Published in the November 2011 issue of the LDS Friend Magazine

are the cutest kids around.  They had just moved to Nevada.

What a fun year it has been with all of the groups working together better.  The cheerleaders and Tri-Dels did a pom routine together.  The band looks and sounds great in their new band uniforms.  The community/military come together to do the flags.  It's just a very impressive opening to the ballgames.  It is classy!

Another thing that I watched, although it has been a few weeks back was when the team had to enter on a specific spot because of repairs being made to the track.  The cheerleaders lined up; the Tri-Dels lined up, and the band lined up to welcome the team in.  Stansbury came out first and our kids welcomed them onto the field, clapping making them feel welcome.  It was just a really nice scene to watch.  The kids from Delta were full of class.  I was tickled with their actions.

We Love Clogging!

The girls had another really fun year with clogging. Their teachers are awesome and, even as Candi is going to be next year, wants to continue clogging with her group of friends and teacher.

Aunt Vanola

Aunt Vanola passed away last week on Saturday morning. We knew she was struggling and that she might be getting ready to go "home". However, who knows about that lady. I have received that same call many times and she has pulled through.

Before the call always left me very sad. Her son and daughter in law was away on a mission and I knew how much she wanted to be here when they returned. Well, Royden and Diane returned just three weeks ago. She had been there to greet them at the airport and had a couple of weeks to visit and then took a drastic turn for the worse. She is an elect lady and I will miss her but would never want to hold her back. It's time for her to be reunited with her husband, parents and baby son.

I remember visiting with my Dad a few years ago. We were visiting about Vanola and Lester. Dad really loved them both and shared his tender feelings with me. They are really just to sacred to me to share here, but needless to say, I'll bet he will try to be one of the first to greet her in her new home.

However, he may just have to wait in line. There are many who she knows on the other side because she has taken their names to the temple. I have over 12,000 ordinances done by her, her sisters and their families and that is just since 1994. She has been working at family history most of her life - long before I was there to witness her great efforts.

Vanola, I doubt anyone who knows you - even slightly - will wonder where you are at. I would never presume to know where most people are going to end up in the next life because we really just don't know their hearts fully. You however, have left no doubt. You will continue in the next life being an elect lady.

Ear Muff Headbands

I have had some fun crocheting a couple of headbands this past week. I was asked for the instructions, which of course I do not have. This is my best effort to recreate.

Flower:
Begin: Chain 4. Slip stitch to join, making a ring.
Row 1: Chain 3 +1. *Double crochet, chain one* five times. Slip stitch in 3rd of chain three at beginning. This will make six spots to add petals.
Row 2: Chain 1. (This just gets you to the height you need.) Single crochet in first hole. Half double crochet (which means start to make a double, but pull the thread through all three instead of making it into two steps.) Double crochet. Half double. Single. And in each spot following: *1 sc, 1 hdc, 1dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc*. Join in top of first single when finished with that row.
Row 3: Pull the thread loop through to the back at the bottom of the last row. Take hook out and work from the wrong side. I usually chain 3 and slip stich between pedals but it is important that it not be too tight. If you need 4 chains do that. You also don't want it to be so loose that the chain line shows above the previous rows pedals. When finished slip stitch to the beginning chains and pull the loop between the pedals and the chains, but working on the "right" side.
Row 4: Making another pedal: Chain one to get the height we need. then in each of the following chain links (behind the first row of pedals,) crochet: 1 sc, 1 hdc, 3 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc. Join.
Row 5: Make another chain link behind the pedals. This time it will take 4 or 5 chains to make it long enough.
Row 6: Making another pedal: ch 1. *1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc, 1 tr, 2 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc* in each chain link.

This should be large enough for the headband if you are using regular yarn. If the flower has too large of a blank center for you, just add a little ditty in the center:
Center Ditty (optional): chain 4. Join. 3 popcorn stitches with only the finishing chain at the end, but no others to seperate them. We want it tight. Popcorn stich instructions. Pull thread up high and loose. Wrap, pull thread up through x3. Pull a thread through all of the loops on the hook. chain one to finish the look off. (Making 3 and join at the top). I just used a needle to attach the two since it was the easiest. I also did it while attaching the flower to the headband.

