Summer stuff

We went for a 30 mile ATV ride with a couple from Dayton who I work with at the temple. We parked at their home and went straight up the road, along some mountain trails, down through Clifton, ate at Papa Jay's there, rode back to Dayton, had pie and ice cream, then drove back home. Fun, beautiful and exhausting day. The picture below is taken up above Jean and Ron's new home. The water is Twin Lakes.

The angel Moroni was supposed to be placed on the Brigham temple today around noon. We drove by but did not stop. It seemed there were thousands and thousands of people huddled under thousands and thousands of umbrellas...unbelievable! Many were in Sunday dress. Due to rain and wind, Moroni wasn't placed atop the temple until about 2:30 p.m. These pictures were taken out the car window as I was driving and they don't do justice to what it looked like.




Nephew, Brandon Conlin, married Maria Briese on Friday, July 8th in West Jordan. Everyone had a good time and it was good to see some family members we hadn't seen for a while. Here are two of pictures of the newlyweds dancing:


On Saturday, July 8th we held the Conlin Family Reunion at the Lions Pavilion at Willow Park in Logan. It was a beautiful day. The reunion was well attended and everything turned out fine but we are glad it is over! Being in charge of two reunions two weeks apart is nerve wracking. I didn't take a single picture but one of Reed's cousins said she'd email me some she took so I could post them here and on the Conlin Family blog.

Robin's family stayed overnight and relieved us of a little of our junk. We were talking about our upcoming vacation. How random and coincidental is this? Neither of us knew the plans of the other, but Robin, Andrew and girls will be staying in Boise on Thursday night...the same night we will be staying there. The next night Robin made reservations for a motel in Seattle and it is exactly the same motel we are staying in! As long as they will be in Seattle, Robin has signed Ashlyn up for a dance competition. We wish her well! Maybe we will be able to see it before we board the cruise ship.

This week Hailey is attending EFY (Especially For Youth) on the campus of Utah State.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Zobells. Dale and Susan were in our ward in Millville and Dale served as a counselor in the bishopric to Reed. They moved to Wellsville before we moved to Nibley and they have recently moved into this ward where we are living.

Jill and Brandon's basement is coming along fine. There was a big mess when blown-in insulation was all over the house including some of the kitchen drawers. That was cleaned up and a couple of days later everything was covered with white sheetrock dust. Things are taking shape.

In a couple of weeks I hope to have some good pictures to post.

Reading lots of books. Still househunting. Bye for now.

Happenings

Ransom Reunion at Willow Park

June 25, 2011

We parked at Hardware Ranch and went 4-wheeling towards Monte Cristo.

Here is a 10-12 foot snow slide across the road, making it impassable.

Franklin Basin area-

June 30, 2011

Winter doesn't want to relinquish its grip on the landscape; It still looks like very early spring, not the 4th of July week! There aren't many campgrounds accessible and open.

When we got stuck the first time we went back, turned off and went up Steep Canyon. When we couldn't go any further we sat on a rock and had a picnic. These pictures are of the snow covered road with the snow melt creating rivers on the road bed.

I'm looking forward to another ride on Wednesday in Idaho with a couple I work with at the temple. We are going to establish the TW4WRC...Temple Workers 4-Wheelers Riding Club. Ha-ha.

Jill, Courtney, Hailey and Natalie went to Youth Conference in the St. George area and had a great time. They came home, washed clothes and packed for a family week at Bear Lake. The rented unit slept 22 (or more) and was above the store across the sidewalk from the timeshare unit we had for over 20 years. We took the boat up one day so the kids could go on a ride or kneeboard. I am always proud of the first time boarders. Riley did great on his very first try!Ashlyn told me she got first place in a dance competition the weekend before. Jill and family came home from Bear Lake, washed clothes and packed again and headed for the weekend in American Falls. Reed has been taking care of the yard and garden, we've been feeding and watering the hermit crabs, we're doing some dishes and housework etc. Reed has prepared some tasty dinners. We have been house hunting. There are possibilities but there pros and cons to everything we've seen. We will check out more next week. The temple has been extremely busy and after today, will undergo maintenance and remodeling during the summer break. It will be back in business on August 2nd.

