Memorial Day and More

Camille asked Dave and me to meet the Eberts at our parents' grave sites on May 25, 2020, to tell a few stories about them, for the Ebert celebration of Memorial Day.   The Spendlove and Calder grave sites are close, so we walked from one to another.  I told about my father driving in a jeep to cross the border into "Red China," while we lived in Burma.  He and his companions said they were British, since American passports were no good in China, back then in the 1950s.  Heidi commented, "That sounds like something Mike would do!"  Dave told about his brother Mike dying, and about his dad's adventures catching Russian spies.  We have no lack of dramatic family stories!

 Jonny's and Mike's families, who were in SLC, came along.

 It was a hot day, and Sam took shelter on his dad's lap.

 Camille seemed pleased with the family history lessons.

 After visiting the graves, we gathered at a park near Camille's home for a picnic lunch.

 Heidi loves hats, and she brought one for Audrey, too!

 The next morning, May 26, 2020, Jonny, Jenny, and their little boys left to spend 10 days at our St. George house.  On their way to St. George, they planned to stop at the trilobyte quarry, to search for fossils. Thomas waved goodbye.

Jenny collected water bottles, sippy cups, and other paraphernalia needed to get her troops happily and safely to St. George.

 Jonny's boys are very modern children.  Each one of them has his own iPad to use on road trips, filled with educational software.  Henry settled in with his earphones and iPad for the trip south.

Sam has been reading the Harry Potter series, and he brought a few books with him.  Jonny says Sam sometimes reads 300 pages in a day!

Even Thomas had an iPad.  He traced letters as he listened to perky songs about the alphabet.

The Spendloves and the Poles

 Jonny and his family were our special guests for Sunday dinner on May 24, 2020.  The whole gang was there--Mike and his family, Camille and the Eberts, and Lisa's children who are attending BYU.

The theme was Poland.  Polish food and culture particularly appeal to our grandchildren who have served LDS missions in Eastern Europe--Grant in Slovakia and Czech Republic, Emily in Moldova, Hungary, and Rumania, and Naomi in Bulgaria.

The entree was Polish-style beef goulash with potato pancakes.  I also made piroghis as an appetizer, and we had a very light, fluffy Polish cheesecake with berries for dessert.

 "Thank you, Grandma, for gettting the cousins together so often," Emily tells me.  I am delighted that Camille's children and Lisa's children enjoy each other so much.  The college age children from both families are planning a weekend together at our St. George house.

 I am also delighted for Jonny's boys, like Sam, who live in Iowa, to spend time with their Utah cousins.

 Carol Garza, from across the street, is a frequent and prized guest.

 Our grandson, Grant Flindt, often brings his cute girlfriend, Meg Owens.

Jono brought a cute date, Grace Pugsley, who was an LDS missionary with Jono in the Fukuoka Japan mission.  Grace and Jono sat next to each other on the plane home from Japan.

 Naomi Flindt is expecting a little girl in September.  We are so excited!

Jenny, who lives in Iowa, will spend much of the summer in Salt Lake with her boys, while Jonny returns to work..

 Sophia and her family have been "sheltering" at our St. George house for several weeks.  Sophia is now back at home with her friends.

 Ezra is a good student and a good athlete, as well.

 After dinner, our guests moved from tables in the garden back inside.  Camille is the Young Women's president in her ward, and she showed us a video of the teenagers in her ward singing and playing instruments.  The video was made from cell phone photos taken at the young people's homes and spliced together so they appeared to be singing in unison.

We then watched the video of Jono giving his homecoming speech, after returning from his mission to Japan.  The Salt Lake City wards are still meeting electronically, rather than in person.

 We finished the evening by sharing facts we knew about Poland.  Family members called out that Marie Curie was Polish.

 Chopin was Polish, too.

And, on a darker note, Poland's large Jewish population was exterminated, during WWII, at the Nazi prison, Auschwitz, located in Poland.

Hanging Out with J&J

"I just want to follow you and Jenny around," I told Jonny on Saturday, May 23, 2020.  Employees of the John Deere Construction Division were required to take two weeks vacation this month, so Jonny and Jenny drove home to SLC to visit family.  They stayed Memorial Day weekend with Dave and me, and then they spent ten days in St. George, visiting Bryce and Zion National Parks and relaxing at our house in the desert.  Jonny's boys are adorable--Sam, 7, Henry, 4, and Thomas, 23 months.

Our first stop was Memory Grove, the beautiful park near our house through which Dave walks every morning.  Jonny, Jenny, and I shared memories as we walked.  Jonny remembered hiking from our home, high above the park, to downtown Salt Lake City to visit me in my law office, when he was a teenager.

 The park is filled with war memorials.

 Jonny paused next to a monument honoring Mervyn S. Bennion, our relative who died as the skipper of the USS West Virginia during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.  Jonny will never forget meeting an elderly soldier at the USS Arizona Museum in Honolulu, who recounted standing by the side of Mervyn S. Bennion as he died during the Japanese assault.  Despite being mortally wounded, Mervyn Bennion continued steering his ship, trying to keep it from capsizing, to keep as few sailors from dying as possible.

 We took a dirt trail from Memory Grove into City Creek Canyon, with its quaint bridges and waterfalls.  Jonny, Sam, and Henry skipped stones in the stream.

This picture reminds me of Camille's comment about the problem with strollers, "The children that should ride in them, won't, and the children that shouldn't ride in them, do."  Thomas was determined to escape from his stroller.

 This picture shows a very curious event--a dog owner carrying his dog down the canyon!  It also shows the escapee, Thomas.

Jonny says Salt Lake has an unusually large number of good restaurants for its size.  Many ethnic restaurants are started by LDS missionaries, when they return from missions abroad.  We stopped at Cafe Rio to pick up Mexican food for our picnic.

We searched for the nearest park, and settled on President's Circle at the University of Utah.  As we passed the sign documenting that the University of Utah was founded in 1850, I reminded Jonny that my great-uncle, David O. Calder, was one of the founders.  He was an early immigrant from Scotland who became Brigham Young's private secretary and helped organize many early Utah businesses and institutions.

 Jonny's boys are in constant motion!

We finished our day with a visit to Hogle Zoo.  Jonny and Jenny have visited really great zoos, such as those at Omaha, Nebraska, and San Diego.  Utah's zoo is not of that caliber, but it is perfect for two or three hours of tramping around, ogling, and being glad you don't live in a cage.