HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM!

In no particular order, which starts out with Tom and Shelly and their most important family,
here is a sort of overview of Tom's 45 years so far. May the future be as bright as the past has been!

Tom, Shelly, Sam, Mac, and Alex in ski gear - what else?

Tom as nearly new born 1964.

Tom as New Year Baby 1966

Tom masquerading as Hoss.

Tom and Mary at Spring Hollow.

Tom laughing.

Tom pointing out entrance to Amazon Mine in Logan Canyon.

Tom and brothers in Eddie Bauer sweaters.

Tom and Shelly on lift at Beaver.

Tom skiing - what else is new? I Tought him everything I knew

and he still doesn't ski the way I do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM!

Happy Birthday Tom!

It's 11 days until Christmas!

After having watched the East wall of the yellow bedroom disintigrate from water damage for quite a while we finally called Alpine Resoration and started the drawn-out process of repairing the damages. When they got into finding the cause it turned out to be a long standing leak in the main bathroom shower upstairs that had both gone through the wall into the Blue bedroom and rotted much of the wooden support for the shower as well as soaking the wall in the basement bedroom. Our initial word from the insurance company was that they would pay anything above the $1000 dedictable for water damage but that we would have to pay all of the shower replacement. Now we aren't sure if they will pay anything - the adjuster said they only pay for "sudden catastrophic losses like a pipe bursting" but not long standiing leaks because that indicates "wear and tear." Oh well, "loose a few, loose a few" seems to apply to us fairly regularly. For the past 3 weeks we have had a steady stream of people in and out of the house trying to decide what to do, starting to do it, and now, finally, getting some of the work done. The pictures were taken today to show you the current status. If we are lucky, we should have everything put back together in time for the Christmas Season. We were supposed to get an estimate on having the carpets "touched up" today but so far the cleaner hasn't appeared yet. However, Norda just reminded me that we do have 8 extra beds, 3 futons, 5 toilets, 6 sinks, 3 showers, 2 tubs, no Partridges in a pear tree, and lots of love for the entire family so come one, come all!

There are usually from 1 to 3 workmen's trucks parked in front.

Waiting for the shower to be replaced.

The new-fangled shower control after the 50 year old model was removed.

Patch work in the Blue bedroom under way.

Different view of the same problem.

Replacing the damaged wall in the Yellow bedroom downstairs.

Isn't it great that things weren't worse than they are?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We woke up to a winter wonderland here in Highland this morning. We only got 3-4 inches of wet snow over night, so I'm expecting someone from Logan to post over the top of this with photos of the foot of snow that fell in Cache Valley last night. It's still snowing outside. Let's hope it's coming down hard at the 'Beav so we can enjoy some Christmas skiing.

Annie has the house is decked out with Christmas decorations inside, but from the outside all you can see is our tree in the front window. The tree is well adorned with Grandma Fife snowflakes.

It's funny, but as soon as I walk outside, the Polaris starts flashing it's lights indicating it's ready to roll. The wet heavy snow proved to be a very difficult task for the ATV and plow. I can only imagine how much more a snow blower would have struggled. Check out my new bike storage rack in the back ground. It was quite a project. Those California plates on the Armada will be coming off today and replaced with Utah plates.

Maybe next year I'll get some out side lights and decorations up but for now a couple of pine cones will have to do.

Irvine Reunion in Vegas

On December 2, we rendezvoused in Las Vegas with some of our long time friends to enjoy the Donny and Marie show at the Flamingo. Standing behind Donny and his wife Debbie are, Peter Vidmar, Lon Wardrop, Donna Vidmar, Shauna Rasmussen, Dan Rasmussen, Sheryl Wardrop, Wardop's neighbor Suzie, Annie and Bob. I missed the pre-show dinner with Donny but made it to the show only a few minutes after the start after catching a flight from San Jose with only a minute to spare. It was a fun evening. We used to car-pool with the Osmonds 20 years ago when they lived in Irvine. It was fun to catch up. If you look close at Lon's forehead you'll see a nice lipstick tattoo from the show. Marie walked down into the crowd during one number and grabbed Lon by the cheeks and planted a big kiss on his bald head.

Annie in front of the Bellagio with the fountains and the Flamingo (with Donny and Marie displayed on the Hotel) in the background.

Lon owns his own plane so on the day following the show, he sent his pilot back to Vegas to pick up Annie and Debbie. There was an open seat next to the pilot so I jumped in. Strong head winds turned a 1 hour 10 minute flight into almost 2 1/2 hours. Lucky for Annie she only needed to go to the bathroom for 2 hours and 15 minutes - she was perfectly comfortable for the first few minutes. I was at the controls for a few minutes while our pilot cleaned up after he spilled his drink and snack while he showed us what it was like to experience weightlessness. It was cool to see my iPhone floating in front of me for a second or two.

I picked up this album at the DI a few weeks ago and missed an opportunity to get it signed. Maybe next time.

Christmas Cookies

Jackie and Annie show Jack how it's done

Somebody's been licking the frosting off the cookie!

