Up, up and away!

One of my favorite memories from living in Kansas was watching the hot air balloons ascend from the schoolyard across the street. One balloon in particular launched from this site on a regular basis. The ballon was unbelievably large and the colors were brilliant. Brenda took this photo as the balloon was inflating. This was taking place directly across the street from our house. We always knew when the balloons were getting ready to launch and enjoyed a front row seat!

Broken Leg

When Ben was very young he was playing with his cousin in the bedroom. He jumped from his bed and landed on a toy, twisting his leg and sustaining a spiral fracture or "skier's break." This was unusual for one so very young and with such flexible bones. But it caused Ben a great deal of pain.


At first, we did not know Ben's leg was broken. When he did not stop crying we took him to the emergency room. An x-ray confirmed the break and Ben was given an injection to help with the pain. I made the mistake of watching as they inserted the needle, and for the next 45 minutes Ben and I were laid out next to each other on beds in the emergency room. After the doctor finished putting on Ben's cast and was ready to discharge him, the nurse would not let me walk out to the parking lot and drive the car up to the door. Brenda had to do this because the nurse didn't trust me to drive.


With the cast, Ben could no longer walk and he seemed to become depressed. I have often wondered if his thinking at such a tender age was that he would never be able to walk again. He certainly had gone from a very active, run everywhere at full speed lifestyle to instant immobility. Fortunately, his leg healed well and he was up and around again as usual.


Unfortunately, in removing Ben's cast the doctor scraped his leg with the saw and a large keloid formed over the scrape. For a time, we thought Ben would require plastic surgery on his leg to correct this condition. But as he grew the keloid became less prominent.


Here is a photo of Ben and his cute little cast.

Thanksgiving 2007

Today is Thanksgiving. I have much for which I am grateful, especially my children and their families. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I pray that Heavenly Father will continue to bless you in all that you do.

Because we were invited to a friend's home for Thanksgiving dinner, we did not prepare our typical meal. No turkey, no mashed potatoes and gravy, no marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes, and no three bean salad. Instead, we took some dishes with us to dinner to share with others.

Last year people seemed to like my frog-eye salad, so I prepared this again. I used a different recipe and wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was delicious. I followed the directions for one batch that was supposed to feed 8-10 people. I did not know if that would be enough, so doubled the recipe. By the time I was finished I had enough frog eye salad to feed at least 30 people. Needless to say, we will be having this as a leftover for several days! Note: I can't find the Ancini de Pepe for this salad in the grocery stores here. I will need to pick up some more when I go to Utah for Christmas.

I also made deviled eggs. I could not find Lindsey's famous recipe, so faked it as best as I could. The most frustrating part about making deviled eggs is trying to get the shells off the hard-boiled eggs. Some shells slip right off while others seem glued on. Once I managed to remove the shells, I mixed the yolks with a little bit of this and a little bit of that until they tasted right. Then I wrapped them in several layers of plastic wrap to keep Mom out of them until the meal.

Finally, I prepared a glazed spiral sliced ham. This is so easy that even I can do it well. I poured the glaze on the ham and cooked it for three hours. Done!

We miss having our children here, but have very fond memories of the times we would all work together to prepare our Thanksgiving meals. Each child would have one part of the meal to prepare. Somehow the chaos trying to share kitchen space, pots and pans, stove burners, and the oven would all work out in the end and we would enjoy a wonderful meal. I miss those days. Today Brian joined the meal with us; we were very glad to have him present.

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday ... and are very grateful for all our blessings.

Sacrifice

In Stake Conference today President Nye reminded us that ours is a church of sacrifice, not a church of convenience. I just want it to be on the record that I did NOT go see Brian Regan perform this evening because it is the Sabbath (just like last time he came to Des Moines). So I certainly DID sacrifice -- again! (Sigh) I've got to figure out how to get him to come here on a day other than Sunday. Or I will have to have Laura record him next time he is in Utah and send me the recording. (Note: this is a joke and for any authorities who may read this I want to state emphatically that I am not in reality advocating any illegal taping or distribution activity.)

What a pain in the ... heel!

For the last few weeks I have been battling heel pain. My podiatrist diagnosed the problem as plantar fasciitis, which is Latin for "hurts like #@!$% when I get up in the morning and take my first steps or when I sit too long at my computer and get up to go eat." Mom's diagnosis is that I am "too old to still be playing basketball like a kid, and why don't you grow up and act your age."

