Strawberry Days Pics

This is a community event. The family (grandchildren and parents participated in the Childrens Parade. Then they got complimentary ride tickets and spent the evening at the carnival.

One of the first big attractions was the giant slide. They let daring parents take their kids on the slide. I think the parents had more fun than the kids.
















You don't realize how fast the ride is and how your heart is left at the top of the ride until you get to the bottom.

















George chose the more adventurous climbing and a big slide down at the end.












Drivers Ed is a big concern especially when its time to give them a liscence and pay for the insurance. So, its time to start them young so they can get the discounts later.









Here Henry got to choose the flying saucer ride and seemed to enjoy the thrills.












So even the big kids got their chance for some thrills.

On Saturday, there is the big Strawberry Days Parade. This is a big community event. So, there are some opportunities to make some money selling canned drinks and otterpops. This was a successful one for Nikki and the kids. When the temperature nears a hundred, people don't mind paying a dollar for a canned drink.

It was good training for future business tycoon "Pookie" as he helped sell otterpops.

If you hold a parade, people will come. Here Erin and good friend Ella sit under an umbrella waiting for the parade to begin.

The parade is for everyone, so young and older attend and make a day of it.

If you ever come to PG during Strawberry Days, stay for the parade, it's worth it. Just one big community event.

Strawberry Days Celebration

A roller coster ride is always thrilling no matter who it's meant for. PG had its annual Strawberry Days Celebration. On Family Day at the carnival, our grandchildren really had a blast riding the children rides. It was fun to watch them enjoy it so much.

The city organizers held a childrens parade midweek and all children and their families were invited to participate. The parade is a huge success since the participants are rewarded with free carnival ride tickets. On this family day, the prices for the rides were discounted also which made it even more of a bargain.

The grandchildren got to go on various rides that were meant for little children. They all enjoyedthe rides and kept talking about how much fun it was.

I'll try to add some pictures in our next blog of the fun filled weekend at Strawberry Days. Bye.

"June Is Busting Our All Over"

We're having a wonderful June month this year, much busier than in previous years. It's always great when our children bring their families for a visit.

Earlier, we had Rachel and Jason with their children visiting. Our granddaughters are such a ham. They wanted to make funny faces as you see here in this photo. But in truth, they are fun to be with and just darling.

Here, Rachel and her daughters visit with Jo in the sacred quilting room. They were having fun and Grandma was showing them how things are done, using a computer and making designs and stuff.

Rachel and daughter Klailea were a big help in my garden. They helped plant and later water the garden. Here, Rachel is cutting the ground cover to plant some savoy cabbage. The ground cover will keep the weeds out of that are while letting water through to nurish the plants. Klailea just loved planting a garden.

Here is my Grandson Shae with his dad and I just aftern his baby blessing. He's a handsome little guy.

On Friday before Fathers Day, our daughter Nikki and her children came for a surprise visit, just making the weekend a perfect one for us. Here she is with her newborn Abraham, or Ham for short. He's a tiny little guy with good lungs.

This is Grandma with grandson Elijah or "Bun" for short. He is turning into a very handsome little one. Though shy, he is warming up to us grandparents very quickly.

On Saturday morning, our daughter Erin and her husband Mark and their sons flew in from Laie for a visit to coincide with a business trip. We were excited to see them. Here are my handsome grandsons with me. Of course this visit was timed just right.

Of course, they are getting a little bigger than the last time and so it was just right that they should be riding their bicycles with their mom.

The older of our visiting grandsons, George is seated with his dad Mark. We can see that he's grown a bit since last fall.

Always a good spot for a rest is our front porch bench as we watched our grandchildren play in the yard and driveway. The warm days are pleasant right now.

Our grandson Henry and his cousin Gabby share a ride on the tricycle and did a good job not getting hurt.

Of course, Fathers Day wouldn't be complete without a Ginger lei and surrounded by some of my children and grandchildren. This picture was take just after I was set apart as Bishop, this time in a BYU Married Student Ward. This occassion is my 4th time called as a Bishop.

