Darrell and Sheri Smith Histories

Louella May Hatch Eaton

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Luella Mae Hatch

Born January 9, 1889, in Vernal, Utah, to Josepheus Hatch and Martha Luella Thomas. She was the second of thirteen children. Her siblings are Josepheus Jr, Effel, Marion Clark, Sarah Ellen, James Harvey, Louisa Poole, Norman Sharpe (Oden), Oris Theodocia, Jesse and Essie (twins), Erma, and Maggie Veola. Her parents pioneered Ashley Valley and later moved to Deep Crick. Nine of the thirteen children were born in a one room log cabin. Being the second child and oldest girl, she learned to work hard washing clothes by hand, ironing, washing dishes, tending babies, scrubbing the floor, sewing and other tasks. They procured water from a ditch for their household use. They raised a garden and had difficulty getting water to it. Her sister, Effel was 16 months younger and they spent their lives together until they grew up. People called them twins. The whole family was quarantined for nine weeks at one point because of illness. She attended school until the eighth grade, when the twins were born and her mother was sick in bed for six weeks. She liked history, arithmetic, reading, art, geography and penmanship, but she didn’t like algebra. May played the guitar by ear and sang with her sister, Effel, at parties. One song they sang was “Oh, Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight?” They both had low voices and May learned to sing alto. She rode horses “like a streak, sideways or any way” and loved to dance at Jake’s Opera House.

May married Claudest Henson Eaton July 1, 1908, and they were parents to four children, two daughters and two sons: Orva Luella, Claudest Armon, Glenvil LaRae, and DeLoy. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, September 21, 1910, after Orva was born. LaRae died at age seventeen, which was difficult for everyone. After Claude’s death in 1954, May lived with DeLoy and helped her with her four fatherless children for some years, and then spent time with Orva and Armon.

She traveled by jet to Germany to live with DeLoy and Gus. She enjoyed visiting Holland, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Monaco, and Lichtenstein. After returning to the US, she lived alternately with her two daughters. Her last years were spent with DeLoy. She lived until she was 89 years old and passed away March 3, 1978 in Granger, Utah, and was buried in the Vernal Cemetery at her beloved husband’s side.

She had blue eyes and was on the tall side about 5 feet 8 or 9 and had light brown hair as a young woman. Her hair turned white early and she kept it short and stylishly curled all her life. She always dressed neatly and took good care of her face and body. She wore glasses and had false teeth in her later years. She had good posture and a kindly, cheerful disposition. She loved her children, grandchildren and the Lord.

She was faithful in attending church and reading the scriptures and other church books. She had 100% in visiting teaching and wrote a song about the monthly messages one year for the visiting teaching convention. She was a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and helped write a book about the pioneers in Vernal.

Her granddaughter, Sheri has photos of Luella Mae and a short 2- page typewritten life history by Luella. Also see, Martha Luella Thomas and Josephus Hatch Family History, July 1985, 12-13.

Uncle Scott's funeral January 15, 2011

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Some of Darrell's cousins who stayed at the same motel. Neil Lamont (Uncle Art's step-son and) Sylva"s husband (Aunt Thelma's daughter), Dave, Neil's son-in-law, and Marcel.Fun little place!

Uncle Scott's funeral program. Wish I knew how to flip it!

Trip to Ohio to visit Rob and Karen and Family, December 27, 2010-January 1, 2011

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We flew to Ohio on Monday, December 26th, arriving at the Columbus Airport in the early evening. Rob picked us up and took us to his home where Karen had a delicious roast beef dinner for us! We enjoyed many fun activities while we stayed in Lancaster. One day, rob and Karen took us to Ash Cave. It is a land feature where the river has carved out a deep area and left cliffs above and caves under them. Large groups of people could stand under the overhang and be protected from inclement weather, but it is not enclosed. Icicles drip from above, forming beautiful water features at the falls and elsewhere. On one spot where icicles drip, the ice forms on the ground and grows up during the winter. I took a video of this water feature, but for some reason, it will not show up on this blog. The ice feature has grown to about 12-f15 feet and about the same circumference, looking like a huge snowman or a buddha. It was an interesting hike and well worth the short amount of time it took to reach the end where the largest cave and the largest ice feature were.

One day we traveled to Columbus and toured the COSI (Columbus Science Museum). We enjoyed the 3 d movie about building airplanes and jets, experienced the tv weather station area, watched fun experiments with electricity where Jonathan was the guinea pig volunteer, and saw kids unicycling 20o feet up on a wire. Jonathan was in line but it took too long, so he didn't end up doing it.

Darrell and Rob spent a lot of time together making repairs on Rob's home. I taught Jonathan how to count to 10 in Japanese and shopped with Karen and the girls for material for skirts for them. Karen treated us to delicious food, Navajo bread with sausage, eggs, fresh vegetables and cheese for breakfast and the most delicious apple cobble ever made!

That evening we ate dinner at Schmidt's Restaurant, a German place. The sausages were delicious as well as the hot potato salad, sauerkraut, and other yummy things. We enjoyed listening to the tuba, and the accordion with the accordion player singing German drinking songs. "In Munchen in dem trinken Haus, Einz, Zwei, Gesuffa!"

We all spent New Year's Eve at Kent and Georgia Emmers' home, eating homemade pizza and salad, and playing Apples to Apples. Kevin and his children, Mickell, and Tia, were there, as well as Jared, Kim and Mike and their son, Kaleb, and of course, rob, Karen, Jacob, Jonathan, Rachel, Kayleigh and Darrell and I.

We flew home on Saturday January 1st. It was a flight we will never forget. It took three legs to get home instead of the usual two. Columbus to Minneapolis to St. Louis to Salt Lake City. And instead of 6 hours, it was 10-12. At least we did get home in one piece! AND,we had a great time with Rob and Karen's family!

Family photos at Norco Park November 2010.

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Brittany, Darrell, Brianna, Braden, Sheri, with Bailey, Stu with Bridgette.Brittany, Darrell, Brianna, Braden, Deb with Bailey, Stu with Bridgette.
Deb taught Brianna some basketball skills, and Darrell and Stu taught Braden some throwing horseshoe skills. we all enjoyed being outdoors and tried to get out full stomachs to rest. This was the day after Thanksgiving.

More photos of trip to Deb's November 2010

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Deb planned a fun outing to Norco Park. Norco is a horse town. In fact, two riders were there at the park when we arrived. They let us pet their horses. Darrell and Stu played horseshoes, then Braden and Brittany, then Deb and I. We enjoyed the outdoors and playing this fun game.Brittany playing horseshoes at Norco park
Bridgette poses at Norco Park.
Brianna at Norco Park.
Braden tosses a horseshoe. He's a natural!

Trip to Cove Fort November 19, 2010

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We stopped at Cove Fort on our way to visit Deb in California. It's right off I-15 and is open year round. An elderly missionary gave us a personal tour. It was very interesting! The fort is built in a square with the rooms inside the four walls along the edges. Some rooms are connected, but you usually go out into the center outside and then go into the next room. Here is the washing machine of days past. It's a metal board that you rub the clothes on with soap and water to get the dirt out.Darrell is in the boys' room with the rifle.

This quilt has the date it was made on it.
This blue and white quilt is made of wool and linen-linsey woolsey, which makes it warm and comfortable.
Bone dominoes in the boys' room.
All of the rooms are restored to the 1860's use and really do show what people lived like in those days. Glad to live in the 21st century.

Visiting Deb and Stu in California, November 2010

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November 2010-Orange Park near Deb's house. the girls-Deb, Brittany, Bailey, Grandma Sheri, Brianna and Bridgette!Braden and Bailey take a little rest.
Brittany, Brianna and Bailey at Braden's game November 27, 2010.
Braden is the kicker!
Deb, the mom, getting a good shot of her son!

Visit to Steve and Dani September 2010

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One evening in August, 2010, Steve phones to tell us that he has been called to serve in the bishopric of his ward in Houston. He asked if Darrell would fly to Houston and ordain him a high priest. After checking calendars and flights, we made reservations to fly to Houston, Saturday, September 4th, 2010. Steve was sustained, Sunday, August 29. But we weren't able to come that quickly. We did come the following weekend. We arrived Saturday, around noon, and Steve and Garrett picked us up, after choosing a new suit at the mall. We spent the afternoon with the family and in the evening, Steve and Dani took us out to eat at a fancy French restaurant, Chez Nous. It was in a residential neighborhood, and looked like a house. Upon entering it, it seemed much larger than it appeared outside. We had several waiters and servers who kept us supplied with water and rolls. Each of us ordered something divine and enjoyed it immensely. I inhaled the cantaloupe soup. The atmosphere and food were indeed a rich experience that I will not soon forget!

