Do we have a rain cloud over our heads?

For the month of March, we are staying in Santee Lakes, California, just outside of San Diego.  We arrived on Wednesday, February 26, and it was beautiful then the clouds rolled in on Thursday and today, Friday, we are in a continuing rain and wind storm.  It is supposed to last until Sunday.  It never rains in California; they have been in a perpetual drought for years.  I guess it is the rain cloud that follows us.  The last time we took a long trip was to Montana where we witnessed the flash flood in Bannock that destroyed that ghost town.  Let's hope we don't need the free sandbags they are offering to all the communities.

Before we left, we finished teaching a Stake Family History Class - well one on Tuesday mornings and one on Tuesday evenings.  It was great fun.  Theron had a great idea to start with them and scan their photos and provide proof of who they were and then work to parents and grandparents.  If the family gets online at www.familysearch.org and logs in, they can see what I have uploaded.  We have lots of pictures and I'm adding new stories that I have had for years.  For those who don't have an LDS account, just click to get one on the familysearch site.

Theron also designed and taught a youth leadership training to our ward youth advisers and now they want him to provide or help with Stake training.  Here we go again, plowing a field.  We have been thinking about another mission; maybe it's getting close to that time.  (Neala you can't say we aren't giving you warning.)  We know it won't be until after November because this is when we are traveling to Peru and traveling a few days with Carol and John Padilla.

Cleaning out!

As everyone knows, mom and dad Spendlove will be moving from their home of 30+ years to a new one in North Morgan.  They will be tearing down the old one.  We have been up looking for treasures among the trash.  Denzil is taking all the metal, Rodney can now claim is pennies, Dawain found some baseball cards, Linda and I really didn't want anything and Lisa (who wouldn't come down to help) wanted all the games.  It looks like the actual move will be around the first of April.  Changes are hard and I hope they will be able to adjust well.  It will be a good change for them to live in a real, normal house.

During February, each family had some fun times.  Adrian's family went skiing and they got a little school in here and there.  One day, I took Cameron to get his new suit, which is our birthday present for his 12th birthday coming up.  As we talked, he said, "Grandma now don't be sad, but I'm going to do baptisms in the Temple just as soon as I turn 12."  Meaning, if you're not around, I'm not waiting for you.  I had the biggest smile for days!!! Way to go Cameron.

Curt and Melanee were able to take a little trip to St. George and go snowboarding a couple of times.  They don't send any pictures so we can't show everyone how happy they are.

Marc's family is growing.  They had the birthdays and Mason is participating in indoor soccer.  Ali is going to play soccer this summer and Mason is going to play t-ball.  Brittney is exercising Tyce and he is getting fast at his army crawl.  An inside comment to Marc - hope you get your tri-copter fixed and the ceiling!

These are sandcastles built on the beach in Coronado

I'm collecting stories about Great Grandpa Neal Schaefermeyer.  Send them to me so we can honor him on the next blog.  Love to all from "rainy" California.

February - The Birthday Month

February wins as the month with the most family birthdays - 4.  On the 13th, we celebrated Brittney's birthday.  Marc prepared a delightful dinner of pineapple chicken and baked potatoes.  It was a small gathering of parents and their family, but it was big in our hearts.  It was also the last of the 20's years for Brittney.  Happy Birthday Brittney!!!

The big event of the month comes on the 18th with Ali Jo and Tyce celebrating.  It was a double party on the 15th with family from both sides gathering for a gala extravaganza of princesses and Dr. Zeuss fun.  Tyce had a terrific time mashing his first birthday cake and fighting with a balloon.  Ali dressed in her princess dress and jumped in the castle, tied up her dad and beat a pinata.  There were presents galore and fun for all.

The last of the birthdays is on the 26th with Melanee celebrating her birthday.  This will be her first one as a member of the Schaefermeyer Clan.  Happy Birthday to you!!!

Our Baby is how old? 34? When did that happen?

Each year everyone decorates in lights, tinsel and wreaths to celebrate Marc's birthday.  He has been so special over all these years sharing his birthday with everyone on December 25.  It wasn't planned, but we love the miracle of that day.  This year he turns 34.  He has grown into a wonderful man, father and husband.

Happy Birthday Son!!!!

2014 - The Start of a New Year

My resolve to write a blog page each week has now been broken as this is the first post of 2014; so I no longer have this goal to keep track of.  We just attended the annual RootsTech Family History Conference this week and I now have a new goal - post stories about ourselves, our children and our ancestors.  We'll see how well I can do this year to accomplish that goal.  I'm going to need everyone's help -- answer the phone when I call.  At the conference we purchased some coupons to have our slides digitized - can't wait for some family nights to show old pictures.

Now just a little first of the year catch up. 

In January, we traveled with Steve and Jackie Duerden to Bullhead City, Arizona and Lake Havasu, Arizona, for a little get away.  Before we left St. George, we purchased our new electric bikes and had a great time riding them around the towns.  We plan to do much more riding this year if we can get out of dodge - San Diego in March, yea!

Taylor's Birthday 

February 3, 2014, was a special day for Taylor - a big double digit birthday - 10.  He is a special young man to all of us.  Happy birthday and way to go Taylor!!!

February is our family birthday month - Taylor, Brittney, Ali Jo, Tyce, and Melanee.  Celebrate good times. 

Theron and I have been teaching a family history class on how to work with FamilySearch.  These are fun and we have about 40 people who attend.  Last week, Adrian came to help because Theron had a cold.  Thanks daughter!

