Happy Holidays!

Well, we got a new Christmas tree this year; it's a white beauty from Walmart. John just had to have a white tree with multi-colored lights. The little McKea kids came over and decorated it; they had a great time and we appreciated all of their help. It's a season of parties and concerts. Two Sundays ago John and I went to a free sing-along of Handel's "Messiah". That was so nice. It's been quite awhile since we've sung those special songs, Our voices aren't what they used to be, though. This past Friday we had a lovely potluck dinner with our ERS mission group. They are a fine group of friends. Just last night we went to our Kultura Christmas dinner party. The food was wonderful, by Mike Mitchell's catering family. It's hard to believe that Julie has completed her first semester at BYU and she's even moved into a new apartment. Tammy and Dayle will leave in the wee hours tomorrow morning to drive straight through to be here for Saturday's Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. I'm so grateful that Tam, Katie, Sher and we are all able to attend. That is a miracle for sure!! I look forward to my student recital on the 29th. I hope all of my piano students practice and then give a good performance. Merry Christmas to all!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day as a family down at Sherry and Jeff's in Springville. Mike and Katie and their children came and John and I picked Julie up in Provo. Fifteen of the best people in the world spent the holiday together. We had prayer, a silly song, and a big feast! The cousins really do enjoy each other and the adults do, too! Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, yams, salad, crunchy brussels sprouts, homemade rolls, red jello salad (dessert!), olives, crackers, pies...oh, my!! We have good cooks and hearty appetites - they seem to go together! Greg just had his 18th birthday! We all looked through his scrapbook of his first year...what memories that brought back! He's now a tall, handsome, gentle man; we are very proud of him! He has been accepted to both Logan and Cedar City schools, so will have a decision to make in the fall, if not before. Katie and Julie are excited to get shopping at the Black Friday sales! They are waiting for Annie (Katie's sister) to tell them the "plan" and then they are ready to go! I am bowing out this year; been there, done that!! I'm feeling very thankful for family, a warm home, a loving husband, a healthy body, a good mind, exceptional piano students, and the faith that keeps my heart warm and happy!!

Rachel's Baptism Day

Looking back at the past two months required a little memory boost! Where have the past few weeks gone? It may be just me, but it sure seems that time just flies by!! Today Rachel will be baptized at five in the afternoon; Katie has planned a "potato bar" and has invited all and any of the family over for dinner! It will be fun to be together, but we seem to get larger in number and stature every year....meaning the children are getting taller!! After a most enjoyable Girls' Weekend in September, during which I completed our Cancun picture scrapping, I greeted October with a long job list! I decided to finally finish painting the laundry room floor with a light red tile color; it sure does look nice! I added a new 5'x7' golden beige rug and like the results. I also painted the furnace/luggage space, so that is also cleaned up. Along with house-cleaning I also had the responsibilty of putting together the yearly booklet for the Kultura Club. I asked Debbie Spackman for help and she was so gracious in coming over three times to help me format and arrange a ten-page booklet! I was thrilled with the printing job as well and so glad to have it all behind me! My right foot has hurt continuously since February 29th, when I had a titanium screw put into my ankle. I finally saw the doctor who adjusted my orthotic. I sure hope this cures my problem. I have felt worse since the surgery than before it...I need to get better!! Thankfully, John is patient and doesn't expect me to run when I can barely walk!! I have begun housecleaning, because I missed it in the spring. I had John help me with the entry, because of his long arms and legs!! A split-entry is a challenge for me!! I do love to have the house sparkling and organized, yet I realize that it will never all be clean at the same time.....just room by room. We were able to attend the dedication of the new Brigham City Temple...even the Noorda boys and the two eldest McKea girls. We had a dinner at our home afterward and that was a lot of fun...fixed Crock-pot Chicken. I am happy to have another grandchild get baptized! Little Rachel will be a great member of the church. John has mentioned what a cheerful little worker she is; he is thrilled to have Erin mow and Jenna, Rachel and Matty help with weeds, seeds, and leaves. Happy Baptism Day, Rachel!! We sure love you!!

