This stone building is on top of Brain Head. A ski resort just north of Parowan. It gives a breath taking view of mountains in three different states; Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Aren't the clouds pretty?

Chuck is standing near the stone building and wanted the clouds behind him.

Here is a view of Brain Head from the valley. There is a city on the other side. It is quite the ski area in the winter. On the very tip of the mountain is the stone building. You can rent a bike and go to the top. Coming down would be much easier. We met a family doing just that.

In July we went to Parowan, Utah for a wedding. We stayed in Cedar City as Parowan's motels were full. It was the 4th of July weekend. While there we drove up to Cedar Breaks. They are so beautiful! Here is a multitude of colors, going from white to deep maroon. There is many shades of red and some blue in between. The green trees make a pretty contrast.

We held a special Pack Meeting on June 23, 2009 for Nick Henline, who received his Arrow of Light Award. It was held at our Webelos' leader's back yard. We had good attendance and gave out 84 awards! Our Pack has 11 Cub Scouts, so you can see that they and their leaders worked very hard the past month. In June the Day Camps are held and they earned many of the awards there.

We have Virginia Creepers on the fence on our west side of the house. The grass between them and the railroad ties is so hard to take care of each summer. So for about 3 days Chuck pulled grass, poisoned it, and then laid down wood chips. It looks so nice. Hopefully this will be easier to maintain. The vine is beautiful in the fall when it turns color.

I received these beautiful roses from Chuck for Mother's Day. They are so beautiful. I heard from all my children and that was great. (I also received the Shingles! Not so great!)

We have 3 phitzers out in front of our yard, next to the street. Each year robins build a nest in them. We thought they would be safe from the neighboord cats. Wrong! After this egg hatched we went to see them, but didn't take a picture. Later we were checking on them when we noticed little feathers on the ground and now baby robin! Darn cats! There had been 2 tiny blue eggs. Now the grown robins have disappeared also.

Chuck had a great way to move a railroad tie! We needed one more on the west driveway. This is using your head instead of your back! Good job, Chuck!

If you look closely you will see two pretty yellow Finches. We love having the different birds appear.

It's time to get out the lawn mower. The weeds are the first to appear. I love the little purple ones, even if they are noxious.

Look how pretty the purple blossoms are against our white fence. Thank heavens for the lawn mower or we would really have a fire hazard at the end of summer. What is your favorite early blossom?

On April 22, 2009 the 12 to 18 year olds in the Ward held a Pinewood Derby. If a girl couldn't be there her dad raced it. There was a lot of hollering from the dads. I think they had more fun than the girls! In the red bag was a certificate for a manicure so there was much competition.

An Easter Lily! Does this mean that Spring is just around the corner?!!! I hope so. Colette brought us this lily and it smells so good. Easter is the hope of renewing that is given us each year. Christ gave us the eternal hope of the atonement. We are so thankful for that. We wish each and everyone of you a wonderful year of good health, some wealth, and lots of happiness.

This is our new AC unit! On April 8th we had this installed. Chuck is getting 'too' old to be climbing on the roof to turn on the Cooler in the spring and in the fall, drain it.

This is the new heater! It just fits in the 'coat closet'. The old one was over 16 years old and we thought we should put in a more effecient heater. This one is 90%! Great, huh! And a great addition to the AC unit for cooling. We can save more on heat to use more for cool! Oh, well!

Good bye, Cooler! It has been a very good one. It was run on a thermostat so was very convenient. I almost didn't get their picture! It's not Chuck. Our home is getting to be very comfortable and cozy. Come visit sometime!

On April 6th we went to Logan to Chuck's son, Gary's, home for Max's 10th birthday. We went to lunch at the Golden Corral, per request of Max. He had a friend, Calie, some with us. Then we went to their home for cake and ice cream. Angela's parent, Iva Lou and Owen Yates attended the cake and ice cream portion, also.


Max & Calie

A family picture that is on their wall that was taken at Christmas time.

We purchased an aluminum Pinewood Derby Track and held the Cub Scout's event on March 12th. The Primary girls, ages 8 to 11 years old wanted to have one too. Their's was held on March 24th. Their cars were really unique. One was the head of a horse with his mane flying, a shark, Cinderella's slipper, two fried eggs! a couple of pink, some purple and most had flowers or abstract designs on them. I think the fathers were more nervous with their 'little' girl's car, than they were with their son's. Their picture was taken with their car and placed in a cute frame before the race was over. They had so much fun. Chuck was really busy at the starter. The girls raced up there when it was their turn. Now the girls 12 to 18 years will run their race on 21st of April. Tonight, April 14th Chuck is running a race for 8th Ward. So he stays busy. Thursday night Chuck will teach the Committee Chairmans and the Cub Masters class at Round Table. He has done this for the last two years. He is a good instructor. I'm trying to get all the registrations in for Day Camp and Webelos Woods. They are due by the 16th.