Headband
I like it made with a tight stitch so I opted for the afghan stitch. To make the afghan stitch you will begin with eight chain stitches. Turn. Pull a thread up through each of the 8 chains, but leave them all on the hook until the end. Then you will take them off two at a time. Wrap, pull through 2. This will end up spacing them all nicely except the first two stitches. You will have to actually separate those first two that you pulled through (which works out to be the last stitches in the row in my brain). Here we go.

Start by chaining 11. I use one to turn on.
Row 1: skip the closest chain to the hook and bring a loop up onto the hook in each of the other 10 stitches. At the end grap the thread and pull through two loops at a time. Now, after the first two loops it will actually look more like pulling it through a chain and a loop each time.
Row 2. Chain 1. repeat row 1.
Row 3. Chain 1. Afghan stitch three stitches. Wrap the thread around the hook twice. Afghan stitch three more stitches. Afghan stitch them off the hook, making the loops into stitches that are not secured to the bottom - Making a start of a button hole.
Row 4. repeat row 2.
Row 5. Increase by one stitch in this row. Chain one. Make another stitch where the chains came from. It's a slick place to add a stitch to your row.
Row 6, 7, 8: repeat row 1, (but you will have one extra stitch on your hook than row one)
Row 9: repeat row 5. and so on

Keep increasing every few rows until you reach 30 stitches. This width is perfect for teenagers. I made one that went up to 40 stitches and it was much too thick. It looked like a spoiler on a car top. Silly. I just folded it over and used it anyway, and it too, was a big hit.

Decreasing:
In theory you would do the same number of rows and then decrease by one stitch. However, I found I had to decrease at least one row early. Just fold it in half and when one side is thinner, make the other side match. I think that decreasing at the end of the row was much less noticeable. I actually went through the last two stitches together (or the previous row) and made one loop, or one stitch.

I think 19" works pretty well for teenagers, and 17-18 for smaller people. It needs to be a bit tight. I think the head I measured was actually 21 inches, and I took two inches off to make it pull tightly/nicely.

Have fun!
Note: really any stitch will work. If you want to single crochet the entire thing that would be fine. Double would work also, but it would be a bit airy. Triple, I don't think I would like much. I liked the tight weave. Just keep it about 19" long (around the head) and about 3" thick at the crown and it should be fine. No rules!

Cruisin' Family

Just before we got off the ship. We had a great time.

Snow Hut

With such a great snow storm, Taylor and Nikki decided to build an igloo. They tried to make it in the front yard, away from the sun, but it was too muddy so they built it on the back lawn.

The bricks of the hut were made with the laundry bucket and stacked on top of each other. Then the snow mortar was added.

Dean is posing so you can tell that you can stand up inside. However, I don't know how you get in; just bending over didn't work for me. I would still have to crawl.

Let It Snow!

We have been really dry this year. While all around us people were getting snow we just got a skiff. This morning I watched the news and thought we might get a couple of inches, and thought that was being generous. 9 inches! And perfect snow for a fort, but alas, I am off to work and can't afford pneumonia again this year. It really is a beautiful sight.

Merry Christmas

I have been working on a blog for two of my aunts. They have been very generous in helping me with my genealogical efforts. I hope they and their families will enjoy them.

hunt2proveit4jewell.blogspot.com

hunt2proveit4vanola.blogspot.com

hunt2proveit.blogspot.com

Happy Halloween

Kim and family were here for the holiday.

Some Things Never Change

Taylor and Chandra

First time I met her I knew I had better get busy. When Taylor said he had taken her on a "second date" I was sure. Turns out I am right.

Wedding planned for
December 28th 2010.

They have worked like little tornadoes and actually gotten enough done it is as if they had a 4 month engagement.

Have Miracles Really Ceased?

I'm afraid I would have to stand up on this one and say "Absolutely not!" I have witnessed miracles all through my life but just this week I was again reminded.

I saw my nephew this past weekend. He was hurt very badly over 15 years ago. He lost the lower half of his face, including teeth, taste, nose, sight, chin and jaws. Today he has been reconstructed - but that isn't the miracle I speak of. Yes, he has lost his sight and when it happened we thought for sure he would want out of this world but at that time he was given a Priesthood blessing that he would see better than he has ever seen. No, his eyes still don't work, but he does in fact see better than he ever has in his life. He has become a lawyer with the sweetest wife and cutest boys you will ever find. He is a joy to be around and we stand in amazement at the miracles that have taken place in his life.

