February Farewell

The Groundhog didn't lie, he said 6 more weeks of winter, but he teased us a bit because it came about 2 1/2 weeks into the month. We had a quick snowstorm hit for a couple of days that dumped around a total of 17 inches, with 12in. of that happening in one day! Then we had a lot of cold days. 

Dale and I both got our second dose of the COVID vaccine. Maybe it will help us to open our area sooner so we don't have to wear masks in public places and can gather together in larger groups. We're keeping our fingers crossed! 

This was from a news feed for our state -- Utah administered 11,966 more vaccinations since yesterday. States around the U.S. are working overtime to distribute delayed vaccine shots. By the end of March, Pfizer and Moderna expect to have provided the U.S. government with a total of 220 million vaccine doses, up from the roughly 75 million shipped so far.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox ordered the lowering of the flag of the United States of America and Utah's state flag in memory of the 500,000 American lives lost to COVID-19.

According to worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/, there are currently 513,799 deaths in the U.S. from the virus, 3% of the closed cases.

                              

On Valentine's Day we headed over the mountain and went to church with Garrett and Zandra to hear them talk in their new ward. They both did a nice job and we were able to sit with the kids. Then we stopped off at Jason and Danica's and had a nice dinner with them and visited. It was a win, win situation all around in our eyes. We love spending time with family when we can.

It took twenty-three days to finally have a funeral for Mom/Grandma Hansen after she passed away last month. Dale's brothers and sisters had to all quarantine for 10 days, and then all had to be tested for COVID, because his brother Bryan, and daughter, Emma, ended up getting COVID. None of Dale's other siblings contracted COVID which was awesome news.

When the funeral was held it ended up being a nice sunny day, which helped. All the kids participated in one way or another sharing stories and memories of their loving mother. 

They collected as many quilts she had made for the kids and grandkids they could, and had them draped over the benches that we weren't suppose to sit on due to social distancing. It was a nice way to pay a tribute to her.

Coming out of the chapel after the funeral there was blue sky, white fluffy clouds, and sunshine. Grandma rode to the North Logan Cemetery in style. This was the same hearse that Grandpa Hansen rode in as well.

We all gathered at the cemetery and after she was laid to rest besides her beloved Keith we visited, took pictures and then went back to the Church for a catered dinner, by Juniper Take-Out, of ham, au gratin potatoes, turkey w/gravy, green beans, tossed salad, rolls, and a chocolate pudding cake dessert. It was nice to visit with our extended family because we haven't gotten together with some of them for quite some time. 

I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa were smiling seeing that happen. 

In the evening those that wanted to met at Cherry Peak ski resort and went tubing or skiing in the evening. Our Nevada cousins, the Brady's and Del Toro's, braved the cold and joined up with the group for the duration. The Wilson's and Potter's got in some tubing but left early, but All had a great time.

Dale also met up with Amie and the kids and they went skiing at Beaver Mountain for a day. Amie let the kids take the day off from school to enjoy the sunshine and good snow (One of the benefits of having good grades or good reports from Parent Teacher Conferences). Fun times for all.

Nate was the only one that we didn't have with us at the funeral, but he had a pretty good excuse. He was in Costa Rica soaking in the sun for all of us. With the date of the funeral being uncertain, and because of the COVID situation and travel we thought it might be best to have him just view it online, so he could go ahead with his plans. While on the beach he tried to get the hang of surfing, but living in Washington state it may take awhile before he masters it. He was able to meet up with some friends for a bit as well also. He told us he does work hard, but he also plays hard. Enjoy it while you can, right?

The Mallory's have been busy supporting Jaxson in basketball. Their team went 14-3 for the season. Pretty impressive! Way to go Riverhawks!

Langston's started practicing batting for baseball, and Kennlyn's been practicing and playing indoor soccer, and is playing basketball. Because of COVID we couldn't go to any of her games, but Amie let us bend the rules a bit and Dale and I got to go see her last game. Yes, we wore masks It was a close one, but they lost by four. Great effort Kennlyn!

Mazin has learned to ski better since he's been tagging along with Amie a few times when she's taught lessons. He conquered going on the ski lift and going down the bigger hill too! Way to go Mazin!

Matt put up another cool bulletin board at the school with ways to love yourself for the month because as the saying goes--"To love others, you have to love yourself first" right? Nice touch Matt.

Kennlyn and Langston also got into the Valentine spirit and made some pretty cool Valentine Boxes for their class parties. Langston made a lion one, and Kennlyn made a Mine Craft figure for hers. Pretty creative.

Andrew and Lindsay got a dog that's been quite a challenge because he's big yet he's still a puppy and loves to chew on things. Tank, the dog, has ruined three grill covers, chewed off the edging, and door on his dog house, chewed up the heating pad that was in his dog house and also chewed up a wooden bench that went with their swing set just to name a few of the naughty things the dog has done. So, to show their love for Tank-- Andrew has tried to be better at exercising with him. He got a bit creative a few times and brought him in the house and put him on their treadmill while he rode their bike when it was way cold outside. I think they both liked it.

Andrew also got Tank out on the mountain and climbed Cherry Peak with him and then skied down. He also got the kids out on the hill to do some skiing. Titan's going strong, Eloise conquered the lift, and Nora and Arwyn got some skis on and tried skiing for a bit. It's nice where they live close to Cherry Peak because it's easy to let a few go home early if they need to.

Andrew and Lindsay met up with some friends and did some simulated sky diving, rock climbing, and indoor surfing and then went to dinner for a double Valentines date. I watched the kids while they were gone. Sounded like they had a lot of fun.

With the new snow we got and the cold temps Andrew and Titan made an igloo in their backyard. If it stays cold it will probably be standing until mid March or longer. It's tall enough that Titan can stand in it. Pretty cool.

