A VACATION TO OREGON KICKS OFF OUR MONTH OF MAY

The beautiful setting of
the new World Mark

Right after the first of the of the month, we loaded in the car to begin a trip to Oregon to see our two families there - the Westovers and the Millars (Ryan).  We traveled the north route to Oregon stopping in Bend, Oregon for Monday night.  We wanted to check out the World Mark resorts in Bend for future reunions which we did  Lots to do - biking, walking, rafting, golfing swimming - so we will probably book a reunion there in the next few years.  The resort we stayed in is a recently acquired and remodeled one.  It is in a beautiful setting and is really nice but they have mostly 1 and 2 bedroom units which will not do for our big family.  We would probably book the other resort close to Bend as it has chalets to stay in.  

On that night in Bend, we just relaxed and watched a movie after going to dinner at Baldy's Barbecue. We got a kick out of this sign in the window of the restaurant. Wondering if that is an Oregon thing.  We wouldn't be surprised. They needed those kinds of sign in Russia as everyone spits on the sidewalks there. One had to really watch where you stepped so as not to walk in someone saliva.  



The next morning, we went to another World Mark presentation. Every time we check into a resort, we swear we are not going to sit through another update information seminar, which is really a sales presentation. Every time we back down on our resolve with their offer of breakfast and a $100 visa gift card. This time we almost bought more credits but decided, at the last minute, against it. Maybe someday but for right now our 65,000 credits should be just fine. 


After the meeting, we drove to Eugene in order to be there in time to pick up Lydia from school. That evening, we took Jillian out to dinner for her birthday. Maggie came along with us. We went to
Texas Roadhouse and enjoyed our food as well as our conversation with our granddaughters.

Jillian's pulled pork sandwich was
so bug she had to take a lot of the meat
out of the sandwich

Wednesday, we left Eugene and traveled to Medford to see Ryan and Katie and their children. We were glad we could be with them and had a wonderful two day visit. When we arrived we toured their home which is in the process of being remodeled. It's a mess right now but will be so nice when it is all finished. They are vaulting the ceiling in the living room, opening up the entry way, changing the office area and the kitchen, as well as laying new flooring throughout. Katie and the children are staying at their other grandparents home while Ryan goes home each night to stay in their home. That is where we stayed too, dust and all.  We took them to dinner at a pizza place before saying good night

Nathan loves his dog

The next day, we were thrilled when we found out Ryan was staying home from work and that they were keeping their younger children home from school so they could spend time with us. After breakfast, we went for a walk on a favorite trail of the children's in Jacksonville. The trail ended by a little stream where, of course, the children had to take off their shoes and go wading. We, then, walked around Jacksonville, bought some yummy fudge and went to a cute Mexican restaurant for lunch. When it was time, we picked up Aubrey from Junior High and played at a local, newly renovated, park. The children had a great time. After going back to Ryan's to freshen up, we grabbed some snacks at the Thompson's home before going to a high school production of Suesical, the Musical. It was cute and the children were enthralled through out, even little Nathan. 

Bare feet in the cold creek

Too beautiful of a location not
to take a family photo

Elaine was enthralled with this snail
she found.  

A most fun swing found at the park

At the musical

The next morning it was time to say good bye. We thought we would take in a temple session in Medford but the temple didn't open until 3 in the afternoon.  Instead, we stopped for breakfast in Grant's Pass and headed back to Eugene.

Charlotte in full acting mode

We were earlier getting to Eugene than expected so we went to a movie, Mother's Day, while we waited for Andrea and the girls to get home from work and school, respectively.  We were excited for that evening as Charlotte had the female lead role in her high school musical, The Pirates of Penzance. She has been practicing now for months and it all showed, when we saw the production.  It was amazingly professional for a high school production and the students voices were surprisingly strong (no individual mikes were used and we could hear and understand every word sung). Charlotte was amazing. She is so animated on stage and her voice is incredible.  She really had to stretch to hit the numerous high notes, as they are not in her normal range, but she hit everyone of them perfectly. We were totally impressed with her and the whole drama/music department of the high school.  

