Remembering Grandma Hiatt...

Today is my Grandma Hiatt's birthday, June 30, 1911. She would have been 97 years old today. There is so much that I would like to write about her and I literally have hundreds of memories from times that I shared with her. For this post I am going to focus on a few of the memories that I am thinking about right now. I have a feeling this is going to be a long post.

Grandma was born to John Lewis and Mary Jane Turner Eynon. Her given name was Maxine L. Eynon. She married Edward Mondell Hepworth. Dell passed away and Grandma later married Wilford Hiatt. Thus, her name Maxine L. Eynon Hepworth Hiatt. Grandma was a beautiful woman to me and I admire her so much. I always felt secure and confident in her love for me. Occasionally I see my Mom do things that remind me of her. It is kind of fun.

Let the memories flow...

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to live with my Mom and Grandparents in their home when I was a baby. We lived with them until I was almost three years old. I think I was blessed to have this opportunity. I always felt safe and secure in my Grandparents home. It was a safe haven for me. This is their home at 627 West Haliday in Pocatello. I occasionally drive by, look, and remember. I had many good times in this home.

Because my Grandpa Hiatt retired from the Union Pacific Railroad, my Grandparents had lifetime rail passes for travel on the train. Grandma cared for me when my mom worked and, once in a while, she took me on the train with her. We went to visit my Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins.

I believe one of the earliest memories I can recall is of riding on the train with Grandma to Boise. The memory I have is related to going to the dining car from the passenger car. I remember Grandma opening the door of the passenger car we were in and me seeing the floor moving where the two cars connected. She was holding my hand and I remember being afraid to cross over the floor because it was moving and making loud noises. I didn't want to fall. I am sure I resisted but with her help we crossed over and she opened the door to the dining car. I remember sitting it the dining car by a window and the cook talking to us. I think that I remember this because of the fear I felt to cross over the floor that connected the two cars. I couldn't have been very old. I love to see passenger trains and I cannot see one today without thinking of Grandma.

Later passenger trains were given a new name, Amtrak, and took a different look. Grandma's pass worked for Amtrak too and she continued to use the service to go and see those she loved. I remember picking her up at the train depot many times early in the morning. Usually 3:00 a.m. or so. Amtrak doesn't service Idaho any longer and the depot here is now used for offices for the Union Pacific Railroad.

I have had a few opportunities as an adult to travel places by train and I love it. I think that is because of my trips with Grandma when I was so young.

Grandma had a gift with people. It seemed that she loved everyone and everyone loved her. I think that is something that I learned from her, friendship and kindness. Grandma loved people and she valued their friendship. It is because of her kindness and warmth, that her friendship was valued too. It seems to me that everywhere she went she knew someone. If she didn't know anyone... well... she became acquainted with somebody before long. I don't think she ever met someone she considered as a stranger. She loved to help people. I think she was quite a compassionate person. I would like to hope that I have some of that DNA in me. What greater compliment than to be considered a "people person?" A person of service, love, and friendship.

I cannot think of Grandma without thinking about her car...the car everyone probably remembers her driving...her green Volkswagon Bug! There is a story of how she got that car...I think it came from my Uncle Murray and Aunt Lili. It wasn't the fanciest bug on the block but, no matter, it fit my Grandma. My Mom had a bug too, so I had many drives in them. One of my favorite rides was to Price's Corner for home-made fries and a Coke! I love Volkswagon Bugs to this day.

A fun memory I have about Grandma's bug came when I spent the night at her house. It happened to be the night someone else fell in love with her car too. In fact they liked it so much, they stole it. The bug was missing. Grandma was so upset. The police came and then my Aunt JoElla, Troy, and Jane picked us up and drove around looking everywhere for her car. We didn't find it. It was recovered a few days later. Vowing to never let the car get stolen again my Grandparents came up with a plan to keep the car secure...every night they chained it to the telephone pole out in the front of their home :). I am chuckling and also have a tear in my eye as I write this. It worked. I don't remember the car ever getting stolen again. Every time I see a Volkswagon Bug, no matter what color, older or newer, I think of Grandma. I wish we could go for a drive in that bug again with her, what fun we would have now!

