Pioneers and Potato Salad

We celebrated the afternoon of the 24th of July up in Evanston. July 24th is also Mel's father, Melvin J. Davis' birthday. He would have been 92 years old. Even though he has passed on, we celebrated his birthday with a chocolate cake.

Later that evening we stopped at my cousin Mark's house for a picnic in his yard. We celebrated a belated Pioneer Day (aka the 25th) at C.J. and Jenni's home the next night. We had a lot of fun there last year, so they all invited us back for a repeat party. We all enjoyed ourselves in their beautiful back yard. We especially liked sitting in their comfy new lawn furniture. They are great hosts. We enjoyed the food, the company, and the fireworks. Thanks again, guys, for a fun evening.

(I would like to make an editorial comment on the above picture of Ike. You will notice that his parents have selected what color of hat he "has" to wear. I am confident that when he is old enough to pick his own clothes, cougar blue will be his color of choice.)

Yesterday we enjoyed an afternoon at the Myers Family Reunion. This is my mother's family; the descendents of Wilford and Edna Myers. The older I get the more important I find that family is. Pioneer Day is a great time to remember the blessings that we have received from those who went before us. Mel and I are both really grateful for our ancestors. We are proud of them and grateful to them for bringing the gospel into our lives. I truly believe that there is nothing more important than being with the ones you love. Money, power and prestige loose their luster....but family is forever.

Summer Fun

The last week of June we spent a fun weekend at the Ranch with our Davis and Clark families. The Ranch is located on the Mirror Lake Highway, between the Unitas and Evanston. The above picture is Mel flying a kite. We had a large group there so it was lots of fun. The kids played in the water and Mel and I, and some of the kids fished. Briana is in the inner tube in the picture below. We had good food, great company and a spectacular fireworks display on Saturday night.

On the 4th of July Mel and I took our boat out to see how she would run. The "Shake, Rattle and Troll" did a great job. We went out of the American Fork Harbor and enjoyed our time on the water.

On the evening of the 3rd, we enjoyed watching "Rough and Reckless" play in a softball game and later watching the Riverton Parade. Brock and Parker had a sleepover with us after the parade and the next morning we took them to see their mom who was running in a 10K. Later that morning we watched the tail end of the West Jordan parade which ends at 8200 South and Redwood Road. All of the parade entries turn down our street at the end, so we got to watch it from the comfort of our front porch.

That evening we enjoyed "all you can eat" hotdogs and games at Cory and Jeri's; and then we all headed to Riverton Park to see the fireworks. After all these years, I still believe that Riverton has the best fireworks in the entire state!

Old Glory

About six years ago I had the opportunity to be in Baltimore for a few days. While there I spent an afternoon visiting Fort McHenry, the site of the Battle of Baltimore which was fought during the War of 1812. This is the battle which prompted Francis Scott Key to write the poem that later became the Star Spangled Banner. It was a cold, heavily overcast day, with periods of heavy rain. At the end of our tour we were ushered in to the visitor's center to watch a movie about the events of that time. At the end of the movie, the Star Spangled Banner came over the loud speaker. We all, of course, rose to our feet. As we did, a curtain covering one entire wall opened and we had a majestic view of the Flag of the United States of America waving on the same spot which they believe the original flag pole was standing when Francis Scott Key was inspired to write his poem. At the same moment that the flag came in to our view, a crack broke in the black clouds and the sun's bright rays fell directly upon the flag. It was a glorious moment, and I will remember it always....God Bless America.

Father's Day 2009

One of Mel's Father's Day gifts.

Ok, no more rain!

It's the first day of summer! Bring it on!

Meet the Lovely Miss Alisson Klinesmith

Mary, Mary quite contrary

how does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells,

and pretty maids all in a row!

Early Summer Fun

Jeri on "just barely above freezing" water


Yesterday was our first offical summer outing of 2009. We spent the day at Echo Reservoir. I would like to say that the weather was great; but it left a little to be desired. When "my buddy" the sun went behind the clouds it was cold. When the sun wasn't hiding, it was warm and beautiful.

The day was great, the company was excellent and scenery was beautiful.

(and did I say I got spoiled rotten?)

Jason is the only guy I know who loves fishing as much as my brother Brent does!

Mel was the only one of our group who caught any fish, though. There was a fishing derby going on and we sure saw a lot of big fish fighting for the $500 prize!

Cory teaching Ike Karate Kid moves!

We missed having our Wyoming/Idaho/Alaska family members there and hope that they will be able to come next time. Thanks everyone for a super perfect day!

Happy Mother's Day

I just want to take a moment to say Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers that I love. First of course is my mom, Mildred, who was my best friend as well as my mother. There are sure a lot of times that I would still just like to just sit down, hang out, and visit with her for a while. I want to tell my newest mom, June Davis that I love her too. She's a really great lady and I will always be thankful to her for raising such a wonderful son.

I am grateful to Margurite Kirk for being my mom as well as my friend, and to Joyce Dahl for being my other mother for more than 50 years. I, of course, need to mention my grandmothers who I thought were truly wonderful.

Then I need to mention beautiful daughters. I need to pause here and say that I don't use the terms step daughters, or daughter's in law....they are all my daughters. Alyssa, Alayna, Jeri, Jenni, Melissa, Sally, Carol, Emily, Necha and Charlotte. All but Jenni are already mothers, and they are an inspiration to me as I watch them raise our grandchildren.

I wasn't blessed with sisters; but I sure inherited some great ones. Happy Mother's Day to Linda, Mary, Maureen and Julia. I also want to tell all of my nieces how much I love them! I want to say Happy Mother's Day to some very special female friends; especially Tyra P. and Jenni T.

To each of you, I express my love, gratitude and thanks. You are amazing women. Thanks for being part of my life!