Happy birthday, Aunt Anna!

Today was a special day for a member of our extended family.  It was the 90th birthday of my Aunt Anna!  Bonnie and I were thrilled to be invited to share in the family festivities:

Aunt Anna is a remarkable person, and has been a special woman in my life.  She was born in Talmage just a year after my Dad, and eventually married my Dad's brother (Uncle Albert).  The two brothers moved their families near each other in West Mountain and helped one another on their farms until my Dad's death in 1964.  Uncle Albert and Aunt Anna had six sons and two daughters, plus a son who died in infancy.  Their older children were quite a bit older than us, but then the youngest was younger than Judy.  So we did have quite a bit in common with them, and spent many holidays and family occasions together.  As we've grown into middle age, I've been grateful to live in Utah; it's been wonderful to interact with that family and become even closer.

A visit home

On Saturday April 24, my sister Angie and I spent a few hours driving around Payson and reminiscing about the people and places we knew those many years ago. So much has changed over the decades, but it was fun to see the things that are left.

We started in West Mountain, where our Payson experience began. Our Dad purchased a small farm in 1959 and moved the family there from Salt Lake City. The home we lived in still stands, though it has been dramatically remodeled. The big box elder trees in the yard (the ones showing green in the photos) were there in our childhood, though the other trees have been added since. Here's a photo of the home approaching from the east:

While we were looking at the house from the street, the current owner noticed us and came out to talk. He was very friendly, shared his memories and experiences, and eventually invited us to come in the yard and the house for a tour!

Headstone in Payson Cemetery

I have not done well in keeping up this blog. But today I feel motivated to try to restart. We'll see if I can do a little better in keeping up, at least occasionally.

Since Sarah's wedding in August (and my last post to the blog), the major event in my life was the passing of my dear Mother last November. We had a wonderful funeral, with almost all of her descendents attending and participating (except for two grandsons, Matt on his mission in Chile and Andrew who could not get away from school at UCLA).

Since Mom died in November, we were not able to get the headstone updated and re-seated through the winter months. They had to wait for the ground to thaw and dry out. Conditions finally were right last week, and today, Bonnie and I went to Payson to see the results. (Click on any photo to view a larger and more detailed copy.)

Note the granite slab between the cement and the headstone — that's something we had added. It makes the headstone more permanent, protected, and durable, and also a little more visible. The cement foundation was badly worn in the original mounting, and looks so nice now that it's fresh and new.