Another nephew was also in a terrible accident. He has become a quadriplegic through the events of that day. His son really wanted his dad to baptize him. Did the child forget that his dad was in a wheelchair with very little strength or movement? Well, I will forever regret that I didn't hear about it before hand so I could go and witness this my brother carry his paralyzed son into the font, place him in a wheelchair where his eight year old met him in the water. Placing his dad's hands just so, I think so that he could keep hold on his dad's hands, the prayer was said and holding tightly to his father he buried himself into the water until the small lifting movement told him he could come back out. That he had totally been covered and baptized. Not only was the baptism act a miracle but the fact that my nephew wanted to baptize his son would be considered a miracle by those who may have known him a few years ago. Yes, full forgiveness is also a miracle.

On Friday last, I received a call informing me that my brother had been hit on his motorcycle, flying 38 feet in the air, landing in the oncoming traffic lane of an interstate detour without a helmet. Funeral should be planned for sometimes this week, but instead he sits at home, with a broken hip, couple of ribs and two toes. He has a couple of scratches on his foot and a deep gash on his hand. Come on! 38 feet with no helmet into oncoming traffic lane and he looks better than I do.

We experience them every day - we just need to recognize them. I am so grateful to have witnessed and been reminded this week of these four miracles and I must go on record stating, "No, miracles have not ceased."

Chandra, You Up For Another Challenge?

Turn the volume down first. Taylor's pretty excited.

Where Does the Time Go ..... ?

I am sitting at the Family History Center waiting for someone to come in but no one does. It's a bit of a bummer.

I usually bring so much stuff with me that it doesn't really make any difference to me, but tonight even Dean went home. I'm all alone .... and lonely.

Then, to my surprise I get a text from Taylor. Pointing out that I'm missing a bunch of stuff by not getting on facebook once in a while. So I spent the next little while visiting with him and one of his new friends from Snow. Sounds like college is treating him well.

Kim and family came for part of the weekend. We enjoyed their visit and then went to Lemerado days. Did they miss spell that on the program. If your town is named Leamington, wouldn't you spell it Leamerado Days?

Mike is buying a new house. That will make three houses that we haven't seen, although I saw Blaines three times before he moved in.

This week is Stake Conference so we won't be traveling this week but maybe in the next couple we can make the rounds. We are planning on spending General Conference unpacking Mike and Zub. I will probably take Ben, and his cousins, and go to a park for a while. Is Chucky Cheese considered a park? :) I could park there.

The Rest of the Story ....

At cousin camp Kelly started telling us a story and I just started giggling. Who would have ever known there was more to the story than what we saw?

At one of our early cousin camps we took Erin and Kristin to one of the local rodeos. Someone next to us told us we better watch close because the night before a bull had jumped the fence and it was the next bull up. Well, just as he said, the white bull came right over to our side, and without missing a beat, jumped the fence. It scared Erin so badly she fell right between the bleachers down to the ground - where the bull was. He didn't even stop to look at her and we got her back up and all was safe. It terrified all of us for a few moments. Over the years we have recalled the events of that rodeo and smiled.

When Kelly was talking to me at Cousin Camp, he mentioned that Dad had owned a bull at one time that was a knot-head. They couldn't keep it penned and finally in frustration, sold it to a local stock man for the rodeo circuits. He continued to jump the fences at the rodeo and so only lasted a year or two because they couldn't control him at all. I am thinking they are one and the same. How funny is that?!

Letter to Mom

We had a good 24th. I sent the kids up in Taylor's car on Friday and they stayed with Mike. Kim and her family stayed with Blaine. I went up early on the 24th and went directly to the parade. The kids kept me informed about what was happening at the announcers stand, and I came in from Liberty Park. I walked almost half the way before I
found the Delta band and then walked on the side taking pictures the whole way back. They did really well.

