CALL ME MIMI

2012-02-04T08:05:00.001-07:00

2012-01-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

2012-01-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a "road for sale" like this one I saw near Snow Basin Ski Resort, Utah. Well, I thought it was hilarious and had to go back and take a pic of it. Whoever would try to sell a road? Oh, you would, uh?

2012-01-08T22:03:00.002-07:00

Ode to Isis

Some pets have owners. But it is a well known fact that cats have STAFF. Our feline, Isis, was named by her original master, Jesse, who thought that a name of an Ancient Egyptian goddess was fitting. An offspring of the “royal line of Nelson” (our neighbor’s cat) she was the most adorable little fur ball you’ve ever seen. Kittens are always cuter than after they grow so we were prepared for her to become sleek and less loveable as time went on. Well, it never happened. She had a long-haired breed in her somewhere and each winter she plumped up on fur so she always weathered the cold well.

Isis was typically feline in so many ways She would rub up against your leg and meow loudly when she needed attention. She could display a totally teenage attitude by ignoring you or acting aloof. She could hold up her nose in dislike of certain “cat” food and just meow all the louder. Yet she was so very un-cat-like in so many ways. The most obvious was her ability to be trained and to be predictable (dare I say it?) like a canine. She would come when you called her name (unless she was hiding from you in the basement). This astonished a lot of people as they had never seen an obedient cat.

Isis grew into a attentive mother who had 5 litters of little fur ball kittens just like herself. She warmed to the idea that all the neighborhood kids loved her and wanted to love her kittens as much as she did. She would often run to welcome the children on their way to and from school. And she knew the sound of our car because when we turned the corner toward home she was always half way across the lawn to greet us.

We could never leave a window open because Isis would climb up on the roof and come in our bedroom in the middle of the night. She would just sleep on the floor until morning when we would discover her there. The only exception to this was if she wanted to get outside again and meow loudly until we obeyed her wishes. She assumed that she could wake her “staff” at her whim. She definitely taught us to put the screens on or keep the windows shut.

We couldn’t ask for a better companion for our dog, the late Pups. They didn’t always agree on everything but they had fun over the years until her sad passing about 5 years ago. Today, I’m sorry to report, was another sad day at our house as we tearfully bid goodbye to Isis who was with us for about 15 years. . Isis, you were one in a million and completely unrepeatable and irreplaceable. We will miss your unconditional love, your pretty full coat, your lovely white bib and paws. We will even miss your very necessary, annual spring haircut which always left you unmated but looking wimpy and wounded. We will miss your pacing outside on the front window sill to remind us of feeding time. We will miss the amazing ways you found to get in and out of our house, yard and especially our hearts.

Best "Boil 'em Cabbage Down" ever! - Wynton Marsalis and Mark O'Connor"

2012-01-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

Chuck A Rama Kids - Croshaw Family

2012-01-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

A Step back in time: Candlelight Christmas 2011

2011-11-26T23:51:00.000-07:00

Christmas in the Village

December 25th 2001 We traveled in our warm and modern car and vans from Provo, Draper, and West Jordan where we experienced a rare treat devoid of commercial Christmas. What a pleasant evening we had and what a wonderful step back to the mid 1800s! Vanessa, Andrew, Grant, Faith, Clark, John, and Drew and Mindy, Jeff, Jack, Jane, and Alice joined Grandma Ottley and Doug and I in a Pioneer Christmas at This is the Place Heritage Park at the mouth of Immigration Canyon.

Earlier in the day we celebrated Thanksgiving by gathering with Joanna and Laren's family, Jesse and Danielle, and friends Dane and Bethany and Jack. We were so blessed to have Grandma Ottley with us as well! See the turkey in the middle of the table ready for us to dig in? It's the first time in my life that we have actually set the bird on the table whole and then carved it after the blessing on the food. It was a fun change.

After dinner we raked the leaves into bit piles and the kids jumped in them over the over. It went something like this: Rake, run, jump, rake, run, jump, etc., etc.

Even Grandma O got into the act by shooting baskets with Christian!

Father Christmas was listening so carefully to everyone's requests as well as suggesting ever more simple solutions to the growing gift list. He was a right jolly old elf and his beard had been trimmed in rare form.

Jane, Mimi, Grandma Ottley and John.

Grandma spoke to Santa about getting a new husband for Christmas....then made sure that he understood that she was "just kidding"

We listened to carolers in period costume!

We danced around the Christmas Tree to the "Pat-a-cake Polka." Mom couldn't be outdone by any of the other revelers.

We made pioneer Christmas crafts and drank hot chocolate after we road the train around the village. We also visited the live nativity scene which was appropriately happening in the stable with a donkey housed in a nearby stall. There were angels singing and a hundred dim stars lighting the sky with the star of Christmas hanging over the place where the new child was being cradled in the arms of his mother and father. Very touching. I went back twice! Loved it so much.

Photo Card

2011-11-16T16:56:00.001-07:00

Snowflake Dream Christmas

Turn your favorite photos into personalized Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

LATEST FAVORITE NETFLIX STREAMING:

2011-09-24T22:31:00.000-06:00

WHITE NIGHTS staring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines!

Targets to Shoot At by Sidney J. Ottley

2011-08-31T17:54:00.000-06:00

Today I ran across this set of "goals" once written by my Grandfather in 1939

1. Be myself, all that I would expect of others and be not too concerned about the opinions of others, except as they may apply to my case, and profit by them.

2. Play no favorites. Give the same attention to and consideration of those in lowly station as the, so called, higher ups and that do without consideration of his attitude toward me.

3. Give my family every opportunity that is within my power without depriving them of the privilege of striving for themselves. Try to leave each a legacy of a healthy body and mind, an independent spirit and love for the truth and virtue; to be a good father and husband in every way that the word implies.

4. Be more attentive, in detail, in business, church and personal matters, avoiding “flock shot” methods and following through on everything that I begin.

5. Take a more positive stand toward those who have taken my merchandise and labor and have failed to pay for it – who have betrayed confidence and friendship. Demand and attempt to enforce payment from those who I have accommodated, being charitable toward those whose circumstances have been beyo0nd their control and doing all in my power to assist them to work out from under these obligations so acquired.

6. Seek out the blessing behind each seeming misfortune and never allow grief from present and past misfortunes to stand in the way of future opportunities.

7. Cherish the love of God and the love of, my fellowmen above everything of an earthly nature, placing a premium on Real values of live, here and hereafter.

8. Stand for peace with honor in a vicious world and ever pray and work for and teach for the might that comes with right.

9. Maintain, if possible, adequate life insurance and other assets, that my wife and other dependants may not be burdened with debt when I shall leave them. It is my hope that when I am no longer with them that a spirit of cooperation will exist between them and that they will never neglect each other and the memory of their mother and dad, who have striven for them. By SJO 1939

About the Man

2011-08-29T09:25:00.000-06:00

There is definitely one less good man in the world today. Our father, Wayne, had many great attributes but the greatest was his dedication to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He seemed like a big man to me. Big in convictions, big in righteous purpose, and possessing a big heart full of love for all of God’s children. We were so blessed by his enthusiasm, by his missionary zeal, by his unconditional love for his ancestors as well as his descendants.

At 54 years old Dad and Mom served their first mission to the Wash. DC visitor’s center. They hated leaving our family when we were all just out of the nest and starting our families, but I remember talking to Dad…maybe even complaining a bit about how WE needed them both at home . . . and he wrapped his arms around me and said “Linda Lu, we are going on a mission knowing that tears will be shed but we are going to continue the legacy of missionary service in the Ottley family. I promise you that you can do it (and we did) and I promise that when your children are ready for missions that our service will have set the bar high for them (and it did). Yesterday I found where Dad wrote this: “None of us know how much time there is left to do the work that has been charged to the peoples of the restoration. All we know is that the time is short. I testify that there is no sacrifice in serving the Lord. If we had not made a covenant to serve we would not have been called. We do it with joy in our hearts that all will be blessed.”

They subsequently served as representatives of the church in the Tiberius area of Israel where Dad acted as Branch President to the little congregation of many nationalities that held services in their home overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Dad was proud that Mom brushed up on her piano and made mountains of food for after meeting dinner. Oh, how he loved to walk where Jesus walked!

Home briefly, but just long enough to get acquainted with the new grandbabies, they were called to South Carolina on a proselyting mission. I was lucky to fly back and follow them around for a whole week. I got tired and come home but the Lord blessed them with the energy to convert and baptize. They loved the southern hospitality and made friends for life. Dad was the gospel engineer and mom was the love machine and there were many lives changed including their own and ours.

Dad and Mom also served a mission on Temple Square and another on the Hosting Committee of the Church. They were always serving and always hosting whether at home or away. Over the years Dad had many callings that stretched him and many that used his musical and leadership abilities but none that he loved more than serving in the mission field.
And all through his life he wrote – learning to peck and hunt on a keyboard, he would spend many hours recording beautiful spiritual impressions or stories about his life. He kept lists of family members and knew all the stats on each of his 25 great-grandsons and 25 great-granddaughters. And all of this he did until the final week of his life.
One or Dad’s granddaughters took some beautiful picture of Dad’s hands . Her photo label says “These are the hands of service – service to God, to Country, to family, to friends. These hands scooped ice cream, tended to plants, pleated draperies, held babies, administered priesthood blessings, and built things.” Dad loved those pictures. He was always our greatest cheerleader.. I don’t think he ever attended the ballet or a Shakespearean play but he knew what he liked. He loved music …inspiring , patriotic, sentimental and barbershop.. You could say that Dad was a supporter of the arts---our arts…the visual, the performing, the literary... If his family did them – he supported them. Be it singing, dancing, fiddling, piano, sports, telling a joke or just looking cute. He would love that todays program, the video out in the foyer, the songs and music on the program were a result of his posterity using their talents. Dad loved it all….and loved us all…all of the time.

After Dad’s death I was haunted for a couple of days with the “what ifs”. In my anguish my husband Doug asked me to read a scripture of comfort in DC 42: 45-46. It says:
“Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection. And it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them….”
I gained solice in that scripture and in this verse that I had written for Dad about ten years ago:

Born to goodly family here, To humble parents you were dear,
Engendering love and happiness within the home you came to bless.

In kindness, charity you grew, you learned in faith just what to do.
Each truth you gleaned and stored inside, in truth your talents did not hide.

Teen years were full, carefree, fun, work to do and studies done.
Your sister, Lael, and brothers four became a part of Millcreek lore.

