Gary & Leah

2012-02-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

Trying to think of something exciting we've done to blog about and that I might include pictures. For Gaylene's birthday she wanted to go see the Nationals ice skating competition at the HP Pavillion here in San Jose (used to be the Arena).

We went to the pairs ice skating short program. They were really good and we had a fun time. Tammy and Gaylene and I went. Dad and Becca and Alyssa joined us before for lunch, then Alyssa and Becca went looking at wedding gowns.

We went to Tracy and Johns in January for Jesse's homecoming. That was really fun but it snowed almost the whole time we were there. Jesse gave a great talk and we were really fortunate they had church. All the other wards in the Stake were cancelled because of the snow but Jesse's bishop knew he had family in town so they went ahead with it. It was fine when we went to church but it snowed all during church and we had a lot of snow to contend with going back to Tracy's. We were glad we weren't driving. Monday I got the flu and had diarrhea so bad and ached all over. I didn't say anything until that night. The next day I slept all morning but felt much better but still had diarrhea. We planned to return home Wed. and went to the airport for our flight at 4:00. I still had diarrhea but was feeling okay. They cancelled our flight. We rescheduled for 8:25. At 8 they cancelled our flight. We rescheduled for 6:50 the next morning. I called Tracy to let her know we were still there but didn't want them to come get us because the roads were so bad and we would have to be there so early in the morning. So it was a night in the airport. I watched as they loaded truck after truck with snow to hall it away. At 12:30 I went to StarBucks for some apple cider. It was really good going down but I still had diarrhea. Anyway it was finally morning and the runways were ice so our flight cancelled. Rescheduled for 3. That was cancelled at 11. This time I told Tracy she could come and get us. We rescheduled for Sat. Tracy got the flu Thursday night so Shannon and I fixed dinner Friday. By this time I was all better and felt great. It was good to get home although we did enjoy our stay with Tracy and family.

We went to the Disney Museum when Julie and Terrell were here after Christmas. It really is for adults Children I think would be bored. I really enjoyed it. We spent three hours there but Gaylene and I want to go back because we didn't get finished. It was a beautiful day and we got some great pictures of the Golden Gate bridge.

I'm recovering still from my rotator cuff surgery. My PT is having me use weights now (1 and 2 pound) I feel I still have a long way to go but I do see improvement. I still can't lift much but I am back to water aerobics which I really enjoy. I did enjoy my walks with dad.

I tried to post some of the ice skating videos but for some reason I couldn't get them to download.

Thanks

2011-10-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to thank all those who helped so much to pack everything up so we could get the ceilings done and floor. With my shoulder there is no way we could have done it without you. A special thanks to Jenni and Jared, Gaylene, Tracy, Holly, Shannon, and Mark and also dad. Also to Jenni and Jared for their extra help and for their help in removing the furniture from the kitchen so they could do the floor and then putting it back after the painting was done. Don't know what we would have done without you all. I still have a lot to put back and still some more dusting and cleaning to do. I am trying to go thru things and do some purging while I am putting back. I have been getting tired easier because of the radiation and my shoulder doesn't help but I'm getting there.

I am back to water aerobics and it really feels good. Of course that will end when I have my surgery. But while I can I'll do it. It is amazing how fast the body goes to flab and how slow it returns.

Construction is over

2011-10-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

We began construction first by having the popcorn ceiling removed. That was done Aug. 24 to the 27th. I remember because it was the 19th I fell and tore my rotator cuff. I went out of town to the cabin to stamp with my friends. Dad opted to go to the temple and stay in the temple apartment and work at the temple everyday. The abatement company came on Sept 1 to remove 3 layers of vinyl including one with asbestos. That was so nice to get it all out. You can see by the 2nd picture what was left of the floor. Richard came 4 and began work on the 5th. He tore out the brick back splash and began his magic.
The back splash is gone.
The floor is gone. Since I don't have things in the right order we'll just tell you about it but it wasn't done in this order but that doesn't matter.
How about this tile in the entrance hall. It is so beautiful. Richard did a great job. This is what he was so excited to do. Beautiful tile.
Lights, oh wonderful lights. I love the new lights
How about this new back splash. What a difference
New lights in the kitchen
We got all new doors and new wainscoting. Doesn't it look great. Love it.
Well I had a picture of the new tile floor but it doesn't look like it made it. It looks great. Rich didn't have time to paint so we had the same people who did the ceiling come back and paint for us. Since we were going to Utah for our Nauvoo Temple reunion and go to conference they came after we got back. I wanted it done before but there was no way. Anyway it is all done now. I love it. We also got our bathroom painted. It is also blue. The hall is antique white which gives a nice contrast to the white white of the doors and all the trim. We also got crown molding in the living room which we really like. Richard did a great job on everything. Thank you so much Rich and thanks to Mindy and the kids for letting him come for 3 weeks. I think I worked him too hard.

My fall -- turns out I have a lot of damage. I am scheduled for surgery Nov. 2. Please remember me in your prayers. The doctor wasn't sure just how much he'd be able to fix me up.

