Darlin and Pa

Let it snow!

2012-01-18T17:23:00.000-08:00

We got a very hefty snow storm early this morning (Jan. 18, 2012) - when we woke up we had about 8" out back and by the time we did our second cleaning of the driveway we're sure we had a least a foot. We had to keep it clean because of the downward slope of the driveway - if there's too much snow and it melts fast, we have a garage full of water. Anyway, most of the worksites were closed today and we spent a great deal of our day outside!

The "official" measurement early this morning - about 8" outside the back door.

A view from the driveway up the stairs

The accumulation of snow on top of the brick work on the side of the stairs

A very eerie feeling outside tonight - no cars going by and it's very quiet! It's supposed to start raining tonight, with mixed snow, so we'll see what tomorrow brings!

Utah Weekend

2012-01-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

Scott had a great time on the long weekend in Utah with his Mom. They attended a funeral for a good friend, went to a BYU game at the Marriott Center, dinner at PF Changs, ran lots of errands, got Mom's car ready for the winter, and church on Sunday - - what a great weekend. Here are some of the picture highlights:

Loved this picture of Mt. Rainier on the way to the airport

The moon over the Salt Lake City downtown

The moon over the Draper Temple

My fun rental car for the weekend

The funeral program for a dear friend and mentor

Mom holding our tickets to the BYU - Santa Clara game

The cheerleaders getting the student section going - not that they needed any help!

BYU player going in for a dunk

BYU's most consistent player - on the left side - his favorite spot to shoot from - you can see the ball at about the 7th row!

The score with 7.5 seconds to go - and the final score:)

The beautiful Mt. Timpanogos Temple with its name sake mountain in the background with a little snow on top!

I was rudely greeted at the Seattle airport...

and at the place where I parked my car.

It snowed most of the day here in Lacey - and for the next few days it's supposed to be "heavy snows" so it should be very interesting.

Had a wonderful time in Utah - thanks Mom!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

Though we were home by ourselves this year, we certainly didn't feel alone! We enjoyed a marvelous Christmas spirit and were able to video chat with all of our children. Modern techology is fabulous isn't it? As we attended church today, we felt the love of our Savior and are so grateful for his birth, life, example, and atoning sacrifice. We gratefully acknolwedge Him as our Redeemer. Here are some pictures of our very enjoyable day.

New ornaments for this year

We Skyped with Megan and family before church - though the picture quality isn't great (us taking pictures of the computer screen) it was great to "be with them". Megan helping Justin and Emma with their presents

Hyrum and Hunter had the "paper tearing" routine down much better than the twins!

Jeremy - the always good sport - trying on Hyrum's new sphere toy:)

After church we opened some of our presents before calling the other kids

Marcie showing off her new boots & new fleece

Baby it's cold outside!

Scott with a new shirt, new razor and chocolate turtles

We received several "family picture calendars" which we love!

Some grand children sent some pottery cereal bowls - well for Grandpa it's for ice cream.

Next came a video chat with Joy and the kids in San Antonio - we got the kids but how in the world did we not get a picture of Joy? Sorry about that!

Sunday afternoon in the state of Washington is early Monday morning in Bagram, Afghanistan. We were grateful Zac took a few minutes to chat with us before beginning his new day!

We ended our video chatting day with the Morgantown Turner's - bless their hearts - they had traveled all day from Salt Lake and still made time to chat before Luke went to bed!

A new piano - Luke sized!

What a wonderful Christmas day - we had visits from several ward members, talked with relatives on the phone and enjoyed a marvelous spirit of peace and love. May we all work hard to keep those feelings all year round!

Caroling, caroling through the snow!

2011-12-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well not quite the snow part, but caroling yes:) Last Sunday (Dec 18) we held our annual Christmas caroling activity. This group of folks was put together 21 years ago with 3 families: Cramer's, Stucki's, and us. Over the years we've had very few caroling parties canceled - mostly because of snow, so it's something we really look forward to. The Cramer's are in Switzerland this year serving the Lord as missionaries, and Sister Stucki is quite ill so they stayed in Yelm. The Cramer's daughter Amy is living in their home and she hosted - as her folks were always willing to do - and we had a wonderful potluck dinner and then did some caroling in their neighborhood. Marcie and I noted with interest that 21 years ago when these families united in song we were the youngest couple involved. Our get together this year involved the children of the families and we were by far the oldest people there!! What a change:)
After singing in the neighborhood, we drove to Yelm and sang with the Stucki family who had gathered there to be with Sister Stucki - we had a wonderful time and the spirit of Christmas was certainly there. We didn't take many pictures but will share these few:

Gathering at the Cramer home for a wondeful meal and great visiting

A picture of the group outside before starting our caroling

Brother Stucki and two of his sons joined together in Yelm

Br. Stucki and his jolly manner on display

This caroling activity is one of our favorite events of the year - this one certainly didn't disappoint! We love singing the hymns celebrating the birth and life of our Savior!

Christmas Trees!

2011-12-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Friday night we had the chance to attend the lighting of the Christmas tree in the rotunda at our state Capitol - and we also got to see the lights on the trees outside where our church youth group had strung them last Saturday - and they look great!! Here's a picture of the 25' tree before lighting, then on "fire"; a picture up through the tree to the chandelier, and some pictures of the trees outside - see if you can see the moon through the tree on one of the pictures!

Then today (Saturday) we went to the Festival of Trees in Tacoma and had a blast. We were most fascinated by the "toppers" on some trees and tried to capture some of those in the pictures.

Marcie with Colonel Cupcake

It's been a long time since we've been in downtown Tacoma - today was delightful. We parked for free near the Tacoma Dome and took a free light rail train into town. Quite a fun day!

Thanksgiving in San Antonio!

2011-12-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

We spent a wonderful week in San Antonio at Zac and Joy's new beautiful home - Megan, Jeremy and their family were in Austin visiting his folks so came down for 3 days and we had a great time together. We played a lot in the back yard, played a lot in the house, visited and played at lots of parks, went to the famous River Walk, ate great food, and really enjoyed each others company. Zac left the day after Thanksgiving, like we did, but he went to Georgia for a few days and then to Kuwait awaiting a flight to Afghanistan. He will be there for about 6 months. Here are some pictures from our trip, though we have lots more! Thanks Zac and Joy for your loving hospitality - thanks Meg and Jeremy for coming down.

The grandkids sitting outside of the hospital where Zac works

The grandkids at a park on a very rainy day

The rain didn't stop these kids!

How fitting that our last activity before Meg and Jeremy left for Austin was at the frozen yogurt shop!

Helping Dad cut the lawn

We visited a beautiful mission called San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo - Anne had been there recently with her school class so she served as our guide:) And a very good one at that!

Caught a glimpse of the Hemisfair on our way to the River Walk

Darlin helping Anne and Andrew with some watercoloring

Exploring "cub caves" with Dad and Grandpa

Thanksgiving day preparations included Pumpkin Pasties from Harry Potter

This was a feast to remember:)

Drawing, coloring and creating are the favorites of every day

Trimming the Christmas tree

What a wonderful time we had - thanks so much!!

Flying home into Seattle

Pete Sampras comes to town!

