Exploring More of Our Beautiful Washington County, UT

Just when we thought we’d seen every nook and cranny in our beautiful red rock desert, we had the opportunity to explore the Arizona Strip even further … with 92-year-old geologist Bob Steed as our guide.  On an absolutely spectacular spring Saturday – with crystal-clear blue skies and comfortably cool temperatures – we found petroglyphs, fossils and fabulous scenery we'd never seen before but fit for several mystery trips!!!  And, there wasn’t a subdivision of new homes anywhere to be seen.

Flour and Snow Everywhere in Denver

It's such a joy to feel welcome in the homes of our children. I have been in Denver this week for Rotary meetings and was able to spend a couple of nights with our oldest son David, his darling wife Jan'L and their three boys Kaler, Kole and Kyle. We laughed, played Phase Ten and made master mix and cookie dough, then laughed some more when Kaler turned on the mixer as high as it would go while the butter was still frozen. The result was a shower of flour from one end of the kitchen to the other, making for another family story! After they dropped me at the Denver airport, Jan'L texted me, "thanks for coming. We enjoyed your visit. We will love every bite of the cookies and waffles, as well. Safe travels!"  David followed up with a text of his own, "thanks for time spent (with us).  We love you!"

Skylar Postma is the Newest Member of the Church

Then came Thursday, February 21, the day we were scheduled to leave for Montana to be with our granddaughter Skylar Postma on her baptism day, on Friday, February 22, 2019.  As it turns out, our departure from St. George coincided with one of the 7 biggest snowstorms in the history of our Southwestern Utah community.  When we left the house, it was coming down pretty hard. When we reached the incline towards Cedar City, there was a line “as far as the eye could see” of truck drivers pulled over on the side of the road putting on their chains before attempting to make the climb.  

Kaytee had a well-thought out Plan B in the event we weren’t able to get to Anaconda (she’s always prepared for whatever life throws at her) but she – and Skylar – really wanted us there.

There was plenty of snow along the I-15 corridor, but for the most part, once we got past Cedar City, the roads were clear and mostly dry.  Because of the distance to Kaytee and Josh’s home (at least 11 hours of driving), we break this trip in half, staying overnight with our sweet Kelly and Gary in Ogden.  

The baptism was somewhat of a “comedy of errors” … no one was conducting; Kaytee said the opening prayer before the opening song; my name was on the program to speak but Ed wanted to do it instead. Things went a little haywire, but when Skylar and her friend Gracie stepped into the water, everything else went by the wayside. There was a wonderful turnout, the cupcakes were good and, all-in-all, it was a memorable time together.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a delicious lunch with a choice of 6-8 different homemade soups and the most amazing sourdough bread at the Soup Shed, owned by members of the Anaconda Ward and perched on top of a snowy mountainside about 30 minutes from Kaytee’s.

  

In the evening, we attended what the bishop referred to as "an irreverent variety show" featuring such famous names as Sonny and Cher, Johnny and June Cash, and some of the regulars from Laugh-in and Hee,Haw! Honestly, it was a hoot!

We left for home on Sunday afternoon.  It was snowing pretty heavily as we drove out of town, and by bedtime in Anaconda, there was nearly 3 feet of snow in Kaytee's front yard, the outside temperature was 3 degrees, and the schools had called a "snow day" for the first time in anyone's memory.  We’ve seen more snow this weekend than we’ve seen in many years.  It’s really pretty, but we’re sure glad we don’t have to live in it every day.  

Another milestone in our family history.  We love you Skylar … but we’re glad to be home safe and sound.

Snow on Presidents Day 2019

Global warming? El Niño?  My many, many prayers for moisture in our parched southwestern Utah desert? No matter the reason, we woke up on this mid-February morning to a couple of inches of heavy, wet snow! Unusual, because in the nearly 4 decades we have lived in this part of the world we have only seen this much snow maybe 3-4 times, but its really pretty ... and welcome! It will mostly be gone by evening, but more is predicted for Thursday. Happy Presidents Day 2019, St. George. 

Mom is an ENFJ (aka The Giver)

David encouraged me to "take the test" Pretty interesting stuff.  Here are my results ... I don't consider myself an extrovert but David says the results don't lie.