Johnsons at Bear Lake

Brynlee-7, Ashley-13, Riley-15, Jayse-10

Courtney is back working at a snow shack again this summer. Jill and Brandon put on a big fireworks display. Kim's family came to it and there were many neighbors watching from their yards, decks or the road. When Logan City had their fireworks we had a good view from the deck. We really didn't do much celebrating. We didn't attend the Cruise-In or parade. We went to see "17 Miracles." When our ward went to Martin's Cove we were each 'assigned' a name of one of the members of the Martin-Willie Handcart Company. I was Tamar Loader and Reed was Thomas E. Ricks. Their story(miracle)was portrayed in the movie. We'll be attending the marriage of nephew, Brandon and his wife-to-be, Maria on July 8th. The next day we will be having the Conlin Reunion at Willow Park.

Happy Father's Day!

I hope all the fathers in our immediate and extended family and amongst our friends had a nice day. Here is a cute Father's Day picture that Robin took today and posted on Facebook.

Ashlyn-7, Aubrey-2, Andrew and Katelyn-4

Here's the Father's Day picture of the Hawkins family from Jodi's blog:Right now their ages are 1, 2, 3, & 5. Abby just turned one, Olivia will be 3 in July, Miles will be 4 in August and Owen's 6th birthday is in August. Ty was released from the bishopric on Father's Day and put right back in with a different bishop.

Last week I was getting ready to order breakfast at the South Logan McDonald's. From behind me a couple of arms encircled my neck and a deep voice said, "Hi Grandma." I turned and bumped into the brim of a cowboy hat. It was Mason from West Jordan. He was with his scout troop on the way to Camp Hunt at Bear Lake. What a coincidence!

Jean and Ron purchased a home with a nice big shop/shed on 6 acres in Clifton, Idaho. We had seen the home before and living a rural Idaho country lifestyle looks appealing to us too. Congratulations to them! We hope they enjoy it and are able to sell their home in North Ogden soon.

We were invited to lunch with some Heber Valley Camp missionaries we served with who were getting together in Utah County. I was working at the temple that day so we were unable to attend.

We took the boat out for the first time this season...a couple of months later than usual. We went to the storage facility, drove to Hyrum Dam, removed the cover, put up the bimini top and continued to prepare for launch when I noticed there were no keys. When the boat is in our own garage we just leave the keys in the ignition. We disconnected the boat and I had to go 'home' to get the keys while Reed set up the downriggers and mounted the trolling motor. Reed got a nice 17 incher which is bigger than usual for the dam. Several got away but we still had enough for a 'fillet of trout' meal. (much to the grandkid's dismay)

I went for a spin to Millville Canyon with Hailey but the road was still closed. We ran over a snake on the road that was about 40-44" long. I took Natalie and Kaden for short rides up Providence Canyon. The muddy water was turbulent and I understand there is some major flooding up a little higher. The golf course is closed due to flooding and many roads remain closed. The Monte Cristo road is usually open on Memorial Day but as of June 15th, it still had 8 feet of snow. On the other hand, all this cool weather and rain has made everything very beautiful and green.

We made a loop up Logan Canyon to Bear Lake, down Emigration (Strawberry) Canyon to Preston and back home. Several campgrounds were closed and picnic tables were partially submerged. The Temple Fork road was open for a ways but the road to Spawn Creek was gated. There was snow near the roadside at the higher elevations and some of the aspen trees were barely starting to show green. Flooding and erosion problems are everywhere. Bear Lake is so full that there really aren't any beaches. The area we usually go to and drive along the beach and stake our claim with the gazebos and lawn chairs is totally under water. The lake level is up to the rocks at the side of the road. The temperature was in the upper 50's and when the sun went behind some clouds and a cool breeze blew, it was quite chilly. There were only 4 boat trailers at the marina...pretty unusual for the last half of June.

