3 Years of Wedded Bliss

We are celebrating our third anniversary today. What a wonderful 3 years we've had too. I remember very clearly when we were discussing what date we should get married on. We were originally planning on getting married sometime in October but Sue thought it would be great to get married on 8-8-08. Primarily to make this date a more positive remembrance. August had not been very kind to Sue and her family. Both Sue's mom and previous husband and eternal companion, Guy, passed away on this date. I asked to her to make sure that she discussed the idea with her family so everyone was ok with the idea. The rest is history.

I am so grateful to have this sweet little lady in my life. Sue is an absolute joy and a sweetheart. She is such a great wife, mom, and grandma to her children and mine. Our life has been so full and so full of adventures. We really do have an absolutely wonderful life together. Its so great to be married to your best friend. We both love spending time together.

Each of us had very tough acts to follow as each of us have been previously married to wonderful people. We both love each others families and have integrated all of them into our lives. I think that while neither one of us has never intended to replace each other as the parent of each others kids, we have strived to accept,  love and treat  them as our own. None of us can ever have too many people that love us. I hope our spouses would be proud of us and how we are looking after each others families. We are both so blessed to have the wonderful children and grandchildren that we both have.

We strive to live life as full as we possibly can. That usually includes some great adventures, great food, great family activities, and of course, church service. Sue is the ideal Bishop's wife. She is absolutely perfect for the job. Supportive, understanding, never prying, and will do whatever she is asked to do. We both love serving in the church and especially our ward members.

We celebrated quietly this year in the comfort of our own home. I made us a yummy filet mignon and lobster tail dinner that was scrumptious. I even made homemade candied pecans for the salad and some baby red potatoes. We had a great time and just chilled and talked...a lot. What a wonderful evening.

No one knows what the future will bring, but we know that we share a very deep and special love that won't be broken. Our marriage is founded in; truth, mutual respect, affection, love, admiration, and support of one another. We know that we must not ever lose sight of the important things in life and our ultimate goal.

No matter what life will bring us as we enter our 4th year...we know that it will be an adventure. Here's to my sweetheart...may we have many more wonderful years together as we live life to the fullest in our own Zion paradise.

A Visit to the Grand Canyon

Sue and I recently visited the Grand Canyon for a day trip. We haven't been there for a little over 3 years...just before we got married. We're glad we decided to go. St. George was over 100 degrees, and while still hot, 80 degrees seemed like a nice spring day to us.

We had a chance to visit most of our favorite lookout spots and trails on the North Rim and even met a few nice tourists throughout the day. I think the predominant languages for the day were German and French, with a little East Indian thrown in for good measure.

The vast beauty of this treasure is truly breathtaking and unsurpassed. I think they really named this canyon "Grand" because it truly is "Grand". Our country has so many of these special national treasures that are scattered throughout the nation. During our travels it never ceases to amaze me of the utter vastness that it there for us to enjoy. Here's a few photos to remind everyone what they have been missing since there last visit....enjoy 

We're Back!

It seems like it's been forever since we blogged last. That sure isn't like us. Where do I begin....back in October I was asked to take over our Oregon manufacturing plant in addition to my operation in Southern Utah...now that seems like a short lifetime ago. My/our world has been turned almost upside down. Running two manufacturing operations and being the Bishop of my LDS Ward really keeps me hopping. While we have been able to get away for some fun family visits and a little R and R here and there....life is just moving so fast.

Sue has also seen some changes at work where it makes it harder for her to get on the internet and check blogs out during the day. We both live hectic lives at night as well and well, blogging has taken a backseat to our other obligations. Not that we want it that way, it's just the way it is right now.

Unfortunately with these changes, we have neglected some of our family members by not blogging about our fantastic family visits we have had and other fun-filled family events. So I wanted all of our family members to know that we will repent and try to do a better job in the future. To make amends we will mention some of the events that have taken place in our lives since October.

Sue and I had a wonderful vacation visiting Felipe, Tina and the girls in late October. We posted one days visit and didn't get a chance to post anything else from our absolutely wonderful trip. It was great to see those guys and visit New York City....lots of fun for us for sure.

