Christmas at G Mountain

Christmas time below G Mountain is a specal time for us. We prepare long in advance to make this a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year was no exception. The only thing that could have made things better was to have all our children and their families here to celebrate it together.
We have been blessed to have at least some of our family here in the past and this year, our daughter Erin and her family relocated back to PG. So now we have family close by, just down the street and up a block. For them, it was a welcome relief to have their home remodeling just about completed. They did a mavelous job on it.

So, in keeping with our family tradition, we celebrated Christmas Eve together, this time at Erin and Mark's home. As in the past, we had close family friends join us. For them, it most likely be their last time here in Utah Valley since they are selling their resturant and relocating to the deep south, Mississippi. It will be sad to see them go. We had a nice dinner and time spent together. After the dinner with program and singing, we came home to prepare for Christmas. The boys, George, Henry, and Teddy, were wound up. so after getting them down to bed and we started rearranging our living room for our Christmas gift opening. Jo relaxed by playing the piano as seen here while there was some last minute wrapping going on.

And so all the presents were laid out while the children rested in their bed with dreams of presents to be opened when they woke up.

We had fun putting presents under the tree by the light of christmas tree bulbs.

Here is a picture of Mark and Erin with their boys. Just enough to get them all together since the boys were very excited it being Christmas Eve.

Here is grandson Theodore wading through the presents on the floor. He finally got into the mood and was excited to explore the presents.

Ipo was very tolerent with Bubba, Erin and Mark's dog. He's fairly behaved and endearing. They got along well enough not to give us any concern except to let them out frequently to go potty.

As for Bubba, he's taken to Erin's family very well. That afternoon, George came down to our home to play games (PS2) and along came Bubba with him trapesing through the snow.

We want to wish all our family and friends a Merry Christmas season and Happy New Years. Thank you for those cards and letters at this time of the year. We are grateful to here from you and how you have been. We wish you all the best in the new year, joy and peace. Mahalo nui loa,

Sterling and Jo

Thanksgiving Celebration!



Now that the last of the turkey has been purged from our refrigerator, I have to say that we did enjoy again, another joyous feast. The most important part of the celebration was having some of our children and their family here for the visit. In all, it would have been better only if all of them had come, but where would we have put them.

If your used to these types of family gatherings, if everyone of our children and their family came, we would have asked to use perhaps the cultural hall at one of our meetinghouses (2, within 1 block of our home). Maybe there, we would have enough room for everyone.

Anyway, we had fun with the grandchildren and it was great to see cousins play together. The weather was unusally warm at this time of the year, and that made things more enjoyable. I can see that the little ones are begining to show their growth and how much more older they act.

Here is Christian, George, Anna, and Henry being called for dessert. They were having more of an enjoyable time on the Playstation 2 games.





Also on this weekend celebration was to celebrate our eldest daughter, Leslie's birthday. Again another milestone in our lives.

Here is Grandma, Leslie, and Anna holding up a wall hanging.

With candy in their mouths here is Anna, Christian, and George.










Another special moment, Grandma and Teddy.






Daughters Leslie, Erin, and Teddy.









Granddaughter Emily, Anna, and daughter Leslie. They are helping their mom open her birthday presents.

So, in all, it was a very nice time at Thanksgiving, celebrating Leslie's birthday, and spending time with family.

Who did it?

Which of these suspects do you think did the crime?

Or perhaps it was one of these suspects?

After questioning each suspect, it was ......................................... ?

Yes, you guessed it, Mrs. Peacock, in the library, with the KNIFE!

Case solved.

Halloween Happenings!

I am amazed at how much of a big thing celebrating Halloween can be, living in the center of Mormondom. With all the activity, let me clarify here, Church Activity, abounding in this area, we can't resist having a good time, just about for any reason. Let me elaborate, we celebrate all the major holidays observed by our nation plus an extra one, that being Pioneer Day. Of course, paying respect to the pioneers for coming to this valley in 1847. We celebrate patriotic holidays and religious ones to, that including Thanksgiving and Christmas. We profess to observe the "WOW" or word of wisdom, abstaining from tobacco, alcholol, and harmful drugs, while supposedly eating in moderating or if the price is right, eat out at places like Golden Corale and Chuck A Rama, plus a host of other places that really put out the spread.

