Tons of Fun, Sun, Runs and Puns

I haven'y heretofore included Dad's Birthday pics, but he keeps sending them to me to use, so I guess it will be nice to have a record of them in the blog.  Of course we also celebrated Ben's birthday along with Becca's as well as celebrating his life.  We love our three kids born in three days, birthday wise, and have many fond memories of their shared celebrations.  So happy birthday week to Davin,  on the 26th, and to Ben and Becca on the 28th. 

We started our fun with friends week with the Crumps having lunch at Mi Rancherito in Payson.  We had to change it a couple of times due to conflicts, but we always enjoy our reunions with them.

Tuesday morning found Ann and I hiking up to the cross on the mountain on the south side as you enter Spanish Fork canyon.  We were very pleased with ourselves for making it.

That night Dad and I got to watch as Marysa Ottoson read her mission call.  She is headed-to Peru.  We bought her at a camp auction 7 years ago to do yard work, and have followed her sweet spirit and goodness ever since.

We had more school starters this week too.

Look how tall Madi is amongst her class mates.

This guy is also working on getting taller.

Welcome back to school Charlie.

On Wednesday, Dad headed off to work at Darby's while I worked at the store.  I gathered all my milk glass from my several booths ... who knew I had that much,

and put together a display.  The blocks spell out Milk Glass, and I thought the cow would be perfect to over-look all the milk (glass).

I added more scary goodness to my Halloween display after selling 3 large pieces that morning. Dad meanwhile, did his temple shift and a few chores around the house.

after work, we divided and conquered. 

I spent the evening at my book club meeting.

Meet Lillian, one of my friends from book club, who will be moving into our basement apartment soon.

After book club I went over to KD's house and got some squash.  She's evidently a great gardener.

Dad had to go to the wedding of Elder Ammon Gatrell without me, and as you see he found plenty of company there.  He said there were another half dozen missionaries who came after the picture was taken.

Then on Friday morning we got KD to come along with us on a hike up Payson Canyon to the Forebay Reservoir,

 just as the sun was coming up.

When I got home it was prime time to check out my morning glory.  Some is over powering my tomatoes, and shading them, so I'm afraid I'll have to pull part of it down.  It makes me so sad.

I met this gal in line at DI later that morning, after Dad had headed off to work at Darby's again.  

I was so tickled to see that she was buying the dishes I owned in our early marriage.  It was also fun to note that her mom is exactly my age.  What a lucky mom.

After that I spent another day at work.  Three in a row, and I was really feeling my age by the end of it.

Dad finished up the last of Darby's windows that day.

Bright and early Saturday morning Dad walked up the to the park and was bussed up Payson Canyon for his first half marathon in five years.  He's hasn't run one since getting his second blood clot while training for one then.  He's been taking aspirin on the advice of Dr. Money ever since, and thought he'd try it.  It was his 5th in all.  He started off at 6:30 A.yawn M. 

Davin and Bri went to cheer him on, so we actually got a short movie that I wanted to post here, but alas twas not to be.

Thanks you two!!

He rings the bell for his fastest half marathon in 5 years...

Way to go honey.  

Unfortunately he was pretty broken when he got home, and we had intended to go to one viewing and another funeral, as it turned out we were only able to attend the one funeral, for Brother Cleve Waite, who is the father of our two plumbers, as well as Crystal Kwiatkowski who lived in the ward when we moved in and worked in Young Women's with me.  

Dad was also too broken to go  to the Vintage Market Days Sale in Heber with me, he definitely needed a nap.

With his training runs included he had run 27 miles altogether this week.  He deserved a nap.

So I drafted Terry Kew to go with me, and we got there in time to spend an hour shopping.  I just loved this funny little half horse.  He is very old, and is probably from Texas.  I was sorely tempted to take him home ....

I ran into Kimi, so that was fun, as always.

