Day Family newsletter - Sept. 2011

October 1, 2011

NEWS FROM THE DAYS:

I know the paragraph below was sent out earlier, but I felt it needed to be preserved in the annals of the family newsletter.

An eventful month and one where a word of caution ought to be noted. Let’s say a heated rivalry game is played between two competing schools, and instead of a typical close outcome, there is a, well, should we say, an absolute slaughter of one team by the other. Should the winning team boast of their superiority? Or of their outright domination of the inferior team? Or make jokes, or laugh at the downtrodden? A word of caution, as the winning team’s fans need to be humble, and comfort their suffering neighbors down south, or wherever they may live. And tell them that it would have been a close game except for a few turnovers. And that the game could have easily turned the other direction when BYU led midway through the 2nd quarter. And that this temporary setback will motivate and propel the team to a successful season, even though they lost the most important game of the season. So what? Life isn’t about football and winning, is it? So the winning side needs to say, “Good game – we were lucky to win this one. We just happened to catch you on an off day… OK, a way, way, way off day.” And life goes on, at least for the Utes.

And, now that BYU has won two games since, I guess this proves there is life after death…… after all.

Birthdays celebrated during the month included Wiggins, Stephanie and Kaylee. For Stephanie’s birthday, most of us were able to dine at The Training Table and have cake and ice cream. For Kaylee’s 6th birthday, most of us were able to join her at Boondocks, a fun center in the Draper area where they have eats, go carts and games of all types. We also had a nice get-together at our home while Christopher was home for a week off from army duty in North Carolina. Cole, Jessica and Emry joined us that night, and it is amazing to see how much Emry looks like her mom. She is really growing up!

Linda and I attended a play at the U of U Pioneer Theatre – saw Next to Normal, an excellent musical. We also saw a couple of movies, How Does She Do It, and one with the kids, a Smurf movie.

Stephanie decided to go back to school to try and finish her degree online, and found she couldn’t get her Univ. of Phoenix degree as she waited too long to start it up again, but is taking two semesters at SLCC to get an Associate’s Degree. Linda and I agreed to watch her kids Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon every other weekend to help give Steph the time necessary to study and successfully complete this project. So we have kids over a lot more than normal. One night, Kaylee also joined us for a sleepover the same weekend we had Steph’s kids. And on another weekend, we had Jack and Sofie for an evening (not a sleepover) while Steph’s kids were here. We’ve reverted back to when we raised our girls, and take the grandkids for a 7-11 visit while here, and down to the elementary school playground to ride bikes or play on the playground equipment. Linda gives them all baths, and we split up the kids so each one sleeps with one of us, except Jessica, of course, as she is more grown up and has her own bedroom downstairs which she loves!

Shelley and I hosted the Janssen cousin reunion on Sept. 10th at the Olive Garden, and were quite surprised with all the positive comments and praise. Thanks again for everyone chipping some $$, Deon for her superb invitations (hard copy as well as evites), and Shelley for all her preparations and work.

Debbie, after getting news about being laid off at American Express, landed a great job in the same area with Zions Bank. She started there this past week. Jackie and Wiggins received disheartening news this past week about Wiggin’s mom. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor and given one month to live. Wiggin’s father likewise was diagnosed with terminal cancer in just the past year and died. Wiggin’s family is from the Blanding area, and they are down there this week making family plans.

On a brighter note, it was a nice surprise to get a check in the mail from the sale of D & A’s condo. I took Danny’s check down to him to put into his Wells Fargo account, and will withhold sending him his normal monthly allotment for living expenses until he depletes his inheritance. I’ll put the money I normally send him in savings to earn some interest during this time. In the event I hadn’t mentioned it earlier, Deon is having Danny to their home for Thanksgiving, and Derek Farnes has invited Danny to their home for Christmas this year.

Linda and I are looking forward to retiring in April, 2013, if we can last that long. Only 1½ yrs. left!

And that’s the news from the Days. Love,

Tom & Linda

DAY FAMILY NEWSLETTER - AUGUST 2011

NEWS FROM THE DAYS:
Linda, Steph and Katie had a garage sale from our front yard early in the month, and we got rid of most things as we priced everything low. What was left I took to the DI, and we now have much more room in our home. We even got rid of our old hi-fi stereo with turn table and 8 track tape! It helped pay for the new front sidewalk we had installed to replace about 50 ft. of crumbling sidewalk. The city chipped in for 50% of the cost.

I attended Mr. Wilkes funeral and viewing earlier in the month. It was good to see Brent and Karin, who we keep in touch with, as well as Julie and Hans. And to hear stories about their dad and the old neighborhood. We also attended Jenna and Eric’s wedding reception (Kirk and Carolyn’s daughter) and got to see and visit with everyone.

Linda and I went to see Josh Groben in concert. A great show! Later in the month, we took off for vacation in St. George and loved every minute. We decided to join a bus tour of historic sites one day and ended up meeting Lorenzo Snow, Jacob Hamblin (he was sent to work with the Indians), Orson Pratt, one of the early women pioneers, and Brigham Young. Instead of the lady who conducted the tour explaining everything at each stop, the key character would come out, introduce themselves, and tell about their history and what they had done for the area. We then drove to Enterprise (not from Star Wars) and attended a corn festival – old car show, arts and crafts, food and of course, corn. We also stopped on the way to visit the Meadow Mountain Massacre site. We got spoiled with two free days at the Casablanca (a Mesquite casino similar to nice Vegas casinos). And we discovered a neat little store in St. George called Judd’s, and bought some “old” candy (like the little wax bottles – about 2 inches high where you bite the top off and drink the punch inside), candy cigarettes, an original Dr. Pepper bottle with the 10 – 2 – 4 as part of the label, and a package of Neccos (the round thin flavored candy about the size of a quarter). Anyway, memory lane.

We left St. George and saw two plays in Cedar City at the Shakespeare event, Music Man and The Glass Menagerie. Both excellent, especially The Music Man. We left there and drove the back roads up the Nevada/Utah border to Wendover, Utah. There we caught Engelbert Humperdinck in concert, and celebrated our 44th anniversary. He put on one heck of a show in their new concert hall. On the way to Wendover, I told Linda we didn’t have to fill up at Ely, Nevada – it wasn’t necessary. About 25 miles out in the desert from Wendover, the gas light went on. But luck prevailed, and we made it without running out of gas. Can you imagine the headline in the newspaper? A local elderly couple perished in the hot desert terrain trying to hike into Wendover, Nevada, probably to waste away their just received social security checks. They had apparently run out of gas, and died tragically with outstretched arms no doubt trying to reach the slot machine arms awaiting them in town.

And that’s the news from Salt Lake, St. George, Mesquite, Cedar City, Ely and Wendover. Love,
Tom & Linda