I was mostly worried about the kids getting too hot. Dressed in those long pants, black, no less. But they had a couple of parents walking around and spraying them with squirt bottles, and even giving them a squirt in their mouths to help quench the thirst. They did really well. I don't think any of them suffered from anything more than sore
feet and being hot.

We then went to Mike's and fixed a picnic. We went to a neighborhood park and had a "baby doll" birthday party for Alexis. She was really excited for everything but then Taylor called her over to see that her baby dolls were trying to eat all of the cake. Taylor had taken icing and mashed it in their faces. MaKayla was about in tears seeing that.
I actually had to cram my keys down their mouths, with a rag wrapped over them, to get all of the icing out of all of the cracks in their mouths and noses. That didn't go over well. We visited until about 8 that evening and then I came home leaving the kids.

On Sunday, Taylor drove the girls over to Kim's house to help her for a week. Nikki is in charge of keeping the kids happy and out of Kim's hair. Candice is in charge of Iceman - whenever he cries Nikki calls for Candi to come and get him. Taylor and Kim have spent most of their time working on the walls. They are in the process of painting the walls today.

But even that has given them a few fits. The white walls painted easily but the tan walls are keeping the paint from sticking. Nikki said the paint just falls off them. I guess they will have to sand them to get the primer to stick. She doesn't really know why that happened.

Tom, Dean's cousin, moved in with us about 6 weeks ago. We don't really see him much because he works all day and then spends the evenings looking for a place for his family to move in to. Things are pretty tight around here - very few homes available and they want more money than they are asking for per foot than Salt Lake. He is hoping
to rent a place for a while, and planning on getting his family here by about the 22nd. It has been nice having him here. Nikki loves the fact that he likes to play card games and she can finally get someone to play with her more often than she can get me to.

Happy 3 Cutie!

Allie held off her birthday party until Grandma could come and celebrate with her. We met after the 24th "Days of 47" Parade and had a little picnic for the family and a bunch of baby dolls. Jo-Jo is starting to show a little scare-hair but the rest were decked out in their usual cute outfits. We had a tea party size lunch for the babies and Mom had to help blow out the candles on Allie's mini cakes. Grandma gave her our present - a pioneer doll and a back bag for the three oldest kids. We had a fun day. It was delightful to see Allie figure out how to make the back pack into a sling for her new dolly.

"I Should Have...."

Going through the house, doing my usual chores, I noticed that the dog beds needed to be washed. I gathered all of the blankets and pillows we have laid out for them to make their sleep nice and comfortable, and after shaking out the sand they collect, got them ready to go into the washing machine.

While inspecting them I noticed the large pillow had a small hole in it. I quickly remembered it was there last time I washed it and I meant to fix it but hadn't gotten around to it. I grabbed a pin, folded the edge over a couple of times and tossed it into the wash. I would mend it clean rather than while it was dirty.

About an hour later I found my washing machine full of little pieces of stuffing. Almost every last piece of cotton fluff had come out of the pillow and was mixed amongst and clinging to the rest of the blankets and dog pads. I spent the next 50 minutes restuffing the pillow and scolding myself.

Why, when I saw the problem did I ignore it? Why didn't I take a needle and fix the hole with just a couple of stitches and be done with it? Mom's old saying "A stitch in time saves nine" ran through my head over and over.

This week I have spent a few hours going through the Conference talks in the May Ensign. I have pulled out what seemed to me to be the main "warning" or "wisdom" in each talk. The compiled list reminds me there are "holes" in my life. Nothing terribly big, just little holes that appear small most of the time. But under pressure, will those little holes cause great problems? Will those little things I ignore cause me to lose what I treasure and hold dear?

Sometimes it is necessary to step up and do the "dirty job", to fix it now before it gets worse. I challenge each of you sisters to look for holes in your own lives and mend them as they become apparent to you. I, too, will be looking a little closer, and redoubling my efforts in many areas, as I return to my washing machine to finish retrieving all of the cotton, now lodged in the little holes of the bin. The pillow was a good reminder.

Cousin Camp 2010

We started "Cousin Camp" years ago with my older children and had lots and lots of fun. We invited all of the cousins (above 5) to come and stay for about 3-4 days. We have brought it back again for Candi and Nikki. We invited all cousins and cousins once removed in that age group. All girls helped cook and clean up afterwards.

