Easter Gathering

This is the second time the family has gathered together since we lost Jeffrey.  It was good to have Mindy, Ryan and Grayson come to dinner.  Maddie had been up at UNI for treatment and was just released yesterday.  She was really tired and decided not to come.  She was missed.  We also were missing Jaden and Taylor.  Taylor was in New York with her drill team and Jaden was with some friends at some event downtown.

We had dinner which consisted of Honey Baked Ham and roasted turkey breast with funeral potatoes, baked potatoes (for those who don't like funeral potatoes), salad, veggies, watermelon and rolls.  For dessert we had egg shaped and frosted sugar cookies.

After dinner we did the egg contest and the winner for the year 2016 was Lyndsy!  The sad things is that she had to take James home and so she wasn't even there to do the final egg tap and enjoy the win.  I asked Annie if her kids would decorate and egg for Neal and I.  Even though we lost the eggs were decorated darling.  Mine was piglet and Neal's was Tiger!  The piglet egg is the one all in pink on the left and Tiger is right next to me and Tiger is followed by Eyore which was Jeff's egg.  Very clever!

This is a picture of Abby and I starting the egg battle.

After the egg contest we went outside for the Easter Egg Hunt.  We only had 5 boys who wanted to do the hunt.  Andrew, River, Desmond, Brock and Mr. Boston.  Abby, Emmi, and Mallory hid the eggs around the yard.  Here is the traditional picture of the oldest to youngest grandchild lined up ready for the hunt.  This is only a representation of half the grandchildren.  We have 10 present and missing 10.

 This was a picture of 'tall, short, and taller!

 Maren and Greg horsing around.  Notice Maren is holding up Greg!

The picture above is the grandchildren going through their treasures.  I heard them trading the candy.  It was like the Christmas cereal trading only this was with Easter candy.  It was fun to here them going with "two for one" or three for two"  etc.  Cute picture of the Gertson girls and mom.

Mallory and Abby win awards

Mallory and Abby both entered a competition for FCCLA (Family Community Career Leaders of America.  Mallory was in the senior division and Abby was in the junior division.  Mallory won 2nd place Gold and Abby won 3rd place Gold. Because Mallory was in the Senior division she qualified to go to San Diego for the next competition.  Both the girls had to make something out of something that was old.  Mallory made a chair out of a suit case and Abby made a night stand our of one of the big wooden spindles that construction people have large wire or cord wound on.  Congratulations to both of these girls for their achievements.  I know that Lynda Ann deserves a metal herself for all the work she did helping the two girls put these projects together.

Abby turns 15!

Neal and I were invited out to Annie's and Jeff's for a birthday dinner in honor of Abby's 15th birthday.  We played a game while waiting for Jeff to get home from work and then had a delicious dinner followed by more games.  We had a very fun evening.  I would add here that I won both games.  Of course everyone said I cheated - I didn't and never do but they all say I do because I win so often.  Happy birthday Abby.  We love you!

The dedication of the Provo City Center Temple

This morning Neal and I had the privilege of going to the Provo City Center Temple dedication.  We attended at our Stake Center.  The meeting was powerful.  Having the opportunity to do the Hosannah Shout is always very moving.  I am so grateful for the gospel, the atonement of the Savior and my testimony of the church.  I pray that some day all my children and posterity will be anxiously engaged in the work of the Lord.  Picture of tickets to get in to the session and the white hanky I bought at Deseret Book just for the occasion.

I would add here that this is the old tabernacle where I went with mother for Stake Conference.  We would always sit up in the balcony.   Annette sang a solo and Lila Mae told me that she had played the bells here.  It burned down almost to the ground and all the people who grew up in Provo were so happy when they found out the church was going to salvage what they could of this great landmark and turn it into a temple.  It is beautiful!  .  

The gardner

Neal decided that he need to rent a rototiller and mix sand in with the clay dirt that is on the North side of our home.  There is always lots of moss because their is lots of shade and lots of water from the sprinkling system that never seems to allow the ground to completely dry up.  It is about time for him to think about planting all his pots.  Not quite yet, but close.  He probably has another month and a half.  Usually the weekend of Mother's Day.

 I might add here that he worked until about 11:30 and then cleaned up and went golfing with Ron Keller until 5:30 at which time he watched the U of U basketball team get beat by Gonzaga and then at 9:30 p.m. went out and finished.  He said every muscle in his body was sore!  I was feeling stiff from washing down all the walls.  Dang, we both are getting old!!

Our duck family returned to tell us it is Spring!

Every year we have a couple drakes and a hen wandering around our complex and in the pool area just to tell us that Spring is in the air.

