Only In Montana

Yesterday Laurence called me into the living room to show me this.

Turkeys in our neighbor lady's apple tree. I'm guessing that since we had such an early hard frost she still has apples in the tree. By the time all was done we had 5 large turkeys in her little apple tree.

It seemed like it should be the beginning of a joke... how many turkeys can you get in one small apple tree???

They came back again today, but I only saw 3 actually in the tree.

A few days ago I had 29 in the yard, but none in the tree that time.

Family Pictures

With Aisling home for Thanksgiving, we had our friend Chelsie come over and snap some pictures.

Thanks Chelsie!

Venison Anyone? Grass and Garden Fed!!

I have been wondering for a while now if I was watering the deer at night as the birdbath seems to be emptying quickly. Today as I was sitting at my office desk, I saw this gentleman walk straight across the lawn, directly to the bird bath. He knew EXACTLY what he was doing! When I opened the blinds this morning I had 7 does in the yard outside my window. Too bad people can't hunt in town, they could fill their freezer and hardly ever leave my deck!! :)

Times They are a Changin'!!

23 years ago today, Laurence and I drove down to Salt Lake. We got there in time to go to the courthouse and get our marriage license. We stayed that night with Viv and Dave. I thought it would be fun to unearth some pictures from then! We were married in the morning of November 6th for Time and All Eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. Dave performed the ceremony. Afterwards we had a luncheon at Viv and Dave's house. It was delicious!! Laurence's mom and sister Mila came, along with many of my family. (This picture isn't very good, it was a polaroid and I waited too long to scan it).We left the next morning for a honeymoon in Ireland! Oh how I LOVE Ireland!! (Laurence thinks it is way cold!!)
This is Bunratty Castle just outside Limerick and the happy couple!!

As was the custom at the time, because Lovell was so far from a temple, we held our reception after we got back from Ireland. Things have changed so much since then! We now have a temple in Billings (although I would still go to Salt Lake!), we have one more absolutely amazing daughter, we are nearing retirement, we have grandkids and great-grandkids. Yes indeed, times they are a changin'! This much I have learned: I am married to an incredible man!! He loves the Lord and is wonderful to me! He was certainly worth the wait! He is so thoughtful!! I am really looking forward to retirement and going on a mission together!! He'll be the best mission companion ever!! I could never ask for anything more!! Here's to 23 more wonderful years!! Thanks so much for the past 23 Laurence!! I LOVE YOU!! You make my life complete!!

Friday Harbor on Wednesday... The Fun Continues!

On Wednesday Viv and I drove to Anacortes. What a beautiful town. I'm sure it's expensive to live there, but exploring it would be tons of fun!!
We took a ferry to Lopez Island and then another ferry to Friday Harbor. These are a part of the San Juan islands. What a fun, fun time!! I loved the time on the ferry. So fun to be on the water. As I've said before I really should live where there is more water!!

This is the beautiful Lopez Island. The trees there are beautiful!

It was so fun to be on the ferry, there were so many islands! It was fun to imagine how life would be to have a home on one of them, or to actually own your own entire island!:)

Lunch at Friday Harbor! I LOVE good Fish and Chips (my Irish mission/heritage), and these were wonderful!! They also had really good malt vinegar. It doesn't get any better for lunch!!
I had such a fun fun day!! Thanks so much Viv for making it absolutely wonderful!!

Let The Fun Begin!!

When everything settled down I stayed in Arlington for an extra week to play with my best friend and cousin. What a fun time I had! I hope Viv and Dave had even a little bit of the fun I had!!Day one we went to Leavenworth. What a GORGEOUS drive!! I was told that it was prettier a week earlier with all the fall colors, but I don't know how it could have been better than the day we went.Leavenworth is a little town way up high in the mountains that has been transformed into a Bavarian Village. The architecture is so wonderful! Lots and lots of little shops, restaurants and fun for everyone!! Thanks Viv & Dave for such a fun, fun day!!

For more about the earlier parts of our trip, read on.....

Fun in Arlington!!

This is a picture I took of Seattle from the plane. I thought it turned out pretty good considering. The Monday after the show Aunt Alice, Uncle Ron and Aunt Cathern came up to Arlington. We had a fun lunch, celebrated Viv's birthday and toured all the wonderful improvements at Uncle John and Aunt Helens. Then they took mom back to Enumclaw with them for a visit.
This is Aunt Helen, Aunt Cathern, Aunt Alice and my mom. It was so fun to spend the day together. I love any opportunity I have to spend time with my wonderful family!!
Isn't this just the best Baird totem pole??Aunt Helen decided we needed to take a picture from the ladder. She was going to get on top. I know she climbs it regularly to feed the chickens, but I sure was glad when Viv got on top instead. Thanks Viv, I think it made all of our hearts beat a little more calmly!!
Uncle Ron, Aunt Alice, Viv, Mom, Uncle John and Aunt Helen in front of the newly reclaimed root cellar. Isn't it just pretty with all the vines?

We celebrated Viv's birthday at lunch. Each candle represents 15.25 years.......

