Thanksgiving Vacation

We are in California visiting our son Neal and his wife Angie for Thanksgiving. I love the weather, the shopping, the non-stop fun things to do,,an mostly I love being with them. They are such easy fun people to be around! Even if Neal is the boss,,,he is almost always right!

Boyd proudly displaying his bat ray!

We went to Huntington Beach yesterday and ate at Ruby's on the pier. It was great fun. There was this young kid there fishing, and right in front of us he caught a bat ray. It was really cool. He said they are great to eat. I am not really convinced about that one! But here are a few pictures from the fisherman.

Who makes the rules? In our house,,the stun gun

I am still sitting here wondering tonight,,,who makes the rules we live this life by anyway? When I got married my mother told me that to train your spouse, because they will only get away with what you let them. So, I have always tried to live by those rules. I know my kids must have thought they were constantly nagged,,,
If your going to dirty a dish,,wash it,,or at least put it in the dishwasher.
If you use the toilet, flush the toilet. (trust me,,,my kids only had to be taught once,,and they havent eaten blueberry muffins since :)
If you get something out, put it away or throw it away.
Never go to bed with dirty dishes, the floors dirty, or the laundry done. And always make sure your bed is made and your clothes aren't wrinkled before you go anywhere.

So what have I taught my family?

I think my kids really have a faily good knack on the rules of life,,at least in my world.

But there is this man I have lived with for 26 years,,,and tonight I had been goofing around and was not caught up with what normally is done by 10:00 pm. I went to the washer to throw a batch of laundry in,,and noticed that he was, laying on the bed in a spare bedroom. Without turning the light on,,I just quietly said,,,what are you doing, sleeping in here? His reply,,,"our bed wasn't made".
Oh, my,,what have I done!! I had taken the sheets off to wash them and then got running around and didn't put the clean ones on. As I was finishing making our bed, then I hear him come in the room. It dawned on me,,are his arms broken?
So,,the conversation goes...
I ask,,why didn't you make the bed yourself?
He said,,,I don't need to, I know you always will.
I ask,,,who made the rules?
He said..you did. You always make the bed.
So why cant he make the bed?
Because he said,,,I take the garbage out.
So, I do all the dishes.
and the arguement continued.
He mows the lawn,
I do the laundry.
He says I wear most of the clothes anyway.
I cook the meals.
He feeds the dog.
This could go on all day. But, I realized he is right. In the end,,it would bother me and I would never get into an unmade bed. So,,he just has to wait for me to do it. He has us all trained.
Even our dog knows the rules of his world. She knows to never get on his bed,,but she will pick any other bed in the house that is made. She never has any indoor accidents, she hardly ever barks! But then again,,,he did train her with his stun gun. Best dog we have ever had......maybe I better find that stun gun and change the rules around here!

A Tribute to my In-Laws

On Oct. 18 of this year, my in-laws, Don and Jerrie Guymon celebrated their 5oth wedding anniversary. It was amazing to me to see how many people came to the reception held in their honor. It was a night to remember seeing so many people come to this special occasion. I knew they were special, but didn't know everyone else did too! They have set the most perfect example all of their lives. I just wanted to give them some credit here for the great people that they are.

We are fortunate enough to live just a few houses away from them. To many, I am sure this may sound scary! But, they are perfect in that regard. They are always there when we need them, and have never stepped over any boundaries. For instance, Boyd has been very ill this year after having a stroke in January. His health is now really compromised. Needless to say, it isn't as easy to get everything done we should. But yesterday, Nephi noticed that Grandpa Guymon was in the front yard, and he ask us what he was doing. We didn't know he was even there. But, he had just changed the oil in Nephi's jeep. He just knew it needed to be done, and without question, he just took care of it. It is truly a blessing to have people like that in our lives. They never judge us, and many times we really should be! But they they have always just been there to help, never to criticize us. I am more grateful now for them than I ever have been.

So,,, here is a tribute to my in-laws, that I love dearly and truly appreciate! THANK YOU!!

