The First Cottle's

January Get-Away

2011-01-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

Well winter in Monroe finally got to us a little. We enjoy the whiteness of the snow and the beauty of the mountains and valleys, but the endless cold made us consider a trip south again. We did this last year and visited with Ann & Sherwood and Carol & Gordon who winter over along the Colorado River. So following my first ward conference of the year I had a few days free and we decided to head out. We spent our first night at the Falcon Ridge Hotel in Mesquite. We have enjoyed this hotel because there is no gambling in the hotel and it is clean and smells good. It also is new with nice ameneties.

Monday morning we headed on to Las Vegas and with the aid of a new "toy" (Tom Tom 550) we drove to a couple of Costco's in Las Vegas to get a few things for the trip. I really didn't understand how these GPS systems worked, but it took me 5 minutes at the north end of Las Vegas to be convinced it was worth it. From Las Vegas we drove through Boulder and across the new bridge over the Boulder Dam. I had hoped to be able to stop and look at the bridge, but they don't allow for that. In just a minute you are on the other side and into Arizona.

We arrived in Lake Havasu City that evening and found our hotel, one we stayed in last year, and in the evening we drove to Carol &Gordon and Ann &Sherwoods camping sites and visited with both of them. They seem to be doing all right and are enjoying the warmer weather. We were surprised to learn that Ann & Sherwood have put money down on a house in Lake Havasu City and were planning to close on the house the following week. I guess they like being down there.

The next day we had lunch with Ann & Sherwood and then played a round of golf at an executive course out on Havasu Island. It wasn't a great course, but we had fun. It was the first golf for Pam in over six months and she played quite well.

The next day was Wednesday and we played golf at the London Bridge Golf Club, which is in Lake Havasu City and now we have played on both the Olde London course and the Nassau Course. The two 18 hole courses are next to each other up on a hill overlooking the lake and built around housing developments.

On Thursday we played golf at the Emeral Cove Golf Club and what a spectacular course. It was build along the river and into the lava fields adjacent to the river and it was stunning in its beauty. Fortunate for us the carts worked really well for the elevation changes and distances from tee to green would have made walking impossible.

Friday morning we checked out of our hotel and headed south to Parker and then east to Phoenix. Our goal was to visit the Mesa Temple (which I have never seen before and Pam was a child where her family came to Mesa for a family reunion). The drive to Phoenix was about as bleak as you can imagine. Nothing much but open flat dry land. Phoenix was huge, covering a large valley and the freeway system was amazing. Our GPS took us right to the front door of the temple and that was comforting. We spent an hour at the temple taking pictures and then found our hotel nearby. We had dinner at a Texas Roadhouse (good as usual) and then returned to our hotel and changed clothes and went back to the temple for a session. It was a wonderful evening and the ordinance room was packed with young people. They told us that is the way it is almost every night. I guess it is not hard to understand why the church has finished the Gila Valley temple (about 40 miles away), and announced both the Gilbert Temple and the Phoenix Temple which will be within 20 miles of the Mesa Temple.

Saturday we left Phoenix and headed north in the general direction of Utah. We did some investigation and decided to visit Sedona, Arizona on the way. The drive north was unusual as we passed literally forests of Sugauro Cactus. They are so majestic in their appearance. I had no idea that Sedona was such a tourist town and a long time artist community, but it was beautiful all nestled in red rock canyons. They also had several world class golf courses and that was attractive to us.

We attended the Sedona Ward on Sunday and was a pleasant experience being with those saints. Not a large ward, but good people and enjoyable meetings. Following church we spent a quiet afternoon driving up and down the valleys looking at the adjacent mountains and the beautiful homes and scenery.

Monday we played another round of golf at the Sedona Golf Resort and what a beautiful place that was. It was one of the most challenging rounds of golf I have ever played. hundreds of sand traps and greens that were quick and very undulating. Sort of like on television. We had such a good time and enjoyed it very much.

Well all good things must come to an end and tuesday morning we checked out of our lodge and head home for real. Our route followed US 89 through Flagstaff, Page, Kanab and on up the familiar route to Monroe.

December 2010 Notes

2010-12-21T11:02:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile since I made an entry in this blog, but I hope everyone who reads this is fine and are anxiously getting ready for Christmas. We began December with a wonderful visit to Denver for the blessing of beautiful little Alice Mae. It certainly was enjoyable for us to be with the 4 families in Denver and Erin and her girls. You all seem to be doing well and we are so thankful for each of you, especially our grandchildren,. Here are some visual memories of that visit:

Following Thanksgiving the annual traidtion of putting up the Christmas tree took place and Pam, Erin and Johanna had a good time decorating and playing Christmas music. Since that date your mother continued the interior and exterior decorations and the following pictures show what a beautiful job she has done:

This week, which is just before Christmas, we have had warnings of storm, and it seemed to hit with gusto last night. The forecast is for more through the next few days. But we awoke to such a beautiful scene this morning. Actually we awoke much earlier as the power went out at about 2:00 am and despite the fact we should have been sleeping and not noticed it, we did and ended up enjoying some time to ponder about our life together and our children and how blessed we are. Finally the lights came on about 6:00 am and we turned on the TV to see what was going on through the state and promptly fell asleep. This is what is looks like around our home this morning. We just hope it last through Christmas as it is quite warm outside.

Well family and friends. We hope you have received our Christmas card and know of our love for each of you and hope this season will be filled with happy days and wonderful traditions. We will miss your family celebrations and look forward to a Christmas Day phone call.

2010-09-20T18:38:00.001-06:00

Well here goes another post from the last month or so in the late summer of 2010. We have been busy mainly trying to recover from my ailments. But all seems to be well now. Ann and Sherwood came by one Saturday and invited us on the mountain so we went with them in their truck. The mountain was so green for late August.

Pam went to Pleasant Grove to be with Erin when Beth was born. It was a wonderful occasion and Beth was another beautiful Colton production. Kate was so cute with her and Erin seemed to be doing excellent in her recovery.

After going home I decided it was now or never with your mother's pet project of the fireplace. So I got brave and took it down. It was a sad day as it was one of my best productions. Something I'll never do again I'm sure. But it didn't take too long to knock it all down and get it outside and ready for the trash.

While this was going on a seemingly insignificant fire began brewing over in Beaver and before you knew it it had moved north up and down the ridges until we began getting an afternoon deluge of smoke and ash. It is sill going on with no end in sight. I-70 up clear creek canyon has been closed for the last few days and who knows when the fire will be put out. Another of these "let it burn because that is natures way."!!!

I began the rebuilding process a week ago and by the time Pam arrived home on Wednesday of last week the box was in and the new sheetrock applied to the mantle. I also had the new wooden mantle in place and when she got home she helped me a lot in finishing the mudding on the new corner that extended down to the floor and then eventually the painting. Thursday of last week I had the new box set and we began tiling. It went pretty well and by the afternoon we had everything in place. On Friday the vertical wooden columns were set and the grout put on the tile and Pam also finished painting the entire south wall all around the fireplace and in the two alcoves. By 7:30 pm we had everything cleaned up and the front room back to order so that we could host an Area Seventy for our stake conference. So we are now in the process of finishing up the wood mantle [paint] and I guess we are committed to painting the entire front room. Hope everyone likes it !!!

2010-08-21T11:24:00.001-06:00

Family Reunion 2010 - Monroe, Utah

Well I have finally decided I need to make this post before it is ancient history. But the Joseph Cottle family reunion was held in Monroe and we really had a good time. Our entire family was here for most of the first week of August.

Early in the week the kids found the sprinklers and even Reynolds and Jane had a great time running around the back yard in the "cold" water.

During the first part of the week we enjoyed quite a few evenings on the back porch watching the kids play. The "men" also played golf almost every day when the weather cooperated.

We have some budding musicians

Of course each morning began with a freefall in the kitchen. We went through boxes and sacks of cereal, gallons of milk, and even some good old fashioned bacon and eggss.

On thursday everyone was in Monroe and the highlight of the day was the water slide. We had it for four hours in the afternoon and the kids and adults had a time of it. The water was close, however it didn't seem to bother anyone, even the little kids. We also had a badmitten net up and to warm up vigourous games were played. Tom brought a lawn game that was tried and was very interesting.

Saturday was the day we planned on going on the mountain. Unfortunately we had a lot of rain that morning and the picture below shows us coming back down after a trecherous section where we wondered if we would stay on the road. We ended up going to the Monrovian park and cooking a wonderful Dutch Oven dinner (thanks to Tom and Johanna) and the kids played in the river, and climbed the nearby peaks. We had a nice warm fire and it was a wonderful few hours.

Well that's about it. I'm sure many of you have other pictures of our week, but we concluded Saturday evening at our home where we had another excellent meal (Weston grilled steaks on the grill) and then we assembled in the house and had a wonderful testimony meeting. I guess we plan on continuing this tradition, but now it will be every other year. We will give some time for the in-law families to meet!!!

Thanks for making the time to come together. It was well worth it. Next time we will have a few more new ones.

Renovations

2010-03-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Johanna and her children, Andrew and Haley, visited us in February and Johanna couldn't be satisfied with just visiting. She and her mother conjured up a peoject in the upstairs front bathroom. Before I knew it the wall paper was in a pile on the floor and we were committed to doing something. Well the plan was for some paint on the walls and tile above the shower surround.

The wall behind the mirror was painted a darker chocolate and it looks quite nice. The rest of the walls in the bathroom were a lighter gray color and compliments the darker color.

I drew the short straw regarding the tile. It extends above the shower to the ceiling with a decorative strip about 6 inches below the ceiling.

We finally got everything put back together today and everything looks pretty nice. So to celebrate we drove to Fillmore for a Carl's Jr. Can't be anything better than that!!

Arizona Trip January 2010

2010-01-28T08:12:00.002-07:00

Our little adventure began on Friday the 22nd of January. Carol and Gordon Berthelson and Ann Marie and Sherwood were "snow birding" down in Arizona and we thought maybe we would drive down and check out this phenomena. We started in the afternoon and drove to Mesquite, NV the first day. We were so surprised at the changes in Mesquite. We hadn't been through this area for several years and the growth was amazing. We had a reservation at the Falcon Ridge hotel which was new and had no gambling associations which was nice. We drove around a little and one big surprise was that the Oasis Hotel and Casino was closed. It was one of the founding casinos in Mesquite and it was all dark. A new casino across the freeway from the Virgin River was still unoccupied. It’s a mystery how one could be very successful and another one nearby fails!

