Two Recent Experiences

First of all, you probably won't believe that I am even posting. Miracles never cease (and don't ever forget that). I have two things that have been important to us recently.As you may or may not know, Vic and I have been monitoring our eating habits more closely. Over the last few months, we have gone to Diabetes classes to learn how to balance the carbs, proteins, and to eat plenty of vegetables. Well, after 3 months, we went back to the Dr. for more blood tests. The A1C was down from 11.5 to 8.1. That is still a touch high, but much better. The Dr. then ordered a Urin Albumin test (urin collection for 24 hours) and that was fine. He also ordered a Glucose monitor which Vic wore for 4 days. When the Dr. got the results, their office called and said, not asked, "Come in at 3:45 tomorrow." We were concerned and wondered what that test would show. When the P.A. came in, he was grinning ear to ear. He said he was so happy with what Vic and I were doing - and to continue doing it. Vic will stay on the same meds and not have to go onto Insulin. We were so happy that we came home and celebrated with a green salad with broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, and nuts for toppings!The second thing: Saturday was so windy, although it wasn't as windy as Wednesday (or was it Thursday). We stopped at the gas station to gas up the car. I was so happy that Vic was the one who got out into that cold wind and I got to wait in the car. When Vic got out the credit card to pay for the gas, the wind whipped his newly acquired temple recommend out of his wallet and it started blowing across the parking lot. The lot was icy and it kept sliding. Vic tapped on the window telling me that his temple recommend had blown out and so I got out to help him look for it. He went back to gassing up the car. I asked him where it was and he said "It's probably out in that field by now." As I started across the lot, I saw it blowing across the parking lot and started following it. Just as I would just about get to it, the wind would blow it farther away. Then it blew it into a fenced in area (around phone equipment). The enclosure was about 6 or 8 feet square and the recommend was about 1 foot in from the fence. As I went up over the curb to the area, I tripped on the icy curb and fell down. Some guy stopped and asked me if I was OK. I told him I was and he drove off. (Some good he was) Then I walked around the enclosure to the side closest to the recommend and knelt down and tried to get my hand under the chain link fence. It was tight, and just as I about reached it, I actually flipped it farther away. But I was persistent and forced my hand and arm farther under the fence. At last I reached it and pulled it out. As I was getting to my feet, another guy stopped and asked if I was OK. and I said yes and he drove away too. But I was OK because I had reached my goal.Vic said he would have to remember to get out the credit card in the car before he got out into the wind. As we go through our journey in life, how many things do we learn & have to remember? Hopefully we will remember all the important things that are life threatening, but also the things that will make us a better person. Also the things that will bring us closer to our Heavenly Father.

Camp Cumorah

On the way to Camp Cumorah, we were able to see the windmill farm. We didn't realize that there are hundreds of them up there - not just the ones you see on the skyline from Ammon. If you haven't driven up there recently - I suggest you do. They are huge and they cover several miles.




Camp Cumorah still has the lake complete with beavers. This picture is taken from the amphitheatre (flag area). The first night there as we were having our flag ceremony, the beavers were having a great time swimming around the lake.




There is now a lodge at the Camp - it is huge! There is a big meeting room, a kitchen and a shower-bathroom area.

This is a view from the lodge.

Camp wouldn't be complete without the Priesthood skit where they have someone else be the arms and they have to feed them which gets all over their face.

It was fun to be at Cumorah. The campsites have been improved. There is running water and electricity in each campsite now. There is a cemented area big enough for 4 picnic tables, and tent pads have been leveled out and surrounded by logs. The camp is bigger now, the roads have been gravelled and camping areas in each site (like a forest service campground). There are probably twice as many camps as there used to be.

Camp wouldn't be complete without certification - fire without matches is always a fun one.

It was fun to camp, but it is good to be home.

Flowers, Flowers, and More Flowers

Wow! The flowers have been great this spring!!!!!

Winter Birthdays

I am glad my birthday is in the winter. You know - that yukky weather when the sun only shines occasionally, you are tired of staying inside all the time, you are extremely anxious for flowers to bloom even though that will be months away, you are afraid that the ice will never melt and even more afraid that you will slip and fall and maybe break something, you panic when someone in your air space coughs and they really should have stayed home, and you are anxious for green grass.

On my birthday, I went to work wondering what the day would bring. Yes, I did go to work and what did I see before I even made it into my office - my office door was decorated with signs. They were a big advertisement and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my secret - everyone would know. I know who did it and he had better look out come April.
I had lots of well-wishers who just stuck their head in to say "Happy Birthday" and some even brought gifts of cakes, and candies, and flowers.

Thanks to all who made my day special!

Merry Christmas

Christmas 2010 will be remembered by:

Christmas blankets: I made fleece blankets for all the kids and grandkids. This stack is only half - the Utah half. I had them done and sent them home with Gene when he came up for Thanksgiving. (Thanks Gene) I forgot to take a picture of the second stack, but it was bigger than the first one. Then we had to wrap them all - wow! that was a BIG job. But from the "Thank yous" we received, they are nice to wrap up in and stay warm.


The 12 days of Christmas for the grandkids: We enjoyed finding family history this year and so a couple of the days of Christmas were family history oriented. We also included activities to feel the spirit of the season and others to keep little hands busy while waiting for Santa.