We all tried to put on our best behavior in church and while still attired rightly, took some family shots. Here is daughter Nikki with her Children. Dan is back in ND at work in the air force and also studying to finish up his schooling for his Masters. I guess the peace and quiet with help him concentrate better at this very important time in his career.

And lastly, this is the official picture for this latest calling as Bishop. We enjoy the work and serving with the married students or young marrieds of this particular BYU Stake. Afterall, we were once in their position many years ago.

I thought we would share the news to all of our friends and family with the latest happenings in our family. Our love to all. Aloha...............

Family On The Move

Yesterday, my nephew (RM) Jacob called to let me know he was in town attending some training for Especially For Youth at Provo. I was excited to see him, since his recent completion and return from the mission field. When I went to meet him, he was directing people traffic from the EFY groups and seemed to be well liked, admired, and almost drooled over by the EFY young women. Well, what more can you ask for than a handsome Polynesian from the islands and a RM to boot?

They were greeting him with Aloha's and it was well received. Anyway, I see that his mission did him great loads of good, he's much more mature, has a sweet and humble spirit, and is well mannered. Above all, he is happy to be attending this EFY training.

Of course, he is taller or I am just getting shorter. Jacob looks well.

















Several days ago, our grand daughters were visiting and here is Klailea, just tired but watching a video in their car. She was a big help in the garden and fun to be with.














Rykell, though tired, also enjoyed watching the video in the car.
















Here is a picture of a stream near the 13th hole orf Homestead GC. It was a pretty peaceful scene.













As I passed Deer Creek dam area, the background of Mt. Timpanogos looked just majestic.

Blur of a Weekend

By the time the Friday afternoon rolls around, we usually look forward to a bit of a relief and relaxation from the busy work week. That translates to sleeping in on Saturday morning, of course following some date nite activity on Friday evening. However, by the time we get home from work, we're too tired to go out, plus Ipo doggie wants to play. There's the other important things such as cutting the lawn, watering the vegetable gardens, watering the lawn, and cleaning the house.

This weekend had its own schedule. On Saturday morning, I was scheduled to participate in a golf tournament sponsored by Fujifilm Company. The tournament was held at Homestead GC in Midway (next to Heber City). The tournament is held in two groups, morning and afternoon, with a luncheon provided plus participation gifts given. I was assigned to the morning group. So, with anticipation, I planned my schedule to get to bed early and rested so I could get up early and drive the rode to Midway (50 minutes up Provo Canyon past Deer Creek etc.)

However, my plans were interrupted on Friday evening about 10:00PM when I get a call from the Church's Facility Maintenance Group (FM Group) that the picnic pavilion for our Married Sutdent Stake Center (LDS Church) had been set on fire and pretty much destroyed. That message sent a chill down my spine. The fire was suspiciously set and no one was caught or charged. Part of my church responsibilities was to inform our local leaders and find out more about the cause and all the facts. After I had done this, at 11:00PM, I drove to the Stake Center to survey the damage. Of course, the Fire Marshall Fire Inspector (FMFI) was conducting an investigation at the time. The fire department was still on scene, and three other church officials were there. I answered some general questions, and then was permitted to photograph the fire damage.
It was devastating to look at in the middle of the night with the pungent burnt smell in the air. However, looking at the next morning was even more of an eye opener. The fire was of such a magnitude that it toasted or burnt the whole roof section and of course, the heat destroyed everything in the pavilion.

As you can see, it was such a tragedy. There was estimated $90K worth of damages to the structure and equipment. With the openness of the access, we sometimes overlook how blinded we are to security requirements or how trusting we are to others.

A horrifying thought is if it was on the main church building or to someone's home. Fire's are so destructive.
This was a rude awakening for the members and leaders of the Stake. We will now have to improve upon our security procedures and take better care of the facilities. Today, I received information the the Church will rebuild the pavilion in about 6 - 8 weeks from now. So, that's a blessing. Since this is the only facility for this Stake, it will sure come in to good use.

So, after a short night sleep, I drove to Midway and golfed in the morning. It was sure pretty driving up the canyon and past Deer Creek. The golfing was alright and a fun time.

In the afternoon, I had a chance to golf 9 holes with my son inlaw, Jason and his Dad at Cedar Hills GC. It was fun and we certainly enjoyed the time out there. After dinner, we prepared for going to North Salt Lake for my grandson's baby blessing.

