Belated 31st Birthday Wishes to Joni and 56 to Tom

The day she was born I was preparing for Tom's birthday. I went to the mall to get a card for Tom, mowed the lawn, went to my Dr's appointment and then called Tom and said. "The Dr. says we are going to have our baby tonight." Joni was born on Tom's b-day. The best gift ever.

Joni was born on July 20, 1978 and she made us two happy parents. I remember on our way home from the hospital on the 21st we stopped off at Sears and bought a baby mattress for our crib. We carried it home on the roof of our car. Tom and I were holding on so that it wouldn't fly away.

Joni brought us plenty of joy along the way. My most favorite memory was riding my bike with Joni on the back in her yellow baby carrier. We travelled all over the neighborhood together.
The pictures are self explanatory. I cherish the photo of Joni with her great grandma Jones. This was taken at the SL airport when she was passing through in December of 1979. No security check needed in those days. Those were some good times. She made that little crocheted hat for Joni.

The photo of Tom and Joni camping was one of our very few camping experiences. We froze that night and spent most of the night in the car with the heater on. Looking back it was probably due to poor camping gear.

Brian picked out this photo of Joni wearing her Osh Kosh overalls. I believe they were a gift from Don and Jerry. She was sitting on our front porch for this photo.

Thanks for the great adventure Joni. You were a great first child and we love you. xoxoxoMom and Dad

Grandpa and Owen taking a stroll

Owen the Man

This guy is an outdoors kind of guy.

Tom and Owen having some serious fun

David Owen and Joni

Karli and Shauna

We

had a great time back east visiting with the kids. Karli and I are smiling for the camera in this shot.

Forever Friends

This blog posting is a little late. Last weekend Tom and I made two new wonderful friends by the way of Brian. He went on a mission to Taiwan several years ago. One day he was out on the street and he waved at a man that was across the street. He didn't know the man. The man crossed the street to help Brian because he thought that he needed directions since he was a foreigner.

The man crossed the street and found out that Brian did not need help with directions. Brian or Elder Miller at the time just wanted to know if he would like to know more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Well in fact the man (named Wesley) did want to know more about this religion that Elder Miller was trying to share.

Brian left the area to teach in another city and other missionaries taught Wesley about this religion that was new to him. He later became a member and was baptized. Brian and Wesley kept in touch and at this time Wesley and his workmate Jody are living and working in Vancover, Washington for a few years before they return to Taiwan. (They are both engineers and each have fiances' waiting for them back in Taiwan)

We were thrilled that they travelled to CDA, Idaho to spend the July 4th weekend in our home. They were amazing people. Kind, positive, charming, funny,intelligent and humble. We were sad to see them leave on Monday afternoon.

We played the game Apples to Apples with them and they had so much fun trying to figure out the meaning of all the English words in the game.

I sent them home with a little note and an Apples to Apples card inserted inside. A word that I felt described each of them. Wesley's word was courageous and Jody's word was exquisite. Please read Wesley's comment about his word under comment in the Brian and Wesley post. This will give you and idea as to the kind of person he is. Enjoy reading and thank you for following my blog.

The Progressive Dinner Lives On

Last Saturday night Tom and I had a progressive dinner date with three charming women. Margaret, Joanne and Jerry joined us for dinner at TGI Fridays, Marie Calendars, Longhorn BBQ and Baskin and Robbins. We went into each restaurant and ordered one item. We then shared the item between the 5 of us. We had a great time and stirred up a few interesting conversations amongst the waiters. Plus we drank a lot of water and had some good exercise travelling from one restaurant to another.
Tom and I started this progressive idea one night this past winter. We were bored and decided to have a progressive dinner going from one place to another. We started at Panda Express and split one meal. The only problem was that we were so full that we couldn't go further than Panda Express. So, we recommend that you don't do this idea alone. It is much better with at least 2-4 additional people for a total of 4-6 people.
Have fun with this idea. You'll have a great time and spread some wealth between restaurants and waiters in your community. Of course you still need to tip at each place you go (at least 30 percent since you are only ordering one meal and they still have the setup) They turn the tables fast so they don't mind according to my waiter son Brian. Enjoy.

Brian and Wesley at Spokane Falls