SEPTEMBER - A MONTH OF MANY PEACHES AND PRAYERS

Dad in therapy before his
relapse that landed him back
in the hospital

This month has been a harder month then most because of the downturn of my Dad's health.  After making some progress in his rehabilitation, his brain started bleeding again and he ended up in the hospital by mid month.  He contacted pneumonia and was not doing well so Saturday, the 12th, I boarded a plane to fly home to Bakersfield. We experienced a tender mercy when trying to book a flight finding the only seat left on a flight from Salt Lake to Phoenix.  Thanks to Todd's expertise in booking flights we were able to get me to Phoenix and then to Bakersfield by noon on Saturday.  

Back in the hospital with Mom
always by his side

I was so grateful I had come as Dad was not doing well at all...mostly sleeping, barely eating, and not able to move his extremities. My heart was breaking as I saw the conditions he was in.  We all felt he would not last too much longer but, much to our surprise, by late afternoon he was telling us where his financial information was kept and what was included in it. He perked up with a smile when I told him Deon was bringing him a chocolate milkshake.  By Sunday, he was more responsive and able to swallow better so eating was a little easier. He was released back to the care center as there was no more the hospital could do for him. At the center, he seemed to perk up a bit more and was much more alert. 

It was quite a shock seeing Dad in this condition
for the first time.  Lots of prayers were being offered.

Deon and Gary and I left Monday morning to meet Paul in St. George. We had planned this trip months ago. In fact, Dad and Mom were suppose to come with us to see the shows at Tuachan. Because we were leaving, I was so grateful that all my brothers found time to come visit during that week. Darrell and Dave and Wanda came in on Monday and stayed till Thursday. Ed and Debbie drove in on Tuesday and stayed till Sunday morning. Don and Dana arrived Wednesday and extended their stay until Tuesday. 

Dad was so thrilled to have all his boys with him. They were such help to Dad as they helped feed him, worked on his physical therapy, and rubbed his jumpy leg to help relax it. 

 

It was good to be all together is this trying moment.
Darrell and Dave left just before Deon and I arrived back
from St. George.

I returned from St. George, on Thursday, with Deon and Gary.  With the boys taking care of Dad's needs, my goal was to help Mom a little. I cleaned out her refrigerator which was full of spoiled food items as she hadn't cooked anything for almost a month. The refrigerator was the last thing on her mind. Debbie and I also cleaned out her freezer.  Mom was right there with us to tell us what she wanted to keep and what was too old.  We threw out lots of old meats and freezer items so now her freezer is organized and things are easily accessible.  I even put a chart on the door to show what was in the refrigerator so she can mark off things as she uses them. The rest of the days were spent with Don and Ed at the care center with Dad and Mom. I was so grateful I was able to spend this time with Dad. It was healing for me to see him in his present state and to easily accept Heavenly Father's will for him. On the Sunday afternoon, before I left for Deon's home in LA, Sam and Don gave Dad a blessing. It was a beautiful blessing reminding him of the need to endure to the end no matter what. He was also blessed with whatever his most heartfelt desire was - continuing life or returning home to Heavenly Father. As I kissed him good bye, I told him to try to get better but that it was also OK if he wanted to go back home to Mom, who passed away when I was 21, some 49 years ago. Such sweet sadness.

Whitney's children just before
Beauty and the Beast

Our trip to St. George was bitter sweet. It was good to be there Deon and Gary like we had done so many times before our missions. It was sad that Mom and Dad, who have always joined us in the past, could not be there with us. We relaxed around the pool, went to the temple, and, in the evenings, enjoyed the shows... at least the ones that were not rained out.  
Beauty and the Beast was on Monday when a big thunder storm passed through. The show had to be stopped during the first half so we did not get to see it in its entirety.  'Sister Act' and 'When you Wish' were on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and were wonderful, as always. We invited Whitney Bennett to use the extra tickets so on Monday she brought Riley who was totally enthralled with the production until the rains came. Luckily, we were able to arrange for them to see the whole show the following Tuesday evening. For the other two shows, both Whitney and Allen were able to join us.  It was great to be with them and witness their excitement at being able to see the shows. They thoroughly enjoyed them as did we. On Thursday, I said goodbye to Paul who drove back to Heber, while Deon and Gary drove me back to Bakersfield. 