Schedule:

Monday, July 5, 2010

Make Hot Dog Roasters

Necklaces with Becky

Roast Hot Dogs

Tuesday, July 5, 2010

Sew Capri Sun Bags

Bread Clay Jewelry

Smores

Go to the Rez

Movies

Wednesday, July 6, 2010

Sew Levi Jean purses

Jello-cheesecakes

Pool and Shuffleboard

Family Memorial Weekend

Kim's three oldest children came and stayed for a week. Josh and Kim dropped them off on their way to Elko, Nevada. We had all kinds of fun planned for the week.

I missed not taking the opportunity to visit a cemetery on memorial weekend a few years ago, and so we went on a little road trip. I realized the kids had just been in the van for 16 hours and it was tough to turn right around and get back in, but they were troopers.

We visited Hamblin, Enterprise, Hebron, and Santa Clara Cemeteries. I brought 3 egg boxes (larger than orange boxes) of my old wedding flowers and let the kids decorate the family graves. Wow.

They really went all out. Many of the flowers were single, but they took those single stems and made a carpet of color across the grave. When we left Hamblin, especially, you couldn't mistake which graves were our family.

Sewing Camp 2010

Once again the girls went to sewing camp this year. I helped with the 3rd year girls, but ended up having to work so I was not as much help as I would have liked. I didn't do any sewing this year. The girls both did all of their projects 100% on their own.

I got out my wedding sewing machine and kissed it good-bye [in thought]. Then tossed it and another machine in the dumpster. I immediately got online and ordered 3 new machines to replace those 2 with. Love that new math.

They made: fabric beach balls, pj pants, purses, bath wrap, bath hood, chalk board, pillowcase, slice of cake pin cushion, rag flip flops, humanitarian dresses, funky scarf they did not finish. Another fun year.

Boondocks

For the company party we went to Boondocks this year. We had a fun time and I showed everyone what a real score was - none of this low stuff for me!

Then we ran up to SL to deliver some stuff to Kim and Josh. We met them at Planetarium and watched a video about some pirates in space.

We enjoyed the day together as a family.

Camping with G&G

Friday, May 28, 2010

Supper and Swimming

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Leave for Enterprise, Hike Walmart, Watch GGpa Ivin video

Go to Hebron, Enterprise

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Church, go to Hamblin and Santa Clara

Stay at GGma Edna's

Monday, May 31, 2010

Swimming Party for Colton

Go to Leeds to see GG&G Wood

Tuesday-Friday

Swim and play

Make & Launce Rockets

Catch Toads

Softball Season

Nikki made it all the way through the softball season without breaking anything! Can't beat that!

She didn't enjoy the season as much this year, because she didn't have all of her friends on her team, but she learned a lot and was an asset to the team. She got to where she could hit the ball almost every time and brought in a bunch of runs during the season.

Clogging Competitions

We had a bunch of dance competitions this year. I have to tell you I just love Jill Carroll's choreography. I am so glad Candi is in her group.Both girls are having fun, and Nikki especially likes that she has some time to play with friends after each lesson.This is Candi's second year and Nikki's third.

We went to Thanksgiving Point, and Lagoon with the clogging groups. Candi's group took 1st place over all.

Nikki's group got a 1st and 2nd place in their division.

Family and Friends

Just a little more information ....

When I was up at the NGS conference I discovered a college in Toronto, Canada that offers an online genealogical certificate. It is different than a professional test like I am doing this year. It is an actual college that will give a degree/certificate.

Just like with Dean's professional engineer license, or Mikes Journeyman license - if they do not pay the required amount each year, the license can be taken away. That is how the AG accreditation works. I only have to take the test once, but have to keep paying for the ability to use AG after my name.

This college in Toronto - very Catholic - is more like me going to Dixie and getting my business certificate 1, 2 or 4 year certificates. This will be a 2 year certificate.

The selling point on this college [for me] was that I can email them and tell them that the grandkids are coming for two weeks and I don't have time to work on school. They will push the deadline back for me without any problems. The only requirement is that I let them know before the ending date. Not to serious.

