I Like to Hike

Denise Landvatter, Dianne Robbins and I have been hiking most weeks in the summer for the past 5 or so years, and last year we decided to take on a longer hike. This year we did the same. We started out going to Calf Creek Falls, which I had wanted to do for a long time. Unfortunately, so does the whole world. It was cool, but there were about 70 other people there. Now I've done it, I can take it off my list.


After that, we went to Boulder, Utah and stayed overnight. We found a great little restaurant there, which was nice. The next morning, we went to Burr Trail, and did a couple little hikes there. It was beautiful, but not amazing for hiking. The drive along the Burr Trail was spectacular, though.


Next, we did a quicky to Bryce Canyon, which was free because Dianne is a Senior Citizen!!!
Our last stop was to Coyotte South Butte. On the way we encountered these weird little tunnels made by some kind of flies. Ewww.
We traveled 17 miles on an unpaved road out of Kanab, and then turned on an extremely sandy side road. We only had to go for about 3 miles, but it seemed like 10. There were deep places for the tires to go, and sand everywhere. I was so scared. I was praying the whole time, "Heavenly Father, we have no business being here, but please get us out." Denise was oblivious to the whole thing, and just talking, which was good! When we finally made it to the place, I was shaking like a leaf! It was very scary.

The place was awesome, and we were glad we risked our lives for it!

Long Time No Write

I used to use this as my journal, and then I got away from doing it. So I am going to try to get back to it. It will be hard to catch up, but I will do a little of that first.

Major things that have happened:
DJ got married on May 10, 2011!!!
DJ's wife is Mariko Osterloh. They knew each other in high school, but not very well. When DJ was at Utah State, so was Mari's sister, and through her they re-connected. She is a wonderful girl, and we are thrilled that they are married. The wedding was at the Salt Lake Temple, and it was a beautiful ceremony.

The Osterlohs put on an amazing reception at their neighbor's house, who just happens to have a ball room. The band was spectacular, the food was scrumptious, and the dancing was crazy. I heard that my grandson, Coleman was really making the moves...unfortunately I didn't get to see that.

They are living in Tyler, Texas for the summer. DJ is selling alarm systems, and Mari is working in the office.

Because DJ got married, all of the family was in Salt Lake!!! It was so fun to have everyone together!

We are still doing our mission, and loving it. We got to be with a family that were sealed. That is our goal, but it doesn't happen that often. But this is the Diaz family, and we are so happy for them!

Goodbye, Ginny

After a long, long, long time of being sick from cancer, my sister passed away 2 weeks ago. It was harder than I thought it would be, since she has been hoping for it to come for many months. She was told in March that she had 3 months to live. Cancer is a merciless disease. One day in June, she went into a coma, and even the doctor said she had hours to live...but nope, she came out of it and back to sinking slowly. I went to stay with her every few weeks. She was always happy to see me, and tried to be attentive to me. I was there a few weeks ago, and she was very weak. She kept falling asleep. I would be jabbering on, and when I would see her dozing, I would try to leave the room. She would say, "I'm not asleep!" She just wanted me to be there with her.

Ginny will be remembered as a great friend to many. She was a master letter writer. One of her church jobs was to keep track of the Young Adults in her ward, and she was writing to 65 of them!

Ginny had a bucket list unlike most. Here are some of the things that were on it: Write out the stories that she had been telling her children and grandchildren. Make valances for the windows so that Jim wouldn't have to worry about that. (I'm sure that really would have worried him). All the girl grandkids had a dress made by grandma, except Lila, so make a dress for Lila. Finish her journal. Everything on her list was something that she wanted to do for someone else.

Ginny was ready to learn some things that can't be answered here. She never said "Why me?", and was always sure of where she was going. I am so thankful for the example of my sister. She lived well, and she died well. Thanks for your life, I will miss you!

Blessing and Baptism

We have had an eventful two days! The first was the baptism of our first grandchild, Sophie. We truly feel like she is our miracle. Born 3 months early at 1 lb. 12 oz., we weren't sure if she would make it. This picture is of her with a beanie baby to show how small she was.

Now here she is 8 years later, healthy, happy, and baptized! It was a wonderful day. DJ played a piece on the cello that he had arranged, and David gave a great talk about the Holy Ghost.
Sophie was baptized on the same day as her bff, Lilly.
Our second event in two days was the blessing of Amy and Rich's 4th child, Annie Ruth. While she was being blessed, I understand she was very content, looking around at the goings on. Richard gave a very nice blessing (as well as a wonderful blessing for Sophie).

After the blessing, she wasn't in a photo op mood, so this is what I got. She's still awfully cute!
Here is a four generation picture.
What a blessing it is to have children and grandchildren!

Our Friends are Sealed

We have been part time missionaries for almost 2 years now, and loving every minute of it. By far, the best thing of all happened yesterday.

In the summer of 2008, we got to meet the Ledesma family. The sister missionaries told us that they had a "golden family". They were right. By October, we helped with a wedding, and the next day the baptism of Andrea, Luis, and Tomas.

Through the next year we saw both sucess and trials for this family. Luis lost his job shortly after being baptized, but he said that he knew everything would be ok. One day during a priesthood meeting, a brother was putting the Catholic church down. Luis stood up. He didn't say anything for a while, just stood there. Finally, he said, "I joined this church because I know that this is the truth, but we should not be putting the Catholic church down." And calmly, he sat down. He wasn't afraid, even as a new member, to be bold.

Yesterday, we got to witness the sealing of the Ledesma family in the Salt Lake Temple. To see that family that we love, surrounding the alter of the temple was indescribable. The joy on their faces, the tears, those cute two boys in white...amazing!

Maybe today topped it off though. Andrea, who has always been afraid to speak in church, or even to give a prayer, bore her testimony. She spoke of the experience of the temple, of her love for her husband, children, and the gospel.

Amy Has 4!!!

Last Wednesday, Amy had her 4th baby, a little girl, 5 lbs. 11 oz., names Annie Ruth. Everything went well (for once), and everyone is doing great! Amy came home on Friday. The baby is another beauty! This adds the Hesterman grandbabies to 8! Sophie was so excited to hold the baby, she held her for at least an hour the first time at home. Carson and Cameron checked her out and then went on to do other things. Congratulations Amy and Rich!

May 2010 Trip to Florida/Georgia

Yep, I got to see my cute grandkids again! Ruby has changed the most. She is so adorable, I could hardly stand it! She is very easy going (How did Wendy get that kind of luck?) I was afraid that she wouldn't like me, but she seemed just fine with me holding her.
Here's the gang at what Wendy calls "the kiddie pool". It is very shallow, and the kids love to hang out there and play in the water.
Sally is as precocious as ever. Just like Emily, no one is a stranger. She wants to make friends with anyone near by.

Alice has changed a lot since last time. She says a lot of words. But my favorite thing is that she sings! She sings the "ABC song" in tune. It is so cute. A lot of the letters are not decipherable, but every once in a while one comes out.
Coleman is a sweety. He often comes up and says, "Grandma, I love you so much!" What could be better than that?


Just a few more...



Sally is taking a ballet class. They let me come in for the last 10 minutes. It is so cute to see them dancing!
I LOVE this picture!