MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas to you and your family!
2011 has been an exceptional family year. In January, our son Scott married Jenni Christensen, a delightful woman, and between the two families, they have 8 children. They are finding life very busy as you might suspect, but very satisfying. We went from 16 to 21 grandchildren all at once!

Three of our married grandchildren, daughter Julie’s children; Katherine, Justin and Rachel, all gave birth to wonderful babies this year. Porter, Myah, and Noah respectively are all doing great and have brought abundant joy to doting great grandparents. Who knew you would love “great grands” so much???

All these activities still enabled us to visit mid-winter with good friends in Yuma, AZ, enjoy a visit with Ruth Ann’s sister in Santa Barbara, have a wonderful late spring/early summer visit with family in Texas and Louisiana, and two fall trips to Yellowstone National Park. Summer brought visits from two of our daughters – Mary Lou from Texas and Ali from Alaska. It is wonderful to spend time with our grown children! Julie and Dave are so good to us and include us in many of their family activities. In November, we had our first (but not the last) cruise experience to Mesoamerica. We signed up for a cruise entitled Book of Mormon Comes Alive in Mesoamerica,; with stops in Grand Cayman, Rotan, Belize, and Cozumel, and we were not disappointed.

Felt splits his spare time between his calling as the ward High Priest Group Leader, and serving the community as the President of the Home Owners Association, and Ruth Ann continues to be the ward Gospel Doctrine Instructor.

Ruth Ann expresses her thanks to many of you who sent her congratulatory wishes for her birthday. Our grand daughter, Katie, found a way into her e-mail account and set the whole grand experience in motion. Being 70 is not too bad, rather gives you a new perspective and allows you to more easily see what is really important on our journey we call life.

Next year we hope to make another visit to the east, this time returning not only to New Hampshire, but also going back to Virginia for a tour down memory lane.

We send you our wishes for a memorable, joyful Christmas time with your family and friends. We hope that you, along with us, will spend more time sharing and showing the Love of Christ than we do searching for the perfect gift. The perfect gift has already been given; the gift of Heavenly Father’s only son; the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. As you listen to Christmas music, savor the Christmas goodies, and enjoy the lights on your tree; may we all remember the reason we celebrate Christmas. Merry Christmas to each of you! May 2012 prove to be a healthy happy New Year!

Ruth Ann and Felt

This picture was taken of us at one of our "formal" dining nights on our cruise


This one shows the real us on a very hot day at Tulum in Mexico


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our Cruise to the Western Caribbean

Well, we had talked about this for a couple of years and we finally did it – we went on a cruise! We booked it with and through a company here in Utah, called Cruise Lady. They make all the arrangements except for our flight arrangements. We went on each offered excursion – and are so glad we did.

Basically we flew in and out of Miami – definitely the worst part of the trip. We just do not enjoy flying. Not the actual flight, but the seating is so crowded and uncomfortable, but it went well and safely and we made all our connections with time to spare.


The morning we boarded ship – the Carnival Valor – we first went on a side trip to the everglades. Very interesting – airboat ride and alligator show. We were not prepared for the crowds and the process of boarding the ship. Next time will be easier simply because we will know what to expect.


We were definitely impressed with the ship. And tho we went touring to try to find all the different places, we did not find the jogging track until the night before we arrived back to Miami. They had pools, hot tubs, water slides, outdoor movies, a large theater, for live shows several smaller entertainment areas and several bands for dancing, a casino, adult areas and a spa with all the bells and whistles. Our room was very nice. We chose a ocean view and so enjoyed being to see the water as we went along. Plenty of closet space, a bathroom larger than our RV had, a king sized bed and a couch to lounge on.



The first day was a day at sea and we spent it in classes. We had our own instructors to teach us about what we would be seeing and an entertainer to keep us happy too.


