Grandma Doris' Temple Trip

Utah’s Pioneer Day weekend was very busy at our house. After months of planning, my mother’s home teacher Dave Bills and his wife (Mom’s visiting teacher) Janine drove her to southern Utah to be sealed in the St. George Temple to my father, who passed away on June 17, 2008.
It was the first time in the temple for my mother and I’m certain most of it went right over her head, but she now has the certificate to show her friends. Jan’L joined us for the ceremony where David served as proxy for my dad and Michael and Ed Sappington were witnesses, making it a real family affair (what a wonderful experience to be in the temple with two of my precious children).

On Friday evening, we and the Bills’ volunteered at Tuacahn for the production of Disney’s “Tarzan” but it was much too hot for Grandma Doris . . . so we’ll have to go back to see the entire show (which was wonderful to the point we left). On Saturday, Tara took Lilly out for a photo shoot and Michael went repelling with friends down 300' cliff faces in slot canyons at Zion National Park. All-in-all, the weekend was busy and filled with noisy chatter and kids having fun together. Everyone had left by noon on Sunday, leaving behind the usual piles of towels and sheets, but as always, it was fun to have family and friends visiting in our home.

Last Will and Testament

The e-request sent last week from Mom: One of the last things we need to do before we leave for a mission is update our last will and testament . . . SOOOOOO, this is your opportunity to tell us which of our "treasures" you would like to own!

Michael (Your Most Adored Child and Pick of the Litter) responded: Dibs on the penmanship painting, the picture of the hands shaking in dads office, money from all the accounts, the house and anything else of value . . . oh, and Maxie’s ashes. Other than that I'm not particular.

Then later, Michael got serious and wrote: But really I would like the two pictures. Other than that, just your memories. Tara would like the blue 1930's formal, Gramma Doris' and my mom’s wedding gown and any other antique fabrics. I would also, as I know the list may be long now, like to add my name to the hallway hutch (glass front by the front door) and since Dave has already gotten most of the guns, any gun of dad's, if applicable.

Son-in-law Gary replied: Since you included me in this email, I assumed you wanted a reply from me as well. So I am going all out and saying I want your most prized possession, your FIRST BORN CHILD! Wait a minute, I already have that. Never mind, I guess I already have everything! But thanks anyway.

Kaytee: As everyone knows, the Christmas village is mine (except the blue ice factory promised to Dave and Jan'L). The cabinet in the front hall where mom keeps all her church materials. I would love the brass bed but I'm thinking I'll have to fight 5 siblings for it plus it's all but useless without the original springs. Gramma's diamond ring in the safe deposit box at the bank. And while we're on the subject I really, really want first dibs on Gramma Doris's jewelry. I know I'll have to fight Tara over a few pieces.

But why are we even discussing this because you and dad are going to live forever!!!

Michael: I can already see the gloves being donned. Mom, you should just divvy up the stuff as you see fit and call it good. But if that doesn't work we could go King Solomon. I have a sawzall and cutting torch?!

Kaytee: I agree they should just divvy it all up but I'm sure they want to know what we want. But I'm the favorite so I get the cabinet!

Kelly: I want the family photos, the M*A*S*H video library and the original “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”. And everything Michael and Kaytee have asked for. Ok, but if you cut the hallway hutch, I get the front half. Thanks much.

Kaytee: The MASH video library?!?!?!? HAHAHAHAHA LOLOLOLOLOLOL Oh Kel, I don't think ANYONE will fight you over that.

Michael: Just cuz you said that I want the MASH library. And the seven brides is not an original. I'm not sure if you know, but you already stole that one. Kris, I believe has the second and Stacy the third. I have it memorized so I'm ok. But bless your beautiful hide anyways.

Uncle Larry: I expect this was sent to me in error, however, I do have something to add: Don't be fighting over Doris' wedding dress, or her jewelry. I have plans for all of that at the Gay Pride Parade in 2015, but feel free to fight for the square dance clothes.