Storybook Cottages of Carmel

2010-11-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

So I got a magazine awhile back, the only time I had heard of the magazine. There was an articles of interest and I tore it out and threw away the magazine. I kind of forgot about it but remembered it in the back of my mind. Then I ran across it again and put it in a place I would remember. Marta wanted to go some place together before she started back teaching and I told her about these houses so we went to Carmel to check them out. I have the article and a map and we went to Carmel.The houses are quite unique. They were built by Hugh Comstock for his wife so she would have someplace for her dolls and are called storybook houses. He was not a builder but just used his imagination and figured it out. He built the Hansel cottage, the Gretel cottage. He built the homes between 1925 and 1930 and built 15 to 20 additional storybook cottages. They are scattered around town and a little east.
We walked to most of the ones on my map. My map only has seven. Some of them no longer remain.
This one is a tea house in downtown Carmel on Delores. You've probably all seen it but didn't know what it was. We had a great time. Wouldn't you love to come to and we could go to Carmel and see these delightful houses.

2010-11-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

well it's late coming but I decided it's either now or never so here goes the rest of our cruise.
Here we are in St. Petersburg. We began our tour sightseeing in the city and going on a subway tour. The subway was really beautiful. Then we took a hydrofoil to Peterhof. That is what this picture is. We are standing on a bridge waiting for the fountains to come on. You can see the big fountain in the back and the side fountains are coming on along with the ones at the sides of the river.
They have fountains all over the grounds and it is huge. This is a fountain that goes off when people step on it. People will try to get thru without turning the fountain on but all the time we watched no one could and they got wet.
Here are some off the fountains in front of the palace. This is the palace of Peter the Great.
On our city tour we went into St. Isaac's Cathedral. It was quite amazing. During the war Stalin covered all the walls of the churches and the people were not allowed to worship. They used the building for warehouses and other things. What a shame. The people have been oppressed for so long they still don't smile. They can worship now and they do. We saw many people coming into the churches to pray. Even our guide lit a candle and prayed at one of the churches we went into.
We went to a Folklore show the first night we were there. It was really great. We enjoyed so much hearing the music and watching them dance and sing. They wore very colorful costumes and did a wonderful job.
The next day we toured the Hermitage Museum. Steve you would have loved the art. The Hermitage was the former residence of the Russian monarchs. On display are many famous paintings and sculptures from your famous painters. People love to spend hours in there but it was very hot when we were there and we were glad to leave. The weather is not usually hot there but we managed to be there when it was terribly hot. We were on a private tour, just us and Julie and Terrell. Our guide were take us to the front of the lines so everywhere we went we were able to go pretty fast. We were to spend 3 hours at the Hermitage but spent about 2 1/2. It really was quite exciting to see. The picture above and the one below is the Church of
of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood. It was called such because that is where Nathaniel the Great was assassinated. They never worshiped in this Cathedral but it was a monument to him. The inside was incredible. They had huge mosaics con the walls depicting the life of Christ. They were so fine they looked like paintings. I didn't have as much time to shop as I would have liked in St. Petersburg. I was able to pick up a few things. So much to do. We did have a dinner there with typical Russian food. It was interesting and good. We also had lunch and that was very good. We spent two full days there. Our guide was great.
Tallin, Estonia - This was one of my favorite cities. It was hilly and quite quaint. We were on our own there and did a walking tour. Old Tallin (where we spent our time) is a walled city.

This is a view from on top of the wall. You can see the wall going around the city with the towers sticking up. The view was beautiful and looked out over the Baltic Sea.
A shopping area along the wall.
Our last stop was Amsterdam. The ship docked at Rotterdam and we took the train to Amsterdam a little over an hour. Amsterdam is a city of many canals, flowers and bicycles. We saw bicycles all over.
There were many houseboats of the canals. We did a guided walking tour which was fun because our guide told us all about the city and showed us places we never could have found. Like the flowers were thru and door, down a walkway and opened up to several apartments. After the walking tour we toured the Anne Frank House. It was quite sobering. I'm so glad they have maintained the house and made a museum to remember the Jews and those who helped them. Then we went on a boat on one of many of the canals.
When we got back to Rottenburg they told us they were mad at us for leaving and going to Amsterdam but they would forgive and give us a tour of their city as well. This was the bus driver and his helper. That was quite fun. She was delightful. These are some cray buildings built on a bridge over the road. She pointed out some crazy statues and said what she thought of them. Rottenburg was completely destroyed during the was so it is a very modern city. It has the largest sea port in Europe. Amsterdam was occupied but not destroyed.

All in all we had a marvelous trip. We weather might have been a little hot at the beginning but it was great. Our ship was great and very comfortable and we just had a great time.