Above: Charlotte and the whole gang - her sisters and her cousins

Left: Charlotte after the show

Right: Charlotte with her special friend and the music/drama director

The finished product

Paul working hard to clean out
the rock border area

Saturday was a day to help Andrea in her yard. The backyard play area needed weeding and new bark laid, so that's what we did for the first part of the day. We then turned to the rest of her backyard, weeding the rock areas and the lawn. We bought them 4 pots of annuals to go in the rock areas. It all looked really nice when we finished. That evening Casey, Andrea, Paul and I went to the Valley River Inn for dinner.  Casey does a lot of trade there so dinner was at no cost to us, hence the reason for purchasing the potted flowers for their yard.  Dinner was delicious and we enjoyed being together with Andre and Casey.  

Casey coking the crepe and Allison scrambling the eggs

Sunday was Mother's Day so Casey, and Allison, made a brunch for all of us and his mom, Marilyn.  He fixed crepes, with cream filling and fruit topping, scrambled eggs, and sausage.  It was all so yummy.  After church, we went to Casey's sister's home for dinner. It was a jammed pack day so, by the end of it all, we were tired and ready for bed early. In the morning, we packed the car and headed out with the intent of going to Bend, Oregon for a day of golf. When we got to Bend, we decided to cancel golf and drive on through to Heber.  I had created a blister on the palm of my hand from weeding on Saturday and would only have made it a few holes, for sure. The drive was long, 14 hours to be exact, but it was good to sleep in our own bed. We got home a little after midnight.

Not looking too happy., waiting for the next roast....
but there were a lot of laughs even by the bride and groom.

Deon and Gary arrived on Wednesday afternoon to stay with us so they could attend our brother Dave's son's wedding that weekend. Because Deon and Gary had never met Susette, Dave's new wife, we had them all to dinner that night. The lime chicken tacos were a big hit but it was even better to be together with siblings and their spouses.  

Thursday, we left the house just after noon to do some shopping for pioneer costumes for Deon's granddaughters. We ended up at Deseret Industries were she found shirts and blouses for them. (The next day Deon bought aprons and bonnets too.)  The night ended with a wedding dinner at a barbecue place in Orem. Taylor and his bride were fun to watch  as they were being 'roasted' by family and friends, after dinner.  It was a great evening.  

We 'skyped' Dad and Mom
while at the restaurant.

Friday, while we were in the Provo temple for our weekly shift, Deon and Gary went to Taylor's wedding ceremony at the Provo City Temple.  Much to everyone's surprise, Ed and Debbie showed up.  After our temple shift, who should drive up but Ed and Deb to surprise us, too.  When Gary and Deon arrived to pick us up, we all decided to grab some dinner at Red Robbin before the wedding reception.  Again it was so fun to be with siblings and visit and catch on each other's lives. The wedding reception was held in Cedar Hills Golf Club and was a wonderful affair. It is beautiful facility with a view clear out to Utah lake. The bride and groom looked radiant, as always, and everyone seemed to have a good time. The best part of the evening, though, was being back home and visiting till late at night with my brother and sister. They all had to leave the next morning which was a good thing as we had some other special guests coming later that day.

All together at the restaurant.

Those special guests were RaeAnn Taylor and Jailyn Shepherd, two of our favorite sister missionaries from Russia. They drove up just to visit with us.  We sat outside by the water feature and visited for at least two hours.  We were sad when they had to leave to go pick up Jailyn's brother from work in Provo. We will always cherish the wonderful relationships we were able to build with the elders and sisters in Moscow. We hope we never lose contact with them.

Jailyn, on the left - RaeAnn, on the right

The next week, Paul and I finally made it golfing, a promise made when we passed up golf in Bend.  We went on Thursday and had a delightful time golfing the lake course at Wasatch Mountain Golf Club. Neither one of us golfed very good but it was fun just to be together, playing in such a beautiful setting. After golf we treated ourselves to lunch at Cafe Galleria and had their yummy pizza and salad lunch plate.  What a fun day. We vowed to do it again...hopefully soon.