The mountains beaconed, trails did call, your bag, your boots you packed them all.
A lake to seek, a peak to climb, a fire to build, on jerky dine.

Soon you wrote that you had seen your future wife, though just fifteen,
Was she a vision? No, for sure she was the girl moved in next door.

The years went past and war began, and you worked fast to gain her hand.
Times were hard but gave you hope that with your love you two could cope.

Serving country across the sea, you flew with honor and dignity.
Because of blessing, and much prayer health and safety found you there.

And then one day as a soldier tall, you returned to wife, new son and all,
With country pride and family love, thanks was offered up above.

Upon the hill you built a home, removing rocks and sandy loam.
Soon it was your only dwelling, with that little “garage house” selling.

A mountain home was once a dream, but though unfinished it was seen.
And work and work and working more with a growing family to adore.

You reared each one to firmly see happiness in those who thrifty be.
To purposefully seek His face and keep Christ at the center place.

You owned a business, made it grow, your perseverance made it go,
And with each child came their turn, to work the shop, to learn and earn.

And when they left and were all raised, you spent your life in serving ways,
With many missions for our God, you filled each one on different sod.

Your legacy is standing tall, your good life lived gives light to all,
For generations, and then some, will bless your name for years to come.

So we will ever honor your name, and in our days take better aim,
To focus our path more keenly now because your life has shown us how.

We love you Dad.

2011-08-28T13:14:00.006-06:00

Wayne W. Ottley 1922-2011

Daily Doings of Jesse Rich at 20 months

2011-08-24T22:13:00.003-06:00

8:00 am: wakes and runs from person to person for hugs and kisses
8:03 am: takes everything out of all three drawers in his room
8:05 am: crawls all over us during family prayer and "circle of love"
8:10 am: shakes the music stands until everything falls off onto the floor
8:11 am: slides down the stairs and eats all the cheerios off the floor in the kitchen before we let the dog in to finish the clean up
8:20 am: rolls around in and tears to shreds the newspaper left out from the night before
8:21 am: run to every painted white wall in the house and indelibly leaves his imprints on each one
8:25 am: throws the half empty bowls, cereal and milk on the floor so the dog won't be disappointed shen she comes in
8:26 am: sees what's in the bottom of the trash sack before someone takes it to the barbage outside and it is lost from discovery forever
8:28 am: climbs the stairs and stands squeaking by the tub until someone comes and decides that a washrag will NOT be enough to erase the sgar coated face, the milk stained knees, the soggybottom or the oaty cherrios smashed in his hair - so he goes in the tub
8:40 am: decides he's cold after letting the water all out 30 seconds after he got in and sitting there for 15 minutes waiting for the water to come back up
8:41: stands and cries for someone to rescue him but won't get out when we do come
8:45: clean and happy now, he returns to his bedroom to tacle his drawers again, looking determined to do a better job on them this time.

MI-MI-MI-MI-MI-MI

2011-08-23T09:56:00.000-06:00

What makes a really memorable grandmother? My grandmothers, Lettie Sanders and Alice Ottley and my Mom, LuRee Ottley and Mother-in-Law Ruth Rich were super grandmothers! What qualities do these great women possess that makes us love them, even now with distance and death in the mixture?

What will our grandchildren remember about us? Will they remember the house being polished and all the laundry caught up? Will they remember that we had dinner "on time" or that when we were tired of cooking we had cold cereal with bananas on top? I think NOT. What I recall is a sweet person who:

~Stopped their "work" to wipe my tears and hear my complaints.
~Listened when I asked question and always answered even when it was the tenth time I asked.
~Taught me many life skills that have brought joy to me time and again. For example, Grandma Alice taught me to crochet and Grandma Lettie taught me to sew. My Mom taught me how to insert humor into awkward situations. She also taught me how to be aware of other's needs.
~Taught me to live with faith through the challenges of life.
~Made me feel like the most important person on the earth to them.
~Sang to me. Told me stories about when they were little girls. Let me make a huge mess while doing crafts, baking cookies, or building a clubhouse with chairs and blankets in the middle of the living room. And pitched in to help me clean it up.

Actually, the most important things about the amazing Moms and Grandmoms in our lives is that they love us unconditionally and gave us their attention when it was most needed. Which in my case was ALL THE TIME!

IDEAS FOR GRANDMOTHER NICKNAMES:
Banma
Gannie
GM
Gmum
Gram
Grammy
Grand (your first name)
Grandie
Grandma
Grandmama
Grandmamere
Grand-mère
Grandmom
Grandmum
Grandone
Granma
Grannie
Granny
Grannymama
Mamum
Mémére
Mummum
Nan
Nanny
Nannie
Nanny
Ninna
YaYa

Any other's from your life?

Write Something Today

2011-08-19T20:39:00.002-06:00

Since the fathers of the sons are the sons of men
And the men are the sons of others,
And the men who are brothers of other men's mothers
And uncles and children and then;

Those kids are the pals of the boys and the gals
Who will wed and be fathers and mothers
Of untold thousands of the creatures of earth
Who are somebody's cousins or brother;

Don't you think it is time to collect and record,
For your grandchild won't know this profusion
Of valuable data or manifold kin,
And will give up the quest in confusion.

Record now these names and file them away
For the sake of the worthy descendant
Who will rise up and bless you who taught to record
In this day of opportunity resplendent.

Now..write something TODAY! BY sjo 1958

Mayday, Mayday!

2011-08-13T15:15:00.000-06:00

Well, you couldn't call me a prolific blog writer. Actually, you could call me that but you'd have to be crazy. I'm still here, wandering around my computer off and on almost daily, but haven't gotten inspired to write about another of my near-death experiences. Frankly, I've been too busy living, I guess.

Since last I wrote I have truly been through several experiences which could be considered "near death" experiences.

THE DREADED DARK SPOT ON MY LUNG

In 2007 I was working with a doctor as a follow up to a scare with pulmonary embolisms. While he viewed my CT Scan he mentioned that there was a little "shadow" in my right upper lobe of my lung. To make a long story short, he suggested that I visit my pulmonologist. The pulmonologist sent me to a thoracic surgeon.

I had cancer in my lung. And me with never smoking in my whole life! Okay, it was a shock to say the least. To make a very long (about 9 months of ill health) I'll just say that I had lung surgery where they removed the top lobe from my right lung. Promise me that you'll never do that! It was the worst experience of my life. I would gladly have 37 children than do that. I was on oxygen for about 6 months and spent a lot of time in bed recovering....falling down the stairs....passing out in the hallway then doing more time in bed recovering from all that.

My family thinks I'm a klutz but it is a newly acquired attribute because I remember myself as a dancer with lots of grace. I will say that I've learned to compensate for my clumbsiness...or at least I thought I was compensating. When I was finally well enough to travel my sweet husband, Doug, planned a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean to celebrate my new found health. (I never did have to do any chemo or radiation and was declared healthy by my oncologist) While on this "victory" vacation I broke my leg! This new issue kept me on crutches, in a wheelchair or on a knee scooter for another three months. 2010 was not my best year, but the outcomes were good and I feel very blessed. I will write later about just how blessed I was during this heavy burden in my life.

Two cute little grandsons

2010-09-24T09:07:00.001-06:00

It's Life or Death

2010-03-25T20:33:00.006-06:00

We all think that we will be old when we leave this life. I don't particularly want to think that way any more because, you see, I am now "old".

Well, this got me thinking the other day when I had a moment to sit in the warm sun after a cold winter and contemplate life and death. Christ lived on earth and died for us so that we could rise sometime after our own death. That's really the message of Easter--that He wakened and left the tomb on the third day. He displayed the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. He called out to those he loved and told them not to be afraid. And because of that sure message our paths in this life should be clear.

I know, I know! You're thinking that it isn't really THAT simple and what does she know about it anyway. Well, the only things I could come up with were the times in my life when I could have clearly slipped from this existence but didn't for unknown reasons. My life doesn't read like some "Final Destination" movie script, but it has had plenty of gut wrenching, nail biting, sweaty palms moments. Because I have never written them down elsewhere, I thought I would write them here, just for the record.

THE MOVIE INCIDENT 1955
My very first close call was when I was about 9 years old. I was at the movies with my cousins and brothers in Murray, Utah where my dad had an interior decorating store. I had a few grunt jobs there on Saturdays, but when I could, I'd skip out for a couple of hours and enjoy a show. I remember that particular Saturday they were playing "The Incredible Shrinking Man". We were all sitting in a group and the theater was nearly full. There was a man sitting by us who kept talking to us all through the show. It was a scary show so we were kind of glad an adult was close by.

But then a very strange thing happened. I went out to the bathroom by myself and on my way back into the auditorium the man came up to me and said that my "friends" had gone out the front door and told him to let me know. Of course, I was raised in a very trusting environment so I didn't really think anything of it. When he said "we better go out and find them" I began to wonder why he would be going out there. I started out the door in front of him, but my suspicions got the best of me and I ran back in the door on the other side and past the ticket taker who was yelling at me but then stopped the man in his tracks when he tried to get in without a ticket.

I was terrified of that strange man and worried that I had been silly to trust someone who may have thought he had the perfect plan to get me to walk right out the front doors and into a kidnapping or assault or worse. I ran straight to my friends who, of course, were in their seats where I left them. I gathered everyone up and we all moved to new seats far away from where the stranger who expect us to be. I was shaking and nervous and couldn't stop thinking about what may have been my fate if things had turned out differently. I have never told anyone about that stranger and know that I was blessed and naive that day in many ways.

FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO 1967
I was working as a flight attendant for the old Frontier Airlines based in Salt Lake City. One of my favorite schedules was flying from Salt Lake City with with an overnight in Phoenix. It was what they called a "milk run" because the airlines were regulated to carry the mail into very small airports that had few passengers but always had a mailbag to drop off and pick up. I flew on a Convair Jet Propelled 580 that carried 52 passengers, one flight attendant and co-pilot and captain. Our route was Salt Lake City, Vernal, Moab, Grand Junction, Farmington, Gallup, Albuquerque, Silver City, Tucson, and Phoenix. One day when we got close to Farmington, New Mexico the captain called me to the cockpit and told me that I should prepare the cabin and the passengers for an emergency landing. My training drills kicked in and I did just as he said then went to the back of the aircraft to my jumpseat to wait.