Afterward Terry and I went to an interesting concept restaurant for a late lunch. Its called the Global Grill and was decorated with enlargements of stamps from all over the word.  Terry got a giant burrito and I got veggie Marsala.  She said hers was very good, mine was typical premade  commercial sauce, and since I'd skipped the chicken and had gotten 'extra veggies', I was pretty disappointed that 

 it had only onions and zucchini, without a price break.  Alas, I love the concept.

I got home in time for Dad and me to do the shopping to make salmon soup for a sort of Finnish senior missionary reunion that night. This is Elder Bridge and Elder Smith.

Elder London and Elder Shurtz.

The menu was very Finnish, Salmon soup, Pirakkas, sour dough rye bread and a veggie tray.

Dad, Smiths and Londons and Sister Bridge.

Bridges and Shurtzes

I even managed to get in a picture.

We had a lovely evening and realized that between the five couples we had served 27 missions to Finland.  The Bridges expect to replace the current office couple come January. 

Today we went to church, as always.  Afterwards I have to admit I took a nap.  Then we took some piirakkas and the rest of the soup to the Jamsas, who had stayed home because Ralph had been sick, and worrying it was covid had gone in for a test, which had not come back in time.  As it turned out it was just a cold, so we got to have a nice visit after-all, as they just live over in Salem, but they missed seeing the rest of us, including the Bridges who had served their younger mission at the same time as the Jamsas.  Both couples having met on their missions in the early 1980's.

We finished off our day with our last concert in the part for this year.  Next week we will be driving back from Bear Lake.

Its hard to see our official summer season closing this week with Labor day almost upon us.  We hope you all got enough sun and fun to keep you over another winter.  Much Love.

 

The Week that Started Slowly

It was definitely back to school week for our grandchildren this week.  Davin and Bri's kids started last week.  We assume that Zach went back this week as well, but since there wasn't a post ... you know, like a tree falling in the forest.

Britt's family drove Kai up to college at the University of Idaho this week in Moscow.  Here are some pictures of the event.

Trevor and Nell's girls.

Emily and Sam's kids.

Becca and Brady's kids too.

Meanwhile, my garden house continues to go back to nature.

With more vines creeping in to get out of the sun, I assume.

Its really rather pretty.

And speaking of pretty we continue to get kids coming in dressed in the style of former decades at the antique mall.  These two represented the 50's nicely, I thought.

Another customer told us about how she had been set up by her husband.  He purchased a 1200 dollar pyrex experimental dish.  Its super sized and there are only 12 known to exist.  He bought it for his wife, then got one of our dealers to put it in the store in a display case, took her shopping for her birthday and waited for her to find it and drool and wish over it.  Then she asked to have the case opened and when she handled it and turned it over, it had a note saying it was her gift from him.  

Here's the whisky barrel wine rack I bought to use to display rolling pins.  When I got home I realized it was broken, and Dad fixed it for me.  

Here's my Halloween display.  I've been saving items for 3 months, and was surprised to see how little I had.  I made up the small 'poison' bottle Wednesday night.

On Friday our fun filled weekend began. It started with a hike in Spanish Fork canyon for me,with Ann.  Dad of course ran his regular route.  Then I dropped Dad off to work at Darby's for his second day this week, while I met my sister Joyce at my favorite DI for some junking.  After that we went to an early lunch at the Paradise Buffet on State Street.  I ate mainly sushi and salad.

Because I was meeting Arlene for a late lunch at Zupas.  It was our first lunch date since our mission, so its been way too long.

Dad finished up another couple of windows to go with the one he had installed on Wednesday.

Then we headed to Vineyard for Becca's Real Estate Business Anniversary.  Which was a lot of fun.

We got to visit with some of our favorite people, the Browns and the Moes, including little Emry, who reminds me a bit of my brother Emory.

We just loved meeting three of Hannah's friend Scott's kids.

Such cute cookies don't you think?

My niece Sarah and her look alike friend. Actually when I met her, she was wearing sun glasses and look much more like Sarah, then she does with her glasses off.

