Lead Poisoning?

My friend, Karen, called this morning to tell me that her husband had gone to the fair grounds to get their plates tested for lead. It was a free service the county was providing because a young child had been diagnosed with lead poisoning, and it was discovered that the source of the lead was the plate she was eating from. Well, I hadn't heard anything about it, but since I was going to go run errands anyway, I decided to take some dishes in. There was a limit of 5 things that could be tested. I stood in line for about 1 1/2 hours, but this is what I found out.

The EPA considers any reading over 600 ppm unacceptable. The "gun" they use to test the items cannot measure the potential for lead leaching from your dinnerware into food, just how much lead is actually there.

The first item tested was a dinner plate that was Mom's. It tested 40. The others were unbelievable. The results are below each picture.

21,400

18,900

57,900

83,500

I was astounded!

I just couldn't believe what they were telling me. These are things we use daily. Dan uses the first one every night for dinner. We use the white one every day for cereal. Except for the one that Dan uses, they are from Pier One. And we bought them in the last couple of years. They were all made in China.

So Dan has an appointment next week to get his blood tested for lead. I have an appointment in 2 weeks for a check-up, and I'll have my blood tested also. Needless to say, we won't be using them again. So if you hear of a free testing clinic anywhere close to where you live, please take your plates or toys in to have them tested. I will let you know the results of the blood tests. It may be that we are just fine, that none of the lead leached out into our food, but that's what we need to find out.

Just as I got to the end of the line, a reporter and cameraman from Channel 4 came to cover the story. They interviewed me, I think, because my plates were so high, and they were relatively new, and from a name brand store--Pier One. They took pictures of the back of the plates with Pier One highly visible. So I may be on the news tonight at 10pm. Wouldn't you know it, I had just washed my hair this morning, and was wearing my scrunchy curly hair-do instead of looking nice for my TV premier! Maybe they won't use me! See, you should never leave the house unless you're looking good enough to go on TV!

California Here We Come......(at least for a few days!)

We had a wonderful trip to California to see John and Jackie, and to be there for John's Surprise Birthday Party. He turned 65, and is planning to retire on March 1.

We left after Church, and drove to St. George to stay with Sue and Read Gilgen, who moved from Madison this past September. Sue had a wonderful meal waiting for our arrival, and we had such an enjoyable evening visiting. In the morning, we had another great meal, and left around 9 am. One of our favorite spots on the trip is the Virgin River Gorge. It is quite a picturesque ride, although you can't really tell by this picture. I mostly have to take pictures through the front windshield as we're driving by. Tom would stop if I really begged him to, but we'd never get to our destination if he had to stop every time I saw something I wanted a picture of!



We got to John and Jackie's new home around 3:30. It's beautiful, with about 3500 sq. feet of space. Needless to say, it was lovely. The only thing is that there is about about 8 feet between your exterior wall and the neighbor's. They have done a beautiful job with landscaping the back yard.




You can see a little of how close all the houses are to each other.

Jackie still had things to do to get ready for the surprise party, so we all had to do a lot of telling fibs about what we were doing during the day while John was at work. Tuesday, Tom and I got to walk around Balboa Island and Peninsula while Jackie was making a picture board for the party. It was a beautiful day, and there were very few people around.



On Thursday, John took the day off work, and we all went to San Diego to tour the Midway, and aircraft carrier that's been turned into a museum. This is a picture of me and Jackie, and her friend Bonnie who got us in for free.



You cannot believe how huge this thing is until you actually start walking around on it and in it.






We spent a lot of time up on the flight deck. They can carry 80 to 85 jets on this thing. There are 3 cables strung from side to side, and the pilot tries to snag the 2nd one with a hook under the jet. As soon as he touches down, he has to put it to full throttle in case he missed the cable, so he had enough power to take off again. If he is successful, someone signals him to cut the power, and the cable extends to the end of the runway before it actually stops him. As he's coming in, he has to compensate for the sideways pitch and front to back pitch of the carrier. There's a special signal that tells him if he's coming in too high or too low. John did a simulator, and he crashed every time! I don't know how they ever succeed in real life!