Pie in Veyo with Kelly and Gary

We enjoyed having Kelly, our oldest and her husband Gary in St. George over 2019’s MLK weekend.  The sky was clear and blue so we drove up to Mountain Meadow because – after almost her entire youth spent in St. George – she had never been there. Afterwards, to lighten the mood, we ended up having lunch at the Veyo Pie shop, including sharing a slice of coconut cream, rhubarb/raspberry and volcano pie … all enjoyed with four spoons.  Yummy delicious!!!!  

It was fun to have them here!  She works really hard and deserves a chance to just relax and have fun, although I know, at the heart of their decision to visit St. George for a couple of days, was to check on her father, who had just had shoulder surgery.  So nice to know our kids care about their parents.

They went home early because the weather was threatening to turn nasty on Monday.  It was a good decision, because not only did the weather turn nasty but a power line came down and closed the freeway – going both directions, as well.  Selwin and Brianna came over later in the day for Phase Ten. Brianna reminded me, “you haven’t done any mystery trips lately.”  She’s right, so guess I’d better start planning things to do when we have nice weather ... and company. 

Sappington Top Eleven List for 2018

Looking back over the last twelve months, here are what I believe to be the Sappington Family's Top Ten stories of 2018, but I welcome input relating to stories I may have missed ... or a change in the order of my stories for this list:

1.   In 2018, Mom was selected to serve as Utah Rotary District 5420’s Governor in 2020-21.  I am shocked, to say the least, but honored to serve … if I live that long!  In my first year, I have taken on a few district projects. In my next Rotary year, I will be much more involved – particularly in learning more about how the district operates – and will be inducted officially on July 1, 2020.

2.   For nearly a week in early August (counting travel time), Michael and his family, Kaytee and her family, Kelly and Gary, along with Dad and Mom, gathered for a family vacation in Yellowstone Nat’l. Park.  We rented the cabin of our former missionary friends in Island Park.  We were told it sleeps up to 15 but only has a refrigerator for 5. It was a great opportunity to get better acquainted with Jessica, Kirsten, Joshua, Laura … and have fun with Lilly and Josh. It would be more fun if we had more family members who could join us,

3.   Cruz Joaquin Gonzalez, our 5th "great" grandson, was born to Tylre Dayle Christensen and Jason Gonzalez on October 3, 2018.  According to his mother - and his doting grandmother Kris - he is an easy, happy and beautiful baby boy!

4.   In early May, we spent 16 glorious days in Scotland /Ireland.  It was an absolutely amazing vacation and particularly fun because all family members who have had their DNA tested, found they have at least a small amount of Scottish and/or Irish ancestry.

5.   In June, we attended the Rotary International Convention in Toronto, Canada.  It was a really fun week of sightseeing, meetings and interacting with the more than 30,000 attendees from all over the world.  The most memorable Rotarian I met, was a 40-something member of a Rotary club in California, but born in Georgetown, Guyana and a member of the Church, who told me her goal in life “is to find a way to get the Church to save records which are rapidly deteriorating for the families of Guyana.” Miracles definitely happen in Rotary … and in the Church.  We’ll see on this one but if you want to know more about this amazing encounter see my June 20 post. 

6.   In 2018, we saw two of our beautiful granddaughters engaged.  Danielle Welch will soon marry her longtime beau Kale … and Kendi Hansen will marry Taylor Dunkley on May 18, 2019.  Our precious family continues to grow as we move forward in life.

7.   16-year-old Taisley Welch went hunting with her dad and mom and bagged her first deer bringing down a big ol’ 3-point buck with a 24” spread from an unbelievable distance of 400 yards.

8.   Rick Welch, after 24 years as a member of the St. George Fire Department, including as a volunteer, retired ... well, at least he stopped being a fireman ... on June 15, 2018.  There was a party hosted by the City of St. George. After cake and kudos, the SGFD surprised him with a ride home – after his last shift – on the City's antique Studebaker firetruck, including his family, officers in full-dress uniforms, flashing lights and sirens.  He now drives a truck for a friend of his and works on trucks as a mechanic.  He loved the guys and gals with whom he worked, but he's a happy guy not having to scoop up body parts off the highway or retrieving charred bodies from burning buildings. 

