SSU Road Trippin.....

(Sunny Day Over The Southern Utah Mountains)

We took a few days to trip to SSU! Sunny Southern Utah. We stayed in Hurricane with Kim's Mom and Dad, watched Conference, walked dowtown, visited, ate good cooking and just hung out. They were great. It was fun to get away and feel the sun again.

On the way home we stopped at Cablelas in Lehi and looked around. The Fish Tank is the best. It's a fun store to visit, but expensive to buy anything, so Mark didn't come out with anything but his wife!! The next day it was back to work again and tomorrow it will be 80 and sunny, time to do yard work, get the garden ready for planting and clean the fish pond. If Mark gets is way, we will go ATV riding in the west desert. We can do both if we get up early!!
Fish Tank in Cabelas

Springtime in the Rockies!

Most of our snow has melted, the weather has been nice and we were hoping to show the springtime event of the tulips coming up in the yard. However, we had an Ice Storm last night and today this..........the picture says it all! When will end?? It's a typical Spring so far, we can have the air conditioner on in the car and windows open in the house and a hour later everything changes! We will be road tripping to St. George over General Conference weekend and we will be bringing shorts so it better be nice!! The video shows Mark attempting to back the truck over a snow bank, the picture doesn't really show the size of the snow drift very well, it was at least 2 feet of drift over the sidewalk. He does have it in 4-wheel drive.

Monster Blizzard 0f 2008

We had a huge blizzard which dumped on Tremonton, cancelling church and leaving us still digging out a week later! School wasn't cancelled much to the dismay of kids. Can't wait till Spring!!

Cruzin Carolina

Carolina Trippin

Mark and I flew back to NC to visit Chuck and Shana and the boys in Fayettville. It was long flight connecting in Phoenix and 4 hours to Raleigh. Summer and Madi had flown in the day before. We road tripped to Charleston, SC. Charleston is a clean city full of history and charm. We had a great lunch, sampled pralines, went to the aquarium, walked on the Alantic Coast and watched dolphins in the sea and the harbor. We were glad Summer and Madi could come, even though Madi wasn't feeling well.
Sunday we went to church and Mark blessed Cooper. He gave a great blessing and Chuck made a yummy BBQ. We relaxed, played with the grandkids and Summer and Madi flew back home that afternoon. We hope Madi is feeling much better now.
Monday we tripped back to SC and took the back roads to see the countryside. There are churches everywhere and there seemed to be a competiton among Churches to come up with the most clever signs. Some of them gave us a good laugh!
We went to Gaffney to see Marks favorite area he served his mission in and then on to visit with Chucks parents. We explored Greenville which is another clean city full of history.
On Tuesday we went to a Civil War Battlefield, it was really interesting to see history rather than just read about it. We visited a old cemetary and headed back to Raliegh to stay there since we had an early flight. We flew into Chicago and for awhile we weren't sure if we were going to fly out that day. The flight board was full of cancelled flights and while we flew out 2 hours late, we were one of the lucky ones to get out! It's a good thing we love to fly since we choose Chicago. We couldn't see any of the city from the plane due to the storm. We did come home to tons more snow and cold temps! Church had been cancelled last Sunday, due to the blizzard!!
It was beautiful in NC where one day it was 70! Felt like spring.
Thanks to Chuck and Shana for being great tour guides and the boys for playing games with us! We were glad to have Summer and Madi join us and we look forward to visiting there again. It was a fun time touring the area and visting with everyone!

The January Pounding, about 2 feet!

Schools out, kids having fun on the snow hill!

Here comes the city boys with the plow! They love this.

Love neighbours with snow throwers!
Mark, dig me out too!! Wait, I get to stay home today!! what shall I do??

Yesterday it snowed, kept snowing and snowed some more! This is what it looked liked this morning. Time to go out and make a snow something or maybe do donuts in the street!!

Weeeeee...............

Were still waiting for the yearly blizzard, that is always a fun time when the drifts pile against the door! Good time to take a snow "hookey" day from work.... just to play in the snow.