To Be Or Not To Be?

The big event in August was our trip to southern Utah for both a Shakespearean play ("The Merry Wives of Windsor"), and a musical at Tuachan ("Hairspray"). Our travel partners were Mike and Debbie and we did have a wonderful time. It was 109 degrees the day of our musical, but it cooled to about 102 - thankfully!! We loved the Cedar City adventure, but we all agree that small microphones would be a huge improvement. There is a point when authenticity needs to step aside!! When a ticket is that expensive, you deserve to hear every line spoken!! Later in the month we welcomed Dayle, Jr. at the airport. He came to spend a week with us. John put him to work and had him help paint the garage; it had been nearly 8 years since the last coat during a family reunion. It sure has an improved look!! Thanks, Dayle!! A week later, Tammy and family (Dayle, Sr., Tammy, Belana, Julie, and Brendan) all came to drop Julie off for her first year at B.Y.U. Talk about excited!! This girl is going to have such a great year!! She has been blessed with good jobs, good roomies, and seems to have everything going for her. We sure hope she has a great time!! We look forward to seeing her at the football games! :-) The Provo River trip, planned by Joe and Andy, turned out to be a mini family reunion! Most rented tubes and rode the river; a few of us found a table and set up the picnic. We always have delicious food and great fun! What a fabulous family we have. It was nice to see Sharon, too. Loved the month of August!

O, Beautiful America!

Needing a break from the heat and the hum-drum of life, we headed up north to Jackson, Wyoming. We looked for the "hole" from which "Jackson Hole" gets its name, but were unimpressed. We decided it was a long valley through which the old-timers had to travel to get to Jackson. Anyway, the area is strikingly beautiful! Sure wish we'd had a week instead of two days to enjoy the scenery. The Bar J Wranglers put on a wonderful show and the dinner was tasty, too! They are just fine, skilled musicians who know how to put on a show and have fun doing so. We laughed and sang along. The evening was cooler than the afternoon and that was a nice relief. Loved, loved, loved the show!! It was nice to see a friend from years ago; sure hope Florence enjoys her mission!! Friday night was another show: "Cat Ballou". This was quite the melodrama! The dinner served was tasty and the servers were the actors for the show. It was especially nice to share the weekend with our friends, Debbie and Mike. We sure live in a spacious, beautiful country!! O Beautiful America!! We love you!!

Fun, Fun, Fun!!

Well, the Fourth of July came in great style! Sherry told us of the opportunity to go to the Stadium of Fire on half-price tickets, so we got tickets to see "The Beach Boys"!! We figured this would be a rare occasion to see them, because both we and they are teasing our seventh decade!! What a great evening of entertainment!! Alex Boye' was the Master of Ceremonies, the opening was by Scotty McCreery (an American Idol winner), and then "The Beach Boys" took us on a delightful journey down "memory lane"! It was so amazing to see little 4-your-olds, and 11-year-olds, and 16-year-olds standing and dancing to the tunes that were popular decades before they were even born!!! "Little Miss Coupe", "Help Me, Rhonda", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Good Vibrations", "Kokomo" rocked the Lavell Edwards Stadium!!! The weather was perfect!! The fireworks were set to the theme-songs of the 007 movies. Awesome!! We left our house with Mike and Sherry's respective families in charge of a family BBQ!! They also made homemade ice cream and watched the Sandy Fireworks. Glad they had fun; we hope to join them next year. John and I had dinner at the Provo "Brick Oven"....our favorite place there. So, I hope everyone had fun, fun, fun on this holiday!! We sure did!!

Graduation Day!!