Apparently, one of our engines (the aircraft had two) needed to be shutdown due to a fire warning. They didn't have the fuel to just keep flying to Albuquerque where the airport and emergency response was larger. They had to land and to make it all even worse, the Farmington airfield was situated on a plateau so you didn't have enough runway to do a "go-a-round" if something went wrong. Add to that a dense fog and choppy air and it was a recipe for fright in my mind. It seems like it took forever to get that aircraft on the ground, but they finally did it and just as I was ready to open the back door for evacuation, they announced over the PA that we would be deplaning as usual down the stairs at the front door to the plane.

I don't know how my shaking knees propelled me through the cabin for the deplaning and farewell to very shaken passengers, but I felt blessed to be alive and bidding farewell to everyone because we were grounded overnight while parts and a mechanic were flown in from Denver for repairs. I flew into Farmington, New Mexico many times after that and each time I felt shaken and weak at the thought of that day.

Well, that's the first installment of my brushes with death. I hope you'll come back, if interested, as I post some more in the weeks ahead.

Celebrating Bonnie, a great mother and grandmother

2009-03-07T18:06:00.003-07:00

Today in my neighborhood we attended a birthday party for a sweet friend, Bonnie Young. It was fun to see all the evidences of her many talents and contributions throughout her life. Bonnie toured with the USO during the Vietnam war sharing her love for song and dance to entertain our troops. She has become a favorite in my life since moving into our ward about 15 years ago. A couple of years ago Bonnie was struck with ALS (Lou Gehring's disease) which has taken away her ability to sing, dance, and talk. Even in her present condition, Bonnie remains a bright spot in my life. Bonnie, you are so loved!

Don't move a muscle!

2009-03-05T20:07:00.005-07:00

I've decided to stop getting any older. No I'm not going to die, nothing THAT drastic. I'm just going to go the other way . . .no, not to HELL . . . the other way in age! I'm going to start today to get closer to my grand kids, not moving in with them, but closer to them in age. Why? Because they have more fun than I do.

I think I spent all my growing up years thinking that I'd have more fun when I grew up. Things like having my own room, staying up late, and eating all the candy I wanted occupied much of my young years as I longingly looked forward to future years. I could hardly wait until no one would tell me what to do, how to act, or when to start or stop certain behaviors. Now I realize that it may just have been the best time of my whole life.

Kids are too young to understand how much fun they are having. Like today when my grand daughter Jane lead me to her room to show me around. She was so excited for me to see what was in there and had obviously forgotten that I unpacked the moving boxes and lovingly "decorated" her shelves, made her bed, and hung up her pretty dresses just a few short weeks ago. I say "lead" me because I was walking behind her and giggling at her bare bottom peeking out from under her shirt (she's potty training) all the way to her very own fairyland she calls her room.

We played and played with all her soft glittery, sequined, boa-feathered princess items. Then she apparently got hungry and ran off to get something to serve for tea. Afraid of losing her audience (me) she immediately ran right back and commanded "stay right there, don't move, remember, stay right there, don't move." Afraid of committing some crime against the kingdom, I did as I was told.

Frankly, there wasn't much threat of me going anywhere because I was deep in thought regarding the reversed aging idea that I had been pondering while playing queens of the castle. I can't say that I've come up with a positive course of action to accomplish that. It seems that the more I think about it, the more complicated the whole theory is. So, until I come up with something (two heads are better than one so I'm soliciting your help here) I think I'll just keep working on the next best part of my life - being her grandmother. She calls me Mimi!

Bibbidy....Bobbidy ... Boo!

2009-03-03T23:33:00.008-07:00

Today Grant asked to hold "lil buddy" aka Drewbug aka Drew Michael Croshaw. I sat him in a big chair in Vanessa and Andrew's bedroom and laid Drew in his arms. With in a couple of seconds Grant knew something new about his brother that was completely cool in his book. "Look, Mimi, Drew is doing what it took me 9 years to master....come here and look." He was right. There sat the two of them looking cross-eyed at each other with Grant giggling hilariously. The kid has a killer giggle!

How do I wov thee, let me count the ways . . .

2009-02-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

#1 Abbie, you make me so optimistic about the world. You are always looking for a way to serve in your family. If every 9 year old cared about their family as much as you do, many of our familial problems would become extinct over a period of just a few short years. You are always thinking about others.

2009-02-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

#2 Grant, you always run to give me the biggest and hardest hug no matter how long it's been since I last saw you. Two minutes ago I left the room, but surprise! I'm back and you're at my side again. I wov (translation: love) that. Out of the blue you'll start a conversation with something like this: "Mimi, do you know that in deep space traveling at mach 13, you can......."

2009-02-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

#3 Christian, I'm still laughing at your antics in the movie we did last summer. Just thinking about your energy and your unique contributions to our fun makes me so happy. You always find the humor in every activity. Every family should have a "Christian"!

2009-02-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

#4 Faith, I love it when you have a story to tell. You go into great detail and make sure I know not only what is happening in the story, but how everyone felt and what everyone said. Evening the tiniest of details are important. I love the enthusiasm in your voice when you do that!

2009-02-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

#5 Jack, your never-ending creative juices remind us all that there is still a "child" in each person. Watching you make a space station or a super hero costume from some paper, three rubber bands, and five paper clips is an exercise in imagination. Your industry and dedication to inimitable ingenuity inspires us all.

2009-02-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

#6 Clark, oh how I love to see those fast little legs carrying you towards me with a favorite book in hand with the look of anticipation on your cute face! Do you still remember that "a human head weighs eight pounds?" I love it when you say that to me.

2009-02-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

#7 B. J., you are fun to eavesdrop on when you don't know people are listening because you are so entertaining! You act out whole scenes and carry on both sides of the conversation complete with sound effects. The good guys (that's you) always win in the end!

2009-02-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

#8 John, it's fun to have you around because you always get so into anything that is going on. You totally invest yourself in the game or story or activity at hand. It makes me laugh when you repeat something one of us has said about 30 seconds earlier with so much excitement in your voice as if you had just thought of it!

2009-02-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

#9 Jane, you give us all a lot to smile about as you act as your brother Jack's personal assistant. You like to be part of all the action all the time. But you distinguish yourself as a very feminine little girl while wearing your fuzzy princess crown and unflappable fairly wings. There can never be to much pick and purple in your life!

2009-02-27T20:04:00.004-07:00

#10 Momma Mia, our little Amelia is walking, talking and teasing at age 2 going on 6. We always know when you are around because you constantly sing songs over and over. You are a little cupid in our family's world and always bring so much love to everyone.

2009-02-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

#11 Drew, at 2.5 weeks old you have brought God's love straight from heaven. You come to a family with a lot of affection for you already and have a ton of love to give. Each time I kiss your sweet head I feel so peaceful and happy.

#12 and #13 to come later.

Go ask MOM (or DAD as the case may be)

2009-02-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

We've had Vanessa and her husband Andrew plus five kids living here for about 7 weeks while they found a house. They are in the process of moving now with their brand new 6 day old baby boy. While they have been living here I've decided that grand parenting is a lot more fun than parenting. I've been both and believe me when I say that I "know" the difference.

When children live in your house for more than 24 hours you have to impose the same rules that parents do because your stewardship is to rear children to be competent and successful adults. If you don't have a routine, healthy food, and "rules" then they turn into something else. I agree with all of that and have tried to support the parents in every way. But there are some drawbacks. Most conversations go something like this: "Mimi, can I have a banana?" "I don't know, Clark, you'll have to ask your Mom." "Mimi, Mom said I can have a banana if it's okay with you." So a simple request turns into a hunt and seek for each think the child wants.

Or sometimes like this: "Mimi, can I have some candy?" "I don't know, Clark, you'll have to ask your Dad." "Dad, Mimi said it's okay for me to have candy." "Oh, did she?" "Yes, and some chocolate milk too!" "Oh, we'll think about it." "Mimi, Dad says we can think about having some candy." "Well, Clark, if he says you can have some candy after you think about it, what do you think?" "Mimi, I think YES!"

Actually, it's a lot more fun being a Grandparent than being a Parent. :0)

2009-02-15T23:42:00.004-07:00

Drew Michael Croshaw was a miracle from heaven among many miracles this past week. He is perfect, eating heartily, and gaining weight. At birth he was 7 lbs. 11 oz. (the same as his mother, Vanessa, at her birth) and 21 inches long. His name, Drew, is from his daddy, AnDREW. His middle name comes from a sweet family friend and employer of Andrew, Michael Leavitt who shares the same birthday with little Drew.

Drew with mother, Vanessa, looking beautiful and rested even three days after giving birth. Some women should have lots of children. Vanessa handles it so well. They only bump in the road is that Drew had too high of a count when they checked his jaundice so he had to stay in the hospital an extra day. But the nurses loved having this little guy because of his easy disposition. The picture at the left is of him being treated at home yesterday in a bilibed that gives him the lighting to solve his problem. He is a beautiful angle and I especially like the goggles. He looks like he's ready for the cockpit. Some Mimi's have lots of grandkids but few have this kind of grandchild with such an "electric" personality and "glowing" with undeniable charm. What do you think?

2009-01-30T10:52:00.007-07:00

Doug Rich, Joanna Hawkins, Linda Rich, Mindy Hillman, and Vanessa Croshaw

The people in my office threw me a super great retirement party where Doug and our four girls and 6 grand kids came and joined some of my BYU friends for pizza, some fiddling, and visiting. It was the best day! I was so happy to have all three of my daughters there, since they moved here at Christmas time so we are now all in the same state! I'm going to enjoy my retirement even more since they are closeby. A lot of magic happening all the time in this Mimi's life!

IT'S MIMI MAGIC

2009-01-23T22:17:00.005-07:00

Okay, my blog has a "new face" and a new purpose. I have been thinking about my role as a grandma (call me Mimi) and remembering how much I loved my own grandmothers when I was growing up. Another component of that is how superb my own mother is at grandparenting. I was just daydreaming about how I would love to have even half the skills as Mimi to my beautiful crowd of ten (soon to be 13) grandkids.

Before I just go on and on about my grandchildren and then on and on some more about the nurturing grannies in my life, I'd like to invite my readers to share some of their notions, remembrances, and tried and true grandparenting.

To kick it off I'd like to introduce you to my Grandma Lettie Sanders. She loved having me as a grand daughter. . . or at least she made me feel like I was her favorite. One of the ways she did this is very simple but meant so much to me. I don't remember her telling me that I was beautiful, though I felt beautiful around her. I don't remember her telling me that I was smart, or talented, or clever, but then again, I did feel as though I was all those things when I was with her. I specifically remember that instead of praising in generalities like "you were fantastic" she knew me well enough to say things like "Linda, when you were practicing that I knew it would pay off" or "I bet you are really happy with how you did that."

