Hoover Dam

We traveled over the Hoover Dam on April 11th. Even with Lake Meade being so low it's a spectacular site to see. This was taken from one of the top turnouts, we were on the Arizona side headed to Nevada. Right in the middle of the dam you cross the border and change time zones. There are two big clocks, one on each tower closest to the dam. One is AZ time and the other NV time.

We googled the lake when we got home to find out it's 110 feet below it's normal levels! The growth in Las Vegas is the cause of the lake being so low, they are using more water than the lake can store plus the drought in the West hasn't helped.

This is taken looking up the lake as we crossed the dam, there were too many people on the dam and we didn't want to take the time to stop on the dam as it was crawling with too many people.

I don't know the reason, I suppose it is to facilitate all the traffic that needs to cross Hoover Dam, but they are building a new road and huge bridge over the dam. It's a spectacular site seeing two concrete arches hanging with only cables. The next photos are of the bridge.

This is a cool contraption, I don't know what it's called but it supports cables that pull equipment and men across the dam. In the second photo you can see a cave in the rock where the cable goes into. I suspect it has something to do with access to the spillway that is in the mountain under the cave, but thats just a guess. You can see the spillway if you are on the Arizona side of the dam. There is also a spillway on the Nevada side.


One lst shot of the dam as Tom was driving away, I had to make a run for the car. A guy in the South bound lane was laughing.

I'm Baaack!

Wow! Life sure goes by fast, apparently I have been caught up in it. We had a fun visit from Chuck's friend, James Wood on the weekend of September 20th. We hadn't seen him since we left LA so we talked and talked then I went to bed and Chuck and James talked and talked through the night. Good Times.
James is an excellent golfer and while we didn't get a chance to play we hit some practice balls in the back yard. He gave both Chuck and I some instruction and WOW! My swing is way better, thanks James!
When Chuck and I flew to Phoenix for a business trip on the 5th of October we met James again and he took us to the Ping factory to get fitted for Pings. Niiiicee! The pros who do the fittings are great and they gave us both a ton of tips for our game! Chuck and I both are hoping we still have some good weather, just one afternoon will do, when he gets home from Nashville on the 7th of November so we can play one game.

Grand Babies, Spring & The Mountains in Utah

If you look closely you can see the "Y" through the clouds. The weather was cold and damp, kind of like being back on the coast. While I was in Provo I took in the beauty of the mountains & took a few pictures of them. They are so beautiful in Utah, especially along the Wasatch Front, it's one of my favorite places to be.

I forgot the name of this little mountain, it overlooks the BYU campus. When Ben & Shaunie lived in Wymount it overlooked their apartment. I believe they have hiked up this mountain. I took this shot from the bookstore parking lot.

As Patricia and I were driving south on Main Street I was so taken with the fresh green trees just leafing out. This is my favorite color of green, it's so fresh and clean. I had to have a picture of that green so I hung out the window at a quick stop light and took this. I think I have a green shirt for every shade of green in this photo.
I can't say enough about the grand babies. BTW as a notice to all my children: I have room in my heart for as many as you will give me:)

This is Jilly & Evelyn in the morning with Ben. They are so happy to see their daddy in the morning even if he is growing his out of school beard.
I hesitated posting this photo of Jilly. But she is just so CUTE! She loves her little potty seat and is so proud to sit on it. It's almost like a throne and she is the Queen of the Potty.
Shaunie and I talked today about Jilly's size and how cute she is. She is clearly an 18 month old with advanced vocal & tactile skills yet she is so tiny you don't expect her to say and do what she does. She wears 12 month onesies and they are baggy on her. It was so much fun staying with Ben & his family during the conference, They were very accommodating and lots of fun.

Womens conference Day 2

If you go anywhere with Patricia you will always be early because she wants to get a good seat. This was taken Friday morning when I was standing in line to get in the Marriott Center, Patricia went back to the car for my glasses and I met this lady named Kim Ward. Kim was from Long Beach and was telling me that her husband had Ward Furniture. As I said I remember Ward Furniture Patricia walked up, seeing the back of Kim and said, "Ward Furniture! Kim?!" Kim was in her ward in Long Beach. They had a good talk down memory lane where Patricia and Kim caught up from 25 years ago.
During one of the breaks Mary Bohnam brought Marjorie McLaughlin over to where we sat to say hi. Marjorie was my Relief Society pres when we lived in the Riviera Ward in Torrance. Patricia was in that ward longer , for twelve years I think before they moved ot Idaho. Marjorie has since moved to the Provo area and loves it. I hadn't seen Marjorie in 8 years when Chuck and I ran into her last year in Costco then this last time at women's conference. This is the first time I have seen Marjorie with her hair short, I like it Marjorie!
This is Carol Chase with Marjorie. Carol was also in the Rivera Ward but since that ward has been dissolved she's in the Torrance Ward now. It was fun to see Carol, she was with her (I think 6) sisters and they all sure look alike. They gather from all over to be together at women's conference what a great tradition.
We were told not to take any flash photography of the prophet and this was taken without using a flash. It's not good quality but I wanted President Monson to be in my camera. Cecil O Samuelson, the President of BYU, is sitting to his left. He was of course wonderful to hear. He spoke about finding joy in the journey of life but the best part of hearing him speak was the personal witness I received that he is our living prophet and receives revelation for us as a church today. I wasn't expecting this little gift yet I'm so thankful my Father in Heaven knew I needed it and that I was open to receive it.
We also heard from Julie B Beck, the Relief Society General President. She talked about how simple the gospel is and told us not to complicate it so that we forget what we are really about.
I have met Julie Beck on a couple of occasions when she spoke to our Torrance Stake Young Women. Then she remembered Michelle and I when we went to a General Young Women's meeting in the tabernacle. I saw her standing alone on the floor for a moment and took the opportunity to speak to her, just as I went down someone else stepped up to her so I stood aside and Sheri Dew walked over to say something to Sister Beck. So I talked with Sheri Dew for a brief minute. The I spoke with Sister Beck. She remembered Torrance Stake and Bonnie Checketts our StakeYoung Women's President who had her speak. I think she was being polite when she said she remembered me but that is ok. We had a brief exchange and I told her I was so happy that she was the RS General Pres. in these times because she could be able to bridge the gap and change from Young Women's to Relief Society. We talked about the large number of Young women who get lost in in-activity during that transition. She told me that they need something to do and she is setting that in place. Yeah!!! What an awesome lady!
Anyway, no, I didn't get a photo of me with Sister Dew or Beck, it felt a little funny to ask them besides my camera was sitting in my seat.
At first I wasn't real excited about attending BYU Women's Conference but I am now. What a spiritual feast! I received more than I ever expected to receive. I highly recommend this event for any woman of faith as it was also very empowering. There is a lady who is a member of royalty from one of the United Arab Emerit nations who comes every year because she loves women's conference. She is acknowledged each general session yet I was never able to catch her name other than "Her highness ..." I plan on attending next year and the year after and so on and so on.