Sunday morning early, September 5th, we met the stake president and Steve's bishop and Darrell ordained Steve a high priest and then Steve was set apart to be a counselor in the bishopric. Their ward meets in the afternoon, so we went home and enjoyed a morning with Garrett and Ethan, playing monopoly. Garrett took the job of banker and played very well.

After church, we enjoyed a good home-cooked meal and finished our game with Garrett, who won! James and Gail Butterfield, old friends from Lake Jackson Ward days, came to visit. We had some fun memories to recall and laugh about. We are so glad we had the opportunity to see them again!

Monday morning, after packing our things, we all drove to Houston to the Natural Science Museum. We spent a couple of hours there exploring a lot of interesting displays. Here Darrell and I stand in front of a huge geode! I love to look at them!

Steve and Dani and Olivia pose in front of an insect display.

One fun place was the butterfly room, with trees and lots of butterflies zooming around all over.

Garrett and Ethan had a lot of interesting things to do here. We even learned about how oil is drilled. We saw a lot of interesting fossils from Utah and from Germany.
Steve and Dani took us to a great barbecue place where we enjoyed some real Texas food, and then we drove to the airport for our flight home to Salt Lake. It was a wonderful weekend with great food, great company, and great entertainment!

Part Three Sentimental Journey

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Oh, good! I finally got the photos on the blog in the right order! Do you like the front gate? Really different, huh? Ok, this house is green, not blue, and certainly not like what we lived in. The gravel in front of us used to be beautiful green grass that our mother worked so hard to put in so many years ago. Sheri, Marsha and Kent pose in this one.

We walked down the block toward the lake and realized how close we had lived to it as children. Kent told us a story about the only time he went there and why he never went back again. Ask him sometime. Government housing was torn down a block from our old home and now there is a fun water park and picnic area with tall trees and green grass growing down to the lake, with no beach. The old Moses Lake High School is now the Junior High across the street from the house. We walked down the block to the church. It is twice the size of our memory with additional classrooms and a larger parking lot. Uncle Jake and Aunt Orva's house by the parking lot has been torn down and is part of the parking lot.

It has been a great experience for me, to see the places of the distant past and have them put into reality again. I enjoyed sharing the memories with my husband and the others. I don't know if they enjoyed hearing them!

Sunday morning, we ate the free breakfast in the hotel, checked out and attended church in the building we had been in many times. The chapel felt so small compared to when I was a kid! The inside of the building had changed, just like everything else! We enjoyed all the meetings and tried to find people we knew or were related to and found a couple of them, but it was hard to find people still living that were there 5o years ago. The ward members were "newcomers" and only two or three had any inkling of who we were. That was ok with me.

After church, we drove around to find Midway Elementary School.
Kent and Sheri pose below the Midway Elementary School sign. We attended school here until June, 1959, when I was in fifth grade. It was built when just before I was in the second grade. It was about 4-5 blocks from our home. The SUV is our rental vehicle while on this journey, and the rest of our group stayed in the car while Eileen snapped the photo.

We stopped at an Albertson's Grocery Store and bought several kinds of flowers for our dad's grave at Kent's suggestion, and went back to visit his grave one more time. We laid and sat in the grass and talked about our dad and our lives. Then we said goodbye and drove out of town.
Sheri poses in front of the entering Moses Lake sign. Hope you can see it. Nobody else wanted to get out of the car. Don't blame them. It was a hot day!
Our return trip to Spokane and on to Salt Lake City was peaceful and restful, but we felt really worn out and glad to be home again. Kent and Eileen acted as great guides and hosts and we felt truly loved and pampered! Thank you very much for your great Christmas Gift to us! We really enjoyed it!

Part Two Sentimental Journey

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Saturday morning, August 7, 2010, we decided to find a Denny's restaurant for breakfast since we couldn't eat at our "favorite" place. Before we reached Spokane, we found a Denny's, but right next to it appeared a European Breakfast Restaurant, with Germanic architecture. There was no dissension about where to go for breakfast when we saw that place! It was adorable! European decorations and sayings were at the windows and every space on the walls. The menus were even fun to read with a story about each item to choose. We all enjoyed something different like biscuits and gravy, Swedish pancakes, aebleskivers, omelets, German potato pancakes, or eggs Benedict with the most delicious Hollandais sauce ever imagined! We really wanted to stay until lunch or take some with us, but our stomachs were too full to complete the thought, so we left with happy hearts and went on our way.

We spent a few minutes at the Spokane Temple, enjoying the peaceful surroundings and beautiful landscaping. A nice pavilion and baseball field adjoined the temple grounds. It too, belongs to the church.

We stopped in Cheney, Washington, a few miles off of I-90 to visit Enoch Lybbert and his wife, Donna, and daughter, Debbie Kerkes and her granddaughter. They gave us maps of Moses Lake and shared some stories of our Lybbert people. Enoch is the grandson of Enoch Lybbert, one of the sons of CFB and Anthonette Lybbert.

The land surrounding Spokane is close to mountains and is covered with pine trees, but as we drove to Moses Lake, the land flattened out and became rocky and treeless. The arable land appeared green or gold with crops of corn, wheat and potatoes. Upon entering Grant County, we read a sign that claimed more potatoes were grown there than in any other county in the US.

We drove through Moses Lake out to the cemetery, found our father's grave with the new headstone Kent ordered. His grave is close to a corner, across the street from the little house where the caretaker lives, about the third grave from the street and close to a pump house. A huge pine tree makes a shady spot for our dad's resting place.

This first photo is Marsha, Kent and Sheri behind Dad's grave. You can see the pump house to my left and the pine tree to Marsha's right.
Eileen and I took photos of Nelson, Marsha, Darrell and Kent. There is an irrigation pipe running in front of us nearly over the headstone. Sorry, I don't know how to turn this photo around.
Eileen, Kent, Nelson and Marsha contemplate.

The next activity was going to Forrest Lybbert's house on his farm close to the graveyard, and visiting with him and his wife Betty. Forrest is Uncle Jake's son from his first wife, Elma Goodrich. (Uncle Jake married our mother's older sister, Orva Eaton, after his first wife died leaving him five children to raise. Uncle Jake also is the youngest child of CFB and Anthonette Lybbert. Jake's sister, Mary Sophia Elizabeth Lybbert, married William Porter Merrell. They had a daughter named Irene, who married Luther Gale. Luther and Irene had a son named Bruce Gale. Bruce Gale married DeLoy Eaton, the sister of Uncle Jake's second wife. Did you get that? No surprise if you didn't. Anyway, Uncle Jake is our uncle in two ways. another related tidbit is that Nelson Williams' grandmother is Elma Goodrich's sister.) It was Uncle Jake who brought many people from Vernal and other Utah towns to help settle and farm in the area around Moses Lake. The Grand Coulee Dam had been built before World War II and after it was over many people migrated to Washington for the rich, inexpensive farmland now available because of the new water source.

Anyway, Forrest and Betty were so kind to visit with us and take us on a tour around Moses Lake and the town named after it. He showed us everything we could remember plus some we didn't even know about the people and places in Moses Lake's past and present. We saw the sand dunes where hundreds of people enjoy the sun, water and three-or four-wheeling in the dunes. The tour included old downtown and farms, Grandpa Gale's property and May and Hiawatha Valleys, beautiful new homes built in a neighborhood where some streets are named Goodrich and Vernal and many other sites.

After returning Forrest and Betty to their home, we checked into our hotel, ate a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and then drove to the part of town where we lived 51 years ago.

Continued in next post.

A Sentimental Journey to Moses Lake, Washington

2010-08-23T19:31:00.001-07:00

Kent and Eileen Gale, my brother and his wife, gave Darrell and me and Marsha and Nelson, our sister and her husband a wonderful Christmas gift last year. The gift turned out to be a trip to Moses Lake, where we lived over fifty years ago. We flew to Spokane, Washington and rented an SUV. On our way out of Spokane, we passed the Deaconess Hospital where our father, Bruce Gale passed away in 1953. Kent showed us a fun mall, where we ate lunch at Edo (Japanese)fast food place. We traveled to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, just a few minutes from Spokane. Eileen had rented a house near the lake, where we dropped off our bags and then walked the few blocks to town. It's a beautiful quaint, tourist town with a large lake that has a huge perimeter because of all the inlets, bays and peninsulas. It was a hot day, but we enjoyed being together and seeing the buildings, lake front and swimmers. Kent rented a boat for the following day and we walked to a great restaurant called Scratch. The gourmet food was absolutely delicious, all made from scratch. Each of us chose a different dish and Kent shared some of his Chinese black rice. It was tasty! We topped our meal off with brownies and ice cream.