Complimenting the effort instead of praising me created a realization that I was good at working hard to achieve something. I remember thinking that my Grandma Sanders really understood me in a deep and meaningful way.

My mother, LuRee Ottley, had a similar way of helping my own children as they studied violin and other instruments while growing up. While I worked with them from day to day and often overlooked the plodding progress, she would be amazed at what they had learned between her visits. She helped remind me from time to time that their efforts really showed and to see them I needed to step back once in a while and pat everyone, including myself on the back.

Grandmothers have an unconditional love that is not clouded by exuberant expectations of parents who are closer to the situation on a daily basis. I was reminded of this when my oldest grand daughter, Abbie, was about 4 years old. We were reading Cinderella when all of a sudden she turned to me and said "Mimi, are you my Fairy Godmother?"

Well, almost, since everyone knows Mimi Magic really can exist for each of God's precious children.

SCARE FACTOR!

2008-12-10T09:11:00.001-07:00

Check out these photos taken on rides at DisneyWorld. Andrew was doing the same thing in both of the Dinosaur pics. I thought he was just kidding to make a good picture, but he assured me that he was terrified. Do you believe him?

2008-12-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

2008-12-09T09:01:00.002-07:00

It's the best Season of the Year. We are counting our blessings and are still counting as we prepare for our whole family to move "home" to Utah. It's been about 13 years since we all lived in the same state so this is a momentous milestone. I'm filled with joy and tears to think of it.

2008-12-03T14:01:00.003-07:00

For a great graphic go here http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=071217-frozen-tongue-02.jpg&cap=How+a+tongue+can+become+frozen+to+a+flagpole+(beyond+the+sheer+stupidity+of+someone+trying).

Basically:

“It’s because of the high thermal conductivity of the pole,” explains Frank J. DiSalvo, director of the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future and co-director of the Cornell Fuel Cell Institute. “The metal is a much better conductor than your tongue (up to 400 times more powerful). The metal takes heat faster than your body can replenish it.”

The atoms in solid metals are packed tightly and transfer thermal energy more readily. They also have free electrons that boost conductivity. Free electrons are free to move from atom to atom. The electrons absorb heat energy and move through the flagpole, stirring up other atoms.

As your tongue touches the flagpole, the moisture on your tongue is robbed of heat. The temperature of the moisture drops. Water freezes inside tiny pores and surface irregularities on your tongue and the pole. You’re stuck.

So now your thinking, “Maybe if I just pull hard it will come off.” Yes, it will — a piece of your tongue, that is.

What would happen . . .

2008-12-03T13:32:00.001-07:00

What would happen if you stuck a knife in an electric socket? Answer will appear tomorrow.

2008-11-17T20:36:00.003-07:00

I'm a bit late in posting this but my mind is STILL in Disney World every day. It's a place that keeps you reaching back to all the memories made there. It was and always is the best way (besides cruising) to vacation and the very best way to spend time with family and get to know grandkids that live far away.
We had a complete blast and ran from morning til night onto every ride or adventure we could. We must have walked 50 miles and shared more laughter than we can count. It was an absolutely great time!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

2008-11-17T12:56:00.003-07:00

I don't know why, but sometimes the holidays are stressful. That in the midst of everything we love about Christmas, about Christ, and about His birth. I was reading in a magazine about things to say that UN-STRESS holiday gatherings. I have added a few of my own to theirs. Enjoy:

“It makes me happy to see you so happy” --- When Aunt Eva tells you about her newest boyfriend after a chain of 4 husbands and divorces. This give you a chance to express your joy at their happiness. You aren’t saying anything about the relationship, only about her feelings.

“Let’s straighten up a bit before we get out the …..” --- Works well when you can no longer see the carpeting for the clutter and someone wants to start something new.

“Thank you for your opinion (viewpoint). I’ll think about that” --- Works well when family or friends offer an opinion and you may not agree but don’t think the timing is right for a debate.

“Is this a good time for you?” --- Works well when someone is distracted like watching a holiday football game but you need all their attention.

“Would you like my thoughts?” --- Works well when people are worrying about something or in trouble or frustrated with a situation. Gives them a chance to say if they want to hear your take on it or they just need to vent.

“I need your help. Could you….?” --- Works well when family is all around and everyone except the master host feels like they are on vacation from tasks to get the dinner on. This gives you a chance to tell them that you need their help and how they can help.

“Let’s get the facts or another viewpoint on this” --- This works when a problem is perplexing or maybe you feel like their needs to be consensus on the true facts before delving into the problem or solution.

“Let’s wait on this until we get more information” --- Stops gossiping most of the time.
“I don’t understand. Can you explain it again or in a different way?” --- Gives the person speaking a way to express themselves differently and may take on a different tone the second time around.

“I don’t like that idea. How about we…….” If you need to say NO it helps to have an alternative.

“I’m sorry you’re upset” --- Validates a person’s feelings even though the reasons for those feelings may NOT be valid. It gives you some time to let them cool down and give you better facts.

“Let me get back to you” --- Don’t feel like you have to answer everyone’s inquiries on the spot. If it’s an inappropriate question, just tell them that you may not be prepared to disclose and will have to get back to them.

“I love your (pumpkin pie) so much that I already had too many servings, but thanks so much for making that” --- Works well when grandma is pestering you to have ANOTHER serving of anything. She wants to show her love by you enjoying her culinary creations. Reaffirm to everyone within earshot how much you loved it but now you are full up to your eyeballs.

2008-11-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

2008-11-03T14:39:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-10-31T17:12:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-09-29T09:18:00.001-06:00

I'm using a new program in Microsoft Word 2007 to see if blogging from a Word document works on Blogger. What do ya think?

LuWayne Heights Home Remodel

2008-09-17T10:23:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-09-16T15:36:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Free Hugs Campaign. (music by Sick Puppies.net album out)

2008-08-20T17:50:00.001-06:00

I cried a lot when I saw this video. How sweet hugs can be and how much they mean to all of us.

Amazing Thai Elephants & their Play

2008-08-19T14:17:00.002-06:00

Good Lesson for us all

2008-08-19T09:24:00.004-06:00

Symptomatic behavior of PRIDE :

Critical of others’ efforts

Stingy with compliments

Unhealthy devotion to worldly music, dress, styles

Dominates Sunday school/church classes

Asks questions or makes comments to get attention

Bucks authority of others—parents/employers/teachers

Poor loser/winner

Bossy, likes to control othersSelf esteem tied to things or appearances

Interrupts others for trivial corrections, must be right

Becomes irritated when given counsel

Poor listener—dominates conversations

Leaves clothes in dressing rooms/shopping carts in parking lot

Litters, doesn’t respect others’ property

Has to be in control of TV remote

Has a hard time saving money, wants instant gratification

Doesn’t help with housework, group projects

Unforgiving, holds grudges

Gets back at others with silent treatment

Late to meetings/classes

Classifies others into social groups, then criticizes them

Won’t respect during pledge of allegiance, national anthem

Looks for the easy way out of everything

Boasts of personal accomplishments

Consistently tries to “one-up” others

Doesn’t respect other gender—open door, wait for

Must be the first in line

Road rage, won’t let someone in lane, honking

Boos” at athletic events, yells at referees

The Corn Dog Song

2008-08-15T21:53:00.001-06:00

Primary Jams

2008-08-15T21:52:00.001-06:00

This is an awesome song....so fun. If you love kids, Primary, folk music....you'll love this.

A Story from a Brave and Faithful Man - Jack Rushton

2008-08-11T11:18:00.004-06:00

With hope in my heart, I have been praying for Jennifer and Jon's sweet Jacob and Joanna's friend who just lost her husband to a senseless disease. I've also been wondering why bad things happen to good people. This article by Jack Rushton really hit me and if you haven't read it, I think you'll be uplifted by his perfect attitude of gratitude for all he has instead of all he lost.

Does God feel our pain?

At age 50 I was body surfing with my 16-year-old son and his friend at Laguna Beach, California. I took one "last wave" and accidentally hit by forehead on a submerged rock, my neck was broken, and my spinal cords severed between the second and third cervical vertebrae. I was instantly paralyzed, lost consciousness, and woke up two hours later in the Laguna hospital surrounded by doctors and nurses. One of the nurses noticed my eyes were opened and said to me, "Jack, if you can understand what I am saying, blink your eyes once." I blinked and there was a collective sigh of relief in the room. That began for me a new way of life that has continued on for the past 19 years.

Because of my faith in a personal God and his goodness I never was angry at Him, nor did I go around saying, with an attitude of self-pity, "Why me?" However, it did take time for me to realize that God and Christ felt my pain and suffering as much, if not more, than I did.

Although not angry about by accident and resulting paralysis, I was devastated and heartbroken for some time. It just seemed that I had lost so much and I could not conceive of living for any extended period of time completely paralyzed from the neck down and on life support.

I slid into a deep, dark, depression and there were those days I would have welcomed an early exit from mortality. I continued to pray however, and finally after a long period of preparation I was given a wonderful experience that made me know forever that God does feel our pain and is anxious to help us.

I came to the end of the rope. I hit the wall. I came to realize that no doctor or any man on this earth could do for me what I needed the most. I knew because of the nature of the injury I would never "get anything back." What I needed and longed for was hope, peace, and the sense of well-being I had lost because of my accident. Finally I turned to God with all my heart and soul in prayer as I never had prayed before. I eventually came to understand how much I was loved by the Savior and a loving, kind, merciful, Heavenly Father. I didn't see a vision but I was given a new heart and was filled with peace, joy, hope, and a sense of wellbeing I never thought I would ever feel again.

Those feelings have never gone away but have only intensified during the past 19 years; I came to understand then, and know now, that God and Christ do know what we feel and share our pain. I am convinced through my personal experience that they will take our pain and suffering upon themselves through their infinite grace and love if we will but trust them and come unto them with all our hearts.

Believing in the Scriptures I have a feeling for how sensitive deity is to our suffering and pain in mortality. When his good friend Lazarus died and Jesus came to his aid and to comfort his sisters Mary, and Martha, the scripture says: "Jesus wept." [John 11: 35] There are almost countless accounts in the Gospels of Jesus healing the sick, restoring the dead to their loved ones, and manifesting incredible compassion to all about him.