2010-09-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

Our second stop was Lubeck Germany. This was in what would have been East Germany. We were on a tour from the ship. Our tour guide had lived in East Germany. Our route took us by what had been the border and she talked about it and the changes when the wall came down. At that place the wall was barbed wire fences separated by so many feet. It is all gone now and there is buildings and such there now. Lubeck is a very old town. It was founded around 1000 AD.When you walk along the street there are occasionally small openings. This is what we saw when we went thru one of the openings. This is where people live. It was very pretty.
We went in an old church that was interesting but they also have there little devil
The building were very old and interesting. Notice the round openings in the building.
This is where they make marzipan. We went to the place where they make the marzipan. I did buy some but I didn't know who liked it so I ate it myself. I really enjoyed it too. I still have some but I put it some place and can't find it.
This is Lubeck. A fun place to visit. We went to a stand to get werst for lunch. I think the guy didn't like me because I was American. He was very rude. I guess I should have spoken German but I didn't know how. I was giving him my money. I really tried to be nice.
Our next stop was Stockholm. It was really beautiful driving into Stockholm. They have all these islands our ship navigated thru. It much have been two hours going thru them. Some are large some small, some inhabited some not. It made for a very ride.
We went to the Vasa Museum. It houses the fully restored, wooden warship Vasa, the only remaining intact 17th century ship. It seems the king designed the ship and on its maiden voyage sank in the harbor. It was too top heavy. Because it was in brackish water it stayed intact. This is a replica. It was dark in the building and I couldn't get too good of pictures of the actual ship.
We visited Skansen and this is a view from there.
We took a hop on hop off boat to get around to the various sights This is a view from that boat.
Here we are on one of the streets we walked on. Stockholm was a fun place. I thought of Byron when were there and how much he would have enjoyed going back there after serving his mission there.
Our next stop was Helsinki, Finland. This is the view from our ship. We didn't have a lot of time here. We took the bus into town in the morning and walked around the town then went back to the ship to go on a ship shore excursion to Porvoo.
This is the Lutheran church in Helsinki. We liked Helsinki. It was clean and had stately architecture and the walk thru the city was along a park with the buildings on either side. It was really very pretty and well kept.
Porvoo was a fun little town. It is the second oldest town in Finland. I found it quite charming. It would be a fun place to visit just before Christmas. It says it goes out of its way to evoke an endlessly cheerful Finland of long ago. It was founded in 1346. It would have been fun to have had more time there to shop if I had had a way to get things home. I found a bread box I really liked and lovely linens. We did make a candy stop here.

Well this concludes this post and the next one will be St. Petersburg.

Unbelievable

2010-09-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

I know I blogged about my lost luggage before and the horrible flight we had with US Airways but this past week I have had my faith in this airlines restored. I filed a claim for the expenses incurred because of the luggage delay including the $219 long distance phone bill. I planned to see what they would pay (I wasn't expecting anything) before I filed with our travel insurance where I knew I would get $200. I sent them copies of all the receipts instead of originals which is required and explained to them I had done this because I needed to keep the originals for my travel insurance if they didn't cover for my expenses. I could not believe it but US Airways came thru covering the whole amount $556.96. I may even fly with them again.

2010-08-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here is our ship. It is a beautiful ship and we had a wonderful cruise. It even had grass, real grass, they had to water and cut. They had a putting green, Terrell won the putting contest, croquet, and bocce ball. We were so busy with all the activities on board we didn't even get to use it except for Terrell. We watched a glass blowing demo by three glass blowers. They really created some beautiful things. We also went to classes for the Mac - i-movie and i-dvd to name a couple, plus we couldn't miss name that tune. Terrell won the Beattles name that tune. He knew everyone and broke the tie breaker. Of course we were on his team so we all got a lanyard.

These pictures didn't come out in the order I put them on but since I've been having a hard time with this blog I'm leaving them and will work my journaling around them. This is our first stop, Brugges in Belgium. We had a good time here. It is a fun place. We saw a lot of the town on the Segways. That was a new experience for dad and I. We didn't know how we would do but when we got the hang of it we did pretty good. They are guided by the way you move your body and you don't get off from them or they keep going and will crash. We witnessed a couple of crashes and it wasn't pretty. Our guides would help us get off and on. They took us around telling us about the different places. We were on them for 2 hours. I got to one point I didn't think I would make it any longer my legs were hurting so bad. We finally got a rest and I found out others were having the same problem. After our rest I was good the rest of the time.
Here is the town square. This is in the old part of Brugges. When these houses were built the number of steps on the roof showed how rich you were.

Here's some people you should know. This is where we shopped for Belgium chocolate and Belgium lace. They still make lace by hand and even have schools to continue to teach the skill.
Here is our pool and spas. the holes in front would squirt water out and the kids had a lot of fun with that. We had a lot of kids on board. The teen room was full of teenagers. We only made it to the pool and spa one night when we decided to for go the entertainment for the evening. We didn't however go in this pool. There was another one on a lower deck that was for 16 and up. We opted to go there. There was only one person in there when we went and was really relaxing.

Now I would try to get more pictures on but the last time I did that it lost everything so I am just going to post and I'll add more on my next post.

Baltic Cruise - Part one - Horrors of flying

2010-07-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Okay I am taking a page from Jenni's book and am going to do this in parts. One reason is because I don't have time to do it all at once, another is you don't have time to read it all at once. So here goes. I guess we'll start at the beginning because it can only go uphill from here.

