Cleaning and Organizing

 While Michelle and her boys were here for a week, she helped me clean and organize several rooms in the house.  She is amazing at doing it and says she loves it.  She blessed my life so much!  I haven't seen that countertop in my laundry room for a decade!  We threw away a lot of stuff and cleaned and cleaned.  We also worked on our bathroom and bedroom and my vanity area.

She got me organizer trays  and containers that make such a difference, and she cleaned out the drawers.  

Thank you so much Michelle!  I am so happy!

Jumping for Poke'mon Cards

Michelle brought her two youngest boys here to take swimming lessons for a week in June.  They had a great experience.  The teacher had a trampoline right next to the pool that the kids could jump from into the pool.  William was trying to get up the courage to do it.  

You may remember one of my "Grandma's Stories" where I talked about trying to get up the courage to jump off of the diving board in the Blacker's pool next door to us when I was a little girl.  I was so scared.  But the tipping point came when Janis Blacker said she would give me the Barbie outfit I loved if I would jump right now.  I did it and I loved it! I just kept doing it I loved it so much.

I read that story to William.  I told him that if he would jump from the trampoline the next day I would buy him some Pokemon cards that he was wishing for.  We looked on Amazon and found just the ones he wanted.  He said he would do it.

This is the Barbie outfit I jumped for.

Sure enough!  The next day he did it!

I am so very proud of him for overcoming his fear.  Just like me, he wanted to do it over and over again.  When he got home, we ordered the Poke'mon cards.

A few days after they got home, his Poke'mon cards came.  His mom sent me the picture.  He was so happy!

That's Me!

 

Welcoming Rick and Sherrie Home

 Rick and Sherrie, Ken's brother and wife, recently completed their mission in Washington DC.  They took the long way home, stopping and visiting family along the way.  They came through St. George and those of us who live here gathered for breakfast at IHOP.  It was so wonderful to see them.

Ken, Kay, Leslie, Jim, Mark, Kathy, Dave, Gerri, Sherrie, and Rick.

Michelle and boys had arrived the night before, so they got to come along for the celebration.

The boys were so excited to eat out.  Kenny ordered a hamburger for breakfast .

William ordered sprinkle pancakes.

Michelle had French toast.  Doesn't that look yummy?

Camera, Purse, Cheese

 

Camera, Purse, Cheese

During my 5^th grade year, my friend Lee Ann Frank moved to Moscow, Idaho.  I think her dad was going to be a professor at the University there.  I was sad.  Lee Ann lived just down the street from me and we played together almost every day.  I remember once Lee Ann got very ill with the flu and was sick for several weeks.  I thought I would die before she got well and we could play together again.  Her mother Ellie and my mother were good friends.  Ellie was a kind, good woman and I felt very comfortable in their home.

During the summer after fifth grade, the Franks came to Caldwell to visit for a few days.  Ellie invited me to come back with them to Moscow for a week.  She and my mom made arrangements that I would ride with them, spend a week there, then fly home.  There was a prop jet airline that flew from Moscow to Boise.  I was so excited to go with them and then to fly for my very first time.

I had a wonderful week with the Franks.  I don’t remember everything that we did, but I have a few memories.  On the first day there, Ellie asked my favorite kind of cereal.  I told her Cap’n Crunch.  Lee Ann chose Fortified Oat Flakes.

I loved Cap’n Crunch, but I really loved those Fortified Oat Flakes.  I wish they still made them.

They treated me like a queen.  They took me across the border of Oregon to Pullman to a cheese factory.  I bought a wheel of cheese in a can to take home to my family.  Ellie was so kind, helping me choose what kind of cheese to buy.

We went swimming one day and I’m sure did a lot of other fun things that I can’t remember. One day, Ellie made Congo Bars.  They were like chocolate chip cookie bar cookies and were so delicious.  I thought they were the best thing I had ever eaten.

As I prepared to go home on the airplane, I was very nervous.  Ellie taught me to chant over and over and over, “Camera, purse, cheese,” the three things I needed to remember to have with me when I got off the plane.  I so enjoyed the plane ride home, seeing clouds up close for the first time.  The whole plane ride, I chanted over and over in my head, “Camera, purse, cheese” as Ellie taught me.  It so embedded itself into my head, that I still can remember and chant it.  I guess that is a lesson to memorize scriptures when you are young so they will stick in your mind forever.  “Camera, purse, cheese!” 