As this diagram shows, the plantar tendon that runs along the bottom of the foot and attaches at the rear to the heel gets inflamed and causes quite a bit of pain.

I have been to see the doctor a couple of times. At the first visit he gave me some oral steroids and stretching exercises to do. When I came back for a second visit, he wanted to inject cortisone into my heel. I asked him what was Plan B. Then he gave me a boot to wear, as in this photo. So this is what I am now wearing to work and to church. I haven't been able to wear a normal shoe in several weeks.

Next he added a night splint, which I wear to bed to stretch the tendon while I am sleeping. None of this seems to be doing much good. I can't wait to see what the next visit brings. I suspect I will be getting the cortisone injection after all.

Between Mom and me, our house looks like a cross between a pharmacy and a durable medical equipment outlet. I don't know what hurts worse, my heel or not being able to play basketball.

Young Dad

Here are a few photos of my father as a young man. The first picture is a high school photo. My father was born on March 21, 1932. He graduated from high school at age 18 in 1950, so in this photo from the 1947-48 school year he was 15-16 years old.

I don't have dates for the next two photos. I believe the first one must have been either in Kentucky, where my parents lived for a short time while Dad was serving in the military, or in Tooele, where we lived when I was born and before moving to West Jordan. I say this because I know the wallpaper in West Jordan was a different pattern. In either case, this was very early in their marriage.

The last photo appears to be in the West Jordan house, but I would have to get Grandma O to verify the couch and curtains. I like this photo because of the big smile my Dad has on his face. When I look at this picture I am reminded of being told that my father suffered from rickets as a child (look at his chest).

My Three Sons

When I was young, I really enjoyed camping with my parents. As you can see from this photo, my Dad enjoyed a nap while camping more than I did.





Here is an unusual picture showing me on my favorite tricycle. What makes it unusual is that I appear to be throttling Uncle Wane and it looks like I have painted fingernails!





The final photo is the "My Three Sons" picture taken not long after Uncle Gary was born. I don't think I blame my parents for stopping after this gang.

Family of Four

Here are a couple of photos of me, my parents, and Uncle Wane. I don't know where the first photo was taken; I don't remember the couch or the drapes. But see my cute suspenders?





The second photo was taken at our house in West Jordan. This is what our rocking chair looked like before I recovered it in green fabric. This is the only photo I think I have of Grandma O pregnant (with Gary). I seem very relaxed on my Dad's lap, don't I!

My Grandparents all together

Here are photos of my grandparents together. The photo of my Allen grandparents was apparently taken at my Aunt Rolene's high school graduation. I am a little uncertain about this, because the back of the photo has the date as 1969. However, Grandma died in February of 1969, so this seems unlikely. I will have to check with Rolene on this.




The photo of my Oviatt grandparents includes Aunt Sally as a young girl.


I think Sally was 14 or 15 when Grandpa Oviatt died, but again will have to check those details with her.

My Grandparents

My grandparents on my father's side were Dee Oviatt (after whom I was named) and Lillian Irene Eriksson. Grandpa Oviatt was born on June 21, 1892 and died at age 61 on May 23, 1954 just two months before I was born. He died of a heart attack. Grandma Oviatt was born on February 16, 1895 and died at age 93 on June 20, 1988 just before Lindsey was born. She died of causes incident to age.

My grandparents on my mother's side were Lewis Lamont Allen and Alice Lucile Stokes. Grandpa Allen was born on May25, 1906 and died at age 68 on June 5, 1974 while undergoing exploratory surgery to treat black lung from his many years mining coal. I was serving as a missionary at this time and learned of his death in a letter from my Mom. I was very distraught, having looked forward very much to talking to my grandfather when I returned home to tell him how much his example meant to me and helped in my decision to serve a mission. Unfortunately, I never got that chance. Grandma Allen was born on January 24, 1907 and died at age 62 on February 25, 1969. She died as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).

The Russians are coming!

I moved from West Jordan to Midvale in the summer of 1962. This meant starting fourth grade in a new school, Midvale Elementary. I was terrified at moving and leaving behind all my friends, and thought that life as I knew it had come to an end. I was so shy and afraid that when a classmate asked me my name the first day of school I would not answer. It was a very challenging year because of a teacher's strike as the year began. In the first few days of school I had eleven different teachers. But once the strike was over, an exciting opportunity became available.

Howard Johnson, a sixth grade teacher, assembled a class of fourth grade students an hour before school each day to teach Russian language, singing and dance. For three years we met together to study. Eventually we began putting on performances around the Salt Lake valley and even attended language forums at BYU.

