Kaytee Home for Easter

We only get to have Kaytee and her family at our house about once a year due to the 11-hour distance between St. George and Anaconda, Montana.  As always it is a whirlwind visit with her trying to divide their little time between her family, his family and catching up with friends.  We had a delightful day with the kids on Wednesday, spending about an hour and a half at the St. George Children's Museum; a couple of hours playing in the water, having a picnic and riding the merry-go-round on Town Square; then ending our full day together at the Bloomington 7th Ward picnic. We also enjoyed a lovely warm spring day at our new All Abilities Park.

Kaytee and I enjoyed an endowment session together in the St. George Temple.  We shared Easter dinner of ham and “funeral potatoes” on Sunday afternoon before Stacy and I left to enjoy the Heritage Choir’s Easter concert together.

It was a great opportunity to spend time together with our baby daughter and with her baby daughters.    

Look What the Bunny Brought Me!

My Relief Society president likes cute little fast cars so decided to update her black 2004 Lexus hardtop convertible for a red 2013 Mercedes Benz ... and I was first in line for the sale.  I am absolutely in love with this 13-year-old little gem ... clean-as-a-whistle and she claims it gets good mileage. The only downside is it has 124,000 miles and it was a little hard writing a $9600 check!

Michael and Friends Visit St. George

The 2017 Presidents’ Day Weekend was three days of family and fun …. well, except for three days of cold and rain.  Kelly and Gary came for a sunshine break as did Michael and Lilly who brought along Michael’s darling girlfriend Jessica and her three kids, 14-year-old Kirsten, 12-year-old Joshua and 9-year-old Laura (who is also Lilly’s BFF), all who were a little disappointed in the lack of Dixie sunshine.  We didn’t do anything too exciting – a little Parade of Homes, exploring Thunder Junction (St. George’s new all-abilities park), some Phase Ten and Sequence,  some Menchi’s frozen yogurt, and breaking out the WII to dance and play sports, all while getting better acquainted and caught up.

Oh, and Simeon and Stephanie got engaged on Presidents’ Day (February 20, 2017).

The following day, I had a meeting in SLC at 1:00 p.m. so we were planning to leave at about 6:30 a.m.  When I mentioned it to Simeon, he said Steph was leaving on the shuttle to go home to Utah County at the very same time so we offered her a ride so she’d have a credit for her next trip to St. George.  Her parents met us near the freeway off ramp to take her to her car.  When they realized she had a ring on her finger, her dad said, “well, that’s no surprise.  We’ve already put money down on a reception center and a wedding dress is hanging in her closet!”

The happy couple will likely "tie the knot" in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on Saturday, August 5 with a reception following in Springville.  An Open House will be held in St. George on Saturday, August 12 (watch for more information on times and locations).

DNA Proves Our Ancestry (but, no surprises)

I gave my brother Larry the Ancestry.com DNA kit for Christmas and he finally got his results.

Because my ancestors (on both sides with the exception of my paternal grandmother) have been in the United States for nearly 400 years, I would have expected to find a little bit of Native American – or African – blood in our make-up, but alas there aren’t any surprises.  Here’s how it shakes out:

28%	Great Britain (our Bradford grandparents and their ancestors)
26%	Western European (our Henion ancestors from Germany and The Netherlands)
18%	Irish (this one was a surprise … but Ireland is part of the UK and there are a lot of women on our family tree whose information I do not have)
9%	Scandinavian (another minor surprise but for the same reason)
9%	Eastern European (hmmmm, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria … who knew?)

             

Of course, I was disappointed to find out I’m not - even a little bit - Guyanese.  I was so certain!!!

Now I’d like to have one of my children’s DNA tested although I would be surprised it would come back as anything less than 50% Great Britain since their mother is now confirmed to be 28% British and their father is probably 98% British.  It’s all an educated estimation of our ethnicity anyway, so guess we’ll see!

"Mystery Trip" to Mesquite

On Friday, January 13 we met up with three other couples – Bruce and Jan Christensen, Stan and Diane Blackett and Tom and Mirna Summers – for a “mystery trip.”  Actually, we traveled to Mesquite for what was billed as Mesquite Motor Mania – a car show of no small proportions.  At three locations – Casa Blanca, Virgin River and the Eureka Casinos – there was every kind of hot rod, road rods, classic and antique restorations and everything in between on show.

The weather was cold and blustery but we had a good time and enjoyed the company of our friends.

Next week … another “mystery trip.”  We just hope the weather is better!

Visitors from Japan

A call from our sister-in-law Charlene found her inquiring if we would like company on Monday and Tuesday.  Todd was in town, with his wife Naoko and 13-month-old Todd, Jr, (aka TJ).  Todd usually goes up to Salt Lake City to spend time skiing with some of his former missionary companions, but the weather was not good on the Wasatch Front so the whole family decided to only drive as far as St. George so we could get acquainted with our two new family members … and re-acquainted with our nephew who has lived in Fukuoka, Japan for more than 30 years.  They arrived on Monday night and left on Wednesday morning, but our time together was filled with a trip to Zion and Grafton, visiting Stacy and Rick’s family, catching up, and enjoying the adorable little TJ.  It was fun having them here … if even for only about 36 hours! 

Sappington Family 2016 Top Ten List

It has been another busy, exciting/interesting/fun year for the Sappington Family and as always it has been hard to narrow it down, but here is what we think are our Top Ten stories of 2016:

1.              Grandma Doris Henion passed away peacefully in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at the age of 92 years and 11 months with her beloved 16-year-old cat by her side (the kitty found a new home with one of Mom's caregivers who reported Penny also passed away in mid-November).

