A month of Emotions

This week has been extremely long. In addition to the normal December craziness of work, Christmas shopping, festival holiday decorating of the house and Christmas socials, we have had more than our fair share of individuals that we know pass away. At the end of last week Orlin Hatterman passed away and also a sister that lived in the neighborhood and had moved away.

Orlin lived in the home of Faye Hurst. Ginny has helped her for many years with her health concerns.

The other sister we don't know. She had moved from the ward before we became a part of the 1st Ward back in 2001.

Both of their burials were on Tuesday. These were in addition to the Relief Society dinner that evening, making for a long day for Ginny as she had to help take care of a part of all three of these. If this were not enough we also learned that day of the passing of Sister Loveless and Bishop Lloyd Viall.

Sister Loveless was a long time resident of the ward and had recently fallen and broke her neck and was in the hospital. She was a wonderful individual and we will certainly miss her.

Everyone knew Lloyd as Bishop Viall, because he had been a Bishop in the church long before we every moved to Kearns. I am not sure how old he was but definitely in his nineties. This was a man with a strong will and a love of people.

We had hoped that between the lost of these four individuals that things would calm down a bit, but we were then notified on the passing of my Uncle Dick. Uncle Dick is the husband of aunt LaRue who is my mother's sister.

This month has definitely been emotional. The passing of any one of these individuals would have been enough of the emotional roller coaster but at the end of November Ginny felt prompted that we should move. This has caused no small commotion among people in the ward. While we know we are suppose to move down closer to my office it has not been easy on Ginny. We have developed some close friends here in Kearns and Ginny has struggled with the fact that she will not be as close to these friends.

So on top of all the events this month we have been looking for a new home. We have spent one night a week with the Realtor looking at homes for the past three weeks. We have an idea of what we are looking for but are not sure if we will have a home built or if we will build. In any case we are working through all of this on the Lord's time. We could be here for a few months, up to six or seven months depending on how things go.

Ginny has told her close friends of our pending move and while they to will miss us being in the neighborhood they have consoled her and let her know that we are doing the right thing. This has help a great deal.

In hot water again

Its December 12 and it has been getting extremely cold here in Salt Lake at night. For two or three nights this past week the temperature was only between 4 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit. I guess that is better than the -16 in my home home of Ely Nevada. So with these temperatures you may ask, "Why I am in hot water?" It all started back in October when we gave to my parents a trip to the hot springs and dinner for their birthdays. We promised to take them to dinner at Maddox in Perry, Ut and a trip to Crystal Hot Springs the next time they were in Salt Lake.

Well is the now the next time there are in to visit and so to the Hot Springs we go. It was fantastic. We left home at about 2:30 and headed north to soak in the springs. By the time we got to Odgen the snow as starting to come down and by the time we were going passed Brigham City the roads were slick and the snow was doing some serious dumping. We arrived at the hot springs at just about 4:00 pm and it was time to brave the 34 degree temperatures. You see these hot springs are not indoors, they are total outside, so it was get changed into ones swimming suits and run for the pools. The snow as still falling but the water was divine.

It was so cool to be sitting in 103 degree water and have snow falling on your head. Our son David and his family went with us as well. This was the first time they had been to the springs and Ella our five year old granddaughter and her 2 year old brother Coleman thought they have died and gone to heaven. It was so fun to play in the water with them, but the ultimate excitement was to have Ella and her dad go down the water slide 3 times and Coleman once. These are brave young souls. You have to realize the water in the water slide is only in the 68 - 70 degree range. Very cold once you have been in the hot pools. Ella would have continued to go down the slide if her dad would have taken with her.

My parents also loved it. Mom commented on how relaxing it was and I think my dad was enjoying it also.

After about an hour and a half of soaking and playing we headed to dinner are Maddox. This is one of Ginny and my favorite restaurants. It you every get the opportunity you will have to check this place out. They serve bison, beef, chicken and fish, but my favorite is the bison. Everything is made from scratch and the steaks are cooked to perfection. Then to top it all off the meal comes with the most light and fluffy homemade rolls and cornbread.

This was a winter activity that we as a family will definitely being doing again.

A few notes on the hot springs
- Friday evening can be very busy as may scout groups us the facilities and then camp in the campground for the night.
- The website has discount coupons for a dollar off per person.

A few notes about Maddox
- this restaurant is busy most of the time. You may want to make a reservation or you could be waiting for a while to get in.
- the prices may appear a light our of your range, but I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with the quality or the quantity of the food you get for the price.