it to Dick then he would feel better about her buying it. I told her that it was just complicating everything, that if she wanted a new TV she could get one and as long as Kevin was doing all the labor, then it should be her TV and go with the house; and, of course, it would be for the use of both her and Dick, but she didn't have to "give" it to him. I could just see his kids coming to "claim" their Dad's TV at some future date. Not a pretty sight. Mom said I was "scolding" her and that she could give the TV to Dick if she wanted to. So I just thought "whatever." I got up the next morning and went for a nice fall walk and enjoyed the cool, crisp, fresh morning air of St. George. I let out a few "grrrrrrs" and giant sighs while I was walking along, but I was thinking it's really none of my business what Mom wants to do. When I got back to the house, everyone was sitting around eating breakfast, wondering where I had gone. The first thing Mom said was, "After breakfast, Kevin is going to go to Costco to get a 37" VIZIO for ME." I just said, "That's great," and wondered what brought about her change of mind. I could only imagine what Mom told Dick I said to her. Karalie later told me that Mom told her I had "scolded" her, and Karalie had said to Mom, "Actually, what Diane said is right. You can buy yourself a TV and have it here for both of you to use without having to 'give' it to Dick." So Kevin and Dick went to pick up the TV. Actually, Kevin went with Dick to get a board for their bed and Kevin said they'd get the TV while they were out. So, they got the board and the TV and Kevin got everything set up before we went to Auntie Reah's party at 1:00. The party was wonderful. That's really what we went to St. George for anyway. Auntie Reah looked beautiful and there were lots of people there. It was fun to see all the cousins and aunts and uncles. Plus, there were a lot of people there from Uncle Bill's (Reah's second husband) family. A lot of the condo people came, too, so there were probably about 100 people there in the clubhouse. "The girls" had fixed sandwiches and veggies to eat, plus there were two yummy birthday cakes. Everyone sat around and visited and had a good time. Lots of people said how nice Mom looked with her hair done and wearing her pretty new top. I had tried to get her to walk over to the clubhouse on such a nice day, and she said, "Don't you try to talk me out of riding in my wheelchair!" That's when I decided it's probably a good thing that Mom and I don't live any closer because she would think that I was always on her case about something. After the party, I went and did a little grocery shopping and picked up some beef pies from Croshaw's for dinner. When I got back, Mom was in the living room watching TV with Kara and Wendy. Dick was in their room on the bed, watching the TV in there. They had switched places! Mom seemed to be enjoying the new TV. So that evening, we ate the meat pies for dinner (they were soooooooo good), then Kevin and I went over to Reah's to visit with her and Cousin Susie for awhile. Then we came home, and Kara and I watched the World Series on the new TV before going to bed. (Alas! The Rockies just didn't do well in the World Series! They ended up getting swept by the Red Sox last night.) The next morning, Kevin and I went to the 9:00 church at the Morningside 1st Ward. (A big Polynesian man who bore his testimony talked about having their little grandson there with them for awhile. He said his grandson was trying his patience. He said, "When I was growing up in Hawaii, we didn't have 'time out,' we had 'knock out'.") After Church, Kevin and I went back to the FT's to get ready to leave. Just as I thought we were about ready to leave, we got involved in some rearranging for Mom and Dick there in the living room. Dick seemed to finally be warming up to the idea of the TV even though it wasn't "his" and not the one he wanted; or, maybe he was just glad that we were going to be on our way. Anyway, he was being nice when we left. We got away a little later than we thought we were going to, that's why we didn't arrive in Orem until 6:00. Steven and Richard and Lindy and the girls were all enjoying a nice dinner which Lindy had prepared and brought over. Thank you Lindy! The little girls were eating their dinner and being so cute. Sidney gave Karalie a good growl as she went out the door to go home to SLC. I ate my dinner and then talked to Sarah and Tiffany on the phone. We were glad to hear that all was well with the Agates in South Caroline and that things had gone well for Tiff with her Dudley presentation and that she had had fun in Springfield with Greg on Saturday. It was quite the weekend for everyone!