The excursions: day one; was Grand Cayman, we took a tender to the shore because the port area was too shallow for the ship to enter. There were about 50 in our group we had our own bus and it took us to a private boat that took us out to swim with the sting rays. This was not something I had been wild about, but wanted to see. As you can tell from the photos – we had a really good time! They were so friendly – swimming around us and agreeing to photographed being held and kissed! Then we went out to a reef to try our hand at snorkeling – I should have practiced in the pool first. My first attempt began and ended with a huge swallow of sea water. Enough for me – I got back on board the boat. Felt said he saw some beautiful fish. But the water was absolutely incredible! So clear and warm and the prettiest blue you can imagine! I had been concerned about getting too much sun, glad I had on my sun screen and a t-shirt! We were back on board ship after lunch time and decided we did not need to go back to shore to shop. Spent our time wandering about the ship and sitting on the deck – even took a nap on the deck, before we left that port.



Day two excursions: Roatan Honduras. This time we were able to get into a port and disembark directly without a tender ride. This stop was to be an adventure. Some of the group went on a zip line through the jungle. We went to an iguana farm – not my favorite. I just do not like big lizards and they ran at us to get something to eat. They had big leaves for us to feed them – a little creepy. Then we drove around the area seeing the town, we went to see the chapel that was surrounded by a high chain link fence topped with razor wire. And we saw some 3rd world poverty that made us feel sad. We stopped at a small beach area spent a couple of hours sitting in lounge chairs under coconut trees and eating a snack lunch. Of course some of the locals found us and we bartered for some homemade jewelry with some children and ended up paying too much, but felt like we might help them a little.


Day three Excursions: Belieze, Honduras – well it used to be Honduras now it is just Belieze. This was a day we had to leave by tender. Our cruise leader got us off on the first tender so we could get going We had a nice bus, with AC which was good it was hot and very humid. And we had local tour guides with us on the bus. We drove about an hour + out into the jungle. When we stopped we were served a locally prepared lunch of chicken and rice – fresh fruit and bottled drinks. Then we got into two very fast speed boats and rode for another hour up the river back into the jungle to see some ruins called Lamoni. We saw several excavated pyramids and temples, we walked through the jungle from one to another seeing and hearing the howling monkeys! We tried to get a recording of that sound. It sounded more like a jaguar or mountain lion to us, but we could see the monkeys and our guide assured us that they were making that noise. This was a wonderful experience! Something we never would have seen on our own. After being there for less than 2 hours we had to race back down the river to our buses to drive back in time to get on the last tender and not miss the cruise.






Excursions day four: Cozumel - we were able to cruise into port but had to take a ferry over to Playa Carmen so we could go see more ruins. This place is called Tulum and was spectacular! It is located on a bluff above the Caribbean sea and the development itself was huge! So many buildings and so much sunshine! By the time we had toured and listened and looked at the sea – some folks walked down way too many stairs to actually get in the water – I had over heated big time. We began our walk back to the tourist part about ½ mile away and had to find some shade and drink some water before we made it back to the shops etc. We were definitely in Mexico now. Paid to use the “bano” but it was worth it! We shared a subway sandwich and had a diet drink and I bounced back quickly once I was able to cool myself off with the ice cold towels handled out by our tour guide when we arrived back to the bus.



Each time we docked we saw more cruise ships. Usually 4 or 5 others, some were Carnival and a sample of the other lines also. We got to see Carnivals newest ship – the Magic – it was huge and made our ship look rather small. You might want to know that our ship had 3200 quests and 1000 service employees, and we think that none of them were Americans, most were from Indonesia, Panama, Thailand.



Knowing that the cruise was almost over was a sad feeling. We had planned and anticipated for so long and now it would all soon be a memory. We will definitely go cruising again! The seas never bothered us. A few of our group resorted to the patches but that took care of the problem right away. We loved the gentle rocking motion as we went to sleep and never slept better. The food was wonderful! The service was grand. We adored our wait staff for our table. They took such good care of us and performed almost every night with song and dance, besides doing magic tricks for us after our meal was over. Our room steward took very good care of us also and learned that we liked ice at night. So each night there was a fresh container of ice for our water before bed. Always made sure we had fresh towels no matter how many different times we took showers.


All in all we loved being pampered! We so enjoyed learning and seeing new things! And we made new friends – all in all we had the time of our life!