Now back to halloween, most channels on the TV feature those haunted, gore, multiple psycho killing dramas, and people can never get enough of it. So, to make a positive statement, our local churches, or Wards and Stakes, usually have activities such as "Chilli Cookoff, or Ward Chilli Dinner plus dress up, keeping in mind to stay away from cross dressing, masked dress, and indecent attire that would be considered shameful. So, staying within the lines, we subject ourselves to such activities and sample some chilli that can be from one extreme to the other, or championship caliber chilli to rottgut chilli, in other words, you better bless it before consuming it chilli. At the dinner, since people dressed up, there must be a contest or judging of the best, most original, etc. All this culminates with the safe and proven easy way to go "trick o treating", in other words, "Trunk o Treat" in the parking lot of the meetinghouse.

Tonight was no exception and me personally, this is the second one of these within a week. I don't know if my stomach can take any more chilli, let alone the gradual buildup of gas. Let me regress a bit. On Friday, we went to my Married Student Ward for our Chilli Cookoff with dress-up and games. Seems like everyone brought chilli and we had more that enough. Jo and I were the judges, so dutifully, we tasted each chilli. Not good, I mean some of the chilli, but we bravely selected what we taught to be the best. Then we also judged the best costume and that was fun. Those young families, some are so creative. We had fun that evening.

Today at work, the building custodians took myself and some of my workers on a tour of the "Haunted House" located in "The Belly of the Beast" as they described it of the JFSB. Now this is a relatively new building and I hadn't heard of it being haunted or anything strange in it. Anyway, walking down the hallway of the basement where classrooms are located, there was one door that they opened that was not a classroom. Walking in it, we descended several steps to a dark hallway and into another room that my senses felt to be large and spacious. It was a very very large dark room with the sounds of mechanical equipment operating. We walked following out guide to the far reaches of this room and with the sudden blast of air pressure, the mist and spray of what felt like water, and the clanking of chains, this truely felt like a haunted room. Then we exprienced more creepy effects to our senses and of course the howling of so called creatures, and so it was, a very fun haunted house experience, down in the belly of the beast of the JFSB.

This evening, we went to our home ward for the annual Ward Chilli Dinner and were again subjected to Chilli. This time, most of the chilli was of a higher caliber. All I can say is that our home Ward Members have had more practice making chilli over the years and they proved it again tonight. There was the costume parade followed by the trunk o treat. All fun and now the tummy aches for the little kids from eating all the candy. Oh well.

I've sermized that living here amongst the Saints and observing their ways is a lesson in making the best of an otherwise no fun celebration. The people like to eat, so chilli is an inexpensive way to feed alot of people, especially if you have a large family. Candy is always a favorite and more fun to eat when they come in fun sizes, like for kids, even though the parents are the major eaters of the candy. So, keying off the halloween celebration, more candy is available during this time of the year for consumption. Since we observe the WOW, then coming to a ward chilli dinner function is our way of being in with the times, and reason for dressup. Of course, we get to carve pumpkins, decorate the house, and make your front yard look like a cemetary.

So, if you can convert them, join them.

Sound Off!

I guess at times we are naive to think that blogs are harmless rants and raves of twisted minds or the ill conceived posts of people just letting off personal thoughts and expressions. Perhaps its an opportunity to just let off some internet gas, politely and not have to look around and apologize in public. Harmless, innocent, just fun, but over the past year, it seems the fun family/friend blogs are falling victim to a few who deem to take its credibility and use it for abusive desires. Shame on those who use the innocent content of others to cause harm in any form, shame on you.

If you are one of these people of whom I'm referring to, how about giving it a rest? Whatever your intention is, just know that family/friend blogs don't need your contribution or abuse. Leave us alone, just go get a life.

Now for all those whom we communicate and confide with, I think the world of your blog contributions and entries. It helps to keep in touch and to enjoy your happy lives.

Some time ago, one of our family members felt the need to privatize access to their blog, and for good reason. I thought it was extreme, but over time felt better because it gave their content a select audience, of family and friends. Later, another family member decided to change the information/names of actual people in the household to protect identity and keep things on a more not to personal level. I certainly agree on this need to shield our loved ones from potential harm. Another family member expressed their decision to limit the access to their blog page due to miss representation and missinformation.