Grandma knew how to cook! I think that she developed this talent from living on ranches and from preparing meals for the ranch hands. I don't know? I remember Grandma cooking huge meals...You know...the meat and tators kind. I am not kidding...huge, complete meals, every meal of the day. It always seemed to me like such a "spread of food" at their home. Everything always tasted so good. Grandma's just have a way of making things taste so good. You know that probably has to do with that extra little ingredient...LOVE!
I always liked it when we (brothers, sisters, and cousins) would spend the night with Grandma and she would make dollar size pancakes for breakfast! This, of course, was in addition to the six other choices of food we had on the table :). I think I ate tons of them every time she made them for us. I loved sitting around their kitchen table sharing a meal with Grandpa and Grandma. What a treat. I always left their kitchen full, physically and spiritually too. If you know what I mean? ;) I really miss all of that you know.

Grandma was athletic too! She broke her ankle playing kickball a few weeks before I was born but, I think that her favorite sport as a Senior, certainly had to be bowling. Grandma bowled on a couple of Senior Bowling Leagues. It seemed that she had a lot of fun doing this. On occasion she would allow us to go with her on "bowling day" and I must say that it was fun to watch her. She made a lot of friends bowling too. I loved it when she would let us go with her and I was always so proud that she was my Grandma. Many times she would "treat" us after she was done bowling; Lunch, an ice cream, candy bar, pop...whatever, it was just fun being with her. Once in a while she would take us bowling too. We had a lot of fun bowling with her. I wonder what her highest scored game was?

Grandma loved to sew and quilt and she was kind of crafty too. I remember many times going to her home and seeing a quilt on frames or her working on an embroidery project. Some people were lucky enough to receive her work as a gift, but because of her ability many people paid her to quilt for them. She was good at it. I remember her making me a quilt for my sixth birthday. I loved it and wore it out. It seems to me that she completed each stitch with love and that is what made her work so special.

Another gift that I believe Grandma had was her testimony of the gospel, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ. She seemed to have great faith in the Lord. I appreciate her faith and strength. I feel lucky because not only was I taught the gospel in my home, but I know that I was taught the gospel in her home too. She had a quiet strength when it came to spiritual matters. Many times I had the chance to attend church services with Grandma. I remember how neat I thought walking to church with her was. I wish that I could hear her share her testimony today. I think that it would be fun to sit and visit with her about spiritual things. What advice would she have for me?

Grandma loved Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She was born and raised there. I once had the chance to visit the land where her homestead is. The homestead is located on a majestic piece of property in the Teton Valley, looking out towards the Tetons. Certainly this is some of my favorite scenery in the world. It seems that many others like it there too as the value of Grandma's ranch would easily be in the millions of dollars today. It is easy to see why. I loved being there that day. I imagined what it must have been like for her as a little girl. I thought about her skiing down the hill behind their home. I wondered what it was that she did each day? What kinds of chores did she do? What were her animals like? I saw the school that she and her siblings walked to...and it was far... and I know the snow gets deep there...and I'll bet it was cold too. She was telling the truth when she said "When I was a little girl we had to...."

I remember Grandma telling me that when she was a little girl that they cut their own Christmas tree and that they decorated it with real candles, oranges, apples, and hand strung popcorn. Grandma always talked about her parents with admiration and respect. I believe that Grandma had a happy childhood in Jackson.

This is a picture I took when I visited the land where Grandma's home was. I loved it there and the Spirit I felt as I walked around the property. The quality of this picture isn't the best, but if you look carefully you can see the tetons in the background.

I love Jackson too. It is in my blood to love that place. I have had occasion to go there several times over the past few years. Each time I have visited, I have thought about Grandma and the roots I have there. It is an awesome thought. It is certainly one of the most beautiful places on earth to me.

One last quick memory. I volunteered with Grandma once at the church cannery in Pocatello. Grandma and I had the job of assembling and gluing the boxes for the cans to go in. While we were working I noticed Grandma look around to see if anyone was watching her. She must have felt like no one was watching her, but I was! She looked around as she carefully reached into a box that was near her and pulled out a handful of what looked like dried banana slices and put a few into her mouth and started to chew. Soon her delightful expression turned to one of confusion and distaste. She started spitting the slices back into her hand. It turned out that her snack, wasn't dried bananas, but was really small pieces of glue for the glue guns we were using to glue the boxes. Her expression was priceless. I laughed so hard that my side hurt. She laughed too. Grandma had a great sense of humor. She was fun to be around. I still laugh when I think about this story.

I could go on and on with memories and experiences. I love and miss Grandma. She, for me, is the only Grandma I ever knew. She was an amazing person in so many ways and I am certain of the love she had for her family, especially her children and grandchildren. I know it. This picture is of my Mom, Uncles, and Aunts sitting on the front steps of their Haliday home. I love each of these people. I believe that Grandma would say of them, her children, they they are her greatest success and joy.