When they take off, they are attached to a catapult that actually throws them off the carrier at a speed faster than the jet can go on it's own power. So there's a moment when the jet takes over that the speed slows down before it pick up again, and one of the pilots said that you never get used to that, especially at night when it's pitch black and you can't see where the ocean is, and where you are. It's crazy! I think all the tour guides we talked to on the flight deck were retired pilots. It was amazing.



This center thing is called the Island



This is looking out of the Island control tower. This part of the landing strip is where they take off. That jet is attached to the catapult, and that's all the space there is before the carrier ends, and the water begins, and they have to reach enough speed for lift-off.



We took a lunch break and walked by this beautiful harbor to get to a place with several restaurants.



Here's John and Jackie after lunch, as we were walking back to the aircraft carrier.



By the Midway is a park with a huge statue of the famous picture that was taken of a sailor returning after World War I. So we each took our turn at posing in imitation. Our picture didn't turn out, but John and Jackie's did.



Friday finally came, as we continued to lie through our teeth. John had to spend the day at a meeting, and we had to come up with a story about what we were going to do for the day, and the evening. He and Jackie had been invited to dinner by some friends, and he would have canceled with them if he thought there was any way we could be together for the evening, since we were planning to leave on Saturday. Of course, we couldn't allow him to cancel, because that was going to be how they would get John to the party! So we said we were going to San Diego to go through the Temple, and then I had called a mutual old friend, Mark Haslam, and we were going to have dinner with him and his wife. And then we had to come up with details of what we were going to do between the time we went to the Temple and dinner---John just kept asking us questions! So as soon as he left on Friday morning, we took off with Jackie in our car, doing last minute things. And wouldn't you know it--it was pouring rain the whole day! I think it was the first rain in about a year! We had to get the table decorations and take them to the Country Club, then back to Balboa Island to get the picture board, and then back to the Country Club. I think Jackie had invited about 55 people, and it cost $100 a plate. They were going to charge her $50 for each table decoration, so she and a friend made them. She wanted to have bowls of mixed nuts on the tables, and they were going to charge an additional $3.50 per person to have nuts, so we put little bowls of M & Ms on the tables. We finally got everything done, and went back to the house to change for the party. But we were afraid to stay there, in case John decided to come home instead of going to the office after the meeting, so we had a couple of hours of just waiting. Everyone was to be at the Country Club at 6:00 pm for hors d'oeuvres and wine, then John and Jackie were coming "to dinner" with a friend. When they opened to door to the room we were in, John just stood there with a shocked look on his face. He said he would recognize someone in the crowd, and then wonder what they were doing there, and then he'd recognize someone else, and then wonder why they were there. He just couldn't figure it out!

It was a great party, and everyone was so friendly, and spoke of how they considered John a great friend and colleague.



This was after we got home, in their kitchen. John just couldn't quit talking about how wonderful everything was!


The next morning, Jackie had invited some of the people who had traveled a long way to come to the party over for breakfast, and once again, we had a wonderful time visiting with their friends. We had decided the day before that we would stay until Sunday morning, which was a good decision. We were too tired to leave! In the afternoon we went to their office, and loaded up our car with some of Aunt Sarah's furniture that they had been saving for me. That night we played Dominoes for the 2nd night, and Jackie totally slaughtered the rest of us. We played Mexican Train, and it was a lot of fun.

Sunday morning around 10, we took off for St. George. We got caught in a one hour delay outside of Vegas where they had to close the freeway down completely because of a car accident. When we got to St. George, we went to dinner and then to our room. It was terrible! It was dirty, with spots on the toilet that hadn't been cleaned. We promptly left, got a refund, and went across town to the Hampton Inn. It was 100% better!

Monday we drove home. It was good to be back, but we have wonderful memories of a great trip. Next time, we fly.

