Grandkids posing with charm and personality

Marlie's (4y 8m) spaced off while holding Jack (4m) for this July 2nd shot and James (2y 6m) has obviously got something else on his mind. Wonderful! I love this totally unposed scene as we prepared to get a nice posed one.

So this next shot a few seconds later captured a rapid change in attitudes as you can see. Marlie started to enjoy the occasion and James reacted like Jack was in mortal danger.

Engaged to my Sweetheart - July 8th, 1970

And it came to pass on this summer night, 38 years ago, the love of my life was gently persuaded through some sweet talk and strange conversation to become my wife.

Although we had only dated a few times since early June, we had spent many hours together and had talked a lot too. I have always been indebted to her mother Betty for setting us up.

Betty and I were good friends and had been co-workers at the IRS. Betty was always really friendly to me and seemed to enjoy the escapades that I would share with her and the other women at work. Sooner or later she showed me this picture of Melanie and it sort of registered with me.

After my stint in Army training, one of the first things I did was to call Betty and set up an arranged meeting with Melanie for a motorcycle ride. After meeting her in person, it was really not much question for me from then on. We dated a couple of times. She went to South Dakota with her family to see her Grandpa Nelson. I went to Ft. Lewis Washington for Army camp. I did miss her immediately and was awakened to a deep sense of need for her companionship and felt the beginnings of a loving desire to just be with her.

Once we both returned and resumed dating a few times and many more hours together, one thing led to another that night of July 8th and as we sat in my car in her driveway we talked and talked. She said how she loved Logan and wanted to be married in the Logan Temple. I probably said that sounded good to me too, when should we get married?

We sort of agreed sometime around spring of the next year I believe and as our evening together ended, we were engaged to be married in the Logan Temple. I don't think anything in my life thus far had been such a wonderful feeling as this acceptance of marriage by this wonderful and beautiful girl!

June 2008

The month of June passed quickly. It started out with finishing up Annie's tonsilectomy rehab at home with us. It was hard, but we sent her on her way south to get back to normal life again. Her operation was a challenge but appears now to have been worth it for her and glad it's behind her and all of us too.

The sandpile will never be the same again. Melanie and I weeded it and salted the earth (in this case the sand) and then started hauling in the two dumptruck loads of chipped bark for the play area. Thankfully, Roy Purkiss and his boys saw us and helped us get it finished up really quickly. Twelve yards is a lot of chips! It really looks nice now though.

We enjoyed the culmination of Kayli and John's engagement by attending their wedding reception in Layton on the 5th of June, which was also my sister LaRena's 57th birthday. Now Joey is alone in her little condo, at least for the time being.

On Friday the 6th, Melanie and I went to the Outback Steakhouse in Layton to dinner with Hunter's and Beech's to celebrate the 17th year since our release as a Bishopric. We always seem to have such an enjoyable annual visit and dinner together. They are special and choice friends and ever will be.

Saturday the 7th, Jeremy, Jimmy, Cody and I met Lee and LaRena over at Gma H's to lay sod in her former garden area. Jeremy had already done a good job with some bark and planters and a tree. Now we were trying to put some finishing touches on it with the sod. Lee and Bryce had installed some sprinkler heads to take care of the water coverage.

On Sunday the 8th I started teaching the temple preparation class during Sunday School. I was called to teach this class last July but had to wait until now to have some people ready for the class. I'm starting out with six. I am glad to be able to teach it and to be a ward missionary with Dale Hunter. It's a little more of a spiritual lift to me to get out of the finance clerk office and get out with the people.

I had an interesting and satisfying experience on Monday the 9th. I went to Salt Lake City and had a full body scan to see what if anything would show up. Given a large family history of a variety of things I guess I felt some compelling need to know if there was anything lurking beneath the surface of this plentiful, deep skin. That and the fact that I had a little extra "use or lose" flex plan money that expired June 30th. Anyway, the scan went better than I had anticipated as far as results. It was encouraging to find out arteries, heart, lungs, entrals, etc. all looked to be in reasonably good shape for a fellow in my condition!

Donated blood on the 11th to the Red Cross to help with an Eagle project for Todd Nelson from the ward. I've always been glad to help with blood donations whenever they hold them. Sort of like the morbid warm feel of the blood flowing through the tube along my arm and down into the bag. It would be an easy and peaceful way to bleed to death!

At my encouragement, the city held a free swim night for Riverdale residents at the Roy Aquatic Park on the 12th. Only problem was that it was too cold. So, Jeannette Hall just met people at the gate and passed out free passes for another time to those that showed up. We bought 175 passes and surprise, surprise, she needed more passes on a cold day. Oh well, guess it is a good idea and we do have another day coming up in July.

