HOW SWEET IT IS.....

How sweet it is......
Look at the beauty of this place! Without a doubt, this is a beautiful sight. It is a beautiful sound--there is no sound! This is the BEST possible surrounding to spend a happy celebration with the people you LOVE the most! Celebrating a huge birthday with the people I love so dearly was very important to me. I planned ahead for this weekend, scheduling Rick's family cabin way up in the mountains. Emmie Sue was going to be blessed on Sunday, so Chelsea was coming home for that special occasion. I cached in on the timing and planned a "get-a-way" for my family to celebrate my birthday with me.


I love the mountains...they played a very important role in my youth. My Dad loved the mountains and my parents took us to the mountains a lot. My Dad's father and his father logged, so my Dad loved the mountains. My Dad drove a log truck in the mountains and we got to go with him many, many times. Dad and Morlin Van Tassell would pack the road above the church farm with the tractor and we would sled down the mountain trail. We loved going to the mountains to get Christmas trees when our kids were younger. There is a quiet peace in the mountains and it is very easy to feel the Spirit in the quiet solitude. What better way to celebrate my 60th birthday than to have my eternal family with me in the beauty of the mountains, where peace enters our souls and we are touched with the beauty of Heavenly Father's eternal plan.
Even heading to the outhouse is pleasant in this surrounding. One simply turns the heat lamp switch on as you leave the cabin and twenty steps later, when you open the door to the double-seater, it is warm!
Rick, Olivia, Luke, Noah, Eli, Earl and big Noah went up "forward party" to start the fire and warm the cabin. Earl just kept making trips in and out and picking people up at the Soapstone parking lot. The moonlight ride in to the cabin was indeed, pretty cool, and the warmth of the cabin was inviting on arrival. Goodwood's BBQ tasted DELICIOUS, once we all got transported in to the winter, wonder land.
Best friends, best cousins, best grandkids.
Best husband, best kids!
Best family for me!
There was one part that wasn't the best...poor little Tess was sick and started running a fever again, so Grandpa had to take Tess and her Mom and Allen, Evan, Patrice and Emmie Sue back out to the highway so they could all go home. We are sorry -- maybe next time.
Birthday cake was really good...especially since Noah had helped his Mom bake it. Thank you!
There is a special "kids" room at the cabin. We filled it wall to wall with our kids and they told story after story to each other once we put them to bed. We decided next time around, the adults will go in the special room and close the door and leave the kids out on the deck!
Breakfast was special, with the girls all in the kitchen together.
Grandpa always gets crazy with the grandkids, so I joined them for the fun of it!
Rasheta's are enjoying the snow!
Ellie, Luke and Noah brave the tubing hill. Ellie looks like a movie star!
Allen took everyone to the top of the hill where Rick helped them on the tube for the thrilling ride down!
Olivia and Eli having a great run! Eli was a pretty brave little guy--it was a BIG hill!
Mia and Noah do EVERYTHING together. They were not one bit scared...even the snow in their faces didn't bother them, but by the time they crashed and Mia went face first in to a foot of new powder, she wasn't so thrilled with tubing. Now, I must explain...this was AFTER she had been thrown off the tube behind the snowmobile and the next tube ran over her. She did not shed one tear, but after the second face-plant, it was more than her little heart could bear!

You have to enlarge this picture of Noah and Ellie to witness how the powder was spraying into their faces! Ellie is a daredevil and she has fun...no matter what!
The trip from the 67 degree weather in St. George to the Uinta's is a very "cool" one for Jack and Chelsea. We loved having them and I think they loved every minute with us too.
Noah continued coming down the hill, even after he and Mia's crash!
Once we all got back to the cabin, Ellie is making sure Mia is receiving the TLC she needs to heal the ice in the face and wounded spirit.
Jack and Eli are relaxing with Rajko's handy, dandy technology equipment.
All equipment runs better when Evan provides the "rrrrr" sound.
A good, hot bowl of Giselle Girl's chili (that is the sequel to Pioneer Woman), is just what is needed after playing outside.
The boys are learning the ins and outs of pool playing under Uncle Noah's tutelage.

The weekend concluded with the family attending the Spanish Branch with Allen and Patrice for Emmie Sue's blessing. Emmie was beautiful in an elegant, white dress made by her Grandma Shuppy. Allen gave her a wonderful blessing in Spanish (the sister missionary translated, so those of who don't speak Spanish could understand). A party to celebrate followed at Allen and Patrice's, with the best Super Bowl food ever! A wonderful conclusion to a really great weekend.
Well, we made it...to the beginning of our "Golden Years..." I guess. I don' t want to sound silly or vain, but ADMITTEDLY, I am not thrilled with the idea of being 60! IT SOUNDS OLD!!! (The English professor says multiple exclamation points are uncalled for and unacceptable...he says one is sufficient and any more lessens the point trying to be made. I think 60 definitely calls for more than ONE exclamation point! Even my sisters said they can't believe I am 60!!!) Anyway, if 60 means having the BEST family in the world (I do realize others have wonderful families too); the cutest grandkids (again, I realize others have cute grandkids); a life filled with the sweetest memories; and the knowldge of Heavenly Father's plan...then I am ok with being 60...sort of. I don't like the sounds or the idea of it, but I actually feel ok. The bad part comes when I look in the mirror and being honest with myself, have to admit...Happy 60th birthday, Billie Sue! However, how sweet it is...