Travel and Family

We love the Los Angeles County Fair! ....we had most the whole family together this year (except our son in law, Ned this time.) We always see the cows and other farm animals in the Big Red Barn, buy ice cold chocolate milk from the cows there, eat corn dogs, barbecue something and ALWAYS share a strawberry & whipped cream funnel cake. We take at least one run down the huge slide and visit the flower exhibit build ing, and will usually stay for the free entertainment at the end of the day. Demolition Derby -- True White Trash Fun!! For the last 2 or 3 years, we've timed our fair visits to be on Demolition Derby night. Its always been my dream to be in one. Maybe for an upcoming family activity, we can all get a beater and just go at each other....then I could die a happy woman (and get buried in a Dodger casket)....scroll on down. Ryan and Carter, my sweet little pets. Wes and April (my daughter) My "corny" grandson, Asher Carter, Ryan and Ell...

Half Dome Hike, Annette, Danny, April and Wes -- We made it to to the top of the world! The Cookie Jar Song, “Who stole the cookie…. ” Bagel Sandwiches, Bagel Sand wiches, Bagel Sandwiches “That’s what she said….” N n n n n n n n, NO! The Indian Village at the Visitor's Center Sandwiches at Dengen's Deli Riding the Yosemite Shuttle -- Usually at the back of the bus Taking photos at the Ahwahnee The Brobergs’ fancy new Nikon Rafting and Tubing down the Merced River – (sneaking the rented raft to camp and trying to lose the ranger on horseback to get a longer & more exciting ride) Moving campsites (218 great base most of the tim e) Claire ditching her sh oes Swimming in the Merced near camp Baby Ducks and Mama Ducks Ned chasing a bear in the middle of the night (the o ne that stole and shredded Heidi’s pack) Shopping at the General Stores in Curry and Yosemite Villages The Brave (or crazy ones) Jumping off the top of Swinging Bridge into t he Merc ed Ned and Dan...

I'm still unpacking boxes from our recent move, and while doing so, ran across some old photos from the couple of times that we purchased a packages from Olan Mills. This one must be from about 1981, Annette, John, Heidi and Danny. Heidi didn't get any hair till she was almost 3 so I used Karo syrup to stick little bows on her head. (Back then, if you'd put a big ribbon around a baby's head, it would have looked crazy like something from the 1920's...that trend just hadn't resurfaced yet.) Danny's face looks a LOT like his little daughter, Claire's in this photo. Here's one of the Todd kids in 1989. Danny, Heidi, April and Hayley. Oh, I loved them all so much then, and love them all still. These were fun and sweet days. Nobody else wanted or needed their photos taken and I had one more "free" photo on our plan so, not wanting to waste it, I took this photo. I was just getting ready to go back to college in 1988 and used this for m...

I love to travel. Its what motivates me to go to work every day and now my daughters are as travel-addicted as I am. I decided to make a list of the places I've been...you know, like the Dr. Seuss book...and here's the places I've been.....(with just a few photos): Grand Canyon Old Faithful & Yellowstone The Grand Tetons & Jenny Lake Whitewater Rafting down the Snake River The Antler Arch in Jackson Hole Devil’s Tower, Wyoming Mount Rush more Steamboating down the Mississippi River The Cont ine ntal Divide Little Bighorn Battle S ite The Space Needle The Golden Gat e Bri dge Anzo Borrego St at e Park, Wildflowers, Palm Canyon Oasis Trail Sequoia National Park – General Sherman Tree Yos emite National Park ( Half Dome – pending ) The Empire State Building Statue of Liberty Gettysburg Battlefield and Town Battle of Yorkshire Site Colonial Williamsburg Monticello Boston, The Freedom Trail; Paul Revere’s H ome; The Old North Church; sailing ship, TheConstitution, et...

Imagine hearing your doorbell ring at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning to find a stranger asking, in broken English, "Will you take 10 bucks for the washer?" You stare blankly at the stranger wondering what on earth he's talking about! But, as you gaze beyond this little man and his family, you see that your lawn is covered in old appliances, lamps, clothes, shoes, and lawn tools. There's a "For Sale, CHEAP" sign on your family van and there are several other people milling about your front yard looking at "stuff" placed all over the lawn and driveway. "What the heck?" You're a victim of a Guerrilla Garage Sale The Eighties were great years for practical jokes. John and I were in our 20s, had four very good and pretty easy going little kids, had great fun friends and a great neighbor and babysitter in Gina (Michelle) Mosteller, just across the street. Our friends, the Abrahamsons and Stefans, both now living in Utah, helped us enjoy...

I grew up in a family headed up by a single mother who sup ported us with a rank & file job at the IRS and a child support check from my dad in the now meager sum of $150 a month ($50 for each of us three kids till we turned 18). Most of the locals around Ogden, Utah (our hometown, Roy, was about 8 miles south of Ogden) put in their time at the IRS. I worked the 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift there during the 1981 tax season when Heidi was a baby. John has great memories of rubber band battles w ith his coworkers while he worked his way through college in the old file room there. My mother, Verda; brother, Kevin; sister, J ill and I didn't have money for much of anything beyond the most basic of necessities. We had just one family car, a 1972 Chevrolet Impala. Back then, you were either a Ford , Chevy or Chrysler family and we were definitely of the Chevy persuasion. We didn't go a lot of places like families do now. Most of our outings, like going grocery shoppi...

The thing of which I’m most proud is the fact the four kids we’ ve been blessed to raise, have turned out to be well adjusted, kind, happy, and just good people. This isn ’t to say that we haven’t had so me dire worries, issues and concerns over the years. Those crazy early years – most of the 80’s is just a a blur of sleepless nights, changing diapers, cleaning up poop and vomit messes at all hours of the day and night in cars, beds and cribs, and if we’re lucky, outside somewhere. (We us ed to have a dog that would lick up vom it with relish the moment it hit the ground. I’m not really fond of dogs, but they do serve some useful purposes. They're really good at cleaning the floors under the tab le too.) John was often a teacher at the same school the kids attended, but that didn ’t mean they got any favors or special treatment – at least by him. The worst of this is that, any time any of the kids acted up or did anything slightly naughty, John usually found out bef...