I know, we all don't live our lives only through and on blog pages. I barely have time to read them or check them once a day. However, when I get the chance, they are important to me and that perhaps is how I keep up with the goings on of people who mean alot to me personally. Keep the faith, let's "keep moving forward", from the video "Meet the Robinsons". Have a nice day.

Pics of Paradise

An old rock wall made of lava rock was decorated with some plants seen growing on its top.

Modern super roadways climb up the east side of the Koolau Mtn. range on Oahu.

Gigantic breadfruit tree with fruit in abundance growing on the side of the road on the Hamakua Coast.

Rain clouds approach Coconut Island in Hilo Bay.

Scene of Onomea Bay, once an arch on the Hamakua coast. The arch fell sometime in the late 50's but still a popular scenic spot.

Two old fishing boats layup on drydock perhaps to one day put out to sea again.

A couple pass the time away fishing from Laie Point as the waves come crashing against the rocks.

Trees grow over an old road, once the major roadway along the Hamakua coast.

Picture of a colorful plant that graced the front yard of a home near the roadway.

At a popular local fast food resturant, the menu is to die for if you like local food or grinds. Courtesy of Cafe 100, a landmark in Hilo dining.

A bamboo grove on the side of the old highway of the Hamakua coast.

Still popular to locals, this Queen Liliuokalani Park is a combination of several Oriental cultures captured in one spot.

Hope you liked the pictures. Enjoy.

Home To The Islands

It's taken me a couple of days to get over the jet lag and get back to the time difference from a visit to Hawaii. The trip was short but I got to spend time with our family and that was the most important matter. On Oahu, I loved visiting with Rachel and Jase and the children. They filled my time there with so much fun and enjoyment. The children have grown a bit and are a joy to be with.

They took me all over the island and it was great fun to see the different tourist spots. Both Klailea and Rykell are such sweethearts and they are so bright and funny.

This island hasn't lost its beauty or appeal, just lovely. Wow, how I miss the green lush color of the countryside. They only challenge was to get accustomed to the humidity and rain.

We got to see the Aloha Swap meet and shopped for all the goodies that are offered there.

We travelled throught the impressive H-3 Freeway and through the mountain several times. It's fun to look out the window of a fast moving van and take pictures of the mountains. Click, click, click, click. . . . . . Hope I don't get one of those light poles in the pictures.

Sometimes I wonder why we every left the islands. You only have to look at how crowded, how busy the traffic is, and then look at the price for just living there, then you get a sense of reality.

It is a blessing to have Rachel and Jase and the family there. Almost like a strategic Bed and Breakfast, or perhaps, a Bed and Luau, or a Bed and Tour Guide, or just family. How nice.

The beach at Sunset is always a popular place to stop at.

Then, you always have to get a dozen or so malasadas. This is a tradition and fixture.

At a park on the North Shore, the kids played hide and seek from Grandpa.

The picture tells it all. Klailea, Grandpa, Shae, and Rykell.

Happy 11th Anniversay to Troy and Leslie!!

Today is our duaghter Leslie's 11th wedding anniversay to Troy. Since I am away on an expidetion and to access to some photos that would bring back memories, I thought I would share some of the highlights of this blessed union: (I'm trying to be like our daughter Nikki, who can come up with all this numbering stuff!)