As for me

My daughter Kira jokingly ask me if I had any children that I hadn't told them about. Good one, Kira,, I only wish I did have!! Although, after having Nephi, you are really lucky you even were born!! For me, each one of you kids have your own special circumstance that makes you unique. Neal, of course, was our first child. All of the learning and testing is done with the first baby, right? Well, for some reason, Neal was always the grown up! I don't remember him ever acting like a child. I am sure his purpose was to raise his parents! Then, it took almost 4 years to get Nephi here. I had been on fertility pills for a year and was getting really discouraged. I always wanted my kids to be really close in age like I was with my brothers. But, he finally arrived weighing 10 lbs. 6 ounces. And that wasn't the hard part! He was born and our whole world seemed to go 100 miles an hour ever since. He started walking at 6 months, was running too fast for me by the next month. So, in the madness of our lives, I didn't even realize I was pregnant with Kira until I was almost 5 months pregnant! And then she came a month early! That was a really fast pregnancy. We often laugh about we don't remember Kira until she was 3 or 4 because we were too busy chasing Nephi! At least no one can say she was a spoiled only girl! At that is the total of my children. They are grown and beautiful. Each one has their own personality that makes our family fit together. Thanks kids,,,you make life worth it all!

Things to ask your parents while you can!

Ok, I know there aren't many things we want to think about, but I am going to bring up a subject that everyone needs to think about. My Mom passed away almost 19 years ago, so by now I am or should be used to the idea of her not being around. But there are still days that I expect her to call and be on the other end of the phone. I was an only daughter, and for some reason I like to think that gave me an edge on knowing everything about her. She was without a doubt my very best friend for the first 30 years of my life. She was troubled with serious health problems throughout her life, and by the time I was married she was in a wheelchair. I know at times I thought I would lose my mind taking care of her, having three children of my own, working, and trying to find time to be a wife. When it seemed to much, her sense of humor always made it worth it. But, although I spent the majority of everyday my life with her, I really thought I knew everything there was to know about her. She was a continuous talker! (Gee, if anyone knows any of the Hillmans, you wont be surprised at that one!) She grew up in Teton Valley where everyone knows everything about each other. And that is whether you like it or not. I think I know more about her friends lives than I do any of my own childhood friends.
But, even though her death was not a surprise to me, or any of my family, I still am amazed that there are things I should have ask her while I could. This is my list of the most important things I forgot to ask!
1. Although most of her recipes I know from heart, I should have ask and written them down. Because, I am surprisingly losing some of my memory! And there are a few ingredients that I think I am missing.
2. Mom wasn't great at writing a journal, or taking pictures like we are all able to do now days. It would be nice to know a little more about how she managed with three little boys and a little girl all within 5 years. Not to mention a very temperamental husband. There are few baby pictures of any of us. What we do have, are almost all the same~ all four of us kids nearly naked wrestling each other. And a few of us dressed up, but Jeff always seemed to have his boyscout uniform on. So if anyone has any pictures of us as youngsters, please pass them along.
3. Besides her crazy times I would hear about of her high school friends, what did she enjoy doing? I continually knew of her love of horseback riding. But surely there was more!
4. Of the stories she did tell us,,,what was truth and what was fiction?
5. Ok,,,and last but the very most important question to ask your parents while you can,,,DO YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN I DON'T KNOW ABOUT??

