March 1 was a Sunday so we had some fine dining with Master Cameron Jennings. It's always a pleasure when he visits the manor.
Monday we frolicked with the butterflies. (It's harder than it sounds when the butterflies are made of iron.) Fortunately, Grandad is used to pumping iron. (Check out that curl work!)
Tuesday the 3rd we went to the Provo City Center temple for some endowments.
The 4th was a follow-up with Dr. McKell to get my crown fixed as it was chipped. We must really miss him because we find so many reasons to visit. Grandad figured he'd pay a visit as well.
Back to the temple on the 5th, this time for sealings. Grandad didn't work his usual shift on Friday the 6th. We spent the day cleaning the house.
Saturday the 7th was a very busy day. Grandad did some cleaning/organizing in the shed area. He found an old tarp he was going to throw away until he realized it was almost the size of the yard. It may or may not have been used to cover a wagon as it crossed the plains. He pulled out all the wood and fed it through the splitter.
He also painted the beehives. Busy day! He felt it later!
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| Brother Dybantsa, Dave, Cameron |
Cameron was back on the 8th. We were glad to see him before he joined his dad, Dave, for a trip to the Big 12 Basketball Championship. Those guys sure love their Cougars.
Monday the 9th was more welding, this time some bees. We're not sure they'll be able to get in and out of the hives, but they should be more cold tolerant.
Tuesday the 10th was quite the adventure. I forgot to take my dress to the temple so I had to rent one. It was fine until I got home and realized I had left my packet of names in the dress pocket. (Grandad wonders why I don't leave them in my locker. Perhaps he's right. Don't tell him.) We had to go back to the temple to get them. They were turned in to the lost and found before the dress got washed - thank heavens. Fortunately it was the Orem temple and not Logan or St. George.
On the 11th, he stacked the wood that had been split. We're now all prepared for the winter that never came.
The 11th was also Molly's birthday. She is always a bubbly, happy bundle of energy. She is the happiest wife and goes to the temple often with her husband Jayden.
Thursday the 12th we punched our loyalty card at I-Hop. They recognize us when we walk in the door.
We (I) had a bit of a panic on Friday the 13th - go figure. We realized our prescriptions for Eloquist had still not arrived and we were supposed to fly out that weekend for South Carolina. We also got notification that a winter storm was headed for Chicago and our flights might need to be changed. Oh dear! We were able to get some samples from our doctor to hold us over for the trip and after talking to our travel agent (Kristin) we decided to fly out the next day, Saturday, instead of waiting for Sunday.
We ran some errands on Saturday morning and then headed to the airport. Sadly, we got bumped. Our luggage however had a great flight to Charlotte, arriving right on time. It ws at that point we realized that the Eloquist was also traveling at 30,000 feet without us. Our hearts were all a flutter.
We had some options, but none of them looked great. We could run the risk of getting stranded in Denver or wait until 11:30 at night and fly to Newark, gangster's paradise. It was only 1:00. At some point, Grandad noticed there was a flight to Newark at 3:36. He noticed it at 2:05. There is a 30-minute cut off to check in. We called Kristin and she booked us as first as she could, but she couldn't check us in. We hustled to the gate and since the flight was open, they let us on. There was a flight leaving Newark for Greenville 15 minutes after we landed. We knew if the stars aligned, our flight got in early, and the Greenville flight was delayed, we might just receive a miracle and make it to South Carolina. Sadly, our flight left late, the Greenville flight left early, and the planets couldn't care less about our connection. So we spent the night in Newark.
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| Holiday Inn Penthouse Suite |
Rather than trying for an unlikely flight to Charlotte the next morning, we slept a little extra and caught an open flight to Greenville. Despite Kristin's assurances, I was worried we weren't going to get on so I made friends with the gate agent, helped her with her genealogy, and she found us seats together.
