This is the Old North Bridge outside of Concord Massachusetts where the American colonists faced down the British soldiers at the beginning of the war. Its hard to imagine something so violent taking place here. It is very beautiful and serene.

Today's pictures are from the Boston Marathon. We selected a spot in Wellesley about mid point in the race to watch the runners. These army guys were the first people we saw on the marathon route. We weren't sure how long they had been marching or how far they would go. They were carrying pretty heavy looking packs on their backs. I was just glad I wasn't part of their group.

The herald of the runners were the motorcycle cops. We knew when we saw these guys that things were going to get serious. We had been waiting for about 10 minutes before we saw them.
The wheelchair athletes are the first to go. I think we may have missed the winners of that group since she was the only person we saw in that category. She is buff.



These were the first women runners we saw.
Here's Dorothy cheering on her man. I'm afraid he may not have seen these wonderful signs though. We didn't see him until he was almost passed us and he was running on the other side of the road. I was so busy trying to get his attention that I forgot to take his picture. Sorry John. We were sure proud of him though.





These were the Kenyan runners that eventually won the race in a little over 2 hours. They were pretty much sprinting past us.


Here are the first real group of women runners. There weren't that many in the initial group.


This is the picture that describes the main part of the race. We watched a river of humanity running past us for the next hour and a half. The numbers on their jerseys went as high as 26,500+ .There were occasionally some guys dressed up in costumes that passed by. One was Minnie Mouse, another was dressed in full fairy regalia. Sponge Bob Square Pants passed by as did a shark. One masochist was in a complete Yankee baseball uniform. We didn't ever really get tired of the parade which is unusual because I generally dislike parades. We enjoyed shouting encouragement to the runners, many had their names on their shirts. Some pushed their handicapped friends/loved ones in jogging strollers.

This is what the Hill Cumorah looks like from the bottom by the visitor's center.


This is at the top on the north side. These are the great people we traveled with. As you can see we were there at a pretty good time. Not too crowded!
This is Moroni


This is Phil



This is one of my favorite people.


Have you ever wondered what the other side of the hill looks like?


We were surprised to find that there is a campground for the host missionaries on the other side.

Here are some pictures of my favorite Smithsonian exhibit. These were taken in the botanical garden. Take a deep breath and enjoy.





There is a small stream running underneath these beauties!

This shot was taken on our way out of Canada but it gives an overall view of the falls. The closer falls on the left are the American Falls. They are separated by a land mass to the right. The big misty cloud is hiding the Canadian Falls on the right.
This is at the top of the Canadian Falls The interesting thing about this is that the camera picked up the frozen chunks. We could not perceive them with our eyes at the time. I didn't realize they were there until I saw the picture today. The water is going very fast right here.This is looking down at an intermediate falls. The chunks of ice are very easy to see now.
This is looking downstream at the American Falls and the Niagara River.

There really is a lot of water here. The mist makes it hard to see the whole falls but it was spectacular nonetheless.





Here are the falls on the Canadian side just below the hotel we were staying at.

This is looking upstream of the Niagara River. You can see that the land is really quite flat until it falls at this point.
This is my favorite picture.

So this is what happens when important people like the Pope come to Washington and head for the White House. He was staying in an embassy on Massachusetts Avenue that we stumbled upon while leaving Washington the next day. But this time we were stumbling all over the Mall looking at monuments. When the police started closing down the streets and yelling at innocents who just wanted to cross the street we decided to stick around and see what was going to happen. I wanted to look closer at what was captured on my camera to see if we could see a face etc but I will have to wait until my tech savvy people come home for that to happen. A few minutes after witnessing this parade we were crossing the lawn west of the Washington monument and heard a woman singing the Lord's Prayer over a loud speaker. We looked north and there was the White House with a lot of people outside on the back lawn and a big projection screen with video on it. That night on the news we saw it from the White House side of things with the President and the Pope sitting on chairs in front of the gathering. I felt just like Forrest Gump.

Tender Mercies. I love to identify these sweet moments when I realize Heavenly Father is aware of me and my righteous desires.
Friday I had volunteered to drive marching band members from the high school to Lehi for their "band tour". I knew from past experience that this would take all afternoon and evening. I had prepared for that eventuality by bringing two books and my knitting. I was actually looking forward to having nothing to do but read and knit. I knew that there would be a big enough time slot that I could attend a session at the temple without being missed so I had put on a skirt and brought my temple gear. I had even brought a plate of my favorite chocolate chip cookies to share with my riders. But when all the students were loaded into the various cars and vans my car remained empty. Parents came who were not expected and their students and their friends filled those cars first.
I was able to go directly to the Provo temple. I ate some cookies along the way (thank goodness it was a short way :)) and Bus and I were able to go out on a long overdue date to a play at BYU. I still smile when I remember the love I felt.