When we returned to the house, we found that it felt quite warm and explored it to find the air conditioner and tried to set the thermostat, but it didn't work. The only air conditioner was in one of the two upstairs bedrooms! The bedroom downstairs had windows that wouldn't open for the evening breeze, a double bed and a half bath, with no shower!

The master bedroom upstairs had a fan, a king bed and a walk in bathroom that was spacious and seemed to be newly remodeled with beautiful stone floor and shower walls.

The other bedroom upstairs had the air conditioner, a large flat screen tv, and a king bed, but the bathroom was across the hall.

Eileen graciously chose the downstairs bedroom and I chose the room with the fan, because it had an outlet close to the bed for the CPAP I use every night. I thought Nelson would enjoy the TV. Come to find out the TV had no outlet and the wire cable had no connection to a TV cable service! The next day, when Nelson got in the shower, there was no soap, but he did find the laundry detergent there in the bathroom next to the washer and dryer, so he became the new blue cheer guy!

On Thursday evening, we relaxed in the living room, visiting and enjoying each other's company. We talked of memories of our parents stories about our relatives and ancestors.

Friday morning, everyone except Nelson took a walk for an hour few blocks near the house we rented. We really enjoyed seeing the tallest trees we have ever seen outside of the redwoods, no kidding! The houses and yards were old, small houses all well kept and some were for sale for like $250,000?

We enjoyed eating a delicious breakfast at a cute little, tiny restaurant run by the owner, operator, chef and waitress, all the same person, who said she was quite befuddled because something strange had occurred the previous night, but she wouldn't disclose what it was. Her husband, it seems, usually was there helping her, but not today.

About 11:00 am we drove to the boat rental office and secured the motor boat. Fifteen minutes after the arrangements were completed, we had walked to the pier and were boarding the boat. Kent steered and the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful sights around the blue lake. Pine trees covered the hills surrounding the lake and actually grew right down to the shore. Beautiful mansions and estates and small cabins nestled in the trees. We saw many private docks and boats waiting for a trip on the lake. The sun shone bright in bright blue the sky while puffy white clouds sailed over our heads. The breezes fanned our faces and it was a classic "Lazy Day."

After a great lunch, we found ourselves on a pontoon airplane. Kent and Eileen paid for the excursion, but remained on land. Darrell and Nelson positioned themselves behind the pilot, and Marsha and I sat in the way back, but each of us wore a headset so we could hear the pilot give us his tour of the lake. We took off in the water and curved around the other boats until we had a straight shot and then left the water for the air. It was a glorious sight from the air! For twenty minutes we sailed over the lake and some of the land near it. The pilot pointed out the homes of the rich and famous and taught us some of the history of the plane and the land it flew over. What a fun time!

We were all worn out from the great walks and exhilerating excursions, so we napped. Darrell and Nelson enjoyed reading some books. Eileen and Kent shopped for a fan at Walmart and soap for the bathrooms. Eileen and Marsha also bought some fun fingernail polish at a Del Sol shop. It's clear with sparkles, but turns bright pink in the sunlight.

After a super dinner, we walked to the mall and bought ice cream cones. What a glorious day!

Saturday morning, we walked again, and watched the swim part of a triathlon. We returned home while the first ones out of the water started on the biking part of the race. We wanted to eat breakfast at the same cute little restaurant where we had eaten breakfast the day before, but it was closed. Maybe the woman wouldn't do it by herself two days in a row!

I will add the rest of the trip later.

DeLoy Eaton Gale Heaton

2010-04-22T18:03:00.001-07:00

DeLoy Eaton was born to Louella Mae Hatch and Henson Claudest Eaton in Vernal, Utah, on October 2, 1928. She was the much wanted and eagerly awaited fourth child in the family. Grandma May Eaton was put to bed for the nine months of each of the four pregnancies. She had been diagnosed with disetic acid or probably toxemia, which is now referred to as pre-eclampsia. In Mama’s life history she wrote, quote “To save her life, the doctors wanted to take me. Mom told her doctor she would never give up her baby. A blessing from the priesthood followed and was the answer to her problem. My mom’s faith in God has helped me to know of God’s love for me also. It has been my strength throughout my life.” End of quote. And so, DeLoy was born. Orva Luella, her older sister, was age 19, Armon the oldest son, 14, and Larae, 4 years old. Orva helped take care of DeLoy, and Armon loved her and called her his “little Feegan”. She was very shy as a child and hid behind her mother’s skirts when near other people.

DeLoy spent her young life in Vernal, Utah. Orva’s daughter, Joyce, and DeLoy played and loved each other like sisters. She also enjoyed associating with her Eaton cousins, Norma and Velden in Vernal. Grandpa Eaton hauled cattle, pigs and sheep, buying and selling them in Salt Lake and Ogden. DeLoy and her mother, May, would go on some of the trips and stay in Pleasant Grove, visiting May’s sisters, Oris and Sarah, and DeLoy would play with her Hatch cousins, Joanne, Marilyn, and Ida Mae. When she was 13, her brother Larae, 17 years of age, died of appendicitis. That broke Grandma May’s heart and devastated the whole family. DeLoy had fond memories of her older brother and some not so fond memories of his teasing her. I’m quite sure they have enjoyed a great reunion this past week. Armon built a basement home next door to Grandpa and Grandma Eaton’s house, and he and Aunt Melba raised their four children, Valoy, Maureen, Brent and Lou Anne in that home. Mama wrote that they were all one big happy family. They enjoyed many camping and fishing trips up in the Uintah Mountains.

Mama’s best friend in high school was Ina May Collier Johnson. Just recently, Ina May told me that they had been soul mates and Mama had called her every day for the past two years. In junior high DeLoy participated in the drum and bugle corps and marched in parades in Roosevelt and Vernal. DeLoy thought high school was fun. In the ninth grade she played a clarinet in the marching band. In her junior year she was in Pep Club, on the newspaper and year book staff, and served as Spanish Club President. She also sang in the glee club and in a sextet.

In 1945, when Orva and Jake Lybbert and their family moved to Moses Lake, Washington, Armon drove his truck up to Washington and helped them move. DeLoy, age 16, went with them for the summer. Armon hauled potatoes and DeLoy worked in the factory sorting potatoes. That summer while she was in Moses Lake, she met Jake’s nephew, Bruce Gale, and they dated and fell in love. DeLoy returned to Vernal to finish high school and Bruce lived with his mother’s sister, Elva Manwaring in Bluebell.

In her senior year, Mama participated in the same activities as before and graduated in June 1946. In fact, I understand that Mama graduated from high school one day and was married in the Salt Lake Temple the next day, while she was still seventeen years old. By the time she turned eighteen in October, she was pregnant with me and her friends were away in college having fun.

Bruce suffered with eczema and had terrible itching on his arms and body. He experienced many infections and several operations. At first, they lived with Grandpa and Grandma Eaton until I was born in May, 1947. Then they moved to Salt Lake City. Dad drove taxi and then became a salesman for Century Metalcraft Corporation, a cookware company. They moved to Rexburg, where Kent LaRay was born in August, 1949. We moved again to Ashton and then Pocatello, Idaho, Dad continuing to sell cookware. They decided to move to Moses Lake and live with Grandma and Grandpa Gale.

After a few months, Mama and Dad found a house they could rent. The house needed to be finished and when the main floor was done, Dad worked on the upstairs in the evenings after work. Missionaries rented a room upstairs, and our parents enjoyed having them there. Mama got pregnant with the twins and the house sold, so we had to move again. Linda Loy and Marsha Joy were born in September, 1952.

This time we lived in a two-room cinderblock duplex. They bought a washer and Mama washed diapers and hung them out on the line. She baked bread, nursed the twins and tried to stay sane. The twins had measles and chicken pox while we lived in that duplex. Aunt Orva came over to help Mama take care of the twins sometimes. She would hold one baby while Mama nursed the other one. One night Mama and Aunt Orva held the babies facing each other. All at once they smiled, recognizing each other. Mama wrote, “It was a heavenly feeling.”

Dad did get a better job, selling cars and tractors. One morning, after Dad had gone to work, Mama received a phone call from a doctor, saying that Bruce was in the hospital with a normal temperature. Bruce had insisted he be hospitalized. That evening his temperature rose to 107 degrees. The doctors didn’t know what was wrong with him, so they sent him to the Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Washington. He went into a coma and died a few days later June 23, 1953. The twins were less than 9 months old. Kent was almost four and I was six. It was a very difficult time for us.