JUST HAD TO SHARE THESE!

Well Felt and I have been exploring again. This time we decided to drive up the Black Smith Fork Canyon, named for the Black Smith Fork River. We went up the Hardware ranch where they feed the elk during the winter and saw lots of groups of campers along the way. When we got to that point the road changed to gravel/dirt but we went on. As we went along we talked about feeling a little disappointed in the colors, not nearly as wonderful as the ones we had seen the day before when we explored the Logan Canyon side roads. We continued to climb and drive and the road continued to be dotted with campers and kids on 4 wheelers. Then we saw a 4 wheeler with a dead deer on the hood and it clicked! Hunting season started today!

The road became progressively more suited for those 4 wheelers and less suited for our all wheel CRV. We passed a truck and the man showed us a map and suggested we turn around and take another dirt road. We wisely followed his suggestion and made our way back down the canyon, We will have to do that drive another time in our truck.

Here are some pictures we took after we transversed the top of the ridge and got on the other side. The views were breath taking and the colors wonderful. I will also include some we took the day before on the side roads off the Logan Canyon.

October 2011

Autumn in Utah

This has been a wonderful autumn in Utah. We missed being here last year because we were visiting in New Hampshire. This year we have had wonderful weather – warm days cool nights and the color is wonderful. Now true it is not NH color. The reds of the maples is not nearly as intense – the red here is more a red pink color – but the yellow of the aspen trees is so intense and a wonderful sight layered against the dark green of the evergreen spruce trees.



We have taken a couple of drives. The first one we drove south toward Park City and then into Hieber Valley heading toward Sundance resort. From there we went up over the Alpine loop and down in the American Fork Canyon. The colors were wonderful and the sheer mountains with some small glaciers were impressive.




Last week we headed up into Idaho and drove the loop around through Montpelier and on to Bear Lake. From there we headed up into St. Charles canyon and drove until the road was blocked with a gate. Going up we saw wonderful colors and found several campgrounds to try out next summer.






Yesterday we took off and drove up to Idaho to visit with our son Scott, his wife Jenni and as many of the children who were around. Scott and Jenni married in January and combined their families. Jenni has 5 children and Scott has 3, both of them have custody of their kids. So together they now are raising 8 ! It does take your breath away sometimes.


In order - Zane, Tyler, Avery, Zack, Blake

Yesterday, we arrived and took Jenni and Scott to lunch and had a good visit. Then Scott ran some errands with us. We went back to the house to wait and before long the house began to fill with cries of “Nana” – “Papa”. Wonderful words indeed! Arriving first were: Avery (Scott’s girl who is almost 11);Tyler and Zack (Jenni’s twins 7 years old). They were followed by Zane (Scott’s son 13 years old) and Blake (Jenni’s son who is 15 years old). The oldest girl, Alyson (Jenni’s) is a freshman at Bosie State and not at home; Kade (Scott’s oldest is 16) and he was busy with play rehearsal; and Maddy (Jenni’s 13 year old) was playing in a soccer game.

The activity in the house increased ten fold! We had fun listening and visiting and marveling at much they had all grown since we saw them last. After Jenni arrived home from work – Scott had the day off- we took everyone out for dinner! One really good thing, is when you buy food for boys, they really eat their dinner! Felt and I split up – we had to eat at two tables – and I sat with the boys – interesting experience! Wish I had understood boys better when Scott was a boy – but I love my grandsons! Grand daughters too!

YELLOWSTONE TRIP

Each year we try to take some kind of short trip around our anniversary. This year we spent 3 days in Yellowstone and the area. We love Yellowstone. For years I was fearful for the bears and wild things. But after going once, the serene beauty won my heart. I rarely think about wild things unless we see a herd of bison.


US BY THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER

This year we chose to stay in West Yellowstone and we were so glad we did. It takes less than 4 hours to drive from our door to West Yellowstone. We had reservations at a cute little place called Moose Creek Cabins and Inn. It was clean, comfortable, and close to town. We walked to dinner and to see the sights in town each day. The first night we had reservations at the Playmill, a local, well known summer theater. We did not have a choice about plays and saw “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” It was fun and very well done. We had seats on the front row and were involved in the production a few times.