I had checked the internet to see about baggage prices. It said we could check two bags with US Air. That's great I thought. When we got to the airport they said the second bag was $40. We had to do some adjusting. We checked two then took the others with us. I soon realized I couldn't carry on some of the stuff I had in this bag so I went back. Our bags were already gone. We had to wait quite a while but we had plenty of time. They went to get our bags and I was able to make the necessary adjustment. Of course that meant I had to fit my purse into one of my carry on's. I put stuff from my small carry on (My camera, My meds and a few other items to make room in my small bag for my purse and we proceeded to the gate. When we went to board the plan they said the overhead bins were full and they had to check our big carry-ons. Of course I'm at the gate they take my bags and assure me they will be on our plane to London. There was plenty of room in the over head bins and our two checked carry-on bags didn't make it to London. That meant my camera, my med's, my make-up, plus my shoes, my PJ's (I can't sleep without PJ's or a night gown) and underwear didn't make it. Dad had his suit with him but most of his other clothes were in his checked carry-on bag. We filed a report at the baggage loss claim area and felt little confidence wed be getting our bags anytime soon, and our ship was sailing the next day. I asked them to trace it. They said they couldn't. I asked about a financial adjustment and they said I would have to call this number on the paper they gave me. Well we met Julie and Terrell, did our thing in Winchester and went to our hotel where we proceeded to see what we could do. We called the number and they said we would have to call after 12 noon on Monday. Big help that was. Terrell called our trip insurance and they got right on it. The next morning they called and said it should be on the plan to London on Sat. and someone would be there to bring it to the ship. We didn't trust the baggage place. By the way Matt that would be at the United Lost baggage counter. They were handling the lost baggage for US Air. Our insurance Co. said we were allowed $200 each per day. Well since dad needed so much we went shopping. He spent his nearly $200 and got 2 pair of pants and 3 shirts and a belt. I bought some socks, nylons, a night gown, make-up and a pair of shoes that don't really fit but will do in a pinch. They were Clark's so you know they weren't cheap. Anyway when I called the Insurance Co. when we got home to start our claim they said we had $100 each. We also racked up $219 in long distance phone calls.

Now just to get the horror's of flying out of the, on our trip home they took 1 1/2 hours to unload the plane in Philadelphia. That gave us 45 minutes to get to our gate and we had to go thru customs. WE really hurried and got to the gate just as they were boarded our zone which was the last zone. We did make it just barley. When we got to SFO it took them forever to unload the plane. Jenni and Jared drove around three times before we had it. They broke the wheel on my large suitcase which makes it not usable (new luggage for Christmas). That bag was practically new, however I did get it in China and it only cost $25.00. Needless to say we will not be flying US Air again. Glad I put our frequent flyer miles with AA.

Not our flying tale has been told and next episode will be about our most fabulous trip, with pictures. I got the camera back.

2010-04-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Wow has it really been that long since I last posted a post. Oh my and so much has happened. I am leading the quilt group again but this time I'm going to try to keep it a little more simple and maybe only once a month instead of twice. At least for the rest of summer. I have too much going on. Besides that will give them more time to finish there projects. I did show them how to make those potato pouches for the micro wave. I did warn them to be sure and watch them because they can catch fire. They do potatoes great and I just learned a new use for them. How about tortilla's. Heats them up perfect.

I've been thinking about the ocean lately so I thought I would just include this picture from Point Lobos. I can never get too much of the ocean.

2009-10-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Well this has been about the most exciting week in Nauvoo. Conference was wonderful and we loved watching it and hearing the talks. But what was soooo exciting is, well you'll just never guess. Friday, President Monson came to Nauvoo. Would you believe it. He came to the temple and spoke to all the temple missionaries. It was just such a neat experience. He said he decided he wanted to go so left his counselors in charge. He said, "I can do that". Dad was at the recommend desk and was not able to attend. However Pres. Monson stopped by the recommend desk and shook his hand and encaged him in conversation. How cool is that. We met in the Assembly Room. Dad said he didn't ask to see his recommend. He came with his Daughter, Sister Dibb and Granddaughter. He just spoke to us very informally but did tell us to take each day and enjoy it and make use of it or you will wind up with a lot of empty yesterday's. He did tell us our children will be blessed because we are serving a mission.

The corn is as high.......

2009-09-10T13:50:00.001-07:00

Dad and I were out walking and I said that corn is as high as an elephant's eye and it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky (Oklahoma). It really is high as you can see. The crop is having problems this year thou because it has been so cool. We're hoping for a warmer September so the corn will be good. This is field corn and it could be bad if it doesn't ripen like it should. If you can't feed the animals we can't eat them.

We are winding down. Can you believe we'll be home in just over 7 weeks. The time is sure going fast.

Nauvoo Car Show

2009-09-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Nauvoo's annual Classic car show at the Grape Festival. The festival began Friday at 5. Since we work at the temple in the morning we went over to see what goodies they might have. We had heard about the onion haystack's so we checked them out. We debated whether to eat there or come home and have leftovers. We ran into some other missionaries and decided to stay and try out the fare. Well I had barbeque beef brisket. It was really good. Dad had a brat which wasn't so good. I bought a haystack and that was really good. It is very thinly sliced onion deep fried and stacked up and served with ketchup. But better than that we went over after to our Friday evening destination and had Annie's lemon custard. She only has lemon on Friday. The other couple we were with had never been there. Oh Annie's custard is sooo good. Two other couples joined us.

Sunday was the car show. They had over 450 classic cars. They have a lot of classic car shows in the midwest.
This was unbelievable. These cars and motorcycles are parked in back of our apartment in our parking lot. They had to drive down our drive way to get there. We were eating dinner along with 10 other missionaries. We were having our Parley Street break the fast dinner. We couldn't believe all at once a truck, 9 motorcycles and a car came down our drive was and parked. At least they parked in a neat row. Two more cars parked in our drive way.

This is in front of our house. All the streets were full of cars. They take their car shows seriously. Of course the car show was just across the street. We did drop by as we were going for our walk and took a few pictures. It was over by then but a lot of cars had not left yet.

Fireflies flying

2009-07-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying the fire flies. What fun it is to walk along the streets in the evening and after dark and see these little lightening bugs. We see little lights all over. What fun. If you get really close and we do the light it green and you can see their little bodies light. We enjoy them for about two months and then they are gone. Would love to have a picture but don't know how that could happen.