2.              Selwin Lovell and Brianna Teddie Bair married in the St. George Temple on Saturday, November 26.

3.              Tiffany and Bob make room for identical twin boys Ashton and Sawyer (bringing the total to 8 – including Ayami)

4.              Simeon and Selwin return after 2 years as fulltime missionaries in, respectively, the Georgia Atlanta Mission (March 2014-16) and the Mississippi Jackson Mission (April 2014-16).

5.              Simeon graduates from Southwest High School as #1 out of 400 students.

6.              Allysa and Josh are "finally engaged after 11 years together and two little boys" (her words when she announced their engagement).

7.              Charlene and Tiffany survive a head-on collision.

8.              Grandma Linda is Utah Rotary’s “Rotarian of the Year” out of 2000 members.

9.              Kendi, Kris-E-Ola and Kaytee are back in school!

10.          Gary Yocum retires.

Other good stuff includes:

-    Josh is now a lieutenant at MSP.
-    Kelly and Gary's car survived a rear end accident on the I-15 freeway.
-    Bob Nelson has submitted his doctoral dissertation.

Yes, it has been an interesting and full 2016 and we look forward to another exciting, fun and busy 2017.  Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas 2016

Christmas 2016 was a delight!  Most of the family was here in November for Thanksgiving and to see Selwin and Brianna married in the St. George Temple. Simeon had already told us he was going to spend Christmas in Provo with Stephanie so we were quite convinced we would be alone.  When Christmas got closer, we knew Larry would be with us … Stacy and her family would be joining us … but no one else.  As a result we invited some of our friends over to share the day.  Heard from all the kids and several of the grandchildren … attended Sacrament meeting to celebrate the reason for the season … and got thoughtful gifts from our family.  We had lots of good food, lots of visits from neighbors and friends.  In short, it was a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all around and we are looking forward to spending time with kids and friends throughout 2017.

Selwin and Brianna Are Married

Selwin Anthony Lovell and Brianna Teddie Bair were married for time and eternity in the St. George LDS Temple on Saturday, November 26, 2016.  Approximately 60 friends and family members – including Bob and Katie Beecher, Val and Marsha Cook, Bruce and Jan Christensen, Simeon’s girlfriend Stephanie Shipley; Daneka Souberbielle, DSU’s Multi-cultural and Diversity Center director; and, dozens of aunts, cousins, grandparents and friends gathered in the largest temple sealing room to witness this beautiful event.

A luncheon catered by members of the Bloomington 9^th Ward, followed at Dixie High School, where Brianna’s dad and our bishop works as a Vice Principal.  After a delightful slide show chronicling the lives of the bride and groom, the bride’s parents spoke as did the “mother” of the groom who was asked to share a tearful recollection of how the twins had come to live with us here in St. George.

The reception was beautiful, with Brianna expertly overseeing every tiny detail.  The food was delicious and plentiful, the decorations charming with a large crowd of well-wishers making their way to the 3^rd floor of the Dixie Academy Building (home of the St. George Children’s Museum).   After the line ended, there was dancing – Brianna with her father, Selwin with his “mom” (me) and with Lori Bair (Brianna’s mom) - then the volume rose on the music and Selwin showed his moves, along with his groomsmen and many of Brianna’s friends and cousins.

What I will remember from this special day:

·               Seeing Selwin and Brianna surrounded by family and friends and kneeling across the altar with the light streaming in the window as if heaven itself was watching.

·               Discovering my good friend and fellow Rotarian Jeff Morby had been asked to perform the sealing because he was Dakota Bair’s mission president.

·               Dancing with Selwin whispering in my ear how much he loves me and appreciates all I have done for him and his brother since they came to live with us in October 2013.

·               How impressed I was at seeing the beautiful reception this wonderful bride had put together, all the while telling me, “I’ve got this” and now I realize she really did have it all together.

·               Meeting the mother of one of Selwin’s missionary companions – Elder Hatch – who had driven down from Layton to meet the missionary who had trained her son – and who her son refers to as the “greatest guy in the world.”  She tearfully hugged me and thanked me for “all you have done for this young man.”  I appreciated her kindness, but I don’t feel like I have done anything but love these two fine young men who have blessed my life in so many ways.
Watching my three daughters, five grown granddaughters, and two sons-in-law embrace Selwin with a deep feeling of “family” although just three years ago, they all thought these two young men were just another of Mom/Grandma Linda’s projects.

Our Happy Thanksgiving, 2016

Thanksgiving this year was more our Christmas since we had 22 family members around the dinner table.  Kris came from Sonoma, CA with daughter Tylre and grandson Memo … and surprised us, too, with a visit from Erin.  What a treat to have them here.  Kelly and Gary came from Ogden, in part to bring some of their catering supplies down for the wedding.  During the day, Stacy, Rick, Danielle, Kendi and Taisley came to share our turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy … and although they didn’t eat with us, Allysa, Josh, Daxton and Bentley were here, too.  Of course, we also had Selwin, Brianna and Simeon.  It was what Thanksgiving should be … noisy and fun with lots of chatter, game playing and sharing the joy of being together as family!

On Friday, we had hoped to celebrate Gary’s 60^th birthday, which was actually on Saturday, but because November 26^th was Selwin and Brianna’s wedding day, we wanted to do something special for him.  He and Kelly decided to drive into town to buy him something he mentioned he wanted.  About 20 minutes after they drove out of our driveway, she called to say they had been in an accident in which their car had been totaled! Luckily they weren’t injured.  Still their lovely new Subaru is damaged – likely beyond repair – on what was supposed to be a happy weekend with family here in St. George.