Archive for March, 2010

Family is the basis for true happiness

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Visiting Mirae and Jolie last May in Columbus, OH

We love our family! It is so fun to visit with the grandchildren who live far away when we can, and to have family nearby so we can get to know them well and they can get to know us too. We try to visit with them as often as possible. Thank goodness for telephones and for blogs, and other means by which we can keep in touch with each other. Family events where we get together with extended family are less frequent

With Mom's family at the Orem Cemetery

but very meaningful because they don’t happen so often and because we see our relatives from previous generations we used to spend a lot of time with. Now we and they have our own progeny to spend our time with so our ties, although strong as always, are less often revisited with activities together. Reunions are fun each year or few years, and it is always good to renew our relationship with our extended family members. We look forward to seeing them this coming summer!

Snow then sun, then snow, then sun…

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Here is what it looked like the other morning after I came home from work.

It is that time of year… it snows one day and then the next it is 50 degree farenheit. Then the next day it clouds up and snows again. This week finished up with a storm. The snow started early Thursday evening and when I went home Friday morning I had to sweep at least six inches of snow off of the car. I shoveled the walks when I came home and a few hours later the neighbors came by again with a four-wheeler that had a plow on the front, clearing off all the walks. The snow continued for part of the day but it warmed up and the plows were out, to the snow on the street didn’t last too long.

A Lot of snow in the road near Deep Creek Reservoir in Western Maryland

Now mind you I am not complaining about it, heaven forbid we get even a small taste of the humongous storms that have plauged the eastern states for the past month! However it is interesting that in the west we have had relatively small snow amounts (remember the Olympics in the northwest? Not enough snow!) but the east has really been pounded. The picture at the left is from my siter-in-law and was taken by someone to show how much snow is on the ground in Maryland. We still have snow on the grass here, but the afternoon was fairly warm. The low temperature last night was below freezing. Not only was there snow left on the ground but heavy frost on the windows this morning. A nice contrast to the last few days. Last April after a few weeks of spring weather we had a huge snowstorm that left almost a foot in our front yard and hundreds of trees in the city with broken branches. Hopefully we will get more snow and rain this spring; we really need the moisture. Northern Utah is currently only at about 65 percent of normal for precipitation while southern Utah is about 130 percent of normal. They may have flooding again in that part of the state. All we can hope and pray for is enough moisture because with the population increase here and the demands of the western and soutwestern states for more of the water we are already supplying, we need all we can handle.

Birthday time again!

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Grandma Hill celebrated her 87th birthday a few weeks ago. Several of her daughters went to her home and fixed lunch for her and them, and stayed to have a nice lunch party for her. Happy Birthday Grandma! We love you and hope you are around a long time to give your love and example to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren!

A NEW SHIRT!!

Quentin and Sharisse came to our home tonight and we had a nice dinner and birthday celebration with them. WE don’t get to see them as often as we would like to since they live about an hour away, and work keeps them busy along with school and other commitments. Sharisse made a wonderful birthday cake and Tamara made some delicious cheese rolls to go with the wonderful dinner Mom prepared. We invited everyone and they all came, so we had Rosie, Tamara, Charlotte and their families along with the four of us at home. It was a pretty good crowd. Dad was asleep through dinner but got up in time to get some cake and take photos of Quentin opening some gifts. I think you might say that he “did pretty well” considering what Sharisse got for him along with the rest of us.

More goodies for his birthday.

It is so fun to have everyone together, something we need to do more often because the family is growing and growing. Two more grandchildren will be coming along in the next few months, for which we are very excited. We are so grateful for each of our children and it was fun to have then and our grandkids here tonight!

Technology is Really Fascinating — and FUN!

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

First screen shot of the family.

Devin and I arranged for a Skype session today. It was morning for us, evening for them. We were at home in Utah, they were at their home in Finland. We missed each other a few times but we got together at 9:10 am local time, which was 6:10 pm Helsinki time. They had already had their dinner! When we started, they had not done this before and although I could see them I could not hear them. They could see and hear me so we gestured to each other a little bit to understand. Soon Devin found a small lapel microphone that he plugged in, and then I could hear them too. HOW FUN! We chatted about the weather differences there and here, about their new house,
screen2

Devin with the three older kids.

about their adventures getting to school because they still don’t have their own car, and about the large snowfall in Helsinki. Josh said they had to have someone help them because they got into a snowbank one day. The plows appaarently can’t keep up with the snowfall even though they try, so Devin said the snow on the streets was a lot like Rexburg Idaho was. (Emily did not disagree, so it must be like that!) They showed us their playroom but the rest of the house will have to wait until they get their wireless network running. I feel bad that I didn’t think of taking screen captures while Peter was very close to the camera. Well, next time!
Third capture

Devin with Andrew and Josh, Emily behind them.

Josh also said he has been ice skating, and that at school they “played in the snow all day today”. They didn’t see any of the Olympics but heard that Finland was in the semi-finals for hockey. I have heard that Skype has a tool that will let you save the video session, so I will look into that soon. We chatted for almost 30 minutes and then when the kids could no longer let each other hold the microphone without wanting it themselves, “it was bedtime” so we ended our conversation. What an amazing experience! Next time we need to sing some Primary songs together, won’t that be fun? Maybe a little home Evening Lesson could be a part of what we do too. We look forward to seeing them again soon!

Treats for one of our MTC Missionary Friends

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Preparing goodies for delivery

We live close enough to the MTC that taking little items to the local delivery company is fairly easy when we find something we want to ship to friends and relaties we know in the MTC. Here Kristen and Amy have finished preparing a “care package” for Sara, now in her last week at the MTC. If you want to write or send something to her before she leaves the country you have better do it right away! Please remember extended family members who are serving missions in your prayers. We want to be better at writing to them and hope you will also try to write to them more often too. We all know how meaningful letters from home or from relatives and friends are. I remember looking forward to the mail and reading about what was going on in the lives of others. Lets not “forget” them! This time of the year when it is getting warmer I am certain that it is just as hard for them to be in class (or out proselyting) as it is for our children and grandchildren. Thank you for your service, Elders and Sisters!

A New Orchestra Member Plays Debut Broadcast

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Mark, Neil and Mike in Conference Center lower hallway

A new trombone player was on stage for the Sunday Music and the Spoken Word Broadcast this past weekend. Neil joined the brass section for the first time to perform with the orchestra since he was called last Summer after vigorous recuiting effors by one of the Associate Orchestra Managers. Neil has had a distinguished carreer already,

Debut performer with his choir-member brothers

performing as a substitute with the Utah Sympnony Orchestra, and as a regular player in the orchestras of Utah Ballet and Pioneer Memorial Theatre, and with the Salt Lake Jazz Ensemble. His work with his high school choir keeps him very busy as well as his frequent adjudication jobs around the country. These have precluded the possibility of singing with the choir since his available time is found at odd times during the year. We look forward to seeing him more often in future performances and are excited to welcome another family member into the Choir organization.