Look who is two!

This little blue-eyed cutie is two today!  Seems like just yesterday we were in Georgia shortly after his arrival...how time flies!  Happy Birthday sweet Jacob!  Grandma mailed you a package and I will be there SOON to love on you in person! 

Another funeral...

Just six days after Aunt Ramona's funeral, we had another one.  Early in the morning on Monday, July 23rd, our sweet friend Sandi Done had a massive heart attack and died suddenly.  We were all in such shock!  Her services were held on Friday the 27th and I was able to take the day off work and attend.  I so wanted to be there.  We love the Bolton/Hutchason/Done clan..they are a huge part of our church ward and our lives.  Sandi's husband Joe had ALS and passed away a few years ago.  We know they are happily reunited and with their daughter Donna Lynn who was killed in a car accident at the age of 10.  The services were beautiful, she was a stalwart person and very fun too.  We will miss her and her sense of humor!  One of my fondest memories of her is when they first moved into our ward...we had some kind of a Relief Society talent night and she presented a poem about a sailor, or a ship captain, something of that sort.  It was funny, she recited it so cute, and had the hat and pipe props...the pipe blew bubbles...I knew then what an asset their family would be to our ward.  I had her daughter Megan in my seminary class and at girls camp...she was a delightful girl!  It was nice to see all of the family together and also to see Sister Bolton still going so stong (she is Sandi's mom and in her 80's).  It must be hard for her, but you can't tell it.  She is an amazing woman and her kids are all just like her!  We love all of them...Goodbye for now Sandi (remember, Goodbye is a contraction for "God Be With You") we will miss you.

A Classy Lady...

 Last Saturday Dave and I took a day trip to Livermore, CA to attend the funeral of his Aunt Ramona.  It was nice to hear the wonderful things everyone had to say about her.  She was indeed a "Classy Lady."  She was always dressed nicely and her jewelry all matched.  She enjoyed the opera and the symphonies, and all things classical.  I noticed that her nails were all nicely painted that day and she looked beautiful and at peace.

 I think my favorite story I heard that day was about the time she and her husband were ushers at the San Fransico (I believe) Opera.  Bevery  Sills was to perform and Tony Randall (the famous actor) would follow Beverly to her shows and record her signing.  Well, Ramona saw him doing it and she immediately confronted him (she is small in stature by the way) and told him he couldn't do that.  He told her no one had ever told him before that he couldn't.  She responded right back, "That's because no one caught you before!"  She confiscated his tape recorder!  Isn't that a great story?  And another one I particularly liked...she was living in an assisted living apartment.  She asked her home teacher to get a picture of the temple and come and attach it to her door.  He wasn't sure if it was allowed to hang things on the door, but he did it anyway!  That represented her and was the first thing you saw when you went to visit her.  Not to mention anyone walking the hallways.  Yes, Aunt Ramona was all class.  We will miss her sweet spirit.  She was 94 years young!

 This is Eldrith - I don't believe I have ever met her before.  She is hugging Barbara (Dave's mom) who is Ramona's sister.  Barbara is last living member of the immediate Kloss family.  I believe Elderith is Barbara's niece. 

The good thing about funerals is it brings family together.  This is the McKinney clan that was able to be there that day.  It is always nice to visit with any of them that we can.  Five of Terry and Barbara's eight children were there.  Nice!  The ward in Livermore had a nice lunch for us afterwards and Aunt Ramona was to be buried the following Monday at the military cemetery next to her husband Jake. 

One thing I learned at the funeral that I had not known before...that "Goodbye" is a contraction of the words God Be With You.   Did anyone else know that?  Perhaps I am just a slow learner.  But I do like that..."Goodbye" has taken on an all new meaning when I say it now.

A favorite memory I have of Ramona is when she, Barbara, Me and my two girls went to the Modesto Symphony together.  It was a lovely evening (my girls both play string instruments) and we all enjoyed it very much.  Aunt Ramona was so talkative and the girls enjoyed getting to know her a little bit.  The last time we saw Aunt Ramona was at Barbara's 80th birthday last October.  She was singing Happy Birthday with gusto!  We know the symphony in heaven was warmed up for her arrival! We love you Aunt Ramona!