Courtney spent last week at cheer camp in Park City. This coming week the three girls will be attending Youth Conference in St. George.

Reed and Jill planted a garden and things are coming up. Before we left Nibley, Reed was able to eat some of the raddishes he'd planted.

Ducks quack, geese honk, crows caw and roosters crow but I don't know what the sound of pheasants is called. But we get to hear that sound several times every day. There are still deer wandering around. Some were foraging on the next door neighbor's trees the other day.

I must be getting old

One day last week I was older than 3 out of 4 persons in the obituaries in The Herald Journal. Yes, I must be getting old.

While going through my things prior to moving I came across a Dance Program for the students of Annette Maughan. Marilyn and I took tap dance from her when we were quite young. A couple of other sisters doing the dance routines were Roxanne and Vicki Haslam. Roxanne was my age and Vicki was about Marsha's age. I remember going to Roxanne's birthday party when we might have been in 1st or 2nd grade. She moved to North Logan after that. Roxanne and Vicki's parents currently live in Jill's ward. They go south to Washington, Utah during the winter and are home teachers to our friends, the Claytons. Anyway, Vicki was visiting her parents one Sunday and after sacrament meeting Jill was telling them that I had a Dance Review program with Roxanne and Vicki's names in it. When I joined the conversation, Vicki asked me why I had the program. She asked if I had children in it. When I told her I danced with her and Roxanne and that I was Roxanne's age, I don't know which one of us was more embarrassed. Yes, I must be getting old. Or at least looking old.

A moving experience...

It's official! On May 24th we sold our home. With the current housing market, we feel very fortunate! We finally got everything fixed up just like we wanted. We didn't have to sell, but after 6 1/2 years, it was probably time to downsize. We didn't know for sure that the sale would go through until 4 p.m. on that day when we passed a 4 hour home inspection. We couldn't really box up everything and move out in case the sale failed. We didn't want to end up with 2 places. We are technically 'homeless.' It has been nearly two weeks since we moved in with the Schvaneveldts in Providence. Since Brandon, Jill and kids lived in our home in Nibley for many months, this is sort of payback time. We have a 'room with a view' and enjoy our sweet suite.

I've always considered myself to be neat, clean and organized. The moving experience made me rethink those qualities. It would have been much easier if we had our own place to move into. Then we would have known what we needed to keep and what we needed to give away, donate or discard. I started out being fairly systematic but due to time constraints, things got progressively more disorganized. Jill and Brandon were the main muscles and help for the move. They also had to rearrange their home to accommodate our household belongings. Their 3rd car garage is filled to the brim and the kids have had to give up much of their space and be inconvenienced. Riley and Bryan also did a lot of work. The Johnsons can no longer park vehicles in their garage due to all of our garage/shop and outdoor stuff. Kim was suffering a lengthy and bad bout of pneumonia during our move and I felt badly I was unable to help her. She said she felt badly that she was unable to help us. We were glad that Candace and Jory came with a pickup and trailer to claim some of our junk. We got to a point where we just had to haul and store everything else and will have to go through it later. We could have sold lots of things but felt if the kids could use them, we'd rather go that route. The boat and 4-wheeler trailer are at a storage facility.

I wish I could report that I know where we will build or buy. We are still looking, and looking and looking. This I know, we are being very picky. And of course we want the perfect small home with a 3 car garage and RV parking, nice neighbors around our age, with immaculate yards and no barking dogs, in a peaceful, beautiful, yet convenient setting at a ridiculously low price. Any ideas? I think we have decided on staying in Cache Valley for about 8 months out of the year and then head on vacations or rent some place where it is warm for the other 4. After all, our snowblower stayed with the house and the snow shovels were sent to Deseret Industries.

