Utah's Best Kept Secret....

.....at least as far as I am concerned it is.

Yesterday we drove to Pine Valley, Utah. For those who do NOT know it is 40 miles from St. George. Drive north on highway 18 and turn right. Here we are in the midst of sagebrush and red sand and rocks and suddenly the road widens and there is a beautiful verdant valley with a settlement up against the mountains. No stores, no gas stations, one LDS Church.

The church has been replicated and is displayed in the Pioneer Park at "This is the Place".
A State Park and a reservoir with people fishing.

The Church was built by a Scotsman who knew how to build ships but not a building, so he was told to build an upside down boat. We took a tour of the building and saw into the roof and the workmanship involved. If you look at the ceiling line you can see the curvature as in a boat. We will plan to attend Church here next time we are in St. George.

We also visited the cemetery there. At first it looked overgrown and neglected but it is anything but. It is designed to lie among the sagebrush and is well visited and tended, with newer graves among the pioneer ones. Although I say it is Utah's best kept secret at least two of my children have visited there and many out of staters have also found out about it and there are quite a few (a lot) of new homes of the ostentatious caliber. Most of the people are summer residents although there are about 50-60 families that live there year round. You would have to make a VERY complete and comprehensive shopping list.
A beautiful place and to crown it all IT RAINED :o)

Miss Tippy Toes

Lesley was born on July 10th 1958 at the Royal Maternity Hospital, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After much desire and heartbreak. I thought I would NEVER have a baby and look at us now. :o)
She started walking on the day after Mother's Day in 1959 and always walked on her tip toes, hence the name. People would say,"she is walking on her tip toes!" "She walks on her tip toes she is going to be a ballerina!" She was always a good baby and slept through the night from she was 2 months old. She went with us to the London Temple dedication and was sealed to us there in September 1958.
We were learning a new hymn in Sunday school #44 but we put our own words to it.
Beautiful Lesley built above
Beautiful Lesley that we love.
Beautiful teeth so pearly white
Beautiful eyes so big and bright
She who was born on the 10th of July
She is the apple of our eye.
Lesley, Lesley, Beautiful Lesley
Lovely Lesley, Lesley Marsden that we love.

Grandma Ditty, to the day she died (1981) always called her Lesley Ann.

When she was 3 1/2 years old and we still lived in Belfast, she took off one day with her doll pram and crossed a local field to visit my friend. There were always a LOT of seagulls in that field and they must have flown near her and I credit this situation to her dislike of birds to this day. She used to do shopping for me in Belfast. About a block from our home was a "strip mall". I would write a note with money and put it in one hand and tell her which shop to go to, and in the other hand was another note and money for another shop and she would come home with the "messages".(Our terminology in Belfast for errands)I am amazed that we allowed her to do that but that was what children did.
She missed her Daddy when he came to Salt Lake in 1962 and the first words she said to him when they met 4 months later was, "Do you want to keep me?"
She was thrilled after three brothers to get a baby sister. When her Daddy went to her third grade class to tell her, the class applauded. She was in Mrs Baty's class at West Bountiful.
She was really pleased when her niece Alyssa was born on her (Lesley's) 32nd birthday.
She has a beautiful singing voice that she has shared for years. And continues to seek opportunities to develop that talent.
She has always been an obedient and loving person. A faithful wife, a devoted Mother, a loving daughter, a caring sister, a friendly aunt, and an attentive friend. She works hard and is devoted to serving the Lord. She has not missed an opportunity to serve in the temple at least once a month for the past 12 years. She is determined to serve where and when called and to help build the kingdom. She has had much adversity in her life but comes through with her beautiful smile intact. She is a builder. A builder in our family, reference her blog and her "Family Fridays"

She is what her Dad and I call AN ELECT LADY.



Happy Birthday Sweetheart, and many more.
(she won't see this blog till later today, she's at Girl's Camp)

UTAH....revisited

OR......
.... What do you do in the Summer time when all the world is green.?

I love the summertime when we get to participate in our Nation's birthday and go to the parade in Kaysville with Lilian and her family, and have a family BBQ at David's and then watch fireworks and sing patriotic songs.
Later in July we celebrate the pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley. I can NEVER get past the 24th without having compassion for the women pioneers in their long skirts trailing the ground and having to cook over hot fires etc. No A/C for them. Not even any shade. Doesn't your heart go out to them? I do not forget the men, I just think of those long skirts.
We love to go to Cherry Hill and celebrate two family birthdays.



I love to go to Dairy Queen late at night and eat ice cream.
I sometimes go to watch Michael and Jeffrey play softball. There is a certain amount of laziness in the air.
As we have travelled around in other States and we see people playing ball etc. we always think, "this is America" One time as we returned from a trip to England we got on the plane at Gatwick and the cabin was resounding with the Tabernacle Choir's recording of "Oh beautiful for Spacious Skies" our hearts were touched and we were ready to return "HOME"
Becca can sum it up for all of us I'm sure.



So, what do you like to do in the summertime?

Timothy....on this date in history....1961

.... was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland at 9:45pm on a Saturday night.
He was born at home. No panic, that is what we planned. The midwife visited me at home throughout my pregnancy and the doctor came to the house when he was called but Timothy arrived before he did. That was the British National Health system. (Lady Diana Spencer was born the same day)He was always a pleasant baby except for the evening he cried and cried in his crib, when his Dad went to check on him he found him hanging by his neck because the cord in his pj's had caught on the rail. Before his 1st birthday the decision was made to emigrate to Utah. Alan came first and as we waited to come I would not encourage Timothy to walk because I wanted his Daddy to be there. He was just 15 months old when we left Belfast and arrived in Utah.


He was the first of our children to graduate from University and he later passed his CPA exam and does his siblings taxes for them, also ours.
He served his mission in Brazil so is the only one of our children to speak a foreign language. While he was on his mission he taught the Brazilian children/people to do "Pay the Rent" which was something he learned at home but the Portuguese makes it a lot more fun. Plus he embellishes it SOOOOO much. Also, a very important part of family birthday celebrations is to have Tim sing the birthday song in Portuguese. He keeps up his language skills by reading the Book of Mormon and praying in Portuguese.
He is a very smart man, he lives just 5 minutes from his workplace so doesn't have to commute !!!!!!!
When he was in Primary he sang with a Primary choir in the Tabernacle, and quite a few years later gave a prayer at a priesthood meeting in the Tabernacle.
He is a righteous man, loves the Lord and serves diligently in all of his callings.
He is a good Dad and is looking forward to his first grandchild, a girl, coming in August. He loves his wife and takes care of her. He is a good brother and friend and has always been a hard conscientious worker, even as a boy when doing his chores.
It is wonderful to focus on a particular child. So many things and experiences come to mind. And we are grateful for this child, young man, man, son.
We love you son,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MANY MORE.