For the last question,,don't ever underestimate what your parents can keep from you! Just a year or so ago, my cousin Ronalee casually ask me a question referring to the baby my Mom had given up for adoption. It took a minute or two to realize what she ask me,,then I was at a total loss for words. This rarely happens. So, after asking her brothers and sisters I did find barely enough information to start a search for a half brother that I hadn't known about. Well, the results weren't easy to come by, but it certainly worth it. I now have 4 brothers, not just three. I have proudly added the oldest but newest brother to my list! His name is Peter Milliron, he just turned 54, and has three kids. We were all lucky to have Peter and two of his children, Elizabeth and Jeremy, join us at the annual Hillman reunion this year.
I am a bit worried that we have scared them away for good, as that reunion can be a bit noisy and crazy! But, he definitely fit into the mold of the Hillmans! He looks like a combination of each of my other brothers, Jeff, Tom, and Joe. And I can truly say that I couldn't love them any more if I had known them my whole life! Of all of Moms grand kids, I have to admit, for me, Elizabeth acts more like my Mom than anyone. She can talk just as fast and just as much! Peter and Jeremy live in Oregon, and Elizabeth in Washington, and their oldest son Jake is in Washington DC. Boyd and I are planning a trip hopefully in the early spring to spend more time with them. Our schedule is easier to arrange than theirs, so it may take a bit of doing. So, here I will show you a picture taken of the FIVE of us. We were at Toms home in Felt. This day was most likely the most eventful and wonderful day for me ever!

If there is one thing I love is the fall and awaiting a really good snowstorm. I do love gloomy rainy days, also. But after a bit of this gray weather without a good amount of snow on the ground I get anxious! So, of course it has snowed now and then, but it seems like only enough to make it look really ugly and messy outside. It seems like I am always happy to hear the weather forecast the good snow, but wish it were always the truth. Today is gray, windy, and rainy. It just keeps me watching for the snowflakes to fall. If it is going to cold, at least let it be pretty and white! But I still seem to get the housework all done and the fire going just in case the good snowstorm hits. It seems like I am just ready to store most of my summer shorts and then the sun shines, and it warm and I want them. Of course I could be like my son-in-law that wears shorts even in the greatest of blizzards! I can credit the gloomy weather to much better cooking at our home!
And speaking of cooking, I am so proud of my daughter Kira and daughter-in-law Angie. Every time I read their blogs, they are always posting some truly great looking food! They are both inspirations to me. Although I will take credit for the homemade rolls Kira just made! If fact, I think hers looked better than mine did this last week! It is nice having Nephi around more to eat the food I cook. Boyd and I had gotten into some pretty lazy eating habits with just the two of here. But, luckily if I am not in the mood to cook, Nephi has always had a terrific knack in the kitchen.
This time of year I cook lots of turkey, but I am in search of some great turkey recipes for the leftovers. So if any of you have favorites, please them on to me! I think I wear out my cookbooks trying to find new ones.

November - Just starting

Since almost all of my family already have blogs, we decided it was time we got up to date. So, forgive us for being beginners at this, but we will learn eventually! Boyd and I have been married for 26 years now, and we have 3 kids. I am sure that most of our blogging will be about them! We can finally get even with them for all the "unflattering" pictures and embarrassing things we actually do!
Our oldest son Neal,is 25 now. After serving a mission to Hamburg Germany he married Angie Bodily from Iona. She is the perfect wife for him, and we just love her! Angie graduated from BYUI in the medical field (where she was also nominated for Woman of the Year). Neal graduated from BYUI also, and then was accepted to Optometry School in Fullerton, California. So, we loaded them up and moved them to what we think is too far away! Angie is working for a group of Doctors there, and I think she is adjusting to being away from home.
Our next son Nephi, will be 22 in just a few weeks. He returned from a mission to Toronto, Canada earlier this year. Now he is just getting into the school mood. That is, if we can get him to not play so hard! He has kept our house busy this year with all of the "girls" here till the wee morning hours! But, he still manages to work hard and always has a spotless room!
Kira, our youngest and only girl, married Tim Cannon. He is a returned missionary and is also from Idaho Falls. They live in Salt Lake City where Tim is attending University of Utah. They have our only grandchild so far. Her name is Anna Jo and she is 15 months old now. Luckily, they do manage to come home often! I fear the day they even move farther away! She does need her Grandpa and Grandma often!
Boyd worked as a Deputy Sheriff for almost 25 years, and just this year retired. To be honest, I think this adjustment has been the hardest thing he has ever done! So, we are now beginning a new phase in our life. I think the one thing we seem to agree on is that by next year at this time we want to live in warmer weather. At least somewhere that we can golf. Other than that, our plans pretty much revolve around our kids! Who knows, we show up on anyone's doorstep!