Snow and Birthday

We drove to Snow College and helped Rachel pick her classes for next fall.

She is excited to get her college career started.

Rachel also had a birthday. Our little spaz is 19 years old. Hard to believe but she is quick to remind me she is an adult. Ha! I don't know why kids want to grow up so fast. In this images Rachel is excited about her new iPod. In the background Richie is sad he does not have an iPod.
She also received a beautiful painting from Jessica and Dan. I think she is planning on leaving this here when she goes to Snow (at least I can hope). These gifts were her birthday present and Graduation gifts combined.

The Day of the Mustang Cobra Has Arrived

The Cobra has landed! For the last five years I have been seriously looking for this car. Uncle Doug has been looking for just the right car for me and wow did he find the right set of wheels. Both Doug and Greg told me this is the one so with help from Doug we were able to get the car. This bad boy is loaded with 500+ horse power. This pony powerhouse loves to sprint. This car does not like to be driven slow...... it wants to run, run, run. Both Richie and I are happy Mustang Cobra owners. Yea !!!! These pictures do not do this car justice. Click on the images if you want a larger view.

The Surgeon General advises those with health problems not to click on these images. The excessive excitement could cause over stimulation and hospitalization.

Snow in the Spring!

Last night it began to snow. The images below were taken this morning. A light snow feel all day long. We are getting a cold front and 3-4 inches of new snow tonight. March has been dry and it was good to get some moisture. The tree below is our giant sequoia. It is one of my favorite trees.

The daffodils had a little snow on their heads but the flowers and snow looked beautiful. The contrast between spring and winter is very evident in these images.

Last week I fertilzed the grass and flowers. I like the snow better than rain because the water does not run off as easily. The snow was very welcome !

Heather's Prom

Heather was asked to the Junior Prom by Alan Christianson of Orem High School.

Even though she is a true Bruin, she regressed to become a Tiger for the evening.Ha.

Heather was a jewel, and Alan was the perfect gentleman. Unfortunately, Heather was sick that night, but was a real trooper, and had a fun night with the group.

Heather went outside with her Dad to take pictures, as you can see, she was quite cold and her stomach was still killing her, but once it was time to go to the dance, she stepped up and boggied on down!

Our little girls are all growing up, fortunately they are all doing an amazing job of becoming adults in this world. I can't believe Heather is old enough to date, drive. and cook dinner unsupervised! Ha Ha, maybe not the last one! I still picture her bald, chubby and a huge chatter box, boy has she changed, now she has morphed in a gorgous, quiet young woman.

Track, Soccer

This week was nice and warm (relative). It was a good week to be outside. Lynne and I helped with the track meet Thurs. Richie did a great job ! He ran the 800, 200 and 4X400 relay.

Our soccer game started at 7:30 a.m. Sat. morning. It was cold and windy but warmed up after the game. We won 4-1 ! Richie got a great goal and ruled the midfield. I was very proud of his effort.

Richie's Track Meet

Richie did really well at the first track meet of the season. He is running the 800, 400, and 200 individually and some of the relays.

Above Richie is finishing the 150 meters of his 400.

Richie is at the 75 meter mark and finishing hard. Check out those quads !! Almost as big as mine. Keep on working Richie !!

The 400 meter is as close to a dead sprint as can be. I was very proud of his finish. He pushed excellerating through the finish line, with a great time of 58.7 seconds (400 meter). We are training for 56 by the end of the year. I think his best race will be the 800 if his asthma will cooperate.

Here Richie is waiting for his turn to run a medley relay. He ran the 200 meter. He has never ran the 200 in a meet and it was beautiful to see him fly down the track.

On your marks........ get set...... GO !!

Off he went, Richie rounding the corner. Great stride !

Making Sugar Eggs

This year we decided to make sugar eggs instead of coloring regular eggs. Jessica was in dire need to spend the afternoon decorating something. Grandma Hawkins came over and decorated an egg but took it home before we could get a picture of it.
The top egg was carefully decorated by Jessica. You can just picture her sitting there, focusing on her project, and if you could see all the intricate details that she put into them. Perfection is how I would describe her work.

This egg was decorated by sweet Heather.
I think she ate most of the candy 5 minutes after the picture was taken. Ha Ha

This silly egg was decorated by Lynne.
I had a lot of fun decorating it, but I had more fun watching my mom and daughters laughing, eating, and decorating their eggs. We had a good time making these Easter eggs.
Thanks Jessica for thinking of this project.

Spring is Coming!!!

Spring Has Arrived ! This last week we have had beautiful crocus blooming. The weather has warmed and the plants are beginning to wake up. These plants are the first to bloom in our garden. It lifts my spirits to see the rebirth of the garden and it all starts as these little plants with large flowers and inconspicuous narrow leaves strut their stuff. You can see the grass like leaves in some of the images.

Just a few images of some of our crocus flowers that are now in bloom in our yard. We planted these plants about 13 years ago.The crocus starts blooming at the end of Feb. depending on the year. They are amazing plants. The first time I saw these flowers was as a student at BYU. They have the ultimate display flowers / plants. These little plants are underutilized in the Utah landscape.Lisa I wonder if you could use them in Las Vegas.

This is one of my favorite crocus. This flower is larger than any of the other colors in the garden. It does not increase as fast as the yellow or dark purple colors. Another nice thing about the crocus is the flower form is also variable. The light purple above opens wide and exposes its sepals and petals. The yellow and the light purple below do not open but stay partially closed.

