New Customized EVERYTHING!

This is Heather. I'm just testing out the settings. Mom let me know what you think. I thought that the flowers on this signature were great for you.

Love Ya!

Hawaii

These are some of my favorite pictures from my trip. Mary and I learned how to tie sorongs. We played pin up girls, had sea turtles swim right next to us and got beat up by the surf several times. We all had bruises and cuts from the lava rocks in the ocean but by the end we learned how not to get beat up. I loved the atmosphere there. Layed back and relaxed. We don't really relax but for us it was relaxed. We played so hard that the latest we made it was 10:00p.m. and we were ready for bed. I really appreciate Bill and Wendy for inviting me to tag along. They ended up with 17 people for a few days. Thanks.

Maui

This year I went with my sister, her son's Bill and Tyler, and Bill's family and friends to Maui. We had 10 glorious days of sun, fun, and snorkeling.
The weather was perfect. We went to the beach at least once a day, sometimes twice.
The snorkeling was fab.

Dreams and St. George

For a very long time I have dreamed of singing a solo in the tabernacle. Last week I had the privilage of fulfilling that dream. I had a very short solo in our concert at the St. George Tabernacle. The very best part was that my cousin, her husband, my Aunt Dolly and Uncle George were there to hear it. I love those guys. I have never felt anything but acceptance and love from them. At times it has felt like rain had fell on the Sahara desert of my heart. I soaked it in. Of all the people that were there to hear us, I sang to them. Oh dont you want to go, to that gospel feast. That promised land where all is peace. The ultimate dream.... finding peace.

Slip, sliding along.....sr160 in the Colorado Mountains

Reading my child from another mother's blog reminded me of our hair raising adventure last week. Bruce and I drove to Centre, Colorado to pick up some service bodies for work. While driving back we got caught in a blizzard going up South fork pass. We got behind a snowplow and had to slow down, which turned out to be a wonderful blessing. We started to slid and our tires began to spin and then we couldn't go any further up the mountain. I was praying to get enough traction to get us up to the summit which was about 5 or 6 miles further. Thank goodness HF didn't answer that one. I didn't realize that there was a 7% grade going down the other side with hair pin turns and drop offs. The road was a solid sheet of ice about 3" deep. Every time Bruce would try to go forward we slid down the road going toward the drop off. I was tempted to jump out of the truck but figured if Bruce was going over the edge so would I. Another miracle was that I was not swearing. I was shaking and terrified but not a bad word came out of my mouth. Bruce was braking and we were sliding further down. Finally the thought came to him to take his foot off the brake and throw the truck into park. The truck finally came to a stop after sliding about 5 feet. I forgot to mention that we were pulling a big trailer now loaded with the service bodies. We ended up in the middle of the road. With no where to safely stand out of the truck we sat like sitting ducks as cars, trucks, and semis sped down and up the road sliding all the way. And there we sat for 3 hours. People drive crazy in storms. My cell phone had a signal so we called where we had been earlier that morning and had them send someone with chains. A tow truck finally showed up and took us to the summit where now there was a white out over snow and ice packed roads. We know we were being watch over. Without chains there was no way to safely make down the mountain with all the weight we were towing. Within 20 minutes of being towed the angel from down below brought us the chains. We both felt humbled and grateful when we got off that mountain and back on dry roads. I guess Garth Brooks knew what he was talking about when he sang "Thank God for unanswered prayers."and I would like to add "Thank God for answered prayers too.

Soccer

Soccer is about to begin again. Saturday games, week day practices mean the winter is soon over. Spring really is going to happen again this year. Yippee!

2009 Travels

2009 travels will be more of spriritual/personal nature. I will be trying to find ways to make 2009 a year to remember in good and great ways. While the world around becomes more and more fear driven, the sky is falling along with the stock market, I want to become financially stronger. I don't need the government, media or anyone to tell me what should happen in my life. I am so grateful for a guidance from our church leaders to help us see a path of hope. As an individual I can be responsible for my own house. "As for me and my house we choose to serve the Lord." This year is going to be ....... I get to fill in the blanks as I go.