While golfing on Thursday, I kept getting Facebook messages from Katerina from Russia. She was baptized while we were in Moscow and became a special friend.  She was just wanting to say hello and find out how we were doing.  We ended up deciding to Skype on Saturday as it is hard for her to write in English and much easier to speak it. Though sometimes it was hard to understand what she was saying, we had a wonderful visit. She is still involved, very heavily, in Karate. She was, at one time, the Russian Karate national champion. Now she teaches karate and is involved in many martial arts events in Moscow. She hopes to come to America and go the the San Diego temple.  It told her if she would consider going to one of the many Utah temples instead, she could stay with us and we would accompany her. It would be so wonderful to share that experience with her.  




Sunday, Jon and Mindi brought all their kids up for dinner.  It's been almost three month since they've all been up here so it was good to have them in our home again. Todd and Kailee came up, too, with Aria who was the big hit with Mindi's girls. All they wanted to do was hold her.  We had tri tip and chicken for dinner and for dessert,  cream filled crepes.  Of course, Paul had to let Aria try some of the cream filling.  Yes, she loved it..

Which bring us to Tuesday and Jaiden's birthday. Jon invited us to take him out to dinner on his birthday and then to join them for his birthday celebration at their home afterwards.  We were excited when Jaiden chose In 'N Out for his dinner spot. He loves hamburgers and his favorite is a double double from In 'N Out.  He was so cute while there and thanked up at least five time for taking him out to dinner.  When we took him home, he opened his presents and we all had cake and ice cream. Todd brought Aria over to join us and again she was the center of attention. 

Jaiden and his double double from In 'N Out. 

We wondered how he was going to be able to get his mouth around his big burger...

but he managed.

Then, back at Jon and Mindi's home even Gavin got in on holding Aria.

Friday, after our temple session and before meeting Kailee and Todd for dinner, we stopped by the Pleasant Grove cemetery to place flowers on the graves of Paul's Mom and Dad. We have made this an annual affair since moving to Utah, except when we were in Russia.  A great way to pay tribute to his wonderful parents and to show them of our love for them.

 Heber cemetery on Memorial day
is lined with American flags.  Quite
an impressive sight.

Ed and Dave at the wedding reception

The last Saturday of the month was a busy one.  We left Heber in the early afternoon to meet our friends, Kay and Marvin Rust, for lunch at Outback Steak House in Salt Lake. Outback became a favorite of ours in Russia and we wanted our friends to experience the Jack Daniels ribs, which Marv had and loved.  After lunch, we drove to the Hale Centre theater for the performance of Big River. Once again, we were wowed by the production. The stage was even flooded with hundreds of gallons of water to simulate the Mississippi river on which Huck and his friends rafted down. An amazing feat for a small theater stage in the round. When we do lunch and a play with our friends, we usually drive together but we couldn't this time. Immediately after the performance, we had to race down to Mapleton for the wedding reception of Andrew, my brother Dave's oldest son. Ed and Debbie came down from Idaho again for this wedding so it was fun to visit with them again. The reception was in an old barn which had been redone, especially for weddings.  It was in a beautiful area, set in the middle of an apple orchard at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. Andrew and his bride had been married earlier that afternoon in the apple orchard.

On the left is Andrew and Dave.

On the right is Dave with his two daughters, Kristen and Lauren.  They are on Skype with Dad and Mom... A fun way for Dad and Mom to be apart of the wedding festivities

Much to our joy, this was our month to see a lot of Jon and Mindi and their family.  At the end of the month was Memorial Day weekend. Jon had his boys for the holiday so they came up on Sunday, spent the night, and stayed all day Monday with us. We love having all of them with us. Of course, Todd and Kailee joined us for Sunday dinner and came back for a late afternoon barbecue with us on Monday. Memorial Day was fun filled with playing card games inside and baseball outside, having a water gun fight, and playing capture the flag with those same water guns...and, of course, lots of good food - sourdough waffles for breakfast, and chicken teriyaki sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs for dinner.  