I had an episode on board (i.e. panic attack) and the flight attendants asked if there were any medical personnel on the flight. They found a nurse who came to help me. Our flight was met by EMTs. (I don't necessarily recommend this method, but it did get us off the flight in a very timely fashion.) David had driven the hour and a half to get our suitcase in Charlotte, then drove the hour and a half to Greenville to get us, pumped us full of our drugs, then drove the hour and a half to the Batchelor Pad. What a good sport. We got there just minutes before Kristin and the kids got home from church. (Kristin couldn't come get us because she is Primary president and it was ward conference.) We were exhausted and promptly bought confirmed tickets for our flight home. Standby sucks. (We don't say sucks.) We spent the rest of the day relaxing and just enjoying being together.
The Batchelors didn't have school on the morning and David had taken the day of work so we all slept in a little bit. I helped Kristin feed her chickens. It ended up being a sad chicken week as two of her chickens were killed in two days by predators. It's so sad when that happens.
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| The two brown chickens are no longer with us. |
We also made grocery runs to Costco, Trader Joe's and Aldi. A trip to Aldi is always a must when visiting Kristin and we realized we should visit our local Trader Joe's more often - if only for the flowers.
David had taken the day off work so he could paint the Primary room. We were surprised at the condition of Kristin's building since it seems pretty run down. They had purchased the paint themselves and David spent the entire day painting. We went at the end of the day to help with some final taping.
Before video of the room. They still have chalkboards instead of white boards.
When we finally finished at almost 10 p.m., we went home and celebrated Baylie's birthday. Her birthday wasn't until Thursday, but Monday was the only night she wouldn't have a rehearsal or a performance. Kristin made her a gluten free bundt cake. It was surprisingly good! (Both because Kristin has a checkered cooking past and because it was gluten free.)
We went back to the church the next day - St. Patrick's Day - to help Kristin hang the pictures back up.
So much better!
We were able to support Jalen at his track meet. It was fun because we don't ever get to see Kristin's kids play sports live and are usually watching videos. He ran the 100, 200, 400 and the 4x200 relay. It was sooooo cold!! Colder than Utah. The week before and after we were there it was in the 80's. Go figure!
On the 18th we continued relaxing, watching basketball, and just enjoying being together. David made us cabbage soup and Kristin made shamrock shakes. We were kind of dreading the cabbage soup (sounds like a punishment), but I ended up asking for the recipe. It was delicious! The shamrock shakes were tasty and fun.
Tiffani and the twins are driving up the Pacific Coast Highway and met up with Parker and Jessa in Oregon. What a fun opportunity! Parker is doing really well in his opthamology program. He and Jessa are expecting their first baby - a little girl - this summer.
Thursday the 19th was finally Baylie's birthday. It's crazy to think she is now 18 years old. (She thinks she should have all the benefits of adulthood now.) It seems like just yesterday Kristin and David were bringing her home after so many years of waiting. She is a jewel and such a joy to be around.
It was also opening night for the musical, Little Shop of Horrors. It is an odd play, but Irmo High School put on an amazing performance. Baylie played the part of the street urchin, Crystal, and had a couple of solos. She did so well. We were glad we could be there as it was the first time we had seen one of her musicals. The cast all sang Happy Birthday to her afterwards. When we finally got home, she opened her presents.
The next day, Friday the March 20, Simon Johns turned 8. Such an important birthday! He will be baptized soon. Simon is Ashley's second child and is a bundle of energy. He's a fun addition to our family.
Grandad hadn't been feeling well and had been choking down Kristin's homemade medicinal remidies. She took him to the herbal shop to purchase his own voodoo products.
Kristin and David went back to the play and we stayed home with Jalen. We made delicioius homemade pizzas. Kristin always feeds us well. (Again, this is surprising to all of us.)
The week passed by too quickly and Saturday the 21st was our day to fly home. Because the outbound flight had been stressful, we decided to buy tickets to fly home. It was nice to be able to relax in the morning rather than having to catch the earliest flight. It gave me the opportunity to bond with Spike as he took his weekly bath.