2007 to 2008

2007 for us started in a cold, crappy Ramada Inn near Sky Harbor Airport. We knew it was midnight when we heard the sound of gun fire near by. We had been to Phoenix for the Madi's baby blessing, daughter of Summer and Trevor. In 2007 Summer and Trevor and Madi came to visit, they rode the ATV's, we showed Trevor the big town of Tremonton and we loved playing with Madi.

Kristy Graduated from BYU in Psychology- Great Job Kris and is applying for the Master's program.

We thought we might move to Hurricane in Southern Utah so we put the house up for sale and Mark went to work for Fed-ex. After a record summer of heat we decided to stay in Tremonton. Mark went back to work for IFA in Ogden and we took a month off to Camp, travel and relax.

Shane and Jenny got married in September and we rode tripped to Phoenix for a few days.

Skyler returned from his mission (see lower post) and Madi turned 1 year old. Shana and Chuck were blessed with their 3rd boy - Cooper. We will be flying to North Carolina in Feb 08 to bless little Cooper and visit.

2007 was a really hard year with the "fake move", the heat and the smoke from the fires this year. The good side - we got rid of a lot of stuff, we learned we are supposed to stay here, and life goes on. What will 2008 bring?? Who knows, mostly it's just a year change for us. Anyway, hope 2008 is good for all our friends, family and America!

2007 in Review

The First Snowstorm and Skyler's Return!

Time to shovel - Great Job Mark!

Leaving for Church, he wasn't even nervous!

This week we had an Ice Storm, Snowstorm and Skyler came to visit after serving in the Sidney North, Australia Mission. We were very excited to see "little" Skyler, who isn't so little anymore. It's great to see how much he has grown (not physically) in the two years he was gone. He gave a great talk in Sacament and he used no notes, he just spoke about his experiences and his love for the people of Australia and the gospel. He gave a fireside that night for the youth which gave them an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the country. He again told us about his experiences which we really enjoyed. We love having him here and getting to hear about his misson. While there he saw kangaroos, and some very large spiders which he showed us a picture of in his flat. It would take lots of raid to kill this one, lucky it isn't deadly like many other spiders that are there. He met many nice people there and many different cultures that live there. He was able to teach many and bring them to the gospel. His experience was both challenging and rewarding and we are sure he wouldn't trade it for anything. We love the choices he has made and wish him well in his new adventures with school and work. He want's to be a pilot and we hope he works hard to make his goals a reality. We thank those who came to his homecoming and his friends and family that came to the house. It was a great time!
We also, had our first big snowstorm of the season. We've had little storms which left Ice and some snow, this one brought a White Christmas here. It's pretty to look at, but it is cold. We still love living here and yes, we look forward to Spring.

This Years Christmas Show-Glenn Beck

We always try to attend a Christmas show every year in Salt Lake. For the past years we have gone to Kurt Bestor - which is an awesome show and this year we wanted to try something different. We went to the Glenn Beck Christmas Show. It was well worth it! We went with friends which started out at McGraths Fish House in Layton(mark had steak of course- he is a land lover) and then travelled to West Valley to see the show. If you haven't heard of him, he has a radio and TV show which airs on CNN. He is a conservative similar to Sean Hannity, but more entertaining. He converted to the church about 10 years ago and after the show was over, he invited everyone to stay (about 8000) to do a taping of his conversion for the church. When it airs, don't miss it, I promise you it is worth watching. His show was fun, colorful stories about his family, it made you laugh, cry and most of all he ended with the real meaning of Christmas. (of course there was some poking fun at the liberal left during the show! with Happy RamaHanuKwanzMas)

If his show comes to your area next year, you won't be disapointed if you attend.

Merry Christmas to all!!

He really did help! Its a miracle!!

The Miracle on 7th South

The cat looks on while we decorate

The Cold Winter Sky-taken Thanksgiving Day
It's time for the tradition of putting up the holiday lights again. This year I even had help from the man! Here's the proof and as you can see, it was a warm day! This was just a few days ago which was good, now that it has turned really cold! We're just waiting for the first snowfall, yes the first shoveling of the driveway, the black ice, car sliding, more cold and yet it is so pretty when it snows. We will be posting the pictures of the first snowfall when it happens. So until then, have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday!

