HAWKINS GRADUATION DAY

We got up Saturday morning and we got ready to go to Hawkin's graduation. Pocatello was 1 hour and a half away so after breakfast, we visited a bit and then took off.  

Scott used AI to create this cute announcement for his graduation. 

I LOVE IT!~

I asked Tony if we could stop in Idaho Falls because I wanted to stop at the falls. I had really wanted a picture of the temple with the falls. 

AND, I got it!!

The falls used to be more natural before they built the cement curb for it to roll over and go into turbines for power.

And power they got!! It's still pretty impressive!

Water falls are fascinating to me.

I got a little photo happy! lol  Like thats not unusual. 

As we were leaving , I offered to take a picture of a family that was there, so they took one of me and Tony. Then we were off for Pocatello!  We met up with Scott, Jill and Mary at the ICCU Dome. It was actually pretty good timing. 

The graduation was pretty boring, as they all are....until Hawkin's walked up. Just saying! lol

Afterwards, we got pictures of all of us with our GRAD!

AM I SHRINKING?  Height wise anyway!

THE PROUD MOMMA AND PAPA!

Since they weren't able to get a picture together on the field in the dome, Scott did an AI ....of course!  lol

Then we got a picture of the six of us. Afterwards, we all went to one of Hawks favorite places to eat.   BUTTERBURR'S  It was a great place to eat. And reasonable!  It took a while to eat as the cute little waitress lost our order for a bit. Not her fault, as there were a lot of guests due to the graduation. We got away a little later than planned so when we got heading back to Ashton, it was duck and full blown dark when we got to Rexburg. Once we turned off the freeway and were on those winding country roads. YEP, we got lost! Even with GPS!  We ended up going over several bridges, through ravines, a little water and mud, FINALLY, we found our way back! It was a bit nerve racking! We'd even thought about calling Ty but there was no way we could have told him where we were. lol None the less, we made it. Ty was in bed and Cindy was cleaning up her kitchen.

We all called it a day and went to bed !

We got up early and had breakfast and one last visit and then we took off for hoe. It was such a fun week and we were so glad we were able to make the trip, 

We did miss Isable's graduation though.  BUT, I got pics!

Belle looked gorgeous!

PROUD MOMMA!

Sophia, Belle, Andrew & Momma

THESE TWO, are best friends!

We are so pound of these two college graduates.

They are going places! 

FRIDAY'S VISIT

FRIDAY was a rest day.....Kind of. lol Ty was working on the farm. He took his big front end loader down to work on a pump for irrigation. Tony was helping Cindy with Genealogy and they were looking up names and he was teaching her how to reserve names etc. Deidre dropped off Shaylee and she was happy to play with me. She took my hand and led me out to see the horses, and the chickens and showed me the cat. The 3 horses that were near the house the day before had been put in another pasture so there was only one horse in the corral. "Dick" is the name. Shaylee crimbed between the rails on the fence and bid me to do it too. I had to laugh at her and I told her I'd be stuck if I did. I told her I'd walk around the house and meet her in the back yard. I did and she was petting the horse as she stood on the fence. Then she showed me the bunk house and had me sit on the porch with her. She then went to the trampoline and I lifted her up. Of course she wanted me to get up there with her and again, I told her I was too old. lol After 15 minutes on the tramp, she wanted to show me her favorite place to sit by the creek. I helped her off the tramp and off she went to a big rock that she likes to sit on beside the creek. She wanted me to sit with her but it was lower than I am able to get down. If I had, I'd never get up again without help. Story of my life. "HELP ME, I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP" LOL  After a while she got up and ran to the little bridge than goes over the creek and I followed her there. She picked the dried bird poop off the rails and threw it into the water. I had to laugh at her and finally talked her into going inside to wash her hands. Then I said to Cindy, "Gramma, can we watch a cartoon".... lol Cindy and Tony laughed at me but she understood and said she know's Shaylee can wear ya out. She put on the ARISTOCATS and Shaylee whined because she didn't want to watch that particular show.  Cindy left to go back to the kitchen with Tony and she finally settled down and we both fell asleep.  Later her mom came to pick her up and the four of us got ready to go to IDAHO FALLS to go to the temple there.

