Memorial Day 2010

It is Memorial Day again and we went to the Veteran's Cemetery to celebrate. Somehow it seem so right to go there and see the veterans all gathered, to hear the speeches, the presentations, the flag waving, the 21 gun salute, the cannons going off and the missing man formation as the jets roar past. I am very thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country!! Thank you all the vets in my family and though out the USA who have given much to protect us from tyranny. I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for the USA.

We drove up to the parking lot and got on a school bus for the ride to the cemetery. Cyn, Kyle, Jackson, Tonie, Robb and I all went up. Brad and Grandpa were there also. Jackson rode his first school bus.



Robb and I had the the family home this week-end. It was really fun but it rained and we could not do some of the things we had planned. I wanted to clean the kitchen cupboard doors but with the rain coming down, that was not done. We wanted to go swing some golf clubs but I did not want to have a family of lightening rods out on the driving range. I wanted to work in the yard but that did not work either. We just watched movies, had a BBQ out back and visited. Cyn and Kyle were able to go on a date because we were the babysitters for her. We had fun with Jackson. He is sitting up my himself, goes over on to his knees and hands and then plops down. He will be crawling around really soon, I am sure.

Today, I stayed home from work so I could recover from the family activities. I am sewing a dress for Tonie so I need to go back to it and finish it off. I love to sew and be creative with it. I wish so often that I could just stay home and do things for my kids and for Jackson. Also, for the new baby that will join our family in January. We are so excited that Robbie and Tracy are going to give us another grandchild. I love doing grandma things. I think I have repurchased and outfitted an entire nursery since Jackson was born. Robb made a changing table that is so pretty. We have a stroller, high chair, booster chair, changing table, and a pack and play. The next purchase will be a crib for Jackson for when he visits. He will out grow the pack and play. He already out grew the bassinet. Oh we are having so much fun.

Well, off to sewing. Bye.

Mother's Day 2010

I love flowers!!

Cynthia and Jackson. I love his little red baseball cap. What fun I have with Jackson.

Tonie Tonie aka "Auntie Mame."

I took this picture because it said, "Sweet Afton's." I thought it was neat because it said Mom's name. I do not know if mother would have liked being called "Sweet Afton." Oh well.

Cynthia and Tonie flew me to Salt Lake City to play with them on Saturday before Mother's day. We had a fun fun day. First, I forgot my cell phone so I called Robb in Boise to let Tonie and Cyn know where I was at the SLC airport. They told me that it was a lot easier to find me at the airport then when Robb flew down to meet them. I guess Robb walked way far down and they could not find him. Oh well, I was watching for them to come by. One time there was a gray small car with a black rag top and I almost ran over to get in but the car was not a VW but a sports car of some make. I thought it was Tonie's VW from the colors. Then I also watched for Cynthia's green or blue car, I could not remember the exact color. Finally, I saw Tonie get out of a green car and wave to me. Yeah I was found.

We left the airport and went directly to get a facial. Cyn and I got facials and Tonie got a massage. It was really nice. I have never had a facial. The lights were turned down low, the towels were hot but soothing, and Sarah Brighton was playing in the background. I could have gone to sleep. We were finished and off to get our toes done. We waited for some time but were able to get a foot and leg massage and our toenails painted. What women do these days to feel good. I love my toes.

Off we went to get lunch but first we picked up Jack Jack from the babysitter, who happened to be his aunt, Kyle's sister, who lives in SLC. Jack is such a cutie. I love him so much. He has long reddish blond eye lashes and blond hair. He still has blue eyes. I lathered him up with SPF 50 sunscreen so he would not get burned while we walked around a sort of Pioneer village type shopping village. I wished we had more time to visit the other stores and also go to the garden show that Tonie and Cyn had planned but we ran out of time. We ate lunch in a old silo that had been converted into a restaurant. After lunch, I was back to the airport to catch my plane home. Whew, it was fun but I was tired when I got home.

It was funny when we went to land in Boise. The airplane did an "uncle wiggley wings." The wings dipped left and right before landing. I do not know what that was all about but it sure unnerved some of the passengers. I just read my book. I had taken a book by Eli Weisel, "Night" about the Holocaust. I have had this book for sometime but just had not taken the time to read it. It sure makes me think about what happened to so many people.