These photos show Mr. Johnson and his students in our home-made (thanks, Mom!) costumes we wore when performing. The photos are of very poor quality. But they are the only ones I have of this experience and provide at least a sense of what we looked like then.

Mr. Johnson and me in his sixth-grade classroom

Russian dancing (I am left of center)

Singing Russian folk songs

Funny kids

I have always considered my children to be fairly normal. However, I realize I may have a father's inherent bias and it is possible that I am stretching the definition of "fairly normal." Here you can see two ... interesting ... photos. One apparently shows my daughters morphing into pillows. Or perhaps they had a little too much to eat for Thanksgiving, I'm not really sure.

The other photo is a February 1988 birthday party for Laura and Lisa. Apparently the Marx brothers showed up to entertain the birthday girls.

Stuffed Animals

Apparently I have always had a thing for stuffed animals. As you can see, this started at a very early age. Here I am, only a few months old, surrounded by a collection of stuffed bears. I vaguely remember a large stuffed bear with plastic eyes, but have no idea if the large animal at my right in this photo is the one I remember.

I do remember the large red dog in the second photo. At age 10 or 11 I participated in an Easter Egg hunt on the grounds of Midvale Elementary School. Inside some of the plastic eggs were slips of paper with numbers designating a stuffed animal prize. One of the eggs I collected had such a slip and I took it back to the booth to see what I had won. But there was no prize matching my number. I waited very patiently as all the other kids collected their prizes to see what was left. I couldn't help but notice the largest prize of all, a big red dog. I tried not to get my hopes up, but grew more and more excited as the prizes were distributed. Finally, I was the last one left with a number -- and the red dog was the only prize left! How thrilled I was to take home what I felt was the grand prize.

Right to bear arms?

Apparently I had something of a gun fetish when I was younger. Here are some photos that appear to be taken in two locations. I believe the photos with my britches being held up by suspenders were taken at the place we lived in Tooele. My parents were renting this place when I was born, but I have no memory of this house. We lived here until I was a couple of years old, then moved to West Jordan where my parents both worked for a time at the sugar factory. Both of these photos are dated November 1955, so I could have been no older than 16 months when they were taken.



I think the other photos are of our house in West Jordan (8235 South 1750 West). I have a vague memory of the wallpaper and the pattern on the floor. My first memories are of living in this house. I will have to ask Grandma O if I am right about these places.

Junior and Senior High School Photos

Following sixth grade, in the summer of 1966 my family moved to South Jordan to the house where Grandma O lived from then until the summer of 2007 when she moved to West Jordan. My "growing up years" were spent in South Jordan. I attended West Jordan Junior High School (the "Shamrocks") for grades 7-9 and attended Bingham High School (the "Miners") in Copperton for grades 10-12. I graduated from BHS in May or June of 1972 at age seventeen.

Seventh grade, 1966-67, twelve years old

Eighth or Ninth grade, 1967-68 or 1968-69, thirteen or fourteen years old

Sophomore, 1969-70, fifteen years old

Junior, 1970-71, sixteen years old

Senior, 1971-72, seventeen years old

Elementary School Photos

Here is a rogue's gallery of school photos from my elementary school years ... not a photo from every grade, but a good sampling showing changes over time. I attended West Jordan Elementary for grades one to three. My teachers were Mrs. Carter, Miss Solumn, and Mrs. Graham.

After third grade, we moved to Midvale and I attended Midvale Elementary for grades four to six. My teachers were Mrs. Huber, Mrs. Haun, and Mr. Johnson

First grade, 1960-61, six years old

Second grade, 1961-62, seven years old

Third grade, 1962-63, eight years old

Fourth or Fifth grade, 1963-64 or 1964-65, nine or ten years old

Sixth grade, 1965-66, eleven years old

Grandma O made the leopard-skin vest. It was my favorite!

Car Talk

My first car didn't even run. My Dad bought a 1951 Chevrolet from one of his friends for $10 and a six-pack of beer. It was supposed to be a "project car" for us to fix up together, but it didn't turn out that way. I don't remember that he ever got it running and think he eventually sold it or gave it to one of his drinking buddies.

When I started working at the gas station, I saved my money and bought a 1961 Thunderbird. I immediately had it painted black.

Try to imagine this car as pure, shiny black with shiny chrome trim and whitewall tires!

The T-bird was a gas hog, but definitely a cool car. I added some extras: mohair on the dash (to cover a crack), shag carpet, an 8-track stereo system, and surfer foot dimmer switch and accelerator pedals.