2011-10-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

Marcie and I have loved watching Pete Sampras play tennis over the past 20 years. Last week he and 3 other "oldies", John McEnroe, Jim Courier, and Michael Chang, played a tournament at the Key Arena in Seattle. We went and had an absolute blast. There were two semi-final matches won by Chang and Sampras and then they played for the "Seattle" title which Sampras won. They move a little slower but it was so great to be there. I'm sure they staged it this way but there was a questionable call that Mr. McEnroe was able to argue a bit with the umpire over which was quite fun. They made jokes with each other and once Pete even gave his racket to the ball boy who won a point off McEnroe! It was a delightful evening and a dream come true for Marcie T! We had great seats at about the 50 yard line - I guess better said would be right at the net line! Here's a few photos including the beautiful moon as we were leaving:

William Clayton

2011-10-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

I got an interesting call from a bookstore located in Salt Lake the other day. They informed me that a book I had ordered was now in and that if I still wanted it to call them within the next day or two. I was a bit confused, not remembering that I had ordered a book. When I called they said I had placed the order in 2004!! It is a book no longer in print and they had just acquired it - I must have heard a quote from it sometime in my stake travels and tried to find a copy of it. I bought the book and it arrived the other day. It is the Journal of William Clayton, the author of "Come Come Ye Saints". In the book's foreword, it says: "With the exodus from Nauvoo, he was the Clerk of the Camp of Israel, and when the Mormon pioneers left Winter Quarters in April 1847, he was appointed by Brigham Young one of the historians of that noted company. His journal of that memorable expedition over the plains is one of the most valuable diaries we have of that early period of western history." I'm excited to read it.

Marcie's Halloween Paintings!

2011-10-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

On my 365 blog over the past 8 days I've highlighted Marcie T's delightful Halloween paintings which give our home a most festive feel. Here they are - enjoy:)

Mom T - 80 years young

2011-09-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun very weekend with Scott's Mom and 2 sisters celebrating Mom's 80th birthday, a little early. We had a wonderful dinner at the Garden Restaurant on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, fun shopping at the new Creek Side development across the street from Temple Square, participated together in a session at the Mt. Timpanogos temple, watched the BYU game with students at the Wilkinson Center - anyway we had a fun filled and busy weekend.

Beautiful sky as we leave Seattle

Always great to be on campus at BYU

Some pictures from our dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

The hostess had everyone sing happy birthday to Mom, then she wrote a birthday wish which was attached to this balloon and the balloon was released through an opening in the roof!

The beautiful Salt Lake Temple

Caught in the revolving door?

Watching the BYU game in the Wilkinson Center with the students.

The moon as we left campus - had a wonderful visit to Utah:)

West Virginia, Mountain Mama!

2011-09-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

We spent Labor Day holiday plus a few days with Brigg, Havalah, and Luke in West Virginia. We spent 2 days down in the southern part of the state and found the language to be quite different from Morgantown:) We were able to spend lots of time playing with Luke and visiting with Brigg and Havalah plus seeing some beautiful sights in the state. We visited the New River Gorge National River and the Hawks Nest State Park and had a great time hiking and seeing the beatiful terrain. Here are some of the hundred or so pictures that we took!!

Our first stop was in Milwaukie Wisconsin!

Our first morning we took a fun walk along the Monongahela River in downtown Morgantown

After Luke's nap, we got ready to go swimming!

All day Saturday we spent in southern West Virginia - at the New River Gorge area and Hawks Nest State Park. We took a very fun hike called the Cliffside Hike and you can see from some of our pictures that we literally hiked along a cliffside with the New River down below. This is beautiful country. The New River bridge is the longest single arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

Some flags in historic Fayetteville, West Virginia

Looking so grown up at the restaurant after a very long day

Back in Morgantown the next day and finally reading stories before bed:)

We feel a bit like ancient record keepers, not knowing for sure which records (pictures) to include as there were so many! Hope this gives you a flavor of the great time we had - thanks Brigg, Havalah, and Luke

Youth Activity at Long Lake

2011-08-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 27, the Priests Quorum was in charge of the combined Young Women/Young Men activity. We hosted the group at Long Lake and had a great time - swimming, playing volleyball, playing bocce ball, having a bar-b-que, and just enjoying each others company. Here are some of the pictures taken - most at the waters edge!

The lake completely empty when we arrived at 10 am.

Within minutes, our group had filled in the dock quite nicely.

Brother Chard and I tossing Deacon's into the lake - they loved it:) Notice, please, my fashionable aqua socks - Brigg and I picked them up at an REI garage sell several years ago - I love them!!

The bocce ball gang.

Some of our young women enjoy the sun on the dock

Reminds me of games my boys and I would play - I had one of the Priests hit me with a touchdown pass as I jumped into the water. Great photography Katie!

Les Mis/Rainiers

2011-08-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

This past week we went to Les Miserables in Seattle at the 5th Ave Theatre and had a great time. The stage actor playing Jean Valjean did a great job and sang "bring him home" as well as any we've heard! We had a great time. The next night Scott went with the Bishop and 4 members of the Priests quorum to Tacoma to watch the Rainiers play baseball - well actually they went to hear the National Anthem which was sung by a young woman from the Lacey 5th ward. She had an audition back in February and was picked for August 18, so this date has been on Scott's calendar since then! She did great and the game was OK:)

Jamie and Dave

2011-08-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we met Jamie and Dave at Bahama Breeze in south Seattle for a great visit and meal. It was so great to see them again - we haven't seen them for over 2 years - our time was short but we loved seeing them and catching up in person - always best! Here are a couple of photos of our visit.

On the way home we stopped at the mall in Tacoma to make a quick stop at See's:) Marcie captured these beautiful flowers outside - look closely and you'll see a few bees!

Turkey Shoot

2011-08-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

Ten of us "brethren" met at Nelson's property this morning and into the early afternoon - we brought our .22's and had a fine few hours of shooting various targets and having a blast. I took my old Winchester rifle with iron sights and did OK but not great. When I borrowed someone else's rifle with a scope, the results were much different (see 2nd to last picture). The hit was the pistol that I inherited from Papa Wilson - those knowledgable about pistols were quite impressed with it and said it was a very well made pistol resembeling the Ruger. Marcie T models the pistol for all to see! Had a great few hours together!

Lake Tahoe

2011-08-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

We had a Wilson family reunion during the last week of July and had a great time. Not everyone could come but we were glad to get together with those who could make it and missed the ones who couldn't. Here are a few photos:
On our drive down, we went through Lassen National Park and the scenery was spectacular! They had just opened the road 12 days before we went through so there was lots of snow!

After arriving at Tahoe, we ate dinner and then had a fun campfire program celebrating Mom W's 80th birthday.

To show how great the zoom is on this little camera, here is a picture from the rim of the lake to a castle called Vikingsholm -and the next picture from the same spot only zoomed in.

One day we took a hike to Cascade Falls - a beautiful hike of about 2 miles each way. The view was worth it. Here's Marcie T crossing a bit of a large stone field, and then the falls themselves.

Scott enjoying time with Avalon and Marcie with Ben - both children of our niece and her husband.

Even Grammy had some free time to enjoy reading a book!

We all took turns cooking a meal; John really looked the part!!

One day we played "minute to win it" games and had a blast:) Keeping balloons in the air, the elephant walk, shaking your bootie to get ping pong balls out of a box tied behind, stacking dice on a tongue depressor, carrying pop cans with a spagetti, and putting a cookie on your forehead and try to get it into your mouth just by wiggling your face! Marcie T and Brady did great, Scott T not so well except to show off his dental work!

