The Real Thanksgiving

People are always asking for a White Christmas, but this year we experienced a White Thanksgiving. Going along with the white was plenty of cold. It was a whole new thing for this California girl. The high was 21 degrees and the low was 7.

While we waited for the turkey to get done, I decided that it would be a good time to go out and try to find the three geocaches closest to Cory's house. It was so cold out that when we did find them that the ink in the pen was frozen and we couldn't sign the log. My fingers were stinging not to mention that both of the boys had been walking in the gutters and were soaking wet and freezing.


Jenny, Matt, and the girls came down for the evening and to share dessert. It was a very enjoyable day -- as long as we stayed inside.

Stephen, Cory, and Suzanne decided to give up sleep in preference to hanging out and making new friends in Walmart. They had quite the tales to tell upon their return. We spent the majority of the day with Jenny's family along with Lila who went to play with her cousins. The evening we joined Cory's family to watch Provo's first electric Christmas parade. I'm really surprised that anybody came out to it with the temperature where it was.




We traveled home on Saturday. It was nice to get back to a little warmth. It was also nice to find that Jared and Ashley (along with Clara and Kevin) had put out a few of the Christmas decorations to make things festive.

Thanksgiving Break

This is the year that Stephen and I determined that we should spend most of our vacations on the road to visit our children. It is great seeing the kids, but all that time in the car is tiring.

We left right after I got home from school on Friday, November 19th, and headed to New Mexico. After a few short hours in a roadside rest, we managed to arrive in Las Cruces by about 12:30 Saturday afternoon. It was really good to be able to spend 2 1/2 days visiting with Curtis. He didn't want to show us off to the members of his university ward, but other than that he let us move around the city unhindered.

We of course saw the city through geocaching as we visited many sites that Curtis would never have thought to taken us to otherwise. We even had the opportunity to sit in the theater with Curtis and watch the latest episode of Harry Potter.



We took the scenic route to Utah, stopping to visit Mesa Verde National Park near Moab. It was somewhere that I've wanted to visit for many years and we finally made it. I can't imagine how the Native Americans could survive the winters living on those cliffs -- it was freezing cold while we were there. The structures were amazing though.

Conference in Utah

October 2nd, Jared, Ashley,Stephen and I found ourselves inside the Conference Center for the first session of General Conference. It was amazing to hear how this huge building, filled with tens of thousands of people, just went completely silent when Pres. Monson walked in. It was easy to see the reverence everyone has for him.




We met at the Shirts home for the afternoon session of conference. After dinner, the guys went to Priesthood, Dad watched the grandkids, and the girls and I went out to Deseret Book and Robert's Craft that were having special "Ladies' Night Out" events. Suzanne won one of the drawings at Deseret Book, and Jenny found out later in the week that she won the grand prize -- a $400 value set of books about the Messiah. It was a very good night out for the Nimer women. It was really nice of Stephen to give up conference to babysit.

Shirts are Eternal Family

October 1st, 2010, was a brilliant day for the Nimers and Shirts families. As parents of Matt and Jenny, we were all excited to be able to be in the temple when they were sealed to each other for time and all eternity. Then in walked Sam and Kelsie who kneeled with their parents at the altar in the Salt Lake Temple and were bound to each other forever. What a powerful event.



I was blessed to be able to go and help Jenny get dressed and to spend a little time with her before she was taken to be with Matt. I am so happy for her and her family. Glad that she has received this blessing in her life.

It was wonderful to hear Matt's mom say what a great mother Jenny is to the girls. She said she was so patient and loving not to mention extremely talented. I loved having her recognize this about Jenny and to know that she is appreciated by her in-laws.

Family Photos June 2010

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Another One Flees the State

It was bad enough when 3 out of 5 of our children fled from Fresno to other areas, but now Jenny is getting ready to head with her young family to Utah. She will be teaching in the South Jordan district starting in August while Matt attends school at Weber State in Ogden. The move has made Stephen and I realize how much we need to spend time with our kids while they are close by. I hope that we have learned our lesson before we lose anymore.

We spent from July 2nd to July 5th at Matt and Jenny's in San Jose helping them get packed for the big move. Stephen was a very entertaining grandpa to Samantha and Kelsie. It was touch and go for awhile but by the end of Monday afternoon Matt had sealed off the tractor/trailer (or whatever you call the container portion of a big semi-truck). It was a long weekend but it was good to be able to feel that we were of service to their family. Plus it was great being able to spend a little more time with our very cute granddaughters.

The BIG Day

After about a year and a half, Ashley and Kevin were sealed in the Fresno Temple on Saturday, June 19th. It was so good to be in the sealing room with all the people who know them and were wishing the best for them. It was great to have Cory and Suzanne, Matt and Jenny, and Jared and Clara there watching as they were sealed together for time and eternity. I am so happy for both of them.

Jenny and I helped Ashley get ready for the ceremony and then afterwards helped her to get into her wedding gown. She looked beautiful in both of her white dresses.

The reception was wonderful with perfect weather and the support of fantastic friends who helped with all of the last minute details and the food service. It was nice to be able to visit with family and friends that we hadn't seen in a long time.

I am so grateful to have valiant children who have tried to remain faithful and do what they have been asked to do. Stephen and I have been truly blessed as parents.

