NEW JOB! NEW LOCATION!

Well-- I have been saying for some time that we are moving to American Fork. Scott currently teaches at UVU and I still am working in Richfield. Finally-! I can say he has a new job with Rio Tinto as a Manager. It is an awesome job and one that he has worked very hard to get. I am very proud of him. He is so excited to start and that will happen Monday (17th). They offer an unbelievable relocation package and we are so fortunate to get that. They will help sell our house and they actually buy it from us if it doesn't sell in 90 days. Lucky!! They pay all relocation costs and then some. We are working hard to get our house ready to sell and then we are fixing up the house we are moving into. We are changing it from carpet to all hard wood floors. Lots of work. The new job is incredible but of course it comes at the cost of leaving good old Salina behind. That isn't so big a problem, but leaving the family and friends behind is of course the big deal. We moved here in April of 1982. At least we know the road both ways. I plan to stay, once the house sells or is taken over by Rio Tinto. I will stay mostly with Tara as she will be having her new baby. She may need some help. Hopefully I can help and she won't put me out with the dog. At some point I will need to quit my job and complete the move to A.F. It will be one of the hardest things I do (leave my girls and grandkids and families and also my job (family). I have worked at the clinics since before I was pregnant with Ryan. I have much to be grateful for and feel very blessed to have it all come together for us now. It seems like it has been a long time coming but we are grateful. Luckily Ryan will go with us as he starts his Senior year at UVU and luckily Katelyn lives in North Orem. That helps alot. Here's to New Beginnings!

Happy Travels

It been such a fun week. On Thursday, my Mom, sisters, Lisa and Pam, and I went on a road trip. We went to St. George and stayed 2 nights. We went to Tuachan and saw Annie and Footloose. I was so excited to see Footloose as it was a movie that came out in the 80's. It was filmed in Lehi at the Roller Mills not far from where I grew up. The musicals were great and we had such a great time. We literally shopped till we dropped. We also made sure to have great food too. We got to visit Lisa's daughter Becky and her 2 darling little ones. Pam's daughter Kelsey was also there, and we had a good time with her. She is pretty entertaining and naughty in Hotel corridors. Then we traveled back to Cedar City and saw a play there, The Secret Garden. It was good. I had never seen it or heard of it so it was interesting to see something so different. We had a wonderful dinner there and rode up over Cedar Breaks and around and down into Parowan and back to Cedar. We laughed the entire way. It was great to laugh and pull a prank on Mom. She was a great sport. She puts this trip together and we look forward to it every year.
While we were gone, Tara called. She had had a test on the baby's heart, prenatally. They were concerned because Down's Syndrome babies do tend to have heart defects. She was given the best of news. The baby looks absolutely normal! The heart looks great. Krista and Brady are on the mend and all else are great. We still are deep in the moving process and looking forward to new adventures.

These are some more fun pictures of the family at the 4th of July. It is fun to see pictures from the different cameras. They all capture alot of fun. The little ones have really enjoyed the Holidays this summer. We have had a good time.

We had the best time last week at the Manti Swimming Pool. Most of our family went and we just had a fun lazy day. The pool has some fun features and we had such a good time. It had a beach entrance and we all just piled up and laid there and let the kids climb all over us. I hope no one makes a comment about all the Seals on the beach. It is always fun to be with the family. Our grandkids are the best. Life seems to be great right now. More to come on that. Tara continues to do well with her pregnancy which is a blessing. Krista and Brady are having their health struggles but they are tough and strong. The rest of the family is doing good. We are still busy packing up and preparing the house in American Fork for our arrival. Lots of work! We are spending alot of time on the road. It is kind of exciting at times and really hard at times but good things are to come!

Wow! Thank You Tara for the pictures! I really appreciate them. I will learn to do that, I promise. We had a terrific 4th of July. We had lots of family over and went to the fireworks, the parade, the event at the park, and then our own fireworks at our house. It was lots of fun. We certainly have several pyro's in our family, and also many daredevils with fireworks. It was a great time with lots of good food.