Scout camp, EFY, and youth conference!

Our summer is going along at an alarming rate!  One month from today I will be on a plane to Georgia (can I hear a YAY!?) and Joel will be 3 days into his senior year.  Yikes!  I was very happy that the first two weeks after school was out this year, Joel had back-to-back activities.  The first was Scout Camp.  A full week of fun in the mountains with good friends and leaders.

 They caught so many fish they were able to use some for a relay game...and here Scoutmaster Budge is trying to get one in Joel's mouth...do you think he succeeded?  It was Monday through Saturday morning and we are grateful for the leaders that took time to make it all happen.  Joel had a great time and came home for one day of rest before leaving again...

 The week after scout camp was EFY (Especially For Youth) and it was held right here at our West Stake Center.  So it was a "stay-at-home" EFY where the kids actually go home and sleep in their own beds at night.  But they got up each morning to be out there by 9 and were there until 9 o'clock each night.  Joel was in a great group and they had a wonderful time.  The theme was "Arise and Shine Forth" and  I truly believe these young people do just that.  They are amazing!  I am so glad he got to have this opportunity!  He is the second from left on the back row.  Again, we appreciate all the leaders and many hands that make this all work!  They were served meals and had games, activities, lessons, classes, dances, etc. and were kept busy all day long!  A life changing event for a lot of youth. A definite testimony builder. 

 EFY was Monday through Friday, so after getting home late Friday evening, our ward left the next morning for a youth conference over on the coast!  An all day event that was really special.  Again, it followed this year's mutual theme "Arise and Shine Forth."  They went to this lighthouse and the lighthouse keeper spoke with them.  I am not sure what all the program was, but I do know Joel had a short talk he had to give and one of the leaders texted me and told me what a good job he did!  She said even the lighthouse keeper was impressed.  I was so glad she let me know that!  They also spent some time on the beach and were fed temporally and spiritually.  We are thankful for wonderful youth leaders in our ward that make things like this happen.  All the work and planning and time, it is all worth it and we thank them very much for letting THEIR lights shine!

 These were a couple of pictures the leader gave to us.  We love you Joel!  You are the brightest beacon in our house and we truly look up to you (literally too!) and your shining example. 

One month left of summer vacation...I wonder what is in store next?

LOTR marathon...

On Saturday Joel wanted to have a "Lord of the Rings" Marathon...all three movies...the EXTENDED versions...TWELVE HOURS!  I can't believe these teenagers got up for an 8 a.m. all day marathon, but they did!  The Olsens are in town visiting and Devin would be leaving in a couple of days for his mission, so it HAD to be done!

   We set out peanut butter and jelly/honey for lunch, but at dinner time they made their own pizzas!

 I rolled out the dough and set out all the topping.  They each got to "decorate" their own pizza.  They seemed to enjoy it, even the boys...and I think they all liked it too.  Wendy's dad brought candy and cookies so it was a great meal!

 I thought this was just too cute, all of them on the sofas, eating their pizzas and watching the movie.

 Davik had worked all day, but showed up for the last little bit of the movie (and the games they played AFTER the movie!)

 Becca, Wendy, Devin, Austin, Joel, Ashley, and Davik in back...what a fun bunch of kids!  Austin O. and Marissa came for a little bit too, but left earlier...

 We had to get a couple of shots with Devin...he'll be serving in Montana for two years!!

 Devin has been a very good friend to Joel and we have enjoyed having him in our home!  He will be a great missionary and we can't wait to hear stories from Montana again!  We look forward to following his blog that his mom is going to keep while he's gone.  Good luck Devin!  And thanks to all you teenagers for making a fun day for us!  (Yes, I survived all 12 hours!!!)

a little catch up...