This is a blog to encourage passing readers to take a moment and peruse the good self help link on my blog. I love what this guy writes about. I love his perspective on life. Tell me what you think.

Too Beautiful for Words

Here is a picture of our newest granddaughter Anna Lynne Gaines. She is just beautiful and very calm. She weighed 6 pounds and 7 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long. Toni did a great job.

Great looking family!

Here is Anna in her grandpa Gillespie's arms. We are so glad to have her here with us.

This is the start of Matt and Mom and Dad's excellent adventure. The snow was perfect for walking/skiing on. We had a wonderful time and we are excited to show you our neighborhood as we discovered it today.

Side shot of Toni's favorite ski hill

Home sweet home

It may look like a sarcophagus but is really the picnic table.

Where the fire usually sits.

Such a beautiful day

Matt is standing on top of the picnic table...

For illustrative purposes

Newest kid on the block

Yeah it's pretty deep

Getting ready to head back The end of a

wonderful adventure.

Dad bought me a new car this past Monday. Subaru Outback and the maroon color isn't lame which I really like. I felt pretty sporty as I drove to the BYU family history library this morning. I parked in the MOA parking lot and felt pretty awesome. After finding some new ancestors I came out and put the key in the lock and much to my amazement and horror the car alarm sounded. I haven't ever had to deal with this annoying safety feature before. I have no remote control to deactivate the loud honking. I tried putting the key in the ignition but that didn't work. I tried to turn on the car, that didn't work. I got out and locked the door again. It went silent. I looked around. People were smiling to themselves. I took a deep breath and put the key back in the lock and immediately the honking sounded again. I went through this crazy pattern several more times. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to when it would start or stop. I started thinking that maybe I was on some bizarre reality TV show with a camera hidden somewhere. I'm sure I would have laughed had I been an onlooker. Finally a man came to my rescue. We tried disconnecting the fuses. Nope. We tried locking and unlocking, key in, key out. Nothing. Finally he disconnected the horn wires. There was still one honking after that. The one in the back of the engine was finally located and disabled. I got in the car, turned the key. Nothing. Turned on the headlights to see if it was battery related. No lights. He guessed the battery was dead. (Don't the horns use the battery???) I told him I would call my husband, not to worry. He left. I put the key in once more and the stupid thing started right up. I was befuddled but grateful.
When I got home I called the dealer. This is what I learned. When you lock all the doors at once using the handy dandy lock that is conveniently on the driver's door panel when you leave the car it will activate the alarm when you come back and put the key in the door. To disable the alarm one must put the key in the ignition and click it 3 times, not turn it on all the way, just click it 3 times to get the alarm to stop. The 4th time will turn the car on. The handy dandy lock is for use while IN the car. Otherwise just manually lock the doors when leaving the car (very convenient). Now we know.

One of my favorite quotes from President Hinckley is the one that says everything will work out. I have found this very helpful during times of stress and trial. I think he is right. Things do work out. Even when sad or bad things happen time seems to heal those things as well.
On the way to class this morning the car's engine stopped. Luckily it was at the top of a hill and I was able to coast until I found a convenient parking lot to stop in. When I turned the key after putting the car in park it started right back up and off I went.
I picked up my new friend to take her to class (she's over 80 and doesn't like to drive on the snow-packed roads) and it happened a couple of more times. On our way to her house after the class as we were passing Timpview it started making a very awful noise then clunked and stopped again. I was able to coast for quite a while, running the stop sign but this time when I stopped and turned the key it didn't make a sound.
What would I have done if Emily hadn't been playing basketball at Timpview? She came to our rescue which was nice because my friend Louine had an appointment at noon and this happened about 11:30. She took Louine home then she dropped me off. I was able to finally get in touch with Bus. He was able to call Larry's towing. I had to be at work at 1:00. Emily came home just in time to take me to meet the tow truck. She proceeded on her way to take her friend home then returned to take me to work after I had finished my business with the tow truck driver. I was even early today for a change.
See, it all works out. I even have faith that I will find a way home from work and will be able to get to Jethro and Robyn's before 7 to tend Lincoln. What a great day!

Really? A gun?