Womens Conference Day One

Patricia and I drove down together for women's conference and after my first day at my first women's conference I am hooked. Even though I put my back out and I'm almost limping around I'm have the best time.The talks are such a spiritual boost, today we heard Sheri Dew speak on Arise & Come to Christ, had a brief welcome from Julie B Beck, met Julie Becks executive staff; Patricia and I sat next to them and visited for an hour before the conference started they are wonderful young women. Elizabeth Ricks & Barbara Thompson spoke about spiritual gift; wow, they were awesome and really struck a chord with me. We saw this sign and had our picture taken in front of it because, It IS better when we are together.
We saw Mary Bonham from the old Riviera Ward in Torrance, she was signing for the hearing impaired. It was fun catching up.
I ran into an old friend from Centerville, Sidney Naylor Winward. We briefly laughed about the crazy things we did at girls camp then she told me that she was one Chuck's groupies and really liked him :) She has 8 children! Wow, Chuck had a hard time with 3! Sid he may have been great in those musicals & plays and been a real piece of eye candy but you would have never had more than 3 of your children. Which 5 would you give up? :)
This is Patricia and I with Lynn Bateman from the Torrance Ward (with boundary changes now Lomita Ward) she sings like and angel and I loved hearing her sing with Tapestry, a women's group from the South Bay. Lynn you are looking real good!
This is a funny story: I was waiting for Patricia and was standing by these ladies talking about a bad haircut one of them got and admiring this ladies cute coat and hair cut. I couldn't help chime in agreeing that there is nothing worse than a bad hair cut when you pay today's prices. Well, she loved my comment and we started talking when her friend said, Jennifer look at her name. She is Jennifer Cluff from AZ. I said, "You didn't know there were so many Cluff's until you married into them, right?" She laughed at that one and had to agree. We decided we should have our picture taken together since we had the same last name and the same hair style.(Click on the photo and check out her cute coat. Way Cute!)
At the service project Patricia and I saw Mary Ellen Smoot one of our former Relief Society Presidents. I asked if she remembered my mom, Irene Hafen Green who used to sell Avon to her and she did. We talked a bit about Farmington & Centerville and what she is doing now, what a sweet lady. Her daughter was in charge of one of the major service projects and she was there helping her. We put down our project for a minute and took this picuture. I also saw Vira Johnson & Lawynn Murphy two of my moms cousins, we passed in a fast moving hallway and if I couldn't get my camera out in time. Our day ended with Elder Merrill & Sister Marilyn Bateman speaking, another big WOW! My spiritual cup has certainly been filled today tomorrow when we hear Julie Beck and our Prophet, Thomas S Monson speak I'm certain my cup will flow over.
Women's Conference, I'll never miss another one!

The Ikea Experience

Today Shaunie, the girls and I went shopping at Ikea. It was Shanie's early birthday trip. Last year when she saw the dishes at Ikea I told her that would be our birthday present to her. Since she will be in Washington for her birthday this worked out well. If you haven't shopped Ikea yet it's a must, the prices are great & they have neat home accessories & furniture for inside & outside the home. They are a Swedish company & have stores worldwide, we lived by one in Southern California. These are Shaunie's new dishes. Service for six in black & white stoneware. The two bowls in the foreground have borders of polka dots. We bought 3 serving bowls the two white ones have a single flower in them the other is black.


Here is another great find I picked up for Emily. They are little dog butt hooks and will look real cute in a laundry or mud room. They were $1.99 a piece. I also bought a set of Strikt (magazine holders) to match the brown fabric CD boxes in my office & a set of Klas (children's dishes) in rainbow colors. They come in a set of six bowls, six plates, six cups & service for six eating utensils. Each set is $1.99 and they are microwave & dishwasher safe.
While we shopped we went to the Ikea cafeteria at lunch, parked our carts while Shaunie and I ate Chicken Marsala and Jilly & Evelyn ate Macaroni & Cheese. Ikea is a family friendly experience, it's worth the trip to Draper, Utah. Check it out the next time you are in the neighborhood.