I found a few pictures that I forgot to blog about...so here's a little catch up...in May we had our Mormon Helping Hands day.  We were assigned to clean and work at the Dry Creek Park.  There were so many people there, we didn't have to work very hard!  Many hands truly do make light work!

 Here's the Adams kids raking away...getting all the rubber chips back into place...

 Dave helped too...

 Third ward was there too...they made that pavillion shine!

 We did a lot of gopher hole filling...and when I say "we" I don't mean me.  ha ha...I found a few holes and pointed them out, and then I took pictures!

 Dave, Matt (I believe) and Joel helping with the last of the holes.  There was no trash to be seen after the kids got done, and some trees even got trimmed.  The park looked great and we always enjoy getting out to help on these special days!

This is a tithing blessing story.  A couple of years ago (yes, that long ago!) my built in microwave went out.  It would run, but it wasn't heating anything.  As we can't afford to buy a new one, we bought a cheap "on the counter" microwave to fill in.  It was small but we got by.  One day, my good friend Grandmother Fairy asked if I knew of anyone who might need a built in microwave!  She didn't know I needed one...coincidence?  Hmmmm.  I told her I did and she said she was remodeling her kitchen and as soon as her was taken out it would be delivered to me!  How awesome is that!? 

 And thanks to my handyman Dave, his assistants Clark and Joel, they got my old one out and the "new" one in. It took a small matter of time...and they got it done!

 We are so excited to be able to heat foods and put "tall" things in there again!  Thank you so much Grandmother Fairy and my handymen for getting us back in working order!!!  I Love it!!!

 And as a side note, I knew of someone in our ward that needed a new counter top microwave so I gladly gave her mine!  Now I have counterspace again.  Love my blessings!!

Last but not least...Father's day.  I somehow didn't get a picture of the father...crazy I know!  But here's the kids showing him how to operate his new mini helicopter!  They had fun flying it all over the living room and trying not to crash it! 

 Everyone took a turn trying to fly it...with not a whole lot of success I might add...it is tricky!

 Dad was trying to land it in Clark's hand...it's hard to see in this picture, but the helicopter is just above his hand...

We had a great meal together and enjoyed having Clark and Ashley come over...Amanda called so we got to talk to her too...Clif called as well.  It was a great day!  Now back to our regularly scheduled blog.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth to all my family and friends!  I am proud to be an American!  I am grateful for a day to step back and be reminded of all the beauties and privileges of this promised land.  We do have our troubles, but all in all, this is a blessed land and I am grateful to live here!  I found this cute wreath in pinterest and just had to make it!  It was so simple, but looks so cute!

 And of course, our traditional flag raising and pancake breakfast! Third ward joined us this year and their scouts did a great job with the flag ceremony...

 Then they joined our young men and leaders to sing the star spangled banner.  Gave me goose bumps! 

 Next our sweet primary children sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" before we started our parade...

 I was coordinating the parade and didn't get any pictures (hope someone will share because there were lots of cameras snapping!) but the kids decorated their bikes and scooters and  they all looked very patriotic! 

 here's a few shots of some of the kids and the crowds...we had a great turn out!

 A huge thanks to Bro. Luke and his kitchen gang for the wonderful breakfast they provide every year!  They get up EARLY to help pull this all off...

 And our celebration isn't complete without Bro. Brown and his old car club friends!  Such beautiful old cars, all with their flags waving...what a fun sight!

 Lastly, (wish you could see their faces!) Austin and Devin trying out Bishop Winiecke's tandem bike!  They soared through that parking lot!

Barbecuing some tri-tip later and hoping the kids will come over and join us for awhile today.  Have a safe and happy holiday everyone!  God Bless America!!!!



My name is Allyson and I have an addiction...

