mike and ruth

Anniversary Getaway

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:15:47 +0000

Carriage House Condos

Mom and I celebrated our 35th this week by staying in Park City in conjunction with my commitments there with the choir.

View from the stage!

Our rehearsal with the Utah Symphony was Thursday night and we stayed over in Prospector Square that night and then went to the Factory Stores Friday morning.

Ristorante La Ferrovia

We drove to Ogden to have lunch at Ristorante La Ferrovia Friday, and hoped to make it out to Antelope Island. No such luck, the traffic on Antelope Drive through town was really bad and we ran out of time. I left Mom at home for the performance that night, and Saturday we had considered a few things but we were busy with other things we needed to do. Robyn and Eric were here earlier this week and will also be here next week. They went to Bear Lake for a family reunion while we were away. It was fun to get away but just as fun to get back to enjoy the family. Melodie is home now too for several weeks! Fun times!

Family Reunions!

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:47:17 +0000

Camp seen from above in parking lot

We had some camping experience this weekend as we attended the reunions of Dad’s family and Mom’s family.

Campfire at Balsam

Thursday night was the OJH Family reunion at Balsam Campground in Hobble Creek Canyon. You can see that we had a lot of people there. I was told that we had a total of 86 people (and 6 dogs) which is considered some kind of a record.

Mountain Man Breakfast in a 14-inch Dutch oven!

Mom was at a care center so was not here again this year but is happy and enjoying her surroundings. Dad slept in his Springbar tent, and there were serveral “tin teepees” used by family. Thanks to Eric and Derek who provided their tents for family members since I left the tent stakes at home for the squad tent.

Video Presentation to the family

The CWH Family reunion took place Friday night and Saturday morning at the Heber Valley Camp which was a contrast to camping at a Forest Services campground.

Brave Julia is first to walk across the elevated log and go down the zipline!

This place was really nice but also at a very high elevation.

Cousins sitting together near the Heber Valley Camp pavillion.

While there we participated in some of the challenge activities including an elevated log crossing, the zip line, and group rescue activities. Ed discussed the Family History program of the church and we were treated to many, many photos of ancestors and family members scanned over the past several months at Janice’s by the sisters. Thank you everyone for your hard work and preparations for a very successful and memorable experience by everyone.

Fun at the Park with Grandkids

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:57:44 +0000

We had a fun evening with the grandkids at the park while their Mom and the new baby took it easy. The evening was cool and a little breezy, just perfect for this kind of outdoor activity.

At the top of the slide

Fun on the circular slide

Cousin power!

After a slide ride!

A New Granddaughter born yesterday!

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:45:09 +0000

Meagan Elizabeth

Tamara and David welcomed their sixth child to their family Tuesday June 29th at 4:47pm.

Megan finds her fingers

Megan Elizabeth came into the world weighing 7 lb. 2 oz. and 20.5 inches tall.

Megan looking at the light

She is a sweetheart born into a family of loving children that love her so much and are very excited to have her here!

Megan looks at the camera.

We visited her and her mother at the hospital today and took several pictures so you can get to know her.

Little Darling

Grandma said she had a heathy cry which she heard on the telephone last night, but we didn’t hear her cry while visiting at the hospital. We are very pleased and happy for their new addition. CONGRATULATIONS!

Summer is here with its beauty… and heat!

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:44:25 +0000

Mount Timpanogos Temple

Summer has come along with very warm temperatures and the green will soon become more brown with the heat of the day reaching close to 100 degrees faraenheit each day.

Summer Flowers in the Business Park

The rain water from the spring has made the hills very green as you can see and the flowers are beautiful at this time of year before it gets hot enough to slow them down. Time for a vacation, but in a place where there is some protection from the heat. We hope everyone gets a chance to get away for a little break during the hot weather, and that everyone is well. The summer months should bring time for get-togethers with those who are important to you. We look forward to spending a little time with David Hill and his family who are visiting from Texas. It has been quite a while since we have been able to visit with them for more than a minute or two, and they aren’t in Utah very often. They will travel later this week to another reunion further west at Lake Tahoe with Kathleen’s family. Although the summer weather is beautiful we are not yet used to the temperature so we will be staying in the house most of the time instead of spending time outdoors for now. The family reunion campout at Balsam will give us a chance to be outdoors but at a higher altitude, so it should not be so hot. We look forward to that!

Basement in Progress at last

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:09:24 +0000

Family Room 1

On Tuesday we had the carpet people here and they put new carpet down in the family room, the stairs to the basement, and the basement hallway.

Family Room View 2

We think it looks really nice and it is great to have pad under the carpet with fresh paint.