The kids got glitter tattoos, and I liked that all Becca's kids got branded with her logo.

And this is the story of the prize drawings.  We got four tickets, we each got one for each of the houses Becca has sold for us.  We put in one for the grand prize, money for airfare and a weeks stay at their airbnb in Florida and a few others, including one for a DNA kit, which I hoped to win because at lunch last Sunday Doug said he'd only do a DNA test if it was free.  I figured if I won it, it would be free.  The picture above is of all the tickets people put in for the DNA test.  Perfect!!

We finished up our crazy day at Elder Roylance's wedding reception in Lehi.

Here are the missionaries (and one boy friend far right) who were still there when we arrived at the end. (Izzy Zentner, Keeley Watts, Olivia Pluim and Eli Walton.) As always it was good to visit and catch up.

On Saturday these cuties came to hang out, while their parents had a get away.

I was cleaning and clearing the back patio and both Nenna and Elias picked black berries, some of which we put into cookies and muffins that we all made for our picnic lunch.

Dad caught me playing when I was supposed to be sweeping up leaves ... hahaha

When the cleanup was done, and Dad had repaired the long neglected grill, we took our lunch on a hike up to the grotto falls in Payson Canyon.

Nenna was so friendly, she's such a dog lover.

Not a lot of water running in the creek though, but it was still pretty.

lunch time.

Of course we had to stop and have a selfie with Smokey.

How do you like to go up in a swing

Up in the air so blue.

Oh I do think its the pleasantest thing,

That ever a child can do.

They let me read them all three stanzas of the Robert Louis Stevenson poem. Best kids ever!!

Then we were off to Robin's birthday party in American Fork at her mom's club house and pool.  It was fun to have them to hang out with their 2nd cousin once removed, Eric Moe, and their 3rd Cousin Lilly Heuer. 

It was so romantic when Jeff sang Robin a song he had written about how grateful he was that they had chosen each other, as they celebrated her 60th birthday.

Aunt Lori, the youngest sibling of the sisters who respectively became grandmothers to the Heuer, (Luceil) Moe (Velta) and this Perkins (Loah) clans, takes pictures of the kids, presumably to share with her sister Loah.

I liked this picture of Robin and Jeff's shared moment, better that her puffy cheek, blowing out candles picture.  We had a lovely time with our Heuer connections. 

This morning, after the kids headed home, we had our breakfast on the balcony for our second time this week.

And I thought this picture of Robin's granddaughter Lucie, whose birthday was today, was a keeper.  I asked her mom Tami, for an explanation.  It turns out that she asked her sisters to tape her to the wall.  I love it.

Today was Rolle's last time to attend our church.  Since we are back to masks, it was fun to get a picture them together in their Finland masks, even better as we walked into the chapel, the organist was playing Finlandia ... (Be Still My Soul)  we thought it was a great send off for Rolle.

At church we got a new bishop.  Dad had called it perfectly.  He said it would be either the first counselor or the high councilman from our ward. Turned out it was the first counselor, and the High Coucilman replaced him as first counselor.  Good job Dad. We shall miss our wonderful Bishop Bridenbough. 

After church we set up for the barbecue, using our potting bench as a buffet, as we were hosting our first family dinner since being home.

I used my barrel stave charcuterie board for the burger and hot dog accouterments. 

Below are pictures from our get together.

                                                All the grandkids wanted to sit by Hannah

We talked Rolle into joining us.

Behind Brittney you can see Dad and his sister Cheryl, who he went and picked up and then took home later.

Davin and Bri brought a fun bean bag toss game to share.

I love that some of the middle kids used the garden house to gather and chat.

Becca was babysitting her kids toys, when she got a real baby to watch too.

Check out the look on Van's face ... 'girls, girls, girls?'/ Maybe? Thanks for the great photo Nell.

We had a great week, and though it started slowly, it definitely finished up with a bang.