We went to CHICK FIL A, grabbed a meal at the drive thru and ate on the way to the temple!

We made it on time but just barely. We were able to do two sessions. It was such a great experience. I remember going to this temple when I was a teen but we were only able to do baptisms. This was a very unique temple. I loved it. 

As we were leaving, I was able to get a picture of the entire building. 

Truly beautiful! I guess this is where Will and Hannah will be married sometime soon.

When we were leaving, I asked Ty if we could go across the river so I could get a picture of the temple with the water in front. Evidently, this is where Ty proposed to Cindy! So sweet!

On our way home I got a better picture of the new temple. It's a lot closer to the freeway and will be very visible. We got back to the Nedrow's home and we all went to bed. Great Day!

THURSDAY'S VISIT

Thursday, we got up early. There is so much sunshine over here and there was a window at the head of our bed as well as one on each side. They had the pull down blinds like Gramma has but they didn't have the darkening part. When the sun comes up, it is BRIGHT!! Cindy and Ty were up earlier than us. I think they were awake at 5. We got up at 6. We had a nice breakfast of muffins, sausages and eggs and a breakfast smoothie. Their little 3 year old granddaughter was brought over while her mom worked cleaning a house. Her name was Shaylee. She was a bit shy at 1st but soon warmed up and was so cute and fun. After breakfast, Ty took us on a Ranger ride. He has two of them and he, Cindy and Shaylee were in front of us.

He drove us around their property and showed us all kinds of interesting things.

It was fun riding up and down country roads and off roading was even funner. lol We drove through mud and small creeks and got to see his cattle and crops. 

When we got back to the house, Ty showed me a bear skin, a wolf skin and several smaller furs from various critters. He put his Buffalo coat on me and let me tell you, it was HEAVY!! He had a friend who was dying, and he always wanted to shoot a buffalo. Ty got in touch with Ted Turner, the big Broadcasting Mogal, in Montana. He and his friend got permission to shoot two of his buffalo. (Not sure what that coast. lol) Anyway, his friend died the day after they got back.  Their was an old Shoshone woman who lived nearby and Ty said they were pretty destitute. He gave her the meat and paid 2 months rent for her, in exchange for her making this coat. He said he wears it sometimes in the cold winters and also in parades etc. 

Then we all got into Tys pickup and he drove us up to Messa Falls. They were just before Island Park and they were beautiful. 

It was an easy walk to them, although this old lady was still winded BIG TIME!!

Cindy, Ty and Shaylee

Gee, I wonder who these two old farts are?  lol

It was so much fun to see the upper and lower falls. These are of course, the upper.

I didn't even take a picture of the lower.  We then drove back to Ashton and went to a BIG JUDD'S restaurant and we bought them lunch. It was good and very filling. AND none of us had the famous burger. lol We drove to Deidre's to drop off Shaylee and then came back to their place and got ready to go to a couple of sessions at the Rexburg temple. 

We did two session's and it was still light out when we left. I got a picture of Ty Cindy and Tony.

And Ty took one of me, Tony and Cindy.

I took a couple of shots from the truck as we left.

A beautiful sky with the sun setting. It was so awesome to go.  This was the 1st time Tony and I have ever gone to this temple.

This is the new Rexburg temple that is being built. It is gonna be HUGE!  It will be a good excuse to come back to see Cindy and Ty in the future. lol 

The clouds and sunset were gorgeous on our way back to the ranch. 

There had been a very little rain and it made the clouds so pretty with the bit of pink in them.

We got back to the ranch and went to bed. It had been a long busy day but so fulfilling!!

TRIP TO EASTERN IDAHO

Tony and I left for a five day trip to Eastern Idaho. We decided to stop in Burley on the way to Ashton and do an endowment session. 

We had driven down for the open house but the wait time was 5 to 6 hours. Obviously, we didn't wait to get in. 

We got in this trip! lol

It was so beautiful.  We were happy to finally see it.  After our session, went directly to Cindy and Ty's house in Ashton. 