As a resurrected being we read this moving account about Him from the Scriptures: "Have ye any that are asick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or bleprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will cheal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy...And it came to pass that he commanded that their alittle children should be brought. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him... [then] he awept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and bblessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept again..." [3 Nephi 17:7-22]

In a vision given to the Prophet Enoch the following tender scene has been preserved for us as God looked upon the wickedness of his people and the resulting pain and agony they were experiencing and would yet experience:

"And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the... people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst aweep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?" [Moses 7:28-29]

Yes, God does feel our pain! He is a God of love and compassion. I wish everyone who ever had a serious problem or challenge in their lives could have my experience. I know they can, but it takes faith, trust, and turning to God with all our hearts.

Jack Rushton

WHAT HAPPENED?

2008-08-10T19:54:00.001-06:00

For some reason, I opened my blog today and half of it has disappeared. I apologize for now being under construction for the next few days.

Read "Pioneers All" post before this one

2008-07-31T20:01:00.005-06:00

Ok, so this is a continuation of my former post earlier today. So after all our morning fun and naps on Wednesday we headed to the backyard to see some sun and see if the pressurized irrigation water that comes out of the outside taps is truly clean enough to get us thoroughly wet. Well, what do you think, given my history with the hose in our yard? We set up the sprinkler first just thinking that we'd run through it a couple of times to cool off so we didn't get our actual bathing suits on. What was I thinking?

Well, I'll tell you one thing, as much as we all enjoyed the water, the dog (Jackie) enjoyed it even more. She would go to the sprinkler head and just bit at it. We were all laughing so hard. And while that was going on, little Mia ran through the middle of it about 8 times in her play dress. She was completely soaked but having so much fun. The other kids went and got on their suits and everyone was about ready to call it a day (in the water that is) until Mia wanted to swing on the swing set. She kept running over there, but the rocks and the swing was burning hot so then she would run back really fast,.......I just lost the end of this post which went on for about a page more.....don't have time to rewrite it now. Keep tuned in!!!

Pioneers All

2008-07-31T15:53:00.003-06:00

Tuesday I stayed overnight at Hawkins so I could be there in the morning when they left for their Pioneer Trek at 5:30 a.m. I slept great on the couch but nothing could prepare me for all the kisses, owees, mischief, funny sayings, giggles and tears that I was to experience on a little "pioneer trek" of my own. So, what can be difficult about spending 24 hours a day with four of the smartest, most adorable, and well behaved kids in Utah Valley?
Maybe my first clue should have been that it's been 20 some years since I had tots of my own and that means that I'm 20 years behind on energy and tricks for the trade. Joanna woke me as they went out the door before dawn. She was tearful and afraid that she was going to fold without her kiddos. At the time, I didn't doubt that I could entertain, nourish, and keep alive those beautiful "pioneer" children that she was entrusting me with. That was a GOOD thing at that crucial juncture in time. I profusely reassured her that "I had 4 little ones" once and they all grew to adulthood and turned into pillars of their community.
With Jo and Laren out the door, I thought it would be a good idea to get a start on the day by getting dressed and cleaning up the house before the kids awakened. I did barely get dressed and precious little 3 year old BJ appeared in the livingroom wondering where the "real" leaders of the house were. It was fun to have a few minutes with him to talk about some of the struggles in his life, namely potty training and crying. I felt like my teachings fell on very attentive ears and that I was going to be able to overcome these two difficulties that his parents have been working on for-ev-er. I felt kind of smug in the knowledge that I was, afterall, a sort of expert on raising amazing kids.
Everything was going great. Abbie, Mia, and Christian awoke and we held a "family council" meeting to outline our course of action, rewards, and fun for the four days the other pioneers (Jo and Laren) would be gone. We talked about the day's shooting schedule (we were making a movie for their Mom and Dad and posterity to enjoy later) and plans for water sports, animal rescue, and creative sculpting.
Breakfast was amazing (we had Lucky Charms and I can tell you that there were plenty, if not in the pantry then down in the storage - 14 boxes to be exact, wow, coupon shopping!) The kids already knew that I was a fantastic cook with breakfast vitamins so cleverly disguised as little charms suitable for a cheerio necklace - if they only had some holes in them for stringing. I was sure that each little tummy was stuffed full before they left the table...then came back saying "what's for snack" by 9:30 a.m.
We "shot" the intro to our movie "So, Who's in Charge Now!" which showed them being real sad about saying goodbye to their pioneer parents and very jubilant at our plans for the day. They each created a character with some props I'd brought and some dress ups from their rooms. With the four of them, it was kind of a cross between glam queen and Mario Andretti meet Eskimo Power ranger and soda pop Sally. I'd post a picture of this hilarity EXCEPT we didn't take pictures....this was an action movie, not a photo shoot. But maybe I can figure out a way to get it off my 8mm camcorder and onto a disc....yikes! Anybody have ideas on that?
Time flew by quickly as we rehearsed our lines and played with some new rocket toys and a jump skipper. I don't really expect you to know what I'm talking about during most of this so don't overtax your brain trying to understand. I'm writing this on DAY 2 which is good news and bad news - good because that means we all survived DAY 1 and bad news because although my body survived, my brain is another thing entirely. I may sound a bit delirious so bear with me.
Oh, oh! BJ and Mia now are awake and as you parents know, nap times is the only time you can possibly sneak a few seconds to do anything except just play and play and play. I'll go ahead and post this now and you can just anticipate our next adventures.

Just for kicks!

2008-07-18T15:24:00.001-06:00

What do you remember about me?
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, or if you just met me, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.
Really, don't consider yourself "tagged". I don't like to "tag" people. But, this was on my friend's blog and it was a lot of fun posting my memory of her, so I thought I'd see what people can dig up on me. Play along only if you want to.

GONE FISHING

2008-07-16T18:12:00.002-06:00

Let Them Be Little Hillmans

2008-07-14T11:03:00.003-06:00

Let Them Be Little Hawkins

2008-07-14T10:23:00.003-06:00

Let Them Be Little Croshaws

2008-07-14T09:43:00.005-06:00

Fourth of July Follow-up

2008-07-11T10:57:00.015-06:00

Here's my Dad, Wayne W. Ottley in the parade in
Davis County on Independence Day. I'm so proud
of him and think he is still amazingly handsome

after 85 years. When he was released from WWII
the doctor said that he had a bit of a bad heart
(no surprise to Dad) but said "oh, but, you'll live to
be a ripe old age of 65!!! Dad, just keep proving
him wrong.

Hey Jude

2008-07-05T21:10:00.001-06:00

Humpty Dumpty

2008-07-04T23:05:00.003-06:00

It's 11:05 pm and relatively quiet, yet the smell of pyrotechnics hangs heavily in the air. Less than an hour and Independence Day 2008 will be history. Joanna just commented that it seems like "forever" since we were at the balloon launch down by Provo High and indeed all agree this was a long long fun fun day to celebrate America's freedoms and how we as American's benefit from Founding Fathers who had vision and great courage. I am amazed at all they did for us and how their God-directed actions created a nation so unique that people from all parts of the globe want to come here to comprise its citizenry.

Right now I can't imagine the strength it must have taken to gain our independence. I have a hard time just spending a long day celebrating it! Joanna, in her usual wisdom, brought up another fine point when she said (on the way over to the Westridge field to watch the fireworks above the stadium) that Independence Day was one of her favorite holidays. I had to agree. It ranks right up their with Christmas, and everyone knows how nuts I am about Christmas! After pondering why it is a favorite I decided that there are similarities in the two holidays. For instance, they both engender great emotion, devotion and admiration. Our love for our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the reason to celebrate Christmas and the love for our free land is the reason to celebrate Independence Day. And both holidays create feelings of joy that can be celebrated every single day the whole year through; unlike Halloween, which is mighty fun but lacks an overriding emotional theme of ultruism. Just thoughts of memories past Christmases and July 4th holidays can create tears. The only time Halloween could bring me to tears is recalling a scarey memory I would classify more as "fears" and not "tears".

It's been a good one. Joanna and kids were interviewed by Big Buddah from FoxUtah TV at the balloon lift-off and appeared on the local news. The hot air balloons included various shapes like a pig, a strawberry, a flag, Smokey the Bear. They were colorful and amazing as they were propelled skyward. It was thrilling to say the pledge of alligence and then hear some great patriotic tunes. People really get into this holiday! I've never seen so many people dressed to the hilt in the good old red/white/and blue.

Laren and Doug got in some tennis while we stayed home to fill water balloons and later went to the courts to lob them at them from the sidelines. What's a holiday without a water fight?

An interesting thing was happening in down town Provo around 7 pm. Remember the days when we'd go to the booth market down by the courthouse? Well, it was there this year and we didn't want to miss out so, yes, we went to experience the whole darn thing. Well, it has transformed into a huge International (mostly Hispanic) event with most of the vendors, entertainers, and food having a rather "south of the border" overtone. We know that Provo is a big area for Hispanics making a new home in America but we were kind of shocked at how prevalent that theme was. Interesting, no?

It's been a record breaking day...record breaking heat, fun, exhaustion but it was a blessing to have our Hawkins family with us and they kept us completely entertained. From Abbie's grown up conversation, Christian's never-ending antics, BJ's unwavering energy, and Mia's baby babble, we have enjoyed every minute. I hope everyone I love had a similarly enjoyable day. (you can see the Hawkins interview link on Joanna's blogspot)

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYBODY!

2008-07-03T16:00:00.003-06:00

I'm just going to burst my buttons with pride at being an American and enjoying the beauty of our plains and mountains. I hope you all have fun fun fun and enjoy being with those you love on America's Birthday!

VOTE FOR MY FRIEND KELSY AS THE NEXT BEST FOOD STAR

2008-06-30T15:00:00.007-06:00

Vote for Kelsey Nixon at
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_nf/
Kelsey Nixon is my friend from BYU and she is adorable and deserving. She has always dreamed of becoming a Food Network star and even has her own BYU TV show "Kelsy's Kitchen" as well as her website if you are interested. http://www.kelseyskitchen.com/

FREE MOVIE

2008-06-30T10:28:00.003-06:00

For Monday only at Redbox enter the promo code W1H6J4 then break out the popcorn and soda. (must be entered at the distributing machine...can not be used online)

HOT HOT HOT

2008-06-30T09:02:00.005-06:00

This week is America's Freedom Festival in Provo. It's gotten so big that the events actually start mid June and go for 2-3 weeks. We have taken part in almost every aspect of this festival in years past. We go to look at the hot air balloons. I worked on the committee to elect a Miss Provo. We have gone to the Stadium of Fiyeeeeeeeer! We have hit the market place down town. We have ridden on the little carnival rides and even been in the parade a bunch of times. It is so hot here this year (see link to Utah Hot at http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=88 ) that we are NOT going to the parade. We will attend our Ward's Patriotic Program and BBQ on the evening of July 3rd, haul out the kiddie pools and have a BBQ of our own on the 4th. Saturday we will drive to Kaysville to be with the Ottley family at the reunion in the park. Plans for the rest of the summer? Well, they include but aren't limited to these:

1. Hiking in the Uintahs ( it will be cool there)
2. Seeing the sights around Salt Lake and Utah in general (save gas)
3. Keeping our tile clean (elbow grease)
4. Lots of time in the backyard with a few inevitable water fights (Vanessa, eat your heart out)
5. Going to the basement to cool off (25 degrees cooler at times)
6. Playing with grandkids and kids (never enough of that)
7. Camping with the Hawkins and Jesselle at Payson lakes.
7. Planning our next Vacation!!! (DisneyWorld in October with Croshaws)

Remember and be amazed!