San Diego, December 2008
The day after Christmas we loaded up at 4:00 am to drive to San Diego with our oldest granddaughter. It was the worst road conditions I have ever driven in. We had snow/icepack clear to St. George. In the 40 years of driving that route I have never seen it that bad. We lucked out part of the way by following 5 snow plows. It was snowing and blowing.

But after 14 hours we finally made it to our sunny destination. We stayed in what they call Little Italy at the Porta Vista Hotel. Great place and view of the harbor. Sea World was a blast and Balboa Park wonderful. The sun shone every day we were there. I have to say I have the best grandkids in the world. At 14 some kids are pretty scary but not our girl. I enjoyed getting to know her better and talking to her. She found out some stuff about us to. Grandma has a potty mouth I am trying hard to fix. Sorry girlfriend. I'm working on it.

SunValley, Idaho...Last week Bruce and I went up to Sun Valley for work. It was a long (5 hour) drive but I discovered I really like Idaho. We have been there a lot over the years and I guess I had never really thought about it. The difference was that I was comparing Wyoming to Idaho. Let's just say Idaho to me is better. The Sun Valley Resort is beautiful. The condo we stayed at had very comfortable beds and very nice furnishings. The huge bathroom with oversized tub wasn't bad either. For fun there is Ice Skating, bowling, swimming, skiing, etc.... It is a great place to stay.

Florida was awesome. This was our first time to visit. We stayed in Naples at a wonderful condo. There were miles and miles of beaches. Then we stayed 3 days at Disneyworld Wilderness Campground and Resort. We had so much fun. The resort was incredible and so convenient to the resorts. We had a 1 bed cabin with kitchen and huge bathroom.

We even saw an aligator in the wild in a canal next to the highway going to Everglade City! The weather was perfect.

Oh the places I did go

2008 has been a wild ride. We have been to Las Vegas, St. George, Island Park, ID, St. Louis, MO, The Indy 500 and we just got back from Naples, Florida and Disney World. I feel a bit like Dorthy though. I really think there is no place like home. I love to travel. To see the many different landscapes of our great country, the diversity of the geography, the nice people we have met on the way. But the best part of leaving home is coming home. Family. friends, my own bed. :)

St. Luis YTB Convention

On Sunday we got back from our YTB business convention held in St. Luis. It was an incredible experience. We have found an awesome company. This company has been based on God, Family and Country. We met so many nice people and made new friends that love to travel as much as we do.

This replica of the Statue of Liberty is only 5 feet shorter than the real one at Ellis Island. I am so glad I was born in America and enjoy the freedoms that men gave their lives for. Freedom isn't free, it was paid for at an infinite price.

I wish I could capture the excitement and energy that I felt at convention and put in words on this page. You will just have to imagine what is in my heart. Over half of the speakers thanked God for His blessings. The convention ended with a song "If Jesus is 4 days late, he's still on time" that had nearly 20,000 people on their feet and lots of us in tears. Just remember with God all things are possible.

I Love Summer

I love summer. I really need to find something about winter to love. It is 5 months of the year here. Working in the yard, playing at the park, golfing, just sitting outside soaking up the rays are all things I enjoy. I don't ski, snowshoe, or sleigh ride so what could I come up with to do in the winter that I would enjoy?? Got any ideas?? Quilting, maybe but that doesn't count. It is indoors. Shoveling the walks after a snow storm, trying to build a bigger snowman every big storm we have, going for a walk in boots. Ok, maybe I'll make it a point to learn how to love winter too.

Weekly Summer Grandkid Days

This spring we got together to decide on activities for our grandkids day. Thursday seemed to work best for everyone and except for camps and vacations it has worked very well. We have visited Liberty Park, The Aquarium, the 24th of July pre parade Float preview party, the blue park, had a Pirates and Princess party, and this week will be our family olympics. I have to say I have the best grandkids in the world and these days we get to spend together are such a joy. We have fun, fun, fun. Even though the ages range from 4 months to 14 years old every one has a good time. I am so proud of the older grandkids that help us with the younger ones. They are so good them. It really helps enhance the experiences we have.

