A Visit in Muir Woods National Monument

On another cold and rainy day in Sonoma, we talked about driving to the Redwoods National Partk, but because it was 5 hours away from Kris' we decided instead to visit the smaller version of the redwoods - Muir Woods National Monument - only about 50 miles away.  Although the day was grey and cloudy the experience was beautiful and serene and provided the opportunity for a long walk along the stream.

Winchester Mansion a Fun Saturday Mystery Trip

Another rainy Saturday in Sonoma and neither of us wanted to hang around Kris' apartment for 12-15 hours so we decided to drive 90 miles to visit the Winchester Mystery Mansion in San Jose.  We signed up for the guided tour and spent the next 1.5 hours in 110 of the mansion's 160 rooms, 24 of which are restored with Victorian era furniture (not Sarah Winchester's but furniture from that period).  Bizarre features in the home included doors and window opening onto blank walls, a staircase from the floor to the ceiling, a door opening outward to an 8-foot drop and amazingly beautiful stained glass windows.  No one knows why this childless widow did some of the things she did with the incredible amount of money she had from the sale of Winchester rifles or why she kept carpenters busy 24 hours a day for 38 years, but for those reasons the house is interestingly quirky!!!

The emotionally troubled 4'6" woman, who suffered from grief, depression and rheumatoid arthritis for most of her life, is said to have spent millions of dollars continually building the house which would eventually cover six acres of her estate ... and which, was seriously damaged in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  After her death, the house was deemed "valueless" but eventually sold at auction to the only bidder - a California real estate mogul - for just $138,000.

Seems the laugh is on all those who never imagined it would become a popular tourist attraction in downtown San Jose where tickets sell for $32 - $44 each.

It was a nice way to spend a rainy Saturday.

Snoopy, China Camp ... and a Little Flooding in the Kitchen

It was another wet and rainy day, so after the carpet cleaner finished at Kris' we hopped in the car and drove back to Santa Rosa to see the Charles M. Schulz Museum and with a couple of hours to spare before we had to be to Erin's volleyball game, we drove to China Camp State Park.  Only one resident  left where there used to be 500 people living and shrimp fishing here on the California coast.  Not much still there, but interesting just the same.

The Schulz museum is also interesting ... and fun!  Who hasn't, in their lifetime, enjoyed "Peanuts" art and humor? Seems Sparky never really liked the name given to his comic strip ... the "little red-headed girl" is believed to be the girl Sparky dated in college, but who married someone else ... and, Michael says one of Sparky's daughters - a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lives in Park City, served a mission, has 9 children ... and recently went back to BYU to complete her bachelor's degree.

But the fun didn't end there! Tylre, Jaeson and Memo came for dinner.  After they left, I put the dishes in the sink to soak overnight.  Not sure which of us left the water running, but we woke this morning at about 5 a.m. with ankle deep water in the kitchen ... and about that same amount in the apartment below us.  Not the best way to make an impression on the neighbors!

Children's Museum with Memo

Tylre and Jaeson had the day off and it was pouring down rain so we decided to take Memo to the Children's Museum in Santa Rosa where we could play indoors.  We missed having Grandma Kris with us, but we had a fun time watching our little 3-year-old "great" explore this fun new Sonoma County destination.

Oakland Temple: Closed for Maintenance

Another long day in Sonoma where it has been pouring down rain for more than two weeks - 14 days in a row!  Today we decided to drive the 50 miles to Oakland to attend the temple. After more than an hour trying to maneuver the traffic and find the temple when we had never been there before, we pulled into the parking lot ... and there were no cars!  Seems the temple was closed for maintenance until February 1.  I hope we at least get points for trying.

Browsing Bodega Bay

After four years of drought, "El Nino" was long overdue in California, although since we got here on January 1, it has done nothing but rain.  Today, knowing we couldn't do anything outside, we decided to drive the 40 miles to Bodega Bay.  Along the way, we were pleasantly surprised by the stark contrast between the millions of acres of brown hillsides when we were in California in June ... and today when those same rolling hills are lush and green.  I took these pictures for myself, just because I was entranced.