Eloise celebrated her 8th birthday with a Unicorn Birthday Party with her friends. They painted unicorns, played games, ate pizza, opened presents, and danced. I went and helped with the party. It looked like all had fun. Happy Birthday Eloise!!

Garrett and Zandra have gone out skiing (Jorie's really getting the hang of it) and out on their Razor. With the new snow they were able to see a couple of moose on the hill behind their house. Pretty cool.

                     

The kids made valentine cookies and painted some Valentines pictures. 

Garrett went out snowmobiling with some of the guys he works with. It was a beautiful sunny day in the mountains with some DEEP fluff as far as could be seen. He said, "Even though we all got stuck many times, there were still smiles on everyone's faces". Sounds like they had a great time.

Jason and Danica stayed plenty warm in Hawaii for the first half of the month. They made sure to make the most of each day by getting in a hike or new sight and having plenty of time on the beach. 

They celebrated Jason's Birthday while their as well by going to a luau show and dinner. Happy Birthday Jason!!  

They came home to snow and cold, but that didn't stop them from hitting the new powder that fell soon after they arrived. 

Danica also stayed busy with her painting and did her first picture of Christ per a request order from Jason's brother. She may get more requests after people see her work in this fashion. It's very nice!!

To get away from the cold Jason and Danica headed south to their favorite hot spot in Utah, St. George. Jason took his new ride and had to test it out. Looking good there Jason, I'd say you haven't lost it, and I'm sure it felt good to be back in the saddle on your very own bike. Happy trails to you!

With all of the new snow it's created bad conditions in the back country and there have been some pretty big avalanches. A group of experienced skiers were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were out skiing in the Utah Mill Creek mountain area and set off an avalanche. 

It was a group of eight and sadly only four survived the avalanche. One guy who was partially buried in the snow was able to dig himself out and then help the four others that survived out. Those four went on to find the other four, but they weren't able to save them. So sad.

A littler closer to home, we had one happen not too far away. Here's the news story--(KUTV) — An avalanche killed a 48-year-old man snowmobiling in southern Idaho while another slide near Elko, Nevada presumably killed another snowmobiler that has not yet been recovered or identified.

Conditions remain dangerous in the intermountain west, including Utah where avalanche danger levels range from "considerable" to "extreme."

In Bear Lake County Idaho, that shares a lake with and a border with Utah, 48-year-old Allen Foss of Preston, Idaho was caught in a slide and killed. He was later found buried "under a large amount of snow," according to KIFI news. Riders on snowmobiles were in the area of the slide and used a search line and snow probes to look for the buried man.

Sad deal for sure. All were experienced and they thought prepared.

In the political field, the Impeachment trial for former Pres. Donald Trump was held. 

There was fencing around the Capital building and the National Guard  was on watch during the trail and it's still there because the Democrats feel their could be unrest at the capital again. There were people outside with signs protesting, but nothing big happened, or has since.

Here's the lowdown on it: This was the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the USA (but he wasn't in office when the trial finally happened). The trail had Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, preside over the trail.

It started on Feb. 9th and concluded with his acquittal on the 13th. The House adopted one article of impeachment against the Pres. two weeks before he left office. It addressed Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results (including his false claims of election fraud and his efforts to pressure election officials in Georgia) and stated that Trump incited the storming of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. while Congress was convened to count the electoral votes and certify the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

At the conclusion of the trial the Senate voted 57-43 to convict Trump of inciting insurrection, falling 10 votes short of the two thirds majority required by the Constitution, and Trump was therefore acquitted. Seven Republican senators joined all Democratic and Independent senators in voting to convict Trump, the largest bipartisan vote for an impeachment conviction of a U.S. president.

I watched most of the trial and learned a lot. The Democrats focused more on the way they felt Trump incited the insurrection of the capital about a month earlier, and the Republicans focused on the fact that it couldn't be proven that the then president, Donald Trump, was solely responsible for the insurrection. Also, that the Constitution states that you can't impeach someone who is no longer in office. I just hope that both parties can come together, work together, and do what is best for the people of our country. We are in a pandemic, lives are still being lost, and we need to work together on getting back to normal.

I have a feeling the next two years are going to be very interesting to see how our country comes out of all this.

In mid-February our country also has had some pretty bizarre weather going on. A series of severe winter storms swept across the U.S. It resulted in record low temperatures throughout Texas with temperatures in some areas falling below temperatures recorded in Alaska!! The cold also dropped significant amounts of sleet and ice on many states in the Deep South and Ohio. These places had snow and freezing temperatures that left most of Texas without power for 3-5 days and without water for awhile because of pipes bursting due to the freezing temperatures. Temperatures back east also got unseasonably cold. 

At least 49 people lost their lives, and a tornado outbreak from the storm spanned Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Crazy stuff!!

I guess I can't complain about the cold snap we've had here. We had heat, food, water and a warm bed to sleep in. Our country is still in the Pandemic mode after 11 months, but the numbers in our area are starting to go down, our schools have remained open, and we are able to attend church services (but wear masks). Life is good.

We've also had some pretty good days where the suns come out and we've had some beautiful sunsets that tell me that tomorrows going to be a better day. 

On July 30, 2020 the U.S. started the Mars 2020 mission by launching the Rover named "Perseverance" into space at 7:50am. The main job for this mission is to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth. It landed on Mars Feb. 18, 2021 at 3:55pm. The mission is suppose to be at least one Mars year, which is about 687 earth days.

 

I have a friend, Nicole Hillary, who's husband played a key factor in this happening. Sadly he was killed in a motorcycle accident before he got to see the launch. They dedicated this mission to him. His name was Delbert Hillary.  Pretty Cool! 

Farewell February, it's been quite a ride in more ways than one.