Jaiden learned how to play UNO
 and wanted to play all  the time

In the afternoon, Jon joined the boys in a
capture the flag water fight.  A great activity
on a hot afternoon.

An interesting thing happened just before we left for Oregon. Sunday, May 1, the stake president asked if we could meet with him after our meeting block.  We were surprised when he asked us to go on another mission.  He suggested we serve that mission right here in Heber, working with the wards in our stake to activate members. We were totally taken back by this call but as we thought about it, we felt it was an answer to prayer.  We have felt like we needed to serve another mission but didn't want to leave our home or family. This is the best of both worlds - serving a mission here at home. The Sunday after our Oregon trip, President  Blickenstaff, a counselor in the Provo Mission Presidency, and his wife, came to our home to tell us of the specifics of our calling. We would attend ward councils of the wards we are assigned and go out and visit the people the Bishop feels we could help in coming back to church.  We would also work with the full time missionaries assigned to our stake, feeding them lunch once a week, as a time to discuss how we could be of assistance to them. We would attend district meetings, with other senior couples, once a week and zone conferences on a quarterly basis.  We would also be encouraged to attend the temple once a week. They said that spending about 32 hours a week is the norm for this kind of calling. They were very convincing and, by the end of their visit, we knew this was what we were supposed to do.  We called the stake president and told him we would put our papers in July for a first of September start date.  He was thrilled that we accepted the call.  A new challenge awaiting us on the horizon.



I'll end our monthly blog with these pictures...................  

At our pond, we noticed a mother and father goose herding their little ones. As I approached them, to take a picture, the parent geese headed their little ones into the water for protection. Oh the wonders of Mother Nature.

Of course, I have to include pictures of the ever growing and every changing Aria - now sitting up in her chair and loving her finger in her mouth.  It is such a joy to watch this grand baby grow.  We have not had that privilege with our other grandchildren so having Aria so close is a treat.

APRIL - A MONTH OF BIRTHDAYS FOR BRAYDON, CLARK, GAVIN, JON, AND ME

April is our big month for birthdays....5 in all, including Jon, Gavin, Clark, Braydon and me. We like to take the grandchildren out to dinner, or lunch, to celebrate with them so mid month we took Gavin, Clark, and Braydon to dinner. We picked them up at Jon and Mindi's home and took them to The Fuji Steakhouse, a Japanese restaurant where they cook the meal in front of you. It is a favorite place for Jon's boys. Clark had never been to such a restaurant so it was a treat for him, too. After dinner we dropped Gavin off at his home for a basketball practise and then drove to the Vineyard movie complex for a special viewing of Jungle Book, on the Imax screen and in 3D. Jon's company, Nudge, bought out all the seats and offered them free, on a first come first serve basis, for the families of their employees. Jon secured 7 tickets and when Jaron and Gavin couldn't come, he invited us to stay and watch the movie with them. It was a great movie, especially in 3D. A fun night with Jon and Mindi and family. 

The Saturday previous to this, we took Olivia out to lunch for her birthday. She had a birthday in March but, because of Spring break and other activities, our schedules didn't jive until into April. Hence the April birthday lunch celebration. 

At the end of the month I celebrated my 71st birthday. My actual birthday was on a Thursday but I had volunteered to substitute in the temple for Betty Smedley so we didn't do anything to celebrate until Friday, after our regular temple shift. Our celebration was going to dinner at PF Chang's. We hadn't been there since returning from our mission and it had been a favorite, especially their lettuce wraps. It was a good choice. My present from Paul was to buy clothes for our cruise in August.  I went out shopping one day but only found a couple of blouses. I have a hard time with the styles as of late so shopping isn't that exciting for me right now. I'll try again when we return from Oregon in May.

Special flowers from Paul, cookies and a gift card from Todd and Kailee,
a book and card from Janet and Gloria, and a key chain from the Relief Society

Now for the rest of the month.....We started the month by going with Marv and Kay Rust to a matinee performance at the Hale theater in Salt Lake. The play was a musical entitled The Pirate Queen and was very entertaining. We are always in awe at what can be done in such a small theater in the round. The stage moves so the sets are incredible and the effects are amazing. Before the show, we went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We enjoyed being with the Rusts again. Before our missions, (they went to New Zealand a few months after we left for Russia) we went to all the musical performances at the Hale theaters but hadn't attended a show together until now. We have another date, for the end of May, to see The Big River.  