Welcome Cooper

Chuck and Shana are the proud parents of another boy! Cooper was born Nov 8th and has two older brothers. We have already booked a flight there in Feb to bless the new grandchild. We are excited to go and visit them in North Carolina. Mark served his mission there many decades ago and we will get to see some of the towns he was in. I'm glad were not going in the summer, the humidity can be a killer! On our way back we will have a layover in Chicago. We always try to fly into an airport we have never been. We once flew to Phoenix by way of San Francisco because Mark had never been there. We have fun! Kylan and Brayden we look forward to coming to see you, so be helpful to your Mom and Dad with the new baby. Cooper you will quickly get tough with Kylan and Brayden for Brothers! Chuck and Shana congrats and of course we look forward to seeing you to!!

trippin to Yellowstone

We took two days to go bear and wolf viewing in Yellowstone. Fall is a nice time to visit, no crowds to stand behind, not hot, and most of all no crowds! (or yes I already said that). The downside is a lot of the centers are closed which mean flushing toilets to. We stayed in Gardiner, MT just outside the north gate of Mammoth. The town is a deer zoo. There are deer all over, so be careful when you drive there, they walk right down the streets! Inside the park we saw several Bighorn Sheep, they were massive. Of course Mammoth was a Elk zoo there. We drove from Norris to Canyon and were lucky enough to see 5 wolves in the meadow right beside our car. Then we saw several vehicles about 1/2 mile down parked. So after the wolves crossed in front of us, we drove to see what the action was there. There were 4 more wolves feeding on a fresh kill, it was really awesome. We watched the 5 approach the Alpha male, a huge white wolf to get permission to feed. There were one black wolf, the white one and rest were grey and silver. We saw tons of Bison, they own the road and several coyotes and one squirrel! The bear stayed out of sight for us this trip. Which was strange, we heard of lots of sightings since they are feeding for hibernation. We heard lots of stories, but we saw none. We did see lots of "rock bear"! They were just rocks! We will go again next fall and invite anyone who wants to go, come, it's a great time to go. Oh yes, we did see Old Faithful. Who doesn't go and at least see that.

Pirate-we will miss him

Today was a sad day for us, Pirate our wonderful Aussie Healer had to be put to sleep. He was nearly blind and deaf and wouldn't eat the past 2 days. He just moped and had a hard time breathing and getting warm. We made him a warm bed in the lower bathroom with warmed blankets and that helped him feel more comfy, but he still was going downhill. We had him since the day he was born 16 years ago and he was a great dog. Shana & Kristy will remember that day!
He was always so obedient and protective of his family. He was a loving dog and loved to go for walks, rides and camping with us. He and Kim would get up before Mark and go for a walk when we went camping, he knew the routine and loved it. Camping won't be the same without him.
He will forever be missed along with our other beloved pets we have had. We lucky to of had the privledge of having them a long time and never have lost them to accidents. We now have Gypsy the "Cleo-cat-tra!" to help fill the void, but there is nothing like the fun of having a dog who enjoys going places with you. His lease will hang by the door until the day we get another pup.

Fall in the Rockies

It's once again Fall weather in Northern Utah. It's a nice change after a "it's too hot to sleep, eat or do anything" summer. This is now great sleeping weather! Of course with the cooler weather comes the apple pie making, raking leaves, the first snowfall , winterizing the camp trailer and the dreaded thinking about the holidays coming up.
Then it's the first of the year again and time to start the (oh I can't believe I'm even thinking this far ahead) the filing of the 07 tax season. :( . . . ugh..

Until then , we just have to enjoy the rest of 2007. We did have a snow teaser last weekend, with some snow, some rain and some really cold weather that day and yes It's nice enough to open windows still, only turn the heater on occasionally and yes still use the AC in the car.
In other words, for us northerners, it's beautiful. For the hot weather dwellers, if you come to visit, bring your jackets, cold weather gear and of course your warm jammies. I know you will think us nuts when we really aren't that cold yet.

Last week we winterized the shed by putting the summer stuff towards the back and bringing the winter stuff to the front. Ice melt, shovels, anything that might be needed for that cold snowy winter day yet to come. Until then, tomorrow I will bake a pie, shop for a much needed winter coat and enjoy the windows open before we go in winter hibernation!