Well we are behind already! What else is new? We have been in Idaho Falls for two weeks now and have seen rain, hail, snow, and beautiful sunny days. The grass is up and green, Marv has been weeding the garden and we don't miss Minnesota cold. We heard that Minnesota has gotten lots of snow since we left. The snow here was minimal and gone in a few hours. Tulips and daffodils are up and lovely.
We have run around like a couple of chickens with our heads cut off getting ready for Italy. We spent several loooooong hours shopping for Marv's clothes. Since Marv thinks clothing stores are places of fire and brimstone, it was very difficult. Finally, after several trips and try-on's, we settled on one store and for over two hours got everything ordered and measured, etc. Marv was sweating bullets and practically ran me over getting to the outside by the end. He immediately took a long bike ride to recuperate. He thinks clothes should only cost ten dollars and shopping should take five minutes. What a sacrifice!
We finally sent off our visa papers and hopefully our visas will be waiting in Provo in July. We saw my old doctor and he was great. He remembered me and we realized he and Marv went to high school together. He will make sure we get our prescriptions while we are gone. Evidently getting meds shipped to Italy will be difficult. We are trying to get friends and family to visit us in Italy and space out their visits so they can bring meds with them for us.
We have been catching up with friends and family. We have been to graduation dinners, played games, shared stories and had a great time. We spent a full day up at Kent and Brenda Warner's home in Terreton. Kent is Marv's uncle (only 5 years older). Marv and Kent spent all day doing Kent's work - he is a large animal veterinarian and they vaccinated dogs, tested cows, and neutered some colts. Marv had a blast (though he had to wash all his clothes - cow drool and other less desirable fluids were flying around pretty thick). Brenda and I went shopping and made me a gorgeous quilt out of ultra soft fabric. It is wonderful. We were in school together years ago - Kent finishing his veterinary degree and Marv his bachelor's. We were up in Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, WA. (just eight miles apart) It was so fun to be together again. We met them in Hawaii years ago when all our kids were still at home. What fun and memories we made. I will get Marv to put up a picture from their house in Terreton - though it was a bit hazy - the mountains are magnificent and remind me why I missed the mountains so much.
Speaking of mountains, we are going to spend a few days up in Yellowstone Park later this week. We will tour the park and see the new wildlife babies. It should be great. Next week we head to Ephraim, Utah. My former mission president and his lovely wife retired there and are hosting a great open house for us and another couple going to Italy again on missions. We are very excited to see old friends and companions.
Then the week after, we head down south again to spend some more time with the grandkids. We sure miss them already. Our niece Camille (16) will go down with us and her parents will come down and pick her up and drop off her dog for Leigh's family. The dog is Camille's but since she just finished high school (at 16) and will be heading off to college, her dog will become a pal to Leigh's new puppy.
This retired life is pretty great. We get up when we want and go when we want. Marv rides every day and I have sewn to my hearts content. We drive around and look at places to buy or build a home when we get back. We have been to the temple here - very nostalgic as we were married in the Idaho Falls temple. (Has it really been 36 years ago?) It is really fun. We keep busy and love being close to family and long-time friends. However, we are anxious to get to Italy and only have nine weeks left before we go. We get more excited every day and Marv is doing well in his Italian studies. We are so grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission among the Italian people. I learned to love the people when I served in Italy forty years ago and can't wait to meet new friends and renew old friendships. We are excited about serving our Father in Heaven and making a difference in the world. We have been so blessed in our lives. We love our family and all of you. Keep in touch and love each moment in your lives. Ciao!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Catch up 2.0
Whoops - not as caught up as I thought.
Evidently I haven't looked at the blog for a while. We forgot to post about our stay in Utah before we got to Idaho. After we saw Marv's old scoutmaster in Moab, we went on to Draper (a suburb of Salt Lake City) and stayed with my sister Erin and her husband Eric. They live in a fun town home on the bench and have a panoramic view of the Salt Lake valley. It was beautiful and inspiring. We played catch up with them and got into our old pictures, family stories, and genealogy. It was so much fun. Erin works from home for Aetna and we got to spend lots of time together. We got to see her kids on the run - Connor is graduating from BYU in May and Riley is graduating from University of Southern Utah as well is May. Riley is getting an award as the best English student at the university and Connor is the most published young poet in the country. Both played college soccer. Connor is heading to Iowa for grad school and Riley is going to Emory in Atlanta for grad school. It was wonderful to be with them again. They are super smart and really great kids. Erin has been a super mom.
I was able to see two of my old roommates (Irmaleda Anderson and Bonnie Wilde) from college and that was wonderful. We spent a lovely lunch and visit with our great friends from New Mexico - the Andersons. They retired to Salt Lake City and live right behind the LDS Conference Center in downtown SLC. We also got to see my old mission companion from Italy, Bonna Blanchard. What a treat for me and Marv to see them all. When we were in New Mexico the sister missionaries were over for dinner. During the dinner, I mentioned that we were going to visit an old friend named Irmaleda and one of the missionaries - said Anderson? I was totally surprised - the sister missionary used to work for Irmaleda at BYU. We are constantly amazed at the common friends or relatives we meet in the weirdest places. Eric (my sister's husband) found out that his stepmother is related to some of Erin and I's McCutcheon relatives in California. It is truly a small world after all.