2008-06-29T13:48:00.002-06:00

I wish I had a "before" picture to display so you are totally have to trust me on this one - our kitchen floor has never been soooooooo clean. Doug and I got tired of all the build up on our grout and we went to work on it with a hot steamer, elbow grease, and a pile of clean rags. After that we tried scrub brushes and toilet bowl cleaner! 12 hours later we ended up with sore arms, a pile of very dirty rags, a deafening scent of bleach and....voila.....an imaculately clean floor complete with tiles and grout in their original colors. It was cleaner than our bed so we slept on the tiles last night! Anybody believe that part?

AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .

2008-06-27T08:59:00.003-06:00

I am happy to announce our winners to the post titled "Is Anyone Out There?." Both Mindy Hillman and Heidi Livingstone Edwards will be awarded a case of soda for replying to my message. Congratulations to these two beautiful women in my life! Thanks for reading my blog.

Is anyone out there?

2008-06-24T13:14:00.005-06:00

There are no comments on my blog. I'm thinking that maybe I'm spilling my guts out in cyberspace but no one really reads it. What do you think? Maybe I need to have a contest on my site or something. What would make a good prize? A nice bottle of expensive shampoo? A new toothbrush (not used)? A scrubbing bubbles automatic shower contraption? A box of cereal? A case of soda? A fragrant candle? What do you R E A L L Y think?

Newlyweds, Grandkids and "Crop" Circles!

2008-06-22T13:38:00.007-06:00

Interesting week. When we got home from DC our lawn looked okay but within a few days it started to turn yellow and brown. It was like some alien from outer space had visited our neighborhood and walked around the lawn spreading fire ants or some other kind of fire to take the life of our sweet and very green new summer grasses. We watered it again, then watered it daily, and finally just soaked the pathetic patches to no avail. Day after day, weeping, we would look at it with staunch faith, then hope, then neither that it would gather strength and rebound from whatever curse had befallen it. Day after miserable day, weeping yet more, it took on the look of some finely tuned patterns. Go figure! Maybe the mystery will be solved sometime this week. Meanwhile we are remembering to wear our sunglasses whenever we are outside. For some reason it looks much better when viewed with green tinted lenses. BTW, I thought I'd take a photo as a graphic for this part of my post but when we looked through our camera to snap the shot you couldn't really see the damage only some little very green men with bulging tummies jumping up and down, up and down, up and down in yellow parachute-like jumpsuits with grass stains on the knees.

It's been fun to have Jesse and Danielle around the past couple of weeks. We visited their little honeymoon cottage at Wymount Terrace where they had us over to dinner. They are making improvements on their furniture situation as the opportunity comes along. We are glad that their clothes get dirty every week so they have to come over to wash then. It's a great chance to get them in on a game of Bocce in the back yard. Bocce was Dad's father's day gift from the Hawkins. We will probably do more of that on the 4th of July as a family.

We saw Christian's t-ball game on Friday after work (after our work, not his work) we're happy to report that the kid is EXCELLENT at bat as well as guarding base. Hey, slugger, how about coming standing guard over our lawn. Maybe he could do a little ghost-busting or martian-busting. What ever! His baseball cap with a letter A for his team name "Athletics" is much much much greener than our lawn. Ok Ok enough about the lawn....but it is really very painful.

After Christian's game we visited the Hawkins and were even happy to get the Hawkins women (Jo, Abbie, and Mia) to come overnight to play with us while the men (Laren, Christian, and BJ) went to the Father's and Son's outing at Payson lakes. Saturday we made "coupon" shopping trips to Toys R Us, Walgreen's and Riteaid. (girls just wanna have fun!)
It's been a good week and we are continually blessed with the love of our Heavenly Father and each other. Life is good.....NOT GREEN....but GOOD!

Shades of Summers Past

2008-06-18T22:31:00.005-06:00

Look at this group of kids. Boy have they grown up since this picture....and we've taken away a few neighbor kids and added four more of our own. Wow!
Who is this li'l pumpkin?
Last year Dad took me to this slot canyon in Southern Utah. It was like being on the moon or something. The landscape seemed like we have been transported to a different planet. We hope to do this trip again this year and stay fairly close to home this summer until we do DisneyWorld in October with the Croshaw family. You gotta love it!

BUY AMERICAN GASOLINE AT CONOCO, SINCLAIR, WALMART, PHILLIPS, MAVERICK, FLYING J!

2008-06-18T09:32:00.004-06:00

Choose American Gas Stations from the list at the foot of my blog. Go USA!

Water = Fun!

2008-06-15T17:04:00.000-06:00

Most people in Arlington "join" a pool for the summer (which costs hundreds of dollars). Who needs a pool when you have a Slip N Slide??? These kids laughed and slipped all over the place on Thursday.

Faith had the idea to add dish soap to the water, to make it slippery-er, and it certainly worked! They were sliding all over the place and loving every minute!

I figured out how to play with my "fast action" setting on my camera, to capture the water like this - isn't that fun?

Here they are all on the slip n slide at the same time. Funny but John doesn't enjoy the water like these three do. He's perfectly content to stay dry on the sidelines - maybe we'll have to warm him up to it this summer. The 3 big kids start swim lessons in 2 weeks!

We finished our Soccer season this week, and Grant's team won the championship! He's learning to play quite the Goalie, and Faith had a lot of fun this year with her friends on the team. Grant also passed his Karate test and is now a...BLUE BELT! This is his fifth belt (white, gold, green, purple and now blue) and he just really loves it!

School's OUT at the end of this week, so I look forward to working on our Summer Goals in order to win a trip to DISNEY WORLD with Mimi and Papa! The kids keep repeating "If everyone doesn't achieve their goals, noone can go!" So, we're going to work together to achieve it all!

more...

2008-06-12T17:42:00.003-06:00

bunch of booth

2008-06-12T17:18:00.006-06:00

Chris and Grant

2008-06-12T17:17:00.005-06:00

OUR FAMILY IS GROWING!

2008-06-11T14:10:00.005-06:00

We are very proud of our beautiful grandchildren. See their pictures below a take a guess who each one is!

A Most Amazing Children's Playground

2008-06-09T12:54:00.001-06:00

Playground: Clemyjontri Park, Clemy Park, Fairfax County Park Authority

VANESSA IS SUPERWOMAN!

2008-06-09T12:12:00.002-06:00

Who can leap three flights of stairs in a single bound? Fourteen times a day?
Who can jump on the tramp in 95 degree heat with 95 degree humidity?
Who can save the day from scratches, bumps, and teeth marks?
Who is the amazing woman who can get herself ready for church in 3 minutes and look like she's going out on he town with Brad Pitt (aka Andrew Croshaw, even better)?
Who is more elegant than Brooke Shields? More spiritual than Sister Okasaki? The most patient mom on the block? And the most supportive wife in our nation's capitol city?

Drum roll, please. Ta-Da! IT'S SUPER VANESSA!

We've just spent part of 5 days with our sweet Croshaw family in Arlington Virginia. Now we have a brand new member of the church in our family - Grant! He loved the wishes from everyone and is having fun with his new email address.

Doug and I are taking a 5:20 EST flight home today which goes through Cincinnati, OH. We arrive late and get up early on Tuesday to go back to work. The break was great! I'll post pics tomorrow.

Mother to Daughter Joanna

2008-06-04T14:45:00.003-06:00

What in the world would our world be like without mothers and daughters and sisters? Joanna has been staying with us while Laren is doing EFY in Arizona and we've had so many fun moments together that I seem to tear up just thinking about them. Some things that I have learned from Joanna:
1. How to get the attention of each of her kids. No, it's not by yelling. She's good at it. I'm still learning.
2. How to make great memories even while shopping with tired or hungry children of any age.
3. How to have the patience of Job in stressful situations.
4. How to go into a store and only buy things that are on a WOW sale (very little money).
5. How to get up in the morning, throw on your exercise wear, pull your hair into a ponytail and still look like a candidate for Miss America. (I, of course, have passed my prime in being able to pull this off, but Joanna is a pro).
6. How to stay in touch with all of your high school friends and enjoy how they enrich your life.
7. How to be a concerned and loving sister and daughter and grand-daughter.
8. How to be a standout neighbor.
9. How to run a household with four kids under the age of 8, one husband, two dogs, one (?) fish, and two snails without having a nervous breakdown.
10. How to be optimistic 24/7 and lift and inspire me.
Of course, it was great to have the four kids around. Boy, could we tell you some shopping stories, some ball game stories and some snail stories. I'm short on words today so I'll just say that WE HAVE HAD FUN! We have gained much from our fun and now have to say goodbye while Joanna and kids return home to teach violin and Dad and I fly off to DC tomorrow for Grant's baptism. Vanessa asked me to speak at the baptism meeting so I am formulating thoughts and am open to any suggestions. I will post more Jesse and Danielle pics soon. Love as always, Linda

A fun birthday weekend!

2008-06-02T13:29:00.008-06:00

Our newest 3 year old had a blast with his family at a bouncy place in Springville. May how we love this little cutie who is now such a big boy. He just joins in all the fun. B. J. especially loves bats, balls and anything you can hit a ball with on the ground (like golfing). I'm telling his parents right now that they need to groom him for the PGA (think $$$). That would be a good investment in their retirement!

We joined them at their house for some jumping on the trampoline and a very wet water balloon fight. I got Joanna good! The Rich Family is famous for their "water sports" and we aren't talking boating and water skiing here.You can see the sweetness in this little guys face (BJ, not DR) and how much his Mimi and Papa love being with him. We had a great time eating pizza, cake and ice cream and getting wet.