1. Troy loves our daughter Leslie so much so that he gave up his beautiful Mazda RX7 (red) car so he could drive around in a more modest older Nissan (I think). After all, the Mazda wouldn't hold as many grocery bags as the Nissan. I really thoughjt the red car was cool!
2. They received such wonderful wedding gifts at their reception in Lyndon, WA, and we got to haul the presents back in our travel trailer for them while they went on their honeymoon. There were some beautiful matching bath towels, etc., to start their new life. At one of their first apartments (basement dwelling), there was a backup of the sewer or drain, and in an emergency, they used the beautiful towels to help stem the rising tide, but in reality, ruined the beautiful new towels. Oh well, if that emergency didn't happen, the poopy diapers or something like it would have won out.
3. To get to know his new father-inlaw better, Troy takes him fly fishing on the Provo in November weather. While fishing, his father-inlaw falls in the river, and had to swim for it. Later when he caught up with the father-inlaw, he had the presense of mind to call leslie and make sure there was clean dry towels at there apartment for Dad, also, not to laugh, but especially, not to tell Mom. (Good guy, don't make to old man look bad.)
4. Since Leslie was the first of the family to get married, and set a tradition in place, Leslie and Troy were set in front of the entire family and questioned about their intentions to get married, what kind of person Troy was, etc. This would make the Spanish Inquisition seem pale in comparison. Troy, good natured and a good sport calmly accepted the intense questioning by his future sister-inlaws.
5. Troy asked for Leslie's hand in a most sincere and dignified way. Buddy, from that point on, you set the standard for the rest of the future son-inlaws in this family.
6. Always creative, talented and with an eye for solving problems, Troy got some old wood, spare lumber pieces, and built shelving in their apartment for things like storage, etc. Later, he gave one of the shelves to us, which we still use to this day.
7. At the wedding in the Seattle LDS Temple, the only tears of joy shed in the sealing room were from Troy and I. I love you son! It was also there that Leslie lost her bridal veil somewhere at the temple.
8. When son Christian was born, after Leslie's long labor, there was hubby Troy, mother, dad, and sisters present plus a person that was a Doula or abdoula or something like that. Something about a birth coach?
9. Though Troy and Leslie relocated to WA, we are blessed with their happiness there and it's a good place to raise a family.
10. Even though they are far away, we keep in pretty close regular contact, by blogspotting, phone calls, occassional visits, etc.
11. They have a beautiful family and the wonderful children, Christian, Anna, and Emily, compliment each other. They in turn make our entire family a piece of heaven on earth.

Happy 11th anniversary. Love to you all.

Hear ye! Hear ye!

I just signed up to win a Pink Dyson Vacuum through 5 minutes for Mom. Dyson and Target have teamed together for a limited time to offer Pink Dyson vacuums to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Fund.

Being a recent convert to the amazing workings of the Dyson vacuum, I am ready to win. You can go sign up. I prefer you dont; then I have a better chance of winning (a better chance than winning the lottery actually). The choice is yours. I'd be willing to vacuum every day with one of these. Po, your dog-hair collection doesn't stand a chance!

More September Stuff

Just a few pictures to share showing the changes to our front garden.

Since our daughter Erin and her family moved back to PG, they decided they wanted to do a make over of our front garden, so, with shovel in hand, and other assorted tools, plus bags of mulch and other stuff, they dug it up. In retrospect, this was the first major overhaul of the front floor garden since we move in during the summer of 92. Now, the garden has taken on a new look with some other plants and stuff. We appreciate the creative undertakings. So, the next time your in the area, give Erin your praise or critique. They all did a lot of work there.

Here, they dug a little garden area near the curb and transplanted one of the rose bushes there and some other plants. We are having some concern about the rose, if its going into shock. I think its given the yard a new look. The beautifying of that area is timely since I was having to pull weeds by hand. Lots of puncture weed started to sprout up in the area.

Our married student Stake had its annual welcome social with a luau. Since I am the only resident islander, I was persuaded to participate in the festivities. The food was so-so. Sort of like a L&L taste to it but lacked the real island stuff. Oh well, I guess I was the most prominent critic.

The entertainment was from a group called South Sea Island Production, that included two entertainers and three dancers. They really must be new at this stuff or were not up to their best. Of course, they weren't from the PCC but it was an enjoyable evening.

Of course, the fire knife dance was the highlight of the show. In all, it was an enjoyable evening.

September "Simmerings"