Wow. It's already 2008 and a month since I blogged last. So much fun in the last 4 weeks. We made quilts for the humanitarian center, 8 of them. We hosted a party for the ward family that was pretty nice. Fun family parties as well. This was our first Christmas with grandchildren. They are so much fun and so handsome. We were able to see the Bells Concert at the Conference Center but not the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with the King's Singers; we did get close to seeing it though. Christmas Day was a little traumatic for me. I think I'm recovered though. I didn't want a gun. Santa was just a little confused I guess. We enjoyed having all the children home for Christmas and before and after. I love the anticipation of Christmas the most. I loved doing sealings with the family. It was an incredibly warm and cuddly feeling that afternoon even though the weather outside was kind of cold and blowy. I loved playing games with you all as well. The present yesterday was so much fun too. Another little one in August/September. Sooo good. Thanks for all you do to enrich my life.

The yearly ritual of decorating for Christmas is an interesting phenomenon at my house. We dread getting everything out of storage and hauling it all upstairs. It tests our patience to put on the lights, try and find the right combination of decorations for the available nails already in the wall, and then find a place to put our regular decor while the Christmas stuff is out.

We enjoy the decorations if they stay put and the lights stay on. But after Christmas we can hardly wait to take it all down and resume the normal boring life. Why do we bother?

Last month I agreed to work for Audrey for today and even though I realized it would be a crazy week I said I would. She called me last Thursday to tell me her surgery had been canceled and I wouldn't need to work. I was quite relieved actually. I had agreed to work at Utah Valley Wednesday morning so that would be two days in a row working full time, not leaving much time to get stuff ready for Thanksgiving. I had planned the day out carefully so I would have time to get everything prepared.
This morning when I returned from my walk with the girls there was a phone message waiting. Apparently, unbeknownst to me I had been scheduled to cover a shift in urgent care at BYU in place of my being canceled by Audrey. I was already 40 minutes late and I still needed to get showered and dressed. Somewhat begrudgingly I hurried and got ready, packed a left-overs lunch and got in the car. Turned the key and nothing. Tried multiple times over the next 10 minutes with the same result. Got under the hood, jiggled some wires still nothing. Called my trusty visiting teacher to bail me out. She came quickly and drove me to the Health Center. When I arrived and explained my situation to my co-workers it suddenly occurred to me that I had a hair appointment at 2 and now I had no way to get there. My boss had said he would cover for the hour I needed to go. I think he felt bad about what had happened.
When I told him about my dilemma he offered his car for the appointment. Nice guy.
When I pulled into the hair salon my friend and stylist Robyn hurried in to apologize that the lady before me hadn't told her that she wanted her hair colored so she was double booked for that hour. But she would see what she could do to expedite my haircut. Between three of them I was finished and back to work in an hour. Things always work out. I just hope I can get a ride home from work.

I got a call from the A-1 Uniform store yesterday. They had my phone. The battery was dead so they took it to a Cingular store to get recharged. She looked in my directory and found my "grandma", called her and she gave them my home phone. So nice. Apologies to Jan for missing the calls. Kudos to A-1 Uniform store for going the extra mile.

On the off-chance that anyone has tried to call me on the cell since last Thursday this is just to let you know that my phone has been missing since then. If I haven't returned a message that would also be my excuse. I am on the lookout for it but I'm sure the battery is dead so it is more of a challenge. Please continue your patience with me in this matter.

ISFJ - "Conservator".
Desires to be of service
and to minister to individual
needs - very loyal.
13.8% of total population.

I find these tests very interesting. We took several during our nursing training. I'm never sure that I answer the questions the way I really am or the way I wish I was. Anyway, thanks Jan for the momentary diversion. Now I'll get back to my service project...

Some days my brain doesn't work as well as others. Today for instance. After our walk I thought I had a free morning. I was doing some work on the computer for a while. Then Emily came down the stairs about quarter to ten and announced she was ready for our class at the church. I was still in my walking clothes. Plus, I remembered at that moment that I had told Kathy Shumway I would come and tend her two little kids while she went to the class. I didn't have time to change so I went to Kathy's as I was. She called soon after she left and asked if it was OK if she went to the store after class to get a couple of things. I thought for a moment and said it was probably OK, not remembering the conversation on our walk that we would all meet at Tahitian Noni cafe for lunch at 11:30. Thankfully she didn't go to the store after all but came home. I visited with her for a few minutes, still not remembering that I had the lunch date. After I came home and put the hamburger in the microwave to defrost I suddenly remembered the lunch date. I was supposed to be there in 15 minutes. I still needed to shower and get dressed. I was 10 minutes late for lunch but enjoying the company and the terrific food when it hit me that the hamburger was still in the microwave. I did make it safely to work after stopping off at home. I'm almost afraid to go home to discover/remember the next disaster.