The next wonderful thing that happened was General Conference. We so love being taught by the general authorities of the Church for two whole days. It was an incredible conference during which we felt the spirit testifying continually to us of the truthfulness of what was being said and the importance of abiding by counsel given. We both hated to see the last session of conference conclude. We were on a spiritual high the whole weekend.  





The Wednesday following conference, we had the privilege of having lunch with our dear friends from our mission, Jeanie and Richard Pierson. We have missed them terribly as they live in Arkansas. We were thrilled when they contacted us via facebook to see if we could get together for lunch. We meet them at the Blue Lemon restaurant at the City Creek Mall in Salt Lake City. It was so wonderful to visit with them again and we soon realized why we had so much fun together in Moscow. We do miss all the great people with whom we associated on our mission.  

Part of the month was spent doing some spring clean up outside and sprucing up on the inside. Paul spent many a day outside undoing the damage a winter does on the yard. He raked the dead grasses left by the voles and planted new lawn seed in the vole damaged areas, raked out the dried leaves from around the plants, and section by section, weeded and cultivated the bark...a lot of hard work. I spray painted the rusting grey chairs to make them a rod iron black and we bought a new black planter for the center of our patio.  It all makes a nice, comfortable setting for the patio.

The picture of Christ by
the ocean in it's grey frame

On the inside, I finally finished a bedroom I had been working on for a few weeks. I was tired of the decor in one of the downstairs bedroom so we bought a new yellow and grey comforter and pillow set. The yellow tied in the yellow chair that had been in that room but I had to add a lot more yellow and a little grey. I purchased flowers and a couple of vases, as well as a few other items to set on the dresser and side table. I found a grey frame that worked perfectly with a picture Deon and Gary had given us of the Savior by the ocean. The picture has enough yellow tones in it that, with the grey frame, looks wonderful in that room. I love doing that kind of thing and now have the urge to change out our bedroom as well as our lighthouse bedroom, at least with new bedspreads or comforters.

On Saturday, April 9, Jan Bishop and I went to the BYU Ballroom Dance Concert in the Marriott Center on campus. Tara Simmons, one of our former sister missionaries, is a member of the BYU dance team and was able to get us great tickets in the center and down close. Jan and I love that kind of thing so Paul willingly gave up his ticket to Jan - a big sacrifice....NOT. I did some shopping earlier in the morning and met Jan in the early afternoon so we could drive together to the performance. It was a delightful show and Tara did a great job. She is one talented woman. She sings with an acapella group at BYU as well as performs with the ballroom dance team.  

The finale
Tara is in the front of the yellow line on the left

We had another thing happen this month that was fun...a baby reveal party for Jake and Nicole. Nicole is pregnant but didn't know the gender of her baby, purposely, so Kailee could throw her a party to reveal whether she was going to have a boy or a girl. It was scheduled for the Tuesday before Kailee and her parents were going to travel to Houston to visit Kailee's other sister, Kristina.  At the last minute, Kailee's parents decided not to come early so the party was held at our home with just the six of us, plus Sadie and Bean. Kailee had pink and blue balloons with one huge black one filled with confetti which would show the baby's sex - pink for a girl and blue for a boy. When Nicole popped the big balloon, blue confetti fell out all over the patio and blew into the bark, much to Paul's dismay. I fixed dinner and at the last minute invited Mitch and Michelle to come over and share it with us. Todd and Kailee brought up pink and blue cake balls and a chocolate chip cookie pizza for dessert. It was a fun Sunday evening.

Sadie got scared when Kailee started the vacuum to
clean up the confetti so Paul picked her up and
sat with her to console her.

