Spring Seems Here to Stay

Hopefully we have now moved from winter to spring.  The snow-covered landscape we woke up to on April 3rd, is looking like spring today (April 15) with trees budding, the lawn green, and a nice 55-degree afternoon for working out in the yard.

A bright spring welcome to our home.

Sam fertilized the lawn - April 12th.

  Pruned branches by the pasture fence.

A second pile of pruned branches.

In addition, there were two pickup loads of branches hauled away.

The garden area also got some attention.

The backyard looking nice.

Daffodils are a welcome sign of spring.

Todd came over to prune fruit trees while we were in Texas. 

Rochelle's sister, Angela Robinson, came with her husband and two children Thursday night and will be staying with us three nights.  They came for their niece's wedding and reception and will be returning to Sparks, Nevada, Sunday after going to church with us.  We have enjoyed having them here.

We are looking forward to welcoming Greg and Chris Shepard to our home for a visit when they come for a wedding reception.  They plan to come Thursday evening, April 27th, about 4:00 or 5:00, attend a wedding the next day and return to overnight with us before driving to Cedar City the next morning.

Scott and Kristine plan to come on April 28th and will host a graduation party for Shannon at our home on April 29th. 

 

Trent and Jessica and children flew to Denver on April 12th, and we look forward to their visit when they come to Utah.

It was nice to see photos Rochelle sent of their children enjoying Easter baskets in Arkansas. 

(Austin, Miles, Kate, Ella, and Chance)  

We enjoy our Empty Nesters group who typically meet in our home once a month.  Our April get-together was the day after Easter, and we had 16 come.  A couple who have joined our group this past year, Jerry and Aracy Tubaugh, "hosted" in our home for our April event.  They had asked each person or couple coming to bring an heirloom or special keepsake to tell the group about.  Dad pointed to the trunk his Great-grandma Rossiter had brought with her when she moved to Wisconsin from Switzerland and showed a photo of the ship she came on.  I shared the sugar bowl that had crossed the plains when the pioneers can to Utah.  It belonged to Austin Merrill's wife, Laura Wilder Harris, and came across the plains in a wagon. This is a very treasured possession.  Jerry Tubaugh, who seems to have a background and special interest in old things, thought it was probably older than I had thought, maybe even in the late 1700s.  

We learned that a member of our Empty Nesters, Flora Clarke, had passed away.  I sat by her three Sundays ago and she seemed the same as always.  After having our ward conference and then General Conference and returning home from our trip with Scott and Kristine, we learned that Flora had died peacefully in her home after her failing health those two weeks.

Flora Clarke hosting Empty Nesters in her home.

Flora with her granddaughter setting out refreshments for our group.

Happy Easter

We appreciated having family come to celebrate Easter with us.  Doug and Shannon's family had gone to Arizona during spring break and got here Saturday night.  They went to church on Easter Sunday with us.  Other family members went to church in their wards and came later for an early 4:00 dinner.  I provided the ham and drink, and the rest of the menu was added to by those who came.  It was a delicious meal. We had 16 here for our Easter dinner.

Doug holding the ladder for Jacob to come down

after removing pigeon eggs found underneath the solar panels.

Squally came with Doug & Shannon's family.  They got here Saturday evening about 11:00, coming here from their trip to Arizona, which included seeing the Mesa Easter Pageant.

Mason and Corban

Jacob and Joshua trying out our new game with soft darts.

Sam adding fertilizer to the lawn.

Corban - Easter egg hunt

Mason - Easter egg hunt

Isaac helped Brynlee hide the eggs.

Doug and Shannon's family and Squally

Mason with Squally

Maren and Eden

Doug and Shannon

Corban, Brynlee, Mason, and Isaac; Gabe  Megan

Mason and Isaac

Jacob and Jared

Gabe and Megan

Beth's family was missing Todd who was traveling and Rebecca who was with a friend's family in California.

(Joshua, Beth, and Jared)

Megan and Gabe

Eden and Maren

We enjoyed being with those who came,

and we enjoyed the delicious meal.

(Sam and Narene)

Family members who had other commitments were definitely missed, but they were being remembered.

Rochelle shared this photo from their Easter.  Thank you!

Happy Easter!

Visiting the Ure Family in Texas - Part 7 - San Antonio, Texas

 On Friday, March 31, we enjoyed visiting San Antonio with Brittney and her six children; Matt was working.  Sam and I had been to San Antonio before together, and I had been there years ago on an AYUSA business trip.  We enjoyed being there again and visiting the Alamo and the River Walk.

The Alamo is an 18th-century Spanish mission preserved as a museum, which marks the 1836 battle for Texan independence from Mexico.

The Alamo

Kate, Joe, Gramma Narene, Robert, Grampa Sam, Monty, Brittney, Hannah, Kristine, Scott, and Mabel

Alamo Cenotaph

also known as The Spirit of Sacrifice

commemorating the Battle of the Alamo

of the Texas Revolution.

It was erected in celebration of the centenary of the battle

and bears the names of those known to have fought there on the Texas side.

Joe, Robert, Monty with Hannah, Scott with Mabel, Kristine, 

Brittney with Kate

Rather than adding captions for all photos, I am including here an online link for a Guide to Visiting The Alamo in San Antonio Texas:

https://independenttravelcats.com/guide-to-visiting-the-alamo-in-san-antonio-texas/

It gives a brief history of The Alamo and the Battle of the Alamo.

Today, the Alamo is currently owned by the State of Texas and it is operated by the Texas General Land Office.  It became a UNESCO site in 2015 and is one of the most visited attractions in Texas.

Here are some photos we took during our recent visit.

An accompanying sign told of the importance of strong foundations.

Sam reading about the monument for

John William Smith, "El Colorado" (1792-1845) Alamo Courier, Scout, Mayor of San Antonio and Senator.

An unexpected visitor to the Alamo

Stopping on our way to the museum.

The Torch of Friendship 

in downtown San Antonio

Having our lunch.

Grampa Sam and Mabel

Joe, Monty, Mabel, Robert, and Kate      

Mabel

(photo from Scott)

We had driven to Denver with the intention of including at the end of this trip a visit to the farm to be with Brent and Tauna.  However, that part of the plan changed when surgery was scheduled for Tauna in Rapid City.  She has been having pain on the back of her neck caused by bone pressing on the spinal cord.   (I'm not sure I am describing the cause for the pain accurately.)  When they were having blizzard conditions in southwestern South Dakota, Tauna's surgery was rescheduled for the following Tuesday (April 11).  Thus, a trip to the farm became something to look forward to at a future time when the weather is nicer.

This is what we woke up to seeing in our backyard April 4th.

Fortunately, our drive home from Denver the day before was on clear roads with no snow or adverse weather conditions. 

 

Our morning 10:15 flight to Denver on April 2nd got us to Denver in time for a nice bowl of Kristine's chili before packing up the things we had left for our now postponed SD trip and heading for Spanish Fork where we arrived about 9:00 that evening.