Those who participated in Shae's baby blessing.

Here is Shae with his parents and Maternal Grandparents, Sterling and Jo. He seemed very contented especially with all the fuss and attention.

Grandpa, Shae, and Jason.

Baby Shae with is parents and Paternal Grandparents Rand and Shelly.

The baby blessing was memoriable not only because of family that joined in but special neighbor guest, Elder & Sister Uchtdorf. It was a thrilling opportunity to meet them.

We've enjoyed the visit of Rachel, Jason and their children. It's been a fun time and itsa always good to get to be reaquainted with our grandchildren. We now have 15 grandchildren and they all are so great. We miss them all. One of these days, we'll get them all together in one place to visit with them all. We keep hoping and planning.

So now, that the weekend is over, we sure miss the time with family. This coming weekend is not without its thrilling excitement. But that's for another Blog Page. See you all later.

At The Foot of "G" Mountain

Life is sort of quiet here except for some dog barking in the night, or the smell of freshly cut alfafa, or even the noise of neighbor kids playing "night" games. At this time of the season, its time to plant, yes, our gardens, reworking the lawns, etc.

Mt. Timpanogos was majestic the other day during my water turn.

There's been some vacated spots on the terrace area that we put our Square Foot Gardening boxes. Prior to that, there was an apricot tree and a peach tree. The gardner's helper pruned one tree so much, it never recovered and had to be terminated. It was already beyond help.




With the warm weather, the flowers are starting to bloom, giving a sweet fragrance to the air. Some of Jo's roses are really pretty.
















I borrowed Boyd's pickup truck to haul trash to the refuse collection site. so, while I have the truck, I needed some compost. What a deal! I could spend $5-7 a 2.2 cu. ft. bag or spend $35 for a yard. Seems the loader gave me more than my money's worth. Now, all I have to do is find a place to pile it so I can use it in the garden. Anyway, I moved it from the drive way to the garden area so as n0t to offend our neighbors.






When gardening, you need to get good help. Just so that I have to willing helpers who have been fun to work with and excited about gardening. Klailea and Rykell have been put to good use helping in the garden and lawn. (Check out my previous blogs on this.)














Klailea has been so fun to work with and excited to help. She does good work.










Rykell takes life as it comes but can be very serious about helping. She's taking a break here.












As a side light for working outside, they wanted to run in the sprinkler. The weather was getting warmer and this was a good way to let off some energy.











We got the two of them still enough to take a picture with us and Ipo.









As you can see, I've been using the reference material, the Square Foot Gardening book, latest edition to guide me through my gardening. This is becoming so much fun. I've put the garden boxes on the terrace so to be close to the house. This way, Jo can also check the garden often. Of course, the larger garden is out back and takes putting on Wellingtons to work out there.

Here you see the hired help who did an excellent job planting the herbs, and other vegetable plants. Since I had more than would fit in the boxes, I will use the excess plants in the big garden.









Our granddaughters seemed to get really excited planting seeds such as bush beans here.












Rachel and the children here enjoy planting the herbs and vegetables.

Of course, Rachel shows her expertise in planting. Not only has it been a good visit but a very productive one with working on the lawn and garden. I got the last of the sod laid with her help and most of the bare spots have been coved.

Anyway, I whole heartedly endorse the square food gardening as a way to have some fun in gardening. I refer you to our daughter Leslie's blog page. This method of gardening is not only organized but eliminated some of the inherent problems with finding proper space and then the long hours spend maintaining the garden from weeds and other pests.

Shortly, I'll construct my trellis rack to let things like mellons and other vine climbing plants grow upwards. Anyway, I think after I install a drip system to water the garden boxes, it will be pretty much self sustaining.

On shorter note here. I followed Mel's mix and calculated the amount of ingredients I would need. When I used the nutrimulch compost mix plus another type of compost mix (recommed in Mel's book) our dog thought that the stinky mulch was so delightful that she got into the bag and has been edging towards the garden boxes. I may have to construct a dog barrier to keep her out.

Happy trails and good gardening.