BEAUTIFUL SNOW IN JANUARY - A BLESSING TO OUR VALLEY

We have been so concerned about the water situation here in our valley. Last year's lack of snow in the mountains meant our reservoirs had just enough water for last summer's needs. As we approached winter this year, the water situation for summer looked bleak. We waited all of November and December for lots of snow and it didn't come. Gratefully, this January there have been many storms across Utah putting good snow in the mountains. Here in Heber, we have about a foot of snow on the ground. The ski resorts reported 2 additional feet just with the last storm that passed through our area. This is such a blessing even though it's cold and the roads can be slippery. Snow means the possibility of avalanches and we had one in Provo Canyon, one Thursday. It was controlled so no one was hurt but it blocked the canyon road for almost 2 days. We were concerned about getting to the temple on Friday for our shift but, by Friday morning, the road department had cleared the old Provo Canyon Road, a 2 lane road from Vivian Park to Nuns Park. The mountain of snow from the avalanche must have been 30 feet high when we passed it Friday morning. 

Lots of snow needing to be shoveled
and/or blown off the deck and driveway

It snowed enough in Lehi
for Aria to build her first snowman

Weather play a big part in our trip to St. George this month. We decided in December that we wanted to get away from Heber for a few days in January so we booked a World Mark condo for January 14th to the 17th. We were looking forward to some sunshine and warmth but it turned out that we picked a week where it rained almost every day. Though a little disappointed, not to be able to do many outdoor activities, we still had a great time. We went to the St. George temple on Tuesday where we participated, as a patron for the first time, with the new film. It was a beautiful experience. We loved the inspired changes that had been made to make the endowment a wonderful experience for all. Wednesday we drove to the Brio housing development to check out the model homes there and see what might be a possibility if we decide to be snowbirds someday. That night, we went to dinner with Dave and Suzette. We ate at Geru's Bar and Grill, a new restaurant in town. The food was wonderful and we loved visiting with Dave and Suzette. Each night we'd pop popcorn and watch a movie, relaxing in front of the fire. Thursday it was time to head home. We left St. George early to try and beat the storms predicted for that day. When we left, it was raining and it continued until just before Cedar City. Luckily, we didn't have any precipitation through the mountain passes but, when we hit Fillmore, it began to pour and did so all the way home. Of course, when there's rain in the Utah valley there is usually snow in the canyon and so, yes, we were meet with snow as we traveled up Provo Canyon to Heber. We made it safely and were glad for the snow.

From the deck of our condo

Such a darling couple - Dave and Suzette

 At the beginning of the month, we celebrated Aria's third birthday. Her parents had given her a party with her cousins earlier in the week but wanted to do a little celebration with us on Sunday. We bought her a couple of games and a doll house for her to play with when she comes up to our home. She loved them and played with them all evening and for the next few Sundays, as well. When it came time for her to blow out her candles on her Dairy Queen ice cream cake, she became very shy. As we sang to her, she turned around and would not look at us until she could blow out the candles. 

 The weekend before we left for St. George, Lori Meadows, a friend of Andrea's, came to stay with us. Lori was recently divorced and having a bit of a hard time so her friends in Springfield got together and bought her a plane ticket to Salt Lake as well as a car rental. She flew in on Friday and stayed with us until Monday. We didn't see a lot of her as she had lots of things planned - dates with two men and an overnight stay with a girlfriend. She stayed in Heber on Sunday and went to church with us. Her friend, Tyler, met her up here and spent the day. Her friend, Zac, also came up on Sunday. Lori had expected Tyler to leave before Zac arrived for dinner but he didn't, so after a few uncomfortable minutes, it was decided to set an extra place and have Tyler eat with us, too. Amazingly, the conversation was easy through out dinner and dessert. Zac left earlier than he had planned and, then, Tyler finally left. A little awkward, but Lori has been telling both men that she just wanted to be friends.They got the message on that Sunday, for sure.  

I took this candid picture to send to Andrea so she could
see Lori's uncomfortable situation.

Also on that weekend, we had the opportunity of having lunch with two of our favorite couples from Russia. Ludmilla and Nickita were in Utah for a vacation and staying with Valya and Tahir. We were glad when Ludmilla called and wanted to get together. We met them all at Chili's, in Salt Lake, for lunch. It was the first time we had seen Valya and Tahir's baby boy so we brought a gift for him. Lunch was good but the company was even better. We loved hearing about all the happenings with our friends in Moscow and with these two wonderful couples. Tahir is going to school at LDS Business school while Valya and Ludmilla are enrolled in the BYU online college program. We are so proud of all of them for seeking college degrees.

Valya and Tahir

Nikita and Ludmilla, holding Valya's baby

At the first of the month, we decided it was time to finally celebrate our 53rd  wedding anniversary. Our anniversary was on the 22nd of December and always gets over looked because of all the Christmas festivities. To celebrate, we went to La Jolla Groves restaurant  for dinner, after working in the temple. We love the setting of this restaurant as you are actually dining under lemon trees. The food was good but I was disappointed that they had changed their salmon dish. I had been thinking about the delicious cilantro butter topped salmon but instead had to settle for salmon garnished with spinach and garlic butter....not half as good. It was fun for us to just be together at a really nice restaurant which we don't do very often.

A 

couple

of 

old

goats

After the temple, this last weekend, we met some old friends from Spokane for dinner. Gloria and Denny LInerude were in town, passing through on their way to California, so it was a good time to get everyone together. Susan and Dee Humphreys and Janet Harman, along with the Linerudes, all met us at P. F. Chang's where we had a delicious dinner. We caught up on all the happenings in the lives of all our children, as well as ourselves, and had many good laughs, as always. When we were in Spokane, we were all part of a group that got together often and had lots of fun together. It was good to reconnect. John and Linda Sandberg, also from Spokane, were supposed to join us but ended up having to be in Portland. They have recently moved to Utah so we'll have to have another get together with them.

Gloria and Denny Linerude

Janet Harmon

Susan and Dee Humphreys

For Sunday dinner, Todd and Kailee invited Jake and Nicole and their family. We had tri tip and chicken Oscar, which was delicious. After dinner, Todd took the girls out to the hot tub. They stayed in the tub for a long time and loved every minute of it. Sadie said it wqs her first time ever being in a hot tub. She was excited.

Evie, Aria, and Sadie with Todd

Not too much basketball this month - only two home games....but two big home game. The first game was with St. Mary's which we won, surprisingly. The last game was with Gonzaga, ranked 4th in the nation, which we lost, not surprisingly. 

Just a couple of pictures of our beautiful world here in Heber

A Lunar eclipse happened this month

One of the many beautiful sunsets we experience from our living room window

Now for Aria and Avery.........

Aria started preschool in January. She goes three days a week and loves it. Supposedly this is a wonderful preschool with different rooms with different activities. There is even a gym for sporting activities upstairs. 

Avery is getting so big and soooo darling!!!!!