I'm Falling Behind!

Things I'm grateful for:

TUESDAY (and EVERY day!)

1. Michael
2. Keri
3. Matt
4. Spencer
5. Daniel
6. Cindi
7. Sara

Each one is more precious to me than I can express. I have always been amazed at how children raised in pretty much the same environment by the same parents could turn out to be completely different individuals! They each have different talents and abilities, but they have one thing in common---a Mom that loves them with all her heart.

WEDNESDAY:

1. I'm grateful for a husband who "thinks" a lot. That's something I need to do more of. I am always "doing!"

2. I'm grateful for sleep. Isn't it amazing how you can be so tired that you can hardly move, and yet in the morning you're ready to go again.

3. I'm very grateful for 5 girls and their leader, who for activity day, as a way to earn money for their sub-for-Santa project, cleaned out my garden. They dug up all the old plants, and then filled 6 or 7 bags. They also spread bark around one of the flower areas out front. It was wonderful!

4. I'm grateful for diamonds, rubies, and all the precious stones that Heavenly Father created to beautify the earth. I went to a kind of open house at a jewelry store, and I love sparkling things!

5. I'm grateful for hot water. Every time I get in the shower....

THURSDAY:

1. I'm grateful for refrigerators! And that we were able to get another one! Now we have an extra one in the laundry room. Tom said it was important for the 2 of us to have 2 ovens and 2 refrigerators! Why didn't we have these when we actually needed them?

2. I'm grateful for beautiful sunsets like the one we had tonight!

3. I'm grateful for the eyesight to see beautiful sunsets! What a blessing it is to live in a time and place that I was able to have cataract surgery on both eyes, and to be able to see so much better now.

4. I'm grateful for good friends.

5. I'm grateful for Sheri Dew. I think she must have been asked in the premortal life if she was willing to postpone having a family so she could spend her time helping thousands and thousands of women with her books and uplifting words and counsel. I have gained so much from reading her books.

Monday's "Gratitude"

1. I'm grateful for our home, and being able to live next to these beautiful mountains. They were so beautiful this morning as I was driving up the hill, with a touch of snow, and the clear blue sky above.

2. I'm grateful to live at a time and in a place where we have the medical help that we have. I know that doctors do not have all the answers (there's so much Heavenly Father hasn't revealed yet!), but I'm grateful for the artificial hips and knee that I have, so I'm not in the kind of pain I was in before the surgery.

3. I'm grateful for a friend, Karen, whose example spurred me on to join "Curves," where I go exercise with her at least 3 times a week. It feels so good!

4. I'm grateful for the technology that allows us to have these "blogs." I love reading the blogs from my family!

5. I'm grateful for a Relief Society program that supports a book club. Last month we read "Anytime, Anyplace" by Elder Groberg, which has some very moving stories of faith, and this month we're reading "God Wants a Powerful People" by Sheri Dew. She encourages the reader to keep a journal as you read the book, and write down any impressions that come to you. It has been very interesting, and enlightening.

So that's it for today. It will be Thanksgiving next week! Can hardly wait to have at least some of the family here for dinner!

Five Things I'm Grateful For

1. We have a new member of the family---Daniel got a puppy today! He is so cute (the puppy!) ( Daniel, too!). He is 8 weeks old and he's a Boston Terrier, just like Dax.




2. I'm grateful to be able to do genealogy research. We had a fantastic stake fireside tonight about DNA use in genealogy, and afterwards, we got to swish some liquid in our mouth which would somehow register our DNA, and then it will be processed and added to their data bank.

3. I'm grateful for our Relief Society Presidency. They were released today, and they have done such a wonderful job--hours and hours of service, of loving, kind service.

4. I'm grateful for my sweet husband. I had several BIG projects this week that I wanted him to help me with, and we got them done! We cleaned out the weeds and dead plants in the three flower beds in the front yard. Then we cleaned out the garage, and if that wasn't enough, we cleaned out the storage room! Wow--what a week!

5. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to paint. I love it! There are just so many pictures I want to paint. I have 4 painting in various stages right now. It it a wonderful blessing to be able to do this, and I know that any ability I have is from the Lord, and I'm grateful because it makes me very happy.

Seth's Wedding

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to Seth and Jamie's wedding in the Logan Temple. It was beautiful, of course, as all Temple weddings are. Then we had a buffet lunch at a restaurant in Logan. After that, since it was going to be 4 1/2 hours before the reception started, we decided to go home, take a nap, eat dinner, and drive back to Logan for the reception. Here are some pictures we took outside of the Temple.


Clark and Irene


John and Rebecca

John is waiting for his mission call. His papers went in 2 weeks ago, so it should be any day! Becky is going to BYU-Ricks and is a junior in advertising.







Seth and Jamie

What a cute couple! Jamie is the 2nd youngest of 6 girls--no boys! Her Dad was happy that he only has one more wedding to go!


Jamie and her sisters


The reception was at the American West Heritage Center near Logan, and it would have been really nice if a couple of things hadn't gone wrong. First of all, when we got to the parking lot, which is sort of in the middle of a big field, all the lights were off, so it was very dark, and we weren't sure we were in the right place. There was a building next to the parking lot, but it was also dark, with no lights. There were several cars in the parking lot, and we sat there for at least 15 minutes watching people drive up, park, get out of their cars, walk around in the dark trying to figure out where to go, and then get back in their cars. Finally, as one group of people went by our car, I asked them if they were here for the reception, too. They said yes, and someone had told them that we had to walk over a ways, and wait for a horse drawn wagon to come pick us up! Nothing had been said about that at the luncheon, and we weren't exactly dressed for a buggy ride while it was 40 degrees outside. So we waited in the dark with some other people for awhile, and then we all decided to try walking. Just then, the wagon and horses arrived, and we piled in. Luckily, there were blankets in the wagon to put over your legs which helped a little, and the ride only lasted a few minutes. So once we got to the building, it was nice. Then of course we had to catch the wagon to ride back to the parking lot. They finally got the lights turned on at the parking lot. On the wagon ride back, the horses got spooked, and took off running, and the driver had to work real hard to get them to slow down and walk. Had he failed, the wagon would have probably tipped, we would have all been crushed under the wagon, and I wouldn't be writing my blog! Needless to say, I was glad to get back to the car safe and sound, and to turn the heater on!

This one's for Kati!

Dad and I went to Thayne to get the boat last week. We left early Monday morning so Dad and Clark could get on the river before noon. Dad and I were going to stay at the Cabin Creek Inn on Monday night, so I checked in about one in the afternoon, and spent the day in the cabin while Dad and Clark fished. It was great fun! I watched TV, painted a picture, and took a bath in the Jacuzzi tub in our little cabin. It was the first time I've been able to soak in a tub for several years. The problem is that I can't get in and out of a tub because I can't bend my legs enough to get them under me. But I was determined to try this one, because I was alone, and it was really big. Once I got in, though, I was kind of worried about what I would do if I really couldn't get out! But, obviously, I succeeded, and I really enjoyed it!

On our way to Thayne, when we were in the canyon, a MOOSE ran across the road in front of the car, and by the time I got the camera out of the case, it was going up the bank on the other side of the road. We both exclaimed, "There's Kati's moose!" So even though the picture didn't turn out very good, this one's for you, Kati!

A Wonderful Family Reunion

Thanks to all my wonderful children (I also include their spouses in the category of "my" children), for making the gigantic effort to make this reunion a wonderful experience! It would not have been the same if even one of you had not been able to be there. It was such a joy for Dad and me to watch the friendship and love between our children and grandchildren. I hope this can be the beginning of a regular reunion schedule---either yearly or every 2 years. Let's start planning now for next year---we need your suggestions for where we should get together because we won't be able to use the Thompson cabin next year. Thanks again to Shane and Keri for making this reunion happen at such a wonderful place.