On the way home, we stopped at our favorite place in Rice Hill, Oregon!

Thanks Wilson crew for a fabulous time!!

Mom's new work

2011-07-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

The dental office where Mom works moved to a new location this past Monday. Here are a few photos of the brand new clinic.

If the outside didn't make you think this is a lodge, then this waiting area will! This is a beautiful facility.

Here is the desk where you check in

Where you check out - the room at the back is where Mom now works!!

Combined Activity

2011-07-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight for Mutual we met at the park and had a bar-b-que and then played some games. The first game was to divide the youth into 4 teams of about 5 or 6 each. One of players put a flag in their back pocket and all team members linked arms. The goal was for each team to try and get the flag of the other teams without breaking the link. They had a great time. A few pictures of us gathering and then the flag team event - which really turned into a rugby match!

After the "rugby" game we played Red Rover - something I haven't played for years!

Here one of our tough young women breaks through the line!

Thanks Deacon's Quorum (Br. Martin) for a great activity!

Seattle Sounders!

2011-07-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

We went to our first Seattle Sounder soccer match today in Seattle. We had a very fun time - the Sounders beat Colorado 4-3 and the weather was very pleasant.

Here was our first view of the "pitch" (field) as we came from the parking garage

Getting settled into our seats

Warming up

We had a nice view of the top of the Seattle Spaceneedle from our seats

The fans on the stands across the pitch from us are celbrating one of Seattle's 4 goals!

Kasey Keller, from North Thurston High School, plays goalkeeper for Seattle - this is his last year as he is getting close to 40:)

I took this picture in the 87th minute of the match thinking 4-2 would be the final score - alas Colorado score a couple of minutes later to make the final 4-3 - the Sounders still victorious. We really had a fun day.

Camp Hahobas

2011-07-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

I, Scott, had the chance to attend an afternoon and evening at Camp Hahobas with our Scout troop. Every 4 years or so the church sponsored an encampment and invites any scout troop to attend. This year I think there were about 600 scouters attending. Here are a few of the photos taken:

Two of our troop members working the archery range

I haven't seen a Buddy Board since I worked at Camp Maple Dell in Payson, Utah. You always have to take a buddy with you to the lake to swim or boat.

Beautiful Robbins Lake

Here's the 6 boys from our troop and their two leaders - and me of course

My good friend, Larry, had his ward's troop there as well. It was great to visit with him.

Stuart's Wedding/Grandma T

2011-07-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

Stuart and Amanda

Ashley's baby Jayne

Natalie, Grammy, and Rachel

Joe and Erin's family

Mike and Lisa's family

A silly pose with Uncle Scott

Ashley's watercolor of southern Utah - thought you'd like this Brigg

We spent the next 4 days with Grandma T in American Fork - a pose with our niece Kylee before she heads to EFY at BYU

We visited Grandpa's grave then drove to see Uncle Elmo and his family

On a drive to Alpine we passed Treebeard working in the fields:)

Yelm Rededication

2011-06-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Yelm church building remodel is finally finished! We thought it would be done years ago but it ran into quite a few tangles with permits and sewer issues! Anyway, today was the rededication and it was a very nice event. We went out early to walk around the building and it's really nice. Here are a few photos though they really don't do it justice.

A brand new double doorway was punched through the side of the chapel into the new addition - here is a picture from the chapel (Bishop Hyatt happy about the extra space!)

From the front of the building (new addition side) looking down the new hallway - missionaries are standing about where the double doors come out of the chapel. New baptismal font is in the room on the left.

The new baptismal font - the people are so excited to have this here as it will save them from driving to the stake center - and these 3 wards are great missionary wards!

Marcie T is standing in the new hallway - I'm standing in the cultural hall/gym - so this is also a new doorway.

From the other side of the new hallway - the lady in the picture is just coming out of the baptism room - so there are several new classrooms added, new bathrooms, a new Bishops and clerks offices, and the new baptistry. There were still several classrooms behind me so this isn't the entire hallway. They did an excellent job and the good people of Yelm are certainly excited to have this new addition.

The parking lot was expanded and looks great - sorry I forgot to take a picture of it - it went from a capacity of 104 cars to 200:)

Springfield Conservation Nature Center - and adieu

2011-06-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

We spent parts of Saturday, Monday (Memorial Day) and Tuesday at the Springfield Nature Center - a nature center building and a series of trails located no more than a mile from Megan and Jeremy's home. It was so much fun - we saw birds we rarely see and really had a fun time hiking on the trails.

Posing on the frog who is guarding the entrance to the Nature Center.

The cardinals would fly in and eat from the bird feeders all the time - they are beautiful birds as you can tell if you enlarge the photo.

We don't think we've ever seen an Indigo Bunting bird before. They are blue from head to toe. They migrate to Mexico and south to Panama in the winter -wow!

Mushroom anyone?!

On Memorial Day, Scott and Hyrum went back to the nature center and took about a 2 mile hike.

Here's a map of the trails - we started from the nature center on the yellow line and then took the orange trail all the way around until it met the blue trail and back to the center. It was while we were about at the Ozark Greenways Connection that Zac called us to tell us about Anne's broken arms:(

By a beautiful little water fall

On Tuesday Scott was able to go back to the trails with Hyrum and Hunter. We didn't go on the full hike as Monday but pretty close - Hunter did great and didn't need to be carried even once!

A black snake was in the trail as we approached and it quickly slithered away - Hyrum said: "Wow that snake is pouty today! He didn't even stop to talk!" By the time I got the camera out the snake was off into the brush.

A crane flew out of the brush right next to the trail and scared us to death - we finally got a photo as he landed in the lake.

We drove back to Liberty Tuesday night in preparation for our early flight back to Seattle on Wednesday morning. Here is the gorgeous sunset that we enjoyed on part of our drive back.

It was so hard to say good-bye for now to our sweet family in Missouri, but what wonderful memories we've created this week together. Thanks Megan and Jeremy for your love and hospitality - since we've been home we've Skyped once and we think the twins still remember us!!

Zoo, Baseball, and Dancing

2011-06-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

While in Springfield we went to a baseball game - the Cardinals which is a AA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals - they have a beautiful little stadium in Springfield and a faithful following of fans. We enjoyed ourselves as the pictures attest:

We also visited the Springfield Zoo and also had a great time there.

Fed the fish

We saw a family of turtles on our train ride around the zoo lake

Our gracious hosts pose after the train ride

Each of the kids got to feed the giraffe!

It was great watching Grandma darlin teaching the little ones some dance moves!

Kansas City

2011-06-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

We spent our second day together, before driving to Springfield in Kansas City. We visited the famous train station downtown and saw some wonderful model trains. We went across the street to the Crowne Plaza and had lunch at a very fun place - Fritz's. Our food was ordered by telephone and then delivered by train. There were tracks along the top wall of the restaurant and the train brought a box full of the food ordered. When it arrived at the appropriate table, the food was lowered on a hydraulic platform to the table. It was quite a treat!

The ceiling at the old train depot.

The model trains

A few pictures at the restaurant

We had fun in downtown - it was a bit rainy this day but nice.

Liberty/Independence MO

2011-06-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

We recently had a chance to spend a week with Jeremy, Megan, Hyrum, Hunter, Emma, and Justin Shakespear! We met in Kansas City and spent a couple of days in that area before driving to their home in Springfield and spent the rest of the week there. We had a wonderful time and here are some of the highlights the first day.

