HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANA ! ! ! (TEN YEARS OLD)

It’s hard to believe that our beautiful grand daughter Diana is already 10 years old! I can remember the day Chris and Laura told us they were expecting. Laura was already 6 months along when she was told by the doctor they were going to have a baby. There were circumstances that did not lead anybody to believe that she was pregnant. She wasn’t even showing that much. So needless to say, we didn’t have a very long wait. Diana Crystal Sprankle was born on August 19, 1998 in Layton, UT. I keep telling myself that God gave her to me as a belated birthday present one week after my birthday. I have given birth to three children but was never really witness to another’s birth until Diana was born. Both Ashley and myself were there for the blessed event, along with Laura’s mother, Marsha. In case any of you didn’t know this, Chris and Laura named her after Princess Di because of the geneology and us finding out that we, the Spencer’s come down the same lines as Princess Di. Diana was so pink and beautiful. And she has flooded our lives with so much joy. It has been so special to have a grand daughter like her. As far as her Grammy is concerned, she is a perfect little girl. I love to hear her laugh and giggle. Her eyes are so big and are a beautiful combination of colors. They sparkle, and people are always commenting on how beautiful her eyes are. She loves us all and has wrapped us around her little finger. We try not to spoil her too much, but c’mon! Who doesn’t spoil their grandchildren a little bit. Most of you have probably seen this poem I wrote about Dad and him reading a “Winnie The Pooh” story to her on Easter Sunday, April 15, 2001, the same day he passed away 6 years later. Hopefully you can click on it to make it big enough to read if you haven’t read it yet. When Diana was trying to learn how to crawl, Ashley and I made up words to go with the music, “I Believe I Can Fly”. Some of the words were, “I believe I can crawl, I believe I can touch the wall. I think about it every night and day, bend my legs and crawl away”. You would have to of heard us singing it to appreciate it, and we had a lot of fun doing it. One of the things I remember about Diana is that when she was about three years old, we had Great Grandma Sprankle's 3 great grand daughter's pictures taken. Diana was having a fit and would not sit to have her pictures taken with Dezi and Kasha who were just babies (we had brought 2 or 3 outfits for each of the girls to wear),....... that is until Aunt Sylkie, Aunt Suesie and I showed her a pretty little pink dress we had brought for the pictures. Once the photographer took pictures of her in the dress, she let us change her in the other outfits without a problem. Ever since then, she loves to get her pictures taken. Diana, we want to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. We all love you so much! Grammy

A SPECIAL YOUNG LADY ! ! !

The last night Dave and I was in Colorado this past week, we were invited to stay the night with some friends we new when we lived out at Dugway Proving Grounds. George was the Physician out there and Melissa and I were pregnant together,….her with Adam and I with Ashley. Actually I think she was due after me but it didn’t turn out that way. Adam was premature so he was about 2 weeks older than Ashley. We moved in to our government quarters first and lived there just a short time before the Philbins moved in to their quarters the next building over from us. The only thing that separated their place from ours was a patch of grass and maybe a tree. I remember the day they moved in. We were excited to get neighbors that were going to be there as long as we were going to be. Dave was outside doing yard work I believe when George was either just getting home from somewhere or trying to leave to go. Not sure which. Dave introduced himself and then they started a conversation. We found out he and Melissa had a toddler about a year and a half old, Veda Katherin. I can’t remember how long it was before I actually met Melissa and Veda, but when I did we became good friends. When I saw Veda for the first time, I immediately fell in love with her. I believe that God picked Melissa and George to be parents of Veda because he knew they would love her and give her a place in their hearts. Melissa said she was a very happy baby and had a lot of love to share with others. Veda was born in Aurora, CO on March 28, 1981. Her family moved to Dugway Proving Grounds a short time later. Hence, our friendship began. Melissa and I got together weekly with other officer’s wives for a craft session. We were always learning and making things together. One of the other wives taught us all how to tatt. I had a very hard time with it, and can’t remember if Melissa was successful at it or not, but we had fun trying. The officer’s wives group gave Melissa and I a baby shower together. It was a lot of fun. Not too long after the shower, Melissa went in to premature labor. That baby wasn’t going to wait at all for his due date. George brought Veda over to me to take care of when they left for the hospital in Salt Lake City. Adam was almost a Halloween baby but just a few minutes shy of it. So therefore, I got Veda and we were so happy to have her. The boys enjoyed having a little one to play with when they got home from school. I'm introducing my young friend to you all because she is a special young lady and I also hold a special place in my heart for her. After we moved to Kaysville, I got to watch her again while Melissa and George went to Denver for a conference. It was so much fun having her with us. Ashley was a baby at the time and it was amazing to watch the two of them together. Some of Veda’s favorite movies are, "Batman", "Bringing Down The House", and "Dirty Dancing", to name a few. She is in a program called Devleopmental Pathways near their home and gets to go on special activities and really enjoys swimming and bowling. She also enjoys going to the park. She loves doing the “Meals on Wheels” for the elderly and does volunteer work for a goodwill organization called ARC. She also volunteers for Compa Foods where she sorts bread and can goods. Veda loves sitting out on the deck in the sun. She is a proud gardener and has a tomato plant out there on the back deck of their home with 6 tomatoes growing on it. (She’s a young lady after my own heart because I love tomatoes too!) Also she is growing cat nip for her cat “Mr. Meow” who goes crazy. She with her mom loves watching him have fun with it! Veda starts her day by waking up at 7 a.m. and gets ready and waits for the bus to come and pick her up between 8 and 9:30 a.m. She goes to program and keeps very busy. The folks at Developmental Pathways says Veda is the “leader of the band” and she is definitely the one in charge! It has been an honor knowing this family. It’s always fun to get together with George and Melissa, and we have promised ourselves to do it more often. Veda is an inspiration to me. Through her eyes she sees only the good in people. She loves unconditionally and she has so much love to give to others. I have learned a lot through Veda and truly know she is definitely one of God’s angels on earth. I love you Veda! Janette