We finally accomplished something we set out to do 6 months ago when we were called to be the stake single adult representatives.  Our challenge was to meet with all the bishops and ward councils to go other the list of their young singles as well as their single adults, over 31. Our job, then, was to go out and try to locate those members whom the councils did not know. We have had some interesting experiences as we have gone up to homes only to find out that the person we were searching for was married and had been for several years...some with teenage children. We've been to many trailer parks and up winding mountain roads in search of people. Some didn't want to be found and other appreciated our visit. This month we made our last visits for our last ward. With our research and the information we received from the ward councils, the valid single adult numbers went from 348 to 249. The young single adults went from 394 to 130, many of those being on missions or away to college.  Now our work begins as we determine how to best meet the needs of these single adults. 
  

 

Mid month, we had an Free Birds dinner group at our neighbors, Mitch and Michelle.  She needed a dessert and an appetizer and asked if I could bring that.  Of course I said yes, even though appetizers are not my thing. After much thought, I decided to do a vegetable pizza for the appetizer and a fruit pizza for dessert. They look good and were delicious.





In the last week of the month, we took Dillon Cox out for ice cream at Dairy King. He is a member of our primary class and lately has been quite defiant of a class rule of no leaning back on the chairs.  We have been diligent getting to class early and setting the chairs in a semi circle with the backs of the chairs right against the wall. As soon as Dillon gets to class he pulls his chair out from the wall and leans back. For two weeks, during the lessons, I would motion for him to to set the front legs of his chair onto the floor and he would lean it forward so the legs would almost touch the floor but not quite. Within in a minute or two he would again be leaning his chair back against the wall. After the second week's class, I had him stay after class and talked about him being disrespectful to his classmates, to us, and to the Lord. The next week he was even worse and more defiant...at one time moving to a chair in the corner and leaning it sideways toward the window. His comment was that we hadn't said he couldn't lean sideways. After class that week, I told him I would have to talk with his mother about his behavior, which I did. We wanted him to know, that even though we have to come down hard on him, we still love him, hence the trip to get ice cream. We had a nice visit with him and, as we dropped him off at his home, we let him know the purpose of our time with him.  Hopefully it will make a difference.

The finished project

On the 27th, Paul took off early to go the Lehi and help Todd lay rock in his backyard, under and to the side of their deck. I didn't go with him as I had a birthday lunch date with Janet Harmon and Gloria Linerude. Gloria was in town for Women's Conference at BYU, so she and Janet came up to Heber for lunch with me at Pizza Galleria in Midway. It was so good to see Gloria again as I haven't been with her since coming home from our mission. We had so much to catch up on that we talked, at the restaurant, for 2 1/2 hours, almost making them late to get to the airport. They were picking up Gloria's daughters and daughters-in-laws who were coming for Women's Conference as well.  What a fun day for me....not so much for Paul as he was doing some really hard work.

And then, just as we were thinking Spring had arrived, it snowed....in April. 

 Way to go Heber!!!!!!!!

MARCH MADNESS MEANS A TRIP LAS VEGAS AND LOTS MORE BASKETBALL

A true Cougar fan

That's right....more basketball. It's March and that means college basketball tournaments as well as the NCAA and NIT tournaments but first it was off to Las Vegas. At the last minute, we decided to take a trip to Vegas for the WCC basketball tournament held at the Orleans' arena to watch BYU play. When World Mark condos came available as well as tournament tickets, it was a slam dunk (no pun intended) that we would go to Vegas. We left Friday after the temple and drove to Las Vegas, arriving about 9 at night. Saturday was filled with basketball games, BYU playing their first game and winning. 

A picture of our purchased seats.  Luckily we only
had to sit in them for one game.

Hiko with Mom's home off to the right

Sunday, after going to church, we drove out to Alamo and Hiko, about an hour and half from Vegas. That is where Paul's mother grew up and we wanted to see that area and find her old homestead. It was a delightful drive after the torrential rains stopped. We were amazed at how beautiful the dessert can be. We found the home in Hiko where Paul's mom had lived as well as the graveyard where many of Paul's relatives are buried. Getting to the graveyard was no easy trick as it was on top of a hill and totally fenced off. Paul was determined, after having come this far, to see the gravestones so he hopped the fence and walked up the hill to it. He was so glad he had done that as he was able to take pictures of all the graves of his relatives, including his grandmother's who died before he was born. A very worthwhile trip.  

