Catch Up

Well, tons of things have happened lately and thought I might do a "catch-up" blog.

Had a great Sunday Brunch with my longtime, old school pals, great to
catch up and love who they have turned out to be. We are all glad for our happiness and friendship. Went with Jayne, Charlene and Martha. Just the right size group. Nice to reminisce and laugh and talk. Good to have friends.

We first had a scare the Tuesday/Wednesday just before we left on our cruise and then being luckier than a million 4 leafed clovers when we got back and did the angiogram. Just $10,000 in medical bills (so appreciative for good insurance). And glad Brent had his heart scanned and even though they didn't give us much of a diagnosis, at least we know how blocked his heart arteries are. I guess that is something and we still do believe in better living with chemicals, not so sure about doctors. Now, he trying to get back into a more healthier state, just his recovery after exercise takes a few hours to get back to normal. Each morning he goes out and weeds or does something in the yard for an hour. Nature is good for his heart and soul.

We loved sharing our beautiful spring flowers with our folks for Memorial Day and loved the time in the truck just being with my Love. Glad my Mom and Brent's Mom loved flowers and gave the appreciation to us to cultivate and enjoy the beautiful blessings of color and floral bouquets of smell that they bring to us.

When we came back and stopped to see Aunt Ruby, we did get the "last ever she'll make", plate of some exquisite Turtles that Aunt Ruby makes. Such a treat and she always has some for Brent when we come. She knows just how much he loves them and her, and she loves him. But then, who couldn't? As he says, "I am basically lovable!" And of course he IS.

Alaskan Cruise







We went a wonderful, beautiful, relaxing cruise to Alaska at the very end of May. We flew into Seattle and caught the ship that morning. We cruised up to Glacier Bay, Juneau , Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria, BC.

The sun almost never sets this time of year and so when Brent gets up at their time it is up and when we go to bed really late, it is still up. Makes for a great day.

We even saw a big white mountain goat in the middle of nowhere, just proud and majestic standing like a picture post card on the way to Glacier Bay and 2 Bald Eagle sitting on ice chunks.

In Juneau we took the city bus up to the Mendenhall Glacier and then hiked to Gold Nugget Falls. Doesn't the glacier shadow on this iceberg that was in the bay at the Mendenhall Glacier look like a cruise ship?

On the way back to the ship we did a little shopping in the Red Dog Saloon shop. The original saloon is pretty old and dank, and dark, and smokey, and crowded, so we didn't stay to have vitals.

I was amazed just how large, no, GINORMOUS, the water fall was. It was about a mile and half hike on a good path up there and then you could see rainbows in the mist. Perfect day for a walk with the birds, butterflies and tourists. I only saw it from a distance the last time we went there and there was less water and more bank, then. Loved to walk back in the forest and alder trees.
On sailing days we saw tons of whales, all kinds and Orcas just off the deck with their spouts like water steaming up like a volcano. Saw the BIG back of a Humped back whale and he was pretty close to the ship. After the shows we saw many pods of them and their spouts off in the distance, almost looks like steam, then quickly disappears. Quite a site. Many schools of Dall porpoises and dolphins jumping, playing, and bow-riding, a sea otter and some seals, NO Puffins, oh well, another trip, another exploration.Sitka is a true gem in the world and probably my favorite stop almost anywhere I have been. Flowers all over, ones so temperate that we cannot grow them here. A volcano hovering in the background, verdant forest, with wilderness just minutes away, a Russian and fishing history. I think I would like to live there, if it were not so remote. The kids never would come to see us.

Ketchikan was spectacular and fun and Brent thought Dolly's house was pretty interesting, this old lady had a brothel until 1965, it is famous and infamous right on beautiful Creek Street and they are very proud of her. Loved all the Totems. Later, Brent of course, got lost so I met him on the ship.

Great scenery and fell in love with Alaska, all over again. We didn't do any of the cruise excursions and just wandered around. It was a terrific time. Holland America always treats you really well and of course the food was the best. We met and made new friends and loved all the green, the turquoise blue of the icebergs and the glory of waterfalls. Who couldn't love this week?

Just after we got home from the cruise we had the grand kids for a sleepover the Friday-Saturday. Justin, Tom and Ashley were on a 1,000,000 mile Rockwell bike riding relay from Blanding? to St George. Whew!

The g-kids sure did enjoy the Slip N Slide and little pool. Shane and Ash came over so Emmalee could play with her cousins. All in all a really great fun time. Love our backyard and having family over to play in the water. Grandpa loved the pic with the boys and their hats. He sure does love life and good times.