From Troy: I realize I'm not really part of this but if Uncle Ed has any of the guns that once belonged to my dad that is what I would want and I would be willing to pay for them. Just my thoughts. Hope all is well with everyone. It would be nice to see my cousins sometime before we need to start worrying about a will.

Kaytee: I still don't have my own copy of 7BF7B but I still don't want the MASH collection.

In response to Uncle Larry’s e-mail, Michael responded: Can I build your float? Tara would also like to volunteer for hair and makeup. You'll look like butter!

Also in response to Uncle Larry’s e-mail, Tara wrote: Hey, I'll let you borrow it for the weekend! And you're missing a little sumpin, sumpin up top to be wearing her wedding gown.

From Whitney: People, People... I think the M*A*S*H series should go to ME, since I don't think I've seen them all yet.

Michael again: Those sumpin sumpin can be purchased. Just ask . . .um, I'll stop right there

KT again: On his skinny frame??? He'll be totally top heavy!

Michael again: Kelly doesn't want the MASH collection anyways. Not when they are video and they just released the extended directors cut on blue ray with never-before-seen bonus features


Then Tara chimes in: Sorry Larry. Much as I love you, you are MUCH too tall for the wedding gown. Also, it is completely unsuitable for a parade. You need SPARKLES!

And, Uncle Larry again: Wow. This is gonna be ugly...ROFL!

Kelly: That’s not a problem because if I get everything Michael and Kaytee asked for I can afford the Blu-Ray.

And, then Stacy: I'd like the land the house is on, the livestock and water rights . . . a moat will be constructed and you will all have to pay a toll to retrieve your treasures!

Michael: See Mom, she's just gonna hawk it all. That's it, she gets nothing, except she can have the new dog, Maxie part 2

Kris: My parents are going to live forever (just like Doris) so this is all silly...have a great day all!!


Kaytee: That's what I'm sayin... but, nobody would want Satan! That dog is evil!

Michael: I'll take the dog as long as it comes with the cabinet by the front door, the mash videos, and the accounts.

Thanks for lots of good laughs on a serious issue!!! I sent this just as I was heading for bed and when I woke up the next morning there were 34 e-mails (though none from David and Jan'L). Since our family is convinced we are going to live forever, I guess everyone will just have to wait to see who gets what!!!

California and Beyond!!!

On Memorial Day 2010, Grandma and Grandpa Sappington, Kendi and Taisley left St. George for Southern California with one goal in mind . . . to use our free Disney theme park passes. However, we accomplished a whole lot more in one week and 1500 miles. In Corona, we had expected to go to the cemetery to visit my Dad, but Grandma Doris - at nearly 2 in the afternoon - was still not ready to get dressed. Instead she wanted us to watch her square dance tapes. We accommodated her for a couple of hours - until hunger pangs overcame us and she treated us to dinner at Carrow's, her favorite restaurant.

On Tuesday, we woke early so we could be to the Magic Kingdom before the rest of the world got there. With the new park-and-shuttle system Disney has added since we were there last year, our time from car to ticket booth took less than an hour of our precious ride-the-rides time at Disneyland! After getting in free with our hard earned "Give A Day, Get a Disney Day" passes (see "I HATE THAT MOUSE" below), the four of us had a great time together - riding everything except the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups and the Matterhorn, before we called it 12 hours and headed back to Grandma Doris’ house.

On Wednesday, we headed up the California coast taking a quick detour through Thousand Oaks to see how well our first home at 1606 Fordham Avenue was holding up after 36 years. Surprising well we discovered! We also stopped along the seashore to enjoy the ocean waves and the sand in our toes before heading to Solvang, a village founded in 1911 by Danish settlers trying to escape the harsh winters of the American mid-west. We found windmills, bakeries (Danish, of course) and the world famous Andersen Split Pea Soup Restaurant much to our liking and took lots of pictures of windmills and cottages while we roamed the quaint streets.