I began indexing a few years ago when an article about it came out in the Ensign magazine.  It looked fun and easy...it is.  I plugged along doing a census record here and there and enjoying trying to figure out the handwriting and imagining the people and their family life.  Quite a fun, new hobby I thought.  Then last year, my brother-in-law headed up a huge indexing project up in the Sacramento area.  It was the OMNI project.  Their stake set a goal of One Million Names Indexed...in one month!  They did it!  You can click here to see a touching video about it all.  I was able to hear the stories and watch their progress on the sidelines and it was amazing.  Of course, it got me more interested in doing it more regularly so I picked up the pace.  Now we are indexing the 1940 census and it is so exciting!  I LOVE indexing.  I LOVE typing in all those names and places, and thinking about people searching for their families in these records.  In some small way I am helping with family history and genealogy.  Utah is one of the states already indexed so I looked up both my parents' census records.  My dad was 9 and my mom was 6!

 I wish I would have indexed their pages...that would have been so fun!  The Alburn Brown family in Bicknell, Utah and the Frank Farnsworth family in Beaver, Utah.  And if I would have indexed their pages, I would have spelled my dad's name right!  It is ARLOW but they indexed it ARLIN.  Two people index one sheet and then an arbitrator looks at it to see their differences and picks what he thinks is the most correct.  And my Aunt (who was ONE when this census was taken) is BEVERLY but the census taker wrote BEVRLY.  Oh well, they are still totally searchable on family search.  I LOVE that all of my mom's siblings are on the census...all 10 of them!  My dad's brothers are all on there, but his two sisters weren't born yet. 

I truly love indexing and am addicted to it!  I can do one page in less than 30 minutes and my average arbitration rate has been 97- 98% so I feel pretty good!  I have indexed almost 7000 names since I started this 4 years ago.  I have friends that are indexing that many in a month!  I will never be able to do that (until I'm retired from working of course)...so my goal is 1000 names a month.  That is one census record per day.  So far, I have stuck with my goal.  Go to family search and look for your family records.  It is awesome!  And if you have a few minutes a day on your computer, consider giving indexing a try!  You might become addicted...



My Favorite Son-in-law

Happy 30th Birthday to my favorite son-in-law Dale!  Good by 20's, hello minivan! (a favorite ol' country song of mine)...Anyway...we wish him the best on this day!  Wish we could be in Georgia and help celebrate...probably a nice southern BBQ dinner, right?

 I have to tell one of my faves about Dale...this is when I knew he was a great match for our beautiful Amanda.  They were at BYU and Amanda had mano...she was so tired all the time and didn't feel well.  "Apartement check" day was coming up for her and the girls' apt...and her assignment was to clean the fridge (if I remember it correctly)...she was resting on the couch and Dale cleaned the fridge!  What a great guy!  Just the kind of son-in-law one prays for for their daughter...

And just for fun, this is one of his cutie patootie pics from when he was a little kid!  Who does he remind you of?  A cutie patootie grandson of mine! 

Thank you Dale for always being such a kind and wonderful husband and care giver!  We know Amanda is in good hands.  And thank you for being a wonderful daddy to our precious grandsons.  We love you like a son...hope you have a happy, happy birthday!  I love this pic of you two in your cute little BYU apartment...we had just come from your first McKinney reunion.  Hope you have no regrets for joining this family!  

Avonlea Wednesdays...

On Wednesday afternoons, my bosom friend Donna comes over for an episode of Avonlea.  It is a series set on Prince Edward Island (home of Anne of Green Gables) and is a delightful series that my girls and I watched, back in the day, all seven seasons!  So after Donna and I finished watching all the Anne of Green Gables movies, we started Avonlea (or as called in Canada, "Road to Avonlea")...I LOVE Wednesday afternoons!  when we started season 3, it began with Olivia and Jasper's wedding, so Donna made wedding cake!  Complete with bride and groom on top!  We ate cake and watched the episode.  It was so much fun!  Thank you Donna for giving me something to look forward to each week!  I really miss it when it doesn't work out (which does happen occasionally). 

If you are a fan of Anne of Green Gables and have never watched this series, you are missing out!  Marilla Cuthbert and Rachel Lynde guest star on it from time to time, and those are some of my favorite episodes!  Feel free to join us on Wednesdays if you are so inclined.  But know this, we don't always have cake.  With seven seasons though, we will definitely have some goodies from time to time!