Oregon Shakespeare Festival

We spent a nice long weekend attending the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We've intended to go for many years, and finally did it. On our way up to Oregon, we stopped in Redding and visited the Sundial Bridge. It's pretty cool. The bridge extends over the Sacramento River, and it is actually a sundial. There is a tile band on the ground with times, and when the sun casts a shadow over the band, it should be on the correct time (based on summer solstice).

 

We took a detour off I-5 and spent our first night in Klamath Falls - just to check it out. Not impressed! We did a little nature hike the next day, and found the "falls" which amounted to a brief section of rapids! At least our hotel was very nice. The drive from Klamath Falls was beautiful as we drove by Upper Klamath Lake. We were lame and forgot our camera, so our few photos are from our cell phone. The pic below is of the "falls."

 

Our first night in Ashland, OR, we went to a dinner theater and saw I Love You, You're Perfect - Now Change. It was a bit bawdy, but fun and entertaining.

 

Last day in Ashland we drove around Lithia Park, which is right in the middle of town. Very lovely park. Saw a deer on the side of the road, and stopped to take a pic. She was very cooperative, then up the hillside bounded her fawn which promptly hooked up with mom for a snack. We got a pic of the two of them. We were surprised at the agressiveness of the nursing fawn - almost violent! Mommy Deer was very patient.

 

Photos were not allowed in the Elizabethan Theater where we saw The Merchant of Venice. The theater was lovely and the play very well done. Had to study up a bit before the play, so I was refreshed about plot. I think some attendees were offended by the anti-semite theme. I just took it as we all need to be more tolerant of others, cuz we never know who we might need to borrow money from, and hopefully they won't require a "pound of flesh" as a guarantee.
All in all, it was a nice weekend getaway.

Summer Fun at Funderland and GrandmaLand

Stubblefield Family Reunion - July 2010

Every other year we have a Stubblefield Family Reunion. It is the highlight of my life to have my children and grandchildren all together in one place. Sadly, this year we were missing Jared's family due to their recent move to Pennsylvania. However, we did have 12 adults and 22 of our 26 grandchildren there. Our theme was Firm as the Mountains Around Us with 1Nephi 2:10 - Steadfast and Immovable, as our scriptural reference. When we arrived, each family tye-dyed shirts to distinguish themselves (holding aloft our colors). It was a mess, but fun. The shirts turned out beautifully.
The home we rented was perfect for our needs. It was HUGE, with commanding views of Mt Timpanogas, Heber Valley, and Red Ledges Golf Course. Usually, we have to rent two cabins, but this home allowed us to all be together. It didn't seem crowded at all, and there was plenty of space for everyone to sit at mealtime. We played hard, laughed a lot and thoroughly enjoyed being around one another (speaking for myself). You will have to check out some of the others' blogs for more photos. We took a big family photo, but those pics are on Megan's camera.
Enjoy the photo dump here:
Here is a view of the front of the house we rented in Heber Valley, and some of the kids out front.






Brielle and Amanda looking over the log railing. Ada and Tyghe on the gnarled hunk of wood in the entryway




Some of the family participated in the inaugural Hobbler Half Marathon in Springville, Utah. Megan did a half marathon, while Bud, Micah, Andrea, Kendall, Sara and Caemlyn all did the 5K. Photos of the event are on Megan's camera - so you'll have to wait for those. Here are some of the after effects of the run - oh wait, why is Cory napping? He must be pooped from cheering them on.





Grandpa's homemade Rocket Launcher is always a big hit. The kids fashion their own rocket, and then they launch them over, and over again. Sometimes the rockets need to be retrieved off roofs and out of trees.




We rented a huge Waterslide for a day, and really got our money's worth. The kids and a few adults spent most of the day out on it. The mountain water was very chilly!!






Kids in the Hot Tub. They would use the waterslide until they were half frozen, then go warm up in the Hot Tub.


Grandma and kids in the Media Room. This is where Sam, Zephram, Tristan and Kelman spent a lot of time playing Wii.


Pool in the Rec Room.



Ping Pong in the Rec Room.


A game of Go Fish with grandma.


After Church and lunch, we headed for Emigration Canyon and This is the Place Monument. We also spent some time at Temple Square. Josh's and Micah's Families had already headed for home in Iowa and Arizona respectively.







Last, here are few hot air balloons in Heber Valley the morning of our departure. What a wonderful time we had rekindling our family ties and our love for one another. Thanks to everyone for making the effort to be there and contributing to the festivities. We surely missed Jared's family.

Monterey Bay, Giants Game, San Francisco and Point Reyes

We decided a long weekend getaway was just what we needed. We met up with the Lyons for a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We hadn't been since our kids were young-uns. It was lovely. The next morning we went for a whale watch cruise, then parted company with the Lyons and headed to San Francisco. We've been many times, but this time we thought we'd take the tourist approach and we signed up for an couple of "walking tours." The first was an Architectural Tour of the financial district in SF. We learned tons of stuff about SF and enjoyed learning about its unique architecture. Although the city was founded in 1840's, all the buildings date from 1906 due to earthquake and 3 days of fire. We then took a Chinatown walking tour. It was so interesting. We learned lots about SF history and the blending of Chinese culture. We went to a fortune cookie factory, modern tea bar, Taoist temple and a herbalist shop. We spent our nights in Novato, and took the ferry into the city for tours and Giants game. Our last day was spent out at Marin Headlands and Point Reyes National Seashore. There was too much to see in a day, but we did our best. It's fascinating that such rugged country is so close to such a fascinating big city. SF is a blend of contrasts.

