Arizona Trip

Once a year we get together with George's siblings and spouses to make plans for the Walt and Orpha Lewis Foundation.  When George's Dad died, he left some money to be donated to charity so starting a Foundation seemed a wise thing to do.  Over the years the family has been very generous to several organizations, including my favorite, Kenya Keys. The IRS requires a yearly meeting of the Foundation so it's a great chance to get together.  Those meetings have taken us Provo, to Boise, and to Zion National Park several times.  During Covid, we did Zoom meetings.  This year the meeting was planned for Sedona, Arizona.  

It had been quite a few years since we had been to Phoenix.  Karen moved from downtown Phoenix to John and Katherine's neighborhood and we really wanted to see her new house.  Plus we wanted to see our niece Jennifer who is now a Instagram 'influencer'.  We chat back and forth on IG and I was anxious to spend time with her and her partner Mendell. Also hoped to see nephews David (and his family) and Brent.  And it is always a pleasure to be around John and Katherine and Richard and Tammy so it was an easy decision to fly down a few days early.

Karen took us on an LDS Temples of the area tour.   

First the Phoenix Temple

Then the Mesa Temple

Karen and George's 2nd great grandfather, Charles Crisman is a founder of Mesa.

In 1988 a bronze statue was dedicated to commemorate the Arizona Pioneers.

From the keynote speech given by Gordon B Hinckley:

"Enough praise cannot be said for those four men who stood here and began the work that led to the establishment of this community.

 I suppose that none of us today can really appreciate the labors of those who came here 110 years ago. This was the mesa, the high tableland above the river, shunned by early pioneers. It was dry and parched. The soil looked promising, but water was the key to survival. How to get it to the land was a problem.

President Hinckley felt it was inspiration that led those who came here in 1878 to turn to the long-deteriorated canal system of the Hohokam Indians.

After nine months of backbreaking toil through summer’s blistering heat, this small band of eighty-three men, women, and children carved out a twelve-mile canal to bring river water to the parched soil of the mesa"

As President Hinckley looked over the spacious park and the Arizona Temple across the street, he said he was “almost overwhelmed” by the history of the pioneers and the “length of their vision.”

Great-great Grandpa Crismon is the one with the gun, the one on the right.

To understand and reconnect with our stories, the stories of our ancestors, is to build our identities. 

Frank Delaney

I love being a part of the Lewis family.

Having dinner with our niece Jennifer and Mendell was such a treat.

Jennifer has been having some health problems and also went through a divorce recently so it was a joy to see her so happy.

Mendell is just a great man. 

Originally from Oklahoma, he has a slight southern accent that, naturally, endears him to me. He is very outgoing and has a wonderful sense of humor.  And icing on the cake, he has ties to a travel group that takes groups to Kenya to get to know the culture. 

His name for George - 'Big Homie G'.  LOL!

Of course the thing that I love most about him is that he obviously loves Jennifer and takes such good care of her. 

Our days in Phoenix flew by until Thursday when we headed to Sedona.  I had never been there before and it did not disappoint. Those red rocks are just stunning.

I adore my beautiful sister-in-laws.

Two days and two great hikes.

The photo bomber is the foundation lawyer - Joe Morton.  He and his wife Heidi fit into the family dynamics and we enjoy spending time with them. 

The 2nd day we tackled a more difficult hike to Devil's Bridge.

Steep stairs at times

And a climb with 'sort of stairs'.  I didn't take this photo.  It was from the internet. 

George and I were rather proud of ourselves for completing this hike.  I was slow on the steep 'non-stair' climbs but I made it to the top.  And it is amazing!

George wasn't happy being on the top so we didn't get a photo up there. I estimate that it would have taken 45 minutes to work my way through the line to get out on the bridge. There was a long line waiting. Every few minutes a group  would walk out to take photos.  Some were quick and some did multiple poses....a few poses that terrified us. 

Since no one else was interested in waiting for the photo op, I decided not to wait either.  Maybe next time?!?!?!

But we did get this one from below!

Sedona is spectacular!

Spending time with family was spectacular too!

Delicious food and lots of conversation!

I loved every minute.

After arriving back in Phoenix we were able to enjoy a visit with one of George's friends from his mission in Texas more than 50 years ago.  Terry Eschenroder was never George's companion but they did live in the same apartment with their respective companions.  Terry and his wife Robyn lived in our ward in west Boise before we moved to Spain.

After Karen moved to Gilbert, Terry happened to be her Bishop.

Small world!  Unfortunately he was recently released as bishop because he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  He is having chemo and radiation but was able to visit with us.

Lots of prayers for him and his family.

Yeah for family and friends, good food, good times and our beautiful world!

Birthday For the Grans!

 In August our Jackson celebrated his 6th birthday.  Sorry we weren't there to enjoy his 'Dinosaur' birthday party at their community center.  This construction vehicle loving, monster truck crazy, dinosaur fan is full of energy and fun.  I am glad he is ours.

And Miss Isabella turned 9 and promptly informed me that she is now a 'preteen'.  When I questioned her about this, she said, "Ask Alexa" so I did and turns out according to Alexa, a 'preteen' is someone between the ages of 9 and 12.  So yes our little girl is now officially a PRETEEN!

We took her out to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts and gifts and enjoyed her bubbly cheerful, fun personality,

Sure glad that I am Grandma to these two cuties!