In Loving Memory of Naomi Maxine Hiatt Johnson, My Aunt, who passed away a year and a half before my Grandma. She isn't in the picture above. I am using this picture because I love it. That's me with her and we look so happy. I miss her too.

Happy Birthday Grandma! I love and miss you so much. I am thinking of you today and always.

These are just some of my memories. I would love to hear some of yours. Please post a memory of Grandma in the "comments" section and I will post them in a later blog. I think that it would be fun to share. Enjoy remembering. I have.

Report For The Week...

Well, I have completed my first week at Gold's Gym and I feel great about what I accomplished this week. I worked exclusively on "cardio" this week with stretching after each workout. I worked out everyday for at least one hour.

Monday: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill
Tuesday: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill
Wednesday: One hour spinning class (I felt like we biked to Boise and back during this class.)
Thursday: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill
Friday: My Big Day! 30 minutes stair-stepper, 30 minutes treadmill, 30 minutes elliptical
Saturday: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill

I can't explain how good I feel after I workout. I love the feeling I have physically and mentally. I must admit having my IPod and televisions on the equipment make it a lot easier to do. I can watch a one hour show and have my workout complete. I hope that I can hang on to this desire. I fear that I will lose motivation and resolve. I really need to get healthier. My last visit to the Doctor helped motivate me to get busy. My cholesterol levels are elevated and that scares me. I know that exercise will help. I mentioned before that I have been reading Bob Harper and Bob Greene's books about weight loss. I really like the approach that each takes to living a healthier life. Their ideas are very similiar to one another and simple; Eat healthy and exercise more. Shellie worked out with me most of the days and I must admit that having her there helped. It was fun. Shellie and I weighed in on Monday before my first session and I weighed ???lbs. In a couple of weeks I will have to weigh again and hopefully I will see a difference. The coolest thing is that I did it! I know this is boring for you but I feel that I need to post it. Thanks for your support.

Hope For The Future!

Hope For The Future!

I love these kids! Meet my Nieces and Nephews. They are beautiful to me in so many ways. I can only imagine the promise that each of them holds within their potential, each on their own unique earthly mission. The responsibility of raising them must seem overwhelming to their parents at times.

President Gordon B. Hinckley has said of children, "...A new generation is at our feet. These are children. These are sons and daughters of God whose time has come to take their place on earth. They are...young, tender, sensitive, beautiful, and full of promise. Children are the promise of the future. They are the future itself."

The change of the future is in the hands of little ones like these. I pray that Heavenly Father will help us to help them achieve all that they are capable of doing. I pray that Heavenly Father will protect them and bless each of them to grow to be healthy, happy, and give them opportunities to pursue and attain their dreams.

God bless us in our endeavors to help them achieve.

I Found Gold!

There is gold at the end of the rainbow! Gold's Gym...does that count?

At the end of the school year a group of students were doing a fundraiser by selling $20.00 three month memberships to Fitness Inc and Metro Health Spa. I decided that I would give it a try. I know I need to lose weight and I wanted to be healthier. My friend Kris teaches a spinning (cycling) class there and I thought it would be fun to go work out with her. I have enjoyed it a lot. I have been going for about 5 weeks now. Her class is a blast! There is great workout music, laughs, and hard work. My butt isn't saddle sore anymore. However, my membership expires in July and I was thinking about what to do after that? I thought about joining Fitness Inc., but Gold's Gym opened a new facility here this past week and I decided to go and tour it first. I fell in love with the place. It is awesome. All of the equipment is new and modern. Every piece of cardio equipment has a television on it and a place for an Ipod. There is a pool, sauna, hot tub, steam room, etc. They have a cardio area, free weights, and weight machines. You name it. They have it. I decided to join. Therefore, I found Gold!

In addition to the great student rate, another reason that I decided to go with Gold's is that my sister Shellie works out there too. I think that it will be a boost to have someone to go workout with on occasion. So far we have worked out together for the past couple of days. It is great to have her encouragement. Now I just need to get my favorite spinning instructor, Kris Welsh, to come and teach at Gold's. It wouldn't hurt if a few of my friends and family came along too. :)

I hesitated putting anything about this on my blog for fear that I will fail. I hope not. I certainly can feel a difference in the way I feel after I go and workout. Also I am trying to follow some of Bob Harper's ideas for fitness. Bob is the guy (trainer) from the television show "The Biggest Loser." Although I don't really watch that show (okay I do on occasion with my bowl of ice cream, pop, and popcorn at my side) I have found some of his ideas helpful. Bob suggests keeping a food journal and focusing only on cardio for the first four weeks, three to four days a week for 1/2 an hour. I have already been doing this with the spinning class at Fitness Inc., but for an hour each day. I am going to give it another four weeks from now and then add in the weight training, etc. I hope it will work and that I will stick with it and get HEALTHY. Who can put a value on that? I will share some of my feelings about things as I go along. Don't be afraid to ask me how things are going. I hope to lose 15 pounds to start.

