4 Bits and tidbits

Gail's familyJust as we were posting last week's newsletter, we received an e-mail from Angela Craine reporting on some of the same things Lynda had told us during the week before. Angie wrote:

"I just wanted to update you on the family. My daughter Michelle and her husband brought little Elizabeth Diane Duay into the world on July 19. Weighing in at 6 1/2 pounds. She was supposed to deliver second only to Josh and Veronica's little girl Mae Aubrey Cleverly. I don't know the details on her size, but she was blessed the last weekend in August, while all the proud grandparents were in town.

"John and Morgan welcomed Sawyer Logan Cleverly into the world 5 weeks early and still weighing more than Elizabeth. Everyone else is doing great.

"Michelle and Dustin have moved their family to Laramie, Wyoming, for Dustin's job. It is a new experience not having all of my little babies near. I have made two trips to Laramie so far and hope to get in a couple more before winter hits.

"I recently have had the opportunity to work from home with my job, which I LOVE!!!! I have a 30-second commute from the backyard to the office, and I have a private bathroom.

"Kris's daughter Caitlin is a cheerleader third year running at OHS [Ogden High School?]. She is a senior. Kyle still is on his mission in Guatemala."

Idaho reunion
Kay and Karen drove up from St. George. They picked Claudia and me up from Bountiful, along with our oldest granddaughter, Meghan (Michael and Shauna's daughter). And we all drove to Idaho for Kira and Dave's wedding reception in Nampa on Friday evening, September 10. The festive event, held in the backyard of LeAnn's brother's house, was lovely, but by the time the sun started going down it was way too cold.

Although much of the Idaho family attended the reception, we didn't get much of a chance to really visit, so we proposed a get-together for the next day, Saturday. Hats off to all who pulled it together on such short notice, especially Gene and Cheryl's daughters. We gathered Saturday afternoon and evening at Gena's house and had an especially delightful time visiting with everyone. And eating our fill of delicious food contributed by so many. Six of the living siblings from the original family (Lyle, Kay, Gene, Dean, Dale, and Jackie) were there, and a lot of reminiscing was going on. Meghan, who is interested in family history, was busy taking notes of the family stories. Later in the evening we adjourned to Dale and LeAnn's house to play games and continue visiting.

Earlier that Saturday Kay, Karen, Claudia, Meghan, and I had driven down memory lane by visiting places where Kay and I spent our childhoods in eastern Oregon and in Nampa. We took pictures of the old farm where we used to live on the state line in Oregon (the house and barns and trees now gone), the now dilapidated Big Bend school, the grade school and high school in Adrian, Ivard and Dorothy's grave site in the cemetery near Nampa, Nampa High School, our family homes on Ventura Drive and out off of Missouri Avenue, and the Scism school. We even got invited inside the home where we lived from 1959 to 1961 off of Missouri Avenue. It has changed a lot.

Sunday morning after we attended a sacrament meeting in Caldwell and as we began our trip back to Utah, we stopped in Boise to visit Jerry and Jim. We had a wonderful visit with them for about an hour. It was one of the highlights of an entirely wonderful weekend.