We moved into Jake and Orva’s old home and Grandpa and Grandma Eaton came to live with us. Grandpa became ill, so Mama took him, Grandma and the twins to Utah, where they found out Grandpa had cancer. Kent and I rode with Aunt Orva to Utah. Grandpa died in early December. We stayed in Vernal until after Christmas.

After Grandpa died, Grandma stayed home with us and Mama worked sorted potatoes, worked as a receptionist and finally got a good job as a teller in a bank. She always worked hard and made our home clean and comfortable. She sewed a lot of our clothing, tended a garden almost every year, and cooked delicious meals from scratch. We almost never ate out. She was frugal and could pinch pennies until they screamed!

She also taught us to work and to contribute in keeping the home and yard clean and tidy.

Grandma May’s sister, Erma, her husband Stan and their children, Hatch, John, Mereda and Oris moved to Moses Lake from Logan, Utah, and we enjoyed having them nearby.

DeLoy met Gus at a community dance. I remember that they spent hours on the phone. They fell in love and then eloped to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, May 18, 1957. Gus was an Airman First Class, and later a Staff Sergeant, and was stationed at Larson Air Force Base outside of Moses Lake. He joined the church about three weeks after their marriage. On April 17, 1958, Randall Robert Heaton was born. Shortly after that, Gus received orders to go to Ramstein Air Force Base near Kaiserslautern, Germany. We stayed with Gus’ parents in Blue Ridge Georgia for 3 or 4 months until we could fly to Germany. Mother was active in church and taught Relief Society lessons in our branch. We were sent to Travis Air Force Base in the fall of 1961. While living in Vacaville, California, DeLoy gave birth to David Darryl, July 14, 1963. We older children adored our little brothers and helped take care of them but we also teased and terrified them.

Gus received orders to serve in Vietnam and left our family in California in January, 1964. On his way to Vietnam, he stopped in the Philippines and, miraculously, his orders were rescinded for Vietnam and he was stationed at Clark AFB. Our family experienced the adventure of living in the Philippines for about a year and a half. It was here, I turned 18. The month after I graduated from high school, Mama took me to Relief Society and we did her visiting teaching together. She taught me to love Relief Society, to love babies, and to love cooking, baking, sewing, and to love being a homemaker. I left our family in the Philippines to attend BYU.

Gus was sent to Charleston AFB in South Carolina next. The family flew to California and drove across the states for the third time to South Carolina, and Mama was 7-8 months pregnant. Her last baby, Jeffrey Alan was born on Christmas Day, 1965.

Mama always took good care of her children, making sure their needs were met and they received the proper nutrition. She also taught home evening lessons and encouraged us to read the scriptures and pray. We attended church every Sunday, dressed in our best clothes. Not always on time, but we were there every Sunday!

When Gus retired from the Air Force in 1967, the family moved to Granger, Utah. Valoy and Ellie took this family of six children into their home until they found a home of their own. Mama was grateful for their help.

The photo above includes (top to bottom, left to right) Marsha, Randy, Linda, DeLoy, Gus, Jeff and David.

After a few years in Granger, they decided to move to Provo. Gus passed away February 19, 1995. DeLoy lived with Randy and his family from April, 2001 until May, 2009, when she moved to Tucson with David and his family. She passed away March 126, 2010.

DeLoy has seven children, thirty grandchildren and 48 great-grandchildren. She loves them all and tried to keep up with their birthdays this past year by calling them. Of her descendants and spouses, you will find medical doctors, a chiropractor, a university professor, successful entrepreneurs, school teachers, computer geeks, a truck driver, pest control agents, a stock trader, a manufacturing engineer, industrial design engineer, a chemical engineer, an auto repair store manager, budget manager, massage therapist, clerks, secretaries, editors, singers, actors, dancers, musicians, artists, college students, athletes, snow boarders, carpenters, and wonderful homemakers. Her descendants have contributed 45 years of missionary service and have 21 temple marriages. Her family members are kind, loving, generous, helpful, positive and hard-working. She was a diligent, loving mother and grandmother and we honor her for all the good things she accomplished in her life.

Scott velociraptor

2010-04-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

April 10, 2010 after Kalvin's baptism a dinosaur appeared at the church. It was a velociraptor dressed up like Scott!

Richard and Joy Smith

2010-01-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

Our first son, Rich and his wife, Joy, and their children, Kaleb, 14(back), Kolby, 11(left) Katy, 5 (center) and Kalvin, 7 (right) are a busy, happy family. Rich was born at Utah Valley Hospital in 1968, while we, his parents were attending BYU. He was raised in Freeport, Texas, Lake Charles Louisiana, and Cottage Grove, Minnesota. He served his LDS mission in the North Tokyo, Japan. He attended Ricks College, which is now BYU-Idaho and Brigham Young University. He has learned how to work on engines and keeps his cars, trucks and boats in good repair. Rich works as an industrial design engineer and supports his family well. He teaches his family the gospel of Jesus Christ and lives the precepts he teaches. Joy was born and raised in Tustin, California. She attended a junior college in California and BYU, and served an LDS mission in Costa Rica. She graduated in Health and P. E.. She is unwaveringly valiant in living her religion and is a most fun and interesting person! She is so energetic, it's hard to keep up with her activities. Rich and Joy and their family enjoy many family outings as they bike, motor bike, water ski, snow ski and snow board, camp, and hike. The children are involved in karate, football, soccer, basketball, and kickball at one time or another. They play the piano and sing and dance. Joy teaches a twice- weekly kickboxing class, and also runs marathons and participates in triathlons and duathlons. They serve their extended family, neighbors and fellow church members with love and involve their children in work, play and worship. We really appreciate their good lives and love to be around them whenever we have the opportunity!

Lillian Audrey Smith

2010-01-31T21:07:00.000-08:00

Lillian is the third child of Ryan and Lauren Smith. I do not have a photo of her because she passed away a few minutes after she was born. She is a precious part of Ryan and Lauren's family and of the Darrell and Sheri Smith extended family. Her life on earth encompassed one day, September 10, 2002. We all look forward to the day that we can see her again and are working to be valiant and obedient to God, so that we can live with her in the celestial kingdom.

Olivia Clara Smith

2010-01-31T20:58:00.001-08:00

Olivia Smith is Steve and Dani's third child and only daughter. She was born very early, at 29 1/2 weeks, and weighed 2 pounds 10 ounces, on July 17, 2009. That birthday is also Grandma Clara Smith's birthday, who recently passed away. So Olivia has her name. She is a beautiful and fun-loving baby who is adored by her two brothers and parents, as well as her grandparents.

We are grateful that she is healthy and strong and growing and developing well. Her mother writes wonderful stories in her family blog about Olivia. We are so happy she is part of our family.

Katelyn Joy Smith

2010-01-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

Katy is the fourth child of Richard and Joy Smith. She is one of our June babies, born June 25th 2004. Her older brothers are Kale, Kolby, and Kalvin. She is now in kindergarten and loving it. She enjoys learning to read! She certainly knows how to stand up to her brothers and let them know what she wants and likes! I love to see her art-paintings and drawings. She's a real artist!

Katy is a loving, sharing girl who performs with gusto the songs and jokes she learns from her family and at school.
The photo on the far left is her school picture from last fall and the other photo is at our family reunion in August. Kaleigh is on the left, then Katy, Bridgette and Eden. Katy is friendly and kind to her friends and classmates. She is patient with the younger cousins and teaches them and advises them how to have fun! She loves to tease her mom and wrestle with her dad. She gives wonderful hugs and makes everyone want to be her friend! We love to be where Katy is!

Jacob Tyler Smith

2010-01-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

Jacob Tyler Smith is our oldest grandson, son of Robert and Karen Smith. He has an older sister and two younger sisters and a younger brother. He was born on December 30, 1993.

So, he is now sixteen years old!
My how time flies. He's a tall slender fellow with piercing blue eyes and thick rich brown hair. He's very intelligent and quick. This past summer he attended a wilderness scout camp, where he learned to live off the land and hiked many miles. A big milestone in his life. He is looking forward to getting his drivers license and enjoys playing swords. He is currently writing an adventure book which he says he will let Grandma read when it is done.

He doesn't stay still very long, so I have very few photos of him up close. The photos above are from 2007 and the ones below are last summer at family reunion and Thanksgiving Point.

We love this grandson and wish him a good year-the year of sixteen.

Braden Adams Lowe

2010-01-06T20:13:00.001-08:00

Braden Adams Lowe is the third child of Stuart and Debra Lowe, twin to Brianna. He was born on December 19, 2001. Braden is a really active, fun kid. He has bright orange hair and freckles. The photo to the left shows him with his cousin, Kalvin. (Kalvin left, Braden right.) The next photo shows Braden tossing a marble at the family reunion in August 2009. Lynnie and Cameron, his cousins look on. The following photo is Braden after accomplishing the zip line at the family reunion. Wonderful dimpled smile! Braden loves sports, excells in school, plays the piano and is the most fun kid you ever saw. His laugh is infectious! The last photo is one of him looking for Easter eggs in his backyard. He turned eight this past December and was baptized on his birthday. We are all excited about his energietic personality and love to be with him!

