Annie's Wedding (11.14.25)

They almost eloped.  Camille's daughter, Annie Ebert, and her fiance, Mason Thomas, got engaged in mid-August, 2025. Annie left for Florida to start her job as an advertising agent with Disney in September.  Camille insisted that she could pull together a wedding and reception in a month, but Annie didn't want to rush.  After considering all sorts of options, Annie and Mason decided to get married in the St George LDS Temple on November 15, 2025, and to save the lavish reception in one of Salt Lake's old mansions until May 15, 2026 (Save the date!).

The wedding festivities grew and grew.  On the evening before the wedding, 75 of Annie's and Mason's closest relatives gathered at Mason's mother's house in St. George for a barbecue with "the best brisket you'll ever taste," as Mason described it.  Camille helped out with salads, corn muffins, and fruit crisps.  I even got into the act, making macaroni and cheese for 75 people!

Jonny and Jenny brought Sam and Henry to the party, as Jenny's parents, Dave and Shelly Leatham, watched little J and Thomas at our house.

Mason's mom, Steph (in the brown sweater) greeted Steve's family, the Eberts.

Even Steve's dad, Al Ebert, made the trek to St. George.

On Saturday morning, the men golfed while the women hiked, got massages, and went to lunch.  Camille bought Annie a white running suit so she'd stand out as the "queen for a day."

Camille's sister-in-law brought her French bulldog, Elsa Violet, with extraordinary light blue eyes!

We got foot and back massages to recover from our one-hour walk, and then met for lunch at Le Creperie.

Annie was married at 3 p.m. on Saturday.  She emerged to a welcome commensurate with her "queen for a day" status.

"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (11.7.25)

 

I was president of Women Lawyers of Utah from 1990-91.  I remember planning a retreat for, maybe, 50 people.  I attended the WLU 2026 annual retreat on November 7, 2025, and there were at least 500, or maybe even 1,000, women there, cramming the ballroom at The Pendry, a Park City resort hotel.  It was a sold out event, with a long waiting list.  After dinner, a group of Utah women judges sang the 1980 rock hit, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."  The title referred, for the judges, to attorneys giving the court their best arguments.  The song was originally written in 1980 to complain of a hurtful lover, but the singer quit singing it because it suggested gun violence. Some things never change!

The awards given by the WLU proved the distance women lawyers have come in Utah, although Utah women lawyers are still not, I believe, equal to male Utah lawyers in power, wealth, or prestige.  The winner of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award was Judge Shauna Robertson, of the Juvenile Court.

Judge Robertson's daughter, who is an attorney in the Army JAG Corps, introduced her.

The Mentor of the Year Award was given to Elizabeth Ward, executive director of the Utah Bar.  She pointed out that her senior staff was virtually all women.  In her remarks, Ms. Ward also mentioned the assault that lawyers and judges are under these days, with lawyers being pressured by the government to do unethical things, and with judges being threatened with impeachment for making principled decisions.

The event was held at The Canyons, a Park City resort.  I realized how "out of it" I am that I didn't recall ever having been to the Canyons before.

Dave and I stayed at the Westgate Resort & Spa, since the Pendry was sold out to the earlier attendees of the WLU retreat.  Anyone who didn't sign up online for the retreat within half an hour of registration beginning was put on a waiting list!

Our room was elegant, and reminded me of the good/bad old days when my firm perk account and Dave's continuing education approvals provided us with occasional luxuries.  This time, I paid my own way, but I am also not so beholden to my firm.

My Truck (11.3.25)

What is it about men and trucks?  Little boys choose a truck over a doll to play with any day.  There is something about a grown-up, red truck that was irresistible to Dave, even at the age of 78.  He rented his big red toy truck while his big black toy SUV was being repaired.  Dave took a joy ride in his red pickup truck through Utah's West Desert.

Come to My Luau (11.2.25)

I love all my dinner guests.  Some, though, don't get the attention they deserve.  Soren Flindt probably doesn't know what a luau is all about, but he can now pull himself up to tables and take a look.  He is one of my special guests.  On November 2, 2025, I roasted some pork and added purple yams cooked in coconut milk and a passion fruit cheesecake, just like we'd eat if we were all in Maui.

My friend Pam Johnson has six sons.  The three older boys used to call the three younger ones "the rodents."  I don't have any rodents at my dinner table, but I do have a group of very energetic and talented little boys.  J, at four, scored some twenty goals in his last three soccer games.  It helps that he has older brothers who teach him the game!  Henry and Sam are already good golfers, with Henry hitting drives of more than 200 yards.  

Tomas' family lives in Santiago, Chile, but he has become a big brother to Jonny's four boys during his three month foreign exchange student experience.  J throws his arms around Tomas as if Tomas were born into the family.

Bryce Flindt sometimes brings friends from BYU to our Sunday dinners.  It is a treat to meet the wonderful young men with whom Bryce associates.  I just wish I took a more flattering picture of them!

Kirsten Flindt is super busy as a lab technician at Primary Childrens Hospital and a member of a Relief Society presidency.  We love having her join us whenever she can.  And Shauna and her friend Susan are both good friends and good helpers at getting dinner on the table.  As they arrive 45 minutes before the other guests appear, Shauna calls out to me, "The help is here!"  I love all these guests!.

Dining with a Princess and a Bike Racer (11.1.25)

It's not often that I get to dine with a princess.  On November 1, 2025, Mike and Heidi invited Dave and me to a barbecue dinner at their home, before leaving for a three week trip to Japan with Audrey and Calder.  Audrey dressed for the event in her Aurora princess dress (Sleeping Beauty) and the pink beaded hair band she got for her sixth birthday.

Calder dashed around and around the table on his bike, his hair stylishly moussed for the occasion.

The food was great.  Mike's brisket was tender and seasoned just right.  But it was eating with the celebrities that was best of all!


 

Halloween with the Grinch (10.31.25)

Camille's street, and Camille's home, are the places to be on Halloween.  We spent several hours there on October 31, 2025.

Each year Camille's street, Shadow Wood Drive, picks a theme for Halloween, and the houses on the cul-de-sac prepare decorations to match.  This year's theme was "Whoville," the home of the Grinch.

Dave and I hung out at Camille's house, eating the spaghetti she had prepared and talking with Mason Thomas, Annie's fiance, as Steve and Camille hurried about, passing out treats to the 900 trick-or-treaters they expected.

Jonny and Jenny soon appeared with J, Thomas, and their exchange student, Tomas.