We've Been Busy with Odds and Ends the Last Few Weeks.

For the past couple of months, we have been trying to clean out our storage room that has accummulated a lot of valuable "stuff" over the past 35 years that we have lived in this house. We decided to put cement at the end of the storage room, where we had a large dirt potatoe pit, which we never used for potatoes but a place to collect wood and other valuable junk. With Jenny's prodding, we decided to cement up the dirt, put shelves up and try to organize the "stuff" that we didn't throw away. I was going to put the "stuff" in plastic bags, but Amy said: "No, Mom. Put them in clear plastic bins and label them." Then, she told me to get a pegboard to hang my wreaths. So, I followed the advice of my two girls. We still have work to do at the other end of the storage room, but it is sooo much nicer and less cluttered. We had our friend and neighbor, Todd Cuell, do the work. He did the cement, put up the shelves and pegboard, and made this wonderful ski box, so that we can store all our children's skiis.

Last week, Dick had four Cyberknife treatments. On Friday, we took the following pictures to celebrate the completion of his treatments. He was much relieved to have this over. He had to have the net mask on and be tied to the machine and couldn't move for about an hour and a half each time. One thing he learned was to listen to music that had lyrics so that he could tell about how much time had passed. Plus, the words helped take his mind off how much his back hurt. He looks like a happy man.

The Cyberknife breaks up the tumor, but we have to wait six months for an MRI to see whether it is shrinking. We can do that on a mission, providing where we are serving has good medical facilities. He poses with his mask at home.

Now, he's pretending that the mask is his hat.

Billy is going to be leaving on September 20th to drive back to Washington D. C. so that he can start his new job with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) on September 28th. But, in the meantime, he continues to enjoy playing soccer, which has been a real love of his since he was very small. He got pretty dirty on Saturday when he took a real dive for the ball.

In action at Westridge

Our good friend, Keshia Lai, is back and starting school tomorrow at BYU. She has been serving a mission to Taiwan and then returned to her home in Singapore, where she spent about six months working and earning some money so she could return to school. We're all happy she's back and she is as fun as ever. Notice that she has contacts instead of glasses. She's really cute. We had several people over for dinner today: Keshia (middle), her roommate, Sue, and LeRoy Thong. Sue is LeRoy's cousin.

We also had Amy Brennan and Shelby Brennan over. Shelby is Amy's sister, and we just met her today. Amy is Billy's girlfriend. Shelby is on the right, Amy in the middle, and Billy on the left.

Ryan and Jenny and kids came over also, along with Grandpa Dalebout and Val Jones. So, we had about 16 for dinner today. We had a fun time visiting and singing hymns and playing games. We love our family and friends.

On Wednesday, we will go to Dallas to see Scott and his family and also Matt and his family. We are looking forward to seeing those two families.

Dick seems to be a little tired but is doing really quite well. We decided that he could be tired in Texas just as well as here at home. So, that's why we're going to see our family. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers on his behalf. Hopefully, in a few weeks, we'll be able to start the process of going on a mission again.

A Much Needed Break Before the Cyberknife Treatment

This week, we had a most enjoyable trip to Cedar City and St. George with our good friends, Richard and Mae Pattee.

On Monday, Dick went in for his CAT scan and MRI. Then, we had to wait for a couple of days before he started his Cyberknife.

So, we decided to go to the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. We left on Tuesday, August 18th. The first day we were there, we saw "Comedy of Errors" and "Secret Garden." We laughed our heads off at "Comedy of Errors," which is really a fun Shakespearen comedy. In the evening, we saw our ten-year-old neighbor perform as Colin in "Secret Garden." He was really terrific. He has a great voice and played his part well. It was fun to see someone we know in the play.

The next day, we drove to St. George to take in a session at the temple and visit the Visitor's Center. I love the St. George temple. It is so beautiful and white and tastefully decorated inside. It was a great session, but it was full of senior citizens. More power to "all of us." Sorry this picture is on its side. I didn't turn it.

Dick, Evie, Mae and Richard in front of the temple.

Dick and I sit with William Shakespeare.

On Wednesday night, we saw the play "Foxfire," which was a drama about learning from our fathers and our fathers learning from us. It was well done.

Richard Pattee, Dick, and Mae Pattee with William.

We stopped at the Iron Museum in Cedar City before we left to come home. Richard and Mae sat in the old Wells Fargo stagecoach.

We had some great food at Milt's Steak Restaurant, and we dined in the same room as Senator Bob Bennett and his family. Senator Bennett is one of our senators from Utah. That's our claim to fame. He didn't talk to us though.