Before throwing away my 'trophies' I took a picture of them:

We made lots of trips to D.I and the garbage dump...and I don't know what possessed me to take pictures there:

We have driven our pickup trouble-free for 13 years and then it started having issues. What a bad time for it to act up! Anyway, the dealer charged us about $400 for a repair but must have misdiagnosed the problem. At least we limped through our move before it gave out. Reed had just hauled the trailer to the storage shed when the malfunctions persisted. It ended up being a computer problem and another $700 later, we are on the road again. Reed fell in love with a fancy new pickup he took for a test drive. Maybe some day.

We have booked an Alaskan cruise followed by time for fishing and crabbing on the Oregon coast with the Coles. We're hoping for warmer temperatures so the roads and trails in the high country will open for 4-wheeling. Right now the rivers, lakes and reservoirs are still too muddy to fish. We're involved in putting on family reunions this summer. Kaden and Brynlee have had birthdays this month and Reed and Kim will soon have theirs. Courtney, Hailey and Natalie got their report cards...all 4.0's.

Spring

Spring has been slow arriving this year. Flowers are finally blossoming and everything is really green. We haven't seen much sunshine or had many warm days because of an over abundance of rain. Last week the flowers on the temple grounds started to bloom. This is a very busy time for marriages at the temple. There are wedding photographers and wedding parties all over the grounds.

My niece, Staci, married Matt on May 13th. She was a beautiful bride. Everything was really nice. It was great to visit with friends and family. The day was 'picture perfect' but since my camera kept malfunctioning, I had to supplement my pictures with ones I snitched from Holly's facebook posts. The first five are hers:

Mine:

Here are Staci's nieces, Olivia and Marissa, throwing rose petals. They made cute flower girls.

Staci and Matt

The Riverwoods

Flooding over the road

at one entrance to Millville

Maxwell and William Adams

These guys are doing good and one of them is 4 1/2 pounds now. Thankfully their mother, Melissa, has been able to go home following her extremely serious troubles (embryonic embolism and blood clots) and ensuing complications. She still has several health issues the doctors are monitoring but is improving.

We have lots of birthdays in the family during May. Some of them are: Granddaughters Abby (1), Aubrey (2) and Natalie (12), daughter Robin, son-in-law Jory and my sisters Marilyn and Marsha. There's also a niece, nephew, sister-in-law, brother-in-law etc. Natalie began her birthday by attending a very early morning celebration at Spring Creek Middle School, the "Breakfast of Champions," for those achieving a 4.0 GPA.

About Aubrey...she is the 3rd child and 3rd daughter of my 3rd child and 3rd daughter, Robin. I am the 3rd child and 3rd daughter of my parents. My mother was a 3rd child. Natalie is the 3rd child and 3rd daughter of my daughter, Jill. It is weird that my sister Marilyn's 3rd daughter and 3rd child is also named Natalie. We had two former neighbors, Tina and Lynnette, who both named their 3rd child and 3rd daughter Natalie too. The coincidences don't stop there as Natalie and Robin were both born on May 18th, and they share the date with others on both sides of the family.

Does this mental madness of mine give you any clue why I can't sleep at night? Once I wake up my mind goes in high gear and I can't get back to sleep. I wish my thought processes could be flipped on and off with a switch or be channelled into something productive! Reed says I am turning into my mother because I worry about everything. He says his mother was also a worrier. He thinks maybe it is a female trait. But that scares me because both of our mothers suffered from dementia...and some days I think I am suffering from it already. Like on Friday the 13th when I was working at the temple. I passed a mirror and noticed my open neckline appeared to have a lace-edged white dickey in it. I had put my slip on backwards. Embarrassing!

Actually, I do have a lot on my mind right now. I have been having bad headaches...probably stress, but they could be seasonal. We are cleaning out and boxing everything up prior to moving. But what if something goes wrong at the closing next week? We got over the appraisal hurdle and now I worry about the house inspection. Where are we moving? Good question. We haven't found the perfect place yet. We will temporarily live in Jill and Brandon's upstairs family room. (our bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette in their basement aren't finished) We want to downsize from over 3800 s.f. of living space and 2100 s.f. of garage/shop space. We are trying to give away, donate or get rid of lots of things but we don't know where we'll end up or what we will need to keep. Where should we put all our stuff in the meantime? What about our boat and 4-wheelers? And our pickup is having problems, so how do we move? We just might have to buy a new truck. This is one necessary step in order to get out of long, dreary, cold, snowy Cache Valley winters.