Waiting for one of the shows

Other happenings of the month included peaches.  We bought 6 boxes of Elberta peaches and spent several days canning 28 quarts and 28 pints.  We also froze several bags of frozen fruit cocktail and slush. Nothing's better then peach slush and cocktail.  We've missed fresh peaches for the past 3 years. We alerted Todd and Kailee that peaches were about off for the season so they wanted us to buy several boxes for them, which we did.  On the following Monday, we took them down to them and helped peel and freeze most of them.  We did plain peaches for smoothies, some fruit cocktail, and some for slush.  The sad thing though.....a few days later their freezer got unplugged by some painters and they lost the majority of their peaches. A $400 compensation eased some of the pain but the peaches will be missed by them for sure.  

Paul and I also spent a few days at Todd and Kailee's new home weeding their backyard.  The barked areas were over run with weeds so we decided to get rid of most of them before the landscaper came to redo the yard. It was appreciated by Todd and Kailee as it allowed them to see the potential of the yard. There were lots of great plants in and among the weeds and the landscaper would not have weeded as carefully as we did to save them.

Sweet and beautiful Sasha

Just before leaving for Bakersfield, we had the privilege of meeting Sasha Uskova, one of our Russian friends for breakfast. Sasha was our YSA president and we came to regard her as a special friend.  When she came to America in March we were unable to see her so we were glad we could arrange a time to meet this time. We picked her up in the late morning and took her to Mimi's Cafe. It was good food but the company was even better.  We love Sasha and have missed her very much.  We were so glad we could spend a couple of hours with her, catching up on her life and news of some of the young singles.


We also had the opportunity of taking Taylor out for a birthday dinner.  He is 18 now so this may be the last time we are able to celebrate his birthday with him.  He could be away to college or on a mission by his next birthday.  He is such a great kid and it was wonderful to visit with him for a couple of hours.  We took him to Winger's, at his request, and enjoyed the dinner and the company.  

The last weekend of the month was crazy, especially the last Sunday.  During the week before, I had been baking different kinds of bar cookies for refreshments. They were to be served at a regional single adult fireside for which we were responsible for on Sunday night. Sunday, we had an early morning meeting, the primary program, and our primary lesson to teach.  After church, Jon and MIndi and their family came to dinner and then we had the fireside.  Busy busy!!!  Everything came about without a hitch and at the end of the day we were tired but grateful to be apart of it all.

JON AND MINDI'S WEDDING TOPS THE MONTH'S ACTIVITIES

At the seminar

We were so excited when August 1st finally came around as that was the day set for Jon to take Mindi as his bride.  For this wonderful event, Ryan flew in on Wednesday and Andrea and Casey flew in Thursday evening.  We had a great time with Ryan especially when we attended one of Todd's seminars and then met Andrea and Casey for lunch at Zuppa's in American Fork.  On Friday evening, we all gathered at Mindi's home for a family dinner including Mindi's and our families. She had ordered Dickey's barbecue beef and I brought cream puffs and crepes with strawberries and raspberry toppings. We were glad to meet her family.  



On Saturday, at 5:00 p.m., the wedding ceremony took place in the backyard of one of Jon's bosses, Shawn Finnigan. He has an amazing house complete with a movie theater, a music room, a game room with four arcade games, as well as a basketball court, sauna, and workout room.  His yard was equally as nice and made a beautiful setting for the wedding and later the reception.  Mindi looked beautiful and Jon was very handsome. Their children (all 8) completed the wedding party with the girls wearing gold dresses and the boys grey pants and vests, white shirts and gold ties. Together they made an adorable wedding line.  It's been a long time since we've seen Jon as happy as he was on this evening. Many people came to the reception following the ceremony where they enjoyed a wonderful Moroccan buffet, with pizza cones and cupcakes for the children.  After the reception, we took Taylor home to South Jordan but brought the rest of the boys to our home to spend the night and next day with us. Jon and Mindi honeymooned in Mexico at a resort just south of Cancun. 

Such a beautiful family!!

Waiting for the wedding to begin

We took the boys home on Sunday evening but then picked three of them them back up again on Tuesday morning.  It was Jon's scheduled time to have them and so we filled in for him.  I picked them up and stopped for lunch at In and Out for a quick bite. During the day I took them bowling and to Granny's for shakes. They then watched a movie while I fixed dinner.  All too soon it was time to take them back home.  It was a delightful day.