They have such a beautiful home out in the country. They have a 4000 acre farm/ranch. They added onto their home recently and it is incredibly gorgeous. They grow various crops, as well as cattle. They have horses and chickens and it was so fun to finally visit them. Tony had never been to their place either so it was great to go. Tony had given me SOLO MIO for Mother's Day and so after visiting with them and getting a tour of their home, we watched the show. We went to bed and rested for the next day.

TRIP TIME

Last Saturday, Tony and I served our shift at the temple, came home, packed the car and took off for Kennewick washington. Deedra had invited us to come watch three of the kids in a musical production they had been working on for several months. 

So after our shift ended, we went to Chick Fil A, grabbed a quick bite, then home to load the car and off we went. It was a nice quick 4 hour drive and we were there by 4 in the afternoon. Steve and Gaya were already there as they went over Friday and went to the Saturday afternoon show. We planned on the Monday show which was the finale. We had a nice evening with everyone. We played games and some went swimming and then we watched

 "THE FUGITIVE". I hadn't seen it for years and honestly couldn't remember a thing. lol  (The great thing about getting old and losing your memory.) It was fun.

Steve and Gaya chose to get a motel so Tony and I slept in Garrett's room. We all went to church together Sunday and Steve and Gaya left for home right after Sacrament meeting. We stayed for Sunday school. When we got home, Curtis cooked smoked pork chops on his TRAGER and Deedra made roasted oven potatoes and a salad. It was a delicious meal.  We relaxed the rest of the day and the kids wanted to watch WONKA  later. Then we hit the sack.

Monday, Curtis went to work, Jack to high school, Garrett was studying his scriptures and learning Japanese on Duo Lingo. Then he went to do his bread run which is one of the services he does for his Service Mission.  Deedra did Charlotte's hair and off to school she went. It's right across the street and dow a little ways so she walks.

Alice leaves last, so Deedra did her hair and then we walked Alice to school. She goes further away but it was a nice walk for the four of us. Then the three of us went the long way home so we got our exercise day.  When we got back, I took a shower and Deedra did a fisherman's braid on my hair. It was so nice! Wish I had her around daily to do it! lol Tony took a shower and then we went to the store. Deedra picked up a few groceries. She also bought some Gorilla tape and glue so Tony could fix Garrett's dresser drawer. She also bought some needles that had a curved one. Then I put buttons on three pair of pants so Jack could wear button suspenders with them.  Tony also fixed a light fixture problem. We ate chicken salad sandwiches and then left for Richland, where the show was.

The program was started by the Haw's (last name)  He and his wife have 10 children and she is expecting another in 6 weeks. The kids are homeschooled and they are an incredible family. All of the kids in this CHORAL FUSION are LDS except for two. 

Alice was in the 1st group of young performers. They were so cute! There was singing and dancing and they were helped a little by the older group. 

Alice was a little shy but it was adorable.

Charlotte was in the 2nd group. The songs they performed were all number's we knew, which I loved!

Charlotte was a lot more confident and she did so well.  Once the little girls were finished performing, they came and sat with us and then the older kids took over.

Jack was in this group and he is multi talented. Singing, dancing, playing his horn, being a comedian! You name it, he did it!!

Some number's were with all boys and some with all girls and some all of them together!!

They did so many fun numbers.  From Star Wars to Singing in the Rain. Irish numbers, cartoon numbers etc.

The  2nd to the last number was a Valentine's song. The kids were so cute. As the song progressed, a young man and a young lady, date. Then another couple, proposes, it progressed  to marriage, a baby, a graduation etc and the last was Jack and a cute gal as the old married couple. They did a cute dance with the walker as they continued to sing the Valentine song.  It was awesome! The program was so good and I was so impressed with the couple who produced it. The time love that went into this was incredible. I am so impressed with the community the Butterfields have moved into! It's been so good for their family on all accounts.

After the show, we got a picture together. It was such a fun evening. So entertaining. Just a great weekend.  We came home, went to bed and got up early this morning and were on the road back to Nampa by 8 our time. Home by noon, ate lunch at ....you guessed it....

Chick Fil A. Then we came home and unloaded the car. Tony mowed the lawns while I did laundry and a few things here in the house.  We repacked, took showers and relaxed for a bit before bed. Tomorrow, we head to Burley to the temple and then on to Ashton. I'll blog that trip next week. 
GOD IS GOOD!~