Brianna Marie Lowe

2010-01-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Brianna Marie Lowe, daughter of Stuart and Debra Lowe, was born December 19, 2001. The is the second child, but first twin born. Braden is her twin brother. she has blond/strawberry blond hair, which used to be longer, but she cut it and donated it to Locks of Love. Her present haircut is just darling on her. Her fair face is graced with a host of freckles, which her dad says there are 280? Her blue eyes sparkle when she is teasing or enjoying a good laugh!

She is a good athlete and played in the soccer finals this fall in her city. She turned eight this year and was baptized on her birthday. She is a good student, works hard at her assignments and plays the piano, as well. These photos show the tricks and fun activities that she can do in her yard and home.
We love to hear her laugh and see her bright smiling face!

Jonathan Robert Smith

2010-01-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Robert Smith, son of Robert and Karen Smith, was born December 11, 1997. He has an older sister and brother and two younger sisters. He's athletic and solves tricky problems with great creativity and speed. In the photo to the top left (in white shirt), he is participating in a game of marbles with his cousins, Davy, Rylee, Lynnie and Austin Smith at our family reunion in August 2009. IN the next photo down, he is a couple of years younger (front right). He looks like his dad and both of his grandfathers. He's a really fun person who loves to tease and play tricks on people.

He loves riddles and jokes and is quite a literal guy. He is interested in knights, warriors, swords, and knives and enjoys drawing them. He enjoys playing legos and computer games. In the photo lower left, he is at his new home in Ohio, and the lower photo on the right, he is climbing the telephone pole and will go on the zip line when he has walked across the wire. Brave kid! He actually is rarely afraid of things, like his dad. He is precious and we love him and hope to see him again soon! In the bottom photo, he is sporting his happy face as we get ready to leave our family reunion.

Dallin Wallace Smith

2010-01-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Dallin Wallace Smith was born December 16, 1998. He is Ryan and Lauren Smith's oldest child. He has three sisters and a brother and is a loving, kind, polite, intelligent, modest, talented, creative and hard-working boy. He knows how to work and play and can play the piano well, acts in plays, participates in sports like soccer, football, basketball and swimming. He raced in a triathlon with his parents this past summer and did well. He likes to read, earns excellent grades in school, and creates fun projects with things around the house as well as construction type toys like legos and other toys. He's a peaceful person

who listens, thinks and reasons instead of arguing and becoming angry. He tries to do his best
and earned his Arrow of Light this year. He knows who he is and conducts himself accordingly and we all love him very much!

Eden Clara Smith

2010-01-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Eden Clara Smith, fourth child of Ryan and Lauren Smith, came into this world on a Sunday, October 31, 2004. She's real princess and she knows it. Her daddy says you can see heaven in her eyes. That's why they named her Eden, and Clara is her great-grandmother Smith's given name.

Here she is at our Darrell and Sheri Smith Family reunion last August, 2009.

She is interested in learning to read and loves to write letters. She enjoys her preschool classes. She's a good artist and loves to play with her many Barbie dolls. She challenges Grandma to games and puzzles galore and plays a long time. Eden is fun to be around and has a winning smile that we all adore. She's a smart cookie and we all love her a lot!

Sydney Fay Smith

2010-01-06T18:17:00.001-08:00

Sydney Fay Smith, born October 27, 2006, is now over three years old. Her parents, David and Nichole Smith, tell her she is so cute. So I ask her, "Why are you so cute, Sydney?" She answers, "Cause my dad told me." So then her dad asks her the same question, and she answers, "My grandma told me." She is so grown up, three going on thirty. She thinks she can do anything and she's just about right! She loves to help Grandma in the kitchen, with laundry, and decorating for Christmas. She loves all three of her brothers and her two sisters. and they all love her!

Sydney makes messes and then cleans them up when she is asked to. She likes to draw and color and loves to have stories read to her. She has a really fun laugh and makes the sweetest comments about how much fun some activities are. The first photo was taken in August at our Smith family reunion; the second on Jesse's birthday in July and the last photo was when she was about eighteen months old. She's our beautiful little princess and we all love her very much!

David Alexander Smith Born October 1, 1997

2009-10-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

Davy, the oldest son of Dave and Nichole, is a wonderful kid who just turned twelve! He attended the Priesthood Session of General Conference with his father,grandfather, uncles and cousin for the first time! Grandpa said he looked so handsome in his long sleeve white shirt and his hair combed so neatly!
Davy reads voraciously and has the vocabulary to prove it. He is loving and kind to his friends and siblings and polite to adults. He can carry on a conversation about almost anything with ease and knowdege. He and his brother, Kaden, found chipmunk tracks in the grease under the grill at our family reunion. Grandpa cut the cardboard out so they could save their find! Davy enjoyed the marble games we played at family reunion and did a good job keeping everyone entertained! He loves to play baseball and enjoys drawing, too! Below is a photo of him when he was about 18 months old. We are grateful for his good life and love him very much!

Cameron Elise Smith born September 30, 2000

2009-10-05T11:23:00.001-07:00

Cameron, the girl in the green shirt in the photo on the left is a star shining brightly in our family. She is Ryan and Lauren's second child and oldest daughter.
Cameron is a remarkable girl who skipped kindergarten and is in the top of her class. She plays the piano well, dances ballet well, writes fantastic stories, recites poetry with feeling, and has acted in several plays. In January, she will perform in The Wizard of Oz. She has a cute freckly face with a darling nose and reddish brown hair. She's pleasant to be around and has a good sense of humor, as well as being very hard working and helpful. When her parents were out of town, she did her brother's chores while he was at football. She wanted to please her mother and help her brother! We love her very much!

Amanda Rose Kay Smith born August 23, 1990

2009-10-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Amanda, or Mandie, is our oldest grandchild, daughter of Rob and Karen. She is a talented girl who sings with a beautiful, clear-as-a-bell voice, and has been heard singing most of the day since she was a little tiny girl. She enjoys writing poetry and has a mind of her own. She is a tall, slender, beautiful young woman with delicate skin and beautiful brown eyes and brown hair. She is stalwart in the gospel and shares it with her friends and coworkers. Recently she accomplished a very difficult assignment; she graduated from training in the Army Reserves, where she trained as a police officer. Kudos to you, Amanda. We are very proud of you!! I don't have a a good photo of her in my computer, so I'm hoping she will send me one. There is one on her facebook page.

Rachel Lynn Marie Smith born August 7, 2001

2009-10-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Rachel is the fourth child of Rob and Karen.
She has her father's dark hair and her mother's beautiful light skin and dramatic eyes. She's a tender, sensitive soul and very loving and forgiving. She loves to help on big projects and does a really good job! She enjoys learning and is intelligent and creative! The photo on the left is Rachel with her cousin, Brianna at our Family Reunion in August, 2009. The photo on the right is at Thanksgiving Point a week later. She was baptized in September and was so excited to tell us about it! We love her very much and wish we could be there with her when she has special events in her life!

Austin Ryan Smith born July 27, 2006

2009-10-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Austin Ryan Smith is the fifth child of Ryan and Lauren Smith. He's an intelligent boy who likes to tease and make people happy and laugh. He is also very loving and sensitive. He has a hunger to learn and can play board games extremely well for a person his age. He has a very handsome face with dreamy eyes and well proportioned features. He'll certainly be a knock out as he grows up. This photo shows him at our Smith Family Reunion in August, 2009 at Heber Valley Young Women Camp, watching a marble tournament. Grandpa and I are just tickled to have him in our family! We love him very much!

Jesse Ryan Smith born June 22, 2005

2009-10-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

Jesse Ryan Smith is the fifth of six children in Dave and Nichole's family. He's a smart thinker and keeps us on our toes, asking all kinds of questions and never forgetting anything.

The first photo was taken on his fourth birthday, just a few months ago. The lower photo was taken in February. As you can see, he's handsome and looks a lot like his older brother, Davy and his dad, David.
He is a joy to have around and we love him very much!

Kaleigh Ann Smith Born May 15, 2005

2009-10-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

Kaleigh Ann Smith is the youngest child of our third son Robert and his wife, Karen.

