Silence is Golden!

While surfing Marian's TV channels, to my delight I discovered Turner Classic Movie Channel (TCM) which meant I wouldn't miss silent movie night after all. While no one was looking, I secretly set the DVR to record Souls for Sale (1923), planning to watch before I returned home. On Monday after the kids went to bed, I invited Marian and Randal to watch with me. They courteously said they would love to join me and would come in a minute. I smiled to myself because every mom knows what in a minute really means. :-)

About 30 minutes into the film, Randal joined me, stating courageously that he was looking forward to watching the rest of the movie. I was suspicious of his sincerity since he had his laptop with him, but I gave him an "A" for effort. :-) Marian came a few minutes later. Not wanting her to miss any of the gripping plot, I filled her in, pointing out the plucky heroine who had escaped her murderous husband and then had become an actress. :-) At this point, Randal gamely closed his laptop and we found ourselves talking and laughing as we watched the dramatic conclusion.

All in all, they let me rattle on about my newest passion/hobby and the two of them courteously pretended to be interested. They even expressed regret over missing the beginning. Although . . . they only mentioned this after I had deleted the film. :-) Still, a great evening!

NOTE: In case you're wondering, the murderous husband met his justly deserved demise when he tried to attack the leading man in his wife's new film with the blades of the wind machine from her movie set. During the final dramatic conclusion, his wife got in the way and in a brief moment of goodness, he jumped in the way and saved her, which meant the blades he'd pointed at the other guy got him instead! Pretty exciting stuff! :-)

Who Needs Water Slides!

A few nights ago we spent a wonderful evening at this great park about 20 minutes from Marian and Randal's home. There is this beautiful waterfall where you can wade, and if you're brave enough, walk right under the falls.

And even though the water was definitely cold, it wasn't TOO bad. Of course, I didn't actually go under the falls so Kevin and Ethan might disagree! :-)

Addie was content to spend her time in the shallows where she could toss rocks into the water. But Ethan, at the side of his daring uncle, even ventured under the falls.

Later, Ethan and Addie found a Salamander that was sunning itself!

Tammy did her share of wading, but with her trusty companion (camera) by her side, she spent most of her time taking pictures. Probably about a hundred or so! :-) It certainly was beautiful!

I did my fair share of wading but I have to tattle; Ken completely chickened out and didn't even get his feet wet! :-)

After playing in the water, we sat around one of the fire pits laughing, talking and roasting marshmallows. In fact, I think there was even a little "feet" roasting by those, who for some reason, were a little cold. Could it have been because they were standing under the falls most of the time? :-)

Bye for now!

Fun with Addie!

Three year olds have such an interesting way of looking at life and the world around them, and Addie is no exception to that rule. One morning during this visit, Ken came in and found her having breakfast. He smiled and said "Hi, little cutie!" She looked at him very seriously and said, "I'm bigger than you think!"

Later, Ken bought Marian an orchid plant to put in her kitchen windows. Addie was so thrilled that Grandpa had bought a pink flower for her . . . and for mommie. I'm afraid she pretty much claimed the flower and declared, "Grandpa is so, so sweet because he gave me a pink flower!"

And I can't help but chuckle every time she sees a bug of any kind. She calls them guys and since she hates bugs, she gets pretty excited whenever she sees a guy. It's so funny when she comes running to tell me that there's a guy flying around! Today, she really made me pause, though. She came running into the family room yelling, "There's a dead guy in the kitchen!"

Glass, glass and more glass!

During this visit we spent part of one day at the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, New York. I don't know what I expected, but the museum was incredible. You could spend hours there if you wanted to and probably never see everything. There were examples of glass work from 1200 BC to the present and everything in between. Art sculptures, light fixtures, glassware, stain glass windows, etc. with every color in the rainbow represented. We saw some truly beautiful and unique glass pieces. Tammy even found a glass flute! And last, but not least, a gift shop filled with all kinds of beautiful glass!

As part of the fun at the museum, you can make your own glass art from flowers to ornaments, or possibly a table decoration. The four of us decided to try our hands at glass work and its probably no surprise that Tammy and I chose to make a flower while Ken and Kevin both chose to make a table decoration. Marian graciously acted as photographer. We found that glass making is definitely a lot harder than it looks but is great fun! Fortunately the glass workers were very talented and were able to help us amateurs through our mistakes.