It is exciting to be so near dear ones here. SLC is only a short three hour drive away from Idaho Falls and we can play with our friends lots. We have always been the ones living far away and now we can see everyone whenever we want. How fun! Not that we don't miss our friends and family in other places. Just come and see us whenever you can.
Well, I think that really catches us up since March. Here it is already May almost. Time is flying and we are having fun.
Evidently I haven't looked at the blog for a while. We forgot to post about our stay in Utah before we got to Idaho. After we saw Marv's old scoutmaster in Moab, we went on to Draper (a suburb of Salt Lake City) and stayed with my sister Erin and her husband Eric. They live in a fun town home on the bench and have a panoramic view of the Salt Lake valley. It was beautiful and inspiring. We played catch up with them and got into our old pictures, family stories, and genealogy. It was so much fun. Erin works from home for Aetna and we got to spend lots of time together. We got to see her kids on the run - Connor is graduating from BYU in May and Riley is graduating from University of Southern Utah as well is May. Riley is getting an award as the best English student at the university and Connor is the most published young poet in the country. Both played college soccer. Connor is heading to Iowa for grad school and Riley is going to Emory in Atlanta for grad school. It was wonderful to be with them again. They are super smart and really great kids. Erin has been a super mom.
I was able to see two of my old roommates (Irmaleda Anderson and Bonnie Wilde) from college and that was wonderful. We spent a lovely lunch and visit with our great friends from New Mexico - the Andersons. They retired to Salt Lake City and live right behind the LDS Conference Center in downtown SLC. We also got to see my old mission companion from Italy, Bonna Blanchard. What a treat for me and Marv to see them all. When we were in New Mexico the sister missionaries were over for dinner. During the dinner, I mentioned that we were going to visit an old friend named Irmaleda and one of the missionaries - said Anderson? I was totally surprised - the sister missionary used to work for Irmaleda at BYU. We are constantly amazed at the common friends or relatives we meet in the weirdest places. Eric (my sister's husband) found out that his stepmother is related to some of Erin and I's McCutcheon relatives in California. It is truly a small world after all.
It is exciting to be so near dear ones here. SLC is only a short three hour drive away from Idaho Falls and we can play with our friends lots. We have always been the ones living far away and now we can see everyone whenever we want. How fun! Not that we don't miss our friends and family in other places. Just come and see us whenever you can.
Well, I think that really catches us up since March. Here it is already May almost. Time is flying and we are having fun.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Lee J Holladay - Scoutmaster
April 4, 2013
On Monday of this week we left New Mexico and began traveling north. The plan is to visit friends and relatives along the way and end up in Idaho Falls by the end of the week. On our trip we drove through Cortez CO and Monticello UT. We ate lunch in Monticello and were surprised how tiny a town this is. There is no fast food anywhere. There were load of motels and hotels, but no fast food. We finally found a Subway in a gas station.
For several months I have been calling my old scoutmaster who lives in Moab UT, but have never been able to find him home. I even called my buddy Steve Borg to make sure I had the correct phone number. All weekend I called and called and no answer. I had almost given up finding him. I went on line and found an address for a Brent Holladay in Moab and hoped that this was a relative and they could help out. We pulled into Moab, found the address and found out it was his brother. And Lee J Holladay that I was trying to find lived next door. I knocked on the door and there he was!
Mr. Holladay was very lucid and with it. He was happy and full of stories just like I remember when I was a teenager. We spent 2 hours of bliss talking and reminiscing about all of our experiences in the Boy Scouts. He showed me pictures of a recent national Jamboree he went to where he was rappelling down this tower at age 78! Mr. Holladay was a real blessing in my life. He was an anchor that the boys in the scout troop could always count on. He took us on a campout every month for at least 3 1/2 years. He was always there for us.
On Monday of this week we left New Mexico and began traveling north. The plan is to visit friends and relatives along the way and end up in Idaho Falls by the end of the week. On our trip we drove through Cortez CO and Monticello UT. We ate lunch in Monticello and were surprised how tiny a town this is. There is no fast food anywhere. There were load of motels and hotels, but no fast food. We finally found a Subway in a gas station.
For several months I have been calling my old scoutmaster who lives in Moab UT, but have never been able to find him home. I even called my buddy Steve Borg to make sure I had the correct phone number. All weekend I called and called and no answer. I had almost given up finding him. I went on line and found an address for a Brent Holladay in Moab and hoped that this was a relative and they could help out. We pulled into Moab, found the address and found out it was his brother. And Lee J Holladay that I was trying to find lived next door. I knocked on the door and there he was!
Mr. Holladay was very lucid and with it. He was happy and full of stories just like I remember when I was a teenager. We spent 2 hours of bliss talking and reminiscing about all of our experiences in the Boy Scouts. He showed me pictures of a recent national Jamboree he went to where he was rappelling down this tower at age 78! Mr. Holladay was a real blessing in my life. He was an anchor that the boys in the scout troop could always count on. He took us on a campout every month for at least 3 1/2 years. He was always there for us.
Mr Holladay is 86 now. His wife Nettie died a couple of years ago. He has shrunk a little, but he is still a giant in my eyes. He has served his whole adult life as a Scout Master. He has helped countless boys grow up to be men of honor. He is a man I will always admire and never forget.
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