~Jesse and Danielle's Wedding Day~

2008-05-29T22:47:00.018-06:00

The new Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Ottley Rich taking their first stroll as husband and wife is a great angle for pictures shot outside the St. George Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a beautiful day to match the love of our beautiful couple. Danielle chose a beautiful bridal bouquet of bright orange, pink, green, and yellow flowers in several varieties.

Mindy, Linda, Danielle, Vanessa, and Joanna giving a big" hug and so excited to get a new sister. They were both so radiant and excited to see all their families and friends on the temple grounds. Her bridesmaids wore the same bright colors (below).The whole Rich side of the family gathering on the temple steps was an interesting exercise in patience for young and old. Youngest family member at the time was Amelia at 1 year old. Oldest family member at the time was Grandpa Ottley at age 85. Wow! We just didn't know how big our family was getting. We were so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa O. as well as Aunt Gaye and Uncle Kim Brown with us in the temple that morning. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill Sackett also made the trip in their usual supportive manner. Linda's St. George cousins (Kay and Leon Glines, Betty Ford, and Debbie Parker) and daughters to one of Jesse's favorites Aunt Virginia Knell joined us as well. A wonderful reunion!

Jesse took a rest in the arms of the beautiful wedding party. I can tell he was enjoying himself but I don't think the "lovelies" were having as all that much fun.

Vanessa home....finally! :-)

2008-05-13T12:50:00.000-06:00

Today we brought Vanessa home from the hospital after spending a week there with blood clots in both lungs. She is resting well and seems really happy to be home at last. She is taking pain meds and two different kinds of blood thinners to counter-balance the S Protein deficiency which they have found in her blood. Most people have a level of around 150. Even some women have a deficiency close to 60 during gestation, but Vanessa's is 8. The doctors said that they had never encountered someone with a count that low. To discover this deficiency they had to start a panel of genetic testing (someone they have never been able to do on me) BEFORE she took any of the blood thinners. It saddens me to think that it is possible for any of my other three children to have the same thing. We have been blessed with 10 perfect grandkids and the doctor has been amazed that Vanessa and Andrew have had 4 healthy pregnancies and 4 healthy kids. If you want to know more about it read their blog where Andrew has entered some stats about this health risk. Though it is not up to date, it gives some of the symptons and test outcomes. http://andrewandvanessa.blogspot.com/Yesterday wasn't a good day. Today is a better one. I am happy that we have her home and that I am here to help. Their ward has been amazing with play groups and food. I've been able to keep the laundry going and had time with kids. They are so happy and fun and you can't be anything but excited to be in their presence. Of course, MY grandkids are beautiful and perfect in every way. If you'd like to take the challenge I'm ready for a debate~!~ Love, Linda

Happy Mother's Day with the Croshaws!

2008-05-11T19:41:00.003-06:00

It's been a great Mother's Day here in our nation's capitol city with the Croshaw Family. We attended church then the whole entourage went to Vanessa's hospital room to celebrate. This was a good day for Vanessa and they are thinking seriously about sending her home tomorrow. I told Vanessa that she should stay in the hospital as long as she can AND AFTER OUR VISIT I THINK SHE WAS CONVINCED! As we were leaving the boys were wrestling on the floor of the hall just outside Vanessa's room which was fine, except the hall outside Vanessa's room was also the hall outside the rooms of several people just coming out of surgery. I hope that their recovery is still on track. HA!

Anyway, it was an eventful day and the kids were so excited about bringing all their "gifts" from school, pre-school and primary as well as the flowers given to all the moms at church today. They are a barrel of fun to be around. And the things they say are hilarious.

I'm glad I'm here and so happy to see Vanessa improving and her diagnostic tests coming up with some answers. Signing off for now!

Saturday is a special day...

2008-03-29T22:23:00.002-06:00

Today was another great Saturday with plenty to keep us busy and fun time spent with grandkids. Some of the highlights?
* Mia showing her "attitude" everytime I offered her a bit of banana. She looked just like a teenager - really bored with me and a little snooty. I laughed and laughed, which may set her up to continue her "attitude"...and then when they are teens we wonder "where in the world did that com from?"
* BJ being as cute as ever and thinking he was too old for a nap then succumbing when confronted with a boring story from Grandma as an alternate. How could I feel badly? He was sound asleep, hugging his sippy cup, and those cute dimples of his still warming my heart!
* Abbie, deciding she would rather go shopping with Joanna and me instead of "working" in the yard with papa. Then she completely went off and did "her thing" every time I turned my back. She has really turned into a pre-teen, with her i-pod in her ear and singing the songs to herself down the aisle of the store. Gotta love that mental picture, eh?
*Christian saved the day by literally saving Mia when she decided to play supergirl and fly off the step stool in the entryway. He bravely caught her and she just looked up at him with the words "my hero" written plainly in her adoring face. Christian is my hero today. (and tomorrow...and the day after that....and, well, so on)
A good day. Sunshine. And family. Could it be more perfect?

Friday March 21, 2008 Health Report

2008-03-21T08:59:00.004-06:00

I visited both the dentist and the doctor and the hospital this week. I have endured too much prodding and poking but am happy with the results. Three brand new crowns (I've now lived long enough that the others disintegrated and fell away) and a fairly clean bill of health from the Dr. Dixie Harris my pulmonary doctor. After a CT scan with contrast, an echocardiogram, and a 6 minute stress walk she deems me good for another 6 months of stirring it up and making something of myself. Ha! I was probably in better shape emotionally last week when I could blame my ills on a bad heart and a crummy lung!

So now, they are less concerned about the spot on my lung (no doubt from second hand smoke inhaled while working as a stewardess for two years during the 60s when smoking onboard airplanes was the norm. It appears that the spot is getting smaller instead of bigger so she thinks it might be scar tissue from clots supplied by my leg in 1998. They will watch that. The clots thrown to my lung last October are still there, she says. But really, what does she know....afterall she's just a doctor and she's never had clots anywhere in her body! To make a long story short as to not bore you to distraction, there is nothing that can be done about those clots and unless they remain painful, or get worse, or I start coughing or bleeding in there she will just repeat these same tests later with a watchful eye. She said that if I can't oxygenate to 95% then there is one thing they can do -send me to a clinic in San Diego where they have a procedure to clear out the lung. It is painful and expensive. I'm not doing it. Well, that's it for Health Update February 21, 2008.

WHY IS EASTER SO EARLY THIS YEAR?

2008-03-11T11:54:00.009-06:00

As you may know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the SpringEquinox (which is March 20). This dating ofEaster is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew peopleused to identify Passover, which is why it moves aroundon our Roman calendar.I found out a couple of things you might be interested in. Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. Here's the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of ourlives! And only the most elderly of our populationhave ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!).And none of us have ever, or will ever, see ita day earlier! Here's the facts: 1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now).The last time it was this early was 1913 (so ifyou're 95 or older, you are the only ones that werearound for that!). 2) The next time it will be a day earlier,March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now).The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlierthan this year! Very interesting!

Wedding, Wedding, Wedding

2008-03-11T08:40:00.005-06:00

Things are falling into place for Jesse and Danielle's temple wedding next month. We are looking forward to the Croshaws and Hillmans joining the Hawkins, the happy couple and Mimi and Papa right here in Utah County. This is the schedule of events:

April 18th (afternoon) - Danielle's endowment in the Provo Temple
April 19th (7-late) - Preconception Party in 19th Ward Chapel
April 24th (10-ish) - drive to St. George and stay at Country Inn and Suites
April 25th (morning) - Temple sealing followed by pictures
April 25th (afternoon) - Luncheon at Golf Course Country Clubhouse
April 25th (evening) - more pictures and reception at Clubhouse
April 26th (morning) - play in Snow Canyon, go to Cedar City for lunch then drive to Provo

I hope this helps! So, are there any requests or suggestions?

God orchestrated the Best Visual Aid Ever!

2008-02-25T18:24:00.008-07:00

The first Sunday in French Polynesian we were on the beautiful ship Tahitian Princess and holding our own meeting there. In our group the numbers were about 58 but when we assembled for church in a lounge on at the front of the ship there were many more that joined us. Apparently our group had drawn some interest among other passengers and they invited both members and non-members they met to attend our services. We were fortunate to have several Bishops, Stake Presidents, and former Mission Presidents among us and so we were able to have the sacrament passed and it was very special. Here we were at sea for two days and all that we could see from our "church pews" was ocean on all sides.

Our speakers were a couple from Colorado who had served as Mission President in Jackson, Mississippi. After Sister Sheffield sweetly spoke, President Sheffield launched into a story about his father who had served a mission in French Polynesia many years ago. He told about how he had come upon a story about a specific island that was quite flat and suffered a terrible tsunami that swept many people out to sea. Many hung on to or tied themselves to trees to survive and it was very scary. He told of the great faith it took for people to gather what was left of their belonging and family members and go on through this horrible ordeal. He told of the testimonies strengthened and how his grandfather helped the islanders rebuild. Just as he was relating a most tender part of the story we began to see some land in the distant. The ships Captain got on the PA and identified the islands we were just beginning to see and we all realized that these were the islands as the little atoll islands that his father served on as a missionary. It was like a little miracle .... the Captain of the ship surely didn't know that we would be talking about those little islands. President Sheffield had no idea that we were even near any land, let alone the land that he was talking about. Talk about a great visual aid! We were very teary as it was confirmed to us that indeed "this was the place".

Sunday Night

2008-02-24T17:59:00.002-07:00

It's been a good Sunday. Hope you have seen some of the Tahiti Pictures in the right hand column. I will try to put captions to them a little at a time. I'm having trouble finding the time to do anything but catch up at work.....and coupon shop of course. We are happy to be back to our regular schedule today. The kids in Primary were absolutely darling. We have two sets to twins in the 4 year old class, all girls. They always dress alike and sit on the front row. It's a blessing in my life to have a church job in Primary. I need more ideas so keep sending me your suggestions and insights. We have been learning "Tell Me The Stories of Jesus" and the third verse is really hard. We have also learned all the verses to "I Am a Child of God" and that cute song entitled "Home". These are sweet songs and we are having a very good year.

The Center for Entrepreneurship at BYU is merging with the Kevin Rollins e-Business Center next month so things are changing at work. They are keeping all of the employees in our center and letting all the employees at the eBusiness Center do other things so we are very fortunate. There is much to do every day but it is stimulating and fun!

We are making plans for Jesse and Danielle's wedding events and can't wait to have our whole family together in April. Doug and I will also be traveling to DC in June for Grant's baptism. We are so proud of Abbie and the great little lady she is and are excited that Grant will be able to join her as a member of the church. This is the first big step to happiness in this life. They are two very capable young people and we love them very much.