Anyway, when I was in Salt Lake attending the conference I really wanted more. I am getting a bit bored of the smaller conferences because they focus on beginners so strongly and have only a few of the more advanced classes. I have attended a few of those 3 times. Conferences are great but you can get overload and you don't retain as much as you should or could. I think this is the perfect answer for me.

I have only started the first course, and it isn't difficult although the handouts they have copied are awful. I have to go online and find my own records to view because my eyes can't read their teeny, grainy handouts. In this course that has been no problem. It appears it will take me about 4-7 days to finish one course. I have planned on signing up for two at a time through the basic courses.

Another selling point is that I can take 12 courses in German. I will start mixing those in as soon as I get this AG test over with. I officially became a professional genealogist on April 30, 2010. After a few more months I can send in the papers to take the AG test. I have asked that St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto send me all of the binders for classes so that I can work ahead and do the work on there courses which I will turn in when I get to that course, but will be able to use the information for the test. I think it is win/win.

Crazy Easter Bunny !!!!

The crazy Easter Bunny hid Nikki's box/basket in the oven and when Madelyn got up to fix breakfast she preheated the oven. Stinky!!! Taylor was kind enough to share before he woke up so Nikki still had some treats.

We discovered that the ducks bleed chocolate.

Time Passes Quickly

I can't believe that so much time has gone by and I haven't blogged a thing. I have been keeping myself absolutely swamped the past few months trying to become a Professional Genealogist. So, okay. I'm a Professional Genealogist. But I am having so much fun that I have actually signed up (now) to go to school (which is supposed to get you ready to go Professional). When did I ever do anything in the correct order?

I am going to school online at St. Michael's, University of Toronto, Canada. I start the first week of June and should finish in about two years. The reason I finally decided to go ahead and sign up was this school is willing to work with me. If I have a family "thing" come up, I just email them and push back my "due" date. As long as I talk to them, they said they will be willing to work with me.

That gives me great comfort. I just never have been able to say "Yes, I will go to school (for me - never planning on getting a job to repay the school costs) and that if something comes up where my family needs me I will just tell them I can't help." With this school I can simply tell them I can't work on school for a certain amount of time, and start up again when I can. Big deal for a Mom that likes being able to help her kids and grandkids out when they need me to.

I am really excited about this and have had a hard time waiting to start. I pushed the start date back a month so that I could get the house clean. Not working out very well so far. :(

Just thinkin' about food!

Cafe' Rio Style Salad

5-6 lb. pork roast

21 oz. Dr. Petter (not diet)

1 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

7 oz. can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

6-8 oz red taco sauce (hot is great)

1 t. dry mustard

1 t. cumin

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Slow cook roast in a crock-pot, half covered with water for 12 hours (low setting). After about 10-12 hours, drain the pork. Mix remaining ingredients in a metal bowl until sugars are dissolved. If you like less "kick" you can remove a few of the chilies. Add mixture to the roast and continue cooking on low for another 4 hours.

Once it is cooked take roast out and shred. Add back into sauce for an additional 2 hours.\

Serve over salad greens.

Dressing:

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

3 tomatillos, outer papery skin removed, and chopped

1 c. mayo

1 c. buttermilk

1 c cilantro, rough chopped

3 cloves garlic

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

2 t. green Tabasco sauce

juice from 1 lime.

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate in air-tight container.

Nut Case

Okay, at the risk of sounding like a total, and I mean TOTAL nut case here goes.

This week, in looking over my records, I have one whole generation where it appears the records have been linked as a family because they are living in the same town. SCARY!

I am trying my hardest to sort them out, document and put them in the correct family. The records are so scarce that I am beginning to understand why they may have been grouped because of location. I went to bed a few weeks ago with the prayer that if they were going to be sorted out, He was going to have to send angels.

Last week a lady contacted me asking me questions about one of the descendants in that family. She sent me proof that he has a grandson of Benjamin Jr and then has followed with tons of newspaper articles from that time period. Made me wonder just a bit.

Today I just got off the phone with someone that asked me about an Ohio Depue. Chris N. comes down the line a bunch and has a contact. He said he would call Margaret and tell her he found me.

Two minutes after hanging up from him I get a call and the caller ID said "Campbell". I didn't even say hello, I just picked up and said "Man, that was fast". I talked to Margaret about her Depue connection for about 1 hour and had to hang up to go to work.