Taylors Herriman High Drill Team Performance

Neal and I went out to Herriman High on Wednesday night to see Taylor perform with her drill team.  They did an amazing job.  I was glad that we were able to be there to support her.  The sad thing is that it was Abby's birthday and we had been invited out to dinner at Annie's but just couldn't do both. We thought about dividing and conquering but new that wouldn't work either.  As things worked out, Annie decided to have Abby's birthday dinner on Sunday evening so that Emmi and Neal and I could all be there.  Glad they made that decision. We had a bonus when we found out that Boston was involved in a boys drill team.   .

New flooring for Neal's office and our walk in closet!

We have been dealing with moths eating away at our expensive wool clothing, plus the carpet in Neal's office was horrible.  Partly because he had a plant in the corner of the room that he had watered and often the water leaked onto the carpet.  Jay was supposed to come in September to start the project but didn't get here until last week.  How happy we are to have the project finally done.  I am now spending every minute that I have to put things back together.  It is going to be a long project.  I spent the day yesterday whipping down all the walls and shelves.  I scrubbed the walk-in closet and the bathroom from floor to ceiling.  Love our new flooring!  It coswst $2300.00.  We figured about $5.55 per square foot.

Saying "Goodbye' to Derek

Neal and I got up at 4:00 in the morning to pick up Derek at 4:30 a.m. to take him the airport.  we volunteered because we wanted to see him one last time before he heads back to his home in China.  It was fun to have him here for the two short weeks.  He stayed at Lyndsy's while he was here.  He did go to Colorado for four days to visit with Spencer and he spent Sunday evening with Mindy.  He had mentioned a couple times that he wanted to spend some alone time with Mindy.  We loved having Derek here.  Neal and I gave him $200.00 before he left.  $50.00 each for his birthday in 2016 and 2017 and $50.00 each for Christmas 2016 and 2017,  It seemed the best way to take care of holidays.  We hugged and told how much we loved him and sent him on his way   We are always happy when we get to see him.  Love you Derek and miss you greatly.

The annual Stake Women's Conference

Every year I look forward to this event and every year I'm happy when it is over.  It is quite a task to prepare a conference that includes a luncheon for 200+ women in our stake.  I always manage to enroll Lynda Ann in my relief society assignments and this event was no different.  Annie helped me with the invitations and then came in Friday morning and helped me put together 7 casserole for the luncheon.  We delivered them to the relief society presidents who were going to cook them and bring them over to the stake center Saturday morning.  After we delivered them we went to lunch together and then did some shopping.  We had a fun day spending time together.  One of my favorite things.

Here are some pictures of the decorations that were in the cultural hall.

 The table decorations I borrowed from the Maxfield reunion in the summer.  These were the decorations that Nanette had.

 These next three were groupings on the stage.

 This was my favorite.  The pioneer woman out in her garden watering.  The garden is brown velvet material crunch into rows with green leaves scatter in each row making it look like sprouts coming up out of the ground!  Very clever.

It was a wonderful conference.  Our speaker was President Jay A. Parry.  He had slides of many women in the church who demonstrated that they had the light of Christ in their lives.  As he closed his presentation he bore testimony of the Savior and then look right at me on the front row and said, "The Savior knows our sorrows and our happiness.  He is always, always there for us."  I wept as I thought of Jeffrey.  I miss my son and love him.  When I went to the temple last week I felt his presence with me.  How grateful I am for the Plan of Salvation and my testimony and love of the gospel.

A very touching letter to Mindy and the kids.

Dinner at Maren's

Maren and Greg invited Derek, Neal and I out to their home for dinner on Tuesday evening.  They had a delicious dinner of marinated chicken and steaks.  Maren also made her famous pasta salad.  It was a delicious dinner and a fun visit.  After dinner we were talking about Derek's diving and how his sinus are always stuffed up.  Maren said she had some stuff that would help clean out his sinuses.  She got him all set up and here are some pictures of Derek cleaning out his nose.  I had the most fun watching Maren, who couldn't look because she was afraid she would throw up.  Her comment was that she could handle blood but not snot!

 This is a picture of Maren not looking.

 Maren and Greg brought back some fun presents from Singapore for Neal and I.  The two little spoons are perfect for dishing up little things like jam, salsa, dressings, etc.  The shirt that Derek is modeling was for Neal but it was too small.

Derek comes to town!

Derek came into town last week.  He has been camped out at James and Lyndsy's home.  We had a family dinner for everyone last Saturday evening and had a fun time.  Derek wanted Roast Beef for dinner along with potatoes and gravy.  I had planned on fixing a turkey dinner but his comment went something like, "You think I came all the way from China for a turkey dinner when I could have a roast beef dinner?  So I quickly changed the menu and we had roast beef, potatoes and gravy.  Here are some fun pictures from the evening.  We had the Gertsons, the Cutlers and Lyndsy and River.  James and Desmond stayed home.

 Lyndsy has blue, pink and purple hair these days.