Red Rock Half Marathon

Last night Julie, Natalie, Heather Jones and Jeri Ellsworth ran a half marathon at Red Rock Canyon.  Steve and I rode a bus for spectators to the finish line.  It was a nice, cool evening with a full moon.  It was rather nice feeling a cool breeze compared to the hot temperatures we've experienced all summer long here in Las Vegas. We waited at the finish line for a few hours watching runners come in patiently looking for our group.

I guess our runners stayed together for the first few miles and then each ran at their own pace.  Natalie came in first at about two hours and 35 minutes.  Jeri was behind her a few minutes.  Then Julie came in slightly under three hours.  Steve and I took the bus back to Vegas at 11:00, so I didn't see Heather cross the finish line.  They were all excited to finish.  We were proud of their efforts.  Julie ran a half marathon near Yellowstone National Park a few years back with Sheldon.  She wanted to beat her time which she did.  Julie is planning on running a marathon near Boulder City in December and then the one they've been training for comes up in January in Orlando, Florida.

Natalie

Steve & Natalie

Julie

Natalie and Jeri

Julie

Jeri, Natalie, and Julie

Jeri, Natalie, and Julie

Back to Portland

Julie wanted to go to a wedding in Portland this weekend, so I tagged along. We flew out Friday after work and came home Sunday afternoon.  It was a quick trip but full of memorable moments. I am always amazed at how beautiful everything is in Oregon. Everywhere you look you can see green grass, green trees, green everything! I have often wished that I lived in Oregon, but I'm not sure how I would feel about all the rain which produces all that green.

Hertz had only one car left for us to rent at the airport.
As you can see, it was a red Corvette.  We felt like
we got really lucky at being able to rent
Lightning McQueen's car for the weekend.

We stayed at the coolest hotel.  It was called
Eloft.  Everything looked modern.
I think the lobby could have come right out
of one of Star Trek's episodes. 

This was our hotel room.  The TV was mounted on the wall.
The headboards were padded and mounted to a wall as
well.  Between the two beds on the wall was a
piece of material that looked like a cow's hide. 
The bathroom was behind the beds. It was a totally cool room
and to even make it better when you looked out either window
 you could see millions of beautiful green trees.

Julie and I snapped a shot outside the
Portland Temple after the sealing.

Julie looked gorgeous.  I couldn't
resist taking a picture of her by the
reflection pool outside the temple
while we waited for the bride and groom.

Here's our fancy car rental.  I loved the car
and loved the temple!  I have lots of fond memories
of the Portland Temple.

After the wedding we headed for Beaverton where the
Nike Employee Store is located. One of Julie's friends
arranged for Julie to have a visitor's badge so she could
do some shopping.  Julie was able to buy the rest
of the shirts for everyone who is going to Disneyworld
in January of 2013 for the Florida marathon.

After having lunch, shopping for a
wedding gift, and getting a pedicure
we headed to the wedding reception in
Salem, Oregon. It was a lovely reception;
the cake was beautiful.

I have to show off our pedicures.  Both Julie and I
went for totally different polish colors.  Julie got
purple, and I went bright orange.  I may be a little
ahead of myself for the fall color, but I'm okay
with that.  I am ready for fall weather and all the
holidays that come during the latter part of every year.

Thanks, Julie, for letting me tag along on your weekend
trip to Portland.  It is always fun for me to be with one
of my girls; this weekend was certainly no different!

Proud of Julie

Two weeks ago this Monday Julie applied for a teaching job in the Las Vegas area as well as in the Jordan School District in the Salt Lake City area.  She was offered both positions.  Julie decided to take the job here so she would not have to move again.  Her job is actually in Henderson in the Green Valley area.  It takes about 20 minutes to drive to her school from her home.  I am thrilled that she will be able to stay in her townhouse which is close to us. 

Although this isn't what she thought she would be doing with her life, I am very grateful that she is beginning to reclaim some of herself by taking this teaching position.  She is a wonderful teacher, and I know the 5th graders that she will have in class starting Monday will benefit from her many talents and abilities. 

I'm sending a mother's love and best wishes to her for a successful year of teaching; GO, JULIE, GO!

Coral is a charter school located in Green Valley;
students apply and must maintain good
behavior and good grades.

Julie's room is right behind her in the picture;
I love the green grass and trees!

This is the playground near her room.

Julie is standing in front of Room 9; her home
away from home for the next nine months.