The next day we headed down I-15 to Las Vegas and took the US 93/95 exit in North Las Vegas to Henderson and Boulder City. The expansion of housing and businesses was amazing. We ended up taking US-95 to Searchlight Nevada, a parallel road to the Colorado River. The drive was interesting, however, and we stopped in Searchlight for gas and a bathroom break and then continued on to Needles where we picked up I-40. In another hour we were in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Pam and I had passed through Lake Havasu in 1991 when Johanna and Tom were married, but we didn't remember much. We located our hotel and then took a drive to find Carol and Gordon Berthelsen’s resort. They were staying at Echo Resort which was about six miles south of Parker Dam on the California side of the river. They had no idea we were coming and were very surprised when they opened the door of their 5th Wheel. As you probably already know, Pam and I seldom make plans--we just go! They really had a nice location on the river and were very comfortable.

Sunday was the next day and we drove to Parker, AZ to attend church. Carol and Gordon were there when we arrived and in a few minutes Ann Marie and Sherwood walked in and boy were they surprised to see us. I told Sherwood we were checking up on them. We enjoyed the ward and they really took good care of all the visitors. We spent the afternoon with Ann Marie and Sherwood. They were in a different resort, called the River Resort about 10 miles south of the Echo Resort on the California side of the river. They also had a very nice setting on the river and seemed happy to be there.

Monday was a "play day" and the first thing I did was make a tee time at a local golf club, the London Bridge Golf Club. We had the morning to ourselves and drove around the city and ended up at an Inn and Out Burger restaurant for lunch. It was next door to the London Bridge park and we wandered around seeing this massive structure and taking pictures. Finally we headed to the golf course and enjoyed 18 holes of golf on a very interesting course. Two courses were tucked in amongst beautiful homes. the fairways were green but all the rough areas were dry grass. We had a great time and we played as a twosome and that was nice.

Pam shot a 104, which was pretty amazing and included a 49 on the back nine. I shot a 79 and had a 38 on the back nine, so the back nine was good to both of us.

Tuesday morning was our getaway day. Before leaving we returned to Carol and Gordon's and visited and had lunch with them at a local restaurant and then began our journey home. It had been an enjoyable few days. At the intersection of US-95 and I-40 we turned east and headed to Kingman where we turned north on US-93 and drove to Hoover Dam. It was an interesting drive and we were amazed at how many people lived in trailers and other homes out on the hill side. I guess they liked the solitude. It took another hour to arrive at the Dam and 10 miles prior we ran into heavy road construction. They were building a new highway [divided] to support a new by-pass bridge 1,500 feet downstream from the Dam. The Colorado River Bridge was the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. Construction on the nearly 2,000 foot long bridge began in late January 2005 and was expected to be done this year. As we dropped down towards the Dam it was amazing to see the construction project, especially the bridge. We stopped at several viewing areas and took pictures and then crossed the dam and proceeded up the other side and on to Boulder, Henderson and eventually Las Vegas. We continued north on I-15 until we arrived in Mesquite where we stayed at the Falcon Ridge hotel again. It had been an interesting day.

Wednesday morning we finished our journey home with an important stop in Cedar City for lunch at Cafe Rio. It was sooo good! It had been raining and snowing in southern Utah but the drive wad fine. We found all well at home with the exception that our garage had been a Cat Hotel for the weekend. Every drop of food was gone and I'm sure Sydney holed up somewhere as the other neighborhood "tuffs" took over. Well we fixed that and got ourselves unpacked.

We enjoyed our little get away and Lake Havasu was an interesting part of the country and the geology was beautiful. I'm not sure we could live in a trailer and sit around and watch the river glide by, but believe me there were tens of thousands that do just that. Now were back to Winter! Hooray for snow.

The New Year

2010-01-17T19:19:00.002-07:00

Well the new year is behind us already and here we are half way through January. We have been enjoying life even though it has remained quite cold and snow is still on the ground. We have begun the lighting project in the kitchen and purchased cans for the ceiling (6) and then I took down the old lights. The ballasts were beginning to degrade and we continually had flickering lights on one of the units. I then installed all of the under counter lights. We bought another set to total six sets and I put them on it and we only had one disappointment. They would operate with a master switch. So we put them up anyway and got the power supplies all hidden away and they look and work nicely, just have to turn them on individually.

Pam has been working on another quilt for Aunt Win and it will look beautiful when done. It is for one of Aunt Win's granddaughters.

We have discovered a wonderful cassette and CD book collection at the city library. We listened to two of the Barroman books (LDS Author) on World War I and World War II. They were both excellent. We just finished a book on Harry Truman and it was really good and really opened my eyes to that period of time. When I was a boy I remember going to the movies on Saturday at the Egyptian Theater in downtown Ogden and during the news reels whenever anything came on about Truman, the audience just booed and booed. I always thought it was because of the bomb, but in this book I learned it was for firing General MacArthur. That was pretty awful period in US History, but history has determined that it was a good decision because MacArthur had turned into ego maniac. Anyway it was a good book. We are now listening to a book on Benjamin Franklin by David McCullough and his writing is very compelling and enjoyable.

Yesterday we took a long drive down by Bryce Canyon and listened to the book and watched the scenery go by. Still a lot of snow and everything is pretty. I have added a couple of pictures from Kingston Canyon. Some very interesting rock formations.

Today we began ward conferences and I enjoyed being in the Monroe 1st ward. All the meetings were very good. Friday evening Pam and I joined in their temple session and it was huge. Well things are going all right around here. Pam's Brother printer just seemed to die on her and she is not a happy camper. Hope everything is well in your homes.

2009-12-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Well Christmas is finally upon us. We thought that we might be golfing on Christmas, but boy oh boy the weatherman was right for once. Last night the snow began and it didn't stop until early this morning and when it was done we had at least 10 inches on the driveway. It was absolutely beautiful and I didn't even mind shoveling it. Yah I know, I wouldn't want to do it every morning! But Pam and I have pretty much gotten everything ready for our solo Christmas. Of course Pam and Erin decorated our beautiful tree almost a month ago and it is still wonderful to look at, especially at night.

During the next couple of weeks Pam continued decorating in the house and outside and I finally got on the ladder and put the new lights (LED) on the gutters and they look pretty good.

This morning I finally got some warm clothes on and went out to survey the whiteness. It was just beautiful and you hardly wanted to make a mark in the snow. As the cars and trucks went by it was so quiet. But I finally began shoveling and this is what everything looked like this morning.

With the path around the north side of the house Sidney now has a path to the deck or I should say under the deck. But he has pretty much enjoyed the garage for the past few days as it has been quite cold. We have even let him in the house on and off!!!

We have enjoyed just looking outside and seeing everything so white and beautiful. I would imagine that Denver is getting the storm today. We surely hope every one has a great Christmas Holiday and that you are enjoying the messages and music of the Savior and this special time of the year. Pam and I were able to see the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Devotional a week ago and it was magnificent. Well have a wonderful time in your individual homes and we will miss you all. Look forward to visiting with the family on Christmas Day!

Post Halloween--Pre Thanksgiving

2009-11-13T12:17:00.001-07:00

We have looked at this corner of the basement for about 16 years and have discussed this and that and looked at cabinets and hardware, but with the current renovation spurt, this corner finally got its due!

We thought we found cabinets we wanted, but when we went to Provo to buy them at Home Depot, we found they were only available by special order and became quite expensive. We did find some "put together" cabinets and they looked quite nice, so we purchased a sink base and a drawer pack and after putting them together and instaklling them in the corner they looked nice.

We have ordered a rolling cart that will go on the wall to the left and on which we will put the microwave. Here are a few more pics that feature the cabinets.

While this project was going on we received the wonderful news from Travis that big changes were going to happen on the 8th of November when he would be ordained and sustained as the 2nd Bishop of the Roxborough Ward. Of course we wanted to be there, but had Stake Conference that weekend. Fortunately for me it was a broadcast conference and upon checking with my area seventy advisor, he assured me it would be all right to miss the broadcast and be with my family.

So following the saturday adult evening session, Pam and I boarded the VUE and headed to Denver. We had a great drive and arrived around 4:00 am sunday morning. After a quick nap we got up and dressed for church and slipped into the back of the chapel and sat on the last row without anyone noticing. President Walker made the change in bishoprics following the sacrament and then after the sacrament meeting we joined the rest of the family in a classroom where Travis was ordained a bishop.

Later that afternoon we spent a wonderful afternoon with the gathered family at Travis and Jennifer's home. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Erin, Weston and Kate there.

Yup, the Chargers were playing...I think the game was football...

It was wonderful to see all the grandchildren (and their parents). I know that Drew, little Alex, Kali, Megan, Andrew, and Haley were there, but they were just blurs most of the afternoon.

Of course we couldn't be together without food! Thanks Jennifer for the wonderful taco meal

After we were all fed and happy we returned to visiting and enjoying the afternoon.

Pam and I spent another couple of days in Denver and enjoyed visiting with each of the families but it had to end sometime, and for that it was Wednesday morning. We left at 8:30 am and had a very enjoyable drive home. The weather was beautiful and the high mountain passes were spectacular as was the Glenwood Springs canyon. We arrived home about 4:00 pm and found all well at home. Yea, Sidney was still there! He isn't smart enought to go anywhere else.

Thanks family for the wonderful visit. Sorry Erin and Weston---we missed you!

Winter's Here...

2009-10-28T11:51:00.001-06:00

October has been an interesting month with visits and projects and hopefully this will update our activities. Andrew and his children, Jane and Reynolds arrived on the 21st from Salt Lake City, where they had dropped off Sarah who was heading north to Calgary, Canada with a friend. We were happy to have them for the rest of the week. Andrew and I got to play a couple of rounds of golf and the weather was perfect. Jane and Reynolds got used to us (we think) and had the run of the house. Here are a few pictures of a few minutes before bedtime in our bedroom.

Andrew left for Denver on Sunday after sacrament meeting and Jane and Reynolds were with us for a couple of days and did very well. They certainly liked the nursery in Primary. On the following Monday, a member of our stake came and began a project of installing our new counter tops and back splash in the kitchen. We made the decision to do this last month and are finally around to it. The end result was beautiful and I hope you all like it. Pam does for sure.

Monday evening, late, Sarah and Erin and Kate arrived from Salt Lake. Sarah had spent all day Monday coming from Calgary to Salt Lake. She had a great trip and we were happy to have her with us for the week. Jane and Reynolds were happy to have their mother back. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate too well and it was quite cold. On Wednesday a huge storm rolled through and resulted in snow, the first snow of the season. The kids wanted to be out in so much that after breakfast we let them go and they had a little fun, although they were pretty cold and didn't associate cold with snow. But they soon found out.