The boys enjoying shakes at Granny's

The following Monday, we packed up all of Jon's things from our home and took them to his and Mindi's home.  We had decided that day was to be a play day for us so we took lunch -nto Keith and Judy Allred and visited with them before dropping off Jon's things. We then went to a movie...the new mission impossible film. For dinner, we met Victoria Gorneshavea from Moscow.  



She was one of our choicest, young, Russian friends. Victoria attended our BYU Pathway program as well as our institute class for a whole year.  We were excited when we could arrange to get together at Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  It was so great to visit with her and catch up on all the news from Moscow. The biggest news was that her brother Vlad, who also attended the Pathway program with us, is now the bishop of the Sokolniki ward.  We invited her to come to our home on Thursday where she could invite her friends to come say hello. She was very grateful to have a place to be with her American friends. We served soft tacos for a light dinner with cream puffs for dessert.  We were glad we could open our home to Victoria and her friends.

Victoria and two of her friends at our home

We were privileged to see another one of our special Russian friends on Sunday of that same week.  Masha, one of our favorite young single adults, came to Utah and invited her friends to a light dinner at Elder and Sister Blackwell's home in Highland. We were so excited to see Masha again along with several of our former missionaries. Elders Marks and Bass were there and when we saw them it was like being reunited with our very own children. I almost cried as they were some of our favorite missionaries. We spent much of the time visiting with Ken and Carolyn Pierson who traveled to Utah from Idaho just to see Masha. Ken and Carolyn are the couple whom we replaced in Moscow.  It was fun to see them as well as all those other friends from our mission.We left before the party was over in order to go the Kailee's niece's birthday. It was held at Jake and Nicolle's home in Cedar Hills.  We brought a 'Land Before Time' dinosaur play set for 3 year old Evelyn.

 

1. Elders Marks and Bass on the left and Ken and Carolyn Pierson on the right

A yearly tradition for
Paul and I

Sweet Carli enjoying her
plate of chips

The very following week was Education Week at BYU.  We look forward to this event every year, especially this year, as we have missed the last two due to our mission. As usual the classes were wonderful and very uplifting. We left each day grateful for the opportunity to have attended this amazing event. On Wednesday, we left campus early so we could pick up Carli and take her out for her birthday dinner. We went to Cafe Rio and had a great time. Carli is not shy and kept a conversation going the whole time.  Most unusual for a nine year old.  

Todd putting up their new TV and Paul
putting together their kitchen table

On Friday of that week, Todd and Kailee closed on their new home so on Saturday the movers came to Heber to move their piano and other heavy things from our home. They have been living with us for the last few weeks so they were very excited to begin this move into a home they should be able to stay in for many years. We met them at their home on Monday to help unpack the things the movers brought from their storage units in Pleasant Grove.  We spent most of the day with them and by the time we left, the house was looking like a home. They were so lucky to have found such a beautiful home in an incredibly convenient neighborhood in Lehi.  It is exactly the type of home for which they were looking.  We are so excited for them.

A picture of Dad in therapy
Picture sent from Deon who was there to help

Other happenings of the month included working in the temple each Friday. On the last Friday of the month we stayed and attended an endowment session. When we got out of the temple there were messages on my phone about my Dad.  He had been put in the hospital earlier that week and by Friday was not doing too well.  Apparently he had fallen a few weeks ago and hit his head.  The doctors discovered some bleeding between the brain and the skull which was the cause of his losing his strength and his ability to communicate clearly.  After being in intensive care for a day or two, the brain bleed had healed but he could not sit up or walk.  By Sunday, the doctors had released him to a rehab center where he began extensive physical therapy to try to regain the strength in his legs so he could walk again. As of this writing, he is sitting up in a wheelchair on his own and feeding himself. He still cannot walk but is slowing regaining strength in his legs through therapy and exercise. It may be a long process but we are praying for his full recovery.