This is a story about a chant, but mostly it is a story about good people who made a little girl feel important.

 

Michelle and Boys Come to Stay!

 Michelle and her two youngest boys came for a visit.  Her two oldest kids were at FSY at Snow College.  She enrolled the boys in swimming lessons down here.  We had a wonderful time together.

They loved having breakfast out on the deck.

These guys are artichoke fans and wanted to see how they grow.

When Fred nags you for food, he puts his chin firmly on your knee and looks up at you with very sad eyes.

Michelle was sauteing mushrooms and he wanted some.

These boys are readers

Michelle's sister-in-law also came down from SLC to enroll her kids in swimming lessons that week.  The cousins had fun together

A Cooper's Hawk has started hanging out in our backyard and drinks from our bird bath.

One day they had fun at the Children's Museum

Both boys passed their level of swimming lessons

Michelle had fun reconnecting with friends from high school at the swimming pool.

They love going to the all-abilities park.  It is so fun.

And the public swimming pool.

Time to say goodbye.  Thanks for coming.  It was such a fun week!

Reconnecting With Amanda

Years ago, when our kids were in Primary, a family moved in next door to us- the Pattersons.  Their only child was a girl named Amanda.  She was in age between our oldest and 2nd oldest daughters.  They were not members of our church.  The girls invited her to Primary and she started attending every week.  We also invited her to attend our Family Home Evenings on Monday nights.  She attended every week.  We worked her into our Family Home Evening chart rotation and she faithfully took her turn at saying the prayer, leading the singing, teaching the lesson, presenting a talent, and providing the treats.  Her favorite was to present a talent.  Soon, she wanted to have the missionary discussions, which she had in our home.  She asked Ken to baptize her.  It was a special day.

A couple of years later, her mother, Penny wanted to take the discussions and, again, she had them in our home, or we went to hers to sit in as the missionaries taught her.   Ken also baptized Penny a short time later.  

Not long after that, their family moved to Idaho.  We would hear from them occasionally.  We knew that Penny went to the temple and that Amanda graduated from high school and went to Boise State.  We got an announcement of her marriage in the Boise temple in 2006.  We planned to travel to Idaho to attend, but then Ken's mom worsened, and we could see she was going to pass away, so we cancelled our trip (she did pass away that weekend.)  But then we didn't hear from Amanda or her parents for quite some time.  

But recently we reconnected.  Amanda and her husband were coming here for a wedding and wanted to get together.  We had them over for an afternoon and had a delightful visit.  Her husband is a jovial, talkative guy and they are raising their four boys in the gospel.  It made us so very happy to know that.  Amanda is a schoolteacher and was the representative from her school to the district and president of the union.  She has done well and is happy.

The only things that would have made the visit better is if we had remembered to take a picture.  But this is Amanda's Facebook picture.  

It was lovely to reconnect with this special person in our life.  We hope we can keep better connected going forward.

Biking New York State

 Almost every spring for the past 13 years, my childhood buddy, Greg Last, myself, and some of our bicycling friends, have gotten together in late May &/or early June to do a peddle-bike ride for 250 to 350-or-so miles over about a week's time.

 This year we chose to ride on the Erie Canal Towpath, east from Syracuse, New York, to its junction with the Hudson River at Albany, New York. We then rode bike trails down the Hudson River to Poughkeepsie, New York. It was a total of about 280 miles. We averaged close to 40 miles per day, with our longest day being 50 miles and our shortest day being 27 miles. 

We normally start the ride at about 9:00 AM. We gather in front of our hotel for a morning group prayer and group picture. Then we ride at a leisurely pace (this year we averaged 9.X miles per hour.); until we reach our next night's accommodations, usually between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. We always stay in a hotel or bed-and-breakfast establishment. As we ride throughout the day, our group generally becomes a bit separated, because everyone has their own pace. However, every 5 to 10 miles, the leading riders stop and wait for everyone to catch up. We then chat together, eat snacks, get rehydrated, and explore the nearby points of interest, before mounting our bikes to continue our ride. We usually try to catch a lunch somewhere near the trail about noon.