Well, John and I were invited to Julie's high school graduation, so we decided to hop in the car and make the drive to Washington State. We were so happy to be there; it was nice to visit with the other grandparents, as well. The Sunday evening after high school graduation was graduation from seminary....the early-morning variety. I take my hat off to those dedicated students and the parents who arose in the wee hours to drive their students to study the gospel on a daily basis. We entered Olympia accompanied by a downpour. One never can guess what the weather will be in the Northwest!! Luckily, we had 2-3 days of sunshine. The rhododendrons were just brilliant!! I love them...and azeleas, too!! The green was so intense and the colors just lively. Tammy has her yard looking very pretty. She even has a chickadee family's nest in one of her hanging baskets on her deck!! Three little blue eggs will soon hatch and there will be a family of five living there. I must admit that the 16-hour drive is a challenge, but it is nice to see the countryside. Flying has its advantages, but it is a lot of work, too. We were able to stop and stay with Patty in Boise. Stacy was out of town, so we'll have to see him on another trip. We tried out a couple of motels and agree that there truly is "no place like home". We enjoyed a night at Seaside, Oregon. Our drive to Cannon Beach revealed to us that our favorite bakery is not longer in business; we had hoped to buy a loaf of "Haystack Bread". I guess that, too, is history! We turned the watering, mowing and watchcare of our yard over to Erin and a couple of neighbors. It was good to see that the yard survived the hot summer days of our eight-day vacation!! In the fall we hope to drive down to Provo and take our grand-daughter Julie to dinner. I am sure she will make fabulous friends and have a wonderful year for her first year of college!!

Forth-five Years and Counting!!

John and I celebrated our 45th anniversary this past week!! How does time go so quickly?? We are four children, plus four spouses and twelve grand-children richer than when we began this journey!! What blessings they are to us!! We could not have imagined how our lives would unfold! We have had our challenges like anyone else, but my, we have been so blessed,too!! We spent a day in Midway at the Zermatt Hotel! What an amazing place! We had a pizza dinner and took a tour of the place! The pool was a bit too far a walk to do it multiple times in order to take in a swim, so we passed. On our drive home we stopped at a Heber Valley Cheese Store. Great fun! We drove home less than 24 hours later and attended a ward BBQ dinner. It was tons of fun! We took a Potato Salad, and then sampled many delicious salads and desserts! Many great cooks in this ward. I must say in passing, that our good friends Pat and Richard Evans will be returning from the Manilla Temple Mission next Tuesday. We have been friends for over 40 years and have missed them a great deal. We are excited to be able to party again!! My foot surgery is doing well. We went to Hill Air Force Base last weekend to see the Thunderbirds fly, but we were disappointed to have about 4 hours of terrific thunderstorms and tons of rain! With about an hour left the planes flew around the sky, but we saw no fantastic formation-flying. Good day spent with the family though...Mike and Katie's little group are always fun to be with. Had dinner at a BBQ place; everyone was hungry and happy to eat. I have felt "punk" the past few months, along with a surgery and a couple of illnesses. I have deduced that it must be my medication. I have switched from Metformin back to Actos....praying I don't get bladder cancer. The reports are discouraging, but feeling tired and nauseous was no fun, either. I hope all goes well. I may later have to try Januvia. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband. He is so kind and thoughtful toward me. He even surprised me with some lovely sapphire/diamond jewelry!! I will wear it with a lot of love in my heart!

Nice Visit Out East

Well, John and I spent the weekend in Vernal with Joe and Andy. We had a really great time. It was so good to feel healthy! The food was enjoyable and the company was a lot of fun. We got in Friday about 8:00 p.m., after my final piano lesson. Had dinner at the "Dairy Keen" in Heber City, Utah. Great place to eat with great atmosphere and a circing train against the ceiling. In Vernal the local sheriff came to Joe and Andy's house to award Joe with a great set of golf clubs that he had won in a drawing...lucky guy! Saturday, we packed a lunch and drove out to the Dinosaur Monument. It has been renovated and made safer. It is an amazing place with history staring you right in the face!! Enjoyed a picnic on the grounds, but the wind turned my bread into white "toast"! On for a drive to see other amazing geological treasures - John's passion. In the evening we had dinner for Cinco De Mayo at the local Mexican restaurant. Yum.. We attended their church and enjoyed the members who are so friendly and kind. Andy bore her testimony...and about made me cry. They are great people and have grown and accomplished so much!! After a dinner of taco salad, we loaded up and headed out. It was so relaxing and refreshing to get out of town and breathe the fresh country air!!