Well, here are some photos from the reunion. Kati has lots of beautiful pictures on her blog---don't miss seeing hers!

This is the cabin that Dad thinks is the one he lived in for about 1 year, that his Dad built. Grandma Price will tell you the story of how Tom pulled Carolyn out of the creek to keep her from floating away when he was about 5 years old. Dad will also tell about the smaller cabin across the highway where they lived while Grandpa was building this cabin. At the smaller cabin Grandpa would shoot the porcupines with a shotgun to keep them from chewing on the cabin. There were some rancher's dogs that would come by every morning with about 50 quills stuck in their faces from tangling with the porcupines. Grandpa would have to help the rancher pull them out with pliers. Dad could never understand how the dogs would do the same thing day after day---those were dumb dogs! Grandpa would have to take his shotgun with him at night when he had to go out to the outhouse---just in case he came upon one of those lovely porcupines. Ahwww...those were the days!


After our trek around the mud pots

A beautiful gorge on our way to Mammoth. It was amazing to watch some of the other tourists (adults) disregard the safety measures that had been put in place. It was crazy.

I decided to put this picture in since Keri doesn't have her own blog. I'm thinking that it's Nathan, then David, Keri, Cameron, and Shane, but maybe Keri will tell me that it's really David first. I think Heavenly Father gave Nathan a blond spot in his brown hair just so Grandma could tell the boys apart, but it doesn't help me when they are in a picture like this!


It was so bizarre to see these elk lounging around the town when we got to Mammoth.



There were some very interesting formations at Mammoth.
This one appeared to be spitting water out the front.



Sara, Spencer, and Isaac. What sweet kids!


If you're going to have pictures of Yellowstone, you have to have a picture of a bison.


Unfortunately, on Sunday after an early dinner, Matt and Kati, Jackson, Ryan, and Haleigh, and Spencer and Daniel had to leave to get home for work on Monday. We really missed them! Late on Sunday afternoon we all went to explore the shore of Hepgen Lake, just a hop, skip, and a jump from the cabin.



And so most everyone tried to outdo each other on how far they could skip a rock. Not that I'm prejudiced or anything, but the best skipping that I saw was done by my husband! Unfortunately, his arm and shoulder were actually sore the next day. Everyone was really working hard at this accomplishment!


Well, here we are getting ready to head out. After cleaning from top to bottom, Isaac helped Shane winterize the cabin, which took awhile. This cabin has been well taken care of, and it was a real blessing to have the privilege of using the Thompson cabin for the weekend. Thanks again Keri and Shane!



Sara and Isaac spent Thursday and Thursday night at Keri's, before renting a car to drive to Las Vegas on Friday to spend the weekend with Isaac's parents.



Sara took this cute picture of playing in the leaves after she and the boys raked it into a pile. We will sure miss having Sara and Isaac around

tom has been tagged

Jobs I've Had: potato picker, carpenter's assistant, custodian in a dress shop, potato cellar builder, truck driver, Portuguese language instructor, banker, Seminary and Institute instructor.

Places to go for a weekend get-away: Out of town. North to Wyoming, South to Salt Lake and St. George, west to the desert, and east to the mountains. Anywhere will do.

Movies I can watch over and over: Indiana Jones, The Gods Must Be Crazy, John Wayne westerns, and Sleepless in Seattle. Just about anything with Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks.

Guilty Pleasures: Long, hot showers; Sausage Egg McMuffin; Charley's Steak Sandwich; Maddox' Hamburgers; Jazz games.

Places I've Lived: South Carolina, Idaho, Montana, Wisconsin, Utah, Brazil, and Washington D.C.

What were the first things you thought of when you saw your sweetie for the first time?: "Now we're talking!!"