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| Spike is a voracious eater. |
We flew home on flights that were mostly empty (of course), but we were still happy with our choice to purchase tickets. Grandad had picked up a cold or allergies in South Carolina and we were both ready to get home.
Sunday the 22nd Grandad slept in until 11:30! That is so unusual for him. I was also really tired. We spent the day resting from our trip. Cameron came over to watch basketball with us.
Tiff and the girls had another fun encounter as they managed to attend church in the ward where Jonny is serving his mission. They even got to hear him speak! He is much loved in the ward.
On Monday we got some wood from Erik. He had to cut down the big tree in his backyard. A big branch had fallen on his house earlier and they knew the whole tree would come down at some point.
The fruit trees are in blossom. We're worried that they will freeze and we'll lose all the fruit.
But in the meantime, they sure are pretty.
We love the tulip tree blossoms (or as we call it, a magnolia teacup), but it's always over-eager and ends up dying from frost. Sigh.
That same day Tiff and Dave came to visit Cameron on his birthday. Tiff flew on her own using Kristin's flight benefits and used the Trax light rail to get from the airport to Provo. Such an adventurer! Dave flew for work so he was able to take a non-stop flight.
Tuesday the 24th was Cameron's birthday. We enjoy getting him to ourselves when he comes to visit every Sunday. He works so hard at school and is fiercely loyal to his Cougars and Dodgers.
On Saturday the 25th we were able to visit the Lindon Temple House. It is always beautiful to visit a new temple. The colors and artwork are beautiful. It has two baptistries, which is unusual. We used my frequent visitor pass, which gave us priority access for parking and temple entrance. I don't know if you've seen these. They're blue with a white figure in a chair with big wheels.
The 26th we went to the the Saratoga Springs temple with the Seamons.
As it was nearing the Easter season, I got out this beautiful quilt George's sister, Mikki, made for us. The memories of her kindness and effort in making this made me cry. (Which is unusual because I hardly ever cry.0)
On the 28th I fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night. I'm not sure what happened. (Maybe it was a bender?) I woke up with a big bruise on my arm.
On Sunday the 29th we had a family fast for some members of Dianne's family and for Shanelle's dad. We are grateful we can join in fasting at times like these. There is power in fasting together as a family.
The remainder of the month was spent on the lawn. On the 30th, Grandad attacked the garden with the rotatiller. As usual, he assures me the garden will be much smaller this year. As usual, I know he is deceiving himself.
I even took a turn with the lawn mower! And this time I didn't almost take a nose dive over the side of the yard!
On the 31st, Grandad's buddy Max came over with Mater (the dump truck). They proceded to dump soil and manure on the garden. Apparently we have learned nothing from the great shoulder fiasco of 2025.
We also had some help aerating and leveling out the yard. Erik and boys just didn't have time this year.
This has been another wonderful month. We are grateful to live in our own home, be able to travel, go to the temple, and spend so much time with family. Life is still rich and full and we realize this is a blessing not everyone at our age gets to experience.
Missionary Moments
Lily
We have not had a letter from Lily lately, but we love to see the pictures she loads in Google photos.
Jonny
From Tiffani: Jonny was the first elder they have had in about 10 years. They love him. A lady came and told me that Jonny has connected with her junior in high school son in a way they have prayed for. (Note that the young men in the ward also seemed to be very excited to meet Lauryn and Clara.) Jonny learned he will be spending another transfer in this area and will now be serving as a zone leader.
We are proud of both our missionaries.
That afternoon, Grandad and I mowed the lawn all by ourselves. We're trying to figure out who is going to pay us an allowance for all that hard work. We celebrated with Cold Stone afterwards. We earned it!
The next week followed our standard routine: Sunday, church; Monday, welding date; Tuesday, temple; etc., etc.
Every Tuesday and Thursday we go to the temple and every Friday morning Grandad works at the Orem Temple. We are grateful that we have the time and health to do this so often. (We nag our children to do the same, forgetting that they still have work and school and go way more than we did when we were their age.)