We went into the park three times. Thank goodness for the Golden Age Passport – we drove right in with out paying another fee.

We went to the Norris Geyser basin for the first time. Beautiful basin filled with numerous hot pools and geysers. Gorgeous colors. I was so tickled that I could walk the distance on the trails – not stopping to huff and puff as much as I would have before. I did use my walking stick and that was handy; it let folks know I might not be as steady on my feet, and they gave me a little more room.


NORRIS GEYSER BASIN

We went to the Yellowstone Canyon and waterfalls! Breathtaking would be the word to use. I do remember seeing the waterfalls before but this time we walked in to have a better view then drove to the distant view – our cameras were busy.
We drove along the edge of Yellowstone Lake marveling again at the size and scope of the area. Stopped at a couple of park central points where there is lodging, food etc. Never found it crowded at all, i.e. we always found ready parking and easy access to the concessions. However, we shared the park with busloads of Asian travelers. We rarely heard English spoken, mostly some sort of Asian language and lots of French and German.


YELLOWSTONE FALLS AND CANYON

At the Old Faithful area we chose not to go the Old Faithful route and instead walked out onto the basin trails to see some of the other geyser displays. We sat waiting for one geyser to erupt for about 30+ minutes. Some folks had been waiting for about 2 hours. When the next opportunity came and went, we walked on. That is one thing that is nice about old faithful, more dependable!



One thing that we did experience that we had not seen before, were herds of bison. And I do mean herds! Driving along we past an extra road sign warning of Bison on the road ahead. Then after a curve or two, there they were; hundreds of bison. It felt like I was in the middle of “Dances with Wolves”. They were spread out on the grasslands and my, were they noisy! Huffing and grunting and pawing the ground, rolling in the dirt and stirring up dust, snorting, butting heads, running together along ridges. We found out later that this is mating season and the males were doing their best to attract as many females as possible. Yes, of course we stopped with everyone else to take pictures!



The day we were to head for home, we had one area we had not stopped at that we enjoy. I really like the Firehole Canyon area. The Firehole River runs through a canyon that you can drive along and has spectacular waterfalls along the way. We took our time and stopped – it was still fairly early in the morning so not as bright for pictures but wonderful all the same.


FIREHOLE CANYON RIVER

Then we thought – lets go home through the Teton National Park and Jackson Wyoming. Great idea – long trip! But we stopped at Jenny Lake for some pictures of the Tetons next to the lake; a picnic next to Lewis Lake; and of course in Jackson or Jackson Hole. That town has grown so much in the last 20 years it is almost unrecognizable. The square with the antler arches seems dwarfed by all the development. We chose to drive through town, find a cold drink and drive on.


THE TETONS AND JENNY LAKE

One funny story, we went with a task in mind, find a good place for the missionary group to haul our RV’s up and stay for several days. We did find a couple of places that would do very nicely. But we so enjoyed our cabin inn, thought we would just suggest doing that. And of course now that we have gone – we are not nearly as eager to return right now.

If you have not been to Yellowstone you need to put it on your “bucket list”. If you have experienced Yellowstone, plan to go again! Well worth the time and effort!

I wonder where we will go next year at this time? Lets see, last year was Lake Tahoe, this year Yellowstone, maybe Canada? Sounds good to me!

51 years Together - a Little Family History

51 years ago I married my best friend – he wasn’t my best friend then – but then maybe he was. I was probably too young to know for sure. About 4 weeks after I had my 19th birthday I married a very handsome young southern gentleman and began I life I never could have imagined as a girl.

Feltus and I met while on vacation with our families in Yosemite National Park in 1958. I was 17 and he was 20. It was a chance meeting that turned into a casual date at a dance that night; an outing with his family while they were still in southern California; and a year later, after weekly/daily letters back and forth between California and Louisiana, a several week visit with his family and an engagement.

