Tomorrow is Memorial Day and I thought this would be a good time to post pictures of Jim's headstone. The headstone was ordered last October but because of our hard winter and long winter the installation of it had to wait until late this spring.

Both Jim and I enjoyed fishing greatly and when Lorie and I were looking for a picture to put on the headstone this one seemed to fit perfectly. Jim was a terrific fishermen, whether it was for real fish or for the perfecting of the saints. We would go camping and he would find the perfect fishing hole and the opportunity to meet and share something from the Gospel with someone and then he would make them his friend. As all of you who knew and loved him will agree he was forever a missionary, so the fishing one fit and we got it.

This is the back of the headstone and there is a story that goes with what we chose to put here. We lived in Cherry Valley, on Appletree Lane for 30 years and early in those years on Sunday after Church or on Monday for FHE Jim and the Kids and often the neighbor kids would make 8-10 loaves of wheat bread and we would take them out to friends and neighbors, but there is a twist to this story. We did it in secret. We would ding dong ditch them. We would wait until dark and park away from the chosen homes and sneak up, leave the bread, ring the doorbell and run...in all the years we did this we never got caught. Of course we had to name ourselves so we made up the name the Apple Dumping Gang. Partly chosen from the street we lived on and partly from a favorite Disney movie staring Don Knotts and Tim Conway. Our reputation grew and we would hear our gang's name mentioned at church and community functions. To this day it is a mystery as to who the Apple Dumpling Gang was, but maybe not now. I hope you guys can keep a secret.

It is spring here now and all of you can see the cemetery has gone from all white to a beautiful shade of green.

In the following two pictures you can see the bird feeder that we keep filling and it is still a surprise to see all kind of little tracks in the surrounding dirt. Soon the grass will fill in and then the nightly and daily visitors will be as mysterious as the Apple Dumpling Gang. Everyone have a great holiday.

The Easter Bunny brought me an early surprise. The Sat. before Easter the doorbell rang and I answered it and there stood this handsome young man with a bouquet of flowers. He said he had a special delivery for a Trudy Terrill. The lights went on and I recognized him as Gabe, Dianne's fiance, and they had come from New Mexico to surprise me with a visit and it was

a surprise.

Yes Dianne is on crutches. Somewhere in Springville Ut , where Gabe's parents live, she took a wrong step and ended up breaking her ankle. But as you can see she has been accommodated well with the loving help from Gabe and the motorized cart at Walmart.

The Easter Bunny brought surprises to all of us





and we have two couples fashioning what they found in their baskets.

We all settled down for a feast. My visitors ate the food and I feasted on the sights and sounds of being surrounded by family. As I was taking pictures I was impressed with the feelings of joy and the feeling of someone missing. Both of our to be new son-in-laws (I consider my sons),where there and Ladenea and Doug's family where there and I wondered how Jim felt about all the new growth in our family. I wished he had been with us to say all is good, but he is, isn't he and he is saying all is wonderful.

The next week found us all again in California to celebrate Robin's Graduation from cosmology School.















Jesse took us on a tour of Pasadena, China Town, Hollywood and much more via the train which was great because there was no driving or parking problems. Five dollars and we could travel all day on the train and when we got tired we got back on and went back to Jesse's.







Well most of us used the train. Jesse's place is a few block from the train station and we did not have a baby stroller big enough for Dianne so Doug used the next best thing and it worked.



I have seen the staged acts of someone slipping on a banana peel but I have never known of a real accident happening because of a banana peel. Now I do and I am related to her. La Denea was getting out of her car in the parking lot at the school she is going to and stepped right on a banana peel causing her to slip and hurt her back, knee and pride. Now all of you actually know of a real banana peel story and the reason I am sharing this story is to lead into the next two pictures where I had heard stories of this happening but had never known anyone who really had the experience.
While visiting China town Lorie had a Sea Gull fly over and yes...the yellowish stuff in her hair is bird poop! She was very surprised and we just laughed and laughed.

found it a After alittle clean up Lorie even found it amusing but if you look at Robin in the back she represents just how nervous we all were about this event happening again.

Last but not least on our trip down the Calif. was to meet Robin and Chris's new addition, Larry. He is so super sweet and so willing to give kisses. His heart is a lot bigger than he is but so much fun. We love you Larry.





Okay, Okay we are painting!







When we moved into this house the family room had, had some old patch jobs that had not been finished very well. So, Jim took on the project of re-patching them and he completed all of them except one...a big one in the family room. He had worked on this one to the point of re-plastering it. So when you came in the front door and looked at the wall in front of you all you saw was a huge white patched square. It has stayed that way for over a year. But big changes were about to happen. I had a gathering of women at my home this month, a book club I belong to, and I decided the patch had to go! I have not painted a wall in over 35 years because Jim was so good at it he just always took over in that department. So I had to step out of my comfort zone. Out to the garage I went to look through all of his stuff and I also sent up a silent request for Jim's guidance because this could either be a success or a mess! I was helped in my endeavors and as you can see it was by two angels... and it was a sucess the wall looks great and the party was a success.