What a fun week in Colorado!

Saturday, August 9, 2008 - Saturday, August 16, 2008

This is our annual “Janette’s Birthday Week” vacation. Nathan got us booked on a flight to Denver at 8:41 a.m.. After making sure the dogs were going to be taken care of a few days before we left, we said our goodbyes to them and gave the normal instructions needed so that all would be OK with them and headed to the airport. Surprisingly, we got on the flight we were actually booked on (we go stand-by when we fly) and made it to Denver. We headed out of the airport on the Avis shuttle bus and got a car rented with Dave’s discount (he works for them part time on the weekend) and decided since we couldn't check in at Estes Park until 4 p.m., we headed downtown Denver. Dave had just been there back in December for ATF stuff, so he knew of the “16th Street Mall” area. (What is the 16th St. Mall?: It is an outdoor mall that is a mile long where they have shut down the street for traffic except the free shuttles that you can hop on and go from one end to the next) After finding a parking spot we headed for 16th Street. To the left is an arial view of the mall. We walked down to one end of it, got some lunch then got on the free shuttle bus and went up to the end of it all. We walked over to the Union Station where you would get on the Amtrak train if you were traveling on it any where. Dave took a picture of the front of the station which is at the right (I'm standing at the bottom of the flag pole in front of the station). We then left there and walked down to 16th Street again and went in this old building called 'Tattered Cover Bookstore". It was amazing! Not only the history of the building, but the bookstore itself. Here is a little bit about the history of the building this bookstore is in. Picture is below to the left. There is a plaque on the outside by the main door of the building that says: " C.S. Morey Mercantile Building - 1896 - Constructed in 1896 for $75,000, the Morey Mercantile Building was the first notable warehouse to be built after the 1983 Silver Crash. Designed by Gove & Walsh, the structure included a spice grinding mill, roasting plan, extract laboratory and print shop. Unusual yet practical features of the building include a second story main entrance built for direct access to and from the old 16th Street viaduct (demolished in 1994), a double wide alley between this building and the Henry Lee Building, and train tracks in the front for easy transfer of goods. These functional attributes were essential for a thriving, eclectic distributor like Morey who manufactured, packaged and marketed all manner of food products, as well as brooms, writing tablets, matches, snuff, chewing tobacco, and cigars. From its founding in 1884, Morey Mercantile grew into an empire becoming the largest wholesaler in the Rocky Mountain Region until its sale to Continental Foods in 1956. Even today, “C.S. Morey Mercantile Company” remains cut in stone above the second-story door on 16th Street." We jumped back on the shuttle and rode it up the street near where we parked the car. We made our way out of downtown Denver and got on the interstate to head towards Estes Park. We stopped at a Walmart along the way to get some groceries for our meals while at the condo. The drive up was really pretty through the mountains was beautiful. I did find out when we got up there to Estes, that the big hotel they used in the movie “The Shining” with Jack Nicholson is there. When watching that movie one would think the hotel was way up in the mountains and very secluded. But in all actuality, it’s a couple of blocks off the main street of Estes Park. Also in this post is a picture of the the hotel (to the left). It’s called the “Stanley Hotel”. There is a concert hall and museum. Actually, there are 11 buildings up there. Here is the link if you want to go in and check the hotel out. In the movie, it was known as the "Overlook Hotel". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley%20Hotel . Or just Google the Stanley Hotel or "The Shining". On Sunday we were invited over to the office where we were staying because they wanted to try and sale us more points to have more time in the resorts than what we have. But we were very adiment about not wanting to do that and shook the guys hand that was doing the sales pitch and left. Because it was raining, we stayed at the condo and watched a movie. Later on we went down to the village (I call it a town) and walked around a bit and went in to the shops. After a while we went back to the condo and fixed some dinner. On Monday we drove up to the Rocky Mountain National Park. This first visit up there we found out it wasn't very easy finding a parking spot so we drove back down the mountain to the park and ride and got on a shuttle. We headed towards "Bear Lake" and hiked around it. It was gorgeous up there. There were several little chipmunks that were being fed by people, which they weren't suppose to be doing. The chipmunks weren't complaining though and had enough food stored in their little cheeks, it made them look like they had the mumps. When we were finished there, we took the shuttle down to Glacier Gorge where we hiked up to Alberta Falls. Here is a picture of the lake and the falls. It was beautiful! That night we went to a Ranger talk about Coyotes which was very interesting. Learned new stuff about the animal and the ranger was pretty funny too. Tuesday we went back down to Denver to pick Nathan and Pamela up. It was my birthday so they surprised me by coming to spend some time with us. Once we got back to the condo, we made plans for the rest of the day. We took them up through the park only we went on a different road. It