So that's our hectic schedule. Andrew is going to meet us in Grand Junction this week end and we will give him back his family. Other than that we are doing well and I am preparing for Stake Conference in November--will be glad when that is behind me.

Early October

2009-10-15T17:03:00.001-06:00

In late September, early October, Pam and I began a project of renewing the look in the front entryway. For those of you who know about the tile purchase, this is phase I. But the fireplace is still intact!! Anyway Brother Holmes from our stake was visiting me and we talked about the project and that is what he does for a living and with times being tough for construction I offered him this project. It took a couple of days to tear out the old and put down new sub-floor and then lay the time. Actually the tile looks wonderful as an entryway and really looks great with the carpet.
Well since that went so well we talked about the kitchen. Our counters are just not acceptable anymore and granite would look so cute. So here we are with the ground work of that project. Brother Holmes is doing that project for us also and we will have beautiful granite counters and a very attractive back splash all the way to the upper cabinets. The first thing we needed to do was remove the wallpaper from the kitchen and while the paper was strippable, it really wasn't and took quite a bit of work to get it off. But we ended up cleaning all the walls in the kitchen and kitchen nook, and then we painted the walls that are not tiled and light shade of green and it looks great with the flooring in the kitchen and the kitchen nook. I also moved several of the electrical boxes to make them more useful and put the cable outlet behind the TV on the shelf as well as an electrical box up there. With the wall exposed I could cut and adjust without concern for the wall since it will be covered with tile.

Last weekend while all this work was being done, we had the privilege of having Kate with us. Erin and Weston made a whirlwind trip to Sacramento for a friends funeral and we got to play host to Kate. She was such a perfect lady and made the three days perfect.

And finally, yesterday we celebrated Pam's birthday with a little trip to Fillmore for some golf and of course a visit to Carl Jr's. I know it's not like going to Olive Garden, or Cafe Rio, but when you live in Central Utah it's pretty special. Boy that $6 burger was pretty amazing. Anyway we had a great time and Pam played very well and the weather was just perfect. We hope everyone else is having good weather and enjoying this Fall time of year. We love you all.

Busy Week !!

2009-09-21T19:37:00.000-06:00

We have had a very busy and interesting week betginning on the 12th of September. I was able to attend a special priesthood leadership conference in Manti with Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Richard Hinckley and Elder Daniel Jones. It was a wonderful 3 hours of instruction held in the beautiful historic Manti Tabernacle.

Pam joined me that evening at the home of the Manti Stake President where he and his wife hosted a dinner for the stake Presidents and the general authorities. After a wonderful dinner and visiting Elder Christofferson followed us home and spent the night in our home. It was so enjoyable to visit with him and find out about his life and family and share our experiences also. The next day he presided at a special stake conference for our stake and we had a rich outpouring of the spirit as we heard from Elder Christofferson and Elder Jones.

Wednesday Pam went to a dentists appointment to examine an tooth that was giving her problems and Doctor Jeffries referred her to an endodontist in Sandy and we went up to Salt Lake Thursday morning and within two hours he had found two missing canals and hopefully fixed the problem she was having. We had also leanred earlier in the week that My Aunt Mae, my mothers sister, had died last weekend and the funeral was scheduled for Saturday in Logan, so we stayed up north in a hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.

As we tried to find the hotel we were blocked from getting to where we wanted to go by huge tents and other items that ended up being the set up for the Dew Tour stop in Salt Lake City.

As you might imagine we rushed right out and got tickets (just kidding), but young people were everywhere and parking around the hotel was at a premium.

Early Friday morning we went to the Distribution center and when done there went across the street and took a tour of the Humanitarian Center.

The tour was very enjoyable and we are amazed at the good the church is doing throughout the world. We were joined in our tour by a extended Tongan family and after the tour was over one of the ladies came up to us and introduced herself (becauase we had mentioned along the way that we had lived in Tonga) and she told us her name and asked if we knew Zola Larsen and LaVona Thomas. She was named for these two ladies and they happened to be wives of building missionaries in Tonga when we were there in 1957-1958. We had a wonderful few minutes with them and we knew her family very well and many of her relatives. What a small world.

Later in the day we did a searach for tile in several showrooms and it is amazing how many tile and stone stores there are in Salt Lake. Later in the afternoon we visited Lynn and Yvonne at their new home in Kaysville and had a wonderful time with them.

Saturday morning we headed north to Logan and attended the funeral service for Aunt Mae. Upon arrival in Logan I saw a sign on one of the stores which read "0 Days to the Top of Utah Marathon." I didn't think too much of it, but getting closer to the downtown area we came to a slow crawl as we came upon marathon runners going up main street. We were finally able to turn east and made our way to the chapel in time for the service.

As I mentioned, Aunt Mae was my mothers last living sibling, and so we have arrived at the end of an era. Uncle Art is doing fairly well but will miss his wife very much. He has a large extended family in the Logan area to help him adjust to the loss in his life.

Our week of fun ended as we returned to Monroe and to Sidney! He never seems to learn how to run away.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication

2009-08-25T15:56:00.000-06:00

We have had a very exciting weekend here in Utah. Several months ago the first presidency announced that the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication would be broadcast on Sunday the 23rd of August in two sessions. And what was really strange, was that all church meetings on that day in Utah would be canceled so that members could attend either of the dedication sessions. I think it emphasized how important Temple's are to the Lord and that they truly should be the center of our lives.

Sunday morning Pam and I attended the 9:00 am session, but we had to be there much earlier. I was at the stake center at 7:30 am looking over everything. Our instructions indicated we should ensure our chapel was secure and clean and beautiful. We had done all we could to ensure all of those things were in place so that our stake center would be an extension of the Oqurrh Mountain Temple. People began arriving as early at 7:45 am and by 8:30 am the chapel was full and we were well back into the cultural hall. When we locked the doors at 8:45 am we had over 720 members in attendance.

It's always wonderful to see the Prophet and he arrived with a small party of dignitaries and right at 9:00 am the session began with President Monson conducting. We heard from Sister Lifferth of the General Primary Presidency, followed by Elder Paul Johnson and Spencer Jones of the seventy. We then heard a wonderful talks from Elder Bednar of the twefve followed by President Uchtdorf. Finally the dedicatory prayer was delivered by President Monson. Such a beaufiful and spriitual prayer. A multi-stake choir provided the music and they were beautiful.

In the afternoon I returned at 1:30 pm and we went through the same routine concerning the building, ensuring it was clean again and set up for another session. We had high councilors at each of three doors checking recommends or dedication tickets and by 2:45 pm we had over 400 in attendance. President Monson again presided and conducted and was joined by other general authorities and general officers of the church. We heard from Sister Silvia Allred of the General Relief Society Presidency, followed by Elder Paul Sybrowky and Elder Craig Zwick. Elder Zwick was Travis' mission president in Chile. Finally we heard from Elder Ballard of the twelve, followed by a wonderful, tender address by President Monson. President Eyring delivered the dedicatory address, which was the same prayer as in the morning. Again another equally wonderful choir provided the music.

With the Oqurrh Mountain Temple commencing operations today, it makes 130 operating temples throughout the church. I hope and pray that we all take advantage of temples near our homes and enjoy the work taking place within for ourselves and our ancestors. Pam and I made a commitment many years ago to attend weekly and for the most part we have accomplished that goal and plan to continue to do so. It has made a tremendous difference in our lives.

Cottle Family Reunion 2009 - Denver

2009-08-05T16:35:00.000-06:00

Pam and I and Erin, Weston and Kate drove to Denver on Wednesday the 29th of July and joined other members of the family for a 3 day family reunion. Unfortunately Andrew was in Munich, Germany during this period and could not be with us. Johanna, Cynthia, Sarah and Jennifer put together our activities and it was a wonderful fun-filled reunion. Upon our arrival we made the rounds of the family and visited and enjoyed seeing everyone again. Erin and Weston stayed with Travis and Jennifer and Pam and I stayed with Tom and Johanna.

Thursday morning Jennifer and her girls and Sarah and her children and little Alex went to a swimming pool nearby and spent an enjoyable time while the rest of the family went golfing. We had two foursomes and played 18 holes at the Broken Tee golf course. The weather was suspect because it was cold and rainy but the 4 hours in which we played turned out to be very nice and we had a good time. That evening we all assembled at Tom and Johanna's home and enjoyed a wonderful meal of Tom's stuffed hamburgers. When we had all we could eat, we drove to Tom and Johanna's chapel and played "Human Foos Ball." A few of us had played before, but for the majority it was a new game, but a lot of fun and from the young children to an old man like me. We had a great time.

Friday our plans took us to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in downtown Denver. We began our odyssey through a number of venues around 11:00 am and spent 3 or 4 hours enjoying the Space Odyssey, Expedition Health, Edge of the Wild, South Pacific Islands and Australia, and finally Gems and Minerals. There was a lot more to see, but we were tired and called it a day around 3:30 pm. We drove to Andrew and Sarah's home and had our evening dinner and enjoyed visiting. To cap the evening off we walked to a nearby elementary school and played a rousing game of "Kick Ball" and stretched a few muscles. It must have been fun because only darkness caused us to end the game.

Saturday morning we all assembled at the Chatsworth Reversoir swim beach near Roxborough and had a fun-filled late morning and afternoon playing in the water, visiting on the beach and for several getting more sun that they needed. It was a perfect day at the beach, with a clear sky and temperatures in the 80's. We had lunch of hot dogs and chips and other trimmings and enjoyed the day.

Saturday evening was an Adult dinner at one of our favorite spots - "Texas Roadhouse." Spencer took care of some of the children in Highlands Ranch and Drew the others in Roxborough. Eveyrthing turned out perfectly and the 11 of us at the restuarant enjoyed the meal and visiting.

Sunday was the conclusion to our reunion and perhaps the best day of all. At 11:00 am the family met at the Roxborough chapel following sacrament and sunday school meetings and attended the ordination of Drew to the office of Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. Travis ordained his son and gave a wonderful blessing. Following the block of meetings we all met at Travis and Jennifer's home in Roxborough for the final events of our reunion. Travis and Jennifer prepared a wonderful meal and we ate and ate and ate some more as we visited and watched all the fun antics of the little children - in and out of the house, and up and down the stairs. They had endless energy. The girls had stuffed plastic easter eggs with candy and Tom and Johanna went outside and hid them all over the yard and then the children went hunting, starting with the youngest and finally with Spencer.