An ice cream cake from
Dairy Queen -
Todd's favorite

On the last Saturday of the month, Jon and Mindi brought their family (7 of the 8) up to Heber. They had a great time playing outside, making rice krispie treats and watching a movie. The children spent the night while Jon and Mindi returned home for some alone time that evening. In the morning, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls, Jon and Mindi joined us and we all went to church. Later in the afternoon, Todd and Kailee as well as Kailee's mom and dad, brother, and sister and her family (20 people in all) joined us for Sunday dinner of ham and all the trimmings including an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  It was a celebration of Todd's 36 birthday....crazy but much fun.  A great way to end an eventful month. 

Our first look at our little granddaughter....
and the first little girl clothes purchased by Kailee after finding out their baby's sex.
So excited for Todd and Kailee to be starting their family.

FAMILY REUNION IN YELLOWSTONE - AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE

July was filled with many happenings but the highlight had to have been our family reunion in West Yellowstone. Arriving on Monday and Tuesday of the second week in July, all 27 of us spent 4 glorious days together in a most beautiful setting. Each day we tried to do one major activity as a family.  

Wednesday, we went into Yellowstone Park and drove the lower scenic loop, seeing all the amazing geysers there. The scenery is almost unreal....like you are on another planet. We totally loved every minute of our time in the park including waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, having a picnic lunch along the way, and walking the many wooden trails to see the sights. At the upper falls, most of the family took a hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to see the lower falls. It was switch backs down to stairs that numbered about 300. The grandchildren were troopers as most made it on their own all the way down and up again.  

Several of the grandchildren gathered around Todd and Kailee
at one of many geysers seen this day

Old Faithful finally erupting - an amazing sight

Waiting for Old Faithful to erupt

The upper falls in Yellowstone -
such powerful energy in nature

On Thursday, most of the group drove to Gardiner to raft the Yellowstone river. It was an all day affair and became a highlight of the trip. Jaiden kept yelling, each time his boat hit some rapids, 'This is the most fun I've ever had!' Everyone went rafting except Grace, Nathan, Katie and myself. Nathan was too young and Grace is afraid of water in her face.  Katie and I took them over to the Grizzly/Wolf Exhibit where we were able to see live bears and wolves. Grace later went back, hid food for the bears, and then watched them find it. We had fun but certainly not the adventure the rest of the family had.

Grace and Nathan watching the bears find food

On Friday, except for the 4 of us who went golfing, most of the family stayed around the condo to swim or walk the town until our 5 o'clock hayride/cookout at the Parade Guest Ranch. The ranch was only a 15 minute drive from our condos which was great after the long drives of the days before. Once we got there, we boarded a tractor pulled wagon and rode about 20 minutes to a lake. Here we were greeted with the aroma of barbecued steaks and the sounds of music being sung by a local singer. Our family livened up things when we started dancing with each other to the music. Soon our delightful dinner was served. We had a choice of steak or chicken as well as beans, potato salad, watermelon, and a brownie. We enjoyed our food and more entertainment and then it was time to get back on the wagon for our ride home to the ranch. A super fun night.

Swimming was a fun thing to do
when we were at the condos

 On Friday, the grandchildren also started decorating their pillowcases. They drew their favorite activities as a reminder of our 

2015 family reunion in Yellowstone

Saturday was our official family golf day. Most of Jon's family, Todd, and Dad got up very early to drive the 30 minutes for 9 holes of golf at the Island Park Resort. The rest of us stayed home for more sleep and sourdough waffles. We decided to have an early afternoon dinner so Ryan's and Jon's families, as well as Todd and Kailee, could start for home by late afternoon. We were sad to see families leave but everyone had to be home for the Monday workday. The Westovers stayed one more night so, together, we went to a movie (Minions) and then to dinner at a 50's diner type restaurant. It was great to spend some one on one time with their family.

Sunday, all but one of the Westover's left by 6 am. We kept Maggie with us so she could spend a week at our home in Heber.  We went to church and then packed the car and headed for home ourselves. Todd and Kailee met us at home with a tri tip dinner ready for us to enjoy.  