was called the "Ridgeline Trail" which was spectacular! There was one section of the road where you could look down each side of the mountain. Believe me, we were very very high. We didn't have time to take them all the way to the top, but we did get up quite a ways. We started heading back down because it was getting late in the day. We stopped at a restaurant for dinner for my birthday! It was a bar-b-que place and I think I had the best pulled pork any where! Unfortunately, Nate and Pamela had to leave again Wednesday morning so we headed back to Denver to the airport. After dropping them off, we went back downtown Denver and walked around. We went to the "Fortney's Museum of Transportation" and saw a bunch of old cars, carts, bycycles, hearse's, trucks, trains and an airplane. Whew! The car pictured here is a "1916 Detroit Electric" car. It was cool, the glass in it is concaved. After leaving the museum, we went back over to the "Tattered Cover Book Store" and got some lunch. This time we walked from where we had parked the car. We left there then went over to the US Mint thinking we were going to go on the tour, but unfortuneatly the tours were all booked so we went walking around. We went over to the capital building and walked through it a bit. After leaving the capital we walked over to this old hotel called the "Brown Palace". Here is the link to go in and read about the legend of the palace" http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CO-BrownPalace.html It also has some stories to tell. You will find this link very interesting. Because we were running out of time at the parking meter, we headed back to the car and tried to find our way out of Denver. We got lost for about an hour! but finally got headed in the right direction. On our way back to Estes Park we went by Loveland which is where my cousin Farrell and his wife Mari live. We met them for dinner and really had a nice visit with them. We were pooped by the time we got back to the condo, but enjoyed the rest of the evening relaxing and watching the olympics. Thursday we went back up to the park and went up clear to the top then back down the other side to a village called Grand Lake, and yes there really was a lake there. We drove around for a few minutes then headed back up the mountain and back down to Estes Park. It's about 48 miles one way from the entrance in to the park to Grand Lake. The view from up on the Ridge Line Trail (road) was spectacular! I'm going to put a few more pictures on we took up there. There is a sign on one of the trails we hiked up that says you are literally "on the roof of the Rockies". What a great way to spend the week of my birthday! Hope you go in to the links I provided (most of all I hope it works for you when you click on them). 1) Side of a steep slope 2) Mushroom Rock Formations 3) Yes folks, that the snow storm coming our way. In fact I took a picture of my hoodie with the little flakes on it. Ya' have to know we are at about 12,000 elevation. They call this area the "never summer mountains". You are on what they call the tundra where the trees don't grow because it is so dang cold. My left ear felt like it was going to explode and it was so painful, plus my head was aching. I put my hood on and it felt some better. I think it was alot to do with the cold wind that was blowing up there. 4) is another steep slope where this glacier lay at the bottom of it. Notice the little lake of crystal blue water. It was beautiful! 5) The dark rock of Lava Cliffs is welded tuff. This rock ormed as a result of a violent explosion some 28 million years ago. Volcanic vents in the Never Summer Mountains twelve miles west became clogged with thick, gooey lava. When they erupted, not all of the molten rock flowed as liquid. Some exploded out as a fast-moving avalanche of molten rock and gas. Where the flow stopped, it fused itself into a solid mass as you see in this picture. When you are as high as we were (on the tundra) the wild flowers only grown maybe an inch high. 6) Wild flower - They say that when there is a 30 mph wind blowing at eye level, it's only blowing 3 mph on the ground. Therefore since it's warmer for the flowers on the ground, they are protected from the cold. Hope this wasn't too boring and you all found it somewhat interesting. The picture of this flower makes it look bigger than it really is. 7) Really is a great backdrop for a picture, eh? You can tell the wind was a blowing.

I started this post a couple of days ago or so and think it is time to bring it to an end. Sorry it is so long.

If you haven't been to Rocky Mountain National Park, I recommend you go! It was breath taking up there "high in the sky" as Nathan would say in his little gravely southern voice at the young age of 3.

Happy 80th Birthday Dad!

I was going through some pictures last night and found this one of Dad. This was taken when Mom and Dad were having a yard sale in July 2005. Kyle,....my nephew,.....yeah you know the one (with the shirt) made the sign and put it up behind Dad. I named the picture "Dad for sale" and the sign says "Bitter Old Man For Sale". I'm not sure if he knew the sign was behind him or not, but maybe Kyle can verify one way or the other. Anyway, it would have been Dad's 80th Birthday yesterday. It was a hard day to get through but I think he got the best birthday present ever when he looked up and saw Kelpie running towards him. I am very sad for Kadie and her family,....especially Spencer because he lost a "best friend", but I hope some day when he is older he'll understand his Great Grandpa got his "best friend" back to keep him company "up there". Dad,.....I hope you heard us all singing happy birthday to you. We Love Ya'!