Uncle Brian stole my blue sprinkles!

Brian used his left hand for his cookie and his right hand to help Lily.

Lily's cookie creation.

Brian and Jackie show how it's done.

Birthday Will

Today in anticipation of Will's fifth birthday we went on a family outing to Toys R Us. He got to pick out his own presents (twice the cost of what we would pay in Orem). We then had an excellent lunch of hummus and pita bread in the old city followed by the kids all buying lambs wool slippers to wear on the cold tile floor of our apartment. Tomorrow Will will celebrate with cupcakes at his pre-school and then when the students get home from the Dead Sea/Masada field trip we will celebrate with the students--Marie plans to bake 5 chocolate sheet cakes for the occassion.

For more fun photos of Will go to Beit Emmett.

Happy 1st Birthday

Today is Jack's 1st birthday! He may not be as tall as most 1 year olds but what he lacks in size he makes up for in cuteness! Allison stopped by my house yesterday and Jack was getting really excited over my Christmas decorations. He had his little finger pointing to everything and he was "talking" and smiling. He can stand on his own, but hasn't quite figured out how to take a step. Maybe he needs his brother Max to show him how.

Cute Brothers

Baby Jack

Happy 17th Birthday

Erin and Molly

Lesa and Erin, prom 2009

Erin and Dimi

Erin and Ronald McDonald - Youth Conference 2009

Erin in Chicago

Erin at EFY

Erin and Polly

Erin's baptism

Erin waiting for Ben to return from Brazil

Erin and Molly, Homecoming

Erin in The Music Man

Erin prom 2009

More Pictures from Thanksgiving

Here are a few of the pictures taken from my camera. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for being excellent hosts as usual and thanks to everyone else who brought food and made it a great Thanksgiving.

Grandma, probably telling us about the fish she caught. (I had a few ideas about captions for this picture, but this is what I went with. Any other good ideas?)

Jello, anyone?

Lily and Max took over Grandpa's chair. I wonder how many pictures of this chair have been taken over the years. That would be a fun post.

Jack got a hold of my camera

These were the two pictures that didn't have a finger in them and were not taken of his face. He kept flipping the camera around, pointing it at himself but still trying to take pictures of people

It's weird to see the newest generation play with the same exact things that I used to play with over 20 years ago. I can only imagine how the Aunts and Uncles feel.

Happy Birthday Ben!

Happy Birthday to Ben! We had a fun day (well, it was fun for me - I hope Ben had fun!) hanging out at the house, having birthday cinnamon rolls, (I'm not a cake person, so don't ever expect me to make you a cake on your birthday :) playing with the kids & going to lunch. Molly & I were tired from shopping the Black Friday sales, but we had enough energy to help Ben celebrate. Thanks Ben & Courtney for hanging out today & for bringing Molly along with you!

Thanksgiving Day at the Twin Pine Ranch 11-09

We had a wonderful day with all who could make it for Thanksgiving Day but also missed the company of those who couldn't make it. Chad's call from Jerusalem, Jake's from Illinois, and Tom's call and e-mail from San Diego helped add to the occasion Norda spent a lot of time getting ready as documented in the pictures taken before the family started arriving. It has always been her preference to get ready ahead of time rather than wait until everyone gets here and then panicking (which is the system used by some of the unrelated people we know and love.) Notice the round batik table cloths from Indonesia that added greatly to the appearance.

Norda also had 6 small quilts ready to be tied for the Humanitarian services and there were many willing hands ready to help, again as documented in the pictures.

During all of the final preparations (which included a lot of food being carried into the house by all of those who helped prepare the dinner) Beth provided an interlude of piano music that was very appropriate to the setting.

When it was time to eat there seemed to be room for everyone to sit down and fill up although it was quite a bit later before sampling of the many desserts was finished.

Most of the family returned to their various homes later in the evening but Mary, Emily, Amanda, Jamie, Camilla, Carly and Katie all stayed to go shopping in the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, everyone else in the house (John and Norda) stayed in bed to make sure the everything was safe and sound. All in all, a most enjoyable and memorable Thanksgiving day again!