Wolf Creek Vacation

Our daughter invited us to go with her and her family to Wolf Creek last month. We had a great time. Ogden has some very fun family places. The dinosaur park and the Tree House Museum were spectacular. The kids loved them. The best part was just being together. We swam, hiked, went on nature hunts, played games. I nearly stepped on a snake. That was exiting. I would love to live in that area. Not a lot of people and it is beautiful.

Yellowstone 2008

June in Yellowstone was cold but a great way to see lots of animals. It was snowing part of the time. Welcome to summer. We saw 3 black bears. That is almost unheard this time of year. Tons of elk and bison were out grazing. It is a wonder to see.

The Indy 500

We went to the Indy 500 over Memorial Day weekend. It was a blast. Saturday is the annual race parade in downtown Indianapolis. The place was packed with race fans. The floats, cars, clowns, celebraties and more added to the excitement leading up to the race.
Sunday, Race day. Started with a 1 1/2 mile walk to the track. Over 200,000 fans trying to converge on the track was quite and experience. Our seats were on turn 4 so we could see all of turn 3 and down most of the straight way that the start/finish line was on. What a thrill when we heard, "Ladies and Gentlemen start your engines!" and we all cheered. The roar of the engine was defening but a chill went up my spine. It was so exiting and I would not really call myself a race fan. I am now. Scott Dixon won after 500 miles in less that 4 hours!
Monday, we went back to the track to walk around. We visited Gasolline Alley, the Brickyard, the Pagoda, the pits and the museum. This photo was taken on the winners podium. We would like to thank our race enthusiast, Scott and Cinnamon for a great time. They enriched our experience and their children were so cute and loving. It was a trip of a lifetime.

I have been tagged.
5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Oatmeal Cookies (my favorite)
2. Popcorn(homemade not the theatre kind)
3. Apples
4. Grammies and Milk
5. Licorice
5 things on my to-do list:
1. Meals for a family in our ward and the Aunts(Margorie and May).
2. Be a better person.
3. Read my emails. They get out of hand.
4. Dye Heathers hair!!!
5. Make it through till I am released.
5 Things I would do if I was a Billionaire:
1. Buy every one in the family thier house and one for me.
2. Set up scholorships for all of our grandchildren.
3. Move to Millcreek.
4. Go to a fat farm.
5. Help a 3rd world country
5 Jobs I have had:
1. Referring Travel Agent for YTB. Love to travel
2. Smiths Food and Drug (18yrs) So happy to be retired.
3. SLLC (Mail runner) for a very short time but it was fun and great excercise.
4. Janitor
5. Waitress (I hated being a waitress. no offense but it was the most stressful job!!)
Bad habits I have:
1. Swearing (mostly in my head and I am so repentant)
2. Mindless eating.
3. Not listening enough to the spirit or not following what I do hear.
4. Being too happy in the morning. Makes most people sick.
5. Taking 1/8th of a Unisom to help me sleep (most nights)
Places I have lived:
1. Patti Cr
2. 3600 West
3. Meadowwood Way
4. Really to many places to mention. I went to 13 different schools, 3 of them high schools.

I tag Kayla, Steph, and Diane.

What's most important

This is a picture of one of the most important things in my life. My family. With the birth of grandchild #10 and #11 on the way I couldn't be happier. They are healthy, lively, full of fun, energy, smart, talented and awesome.

Today, Ty choose to be baptised. To become a member of the church is a very important step to our eternal progress. He is traveling on the right path.

I am so proud of them all.

Zions National Park/St. George

Zions is a great day trip. With many beautiful hikes that go from very easy to dangerous. I have been there several times and spring is my favorite. The weather is usually mild. The summer tends to get very hot.

If you like the heat go for it. I personally am a pansy when it comes to heat. The Virgin River was running high so kayakers were making the best of it. We have tried the pack horses and found that a great way to see the canyon, too.

St. George was fun. Our concert wasn't well attended maybe only 50 or 60 people but singing in the Tabernacle is the best experience. The acoustics are alive making it a joy to sing there.