Do you think (if angels had wings) you could hear the rustling sound? Wow, I think I am getting help.

Getting Caught Up

I noticed I hadn't posted for almost a month. Nothing exciting to write about but just the usual.

I've been working hard on reading 1500-1700 handwriting, making binders to help me in my research and attending classes for genealogy. I have a class in Salt Lake/Provo every month for genealogy and will be attending the UGA Conference the end of April for my birthday.

Relief Society is a little less stressful now that we are fully staffed. I am also the music coordinator but struggling a bit to get musical numbers for each week, since we don't know the themes very far in advance. They have now given me the themes so I can start working on that.

Not much else is going on. Candi is playing volleyball and we go to games every Thursday.

Just Us!

Guats Up

Guat’s Up? by Dean
A two year goal, we saved our dollars
Then packed our bags for Guatemala!
We soon flew off to claim our boy
On a jumbo jet, the real McCoy
Leaving cold and snow and ice
We found ourselves in paradise
First meeting with the President
Who is hoping we don’t set precedent
The city’s noisy, smoggy too
And traffic’s like a monkey zoo!
Driving like a loco hombre
First hit the gas; then you pray
Signal with your hand and horn
Dad was slow, but soon reborn!
The malls are modern; steep in price.
The Aquarium was especially Nais.
The city driving hurt Dad’s tummy
But the seafood there was really yummy
Leaving the city far behind
Up the mountains; made the climb
Mountain roads wind up and down
With tumulos in every town
The higher up those mounts you go
The smaller the Mayan people grow.
The people there were fun to meet
The men hard working, the women sweet
With round brown faces, four feet high
Their eyes are guarded; tired; shy.
Mostly black eyes; never blue
But we saw fair-skinned green eyes too!
Mountain driving was a blast
Honk the horn then blindly pass
Tourismo Gizmos everywhere
Would pass without a bit of care
Women’s skirts were bright and flashy
The roads pristine, the cities trashy
The men worked hard with their machete
Their packs piled high with sticks already
We saw poor caballos passing by
Seldom standing 14 hands high
And cattle trucks with their heavy load
Hauled 50 people down the road
The countless dogs resembled jackals
Unknown birds, but mostly gackles.
A scary ferry across the rio
One false move, you’re wet and frio
Laughing, smiling, singing songs
As though our trip could not go wrong
We blew a tire down near Semuc;
The roughest road we ever took
We prayed the doughnut tire would last
Then noticed we were out of gas
Cable walkways above the jungle
One false step would be a bungle
Howlers screamed out in the briars
Like prehistoric high school choirs
Tuktuk taxis zoomed around
Like cucarachas on the ground
Ancient temples in Petén
A glimpse of people way back when
Monkeys lept from tree to tree
We strained our necks so we could see
No pisotes, jaguars or green-plumed birds
But lots of gringos, how absurd!
Hotter than hell’s santuary
And it was only January!
Soaked our feet in cool water
And prayed it wouldn’t get much hotter
Darling members fed us well
Our bellies full; we all slept well
We did Candi’s homework on the way
"ar" verbs burned half a day
Cool cat tourists incognito
Learned a new word; "We’re perdido!"
Vocanos grande guard a lake
Natives scramble for tourists sake
Mom goes shopping, we’re out of cash
Checked her deoderant; found her stash
Boat rides on the lake; Azul
Nikki Anne thought that was cool!
Paintings, textiles, carvings, more
Harassed and mauled in every store
One saw the game all out of skew
5 dollars for 1, how ‘bout 20 for 2?
Beggar shadows tugged our sleeve
But one quetzale made them leave.
Candi found a stone of black
It shocked her good; she jumped back
Antiqua isn’t quaint at all!
The streets are lined with old brick walls
The beauty there was found within
Inside each square the fun begins
Even Micky Dee’s was quite a sight
Fountains, gardens, food; just right!
Tired travelers board a plane
Greatful to be home again!

Back to Regular Life

What a fun trip we had going to Guatemala and picking up Taylor. We returned home on Sunday, close to midnight, and came home Monday. We stopped off at a couple of stores to get some shopping done so that Taylor would have something to wear. He left all of his clothes in Guatemala and has nothing to wear. All of the clothes he left in Delta are too large for him now.