Galilee Thanksgiving

We began our Thanksgiving celebration on Wednesday evening with a turkey dinner provided by Kibbutz En Gev Holiday Village. This resort has hosted BYU students for several decades. We stay for nearly two weeks on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
The dining room was decorated with an American patriotic theme. The turkeys were delivered to the waiting students and faculty with flaming sparklers on top.
Later that evening in a three hour testimony meeting around a bonfire on the beach, one of the students began his testimony by expressing gratitude to the En Gev Holiday Resort for the wonderful stay and for somehow knowing and taking into consideration that his family's tradition was to present the turkey with sparklers on top (this was the top laugh of the evening).
The turkey tasted great (I was the only dark meat fan at our table). It and the corn were the most authentic portion of the dinner. We also had rolls, baked potatoes with dill butter (pretty good), candied yams with raisins, waldorf salad, and apple strudel a la mode--all tasty but with an Israeli twist.
On Thanksgiving day we headed out on our last field trip in the Galilee. First stop was Sefforis (Arab Saffuiryah and Israeli Tsippori). Here we saw Roman ruins and mosaics including the beautiful Mona Lisa of the Galilee. While driving to Sefforis I told the students that it was a mere 7 kilometers NW of Nazareth. Joel then asked an excellent question. He wondered if Jesus had ever visited Sefforis (he probably was listening better and leaning more than some of the sleeping or i-pod listening students). Many biblical scholars have suggested that Joseph and Jesus most likely would have spent time working as craftsmen (a better translation than carpenter and most likely meaning stone mason) at Sefforis--the growing capital of Herod Antipas in the Galilee. Up until 1948 Sefforis was a large Arab village. I told the students how the residents of the village fled to the safety of Nazareth during the war and then were not allowed to return once the war end--even though they were now citizens of Israel. They stayed in Nazareth as "internal refugees" and eventually settled in a quarter of Nazareth that looks out to Saffuriya (read more about this in my book Beyond the Basilica). To make sure that the Arabs did not return to the village the government of Israel bulldozed down the rock homes and then planted trees (this was done to over 200 villages vacated by Arabs during the war). Most tourists to Sefforis never know this part of Sefforis' history. To ensure that my students got the whole story I pointed out the piles of stones from the demolished homes hidden under the trees as well as the olive, pomegranate, almond and other trees planted by Arabs that still are found on the hillside where the village once stood. The only remaining structure from the Arab village is a crusader/Ottoman citadel on the hilltop. The jump picture above (a favorite pose perfected by BYU Jerusalem students) is taken on the roof top of that citadel.
We next made a quick stop at a new site I learned about--a Roman era rolling stone tomb just off the main road on our way to Mt Carmel.
Next we drove to the traditional site of Elijah's confrontation with the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel. The students had already studied this wonderful story in Old Testament class. I recounted the story (mainly so Joel and Sarah could hear it--Will fell asleep on Marie's lap at the back of the small Carmelite chapel) and reminded the students that when the fire from heaven destroyed the bullock, wood, stones and water on the altar, it destroyed the symbols of the four main Canaanite gods (who were now being worshiped in the northern kingdom of Israel thanks to the adverse influence of Ahab's wife Jezebel) which then showed to all Israel that Jehovah was God. I then noted that when Elijah asked the people "why halt ye between two opinions?," he was exhorting them to return to what the prophets and scriptures had taught their fathers. He was "turning the hearts of the sons to the fathers"--which is why he then was tasked with restoring the keys of temple work to Peter James and John on the Mt of Transfiguration and to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland temple. We then focused on the end of the story where after the priests of Baal had been put to death (as in the photo above) that no clouds turned into a tiny cloud the size of a hand (symbolic of the hand of God blessing our lives?) which then turned into a dark cloud that brought rain and ended the three year long drought. The Lord blessed Israel for returning to the worship of Jehovah. From Elijah on Thanksgiving Day we learned to be thankful for fathers (and mothers) who have gone before and prepared the way by seeking religous freedom in America (choosing a good opinion) and to be thankful for our many other blessings as symbolized by the rain on Carmel. Then we sang "Prayer of Thanksgiving" and "Come, ye Thankful People" both of which have great lyrics that actually tied in to our Elijah discussion.
We then drove to Haifa via the crest of Mt. Carmel with a stop as a viewpoint down on the port and the Bahai temple (unfortunately enclosed in scaffolding) and garden. Our final stop was at the German Cemetery in Haifa. This cemetery (beyond the neat rows of the British WWI cemetery) is where two LDS missionaries (Adolf Haag and John Clark) are buried. They served in Haifa in the 1890s among the Germans of the Templar colony and there died of typhoid and smallpox. Present in our BYU group were two great great grand nieces of John Clark. One was in my bus group and the other with the second group. As we sat on the lawn in the corner of the British cemetery, Angie Clark told our group how she had come to appreciate this ancestor for his faithful service. Also buried in the cemetery are two LDS couples--both German converts. Georg Grau was converted (in 1884) by Jacob Spori the first missionary to Haifa. Spori had a dream that he was to go to Haifa and there find a blacksmith with a black beard who was prepared to receive the gospel. Grau had a dream that a man would come the next day with the truth. It happened as was dreamed and Grau was baptized and then a month latter he baptized his wife Magdalena in Acco Bay. Magdalena's grave has the image of a flying angel and the scripture from Revelations about "another angel flying in the midst of heaven..." The grave stones of the two missionaries are marble pillars broken off near the base to indicate lives cut short. It was a touching emotional visit as we talked about serving God wherever called. We sang "I'll go where you want me to go."

Happy Birthday Carly

Carly had a wonderful birthday yesterday. We love you Carly!!!!

Tahina and Michael Engagement Pics are Up

Click on over to 'The Adventures of Mikey and Sheenie' for more!