Looking Forward To Summer

This has been a very challenging first quarter of 2012! First, we get John all set with his heart doctors; now he is feeling pretty good. Then I get a bad three-week cold. I scheduled foot surgery on the "leap day" of the year, February 29, and then just as I am about getting excited to have my foot working well, I get slammed with a kidney/upper-respiratory infection! John took me to the ER for four mornings straight!!! Had infusions of antibiotics every morning through an IV. The last day was a drug-interaction I believe; don't mix codeine and keflex! I have been one weak, nauseous, feverish, sick puppy!! I finally dressed yesterday for the first time in a week!! I feel a bit better, but still have coughing jags. I miss working! I miss my usual good health! I miss life! I miss my piano students! I was happy to find a bouquet of yellow and purple tulips on my front porch! Thanks, Fassbinders! I was so humbled to have a total meal delivered by Ann Gold; she is my angel this week. The chicken and broccoli and potatoes have tasted so good. I have been living on cold milk, Frostys from Wendy's, and Chicken Noodle Soup. I feel two sizes smaller, but haven't really checked on that. Katie and Sherry have planned a Girls' Weekend; I think that is my inspiration for getting well. It's been over a year and I have really missed that! Sherry brought the boys up to Salt Lake so that Greg could deliver his fleece blankets for his Eagle Project. They brough Little Caesar Pizza in and had lunch here. They are really fine boys!! How can I thank John enough for taking such good care of me, and listening to me groan and complain? He has really been on top of things-whatever I need from a glass of cold water, to a small lunch, to doing a few loads of laundry to calling my students to cancel lessons for the week. We even managed to send in our taxes today - hooray!! Hopefully, we will both have many pleasant, healthy months ahead!!

Well, I finally did it!

What??, you ask. Well, I had minor surgery on both of my feet in 1998. The doctor placed plastic bone implants in order to correct "flat feet" or "fallen arches". Trust me, this is a very real and painful condition. In 2006 one of the implants failed and was replaced with a titanium screw; it has felt so good for these past 6-7 years that I finally decided it was time to get the other foot in the same good shape. I had foot surgery on February 29th of this year. Once more the doctor placed a titanium screw because of a failed plastic implant. I am now one week post-op. Today, I used a plastic boot and got into the shower!! Pure heaven!! I still have to wear a knee-high boot to stabilize my foot, but the major pain and discomfort are gone. I am ready for a ride, or a game night!! Yeah!! I guess time is my best friend. I do hope that I will be able to walk more comfortably now. I have put this off for several years, because I know the recuperation period is long and requires much patience. I do have a great nurse, though, and that makes it all worthwhile. John has kept me in breakfast, lunch and dinner! Actually, Katie and several friends have kept us in dinners. I hardly told anyone about this surgery, so it's been amazing how many sweet friends have cared so kindly for me - rather us! Thank you to each and every friend from the bottom of my grateful heart!! And heartfelt thanks to John for keeping the house clean, me fed, the laundry caught up and just for running errands at the ring of a bell!! We both have birthdays coming up within the month. I sure hope my foot will feel supurb for those occasions! Thanks to Dr. Scott Soulier for working his magic!!

Back in the Saddle Again

We had a wonderful trip to visit the Andersons in Washington State. It's amazing how much they accomplish and how busy they all are! We were able to hear Dayle, Jr. play his trombone (a great-sounding band!). hear Julie's elite singing group perform wonderfully (they were invited to the state competition), ride in the van while Belana practiced her driving skills (I was a teeny bit nervous), and I got to read a couple of "Frog and Toad" stories to Brendan's class. John helped Dayle, Sr. with a Cub Scout activity on geology, which is John's hobby; he even packed six bags of specimen rocks in his suitcase!!

