Elder Cheesehead

We made it to Adam's Open House.
we got to see donna
and mary
and grandma (and others - they just didn't get documented - alas)


They had quite the turn out and the food was quite tasty - as was to be expected.

Happy Birthday Frances!!

Maybe they feel a kinship because they share a name - albeit with different spellings!

You can always find Frances smiling in a family group - here in Inglewood in the 50's I'm sure!!

Another happy family group shot at Phoebe's in Provo for a BYU Women's Conference - sometime in the 90's - my memory is hazy without dates written on the back of photos.

Here's another family shot - with Amy as the baby so we all know what year that was!! In El Monte in front of the blue wagon!

At the Burbank Airport for Harry F.'s homecoming in 1994. A fun greeting time!!

Frances at the airport with Grandma Helen. This was the homecoming night also.

Frances with some friends - also in the 50's no doubt - and apparently no one said "No capris please!!"

These photos are certainly random - I have a box of photos that needs to be sorted and filed back in their original location - and those are the ones I sort through when I blog!

Hey, it's a system of its own!

I have 5 sisters I dearly love and a host of wonderful sisters-in-law, but Frances has always been a special sister-in-law in my life - maybe because her little brother - who dearly loves her - is my husband!

Or maybe because she's a wonderful woman in her own right!

Anyway you look at it, I count her love and friendship as a great blessing in my life.

Hope the year ahead is wonderful!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Stevens!!

It was Grandma Stevens Birthday on April 25th!! Happy day Grandma!!



An oft posted photo of 4 generations of Clayton/Terrill/Stevens/Bolander women - Grandma Stevens is the matriarch I remember!

Grandma Stevens had not been active in the church until my grandpa died in 1964 I believe. Then she not only got active - thanks to some great visiting teachers - but became a temple worker. What a nice memory of being in the temple with my beloved Grandma!

Can't think of Grandma Stevens without thinking of Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Steve - they lived only blocks apart in Inglewood in the 50's.

Happy Birthday Alice and Maddy - a somewhat random stroll down Memory Lane!

This is Sister Clayton, heading off to Sweden in 1969!! She was a fashionista then as now!!
Alice with Karl, Hester and Ella at Karl's graduation bash a few years ago - at the park across from Harry and Dawn's.
This is June of 1966 - when I returned from Europe - David is in the foreground. And, yes, Alice made our matching dresses.

This was the only photo of Maddy that I could find quickly - after the Moab Half-Marathon this year - she and Betsy are taking it easy in the comfy hotel bed.
Alice at our wedding in 1967 - I always wanted one of the bridesmaid dresses - which Alice made! And below is a shot from my birthday in 1967, but Alice and I are wearing matching jumpers - which of course she made!! We were a stylin' duo in those days!!


Another shot of the famous "Mother of the Bride" dress in 2006 I believe.
This is a Christmas shot with Leslie in the middle - maybe 1966 or 1965. I'm sure Alice made my skirt - I remember it - a greenish herringbone wool - a beautiful skirt.

Alice is a fine seamstress - and an even finer sister - God couldn't be everywhere at once so he gave us sisters!!

And Maddy had the good fortune to share her birthday with her wonderful mom!

"I Love to See the Temple, I'm Going There Someday"

Adam went to the temple tonight, and it was a lovely evening. Charlie and Jeanette were there, along with Joan and Fred, Grandma and Donna, David and Dianne, and Dianne's mom. Also Brenda and her mom and other people I didn't know from the ward, I think.

(A young couple from Bonny's ward was in the company. She came up after and said, "Excuse me, are you Bonny's mom? Can I tell you Bonny is just the greatest!!" We know that, but it's always nice to hear it from others.)

These photos are less than satisfactory - looks like I need a tutorial for my camera. But this is the best I can do for now!! Take my word for it that we all looked great!!

C'mon get happy

Here at our house we're very easily entertained.

Input Please!

My YW are in charge of the Mother/Daughter All Girl Activity at the end of May.
It will be in the evening and we only have about an hour. There might be 20 or so girls there.
Do you have any ideas on games or activities or even a theme?
Thanks. This just got sprung on me yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to meet with my girls since we had our class presidency meeting the day before they let me know we were in charge of it.
Thanks in advance, because I know you will come up with great ideas for me to use!

All in the Family

Family resemblance?

The newest Elder Clayton - on his way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The tie Adam wore looks like cheese - he even commented that the touch was kind of "cheesy!" (Meaning the wearing of the tie, not the actual feel of it.) Adam gave a great talk. Roger Bown commented to me, "I don't think anyone's been in this ward longer than your mother and me, and I've never seen a more confident, well-prepared Clayton boy head out for the mission field."

Lots of family was there - Joan and Fred, Paul and Camille, Charlie and Jeanette, Debbie and Alyssa, Brenda and her husband, Mary, Dad, Noah and I - among others. There will be a trip to the temple on Tuesday and an open house on Wednesday, but I have a prior commitment for Wednesday, so I wanted a group shot. Even when all the Claytons aren't there, it's still a big group! You may need to click on this to enlarge it to see everyone - we recruited one of Adam's friends to be the photographer and he did an admirable job with the 3 cameras he was handed!