I had such a wonderful trip. I am having a relaxing day today. Robb and Robbie are grilling steaks and shrimp since these are my favorite foods. We will wait for Tracy to get here before we eat. She had to work today. The boys, aka Micky and Vinney, are over here enjoying the back yard and playing with Simon.

I love being a Mom and Robb, my kids and Jack are great.

Is it Spring Yet?

We had sunshine for a couple of days and then back to the winter weather. Yesterday there was hail as big as marbles, 1/2 inch, and it sounded like the roof was taking a beating. I did not check to see if we still had shingles after the storm. The grass was covered. The wind did some damage to the soccer fields and farms around the area. It uprooted trees, destroyed barns, and demolished fences. Today, it is rainy again. I think we are to have a few hours of sun on Friday and then it is back to the stormy weather. We don't mind the rain but we wish there would be one dry day so the lawns can be mowed. Our back lawn was about 12-14 inches tall. We called a professional lawn mowing person and he brought in his riding lawn mower to cut the grass down. Now I need to get out an rake up the cuttings but it has been raining and so windy that I cannot go out. The front yard looks better.

We received our moving date today of when we are moving to the Department of Labor (DOL). Moving day is June 25th. DOL will give us boxes and tape so we can box up our personal things to be moved. They have a moving company coming in on Saturday and will get our things over to DOL about eight blocks down main street. They said they did not want the employees present because having employees there slows down the move. Our offices will be 10 x 12 and I have to reduce. My office for the last many years has been 15 x 14 with three windows, corner office on the fourth floor. Now I will be in a 10 x 12 with one window on the second floor. My view will be the office parking lot and trees. Oh joy! Oh well, I think it will be nice to have a future with the Commission.

Tomorrow evening is the Annual Bitteroot Ward Chili Cookin' Contest. Robb is all excited and has experimented with his chili recipe. Actually, the test one turned out really tasty. Tonight he is testing his cornbread recipe. I hope the turn out for the dinner will be good. I think the ward members will support the event really well. There are two categories for prizes: mild/medium and nuclear furnace. How fun. I have to get award badges, big ones from Zurcher's tomorrow. We also will get prizes, varying sizes of Tums.

oops. Robb wants me to taste the cornbread so I better go try it out. Yum!!

Salt Lake City Marathon

We made a fast trip to SLC this week-end. Robbie and Cynthia ran the half marathon!!! They did well. I felt so proud that they ran and finished. Oh they were hurting all right, but they did it. Robbie now wants to run a full marathon but I don't know if Cynthia will try this again. She was hurting so badly we wanted to cry - - her knee did not cooperate very well. She has done it once and once may be enough. I hope she does it again. I was excited at the notion that I might try a half marathon but I ran only about 20 feet on Saturday and felt exhausted. I was trying to catch up with Robb and Kyle as they were making their way to the finish line to watch Robbie and Cynthia. Robbie ran too fast for us and beat us to the finish line. We all got to cheer Cynthia on as she made the last turn and to the finish.

At the finish line, they each received a medal of participation and then we had their picture taken by a professional photographer. I anticipate they will get the proofs so they can order a photo for their memory books.

The entire family purchased blue t-shirts and had a logo printed on the back. Even Jackson got his t-shirt. It was so cute and we loved doing this. Kyle and Cynthia got a baseball cap for Jackson and he looked quite the spectator as his mother and uncle ran by. It was lots of fun. The logo is a picture of a fish skeleton with "go fish" written on it. We figured we could use them as our fishing shirts after the race was finished.

I am sure we will be attending more race events since Robbie has caught the bug. Tracy was not able to go with us and we sorely missed her. She is really a lot of fun and is always watching out for Robbie. It is cute to see them together. Maybe next year, Tracy will be able to go along. Robb and I drove down with Robbie. We stayed at Tonie's and Kyle, Jackson and Cynthia spent the night at Tonie's. Tonie is going to have a big house when she buys a house because we all like to get together at her house. Tonie had a backyard fire pit and barbecue we used for dinner on Friday night. Of course we all visited. Robb and Tonie were the last to retire, I think as they talked into the wee hours of the morning.