I NEED PICTURES! I don't know how to put them on the blog and I need a daughter to help me- please! We have been to alot of fun places lately with the family and done some fun things but no one can see any of it. Dang. My fault. I need a techno class for sure. We have had some fun birthday parties, gone to Thanksgiving Point as a family, and gone to a Moto Expo.... and had lots of fun. Our grandkids bring us such joy and fun and we love following them all over to their happenings. Our kids are all busy with life. Krista is going in for surgery in the morning. She broke her heal and completely severed a tendon in her ankle. OUCH! She has been so tough and walked on it for over 2 weeks till she got the right diagnosis. I hope thats not a HIPA violation. (privacy). She will be hurting for awile. Amy and Kyle have been in Kansas and boy did I miss them. I am used to a visit almost every day for our coke run at lunch when I am off work. Tara of course is hanging in there with her pregnancy. She got such good news at her last visit. Things are looking miraculously better. There is still alot to worry about and I'm sure alot ahead but she has not had alot of good news so we will take this and run with it. Ryan is out of school for the summer and getting ready to move to A.F. We have actually moved and set up our family room up there. It was weird pulling out with our first load of furniture, but kind of exciting at the same time. Katelyn continues to work hard and play hard. She is doing great. Scott is busy teaching at UVU this summer. He picked up an extra course which is great. I am busy working and packing and moving forward an inch at a time. Oh well. Got to have some fun in there too.

It is an exciting time of year as the grass is growing and time for planting begins. I always love this time of year. I love to plant the flower beds and pots and usually a big garden. I have to say, its not for Scott. Not his thing. I love it. There is something special about being outside and in the garden. I am happy to say most my kids have followed after me and love to work in their yards. A few may prefer cement like their Dad. We are enjoying going to our grandkid's soccer, t-ball, and softball games. It is a lot of fun. Our family is doing good and our prayers and love continue to be with Kurt and Tara at this time. They have been through so much and have a long path ahead of them but it is with the love of the whole family and friends behind them. There is a Conference talk entitled "Come What May, And Love It". It says if we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness. I'm sure we will find this to be true. We love our family so much and feel so blessed.

MOTHERS' DAY FROM DAD

A Mother's Love
A Mother's love is something
that no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendored miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand. - Helen Steiner Rice
You have all become such wonderful mothers. The focus you bring to your families can never be replaced. It is your station that brings compassion, love and above all Charity to the world as you teach your family to live correctly and then one day to set them free. Roots and wings are what a family is for; God could not do it alone.
As Mothers you’ve planted your roots deep in truth and love as you have built a foundation of strength, which has become your family, this foundation will support your kido’s as they leave the nest and sprout their wings too grow.
I would also like to add that Sunday dinners, dough fights, feelings expressed through letters and “Yankee Doodle Dandy” songs are among the things most remembered and cherished as we live our lives together.
Stay close to God and he will ‘direct your feet for good’. Stay close to your mother and she will show you how to have fun as God directs your feet. She will also show you how to continue the fight as the world might move against you. She will also be the example you will look to as you tend to your family and care for their needs.
~ With Love Dad ~

Thanks to all.

I have been wanting to say thank you to all those who have been praying for our family through this time of hardship. Most of you know that our daughter Tara and her husband Kurt are expecting their 2nd child, a little girl. Tara is about 18 weeks along. We found out a few weeks ago that the baby is very very sick. She has a condition called Hydrops and has Down's Syndrome. She has other problems that make it so she may not survive much longer. She is a little fighter but it seems Heavenly Father has other things for her to do. It is important to remember that Kurt and Tara will always be her parents. Kurt and Tara's hearts have been broken and there is nothing we can do to help. It is said that a mother is only as happy as her saddest child, and I know that to be true. Our whole family, and I am sure Kurt's also, have been just heart broken. While we pray for a miracle, we know the reality of the situation. It has brought our family together in faith and love. We are grateful to all those who pray for Tara and Kurt and their little precious daughter. We pray God will keep her in his special care.

Here are a few pictures of the kids and their spouses from over the past months.