May and Spring

We started this month with both of us seeing our podiatrist, Dr. Scott McKell. He is our dentist, Mark McKell’s brother. They are both very good doctors and we are happy to see them. I finally got my big black boot cast off and can wear shoes. After that visit we went to his brother, Mark for a dental appointment. No work needed. Yeah! 

I am not always going to say our temple dates because they are the same every week. Just know that we go and will let you know otherwise.

May 2nd we went to Troy Hulse’s son, JR’s, reception. It was in an old tin building down by the tracks. It was just so fun. They were married in the temple and the reception was wonderful. I dressed in the car after the reception so we could see the boys’ lacrosse game. They are so fun to watch and it is so fun to be with family. Both Camden and Jonny played and won by a whole bunch. Dianne had two beautiful children with her. She was helping out a family. She is always doing things for other people in need.

That evening we went to Riley and Bailey’s “May the 4th Be With You” party. They have such a cute little home and we were all outside until the rain. The food was all something Star Wars themed. Everyone moved into the house after the rain, but we went home because we were tired.  

Saturday and Sunday were our Stake Conference meetings.  They were incredible.  Every talk was right on the mark and so inspirational.  They filled our souls. We loved these meetings. 

We are now walking a mile every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at Nelson’s park. We love this. 

We finally had a Spring with blossoms on our Magnolia.

Clark brought our bees

 beginning garden

May 6th we went to Nixon's basketball team.  He is the tallest player on his team.

Scott and Dad put this little shed together

This is to give me room in my She Shed 

Inside Dad's Man Cave where he lives.

Friday, George served in the temple and later Ruth and Max came by to give us an old tub that we are going to use in the garden. It will be a place to wash the dirt off the vegetables so we don’t have to bring them in the house. We are so excited. We gave them a bag of carrots. 

Saturdays Erik and family come and mow our lawns.  It is such a necessary service.  We love it because we get to see them every week.

Somewhere in here Dad saw Dr. Larsen and he no longer has to do Ultra Sound because the bones have grown together in his shoulder.

May 13th we attended Brett Davidson’s funeral. His wife Kim worked at Timpview High School for a long time and did whatever Dad needed. She is so special. She and Brett had just returned from their 40th wedding anniversary cruise. What a shock for everyone. The funeral was so sweet and we learned so much about the good father and husband he had been. He was always there to help whenever needed and was a very intelligent man. He will certainly be missed.

Sunday, May 14th, was Mother's Day. I had flowers from Kristin and Tiffani, Dad, and Clark and Dianne.                                      

Cameron also brought flowers. Erik and Shanelle and Scott and Bethany brought hanging plants.

                                             Notice the beautiful tub in the background

That afternoon, everyone had a yummy dinner made by Dianne. This is the only picture we have of Mother's Day.  Dianne thought I took some and I thought she did.

May 15th Scott came to paint our shed barn red. He is amazing and so fast. He will do the trim another day and later put up the barn doors he has made for Dad’s shed. It made the entire yard look so much better. 

He is amazing.  He is building barndoors.

Dad even painted the wash tub red. Looks great. That afternoon we went to another one of Nixon’s basketball games.    

Days that we don't say anything, we are working in the garden and yard. We love it.

Sunday, Jeremy Richards came to church with us. He is trying so hard to take care of his parents and does everything around the house and yard. We love him. Bill and Carol Hoagland came for a visit. We are their ministering people. They love our garden and can’t believe how big it is. Cameron came for dinner and the game. We love it.

May 23rd Scott turned 44. He is so helpful to us. He calls and checks in several times a week. He is a good man and loves his family. They do so many things together and he loves his dogs and chickens. He can fix anything.

The next day was Camden John’s birthday. He is now 18 and going to graduate in a few days. He loves the Lord and honors his priesthood. We are so proud of him. He comes every Saturday to mow our lawns with his dad and Asher. They are very faithful. I think everyone loves him.