We married the following summer on a hot August 14, 1960, in a Sunday afternoon wedding . Our minister, one of my best friend’s father, married us. Neither of us had employment, but we had young love and, as all young love feels, knew we could over come any obstacle. Feltus was to begin and finish his last final year of college in a 5 year program to graduate with a degree in Architecture. I had studied accounting and secretarial skills at a local community college and held down a job for about 6 months. I found employment at LSU and we traveled back and forth together each day, I for work and Felt for school.



We honeymooned where we met two years before, Yosemite National Park and then went on to Lake Tahoe for a few days. It was the first taste of adulthood for both of us. We met another couple who was also honeymooning and shared a lovely dinner out. We often think and wonder if they are still a couple. So many of our friends are not.


This was taken on our honeymoon at Yosemite! Boy do we look young!

Now 51 years later, with four children, 18 grand children, 21 if you count the “married grands”, and 2 ½ great grand children, we look back and marvel at how much we were able to endure and accomplish together. There were wonderful days of joy and family fun. And there were heartbreaking days of worry and concern. And there were many days of hope and fear as we shared and experienced health trials together.

We have enjoyed a life that took us far beyond our dreams in every way. If we had to pick out two things that changed our life forever, they would be: joining the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1966 and Feltus being hired by the FBI in 1970. Both the church and the FBI opened doors to us and we tried to always follow the promptings we received to move ahead.

We began married life in a one room “mother-in-law” home behind a dentist’s home in Baton Rouge. We moved from there to Houston Texas were we lived from 1962 until 1970. The FBI sent us to Portland Oregon for 11 months and then on to the Los Angels area in 1971,where we bought a home in Thousand Oaks – an hour commute each day for Feltus. We left Thousand Oaks in 1978 to live in Virginia about 35 miles south of Washington DC, where we built a home and lived there for 18 years until 1996.

I was a "stay-at-home" mom until about 1979. Felt used to say, "he made the living, and I made the living worth while". Not sure it was true but it sounded good. During the time in Virginia, I went to work for the local school as a “10 month” secretary, I worked when the kids were in school plus a little more and it was perfect for us. Prior to working at the school I was a part time teller at a local bank and really enjoyed the customer contact and the money! In 1987 a friend and I formed a small company to provide role players for the FBI to use in training. We called our company "Day by Day Associates", since we hired only part time temporary help. That idea grew and blossomed into even more, as we provided training people (role players) for the CIA, US Postal Service, and local police academy. My partner moved before we did and I closed the business in 1999. It was wonderful while it lasted but there were new things for us to experience and discover.

When Feltus retired from the FBI he continued to work for them as an outside contractor assisting in several projects around the area and the world. We purchased a lot in New Hampshire in 1994 where we built our retirement home in 1996! It was wonderful home, nestled in the trees on a ridge with windows all around so we could see the trees, weather and wildlife. While in NH we became better skiers (XC); hikers, and learned to kayak. We loved the rural life and all the outdoor activities. We sold that home in 2008 and moved to Cache Valley Utah to be closer to two of our children and not have the worry and upkeep of a big house and land any longer.

A great blessing in our lives involved being called to serve as temple ordinance workers at the newly built Boston Temple. The temple was located about 3 and one half hours from our home. When we served we drove down one day; worked, spent the night, worked the following day and drove back home again. It was a huge sacrifice and a wonderful opportunity to grow and learn.

One of our great adventures was choosing to serve a mission for our church as a senior couple. Seniors have a little more choice with missions, and we had developed a great love for the history of the church. We requested to serve at Martin’s Cove Wyoming.; a small place in the absolute middle of nowhere. It’s historical significance ties into the handcart companies who traveled across the plains in 1856 on their way from Europe to the Salt Lake Valley. We lived in our RV for 6 months at a time over two summers (2006 & 2007) and served with 50 other couples in similar circumstances. Those friendships will last for eternities.

So now we are in Utah. We see some of our family a couple of times a month. More if there is something special going on. And being centralized makes it easier for us to see the other children also. It is wonderful to be part of their lives after so many years of “long distance” extended family.

There is so much more to say – so many other things we have done and learned, but that is for another time.