On another note, we were able to be back in our home ward last Sunday. It was especially nice that I got to sit with Reed. For so many years, like this past one, depending on what calling Reed has, attending church is a solo activity, not a family one. There was a double 'missionary farewell.' Both seemed well prepared to enter the mission field. They gave excellent talks. With attending a YSA ward, we have been so 'out of the loop' when it comes to happenings in our Nibley ward. We were saddened to learn of yet another ward member with cancer. Many in the ward as well as family members, close and extended, are facing health issues or having other life challenges and difficulties. I take comfort in placing their names on the prayer roll.

A few old pictures

My first family picture. I was one month old.

Marsha (3), Me (4 1/2), Marilyn (6) and Jean (7 1/2)
Pioneer Village at Lagoon - 1988
Front: Jodi, Kathy, Reed
Back: Candace, Jill and Robin
Kim was off with a friend and didn't show up.

LAST THINGS

On Monday, April 25th we had our LAST Home Evening Group from the YSA ward come to our home. After the lesson each one told of plans for summer and beyond. The Home Evening 'Dad' and 'Mother' of that group are getting married to each other. Some are going on missions. We served veggies with dip followed by a yummy chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. "Good Luck" was written on the cake. As soon as the students left we had the Johnsons and Schvaneveldts come for cake and ice cream. They have been recipients of treats during the year whenever we've had FHE left overs.

Sunday, May 1st was our LAST day at church for the school year. I took Courtney and Riley so they could see what they can look forward to in a YSA ward. Following the block there was the LAST Linger-longer of the year. Taco salads were served. There was a fireside at the Spectrum at 6 p.m. and at 8:30 p.m. the LAST ward prayer service was held.

On Monday, May 2nd we had a combined FHE and Closing Social for our LAST get-together as a ward. We had a dutch oven meal. Our ward is completely new each school year so I'm sure this is the LAST time we'll see them.

Reed is busy driving bus routes during this LAST month of school for Cache County and Logan City School Districts. LAST minute field trips and time off for regular drivers keep all the subs busy. Many of the students within the district have already attended their LAST day of the year as there has been a whooping cough outbreak. Those who are ill or haven't been vaccinated have been required to stay home for 21 days.

Mother and Dad's LAST grandchild is graduating from high school. Congratulations to Lauren, the youngest of 28 grandchildren, who will graduate from Sky View. In two more years, Courtney, the oldest of about 67 great-grandchildren will graduate from Mountain Crest. The LAST great-grandchildren of Mother and Dad's to arrive are twin boys, William and Maxwell, born to David and Melissa. LAST I heard, the premature twins are doing well and are finally gaining weight. Melissa is still having serious health issues stemming from suffering an embryonic embolism and later, from blood clots. Please remember her in your prayers.

As Owen (5) is completing his LAST days as a Kindergarten student, he has passed a test to skip a grade. No one in the school had passed the test before. It had to be done with at least 97% and Owen did it in half the time allowed. The teacher of the gifted program wants him to take the 3rd and 4th grade tests also to see how advanced he is. Owen reads on at least a 4th grade level. He spends part of his days in 1st grade and part with the gifted 2nd graders.

Candace told me she had reached an employment anniversary date. Can you believe she has worked at Marriott for the LAST 13 years! Way to go! She is looking forward to free lodging when she reaches 25 years.

LAST week we enjoyed going to eat and visiting with the Coles as they passed through from their winter abode in Yuma, Arizona to their home in Newport Beach, Oregon.

Also LAST week, we were treated to a steak and salmon dinner and magic show in Ogden.