After an hour or so we held an adults meeting on the patio and discussed the future of our reunion and then the children joined us and we had a final devotional. I told about one of our ancesters - William Henry Cottle and their crossing the plains and eventual settling in Plain City, Utah. I then began a testimony meeting and one by one we heard wonderful expressions of love and devotion to family and the church from all the adults and also Spencer and Kali. It was a wonderful conclusion to a wonderful reunion. We look forward to 2010 in Monroe!

Summer 2009

2009-06-02T09:59:00.001-06:00

Well summer is here in Monroe and we have enjoyed the beautiful weather, occasional rain storms and moderate temperatures (so far!). Our yard is looking good and here are a few shots of the trees and flowers.

Our garden is looking good and thus far. We have peas, beans, potatoes, and corn growing nicely.

The rest of the yard is green and beautiful.

Our Sacred Grove!

Here's proof that we still buy cat food!!

Finally, the rumors are true. We are no longer a truck family. I know it is pretty silly, but the 2005 Dakota just didn't find its way into my heart. It had such a stiff and hard riding suspension and the desire for a van was just too dominant. So we have been looking, as you know, and finally came up with a good deal here in Richfield. We bought a 2007 Grand Caravan as shown and it was like slipping into a familiar glove. It is much like Travis' and Andrew's van, a SXT with 3.8L engine, stowaway seats, power sliding doors and other features. It doesn't have DVD and I was disappointed because I wanted to watch movies while Pam drove!!!

Well with summer hopefully will come a few trips. If we show up in Denver some day, don't be surprised.

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T18:16:00.000-06:00

I wanted to give a little update on our activities here in Monroe. It is Memorial Day and it has been a fairly quiet day for us. We began mid-morning taking flowers to the cemetery to decorate the family graves. It's always an occasion at the cemetery to visit many, many friends who are also there doing the same thing. The day began in beautiful fashion with clear blue skies and all the flowers and contrasting green lawns made it a beautiful morning activity (sorry I left my camera home).

Following that Pam and I went to Richfield and played a round of golf. It was a perfect morning and the recent rains had caused the rough to be about 2-3 inches high. Unusual for Richfield. But we had a good time and Pam scored a Birdie on the 7th hole with a beautiful drive and then a long iron right to the middle of the green. She had a 15 foot putt and ran it right in. It was great.

Back home Pam has been busy planting flowers in a couple of planters on the front porch. It looks really nice and brings some color to our front door. We have had Monsoon weather the past week with afternoon thunderstorms and frequently rain. Saturday we had about 8 hours of non-stop light rain and everything in our yard has just jumped out of the ground. Unfortunately that includes the lawn, so I have to mow again!! But our garden is doing very well and everything has come up and is doing well.

Sunday evening I presided over my first Seminary Graduation and it was really nice. I had been a high school advisor to a quarter of the students and taught all but 4 of the graduates, so I had a personal interest in how they were doing. We had a good program and it was fun passing out the certificates and congratulating my friends. They will next graduate from High School on Friday.

Well family, I hope all you "face book" fans will not forget your blogs. We so enjoy the updates and pictures. Hope to see all of you sometimes this summer.

Denver Visit April 2009

2009-05-07T17:30:00.000-06:00

Pam and I finally got a week with little going on here in Monroe and took off for Denver on Monday the 27th of April. We had a wonderful trip visiting our four children in Denver and our grandchildren--maybe it's visiting the grandchildren and also their parents!

Here are a few pictures of Benjamin, little Alex, and Cynthia. It was amazing how good Benjamin looked and so happy and healthly.

On Friday the 1st of May we attended Megan's Ellis Island Program and also Grandparents Day at her school, the Collegiate Academy of Colorado. It was an interesting and well done program by the students. Megan was great and her story of her family relative that imigrated to the US through Ellis Island was very interesting.

On Sunday afternoon, the 3rd of May, Tom and Johanna hosted a family activity and dinner at their home and it was wonderful. Tom cooked a beautiful roast with all the trimmings and we ate and visited and covertly enjoyed a Nuggets vicitory!!

Tom has done a very nice job on the window replacement in the front of their home--it's been quite a job, but they are making headway.

Is this a cute couple of guys or what?

Monday morning, the 4th of May, we returned home to Monroe with Andrew Wood in tow! He's been a great guest in our home and has burned up the backyard, the streets of Monroe on his bike, and is rivaling Alex on creative creations with Construct's. He's spending a couple of weeks with us and we hope he is enjoying himself!

Easter in Monroe

2009-04-15T07:32:00.001-06:00

We have had a wonderful Conference weekend and also Easter Weekend here in Monroe. Andrew and Sarah with their children Jand and Reynolds arrived mid week and we had a wonderful 4 days with them. Additionally Erin and Weston and Kate came down Saturday evening to spend Easter Sunday with us. The weather didn't cooperate too much, but Andrew and I got in one round of golf on Friday morning,. We didn't burn up the course, but had fun.
Here is a shot of us with Jane in Monrovian Park.

Pam and Jane walking across the main bridge in the park. You can see from the coats that it wasn't very warm.

All of you kids loved to get right down by the water and Jane was no exception. Find something to throw in the water and made a big splash.

Andrew hauling Reynolds on his back. That didn't last very long as Reynolds wanted to be on the ground finding things.

Easter Morning was a beautiful day with mild temperatures and some of the bunny eggs every went outside and Jane and Reynolds had fun trying to find them.

Meanwhile inside Andrew was having breakfast....

Inside the house the living room was loaded with eggs and the little kids, including Kate by this time had a good time finding all the colored eggs.

Some quiet moments -- few and far between I must add on that Easter Morning!

We hope all of you readers are well and safe. With the advent of "Facebook" it looks like this blog might be threatened, but I like the stories and pictures and the feelings you express herein.

2009-03-29T09:14:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I last sent a post, but a lot has taken place within the family and here at home in Monroe. We have recently enjoyed the visit of Travis and his children, Drew, Kali, and Megan. They spent almost a week with us and hurried home to miss a huge snowstorm in the Colorado Rockies. Erin and Kate also joined us for a few days while they were here as Weston was vacationing in New York City??

While Travis was here I was in the midst of my first stake conference. What an awesome responsibility and worry. What if you scheduled a conference and no one came? Well that didn't happen and we had wonderful participation in our temple, priesthood leadership, adult, and general session on sunday. Our theme was "We Should Be a Temple Loving People" and the talks and music so wonderfully supported this theme.

Also last tuesday Travis and his children and Pam and I went to the Lehman Caves on the edge of the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. Pam and I have been to the caves before and we thought Travis and his children would really enjoy it and they did. Lehman Caves is a beautiful marble cave ornately decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, flowstone, popcorn, and over 300 rare shield formations. Once the guide mentioned the shield formations the kids search diligently for all of the over 300 shield formations from location to locations. There was only 7 in our group and we got a lot of personal attention and it was very enjoyable and the time just flew by.

Now on a more somber tone we were very saddened to hear that Benjamin was taken back to the hospital again yesterday and we hope and pray that the tender care by the hospital will quickly solve the problems he was facing. As we fast today our prayers are centered on him and also for Alex and Tom that they might find new employment soon.

These are trying times and we hope and pray that provident living will be implemented each day as we face these lousy economic times. The one thing the Lord has promised us is that if we will trust in him and pay our tithes and offerings he will open the windows of heaven. The evidence is many and varied, but always the same end result--the Lord blesses us with what we need.

Well enough preaching. We love you all and look forward to seeing you all soon.

2009-03-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted, so thought I would add a thought or two. January and February just seemed to fly by and we have been busy here in Monroe. Winter is slowly ebbing away with cold nights but fairly warm day temperatures. Almost golf weather again!!

Pam is looking outside and thinking she needs to get in the flower beds, but then we have a day of rain or a cold day and hurrah we don't have to go out quite yet. She has been busy sewing however, either for humanitarian projects or quilt tops for Aunt Win. It has almost been a full-time job for her. This last week she did a first on ebay--sold her first item. She sold a serger and it went well and she was happy with the price and the process. Maybe she will sell some of my things!!

Last tuesday we had a very interesting event happen with the stake presidency. I received a letter from the temple presidency inviting the three of us and our wives to dinner at the temple. We met with President Harless (temple president) at 5:00 pm and enjoyed a few minutes in his office and then went to his private dining room and had a lovely dinner, but most importantly got to listen to the president talk about the temple, temple work, and programs that could boost our stakes attendance.

After dinner we were escorted to sealing room #6, which is the lower room in the west tower frequently called the "Wells Room" where President Wells and his wife lived while he was the temple president. We got to the room by climbing the north circular stairwell and it was beautiful as usual. In the sealing room we did sealings for an hour and a half and that was very enjoyable. We did couples, daughters and sons, so enjoyed that variety and renewing our vows that Pam and I had taken over 40 years ago.

Finally we stopped doing sealings and president Harless visited with us in that room for awhile and then we climbed up the north stairwell again and entered the priesthood room. Strangely enough the priesthood room has no lights, so we were bathed in the exterior lights of the temple and it was so beautiful to sit on the north side seats and look up and down that beautiful room. President Harless told us of the history of that room and in specific the last Solemn Assembly that had been held there in 1979 and also the re-dedication in early 1980. Both my counselors LeRon Ware and Craig Mathie had attended one of the dedication sessions. We returned down the south circular stairwell from almost the top to the bottom.

It was a wonderful evening and one that will probably never be repeated in our lifetime. There is nothing quite like the Manti temple and while many people theroize about turning it into a film temple, I just don't think that would every happen. Many years ago Presient Packer was given a top to bottom tour of the temple and as he reached the foyer at the bottom of the circular stairwell he was reported to have said "Don't you ever let them do anything to this temple."

I guess that is how we feel also. Well Pam and I are fine and are in for a busy March with Stake Conference coming up, but we are happy and well.

Winter at Last !

2009-01-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well here we are on the 26th of January and the morning light presents a visage we thought would not come this winter. It snowed most of the night and our present is this beautiful view of crystal white throughout our town. It's one of those mornings when you just want to crawl back into bed.

New Technology

2009-01-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

When Pam and I received our last cable bill and it had gone up again, we decided to investigate satellite television more seriously. Well we made the big decision and signed up for Direct TV last week and today, the 19th of January 2009 was the day for the installation. Those of you who have seen us play with your Dish, Comcast, and Direct TV remotes know this is going to be a challenge for us. But the installer arrived early, which was a surprise, and we set out to make the installation with four receivers in the family room, sewing room, office, and master bedroom. The installation went all right until the installer, named Kade, was coming back from the attic area over Erin's bedroom (where the distribution box is located). I was in the bedroom when all of a sudden a huge noise and then Kade was laying on the bed. He had miss stepped and came through the ceiling with a flourish. The worst of it was all the rock wool insulation and dust and it was quite a sight. It took Kade awhile to get over what he had done, but I assured him it was not the end of the world and we continued with the installation. I cleaned up the bedroom the best I could and put a patch over the hole and we will address that issue at a later date.

