MLK Holiday 2026 with Nick's kids

 Nick and family came down to Southern Utah for the Martin Luther King Jr. School holiday of Monday and Tuesday, Jan 19 and 20, 2026. 

The got her just after 5 on Sunday. We ate tacos for Sunday Dinner.

Monday morning we all headed to St. George. Mike was helping ( read: supervising) Eric trim yard trees that their HOA and insurance inspector said had to be further away from the roof line. So they trimmed a fairly large oak if many limbs. Plus two trips to Home depot, of course! 

 We ( Nick's family and me)  hiked. Leeds Canyon Kiln. It was just short enough for me. We grabbed some burgers and fries to take to Eric's & Matt's  house and ate lunch with them

 Then Nick and family went to go hike some more and see some petroglyphs. I stayed at Eric's, borrowed his car and ran to Hobby Lobby. That place is HUGE! But I didn't find any flannel fabric for baby blankets, drat. I hate shopping.  I spent time visiting with their dogs, catching up in emails and watching them trim the tree.

In the evening, we came home and made home made individual pizzas. They were okay. 

Tuesday morning, Nick, Kaylee, Rachel and I went to the Cedar City Temple so Rachel could have her first experience doing proxy baptisms! In MY temple! It was very nice. We had some donuts after with everyone (Mike stayed home with the younger ones while we were at the temple), then they packed up and went back home, stopping to see my Mom on the way out of town. 

It was a short trip, but were so glad they came.

Here's some photos of our outdoor and doggy adventures.

Emily inside the Leeds Kiln

The path TO the kiln was short and well-marked

I like moss. A lot. This was a very wet area . . . For a desert.

Logan ran ahead of us on the trail and said, "Come look! I found an igloo made of stones!"

There was quite a lot of Manzanita on the trail. And juniper, pinion, cactus, etc etc.

San and Emily. 

This is just visiting after lunch

 I think Eric was showing a video to them on his phone.

Lots of kids and lots of hairy dogs. Just two, but they sure shed a lot!

Info placard for the Leeds Canyon Kiln. Very interesting.

At the Leeds Charcoal kiln.

Or, an igloo made of stones :-)

We had fun playing lots of games while the kids were here, too.

We also walked the dogs to a dog park nearby while we were there after lunch. Those are some VERY strong dogs! They do live going to the dog park!

That's Rachel up in the tree. Of course. I loved climbing trees at her age, too. We had some good ones in Texas!

There was a fun playground for kids at the nearby "Firehouse Park", too.

San

Kya

Fainting at Funeral

 Mom wanted to attend a funeral of a woman who lived in the Westview Ward with them many long years ago, Evelyn Curry. 

We went on Saturday morning at around 9:30 am. for a 10 am funeral. We were settled in on the chapel pew, kind of close to the front in a side pew. But by about 10:20 or so, Mom was saying she didn't think she could make it to the end of what looked to be a very long service, as she thought she might be fainting. She did not feel well. She slumped over, she was non- responsive off and on. . . She was pale, breathing,  but glassy- eyed or eyes closed. I tried holding her on my shoulder, offered to lay her down on the bench, but the non- responsive- ness was what really scared me. Was she having a stroke? Heart attack? Dying? Diabetic coma? I had no clue. She was just going in and out, but mostly out. I whispered to the people in the pew behind me that "I think we're having a medical emergency,"

Some nice folks behind me offered to call 911, the man helped me walk her out, his Mom grabbed my belongings I'd left behind on the pew while I was assisting Mom to stumble out to the foyer. She said she was feeling nauseous, so I thought it best to get her out before any vomiting took place! We had to climb over people in the pew next to us, while supporting her . . . All this while a funeral service was going on! I'm hoping because most of this commotion took place during a large group musical number that it wasn't too distracting. We tried to be quiet. 

When in the foyer, these nice people, Chloe and Daniel, called and stayed on the line with 911, called Mike Repeatedly on my phone, offered to help in any way. They were so kind. EMT's arrived very soon, but not the ambulance for a few more minutes. She threw up, agreed to go by ambulance to hospital. When she was transferred to the ambulance, there were several more minutes of waiting for the attendants to run tests, get her some fluids. . . While I waited outside and call Our House and Talked to Mike. I felt like we needed to get a copy of her DNR to the hospital to assure that they would not send her to the OR and do emergency Open Heart Surgery or some other drastic things. It DID seem to be a heart issue as her blood sugar was a bit high. 