On Thursday, we took Tour #1 at Hearst Castle, a magnificent mansion designed by Julia Morgan for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst at a cost of about 9 months of his income!!! The list of the rich and famous who were wined and dined by Hearst at La Cuesta Encantada (his "Enchanted Hill") includes Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, US Presidents Calvin Coolidge and FDR, James Stewart, Joan Crawford, any or all of the Marx Brothers, Irving Berlin, Charlie Chaplin, and many other of the (then) Hollywood and political elite. The house has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, a "modest" outdoor swimming pool, three guest houses, but the house was never finished. Kendi really enjoyed the tour and is looking forward to writing a paper about it during her first year in high school.

On Thursday afternoon we arrived at Kris’ new address in Sonoma to find my brother Larry, Adam and Tai Christensen and their two girls Kelsey and Maya. We enjoyed a raucous night of chit-chat, finally bedding down on nearly every square inch of carpet and couch - with the youngest of the family sleeping in a tent set up in the backyard.

Tylre’s graduation from Sonoma Valley High School went off without a hitch - and, to her surprise she graduated with honors. On Saturday, Tylre’s friends and family gathered at Kris’s good friend Cary Ammann’s home to eat, chit chat and celebrate her accomplishment - while enjoying Cary’s backyard swimming pool. We are so proud of our smart and beautiful granddaughter! Tylre will begin college at Santa Rosa Community College in the fall. Her career goal is to become an RN.

We also enjoyed time spent with Zachary. He is a "hoot and a half" while at the same time polite and affectionate. Erin - at almost 8 years old - is also a cutie. We are sorry we have missed so much of her growing up years. Both commented on how much they have missed Cuz’N Camp and how much they hope Grandma will do it again some day.

From Kris-e-ola’s home, we traveled to Coarsegold, California to spend the day with Charlene, Tiffany and Bob (and their three boys 14-year-old Ben, and 11-year-old twins Joshua and Phillip) and Tyson and Mandy and their three kids (5-year-old Kylie and their identical twin 3-year-old sons Bryce and Brendon). We enjoyed this opportunity to get reacquainted with Ed’s brother Bob’s kids - all who mentioned how much they missed having Kris, Kaytee and Stacy with us (the only downside of our weeklong vacation in California).

The trip from Charlene’s to home was long but pleasantly uneventful - though the temperature at home was more than 20 degrees higher than when we left!!! Kendi and Taisley were WONDERFUL travelers and we look forward to more trips with them in the future.

Taisley is Baptized

On Saturday, May 8, Taisley Ann Foote was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by her Grandpa Ed while Kendi and Grandma Linda spoke on baptism and the Holy Ghost. It was a beautiful day with Kaytee and Adyn, Allysa, Josh and Daxton, Stacy and Kendi all gathered together for this special event. We also enjoyed the company of longtime family friend Dori Wilkerson, our home teachers Ray and Ruby Robinson, Taisley's Primary president (and Utah's former Governor) Olene Walker, Billie Clinger and several of Taisley's friends from the neighborhood.
After the baptism, we returned to the house and enjoyed hamburgers, chips and (Kaytee's homemade) salsa, cake (with about 2 inches of frosting by special order of Kaytee and Stacy) and lots of conversation and pictures. As with any Sappington festivity, there were a few moments of high stress, but still it was a lovely and memorable day.

I HATE THAT MOUSE!!!