We dropped them off to Eagle Mountain at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning so they could go and see Tom and Sarah's newest little one be blessed.

We had a leisurely ride home going around Utah Lake, saw the biggest antelope ever, just standing in a field at the south end of the lake, so we stopped and just looked and watched. A Sheriff came by, stopped and asked if we were having problems, nope, just admiring the wildlife, so he watched, too. That ride we also even saw a big bad badger crossing the road, then he hissed at us and acted like he was going to eat our tires. Pretty cool. I guess big maroon trucks do NOT scare him!

Brent is enjoying golfing this summer and seems to be going almost every week somewhere for work to golf. Golden times.

We have been down to Sanpete for the Mormon Miracle, it is better than ever and always so good to see our Aunts and have a Turkey dinner in the old church on Main Street. The stars shine so much better than here in the city, pure amazement, that is what I have for the heavenly night skies!

The big 4th of July weekend started on the 2nd with the Riverton parade, then dessert at our home after, but it really turned out to be a BBQ. Always fun to be with family and watch the g-kids and kids loving the local parade, the princesses and never, no never, forget all the candy that they throw to the kids. After the BBQ & dessert, Brent started a leap frog with the g-kids, then all the BIG kids joined in and then races, so funny and tons of fun and laughter. Wish I had a video of this. Pretty funny. Not sure who is the biggest kid of all, but I am sure glad they all can enjoy the "little kid" in them.

Up early the next morning, the 3rd, to watch Ashley run her first 10K and she did the race proud. J & A went to the Stadium of Fire that night so we had their 4 little ones and took them to the Riverton fireworks that night. Amazing how much Maci LOVES kettle corn, but, dainty, just one kernel at a time. They all lasted until it was over and barely made it into our beds. Maci kept saying "BOOM, BOOM" and loved the lights. I put my hands over her ears while she was sitting on my "almost" lap and she just wore out and fell asleep. Nice moment for a Grandma and Grandpa to share one of our traditions with them. Roy, Tommy, Lelani, Shane, Ash and fam and Ash's Mom, sisters and family and friends shared this with us. We had LeAnne and Norman, Clint and Tricia, Jer and Amy, Chris and his wife (cousins & nephews and families). Always a memorable time and dazzling eye candy that we never get tired of seeing and hearing. Great exposure to the senses on a perfect July night.

On the 4th we headed up to CJ's and Lava Hot Springs. The lines were too long to go swimming (almost a 1/2 block long in line to get into the pool and the pool already looked full!). So we drove north to get my favorite Oreo shake at the Jack-in-the-Box in Pocatelly and a quest to find a place to go swimming. Didn't like the look of the lake, but stopped for an hour and won some money in a little, junky, smoky casino. Really a hole with a capital "H", but we came out with more money than we gave them, so not as good a swimming, but maybe a stinky okay. Maybe the lottery ticket that Brent bought will bring us some good fortune. Who knows?? It could happen. ;~)

We went to PBR in West Jordan with LeAnne and Norman on Monday the 5th, rip snortin' great time and had a killer view of the bulls and fireworks. Bulls 37, Cowboys 2. But still a good time had by all.

Had a dinner last night with my "Salem Gals" and sure was good company to be with friends of a very long time. Always look forward to talking the them. It is a blessing to have such great girl friends.

Brent is off golfing at Rose Park this morning and he deserves it. He has taken a new position, like in April, a brand new department to handle servicing of the SBA loans. They were being poorly serviced at a third party company and it was all messed up, really messed up, not the right docs. no docs, nothing, no order to speak of and no history on 3,000 loans. Well, Brent to the rescue, he can fix anything and he is. He has hired some really fine talent and together they are whipping this battle and putting it into shape. Really proud of him and his abilities and his brains! New challenges are great, but tiring. BTW, he is still doing all the commercial new construction loans and trying to train his replacement on residential construction loans. Doing two jobs at once and quite a project.

I have delved into genealogy and loving it, just like my Patriarchal Blessing told me to. I really am feeling like I am learning about my family and their lives, successes, hardships and glories. Quite a rewarding and tremendous feeling. I use the Church site and compare it to the Ancestory.com site for the actual records and am catching up all the lines I can on my side first, then will do Brent's. I think I must have waited until all the technology made it easier. Just the same, I was able to find our long lost Nielsen ancestor that no one could find, with the help of the Lord and the Salt Lake Family center member who could speak Danish we found him on my very first try. Just one more of those numerous and wonderful blessings that I have had in my life.