This picture was taken last year for our 50th Anniversary

Today is our 51st wedding anniversary. I believe that 51 years ago, neither of our families thought this would last. I guess it just proves how very stubborn we both are.

We still love each other – amazing since we know every little fault that either of us has. Maybe we love each other because of those things. But I think it is because we both know that love is forever!

70 Years Old !! ??

Now I don’t know about you, but I have no idea how I got to the age I am. One moment, I was a girl, then a young mother, a busy woman working and serving raising a house full for teenagers, a retiree enjoying time to relax and play and now suddenly I am 70! Time certainly flies by on wings and you definitely cannot call it back.

So what have I learned from this experience? To enjoy each stage of life to the fullest. I probably did not follow that advice when I was younger, always looking for the next phase to arrive, but now I just want to enjoy where I/we are and savor it rather like a wonderful creamy chocolate candy!

One thing I know for sure is that I am so grateful to have a family to love who seem to love me also, in spite of many shortcomings on my part.

Now on to the next adventure. Not knowing if it will last for 2 or 5 or 10 or 20 years, I do know that I plan to enjoy each moment and experience as much as I possibly can. I am so grateful to have a good man and best friend to share it with; to have a firm testimony of the reality of my savior Jesus Christ. For it is true, with God nothing is impossible. After all look at me!

JULY = FAMILY TIME

July = Family time

I love July. Maybe because it is my birthday month? Maybe because it is warm and sunny? Or could it be the flowers and gardens in full bloom? Because of the watermelon and corn on the cob? Or maybe because it is usually a time we spend together as a family. No matter the reason, it is still my favorite time of year.

This July began with sunshine and family. Justin and Lindsey came to spend the 4th of July weekend with us. It was wonderful just sharing time with them. They are easy to be with and we had a good time. Then Sunday evening, Scott, Jenni and Kade and Zane came to stay for the 4th. Wow we hit the jackpot!


LINDSEY AND JUSTIN CALDER

Early on the 4th we went to our chapel for a patriotic program that was just long enough to remind us why we celebrate this holiday. Followed by a breakfast cooked and served by the youth.

After the breakfast, we went together as a family to the noon music presented by Logan – today was the Opera company. Great program and enjoyed by all, or least they acted that way! We had a cook out and had a wonderful meal of burgers, potato salad, beans, watermellon and finished up with triple chocolate cake!


SCOTT, JENNI, KADE AND ZANE STIRLING

Now they are all gone and we are tired! But happy!

More family coming soon – can’t wait!

HOME AGAIN

Home again

We had a wonderful trip to Texas and Louisiana. We visited with our daughter, Mary Lou, and her family. My goodness they are growing up – so much so that we really only saw Maggie for a few minutes. We got to visit with Betsy several times and we spent time with Tony Jr. or “TJ” as he is now called by his Nana and Papa. “little” Tony just won’t fly anymore.

While we were in Louisiana we visited with friends and cousins of Felt’s and we got to see for ourselves the mighty Mississippi. It was indeed flooded in some areas and moving so fast that you could get a feel for the power of the water.


San Antonio River Walk

Our journey home was fun also. We stopped for a visit in San Antonio. Went to the Riverwalk and took a stroll along the river and watched the riverboats float by. That night we stayed in San Angelo – and then traveled on to Santa Fe. We drove down to old town that night and made plans to return the following morning. But after we got up early and drove to the Plaza we found it blocked off and preparations well along for some sort of run event. There was no way we were going to be able to take a walk so we chose to head out for Colorado. We were so glad we did. We saw some of the prettiest country we had seen in years. We stopped at Chama an old original railroad crossroad. They had steam engines and was not commercialized like Durango is. We did drive up to Durango and then headed toward Mesa Verde. We had been there with our family in 1976. I do not remember it being so nice. The sites are improved – well really I guess the area around the sites has been improved and in some ways more accessible. If you have a chance to go visit again or for the first time – do it!



We left for home the next day. It was either that or wait for the holiday traffic to subside – it was a good choice. We did not run into much traffic – and arrived home – yes it is cooler and it rained. But we slept in our own bed last night and have had a relaxing day today.