Making my flower

Tammy making her flower

Ken admiring his glass work

Kevin blowing his table decoration

Our finished products!

More from Palmyra . . .

Just a few pictures . . .

The Palmyra Temple


Tamara and Marian


Ethan, Kevin, Marian and Adelaide with Lehi at the Pageant.


Ethan and Kevin with the "Three Nephites" :-)

Grandma and Ethan on the Smith farm.


Adelaide at the Smith farm.

Marian, Randal, Adelaide, Ethan & Kevin on the Smith farm.

The Sacred Grove

Kevin and Tamara at the Sacred Grove.

Ethan, Tamara and Adelaide at the Sacred Grove.

Lots of love to you all!

Greetings from New York!

After much anticipation, we find ourselves in New York and having a wonderful time! What fun to finally be visiting Marian and Randal in their new home and to see the area where they now live.

On the Smith farm with the Palmyra Temple in the background.

We've done a little sightseeing. The highlights, of course, were the Church history sites in Palmyra. We went to the Hill Cumorah pageant our first evening in New York which was a great way to start our vacation! We've stood in the Smith home where Joseph Smith listened to the words of Moroni, gazed at the hill where the plates were buried, stood by the fireplace where he hid the plates from the mobs and walked through the Grandin building where the Book of Mormon was published.

The Smith home where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith.


Kevin in the Grandin building.

Of course, the time that we walked quietly through the Sacred Grove was really incredible. What a feeling of peace surrounds you while you are there. You know that you are walking on sacred ground. As we walked through the grove, there were other visitors that were going different directions. Adelaide was quite concerned that they might get lost. Soon that transferred to concern that we might get lost. At one point she turned confidently to our group and stated in her sweet little voice, "Follow Me!" I could not help but see the Savior smile as He watched her. I'm sure He loved hearing His words repeated: "Follow Me!" If only we could always remember and heed those words.

Adelaide in the Sacred Grove.

More to follow . . .

I Am An American!

At the end of this special day commemorating the birth of our country, I'd like to share a favorite poem that has been special to me since elementary school. My fifth grade class memorized this poem for a program and even at a young age, it touched my heart.

I AM AN AMERICAN

I am an American . . . listen to my words. Listen well, for my country is a strong country and my message is a strong message.

I am an American . . . and I speak for democracy and the dignity of the individual.

I am an American . . . and my ancestors have given their blood for freedom:

On the green at Lexington and the snow at Valley Forge,

On the walls of Fort Sumter and the fields at Gettysburg,

On the waters of the Marne and in the shadows of the Argonne,

On the Beachheads of Salerno and Normandy and the sands of Okinawa,

On the bare, bleak hills called Pork Chop and Old Baldy and Heartbreak Ridge,

A million and more of my countryman have died for freedom. I am an American . . . and my country is their eternal monument.

I am an American . . . and my ancestors have bequeathed to me:

The laughter of a small boy as he watches a circus clown's antics,

The sweet, delicious coldness of the first bite of peppermint ice cream on the 4th of July,

The little tenseness of a baseball crowd as the umpire calls "Batter up",

The high school band's rendition of The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Memorial Day parade,

The clear, sharp ring of a school bell on a crisp Fall morning.

These and many other things they fought for and left for me. I am an American . . . and the fruits of my thought and labor are mine to enjoy.

I am an American . . . and in my churches and homes everyone worships God in his own way:

The young Jewish boy saying "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is one",

The Catholic girl praying "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee",

The Protestant boy singing "A Mighty Fortress is our God",

Each one believing and praying as he must,

And all joining in the universal prayer "Our Father, who art in Heaven",

With the voice in the soul of every human being that cries out to be free.

I am an American . . . and I believe that America has answered that voice.

I am an American . . . and my happy land is a land of many realms and mansions:

It is the land of Ohio corn and potatoes and pastures,

It is the realm of hundreds of acres of golden wheat stretching across the flat miles of Kansas,

It is the land of precision assembly lines in Detroit,

It is the realm of milling cattle in the stockyards of Chicago,

It is the land of glowing skylines of Pittsburgh and Birmingham; of San Francisco and New York.