Seven years ago, we rode the western half of the Erie Canal, from Buffalo to Syracuse, New York. At that time, we were informed that the eastern half of the trail wasn't finished enough. We don't like to ride on roads with vehicular traffic, and so we postponed the eastern half until this year. It paid off. Most of the 280 miles was an excellent trail surface, with the exception being a day of riding between Hudson & Kingston, New York. That day was mostly on roads. It was my LEAST favorite day of the ride.

Most years, we can expect to have at least one day of rain and relative cold temperatures. This year was no different. The first several days were a little cold and threatened rain, but only the 3rd day really got us. That day was rather unpleasant. It started raining shortly after we started riding, and it continued to drizzle on us for the entire day without a let-up. We were fortunate to have an excellent asphalt trail surface that day, and we were also blessed that the storm didn't seriously "dump" on us until we got to our hotel. Because of being cold and wet, we rode more steadily that day than normal, with fewer and shorter stops. We also did not stop for a normal lunch. We just gnashed on our snacks under a railroad bridge for a short while. The weather on the rest of the days was very nice.

As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's bike ride. Most of the trails took us through the gorgeous eastern hard-wood forests. There was an abundance of flowers and blooms. The trail was frequently surrounded and literally covered (as though riding through a leafy tunnel) by green trees and bushes. The bird life was abundant, with various species calling throughout the forest. I loved to listen to the calls and try to identify the species based upon their songs and calls. 

This year's ride took us to many cities that I have heard about all my life, (e.g. Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Schenectady, Albany and Poughkeepsie, New York). It also took us through many small, rural villages that I had never heard of before. Some of the hamlets didn't use to be small hamlets, but rather thriving cities with wealth and prosperity during the height of the Erie Canal's life, (e.g. Amsterdam, Little Falls, Hudson, and Kingston). I enjoyed exploring the downtowns of each city/town we stayed in. There was so much fascinating history everywhere we went.

A group picture of this year's crew, taken in front of our hotel on our first day. From L to R:  Jim & Debbie Thornton; Derena, Jeff & Whitney Adamson; Greg Last; Ken Hinton; and Joyce & Scott Seegmiller. Ken, Greg, the Seegmiller's and the Adamson's have consistently been our core riding group each year.

 The group picture of our team, taken in front of our hotel on our second day. From L to R: Scott & Joyce Seegmiller, Whitney & Derena Adamson, Greg Last, Ken Hinton, and Debbie & Jim Thornton.

The group picture of our valiant riders, taken in front of our Microtel Inn & Suites hotel in Amsterdam, NY, on our fourth day. From L to R: Greg Last, Ken Hinton, Joyce & Scott Seegmiller, Jim & Debbie Thornton, Derena, Whitney & Jeff Adamson.

Our group picture, taken in front of our Best Western Plus hotel in Kingston, NY, on our seventh day. From L to R: Greg Last; Ken Hinton; Whitney, Derena, & Jeff Adamson; Scott & Joyce Seegmiller, and Jim & Debbie Thornton. (the guy in the black shirt was a photo-bomber)

Ken, decked out in his warmest and driest riding gear, standing in front of some of the beautiful mix of white & purple flowers that grew abundantly on both sides of the trail for the entire Erie Canal and Mohawk River Trail sections. Along this section of the trail, for the first 3 or 4 days, there were many Black Locust Trees in full bloom. Their white blossoms were subtly fragrant, and created a white coating to the bike path, much like newly fallen snow. It made for a magical ambiance. 

There were numerous locks along the canal. Some of them were modernized and functioning, while others were not maintained or functioning. This was functioning lock #18.

An interpretive sign along the trail on the canal, whose towpath we were biking.

Each day, some of us would record our ride on our Strava App. The following are screenshots of the 7 day's rides from my Strava.

This Church is one of the oldest churches in this part of the United States.

We saw many, many Rhododendron Bushes in full bloom like these two. This was the predominant color of the blossoms; however, we also saw a brilliant orange bush also.

This picture, along with those that follow, give you a good idea of the views we experienced along the path. It was delightfully beautiful.