So as you can see we have a little work to do. Direct TV will pay for the repair, but I sure felt bad for the installer.

Do we like what we have? I think so! There is so much junk being offered, but we think when we get some custom lists put together it will be nice. The receiver in the master bedroom is an HD receiver and the picture is awesome. I can actually see the dots on the golf ball!

Well that is our update. We are all fine and enjoyed the first of 10 ward conferences this past weekend. Erin and Kate spent 3 days with us as Weston was in Steamboat Springs working??? How did that happen.....

New Year's Activities

2009-01-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well Pam and I are finally home again. We just had a wonderful week in Colorado with all of our children with the exception of Travis and his family who were roughing it in Hawaii! We went to Denver to attend the baptism of Haley Wood and the blessing of Benjamin Cottle - both wonderful events. We appreciate the hospitality of Tom and Johanna for using their home almost everyday for some sort of family gathering.

Haley, we are so proud of you for preparing yourself to be baptized a member of the church. It has been amazing to watch you progress in your understanding of the church and your faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. We look forward to the continual change in your life.

Little Benjamin's blessing was much anticipated, especially with the fight he has waged to be where he's at. As Cynthia said so beautiful sunday, we are grateful for the excellence of the medical staff in taking good care of him in the hospital. We hope and pray that there will be no repeat performances!

We hope you all have a happy new year.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T13:39:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas to our family and friends. It's now Christmas afternoon and Pam and I are enjoying our day with each other. Last night we had a nice dinner and then a short devotional before calling it a night.

This morning I was awake early (as usual) and we finally decided to get up and see if Santa found our home! Well he did and we spent an hour or so enjoying the things we got for each other and from Santa. The pictures show a little of what we did this morning.

We are expecting some moisture today, but so far all we have received is wind. So we are looking for snow and hope it comes. What we've received thus far this season is beginning to melt. So we hope you all have a wonderful day.

Approaching Christmas

2008-12-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this entry on the 23rd of December and it is very cold outside. We wished we had a lot of snow to accompany the cold, but we'll take what we have. The mountains look pretty good and they have gotten hammered up north. The following pictures detail what's going on around our home.

Inside we've had the tree up for some time but it's getting a few packages strewn around the base. It certainly won't be like Christmas' of the past when the family is all home. Erin and Weston will join us on Christmas day after they have their Christmas morning in American Fork. So we're anxious to hear how that goes as we are with are other children.

Pam has been busy making treats to take around to our friends. She has made about two dozen loaves of bread and perhaps 3 dozen bags of these chinese chow mein noodle cookies. Fortunately we have given most of it all away.

Last Friday Pam and I drove north in good weather and ended up in a blowing snowstorm in downtown Salt Lake. It was wonderful! We went to see the Body World 3 exhibit and it was quite interesting. While we both knew the complication of the human body, but never to this extent. What a witness to the divinity of Heavenly Father and His creations. The next day we spent 3 hours with my sister Dixie and that was very enjoyable.

Yesterday we had an interesting experience. We got a Christmas card returned from very old friends from Hawaii, The Kinimaka's. Travis and Johanna might remember Danny and Leilani. Well I wondered where they were and did a google search on the name and didn't get anything conclusive with James Kinimaka, but when I searched for Elma Kinimaka I got a hit in Montrose Colorado. Following that up with a white pages search I was pretty certain I had found Elma. I called in the evening and sure enough it was our old friend. Pam spent a couple of hours with her and it was such a wonderful Christmas present to us. Unfortunately she and Jim divorced quite awhile ago and he has since passed away. So now we have another location to visit in Colorado.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and enjoys the spiriti of the season. President Monson summed it up this way:

"This is a glorious time of the year, simple in origin, deep in meaning, beautiful in tradition and custom, rich in memories, and charitable in spirit. It has an attraction to which our hearts are readily drawn. This joyful season brings to each of us a measure of happiness tha corresponds to the degree in which we have turned our mind, feelings, and actions to the spirit of Christmas."

Aunt Win's Home

2008-12-09T12:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Pam and I decided to drive to Sandy and pay a visit to Aunt Win. On the way we picked up Erin and Kate and braved the snow storm going north. Actually it was more rain than snow, but here it is December and I like to talk about snow! Aunt Win's granddaughters came and helped her decorate for Christmas and it looked very nice.

The rest of her home is really nice and she is very comfortable living there.

Finally Aunt Win is looking good and is a busy as a bee. Her family and friends come and get her and take her here and there and she has a very active social calendar. Every time we leave we talk about how good it was to have her move to Sandy.

On a sad note. We learned this morning that a Marine F/A-18 had crashed in University City, San Diego yesterday. I got on line to see what that was all about and found the following items. The first picture was from a channel 6 site and showed right where the plane crashed. It had left the USS Abraham Lincoln and was returning to Miramar with one engine out. As it crossed over land it lost it's other engine and by the time it crashed it was just gliding. If you know anything about fighters - they don't glide!

This second picture is off of Google Earth and it shows the same streets with a little bigger picture. On the left is the football field at University City High School and at the top is the canyon between University City and the University Town Center Mall. The pilot was making a last ditch effort to reach the canyon before punching out. He didn't quite make it. He got out about 30 feet above the ground and was okay. The elbow street above is the same elbow shown in the picture below.

We lived about 2 or 3 miles to the west. One home was hit and 3 or 4 people were killed. The debris continued northeast and destroyed another home through the block and there was fire everywhere. Must have been a pretty scary event.

Early December Update

2008-12-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

On the 3rd of December we did something we haven't done for awhile - just take a drive because! After a morning of work we headed out and drove south through the Marysvale canyon. Along the way we listened to CES fireside talks and they were very good. We stopped in Panguitch for lunch and gas and then drove up through the mountains to Brian Head and Parowan. The drive through the mountains was very beautiful and we stopped several times and took pictures. Even in the winter with minimal snow it was beautiful as the pictures below attest. We were in the mountains in the late afternoon sun and with the beautiful blue skies it was pretty spectacular. Once over the top we dropped down into Parowan and home via I-15.

We have been spending our time getting ready for Christmas with its decorations and for Pam the sewing. Each year she wonders if she will do it again, but when push comes to shove she enjoys watching her creations come to fruition.

We were very saddened to hear of the passing of Elder Wirthlin. We had just listened to a CES Fireside talk given by him about ten years ago and he was such a wonderful kind man. The funeral was held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle Friday and we watched a little of the replay today. I guess the only that is constant is change. So we look forward to see who will replace him and fill out the quorum of the twelve.

We certainly enjoyed seeing everyone's updates. You sure are great families!!!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T20:20:00.001-07:00

Well here we are at the end of November with the Thanksgiving Holiday behind us. We enjoyed having Andrew, Sarah and their children here with us last week and it was amazing to see the changes in our grandchildren. I had swept our yard of leaves and bagged them for the garbage pickup, but Andrew raked up the leaves under our Cherry tree and the kids had a great time playing in the leaves.

Thanksgiving Day was unusual to say the least. I think I am correct, but this was the first time in our married life that we spent the holiday by ourselves. It was all right, but we missed our family and would have willingly had them all come home. But we know you were all doing well in a variety of places and we hope you had a good time. Tom and Johanna we were amazed that you pulled off the surprise so well and hope you and the kids had a great time at Disneyland.

Pam and I were going to have a nice quiet meal by ourselves, but as the day proceeded along, noon came and went and we decided to just go to Richfield and see what was open. Well not much was but we ended up stopping at Frontier Village on the north end of town and we had a wonderful meal and the place was packed with people like just like us. Who would have thought someone else s cooking would have tasted so good but think of the up side - no dishes!

Well the next big event of the week was "Black Friday." I think that is what it is called. I'm not sure because down here it's an event to be reckoned with. I planned to go over this morning to get a couple of things from K-Mart and Wal-Mart, but didn't wake up early enough (that's a novelty) and when I arrived at Wal-Mart the place was packed and anything I wanted was long gone. K-Mart was much the same and so I came home empty handed. Later in the day we returned to Richfield and had lunch and said goodbye to Weston who had to go to work and the rest of us did some shopping at Home Depot and Wal-Mart. There were still some bargains and the next picture is one of those bargains.

Yes we are now the proud owners of a 37" Vizio LCD television and it is wonderful and fits in nicely in the bedroom.

As summer follows spring, putting up the christmas tree and decorations follows Thanksgiving. Poor Erin gets roped into this every year and I hope she likes it. But today we began and I'm sure during the next week our house will be transformed into Christmas.

And of course one of the benefits of have Weston and Erin in the neighborhood is Kate. She was wonderful this weekend and lit up our day with her smiles.

So with that we come to the end of another Thanksgiving weekend with much gratitude in our hearts for the rich blessings we enjoy. We are blessed with such wonderful children an spouses and great grandchildren. We are humbled by your spirituality and desires to serve in your wards and neighborhoods. We salute you as we do our many friends and pray the Lord's choices blessings to continue to be with you.

10 November 2008

2008-11-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

Well I think it's time for another post. Here I am in Monroe again without Pam. She is back in Denver taking care of Travis' children while they are in Mexico. I know it was for a family wedding, but I want to know if Travis took a board with him!! Most of the inputs on this post are from the previous couple of weeks when I was in Denver with the family for Megan's baptism. Erin's latest post covered Halloween very nicely so I won't recover that time.

It just seems like yesterday that we were in Denver for Megan's birth. Where has eight years gone? She is such a wonderful young lady, so polite, kind, active and lovable. We hope that her memories of her baptism will stay with her forever. We are so proud of her preparation and desire to be baptized and make covenants with Heavenly Father.

Isn't she such a beautiful young lady. This is her baptism dress which Pam made for her.

Cousins: Kali, Megan, Haley, and Andrew at the baptism.

Jennifer, Kali, and Megan sharing something before the baptism service began.

Cynthia showing off Kate in her new dress which Erin made for her. Kate is a hard charger and had a few bumps on the tile floor in Travis' basement bathroom. Still cute however!

Friends, family and ward members at Megan's baptism.

Sarah and Reynolds. What a cute young man he is becoming.