Our next round of excitement is coming in a few weeks when our grandson, Hunter Hill comes to spend a week with us while he goes to basketball camp at Utah State University.

Summer will also bring the arrival of another great grand child, and a visit by our daughter, Ali! And a chance to see more grands! Always wonderful!

We are going to Texas soon!

We are going to go to Texas soon!

Yes, that is right, we are going to go to Texas in about 10 days. Give or take a day or two. Why are we going to Texas? To visit with and see our daughter, Mary Lou, and her family. And to get warm and stay that way longer than just a few minutes. I write this while sitting in our home with a hand warmer fresh from the microwave across my lap. Yes, I am looking forward to warmth and in fact to being HOT!

We are driving down. We are taking our Prius – 52 MPG. Even with the price of gasoline and hotels, it is less expensive. If we fly, we have to rent a car when we arrive and we love the freedom of driving. For situations just like this: how long as it been since we went to Santa Fe? Well then let’s detour and go! Or this: I am tired, let’s stop and look around a little bit. Or this: I wonder what is down that road? Let’s go see! We used to do that a lot when we lived in Virginia and were never disappointed.

We will get to see three of our grand’s while we are in Houston. Maggie, who is 20 and will be home from Texas A&M, Betsy who is 18 and will be graduating from high school this year and Tony Jr. who is 13 and smart as a whip, musically talented, and who runs track. And then of course there is our first born who we love to spend time with and “catch up” on the things you just don’t get around to on the telephone.

We also have friends who live in the area and cousins we have not seen in over a year. Family visits will be high on the list. We also plan to go to Louisiana to visit with family and good friends. At our age, we cannot pass up the chance to visit – who knows if they or we will be around next year.

One of the things we plan to do on the way home is divert our trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have always enjoyed that part of the world. And we have not been to Mesa Verde since – we think it was 1976 – so plan to stop there and if we are in that area, we will definitely go ride a steam train. Either at Durango or Chama, both will do.

So stay tuned and check back in again later this month. I will post as we go along.

Exciting things to do

Tomorrow night we are going to see "Fiddler on the Roof" at the local opera house theater! We are going with some friends and of course that means we need to eat out before we go. Why does every social outing include dinner or food? Tonight we are going out to dinner with different friends, to thank them for helping us out when we went to Yuma. Again, social eating. No wonder we all fight those extra 5-10 pounds, okay, sometimes maybe more than that.

Last week before we went to Bear Lake to snow shoe, we made reservations to go on a cruise in November. We are excited about this new adventure. We are first time cruisers and looking forward to the experience. Where are we going, you ask? - Well even if you didn't ask, we are going to the Western Caribbean. We are going with a group to enjoy some of the ruins in Grand Cayman, Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, and Cosumel Mexico. We think that some friends are also planning to go on the same cruise and that will add to the enjoyment. We will be on the Carnival Cruise Ship Valor. You can look on line and get some idea about the ship etc.

This is Easter Sunday week. And we are excited to be invited down to our daughter's, Julie, and be able to share an Easter dinner with her and her growing family. It will be wonderful to see and spend time with our expectant grand daughters and hopefully get to hold our new great grandson, Noah.

WHAT A JOY!

Written on Monday, March 21, 2011
Today we went to meet the newest member of our family. Our first great grandchild was born on Sunday, March 20, 2011. His parents are Rachel Calder and Jeffrey Naylor, they were married in August 2008. Rachel is the daughter of our daughter, Julie. They named our great grandson, Noah James Naylor. In short – he is absolutely wonderful!



I recall vividly how surprised I was at the great swelling of love that I felt for our grand children as they came into the world. Not surprised that I loved them, but how much I loved them. With your children you love so very much but you have expectations, and so much responsibility. However, with “grands” you just love with unconditional acceptance, - a much more “Christ-like love”.

When we went to meet Noah today, I knew he would be wonderful, but what I did not expect, was the great swell of love for this little baby boy, and the almost spiritual connection with him. Families and our relationships with each other are eternal. Noah brought that testimony with him. Love is wonderful and God is love!