New Year Walkabout in Sonoma

Our 2016 began with a trip to visit Kris and Erin in Sonoma.  While they were off doing their thing, we did a walkabout around Sonoma.  Before we set our itinerary, we did an internet search for the "things to see and do in Sonoma."  Once we got past the countless wine tasting and/or brewery options, we found lots of interesting early California history in this area. Most of these pictures were taken at the home of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, an early California military commander, politician, and rancher.

Top 16 List of 2015 Sappington Family Doings

It was a lovely holiday season, although we missed seeing several of our family members.  Kelly and Gary came for a short – but pleasant – visit and, of course, we had Stacy, Rick and Taisley.  Our two days together included a trip out in the unusual winter cold to see Christmas lights, Christmas Eve dinner – with turkey and all the trimmings, including ribbon salad (in the traditional red, white and green color scheme this time).  On Christmas Day – after all the gifts were opened and we had Skyped or Face Timed with just about everyone (except Elder Simeon) we went to see “Joy,” a quirky little movie about … well, you’ll have to see it yourself.   Ten minutes before the movie ended I received the anticipated call from Atlanta, GA … so hurried home so we could talk to Simeon by Skype.  Then, after all the leftovers were warmed up and consumed, we got out the Phase 10 cards and played in two teams for a couple of hours of raucous noise and laughter. On Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), Kelly and I took a turn around town to check out sales and to pick up a few items Santa did not bring before she and Gary headed for home.

Around the dinner table we came up with our 2015 Top Ten List of what has happened in the Sappington family during the past twelve months.  It actually turned out to be a Top 16 list, so here it is – in no particular order – although we think #1 really should be at the top of our Top Ten list!  Have we left anything out?

1.              Taisley is adopted by Rick and is now officially a Welch!!

2.              A definite #2 (even might be a tie for #1) … Tiffany and Bob were notified in November of the birth of fraternal twins boys – their 2-year-old Abby’s bio-brothers born at 27 weeks gestation – and asked by the social worker if they would add them to their family.  Their answer was yes … but only on the condition, they are adopted, rather than fostered.  They now are the 45-year-old parents of 7 + Ayami (Todd’s 16-year-old daughter) in a household which also includes two dogs and 5 cats!!!

3.              Rick returns to the fire truck after a year of recovery from a foot injury.

4.              Mom and Dad, Kelly and Gary enjoy a week of Rotary service in Mexico.

5.              Lilly is baptized.

6.              Kaler is an Eagle Scout.

7.              Grandma Doris moves (very much against her will) to St. George.

8.              Kelly is employed … and employed again.

9.              BD Catering is up and cooking.

10.          Kendi tours Europe.

11.          Michael has a run in with a 16” saw blade

12.          Kaler and Taisley maintain their 4.0 gpa while continuing to perfect their musical skills … she on the violin / he on the trumpet.

13.          Danielle graduates from Dixie State University and finds a great job with benefits.

14.          Jaeson survives the crash of his bullet bike but with painful injuries requiring surgery.

15.          Grandpa Ed turns 75 on New Years Eve … and, after three years of being home, Santa finally gave him our mission book – 211 pages of pictures and blog posts chronicling our 18-months in Guyana, South America (thanks to Kaytee for all her hard work)

16.          Tyson marries Tanya, Todd marries Naoko and two new Sappington's come into the world … Troy and Linda's baby girl Liana born last December 22 (almost 2015) and Todd and Naoko‘s baby boy, Todd Sappington, Jr. (“TJ”) born Tuesday, December 29, 2015. 

Happy New Year to one and all! May this be the best year yet ... for all of us.

Thanksgiving 2015 in St. George

Our 2015 Thanksgiving Week started with a visit to Denver to attend Kaler’s court-of-honor on Saturday as he received his Eagle Scout award. I’ve been to lots of courts-of-honor, including for my own two Eagle Scouts, but haven’t ever been to one quite as impressive as Kaler’s.  One of his scout leaders drove all the way from Ohio to be there and more than one of his scout leaders became quite emotional in remarks about Kaler.  Jan’L, in her usual amazing way, had a beautiful table display highlighting Kaler’s scouting career, then ended the program with chocolate cake and apples, cut up and dipped in caramel and/or chocolate with lots of different kinds of candy, nuts and/or marshmallow toppings.  It was quite the spread for the 70-80 people in attendance.