We encountered a large fallen tree in the path, which we had to creatively skirt. 

Whitney, Derena & Joyce arriving at Lock # 21, where we took a break and some photos.

Joyce & Scott Seegmiller

Group photo at Lock #21. L to R: Greg Last; Scott & Joyce Seegmiller; and Jeff, Derena & Whitney Adamson.

Jeff Adamson & Greg Last @ Lock # 21

Ken Hinton & Scott Seegmiller @ Lock #21

At this point in the day, the rain had begun in earnest. You can see from these photos, that we were wet and cold (but notice that we could still smile).

We encountered this turtle digging a hole and laying her eggs in it, right on the side of the trail. Fascinating!

The next day the weather cleared up and the temperatures were warmer. We enjoyed a nice rest stop on this truss bridge over the Mohawk River.

I was pleased how the bridge's structure allowed me to frame this picture.

Jeff Adamson & Greg Last

We stayed at a Hyatt Hotel in downtown Albany, NY. After having a Sunday school class and eating dinner together at the hotel, Greg & I explored the NY State capital area of downtown. These pictures of Greg and myself were taken in front on the NY State Capital. I was surprised that the area was relatively quiet and deserted as we explored it. I am sure it was because this was Sunday evening.

The next day, as we biked our way out of Albany, we experienced our first of three crossings over the Hudson River. This view is looking upriver, toward the Hyatt Hotel where we stayed the previous night. The trail's approach to this bridge across the Hudson was damaged. A section of the elevated trail had fallen. We were lost for a while until we found the rather poorly marked detour.

This is another view looking upriver on our first crossing of the Hudson River. If you look closely, you can see the section of the elevated trail that was missing. It was in the upper portion of the ramp from the river's side up to the level of the bridge. This view shows the capital area of downtown Albany; the area Greg & I had explored the previous evening.

I was impressed at the number of large, ornate and impressive Christian churches there were in almost every town/city we passed through-even the smaller towns. These photos of a few of them.

We periodically encountered places of historic significance. 

One of our snack stops along the trail. This happened to be at a place there was an aqueduct over the Erie Canal.

This was one of our lunch stops. Many restaurants doubled as a bar. However, thankfully, at mid-day the ambiance was more restaurant than bar. The quality of the food was surprisingly good.

Derena & Whitney Adamson, biking side-by-side, the way they usually spent their time each day.

Whitney & Jeff Adamson. You would never be able to tell that they love each other, would you?

This was an unusual art piece that we passed in rural New York, as we biked near Hudson, NY.

Our morning group photo, taken in the front/living room of our small, boutique hotel in Hudson, NY. It was the Howard Hotel.

L to R: Scott & Joyce Seegmiller; Debbie Thornton; Greg Last; Ken Hinton; Derena, Whitney & Jeff Adamson; and Jim Thornton standing behind the Adamsons.

Preparing our gear and  bikes for the day's ride. This day our ride was almost entirely on roads that we shared with vehicular traffic. The stress of sharing the road with those vehicles, along with all the inclines made this day of our ride the least favorite of our trip. I think we ALL feel that way.

A photo of the front of our Howard Hotel in Hudson, NY, as we leave the hotel and gather outside to begin the day's ride.

Until this ride, I had no idea how far up the Hudson River the Atlantic Ocean's tides go. If I remember correctly, the tide goes clear up to Troy, NY (just upriver from Albany).

On our ride this day, we passed through a college that focused on Shakespeare (the Bard). This building, with its unusual roof line, was on that college campus.

Another "Bard" college building.

Headed for our second crossing of the Hudson River. Once again, we had to share the bridge with motorized vehicles. 

These pictures show the Adamsons crossing the bridge. They were about 30 minutes ahead of the rest of our group. The rest of us missed the highway crossing that allowed access to this protected side of the bridge. We rode across on the other side of the bridge, under constant stress from the traffic. In fact, as we neared the middle of the bridge, our unprotected bike lane was blocked by some department of transportation workers and their truck. This forced us out into the fast-moving lanes of traffic. I was extremely frustrated with being forced into such a dangerous position. Thank God He watched over us.

Derena & Whitney Adamson, on our second crossing of the Hudson River.