Here I am during one of my first workouts at the new Gold's Gym in Pocatello.

Happy Birthday To You...

Happy Birthday to Cara Corrington and Carter Moore! I love you both!. I stopped by Cara's "Rainbow Birthday Party" earlier tonight and enjoyed watching the youngsters playing and having fun. It looked like Cara's party was a success. There were family and friends, cake and ice cream, pop, presents, friends, and family. What could be better? I left before the pinata bash. I didn't want to be the next one featured on America's Funniest Home Videos. You know the one who gets hit with the bat and then lays on the ground trying to catch his breath. Yeah that one... I didn't want to be him. Seriously though it is fun for us to get together and to celebrate one another.

We missed you Carter. We will have to celebrate your birthday the next time we get together.

Happy Birthday!

I Love To See The Temple!

Okay, so here's the deal. My Mom tells me that she has the responsibility of doing "Sharing Time" in her primary class at church. The theme for the month is about temples. After she told me this the teacher in me came alive...yikes. I start getting ideas and I tell my Mom that I will look for activities on the Internet and hopefully we can pull something together that will be fun for the primary children. I looked and I found...an activity for Junior Primary...and ANOTHER for Senior Primary. My Mom was excited about the activities and the lesson ideas. I printed them, went and copied the materials, and then it was cutting time! Oh boy...and I mean cutting time... At least ten hours of cutting for both of the activities, and that was both of us working! I kept thinking that I am glad that I plan to teach high school...they can cut out there own projects:).

The Junior Primary activity included a picture of the temple that became 3D when folded and then there were cut outs of a family and shrubs that they could glue onto the picture. They had reminders of what the kids needed to do to be able to go to the temple someday. When it was done, they had a shadow box of the temple, a family, and landscape. We thought that the kids would enjoy putting them together. For the Senior Primary, we used a pattern of the Salt Lake Temple that when folded and glued became a small container that holds reminder cards of what is required to attend the temple someday. I must say that organization was a key for this to be successful. Everything was cut out and placed in separate envelopes. All my Mom needed to do was to present her lesson and then hand out an envelopes and glue sticks to everyone and let the children build their temples.

I wasn't there but I heard that it was a great Sharing Time. The kids were so responsive and excited about building their temples. I'm glad. I really enjoyed working on the Sharing Time with my Mom. I love to see her have success. I am sure the Spirit really helped her to teach this. I also enjoyed this time because I was able to think about the temple and the importance it plays in my life. The temple is certainly a blessing to me. I believe that because of the temple ordinances, if I am obedient, I can live with those I love FOREVER! This is a wonderful promise and blessing. I love that ALL of Heavenly Father's children can be linked together as an eternal family. It makes me happy.

Gone Camping...

It's hard to believe, but we are already hosting our summer volleyball camp at Highland High School this week. For this camp there will not be any campfires (although they did a fire drill yesterday), s'mores, snipe hunts, or any of the sort. Just some hard working, focused, sweaty athletes, working hard to get better at what they love to do. Deb Parrish is our Head Coach again this year and I feel so secure having her at the helm of our team. She has so much knowledge and experience. Cory Johanson and I are the assistant coaches again. This year we decided to bring in coaches from Chad Tiechert's Volleyball Camps to run our summer camp. Bill Thompson, and his daughter, from Wyoming are our presenters. They do everything. So basically we are just there to make adjustments and handle any problems. (I don't like problems!) Luckily no injuries or upset people so far.

I must admit that I felt some sadness when I went to the gym today and realized that half of our varsity team from last year has graduated. Sure I knew that they would be moving on with their lives, but I miss those young athletes already. We gradutated some strong athletes. Three of the five are going on to play college ball at various universities. Because we lost a few great athletes, I'll admit that I have had moments of anxiety about what we are going to do to stay strong as a team. I am not sure that we are as strong as we have been. Hey but that's why we practice and why we have an awesome coaching staff. We really seem to complement one another.

