Farewell to visitors

As family departs in waves as they came, many memories were made and new connections. A couple of Deborah's family that unexpectedly visited us for this special occasion were Martha mother-in-law of Deborah and grandmother of the groom,  and her grand daugter Pyper from the dad's second marriage. Very confusing relationships these days, but we are after all FAMILY––children of the same Heavenly Father.

Had to chuckle––just got the marriage invitation today. The wedding was
last Friday. No names on the invites, but then we should know their names.
Becca is in the National Guard and Adam hopes to join the Army. 

A thank you gift from the other grandmother of the groom who stayed
with us. She gave me a Southwestern  doll to match our decor. The card says:
 Because of good hearted people like you, the world is a better place.

The older generation remembers the niceness of thank yous
and inside it says I hope all the good you do comes back to you.
So sweet to be appreciated.

Family Reunion time...

Giant sleepover, two casitas full with 8 bodies and two more inside...
Allen's family visiting from Olympia Washington for a wedding.

Grandma Deborah and Emma the youngest grandchild.

Time for BBQ, Allen cooks hot dogs and Matthew watches...

Pyper is up in the tree while Aidyn and Grandma Martha watch

Homemade hamburgers and potato salad made fresh today 

Time for crochet game...it's 84 degrees today.

Aidyn is serious about crochet but don't stand close to him.

Wedding Photos

Married by the bishop Rebecca and Adam...

Exchanging rings...

You may kiss the bride....

Engagement photo

Us enjoying the wedding buffet with family.

Great grandma Martha and baby Emma

Cutting the wedding cake...

Wedding cake about to be smeared over each other face...why?

Four generations: Great Grandpa, mother Melissa, Aidyn, gmother Deborah

Four generastions: Great Grandpa, mom Jessica, baby Emma, gm Deborah

Miranda the photographer...

Grandkids and great grand kids...

Wedding dance of the newly weds

Adam's brother Matthew joins the newlyweds.

McCoard family plus grandmother-in-law

First Wave of Family Company arrives...

Allen's oldest daughter Deborah after yoga fixes yogurt.

Father and daughter enjoy a morning together catching up on news.

Grandpa Allen show his grandsons his father's WWII insulated gloves.
Bride Rebecca (l) looks on as groom Adam and his bro. Matthew try them on.
Other grandson Alex in the back is very interested in military history.

One of the few momentos from WWII that Allen
has of his father's service in Army Air Corps in
the Aleutians fighting the Japanese army in 1944-5.

1st row(l-r0 Matthew, groom Adam, 2nd row-bride Rebecca and Alex

So what am I learning?

Allen and Lin married June 12, 1993 in SLC temple

As you age there is only a certain amount of energy you can expend each day...how important to spend it on worthwhile priorities...FAMILY certainly rates up there highly but maybe more crucial is leaving a LEGACY of love and caring for others which includes setting a good EXAMPLE in all that you do. 

Leslie & Bert Allen Mar 27, 1964
married in Gatesville, Texas

Loving, forgiving, connecting within realistic frames...as much as possibly. Life is always a CHALLENGE and we can choose what we value most. Our spouse should be right up there developing companionship, love and patience on both sides. Learning to communicate clearly. Having goals and plans for each stage of your life together. My husband and I met soon after our divorces in 1992 and have been married for twenty-one years now this coming June. We both married for the first time in 1964 before we knew each other existed. 

Interestingly enough my hubby's grandson chose to get married unknowingly on the the 51st anniversary of his grandfather's first marriage. That marriage in 1964 ended twenty-eight years later in divorce in 1992 when their grandmother chose another lifestyle alone. DIVORCE is never easy for any reason on all involved and especially so on the children and grandchildren of divorce. We are pleased that this grandson has chosen to MARRY his high school sweetheart and wish them much happiness. More photos to follow after this mini-family reunion.

Monday Doldrums

After an exhausting never-ending weekend of poetry and writing workshops, Monday comes with its emptiness-a time of reorganizing energies and priorities in order to be able to go forward. This will be a busy week as we are expecting nine house guests that will cram our two little casitas to the maximum and probably overflow into the living room or back yard as a grandson gets married.

Spring is bursting out all over at the Art Museum

I love this little girl's sculpture by the pond.

Blooms everywhere convince me that spring is really here.

Poets and writers enjoy a lunch break during our writing workshop.

Gary a former lawyer and now poet talks with Thaya another poet.

Our youngest poet Olivia-HS senior talks with our poet matriarch LaVerna. 

Our temps are rising to 80 degrees this week as spring fights to stay awhile longer before summer jumps in and plays havoc with our long pleasant reprieve from winter's cold.

Poetry in the Park 2015 is over...

A full day that began at 6 am as I arose and prepared to drive to Zion Park, an hour one way, for the 6th annual Poetry in the Park that I am in charge of. We had the most participants of any year so far with 34 individuals from mostly Utah and with one poet from Colorado. Our teacher Lola Haskins came from Florida to join us and we had eight local high school students attend. Needless to say I'm exhausted after a full day.

We had poets of all ages high school through eighty year olds, all interested in poetry.

Our teach Lola Haskins was excellent in teaching us
about writing better beginnings and endings to our poems.

Our group with Zion Park in the background. 

Scholarship students from Enterprise High School and their teacher
(R) Marisa Ericksen enjoyed a day of learning at Poetry in the Park 

Morning Comes

MORNING COMES

by Lin Floyd

A time of new beginnings

as rose colored clouds dot the sky

welcoming morning possibilities,

starting over with new dreams.

You and I greet the future together

each intwined in separate paths.

Our steps cross, then pass parallel at times,

diverge as differences determine our way

Parallel yet distinct, individuals joined

for this earthly journey and beyond.

Future eons beckon, the unknown waiting

to be experienced as we greet each day.

Pot Luck and Game Night

We finally managed to get together with two other couples for a pot luck and game night last night.

Friends: l-r Caryn, her hubby Wayne,  and Mary play Time Line.

What an intensive game trying to figure out dates for historical events.
That's Steve thinking, Mary's hubby on the right. This game didn't last long.

Steve and my hubby Allen trying to remember dates in history, we all
realized that all our college classes were lacking or we just don't remember.

Our favorite game lasted into the night until 10 pm-Mexican Train!

Busy Weekend

Friday was a community preparedness fair and Sat I went yard sale

shopping with Caryn. The weather now is in the 80s.

Last Friday our community held a preparedness fair in our church parking lot.

We saw demonstrations of alternate cooking methods in case of emergencies.
This is a solar oven which can cook meat, breads, cakes almost anything
Called the Sun Oven, it would work in our desert locale where it's hot!

Lots of soups, casseroles, breads, desserts to try, it was yummy!

My friend Mary Sagers cooks is this sun crock pot by getting the soup
hot first on some source of heat-campfire? Then putting it in the sun in
this contraption-sorry don't have its name but it works! 

Saturday and time for garage or yard sales in St. George with Caryn/
We left at 7:45 before the sun was it and it was chilly 40 degrees but
soon got warmer into the high 70 degree temperatures.

Caryn is an experienced garage/yard sale shopper and always finds a bargain.

Amazine, what people sell, even new stuff, Caryn found a never opened
large electric grill for $7, what a bargain...tho it takes time to look.

Caryn checking with family about a possible purchase.

She bought this patio serving cart for her home in Pleasant View to use
by the pool side, cost only $10 plus she made a new friend of the seller.

Another yard sale with lots of camping and men outdoor stuff/tools.