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!

Flying Though the Air - Courtesy of the Peterson Brothers

I love these photo of my grandsons Jake and Derek on their trampoline. One is the trampoline in their backyard, and the other is a small trampoline in a bedroom. You can tell that they thrilled to the feeling of being airborn for a few moments.

Cleon and Vida Moore

This is the wedding picture of my husband Paul's mother and dad. His mother was only 18 when she married his dad. I would have liked to meet Paul's parents, but they both had passed away when I met Paul. The information I know about them comes mainly from Paul, but also from his siblings and his children.

I know that Paul's mother was an outstanding cook. She bottled and canned fruit and vegetables from her garden and orchard. Paul remembers hundreds of bottles lined up in their storage room. The family had chickens, so she would also sell eggs to the public. She made her own soap; in fact, there wasn't much the family had to buy at a retail store. Paul remembers his mom working from sunup to sundown in the house, the garden and on the farm. He also said that she wasn't hesitant to give her strong opinions. One time Paul's dad was in charge of an LDS Church farm project. It required many, many hours of his time in addition to maintaining his own farm. One day Vida called the bishop and said, "You either get people to help with the church farm or my husband will no longer hold the job."

Paul's dad worked long hours to keep the farm going. Paul said that in the summers he and his dad and brothers worked in the fields 16 hours a day. When I have watched my husband working on various tasks around the house or in helping other people, I know that he learned how to work hard from his parents. Even though Cleon only went as far as 8th grade in his formal schooling, he read voraciously. Paul has a clear picture in his mind of his dad sitting in his rocking chair next to the coal stove in the wintertime reading. Cleon also could easily help Paul as a teenager with his algebra homework.

I wish I would have had the privilege of meeting Paul's parents. I would tell them that they have a wonderful son who has a strong ethical set of standards and who is dependable and hardworking. I would also tell his mom that he knows how to stand up for what he believes in and doesn't let anyone take advantage of him. (I think she already knew that!)

Movies

Paul and I both love to go to movies. Luckily, we generally like the same kind of movies. (He is not big on Rambo or Diehard types.)

The problem we have with movies is the timing of the ones we like. For several years now, we have found very few movies of interest in spring, summer or fall. Then, in December and January, we will have a bunch of them we can't wait to see. It is always just before the Oscars that the movies we like are available.

So....now we are going on a weekly basis trying to get in all the ones we want to see before they are gone. When February rolls around, we will go into dryspell mode again.

By the way, we have seen Mama Mia four times so far and have the DVD and CD as well. We love, love, love this movie!!

Mother and Dad - Wedding Photo

Mark and Erma began their married life together on January 9th, 1941. They had almost 66 years of happiness. What exemplary role models they were for us as their children and grandchildren.

Chimi

I have had a number of pets in my life, but there is one who stands out far above the others. Her name was Chimi. She was my constant companion for 15 years; it has been almost seven years since she died, but I still think about her often.

I know what you are thinking when you look at her picture. She looks like a rat! Yes, I agree she wasn't a beauty, and she didn't even have a nice personality. She barked at everyone who came to the door (especially the boys who came to pick up my daughters for dates). Nervous, paranoid, high-strung, possessive--these are all adjectives that described my Chimi.

Then why did I love her so much? Nobody else did (except maybe Natalie). In fact, most people found her extremely annoying. I loved her because she loved me. No matter what, she loved me. We got her right after my divorce, and I needed someone to love me. I wasn't very lovable at the time, and Chimi wasn't a "someone", but she did a wonderful job of loving.

I still get teary-eyed when I think of Chimi. Sometimes she danced around and around the dining room table because she was so happy to see me. No one has done that since, and I expect no one will!

Best Friends - Marilyn and Diane - 1957

Today I went to my friend's dad's funeral. He was 95 years old. I went to the funeral to see my friend Diane and also to hear my dad speak at her dad's funeral. Diane's dad and mine worked together for 30 years at the Spanish Fork Post Office. They also worked together in the LDS First Ward of Spanish Fork in various church positions for many years. Dad gave an excellent talk. I was proud of him.

Diane and I met in grade school and became good friends. The memories are numerous: gossiping about our school teachers, stealing apples from her neighbor's tree, sledding down a snowy hill behind our house, eating dinner at each other's houses (her mother made delicious toasted tuna sandwiches), relishing sleepovers where the last thing on our minds was sleep. Diane was the first person to inform me how babies were made ( we were in the 4th grade). We both agreed that with our parents it couldn't possibly have happened that way!

It was wonderful to see my old friend today. Since I saw her last, we both have more wrinkles in our faces and more weight on our bodies. As you can see from the photo, we were skinny, skinny 12 year olds sitting on the piano bench (I am the one on the left). She still has the same sweet smile, and we both were so happy to see each other again.

Keaton and Sullivan - Christmas 2008

When Patti and Mike ask us what we would like for Christmas, we always say pictures. Since the family lives in Oregon, we don't see the kids as often as we would like. At ages two and five, Sully and Keaton grow and change constantly. The pictures bring them closer to us on a day-to-day level.

These are the newest pictures of the boys. Aren't they handsome! We also follow the boys' activities on Patti's blog. She is really good to blog their activities and tell all the cute things (and not-so-cute things) they do.