Family Room View 3

Thanks Kristen for all your hard work to get this done. She did most of the painting and helped select the bright colors. Melodie came home during this project and was put out of her room, bless her heart! She also helped with the ceiling in the family room and the hallway painting. Mel’s room is next, and we hope to get it done in the next week or so, as soon as we can get everything out into another space. Then the bathroom and we will have an almost complete renovation since the flood last summer! I took a few pictures so you could see what things look like now the painting is done and the new carpet is down. Kristen wanted to have us put the entertainment center by the north wall next to the stairs. What do you think? The sectional is placed all along a single wall which makes it look VERY long (it is!) but will accommodate everyone so all can see the screen at the same time, comfortably. Do you notice the changed curtains? The old ones are still OK but they are quite bleached by the sunlight from the past 12 years so we are trying some others that Mom got on sale somewhere and didn’t use in the kitchen. We hope you like it, and look forward to your visits during the summer.

Summer appears to be here (finally)!

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:57:07 +0000

Summer Flowers are here!

This year spring came and went, came and went (back to late winter) and then finally Summer appears to have arrived the week following our last snowstorm. This is one of the most beautiful times of the year as long as the periodic cold weather doesn’t kill your young plants in the garden, or the heat do the same. We are trying to get some things out in our garden space and have been somewhat successful, but the weeds this year are more persistent than last year so it will take more work to fight them off. We used some 2-4-D on the grass last year and need to to it again this year but it is too hot this week to apply it. Hopefully a few cool days will be here next week and this chore may be taken care of to get rid of the morning glory in the lawn and help the grass grow more vigorously without burning it.

Mormon Youth Symphony & Chorus Reunion

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:25:28 +0000

There was a pair of reunion concerts held this past weekend for former members of the discontinued group sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The group was formed in 1969 by the Church Music Committee and directed for the first five years by Jay E. Welch.

With friend and Director Robert C. Bowden

When Dr. Welch was called to become the Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 1974, Robert C. Bowden was called as the Director of MYSC and remained in that position until 1999 when the group’s last concert was held in August of that year and the group was then officially disbanded. It was a great experience working again with Bob, and a special treat was that I got to share a stand with my good friend Gerry Omer.

Gerry and Mike together again!

We got acquainted many years ago when we were boys taking from the same violin teacher, and then got to know each other much better during the first year of MYSC. Gerry went to Germany on a mission in 1970. I was certain I would also go to a German-speaking mission and see him there in 1971 since I had taken three years of high school German and was taking German at the University of Utah. However I ended up being called to Italy and was forced by the circumstances to push the German out in order to learn Italian. We had a wonderful “reunion” ourselves in the orchestra, and thoroughly enjoyed the music and the experience. The blue ties we have on represent members from the 1970s. The sisters wore scarves of the same color. Members from the 1980s wore red ties and scarves, those from the 1990s wore yellow. There was a get-together at This is the Place Monument that reportedly was a great time for all involved. I was at work that day, so was not sunburned like many of the other participants were on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Saturday evening there was a reception where former members of this organization were able to meet and greet each other. I saw many friends and associates from that time of my life, and it was great to see them and remember the great times we had with each other.

Memorial Day Celebration

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:46:40 +0000

Daphne being entertained by Kristen.

Today we went to the Orem City Cemetery and took Grandma Hill with us. Kristen decided to drive.

Chase- comfy in Andrew's arms.

We met family members at Grandpa’s grave and put flowers all around the headstone and also on Jennifer’s grave. We heard the program from the Veterans Section of the cemetery but it was far enough away that it didn’t drown out our voices as we sang “There is Beauty All Around, When there’s Love at Home”. Part of the family went to Gunnison and Centerfield to decorate graves there. We stayed home to get some work done on the house.

Derek and Julia working in the garden.

We were so tired we didn’t get the work done we wanted to but did get a little rest. Mom had a few students this afternoon too. We went to Rosie and Derek’s home for a barbeque in the late afternoon and had fun with the grandkids. Ethan and Julia are really becoming soccer experts. They spend a lot of time with their friends shooting penalty shots into the goal that Derek made for them. Julia was chosen to help her dad plant some things in their garden. We took a few family pictures at the end of the day. It was fun!

Congratulations High School Graduates!

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 03:49:08 +0000

I remember when I graduated from high school and thought I was a “real” adult. I still had a lot of growing up to do. Try not to ‘prove’ that you are a real adult by doing anything you will be sorry for in the future. This is what I was taught and what I am passing on to you. You who are graduating this week are truly the hope of our future, and we are very proud of you and of all your accomplishments. Please remember that we are counting on you! We wish you the very best of what the rest of your life has to offer, and we hope you have wonderful, memorable lives.