READY FOR SPRING

Why is March such a difficult month to endure??? Luckily, we have 5 grandchildren with birthdays in March and that makes those days happy – but overall – March is a disappointment. Your brain wants it to be warm or at least warmer and although it is not “as cold” , being warmer does not equate to putting our jackets and coats away.

This year we are going to have a new experience in March. Our first great grandchild will be born. Our granddaughter, Rachel Calder Naylor, is having her first baby – a boy! We are excited for Rachel and Jeff and for our daughter, Julie – she will be a grandma!

Slowly, we are adjusting to our new place in the family order. Our seats have changed! We used to be on stage when we were involved in raising our family. Then we moved to the orchestra seats when we became grandparents. But now our seats are located in the balcony. We can see pretty well and observe the action that we are included in, but mostly we watch and applaud!

One thing I have done – we have pulled out our spring décor. A spring wreath on the door, a vase of yellow tulips in the living room, and a basket of spring flowers on the dining room table all add a flavor of spring to our home.

Wishing for an early spring for you and for us! Come on April!!!

A Month in Arizona - Winter Bliss

Our time in Arizona is almost over. We have had a wonderful time and most especially enjoyed being warm. It has not been as warm over all as I had hoped and I remember that last year I felt the same way. Maybe we come down too early??? Anyway, it has been windy and cool on some days, so much so that we wore our sweatshirts and windbreakers. But no heavy coats or boots so that is a big plus.

I have taken most of my pictures with my phone so I will need to remember how to get them on my computer so I can post them here. Another thing I have used my phone for is to track our walks. It actually tells us how far we have traveled and how long it took us. I am sure it will also tell me how many calories we burned but I have not mastered that yet.


An Arizona Sunset

Many of the folks here (in our RV Resort) actually stay for 5 months. And some live here year round. The “Five monther’s” mostly come from Canada and the far northern states. Not sure I am going to want to do that. I like being home. Always have been a “home body”. I enjoy travel and seeing new things and places but going home has a real allure to it.


This is a picture of some of our group when we went to a Mine Ghost town. We are not in the picture.


We have eaten more than we planned but really only overdid it a couple of days. We went to Mexico several times but did not particularly enjoy the experience this time. We went to the senior activity for the area, swap meets. You can buy almost anything at a swap meet, from clothes, household items, hardware, books, RV supplies and tools, and fresh produce. It is an interesting experience. Lots of senior folks have pets with them and push them around in strollers – strange – or have them on a leash. Glad we are past the pet stage of life. Felt played golf and we hope to both play before we head for home. Yesterday we spent time on the "putting practice" area and I was doing quite well.

So now we prepare to head back to “normal”. Glad we were able to have a respite from the cold, inversion and snow. Looking forward to planning a cruise for this year, a trip south to visit family and Branson again, and a camping trip with missionary friends in the summer and fall. And at the top of the list, becoming acquainted with our great grand children! A new experience awaits us! Don’t you just love life!

5 More Grands to Love - For a Total of 21

Yesterday was a big day for our son, Scott. He married a lovely lady named Jenni and together they now have 8 children! That alone seems overwhelming but I think they can handle it.


It was so good to see how happy Scott looked, Jenni too! and the kids seemed to blend very well. We had never seen all 8 of them together.

Our newest grand children are named in birth order: Allison, Blake, Madison (Maddie) Tyler and Zach. Tyler and Zach are twins. They join Scott's three: Kade, Zane and Avery.


So now lets see if I can get them all listed: (sure hope I can get their ages right) Kate 25; Justin 24; Rachel 22; Maggie 19; Tyler 19; Betsy 17; Allison 17; Kade 16; Hunter 15; Blake 14; Tony Jr. 13; Sarah 12; Zane 12; Maddie 12; Bryson 12; Avery 10; Tyler 6; Zack 6. Then you have to add the married into the family grand kids too - Nate, Jeff and Lindsey. I think that makes 21! Isn't it grand what love produces!???