I am so glad she had a birthday!! That was a delicious cheesecake!! Thanks for getting another year older Viv!!

Seattle Fun Times Day 1 1/2 Seattle Temple

I Love the temple and I Love this statue. It has always sort of pulled at my heart strings. When Aisling was little I could see this as our family. I got to attend the temple with some of my favorite people!! Mom, Uncle John and Aunt HelenViv, dashing to get the car so no one had to walk very far..... (she's always dashing for someone!!) A day at the temple is only complete if it ends with a yummy meal. We had ours at Aunt Helen's favorite.... Golden Corral!! Here is Dave having his favorite..... dessert or should I say desserts??
What a wonderful day! This would be a slice of every kind of pie topped with about a quart of soft ice cream. I know Laurence will be jealous, he would have liked to have shared THIS experience with Dave!! (BTW Laurence, this followed a selection of each and every cookie!!) Now I know you're jealous!!

After the Show was Over......

The day Viv and Aisling left my cousins John and Maryanne came and picked us up at the hotel. They took us on a fun, fun road trip. Our first stop was Gloucester Harbor at Gloucester, MA. GORGEOUS!! Gloucester Harbor is a huge fishing port, and has been for hundreds of years.
These were a part of the memorial to the fishermen that had died at sea over the years.

On to Rockport Harbor, MA. How can so many places be so incredibly beautiful? I wish I had a lot more time to just enjoy the areas we saw!

Laurence at Rockport Harbor.
This is one of the most photographed buildings in America. It was made famous by Norman Rockwell. We felt an obligation to further the record by photographing it even more!! :)
Lobster traps at Rockport harbor. It was so fascinating there. If you were able to look into the water from the dock you would see millions of little minnows. It was like looking into a tank at a fish hatchery.
Our next stops were at Lexington and Concord. Why don't I have pictures??? Who knows?

This was a beautiful grist mill. What a fun stop. It turns out that when John and Maryanne got married they had their reception here.
The only down side was that it wasn't open to tour. It was way fun anyway!!
Mom, Laurence, Maryanne and John. Thanks so much for a fun, fun day!!
OUR LAST DAY....... PLYMOUTH, MASS

Laurence and I scheduled our flight out of Boston to be a late flight. That way we could go to Plymouth and do a little bit of family history. We were grateful that mom was such a good sport about it!! Thanks mom! Laurence is descended from a man by the name of Thomas Rogers. He and his son were passengers on the Mayflower.
We went to Pilgrim Hall Museum. What a fun museum. There Laurence found 2 books that gave some detailed family history in addition to background on these individuals that we didn't know. Our next stop was to the Plymouth Historical Society. They have gorgeous gardens there!! Mom and I toured the gardens while Laurence went inside. Look what we found while we were touring the gardens...... how cool is this?! Now Laurence can look up the Thomas Rogers Society!!This is a picture of the beach at Plymouth. I honestly don't think I can ever get enough of beaches and oceans!! And last, but certainly not least, no trip to Plymouth would be complete without a picture of the Mayflower. And thus ends our trip to Boston...... If you are just starting to read, you will find that there are numerous more posts and pictures to get to the beginning.

Oh Yeah, We Did Work The Trade Show!

We returned to Boston and checked into the Boston Waterfront Hotel. We got there at 10 am so assumed we wouldn't be able to check in for several hours. They were so thoughtful, they found us 2 rooms that were connected. BUT.... would we mind that they were on the 16th floor? The top floor... the one with the view???? It was gorgeous!

The pictures truly do not do it justice... we saw several cruise ships come in and out of the harbor. How fun!!My favorite meal while we were in Boston was at Anthony's Pier 4. It was a beautiful restuarant out on the Pier. (Who would've guessed?) I had the Oven Roasted Seafood Combination which included shrimp, salmon, swordfish, scallops, polenta and zucchini. served with lime-chive beurre blanc. They also served popovers before the meal came. They were delicious!! I don't remember what everyone else had but I do recall that everyone really liked their meal.The Boston Convention Center is connected right to our hotel. How nice, especially when Laurence was as handicapped as he was. The Convention Center is a new, very nice facility. This is a quick picture I took from the level above on the day of set-up. Not the best with the glare etc. But it shows how everything is bare cement, forklifts running all over the place etc. The transformation always amazes me!! I love to see it go from bare cement, boxes and crates everywhere, to the next day. Pure GLITZ!! Not a hair out of place!! This is a picture of our booth. We get a small one 10' X 10'. This is my mom, Viv, Aisling, me and Laurence.

Laurence broke down and used a wheelchair at the show, it was just too hard on him not to use one. But, the hotel was so thoughtful, they let us use theirs for the entire time so I didn't have to find one to rent.

Aisling and Grandma

Viv, Aisling and Laurence
One of the perks of attending the show is all the "treasures" you get to bring home. Aisling was able to get lots of fun things...toothbrushes, baby stuff for her friend...colloidal silver....licorice etc.

Then it was time for the show to be over and Aisling and Viv took to the skies. They had to leave for the airport at 4 am Monday morning. :( We sure missed them!