These photos were taken at our family reunion at Heber Valley Young Women Camp, on August 18th, 2009. Kaleigh is a bright, unflappable and happy child. She is very loving and giving and a deep thinker. It's fun to cuddle with her and read stories. She has her mother's big beautiful eyes and her father's courage. Her dark hair falls in soft curls down to her shoulders. We haven't been around her as much as most of the other grandchildren and feel really blessed that we could see and be with her this summer. We love to be with her, she's so much fun!

Trip to Texas-Thursday evening

2009-07-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

Steve, Dani and I enjoyed an evening out on Thursday, June 5th. We drove to downtown Houston and saw the play, "Fiddler on the Roof ," with Topol as Tevya. The theater was a beautiful place and the play was very well done. I really enjoyed being there with Steve and Dani. It was a very special evening; one I will long remember!

Trip to Texas-First Two Days-Wednesday & Thursday

2009-07-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Dani picked me up at the Houston airport early in the afternoon on June 3, 2009. It was the last day of school for Garrett, and he was out! I was amazed at how much older Garrett looked and how much bigger Ethan was. Dani is still tiny to me, but she thinks she is huge-being 5 months pregnant. It felt good to be in their house again. Dani is neat as a pin and her place is homey and very comfortable. I had a room to myself upstairs across the house from the boys' rooms. Upstairs there is a toy room/loft, an office, a bathroom and three bedrooms. I took a nap later in the afternoon and we enjoyed a fun evening with Steve. He showed me the video games he plays and I tried to play without screaming. The one game I remember well is throwing the cow. Poor thing, I always threw her right where she was and never got her very far. What a game!

On Thursday, Dani, the boys and I went for a nice walk around their neighborhood and fed the ducks at the lake close by. Then on our way home, we stopped at the playground near Garrett's school for a few minutes.

Trip to Texas-Sunday in Lake Jackson

2009-07-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

I don't have any photos taken on this day. Steve drove me down south of Houston on Hwy 288 to Lake Jackson, where we lived from 1970-1981. It seems like ancient history to think back on those days. As we drove, I told Steve stories and experiences from our life in Lake Jackson so he would know some of the people we would meet at church that day. We arrived during Sunday School class for the 9 am meetings, went in and sat down. I recognized two women, Debbie Kennemer (I had called her on Saturday and she had encouraged me to come and see our old friends.) and Sandy Simiskey. After class an elderly brother passed by me and I asked him who he was. It was Jimmy Guest! He visited with me and remembered Darrell and me and went to get his wife, who works in Primary. Ollene did not remember me. Peggy Aldous updated me on her family. She looks happy and I rejoiced to see her firm in the gospel! Steve attended priesthood while I attended Relief Society. Afterwards, he took me to the gym where priesthood met and introduced me to Bruce Goodrich, who said that Darrell was his first bishop and had married him to the Middleton girl. He gave me his email address, etc. Steve and I also met Victor and Virginia Bond, James and Gail Butterfield, Jan French, Vicky and Rodney Clayton, Doris Powers and her new husband, Patrick Simiskey, Jack Perry and his son, Shelton Price, and Steve Erickson. Doris Powers was excited to meet Steve and could hardly believe he was all grown up. The Bond's told us about the mission they served in the Pacific Islands. Vicky said she heard my voice as I walked down the hall, and that she could recognize, but my face was a little difficult to see who I was. It's my hair, right? Rodney recounted how just a few days previous to our visit he had driven past our home on Pine Street and had said to himself, "There's where my first bishop used to live." He told me how he found the church and how he met Vicky and married her. He also said that Darrell had called him into the bishop's office and asked him to be the assistant scoutmaster. The following Sunday from the pulpit, he also called him to be the deacon's quorum advisor. That was quite a surprise, but Rodney has been a great member of the church, serving in most callings, including in the bishopric and on the high council. It was a blessing to me to see the people that I served, and who served me those long years ago.

Trip to Texas-Friday at the beach

2009-07-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

We spent Friday, June 5, 2009 at a beach on Galveston Island with two other friend families from Steve and Dani's ward. I sat in a lawn chair and soaked in the sun and shade, enjoying every lazy minute! Here you can see Dani and Steve, then Steve and Ethan.

One fun thing they did was build sandcastles and lakes with streams.
Steve took his boys out in the surf and they jumped the waves over and over again! Dolphins entertained them for a couple of minutes. When they finally spied a jelly fish, late in the afternoon, they decided to come on in. After enjoying the day at the beach, we found a fun restaurant with an upstairs patio and filled up on yummy hamburgers, fries and shakes. It was a great day!

The next day was Steve's birthday. Garrett and Ethan helped me blow up balloons and filled the living room with 31 of them to honor Steve's special day. The boys discovered 101 fun games to play with balloons. Secretly, we adults wished they would pop faster than they did!

Steve and I pose in their kitchen for a mom and son shot.

Kolby Garrett Smith

2009-07-01T18:52:00.001-07:00

Kolby, born June 11, 1998, is the son of Richard and Joy Smith. He completed his Webelos Scout requirements by March, 2009, so he was sent to 11 year old scouts early. Here he is at Great grandma's 80th birthday party, October, 2008, with is dad. (I've just got to get more photos of our grandchildren!) You can see he has red hair and freckles, quite a handsome kid! He is a really entertainig and personable boy, with lots of energy, but very polite and a hard worker. He plays the piano and almost has his black belt in karate. He also is a good baseball player and excels in whatever he tries! He earns good grades in school and his family, including Grandpa and Grandma, loves to be around him!

Merilyn Marie Smith

2009-07-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

Lynnie, daughter of David and Nichole Smith, was born June 11, 2001. This is her eighth birthday! She will be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in July! She is an enthusiastic, bright, fun young lady. In these photos, it is almost apparent that she has beautiful red hair and a host of pretty freckles. She loves school, especially reading, and loves to help at home. She takes good care of her little sisters and brother. She is very athletic and can do anything she sets her mind to do. We love her and congratulate her on her 8th birthday! She sang in her class opera in the spring. She was a dragon and was very energetic and cute on stage.

Ethan Daniel Smith

2009-07-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

Introducing Ethan Daniel Smith born May 17, 2007, son of Steven and Danielle Smith. He is a happy boy most of the time, except when his two year old tantrums erupt! See happy photo number 1 and tantrum photo number 2. As you can see, he's a handsome boy with blond hair and blue eyes and a really nice smile!

He really enjoys going for walks and feeding the ducks! He knows a lot of words and repeats everything anybody says to him. That is how people learn fast! Ethan is eager to learn new skills and is often heard to say, "Try it!" He loves balls and balloons and playing with his older brother Garrett. He is loving and friendly and his brother adores him.

Grandma is really glad she was able to visit and get to know him for a week in June.

Trip to California

2009-05-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, April 9th, 2009, Marsha and I flew to California to visit our loved ones there. Linda and Frank picked us up at the airport while it was still morning, so we enjoyed a lot of the day together. After arriving at Linda’s, we ate and then exercised. The torture we go through with Linda is walking fast, uphill, climbing a huge set of stairs FIVE TIMES, up and down, up and down…go, go, go! Of course, I go slowly and do it maybe two or two and a-half times. How do you do a half? Well, you go half way up and then down. We walked three or four miles, on sidewalks and a trail through a beautiful little canyon behind some of the neighborhood. We passed parks, schools and plenty of homes. The air was warm, sun shining and beautiful flowers were in bloom everywhere, so it wasn’t a complete torture.

We ate lunch at Souper Salad. I didn’t eat too much and only two bites of a sugar-free lemon mousse! Jackie and Brandon were finishing a little vacation, so they picked me up and took me to Deb’s in time for supper and a baseball game with Braden. Braden ran so fast with his brace on, I could hardly believe it! Bailey and I became re-acquainted, and I recorded her saying, “baby”. She has such a beautiful voice! Braden moved his mattress into the girl’s room and slept there while I slept in his room on Bridgette’s bed. Deb always takes good care of me!

Friday was a special day for Bridgette. She had a birthday party with two good friends, Isabella and Sarah. They dressed up like princesses and the princess doll came in her blue dress. They played fun games Deb set up, like pin the horn on the unicorn, fishing, dance to the strobe lights, and coloring. Deb decorated the dining area with pink streamers and balloons. The cake was a tiny Sleeping Beauty.

I had so much fun with Bailey. She played peek-a-boo with me and started saying, “Boo!” Then she said eye when we played with a doll. It was like she was hungry to learn new words!

Saturday was a busy day, with a Primary party for the children, decorating Easter eggs at home, and the Easter Bunny coming later in the afternoon. He left a large number of eggs filled with candy and he hid all the boiled eggs and candy eggs for the children to find in the yard.

