Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Happy Birthday to Matthew who is turning 5 years old today!!

Matthew likes to play all kinds of games! He did a great job at preschool this year and has lot of fun with his three sisters!

Here are some pictures of Matthew!

Six Decades Young!

I'm married to a sixty year old!! Just last week a lady at the hairdresser's said that since she turned sixty, she felt like every day after that has been a gift! So Dan has made it to sixty, and I hope he finds each day to be wonderful and full of good things!! Enjoy some scenes from the six decades of his life. I feel so lucky to have known him for 36 of those years!!

Happy, happy birthday to my sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1948:

1950's:

1960's:

Helaman Halls Fresham Year 1966:

Misson Photo:

Post-mission photo 1971:

1972:

1973:

1979:

1981:

1986:

1990's:

2000's

The Old Man(?) and the Sea!

Dan got a kayak for his 60th birthday coming up this week! We live near Lake Natoma which is a beautiful spot especially in the evening!

Here's the kayak!

Here's the man!


The geese are ready!

Dan is ready!

He shoves off for a relaxing voyage!

About an hour later as twilight falls, he's almost back to shore!

Now all that's left is to give the boat a name!
(I suggested "No Church Meetings Tonight" but that seems a bit long. Here are some I found on the internet. How about "Out To Launch?" Or if he was a lawyer: "Watertight Alibi?" What about "Relaxin?" Or "Vitamin Sea?" Or "2 Much Fun?" or "Sea Ya Later?" Please give your suggestions in the Comments!)

The Writing on the Wall!

I think what you have hanging on the walls of your home is pretty important!

Sister Beck recently said: "I think one of the most important concepts for parents to grasp about a home is to create a climate. Often we say it's tasks or we measure things by achievements or things or lists. But we can think of a climate where something can grow."

When Josh was born, Vovo wanted to give us a special gift in honor of the occasion. She had seen some beautiful calligraphy signs in the Oakland Temple and she found out who did them. She approached the brother and "commissioned" him to use his talents in making up the scripture Joshua 24:15 and had it framed. It has hung in our home ever since. It is extra special to me because the brother with the calligraphy talent was my stake patriarch from whom I had received my patriarchal blessing!

Over the years I have made some words for our walls:

I have recently discovered that you can put words directly on your walls! The first one I tried was about one of my favorite hobbies. I surrounded it with images of some of my favorite books:

Now after our new paint job, I decided to add two more scriptures to our walls. These photos don't do them justice. I had to hold the camera at a funny angle, but they are very clear and sharp and not distorted in our home.

Happy decorating!!

A Birthday To Remember!

In honor of my Grandma Spjut's birthday, June 17, 1900

here are a few favorite photos. I have many wonderful memories of spending time with her.
Here she is with her sisters in Sweden; she's in the upper right corner.

This is her engagement photo.

Here she is with her three daughters in her Salt Lake City home:

And here she is in San Jose with my Mom, myself and Heidi:

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad!

Here he is working at Grand Central in Salt Lake City!

Many years later he bought his own pharmacy in San Jose!

We worked with our Dad in the store on many occasions. We had the opportunity to see how he went about his business which many children in today's world don't get to see. He was always honest in his dealings, fair and kind to everyone, meticulous in his inventory and a wonderful example in every way. It made a big impression on me as a teenager!

Thanks, Dad!!

P.S. to Dan: If you want you Father's Day gift which you see pictured below, you will find it in the hall closet behind the vacuum! Happy Father's Day to you too!! You're a great Dad!

Brain Exercises!

Earlier this week I listened to a report on TV about the importance of exercising your brain to keep it in top shape. Scientists believe working out your brain -- just like you would your body to keep in shape -- could ward off the dulling of mental faculties and strengthen connections between newly-generated brain cells, which people make throughout life. Sounded good to me! They talked about brain aerobics or neurobics. These are brain exercises in which you do familiar things but do them slightly differently. The one they suggested was brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Basically, what that does, apparently, is strengthen those pathways and connections in the opposite side of the brain. I mentioned this to Dan as well. Last night we discovered that we both have been brushing our teeth with our left hand for this past week! I decided that deserved a picture for my blog. This was taken looking into the mirror so it looks like we are using our right hands. But don't be fooled!

Just a little brain exercise for you!!

Another thing they suggested was trying a "safe activity, like eating or showering, with your eyes closed. That forces you to use and strengthen your other senses. Most of what your brain does is process what your senses are bringing in. So, closing your eyes forces the brain to process that information in new ways. I don't think I'll be posting any pictures if we try one of these!

Two other things they suggested were:

1) Play Games: Games help you strategize, but the brain is particularly stimulated by multi-tasking. So, play games with other people that require you to strategize and interact socially at the same time. Examples include board, word and card games

2) Don't Get Repetitive, Do Something Different: Introducing novelty is crucial. Your brain doesn't need anything complicated; it just needs something new. So, take a new way to work, or sit in a different seat. (Hey, sit in a different pew at Church!) It forces you to look at the world from a new perspective.

Happy Brain Exercising!

(Are bloopers allowed on blogs? Here are two of ours. You can see my brain is really out of shape!)

A Fun Memory!

Five years ago at the end of June I was in Wichita, Kansas.

I took the girls to the park and we made the local Derby newspaper!

"Sisters Emma and Julia enjoy an afternoon at the park with their grandmother while their mother stays at home with their new baby brother."