We had adjoining rooms at the hotel in KC - Hunter and Hyrum slept in our room. Here's a typical scene!

We spent our first morning together at the Liberty Jail - luckily for us our hotel was less than 3 miles away. The church has built a beautiful visitor's center around the re-built jail. Here's the replica.

Gave us a real feel for how thick the prison walls were, and how cold and dark!

The Original Key to the Liberty Jail

Hyrum and Hunter sitting in front of the jail

We loved these paintings side by side - the Savior and His prophet in the latter-days

Hyrum and Darlin enjoying the beautiful sunshine - and the night before there was a tornado watch in the area!

All of us in front of the Liberty Jail visitor's center

We then drove about a half hour south to Independence - before visiting the Visitor's Center there, we stopped by the Community of Christ headquarters - we found a beautiful wood carving of the Last Supper

As we walked to the LDS Visitor's Center, this picture of Megan holding two little hands coming from the stroller caught our attention!

There was a cabin downstairs at the Visitor's Center - the kids had a blast playing here

On the way back to the hotel we stopped and looked at the new Kansas City temple - you can see that the outside is nearly complete

After a nice dinner in Liberty we enjoyed a cold swim before retiring for the evening

We loved this day in Liberty and Independence. There is so much of church history in this area and we felt a special spirit here, especially at Liberty Jail, of which the prophet often referred to as his prison/temple. Of the jail Elder Neal Maxwell stated: "It wasn't until the prophet was physically confined that his mind was fully liberated...The double walls, four feet thick, kept Joseph and his companions in, but they could not keep the spirit and revelation out."

We certainly felt that.

Craigslist success - Piano!!

2011-05-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

We've really wanted to get a piano. On our way to the temple yesterday in Portland we stopped in Chehalis to look at a piano we found on Craigslist. The man selling it works on piano's and is a piano tuner. Even though it's older, it is in great shape and we love it. He brought it up this morning and will be back next Friday, after the piano has acclimatized to our house:), and tune it up. Here are a few pictures celebrating the new addition. When in Portland yesterday, we also stopped at Deseret Book and bought this beautiful picture of the Nauvoo Temple - it looks great above the piano, and our wonderful children and their wonderful spouses are back in their place on top of the piano!!

Brigg's 28th birthday party

2011-05-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

We had a very fun birthday party for Brigg while Zac, Joy and crew were here. We met at Burton's and had a grand time - Havalah planned a great party!
Brigg has always had a soft spot in his heart for the scene with the creature Sarlacc at the Pit of Carkoon in the Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi. Marcie made him a cake of it when he was 3; she and Havalah duplicated it for this birthday as well! Marcie says this year's version is much improved:)

Havalah brings the cake into the room for Brigg to see for the first time

Brigg replaying the scene from the movie

Grandma Burton drew a great picture of the death star so we could play "pin the x-wing fighter on the death star"!

Birthday boy didn't have much luck at the game.....

However, his son Luke, in whom the force is strong, won the game!

Luke anticipating his turn; Luke with the x-wing on his forehead ready to play; Luke placing the x-wing in the heart of the death star!

What a fun party - Happy Birthday Brigg!!

Easter Sunday and Blessing Day

2011-05-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday and Brigg also gave Luke a name and a blessing during church. Afterward, the Burton's came over for dinner, good conversation, and pictures.

Zac, Joy and family visit WA

2011-05-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

We are so grateful that Zac, Joy, Anne, Andrew, and Jackson were able to spend a week here in Washington while Brigg, Havalah, and Luke were here.

We had a great time at the newly improved Nisqually Wildlife Refuge Walk

We had a very fun morning at Lattin's looking at the animals and eating apple fritters!

Marcie, Joy, Anne, and Andrew had a great time at the Painted Plate

And the finished products a week later!

Andrew finally got his AT-AT to do a hand-stand....

and then Grandma Darlin got him into a hand-stand!!

Jackson and Luke were wide eyed during their visit to Red Robin

Washington Safari in Brentwood

2011-05-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Burfoot Park

2011-04-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

Havalah, Marcie & Luke, and Brigg start on the trail to the bay

We were able to catch a glimpse of the Capitol from the beach

The zoom lens was able to catch this tender moment by the bay

Darlin kept Luke very warm

Brigg and I took a hike above the beach

It was tough to get a picture of our sleeping Luke through the back window but managed it!

It was a very nice day to be out for a hike and enjoy Heavenly Father's beautiful creations.

More Luke

2011-04-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

After 2nd breakfast

new friend - musicbox giraffe

First General Conference - listening to Elder Packer

Hey, I look pretty good in Dad's old outfit!

3 generations of bumble bees

Chatting with Grandma Darlin

Napping with Mom

new front yard

2011-04-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

Just waiting for the grass to grow!

New grandson - Luke Turner!

2011-03-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Brigg and Havalah brought their new son to Washington this past Friday for the next six weeks, while Brigg has an internship here in town.

The 3 travelers arrive in Seattle after a long day of flying from Erie PA.

There sure is a lot more luggage with a baby:)

Beautiful boy

Luke finds a new friend in the singing giraffe.

Bundled up and ready to go for a walk with Grandpa

Thanks for tilling up the garden Brigg - "back in the saddle again" eh?!

Trees part 2

2011-03-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

The day after the trees came down the weather was quite nice, as you can tell. We had some nice timber to work with - hadn't used a splittling maul for some time!

The weather changed on us the very next day to our great surprise!

Besides the water main breaking (see previous blog) we also had a mishap with one of our yard lights!

From another angel -

Icicles a plenty

The "orchard" looked a bit different during these few days

All quiet on this lovely winter's eve

Speaking of snow, we caught this view of Mt. Rainier on our way to the Kent cannery the other day.

The weather finally returned to normal and we had the two tree stumps ground out, which left us lots of sawdust for the back yard. And the yard has smelled wonderful ever since:)

The downing of the trees!!

2011-02-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

Presidents Day 2011 will be a memorable for us - our two trees out front finally came down, and not in a wind storm. We have talked about taking them down for several years and today was the day. We had a very noteworthy day as you'll see. First just a record of what the two trees look like from down the street

and then from laying on the sidewalk!

The chief cutter taking the limbs off - some were as big as trees themselves.

The zoom on this camera is great

Chipping -

can't believe how big the limbs are that can go through the chipper

Need help placing that highest ornament? I've got a name I can give you:)

One of the smaller divots of the day

Limbs gone - two at work getting the trees down

A log on its way down

The last shove before heading off

This one flying away was a bit too big - as you'll see!

It moved a big rock out of its place, smashed a few bricks and...

Cracked the city main water line leading from our meter - lucky for us it wasn't the new line we just put in. However it does seem that we always have some adventure when doing house repairs!

We called a city crew - they responded very quickly, found the crack and had it repaired in about 15 minutes.

A wish come true!

We took a short video but don't know quite how to put it on the blog - once we figure it out we'll upload it as well. All in all, a very productive day - and we're so grateful there were no injuries (I even got on the roof under close supervision to clean off all the sawdust!!)

New Year's Eve

2011-01-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

Our good friends, Frank and Barbara Johnston, usually host a very fun party on New Year's Eve. They invite lots of couples to their home, we eat pancakes and sausage, and some French pastries Frank makes. Here are some fun pictures from the evening - we usually leave early to head to a youth dance but this night we didn't leave until about 12:30 am!

