Noah in California and a Conference Challenge

Noah's concert choir went to California before Easter to entertain folks there.  He loved his opportunity to see Newsies as part of his trip.

Noah at "Newsies"

Julia, Ruth, Adam and Jane were here with their folks for Easter.  We had a fun time with family. Anna's family put together an adult Easter egg hunt.  There was a golden egg with $70 in it. Everyone wanted that.  Grandpa and I got to hide it and Uncle Allen found it!  Seth was given a 10 second head start.  He really wanted that money!

Ruth is working on Pole Vaulting at school.  There is lots of conditioning to do.  Julia is teaching a Spring sewing class to raise money for BYUH.  She might be taking a Hula dancing class.

Adam is seeing a lot of a girl named Sarah Ballard.  

Erica and Jane are busy preparing for finals and Jane will graduate in June but will walk for graduation in April.  Bright was here for Easter and is busy with her role of Cinderella.

Mary and Lou and their family went to Boston for Spring break.  Mary and her Mom took the bus to NYC for a few days, then back to Boston on Saturday and then home.

James David is walking without a limp, but he is still healing up from his surgeries.  It hurts going up and down stairs.  

Grandpa and I recommend the movie, "Cinderella".  It was a perfect Disney movie.  Make friends with mice, be courageous and be kind!

James A. posts some quirky stuff on Instagram.  Check him out as blockychief89.

Some of us made conference notebooks!

Conference Notebook from a file folder - wahoo!

Conference Challenge

Post your favorite conference quote in comments, maybe a one-liner.

"A kiss and a cookie!"  Boyd K. Packer.  That's what makes a good marriage.

Our Temple Trip

Finally, I am making my report.  Grandpa and I took a road trip.  Because we are celebrating our 50th year, we thought it would be a fun part of the celebration to go to the Idaho Falls Temple again. That's where we were married 50 years ago on August 7, 1965.  The temple is now closed for major renovations.

Newspaper article about our wedding.

On our way to Idaho Falls, we stopped in Logan on Thursday, February 19th and went to the temple there.  Grandpa Allen and Grandma Deon were married there in 1938.  The furniture and decorations were patterned from the pioneer era.  

One of the doors on the Logan Temple -- love the rock and mortar

Then we had a fun visit with the Logan Ostergar's.  It was the Rae's 16th birthday the next day.  We all went out to dinner together.

Friday, the 20th, we went to Idaho Falls.  We picked up Aunt Gaye (grandpa's sister) and Uncle Steve Jones and attended the temple with them.  Roger and Diane Brunt went with us too.  They were missionaries at the MTC in Brazil with us.  Roger was the doctor at the MTC.  We all went out to dinner.  The Idaho Falls temple sits right on the Snake River.  We could see the temple from the restaurant.  We were trying to think of all the memories we made that day.

One entrance to the temple - cool clouds above

On the day we were married we stood on the steps to have our picture taken.  I was holding our wedding certificate!  So we took another picture of us on the steps of the temple.

Holding on to Allen

We stayed overnight at Aunt Gaye's and traveled home on Saturday.  We stopped to see the remodeled Ogden Temple on the way home.  It sits on a whole block.  There is also a tabernacle on the block that was built in the 50's and recently remodeled too.  We were very impressed with it all.

And there are more cool clouds in the background!

Ogden Temple and grounds

I want to post the picture of us on the temple steps in 1965.  I thought I knew right where it was and spent some time looking.  I will post it when it shows up.  

We had a very fun and memorable trip!

Teen Tidbits

Daisy went to Morp.  It was an 80's theme. Her 17th birthday is in a week!

Daisy read for Morp!

Is this the face of Cinderella?

Cinderella, fer shure!

Bright has been cast as Cinderella at Utah State Eastern in Price.  They will start rehearsals in a week or two.  She went to the open auditions and they chose her!

Other tidbits:

Jane is going to grad school in Computer Science.  She will start in the Fall

Julia and Sunny will both probably go to BYUH, if everything works out with tuition, etc.

Peter and Lucy are going on a cruise during their spring break.  Their family is going too! It will be in the Caribbean somewhere.  Bon Voyage y'all!

Clara is winning climbing competitions.

Lou is an amazing computer guru...helping his Mom and siblings with his expertise.

Two big ticket items...

James D. had his second knee surgery yesterday!  The surgery went well but the recovery is the hard part,  James always has a cheery smile!

Heal quickly, James!!

Adam arrived home from the Milan, Italy Mission yesterday to happy, yet weeping crowds. 

Welcome home, Adam.  The photo shows him with his parents.  His parents will stare at him a lot during the next few weeks.  It happens like that.

Adam at the airport in Orange County.

Rae, the Birthday Girl

Rae is 16.  She had a friends party last Saturday.  As her name is Aurora Rae, she had a Princess Aurora (Rae) Party! Also known as a Royal Pajama Party. There was a white chocolate fountain planned and bugle chips!  Hail, to the Princess Aurora!

She and her friends watched "Malificent". 

The Birthday Pary

Other significant things about Rae.
She won her first games of Shanghai!  And then her second.
She loves to bake and make pasta dishes and read books (still).
She also loves anything "Pumpkin"!

Rae is very fond of giraffes.  She even has a pair of giraffe socks.
She will be taking her driver's test pretty soon.

Bright was able to come to Salt Lake City to celebrate with her when Rae went for her doctor visits.

A fun dinner in Salt Lake City!

Medical Report:

Last Friday, Raedles had a check-up and an ultrasound with her doctors in Salt Lake City.  She seems to be doing well.  Her cholesterol is down, which is always a concern and they upped her medication.  They are hoping to help her uterus grow so that she can have a period.  Right now her uterus is very small.

Have a great year, Rae!

Some Sunny Photos

Kuni's  tough tattoo

A new boyfriend, perhaps?

So Cute!

Baby Pineapples

Pineapples grow usually one to a bush and take about 19 months or 2 years to become mature...FYI !

How a pineapple starts.

Sunny, the Senior

Kuni (Sunny's Hawaiian name) and her Mom went on an adventure.  They went to Hawaii for about 10 days.  The Polynesian Cultural Center was a great hit with a Luau and Kalua Pig.  She also loved the lava cliffs at the ocean's edge, the pineapple plantation, Acai bowls, snorkeling, Fijian Curry, the Waimea Waterfall and so much more.  "The baby pineapple are so cute!"  Here Uncle Bridger and his family live on the big island and they spent a few days with them as well.

Sunny and Aunt Darci enjoying island life

Right now Sunny is planning to work at Bear Lake for the Summer.  She has applied to UVU, Utah State, Snow College, SUU, BYUH and Auburn. (Do you all know where Auburn is?)

She really loves marine biology and has been accepted to most or all of these schools.   She didn't know about BYUH until a few days ago.  She was accepted there, which is very exciting.  That would be a great place for marine biology.  She has garnered some scholarships as well, but there is a time line to her decisions.

She helped her mom put on a fun birthday party for Rae...Rae will be the next post, perhaps.

Golden, Kuni and Rae