The bright yellow of this flower is easily seen and an accent in the yard.
These little crocus are coming up under our big tooth mountain maple. You can see the leaves they are struggling to overcome. These flowers are truly struggling for existence to flower and reproduce. I love the contrast of life (flowers) and death (dead leaves) in this image. These flowers are truly an early spring treat. Our daffodils will be the next flowers to awaken from their winter nap. The deer do not eat the crocus or daffodils. Unfortunately they eat most if not all my tulips. Since we had lots of snow this winter they have a habit of coming to our yard for a late night snack. They love the tulips and new daylily growth. Spring and summer are my two favorite seasons with all the beautiful plants and animals that are easily visible. In fact Richie and I saw our first butterfly today. Cool !!

Angie and Chad's Reception

There are not many things more beautiful then these red bouquet of flowers but if you look towards the top and to the right of the image you will see a beautifully gorgeous bride.
Angie truly shinned tonight.

Heather having fun with her grandmas. Our kids have had it lucky to have their grandparnets so accessable and loving. Lynne and I wanted to have children while young so they could get to know their grandparents. They have been a big blessing in the lives of the kids. On the left is grandma Hawkins and on the right is Grandma Glassford.

I hope we got everyone in this image. This was all family members on the brides side of the family.

Angie and Chad along with her family.

Angela picked a great cake it was beautiful and tasty. Her she is being nice to Chad. Lynne smashed me in the face with our cake. I guess if I am going to be smashed in the face with food cake would be my choice.

Matthew (also known as Hammer) enjoying himself.

Angie has her Grandma Glassford's first name as her middle name. Grandma G's first name is Luannae. She has been a big stabilizing factor in our lives. It was fun to have Grandma G here a few days early to help get the reception ready. She is perfect example of a dedicated parent and I have tried to learn from her example. I love this black and white image of grandma.

Little Mandi Lu Who Sink with her Cousin Angie. Both Angie and Mandi have the same middle name. Cool !!

Uncle David and clan. David and Tyler really helped a lot with the clean up of the reception. Many of you helped setup and clean up and we are so very greatful for your help in making Angela and Chad's Wedding a most memorable experience. David your looking young and vibrant in this black and white photo.

Below are three baaaaaaad dudes. See if you can tell which of the two have hot cars. Unfortunately the one in the middle only has a toy Mustang. ........but not for long, Ha! Just don't tell Lynne

I really like this image of little Rich and Angela.

Good looking bunch ! We have had the best of times with our children. Life would be very shallow and meaningless with out them.

Rachel and Jacob in a state of quandary. I am thinking perhaps they are thinking about ....... well actually....... I don't know.

Dan was in charge of the gifts and was the party bouncer.
Fortunately we did not have any party crashers.

Image with most of our family.
David I wish you all could have arrived early enough for the image.

Gina and Kelsey Glassford, both have a beautiful smile.

Poor Jacob has to put up with a lot of.........inconsistent sound.
In this image he looks a little puzzled........ I don't blame him.

Rachel and the kids enjoy their time with Jacob. I am glad they all
are excited to see and play with him. As a grandpa (boy that sounds strange)
it has been fun to watch him grow and develop.

Lisa and Angela share a moment together. Aunt Lisa spent a lot of time with Jessica, Angela and Rachel when we lived at Y Mount Terrace (BYU married housing). Lisa was going to school at the forbidden college about 50 minutes north of here and she would come down and spend the weekend. The kids loved it when Aunt Lisa came to visit.

We were all excited to see Angie and Chad off on their honeymoon. Heather and Stephanie were excited to participate in Angie and Chad's honeymoon farewell. I love the smiles on Angie and Chad.

Chad carefully got Angie into the car without spilling their party basket.

Everyone wondered who was responsible for the wedding vandalism, Ha! I think I have some clues he is blond, short and would like to grow a goatee if his employer would let him.
Thank you wedding vandels for decorating the car.

Angie and Chad give us a little wave as they take off for their honeymoon.

CHAD AND ANGIE AT THE TEMPLE!

Angela and Chad exchanged vows on Feb. 15 th 2008. It was a wonderful ceremony with lots of family support. We know there were some of you who could not attend so we are providing you with some images and narration. This image was taken just as Chad and Angela were coming out of the temple. You can see how happy they are...... just look at their faces. As parents we are so happy for the two of them. They are off to a great start !!
After a few images and hugs we took an image on the North West portion of the entrance of the temple. I love this image because it shows the joy of family and friends for the two newlyweds. Take a look at the faces and imagine all the noise.... hoots and hollers while Angela and Chad are focused on one thing, each other.

Image with both parents. Interesting side note: both mothers have the same first name and spell it the same.

Take a look at these beauties. I am so proud of these girls. Jessica and Angela have set a good example for Rachel and Heather and I hope they follow in their footsteps. These girls are not only beautiful but their personalities have brought us so much joy. When I look at each of their faces various memories come to my mind. I think of all the summer memories camping, fishing all the sports and vacations. One summer we took all the kids to San Diego and I took them to the beach and showed them where I grew up. Wow I have had a great time with these girls and plan on having many more.

Chad giving a little lateral glucose (C6H12O6) Lynne and I have taken the wedding announcement images for both Jessica and Angela. At first it was hard to see these guys kissing my girls but ...............I have grown to love my son-in-laws and see them as their eternal mates. So the kissing does not bother me any more. I am happy to see them show affection towards one another.

We had two photographers for the wedding a professional and a family friend. Both of them did a great job. You can see some artistic impression with the image below. I have always enjoyed black and white photography and had my own darkroom as a kid. A portion of my room had an enlarger etc. fun stuff !!

This image has a soft tender feel to it. The vial symbolizes a barrier between the outside world and their love. I though this image had a feel of intimacy and purity.