Our handsome hosts!

Happy New Year!!

Wonderful Christmas Time

2010-12-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a wonderful, yet somewhat quiet, Christmas day. We think it is the first Christmas since before Zac was born that we haven't been with one of our kids! We are so grateful that we were able to speak to each of them today and know that they are doing very well, for which we are so thankful. We also enjoyed chatting with our Mom's and are so grateful for their influence in our lives. We loved listening to the songs about our Savior, opening a few fun presents, and eating great food!

We treated ourselves to a new bed this year and also a new camera. The bed is quite a bit taller than our older one - almost need a step-ladder to retire at night.

Though the camera is still a "point and shoot" variety it has the very good Leica lens, has the capacity to change the aperture, shutter speed, and other fun features. It's the Panasonic Lumix ZS6.

You may remember the Pluto slippers Scott has had for many years - well Marcie T tried them on the other day and discovered what Scott has known for a while - not much tread left on the souls! So.....

guess who got a new pair of slippers?!

One of the things we enjoy when we stay at the Marriott (well I guess mostly Scott) is making waffles. This year we received our own waffle maker from Santa. Here's the first waffle going on and

getting cooked to perfection:)

We had a wonderful day. We received our favorite picture calendars featuring our beautiful grandchildren which will occupy a prominent place in our home all next year, new cookie cutters - Hogwarts style, the traditional box of See's nuts and chews, and other fun things. Thanks for making our day so wonderful.

What a mess

2010-12-24T17:52:00.000-08:00

We have a water leak somewhere outside - at least we know it's not in the house. Our friend is going to help us replace the main water line - but we need to dig a trench from the water meter to the house - which means going under the sidewalk. Well we worked a couple of hours yesterday (Dec. 23) and several more hours today, Christmas Eve. We're just about ready for the new line, which is scheduled to be in on Monday.

Thank you Brigg and Zac - who both called during our digging, providing a good excuse for a break!

A view from the house to the meter - and the hard working Marcie T!

A triumphant Marcie finally reaches the pipe leading from the meter - nearly 2.5 feet below the surface!

The last piece of our task - tunneling underneath the sidewalk - we accomplished that as well.

Covering up our work - don't want mud in the morning! I think the neighbors may wonder if we are harboring a dead whale underneath!

Zoolights!

2010-12-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

We had a great time the other night at the Point Defiance zoo and their annual extravaganza called Zoolights. We ran into a family that used to live in our stake and they were quite impressed that we were there without kids! The lights were beautiful as usual - there was a new display featuring the Tacoma Narrows bridge that was very nicely done. Here's a few of the photos we took:

A nice display of Mt. Rainier in the background

The new display featuring the bridge - very cool.

Not the best picture but the moon was so pretty this night at the zoo. Just below the moon you can see the faint outline of the real Mt. Rainier. All in all we had a really nice time.

Marcie T and Harry P

2010-11-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of the big movie, Marcie T is all decked out in her scarf from Gryffindor and wand:)

Springfield,MO

2010-11-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

Our first trip to Springfield was so much fun! We spent from Wed night until Monday late afternoon with Megan, Jeremy and their 4 sweet children! We were able to spend lots of time playing with them and really getting to know them better. By the last 2 days even the babies were coming to us!!

Bikes and warm weather:)

Walks and warm weather!

We spent one afternoon at a very fun "farm park"

The twins had a front row seat to all the animals - Emma was a little frightened of the pigs!

We quickly learned that no outing in Springfield is complete without a stop at Andy's custard shop - yum

Silly Grandpa and giggling boys.

One night we sampled our "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans" from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - not sure these pictures capture how much fun we had.

Grass flavored?

Pa and Jeremy shared a bean - it was the "rotten egg" flavor - Jeremy hustled to the sink to rescue his palate!

Unfortunately, Marcie T got the vomit flavored bean - after this one Hyrum was quite insistent that we stop trying the yucky flavored ones and just eat the "good ones"!

Hyrum and Hunter both enjoyed the blueberry and tutti-frutti beans.

The "yucky" ones that really weren't too bad: black pepper, soap, earthworm and dirt!

Next stop: Branson, MO

Watching the trains

We had a great time in Branson - shopped lots, watched a water show, and just ran and played.

Miss Emma reading a book - quiet Sunday time.

Thank you so much Shakespear family - we had a wonderful time together!!

Disney's Epcot

2010-11-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

We spent the evening after Animal Kingdom and several hours on Saturday at the Epcot Center - what a delightful time that was! We made a quick stop at Hollywood Studios - time for Marcie, Zac, Andrew and Jackson to take a backlot tour and Scott, Joy and Anne to visit the Tower of Terror. Epcot has some very fun rides and some great shows and then a huge lake around which several countries are highlighted. We enjoyed an authentic German meal in Germany about half-way around the lake!

Here we are in front of the most famous landmark at Epcot:

It appears that a few of us got a little too close to "Bruce" from Nemo fame!

Joy and Anne in line for Tower of Terror (at Hollywood Studios)

Zac and kids at Honey I shrunk the Kids at Hollywood Studios

Zac and Joy - our wonderful companions on this vacation. Thanks again so very much for inviting us:)

Back at Epcot - visiting some old stomping grounds!

Leaving the country of England - was mistaken thinking this was a way back to the Ministry of Magic!

You can tell that we had a marvelous time at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. It's so very much to see in such a short time but I think we did well to see as much as we could. We were tired each night but the sun was shining and we had wonderful company.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

2010-11-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

On the Friday we were in Orlando we spent the bulk of the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We had a wonderful time - the weather was in the 80's and quite delightful. There are 5 basic areas in the kingdom: Africa, Rafiki's Planet Watch, Asia, Dinoland and Camp Minnie-Mickey. We headed right for the Kilimanjaro Safari, an expedition in an open-air vehicle through an African-style savannah. We saw lots of very fun animals and had a great time out in the jungle!

In the middle of the park was Discovery Island, home of the tree of life.
We hope these next pictures do it justice - it was incredible!

As you can see, the trunk was carved into animal shapes.

Look closely or you'll miss some of the animals!

In Dinoland we saw a Broadway caliber show called "Finding Nemo - The Musical" and also played in a fun place called the Boneyard - built around dinosaur fossils.

We all (except Jackson) rode a very exciting roller coaster in Asia called "Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain". Good thing we rode it before lunch!

We also enjoyed a wonderful buffet at the Tusker House in Africa.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2010-11-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

We spent all of Thursday at Universal Studios and what we termed "Potterville". We had a great time and were very impressed with the castle and the streets of Hogsmeade - very real. We enjoyed lunch at the 3 Brooksticks, complete with Butterbeer and Pumpkin juice. Marcie T stood in line to visit the famous wandmaker, Ollivander, we visited Hagrid's hut and rode a roller coaster named "The Flight of the Hippogriff".

Andrew, Anne and Marcie T pose in front of the Hogwarts Express.

The Hogwarts Conductor got into this picture and any other one he could weasel himself into!

Downtown Hogsmeade!

Ahh, Honeydukes - the sweet store.

One of the more popular purchases, the chocolate frog. Each package has a "trading card" inside featuring one of the original 4 Founders of Hogwars.