 That morning we went to Rowan’s kindergarten graduation. The kindergartners sang some songs and were so darn cute. You can’t help but love her. She is growing way too fast.

The 25th, Lily and Camden graduated from Pleasant Grove High School. Camden was student body president and Lily was student body secretary. They are quite a team. They are best friends. It was held in the Marriott Center. It was a great crowd and the program was amazing. They were part of a wonderful class and everything was well done. Camden gave some remarks and did so well. We are so proud of both of them. They will miss each other as they separate to do different things. They are both going to serve as missionaries and Lily will do a term at the College of Southern Utah before she goes. What wonderful cousins. We are so proud of them. 

                                            Student body  President  Camden John Bayles

                                                                  Some families

                                                                    Lily and Hailey

After the ceremony we joined the families for pictures. That evening Clark and Dianne had a huge dinner and party for them. It was a fun evening with food and games. Cameron joined us.

                                                                      big decisions

Watching basketball

Playing basketball

Games

The next day Dad cleaned the trailer so Scott could take it to Ephraim while he painted Bethany’s sister's new home. Her husband has taken a job as an emergency room doctor and has bought 10 acres and a huge home there. Scott is painting the entire place. It will take him several weeks. Bethany is excited to have her sister closer.

The next two days we watched the girls play volleyball on our TV. Tiff streams it. They played so well. After church we watched the finals and they took the championship of the whole meet. We love that we can see this live at home. 

Monday the 29th we traveled to Pine Valley, going through Beaver to get cheese curds and ice cream. It is so good. That is the only drawback for flying to Vegas. We have met Tiff and family in Pine Valley for 20 years now and love the camping. We usually go with the Jennings’ ward from Vegas, but this year because of volleyball we went a little later. The traffic was so much better than over Memorial Day. Cameron was already there and slept in his tent a few nights. The girls came late Saturday night. They insist on going here every year. Tiff had her best chicken and noodles with fry bread for dinner. Yummy.  

                                                           Leslie Nebeker, friend, Tiff and Twins

                                                          These deer just wander around

                                           The road is lined with these beautiful flags

After dinner instead of camping we went to St. George and got a motel. Smart! It is only a 25 minute drive. We had already walked a mile around the campgrounds. The next morning on our way back to Pine Valley, we stopped at Veyo to buy the best homemade pies in the entire world. They are so good. We bought three berry pies and one Key lime. We walked our mile and just enjoyed the mountains and the lake. It’s so beautiful.  The Nebekers camped in the next site. They are such fun friends. 

That night we had Tiffani’s famous tri-tip and Granddad’s Dutch oven potatoes for dinner along with a yummy salad. I made a very bad mistake by eating too much Sea Salt Caramel Chocolates and kept eating them every time Lauren offered it. We had our pies for dessert. I paid for the candy when we went back to our motel in St. George. I was up all night. In the morning Granddad went to the store for some Pepto Bismol. I was miserable. 

We went back to Pine Valley for a breakfast of Dutch oven potatoes mixed with scrambled eggs. I did not eat anything. Tiff and the girls had already taken down their tent and had everything loaded. We left at the same time and decided to go on the dirt road to Pinto, where the Sandstrom’s have a family reunion place. It was only 12 miles away. The road was a good old country road according to Dad, but it was very steep and narrow and he did not slow down. He was in heaven remembering all the times he had traveled on roads like that when he was a kid. I held on for dear life with white knuckles. Pinto was a thriving metropolis of maybe three houses, barns, and some metal sheds along with lots of hay fields with cows. The next section of road was much easier and not so high. I was very happy to get on a highway headed for Cedar City. Believe it or not, we stopped for ice cream again in Beaver. We made it home so tired, but had so much fun for a few days with Tiff, Cameron and the twins.

How blessed we are to live in such a beautiful country where we can enjoy freedom and worship as we please. We are blessed to have the true Gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Missionaries pictures:

                                                Sister Molly Byles and companions 2023

Kolton  Feb of 23  children