Well, I guess it's time I updated this blog.  I realized that I had been remiss in keeping up on events and felt a little sheepish because it's usually me that is riding someone else about not keeping their blogs up to date.  Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Since I last wrote, I've been out playing in mother nature's backyard twice.  The first time was when I went with my brothers Dan and Tom to deliver one of our high bankers to a friend that lives down in Richfield, Utah.  While there, we took along the quad runners and went riding the Piute trail up in the mountains above the town.  I think we only went about 25 miles or so, but we had a good time.  That particular trail goes on for some two or three hundred miles from what I've been told. We did get a late start and were not really trying to go any further than that.  As I said, though, we did have a good time. We spent the night at Dan's house in Ephrium, Utah, and the next day we rode the four wheelers up above Ephrium in their mountains.  We saw literally hundreds of deer and again, we had a good time just playing around and having fun.

The second time I was out in nature was a couple of weeks later when Dan and Tom and I again met and took the quad runners down to Delta, Utah to check out that area and to play some more.  We left in a real snow blizzard and were wondering if we were doing the right thing.  Just a few miles outside of Delta, however, the snow stopped, the sun came out and life looked good again.  The weather stayed great the entire time we were gone and even lasted until we got home before it snowed again.  We rode all over the White mountain range and had fun looking for trilobytes (fossils) and also playing with our metal detectors around the old foundations of a couple of torn down houses that we found up in the hills. Again we had a ball.

In between these outings I took the time to have my 65th birthday and let the government officially recognize the fact that I was old enough to retire. The family came and we had the obligatory ice cream and cake, etc. and they all wished me the best.  Just after the second outing, Dan had his 68th birthday just to keep me humble, I suppose.  We had a fun time thinking back over our lives and looking at how much had changed since we were kids.  We talked about the progress of radios from the crystal radios to the transistor radios we have now, not to mention television from totally a dream to the things on the market now.  Also, telephones from the first ones we had (do you still remember the old party lines?) to the ultra slim cell phones we all take for granted now that come complete with built in cameras and computers, etc.. We thought back over many things, including life style changes.  Some things are of course much much better, but we have lost some of the sweet flavor of life, too.  All in all, I guess we are the winners, with more good than bad, so I'm not complaining.

Today we all met at Ginger's ward house to participate in the blessing of their second child and then have a nice social meal at her home afterwards.  This child is a darling little girl and they named her Jordan.  She seems to be a very easy going child and she smiles and coos a lot.  Her brother has come into his own now with her around.  He keeps his folks updated on all of her needs and desires and even insists he knows what she wants when "her frogs, mommy, her frogs" (his way for saying "she's crying".  He seems to have no sibling rivalry at all and loves to see her take her turn at whatever he's trying to do.  Ginger's great grandmother-in-law, came all the way from  Brazil to be here for this occasion, and combined it with General Conference so that she has been here for a couple of weeks and will still stay for a few more days.  She seems like a neat lady.

It looks like Penny and Johnny and family will be moving down to Cedar City pretty soon.  Johnny has let himself be talked into what sounds like a good financial deal with his old employer.  Johnny gets to buy the business from his old boss, while working for him and splitting profits with him or something like that. At any rate, the business is in Saint George, so the move is needed in order to put the deal together. Steven and Sarah and their family are getting a handle on curing the allergies that their kids have been troubled with for most of their lives.  Things seem to be looking good for them.  All in all, we are being blessed and I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father for all He has done and is doing for us.  Sure, we have our share of problems like everyone else, but they are not anything that we can not overcome or survive with the Lord's help.

Not much in the way of news from Wendy and Tom.  They are kept pretty busy with all they have to do.  We do see them from time to time, and they seem happy (although they have had a touch of the flu or whatever is going around. I would like to see them more often but they seem to have their  time all taken for now.  Maybe when the weather breaks and the days lengthen.  We'll see.

Andrew seems to be having success on his mission.  We got word a couple of weeks ago that he had been made the district leader of his area.  The mission president seems happy with his work and progress.  His letters sound like he's getting on well with his companion and with the people in his area.  I do miss him and I know that his mother misses him also, but we are proud of him and look forward to being with him again in about a year.

I'll try to keep up a bit better on this blog (but no promises). It keeps looking like we're getting closer and closer to summer.  We have had a couple of nice days strung together and that has helped. Keep smiling and we will see you

Sooner.

Badger Bill