Sunday, Deb spoke in church and gave a wonderful talk about the Savior and his atonement, quoting Elder Holland’s latest conference talk. I was happy to be there and hear her speak. We took photos when we arrived home, and ate a great dinner of ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, pistachio salad, green salad and carrot cake for dessert. The weather cooperated, and we enjoyed a great time eating and laughing outdoors on the patio. (Linda and Frank, Brandon and Jackie, Kate, Matt and Annie, and Dave and Christy, Marsha, all of Deb and Stu’s family and I participated.)

I went home with Frank, Linda and Marsha to spend Sunday night and Monday. We girls talked a lot and slept a little that night. In the morning, we drove over to the gym where Frank exercises and spent an hour on aerobics and weights. Good exercise!

Monday afternoon, we headed back to Corona and visited with Jackie in their new home while Deb spent a crazy afternoon diving to and from piano lessons and baseball practice with her children. We enjoyed dinner and Family Home Evening Monday night and left the next morning for the airport. Brittany cried and had a hard time letting us go. Deb drove us and we visited and sang songs all the way. It was a good trip, but too short.

Brittany Rae Lowe, birth May 11, 1999

2009-05-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here is our beautiful princess, Brittany, who is turning 10 soon. The top photo shows her pushing two of her sisters in swings. She loves her siblings and helps take care of them very well. She is a brilliant student, a creative artist, learning the piano, and even a good singer. She has participated in soccer and ballet and is currently in Girl Scouts. She has a lot of good friends and is sweet and kind. She is trustworthy, responsible, and tender-hearted. Happy Birthday, sweet princess!

Kaden Clark Smith, birth May 6, 1999

2009-05-04T14:41:00.001-07:00

As you can see from the above photos, Kaden is a lively boy that loves to do fun things. These photos are actually from last summer at Jumping Jacks and the Pinewood Derby. He is a loving boy who is very active, yet enjoys quiet activities, too, like Gameboy and adventure movies. He is wise and learning to make good choices, polite, takes good care of his younger siblings, enjoys cooking, and likes reading books like Eragon (and I can't remember the other set of books). He actually won second place at the Pinewood Derby for the Bear Scouts last week. I don't have a photo of his winning car. We love him and his very fun sense of humor. I really love to hear him laugh. It just makes me feel so good! He's a great kid to have around!

Bailey Ryann Lowe, Birth May 19, 2008

2009-05-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Bailey, born last year is our fourteenth granddaughter, the fifth child of Deb and Stu. She is already showing a strong personality that enjoys entertaining and loves to learn and help her big sister. She is very loving and energetic. She can already say lots of words, like baby, daddy, boo, bye bye, eye, thank you, and night night. What a joy to have her in our family! What hair she does have, which is about 1/16 th of an inch, seems to be red like her brother, Braden and she has blue eyes. she is a precious gem among our jewels!

Bridgette Savannah Lowe, Birth April 12, 2005

2009-05-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

The above photo is Bridgette at her 4th birthday party. Of course, it ws a princess party. Being the fourth child, she can take care of herself just fine, thank you. She is fun, smart, wise beyond her years, cute and likes to help. when she was only two, actually less than that, she wanted to help me wash walls and paint as we were getting ready to move. Quite a remarkable girl. We all love her very much.

In April, I was at Deb’s house eating lunch with Deb and Bridgette. Bridgette asked me if Grandpa likes pirates. I said, “Yes, he does. How did you know?” (Grandpa likes the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.) She answered, “Because he’s a boy.”

I rode in the back of Deb’s van with Bridgette. She told me,
“When I grow up and have a baby, my mama will be the Grandma, and she will stay with us.”

A little while later, I told her, “Bridgette. I’m going home to Grandpa and I’m going to tell him all about you. What do you want me to tell him? Should I tell him that you are beautiful?” She replied as grown up as can be, “No, cute.”

Kalvin Davis Smith, born March 10, 2002

2009-03-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

See that adorable rehead boy hugging his sister with gusto? That is Kalvin. (Photo from 2005)He has a winning smile and energy to go with it! He is an expert driver of motorcycles, little battery powered cars, and electric drills. He can jump and dance, sing and draw. He even made a bench for his playhouse all by himself last fall! He is smart and handsome, fun and able to size up situations really fast! He is an innovator and an artist and does well in school and in sports. We love this guy and enjoy being around him every time he comes to our house!

Kalvin with his two older brothers, Kaleb and Kolby. (2005)

Rylee Ann Smith Birthday March 10, 2003

2009-03-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Those three girls above are left to right: Rylee Smith, Brianna Lowe and Lynnie Smith. The photo below is Rylee. As you can see, she has red hair and blue eyes, and a sweet smile. She is a loquacious child and has an outstanding vocabulary. She is quite peaceful and hardly ever fusses or fights. She loves to read, draw, color and play games and do puzzles. She's a beautiful princess and we all love her very much! This photo is a couple of years old. She now wears braids or ponytails most of the time.

Granddaughters

2009-02-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

We have fourteen granddaughters. They are Amanda (Mandie) Rose Kay Smith, 18; Brittany Rae Lowe, 9; Cameron Elise Smith, 8; Merilyn (Lynnie) Marie Smith,7: Rachel Lynne Marie,7; Lillian Audrey Smith, deceased; Brianna Marie Lowe, 7; Rylee Anne Smith, 5; Katelyn Joy Smith, 4; Eden Clara Smith, 4; Bridgette Savannah Lowe,3; Kaleigh Ann Smith, 3; Sydney Faye Smith, 2; and Bailey Ryanne, 9 months. In December, we had a granddaughter party for all the girls in town. We played carroom and Chinese checkers, made pretty paper fans, ate ice cream sandwiches and drank pop. We planned to start a club and named it the Cutie Pie Princess Club. Here is a photo of nine of our princesses. Three of the ones who were not here live in Ohio and one was sleeping when the photo was taken.

Garrett Steven Smith

2009-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

Garrett Steven Smith, son of Danielle Jan Sudweeks and Steven Gale Smith turned six in the month of January. He is the oldest of two sons and really takes good care of his little brother, Ethan Daniel. He started Kindergarten in September and really enjoys school. He learned to read at home a couple of years ago and reads on the third grade level. He loved to sort legos with Grandpa when he and his family visited us in September. The lower photo was taken in December 2005.

Kaleb Richard Smith is our first grandson.

2009-01-25T09:46:00.000-08:00

Kaleb Richard Smith is our first grandson, the son of Richard Darrell Smith and Joy Lorraine Davis. He turned 13 this month. He plays the piano well. He has composed a piece of music that sounds similar to Pachelbels Canon. I love to hear it. He plays the clarinet in school and has learned to play the guitar from his Uncle Scott. He certainly is a multi talented guy, since he also excels in football and karate as well as achieving 4.0 + in his middle school subjects. He cheerfully helps others and is clean and neat, a good scout working on his merit badges and requirements for Life Scout and then Eagle.

Rich and Joy show off their three week old son,Kaleb, 1996.

Part Two Family Reunion 2008

2008-12-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

Scott helps Rich get boat ready to go.

Rylee Ann Smith is having a good day on the beach at Deer Creek!

Kaden, Davy and Kolby are out there in the water. Maybe you can see them. They did have fun!

Lynnie and Cameron play together on the beach. Kale all decked out for skiing in fancy swim shorts and life vest. The water was up to the trees behind Kaleb last time we came here, a couple of years ago.

Jesse just loved that oreo cookie! Grandpa and Scott look on.

Our beautiful Miss Sydney! Who knows whose knees those are!

And she's ready to go boating!

Joy helps Kalvin don life vest, while David and Sydney look on. Katy enjoys the afternoon, too.

Dallin and Eden. It was a bright, sunny day, perfect for water sports!

There's a little video of Austin saying, " OH, Man!" It's down this page a little way. I'm having some issues with this blog, adding photos as I go. Oh, well, it's a good thing to write on blogs, isn't it?

Family Reunion at Deer Creek Reservoir, June 28,08

2008-12-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a family reunion last June at Deer Creek Reservoir. Rich brought his boat and toys. Most of us enjoyed riding on the boat, skiing, or riding behind the boat. Rich, Dave, and Ryan and their families, Scott, Darrell and I attended. We had a blast!

Austin said in a very cute voice, "Oh, man!"

Kaleb Stories

2008-11-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

December 21 and 22, 1997

On Sunday, December 21, 1997, David Alexander Smith was given a name and a blessing by his father, David Thales Smith. All of David Senior’s siblings were there with their spouses, except Rob and Steve. I was holding Kaleb during the proceedings. Great Grandma Heaton sat next to me. I told Kaleb that Grandma Heaton was my mommy and pointed to her. Kaleb responded, “Big Grandma?” After the meeting was over, someone pointed to Great Grandpa (Thales) Smith and said that he’s Papa’s (Grandpa Darrell Smith) daddy. Then Kaleb said, “Big Papa.” Then we were looking at the picture of Jesus on the wall in the Relief Society room where we held the blessing. Kaleb says, “Jesus. Jesus Smith.”