Paul's Mom's old homestead in Hiko

We stopped in Alamo, hoping to get some lunch but the only place available to buy food was a convenience store.  Alamo is so small there isn't even a Subway. We ended up buying some crackers and cheese to get us by till we got back to Vegas. We checked into the World Mark on Tropicana and waited for Todd and Kailee to arrive. They decided to share our two bedroom condo for a quick get away. They were later getting into Vegas due to traffic so we met them at the Bahama Breeze restaurant where it was decided we would have dinner....a favorite restaurant of Todd and Kailee.   

Monday and Tuesday was more basketball. We watched the girl's team make it to the finals only to loose that game on Tuesday. After going out to pizza, Monday evening, I gave my ticket for the BYU/Gonzaga game to Todd so he could go with Paul. After sitting through three games that day, I was more than willing to stay in the condo with Kailee and play with Aria. Besides I didn't want the stress that game would bring. BYU lost but it was a close game. On Tuesday, the final games for both the boys and the girls were played. Of course, we watched them both. Todd and Kailee met us at TGI Fridays for an early dinner between the games. It was then home on Wednesday.

Aria's first basketball game

Of course, that didn't end basketball for the month as there still were the NCCA and NIT games, of which, Paul watched most of them.  I joined him when it was BYU or Gonzaga playing. BYU made it to the final four of the NIT but lost in New York at the Madison Square Garden arena. Gonzaga lost before the final 8, but they beat Utah badly which was fun to see. I was not sad when the final games were played the last week of March and first few days of April.  





Other happenings in the month included a High Priest activity - a pie night where the men were encouraged to bake a pie and bring it to share. Paul made a lemon sour cream pie which was a hit. He had never made a pie before so the Saturday, after our trip to Las Vegas, was spent with me talking him through the process, step by step.  He successfully made a pie crust that was one of the flakiest I've ever tasted. The other High Priests didn't believe Paul had made the pie by himself because it was so good.

Mid month, we went to Lehi to have dinner at Jon and Mindi's before going to a school musical in which Olivia had two parts. The musical was Shrek and Olivia played a court jester and a priest. The play was amazingly well done for a group of 5th and 6th graders and Olivia did a great job. We could tell she loved being on stage. Her priest costume was amazing. It looked real even though the hat was made out of a mailing envelope. Mindi had to be very creative on that one.

The third Monday of the month was interesting.  We agreed, several weeks earlier, to host the 'Friends' dinner at our home. Little did we know that I would be called to jury duty that same day. It took a little organization to pull it all off but we managed. After a quick shop at the store for the last minute ingredients, the morning was spent making chicken enchiladas. I had set the tables the night before so when I finally got home around 5, I only had to cook the enchiladas, make the salsa and guacamole, and put ice and water in the glasses. I was glad I wasn't selected for this jury as it was a child abuse case and that would have been hard to stay impartial. The dinner went well and made for a fun evening with16 friends in our home. The food was good and the conversation lively.

Tables all set on Sunday....yes with paper plates!

We spent some time with Todd and Kailee this month helping in their yard. They had rubber chips that needed to be spread in the play area so Paul helped do that. I played with Aria so Kailee could be outside, too.  Another day, Paul dug out some grapevines from under the deck so Todd can eventually bring in rock. I helped with a little weeding but mostly played with Aria. 

The hunt is on....

We also had Todd and Kailee and Kailee's family up to dinner after the Provo City Temple dedication, Sunday, March 20th. Then the following Sunday, which was Easter Sunday, Todd and Kailee, Jake and Nicole and their two girls came up for an Easter ham dinner and an Easter egg hunt outside in the backyard. It seems like most ever year someone has an Easter egg hunt in our yard and we love it. Bean and Sadie were so excited to find so many plastic eggs filled with treats and surprises.  