I traveled for two weeks at a time through January to visit our Oregon operation and needless to say, that while we enjoyed the holidays....they flew past this year. I don't even think we decorated for Christmas until a week before. Not fun!This was especially so because during this time I had 6 laser procedures on my eyes for my glaucoma. The surgeries didn't really work for about 2 months and the meds they had me on were just wiping me out...seriously...not good.

We had extended stays from Sherri and Annie this winter and enjoyed the time spent with them.

We have had three new grand babies born in the last few months. Amber had her second child, a cute, chubby-cheeked little guy named Caiden. Amber and Lucas are great parents. We really loved to see them interact with Ayla at bedtime. Sue and I visited them and D.C and had a wonderful time.  Sorry, again only one post from this wonderful visit.

Annie had her first child a little angel named Evangeline. We even got a chance to go up to Logan for Evie's blessing. It was a great opportunity to meet Brett's family too. Annie was able to come and visit us with Evie for a week while Brett moved across country on an event-filled trip....think "Chevy Chases Amazing Atlanta Adventure" and I think you'll have the picture. Brett started Chiropractic school this summer in Atlanta....Way to go Brett.

Tina had her third little angel, Penelope, and Sue was able to go and visit and help for a week or so. I know that Sue had an absolute wonderful time. Raquel and Mila had a blast with Nana Sue while she was thre. Nana had a pretty good time too :)

Kari and Will are doing great and Will is really growing his practice in St. George. Brinly had a health scare this summer but is doing much better. The boys are doing great and they are definitely boys. The family suffered the loss of their dog Stryker to an underlying health condition. I was very proud of them and how they handled this loss. They also just got approved to buy thier first home in St. George.

Sherri and Addy came to visit us a couple of times and we really enjoyed those visits. She and Talon have just been able to buy their very first home....a really nice old place on a great big lot. We're excited for them 

We have been able to have a couple of family BBQ's and have been able to spend some time with Jimmy and Hollie. We were able to see Gracie's season-ending dance recital and I had a chance to go tot Dad's and donuts with her at school....what a treat for me.

Chris has been so busy we haven't been able to spend as much time as we would like to with him and the kids. When he isn't working long hours at the spa, he is always busy with his kids....I'm so proud of him.

We were able to ge tto almost every one of the local grandkids sporitng events this year and had a great time rooting them on to victory (or at least a really good effort)
We have recently had a chance to go on some mini getaways, whether they were for a day or a weekend.  Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon....some photos for the Grand Canyon will be in my next post.

Life is extremely busy, work has been beyond insane and not sure exactly what's going on there on the larger scale. The economy has really taken a toll on our business....more changes are sure to be coming. We'll hold on cause I think it will be a bumpy ride.

We're looking forward to this Christmas when we'll have all of our kids and grand-kids here for the holiday. Woo Hoo! Should be lots of fun.

Well...I know I have left out a ton of stuff and again I apologize to all of our family for not being able to keep up with things like we would like to....we'll strive to do better the rest of the year...until then....happy blogging!

Virginia Trip: Day One

We had our first full day in Virginia on Friday. We spent most of the day visiting with Amber, reconnecting with Ayla, and meeting our new grandson, Caiden. We had such a fund day today. Unwinding for the most part, but we still had an opportunity to visit the Fredericksburg Civil War battle site just a couple of miles away.

Fredericksburg is loaded with so much history. The specific battle site that we visited today was the "sunken road" site where so many Union soldiers were killed by the confederate army who had a superior position up on the hills. There were over 15,000 union soldiers killed in this battle and only 1,000 confederate soldiers. All of the soldiers buried in this cemetery were union soldiers. Of the 15,000, almost 13,000 are unknown. Pretty humbling.

We spent the evening unwinding with Amber and Lucas. It sure was nice spending some quality time with them (the steak dinner was pretty fabulous too) 

Nana, Ayla, and Caiden

Miss Ayla

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battle Visitors Center

   

Compassion even in battle

Tall headstones are known soldiers, short are unknown

Cemetery gates with cannonball marks in them

This served in the 'Revolutionary War"...WOW!

