The Peterson Grandkids

I have taken these photos from Natalie's Facebook album. The pictures help me to follow all of the kids' activities.

The first photo is of 13-year-old Jake practicing for his swim team. (He is the diver in the middle.) He practices several times a week and then participates in swim meets once a month. His best stroke is (last time I asked) his front crawl.

The next photo shows Megan after a face-painting birthday party. Wow! That looks like a neat party. What six-year-old girl doesn't want to look like a princess?

In the bottom photo, 10-year-old Derek (the one with the glasses) is participating in a school geography bee. One of the questions asked of him was to name the body of water surrounding the countries of Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, etc. He knew the anwer (the Mediterranean Sea) because we had talked to him about the Mediterranean Cruise we took in November.

Natalie keeps busy trying to take the kids to all of their activities. She will be glad when Jake is old enough to drive himself to his swim practices. I think he might be kind of happy about driving as well!

An Encounter With A Cow

Friday afternoon my brother Kent called to let me know that my dad had an accident. Dad, Kent, and Mark (grandson) were trying to load some cows into Kent's horse trailer. Dad has been working toward getting out of the "cow business" this year. He sold a bunch of them to Kent, and while helping load them he encountered one mean cow. The cow kicked Dad hard, and he went flying into the air.

The result was a cracked bone for Dad. (I don't know the name of the bone, but it is in the approximate area of where he would carry his wallet.) He went to the emergency room at Payson Hospital and is now at his home trying to recuperate. A walker gets him from room to room, and elevated surfaces on his bed and chairs help him move from one area to the next.

Dad is in good spirits and is doing a little better each day. An orthopedic doctor will look at him next Monday and hopefully give us some guidelines to help him recuperate. (Yes, that appointment was the earliest we could get!)

I am thankful that the accident wasn't any worse, and Dad should make a full recovery. He told us, "I thought I was smarter than a cow, but I was proved wrong."

St. George Trip

We left on Tuesday to drive to St. George. I took my camera with me, but I didn't take any pictures. (You will just have to imagine sunny St. George -- with the blue, smog-free sky.) We came back this afternoon (Friday).

Paul has a friend whom he has known since he was in graduate school at the University of Utah. They received their Master's Degrees at the same time, and then they worked together for many, many years at Timpanogus Mental Health Center in Provo. This friend (Bobbie and her husband Tom) recently moved to St. George.

They had talked over the years about building their dream home. We saw the house plans and heard all the excitement in their voices on our periodic visits to their Orem home. The home is now built, and it's definitely a dreamy home in every way. It is located in the Kyanta (I don't think that is spelled right) area of St. George. All the homes in this area are Southwestern homes. The brown and red-orange outside colors blend in nicely with the surrounding landscape. The yards consist of what Mother Nature already has there--cacti, desert flowers, some bush called Brigham's Tea, and other desert-friendly plants.

Their home is decorated inside beautifully in the southwestern mode. It is obvious that they are so happy with it and also happy to be retired there. We passed our time hearing stories of some of Paul and Bobbie's most bizare mental health patients of years past. We also talked about what grandparents seem to have a corner on--grandparent bragging. We had a wonderful time. (I don't know why I didn't take any pictures of the Kyanta area of St. George?!!) It is unique and lovely.

A Visit with Grandpa McKell

We spent part of the day with Grandpa McKell. Some of the activities were lunch at Chuck-A-Rama, an organ recital by Grandpa, gymnastic feats courtesy of Megan, and lots of visiting. What a fun time!

Jacob was in school at West Jordan Middle School and missed the visit to Grandpa's house. Derek and Megan are curently off-track at their elementary school. My nephew Mark had the day off and dropped by for awhile before heading back to Salem to do some work on his optometry clinic.

Moore Grandchildren in 10 Year Span

When I look at these two pictures, the grandchildren in them remind me of the passage of time. The first picture was taken at our wedding in 1998. The second is 10 years later. In the second photo, the two youngest children (Mike and Patti's boys) were added to the family several years after we were married.

The oldest grandchild, Chad, will be married in August. Katie is 2nd oldest, and she will graduate from BYU in the spring. (She is also married.) Others are in college, high school, and only two are still in grade school (not counting Mike's boys, who haven't started school yet).

I became a grandma to some very special grandchildren when I married Paul. I am fortunate to have them in my life and share in their adventures and achievements.

Rabbit Hutches

This photo of the new Draper Temple shows our condominium community below. To the south of the temple (not seen here) are some very expensive, large homes. Someone in one of those "grand" homes commented on our houses by saying, "The Village on the Green homes look like little rabbit hutches." Our rabbit hutch is paid for (thank you very much) and we are thrilled with it!

Draper Temple Open House

Starting last Thursday, the new Draper LDS Temple opened to the public for tours. These tours will last two months, and then the temple will be dedicated and closed to the general public.

The predictions are that one million people will tour the temple in two month's time. I thought these statistics seemed a little high. Now, after watching the roads leading to the temple parking lot for several days, I can see that real possiblity.

In order for the roads (our roads) around the temple to avoid congestion, the church has organized an efficient way for people to get to the temple site. Full-sized buses load up tourists from LDS wardhouse parking lots in Draper City. So....if you are driving up Rambling Road toward our house (and the temple), you may be driving behind three or more buses going up the hill. Same deal with our other incoming road--Mike Weir Drive.

I don't mind the buses at all, especially if the alternative is thousands of cars clogging up our streets.

Paul got out of bed Saturday night just before midnight. He glanced out the window to see two buses pulling out of the temple parking lot. It was the middle of the night, and the buses had been going since 8 o'clock that morning! Maybe the prediction of one million visitors isn't so unrealistic after all!