I don't know if the title is in the right grammatical form but I'm trying to catch up. We're almost to the month's halfway point and I hadn't updated the blog in a while. Since the latter part of last month, work has been a bear, trying to keep up with the demands from our campus departments. Life's been pretty fast pace and once school started, the traffic has been horrendous.
I've taken to driving a different route to and from work just to avoid the ever growing list of traffic lights. We used to have about twelve traffic lights to pass through to get to campus, now that list has just grown to twenty-two traffic lights. Well, you have to deal with the lights, deal with the "happy valley driving mentality," and the every popular wild life (aka, pedestrians0, it makes my travel time so exciting.
That last item is sometimes the worst of all, especially on campus. Of course the law says that if a pedestrian is in the cross walk, they are protected by the celestial law, the Utah Traffic Code. However, some will push the letter and limits of the law to mean that they can access the sacred "cross-walk" at any time no matter if traffic is flowing through it, and no matter what color the traffic lights are, as though they have a protective force field shielding them from the onslaught of a typical Detroit made vehicle, equipped with chrome plated bumpers, or plastic painted to look like metal bumpers, etc.
Even after many have answered the soul searching questions to their minister, preacher, Bishop, or Rabbi, "do you obey and keep the commandments, and are you honest in you dealings with your fellow man?, They repeatedly ignore the implications of of their conduct and carry on as though there would be divine intervention to protect them from the possibility of physical demolition when they come in contact with the bumper-fender combination. I don't believe that this would be a valid qualification for the category of "road kill" but it sure comes close.
I know that at this institution, as part of the cirriculum taught here, religious studies does address topics such as "this earthly life" or such things as "life after death" and even deeper topics as "the three degrees of glory" etc.
If your familiar with campus, I drive past the new Alumni building, then past the TNRB on the the gate guard before I enter the JFSB underground parking. It's at the crosswalk in front of the TNRB that I have issues with the public. For one thing, they have a traffic light there, to allow safe passage across the road. Generally a majority of the people using the crosswalk believe in observing the traffic laws, lights, and essentially most laws of the land. There is a growing trend to push the limits by justifying entering the cross walk even though the pedestrian crossing signal (big orange hand flashing) do not enter, or because there are pedestrians already in the crosswalk. By the way, many of these crosswalk abusers are "Graduate Students" going to and from class. Perhaps they feel they have earned the right to push the limits of their own safety while crossing the road.
We have those who also like to show off their new, or nearly new, or souped up mountain bikes, those who weave in and out of traffic. How foolish these so called educated people are. Don't they understand that the bigger the vehicle, the more right of way one has and the great chances of survival in case of a physical encounter of the first/second kind.
I also love the people who push the limits of understanding posted signs such as "Gate Card Access Required" and they pull up to the gate barrier and magically hope that it would open for them when they know that they don't have one of those new fangled electronic gate cards to trigger the gate barrier to open. What, do they think that they can will the barrier to open, or perhaps they have magical Harry Potter powers. Wow, we have people who are so called intellectuals or in higher education but have no clue.
I am sure that there is a big misconception that just because they've been accepted to attend school here, that they are holier than others. Wrong! Not everyone is like this but there are a few whose desired spiritual potential has exceeded their physical body in this life.
Now, getting back to reality, this campus is a great environment of spiritual growth, It just means paying attention to those things that really matter. While the educational offerings aspire to prepare one to "go forth and serve" and "the world is our campus" what a great atmosphere for learning. They're other great simmerings on this campus. Just to name a few; there is no graffitti anywhere on campus, there's no smoking, so their's no cigarette butts on the ground, there's no alcohol, so there's no DUI, the honor code dress and attire standards are observed so there's no lewd, or provocative dress and appearence, the only body piercing are worn by women who wear pierced earrings, long hair is worn mostly by women, while a few men are beginning to push the limit, and the only people who are high on something are those who will tell you that they are high on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How is that for making a statement?
Anyway, if its only these items that I have to complain about, then I am sure that life is sweet.
On a more pleasing note, we have living with us our third daughter and her family. We have the pleasure of having little ones in our home again, not just for the visit type but real live in type. The eldest grandson goes to school and in the first grade. He attends the same elementary school that our youngest daughter did when we first moved here. what's neat is that he walks to school with a couple of neighbor kids who attend the same school. Then there's another classmate he has who is our same home ward. They all attend Primary together. Wow, how neat.
He and his brother play with the neighbor kids from across the street and also some kids who live down the street. It won't be long till they will be playing the famous Utah "night games" just as his mother and father do occassionally with their friends from the area. On this last remark, I was just shocked that even these not so young adults, though married, still play "night games".
To make our home more appealing to the public, our daughter and son-inlaw did some landscaping and made some timely improvements. It's looking better than it was.
Though we are making adjustments to having other family members in our home, we are thrilled to have them here. The little people are really fun to have in our home.
Last item: This weekend, I've been batching it with my son-inlaw and grandson. The women folk made a quick trip to WA to see our eldest daughter and her family. So, let's see, last night it was saimin noodles for dinner, tonight is every man for himself, and tomorrow night is my Student Stake Luau, and Sunday is Roast Beef. That should be good until the women folk get back next week. Bye.