Cannon positions overlooking Fredericksburg and where the Union soldiers came from

This guy was buried here in the 1700's

Inscription at the base of a monument telling how many are buried here

Poignant

Haunting View

Donuts with Dad...AKA...How to Make a Grandpa's Day

I had a fabulous morning today that just made my whole week. At the expense of my son Jimmy's inability to attend his first ever "Donuts with Dad" with Gracie at her school this morning...I more than willingly stood in for him".

I really was sad that Jimmy couldn't attend, but I'm afraid to say that my sadness vanished quickly at the thought of going with Gracie in his place. I'm not sure what I loved more, actually taking Gracie to school and spending some very special time with one of God's little angels, or the fact that Gracie was not the least bit embarrassed to be seen with her grandpa when all of the other kids were there with their dad's :) 

This whole event started out on Tuesday night while I was in church meetings until 11pm. I received a couple of phone calls from Jimmy that I was unable to take, but I was able to have Sue call to find out if anything was wrong. I heard that Gracie had requested that I attend this marvelous event with her because her daddy couldn't go because of work conflicts. I readily accepted. I loved it when I got home and listened to her little voice on a voice mail asking me to come with her...ended my night on a very high note, and I then went to sleep dreaming about the next morning...sweet dreams indeed.

The morning started when I arrived to pick Gracie up at 8:15am. She was dressed in a cute spring outfit that she made look heavenly. After a couple of photos together we walked hand in hand the two blocks to her school. When we arrived, we got into a long line of other dad's and their "not as cute as Gracie" sons and daughters :) Seriously, all of the kids looked so cute and the dads were all so proud. While we were waiting to get a donut and some milk we read a couple of books together. Gracie's favorite book is a book about herself....and...why not....it was a great book that Gracie had put together about things that she likes.I also asked her who her best friend was....she quietly whispered "the one behind me" :)

When it was time to get our donuts we realized that we both shared the same favorite donut...a maple/caramel bar....um um um...or as Gracie and I always say....YUMBO! We also realized that we had the same favorite class....RECESS....wow, the gene pool remains pure!

When we sat down I had a chance to read her the story..."Where Wild Things Grow" (I think that was the title). We finished the story, and our donuts and milk, and then wandered down the hall to her classroom, where I met Gracie's teacher, Mrs Cardon. Mrs Cardon has done a wonderful job of decorating her classroom and making it very inviting and friendly. I can imagine that her students love her and love learning from her. I introduced myself to Mrs Cardon and told her that I was Gracie's grandpa and that I was 'pinch-hitting" today for her dad who had to work. Mrs Cardon then said..."lucky grandpa".

After showing me around her classroom Gracie was ready to go out and play on the playground for awhile before school started. I kissed her goodbye and reminded her how much I loved her and sent her off to be with her friends. As I walked back to Jimmy and Hollie's home I almost felt myself skipping along...for just a few moments I felt as if I were back with my two boys and doing the fun stuff with them when they were little. I visited with Hollie and Preston for a few minutes before I had to head back to work and get on with life, realizing that it was experiences like these that make life worth living.

Some may wonder why I spent so much time on this post, but as I get older these special times don't happen everyday anymore like they did when my kids were little. Today I got a glimpse into the past, but more importantly, into the future. I must admit, as I close this blog entry, there are more than one or two tears on my cheek. Today I was afforded the opportunity to be with one of God's most special creations... a little girl so special that she makes all those who know her come alive. I am grateful for this opportunity because Gracie has so many wonderful people in her life that love her so much, but it was me who had this special opportunity. Jimmy, there will be so many of these opportunities for you in the future, I never want you to take any of them for granted...but, I will always be ready to "pinch-hit" for you whenever needed.

I have so many of these little angels in my life and they all make me feel like this.

Lucky grandpa?...indeed Mrs Cardon...I am a very "lucky grandpa"!!!!

The Main Event

Gracie is all ready to go with Grandpa

I'm not the least bit proud :)

Grandpa and his little "peanut'

This little girl can eat some donuts

Gracie's awesome classroom