Spring is FINALLY here!?!?! :-)

Last Saturday I was saying, "I love this time of year!" After the long cold never ending winter and having the house shut up I can finally open up the windows and let in the nice fresh warm breeze. As I was getting dressed that morning I was enjoying the warm breeze and the smell of spring. Isn't that something, that you can actually SMELL spring. It brought back a flood of memories. Memories of my childhood when we lived in the country the smell of new mown hay. How is it that smells, sights or sounds can take you to another time another place bringing back a myriad of memories to you mind. Les and I are enjoying working in our yard planting the vegetable and flower garden. Among the perennial flowers that come back each year is my Columbine. When I worked for JB's Restaurants many years ago I had a wonderful friend who was my boss. His name was Harold Freeman and he and his wife Valerie had a beautiful home in Oregon. Harold moved to Utah for a few years and one year for my birthday he gave me a columbine plant. He and Valerie grew them in their yard and I loved them. Each year as those Columbine return I think of Harold who passed away just before his 50th birthday. I remember the great things about Harold and what a great friend and fellow co-worker he was.

Another Year Older and not as deep in debt!

Another birthday has come and gone which usually I just want to forget but this year even though I can hardly bring myself to say just how old I am it is one that will be a mile stone in my life. Why you ask? I hate to say it but I turned 62 May the 27th and can now take an early retirement if I choose to do so. Yahoo!!! Lately I have been day dreaming of what I might do with my leisure time. Taking photographs, gardening, reading, genealogy, working in the temple, taking an English class, maybe a cooking class, spending more time with my mother and sisters, children and grand children. If I want to go visit someone I won't have to worry about getting back to work! The sky is the limit, as long as it doesn't take a lot of money because I won't have as much as I use to. However I could pick up a part time job just for FUN:-) Just the thought of getting the heck out of the hospital and customer service where I take phone calls all day long from grumpy, ornery, mean tempered people as well as kind people brings a large smile to my face and makes me trunky. I'll miss the people I work with as well as the pay check but I definately won't miss the job itself. Wish me luck and if you have any suggestions on thing I can do to fill up my days let me know.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

As a tradition our family has always gone to the cemetery on Memorial Day week end to decorate the graves of our loved ones. As a small child I have pictures of me and my little uncles playing among the head stones while my mother, grand parents, and other relatives visited and reminisced about our family members. It was like a family reunion of sorts, many times we would pack a lunch and actually have lunch there as we visited. Through the years Mom always makes sure that grandma and grandpa Wanlass's graves are decorated as well as my fathers. Les and I always take flowers for my fathers and our little grandson Andrews grave but this year it was a little different. I didn't even make it to the cemetery. The group I dance with, "Jeans Golden Girls" were performing in Jackson Hole Wyoming. They perform there every year for OLD WEST DAYS. I wasn't particularly interested in going with them because I knew it would probably be cold. Then we got a call from Les's sister Susie saying she, Les's Mom and her twin sister Dorothy, and Susie were going to be in Star Valley Wyoming and wanted to go to Jackson to watch me dance. Les said, "I don't think Judy is going to Jackson," to which Susie replied, "She has to go! Were going to see her perform." So I signed up to go and there were 5 dances to learn. As the time drew closer I thought, "What was I thinking?" Practices almost every night and I didn't really feel that confident about one of them, plus the weather has been so out right crazy! Snowing one day, raining the next and then a couple of days before we left it got up to 90! The day we arrived in Star Valley it sprinkled off and on which was okay but the day we performed...was cold and rainy. We got there and ran through our routines before we had to go and line up for the parade. When we got to the start of the parade route it was windy and cold. Just before we started in the parade it started to sprinkle. The parade route wasn't that long and it only took us about 20 minutes. Thank Goodness! When we got to the square to perform the sun was actually out for a few minutes and we thought maybe our prayer was going to work and we would have sunshine for the performance - WRONG! Just as we were about to perform it started raining cats and dogs but the show must go on and there were actually people there smiling and cheering us on even in the rain.


Can you find me?





Les's family starting right, Les's mom, Sabrina Les's sister, Mattie his niece, Sandy his sister, Sierra Sandy's daughter, Aunt Dorothy Les's moms twin, and Susie Les's sister.

And the next picture is of Levi, Les's nephew yours truly and Les.
We had a lot of fun spending time together.