Some pretty cool news happened for the state of Utah...
According to the latest U.S. News and World Report ranking, the Beehive State has remained at the top. The study focused on over 70 metrics and thousands of data points to determine which states best serve their residents.
These are the 2024 top five best states overall in the ranking:
- Utah.
- New Hampshire.
- Nebraska.
- Minnesota.
- Idaho.
“Utah has a vibrant, diverse economy and unsurpassed natural beauty, but what truly sets our state apart is our people,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, per the press release. “We lead the nation in volunteering and charitable giving every year and this spirit of community leads to a collaborative approach to problem solving, an ecosystem that supports innovation, and a culture that strengthens families and individuals. I’m proud of the Beehive State and appreciate the validation that Utah really is the best state in the nation.”
Utah ranked in the top 20 of seven of the eight categories and top three in three of them:
- Second in education.
- Third in economy.
- Third in infrastructure.
Other categories involved in the ranking of the states included crime, health care, natural environment, fiscal stability, infrastructure and opportunity.
Locally we had some changes made, the Cache Valley Mall started coming down to make way for multi-family housing, a hotel and some commercial buildings. Logan is growing big time.
Our town of Hyde Park, has four round-abouts now, due to another one that is being constructed on the road coming into Center Street that connects with the road named Wolf Pack Way. It will look nice once it gets all done.
In the political scene, Donald Trump, the Republicans candidate running for President of the USA was found guilty of 34 felony charges of This is the first time a former president has been charged guilty of such a thing. There's been some crazy things happening with this year's presidential voting year.
The CVHC where Dale and I serve is now open and in full swing by the Riverwoods Conference Center! With the Hyrum Humanitarian closing their doors we are doing quilts as well to help those in need in the Cache Valley area.
Dale took our neighbor Dave Rayfield, who had a stroke about 4 months fishing to help out Hollie, his wife, by doing something with him. He's been taking him on Thursdays so she can go to work all day. Really, it's a good excuse for Dale to get out fishing, but it's also good for Dave too.
Dale also took Amie's two youngest kids fishing while we were watching them. They joined up with us at Bear Lake so that their mom and dad could have a night out to celebrate their anniversary a day early.
I took advantage of a great price for a case of strawberries and made some homemade freezer jam. Our kids love this as well as the grandkids when they come over for dinner and we have rolls. You've gotta keep them wanting to come back and happy, right?
I also had the chance to do some ushering at the Eccles and saw the comedian, Shawn Johnson, the showing of Napoleon Dynamite and the main stars share some of their experiences filming the show, which was to celebrate their 20th anniversary. And I ushered for the Dance Sources Spring show.
My Uncle Max celebrated his 110th birthday, so we joined in on the fun and were able to visit with his kids, and some of our cousins and friends. He is our first centurion in the Hadfield family that I know of. What a great man he is too. His wife, Marie, is turning 98 years old this year. What an amazing couple. His family did up a nice tribute wall to him that was pretty neat too. 100 years old, still in his own home, and doing pretty good. Longevity is in the Hadfield genes.
For Mother's Day we had the Mallory's and Hassell's over for dinner and games. Andrew's family stopped by later for a visit as well. There isn't anything better than having family around is there?
We were able to join up with the Hassell's and go to the Layton Temple Open House. What a beautiful house of the Lord. It was fun seeing June's eyes light up in some of the rooms. There have been a lot of temples being built to make it easier for members to attend and do the saving ordinances for those who have passed away.
Dale and I helped watch Andrew and Lindsay's kids for four days while they were back east. Lindsay joined Andrew for a few days while he was doing his annual testing for his job. When the kids were here Nora pulled out her own tooth! She was so cute, she just popped it out and said, "Look I lost my tooth!" We had a nice time with the kids playing pickleball, having picnics, and playing games. This grandparent gig is pretty fun, but can be pretty exhausting at times too.
Dale and I went a few days early and visited the graves of our parents and grandparents in the Smithfield, Hyde Park, North Logan, and Logan cemeteries for our Memorial Day observance because we went to Island Park with our friends, Floyd and Alison Griffiths to help them open up their cabin and to get away and have some down time. While there we saw a fox walk around their cabin and we went into Yellowstone National Park. We only saw one cow elk, and a lot of bison in the park and got to see Old Faithful stay true to its name though. It was a nice outing and Dale and Floyd got in some fishing in Island Park.