Erin using her skills at the keyboard. She was playing prelude music and also the opening and closing songs for the baptism.

Travis, Jennifer and family with Beverly and Jessica

Travis, Jennifer and family with Pam and Me. I want Travis to know that I was standing downhill and he isn't as tall as me!

Later in the day we attended the open house for Megan's baptism at her home in Roxborough. It was a fun afternoon and evening attended by family and ward friends. We visit, ate, visted ate, and ate some more. Thanks Jennifer for the wonderful goodies!

Tom really sacrificed to be there as BYU was playing in Fort Collins. So he listened to the game on KSL radio over the internet and it was definitely more stressful that he had hoped for. BYU finally eked out the victory.

These are more pics of the open house and our family. Pam and I wonder often how lucky we are to have such wonderful daughters and son -in - laws and are grandchildren...well they couldn't be cuter and more delightful. Alex was in the hospital with Benjamin and he was spending his last weekend in the hospital. We are so grateful that he is now home and doing very well.

Pam will be home with me next Monday and then perhaps our lives will become more mundane. We do have some projects to complete around the house and I'm sure we will be kept busy. But winter has set its sights on Monroe and are mountains are white with snow and the lawn has stopped growing-hurrah!!!

24 October Update

2008-10-24T14:57:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I've updated this blog, but much has happened to Pam and I. She has pretty much taken up residence in Denver and I'm here in Monroe. But I have made a weekly trip and have had an opportunity to visit with Pam and the family and most importantly to see little Benjamin and his parents Alex and Cynthia. Pam has had a great time with little Alex and they have developed a very close bond. Here little Alex is in his halloween costume and he is obsorbed with the character "Optimus Prime." There's not much he doesn't know about cars and transformers which are his love!
On my last trip I crossed over the San Rafael Swell during a thunderstorm at about 7:00 am and the sights were pretty spectacular. That whole area takes on a whole new look when everything is wet and lightning is popping off all around you. The clouds and sunrise were beautiful.

I know it is very frustrating for Alex and Cynthia to see little Benjamin looking so healthy and well and yet he is very sick. This past week they took him off food again to give his colon a rest and to see if the antibiotics will kill the infection. If it does then they can put him back on milk again and probably go home soon. If not they will operate and install a colostemy bag for a couple of months until the colon is completely healed. That is obviously not the option we want to happen. Next Monday, the 27th of October is the day of reckoning. Please prayer for a miracle for this little boy.

Since these pictures were taken Benjamin has had a blood transfusion to replace blood that has been taken daily and his color is much more normal now. He is such a handsome little buy and Pam loves to hold him over his shoulder and in her lap for as long as Cynthia will let her. His beautiful hair and strinking eyes make him so handsome. Alex loves to see his brother and her are some pictures of him at the hospital with cousins.

Little Alex misses his mom a lot and it's nice when Cynthia can go home and spend a night in a normal setting with little Alex and big Alex.

I had an interesting phone call Monday evening last. When the stake reorganization appeared in the Church News a lady in Arizona recognized my name and called me several times and finally Monday we connected. She was a little 10 year old girl when I was in Australia on my mission and me and my companion taught her family and they were baptized and remained faithful and very active. There's now a posterity of 42 in the Edwards family, all active members of the church. What a wonderful visit. Leonie, that is the name of the little girl, wrote a letter to President Hinckley in 1997 when her mother said he was coming to Adelaide for an area conference. She detailed their families conversion and it is printed in the book Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, page 388. it certainly was a pretty amazing experience for me a 3 month old missionary - a defining moment! Well all of you have a good week and pray for little Benjamin.

Fall is Here!

2008-10-01T18:57:00.001-06:00

Well it would appear like Fall is finally here in middle Utah. We are enjoying the cool nights and especially the colors in the mountains. With such a wet spring and pretty decent summer the leaves are beautiful. Last Friday, the 26th of September, Pam and I drove through Fairview Canyon from Huntington to Fairview and it was pretty spectacular. Andrew you would remember this canyon as the place Ralph Goddard and I took you Priests skiing one winter. The following are some of the pictures that I took. The most difficult challenge was picking which pictures to put on the blog!

Yesterday, the 30th of September Ann and Sherwood invited us to drive with them up Monroe Mountain. What was a beautiful day was only only dampened by the terrible condition of the mountain road. Probably the worst condition we have ever seen. But the trees were gorgeous and we even had some redness in the quaken aspen, which we have not seen before. We drove down the Koosharem side of the mountain and then up to Fishlake and the mountains were alive with color. From there we drove down the Fremont River canyon and over to I-70 and back home via Salina.

Pam was released from her stake calling last Sunday after a wonderful 3 1/2 years as Stake Relief Society President. She and her counselors did a wonderful job and will be sorely missed. Of course they aren't going anywhere, but you know what I mean. Now I can have her counsel full time and I will be needing it. We are looking forward to General Conference next week and hope everyone gets an opportunity to watch or listen to the various sessions.

Weekend of the 14th

2008-09-16T08:22:00.000-06:00

This is a short narrative of the events of this past weekend and it's intended for my children. If you are not in the family I hope you can read it for what it is. Pam was in Denver and I missed her desperately despite the perfect assurance I had in my mind that nothing would happen regarding my call as stake executive secretary. For months I have had little twinges of "What If?" But I always put them behind me as nothing but listening to friends too much. That's a whole different story. I have been badgered for weeks about the change in the stake and I just wanted people to stop with it! I can't imagine anyone wanting to aspire to such a calling and I certainly did not.

When I met Elder Moon and Wood Friday evening the whole process began and they were wonderful. We had dinner as a presidency and wives with them at the Sagebrush Grill here in Monroe for the purpose of them getting to know us. Then Elder Wood and Elder and Sister Moon stayed with me in our home and they seemed to really enjoy being here. Sister Moon said it was just like going home. Saturday morning we had an hour long meeting with Elder Wood and Moon and they went over the process that would take place and the more they talked the more confident I was that nothing would happen with me. At 8:00 am the interviews began and we went all morning and into the early afternoon. They interviewed all the high council, bishops and past bishops and as I watched these men come and go I was amazed at how much talent and spiritual depth we had in the stake. Several times Elder Wood commented that we had the strongest high council he had ever seen. I don't know whether he was just flattering us or stating a fact, but they are wonderful men. Shortly after 2:00 pm I was in the clerks office with President Reid [the outgoing stake president] and Elder Wood and Moon came in and he said to me "This doesn't mean anything, but could we speak with your wife?" I can't begin to express the feeling that came over me. I knew what that meant and I almost broke down and couldn't hardly speak. I moved over to the phone and called Pam and when she answered I said "Elder Wood needs to speak with you." Well Pam had a conversation with Elder Wood and then I was called into the president's office and the call extended. My whole being screamed at me that I couldn't do this, but my mouth said "yes." They said some very nice things about me and the role I would play in the stake for the next few years. I just couldn't hardly contemplate it all. Well the next thing was counselors and strangely enough I knew who they would be and within 30 minutes they and their wives had been called interviewed and the presidency was set. They too were pretty overwhelmed and as we all met in the high council room for a few minutes they expressed their support to me and willingness to serve. The rest of the day was a blur as we went through priesthood leadership and the adult session but we got through the day and welcomed the arrival of your mother and Travis Saturday night. I can't tell you how much that helped.

Sunday morning the old presidency was released and the new presidency sustained and I don't know how the announcements were received throughout the stake, but I hope that we can be an effective presidency. When Elder Wood set me apart he gave such a wonderful blessing that I could hardly contain it. Hopefully the mantle will fall on me sometime. A special blessing for me was that Travis stood in the circle while I was set apart and that will always be a wonderful memory.

Now my children, I hope you know how much I love and appreciate each of you and the support you gave to me on sunday. You know all my faults and I hope and pray you will allow the power of the atonement to heal me also. I know that this calling will bless our family. I have already felt the goodness of the Savior in my life in special ways these past few days.

Love, Dad

Update for Pam

2008-09-08T18:38:00.000-06:00

I apologize up front for those who look at this posting, for it is primarily to update Pam on what I am doing here in Monroe. I know most of you probably think that since I'm retired I sleep in till noon, go to Burger King for lunch and dinner and watch sports all night! Well some of that is true, but not all.

After a hard morning in the garden I came into the office to see about putting up the plaques and pictures that you and Johanna had laid out. The following pictures show the results of my work. I would have been watching sports on TV, but the cable has been down all afternoon. Some storm on Monroe Mountain!!!

I hope you like what I've done, if not we call always change it!

End of the Summer

2008-08-30T16:48:00.000-06:00

Well it's time for an update on this last month of the summer. What's very important is that school has started and I'm at home! I haven't given it much thought. It's nice being home without the worry of homework, lesson prep, and dealing with disrespectful students. I do miss the good students and the fun they bring to the day.
Well we are struggling to get in enough golf. Here we are at Spanish Oaks, at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. We planned to golf at Nephi, but they were having a tournament, so we just kept going north until we found a course where we could get on. Wonderful course, but lightning fast greens with more undulation that I have ever seen before.
Here's Pam hitting a 280 yard drive.
Here's where that drive ended up, chipping for an eagle!!
Well no eagle, maybe a birdie...no maybe a par...no well just get it in the hole.
For some time I have been looking to replace the old Sansui Receiver that I've had in the entertainment center. It was on it's last legs and the left and right channels were bad. So I went to trusty ebay and found this 1970's vintage Kenwood for $35.00 and when I got it installed it worked beautifully and everything worked. Both records, cd's and radio sounds great.
With summer comes a garden and with a garden comes processing. Here is the result of our corn harvest, 51 pints of corn and it was wonderful as usual. I pulled up all the plants this week and so the corn is over, but there's still beans, potatoes, carrots, beets, and tomatoes. Unfortunately the season is almost over and I don't know whether some of the veggies will mature or not. We also have a couple of peach trees that are loaded and we can't wait for them to mature.
Aunt Win is back at sorting through boxes and boxes and sacks and sacks of cards, letters and other memorabilia that Diane graciously allowed her to have?? Next Monday we will be moving her up north to an apartment she rented in a senior center. She is looking forward to this move and so our her kids and granchildren. She will be with minutes of all of them. This is a big move for Aunt Win, but we are confident she is ready to get back into circulation and the activities and people at this center will certainly keep her active and involved.
Here's our master bedroom and this is the result of too many nights in a hotel with a king sized bed. Pam talked us into buying a new bed and I have to admit it is really wonderful to sleep on. Occasionally Pam rolls over and lets me know she is in the same room with me. For those of you who wonder about the old bed - it is on the frame in Alex's room, so that bed is now a good bed!
Here's Andrew and Haley in our basement playing with Constructs. Johanna and her children flew in last Wednesday for a visit and then they will return to Denver with Pam next week. For some reason I thought this was just a visit, but no Pam and Johanna and Erin had big plans. For the past couple of days they have been storming through the foyer, hallway, stairs, Alex's bedroom and finally the office. They have painted and sprunced up each of these areas and the following pictures are of some of the new window treatments in the foyers and dining room and also the new painting and fixing up in the rooms I mentioned. I also got the return done on the hand rail and it is finally legal after 16 years.
Now that all the work is over it's time for some relaxation for the girls.
Well that's it for awhile. Next week will be a busy time for us all as we move Aunt Win and send Pam to Denver to help out with Alex and Cynthia and their new baby. We can't wait for that blessed event and I'm sure Cynthia can't wait also.