Yes it is still winter here even though the calendar says it is spring. Judge for your self, winter or spring...this is the Bear River and it runs behind our house. To me it looks frozen, actually it is...but the calendar says spring?








The geese arrived by the flocks, hundreds and hundreds. I think someone told them it was warmer here than in Canada, but they were in for a surprise because it is still below freezing...but the calendar says spring. I know Mother nature is playing a joke on us. Well no one is laughing!

Actually I mentioned the geese before and yes they are quite a sight. As I write this many have left for home but there are still a number who stay behind to lay eggs and nest. Last early summer on a little island in the middle of a pond by us, my grandkids took a little boat out to it and found a number of baby geese. What a surprise when the mom was not happy about them being there and they, the grandkids, barely made it out with their skin still in tack. Nothing like a mad Mother Goose.
As you can see Lorie and Riley are not complaining about the snow. Bear Mountain found them there many Saturdays snowboarding their hearts out. They say it is a sweet piece of mountain. This was Riley's first attempt at snowboarding but according to Lorie he is a natural and has taken to it like a pro. In the order of Riley's loves, first is Lorie and then Snowboarding, but there was a moment that Lorie thought she might be moved to second place but she is still holding on to first place in Riley's heart by a thread.


Oops...catch me it you can. Actually in the next picture they are both not standing.

What a view and it has some of my favorite people in it.










I think Lorie thought she was poising for Sports Illustrated but she forgot it was Riley taking the picture and it was to cold to put a bathing suit on.








Today it was actually 50 degrees and our lawn had to be mowed. Not because it was too tall, it was because it had leaves all over it from the fall shed and it was easier to mow it than rake them all up. Yes we have a riding lawn mower.

Guess What....? I saw one daffodil this morning in my garden. Yes spring is one it's way...Yea!

all decked out for our Halloween Party at my ward.
If you can not recognize these beautiful, handsome and mystery people we have Doug with the hat and La Denea with the bigger hat and Britney, Jessica and the Ninja Ryan.
Happy Halloween 2007. And the snow began to fall...
This is Mendon Cemetery and it looks a lot different than it did last summer. It is all white. Each season Lorie and I would put something by Jim"s grave. We just removed the pumpkins and hung a wreath and when Christmas was over we found a bird feeder and hung it with seed. When we would visit, it was fun to see all kinds of bird tracks all over Jim's grave. The headstone has been and ordered and we are just waiting for good weather for it to be installed. I will take a picture of it and post it when it is done.




Like I said it started to snow around Halloween and it did not stop until...well to think of it, it hasn't yet. Just today we got rain and snow mixed, but the big piles you see in these pictures has melted and some promise of spring is showing in peeking green in the lawn and the tips of bulbs poking up through the earth but the possibility of snow and frost is still really strong.

When January was upon us we had 2-3 feet of snow in our back yard. Our neighbor John would plow out our lane and then our driveway over and over again. Not to mention Me and the snow shovel became very good friends because we have a long sidewalk to our front door and what did not get shovel off became ice real fast. Which made for fun walking to the car. I loved every minute of it and it was as beautiful as it was hard. Jim and I dreamed of living in a place like this and here we are. Last winter we had some cold and when the ice came Jim was real considerate of me and warning that it might be slippery here or there. This winter I felt I could still here his warnings and I must say I have become very sure footed. My learning curve has increased in areas of ice, snow removal, driving and freezing (-8 degrees) temperatures. Yes I am glad to be closing in on spring! Let the good times roll.

Okay! Barbara, I am posting a new blog!

No this is not HAWAII! It is Bear lake and we are having a great time. Doug rented a boat and some toys to pull behind it. This all took place last summer when it was warm and sunny.

Frankie, Lorie's boxer was thinking should I or should I not. His finally decision was NOT.

We had me, Frankie, Lorie, Robin, Chris, Jenae, Telare, Beleza, and Doug all aboard. It was so much fun. Some of us were brave enough to be pull behind the boat on a big floaty thing. It looked like fun, but me and water do not mix!



You really can't tell but the brave souls here are Beleza and Telare. they hung on until their arms gave out.