All good things must come to an end. We came home on Thursday afternoon. On Friday, we drove to Salt Lake for Dick's first Cyberknife treatment. He had to lay on the chair for one and three-quarters hour. His back was really hurting him when he finished. One treatment down and four more to go.

The Cyberknife machine. It has a little pencil-like hole down at the bottom that sends the lazers into his head. It moves all around the head.

This is my favorite picture of him, with his netted mask. I thought maybe his nose might become more pointed, but it didn't. The funny thing was that after the mask was taken off, Dick had a checkered head for about half an hour. It looked pretty funny. I should have gotten a picture of his head, but I didn't.

After the treatment, we had lunch with Kent and Joye Corry, who were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in Salt Lake. They live in Cedar City, and we had tried to get in touch with them when we were there. We did connect via cell phones and made arrangements to meet them and have lunch with them. Kent was in the mission field with Dick and then in law school with him. Our association goes back about 47 years. Whew! We're getting old. We truly appreciate our good friends.

By the way, Dick felt fine and was able to drive home.

Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Young Lady

Ten years ago today, August 12, 1999, we were in Leeds, England, picking up Matthew from his mission. I knew that Jenny was going to have a baby and so I tried calling her from England. When I did, the babysitter who was taking care of Spencer, informed me that Jenny was in the hospital having a baby. Finally, after a few hours, I called again and found out that Ali had been born and that she weighed 10 and a half pounds. In the birthing process, Ali's collar bone was broken and her collar bone had to be wrapped tightly with a wrap. Ryan and Jenny were in Minnesota, as Ryan was going to law school there. It was hard to be so far away and not be there to help.

We're very glad that Ali was born that day. She is a joy to be around. When she walks into the room, everything lights up. She always says: "Hi Grandma," and has a big, beautiful smile when she comes to our house. I love my Ali. The other day she came over for piano lessons, and she was dressed just like me. So, here is the picture of Ali and Grandma.



Amy Brennan, Billy, Larry and Geri Wood (her other grandparents) at our house for Ali's dinner on August 9th.

Ashlynn Kimball (Amy's daughter from San Diego) came to visit for a few days and was able to enjoy dinner with us. Aren't they two cute girls.

Zack, Ali, Ashlynn, Spencer.

Spencer and Ali were in a musical production called "101 Dalmations." Spencer played the part of "Underdog" and a "Policeman." Ali was one of the puppies. Here, she is dressed as a Scottie dog. Both sets of grandparents and Ashlynn, along with Jenny and Ryan, attended the production on Saturday night. It was very well done and was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed it.

Millie really wanted a picture with Cruella Deville, the villian of the play.

Spencer and Ali pose for Grandma.

Now, on to Billy. Billy has a new look. He is sporting glasses and is enjoying seeing the signs on the streets much better. It's amazing what there is to see when you can see. He and Jenny are showing off their glasses.

San Diego -- A Beautiful Place to Visit

Dick, his dad and brother decided to take a road trip to southern Utah and into New Mexico for about six days. Billy took a trip to Oregon. Jenny and Ryan and kids took a trip to St. George to see some plays at Tuachan. So, I decided that I would take my own trip to San Diego. The fares were resonability cheap, so I went. The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time I was there. We were kept busy going to all kinds of children's acitivities and to fun places we wanted to go. Except for a few days of being a little sick, we had a good time. Here are some pictures of the trip.


Palm trees at the airport in San Diego.

We went to Elle's soccer practice and watched her play.



We also went to Ashlynn's soccer practice and watched her.
Sam, Amy, Elle and Ashlynn after Ashlynn's soccer practice.

We enjoyed a night at Sam's pack meeting. He carried the flag during

the flag ceremony.

The boys made S'mores out in the church parking lot.

Sam's hair on "Crazy Hair Day" at soccer camp.
Amy did a great job.

Sam's teammates and their cray hair also.

Elle at swimming lessons.

Elle and Bella (her friend) at the beach.

Sam and Ashlynn trying to boogie board.

Me (Grandma) with the kids at the beach.

The Plunge at Belmont Park

Ice cream on the beach at Belmont Park

Amy and I

San Diego Temple. It's really quite a beautiful site whether in the day or in the night.

Sam's tournament game.

Amy and Scott after a hard day's work.

I had a great trip and then traveled home. I had a three-hour layover in the Phoenix Airport and was able to meet up with Chris Packard, Stacie's mom. We really had a nice visit for an hour and a half. Chris took time off work to come and see me. I really appreciated that. It surely made the time pass quickly. All in all, it was a very nice trip. Thanks, Amy and family for putting up with me for a week.