Now for the first edition of a family history story

I love to hear our "Masonisms" but we have had several Marc"isms" over the years.
**We were traveling for Thanksgiving to Zions or one of the parks and the kids were climbing on rocks and hiding in large holes along the way to scare us.  We came around a corner and Adrian and Curt were sitting in a canyon wall hole -- Marc (probably about 5 years old) took a quick look, turned and stated, "Look upper case and lower case."  Adrian was sitting in a hole just a little higher than Curt.  Good observation.

**The best one was at Grandma Schaefermeyer's funeral.  Marc was 7 years old (1986).  We were getting ready at the mortuary to greet people and Marc saunters in takes one look at the casket on the wheeled trolley and shouts, "Look Grandma's got wheels."  Mason comes by quick witted comments naturally.

Neal and LaVelle at our wedding, 1974

I'm going to devote this first story to Emma LaVelle Jones Schaefermeyer - Theron's mother.

LaVelle lived 12 years after we were married and she was a very sweet, caring mother-in-law.  As I reflect now, our children's spouses do not know her nor do our grand children (her great grandchildren).  Let's start talking about her.  Born: Feb. 19, 1909; Died: Aug. 16, 1986.

Our children remember going to the mine each year for vacation, but their spouses and children have never been to the mine.  We will try to find some pictures and talk about it later.  The mine is located in the Uintah Mountains just below Fish Lake.  Theron's mother and father had moved a little one room green cabin to the site.  I had not been used to camping so I marveled at how LaVelle took everything in stride and had Neal run water over the wooden box that hung in the tree covered with a burlap door so that the refrigerator would keep things cool.  She cooked and baked on the old iron stove that was in the cabin.  She could bake some of the very best biscuits in that stove.  She knew just how much wood to put into the fire box so that the temperature of the stove would bake just right. 

Theron and I hadn't been married more than a couple of months and we were just finishing a weekend visit to Roosevelt.  As we went to leave, LaVelle started to act a little strange and started to slur her words.  She was having a stroke and we were there to help get her to the hospital.  That was the first of many heart problems that she suffered.  It was shortly after that, that she had her first of two open heart surgeries.  They replaced one of her main valves with a pig valve.  She recovered quite well but went into her "eating healthy" stage of life.  Very few of the really good pies and cakes that I remembered - now it was sugar free and bran.  That's when Theron told his mother that bran and other foods don't necessarily make it so you live longer; it just seems longer. 

If you have ever looked at the pictures in our front room, you will have seen this one.  These are all of Grandma Schaefermeyer's sisters.  LaVelle is the second youngest on the front row.  The baby is Aunt Mary (kids, do you remember Aunt Mary?).  The other pictures hanging by them in our front room is LaVelle's brothers.

I asked each of our children to write a memory of the mine vacations.  Curt remembers: 

Neal, Kendall, Louis, Norm, Theron - our family of miners

1.  I remember we had a massive rain storm and there was river that ran through the fire and then when the rain stopped the fire started back up again.

2. We set up a golf course one time at the mine

3. We had sacrament at the mine and Joe Walker was like over it and uncle Kendal was the teacher.

4. We would sled down the mine tailings and get really dirty

5. We would go into the mine and work and there was that old green generator that would run and it would go off and then it would be dark and someone would have to go start it again.

6. Horse swing with the tree.

7. Shower with the big tanks of water on top and then you would have to stand on a 2x6 or else you would get muddy.

8. Cow would rub against the tent trailer and dad would have to get up and go shew them away.

9. We would go up to the spring and turn on the water and then it would run over by the trailers and then we would put the watermelon in the cold water.

10. Grandpa would shoot off dynamite at like 6 in the morning

11. I got lost when we went fishing

12. We would go to the ice cave and get ice so we can have ice cream.

13. I would go for rides in the truck with grandma and grandpa and grandma would pull out cheese and crackers and the cheese was always warm because it was out of the glove box.

14. We would have to have to take a lot of vitamins when we stayed with grandma.

15. We would get to ride on the back of the white jeep. Then put the dog on the hood and he would always jump back in through the window.

16. Hike up to the hole in the rock just above camp all the time and there would be deer in there. 

Marc remembers:  
Throwing the Frisbee from the cliff. Volleyball in the field.  Sliding down the waste pile.  Obviously the time we closed the mine.  Watching grandpa wind up the old rusty cable just before closing the mine.

Adrian remembers: 
I remember the time we had sacrament in the grove of trees.  I remember going to the ice caves and hiking over the mountain with grandpa to fish in the river, he would get a stick and tie a line to it for us, I never caught anything, and riding a small motorcycle with Kate And going over A log and she fell off, and grandma in the old green cabin, and singing with the guitar Around the fire, and all the stars, and waking up to cows mooing against the trailer, and grandpa riding the four wheeler around, and the crazy road to get down to where we camped and riding in the jeep or a tailgate on that road, hooking up the pipe to the fresh spring water so we had water pressure in the trailer.  Sliding on the rock pile, making a sling shot swing for us to ride on, the explosion that closed the mine for good, the smell inside the mine. 

Each one of these moments was shared with their Grandmother Schaefermeyer.  Kids, remember these and put her in those pictures.  She would stand and watch you slide down the dump, she sat around the campfires and sang songs, she was always worried about you getting hurt on one of the cables or something else.  I don't remember her walking down to the river to fish, but I do remember she always cooked the little brook trout and how good they tasted.

Our lives are about our memories.  Let's keep remembering.  If anyone wants to write a few more memories about Grandma Schaefermeyer, send them and we'll put them in the blog. For more pictures and stories go to www.familysearch.org, click on Trees and see her in the family tree.

Curt just sent me some great pictures that need to be added to this blog; here is the update.  These are the last camping trip we took to the mine.

Louis, Shanna, Carol, Neala

Kendall and Duke