We are so sorry to hear about the death of Meg, the Hawkins sweet little puppy. She will surely be missed! We welcome Jax and Turbo into the family. Seems like we are gaining more and more animals (Croshaws, what are your fish's names?) but don't see any new grandkids on the horizon. Papa and I just want to remind you to keep your priorities straight. Tee Hee!

HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN!

2008-02-21T08:13:00.002-07:00

Well, it seems like forever since I had internet access so here goes my report on our trip. I'll make it short and sweet since no one trudging through snow wants to hear about blue as a dream tropical waters, islanders in native dress, amazing schools of fish over pure white sand, and warm air and sea enough to want to remove all your clothes and run screaming into the ocean.....no gloves, no hat, no winter coat, no snow boots, and not one ounce of wool anywhere on the cruiseliner!

We are happy to be back to our usual surroundings and especially excited to see our grandkids tonight!!! We have been so blessed with this opportunity to spend some time in an other-worldly paradise, but still feel like "there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home". Now we have arrived we can take off our magic slippers and dig into our normal routine of work, wedding, and church responsibilities. We feel rested and happy.

A little "cruise critique" here: The Tahitian Princess was a medium size ship, smaller than Celebrity we were on to Alaska and much smaller than Royal Caribbean we were on with the Founders in Feb. 2006. Passenger + crew loads are respectively 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000. The seas were very smooth so even though this ship was smaller we hardly felt motion and had to keep reminding ourselves that we were on a ship in the middle of the ocean with 2 miles of water underneath us!

I like the bigger ships because there is more to do on them and they contain larger open areas, a promenade in the middle of the ship, and a theater bigger than most multi-cinemas. I like the smaller ship because there are less people around all the time and the island we went to were only lightly populated and very pristine. I like the Caribbean because most islands have a pier where the ship can dock and you can walk on and off at any time. I like French Polynesia because it is fresh and non-commercial. The Caribbean ports have lots of shopping and good prices, The Tahitian Island ports have little to buy and horrible prices. We didn't buy anything this time which was both good and bad. Each time we have cruised we felt like each was a very different experience.

I'll write more later as I have time.

TAHITI OR BUST!

2008-01-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

Doug and I are getting super excited to go with our sweet donors to Tahiti and the Marqueses Islands in French Polynesia on February 7th. We will be gone from that afternoon until the afternoon of February 19th. Here are the plans:

Day #1 Thurs. Fly to LAX and transfer to Air France for the 8 hr. flight to Papeete, Tahiti

Day #2 Fri. Arrive at 5 a.m.!!!! A member of the church is picking us up in a bus after luggage claim and customs to go to the busy morning market in the city for an hour then taking us to the Papeete Tahiti Temple by 8:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. session. They will have the session in English luckily. After a tour of the temple gardens we will be transported to the ship and board midday. We will have more than 12 hrs. on the ship before it sails the next morning while we are sleeping. We will use the time to catch some sleep, explore the ship and take advantage of the "free" eats. That night at 9 p.m.. we will gather for a meet/greet reception with all the participants in our group.

Day #3 Sat. Ship sails at 4 a.m. but only goes for a couple of hours before we are in the island of Moorea. Snorkeling, shopping, visiting, and exploring the island will begin after breakfast onboard the ship.

Day #4 Sun. We will hold Sacrament Mtg. onboard the ship. This is a day at sea while we travel to the Marqueses Islands (see map)

Day #5 Mon. Also a day at sea which gives us time to have our business meeting and spouses meeting for a couple of hours in the morning. Undoubtedly we will go to some classes like gourmet cooking or info classes on the next day's island (where to shop, what to do, what to see)

Day #6 Tues. Island of Nuku Hiva. Dinner rotation for get to know you. Game night.

Day #7 Wed. Day at Sea will include a book review of "Tactics of Everyday Leadership: Becoming a Plu-One Leader" by Gary Rhoads.

Day #8 Thurs. Day at Sea will include a case study "Business Ethics for Entrepreneurs" by Bob Crawford. Shows in the lounge at night.

Day #9 Fri. Island of Rangiroa for hiking, snorkeling, reading, relaxing onshore. Comedy show.

Day #10 Sat. Island of Raiatea for more of the same. Movies, karaoke and magician onboard in evening.

Day #11 Sun. Bora Bora for church with natives in French and an island tour with members on the bus.

Day #12 Mon. Dock at 8 a.m. and transfer to airport to fly to LAX. Stay at Crowne Plaza near airport.

Day #13 Tues. Catch flight at 1:30 p.m. to SLC.

Day #14 Wed. GO BACK TO WORK reluctantly but with happy memories and many new friends.

Clay Aiken is better at bloggin than I am!

2008-01-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a terrible blogger, but I enjoy reading all of yours so keep them up. I am feeling better and better and my doctor is watching a few (very few) concerns so I'm well supported. We loved the holidays where we spent several days at Christmas with our beautiful Joanna and handsome husband Laren and their four really entertaining kids - Abbie (8), Christian (5), BJ (2), and Mia (9 months). It was so meaningful and the snow was piled up really high everywhere so it really looked and felt like an old fashioned Christmas.

Mindy, I have been wearing your white Olympics parka for weeks in a row. It is perfect here.

For New Years we went up to Island Park (I'm not sure why it's called "Island" park because it doesn't look like an island to me) with our friends to a luxury cabin where we visited, played games, snowshoed, and enjoyed the wildlife in the fridgid north. There was a mountain about the size of the Disney Matterhorn in the parking lot of the church which they had just piled up with their snowblowers...amazing. I've never seen so much snow. It was fun.

Well, I'll post some photos that will recap the Island Park trip and also tell you what I got for Christmas from Doug ------SHELVES FOR MY STORAGE ROOM. I know, I am easily entertained, but seriously, how long have I wanted shelves for that room? 33 YEARS!?!

OK - SEPTEMBER and most of OCTOBER have been a wash!

2007-10-25T09:53:00.000-06:00

This is probably the "slowest" blog on the web but I'm going to give it another chance. Or in other words, both of us are in recovery. It started with a silly walk to work from home to BYU on September 18th, a tour of Arches National Monument, coordinating a donors conference on the phone and computer from my bedroom, a trip to Southern Utah with the Ottley Women, and ended up with 3 blood clots and an 8 day hospital stay at Utah Regional Medical Center until October 22. Yesterday, someone tried to accused me of trying to put some excitement into my life. I told them that excitement like that can be deadly and that I'd rather have my "dull" life back!

Aside from all that, life has been it's wonderful best, not dull at all and obviously very blessed. I spent a great day with Joanna and kids traveling going to Ikea then to Kaysville to see Mom and Dad then was treated to a trip to Fay's where Adri, Kami, kids and Gaye were on hand. We had a fun visit and cousins play before leaving for home. It was especially fun since I was just up from bedrest the two weeks before that. I went back to work the next week and was really excited put on our conference and see all our great donors coming to campus. That next weekend I went with my sisters Fay, Gaye, and Jolene with Mom and our Aunt Margaret to Southern Utah.

We enjoyed see musical "42nd Street " at Tuacahn, some of the best theater we had ever seen. We played in the red sand in snow canyon and shopped the outlet stores. It was really inspiring to be with these fabulous women that I always learn from. We came home on a Sunday and I felt tired but good.

On Monday morning I had a dull ache in my chest but it took me most of the day for Doug to convince me that it might be serious enough to call the doctor about. Well, it's a long story but the short of it is that I ended up in the hospital. To make a complicated story short I'm now home and they and I am doing everything I can for myself to regain my strength and increase my lungs to repair the damage done.

I'm hopeful and happy most of the time but still on pain meds and oxygen. Doctors told me not to go to work until Monday October 29th at the soonest. Our trip to DC is in limbo until I see how I'm coming but our later trip to Thailand is a go. Life is a go. This blogspot is a GO.

Another wonderful day in the neighborhood...

2007-08-28T16:16:00.000-06:00

Well, school is just around the corner and that means every day at BYU is like running in a race. We have new management, new instructors and new student employees which makes it my job to orient everyone and it is exhaustive. But, I love my job and really shouldn't ever complain because I work in the Happiest Place on Earth (contrary to a previous saying that Disneyland is that place).

It has been a wonderful summer full to the brim and we are tired! So, maybe we will get back to some normalacy when BYU starts and we aren't worried about our yard drying up. It's been a fun reprieve lately to have some rain and some rain clouds but very little of both. The forecasters say that sometime soon we will be experiencing cooler evenings which will be like heaven.

We are still planning to go to Thailand in November and even make a trip to DC in September if we can find a good fare. BYU has decided to pay for Doug's cruise fare for the Tahiti trip in February which will save us a little money and makes me feel very appreciated. They are so good to me! Doug is using his miles to get there which wipes him out and I wiped my miles out going out to be in DC for Clark's tonsilectomy, but it was worth it.

We are the most blessed people with very normal challenges in life and we knock on wood each day as we count all that we are thankful for. We know that there are many we love who have burdens they are dealing with and we pray and ache for them daily. Brother Johnson (Ella Mae's husband) went in for a hernia operation last week which was outpatient and a couple of days later he died of a blot clot. Sister Lori Nelson told me Sunday that her daughter BreeAnn has a cyst growing on her spine that will need surgery soon or it may disable her. And our sweet Bonnie Young has Lou Gehring's Disease ALS which will systematically shut down her muscles in the next months until she will be bedridden. We ask for your prayers in their behalf as well as others that we are also praying for.

Highlights are Abbie turned 8 and will be baptised on September 10th. Grant is starting a new school in DC along with Faith - who called to give us her talk from Primary over the phone. Christian started kindergarten yesterday and has a teacher just like a fairy princess. Jack talked to us yesterday on Skype and always makes us laugh so hard. Clark, the golden boy, and Johneo, our Mr. Hollywood will have a little playmate staying with them in October for a month. They are going to be the best of friends with Grant and Faith are off to school. Janie is a big kid now and thinks it's time for Jack to go back to school so she can have her mom all to herself. BJ was caught stealing kisses on Mia's toes over the weekend. He is so cute with her. Mia is getting a backbone and will soon be sitting up. Jo says she's rolling all over the house! And Hawkins have a new dog that is about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Everyone is healthy finally after carrying on the reunion gomboo for many many weeks. But we sure had fun, right?

We love you all. Mimi and Papa

2007-08-28T15:43:00.000-06:00