Catching UP!

Sorry I haven't updated this blog page. It's August and that means:

• Surviving the summer heat is a top priority. My office is located in the basement of the Joseph F. Smith Building on campus. I'm fortunate to park in an underground parking lot right where I work. If I'm delayed or come in an hour or two later, than chances are that I won't find any available parking stalls and so I have to hunt for one somewhere else. But, the benefit of parking underground is that my car won't get toasted out in the hot sunny weather when I leave for home. Also, working in the basement, you don't get to experience the weather, it's perfect here, a pleasant 72 degrees, no matter if it's summer or winter. If we peak our heads out like ground squirrls or gophers, then we get to see what the weather is like. The temperature has backed down to the high 90s and it still toast the lawn.


• Last week was the last of school for the summer so it was graduation week and the campus was abuzz with all kinds of visitors. Seemed like a great time to come to campus. We also met one of our long time British friends who are on holiday here, the Redpaths. Wow, how time as past. We also attended the wedding reception of another friend and acquaintance that we knew at Chicksands, the Kirkhams. While at the reception, we ran into another family that we knew while at Vandenberg, the Daniels Family. My oh my, how time has passed.


• We had a little gathering at our home with the Redpaths, Kirkhams, and Lawsons (Tom tomato!). It was a fun visit catching up and remembering our British friends.


• On Monday, our daughter Erin (Miss Aloha Spirit), Mark, and boys arrived from paradise to live with us until they get things going on their own. It's always great to have any of our children and their families come to be with us.


• On Tuesday evening after my meetings and appointments at church, I came home and took the grocery list to go shopping. To my horror, many families with school kids were also shopping to get the school supplies for their children. Anyway, I picked up the few items on the list and stood in the long line. The checker put the items in the sack and I went straight home. In once sack was a bag of animal cookies for my grandson George to take to school as part of his school supplies. He also needed a box of tissues which I put on the same sack. From the looks of things, the sack had only those two items. Later the next day, I get a call from Jo asking me where was the bottle of Tylenol that I had picked up for her. We couldn't locate them so we assumed that the checker at Wal-Mart forgot to give them to me. Well when Erin went to pick up George from school, his teacher asked her if she was to give George a tylenol pill at school? We were relieved that the teacher did inquire with Erin, and found out that it was a mistake. It could have been real serious, so lesson learned, check your grocery sacks.


• While school has begun for the kids in happy valley, so has Campus Education Week been going on here on campus. It's a madhouse, busy campus, long lines at the cougareat, and the bookstore, parking is nonexistent, and just a busy time here. We're glad its only one week out of the year. Even the first week of school isn't as crazy.


• My squarefoot garden is producing very well and keeping me busy. I'm working on ressurecting the great lawn area, and have to follow the city's strict watering policy, no watering on Sunday and Wednesdays. They are intent on issuing citations, that's how serious the drought has affected the area.

So this is the hot hot August month. As for our time to reflect, we've been getting used to having our children and grandchildren in our home again. This summer has been great with the visits of each of our daughters and their families. Well, we hope you all are having fun.

Summer Treasure

(left to right: Christian, Anna, Emily, Gabby, Elijah, and Ethan)











Some people look at wealth and gauge it by the looks of your home, mansion, or castle. Here in Happy Valley, there are alot of examples of such wealth. But in the true sense of the word, wealth is in the eye of the beholder.


We've been having a great summer with the visits of our children and their families. The best part is watching them and seeing their interaction, growth, their personalities, and how much they have similar works.

(Klailea, Rykell, and Shae)

So, as a tribute to our entire family, I would like to share some of our greatest blessings.





(George, Grandpa, and Henry)


















(top row: Nicole, Abraham, Grandpa, Erin, Theodore)
(bottom row: Ethan, Gabby, Elijah, Henry, George)










(Theodore, "I stand at the door" and knock)