104 Years Ago Today

 September 10th 1920 - My mother, Bessie Jane Boyle was born.  At her funeral her minister expressed it this way, 'She bounced into the world.'  He went on to say, "her years spanned such incredible eras in our nation's history, most that radically affected her culture here where she was born and reared and later where she came back home to live.  Somewhere along the way she resolved to live out her changing times with energy and optimism. Maybe it was born of her years as a navy wife, living in Boston or Brooklyn or Providence, Rhode Island or her time living in Sicily.  Or maybe it was something just born in her to engage her life actively one day at a time.  However she came to that way of living, it served her well throughout all her days.  Moreover, it stands as a model for our own way of doing whatever it is that gives us fulfillment in life."

I know she loved being a mother.  Moma and Daddy were married almost five years before I was born and they were thrilled to be parents.  She was 33 when I was born but it was 25 years later when I think she found her greatest joy. That's when Mary was born and she became a Grandma for the first time. 

Nothing gave her more fulfillment than these 4 children! 

Holding Mary for the 1st time

And here she is in 1980 holding newborn Matt.

And when we added Jonathan in 1984

Then in 1987 with all four of her darling grandchildren.

For her there was never a more true statement than

"Happiness is being a Grandparent"

Monica's Milanesa

 Our daughter-in-law, Monica, is a fabulous cook.  We discovered that soon after they moved to the US when she made delicious gnocchi, hand shaped pasta made from potatoes.  Now she has started her own small business making and selling Argentine food.  

Milanesa are well seasoned, breaded chicken cutlets.  They are pounded thin, lightly breaded and cooked quickly.  Monica bakes her own bread and makes a milanesa sandwich.  

For dessert she makes a very typical cookie called alfajores.  Here is a perfect description I found of them.  'Irresistible Argentinian Alfajores are a soft, sweet and crumbly shortbread sandwich cookie filled with dulce de leche', which is caramelized milk.  It tastes a bit like caramel.

So fun to see Monica using her cooking skills while John hones his small business talents to promote and expand their reach.

During the summer they have been successfully selling once a month at their apartment clubhouse.

I am proud of them.

 

Frozen - Broadway Comes to Boise

Months ago we bought tickets so that Isabella and I could go see 'Frozen' as a part of the 'Broadway Comes to Boise' series.  A couple of weeks ago, John told me that she didn't really want to go because she wasn't 'into' Frozen any more.  I reassured her that this was not like the Disney movie or like some of the plays we've seen produced by local children's theatre groups.  This was like something you would see on stage in New York or London.  That seemed to have convinced her to go. And it was 'simply magical'!

Monica and John got her a very fancy dress for the occasion.  I think she looked adorable.

I love that they gave a special welcome to those who were seeing their very first Broadway production.

The voices and choreography were outstanding!

 The set design was clever and so beautiful!

It even 'snowed' on the stage.

So many mesmerizing scenes.  Our favorite was the 'Let It Go' scene just before intermission.

My two favorite characters were Olaf, the magical snowman and Sven, the reindeer. The actor who brings Sven to life every night makes you forget that there is a person inside that costume - a very strong and very flexible person!  I still don't understand exactly how he does it.

Isabella had a great time and now thinks she would like to go and see 'Wicked' in the spring.

Another memory making 'Grandma and Isabella date'.

Notice how tall she is.  It seems possible that she will pass Grandma before she turns 10 in 2025.

The play was the Saturday after the 1st week of school so on the way to the theatre, I asked Isabella to rate her first week of school on a scale of 1-10.  Without hesitation she replied, "A 10".  After the play when I asked her the same question about Frozen her comment was, "7".  I don't think that is because the play wasn't wonderful. Just an honest assessment that she LOVES school!

Way to go Mrs. Bergman!

A 3rd Grader and a Kindergartener

Yes I know that it is cliché but oh so true!  

Time flies!

Seems like such a short time ago that our Isabella was born and now she is a 3rd grader.  These photos show her fun, sweet personality so well.

I remember when I got the call from Mary that Jackson was joining our family.  Now that adorable boy is a kindergartener.  And yes, these photos clearly show his spunky side!

And the poses illustrate the differences between boys and girls. 

My photo albums are filled with photos of Mary posing with a big smile and her brothers making silly faces.  It must be genetic!

School Shopping With Isabella

 Continuing the tradition, Isabella and I went clothes shopping at the mall again this year.  She is growing up and turning into a 'pre-teen', at least that is what she tells me!  Lots of things are 'boring' now which makes me kind of sad but I also know that it is normal.

Truthfully she reminded me a bit of shopping with Mary when she was this age and into her teenaged years.  Pulling out an outfit that I liked was the 'kiss of death' no matter how cute I thought it was!  Isabella decided that she would punch things that she didn't like.  With Mary it was more of an eye roll.

She loved the snacks we had at Wetzels Pretzels.  Our mall has 3 locations and there was a line at each of them.  Unfortunately they were out of our favorite 'pizza bitz' but the pepperoni pretzel is basically the same thing.  Must have been good since we ate the whole thing!

We topped it off with Strawberry Funnel Cake Bitz.  Delicious, especially for our strawberry loving girl. She also enjoyed the 'frozen strawberry lemonade' - just like in the photo!

Our shopping was as successful as our snacking!

I love all the fun clothes we found.

I think that Isabella and Monica did too.

The black sweatshirt was something that I liked and amazingly she did too.  The flowers reminded me of the stylized flowers that were popular during my teenage years. I had similar flowers on my bed spread.

However I won the 'Best Grandma Ever' award for one purchase.

A Taylor Swift shirt for our little Swiftie'.

Isabella starts 3rd grade on Wednesday.

If I were to guess, I'd say she will be wearing this Taylor shirt!