A small left foot for the dimmer switch and a
large right foot for the accelerator pedal.

When I left for my mission, I sold this car for $225 (ouch!).

Upon returning from my mission, I attempted to buy a red 1971 (I think) Plymouth Duster like this one.

My car did have a black vinyl top, but not chrome wheels.

But I couldn't get a loan because I had no credit history! So my Mom had to co-sign with me for a loan so I could get a car to go to school. I really liked this car. It had a front bench seat (important for dating) and a manual three-speed transmission. I added a stereo to this car also, but think that by this time I had graduated to a cassette tape system (newer technology). Once the shift linkage went out in this car and I drove home all the way from Provo without stopping (if I stopped, the engine would die because I couldn't take the car out of gear). I don't remember this, but Wane ways I sold this car to him when I was ready to buy my next vehicle.

Young Family

On the reverse of this photo is written, "Wane 4 months, Dee 3." Wane was born in October of 1956. Four months later would have been February of 1957. However, I didn't turn three until July of 1957. So the dates are a little off and I can't be sure exactly when this photo was taken or even how old we are here.

I don't think it is apparent in this photo because Wane is so young, but he looks more like my Dad than either Gary or I do. If this was early in 1957, my Dad would have been 24 or 25 years old (his birthday is March 21) and my Mom would have been 23 (her birthday is July 1).

Long, long ago ...

Three photos to share with you today. The first is of my Mom sitting up in a bed holding me when I am six days old. Grandma O had turned 20 years old on July 1; I was born nearly four weeks later. It appears that I had some hair and a fat face!

The second photo shows me propped up on a pillow in a rocking chair. In this photo I am six months old and am wearing the suit and sweater in which I was blessed. Don't I look like a girl? By the way, while in college I took an upholstery class and recovered this rocking chair in green fabric. It sits in my basement today.

The third photo has a processing date of April 1955. If that is the same month the photo was taken, I would be nine months old. I am taking a bath in a white enamel pan and appear somewhat surprised at the flash from the camera.

Tree House

Does anyone remember the tree house we built at our first house in Salt Lake City? When we moved into this house the yard was quite overgrown. We trimmed the bushes along the street and took many loads to the dump. Once we cleaned up the yard, I turned my attention to building a tree house on the trunks of a couple of dead trees in the back yard.

This picture shows the tree house under construction. You can see the frame and a piece of siding cut to shape leaning up against the base of the tree. If you look closely, you can also see a dog house next to the piece of siding with the word "Abby" stenciled above and to the left of the opening. I will search to see if we have a picture of the tree house once it was finished.

When we moved from Utah to Olathe, Kansas one of the members of the ward (with our permission) immediately removed the tree house and took it to his own place. Kids, what memories do you have of this tree house? I was always afraid it was going to fall down because the trees were not all that sturdy. You can see an additional leg on the left side for extra support. There is also another leg that cannot be seen in this photo behind one of the trunks.

Five Children, Four Corners

Here is a photo from 1993 of our five children at Four Corners, standing at the intersection of the states of Utah (upper left), Colorado (upper right), New Mexico (lower right), and Arizona (lower left). This was taken during one of our visits to Brenda's grandparents in Waterflow, New Mexico.

During a family vacation when I was a child, my family also went to Four Corners. Not only did we stand on this same spot, but I also prevailed upon my Dad to buy me some cheap souvenir -- a toy hatchet, as I remember it. I will be interested to hear memories of my own children about this visit and any trinkets we may have purchased for them!

Three Amigos

Gary, Wane, Dee in 1980 or 1981

In 1980 I turned 26, Wane turned 24, and Gary turned 21. So we could be plus or minus one year from these ages, depending on the month and year the photo was taken. We don't look all that different than we do now, do we? This was taken in Huntington, Utah, where Wane and Gary lived while working in the coal mines (I'm not sure if this was the time they lived and worked there, however.) Uncle Gary starting working in the mine not too many years after high school and stayed in Huntington for a number of years until he decided to move back to the big city. Wane worked in the mine for a much shorter time before joining the Provo fire department.

One interesting thing about Wane was that, while he grew a beard, I never remember him having a mustache. Gary had long hair that many girls envied. And it took him just as much time as any girl to wash, dry, and brush it out.

Here is another photo, I don't know when or where this photo was taken. Do you think it is earlier or later than the previous one?

Dee, Wane, Gary in an undated photo