It’s true . . . Mickey Mouse and I are on "the outs"!!! "Why," he might wonder and you may ask? Because the little critter with oversized ears and red pants is responsible for more than doubling the workload at the already, very busy Volunteer Center of Washington County since the introduction of the "Give A Day, Get A Disney Day" program. Kicked off on New Year’s Day, this program - which provides a free pass to a Disney theme park for those over age 6 who give 4-8 hours of service in their community - has been responsible for some wonderful benefits. We have received an estimated 500 quilts and blankets in various sizes . . . Tuacahn and several other non-profit agencies have been the recipients of a great deal of much-needed service . . . and Habitat for Humanity told me on Friday, they had taken more than 500 pounds of aluminum cans to the recycling center. But, in our office, the program has generated at least 4000 e-mails and phone calls in the past 60 days! The phones are ringing when we come in each morning, they are still ringing when we shut the lights off at night and my staff reminds me every day that I signed up for this insanity!!! To date, we have verified the service of about 750 Washington County residents who have now received their free pass. In addition to the extra work, this program has also brought out the "ugly people" - those who feel they are entitled - or else! We have had people yell at us, send us nasty e-mail messages and bring us in dirty blankets claiming to have made them "just yesterday!" There are 1,000,000 tickets being given away by the Disney Corporation between January 1 and December 31; but, as of February 28 more than 600,000 have already been claimed . . . so the worst is nearly over . . . and, hey, what do I care, I have my pass to Disneyland!!!

2009 at a Glance

Let’s drink to ‘09 with a Pepsi . . . that’s fine (though hot cocoa may well be more fitting!)
The recession was hairy, the Swine Flu was scary, and Oprah announced she was quitting!

While we loved Lady Gaga, the Octomom saga struck many as shameless and wrong.
We witnessed the rift between Kanye and Swift and Phelps was caught smoking a bong.

When a pilot’s quick brain saved a passenger plane on the Hudson, the tale was a thriller.
Balloon Boy was phony as rubber baloney, but the abs on the werewolves were killer!

A governor’s flame was an Argentine dame bringing scandal to South Carolina.
There were pirate attacks, there was Goldman and Sachs
There was poisonous drywall from China.
The Prez was sworn in, and he flashed us a grin while exuding his usual charms.
Though some thought it shady, our stylish First Lady asserted her right to bare arms.

While Michelle was in Vogue, Sarah Palin went rogue and political tensions were showing.
With a gathering storm over health care reform, the Tea Party movement was growing.
The Hollywood crew gave us "Transformers 2" while "Up" was a true work of art.
There was Bruno (a jerk), plus a young Captain Kirk and an overweight mall cop named Blart.

Those ad-men on "Mad Men" were sexy-yet-sad-men with lives full of pressure and toil.
Adam Lambert came out, leaving no shred of doubt, and who didn’t love Susan Boyle?
O’Brien shown bright as the star of "Tonight"
Stephanopolus stepped in for Sawyer.
And, of course, a divorce was so quickly in force we watched "Jon and Kate Plus Her Lawyer."

When a huge SUV hit a hydrant and tree and the juiciest rumors proved true,
the endorsements went winging, for that kind of swinging just wasn’t the Tiger we knew.
And Pop lost its King. What a terrible thing for an artist with hit after hit.
There were songs and orations with loud lamentations for everyone knew "This Was It."

There were others as well, who went out, sad to tell.
We saw Cronkite and Kennedy fall. Bea Arthur is gone, Ed McMahon has passed on and Mary left Peter and Paul.
With the passing of Farrah we ended an era and Soupy and Swayze went, too.
DeLuise said goodbye as did Oxy-Clean guy and the soft spoken star of "Kung Fu."

Yet some news was brighter and made us feel lighter in spite of our sorrows and peeves.
There was Twitter for chat and a keyboarding cat and those trendy new blankets with sleeves.
Though we still can’t erase all the troubles we face from the climate to high unemployment
Let’s be of good cheer and they won’t interfere with our holiday fun and enjoyment.

We’ll turn from the news to whatever we choose be it Lifetime or ESPN.
And after a break we’ll be ready to take the big plunge into Two Thousand Ten.