We did manage to set up the Nativity and read the Christmas story. We enjoyed the spirit of the season and the love that always abound this time of year. We received cards and newsletters and enjoyed visits with siblings, children, grandchildren, and friends.

Puzzles: Our family has always enjoyed jigsaw puzzles so when Roseann stayed with us for three weeks, she brought things to keep herself busy. She brought puzzles and we did some of my puzzles, but our favorite was a puzzle of the Nativity. We probably put together 10 puzzles while she was here.



Snowflakes on Christmas Eve. We had Christmas eve dinner at Chris' place and enjoyed a very nice ham dinner, complete with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, veggies, and pie. Afterwards, we all made snow flakes and played the signs game. Had a great time - the Baldwin's are fun to be with!

Family, Family, and more Family

Aren't families great? We have the best of the best!

1. Family get togethers are always great and when they are in the temple doing baptisms together, it is wonderful - thanks to all who helped with the 130 names we did last week.

2. Family spending the night is always fun. Ken and Roseann (Vic's brother and his wife) spent the night this week and we had a great visit with them.

3. Family birthdays are always fun. I like the look of surprise when they open that special gift you picked out just for them. And having cake and ice cream while we visit is great.

4. Family talents are wonderful. Kyle used is talent recently to help us redo the ceiling in our downstairs bathroom. He also helped us hang a blind in the family room. Thanks Kyle. And I always love to hear Kyle or Missy play the piano.

5. Family cookouts speak for themselves. Steaks cooked outside on the grill and the weather being warm enough to eat on the deck are the BEST!

6. Family emails and text messages and phone calls are the best ever. My heart always beats a little faster when I see the caller I-D says the call is from a family member. Tracking blogs is always great fun and a great way to keep up with pictures - I sometimes get teary-eyed when I read those.

7. Family support and encouragement - being there for each other even if it means having to travel to be there.

Genealogy / Anniversary trip

We just got back from Utah where we enjoyed a genealogy finding trip. We planned to meet Yvonne in Oxford, but their car overheated and they turned back - maybe another time. Meanwhile, dad and I turned off on the wrong road and were headed back to Oxford the long way. When we got the phone call from Yvonne, we were in Preston (south of Oxford) getting ready to head back North. After the disappointing news that they wouldn't be joining us, we decided to head to Richmond instead of going north to Oxford. We found the museum (which was closed, but they let us in anyway) and we found a beautiful table that Cornelius Traveller made. You can see the top of it in the picture above. It is in a pie shape. (Gene - it really needs to be refinished) We also met Lee Ann Traveller who took us around town and showed us the places that the Traveller's had lived. We tried to find the Olsen home, and took pictures of a few of them, but we aren't sure if they are the correct home. Guess we will have to do a bit more homework. Then we went to the cemetery and took pictures of headstones. Christopher John and Mildred Traveller Olsen (my grandparents), Christopher Marinus and Caroline Olsen, Cornelius Traveller and Francis Hobbs Traveller are all buried there.

Then we went on to Hyrum, Utah (originally Camp Hollow) where Cornelius Traveller and his family came with other settlers in 1860. They built dugouts in the hillside and then Ezra T. Benson (Pres. Benson's father) told them to move 1 mile west for better water and they built a fort to provide protection from the Indians. The fort was 2 1/2 city blocks long - had 38 cabins in it. The back wall of the houses were the fort wall. The creek ran through it to provice water for the gardens, and homes. The fort was on both sides of Main street in Hyrum (which runs East-West and I guess that is unusual as most Main Streets run North and South). We tried to find this monument by going to the museum. We had directions to the museum, but we were on the wrong side of the street and ended up in the City building. We went in to ask for directions and a very nice man told us the museum was across the street. I asked him if he knew where the Camp Hollow monument was and he said he did. He marked it on my map and then said they were going to move it to the original site of the dugouts. Then he said he was on his way that direction and he would show us the way. As we were leaving the building, someone said hello to this kind man "Hello Mayor". So, the Mayor showed us to the monument and then showed us the original site of the dugouts. Wow! what a great man. Then we came back and visited the museum and found out that the immigrants had planted 100 acres of crops for the winter and then dug a canal 21 miles long in 9 days. The interesting thing - the canal was built 4 feet deep, 4 feet wide at the bottom and 9 feet wide at the top. It has just the right amount of drop - meaning it will flow very well and all they had was a spirit level (the old levels with the bubble in them). When they turn the water out of the canal in the fall, it all drains and not even a puddle remains. They built the cabins and the fort at the same time and were ready for winter. The only problem was that the canal didn't provide the water in time to save the crops.

Then we spent the night in Logan and went to the temple on Friday morning. August 3 is our 37th anniversary and we were so close to that day that we felt it would be a great way to celebrate an early anniversary. When we got married in Logan, the sessions had live actors and you went up lots of stairs from room to room. It was remodeled in 1977 and now you stay in one room the whole time. After the session, we walked around the temple and took lots of pictures. This is my favorite. It is taken close to the spot that we took pictures on our wedding day. On our wedding day, I think we took 4 or 5 pictures. I wish we had taken more.