Places I've been for vacation: California, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and our trip to Philly, N. Y., and D. C.. I must include our most memorable "vacation," although it was more of an educational experience, and that was our trip to Italy, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. We have also been to Church History sites in New York, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wyoming with Church Education; And who can forget our family trips from Wisconsin to Utah and Wyoming and back again, every year for a dozen years. Now that was some fun. I have a special fondness for the California coast, Yellowstone, Utah's Red Rock country, and the family cabin in Star Valley, not to mention floating the Salt River.

Favorite Foods: Oriental, Mexican, Italian, Seafood and Steak.

If in a jam with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse? Be the first to apologize. And believe me, I am usually wrong . . . o.k, o.k, you believe me.

Websites I visit regularly: The Church and B.Y.U. sites for information on Mormon emigrants, newspaper sites, Yahoo for books and cars, Ranger boats which I cannot afford, real estate sites, L.L. Bean and Land's End. And of course, recently, your blogs. Pretty good stuff, and you are pretty fine writers and thinkers. Who knew?

Best first kiss landmarks: Read Barbara's blog. It's all true.

Places I'd rather be right now: I'd like to visit England, return to Italy, and take all of you to the Holy Land and Egypt. But right now, I just like being home. I do love home.

Who Sent This to Me: Barbara Ann Price, the sweetest thing I know of.

Survey

I've been tagged by my daughter, Sara!

Jobs I've had:
Babysitting
Working for my Dad making Hot Shot Fishing Lures during the summers-for years!
In a medical lab filling and inspecting vials of serum
Cleaning apartments at Metler Manor
Measuring drapery material in a drapery factory
Typing and collating huge specifications for a engineering firm
Receptionist and telephone operator at a Cadillac dealership
Selling Avon
Selling Mary Kay
Selling wheat grinders and bread mixers
Selling diet drinks made from powder
Aide and substitute teacher at a preschool for developmentally delayed children

Places to go for a weekend get-away:
Salt Lake City

Movies I can watch over and over:
Sleepless in Seattle
You've Got Mail
Sabrina
IQ

Guilty pleasures:
Rocky Road ice cream
Burnt Almond Fudge ice cream
Popcorn
Sunflower Seeds (in the shell)
Lemonade from Furrins in Georgetown

Places I've lived:
Montrose, California from the time I was born until I got married
Provo
Salt Lake City--Granger
Madison, Wisconsin
Ephraim, Utah
North Ogden, Utah
Washington, DC

What were the first things you thought of when you saw your sweetie for the first time:
I went to his apartment to meet him, and I thought he was cute, but he didn't seem interested in me, so I thought maybe I'd scope out his roommates for other possibilities.

Places I've been for vacation:
My Mom and Dad would close the business for 2 weeks every summer and we would go on a family vacation--and it often would include fishing. We went to places like Lake Crowley in the High Sierra's, or, one of my favorites, Lake Tahoe. We also went to places like Yosemite, the Redwood forest, Crater Lake, and my absolute favorite--Catalina Island.
Disneyland
Star Valley, Wyoming
California Coast
Philadelphia
Cape May, New Jersey

Favorite foods:
Nuts
Tacos
Rocky Road ice cream
Salmon
Steak

If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get
out of the doghouse?
"I'm sorry"

Websites I visit regularly (sometimes daily):
Weather.com
Sara & Isaac
Mike & Michelle
Matt & Kati

Best first-kiss landmarks:
First kiss when I was 16 was in a friend's kitchen
First kiss from Tom was in my apartment after we had dated several times,
and he kissed me on the forehead, and told me that was all I was going to get!
A tree by the parking lot of Metler Manor in Provo

Places I'd rather be right now:
On the beach, any beach, with Tom

Who sent this to me: Sara, my darling daughter

And I will tag Thomas and Daniel!

There you have it. Love to you all!

Mistaken Identity

Oooops! When Tom read my latest entry, he found an error. We did NOT go see "Hair," but rather, we saw "Hairspray." I think there's a BIG difference! I guess I'd better let him check things before I post them!

