Memorial Day 2011

We woke up to snow for Memorial Day this year. Nice. Dave and I still went on a run this morning. We just had to bundle up like it was January.



We had the Stowers crew over for Banana Macadamia pancakes later in the morning.


Then we went to visit graves. All the while it was raining, raining, raining.


We took Dave's dad to the Ogden Cemetery.


Then we drove up to Logan and met mom and dad.


We ate a late lunch with my parents, Billy and Nana at LaBeau's. Raspberry shakes are the bomb.


On the way home we stopped in Brigham City to see how the temple is progressing.

The week (but not necessarily "the weak")

My oldest grandchild graduated Preschool.



The Ogden Marathon.Dave, Ashley and I ran our first half marathon. Holly ran her first marathon, but I didn't get a picture of her. The run by Pineview dam and then down Ogden Canyon was breathtaking. Somewhere in the middle of the canyon Dave turned to me and said, "We HAVE to do this again, next year." Hopefully we will. Dave was a sweetheart. I kept telling him to run on ahead of me so he could get a good time. He stayed with me until we were through the canyon, then went on ahead. None of us got injured, so that's a good thing. I later found out that Steph and Jared had run a 10k in Michigan the same time the rest of us were running. Fun!

In Loving Memory of Uncle Lynn

My dad's brother, Lynn, passed away this past week. Dave and I drove down to St. George on Sunday for the viewing, and for the funeral the next day. We took my dad, mom and my sister, Carrie,with us.

Uncle Lynn was an amazing man. He had his priorities in order. He was a dedicated church member and a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He was a sweet, friendly uncle to me. I have nothing but good memories of him. He was a great story teller and when we would sit around at family reunions and get-togethers he would keep everyone laughing with his humorous tales. He will be greatly missed.

Lynn's four brothers - Bruce, Clare, Karren (my dad), and Mark.

His two children and wife. Jill, Shauna and Nate.

His children's spouses - Chris and Kate.

Aunt Shauna with her grandchildren.

The cousins who came to the funeral. There were actually a few more who came, but they had left before this picture was taken.

Lynn was a great example to all of us. We will miss you, dear Uncle.

Tulips

My very thoughtful neighbor, Michaelene, brought over these tulips from her garden for us to enjoy. There's nothing like fresh flowers to cheer up a room. We are so blessed to have the neighbors and friends that we do.

"Been through the desert on a horse, oops I mean a car with no name"

For the first time in over 22 years we drove west on I-80 for over two hours to go to Wendover, Nevada. The reason for our journey through the desert was to hear the band America in concert.

The first interesting thing we passed was Saltaire, on the banks of the Great Salt Lake. It used to be a resort. Now drug-crazed teens hold Rave parties there. Sad.

This smoke stack is 40 to 50 miles, as the crow flies, from our home. Weird fact: on a clear day we can see it from our house.

We drove past the very controversial "Tree of Utah". A unique sculpture, to say the least.

We had to stop and see the Bonneville Salt Flats.

(Side note: One of Dave's co-workers sent us a Christmas card of their family sitting on a couch in the middle of the Salt Flats. It was sweet. I wouldn't mind coming here and doing that someday.)

There was water covering the racetrack where speeds of over 600 mph have been reached.

The concert hall where America performed. It holds only 1000 people. I thought it was kind of funny that they told us last week they were in Paris and the week before that they played concerts in Italy. And now they were in Wendover, Nevada.

It was a great concert. It took me back to Jr High and High School.

I remember the band members looking like hippies. Now they look more like guys who sit at Starbucks with their laptops. I guess that is what aging will do for you.

Addendum

Until Blogger becomes more user-friendly I will have to just put this picture in it's own post. It goes in the middle of the previous post and I will just have to add it to its proper place when I make my book.


I just loved how much fun the four of them were having together.

"Grandma, this is the best day ever."

Alex and I built a little sandbox in the garden for the grandkids. They came over yesterday to play. (Holly was getting her hair colored so I babysat her three kids and Ash came over to visit with her two boys.)

They loved it!

Olivia was the only one who didn't get to play in the sand. She played in the shade in the pack'n'play. She didn't fuss the entire four hours we were outside. (I did get her out occasionally to eat, cuddle and have a diaper change.)

Ashley and I noticed that the four older kids all have scabs on their knees - the sign that warmer weather is here. Only one knee had fresh blood. Not too bad for four hours of "fun in the sun".

The kids had lunch alfresco and really enjoyed each other. (I had another picture that accidentally got deleted. I will put it in the next post because it is one of my favorites of the whole day.)

I so love my trees now that they are big enough for swings and the hammock.

Ahh, relaxing. The only time they were relatively still.

Just before Lily took a ride on her scooter, she told me "Grandma, this is the best day ever." She then went flying down the hill and smacked her head on a metal chair. She may have had a small concussion. It was so sad.

She didn't stay down for long, though. And yes, Lils, I think it was the best day ever, too! I'm not so sure Holly and Ashley thought so, though. Ash told me later it took her over 15 minutes just to get the sand washed out of her boy's hair. Oh well, that's why I'm a grandma. The mom's have to do the dirty work. I just get the fun part. hee hee

East Lansing

I flew out to East Lansing, Michigan to spend a little time with my baby girl and her hubby.

This is Steph and Jared's apartment. It is in a really nice apartment complex. They have a lot of good friends in the same complex. I'm so happy that they do.

This was taken from their back deck. They have a little wooded area in their backyard. Here are their mallard duck friends. Steph likes to throw bread to them. The male is very patient and lets the female eat most of the pieces.

Steph and I drove to Detroit one day to a Detroit Tigers baseball game. It was a blast. They beat the New York Yankees. For lunch we had your typical midwest baseball food - a brat with the works.

I liked how the ball park was right in the heart of Detroit. This fountain went off whenever the Tigers scored.

Could the weather have been better? Probably not. It was soooo nice that day.

We always "root root root for the hometeam" when we go to a pro game. I'm glad the Tigers won.

I took Steph on a little shopping spree and to dinner for her birthday. We had Chicago style deep dish pizza. Delish.

Another day Steph drove me around town so I could see where they spend a lot of their lives. Jared goes to Michigan State. This is the football stadium there. It is immense.

This is driving toward the state capitol in Lansing.

Steph works two jobs. This is Sparrow Hospital. She works on the Women's Floor here. If I ever had to be taken care of by a nurse, I would choose Steph and not just because she is my daughter. She has a wonderful bedside manner.

Her other job is here at this Long Term Care facility.

Here is that cute little nurse herself. She is wearing the necklace Ashley made for her for her birthday. I love the way Steph and Jared have decorated their home. It is classy yet comfy.

Jared made us dinner two nights in a row. He finished his first year of Med school while I was there. The first night I was there he was up until 4:30 am studying for a final. He woke back up at 6:30 to go take the test. So I think he is enjoying his week break. He smoked us some incredible meat out on their deck.

Check out the ribs and drumsticks. Incredible.

Cornish hens with sweet glaze. Wow. Oh, and fresh pineapple spears are in the foil.

Jared and Steph made me a wonderful breakfast on Mother's Day, before I had to fly out.

Their neighbor took this picture of us on their front porch before I had to leave. Check out Steph's cute birthday outfit. I especially love her new shoes. You can't tell from the picture, but they are turquoise and black. Adorable. It was so sad to have to leave them. Thanks for having me, guys. It was a blast!