Family History Conference BYU

  This past week I attended The BYU Family History Conference in Provo,

 Utah. It was an inspiring week with my good friend Mary Morrow, also 

 from Mesa, Arizona.

     It was if I traveled back to my youth and back in time. We stayed in the 

 dorms at  Helaman Halls on BYU campus.  I was accepted to attend

 Brigham Young University back in 1978 after I graduated from Ricks  

 College, now known as BYU Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho. I did not attend 

 BYU as I was a young newlywed. My first husband Steven Wayne 

Dawson had also been accepted to BYU. We mutually decided that 

 I would work and Steve would attend the university. That however, 

 is a story for another time.  

     It was heavenly to be back in Utah and on campus for this conference. 

 It was four days jam packed with remarkable keynote speakers and five  

 classes each day taught by accredited genealogists and others who 

 shared their expertise in various genealogical areas.

      I was thrilled to hear the story of Jeff Marks as he traveled to Haiti, 

 Wyoming and Yougoslavia experiencing many miracles along the way as 

 he searched for and found his ancestors. We were also blessed to hear 

 from George Durrant  a favorite of mine from the past.  He is a former 

BYU professor with a humorous touch and spiritual depth. Susan 

 Easton Black is married to George Durant and she spoke along with 

 him. She taught at BYU for 37 years and has written 160 books.

     I learned so much. I can't wait to implement what I took away from this

  conference.  I just don't think there are enough hours in the day to get it

 all done.   

     We couldn't leave Provo without attending the Provo City Temple.  

 After the class on Friday afternoon Mary and I took an Uber ride to the 

 temple. It was a sacred experience and the temple is absolutely stunning. 

 We did dealings and our temple sealer was A. LeGrand Richards  

 the grandson of Legrand Richards an apostle of God. The battery on my  

phone died so we were unable to get an Uber ride. We ended up walking 

back to our dorms. Mary was barefoot because her shoes were giving                                              her blisters. She enjoyed walking barefoot through the lush green grass

 in Provo.

     We walked miles and miles and miles while on campus and off. 

Every evening after our classes and dinner at the BYU Commons we  

took a 2 mile walk on campus and most of the pictures below were taken  

as we walked around campus. We even saw an obviously intelligent deer  

grazing on campus as we walked. We trekked from our dorm to the 

Commons where we ate our meals. We hoofed it to the conference center 

each day for our classes. We ran to the BYU bookstore so we could shop. 

 I didn't make it to the gym this week but I managed to meet my exercise 

goals.

     "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the  

great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the  

fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I  

come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4: 5-6 Searching for our 

kindred dead, uniting families and having their ordinances done in the

 temples around the world is THE SPIRIT OF ELIJAH.

The Adventures of G-Mama,Presley,Nixin and Brexton

     I picked up Presley then we surprised Brexton and Nixin by picking them up at school. We stopped by the QT picked up some treats and began our road trip to Flagstaff,AZ. Upon our arrival we checked into our hotel for a good nights sleep.

     In the morning we treated ourselves to the hotel's breakfast bar. Satisfied we headed out. First stop, the Northern Arizona Museum. We enjoyed exploring the museum. Lots of cool "stuff" there. Next stop was the Pioneer Museum.  Such a fun place with a lot of interactive things for the kids. It is housed in the old indigent hospital built in 1908. Afterwards we stopped by Barnes and Noble and everyone picked out a new book. We had a yummy lunch at Chili's,piled in the car and drove back to Mesa.

     I loved this "adventure" with some very special grandchildren.    

Sycamore Creek

     My friend Mary Morrow and I went for a beautiful spring horseback ride. We decided we would like to go exploring and ride somewhere we had never ridden before. 

     In Arizona it is always a treat to ride where there is water and nice lush green grass for the horses to enjoy. We decided to ride at Sycamore Creek. We drove out to the Sycamore Creek turnoff of the Beeline Hwy headed towards Payson, Arizona.  We parked and unloaded the horses.  I began to hear all of this gunfire coming from the area we were going to ride.  Two cars pulled in and a gentleman got out of one vehicle with about five,yes five, riffles.  I went over to speak with him and he told me we were in a heavy shooting area that was indeed beautiful but people would be shooting  for about five miles. Needless to say we didn't feel comfortable riding there. We put the horses back in the trailer,got back on the Beeline for a few miles to the next turnoff. Mary did a great job parking the trailer in a very undesirable parking area. 

     We saddled up Santannah and Cali. First off we rode through a dark,wet and sandy tunnel.  Santannah did great. When we exited the tunnel this big,beautiful,old sycamore tree was right there. I couldn't resist taking this photo. It was magnificent.

    Sycamore Creek is a beautiful place to ride. Part of the ride was in the Mesa Wash,part was climbing in the mountains and part was riding alongside and crossing the creek.

    Heading back though the tunnel we encountered this lush grass. We unsaddled the horses at the trailer,grabbed our lunches,walked the horses back to the grassy area.  We sat in the shade eating our lunches while the horses grazed to their hearts content. 

     I would say a good time was had by all,equine and human. Enjoy the ride!  

Look What They Found

Brexton,Nixin and Presley were at my house March of 2015. You know when it gets quiet with a houseful of children something is up. The next thing I know this is what happened. They had found my bunny suit in the spare bedroom closet. Everyone had a good time. Cutter was very curious about this large furry thing. He then became an unwilling participant and he looks a little concerned.

Makes me smile.

MARVEL UNIVERSE with Brexton

There is nothing I enjoy more then spending time with my grandchildren. I like to take them on little adventures doing something that I think they would love. Brexton loves the Marvel characters so what better place to take him than to the Marvel Universe show.

We had the best time!

Speedway February 2015

Brannon and Amanda gifted Steve and I a few laps around the racetrack in these beauties! A Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini. Sweet rides but I have to admit I white knuckled it! My driver was petal to the metal.  He asked me when he got in the car if I was brave. I replied with "YES"!  I've never taken corners at such high speed before and I hope I never will again.

We survived and had a great time! Thanks Brannon and Amanda.

Saguaro Ranch Stables February 2015

I took Nixin and Allison horseback riding at Saguaro Ranch Stables. It was a beautiful day.

 Nixin and G-Mama with Scruffy(thats the name we gave him) the dog.

 Love my little cowgirl Nixin.

 Nixin rode Buzz. He took really good care of her.  In this picture they had just crossed the river.

 The three Amigos.

 The smile-Priceless!

Saying goodbye and thank you to Buzz.