September 12th through September 18th:

September 12^th through September 18^th:  Well it is happening, we are getting old.  I can’t seem to remember what we have done the past week.  If I don’t carry around my camera and take a picture of everything we do, I don’t have a reference for what we have done. As I told Chris this week, “Living sure does seem to take up a lot of time.” I will have to start making notes at the end of each day.  So this might be short.  I have spent quite a bit of time going through 5 boxes of genealogy that we did not put back in the storage unit. As I have come across interesting photos and documents I have been posting them on facebook group of just the descendents of my mom and dad and another of the descendents of my mom’s parents..  My parent’s grandkids have especially enjoyed them.  It is a really good way to share family history with this new generation in a way that they will look at it. My parents had 5 children and they have 30 grandchildren and now over 100 great-grandchildren.  Some of these are now getting married and going on missions and are connected to me by facebook.  They have made some really funny comments.  But since my dad died when I was 8 years old, none of my children or nieces and nephews knew him, so it is fun to share him through pictures and stories about him. 

My mom at about age 16, in the corner it reads "To my Dad, Beth"

This is my two older brothers Gar and Tad with my mom and dad.  This is during world war II during a leave and my dad has drawn a train and he is in the train saying "Be good boys" and then there is 3 stick figures waving good-bye.  My oldest brother Gar lost his right arm just above the elbow in a car accident when he was 2.

I am 9 years old in this picture. I think this is the wedding of my oldest brother in the middle, Gar,  Tad in on the right and Van on the left.

Funny what you can find in a box of old stuff.

We got things squared away with DMBA.  They had us getting home in June and our insurance was about to end.  If any of you in Bolivia extend your missions, don’t trust the church to let DMBA know.  Talk to them yourselves.  We had to send in our release papers to prove we had extended, before they would extend our coverage.  We found out from the doctor that we need some more tests and that DMBA won’t cover them because they are screenings.  After talking to DMBA, I found out that the new coverage with AETNA will cover this, so we are going to wait until October so they will be covered.  The long and short of this is we will not be able to submit our papers to the church for our next mission till these tests are completed next month.  Sunday: we got a calling the ward.  We are the 12 and 13 year-old Sunday school teachers and there are about 18 kids in the class.  I guess we are going to have to learn about this new way of teaching the youth.  We will let you know how it goes next week.  Sunday we had a traditional Sunday dinner, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh vegetables and a pot roast.  I cannot tell you how good it tasted.  It was the best meal I have had in a very long time.  It felt and tasted like heaven.  Sorry all you missionaries still in Bolivia.

Sunday dinner YUM.

Mom has continued to tend grandchildren and help out at her children’s homes.  Ginny arrived back in Pasadena and shared with us and now I am sharing with all of you a picture of her front room filled with our furniture and rug that we made her haul in a trailer back to California. 

We made Ginny take her wedding dress, we had been storing it.  9 plus years and it still fits.

I have my daughter’s kitchen designed and ready to order.  I am going to buy just the cabinet parts from one company and the doors from another and have the doors and moldings painted at another and then I will assemble it all.  This will save a couple of thousand dollars for her.  I will be sure to take some before and after pictures.  I am ordering lumber today to reinforce the attic in John B.’ garage so we can make it strong enough to store boxes of stuff up in his attic.  I will try and get this project done while I am waiting for the cabinet parts to be ready.  They said 10 days to 2 weeks.  Monday: I had an eye exam and new glasses ordered.  It seems never ending all the things that have to be taken care of after being gone for almost 2 years.  Tuesday: we went up to Snowbird and stayed with some good friends, Blake and Michelle Rigby.  They have a time share and it was their week.  It was fun to sit and talk with them.  The canyon was beautiful and if you look closely, you can see the visitor we met in the parking lot on our way home.

View from our window.

A moose in the parking lot. You gotta love that.

At the mouth of Little Cottonwood canyon.

Wednesday: we picked up my glasses and then visited my brother Van and his wife Maude in their new condo in the Summit just across the street from the Conference Center.  Life is good and we are so blessed.