One of the highlights of our reunion were our nightly devotionals.  At the end of each day, we would gather in Ryan's condo for a spiritual thought and prayer. The nightly messages were each based on a different song from the movie, 'Frozen.'  Our reunion theme was "Just Chillin' in Yellowstone."  On our t-shirts was a picture of Olaf, the snowman from 'Frozen,' chilling in the sunshine....hence the use of the songs from Frozen. Each family took a turn, showed the video clip of the song from the movie and gave an incredible message based the song's message.  Each night we looked forward to what would be said as well as the nightly treats.  We know this was a valuable experience when one of Ryan's children, when asked by her other grandparents what her favorite part of the week had been, responded, 'The nightly devotionals.' We will continue this tradition at every family reunion in the future, for sure.

At Lagoon

Our week with Maggie was fun.  It was her time to spend with Grandpa and Grandma for her 12 year old birthday, which she had while we were in Russia. While she was here, we bought material for a quilt which she cut out, sewed together and tied before the week was over.  We also took Maggie and Braydon to Lagoon, a tradition for our 12 year old grandchildren's celebrations.  They thoroughly enjoyed the rides as well as the water slides. During the week, besides going to a movie and out to dinner or lunch several times, we enjoyed going to the Hale Centre Theater performance of 'The Little Mermaid.'  It was an amazing production which we all loved.  Before we knew it, though, Monday had arrived and we put Maggie on the airplane to fly home.

Maggie making her quilt, her new haircut, and at the production of Disney's 

The Little Mermaid

July was full of guests and activities. On the first of July, Kim Sorenson and three of her children as well as Deon and Gary and two of their other grandchildren came to stay the week with us. Kim's Aspen attended BYU's Especially for Youth during the week and the rest of us played.  On Tuesday, Paul and I picked up Jon's boy's and took them to dinner and to Jaiden's school performance.  

Braydon trying
on a hat from a sports store

Gavin sitting on
a child's toy

We went to Chuck Wagon buffet for dinner and afterwards went to the mall. We had a few extra minutes so we sent the boys on a scavenger hunt in the mall. They had to take a picture trying on a hat, sitting on a child's toy, collecting a packet of ketchup, and riding the escalator. They were in two teams and Gavin and Braydon won easily. Jaron and Jaiden couldn't find a packet of ketchup.  It was a fun way to fill a few minutes before it was time for Jaiden's school performance.

Jaiden was a miner in his school's productions
depicting the early history of the West

The beautiful Payson 
temple

On Wednesday, the Fuller's and ourselves attended the new Payson temple while their grandchildren chilled at a movie in the Provo Towne Center Mall.

On Thursday, we picked up Jon's boys again so they could spend the rest of the week with us. We definitely had a houseful but everyone had a great time together. We enjoyed an afternoon at an extreme trampoline place, an outdoor play, a 4th of July parade, a movie, swimming, and lots of eating. We all had a great week. The Fullers and Sorensons left Sunday morning and Jon came by that evening to pick up his boys. He and Mindi and her family had spent the week in Missouri for Mindi's grandmother's funeral....hence the reason we were privileged to have the boys with us over the 4th of July weekend.  

Jaiden loved crossing the suspended stepping stones while Jaron was constantly doing double and single flips into the foam pit.  Gavin's favorite thing to do was playing dodge ball while jumping on the trampolines.  It was no surprise that Braydon spent lots of his time shooting baskets as he jumped off a ledge onto a trampoline.  It was fun to watch these boys have so much fun.

On the fourth of July, we lit off fireworks, ate s'mores, and watched fireworks exploding all over the valley as we sat on a neighbor's trampoline which overlooked the whole valley.

The very next weekend, July 11th, (and just before leaving for our family reuninon) we hosted a wedding reception in our backyard for Parker Davis and his bride, Haley. Paul spent the whole week perfecting the yard just in time for a hail storm to hit and make a mess of the annuals and the flower beds. Luckily we had a day to spruce every thing up in time for the wedding. We served barbecued pork sandwiches, salad, chips, watermelon and ice cream cones for a real picnic party experience.  It was a fun evening for all who attended.  

Todd and Kailee's new home

Other happenings this month included Todd and Kailee buying a home in Lehi which meant they would be moving out of our home by mid August.  They decided to put their other home in Lehi up for sale so we spent several days in that home's backyard weeding and edging and cutting back bushes.  Our goal was to get it back as close to its original glory as possible. The yard was an absolute disaster after 3 years of renters. Our last visit to that home was the last Tuesday of the month.....just before our family started arriving for Jon's wedding. And that's next month's highlight.