And in my churches and homes are the mansions of heaven.

I am an American . . . and the love of God has made me free.

I am an American . . . and my country offers freedom and opportunity such as no land before her has ever done:

Freedom to work, as merchant or truck driver,

Freedom to think, as chemist or lawyer, as docter or priest,

Freedom to love, as child, as parent, sweetheart, husband, wife,

Freedom to speak, to pray, to read, to argue, to praise, to criticize,

Freedom to eat and sleep, to work and play, without fear,

Freedom to live one or two-hundred million different lives.

I am an American . . . and my heritage is of the land of the spirit, of the heart and of the soul!

I am an American . . . and these are my words. Show me now a country greater than my country, a people happier than my people.

I am an American . . . I speak for democracy and the dignity of the individual.

*Elizabeth Ellen Evans

What's For Dinner?

Yesterday I spent the day with John & Dana's girls. Dana is in Seattle with her family and John will be joining her with their girls sometime today.

The girls and I had a wonderful time while John was at work! Tammy had the day off and came for the day as well. We played games, listened to Kimberly's piano solo, braided Alicia's hair and watched Natalie smile as she ran and played. We even got to watch a creative "dance" program given by the girls and their friends complete with leaps and somersaults!

As it got close to dinnertime, I commented to Tammy that it would be wise to use some of the leftovers in the fridge since the entire family was leaving and would be gone the rest of the week. She followed me into the kitchen and we began to explore dinner options. We started with the freezer where, much to my surprise, we found two glass bottles, the first with a giant frozen bumblebee inside! Apparently, my oldest insect-loving granddaughter, Kimberly, had "saved" some of her bug collection in the freezer! Tammy and I laughed together about the possible dinner use for bees. :-)

Moving to the main portion of the fridge, I began slowly pulling out containers, each time trying to determine if the contents could be used for dinner. As Tammy and I stood there discussing possibilities, I pulled a container out and bent down to smell the contents just as I removed the lid. To my shock, I found myself staring at three dead white mice! My shock and my scream were instantaneous! In fact, Tammy almost got the container thrown at her when I came close to flinging it across the room. The girls came running and when Kimberly discovered what the commotion was about, she gave me a disbelieving but fairly patient look as she explained the mice were in the fridge to thaw and were for Orion (John's bird) and then she calmly placed the container back in the fridge.

At that point in time, my grandmotherly frugality was thrown out the window and I sent Tammy to Wendy's for hamburgers! :-)



NOTE: In the last couple of years John has become extremely interested in falconry and is licensed by the State of Utah to work with wild birds of prey. He is also deeply involved with bird rehabilitation at the Ogden Nature Center.

Although John has a small freezer where he keeps the food for his birds (rodents, starlings and quail, etc.), the birds can't eat them frozen and they're apparently brought in to thaw in the fridge. According to John, everyone knows to leave the container with the BLUE lid alone. That is, everyone but Grandma! :-)

John feeding his hawk.
If you look carefully, you can see the feet and tail of a
mouse hanging from the beak!

Rainy Day Fun

Since Gail was sharing some cute things on her blog from Aaron, I'm going to share some of Emma's words of wisdom:

Although today was raining, Michael (along with Emma and Aaron) came up to do some Scout camp preparation. While their dad was working, the kids and I had a great time. When we got a break in the rain, I asked Emma if she'd like to earn some money pulling weeds for Grandma. To my surprise, she said yes and promptly went to work. I thought she'd lose interest quickly but she steadily kept at it. I found her an old box to pile the weeds in and when it was overflowing, Michael emptied it and she filled it again.

While she worked, I followed and helped a little by pulling the sticker weeds since we didn't have gloves her size. At one point she put a large handful of weeds in the box and told me that she was really fast "because she picked a lot of weeds at the same time." I told her that was a great idea and she informed me that she had thought of it herself. I smiled and said, "You mean no one told you to do it that way?" She looked at me with that all-knowing smile and said confidently "Big Brain!" :-)