A glimpse of the Hogwarts castle and then..............

in full view.

On our way to the "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" ride, we passed through the medicinal garden of Professor Sprout.

We were able to photograph the famous mandrake plant before fully developed. Stay tuned later for a photo of a fully developed one - screaming at the top of its lungs.

Buckbeak himself "bowed" to us as we started up the first leg of the roller-coaster "Flight of the Hippogriff"

Hagrid's hut.

Anne posing with a couple of Hogwart's choir members, with frog accompaniment!!

The center of town was a popular stop - for a mug of butterbeer.

Entryway to the "3 Broomsticks" restaurant - we enjoyed shepherds pie, cornish pasties, fish & chips, and a huge turkey leg. We washed it all down with butterbeer and pumpkin juice!

Finally the mandrake is fully developed and screaming its head off - luckily it's behind a glass window - these plants are made into a mandrake draft, especially good for restoring petrified folks.

In front of Ollivanders wand shop.

You can select from the many varieties of "Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean" - complete with flavors such as grass, earwax, sausage, bogie, and vomit!

After drinking so much butterbeer and pumpkin juice, we were glad there were plenty of these:

Marcie T at the crossroads leading to either Hogwarts or Hogsmeade!!

Another view of the castle as we made our way out of the Wizarding World.

Jackson enjoyed playing more with the pumpkin juice container than its contents.

We enjoyed a stop in the land of Dr. Suess where the 3 Turner boys enjoyed a ride together.

Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom

2010-11-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

We just spent a wonderful 5 days with Zac, Joy and their children at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! We enjoyed weather in the 80's and 90's, were very tired each night (a very good tired!), and had a marvelous time together. We spent Tuesday night and Wednesday all day at the Magic Kingdom.

Anne and Andrew found themselves in trouble Tuesday night during the Halloween party! A tough "time-out" was enforced.

Luckily by the next day they were back in good standing with Walt and his crew, and were able to roam around the Magic Kingdom without restraint. They could hardly stand still for a picture!

Anne gave Grandpa quite the wild ride in Autopia.

Jackson had a great time at the Arcade driving the tractor.....

and his Dad around Tomorrowland!

Anne, Andrew and Darlin' enjoyed the merry-go-round. Sorry Andrew - you were riding your horst so fast I couldn't get a clear picture!

Anne and Andrew pose long enough for a photo with the castle again in the background.

We came upon a wonderful dance down main street - here Anne and Andrew are chasing after Woodie and some very tall characters.

Anne enjoyed dancing with some of the cast members - they enjoyed her too!

After the dance the confetti was released - Anne received her fair share.

We used the Disney "fast pass" system very well but really the crowds weren't that bad. We went on our favorite rides as many times as we wanted to.

Sound Singers, Adieu

2010-10-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

The ever popular singing group, The Sound Singers, began in 1976 and have now disbanded here in 2010. That's a continuous performance history of 34 years! Marcie T was privileged to sing with this group for 20 of those 34 years. She was fortunate to be invited to sing with them shortly after we moved here in 1990. For several years, their "Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. practices" were held at the Turner abode, much to the delight of the 3 growing children:) Our poor kids have never been able to really like a "red robin" after being woken by the sounds of that song on so many Saturdays - days they looked forward to maybe sleeping in - but not so! The truth be known, they really didn't mind the music at all, it was the prelude talking and laughing for an hour before the 30 minute practice that they disliked!

Last Sunday, the group sang in Mike and Judy Bigelow's Sacrament meeting before they leave to serve a mission in Buenos Aires Argentina. A few days later singers and spouses met for a lovely dinner.

After eating, the men were treated with a tune and choreography from one of their classics!

We were all very impressed that they still had the "moves".

Bringing their final tune to its conclusion.

They have some wonderful memories to savor over the years.

We couldn't help wonder if it had been the boys who had formed the group - pretty good on their feet, eh? (Look at your Dad's face, he really got into it!!)

The whole gang together.

Just this last Friday night we had a ward party called "pumpkins, pies, and ugly ties". We were invited to carve a pumpkin, bake a pie, and wear an ugly tie for judging. Here is a sampling of the ties. We qutie enjoyed Brother George's (far left) entry of the "Cact Tie!"

Sine Die

2010-10-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

Sine Die is a Latin term usually referring to the ending of a legislative session. The definition also reads that it's an adjournment without fixing a day for reconvening. Well that's what happened this past week to an inanimate member of our dear family - something that's been with us since 1981. Remember we bought it that year and it was used then! It's been a great tool for us and has served us very well:)

Sorry to share a picture of the dilapidated condition of our dear rototiller!

There are several internal parts that just don't work any more and I am having more difficulty in fixing it.

So we decided it was time to remember great times but move on.

Here's the new Troy Bilt - hope it lasts as long as the Honda.

In its better days, it was always a favorite tool for Brigg.

Can't seem to find the picture of Zac trying to tame the old rototiller out back one fine summer - but we have great memories of that. I think Megan kept her distance!!

Lattin's

2010-10-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trek to Lattin's this morning - it's crisp and cold and a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest.

It was pretty crowded with lots of families there taking tractor rides, looking at the animals, and enjoying the fares on sale.

Would take a chain saw to carve these pumpkins!

There were boxes and boxes of wonderful apples - and quite a bit less expensive than at the store.

Marcie T found a huge apple - and admits that she was a bit dramatic for the camera:)

No trip to Lattin's is complete without some fresh apple fritters! Here they pose (are there 6 of them but only 2 Turner's at home?) on a bed of fresh corn. Can't wait to take you all there some day!

Visit to Utah!

2010-09-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

We had the great opportunity a few weeks ago to make a quick weekend trip to Utah.

We had a wonderful time at the BYU Museum of Art which was featuring the watercolors of French artist James Tissot. On display was 124 depictions of the life of Christ. It was a wonderful exhibit and we had a great time with my Mom there. We were so impressed we bought a book that contains over 300 of Mr. Tissot's watercolors! Here's Marcie T and Mom T at the entrance of the museum.

In the entrance of the museum was this very interesting art display hanging from the ceiling. I gave it a quick glance and moved on - but Marcie T noticed what it was made of. I couldn't believe it when she exclaimed - "this is made of hangers!"

On our way from the museum we made a quick stop to see our niece Ashley's little girl, Jayne. Ashley and Corey are wonderful parents and we were delighted to spend a few minutes with them and their little one!

That weekend was my 40th high school reunion. Here we are with the mascot of my alma mater, American Fork High School - the "Caveman". The graduating class of 1970 had 215 students - 75 were in attendance that night. We had a wonderful night - the evening started at 6:30 pm and we didn't get back to Mom's place until 10:30 - reminded her of the good old days waiting up for her kids.

We took a group photo before the evening began and here's just a small sample of the 75 attendees.

Here's a picture of some of the old American Fork 4th ward "youth"!

We enjoyed a wonderful Sabbath day together. We were glad to attended the meetings - in Sunday school we talked about ideas to help us prepare for General Conference. We had a wonderful time visiting with Mom and appreciate her love and hospitality.

Ah, the City of Roses

2010-09-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to travel to Portland a week ago to attend a session at the Portland Temple and view the sealing of a couple from the ward. We decided to go down Friday night and were able to meet our good friends, Paul and Barbara Jones, for dinner.