Woman in White

Ashley looked beautiful today as she dressed in white and took out her endowments in the Fresno Temple. She asked me to be her escort and so I was able to be in the celestial room waiting for her when she arrived. She definitely leaned on Kevin for his support and understanding. One more week and Ashley will be sealed to Kevin. Jared was also waiting for Ashley.

The afternoon and evening were spent at Ashley and Kevin's newly acquired apartment helping them get things moved in. It was nice to watch the empty rooms turn into a home for them as their furniture and other things began to fill it up.

Jenny in the Temple

Friday night we had the privilege of serving as the escort for Jenny as she took out her endowments. It was so good being in the room with other family members and welcoming her there among us. She looked wonderful all dressed in white.

Matt's parents flew to California to be here for the special event. Shelley drove over from San Rafael, and several people from her ward attended as well. I am so happy for her.

San Jose Difference

We went out for a walk in Quepos this morning before leaving. We found a very nice city park at the end of the street -- it actually deadended into the park. It was fun watching the waves break into the rocks.

Our ride to San Jose was early but so were we. We had a nice ride with a couple from Wisconsin that had spent time at Montezuma. It sounded like a really nice place to visit. We picked them up in Jaco which is another beach town. They said that most things were closed on Good Friday, but there were plenty of drug dealers and prostitutes pushing their wares. I´m glad that I missed that bit of color.

The area of our hotel in San Jose is a little different. The clerk basically told Dad that it wasn´t a good neighborhood after dark and that we are in the middle of the red light district. I´m lucky that I got Stephen to leave the hotel after he heard that. We walked down to the main street in search of the Ancient Gold Museum. We found it, but would you believe that it was closed today. We gave up after that and just located things to eat -- saw a KFC, Taco Bell, McDonald´s, Wendy´s, and Subway. Dad felt like he was back at home.

We are in for the night in preparation for the airport experience tomorrow. Hope you are all enjoying conference -- I guess we will see it when we get home.

Captive in Quepos

Today we planned to go back up to the beach at Manuel Antonio and actually spend some time frolicking in the clear warm water. Unfortunately, last night we found out that there was a small monkey wrench (not monkey) in our plan. This just happens to be Good Friday. What we have found out is that you do NOT want to be in a small town in a Spanish-speaking country on Good Friday. Everything, including the transportation is closed down. I feel like we are trapped. We couldn´t even get a bus out of town. Oh, well.

Manuel Antonio

Spent the morning in Manuel Antonio National Park. There were rainforest trails as well as beautiful white sand beaches. We were able to see monkeys, a sloth, lots of lizards, and some kind of spider or crab. We spent the first part of the trek searching for the spot of a geocache. We found it as we looked out over the cliffs onto the ocean below. I was a bit afraid of finding a hidden snake but all went well.

The water was warm and beautiful. After I got out a ways the water was clear but I didn´t see any fish or shells. On the way back, Dad and I did get to see a Jesus lizard -- the kind that can walk on water.

Arenal

Stephen and I spent from Sunday evening to Wednesday morning at Grupo Arenal Paraiso near Arenal Volcano. The resort that we were at was beautiful with lots of lush tropical growth everywhere. They had a hotsprings on sight with gradually hot poolers as you went higher up towards the source. The part that I liked best was being able to sit out on our patio at anytime of the day and having a wonderful few of the volcano and the beauty of the tropics.

We went on a tour of the volcano on Monday walking up to the site of the 1968 eruption. Very rocky and we got to see the regrowth of the forest where everything had been burned at that time. Later in the day we went to Baldi Hot Springs which is a big attraction in the area. 15 pools that got progressively hotter -- up to 153 degrees. OUCH!!

Tuesday was a taxi ride out to La Fortuna Waterfall. There was a 600 meter walk in to see it. What they didn´t tell you that it was 600 meters of steps going straight up and down. The falls was worth the hike. Stephen took lots of pictures of me standing dangerously close to the tumbling water from the safety of the dry rocks. I wonder if he was thinking insurance at that point.

Monteverde Cloud Reserve

This is my second try for this entry as the last one disappeared when I went to save it. Anyway, this morning we walked up to the Monteverde Cloud Reserve to walk through. The weather was so nice that there were actually no clouds and there was no moisture within the forest.

I went on a guided tour where the guide carried a scope with him to help us to see the various birds that he spotted. We were lucky to see the quetzal (the Costa Rican national bird) and also trees full of howler and capuchino monkeys. Stephen walked on his own and had the experience of running into a white-faced coati along the trail.

We are waiting for our shuttle bus to pick us up to take us to Arenal which is in a volcanic area. Besides the bus/taxi there is a boat trip involved across Arenal Lake. Don´t know if there will be internet available there but I am hoping that we will be pleasantly surprised as we were here.

Monteverde Cloud Reserve

Stephen and I arrived late Friday night to the Trapp Family Lodge which is located just 1/2 a mile from the Monteverde Cloud Reserve. It is very lush but also VERY windy in the area.

Yesterday, he and I spent the day in a private reserve next to St. Elena Cloud Reserve where we ziplined and walked in the clouds above the canopy. Very good day. The last ride of the zipline was a tandem event with Stephen hooking his legs behind me and us sliding down the line for over a kilometer. The last activity of zipping was a voluntary Tarzan Swing. I fell off of a 30 meter tower and swung out into the trees. It was fantastic.

We are off this morning to spend a few hours in the Monteverde Cloud Reserve.