Dale and I also got our trailer out and headed over the mountain to spent some time at Bear Lake before it gets in the busy season. It was nice and quiet. We were one of only seven or eight trailers there.
After Church on Sunday, we drove over to Montpelier to see the progress that's being made on the temple that's being built there and stopped in Paris and took a tour of the Tabernacle that is there. It was beautiful! The woodwork inside was amazing and so, so pretty. We were glad we stopped.
The water at Bear Lake was pretty high. There wasn't much beach. Some say this is the highest it's been for a long time. This is good though because it's still recovering from those two years of not much snow to help the area get enough water for their crops.
That blue looking water is so pretty though when the suns out with a blue sky.
Nate and Diana made time to get outside. Nate did a couple of 50 mile runs, and they got out on their boat to get in some sun and relaxation. While they were in their boat they were able to see the Northern Lights. So pretty!!
They're also in the works to add another Doctor to Hansen Foot & Ankle. They've been keeping plenty busy and felt it was time. She'll be starting the first of August, so we'll get to see her then.
Since the topic of the Northern Lights came up, Dale and I also took advantage of Mother Nature's wonders and stayed up past midnight to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights in our area. We waited in the car about 45 min. in an area about two blocks below our house and the wait was worth it!! We saw the Northern Lights as well. What was funny was Nate sent me a text with a picture of what they saw of the Northern Lights while they were on the water in their sailboat in Washington, and at the time we were seeing the Northern Lights in Hyde Park, UT!! So cool! We found that when you looked through the lens of the camera on your phone the colors became more bright. It was amazing and did I say beautiful? I'm so glad we stayed up past midnight to see this light show.
In Riverhawks tennis, Jaxson and his partner, Henry, took first in Doubles for Region play. They never lost a match. Pretty impressive for a guy who just started playing tennis a couple of months ago. Way to go Jaxson!
Jason also graduated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 4 yr. Seminary program as well as from Ridgeline High school. It will be fun to see what life throws at him on this new journey.
Soccer season ended for Amie, Matt, and the rest of the kids. It's been quite the ride, but all grew in one way or another and have earned a well deserved break for a bit.
Andrew and Lindsay's ducks are growing bigger and so is their focus on them by the kids. They let them out and the kids let them walk around them and they pet them. I'd say they are loved and adored.
Garrett's new office building for Diversified Home Loans is looking official. They put up their sign and will be having an Open House next month.
Dale and I took Luke out for lunch after and we also went to a park to have it picnic style and play a little soccer with him, to get in an early birthday date with him. Then we gave him a gift for his birthday.
Both Luke and Jorie got a Student of the Month award at school too. It shows that hard work pays off.
Dale and I went to see their piano recital as well. Another way they showed that hard work pays off.
They celebrated Luke and Zandra's birthday by hosting a family dinner. It was a nice day with good food, fun, and visiting. Happy Birthday Luke and Zandra!!
They have chickens and they got a chicken coop for them. They're getting pretty big too!! Luke likes them and helps with their care.
The family also went to the Layton Temple Open House. They thought it was pretty neat too.
The Hassell's took their whole family to the Motocross races. Brooks wore his headphones and didn't seem to be bothered by all the noise much. They all had a fun time. What do you think, will June be riding one of those someday for reals?
With the weather warming up Danica and Jason have been taking advantage of the sunny days and taking the kids to Paul and Jan's (Jason's mom and step-dad) pool to go swimming. The kids are getting adjusted to being in the water and June will be taking lessons next month.
Danica took a leap of faith and started potty training June. It's gone pretty well because June loves stickers and she gets a sticker each time she goes potty. She also loves her new panties too. We wish her luck with this new experience.
We started out the month with some pretty crazy weather, but we sure had some pretty sunsets. I'm loving the green mountains, and warmer weather.
These two pictures were taken two days apart. Pretty crazy, huh?
This sunset was just waiting for us to take a peek at it. So pretty!
It appears that we all managed to make it through May with everything going on. Thanks for a nice month.
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