We were able to drive to Vancouver and have lunch with my long-time friend, Linda and my brother Gordon. A nice visit and a delicious lunch!!

Last night we were happy to have the four little McKea children here for a sleepover. Their parents were invited to speak at their ward's Youth Conference up at Sundance. Today we had little job lists for all of them and they were so happy to help out....and earn a couple of dollars! They were excited to spend their earnings at the dollar store, which made them all happy. A trip to Bear Park got some wiggles out and they were happy and a bit chilled when they got home.

We are very proud of all of our dozen grandchildren and the job their respective parents are doing to teach and train them for the world! We devoted our early marriage years to parenting our four children and I think we did an amazing job, but I feel that our children are doing an even better job than we did. I guess today's children really do need the dedication, talent, intelligence, patience, persistence, and love that our children have for their own. We are richly blessed!!

A Healthy New Year To You!!

Well, the past 3-4 weeks have been fraught with doctor appointments and medical testing. I guess we are as close to answers as we're going to get. John had an attack of "pericarditis" on Dec. 23, brought on by a stricture at the base of his esophagas, as near as we can tell. The endoscopy showed a narrowed sphincter that had to be stretched, and the doctor surmised that it contributed to the horrible spasm John had in December. We are told that "pericarditis" can be the result of trauma or just non-traceable. He is feeling much better, thank goodness!! A few polyps were removed from the stomach, but were of little consequence. Now to get us both on the "healthy train"!! My head cold has hung on like a long-lost friend; trust me, it was not that!!

I guess we are getting our minds ready to figure our taxes. They are so much easier to do now, but it is still easy to procrastinate! We just feel so blessed to be able to meet our bills and carry no debt.

Our warm January is teasing me...are we going to get slammed with cold and snow in February??
That remains to be seen. One thing worth looking forward to is our upcoming trip to the northwest to visit with family there. We need a break and it should be fun to get away from our health issues!!

It is sure enjoyable for me to teach piano. I just really enjoy my students. They are each so individual, smart, and special. I am honored that their parents will share them with me. I am happy to report that I am teaching three grand-daughters in that mix. They are so unique in personality and seem
to enjoy music. John and I enjoy taking the older ones to concerts; there are many free ones in the city.

Well, on to the work for today...may health be with us all!!

What!?! A New Year Already??

Where, oh, where did December go? We had so many great activities and a few challenges during the month. We loved attending the annual Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with Mike and Katie...and the Little America dinner beforehand! What a night!! It was wonderful, but bone-cold!! We had to walk a couple of blocks to ride the Trax, so we all felt the chill of the night.

We were happy to have the little McKea children for a sleepover on Thanksgiving night. That allowed all of us to sleep while the crazy people shopped all night. Pancakes and decorating the tree were our activities. It was fun to have their enthusiastic help!! Thanks, kids!

Just before the big day, Gordon flew in to help us celebrate. We had his room all ready for him. We tried to help him have a good time with some baking, candy-making, hanging with the family and going on drives and visits. Katie's birthday was the usual fun celebration with the addition of a sealing at the Salt Lake Temple for Titan to his family - Dan and Annie. We didn't get to go to the sealing because we
spent about ten hours in the hospital. John had an attack of great pain and we needed to be sure it wasn't a heart attack. Near as I can figure, it may have been pericarditis....which still needs to be confirmed. Actually, we are still seeing the doctors for treatment and tests....

We went over to Mike and Katie's for pizza and the New Year; we cheated and left at ten, coming home for bed! I understand the little ones were up later than Grandma and Grandpa and they saw some exciting fireworks!!

So there it is - a busy December that just flew into 2012!! Happy New Year To One And All!!