2009-07-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

Julie and Terrell with temple in the background
Swiss Belle's from Midway Utah
Gaylene and Mom at Frederick G Williams Memorial
Tracy and John, Jesse, Holly Shannon and Mark

This has been a very full week. Pageant started this week and we are really busy in the temple as they are at the sights. We have more people in Nauvoo this year. I suspect that could be because gas is not so expensive $4.00 last year as compared to $2.35 this year. We love it. And the people who come love it. Pres. Hinckley said everyone should experience Nauvoo sometime in there life and I fully agree with thim.

We have enjoyed family this year. Tracy and John and family came June 17 for a few days. While the older kids did Baptisms for the dead Mark and I went around to some of the sights. We had a great time together. He told me he wanted to live here. He really liked it. We had a good time while they were here. The BYU Ballroom dancers were here and they were great. We also went to Sunset by the Mississippi which is always fun. Also went to High Hopes and Riverboats, a musical put on by the Young Performing Missionaries. They also went to Rendezvous In Old Nauvoo and they did the Wilderness Trek.

The following week Gaylene came to see us. We really enjoyed her. She came so we could have our P-day together. We went to Hannibal (found a great quilt store there) then to Quincy to see Frederick G Williams memorial marker and had dinner. We also saw Sunset (never tire of seeing Sunset). The Swiss Bell's from Midway, Utah were in town when Gaylene was here so we got to see them too.We enjoyed having Gaylene in the temple with us. Then the following week Julie and Terrell came. We met them in the temple on Saturday and then went to Sunset. That actually is a fun thing to do on the 4th of July. It is very patriotic. We could have gone to see fireworks but Julie chose Sunset. Sunday night we went to the Sociable and watched the pageant core cast present "Our Story Goes On". They left Monday morning, much too short. Thank you all for coming. I think all will agree it is really beautiful here.

We have had a great week. Monday a couple here that owns the Adventure Zone and also some vacation Villas invited the Temple Missionaries for a barbeque and to see "Emma, My Story". They are great people, furnished the meal for all the missionaries, about 140 of us all together. Pageant opened Tuesday night. It was pouring rain. They delayed it for awhile then decided to go ahead. I couldn't believe they went ahead and did it. This is done outside. They wouldn't let them go up in the light tours so they didn't have spotlights but people stayed and got soaking wet but the show went on. We went to it Friday night. It was so good. It is so inspirational. I am so grateful for those early saints and the great sacrifices they made. What an inspiration they are to me. Like I said the temple has been very busy which has been great. Our greatest joy on this mission is serving in the Temple.

2009-06-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

Just a big bunch of turtles ( I counted from 57 - 61)
A spring day in Nauvoo
A Great Blue Heron about to take off. He looks drunk to me

This has been a fun week. We're getting a lot of rain and it has caused some flooding here. That isn't what was fun just thought you would like to know. Cultural Hall and Brigham's home got flooded. I guess over 3 inches following 3 inches just a couple of days prior can do that. We had a lake by the side of our house but it is gone now at least for the time being.

Sunset was the BYU Ballroom dancers. They were incredible. What beauty and the costumes outstanding. What a blessing it is to live here where we can enjoy such marvelous entertainment and it doesn't cost anything. We will see them at least once more while they are here.

Saturday at the temple was a great day. Dad and I are initiatory coordinators on

Saturday afternoon. Well Saturday Gracia Jones came in. She is the first descendent of Joseph and Emma Smith to join the church. She lives in St. George. She was doing smith family names. Now is that exciting or what. I told her I was a great, great, great granddaughter of Frederick G Williams and she said oh he's one of my hero's. They named a son after him. Oh it's so fun to rub shoulders with these special people.

We 're doing well and loving it. Everyday I get to see the temple. Five days a week I get to work in the temple. Everyday I look out over the mighty Mississippi, I can even see it from my apartment. Everyday i get to walk the streets where Joseph and Emma walked and all those early saints that sacrifices so much. The spirit here is great. What a blessing this mission is in our lives. We are loving it.

2009-05-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

A National Cemetery in Ft. Madison
Gary in front of the round barn
Leah in the Iron and Lace shop
This is the guy with his arrowhead collection but his wood is beautiful

We had our first P-Day activity with the new missionaries. Our P-day is Wednesday and we have 10 couples. Six couples were able to join us and we had a good time. I planned this activity and now they want to know what I am going to do next. Ha! someone else can plan the next one. I am going to have a planning party and give them ideas. They think I'm the Cruise director. NOT. Anyway we went to Bentonsport, saw a demo on pottery making and blacksmithing at the Iron and Lace shop. She had just made an oven with pottery and we got to taste some of her bread she had made in it. Delicious I must say, enough so I bought an oven. Now I'm starting to worry how we're going to get everything home. Then we went to see the Indian Museum where I had arranged for the owner to be open so we could see all his indian artifacts (mostly arrowheads) and the beautiful wood inlay he makes to display it on. The wood is what I enjoy seeing and he is a very interesting guy. He rides his bike 20 miles every Sunday to go to his church then comes back and opens his museum. He raises his own fruits and veggies and fishes. Then we went to Bonaparte to Bonaparte's Retreat for lunch. They named the place after the song "Bonaparte's Retreat" that is a very old song. One of our new missionaries has the sheet music for it at home. She was very excited. They had the sheet music in a frame there. Then we went on a tour of the Wickfield Round Barn. It was built in 1918 and is 4 stories. What a place that would have been raising all our kids. It had 8 bedroom in it. It only had one shower and one toilet so that could have been a problem, but a great place to have parties and dances on the top floor. We finished up our day in Cantril where we went to the Dutchman Store. It is run by the Mennonite's and has everything from shoes, clothes, fabric, clocks, tools, plants, food (much of which is in bulk). It is a fun place to shop and you can pick up things you never find anyplace else. All in all we had a very good day.

