The average temperature this month was in the mid 30's, so it has been COLD! We didn't get much snow in our area, but some fell in the mountains, which was nice.
The ski resorts didn't get a lot however, so the skiing conditions still aren't the best, but you could ski if you like icy conditions. So.....overall real cold and dry conditions. BRRR!!
To celebrate New Years Day, we had Andrew's crew and the Mallory's over for finger foods and games. It was nice to just relax, play, visit and munch on some healthy snacks. The kids joined in on the games or watched movies and played with each other. A great way to start the New Year.
Dale and I were able to go watch the USU Basketball games against Fresno, Bosie, and Nevada live and some of those were pretty exciting, close games. We came out with the win on all of our home games, thankfully. We did lose in a close game to UNLV while on the road. USU's record overall is now 18-2 losing one pre-season game against UCSD and a loss to UNLV in league play.. GO AGGIES!!
Dale got out on the ice with Dave Rayfield at Deep Creek, Garrett, Luke, Jorie, & Zandra at Pineview and East Canyon, and went alone to Treasureton. The winner lake was Pineview. They caught a LOT of perch, and when I say a lot, I'm talking like Luke alone getting at least 45 fish!! It was crazy fishing. Good times for all.
I ushered at the Eccles for The Aluminum Show, a cool way to use different types of music, and aluminum to make into magical, mystery-filled creations, combining visual theater, dance and humor for a multi-sensory experience. It was pretty impressive, and indeed a one-of-a-kind show.
Dale also got out on the slopes at Beaver Mountain with his friend Lynn Stephens and then he went alone. That guy needs to get his money's worth with his season pass this winter, and it's been hard with not much snow.
We got back into our weekly stint of serving at the CVHC in our new location. The old River Heights Elementary School. Our Wed. group didn't disappoint us and showed up to help. I hope we can stay in this location for a while. It was good to be back.
Where this is the year that I turn the big 65 I got with my friend, Lori Follett, who is an insurance broker. She got me all set up for Medicare and Insurance for the big day.
I have to say that this was kind of a bittersweet experience, realizing that I'm going to be that age. Life goes on though, and I'm glad I got great help in helping me take that next step in my life journey. This is what I shared on my Facebook page --
This is the year the Class of 78 turns 65!! Wahoo! My good friend Lori Follett, who is a licensed agent, is taking care of me and helped me get signed up for Select Health Medicare + Kroger, which I felt was the best plan for me. Bring on those golden years!! Life is what we make it.
Nate and Diana have been busy working on the remodel of their home and running Hansen Foot & Ankle. Diana is also juggling her work and school. Do they even get in any decent sleep?
This too shall pass, is their motto this month.
The Mallory's have been putting some miles on their cars. Kennlyn is playing on both the Freshman and Sophomore Girls B-ball teams for Ridgeline.
Both Langston and Mazin played Jr. Jazz Basketball and were in a soccer tournament for the Coyote Cup in Mesquite, NV. Mazin's team lost in the semi-finals and Langston's team took 2nd place.
While they were staying in Mesquite, Amie celebrated her birthday. She turned 40!! Matt threw her a surprise party when they got home and invited family over for dinner, and friends over for cookies and ice cream. Happy Birthday Amie!! 40 looks good on you.
I went back to St. George with Amie for the Presidents Cup tournament that Langston played in. We found time to get in some climbing around on the rocks by Dixie Rock, had a BB-Q with the team, played ping pong and pool.
We stayed in St. George with some neighbors of the Mallory's that have a second home there which was nice, but we did have to travel to Mesquite, NV for the games.
The weather was a bit chilly and with the games at night it was quite cold, as well as windy, but Langston's team advanced to the semi-finals, but lost in a close one that kept them from moving on. Even though I had cold jitters, my hearts jitters were helping me stay warm watching this guy play his heart out. Kudos to the whole team in how they dealt with and played in the strong winds and the cold.
I stayed pretty warm in my cocoon and didn't move much until I had to.
On the way home we stopped in Ogden to watch Mazin play in a basketball tournament. They won one and lost one. See what I mean about putting miles on their vehicles? They definitely get around.
It was nice to get away for a bit, even if it wasn't really warm, it was warmer than the 14 degrees that we came home to!!
Elder Mallory went to a couple of zone conferences as well as having an interview with his mission president this month. He also has been seeing God's hand in his work. He shared with us an experience he had where they had been out teaching and, on the walk back to their place, they saw a woman who had been taught a while earlier and had a baptism date set, but it fell through. They felt prompted to stop and talk with her. They found out that her 20yr. old son had recently drowned at the beach, and she wanted answers to her questions. They taught her about the Plan of Salvation and how families can be together forever even when people have passed away because of the blessings of the temple covenants. He said the spirit was felt strongly by all.
He also shared his testimony of temples: " Temples are such a blessing. We don't have to feel the pain of never seeing somebody again when they die because of the plan of salvation and temples. I can only imagine how happy the people on the other side are that have passed away when they receive their ordinances in the temple through family and friends. I know that families can be together forever and through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can have eternal life with our families. Love never fails".
He's growing in his knowledge of the gospel plan.
Elder Mallory & his companion having dinner with some members in their area.
In another email he wrote: "Another week down and boy am I tired. I swear we walked 30 miles this week. We also have been shown many miracles this week. We put 3 people on date for baptism. The sister they had worked with who lost her son had found a picture that he took. of himself that was in a book, and in the book, he had highlighted a passage that talked about a straight path back to our Heavenly Father. This was the turning point for her, she wanted to be baptized.
They taught another young man, the only one in his family that hadn't been baptized, because he couldn't understand why bad things happen to good people. They shared a gospel message and then felt that they should ask if they could give all in the family a blessing for the New Year, and after his blessing, he said "I want to be able to do that in my family and for my friends, I want to be baptized so that I can help them find answers when needed".