We love our back deck and the swing and patio table. We have many meals and pleasant swing sessions and talks out there and just enjoy the bountiful vistas and the beauty of nature. I still feed the birdies and it is so much fun to see them each day and the varieties that come and visit us. Bird scoopies, black sunflower hulls and the cost are all that may be a burden, but so worth it. Just had a young Grossbeak at the pie tin. Fun to watch them eat and share with all the other birds. We wake up each morning to the chirping and sweet songs and go to sleep by the crickets. Pure beauty as Brent would say.

An interesting spring and summer so far. Weather has been wet and cool, can even turn off the central AC some days and leave the windows open at night. Love fresh air. Didn't have to turn on the sprinklers until mid June. Who would have thunk?

So, after writing this, it just rained like a banshee for a long time-maybe 15 minutes and that is a long time for us in the summer. It hailed at Eagle Mountain. Now the sun is shinning and our deck is already dried off. You know, just wait a few minutes and we will see what else we will have.

Long winded again, oh well.... just catching up.

New Birds Sighted

Love Them Birdies!

WooHoo...just saw a beautiful new little blue headed, light cinnamon collared, white breasted bird this morning out on our deck. What a lovely surprise to wake up to! Glad to have the internet to see what little birdie it was. It is a Lazuli Bunting, one of the finch family. I almost thought it was a lost parakeet, it's blue was the color of the Caribbean blue bays... so fun.

We sighted our first Black Headed Grosbeak a few weeks ago and not a new bird to our feeders, surely is one of my favorites. My Dad used to tell me about Grosbeaks and Orioles, but never saw them until we started using the fruits and berries type of food.

Last week we saw another, brand new to our deck, colorful and striking pretty bird, it was a Altamira Oriole. They are part of the family of Cow Birds.. They are not supposed to be here in our area. Maybe the wet weather has brought a few more to share our deck with all the other birds we get.

We are really lucky to have the trill of the Red-Winged black birds all the year through. I didn't know that others areas, even as near as Wyoming, these are seasonal birds.

We also get those beautiful 'Chinese Chickens', as Brent calls them, but really they are the Black Beaked Magpie. I love their iridescent color and to watch how smart they are. Magpies are not popular because of their reputation for raiding the nests of other birds, though recent research suggests that they are not as guilty as was once thought. A member of the crow family, it has an attractive iridescent blue-green sheen on the back of its wings. The best part is the way they look when they fly, just beauty.

I always thought we only had some pretty common and neutral kind of birds. I had always seen the common sparrow, starlings, hawks, crows and seagulls. When we would go up in the mountains, sometimes we would see a 'Camp Robber", the blue jay and once in a while a bluebird or canary, little did I know just what a great array of colorful birds we have here as native and those that just pass through.

What a fun hobby, and hummingbirds aren't far away. I love getting buzzed by them.

Birdies are Truly One of God's Blessings

Finding Spring

That is the question....

Well, earlier Brent might have been a bit wrong, looks like even as far as today and the next weeks forecast it is cold and still going to rain and snow. We are just having one of those really long winters. It started early and looks like it might not end until May, like the year Tommy was born, 1974. We have had a ton of snow in the valley and are 175% of normal in our mountains. Spring is just going to be late.

My flowers are just trying to push up their heads out of the ground. The Pussy Willow is blooming and so has my apricot tree. I think we will not have any apricots this year; too many nights of off and on again freezing. But the robins are here, so are the little finches, always asking for more seeds. I think we have only had 7 sunny and warm days this year. But the wind has made it good for kite flying, if you can stand to be out in it.

Brent has had the golfing urge, rather, almost obsession, and so we went out in the cold wind and he hit balls from the top tier at Mulligans. But it was fun to see him so happy. He has already golfed several times, playing with the Canada Geese, before Riverbend had been opened for the season. He liked walking the course, good fun and exercise. Last Friday he had business to check out in Wendover and so it was a great day, he golfed and I watched from the cart. It was a good time. It is always great spending time with my best friend.

Good that we have Easter late this year. Maybe by the end of April it will be warmer. We can only hope. Besides, the Easter Bunny does not like to hide eggs in soggy snow.

Springy

Brent thinks spring has sprung! He has been out in the yard for the last 2 days. Boy, oh boy, does our yard look great! He even mowed the grass...????.... Yep that is my Tigger! I love his enthusiasm and the great joy he gets just a puttering around outside. He definitely is 'springy'! He is so good to me, he even made me a pastrami sandwich when he came in just now!