We had the chance to serve together in Keizer starting in 1984 until 1990 when we moved to Lacey. We couldn't believe that it's been 26 years since we started our church service together. Those bonds are never broken and we had a wonderful evening together. After dinner we drove over to Coldstone to top off the evening - stayed way into the night and could have stayed much longer. We love the Jones' and appreciate them meeting us and for the chance to renew again our love for them!!

Not much can beat the beautiful grounds of the Portland Temple - not referring to the humanoid, of course!

The weather was radiant, matching the beautiful marble of the outside of the temple and the wonderful feeling we experience inside.

The ever-lovely Marcie T enjoying a moment outside on the grounds between session and sealing.

Marcie and I with the kids who were sealed to their parents: Kathryn, Celeste, and Caleb

The entire Vest family. What a glorious day for them and also for those of us privileged to attend.

Their smiles tell the whole story!!

Medford and Ashland

2010-08-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

   On the way down from Crater Lake we
   drove through the forest and saw tree after
   tree down. This was a big one, root ball and
   all.

   There were hundreds of these poles all the
   way down the mountain. We assumed they
   helped the snow plows find the edge of the
   road and measured how deep the snow is.
   There is a peace of silver duct tape at nearly
   top of the pole-it is at least twice Mom's size.

Leaving the park.

   Tuesday night we drove to the Medford Temple to make
   sure we could find it and wouldn't be late for our 9:30 session
   the next morning. It's a good thing we did - it took us a while to
   find it. But look at that sky. If we'd had our old camera, we
   could have changed the F-stop and gotten a clear pic of the temple
   and the sky. Mom thinks the cloud looks like an elephant!

   Wednesday morning. It looks just like the temple in Palmyra,
   except the windows. The windows in Palmyra are unique.
   It sits on a piece of property adjacent to the meeting house
   and an outdoor pavilion. No bigger than the lot the meetinghouse
   sits on. It has every essential, no wasted space - beautiful!!

Back corner of the temple in the shade. It was a fun morning.

Thursday we took a tour of Harry and Davids - the factory,
the orchard and the store. It was very fun and very impressive.

Notice the pear on top as the weather vane.

   Stirring the popcorn into the candy mixture for Moose Munch.
   We bought you all a bag and we're trying to figure out how
   to mail it to you! Yummy

   This was taken through a glass window so it's not very clear,
   but they are covering some of the Moose Munch clusters in
   chocolate. It sure smelled good in this part of the factory!!

We wandered around Ashland on Thursday before our
play that evening. We even found a pair of "Keens" for Dad!

This was called a "green show" outside, before the plays began.
It was an Irish group. Fun music, and they were VERY good.

   Friday on the way home we stopped at the KR drive-in
   in Rice Hill for some ice cream!! Check out their website
   to remember their fun rules: http://krdriveinn.com/Stupid_Rules.html

There was plenty of space to throw the football around!

Yummmm!!

Crater Lake

2010-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

   We had a wonderful vacation to Southern Oregon. This is
   Umpqua River on the way to Crater Lake. It was beautiful
   and sooooo warm in So. Oregon.

   The sky was amazingly blue. The only clouds were thunder heads
   that could be seen through the trees. I took this out the window
   while Dad was driving. You can see the car antennae right through
   the middle of the cloud.

   We got to the lake and it was raining huge drops of rain.
   The clouds just opened and dumped. Thank goodness we
   had an umbrella and jackets in the car.

It is so beautiful, even on a cloudy day. The water is an
indescribable blue.

It was in the 90's that day and we could still see snow fields!

   There's no way to show how steep the sides of the crater
   are. At the very bottom of the picture is the rock retaining
   wall we were leaning over. It's a LONG way down.

A nice lady took our picture in the very same spot we
had our picture taken as a family in 1986.

Putt-Putt Date

2010-07-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Parkland Putters for a date last Thursday night.

It's been a long time, probably last time was when one of

you kids were at home. We had so much fun.

Dad sizing up the second hole. We didn't do too well

on the first hole. We had to get our swings in check first!

Pretty good shot, huh?? I think Dad parred this one.

You can tell by Mom's hair that it was pretty windy,

although that didn't have much to do with our

terrible putting!! Mom did fairly well on this hole though.

Do you guys remember the ant hill?!! Neither one of us

tried for it, we did the smaller one. We watched a couple

behind us, it took them forever (but I don't think they were

even keeping score)

This is the hole between three trees. The hardest part is

getting the ball UP the hill. Dad did great though.

Half way through!

Hole #10, Mom with a hole in one!!

Remember the monster hill on the last hole?! Dad got a

HOLE IN ONE! The guy in the "club house" announced

over the loud speaker that he had done it and offered him

a trophy. (We chose a free game instead).

On the way home we stopped for an ice cream cone.

Fun mid-week date!!

Brigg's Seattle Conference

2010-07-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Brigg received a scholarship to attend the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy conference in Seattle July 9-14. It was great having him here. The top picture shows Marcie T getting the garden in great shape - it looks better than ever, with no weeds whatsoever!

We enjoyed a very nice dinner together at Bahama Breeze after spending several hours at REI!!

Scott and Brigg at Mt. Everest time.

Marcie T trying her new Keen's on the REI hiking trail.

Look Megan! Just like yours!!

Thanks Brigg for a wonderful few days.

He enjoyed the conference and we loved having a few hours to spend with him in between meetings.

4th Walk

2010-07-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

We went for a walk on Independence Day (the 5th, our day off)

to Burfoot Park. It has been COLD and cloudy all weekend, and finally about 5 pm

it started to clear up and then it warmed up.

So we took off to take a walk somewhere by the water.

A view from the trail of the Sound. It was beautiful.

Sweet Scott (wish I could find a heart icon)

"Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow"

We had fun finding flat rocks and trying to skip them

in the water. Dad had the best with 5 skips, Mom

close behind with four!

On the way back up the hill

On the way home we saw this street sign and made a quick

detour to get a picture.

Fun Day!

memorial day-patricia fiance

2010-06-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

We spent our Memorial Day at the church with our stake family, music and breakfast.

Then we came home and did some yard work.

This is Dad's brand new lawn mower (another Honda in the family)

We went to dinner at the Johnston's Saturday night so that we could meet Patricia's fiancé. He is a very nice man, very accomplished, very kind and Patricia is VERY much in love. (Sis. J calls her 'twitter pated')

Three of Three

2010-05-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

We spent our last several days in Pittsburgh PA at Zac and Joy's. The highlight was Anne's baptism and confirmation.

Brigg and Havalah with Anne with her special white dress.

The Shakespear crew from Michigan (though they moved the next week to Missouri!)

Zac and Joy's family

Not an uncommon scene. Sweet Anne being so kind and caring for her younger brother and cousins.

All of us together! What a great time we had - one weekend in Michigan and this weekend in PA.

Our 7 wonderful grandchildren

Hunter, Justin held by Hyrum, Emma held by Anne, Jackson held by Andrew

Two of Three

2010-05-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Brigg and Havalah treated us to a mid-week tour of central Pennsylvania. Our first stop was Punxsutawney PA - home of the most famous weather rodent alive.

The four of us at Gobbler's Knob

Hava trying out to take Phil's place for next February!! She's sure a lot cuter :)

Brigg positioned his father as Phil

Next Stop - Gettysburg

In front of the National Museum - this was a very sad and sobering day for us. We had all read a book and watched a movie about the battle at Gettysburg so this city was quite familiar to us. Our first few hours we experienced great weather - the afternoon rain seemed to confirm the sadness of these events.