Life is like a box of chocolates at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.



Petting bat-rays at the aquarium.




This is a 10 story, 20ft wide 1910 belt, suspender and tie factory wedged between 2 highrise buildings. Owner had a sense of humor. It's now vacant with a tacky Sushi Bar on the bottom floor.


I like this photo cuz it represents the past and future of SF. The glass building is the Crown-Zellerbach building ca 1950's representing new style of glass and steel, while the building reflected in the glass is the 1929 Shell building ending the era of classical stone and pillar construction. It was completed just before stock market crash and there was no new construction in SF until late 1950's due to crash, and wars.


On our tour of Chinatown, I found this herbalist shop very interesting. For $8.00 a board certified MD will diagnose your maladies, then for another fee the herbalist will customized an herbal concoction to cure your ills.



Us at the Giants game. We enjoyed watching Buster Posey's debut. He did great!


309 steps down to the Point Reyes Lighthouse . . . then back up!


Us overlooking Point Reyes National Seashore. It was breathtaking and is always windy.


Saw this herd of California Happy Cows. They live on prime real estate on Point Reyes, overlooking the Pacific Ocean!


I'll end with this photo and let the words speak for themselves. Contemplating sending to Jay Leno.

Caleb's Blessing Day - G'Baby #26

Yesterday was Caleb Ephraim Stubblefield's Blessing Day. He was very cooperative. Jared and Debbie are the proud parents and Ben & Hannah the proud siblings. The Runyan's came up from Folsom, the Lyon's were there, as well as Caleb's Great Grandparents, Pierce and Isabelle Hawley. Grandpa Hawley was quite pleased to be able to participate. A sister in Jared's ward got all teared up when Bud helped Grandpa up to the front, and Emily overheard her say "how sweet."
Not many babies get to have their almost 90 yr old grandpa stand in the circle. We had a fun potluck at our house afterward. It is always fun to watch the cousins interact and enjoy one another. The Runyan kids are always amazingly sweet to their littler cousins. Check out how tall Sam is!! He's in the back between Aaron and Jared. His voice is changing too.
It was a wonderful day. I'm so grateful for my family and I miss the ones who live so far away.

 

 

Married 69 years and going strong

 

My parents celebrated their 69th Wedding Anniversary on Friday, April 30th. We took them out to dinner at Cool Hand Luke's and they really seemed to enjoy themselves. They sure don't eat much these days, but they love the attention and conversation. We usually try to take them out to lunch monthly, but it was a hectic day and dinner was the best we could do. They are pretty tired by evening time.
Mom and Dad were married in 1941 in the Little Chapel of the Dawn in Santa Monica, CA. Mom's parents were not members if the LDS Church and they were grateful they could witness their only daughter's wedding. The next day mom and dad drove to St. George, Utah, with my dad's mother, Winnie Hawley, and were married in the St. George, Utah LDS Temple. That doesn't happen these days! Couples married in a civil ceremony must wait a year before being sealed in an LDS Temple. Often, couples have a "ring ceremonies," at a location other than the temple, to afford non-member family members the opportunit to take part in the wedding ceremony.
My mother was also able to obtain special permission to not wait the traditional year after baptism to attend the temple. She had been active in the LDS Church, since she was 12 years old, without the benefit of baptism and I guess she had proven her dedication to the gospel. My dad baptized her the previous November of 1940 on her 21st birthday - the age her parents said she could accept baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They supported her attending the LDS Church for 9 years, but would not let her be baptized until she was "of age" and the respectful daughter that she was, she honored their wishes.
So, I guess it was because of that, she was given special permission to not only be married in the temple prior to a full year of membership, but to have a civil ceremony before her temple marriage. After their temple marriage in St. George, they promptly put grandma Hawley on a bus headed for home! She wasn't invited to the honeymoon. Some Church members in St George were kind enough to invite Pierce and Isabelle to a ward dinner after their temple marriage, and surprisingly, they went!!
They've had many good years and many difficult years during their 69 years of marriage, but through it all, they've remained devoted to one another, and devoted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am grateful to them for their love and example.
Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad.

Our Visit to Arizona, Nebraska and Iowa

We had a great time visiting our kids, grandkids and Bud's dad last week. We are grateful we could take part in Rachelle's blessing day. What a sweet girl. We were dopes and didn't take a camera this trip, so we relied on other's cameras and our cell phone for a few photos to document the journey.
I must say - if you want a lot of attention on your birthday - travel! I got so many celebrations and 3, yes, 3 birthday cakes (too afraid to get on the scale to see how many birthday pounds those 3 cakes added).
I promised Bud we would go to Joe's Farm Grill in Gilbert, AZ and we did, but when we showed up it was temporarily closed due to ventilation problems, so we headed over to Joe's BBQ. It was good, but I was disappointed I couldn't have the Fontina Cheese Burger. Here's some pics of us with our Arizona kids. Lacey like the little chef guy, who was the same size as she. Grandpa enjoyed his snooze with Rachelle. I will do another post of some pics in Des Moines/Omaha.