We got back to St. George late on Sunday night where we looked forward to being with three more of our kids – Kris and Michael for Thanksgiving dinner at Stacy’s.  We were delighted to have Kris and Erin with us Monday and Tuesday nights, but I’m not sure how excited Kris was when our smoke alarms went off – not once, but twice - in the middle of the night. 

On Tuesday night, Erin, Taisley and Grandma enjoyed popcorn in the dark while viewing “Mockingjay, Part 2.” 

On Wednesday, we got up early for “mystery trips.”  The first was a visit to the newly remodeled downtown Electric Theater, which now also incorporates the two buildings west of the theater and where a dance studio, several small offices for arts organizations, and many classrooms are ready to welcome arts groups of all kinds.  It was particularly interesting to Kris because, having grown up here in St. George where this old movie theater was the only one in town, she remembered it well from her childhood. 

The second mystery trip of the morning was to the Red Cliff Desert Reserve downtown office (the former home of the Five County Senior Corps programs) where Kris and the kids enjoyed seeing all the “critters” who live here in our unique county where three eco-systems come together (Mojave and Great Basin deserts and the Colorado Plateau).

The girls and I then headed for Deseret Industries for a “shopping spree.”  Between the two of them, they found 6-8 t-shirts and 2 pair of shoes, while Grandma found a long black skirt and some socks and underwear for the Spectrum’s Christmas clothing drive.  In total, we spent less than $30.

At home, we introduced Taisley to Phase 10 … and what followed was a fun evening together around the dining room table.

On the Big Day, we all gathered at Stacy’s, which was a beehive of activity – a cooking frenzy – with enough food being prepared to feed both sides of a small army.  After things had settled down but before it was time to eat, Grandma and Grandpa, Michael, Lilly, Taisley and Erin headed out for another “mystery trip” which Taisley later gave “an 11” on a scale of 1 – 10.  First we went to the new WCWCD’s Red Hills Park, which the kids thoroughly explored before moving over to the area by the Dixie Rock.  They climbed and climbed all over those beautiful red rocks, exploring – for nearly two hours - every nook and cranny in their enthusiasm.

We got back to Stacy’s just in time for a delicious – and bountiful – turkey dinner, including candied yams, potatoes and gravy, dressing, homemade rolls, Nana’s green beans, corn, Martian food and two turkeys (one cooked the traditional way and the second deep fried in the backyard). 

It was a fun weekend and in this season of Thanksgiving we are so very grateful for the blessings from heaven which we enjoy every day, including our wonderful family.

PS:  The kids, as always, insisted I make our traditional “ribbon salad” which is normally made with green and red jello, but since it was Thanksgiving and not Christmas, I decided to make the top layer orange.  I wish I had been able to capture the look of shock and disappointment on Stacy’s face when she first saw it … she gasped and protested, noting it was just one more thing she was going to spend years sorting out with her therapist.  It was hysterical!!!

It's a Girl!!!

Taisley Ann Welch has declared October 14, 2015 “the best day of my life” in part because she has brought her grades up to a 4.0 gpa (despite an ugly bout with “mono” last month), but more importantly because it was on this beautiful Wednesday morning, she officially became the daughter of Rick Thomas Welch.  In a brief proceeding, witnessed by family members Allysa, Danielle, Kendi, Dave and Kathy Welch and Ed and me, 5^th District Court Judge Jeffrey C. Wilcox, asked Stacy’s husband if he is “financially able and willing to assume all legal and familial responsibility for her upbringing.”  The judge also spoke briefly of the “bond of love” he witnessed between Taisley and her Dad.

Then Judge Wilcox turned his attention to Taisley asking her, “is this OK with you?” to which she responded emphatically, “its what I’ve wanted for a very long time!”  Then, after signing the adoption decree, which made this wish a reality for our beautiful 13-year-old granddaughter, Judge Wilcox ordered her family to “take you out for a treat.”  After hugs, kisses, tears all around and pictures on the courthouse steps, the treat she wanted was smiley face pancakes from Village Inn.  Gotta love this girl! 

PS:  The court bailiff was Nathan New who introduced himself and asked if Dad was any relation to Michael Sappington, who was his classmate and who he considers one of Pine View High School's really good guys.