We do have some strong incoming seniors. Breanne Van Every and Emma Filiaga are outstanding athletes. Both have already been recognized with athletic excellence at the state level, First and Second Team respectfully. I have worked with them since they were young girls. I have watched them as they have grown from young girls to young women. Both played on my travelling 14's Intermountain Volleyball Team. We also have Amy Teuscher and Kelsie Burup coming back as seniors, each played on my travelling team too. These girls are fantastic and I am sure are hoping to fill vacated spots left by the graduated seniors who played ahead of them last year. Hopefully they will have the opportunities that they expect. We are so lucky to have Nikki Meline, our setter, and Jordan Holman coming back too,. Both will be juniors. These girls are so athletic and such fun to be around. They teach me so much. I love to watch them interact with one another and the support that they give to each other. They are positive role models for those who are around them. These ladies are kind, friendly, hard-working athletes, but more importantly people. I have seen each of them sacrifice many times for the team. Sometimes they play even though they are tired, hurt, and in pain. It is fun to watch them as friends too. They have so much fun doing this.

I really believe that children who are involved in extra-curricular activities may have an edge in some aspects of life. Not that others can't learn these things but I know that those I work with learn so many things. They learn to work hard. They learn the importance of team work. They develop self-confidence. They are physically active. They gain friendships. They contribute. Of course I see the benefits of the girls that play volleyball, but kids can get involved in a variety of things. I just think it is important to get involved in something.

They've Got Crabs!

Clint and Brian have crabs!

You know--Crab legs silly!

Let me explain. Okay so I get this call from my brother Brian inviting me over to his house for dinner on Friday night. Sadly for me, he called too late because I had already settled for a Whopper w/cheese on the way home from Wal Mart minutes before he called. The ironic thing is that I was so in the mood for a grilled hamburger, steak, chicken, or whatever. Okay, NOT a hot dog but something tasty cooked on a grill. That is why I picked Burger King...flame broiled. And I have been trying to eat healthier lately :) I'm sure that BK is on top of the list when it comes to healthy places to get a meal. I eat my burger on the way home and I'm not kidding, I had only been home for a few minutes and the phone rings and it's Brian asking us up to his house. Dang! I decided to go up and hang out for a few minutes anyway. I get there and I can smell the steaks grilling as I step out of my car. My stomach growls but I know if I eat anything it will make me sick. I walk in and my Mom, Andrea, Jasmine, Brian, Clint, and the kids are all there. Some were cooking and preparing crab legs, grilled steak, and broiled salmon. Steak only for me please. It looked like an amazing feast. What is the occasion I asked? I wondered if it was because Clint and Brian were feeling guilty about Clinty wrecking his four wheeler into the back of Clint and Andrea's Tahoe earlier in the day? :( Kissing up to Andrea because she was frustrated with them? Emotional eating you know. Nope...just a gathering of sorts to share good food and great company. After dinner everyone vegged around and visited. Their stomach's full from eating a meal fit for a king and mine full from eating a burger made at the King. How fair is that? It was fun to just hang out, laugh, and enjoy one another. We really need to do that more often.

Lost And Found

Yesterday afternoon I was sorting through a box of things I have kept put away in the bottom of my bedroom closet and found 12 rolls of undeveloped film. Yikes! These aren't pictures that I took recently either...I took them more like ummm...7-13 years ago. I know all of you scrapbook people are gasping and thinking horrible thoughts about me. Sorry. When I saw the film canisters I decided I better get them processed immediately. I wasn't sure if the film (pictures)would even develop? I took the film to Wal Mart, went to the photo counter, explained that the film was old, and asked if they could do something? The lady said she would try. I went back later and sure enough she had pictures for me. Amazing huh? I couldn't get home fast enough so that I could discover what hidden treasures there were for me to see. I opened the packages and had a trip down Memory Lane! There were pictures from when I worked at R Homes, from Cannon and Jodie's reception, from birthdays, and from a variety of other experiences. Wow am I glad that I didn't just toss the film into the garbage. It was fun to remember and reflect.

Inspiring Young Man!

I just happened to be watching the Today Show on television the other day and this story came on and grabbed my attention. I was amazed at the spirit of this young man. I don't even know him, but he touched my life in a big way. Everytime I watch this clip I feel such an amazing feeling, the Spirit for sure. I love Nick's acceptance of his challenges and his determination not to allow these challenges to get him down. I cannot believe all that he can do. Impressive to say the least. Nick truly is an inspiration to me and I want to be a better person because of him. Everyone should see this clip. I love the end.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24839261#24839261