Weekend of the 16th of August

2008-08-18T14:44:00.000-06:00

The weekend of the 16th of August began with a trip to Erda where Aunt Win spent the night with her son Jeff. Pam and I proceeded into Salt Lake and took a nostalgic drive down 7th west out to Sandy where we had a hotel room booked for the night. In the evening we attended a wedding reception for a friend of Erin's and it was unique in that Pam made Emily's wedding dress and it was very, very beautiful. This is Westons beautiful photo in the Joseph Smith Building, I hope you don't mind Weston - it's the dress!

The next day we attended the 90th birthday for my Aunt Elva, Dad's sister. She has always been a wonderful Aunt, full of vitality and enthusiasm. If we ever attended a Cottle function, Aunt Elva was there.

Erin and Kate are being introduced to Aunt Elva and Kate was very interested in this lady!

Uncle Walt, Dad's youngest brother, and Pam visiting.

Pam visiting with Marba and Paul Thompson, who used to live in Richfield. Marba is my cousin and is Uncle Merlin Cottle's 2nd daughter.

This is my sister Dixie and it was so good to see her again. She lives in Orem, but do you think we stop very often? We've got to do better. She was my protector when I was a little kid.

Pam and Aunt Win visiting with Aunt Elva.

Pam and Aunt Elva. Her husband Lelsie died last year at age 89 and she is going strong and her daughter Rosanne, said she was doing very well and seemed to be as sharp as a tack. The family is very musical and Darrell, Elva's son, and his children played beautiful music throughout the afternoon.

In the evening Pam, Aunt Win, and I along with Erin, Weston and Kate drove to Highland and attended the wedding reception for Michael and Camille DeVries, held in the Hadley's chapel. It was a wonderful affair and it was especially nice to see all of Ann and Sherwood's daughters and families and visit with them.

Also of note on Saturday Aunt Win took a tour through the South Town Ranch senior home, where Uncle Dave lived for a year, and made a decision to put some money down on a very lovely 1 bedroom apartment. It was a wonderful place and perfect for someone like Aunt Win. She met a lot of lovely people who were very interested in when she was going to move in. We hope this will be a good move for her, getting her back into the Salt Lake area where she will be close by her children and grandchildren.

So that's our weekend and we had to hurry home for sunday's activities.

24th of July

2008-07-29T17:20:00.000-06:00

Pam and I have had a wonderful couple of weeks before and after the 24th of July. Since returning from Denver we have spent much time in our yard trying to get it back into shape and harvesting some of the garden as it matures. Thus far the beans are coming on as have the beets. We are looking forward to the corn and hope we have a good crop.

The honor guard of the American Legion began the 24th of July festivities and we enjoyed the parade with Erin and Kate. Jennifer and her children Drew, Kali and Megan were also with us but on this day were enjoying a family reunion with Jennifer's family here in the Monroe area.

We had a few wonderful entries, besides sport teams and cars, that reminded us of the meaning of the 24th of July. Our great heritage of pioneers who came to this country to enjoy religious freedom and at the request of their leaders. They sacrificed and endured beyond anything we could imagine and we are grateful to them for their example.

Pam worked a booth for the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and Erin and Kate aided her in selling tickets to a beautiful quilt raffle. Kate was so cute and I got to walk around the grounds showing her off to all of my friends.

Following the 24th of July Jennifer and her family left us for home and Tom and Johanna and their family arrived. We spent a lot of time on the golf course, both here at home at the Richfield course and on Tuesday the 29th of July we went up to the Palisades Golf Course in Sterling and enjoyed this beautiful course. Words can't describe how well we played !!!

Kate is sitting in an antique high chair used by many generations. I added a new tray and was able to re-glue and paint this wonderful piece of furniture and hope it provides many more years of use.
Tom and Johanna and their family left for the Wood family campout on Wednesday and Pam and I went north to Springville and brought Aunt Win home. She has been staying with her son Jeff and also niece Jacki for the past couple of weeks.

Denver Trip

2008-07-14T08:05:00.000-06:00

Well on Monday the 7th of July, Pam and I got the urge to take a trip to Denver to see our grandchildren and get away from phones and duties. We arranged for Aunt Win and on Tuesday morning we were winging our way along I-70 enjoying the scenes across the San Rafael Swell and enduring Utah east of Green River. Our first plan was to stop in Fruita, Colorado and play some golf at the Adobe Creek layout and we were not disappointed. We got a room at the LaQuinta Inn and it was really, really hot so we planed to play golf the next morning. That we did the next morning, playing the Mesa Course and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately when we concluded our round the van wouldn't start. You know the routine - "click, click, click." A man from the golf course came to help us but the van wouldn't jump start and he thought our starter was gone. Thankfully USAA came to the rescue for us and a tow truck took us to a local auto repair facility in Fruita. They couldn't get to us that day but a lady in the shop drove us back to the Comfort Inn and we got a room for the night. the next morning we got a call about 9:30 am and they happily reported that the problem was the battery cable and he repaired it and in an hour we were checked out of the hotel and on our way to Denver. We stopped in Silverthorne for an hour and shopped and then continued on to Denver.

For the next five days we enjoyed out family in Denver. Unfortunately it seemed that every time we had a family gathering my camera was somewhere else, so I didn't get many pictures. But the following were shots when we went to a softball game where Andrew's ward team played.

We were able to visit with each of our families in their homes and enjoy their hospitality. We especially enjoyed staying with Andrew and Sarah and we enjoyed Jane and Reynolds very much. Friday evening we had a family get to gether at Tom and Johanna's home [minus Travis and Jennifer and their family who were out of town]. It was a lot of fun watching all the interactions between the adults and the children. Saturday afternoon we had a large golf outing with Pam and me, Travis and Drew, Alex, Andrew, Tom and Spencer. It was a lot of fun. Sunday Pam and I attended sacrament meeting with Alex and Cynthia in their ward and then attended the block with Travis and Jennifer and Andrew and Sarah in their ward. Both meetings were good and we enjoyed watching our children's involvements in their wards. Monday Travis and I played another round of golf and then Monday evening some of the family got together again at Tom and Johanna's for root beer floats.

It was a wonderful five days and today we are on the road again, back in Fruita where we played another round of golf. Tomorrow we will complete the saga back to Monroe and hope everything is fine there.

p.s. Well tomorrow has happened and I needed to add to this post because it didn't finish like we thought. Wednesday morning we left Fruita and drove to Green River and stopped to play the golf course in the middle of town. When I paid the fee the man said the bugs were pretty bad today. We had repellant and I figured we would be all right, but who would have known the extent of the mosquitoes and knats. It was like playing in a fog at times. On the brighter side, the course was really beautiful and I really want to go back at a time when the bugs are to bed. It was nestled right along the Green River and the fairways and greens were lush and interesting. Oh yeah the cost was good also - $10.00 for nine holes. We played the fastest round of golf in history and when I went to put the clubs in the van I reached for the keys and guess what? They were in the ignition. Not doing well with the van this trip. Anyway the lady in the clubhouse call the local sherrif's office and a man came over and got us unlocked and we were off. Everything was fine at home and I think even Sidney was happy to see us!

Spring has finally Sprung!

2008-06-27T07:46:00.000-06:00

With Spring comes the hope of a good garden. We haven't grown one for a couple of years but this year we felt the need to have one and it is growing beautifully and hopefully we will have a good crop of corn and beans. Because of the cool spring we missed the pea season and now it is too hot.
This is a shot down the raspberry patch and iris. Our orchard is also taking shape and the four fruit trees are doing very well. Maybe in five years or so we'll reap the benefit of these trees.
The Columbine's are beautiful right now.
As is our Catalpa tree. It is in full bloom and is always a treat. We also planted another Catalpa tree this year on the other side of the yard. Hopefully it will grow as beautifully as this one.
Another wonderful opportunity we are enjoying is having Kate with us. And I mean with us! Erin and Weston are celebrating their 4th wedding anniversary in Las Vegas and we hope they are having a good time, because we are. This is at 7:00 am Friday morning after a complete night's sleep. What a girl!
Here are some more shots of our beautiful center island. In the early morning light everything is so idillic. The flowers, greenery, and trees.

But finally here's cute little Kate enjoying her grandmother and I think Pam is enjoying Kate also. We close with a shot of the latest full moon rising over Signal Peak to the east. Everything is going well for us in Monroe. I do get a little tired of all the questions about retirement. I believe there will be a life after the "R" word. Aunt Win is doing well and she bought a car last Tuesday. We have discussed this with her for some time and finally we went looking and found a wonderful Taurus at Jorgensen's that would take care of her. It gives her the freedom to go and come as she likes and not feel so dependent on us. We are encouraging her to stay local, but I wouldn't be surprised with a trip north some time. She likes Cafe Rio also!! Pam got the "all clear" on her foot last Monday from Doctor Smith. He said everything looked good and it does. We are amazed at how well it has healed and looks and slowly Pam is getting back to normal. Now if we can get back on the golf course!!

Update!

2008-06-04T09:34:00.000-06:00

Well schools out, summer's here and it's time to play! The first thing we did that was unexpected was driving to Provo to have lunch with Alex and Cynthia and realizing we had no phone! So in the dark recesses of my mind I thought "what would it cost us to get two phones?" With Erin's help we ended up finding Alex and Cynthia in the Mall and so I stopped at the Verizon chalet and asked about 2 phone plans and lo and behold we were eligible for new phones (already) and we qualifed for the 65 plan so it didn't take much encouragement to sign up. The best part, however, was that we walked away with two phones right then, so now we are "packin."

Pamela: 435-201-0098
Joe: 435-201-3965

Call us anytime!