LAST Saturday we went for a ride. While high on the Mendon bench we looked out over the very green valley that was quite covered with water. There was a 'lotta watta.' Millville has a couple of new lakes. There are road closures, sandbags everywhere, turbulent riverflows, muddy waters, trailers up the canyon sitting in water etc. The reqular run-off hasn't even started; most of the flooding is due to heavy precipitation. LAST Sunday (Mother's Day) was another rainy day, as it has been for the LAST few days now. I got to talk to all five daughters and Jill invited us for a nice Mother's Day dinner.

We keep wondering if this is the LAST month we'll spend in our house. We have a contract and earnest money from one family and we think we have a back-up buyer if the first one doesn't work out. But we can't count it sold until closing and we have the money. We've spent the LAST six and a half years here. We got things fixed up how we wanted, we like it, but don't really need a home this big. We did just fine at Heber Valley Camp living in 400 square feet. We say we have endured our LAST Cache Valley winter. We love to travel and want to do more of it while we're still able to enjoy it. We want to spend winters where it is warm. Other than winters here, we love Cache Valley. Over the LAST couple of months we have seen deer, elk, pheasants, geese etc. nearly every day. Obviously, we have mixed emotions and there are pros and cons to everything. We don't know what we want or where we want it. We might be homeless. While meeting with a developer of retirement homes, he asked if we had met before. I told him I went to school with him. He asked what my maiden name was. I said, "Milligan." He said, "Oh, by chance are you related to Kathy Milligan?" ---to which I replied, "I AM Kathy Milligan." I wouldn't have recognized him either...it has been 40 years.


Yesterday I attended my LAST meeting this season of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. We don't meet during the summer and who knows if I will be around here next year. As Secretary/Treasurer I have a bunch of reports and forms to complete and turn in as well as finishing up typing the minutes etc.

And LAST but not least:

Easter

On the Saturday before Easter we had a family dinner and Easter egg hunt. We enjoyed a traditional meal of ham, funeral potatoes, peas, rolls and butter, green salad with dressing, soda pop, and cupcakes decorated to look like easter baskets with eggs. The Hawkins family of Oklahoma obviously didn't attend and Jory, Bryan and Riley were working. The day was fairly nice, just a little cool. Some eggs had numbers in them and the kids could pick a prize with #1 getting the first choice and so forth. Another year we really need a more challenging, exciting and interesting hunt especially for the older grandkids. Due to recent rainstorms, the hunt had to be restricted to the lawn and concrete surfaces. My camera kept going on the fritz so I am deficient in pictures. Kim took lots of pictures but hasn't sent them to me, so I decided to do a post without them. After the festivities the adults visited and the kids ran wild. Then I handed out big black garbage sacks and the girls were free to go through the toy closet and take anything they'd like. No matter where we move I doubt I will have room to keep so many toys. Hands down, the dress-ups have been the top attraction and a favorite activity for both granddaughters and grandsons. The toys that have stood the test of time and have been enjoyed most are from Fisher Price. Andrew, Robin and girls stayed with us and attended church with Jill, Brandon and family the next morning.

Nurse Nancy

I have been going through closets, cupboards, drawers etc. in an effort to de-junk. We've taken a bunch of things to Deseret Industries and have given other things to our daughters or grandkids. There was one book that means absolutely nothing to anyone else, but I felt like I still wanted to keep it. It might be considered an antique or artifact. The title of the book is "Nurse Nancy." When I was 2 1/2 years old I had my tonsils and adenoids removed. I only remember two things about the experience: 1-convalescing on the couch in the living room with a white blanket and 2-Lynn Heninger bringing me a get-well gift. It was a 'little golden book' that had band-aids inside the front cover. I remember opening every band-aid and sticking them (unnecessarily) on any bruise or scratch I could find. Mother tried to encourage me to wait until I really needed a band-aid, but I could not be persuaded to do so. The inside of the book also bears one of my earliest autographs.

Glued inside my baby book, there is a statement for my tonsillectomy. I was in room 101 of the old Logan L.D.S. Hospital. The date was July 22, 1953. My room charge was $4.00, the operating room charge was $12.50 and it cost $1.75 for drugs. The total charges came to $18.25.