Natalie, Linda, and I all helped Julie at various
times during the last few days
with setting up her room. 

Julie and Natalie standing in the
front of the classroom

Juile and Natalie showing off some of what
we did one day this last week in
preparation for the first day of school.

A Quick Trip to Yellowstone

After Tom's memorial service in Idaho Steve and I decided to take a couple of days and visit Yellowstone National Park.  I hadn't been there in years, so it seemed like a great way to end our summer before the new school year started. 

Clowning around!

That's what I call a lot of antlers!
This is Jackson Hole, Wyoming right outside Yellowstone.

We were excited to finally arrive at Yellowstone;
couldn't resist taking a picture!

Gorgeous country!

Old Faithful

Steve and I ate lunch on the balcony of the
Yellowstone Lodge, played Scrabble, and
watched Old Faithful go off twice.

We saw lots of hot springs, geysers, mud pots, and caldrons.
I learned at a ranger meeting that the activity going
on in Yellowstone is connected to the activity
going on in Hawaii.  I guess it's all the same tubing
inside the earth.

Steve by a mud pot; it was bubbling and very, very hot!

This is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone;
it's completely beautiful!

Memorial Service for Tom

Although Tom, Steve's brother, passed away on December 26, 2011, a memorial service was not held until Saturday, August 11, 2012.  Finally the time came that the family could come together and celebrate Tom's life.  Steve planned the service and ordered the headstone to match his mom and dad's.  It was a nice memorial held in Moore, Idaho, which is where Steve and his brother and sisters grew up.  After the service we traveled to the Lost River Cemetery not far from the church where Tom's ashes were buried.  After the burial we headed back to the church for a delicious luncheon that Florence had prepared.  I hadn't been in Idaho for quite some time, so it seemed good to reconnect with his family and enjoy fond memories of his brother.

Dorothy, Steve, and Forence

Rachel, Tom's daughter, with her
three children

Denver, Dorothy, and their daughter, Jennifer

Denver, Steve, and Dorothy

Tom's Grave
I love the caption on the headstone which reads
"AT HOME WITH GOD AND FAMILY."

The graves of Steve's parents next to Tom's grave

Steve in front of the church where
the service was held

Tom's daughter, Rachel, and her daughters
Ella, Eva, and Sophie

Jennifer, Dorothy's daughter,  and Rachel with her daughters

Visiting with Jennifer, Dorothy and Denver's daughter

Reconnecting with the Idaho Falls Temple

Steve and I were married in the Idaho Falls temple on August 30, 1974.  Although we have been back to the temple to walk around, we have not been back to participate in any temple work.  Since our anniversary is just around the corner, we decided after driving from SLC to stop in Idaho Falls for the night.  This allowed us plenty of time to attend a session and go out to dinner with some dear friends of ours named Kim and Patsy Johnson.  I met Patsy at BYU in 1970.  We lived in the same dorm in "Q" hall which was part of Deseret Towers at BYU.  Through the years we have kept in touch.  I was happy that we were able to connect while we were in Idaho Falls.



A Stop in SLC

Last week Steve and I traveled through SLC to attend a memorial service for his brother, Tom, which was held in Moore, Idaho.  The cemetery in Salt Lake City has become a very sacred and special place for me.  Since the accident that took Sheldon and Jace from us, I personally have been in SLC four times in five months.  I was particularly anxious to see the headstones that Julie selected when we were together in Utah for Women's Conference in April.  Steve and I bought some silk flowers and spent a few hours at the cemetery cleaning, weeding, and remembering Sheldon and Jace.  We were there all alone, so Steve and I said a prayer and felt the sweet peace that only the Lord offers.

We have recently discovered that Steve's grandfather, Joseph Dean, is also buried in the SLC Cemetery along with two of his wives and seven of his children that died at a very young age.  In reading his headstone, I discovered that Grandpa Dean had a set of twins.  One's birth and death date were the same, and the other twin lived one day.  Maybe now we have an idea where twins come from in our lineage explaining Thomas and Natalie's twins.  As a sidenote, we also discovered while in Idaho that Tom's daughter, Jeanine, also has a set of twins that are nine years old.  They live in Reno.  Evidently, twins run on the Dean side of Steve's family.

After going to the cemetery, Steve and I had dinner at
one of Sheldon's favorite restaurants in SLC.  This day
definitely was a day of remembering two people
we hold close to our hearts.