On Saturday, we started home at 3:00 from SLC. We had borrowed Grandpa's caddie to make the drive more pleasant. It normally takes five hours to drive home. But, we had to get speakers for the IPOD so we could listen to music. The radio did not work, according to grandpa. Then we needed to get keys made for the car. Then we needed to gas the car and pick up drinks. Then we needed more snacks and a restroom break from the drinks. Then, the fuse blew and the dashboard went dark with the speedometer stuck clear to the right of the dial. Robb panicked thinking I was going over 85 miles per hour. I panicked because all I could see was "140" but that was in Kilometers. I slowed down immediately and realized that all the dials had stopped working. We went to get fuses. We would not find anything but two fuses that would work. Robbie put the fuses in and then we took off again. We turned on the air conditioner and the fuse blew again. In the process of replacing fuses, the radio suddenly began working. I guess the fuse for the radio had blown and no one had replaced it. We had the radio all the way home and listened to Robbie's IPOD. Then, the air conditioner blew the fuses and again, and we stopped in Burley. We thought we might have to stay overnight in Burley if we did not have power to get home. We stopped at the Checker store and the men in the store came and put a meter on the engine. They found that the alternator was not working. OH NO!! A new alternator was $160.00. Then the other man at Checker said he had worked on a car where the air conditioner fuse also ran the alternator. (I don't know what the are talking about.) Good think Robbie and Robb were talking to them. The put in a new fuse and then checked the alternator again. Miracle of miracles, the alternator was working so long as the fuse was working. We had enough power to get home to Boise if we did not turn on the air conditioner. We took off again and did not stop again until Mountain Home. We had no more problems with the fuses and we did not turn on the air conditioner. We got home at about 11:30ish. That took us eight and one-half hours.

Now Robb has a list of things that need to be repaired or maintained on the Caddie. He will be busy and when we borrow it again, maybe we will not have so many fuse problems.

Today, we went to church but I was so tired I came home and slept most of the afternoon. Because I slept most of the afternoon, I am up now at 11:40ish working on this blog.

With the events from the race and the travels, we are blessed to have a wonderful family that loves one another. We love to get together and I guess that is the way it should be. We are blessed!

Easter Weekend

Hello everyone!!! I watched conference all week-end and am so energized. I feel that I need to get back to work trying to improve how I live my life and follow the Lord's commandments. I loved the talks given. There were so many that I really enjoyed, I can hardly wait until the Ensign comes out so I can study them. To me it was really neat that Conference came on Easter Week-end. How great is that!!

I am back to indexing for the family history cause. I have to read handwritten records and it takes some study to be sure that I am making the correct spellings of names. I feel an obligation to do the best possible but also know that another indexer is doing the same records and there is a third person who will review it all. It helps to know that I am not the only indexer upon which someone's blessings depend upon.

This last month, my "cousin-brother" died. His name is Marshall Plummer, and he was the first Vice President of the Navajo Tribe. Marshall's mother is my aunt, Grandma Nez's sister. He is also my clan brother. I think that is how come he is referred to as my "cousin-brother." I am not really sure but Irene will let me know how this all works. She is really up on all the connections through clans. I have not taken efforts to learn about the clan system, customs, etc., like Irene has done. I just look at a family pedigree chart and think of things in that way. Irene attended the funeral. She said there were so many people and he impacted many lives in his service to the Tribe. I feel good that he fought a good fight. Now he is able to see his mother and father, and relatives that have gone on before him. Marshall's brother is the Branch President who conducted the funeral for Mom Nez. I am sure he will take care of the ordinance work for Marshall. Irene was able to seal Virginia to Mom and Dad Nez. To seal Mom to her parents. I guess I can go on family search and find out who has had their work completed in the family.

Robb and I are doing well considering all the aches and pains, the long hours of working, and trying to keep our heads afloat. Simon, our dog, keeps us so busy, you know.

