The Lure of the Hot Tub (1.20.25)

Jonny travels often, leaving Jenny with four boisterous little boys to care for. When he is home, Jonny often takes some or all of his boys on outings, so Jenny can get some rest.  As the owners of a hot tub, Dave and I are a frequent focus of Jonny's wanderings.  On January 20, 2025, Jonny dropped by with J, Thomas, and a box of Banbury Cross donuts.  We love hosting Jonny and his tribe.
 

After the hot tub and donuts, the boys watched videos downstairs, while Dave, Jonny, and I talked in the living room.  Another delight.

On this chilly Saturday morning, Dave was all suited up for his daily four-mile walk. 

The Unsheltered (1.19.25)

We were told not to say "homeless," but "unsheltered".  On January 19, 2025, Dave and I helped serve dinner to 250 unsheltered people at St. Marks Episcopal Church in downtown Salt Lake City.  Our church calling is to be ward (parish) coordinators for the LDS Just Serve program.  During nights when the temperature drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, St. Marks opens its doors to let 100 unsheltered people stay overnight its big recreation hall.  Different charities bring food for dinner.  Dave and I led a group of volunteers in bringing and dishing up 100 servings of lasagna, salad, rolls, and brownies.

When we arrived at St. Marks at 7 p.m., we learned that The Kindness Group had also brought dinner for 100.  It was never clear how the double booking occurred, but we needed food from both organizations, and more, to feed the unsheltered on that cold night.  After letting 100 people into the church, the volunteers in the parking lot kept asking for plastic "clamshells" filled with dinner for the more than 100 people who couldn't get into the St. Marks shelter.  They were ferried to other shelters around the valley, which didn't serve dinner.  When we added up the plates and clamshells we filled, they totaled nearly 250.  I baked 150 brownies on January 18, and even the crusts were eaten.

Dave and I enjoyed working with good friends from our ward.  Robyn Petty, front right, is a friend of mine from high school who now lives down the street from me.  When I am out of town, she retrieves the packages that Amazon delivers for me, and she will accept nothing in return other than jam from the place I have visited!  It was a good feeling to know that we had helped vulnerable people fill up on good food.

Hot and Cold (1.19.24)

We celebrated the cold, dark month of January with bright colors and spice at our Mexican dinner on January 19, 2025.  

Our two Mikes--grandson Michael Flindt and son Michael Spendlove--shared chips and conversation.

Heidi got a little sewing done while waiting for dinner.  Her crafts are amazing!
 

It is a special treat when my brother, Scott Calder, and his daughter, Liz, join us.

Annie brought her boyfriend, Mason, and Mia came, too.

Camille adds warmth and grace to our gatherings.

I am in awe of Steve's ability to quickly clean up a kitchen!

My Mike and Jonny were lots of fun when they were little, but Jonny's and Jenny's four boys are double that fun.

J found the little boys' favorite stuffed animal--the sled dog I bought in the Yukon last summer.

I love the tangle of little people who join us for dinner--Michael Flindt's Lily, Michael Spendlove's Audrey, and Jonny Spendlove's J.

Jenny is a saint in raising her four boys with Jonny traveling much of the time.  Here she is, trying to put Thomas' shoes on while J hangs onto her from the back!

Audrey is ready to go, although she didn't quite get that coat on right.

And goodbye to Calder, as well.

Sam is a Deacon (1.5.25)

Our grandson, Sam Spendlove, met with his parents, grandparents, and LDS bishop on January 5, 2025, to receive the Aaronic priesthood and become a "deacon" in the LDS Church.  In their 12th year, boys in the LDS Church become members of the LDS priesthood, which includes all men and male teenagers.  As a deacon, Sam will pass the sacrament each Sunday in Church and have other duties.  He will be on his way to go on an LDS mission when he turns 18 and to someday be married in an LDS temple.  It is an honor to hold the priesthood, and we are proud of Sam for accepting that responsibility.
 

Sam's grandparents support Sam as a new deacon.

Sam's bishop welcomed Sam into the Young Men's program of the LDS Church.  The Church cares greatly for its teenagers, and Sam will be included in an active schedule of firesides with Church leaders, service projects, hikes and campouts, and fun activities with the Young Women. 

Audrey and the Theater (1.1.25)

Audrey's Christmas present from her parents was a large doll house.  Dave and I visited Audrey's house on New Year's Day 2025, to watch a bowl game with Audrey's father, our son Mike.  Audrey showed us her new gift, already furnished with furniture and a few of her many dolls.

We then went downstairs to Mike's theater room, where Mike, Dave, and I all lounged on huge, fuzzy beanbag chairs and watched the game.  Calder wandered in and out, cuddling with Mike on his beanbag.

The only years I regularly watched football were in the early 2000s, when Mike and Jonny played football for East High School in Salt Lake City.  I even wore leopard-patterned dresses and blouses to work on game days, to support the East High Leopards.  I did enjoy watching the Peach Bowl on New Years Day.  Mike kept up a running patter of explanations of all the plays and strategies.  The game itself was exciting, with the teams going into double overtime before the 5th ranked Texas Longhorns finally beat the 4th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils, 39 to 31.  We rooted for the Sun Devils, which are members of the same league as BYU and the University of Utah.

Meet Eliza (1.1.24)

Eliza is a princess, no doubt about it!  She is four years old and the oldest child of our grandson, Spencer Flindt, and his wife, Naomi.  Eliza chooses her own outfits every morning, and she is very definite about them.  On January 1, 2024, Eliza wore the pink princess dress her Grandma Gigi bought her for Christmas, together with a sweatshirt with a dinosaur on it and a bit of lipstick.  A unique look!

Spencer and Naomi used our home as their Salt Lake base during the Christmas holidays.  It was a treat to catch up with Spencer and Naomi, who moved from Salt Lake to Houston a year ago.  They were regulars at our Sunday dinners when they lived in SLC, and we miss them. Spencer and Naomi brought with them their two adorable children, Eliza and Noah.  Eliza named her baby brother.  She listened to all the names her parents bandied about and then insisted, over and over and over, on "Noah."  So Noah it was!  Noah is nine months old and crawls all over the house.  Spencer and Naomi are both working, so they spell each other off in keeping an eye on the kids.
 

Calder and his Bear (12.31.24)

Mike and Heidi took Audrey to Hale Theater, on December 31, 2024, for a matinee performance of "Beauty and the Beast."  You had to be five to attend, so Dave and I tended two-year-old Calder until Audrey and her parents returned.

Dave and I were determined to be good babysitters, and not ones who left our little charge in front of the TV.  We blew up the "bouncy house" in Mike's basement and cheered Calder as he slid down the slide again and again!

Dave took photos of cute Calder and showed them to him.  All the little kids we know love seeing pictures of themselves on iPhones.  Calder posed, so he could see more pictures of himself.

Heidi left treats in the kitchen for Calder and us.   

Our favorite place to play with Calder was on top of the huge teddy bear in his playroom.

It was a great place to rest and read books, when Calder finished building forts with his plastic blocks or filling up his trucks and dumping them out again..  When Audrey came home from "Beauty and the Beast," she climbed up on the bear, too, to be with Grandpa and Grandma.