Our Relief Society has a monthly Book Club. We have read some great books. Last month was 'Good Night, Mr. Tom' a delightful book. I laughed and cried through it. It is about World War II in the outskirts of London. The families sent their children to the country for safety. Mr. Tom took in a young boy and this is their story. NOW for Three Cups of Tea. It is a true story of how Greg Mortensen is changing the world, one school at a time. I think this book should be mandatory reading for High School students and all of us. It helps to understand the Muslium traditions and the importance of education for their children. We take our education so for granted. This was a great book and easy read.

On March 20, 2009 Chuck and I went to a wedding reception for Aaron Hughes who married Kirbi, a dental assistant from Heber. Aaron was one of our favorite missionaries. He served in Russelville and we in Elkton, Kentucky just 20 miles apart. The reception was held in a large 'trophy barn' of a friend. On the walls were mounted heads of 30+ animals, including a Zebra! It was good to see Aaron.

We are standing in front of a railroad car from Canada. It was quite ornate. The table centerpiece was a boot with colored hankerchiefs in it. Quite cute. We drove out to Heber and back the same day. The roads were dry and the weather was great.

Aaron's parents are in the picture. Kirbi's dress was like a soft cloud. Very pretty!

They were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

It's Derby Time Again! We had ours on the 12th of March.
Here are some of the cars. We had 11 enteries. At the right is our new aluminum track with a timer. That sure makes it easier for the judges. We placed the track on 5 tables so the audience could see better. We have the audience sit on the stage and the Cubs have the floor. The Cubs love climbing on the table to put their car on the starter. Then they run to the end to see if they win! We make sure each Cub races every other car. Chuck made little wooden cars for each boy that we placed on their certificate. The three winners got a trophy and the others got a LARGE Hershey bar. Fun was had by all. We had a relish tray and rice crispies squares for the Cubs and the same thing on the stage for the audience. We put their name on the

Cub's plate so they could leave it when they raced.

The other night we turned on our Lava Lamp. Do you remember them?
I love seeing when the wax first bursts up. As you can see we are easily entertained! I remember our first TV. It was a little 13 inch black and white. The instructions were to sit 25 feet away, which we didn't as we didn't have a frontroom that long. Then to have a lamp on the TV so as to not hurt your eyes. My, haven't we changed?! Many people had a Lava lamp, which was very expensive at the time.

After looking at this sign I wondered how many handicapped people would be riding a motorcycle! It could happen I suppose. If they did where would they park? I love signs. They can be a lot of fun. In the woods of Kentucky, in a remote area is a cemetary and the sign just before you get to it says; Snake Crossing. I wonder how many snakes used that crossing. Have a great day and put some laughter in it.

This is the Cunningham Coat of Arms from Scotland. The tartan is such a beautiful red and black plaid.The story behind this dates back to 1043. Friskin Cunningham was farming when Prince Malcom was hinding from Mac Beth's soldiers. Friskin concealed the Prince by forking straw over him. Prince Malcom escaped, and later became the King. King Malcom rewarded Frikin by giving him the name of Cunyhame and many tracks of land. Hence this was the beginning of the present day Cunningham's. Do you have a Coat of Arms?

Chuck had surgery on his left thunb on the 26th of January. It is called Suspension Plasty. They remove a joint below the thumb. He'll have full use of his hand when it is healed, but no pain. He got this brace a week later and has to wear it for 5 weeks, then a smaller one will be made. He wears it 24/7. He'll be glad for the smaller one. It will be just for support until the thumb is stronger.

On saturday, the 7th of February, our town held a Fashion Show. Colette and I got to model some clothes. I modeled a blouse, jewelry, and a purse. Colette modeled a jacket, jewelry, and a hat. We modeled for the shop 'What A Girl Wants'. Cute name and beautiful clothes. Most of the clothing shops were there. We had brides, babies, and all in between. Had lots of fun!

These icicles are on the north side of the house. One warm day, in high 30's they fell off.

When we came home from Salt Lake on Jan. 27th we found it had snowed about 14 inches on monday the 26th. The next morning I found that a deer had gone through our yard. A group of them had milled around at the entrance to our driveway and one had then come into our yard. It went to the back yard, around the house and back out to the road. We have fenced our back yard and they can't go through any more. We love to see them when they are across the road. It is a open field.

This picture is for our friends that don't know what a snow roof rake is or used for. Today the 16th of January was a pretty day of about 40 degrees. Chuck got the rake out and took the snow of the edge of the roofs, garage, shed and house. This way when it melts and then freezes it won't wick back underneath and into the building. There was so much snow on the ground that he got the snow blower out to get it off the sidewalks. As I have said before we are anxiously awaiting for summer!

In our new addition we had 3 large windows put in the 'parlor' facing our backyard. We purchased two overstuffed chairs that swivel and rock, that way we can enjoy our birds. Our big feeder will hold 25 lbs of bird seed. We have a heated water/bath for them. We have our bird book handy to try and identify new birds. Some stop over for a day and some stay 2-3 days. Yesterday a bird, the size of a robin, stopped. It was iridescent greens, with gray wing tips. Haven't identified him yet. The quail, ring necked doves are the ground eaters. The little birds flip lots of seeds on the ground. If Chuck doesn't think it is enough, he'll add a cup full. The quail are so fat they look like balloons with feet! You can see we entertain easily!