......So excited to find all these eggs

Braydon with braces, the
first of  6

Twice this month I went to Jon and Mindi's to babysit their children as they both needed to travel out of town for work. The first time was when they took Clark and Braydon on a trip to New York as part of 'take your child to work' program.  I went to Lehi early so I could see Clark and Braydon play a basketball game. I then stayed the night with the two girls and got them off to school the next morning. The next time all three children were there. I was at their home when they got home from school, fixed dinner, got them to bed, and then off to school again. It was pretty easy babysitting except when we thought we had lost Clark. He said he was going to a friend's home after dinner and would be home no later than 8.  At 8:15, I got a little concerned so I got Carly to go with me to the friend's home to discover Clark wasn't there and never had been. Really nervous now, we returned home only to find that Clark had been home all the time. His friend couldn't play so he had slipped up to his room while I was doing dishes and didn't hear him come in the house. A little scary. Jon said that has happened to him and Mindi before so I don't feel quite so incompetent. Mindi is working on the weekends to help pay for braces for their children. At least, six of their eight will need braces soon.  Braydon had his put on this month. Oh the joy of teen age years with children and braces. 

We did our patriot duty this month when we attended our precinct's caucus. We went because one of our ward members, Brother Lund, begged us to go. It was an interesting procedure but the only thing we did was vote for next year's officers and the delegates to represent us at the state convention. The last vote we took was for president of the United States. Of course, we voted for Ted Kruse as did over 80% of those in attendance. Ted Kruse won Utah by quite a big margin. No surprise here in conservative Utah. We were hoping to hear some talks by representatives of the candidates but that was not the case. During this whole procedure, we kept checking the basketball scores.  BYU was playing one of their games toward the NIT final four. They won so we went home and watched the game we had recorded. It was much easier to watch, knowing the outcome.

The last things that happened this month were three chances to meet with mission friends. The first was with Lyndsi Tolbert, a former sister missionary who served in our district and whom we came to love dearly. Through Facebook, we connected and decided it would be fun to meet for dinner. After our temple session one Friday, we met her at Red Robin where we enjoyed our teriyaki chicken sandwich and great conversation. It was so fun to talk with her again and to catch up on what is happening in her life.

Erica in her hat and pearls.  That was the theme
of the shower - an afternoon tea with hats and pearls.

The following Saturday, I attended a bridal shower for another of our wonderful sister missionaries, Erica Hawkins. She was in the first sister companionship of our mission and a great missionary trainer. We came to love her and were so excited when we learned of her engagement to friend from her hometown. Her aunt gave her a bridal shower to which I was invited.  It took me over an hour to get there as it was in Herriman but I was so glad to have been able to go. It was great to hug Erica and feel of her excitement for her upcoming wedding. Sister Sorenson, a former Moscow mission president's wife, was there. It was good to finally meet her. We had heard so much about the Sorensons as they served just before President and Sister Borders under whom we served.  




The third event was meeting with some dear friends whom we came to love in Russia, Luydmilla and Nick. They were in our YSA program in Moscow, until they married each other. Luydmilla attended our institute and Pathway programs so we spent every Thursday evening with her for 12 months of the 18 months we were there. We were so thrilled when they alerted us that they would be coming to Utah and wanted to see us. We picked them up at the Provo airport, Thursday the 31st, and took them to lunch. We wanted to give them an all American experience so it was back to Red Robin. Again, we had our chicken teriyaki sandwich and enjoyed it as well as our visit with Nick and Luydmilla. We got caught up on all our dear friends in Russia as well as what was new in their lives. They speak good enough English that conversation was easy. After lunch, we drove them around Provo, especially to see the MTC and the two temples. Our visit ended when we dropped them off at a former senior couple's home with whom Luydmilla served on her mission. We were so excited that she was going to be able to attend her mission reunion in Salt Lake City the following day. What a once in a lifetime experience for her.

Such a great couple and so dedicated to gospel living.

Our month came to a close on that day but there would still be a few more days of basketball to come in April, much to Paul's delight.

A picture of our hot tub that was installed this month too.

A red letter day....Paul retired his Alaskan t-shirt much to my delight.