Another Birthday

 A few weeks ago Jim and I took the FrontRunner in to Salt Lake CIty. It was just  before conference and we wanted to see the flowers on temple Square . Here I am at my favorite statue with the mom dancing and playing with her children. My favorite memories with my children are playing with them.

My good friend Lorraine and I had a slumber party with Jake and Nattie. The next morning we enjoyed visiting with Karina and preparing for the birthday feast/Easter egg hunt.

we barbecued and ate good food with great fun ad sharing and with the new puppy that Emily got.

Nik and Izaak put the bird feeder up in the tree house.

Nattie and Jake planned a great treasure hunt which ended with the Easter egg hunt. Then we did capture the flag and tug of war.

here we are playing gin rummy 

Emily and puppy

Jim and I took a hike up at Vivian Park and ran into a turkey heard. I have never  seen turkeys showing off like this/

We celebrated with Mia at her baptism. It was a challenge to get up to their place. We had to pile 4 adults into the back of Shelleys car when we got a flat tire on the way to the baptism. It was the first flat and Jim and Jaron couldnt figure out how to get the jack ect. Lucky for us Heber and Shelley saw us on the very busy I 15 struggling to get it all together. All is well that ends well.

Lorraine is the one that still teaches me many skills, Here  she is teaching Nattie how to darn. I am blessed with great friends. Many friends remembered me on my birthday. It means a lot to me. This 71 year is harder than 70. WHY? It seems like the times are getting harder.  We are trying to figure out my gene mutation  ...MTHFR.. and help those who are dealing with the difficult symtoms that are associated with it. ..like depression, anxiety, stroke, and of course spina bifida and many miscarriages

We continue to serve each other and the family. We swim, walk, hike and hot tub, and read and watch Fox and Hallmark. Jim helps me prepare healthy meals. We end each day in prayer and our testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Adventures in paradise

We had a delightful visit with our friends,Bev and Jon Stephenson, from Philadelphia serving at  BYUHawaii.Here we are at the Polynesian Cultural Center getting  ready for our adventure into the different cultures in the Pacific Islands. If you havent been it is a must ! The Luau and show is Broadway spectacular and the food great.

The beaches were not crowded, we found many fun souvenirs

Jim  stays covered 

Me, I love the sun!

. This drift  wood wouldnt fit in my suitcase and the coral was way too heavy

Sometimes it was windy and we still dont know how to take selfies

We stayed two blocks from  the  round a bout that leads one way to the beach and the other to the Laie Temple. great location ! We  walked everywhere.

On Sunday Bev drove us further North to  all the famous North Shore beaches..

One day we took the local bus and found some great hikes

Our last ride was in this Tow Truck! long story, but our new friend, a student offered to take us to the airport and 5:20am but it seems that his car// van/ rolling home couldnt make it  out of the  tunnel so we coasted down the road into Honolulu toward the airport. but not quite.  We tried making many other arrangements before our departure and it  is only a miracle that we made it with minutes to spare.  Lucky for us !

It is also lucky and  we each had great books to read.

So we say, Aloha ! and Thanks for the memories

Celebrate Christ's birth

Tis a month before Christmas and we've been celebrating all year
As Jesus Christ is most prominent in our hearts and we  cheer
At soccer, basketball, swimming, orchestra and dance
A lot of travel and visits for a fabulous year.

Our family challenged ourselves mentally with college,
work and inventions.
And physically in the water, on tracks and on bikes.
Both long and sprints and hitting the waves
and on hikes.

Highlights for our  family are mostly mentioned above,
But  specifically  remembered are:
Tanner's wedding, Peter's baptism, College for Megan and Conner
And many graduations.. Karina, Blake, Conner, And Alyish and Logan.
 \
We continue to serve the Lord as Pathway Worldwide Senior Missionaries
Merry Christmas to All and to all a Healthy New Year

Most thankful in Michigan with the Mercados

whenever we visit family, that is the biggest and best activity---just being together. This time we went the last day the famous cider mill was open and got to enjoy Michigan famous apple cider and donuts. We were excited to share this cold evening and family tradition/

More family traditions are playing games.

preparing to run. even if it is too cold and wet and slippery to go out, we figure out another way to get our heart going before the big feast.

making gifts  for others

more game playing

Jason is the best turkey man ever

after the feast Val and Victoria got their Christmas going by getting tickets to the Moscow Ballet of the Nutcracker

we got to celebrate Eriks 7th birthday and then

just before we left he lost his front tooth!

Celebrating with Val and her family always is joyful, active, and full of love. We love being together, especially watching foot ball with Jason. They always find repairs and service projects for Jim! This year was more challenging for me when I got the text about Blake coming home, but, sharing it with family made it easier. 

more thankful

So many friends from California are suffering from tragedies this week. As I ponder this season of thanksgiving I am thankful for friends, family, faith, fun and food! Here are some of my neighbors who we shared a meal and  our California stories.

Every knee shall bow by J Kirk Richards, an artist here in Utah Valley shared his talent with us in a lecture reminding me of all the talents we have been given including the gift of good friends

We enjoyed good cross town competition between UVU and BYU with healthy active family.

my sister and cousin

my Val

and Karina and Derek

our Pathway Mission students

traveling with fun friends

Friends forever share love and memories