On the way there, we saw someone riding on an old bike - the kind with a very large front wheel and a rather small rear wheel. The guy had a suit on too - and when we passed him, it turned out it was Bishop Tovey! It's not a very good shot, but it was the best I could do, short of chasing after him and asking him to slow down and "pose!"

Happy Earthday!

In the spirit of Earth Day, my science students are going to test the air for pollutants - by hanging up 5 by 7 cards coated with Vaseline - then hung outside. The next day we'll use magnifying glasses to look for particles they have trapped. Hopefully I will raise some consciences!

A favorite look

Happy b-day to Bruce from the Landers of the Se. I rather enjoy this look.

Happy Birthday Bruce!

Bonny, Bruce, Ara and Ella at Dawn and Harry's reception in 2000.

Bruce with Esme at our house at Christmas time the year Matt and Eliza got married - 2003.

I could make a case for these being "vintage" Bruce - at least at weddings and Christmas. Or I could tell you that they were the easiest pictures to locate.

It's a given that my photos are not in any kind of usable order! And a great current photo is on Bonny's blog, but I wanted to post something!

But I digress - have a happy day Bruce - we bless the day you joined our family! (Even though big Harry said, when he passed me in the kitchen on the famous day that they announced their engagement, "I'm not ready for this.")

for your FYI

I wrote my last paper of college yesterday. Not a big deal.

Also, I'm moving out of the insane asylum next week. This is going to be a good summer.

Wally the Whale Swims Ashore to Monrovia - and Clifton Middle School

Ara's class is having a little whale named Wally travel throughout California. Wherever he goes, the class asks the recipient of Wally's visit to report something about their town. Wally came to Monrovia just in time for a wet spring storm. I think he felt right at home though.

Kia and Kevin were especially smitten with Wally and wanted me to take their picture with him.

I actually think the whole class enjoyed the visit. At least they are smiling. My class isn't usually this small - there are 10 kids in the class - it's 8th grade Language Arts - but 4 kids were absent today. It was cold, rainy, windy - not a bad day to stay home!

It was the Election Assembly - such events at a middle school are often fraught with chaos and other distractions. And being on assembly schedule always confuses everyone - especially when the bell schedule appears to have run amok!

And then some unthinking (would a thinking kid do this?) kid pulled the fire alarm during 4th period - which was after lunch today instead of before lunch like it usually is - so we had to march out onto the field in the rain and cold. Fortunately the kid was caught and punished for his misdeed!

I was happy to see the day end!! And Wally didn't give me a speck of trouble!

Happy Times in Hingham, MA

Bertucci's in Hingham was the sight of some serious carbo loading with our east coast Cornwall connection on Saturday night. The group included Robb and Marybeth, Matt, Eliza and Theo, Harry and I and our friend Terry from Shreveport.


It was fun to visit with the happy couple and catch up on Monrovia, Hanover and Hingham happenings. Marybeth and I "talked shop" about Special Education.

The Zellers graciously had us all over for dinner after church on Sunday. And Bishop Zeller took us on a tour of Duxbury - a charming town - even in a downpour! More serious carbo loading as Sister Zeller provided a great variety of pasta dishes - and a great cobbler!!

Caitlyn, Marybeth's sister, was fond of Theo and Matt. She had a tough time choosing between them.

We certainly enjoyed our Sunday with the Zellers and the Cornwalls - and the very friendly and welcoming members of the Hingham Ward. It is so great to travel around and find instant fellowship with other church members.

A Happy Day to Eliza - and Dee!!

I think this one is Eliza's birthday - or at least someone's b-day!

And this is from Pawtucket last year!!

Because it's fun to lie on the dirty floor in a crowded airport

We spent about 4 hours in the airport yesterday afternoon/last night, along with 8 million other delayed people trying to get out of Boston, but Theo actually seemed to enjoy it (most of the time).


Guess you had to be there?


(This is what Matt and I wanted to do the whole time)

The Rundown on Monday

"Finishing" early: Saturday's visit to Copley Square.


A word to the wise.


What Theo thinks about all this!


Race day dawns cold and rainy - so Harry has to "gear" up for the event. Matt takes him to Hopkinton - and then Matt, Eliza, Theo and I get ready to "follow the road."


Theo is enjoying his Hertz Rent A Car Seat!


"Wind? What wind?" At Newton - the 17 mile mark.


A quick hug and Harry goes back to the race, and we get back in the car and head for Boston and the real finish.


Greeting Grandpa at the Marriott lobby in Boston - our friend Terry had a room there, so we chose that as our meeting place - it was still very chilly outside!


Just before we got to the Marriott in Boston, the smoke alarms went off - in error apparently - but it shut down the elevators! Here Terry and Harry share war stories. Terry's time was 3:32, Harry's was 4:00 - pretty good times considering the weather conditions - and Harry's time was better than last year - actually his 2nd best Boston time.


After a warm shower at Terry's place, and a bowl of hot clam chowder, Harry is feeling like a new man!

Congrats on a job well done - and thanks for another great trip to Boston!