2009-04-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Kirtland. This is the saw mill.
This is us with our good friends the Littles in front of the Kirtland Temple
The tree outside our kitchen window was just beautiful before we left, and was in full bloom. The petals had started to fall but were all gone when we got home. We had a big storm on our way home and if anything was left on the tree the storm wiped it out. It would have been nice if the new people could have seen it but oh well. If they are asked to extend they can see it next year.

We went to see Rich and Mindy and the kids before we went to Kirtland. I forgot to take any pictures. It was really good to see them and enjoy being with family. On Monday we went to Costco to spend our reward. Unfortunately we spent so much we didn't get much back but if we hadn't of had it it would have cost us a lot. We stocked up on meds and juice and a few snacks. It's good we had a good return. Rich and Mindy are doing well. It was so fun to spend the time with the grandkids. They are so cute. We'll see them again next week when they come down for Mindy's sister's wedding. I'll take pictures then.

We just welcomed in 40 new missionary couple's. We fed them Sat. night and yesterday I had the new people in our building over for dinner. I guess it's party time. We will begin training tomorrow and during this week, then the temple opens. We saw the first school bus today. That means we will be seeing them about everyday now until school is out. The tour buses have also started so we are off. The young performing missionaries will be here Fri. Can't believe how fast time goes.

Dad didn't mention going to Richards so I thought I better add a blog of my own so don't miss reading Dad's blog.

2009-04-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Gary and Leah at Whitney store
Example of how the pulpits were made for the Kirtland temple
Kirtland Temple

A Life Changing Experience – Nauvoo

During the temple break we drove to Kirtland. We went on a tour of the temple which was really inspiring to walk through it and realize that Joseph and the other faithful saints had labored so diligently to build it and how the Lord accepted it. And to ponder the marvelous things which transpired in there and feel a part of that bit of history was most humbling. Then we toured the restored buildings (the Whitney store, the ashery and sawmill, the Johnson hotel, the Johnson farm in Hiram, etc.) and the missionaries told the histories associated with each. It was a wonderful trip. So what does that have to do with the title above? It’s all part of this wonderful experience we are having here in Nauvoo. There is such a peace and love that fills the air as you walk where sacred things have transpired. We feel that each day as we work in the temple and walk the streets here in Nauvoo. One of the missionaries commented to me one day that his 4000 sq ft home he left doesn’t have any meaning anymore. He has never been happier than he is now. We all have the same accomodations and furnishings (including the dishes). Those things that were so important at home are not anymore. The only thing that indicates worldly status here are the cars we brought with us and no one pays any attention to them (unless the break down). Everyone you see waves, or stops to talk, or gives you a warm embrace. We often comment that we are in a little mini Zion where the outside world is blocked out. Our biggest concern is how we are going to maintain this spirit when we return home. If anyone needs anything there are more that enough people who provide the needed help. We had a lesson Sunday on tithing and its relationship to the law of consecration. We saw the huge farm of John Johnson, which he deeded to the church for the poor saints who were pouring into the Kirtland area. Could I do that? But the Lord commanded them to care for the poor and the needy and that command is still with us today. Here in Nauvoo we feel that spirit. But living in the world as we do it is hard to not be caught up in worldly things. I have compiled a list of scriptures that relate to our responsibility to care for the poor and the needy. These are just a few: 2 Nep 9:30; Mosiah 4:26, 18:28; Alma 5:55, 34:28; Hel 4:11-12; Morm 8:37-39; D&C 13:15; 26:20; 27:30; 28:13; 34:28; 52:40; 56:16; 83:6; 104:10-18; 105:3-5. Why did the early attempts at living the law of consecration fail? See D&C 105:3-5. We must never lose sight of the fact that we are but stewards over the earthly blessings received. “For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures. I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine. And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, and all things are mine.” D&C 104:13-15. I long for the day when we will learn to love and care for one another as the Savior loves and cares for us. As the prophet Joseph said, “Shall we not go on in so great a cause”.

2009-04-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

So I blew it on the last post. I better let you know about the birds. I'm sure you're just dying to know. The one is a red wing black bird. They have just come and we have a lot of them. I have learned their song so I know when they are around. There is a place down by the river where there is a lot of them. The next picture is of some pelicans. The eagles are about gone and now we have pelicans. They are so much fun to watch. They soar in groups in the sky and almost stand still. It is like they are doing a ballet. It is different than anything I have seen birds do before. In California we sometimes see pelicans but not in large groups like they are here. We also have blue Herons. We went to Carthage today and I saw three of them along the river.

2009-04-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Relief Society Commemoration

On March 17 The site sister missionaries held the Relief Society Commemorations at the red brick store here in Nauvoo. They put on a wonderful program and I came away with a spiritual high. To think we were actually in the spot where the Relief Society was originally organized. The program was very moving. They gave each of us a crocheted book mark with crocheted hearts in it (the theme was Hearts Knit Together) and also a booklet they had put together of different sisters stories of how relief society had been a part of their lives.