Price Reunion

We left on Thurs. morning, August 16, about 2 hours later than we had originally planned (surprise!), and headed north. Keri and Shane and the boys had spent Wed. night with us so we could get up early and take off together. It's takes about 5 hours of driving to get to the May Family Ranch. That doesn't include stops for food, gas, etc. I just remembered that when we stopped at one gas station in a very little Idaho town, I walked over to where Shane was pumping gas, and as I approached, I asked, "How goes it with you?" There were a couple of motorcycle guys in black leather at the other pump, and one of them answered, "Pretty good. How about you?" I said, "Fine, thanks," while Shane tried to keep from laughing.... The ride was long, but Dan and Tom traded off driving, so it was fine, and we saw some beautiful, and sparsely populated, country.


We got there around 3pm, and got settled in. Keri and Shane and family took one of the three cabins, and Friday when most of the others showed up, Mike and Michelle and family took another cabin, and the 3rd cabin was taken by Dixie and Rick and family.


Tom and Daniel and I shared a wonderful room in the main house. Paul and Sharon live upstairs, and downstairs are 3 lovely rooms that they rent out as a Bed & Breakfast. So we had 2 queen beds and our own bathroom. And air-conditioning.

Thursday night we had a big spaghetti dinner with everyone that was there, and then after dinner we sat around the table and Sharon told the story about her 1st husband, Richard, and their experiences in Valdez, Alaska, which ended when Richard was killed in the earthquake they had there in 1964, and then how she met Paul, their quick courtship and marriage, and the blending of her 3 children, and his 4 children, his youngest being about 4 months old. His wife had died shortly after giving birth. It is quite an amazing story, and we laughed and cried together. Sharon is such an amazing person, and we love her so much.

Here's the view from the house looking over their beautiful valley. You can't see it, but the Salmon River is out there.

Friday morning Kathryn and John and their kids, us, Keri and Shane and their kids, and Nate and Casey and their kids, decided to go explore a place called Custer. It's an old mining town that the National Parks has taken over to restore. Up that canyon their are incredible remnants of the gold dredging that they used to do. For quite a ways, the entire canyon floor is covered with piles and piles of rocks and gravel. It is such a mess! It is unbelievable how the dredging destroyed the land. Up at Custer, they did regular mining, so it was very pretty.

Here's grandma (me!) leading the pack of gold miners---panning for gold! It was fun, but we only found one or two flecks, which were so tiny, that you could barely see them when our guide taped them to a piece of black paper! At least she said they were there! So much for getting rich!

Here's Cameron outside the country store, where the kids got some candy.

It was a fun morning, and that afternoon the rest of the families started arriving. From our family there was Mike and Michelle, Keri and Shane, and Daniel. Here's who else was there: Dixie and Rick, and Hayley and her little girl, and Ben and Becky; Steve and Merlynn, Devin, Abbey, Marci (just home a couple of days from her mission--our mission--in Washington, DC), Casey and Nate and kids; Clark and Irene and Rex; Kathryn (Sharon's daughter) and John Chapman and family from North Carolina; Theresa (Sharon's daughter) and her husband and their daughter, Loni, and her child. I think that's it! (There were lots of little children running around that I wasn't sure who they belonged to!)

Of course, one of the important parts of a Price reunion is the eating of food. We were all given assignments to help with the preparation and clean-up for each meal. Here's where the food was prepared...

(Paul, Keri and Dixie)

and here's where we ate the food.......

This room is so big that they can seat about 125 people at tables, so we had plenty of room!

Friday night a bunch of us sat around the fire and talked about family memories. It was very funny at times, and also very tender, remembering Rex. It was a special night.

Saturday, in this great room that is sort of like a family room, we had a family meeting for the adults, that Tom was in charge of. One of the things discussed was our NEXT reunion, which Keri volunteered to be in charge of. We have set the date for August 6, 7, and 8th, 2009, and it will again be at Paul and Sharon's. Rick was assigned to explore the possibility of having a reunion next year for just the siblings and their spouses, possibly a cruise or some such really fun thing! I'll vote for that!


