Catch Up

I had a friend ask if I still had my blog. I guess I do although I haven't posted anything for 2 years. I thought now might be a good time to catch up. On March 9, 2012, I retired from East Idaho Credit Union. I had worked there for 15 years. Four of those years were spent at the Main office in Idaho Falls where I was the Assistant Manager to Cindy Mitchell. After that I moved to the Shelley Branch as the Branch Manager. It was a great learning experience for me. I can truthfully say that I worked with some amazing people and learned something from all of them. I made some cherished friendships with a lot of our Members too. I will always be grateful for the challenges and the successes that formed me during those years

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The Credit Union hosted an open house in my honor. It was held at the Shelley Branch. They served a raspberry filled cake and a raspberry punch. Sherwin made a video with pictures of a lot of the activities my Branch participated in like the Spud Day Celebrations and the floats we made for the parades over the years. I had over 90 people come to the open house who signed my guest book. The nine Branch Managers of the other branches had a party for me too and a dinner at Johnny Carinos. That party was attended by the upper management and back office staff. The co-workers in my branch likewise had a dinner party for me at the local Mexican restaurant. They invited a lot of the people who had previously worked with me in our Branch. It was so nice to see them again. As if that wasn't enough partying and dinners, James, Jessica and Sherwin took me out to celebrate. I was honored by all the love and support of my family, friends and co-workers.

Sunny Arizona

This spring has been cold, rainy, and windy. It makes me wonder if summer will ever arrive. Here it is the end of May and we have not planted our flowers for fear of a hard frost. This morning there was snow in Island Park. It seemed like the perfect time to head to Arizona for a visit with Jacob, Erica and Joseph.

We drove through Las Vegas down into Arizona. The desert was blooming with wild flowers. The cactus were majestic. Sherwin was eager to get his camera out.



Jacob, Joseph and Erica showed us a grand time. The first day we were there we visited the Botanical Gardens of Phoenix. As it turns out, Erica is also into photography. Sherwin and Erica kept their fingers on the trigger the whole time. We also enjoyed some birds, rabbits and lizards mixed in with the plants.


The second day we visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. It was different from the Music Experience Museum we visited in Seattle. This one featured the instruments and music culture from around the world. We rented headphones which gave us a sample of the music being played at each station. The museum closed before we could get all the way through it. There was just so much to see. We also took Joseph bike shopping. He found a good bike at a questionable place. (private joke).

The third day we took a scenic drive out to the Queen Creek Olive Oil Mill. The drive took us through Scottsdale where Jacob works as a Sr. Programing Engineer for GoDaddy.com. Scottsdale is one of the most beautiful cities in Arizona. We took a tour of the olive oil mill which was very interesting and then of course we had the experience of tasting the products they produce. I had no idea you could purchase so many flavors of olive oil and stuffed olives. I also ate a sandwich they created which won a prize on the Food Network Program. By the way..we enjoyed lots of great food while in Arizona. My boys are food fearless and love to try all kinds of cuisines. That night we took a beating playing cards with Jacob and Joseph.




Lastly we visited the Science Museum and toured the Bodies Exhibit. That exhibit was amazing! I hope that everyone gets the chance to see it. It will certainly make you think and wonder. We also had a little time to tour some of the science experiments.
Later that night, Erica made us a wonderful dinner and we settled in to watch a movie.

We headed back to Idaho stopping in Sedona to take in the sites there. Then we headed to Cade's in southern Utah.



Our thanks to Joseph, Jacob and Erica for showing us such a great time! It was great to visit with all of you!

Davis Family

On our drive back from Phoenix, we swung by Cade's house for a short visit. Jenny fixed us a picnic. It was the first time I had seen Sherwin's great grandson, Brek Sherwin Davis (named after Sherwin). He is an adorable ball of energy. He is 13 months old but he runs, climbs, and talks like he is much older. Lucy is adorable too. She just finished first grade. Her school only has around 40 students.



Cade lives the "cowboy" life. Sherwin loves to go riding with him when he is tending to the cows. They live near La Sal Utah.

Catch Up

It has been such a long time since I posted to this blog. Probably my followers have given up on me.

My high school class had another reunion but I didn't attend because we had a reunion of our own with my children in McCall. I was contacted by a classmate and was asked to make a blog for Bonneville High School Class of 1965. It was fun to look at the pictures they provided for me. I have to admit that I had to have a classmate help me identify some of the people. If you want the blog address I will add it to my "list" on my information bar.












I had a great time with Sherwin and my children in McCall. We rented a large house so we were all able to be together. The weather was great. We had fun playing in the Payette Lake which was just a short distance from the house. The grandchildren had fun playing together and the adults did too.









My only complaint was that the vacation just wasn't long enough. I hope we can rent that same house again sometime. It was perfect. We even had some deer that came right up to the house. We were able to sit on the deck and watch them.








After our vacation in August, I had a total knee replacement on my left knee. Both of my knees were bone on bone so I was grateful to have the surgery. What I didn't realize is how slow and painful the recovery would be. While I was recovering, Sherwin's sister Geneal and her husband, Lynn Fife came for a visit. We had a good time but I felt like a terrible hostess because I was in too much pain to be up too long on my new knee. I returned to work after 5 weeks which was too soon.

In December I had a total knee replacement on my right knee. I would have chickened out (because of the pain) if I wasn't so cheap. Having it done before the end of the year saved me having to pay another deductible on my insurance. The recovery has been more painful and slow than the first. Probably because my left knee wasn't strong yet. I went back to work after 6 weeks. It has been difficult and I feel more than ready to retire most days!

Jack Ramon Sears

My brother Jack pass away on July 30, 2010. He was only 67 years old. I will miss him! I will remember Jack for his quick wit. He loved to tease his sisters and often pulled pranks on his friends and family. I will also remember him for being such a great grandpa to his grandchildren. He enjoyed spending time with them and taking the family boating and fishing.





This is a picture of Jack shortly after high school graduation. This is how he looked before his accident. He was very handsome! While in the Navy Jack was in a terrible accident and was not expected to live. His head had been crushed. A plate was inserted above his eyebrows about half way back on his head. He had a scar that went from ear to ear across the top of his head. It as a miracle that he survived. Sadly this was not his last brush with death. He also survived colon cancer, a five bi-pass,a pacemaker, and injuries too numerous to list.




Jack earned his Eagle Scout award when he was around 14 years old. My dad earned his Eagle Scout at the same time. Jack loved to hunt and shot his first deer when he was 12. Later in life he belonged to the Mountain Man's Association. He won many trophies, awards, and ribbons for his skill at hatchet throwing, black powder shooting and other skills. This is a picture of a painting that an artist did of Jack in his Mountain Man clothing. The painting hung in an Albuquerque Bank for many years. Unfortunately, the family lost track of where it ended up.

Jack and JoAnne also loved motorcycles and belonged to many riding clubs over the years. They traveled all across the United States with their biker friends.




This was the last family picture taken of us before he died. We all went to visit him in March near his birthday. He had developed gangrene in his legs and we knew that he would not survive. We asked all his family and friends to write a favorite memory of Jack and we compiled them in a binder. It was very emotional to read all of the stories. Goodbye, Jack. I love you!