9.   Michael has found his newest passion in life is Family History (“better than spending time on Facebook,” he says). At last count, he has added more than 3000 family members on Ancestry.com, is posting pictures and histories almost daily. In a recent text, he noted, "You know, the Germans are only 11% of my DNA but they are 98% of my problems with my genealogy."  To aid him in this great work, I went through my records and discovered my aunt Lois Henion Higgins Clark had begun working on what she titled "The Henion Story."  I only have a few pages of her work – including a handwritten history my father wrote for her about their parents – but have since discovered my cousin Coyia has most of it, which she promises to send me.

10.Selwin Lovell completed two years of school at Dixie State University in record time, receiving his Associate of Science degree in a little over a year and a half.  He will graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree, majoring in Communications, on May 3, 2019 … then on to a Master’s degree.

11.Coral Henion Nyland, my father’s last surviving sibling, passed away on March 8, 2018 ... just 10 days short of her 98th birthday. She and my mother were never close so Larry and I didn’t see much of her when we were growing up, but she was a beautiful woman.  

It has been an interesting year for the Sappington family, but I think next year holds lots more stories so our list is likely to be our Top 12-15!

Christmas 2018 ... A First for Us

Christmas 2018 was, to say the least, a first.  Because we had most of our kids home for Thanksgiving, no one could come back for Christmas, so we were "home alone" for the first time in our 50+ years of marriage.  Before we had kids, we spent Christmas with Phil and Mina in Ririe ... or with my folks in California.  So it was a strange day in 2018 when it was just us ... until 2 pm when our neighbors across the street came over for dinner.  A few minutes after they left for home at about 4 pm, the doorbell rang and we opened the door to find Danielle and Taisley.  These two darling girls spent about 45 minutes with us before Selwin and Brianna showed up.  We chit chatted until about 6 pm when everyone hugged and said goodbye ... leaving us home alone again!  (Thank goodness for Netflix, an encore of "Victoria" Season 2 ... and about 50 Hallmark Christmas movies).

On Christmas Eve, Kelly called to remind me we could still get to their house before Santa arrived if we left right away.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we heard from - and got caught up with - most of our kids and Larry by phone, FaceTime or Skype, but its not the same as seeing their faces ... and having their kids in our home.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2018

Thanksgiving 2018 was celebrated on November 22 - Tylre Christensen Gonzalez' 27th birthday and the 55th anniversary of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.  As always, at our house, it was chaotic, noisy … and fun with about 16 in-and-out for three days and at our dinner table (Kelly, Gary, Kris, Erin, Michael, Jessica, Simeon, Steph, Selwin, Brianna, Kendi, Danielle, Whitney, Taisley, Kirsten, Joshua, and Laura) with conversations by phone with David, Kaytee and Larry.  Michael took over the kitchen creating dish after delectable dish … two turkeys, a ham, candied yams, cranberry jello / pretzel salad, veggie dip, potatoes, gravy and more pies than we could count. Kris and Erin made multiple pies …. Jessica, too, who also made rolls.  

When we weren't cooking or eating, we hiked to Johnson’s Arch, played any number of board and card games, watched "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" for the umpteenth time  and had a slide show featuring nearly everyone in the family.  Michael replaced faucets and doorknobs and we laughed, talked and ate.  It was nearly a perfect weeklong holiday, except we were missing David and his family; Stacy and her family; Kaytee and hers; Larry, whose flight was cancelled in Seattle due to fog ... and all the other family members we love to the moon and back.  All of our travelers report they got home safely but we're missing everyone already!

She Got Her Deer ... and Her Date!

Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane had nothing on our Taisley Welch who got her first deer in late October officially inducting her into the Welch Hunting Hall of Fame.  She brought down a big ol’ 3-point buck with a 24” spread from an unbelievable 400 yards.  

She hopes this might be enough to make it onto Grandma’s 2018 Top Ten list. We’ll see. The competition is stiff this year!

The following week, she bagged another big boy with whom she went to prom!  We sure love this beautiful girl!