I followed the ambulance in my car to the hospital. I had to wait outside in the foyer until she was settled in a ER room. She looked SO much better when I got back there! Had color back, was awake, alert, attentive. Whew! 

BUT she had low Oxygen and very low heart rate/pulse. They ran all the obligatory blood and urine tests. The wanted to keep her overnight, but we thought she would rest better at her place. We opted for no oxygen, so she was home in bed by 4:30 p.m. 

All weekend she rested and stayed in, had meals brought in and things seemed to e stabilized by Monday after . . . She had energy enough to take a shower. AND go to the dining room for dinner! 

Resting while waiting in OR

 Those heated flannel blankies are the best! 

Finally-- some FOOD in the ER room. Toasted Turkey and bacon sandwich and a shake.

Back at Our House, in her comfy jammies and ready to rest and relax. And breathe deeply to get her oxygen counts up. She was still a bit weak and dizzy when I left her there Saturday afternoon, but she is getting much better at pushing her button to get help.

And she did! 

Sunday morning she was a bit better, but tired easily after breakfast. They brought the sacrament in to her and even woke her up to do so!.

Monday evening, Nick found her in the dining room having dinner and she said she felt fine.

We THINK that what happened is that she mixed up some heart and other meds. I found a double dose of Carvedilol in a couple of daily doses when I checked her meds. She also had a mix up with a.m./ p.m.  She napped Friday afternoon and slept HARD. When she awoke at 6, she thought it was 6 a.m. Saturday, and took her morning meds, insulin shot, ate breakfast, and then wondered why it wasn't getting light. Then she realized it was NIGHT. She wasn't sleepy, so she stayed up and read, etc. Went to sleep at midnight, woke again at 6 a.m. ate, took meds. . .she doesn't know if they were a.m. or p.m. pills. But whatever she did, it really affected her heart rate. 

I'll be loading up her pill case weekly, or at least checking them for her. 

And SHE will be asking her Alexa device exactly what time it is more often!

Mom's 91st birthday

 

Linda, Sandi, Suz, Donna, Robert

Damian

Sandi with her special gift from Suz. It's a dress they keep passing back and forth to "share" with each other.

Aunt Tuny and Mom, heading off to go visit in the quiet of Mom's room.

Donna, David, Robert, Janet, Mike, Sandi. 

"EAT THAT" days Donna.

These pictures are all backwards, but we had a series of surprises for Mom's 91st birthday.

Donna came.

Robert and Janet came.

David came.

They wined her and dined her for days and she loved it all.

All four kids attended church at Our House with Mom. Then MORE surprises began. Aunt Tuny rode down with Sandi and Suz. We all had a taco dinner together at noon. And we visited. Cousins played games, Damian dropped in, Tuny and Mom rested and visited. By 5 pm we were all pooped out, cleaned up and everyone headed home. Damian was here for a few days of snowboarding at Brian Head ( all alone). 

It was so fun to visit with everyone, and I'm so glad they came to celebrate with Mom!

Hooray-- no more aches!

 What a long cold and flu season we have had! Well, not necessarily a season but a bout with Some sort of a nasty virus. It got both me and mike. We've been kind of down and out most of the holidays. Off and on. We'll feel good for a bit and then it will hit again. 

Today was the first time in a week that I have woken up feeling almost normal. I didn't have a headache and I didn't have body aches. I consider that a big win. Most of Mike's issues had to do with his head and sinuses and being unable to breathe. That hasn't affected me very much. Just a little. And a little bit in my lungs. Most of mine has been the body aches and general fatigue. Most people that we talk to have had something like this, and I hope it is done with us!

Happy New year, 2026

 Snacks and games. 

Damian and Tandy, Pam, Lexi, Braeden and Ella. Me, Mike. Caroline. Later Eric and his friend, Hannah Dawson, joined us. My Mom was tired and passed on the celebration. And we all pooped out at 11 pm ( it was Midnight in Texas!) made our "Happy New Year" toasts with chilled Martinelli's sparkling cider and they all went home to Kanarraville. 

I stayed up reading till one and felt like maybe I was getting a sore throat. 

And yes. It did develop. Ugh.

Been sleeping and fighting off a cold for a day or two now.