During the Sacrament Meeting we attended after the blessing of baby Davy, Kaleb sat on Darrell’s lap. Kaleb calls him Papa. I was holding baby Davy. Kaleb was coloring and took a crayon, holding it like his mother holds lip protector, and used his finger to “get lipstick and put it on” Grandma and baby Davy.

Sunday evening, we had dinner together and we opened gifts at Rich and Joy’s house. Darrell and I gave Kaleb a Fisher Price barnyard set with a big barn that opens in half and has stalls and an attic with a place to put each animal. There are also fence pieces, a farmer, a tractor with a trailer, a cow, horse, pig, sheep, and chicken. We had Kaleb open his gift first. He tore the wrapping off deliberately and was happy to see a picture on the front. He said, “Toys!” Scott helped him open the big box. He was really happy and excited to see all the pieces and played quietly with them all the rest of the time that we opened gifts. After Rich and Joy put him to bed, I went past his room to the bathroom, and he saw me. He said, “Barn, Grandma.” I went and ogt him a couple of the toys. He said, “More toys, more toys.”

The next day at Debby and Stu’s wedding reception, I was sitting and watching people dance and about ready to cry, thinking about Deb being married. Kaleb walked up to me and asked, “Dance, Grandma?” so I picked him up and we waltzed away!

Kalvin's Grandma needs to have kids story

2008-11-30T20:15:00.000-08:00

9/9/07

Two separate times and several months apart, when I was watching Kalvin in our home in Riverton, he said to me, “Grandma, you should have some kids.” I think he wanted someone to play with bedsides me. I replied to him that Grandpa and I did have kids, but they were all grown up and his daddy was our oldest one. I showed him the photos in our living room with Grandpa and me and all our children and pointed his dad out to him.

Bridgette Story

2008-11-30T20:14:00.000-08:00

Bridgette Story
November 23, 2008

I was talking to Deb on the phone a week or so ago and she told me this story. Bridgette went to a community preschool for a few weeks. One day, about a week after Halloween, a friend, Monica picked up Bridgette and her daughter, Isabella from preschool. Then Deb picked Bridgette up at their house and took her home. On the way home, Bridgette asked if she could have a piece of candy when they arrived home. Deb told her she could after she ate her lunch. Then Bridgette said that she had already eaten her lunch at Monica’s house. Deb looked at her watch-11:45 a.m. “Ok, she could have had lunch already,” she thought, but she asked Bridgette, “What did you eat for lunch?” Bridgette replied, “Chicken nuggets.” “What else did you eat for lunch?” “Hot dogs.” “Did you have anything else?” Then silence and next, “I don’t know the name of it, but it was good.” Deb said, “I’ll call Monica and ask her.” Bridgette is silent, then says, “No, don’t call Monica, she knows what it was.” So, Deb asks Bridgette if she really did eat lunch and she told her mom no. Deb had the opportunity to teach her to tell what really happened. A three year old is pretty crafty but not crafty enough, thank goodness!

The Allred's and the Gale's

2008-11-23T17:08:00.000-08:00

When Darrell and I were dating in 1967, and probably about the time we were engaged to marry, Darrell invited me to go to Lehi one Sunday afternoon and meet his Grandmother Reba Allred. When we knocked on her door, she opened it, Darrell introduced me to her, and she immediately asked me if I knew Bruce Gale. I felt a shock and answered he was my father, but that he had passed away when I was a child. This was all before she let us in the door. The Gale’s had twelve children and seven of them were boys that lived to adulthood. How did she guess Bruce was my father? Maybe his name was the only one she remembered. As it turns out, the Gale family would walk to church, and as they passed Grandma Allred’s house, she and her family would walk with them. The Gale family address was 150 N. 400 E., Lehi, Utah. It has been interesting to us to know there was a previous connection.

2008-11-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

Rob Story

One day when Rob was about three years old, he came to me and said that he wanted to play “winkin wogs”. I’m sorry but my brain must have been kinked or fried. I could not guess what “winkin wogs” was. I should really have been able to understand him because he didn’t say his L’s for a while. Lincoln Logs. Duh!!!!

Ryan Story

2008-11-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

One day when we lived at 212 Caladium in Lake Jackson, Texas, Ryan and Debby were playing in the living room and I had a very bad headache, so I lay down on the carpet to be by them and maybe get some relief. Three-year old Ryan came over to me and asked, “Mommy would you read me a story?” I said that I had a really bad headache and I couldn’t do that. He told me that I could if we said a prayer. So I told him that he should pray because I hurt too much. He prayed a simple prayer asking for Mommy’s headache to go away. When he was done, he asked me if it was gone and I told him that it wasn’t. So he said another prayer, and then asked me again. And do you know what? My headache was gone. I did get up and read him a story and felt better the rest of the day.

2008-08-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

Lauren’s Accident July 30, 2008
Written August 3, 2008
Lauren attended her ward’s Young Women Camp some of this week. She asked me to tend her children for a few hours on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday, so I did. Wednesday morning, I drove to Ryan and Lauren’s house about 8:15 in the morning. Ryan had fed his children breakfast and they were all dressed for the day. Dallin was practicing the piano. Ryan was cleaning up breakfast. When he was ready to go to work, he called his family around him and they had family prayer together. Then he reminded Dallin and Cameron that he had asked them on another day to start reading the Book of Mormon every day, one chapter a day. Dallin complained that it would take too long to read a chapter a day and Ryan was patient and talked and listened to Dallin until Dallin agreed to read a chapter a day. Then Ryan hugged and kissed each child and left for work. Cameron went into her room and read. I read on the couch with Dallin. It was a good day. A realtor called and asked to show the house between four and five o’clock that afternoon. Just before four, Dallin and I straightened up the house and were just going out of the house just after four, when Lauren drove up from Young Women Camp. I told her about the house being shown and she hurried in to do a couple of things and then we decided they would come over to our house for just a little while. Lauren backed out of the driveway and left and I turned my car around and followed her out of the neighborhood. As we approached our street off of the highway, Lauren didn’t turn, but passed our street and then pulled over to the right and was preparing to make a u-turn. Then I turned right and went on to our house. Looking back, I didn’t see her coming, so I continued on around the back to park in our garage. When I came in the house, Lauren wasn’t parking in front, like I thought she might have done, so I got my keys and decided to get the mail and check out what she was doing. She hadn’t called me to tell me she had changed her mind. I was wondering what she was doing. I got my mail and started walking to the corner. A man was walking his dog and said, “I heard it”. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but as I looked at the highway, there were cars backed up in the northbound lane waiting for something. Then I turned the corner and Lauren had been in an accident. The front bumper and hood of their van was off and debris scattered over the road for about fifty feet. What a shock! Another car was banged up, but I mostly paid attention that Lauren was standing out in the street talking to other people and the children were all safe in their car seats. She saw me and walked over to me and said it was all her fault and that she had just not seen that other car coming from behind me and it hit her when she started to turn around. I hugged her and she said she was trying to hold it together. She said someone had called the police and her phone battery was dead and she couldn’t even call Ryan. I handed her my phone and we decided that I would take the children to my house and she would stay there until everything was taken care of. Dallin and Cameron seemed to be calm, Eden was a little shaken, but Austin kept saying, “Mommy broke car!” We walked up the block to my house and went in. Austin just kept repeating it over and over and seemed really agitated. He wouldn’t eat or drink and cried and worried. I tried to tell him that Mommy was OK and they could get a new car. We heard the police sirens. I told the children that when bad things happen, Heavenly Father makes good things out of them. Cameron reminded us that they had had their family prayer that day and had read their scriptures. Austin continued to fuss and worry, so I took him back to the scene of the accident to show him that everything was alright. Ryan was there, the police had finished their investigation, the tow truck arrived and the men had started sweeping the street. I helped Ryan and Lauren unload their van of their belongings and they comforted Austin. Austin was willing to let me take him back to my house and he calmed down a little. Grandpa came home from work, and Ryan and Lauren came to get their children and take them home. We are all extremely grateful that no one was hurt. Everyone was safe. Thank Heavenly Father for his kind and watchful care over us. I’m thankful for good sons who love Heavenly Father and are obedient and teach their family to be obedient and the children are obedient. What a wonderful day to have our family safe! I pray that all our children and grandchildren will have soft hearts and be willing to listen to the Holy Ghost and do what is right. I love each one and want us all to be together in the Celestial kingdom, no exceptions!