While Aunt Win was up north Pam and I decided to play a little bit and on Monday, the 2nd of June we drove north to Palisades State Park and played golf on this neat mountain course. The weather was great and we enjoyed the round and actually played quite well. From there we had lunch at the Malt Shop in Ephraim and then proceeded to Nephi and played golf at the golf course there by the canyon road. It was also a fun course with beautiful greens and nice and flat!!

Yesterday, the 3rd of June we continued our saga by driving over to Fillmore and playing their beautiful river course. It is built in and around a small stream with wonderful trees and foilage - we really enjoyed it. So maybe this will be a trend with the price of gas. I looked up golf courses in Utah and we could spend a whole summer just playing locally...

Family Visit

2008-05-28T19:09:00.000-06:00

We spent a wonderful weekend with Alex, Cynthia, little Alex, and Erin, Weston and Kate. Alex and Cynthia arrived Friday evening from Denver. Saturday morning we visited in the kitchen for about two hours and then I mowed the lawns for an hour. When I came inside everyone was still in the living room visiting so we went over to my favorite place, Burger King, and had some lunch. The fries were hot and awesome! Pam had an appointment with Doctor Smith and he said everything was healing nicely and the stitches didn't need to be taken out unless they were causing a problem. Anyway she was given the "green light" to walk on it normally. In the evening we met Erin and Weston at Pizza Hut for dinner and then spent an enjoyable evening at home visiting. Sunday was spent in church until noon and then we continued visiting and eating until the day was done.

Wednesday after a morning in the yard [weeds], we cleaned up and drove to Bryce Canyon to see the sites. Cynthia had never been there before so it was all new to her. I was amazed at how many people were in the park and especially the different languages we heard. But it was a good day, maybe a bit cool, but we had fun.

I finally Graduated??

2008-05-23T20:36:00.000-06:00

Well today was graduation day for the school year 2007-2008. Pam and I just returned from the celebration held at the Sevier Events Center and it was a nice affair. Today the reality of this day came into focus when I arrived at school. My room is all ready for the summer and a new teacher. I have tried the past week to anticipate what my relief would need to know in order to use the technology in my room and for the concurrent enrollment and EdNet facilitators to continue the program this fall. Hopefully I did enough!

In the awards assembly I was very surprised to receive the plaque shown above. I think it was my payoff for leaving.

So what's in store for us now? It's hard to say. Right now it just feels like school is out and summer vacation is here. We hope to get our yard into shape, do some projects I have been putting off for years, harvest a good garden, and maybe take a trip or two. With the price of gas, however, we are not sure how far from home we will venture.

Pam's toe is doing very well. She is out of the walking boot full time now and has been wearing sandals and even got on some sketcher shoes yesterday. Tomorrow she will see her doctor again and hopefully he will finally get all the stitches out and give her freedom to do whatever she wants.

2008-05-19T21:26:00.000-06:00

18 May 2008: We drove to Denver to attend the baptism of Andrew Wood and the blessing of Reynolds Cottle. This event began about 2:00 pm in the Highlands Ranch Stake Center. One family and friends had arrived a counselor in Tom and Johanna's ward, Bropther Hanagame, welcomed everyone and conducted a wonderful service. I was so impressed with the talks given by Cynthia [baptism] and Spencer [Holy Ghost]. They taught wonderful principles and bore strong testimonies. Tom baptized and confirmed Andrew and did a wonderful job. I was particularly impressed with the beautiful blessing he pronounced and I felt the spirit bear witness to me that Andrew is going to be all right and he has a father and mother who will raise him with patience and love. Bishop Moats then welcomed Andrew into the church and also as the newest member of the church. He had a unique way of impressing on Andrew the importance of his baptism with candy bars, and I don't think he or anyone else will forget his message.

After the baptism Travis came forward as a bishopric representative of the Roxborough Ward and presided at the blessing of Andrew and Sarah's youngest son, Reynolds. Andrew was voice in the blessing and his brothers and and Willard Hill and I joined in along with a good neighborhood friend. Nothing is quite as rewarding as listening to your sons bless their children. Andrew gave such a wonderful blessing and Reynolds has a good future ahead of him.

Following the blessing we all adjourned to Tom and Johanna's home and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at their home eating, visiting, playing, taking pictures and just enjoying each other. A perfect conclusion to a perfect day.

2008-05-17T08:22:00.000-06:00

As the days go by we quickly approach the next phase of our lives. This week was my last full week at school and next week we teachers enter maintenance phase [e.g show movies, keep them entertained, try to minimize damage]. Fortunately I have not second guessed my decision to retire and am looking forward to phase II. Pam's operation and recovery has gone very well and each day she becomes more mobile. We are still looking forward to the 25th of May when the doctor will try to get out the remaining stitches. He was unsuccessful two weeks ago. He felt as the swelling reduced he would be able to pull the remaining threads.

Yesterday, the 16th of May, Pam, Erin, Kate and I left Monroe early and had a great trip to Denver to witness the baptism of Andrew and the blessing of Reynolds. Weston was on a field trip with his school class in Southern Utah. We hoped he had a great time. The day began for us at 8:00 am and the drive flawless, except for the high cost of gas [$3.69]. Kate slept about half the way and then had a couple of bouts of frustration with the seat belts, but other than that she was an angel. We arrived in Denver about 3:30 pm and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening doing what we could to help prepare for tomorrow's activities. It was wonderful to see family members here in Denver. Alex, Cynthia and little Alex were at Tom and Johanna's home with their children and Tom and Johanna would return from a vacation at midnight. We went to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse and while there saw a family from Travis and Andrew's ward and learned that Andrew, Sarah and Sarah's parents were also there eating, so we got to see them all there and later at their home. Jane and Reynold's are as cute as ever. We dropped Erin off at Travis and Jennifer's for the night [Travis and Drew were at a ward father and son's outing] and Pam and I went to a low-class hotel by Park Meadow Mall call the Hyatt and suffered with a heavenly soft king-sized bed and 42 inch plaza television. Hopefully we'll have some pictures and continue this entry tomorrow.

Funeral of David Dyches

2008-04-23T22:35:00.000-06:00

Uncle Dave died suddenly on the 14th of April, 2008. He had been living in an assisted living home in Midvale, Utah for the past year and seemed to be doing just fine. But he deeply missed his beloved "Peg" and had lived a wonderful 86 years. We certainly will miss his wit, his kindness, his love and devotion to his immediate and extended family. Judy absorbed the major responsibility of overseeing his daily care and welfare and did such a wonderful job. Today, the 23rd of April, we attended the funeral service held in his old ward, the Richfield 7th Ward, and his internment was next to "Peg" in the Monroe Cemetery. We wish you could have heard the wonderful tributes by his two children, Judy and Mark, and grandchildren Marcee and John. They were all wonderful and highlighted what a character Uncle Dave was! But the highlight of the program was listening to Mark play a musical tribute to his father. Mark is such a gifted pianist and he played a melody of hymns and Hawaiian music that was just spectacular and evoked such emotion. When Mark plays he never disappoints. It was wonderful to visit with the many family members that came from far and near to attend and it was a fitting tribute to this good man.

2008-04-19T17:09:00.000-06:00

For some time Pam has been experiencing pain in the toes of her right foot. It came from a bunion and finally was something she needed to address. Doctor Smith, from Monroe, examined and diagnosed the problem and recommended an operation to correct the splaying of the big and next toe. There were three parts: correction of a bunion, revision of the big oe, and removal of sesamoid bone (a bone embedded within a tendon). The 18th of April was the day for the operation and I skipped school to accompany Pam to the hospital at 11:00 am. She checked in at surgery admitting and paid the co-pay then we proceeded to an adjacent waiting room. About fifteen minutes later a surgical nurse, came in and took us to a room where Pam changed into a surgical gown and then we spent the next half an hour going over paper-work with the nurse, then an anesthetist and finally Doctor Smith. At 12:15 pm I said goodbye to Pam and she was wheeled away to the operating room. The surgery took about 2 hours and I didn't see her again until 3:30 pm. She was smiling and talkative and the only indication she had been in surgery was a boot on her right foot. A nurse gave us a detailed list of post-operative instructions about the care of the foot and medications, etc., and then she was wheeled to the front entrance where we loaded her into the van. Pam could walk – sort of, but needed to be very careful. The walking boot kept her foot rigid and she could shuffle along flat footed. She was starving so we drove through the drive-through at Arby’s and got a sandwich and drink. After filling two prescriptions we came home. Aunt Win and Erin and Kate were home when we arrived and we got Pam situated in bed and located some extra pillows to raise her foot above her heart. Surprisingly Pam spent a very good night and today (Saturday) she has been fairly pain free and I think a little tired of laying with her foot elevated. She will have to do this for several more days and then she can began to move about more. We will keep you advised.

Regional Women's Conference

2008-04-13T18:16:00.000-06:00

Well the day has finally come and gone and it was a smashing success! "Joy in the Journey", the title of the Women's Conference took place yesterday and it was a beautiful, cloud free day. When we arrived at the Sevier Event's Center at 9:15 am people were arriving from all over. Initially it was just the hostesses and those who would present and help out, but soon women of all ages began arriving. I had the best job of all and drove a golf cart from the parking lot to the doors dropping off anyone who would ride with me. Pam was busy from the moment she arrived, but the prior preparation really produced a wonderful product. Sister Thompson from the Relief Society General Board arrived 10 minutes prior to 10:00 am and I'm sure Pam breathed a huge breath of relief. We think they had over 700 in attendance and I can attest that most of them stayed until the end, which was 3:30 pm. Pam and her counselors had this brain child last year and once they took a bite into the apple there was no going back. A wonderful chairman was called who really fulfilled their ideas and plans. After the opening session in which Sister Thompson spoke, the women moved out into 14 different life-changing seminars in which wonderful qualified presenters did their thing. As I drove women back to their cars in the afternoon, everyone commented on how good it was and they couldn't wait for another such event in Sevier County. Pretty good endorsement, huh?

Can you teach old dogs new tricks?

2008-04-06T14:36:00.000-06:00

Well everyone in the family seems to have one, so maybe we can add our two cents also. We are here in Monroe watching the afternoon session of sunday conference and have been overwhelmed by the beautiful messages and challenges to live our lives better. It always amazes me how the transitions in the church take place so seamlessly. As I watched President Monson speak last night in the priesthood session I felt the spirit whisper to my heart that he was the Lord's choice. What a magnificent talk. This morning's talk was no less significant. Hope you felt the same.

Good moment a few weeks ago when Cynthia and Erin were home for a few days. I'm sure they were discussing world politics!