Jaxson then wrote, "I love this work. I encourage everyone to have their own personal prayers every night that they can and, in your prayer, just pour your heart out to God. You will receive so many answers to your prayers".
He's growing in his knowledge of the power of prayer.
Eler Mallory and his companion having dinner with the Bishop of a ward.
Before Andrew headed home from his work tour, he was given a pretty cool award from Aerial Solutions. Here's what they put on their company Facebook page......"Congratulations to Andrew Hansen on receiving the Aerial Soultions Service Excellence Award! His dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence and this team continues to inspire us all. Help us congratulate Andrew on receiving this award"! WAY TO GO ANDREW!
Once home, he and Lindsay made time to paint a room in their basement and turn it into an exercise room. Pretty nifty, huh?
Andrew also got Dale out on the ice to get in some ice fishing at Treasureton Reservoir. With it being so cold the ice was pretty thick. They each caught some decent fish, while sitting in the ice hut with the propane heater going, which made it even nicer.
With Garrett and Zandra living around 10-15 minutes from Snow Basin, they take advantage of days when they can get on the slopes, and I don't blame them. Especially this year where the snow hasn't really been our "famous greatest snow on earth".
Garrett's also taking advantage of his time and got some pretty neat recognition from his team in closing loans.
Because of all the hard work being done at Diversified Loans, Garrett's work took their guys and their wives to Cancun for a "Thank You for a great year" trip to Cancun. They enjoyed the beach, the sights, and were able to see some Mayan ruins as well. The kids were at home with Grandma Gloria and Penny.
While the kids were home, Luke got recognized as the "Student of the Month" at his school. Now, that gave me happy jitters knowing I've got grandkids that show kindness to their peers and are doing well in school. Way to go Luke!!
Jorie also shined by entering her first gymnastics competition and taking home a 1st & 6th place ribbon in her routines in her age group. Those judges had a lot of close competition to deal with, the scores came in quite close on some events. Dale and I, along with Grandma Gloria joined up with Garrett, Zandra, and Luke to cheer her on. Way to go Jorie. More happy jitters for this grandma.
.jpg)
After Jorie's competition we took Garrett to his office and got to see his new set-up. It's in a nice area and he has some great views out of his windows. No wonder he enjoys his job.
Dale and I stayed over for the night and Garrett, Zandra, Dale, and the kids went ice fishing at East Canyon. I stayed in their warm house with their dog Penny and read and worked on a lesson I had to teach the next day. They came home about 3 hours after they left because nothing was happening with the fishing, and it was cold. Smart move, maybe?
Zandra and Amie got together at Snowbird Ski resort for a "Child Specialist Clinic and Exam" that they both signed up for because they each teach ski lessons, and they both passed their exam.
Amie is over the ski instructors as well as teaches at Cherry Peak when needed, and Zandra teaches ski lessons at Snow Basin. They were able to get in some runs together after their class was done (one of the benefits of the job). I think they both enjoy doing what they do.
The Hassell's celebrated Brooks' turning 1 year old by hosting a BIG ONE party. Their house was full of food and fun for the big day. They rented a bounce house and put it in their basement to entertain the younger kids. Happy Birthday Brooks! We love you!
They also took the family to Disneyland to celebrate and also got in a motorcross race for an early gift for Jason's birthday.
Jason's dad, Steve, joined them for the trip. The kids loved it all as much as the parents and grandpa.
The weather was a bit chilly, and it rained a day, but all had their fill of fun. June and Brooks were full of happy jitters every day.
My heart and prayers go out to all of the people that have lost loved ones, their homes, their businesses, their processions, and have to start over.
I was surprised that when we were in St. George, we didn't notice any effects from the fires. It was because the wind was blowing toward the ocean.
The pictures below are from posts made by news outlets in the area. It reminded me of the not too long ago fire they had on the island of Maui where a lot of homes were lost, but this fire was bigger.
The fires started on Jan. 7th and were pretty much contained by the end of the month. That's a long time for those involved.
A firefighter group from Utah went and helped as much as they could, as well as firefighters from other states. Sad deal, but so good to know that people have caring hearts and want to help in any way they can. I can't even phantom how long it will take to rebuild all that was lost.
An interesting thing about the fires is that there were no churches from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that were badly damaged, and the Los Angeles temple was unharmed, but fire was burning around it. Citizens were using the churches as shelter and the temple remained open and running through the whole time the fires were burning so that patrons could go there and find solace if needed. The Lord watches over his people in many ways.
Another crazy happening was that there was snow and ice storms going on all over in the mid to eastern states, from Kansas to Kentucky to Florida and surrounding areas.
My sister DeAnn, who lives in South Carolina, had snow fall on the ground. That has never happened there. There was also snow on the beaches. Pretty crazy!
The snow and ice caused a lot of power outages and accidents for people as well. Crazy stuff has been happening this month. Fires in the west and snow, ice, wind, and flooding in the east.
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
Our country had a presidential inauguration for Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance.
This was in the news: Washington — President Trump took office Monday in a full-day affair that included the swearing-in ceremony inside the Capitol Rotunda, his inaugural address, a Senate luncheon and an event at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington in lieu of a parade.
The inauguration is normally held outside the Capitol but was moved indoors due to the freezing cold temperatures in Washington.
Former President Joe Biden officially transferred power to Mr. Trump at noon on Jan. 20, 2025, and left via helicopter after Mr Trump was sworn in.
Again, time will tell how this all plays out, having Pres. Trump back in the office. Hoping all goes well for the American citizens.
No comments:
Post a Comment