Famous rock walls are everywhere in town.

Marcie with President Lincoln.

The four of us on top of one of the many lookouts in Gettysburg.

We stayed a couple of nights in the capital city of PA - Harrisburg. The Capitol grounds were beautiful. The marble stairs, the light fixtures, old buildings, fountains, etc. were all marvelous.

The capitol building in the background.

The last stop on our tour together was Hershey PA and the famous chocolate factory. Here we are at the end of a very informative ride, which taught us all about chocolate making, including instruction from 3 singing cows! (not pictured!!!)

Brigg and Marcie pose at the entrance of the factory.

Holding the largest chocolate bar available - 5 pounds worth.

Last photo as we departed this sweet visit.

One of Three

2010-05-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

This blog features the first of three legs on our trip back east. Our first stop was Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Megan's birthday (ice cream cake shown above!) Jeremy's graduation from dental school, and the blessings of the twins.

The happy graduate in line - and a well deserved kiss from his happy wife!!

The cousins arrived from Pittsburgh in time for some park fun!

Justin Taylor Shakespear

Emma Louise Shakespear

The four namesake "Scotts"
Zachary Scott
Andrew Scott
Scott Rodney
Hunter Scott

The 3 "Rodneys"
Scott Rodney
Rodney Brigg
Brigg wearing Rodney F's suit

May Day

2010-05-02T18:24:00.001-07:00

Hope you all had a great May 1st like we did! We were involved in two very fun activities on Saturday May 1. The Lacey Stake was in charge of the multi-stake Young Single Adult (YSA) activity and we had planned a treasure hunt at the State Capitol. We never know how many of these young adults to expect, but we had a very nice turn-out of about 35 and had a grand time. This first photo shows Mom with the 10 feet of sandwich that we had ordered for lunch! You should have seen me trying to get out of the store with those 3 laying crosswise on a shopping cart! And I got some great looks and comments too.

The weather cooperated nicely - not too warm but not wet either. Once at the Capitol grounds we joined Michael Goold and Michelle Williams to form a great team.

At the doors of the state Capitol building we ran into another team and stopped for a quick photo shoot:

Michael Goold, Michelle Williams, Stephanie Stringfellow, Steven Northrup, Kevin Northrup (just returned Thursday night from the Baltic Mission), Isaac Delimont and the ever lovely Marcie T!

One of our clues led us across the Capitol Way bridge to the Korean War Memorial - the flags were all blowing in the same direction, but failed to cooperate when the photo was taken!

We loved the blue sky visible through the beautiful trees on campus.

At night we drove to Renton to watch our niece in their high school's production of the Sound of Music. She played the part of Berthe, the "mean nun" and did a great job. We were quite impressed with the talent from this school and really enjoyed the show. It was "verbotten" to take pictures during the show but we managed to sneak this one in after the show ended.

Bravo Bridget!

Spring Break

2010-04-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Mom's favorite flowers - we had them fresh for a whole week!

We took Wednesday off and went to the temple -besides the marvelous spirit inside the temple, the grounds were gorgeous.

We had a great time at our first Mariner game this year - we went with Uncle John and Aunt Shelly. We had wonderful seats down on the first level, right off home plate about 30 rows up. Here is Ichiro coming to bat - he had a double, triple, single and walk - and scored two runs! It made it nice that the Mariners won. Click on the picture and you can see him up close.

Guess who the Mariner's played? The Detroit Tigers! The team we saw play last August.

Spring Has Sprung - early!

2010-03-16T20:53:00.001-07:00

We took some of these pictures about a week ago which is about a month early for the spring flowers to be blooming. We love it!!

Yes Dad is on the ladder cleaning gutters - however, Mom is supervising quite closely:)

Finally - all together!

2010-02-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

Marcie T was able to spend 4 weeks in Ann Arbor helping Megan with her sweet family! Scott was able to go back for a long weekend and fortunately Zac and his family and Brigg & Havalah were able to come to Ann Arbor as well. We are certainly appreciative that they came even though they couldn't stay too long!

Us with our 7 grandkids!!

The 3 newest grandkids all together - even though Jackson isn't that much older than Emma and Justin, he looks huge compared to them! How fun to have them together - staying straight thanks to Marcie's loving hands.

All of the family together - how grateful for a healthy and well family!

Justin Taylor Shakespear

Emma Louise Shakespear

Jackson Howard Turner

Proud grandpa with the 2 newest ones!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T17:32:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!! This year we had Brigg and Havalah in town from Erie PA and Scott's Mom from Utah - Marcie's Mom was in Seattle with Uncle John and so we were able to spend time with her and them.

The bathroom was finished a week before Christmas so that's when the tree went up - (we didn't want to dust it like the rest of the house:)

Marcie T putting the finishing touches on - it looked great this year!

Christmas morning around the tree -

Brigg and Havalah opening their stockings

Scott received an action figure of Mr. Spock and joins him in the Vulcan salute: Live long and Prosper

Grandma T was quite delighted with her new hat made by Havalah - she had many chances to wear it while visiting with us. She liked it so much that Havalah taught her how to make another one!

Sweet Hava in her new sweater!

Enjoying our relatives at John and Shelly's home in Renton

Bridgette favored us with a beautiful solo of O Holy Night with Grammy at the piano - we were very impressed with Bridgette's voice and Grammy's ability to sight read:)

We were so happy to get the two grandma's together

Back in Lacey - Brigg set the table for dinner one night - notice the mis-matched glasses (on purpose).

New curtain for the bathroom

Jackson's Blessing

2009-12-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

We had the chance from December 10th to the 14th to travel to Pittsburgh and visit with Zac and Joy and their family and participate in the blessing of our newest grandson Jackson. Brigg and Havalah came down Saturday afternoon to be with us as well - Megan and Jeremy really wanted to come also, but her doctor strongly suggested she not be 4.5 hours from home, being 8 months pregnant with twins! Though we missed her & family dearly, we are quite satisfied she made the right choice to obey her doctor!

While Zac was at work Friday, the rest of us went to a bakery that was most impressive - we had sandwiches and cookies and took some treats home for dinner that night!! The smells alone were enough to put pounds on! Yummmm!

Saturday morning we had a great time walking in downtown Pittsburgh - it was quite chilly but it was so fun to be with family! Anne and Andrew had a chance to visit with the jolly old elf himself.

Anne's face says to us: "Who are you REALLY?"

A section of downtown featured gingerbread houses made by children from local schools and other groups. We were very impressed with the creativity of some of the displays - and there were hundreds of them.

The star of the weekend - Jackson Howard Turner in his blessing outfit - the same one Zac, Brigg and Andrew were blessed in!

Brigg, Havalah and Dad T.

The 3 Turner kids - Anne and Andrew sure do love their little brother:)

The sweet Turner family - what wonderful hosts they were for the weekend - we sure do always love being with them.

Grandma Darlin and Grandpa Pickle with the 3 Pittsburgh grandkids.

Andrew and Anne got to open their big Christmas present while we were there - a new air hockey game!! They were quite excited and very intense as they played.

Good thing President Kimball said napping was an appropriate Sabbath activity - looks like the 3 Turner boys took that advice!

Thanks Zac and Joy for hosting such a wonderful weekend!