Robbie and Cynthia are running a half-marathon in SLC on April 17th. We will go down to cheer them on.

Robb is home so I guess I better go. Love you!

St. Patrick's Day

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's day. I sent an outfit to Jackson with green on it so he could wear it tomorrow. I hope he gets it. I also sent on that is red. If he wears red, I think he gets kisses. I cannot remember all the rules of St. Patrick's day. If you can believe it, I am still trying to think of something green to wear to work tomorrow. Seems silly . . .

Robb and I are doing well. We are both working, working, and working some more. The Idaho Human Rights Commission will still be funded contrary to the Governor's wishes. I am really excited about this. I can work for at least five more years and get retirement. AND, we are moving under the umbrella of the Idaho Department of Labor, which is a "plush" agency. We get all new state of the art computers and electronic equipment. I cannot believe our good fortune. We will be moving by July 1, 2010. The Dept. of Labor is also a big proponent of assisting its employees in pursuing educational goals. I may be able to get my Ph.D. after all. Our offices will be smaller than my current one so I will need to downsize. But that will be worth it to me. I am not sure where to put all my about twenty plants though. We will see. It is another few months but you know how time flies.

Sometimes I feel like I am being left behind. Irene and Dennis just returned from a trip to Vietnam. Tonie just returned from a trip to India. I just came back from Meridian (ten miles away) a few days ago. I do not know if I will ever be able to travel because when I think of traveling, I think of "family" trips, like going to Nauvoo with the family in a car caravan or following the Mormon Trail from New York. Robb and I have wanted to do something for our anniversary for several years now but we always seem to let go of our plans and do something as a family. If we went off by ourselves, we would think of what fun the family would have. I guess things change as one gets older, I don't know.

I remind myself of Mom Heaton more and more. I have my own chair to watch TV or read, I wish I could travel but don't, I wish my kitchen could be remodeled but it is not, and my bathroom has not been redone for years. I am fat and want to be skinny but I am not. All of these "wishes" and nothing done. I remember Mom saying one time that not a day goes by without pain. I identify with that now but I wish I did not. I wonder if hopes and dreams and pain are hereditary!! I remember Dad pinching pennies and limiting expenses - - all so he could have money to leave his kids -- is what it turned out to be, instead of redoing the kitchen for Mom. Yes, I do have some angst over that!! Now I am pinching pennies and do not want to spend money. I sometimes challenge myself to see how long I can go without spending money for food or how little we can get away with on food or how far we can drive without filling up the gas tank.

Well, Robb came home early. YEA!!!

President's day

It is a holiday and I am at home. With Robb working and the children gone, it is me and Simon that are here to keep each other company. Sometimes I wish Robb could have the same holidays as I do - then we could do something together. I have not gone outside today. I probably should have taken Simon for a walk but I did not. We have just been lazy.

Tomorrow I go back to work at the Commission. The plans for the elimination of the Human Rights Commission have been changed. The Idaho Department of Labor will have the Commission come under its umbrella agency and keep the Commission funded henceforth. The Commissioners have agreed with the plan, the two agencies are on board, and the governor is agreeable. The only hurdle left is to have the legislature agree to the merger. If all parties agree, we will be the employees for the Department of Labor. It all sounds exciting and I am glad that I will be able to continue working for years to come. There is hope in the future. I really enjoy mediation and so am glad I will get to continue that for a few more years.

This last month, I had my birthday. I am now 57 years old. I do not know how Mom Heaton started again with Irene and me at this age. She had a lot of gumption!!! I sure am thankful she did because I have been blessed tremendously by her decisions. For my birthday, I got a massage chair from Robb and the kids. I love it and I use it each day when I come home from work. I have to be careful though because I fall asleep and could sleep for hours. My muscles are relaxed and the heat feels good. I also got a DVD set for 24. Robb really likes this show and now he has me hooked on it. We have watched season six, season one and now season two. I just picked up season three and we are starting that. Lots of watching but it is all without commercials. I also got a "Snuggie" which I use to cover the massage chair unless I get chilly. Simon has his own Snuggie - - thanks to Tonie, we both have matching snuggies. How funny!!

Better go.