Conference Weekend

We love conference weekend. The Lythgoes came from Phoenix and it was great to have them stay with us. The ladies gathered at our house Saturday evening during the Priesthood session to chat and eat. It was quite a gab fest. It was hard to get a word in edgewise. It is obvious that our family members like being together.

The "boys" came after the Priesthood meeting for our traditional banana splits. Kimmy and Natalie begged to sleep-over with Tyler so we spread out our emergency sleeping bags and they had a great time together.

We enjoyed General Conference and especially the Solemn Assembly. When President Monson spoke yesterday we both had the Spirit witness to us of his Prophetic calling. The mantle of Prophet has visibly rested upon him. His messages were different than in times past. We are so blessed to have a living Prophet to guide us.

The Tourists

The outside has been cleaned up and repaired

We took a morning to take a self guided tour of the newly renovated State Capitol. They are still working on some of the finishing touches including the landscaping. They have done a wonderful job of cleaning it up and refurbishing everything to its original glory besides making it earthquake safe.

It was well worth our time to take a look!

Swept Out To Sea!

A sad thing happend in our extended family on Saturday.
Grandpa's brother Vic has a son David, who moved to Beaverton Oregon last year. He and his family were staying at a friend's cabin on the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day and the kids were having fun in the water and on the beach when they heard a boy in the water screaming for help! Ross, 16, Lance 15 and their friend started into the water to try and help the boy, who was a stranger to them. Lance and the friend realized that the boy was too far so they went back to the beach. Ross was almost to the boy when a huge wave swallowed him into the ocean and nobody has seen him since.
The Coast Guard searced until dark Saturday night and David's friends from the ward searched up and down the beach on Sunday and Monday, but there was no sign of him. Yesterday the family gathered with David's Bishop and other family members and dedicated the spot as the final resting place for Ross until the time that the Lord sees fit to bring him forth.
How grateful we are for the love and support of family and the knowledge that we have of the Plan of Salvation, the resurrection and the eternal nature of families!
David's advise is, "Never let your kids out of your sight without telling them that you love them!" Ross was a good kid who was a friend to everyone and he died helping a stranger.
Once again we learn how fragile life is.

Fogy Field Trip

Erica's field trip to the acquarium in Sandy piqued our interest so we went to see what it is all about today. We found ourselves among "thousands" of kids with their families. It is a great place to go for families and is amazing the way they put it all together. We were especially interested in the information on water conservation. We didn't know that Utah is the second driest state in the nation! We really do live in a desert!
We also thought we would drive up to the capital building to see the newly renovated building, but we decided that one field trip in a day is enough for a couple of "old foggies"! We both had to have a nap when we got home.

Grandpa's Birthday Suit!

Doesn't he look handsome?

Grandpa got a gift certificate for a new suit for his birthday

from his adoring children!

A gift card from Mr. Mac's forced him into a trip to the store.

He says that next year, when anyone asks him what he would like,

"Just tell them a big hug!"

Haircut for the apple tree

Before trimming
After trimming

We love the shade that our apple tree provides but we don't need the apples and they are so much work for grandpa to spray them every ten days during the summer months to keep them from being wormy. So we decided to have a professional crew give it a pruning job to give us plenty of shade and few apples. It is supposed to be pruned so that it will be like a canopy. We'll be anxious to see how it turns out. In the meantime we have fun watching the little birds come for breakfast at the bird feeder. We've seen a pair or robins already so I guess spring is on it's way even though it is snowing tonight!

The publishing bug!

We've started working on a new book. My sister Louise and I are compiling the history of my parents. We're inviting all the grandchildren to contribute memories if they would like. Publishing on the internet is a slick way to go. The only problem is that I have a one track mind and can't seem to get anything else done so the housework will just have to wait.

Grandpa is diligently pulling together material for his history. Don't you think he was a cute little boy? Just a preview of more to come!