Friday, the 13th! Our special family day that occurs occasionally and we celebrate. Melanie and I, Jimmy and Amber, Cody and Tiffani met together for a celebration dinner at Rickenbacker's at the airport. We had a nice time together for the $300 tab. The food was ok, but the company was where the real value was. I suppose we are establishing the 13th as a family tradition worthy of some efforts to continue and expand, that is if any of the others decide to follow along some time. It's fun and we like it!

Father's Day was on the 15th. My family got me a new grill for the deck which is really nice along with some nice battery operated Fisher Price Lawn tools, a blower and a trimmer. They also made a delicious cookout dinner complete with a giant 2 lb. cheeseburger that I could only begin an attempt to eat. It looked and tasted great, but I could only down a small portion of it. There was a day now long past though that I'm sure I could have and would have eaten the whole thing. Gma H came over and ate with us. This was the first year in 59 years that my Dad wasn't around to celebrate it with us or us with him, rest in peace.

I appreciated the Mayor and City Council approving my request to reward the city employees with a special one-time 1.5% June 30th incentive payment. Our staff is pulling together and performing well and building an organizational culture worthy of nurturing and encouraging. It is better and different than recent years ago. Yea!

Dale and I met an ex-con on a missionary visit who said he was waiting for us to show up and that he needed to get his life in order in line with the Lord. He said he would come to church. It was a very good visit. He didn't make it to church. We will stick with him and see what happens.

Between the 20th and month-end I used up some vacation time doing some chores and things around home. Melanie and I went to the temple. We went to Cedar City for a couple of nights while I attended an URMMA (Utah Risk Management Mutual Association) Board Meeting and conference. While there we saw a "Fiddler On the Roof" play and enjoyed a little time together and away.

On the 21st we met a lot of Gma H's Kunz relatives at the Riverdale Park for a reunion. It was good to see some of them again. There were a couple of hundred of them. Most of whom I'd never recognize if I passed them in WalMart. Next year it's our turn to host the event and organize the festivities, yea.

On the 30th I spent the last day of vacation while Melanie went back to work. I got the carpets cleaned and had some cement landscape edging installed in our front yard and in Gma H's front yard. It looks good. It was quite hard work at the end getting rid of the sod they cut out though. Made me appreciate Jeremy and Cody's help with it at the end of a hard day's work. Glad to go back to work in an air conditioned office tomorrow.

Independence Day 2008

Today was a very, very good Independence Day! I enjoyed being with my family and friends from sunrise to after the fireworks ended at night.

Melanie, Gma H, Wendy and I went to the Flag Ceremony at 7:00 a.m.. It was very well done. Our little Riverdale Band is growing and playing the National Anthem very well now. Our old friend and former Bishop Bryce Gibby gave a very stirring and memorable oration on Riverdale, Freedom, Liberty, etc. which was one of the best speeches I've ever heard at that event or on that topic actually. I'll try to post it later when I get an electronic copy of it. It would be worth reading and re-reading!

We helped Wendy set up her UDOT - Riverdale Road Project booth at the park following the flag ceremony. She was giving out info and free creamies to anyone who would stop and listen. She did a very professional job with it all as she usually does.

After the booth work, we came home to a breakfast of Swedish Pancakes that Melanie made, yummmmmmmmm!!!! Joey and Annie finally got up so we all ate them up and enjoyed them plenty.

Then, Jimmy's family and Jeremy joined us and we walked over by the Church and watched the parade. Gma, Joey, Jack and I found some shade at the Church and had a couple of camp chairs. We sat by the Hancock family. The parade was not exactly spectacular. I liked the flag going by and the jets that flew over and the fact that it was a short parade and we had a shady seat.

Some of us went up to the park to take the kids to the booths, etc. and check things out. Marlie and James did a couple of things, train ride, treats, etc. We enjoyed seeing many friends and people we know and like. It was especially great to see Pres. Carl Cook and Lynette and their family again after their 3-year mission president assignment in New Zealand.

After the park activity we just sort of hung around and relaxed at home. Wendy and Joey and I watched a DVD movie "Drill Bit Taylor" which Joey told Wendy to buy. It was sort of entertaining, and as Joey said, it saved me the cost of movie theater tickets?

Cody and Tiffani came over and we all got together again for a cook-out dinner. Jeremy is the designated grill-man. He did steaks, chicken breast, spare ribs, and hot dogs. Gma H brought some delicious potato salad and brownies, Cody brought some chips and Melanie added the rest. We ate on the deck in the 90+ degree shade, but we enjoyed it.

We visited and got set up in the front yard for fireworks. Cody and Jimmy brought some fun fireworks. Marlie and James liked them, Jack tolerated them for a while then retired to the safety of the living room with Amber.

The city fireworks were the fitting closing for a long but fun day. I really enjoyed being around all of the family today and having some food, some fun and just visiting and being with them. Since Jeremy starts his new railroad job next week and will be unable to go to Bear Lake as usual for our family vacation, this was probably the last get together with everybody for a while.

But it was a good one!