Workin' hard at the Golden Gate City!

Every once in a while life deals you real sour grapes. I am stuck here in San Francisco for 5 days at a trade show. The work is brutal and the food certainly not what I am accustom to. Some how I hope to survive.

Actually, yesterday was a play day. We spent a grand total of about 30 minutes setting up our booth on the convention floor and then split to do some site seeing. It was a very nice day and extremely hot by San Francisco standards. Every time I have been there it is windy, overcast, and cold. Today it was sunny and near 90 at the coast and over 100 a short way inland.

I'm sure most of you youngsters do not know the significance of the picture below. It is a crossroad in a neighborhood in S.F. that has some interesting history. Any ideas??

The Haight/Ashbury section is well known as the birthplace of the "Hippie" movement in the U.S. during the 60's. Just to let you know that they are doing their best to maintain their image - I think I had a secondhand contact high by the time I stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk! Maybe they just pipe in the cannabis smell for tourists but it was there. We browsed through some shops and I almost bought a killer set of tie-dye bed linens but was afraid Shirley would kill me. She makes fun of a shirt I have so I suppose the sheets would have been a little over the top. After lunch in a local cafe, we headed over to Golden Gate Park and walked trough a Japanese Tea Garden. I had to include a photo of this for Shirley the gardener of the family.

Today is Thursday and I am trying to mentally prepare myself to spend the next 3 days in a 6' by 6' booth at the trade convention. I know, I know..... it will be tough but I will make it.

Tafton's Here!

Tafton Jay Passey, 7 lb. 2 oz., 19 inches born 4/28/08. Cute little boy with a head full of hair! Sorry about the poor quality photo but it was taken with a phone. Not to be outdone by his Dad, Tafton had to make things a little exciting. When Ben was born he was wisked away to the NICU. Well, Tafton followed suit and is currently in the NICU at Ogden Regional. He did not oxygenate as well as they would like and so he was taken to the NICU for closer observation. He is doing better - they would lik him to eat a little better before they let him out. Megan will probably be discharged from the hospital tomorrow but I think Tafton will stay for a little longer. Keep an eye out on Ben and Megan's blog for more information ad higher quality pictures.

Soccer Chic!

Thought I might brag a little about our little soccer chick. Megan plays on a competition soccer team. Next year she will be in 9th grade and a freshman at Morgan High School. She was invited to go with the Morgan High soccer team to a soccer "team" camp in Cedar City this summer. It is a great opportunity for her and we are proud of her.

Spring Break

I am so ready for nice weather! We just got home from a trip to St. George where we spent 4 lovely days enjoying the sun, heat, and each other's company. It was especially nice not to have to meet schedules, hound Megan about homework, chores around the house and an escape from the Box Elder bugs!


We had a great time although we didn't really do anything very structured. Time by the pool catching a few rays. (you haven't seen that much white meet since Thanksgiving!) Now we are all sporting a little pinker skin. We went to the movies and took an impromptu hike in Snow Canyon. We also spent quite a bit of time just driving around and looking at houses and landscaping.


The girls also helped out the local economy by taking a few trips to clothing stores. We also went out to dinner at some nice places. Last night I had to sit strategically so I could see the TV in the bar area to keep tabs on the Jazz. The food was good, the game was spectacular!

It was a great trip and now I am officially ready for summer. I had to change our blog template to represent the great outdoors as I am excited to get to the cabin and hook up that $15,000 toilet!

We Love Conference!

Today we held a "Conference Brunch" at our house. We ( I should say Shirley, Kristen, & Megan) cooked up a breakfast buffet. After breakfast we watched conference on TV. It was great except simple math teaches us: good food + comfortable chair = sleepy boy! My grandson Aiden had to holler at me to wake up. It worked for me but not for Nate. It was great to see Kristen, Nate, and Aiden. Aiden is getting so big! I can't wait for him to follow me around the house and barn asking a million questions. Things only get better as Ben and Megan will have a new baby in about a month. We are excited for them.

Sleepless in Seattle

Shirley and I decided to leave town for my birthday. I had a companion fare coupon for Delta airlines and we decided to fly up to Seattle for the weekend. It was a quick trip and full of excitement! We were all aboard the plane in SLC ready to depart when the captain said there was a problem with one of the engines and they had the repair manuals open and were trying to fix it. Enter a little anxiety. It was decided that this plane was unfit to use so they were trying to find an alternate airplane. We were told we would stay on board until it was decided what we were going to do. I kept thinking of Jet Blue, 12 hours on the runway, etc., etc. After only about 10 minutes they had us exit the plane and walk four gates down the concourse to another plane. Although we had to go through the entire boarding process again we were happy to finally get on our way only an hour late. As we were beginning our decent into Seattle the Captain came on the intercom to tell us we were experiencing some problems with one of the engines but he did not think it would be much of a problem. He also said that as a precaution, there would be multiple fire and rescue vehicles on the runway when we made our landing. Turn up the backside pucker factor a little! After landing the plane stopped and we were encircled by fire vehicles as they checked out the plane. Every seemed to be OK and we taxied to the gate. After getting our rental car we finally made to our hotel just short of Midnight.

In the morning we got up early and had breakfast and started out on our day. We had planned on going down to Pike's market and shop around.

After spending the day shopping and driving around seeing the sites, we stopped at the hotel for a quick check on the NCAA games and it was off to dinner. We had reservations at a restaurant across the bay from downtown Seattle. Great seafood and the view was fantastic as the sun set on Seattle and the lights came on.

We woke up early today and was off to the airport and back home again. It was a quick trip but very nice to get away for a few days. All was well when we got home.

March madness!

I am in the height of glory - Lazy boy recliner, cold drink, remote control, and basketball galore! I am a huge fan of the NCAA basketball tournament. Then, to top it off, Jazz vs. Lakers later tonight. You would think it was my birthday - oh wait - it is my birthday! Well, it is this Saturday. Shirley and I are heading up to Seattle for my birthday. We will spend a couple of days there seeing the sites and enjoying some fresh seafood. I will post some pictures when we get home.