We made it home Monday evening about 6:00 pm and met the Stake President, Roger Kilpack at the Delta 2nd Branch building. They visited for a while and then we were invited in to join them. Taylor mentioned that he had been in Guatemala as a missionary longer than anyone else in the history of Guatemala North Mission. He went for the MTC and then stayed 2 weeks longer. All in all he had seen the calendar change in Guatemala 26 times.

Dean mentioned that the ward knew how much he had struggled in the beginning and wondered if he might address that. Possibly explain what helped him make it through etc. President Kilpack said his two examples earlier would fit perfectly. They were the stories about his two companions that had real health issues. One had his foot run over and they had to cut some of his toes off. The other had yellow fever and spent a great deal of time in the hospital also.

What made all the difference with these two elders is the amount of faith they had. Elder Madsen insisted that he stay in the mission. He spent a good deal of time in the mission home but he fulfilled a great mission and made a difference to the people of Guatemala and to himself. Elder Martinez chose to go home. He had no intentions of staying once he became sick. Taylor said that he lacked the faith - rather it was him that had the faith and told him he needed to stay. In the end he went home.

It has been great to have Taylor home. He has not changed much as far as personality. He is still fun-loving and needs to enjoy life but he is much more mature, organized and willing to do what needs to be done. It is so amazing to send out boys and bring a wonderful young man home with you two years later.

Yes, I was there too

Self-snapshot.

Swollen ankles and bad knees, but I held up until Saturday when most were ready to rest anyway. Once again the knee died before the feet. Guess it's time to try to rebuild cartilage again.

Dad, can we go climb the ... Volcanos?

NO, but at least we understand Mike now after all these years.

Middle of the Busy Roads

Yes, there are people walking right down the middle of the road, in and out of traffic. Not a big deal once you get used to it.

There are often 2 lanes of traffic with either three cars abreast as one merges or 2 cars and 2 motorcycles mixed with people trying to get on the chicken buses or to cross the street.

Another Great Day

We spent the day in Antigua but really didn't have much of a plan. However, we fell right into a great day.

We started by moving the car by 8 am and going out looking at the town to get our bearings. We were then going to breakfast but happened on our Jade factory.

Raphael was our tour guide and he was suggested to us because, although he is not LDS, he has studied our Book of Mormon history and infomed us of things we would be interested in. Most archeologiest believe that the capitol (Guatemala City) is the Ancient city of Nephi and that Lake Atitlan is the Waters of Mormon. The jury is still out on that one.

One note of interest is that archeologists have identified a glyph that means "it came to pass". We picked up a couple of these little pendants for interest sake. They are made of black jade that is mined in Guatemala.

Kim had us looking out for the Tree of Life souveniers. Sorry, this one of jade cost $375. Your souvenier is the picture.


Candice in particular seemed fascinated with the jade jewelry factory. They have a small mayan museum there and had a large block of black jade for you to heft. I suppose they want to demonstrate how dense this mineral is.
Anyway, when Candice hefted it, she experienced what she described as an electric shock from the stone. Rafael, our guide wasn't surprised at all. He said it is rare but it happens. Weird stuff.

We visited some old Catholic ruins that were interesting.

Nik was tired today so Dean took her back to the room to rest. Dean got some much needed rest (he's pretty sick) and Nik got to watch TV. The rest of us walked around Antigua.

Antigua really is not the quaint fun little town that it was billed to be. It is layed out in a tight grid of very narrow cobblestone streets flanked with bleak crumbling walls that serve as the facade for the buildings. An inadequate three-foot sidewalk is all that separates the front of the buildings from the street. The secret to this town is that behind the sparse inornate doors, you often find wonderful cafes, restaurants, shops etc. centered around lavish gardens with benches and fountains, etc. Who would have thought? This town reminds me of the French Qurater of New Orleans without the ornate wrought-iron french architecture and veranda's. It also has that artsy, no makeup, granola feel like Salsalido. Ever wonder where the true hippies went? They are in Antigua Guatemala laying low!

We capped off our day by attending a lecture by some guy from U of Texas who talked about the Mayan calendar. It was in spanish but Taylor did a great job of translating.