A Thought on Yemen

After the recent news about the 23-year-old man who tried to blow up an airliner flying from the Netherlands to Detroit on Christmas Day, I heard his plan was actually hatched by his Al-Quida friends in Yemen. The very mention of that country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia brought back a flood of memories of my semester in Dr. Sterdevant’s International Relations class at Huntington Park High School. On the first day of class, each of his students was assigned a country or two to "watch" during the semester and report on whatever was happening. I was assigned five countries - Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Oman - because they were small and, at the time, unimportant in the world view of things. I got an "A" in the class (not sure what that grade was based on) but for the entire semester - despite the fact that I combed the newspapers (B.I. - before Internet) every night looking for anything I could report in class - I only found one small mention about something which had happened in Afghanistan. My, how times have changed!!! Who would have thought - back then - those five little, non-decript countries would today be at the center of the current war on terrorism?

Holiday "Crunch Time"

Two days before Christmas - the period known as "crunch time" for those who still had things to do to prepare for the big day - I was feeling pretty proud of myself because all the gifts had been purchased, wrapped and mailed or under the tree. The house was clean, dinner was on the stove and I had the day off! I couldn't imagine a better scenario when I decided to drive over to my office to deliver gifts to my staff before doing some last minute grocery shopping. I came up over the hill, pulled up behind a large white utility van sitting at the stop sign at the corner of Mesa Palms and Dixie Drive, waiting - I thought - to turn right or left. Then without warning, the driver threw his car into reverse and backed into me, completely destroying the front end of my 2001 Saturn! I laid on the horn, but to no avail. No one was hurt . . . the airbags didn't deploy . . . and his insurance is going to pay for the repairs. He was very apologetic as he explained he had forgotten his cell phone and was going to back up the hill to his house. Unfortunately, his spontaneous plan did not involve someone sitting behind him at the stop sign! It took the insurance company several days to decide if they were going to repair or "total" my car because the high book value on my 9-year-old Saturn is $5500 and the low book value is $2500 - but the cost of repairs is going to be about $4000. In the end, they decided they would repair it because my car is so clean and has low mileage. So in about a week, I will have my car back!

Christmas on Provost Road

Christmas 2009 is now a memory . . . and as usual, we spent way too much, ate way too much, shopped way too much and in general overdid in every way possible. On the other hand, we had lots of fun with Uncle Larry who came for a visit and brought Grandma Doris (he flew from Seattle to Ontario, CA . . . rented a car and drove the six hours to St. George - and back again) so we could all be together once more before we leave for an 18-month mission to somewhere in the world. (Our plans are to leave in October 2010 which means we will miss two Christmases at home.)

Santa Claus brought us a Wii. After Christian Goldhardt, our 12-year-old neighbor came over and hooked it up, Taisley and Larry quickly proved themselves to be champion level bowlers! Grandma Linda finally finished and distributed, the "History of Cuz’N Camp" which Whitney called her favorite gift of this year. Santa brought Grandpa a 46" flat screen TV and two new suits (see previous "mission" reference) though he was, once again, offended at not getting anything from Grandma Doris!

As with every other Christmas holiday, there was also a whole lot of coming and going. Stacy worked on Christmas day and Kendi spent the weekend at her dad’s house. Bruce and Georgia came over for dinner, Allysa and Josh came and went with Daxton, and everyone called to report on their gifts and activities.

On Sunday, we loaded Larry and Grandma Doris in the car and drove 2 ½ hours to meet Kelly, Gary, and Whitney - who drove down from Ogden - as well as Michael and Tara - who came from Pleasant Grove - for lunch at (not Uncle) Larry’s Drive-in in Fillmore. For two hours, we laughed, chatted and got caught up, then went outside for family photos before heading for home.

The Joke is on the Doctor!

My annual physical with Dr. Claude Warner, an internist and a member of my ward, was an odd experience with this man I have gone to church with for years examining my body. After poking, probing and tapping in all the necessary places, he concluded I am a fine speciman of health - "with the pulse of a 20-year-old, and the heart and blood pressure of a 30-year old. I can’t find a single thing wrong with you!" I suggested he call my kids. They will be happy to share their list with him!