Now we are in Hawaii!! Oh yea. It was so beautiful and the best way to spend Thanksgiving. The storms where coming in and so the surf was really high and the waves were enormous. They were having surf competitions on the North Shore and at Pipeline. It was wonderful to watch. Living in Utah I do miss the ocean. My skin said yes...moisture again.
This was near Turtle Bay where we were staying. I had never been to any of the islands so this was especially sweet. Jim and I had planned on a trip in the future, so I took one of his shirts and wore it on the beach to feel him with me. Now I can say we went to Hawaii together, almost.

The sunsets and vistas were breath taking and I will be forever grateful to Cheryl and Bill and their part in making this all happen. We stayed for a few days with my niece and Nephew, Mat and Melissa, who are attending BYU Hawaii. They were great hosts.



Now we skip ahead to the beginning of winter and our first Snow. I already address fall in an earlier Blog.

It is Sat. and Our Christmas Lights need to go up!!! So Lorie invited her boyfriend Riley Ballard, over to help. Then it started snowing and it got really cold as you can tell from how we are all bundled up. I was outside also otherwise this picture would not have been taken. It is not as cold as it was going to get later in the winter. If you look close there is still green in the lawn. But not for long. I the next chapter of my blog I will show what our winter became and why I learned how to drive on snow and Ice really fast. So folks stay tuned...same station, same channel, same time next week.

Fall is beginning to show it's beautiful face...




Well here we are again, a little over a year later and we are am found in the same canyon, Logan Canyon, enjoying the beginning of fall.








Sorry this one did not get rotated, so just turn your head sideways. Can you tell we are taking our own picture?










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One in this picture is my very best friend and the other is my daughter, ( don't tell her she is my friend also). See if you can tell which one is which. Their names are Lorie and Frankie









I think I got the best side of both my best friends.



Frankie enjoys every opportunity to go for a hike with us. The only problem is that he loves to romp off the trail which leaves us with the concern of what he may chase our way. So far we have been very fortunate that it has only been small things, like squirrels, snakes and other small rodents. But we are always on guard when it is Frankie running out first and the sound of rustling brush behind him. He thinks he brave but we know different.

The Logan river is running right next to the trail and the fish where jumping and biting. We did not bring our poles, so the only thing left to do was watch and drool...

The day is drawing to a close and the blessings of this beautiful area are very edvident and we feel very fortunate to be here to enjoy it, even with Frankie chasing everything in site.

Christmas morning and the Gang's all here...




well maybe a few are missing but who knows what or who could be under this pile, I see Left to right, back row Dianne, Britney,Lorie, Chris, Robin (and the reason she is smiling so big the ring, wow) Jessica. Front row Cheryl, LaDenea, Alyx, and Ryan and I think the foot belongs to Lorie. Or some lost soul at the bottom of the pile.





The kids are all lined up to get a taste of what Chris got from Santa. It was something really sour but Micheal kept coming back for more...does he take after his dad? (David)









A while ago a tradition was started and it is that at most holidays Chris would get something called "Sticky Hands", and then he would annoy everyone by slapping them with those Sticky Hands.


But the force had a plan and we gave everyone a weapon ("Sticky Hands") and we bgan to practice on each other until fully trained. The other part of our plan was to train them early and give them protection and a gun. With this all in place we took the Enemy on in a great battle. But because of the Enemy's advanced skills and stealth abilities he sent us all running for cover and once again Chris the Terrible reins in the land of "Sticky Hands". But...just wait til next year!












As the above battle waged on all Kalee was thinking is, "Who is going to clean all this mess up? Not me." And so with that said we'll all say there is alway next year...Chris beware.

Pre-Christmas Activities












On our way back from our Hardware ranch trip we spied a large mound of Ice...oops someone forgot to turn the sprinklers off. So we're out of the car, of course now we have to play!

Behind and down the lane a little from our home is a large pond and it is frozen and ready for want to be ice skaters...like Dianne below. She is certainly more graceful her than when she was playing football on our back lawn and hit a patch of ice. Down she went, nothing broken but she is still recovering.

As you can see the big and the small were out on the pond.













Everyone and his dog were out on the ice. Yes that is Frankie, Lorie's dog. and he is getting is footing down. After a short time of practice he was off and running and there was no stopping him after he felt the freedom of open space to run.








After a few short lessons from Chris Robin was off and going also. That is jim with snow Shovel in hand. He was busy making an ice skating trail. Of couse the next day it snowed a little and all his hard work was gone. While everyone was here there was many more visits to the pond to ice skate and many were really getting the hang of it. The funny thing is that all pond have their sounds and this one is no different. As the water and ice change a cracking sound can be heard. When this would happen everyone would come to a stand still and wait...but nothing happened. Sometimes a long crack could be found. The ice on this pond is many inches thick. It never get above freezing here so not to worry. But it is a scary sound, especially if your are in the middle of the pond.