The following week Nauvoo had it's annual Women's Retreat. It is put on by some sisters that live here. It is two days and women come from all over. Because of working in the temple we were only able to attend the morning sessions. It was really good. The talks were so good. The first morning we had breakfast and then a musical number and then a talk. It was really good. The next day we were able to hear two talks and then go to the Relief Society reinactment at the red brick store. The talks were really good, very inspirational. One was given by the great great granddaughter of Joseph and Emma Smith. There was one given in the afternoon I really wanted to hear. It was a lady from Africa that lives in Salt Lake and I guess really has a story. I ordered her talk on CD. The reinactment was really good. We thought it might be like the commemoration but it was very different. There was only 8 of us that went to the retreat.

We had our Spring Fling Talent Show in March and I sang with 12 other sister temple missionaries. We sang "It's a Good Day". It was lot's of fun practicing for it. The talent show is always a big hit and can really have some fun performances. It is for our whole mission, site and temple plus the citizens of Nauvoo turn out and anyone else who is in town.

Last week they had the annual Prairie Grass burn. They have an area here they have a Prairie Grass demonstration. Prairie Grass covered a fifth of the continental United States including most of Iowa and Illinois and was a major contributor to the rich fertile soil that is in abundance here. They have a fire here to give us a little taste of what a prairie fire would be like. The prairie fires would keep the forest from invading the grass and also exotic species. There are areas between here and Carthage that the top soil is 30 feet deep.

Last night several of us sisters went to Keokuk to see "My Fair Lady" while the brothers were in Priesthood. I wash dad could have come, he really would have enjoyed it but it was the only time we could go. Two of our workers in the temple (not missionaries) were in it. I was quite impressed with their theatre. It is quite old and elegant. It is small but they had a balcony and box seats. The production company did a good job. We enjoyed it. We did have a tailgate party before we left over at the Land and Records parking lot. We do like to have fun. All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl. We don't any of us want to be dull.

2009-03-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

The amazing Mississippi

I have been fascinated by the Mississippi River and the Upper Mississippi Valley. I walk along the river almost every time I go walking and it is always changing. When we drive to Keokuk we drive along the river. We have been loving the Eagles. We see them here down by the river and sometimes I see one flying from my kitchen window. We see them when we drive to Keokuk and there are so many of them near the dam in Keokuk. They like fishing there. We sometimes will drive down to the river park and watch them. It's been fun watching the geese. Hundreds of geese huddled on the ice sleeping, swaqucking , walking around, flying. No wonder they use down to keep us warm because it is really cold. They actually get frozen in the ice. We also see lots of ducks.

Watching the ice has been so interesting. The river has been completely frozen at times and at other times is partly frozen. It's so interesting to see the piles of ice and different thicknesses. Places look like waves of ice. The river is thawed now and I'm thinking the deep freeze is over and it won't freeze again. I'm excited for when the turtles come. It's so fun to watch for turtles on our way to Keokuk. They climb on the logs and driftwood in the river. You might see 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, or more on one log. I have a picture of 22 on one log. We stopped to take a picture and they all jumped off.

The birds are fun to watch. Friday when I walked down to the river I saw a red winged black bird. We have cardinals here, Blue Jays, Red Headed woodpeckers plus other woodpeckers, robins have now arrived, also we have had a small bird that has been here all winter. There are hundreds of them and they fly in mass from one tree top to the other. They can be very noisey. Yesterday I was out walking and it was so neat to listen to all the birds. Today I saw a bright yellow bird when we coming home from Ft Madison.

Other animals here besides all the squirrels are deer, muscrats, racoons, rabbits, otters, beavers, frogs and turtles.

The winter has been very cold but also very interesting. The ice storms are something else but the one we had that left everything coated in 1/4" to 3/8" of ice was beautiful. The trees just glistened. The snow is different here than in Utah and California. It will start settling on the walks, roads and cars as soon as it starts to fall. The thunder and lightening are something else. The thunder is rolling thunder and can go on and on. Of course it is rare to have thunder and lightening in the winter except when we have an ice storm but they are starting now. Saturday night was a light show almost all night. We leave our curtains open so we can see it. And talk about rain. It really rained. Up north they are experiencing some flooding. We are getting into our rainy season. It rains more here in the spring and summer with July and August being our wettest months usually. It's all part of the experience and we are enjoying it.

50th Cruise

2009-01-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

To celebrate our 50th anniversary the kids decided we should do something extra special. We decided a cruise would be just the thing. No meals to prepare, no beds to make, no cleaning, being waited on and best of all no decisions. Everyone was looking forward to laying in the sun and having a splendid time. We did have a splendid time but the sun was being very elusive. In fact we didn't see much of it. In Key West we did have sun, but we didn't see much more of it until we were almost home. On our last day at see we finally got some sun although it was cold. In spite of the weather we had a great time. How could you not when you have the best people in the world with you. We had all nine kids and spouses and 2 year old Jane. What's not to love. We enjoyed being together. Now since I don't know what I'm doing I'll try to get this together.

The bottom picture is in Key West. The next three are in Belize. That's Mindy feeding Papaya to a spider monkey. Then we are climbing the Lamania Ruins. Richard is laying on the Kings bed, and that tree is full os Egrets. We went on a boat to the ruins, that's where we were able to feed the monkeys, see the Egrets and also the Crocodile and many other birds and animals.