Ken's selfie, looking upriver, while on our second crossing of the Hudson River.

Looking downriver @ our second crossing of the Hudson.

Looking upriver.

Jim Thornton crossing the Hudson River.

Preparing to ride on our last day of the ride, from Kingston to Poughkeepsie, NY.

Checking out the local birds while waiting for my biking buddies to get ready for the last day of our ride.


Jim Thornton, Greg Last, and Ken Hinton at a point of interest along the trail.

An early concrete manufacturing plant that the trail went through.

Remnants of the early concrete manufacturing plant.

Ken & Greg checking out an interpretive sign at the concrete manufacturing plant site.

View of a beautiful lake that the trail passed.

Beautiful view from a bridge/trestle over Rondout Creek.

Ken's selfie from bridge over Rondout Creek.

Beautiful view from a bridge/trestle over Rondout Creek.

Beautiful view from a bridge/trestle over Rondout Creek.

Whitney, Derena, and Ken arriving on bridge over Rondout Creek.

Beautiful view from a bridge/trestle over Rondout Creek.

Whitney, Derena & Jeff Adamson on bridge over Rondout Creek.

The flower of the Tulip Poplar Tree that was adjacent to the bridge over Rondout Creek.

Derena, Greg, Debbie & Whitney enjoying lunch at a convenience store in New Palz, NY.

Joyce Seegmiller enjoying some alone time along the trail.

Our bike crew preparing to cross the 1.28-mile Walkway Over the Hudson State Park. This was our third, and final, crossing of the Hudson River on our bike trip. I was astounded at the width of the River at this point. I was also impressed with this bridge/walkway's height. What a way to finish our ride.

View of the Walkway as I started to cross (from the west side).

View downriver from the Walkway of the west side of the Hudson River. Note the highway bridge.

The highway bridge over the Hudson River, just downstream from our Walkway.

Derena, Whitney, Greg, Jeff and Debbie enjoying a photo stop on the Walkway.

Whitney Adamson impressing us all with her gymnastic ability to do a walking handstand.

Group picture on the Walkway. Front row, L to R: Greg Last, Jim Thornton, and Scott Seegmiller. Back row, L to R: Jeff, Whitney & Derena Adamson, Debbie Thornton and Joyce Seegmiller.

This American Flag marks the half-way point across the Walkway. This photo looks to the west.

This American Flag marks the half-way point across the Walkway. This photo looks to the west. The Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge was refurbished/remade into this Walkway Over the Hudson.

This American Flag marks the half-way point across the Walkway. This photo looks to the east.

Downriver view from the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Downstream view from the Walkway Over the Hudson of Poughkeepsie, NY. Our Double Tree Hotel is just left of center in this picture.

Sunset on the Hudson River, June 4, 2025. After getting checked into our hotel, I took a "bird watching" walk down to the river. The evening was beautiful. Many locals were in this park along the river's edge enjoying the beauty of the setting and evening.

Sunset selfie on the Hudson River.

View of the highway bridge over the Hudson River taken downstream from the park on the river's east side in Poughkeepsie, NY.

View of the "Walkway Over the Hudson" River taken upstream from the park on the river's east side in Poughkeepsie, NY.

On June 5, 2025, most of us visited the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, just north of Poughkeepsie, NY. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my picture taken with President Roosevelt & Eleanor.

Greg Last LOVES presidential libraries. This library makes the 10th (of the 13 total presidential libraries) that Greg has visited to date.

On June 6, 2025, we visited West Point Academy for a couple of hours before departing for the Albany Airport, and our flights back home. Jim and Jeff are holding the entry doors for me. Both Jim and Jeff had visited West Point when they served their missions in New York. Notice that you can see the Hudson River in the background through the glass doors and windows.


L to R: Greg Last, Jim & Debbie Thornton, Derena, Whitney & Jeff Adamson.


Memorial of West Point's "Long Gray Line". I could have spent a full day or perhaps two days in the West Point museums. I was fascinated by the history of war and the United States military.


The Adamsons enjoying West Point together.

In West Point's military history museum, they even had a section on the "Mormon War".

West Point's war history museum was under renovation, but they still allowed us access.
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