Sat. afternoon brought on the water slide competition. Of course, some of us had to be spectators, cheering them on to victory!

I must say, Keri was one of the fastest sliders that we saw, but during the official competition she had to attend to Cameron, and so we'll never know if she could have beaten Shane, who was one of the winners! This is Shane--I remember his feet!

Emma was one of the winners in the children's division, along with Josh. They were both little speed demon's!

After the water-slide competition, I went to lie down for a little while to get out of the sun, and while I was resting, we had a scary thing happen to the other family that was there using the ranch facilities. One of the mom's put her 8 or 9 month baby boy in the high-chair, and forgot to put the strap on him, and he fell out of the high-chair onto the cement. He was crying, and she held him for a couple of minutes to calm him, and then gave him some juice. Suddenly he became unconscious and unresponsive. They called for an ambulance, but Paul and Sharon's place is about 30 minutes from Challis, and 60 minutes from Sun Valley, where there's a hospital. He had been unconscious for about 15 minutes when either the grandma asked for a Priesthood blessing, or someone in our group volunteered. As soon as they anointed him with the oil and began the prayer, he regained consciousness. By the time the ambulance got there, her was responding and seemed OK. The problem was that he had been unconscious for 15 minutes, which would indicate bleeding in the brain, so they decided to life-flight him. They landed in the Paul and Sharon's field, and took off for Sun Valley. However, Sun Valley refused to let them land because they didn't have anyway to take care of a pediatric head trauma case, so they had to go to Twin Falls. After running many tests, they couldn't find anything wrong, and released him. It was such a miracle and blessing for that family, and we were all so very grateful for the healing power of the Priesthood.

By Saturday night it was obvious that we were all starting to drag a little, or maybe a lot, so we didn't have any organized activities. Some people made smores at the bonfire, and others sat around the tables visiting. It was fun just being together.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, we had Church in the Family Room. After the sacrament was passed, with families sharing the few water cups we had, we had a testimony meeting, which was very special.

After that we packed the cars, made sack lunches, said the many goodbyes, and headed for home. We were about 35 minutes down the road when Tom realized that he didn't have his glasses. So we turned around, sent Keri and Shane on their way, and drove back to Paul and Sharon's, passing Mike and Michelle on the way. When we got there, Sharon had already searched our room and couldn't find them. We looked all over the area where the car was parked, and in our room again, went through the dirty towels and sheets, looked in the kitchen and eating area, looked in the Family Room where we had held Church, and even unpacked the car, thinking maybe they had fallen out of his pocket while loading the suitcases. But we failed to find them anywhere. I was saying that we would just have to leave without them when Clark and Irene and Rex decided to have a little prayer by themselves and ask the Lord to help us find them. John Chapman had just walked by on his way to the house. As soon as the prayer was finished, John called out, "I just found these on the grass--are these what you're looking for?"
Of course they were! We have no idea how they got on the grass, and I had walked by that same spot at least 2 or 3 times and hadn't seen them. We were so grateful to have them! It's amazing how the Lord lets us know that He loves us and He's aware of us--always--when we are facing a tragedy or when we're just in a predicament.

So, we loaded up, and hit the road--again! It was a wonderful reunion, and we sure missed those who were not able to make it!

Well, almost 2 weeks ago I had some surgery, and am slowly getting my energy back. I've been surprised at how tired I have been. I have a few restrictions for the next month, such as not lifting or pushing or pulling, but I haven't had any pain, so that has been very good!

On Thursday we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary! Wow, that's a lot of years! But there's no one I'd rather be with, still, than my sweet and wonderful Tom. We went to dinner at Maddox, and then to the movies. We saw "Hairspray" which was pure entertainment! We really enjoyed the singing and dancing--really a fun movie! And Tom gave me a pair of beautiful earrings! He spoils me so much! But I'm not going to tell him to stop! Love to you all, Mom