Then we went to Guatemala. We all loved Guatemala. What a beautiful country. So lush and green. We went on a boat, then on a hike to some beautiful waterfalls. Then we went to a tortilla making demo and we all made tortilla's. We ate them with lime juice and salt. Yum, yum. We went to a Mayan village where they have a school to teach the Mayan children how to make it in the tourist trade. That is their biggest industry. We also had fun shopping and when we left they gave us a great send off.

Our last port was cancelled due to rough seas and wind. Of course that gave us one more day at sea and a rough day it was. A few of us felt a little wheezie and some felt a lot wheezie, but we all survived and had fun playing together. Gary did have a little mishap while playing in the pool with his daughters. Unfortunately there was a broken tile on the bottom of the pool which he managed to land on taken a large divot out of the ball of his foot. He ended up in a wheel chair the last two days. He is still recuping, but we did win a cruise ship cookbook due to his speed, accuracy and my finesse.

Thanks to all our kids for the wonderful time. It was great being with you all. We now are back to freezing temperatures and today a beautiful winter wonderland covered in snow and no wind here in Nauvoo.

2009-01-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some awesome pictures of winter here in Nauvoo. We went out for a walk today and by the time I got home my cheeks and nose were frozen. It is cold here but it does make for some really great pictures. We will thaw out in another week.

Winter in Nauvoo

2008-12-31T10:30:00.000-08:00

Winter in Nauvoo is an experience. We had our first ice storm one night and ended up not going to the mission sociable because of slick roads. It was freezing and raining. As soon as the rain hit it was ice and stuck. The next day it was gone. Then a few days later we got a real ice storm. We awoke to a world covered in ice. The car had 1/4" of ice all over it. Everything was frozen. We got a ride to the temple and also a ride the next day. Dad went out that afternoon to see if he could get into the car. He got it started and started chipping away at the ice on the windshield. Then he started on the drivers window. I opened the door on the passenger side and rolled down the window. There was a sheet of ice. I punched it out and it broke like glass. I did the other three windows, then dad got his done. The parking lots were covered in a thick sheet of ice. Even the snow was covered in ice. We walked very gingerly. The roads in Nauvoo had ice and snow. It was incredibly beautiful. The trees were covered in a layer of ice and when the sun shone on them they glistened like diamonds. This lasted for a week until we had the great warm-up and everything melted.

2008-12-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

Ok Sharon, here is another blog. We had a great time at Richard and Mindy's. We had fun with the kids and found that Chase is a real deal. He doesn't mind going toe to toe with anyone. I don't know where these wild kids come from. Certainly not my side of the family! Their new house is really nice although not the quality of the one Richard built. But it was nice and warm compared to outside which was frigid. They let us borrow a tree so mom has it all decorated and we are getting quite festive here. Richard is working hard to support the family and Mindy is working hard to keep everything running smoothly at home. I don't know who has the toughest job. We went out to dinner Thanksgiving eve and that was an interesting adventure. Porter told me what he wanted before we left home. I had forgotten what it was like to eat with coloring crayon and books all over the table. But we had fun. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Evans' and it was really good. Then came the tough part -- leaving. That's all folks!

More pictures

2008-12-08T13:09:00.000-08:00

I am still learning.

Freezing in Nauvoo

2008-12-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Since we returned from Utah it has been COLD. They say "we ain't seen nuthin' yet" but I keep saying we are going to have a mild winter trusting to the power of suggestion. The temperatures have not yet gone to single digits, however, when the wind blows which seems to be 90% of the time it is considerably colder. Even when we bundle up with gloves and scarfs and hats and heavy coats it still seems to get through. But there is warmth in the heart. Everyone is cheery in the temple and the work goes forward. I still haven't figured out how my hands can be freezing inside my leather fur-lined gloves. But the sights are beautiful. We see hundreds of geese sitting out in the Mississippi River with ice all around them then they fly overhead and mom tries to get a picture of them and she has trouble getting them because she can't see where she is pointing or they are too fast for her. But we took some pictures of the river where the ice is broken up like giant ice cubes. She managed that ok since they stayed still. We took some pictures of David's Chamber which is a little waterfall by us that is now frozen. It looks quite wintery.

2008-11-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

We are now into our 2nd week of the winter season and it is quite different because so many have gone home but we are now working with some missionaries we never worked with before and a lot of district workers so it is fun. It has turned of cold here and we are sure glad we got our winter clothes. We have now completed our move into our new apt and it is bigger and it has its pros and cons but mostly pros. Yesterday we got our internet and phone hooked up so we are ready to roll. Look out world! Tomorrow we leave for Utah for Myrna's funeral so that is a sad note but the gospel gives much comfort and hope. Well I have to pack and get ready for our shift at the temple. Love you all.

Dad

2008-11-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary at the Salt Lake Temple where it all began. We were joined by Terrell, Julie, Sharon, Matt, and Ella. We all went into the room where we were married and enjoyed the special spirit and joy of the occasion. After the temple we had dinner at Sharon's which turned out to be formal with George and Max in their suits and the rest dressed very nicely. Then under a tricky ruse Matt, Ella, Jane, Sam, and Cara left to take care of a alleged problem that Jane had and we went to Julie's for dessert and when we got there we were greeted by many of our old Sunnyvale friends who have migrated to Utah. It turned out to be a very special day.

Hooray! I am now a blogger.