Tooele UT Swim Meet

The next Olympic Swimmer----Jonah Hafen Cedar High School :) Picture of him after the State Finals in Provo UT at BYU campus. He is a SHY Swimmer.

Friday at 12:00 sharp Grandpa John or Pete as he is called by the Hafen family took me to Cedar City UT to meet Annette and Eliza and travel to Tooele for the swim meet. Jonah had two races on Friday and we wanted to see them but the weather delayed us and also the traffic in Lehi. We turned off there because it looked a little nicer to drive in. It was time for the buses to pick up the students and took us 40-45 minutes to go 5 miles. It was a riot. Cars were even letting the buses cross the streets before they continued down the road. We were about 11 miles fromTooele when we hit some ice packed snow and we were lucky enough to follow a snow plow. We drove right to the swim complex and saw a couple and ask about the meet and they said it was over for the day. We were disappointed but knew he had one race Saturday. We found Jonah at Wingers and also his team mates. The bus stops in the middle of the town square and everyone eats where they want and where they can afford it. Everyone seemed happy to see Annette and Eliza. They even called me Grandma Pearl and that was nice. I've gone to a few of their meets so they know I belong to the Hafen family.
We didn't go to Richfield to the swim meet. It didn't start until 2:30 I didn't get much information . so I'll post this now.

Two Swimmers on the Olympic Teams for the USA that I liked to watch and shared a little about them on this blog for Jonah and anyone else that is interested.

Rowdy Gaines. During the 1980's Rowdy Gaines was known as the fastest swimmer on the planet. The Olympic Boycott of 1980 came during the peak of his career. He had a brief retirement then came back and in 1984 in Los Angeles , no swimmer won more races than he did. In 1991 he announced that he had contacted Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves. The doctors told him that swimming had saved his life. I was at the 2008 Huntsman World Senior Games and Rowdy was a guest speaker. He was great. He told how he had tried out for several major high school sports and was cut from the teams so at the age of 17 he decided to swim. And swim he did. He told all the youth never to give up, there was something out there for them and he promised to be back for the games when he turns 50.
Then there is our Michael Phelps:During the Summer Games in Japan I began to watch a young man who had big hands and a heart to match. His name is Michael Phelps. I had just gotten into swimming because our grandson, Jonah Hafen had turned from football to swimming. You have to realize that I have been involved in sports since I married John 50 years ago and still don't understand the rules of the games and it is fun when I can see a touchdown. I was just beginning to think I could carry on a semi-normal conversation with our sons and grandsons when they discussed football. It was hard for me to see this but because they live in Cedar City and we are able to see some of his meets I became a believer. Michael won more medals than anyone for the United States in the Olympic Games, 8 in all. Jonah may never be an Olympian but I'm sure he'll go far. We were in Tooele the 19th and 20th of December and I saw Jonah put on the B relay team as the anchor swimmer.Jonah has improved his time in most of his events but what would happen in the relay? All of the swimmers had better time than Jonah, but Jonah stepped up to the plate, he was never behind after the lead was established by his teammates. It was a thrill for all of us there and now Tuesday the 30th we'll go to Richfield,UT, weather permitting. Jonah is built a little like Michael Phelps and he started swimming as a Junior so that is why I compare him to Rowdy and Michael. Keep up the good work Jonah.
Jonah's younger sister, Eliza swims also . She has lots of potential and it will be fun to see what she can do as she pursues swimming.

I didn't get much information so I'll post this now. The Spectrum predict that The RedMen from Cedar High have a good chance to be State Champions. We'll be there rooting for them.

Cold Colorado December 3, 2008-December 10-2008

WOW!!! What an exciting life I've led for the past few weeks. Vegas Tournament, home for bowling, Phoenix AZ via Hoover Dam, Kingman AZ and then to Phoenix. We had a great time and then hurried back to go to Paul and Rabecca's for Thanksgiving. That was an experience also, read in the blog. Lots of fun and on the way back Jane called and found a great price for a flight to Colorado. Pam and I left for the Texas Station after bowling Tuesday night, December 3rd. John opted to play softball the next three days so sweet Pam was my taxi. My flight left at 11:20 a.m. and we needed to be there early. Pam and Jane had arranged for me to have a wheel chair ride and that really saved the legs. Every once in a while they act like they want to slow down and it is quite a way to the gate. She stayed with me until we were about to board and her quarters were almost done. They still charge a quarter but it is for 10 minutes instead of 15 and that threw us for a curve, but we made it, thank goodness. Jane was waiting for me at the gate in
Den ver and that was a welcome sight but she couldn't push me, she was a tag along and this sweet lady took us to where she had parked her car and that was nice for both of us. When she got me in the car Jane said we were going to Sheila's house, pick her and Jan up and go to the Green Tomato for lunch. It was really nice. I've been trying to keep her supplied with coupons and it saved all of us some money. We took them home and everyone was there to say Hi and that was nice. Then we went to Molly's and the three of us went shopping for a real Christmas Tree. We found one in Wal-mart and got a stand for it. We went to her home and found out the trunk was too big and some branches needed trimed so we went to Randy;s house and together Jane, Molly and Randy had it ready to take back to her home and then she trimed the tree. I helped take the ornaments out of the package so all she had to do was decide where she wanted them. Isn't it beautiful !!! It smells so good . I'm glad she wanted a real tree and I was there to help a little.The next day we prepared for a sleep over in the basement. We went to the stake center to see a nativity set up, thinking it had over 1,000 pieces displayed like last year but they had changed it to only 50 pieces and then they had a theater in the round production. We heard a harpist, it was beautiful. Someone with that talent brings a lot of happiness as we listened to her selections of Christmas Carols.
We watched Bryson Guthrie that night while Melissa went to her cookie exchange party that was different than any exchange party I've been to. Sheila and Jane bathed Bryson while Jan and I visited down stairs.That night we watch The Debators with Denzel Washington, a true story filmed in Marshall, Texas where Iris Baadsgaard Best lives. It was very intense. I would highly recommend it to anyone. The next morning when we got up, had breakfast and went to A Santa Shop. What a delightful place. We were a little late getting started Jane had us on a time budget but we didn't co-operate too well. Melisa and Bryson went with us and it was fun but he got tired. We still came away with many fun gifts. Jan and Sheila made Taco Soup for us on Friday and it was the best I've tasted. It was warm and soo delicious. Then we decided we wanted to look at some lights so we found on the internet a "walking tour". It was really cold and we thought we might be able to see some of the lights but not so. It was a "walking tour" that cost each person $9.00 or $7.oo if you were a senior. We thought it was too much and too cold so we turned around and looked at a few as we traveled back to Jane's home again. Friday afternoon we met Rudi at his favorite restaurant , Helga's, a German Resturant I brought some home for the 2nd day and it was delicious, especially the mushrooms. We watch True Grit with John Wayne and went to bed. The next morning, Saturday, Jane was going to take me to Sheila's because Randy and Jane were going to their annual Microsoft dinner dance party. Jarom was going to bring me home because of the late hour and church was in at 9:30 a.m. Before we went to Sheila's we decided to go see Australia . What a great movie, many people think it is better than Gone With The Wind. Jan and Sheila had seen it before but they enjoyed it the second time, maybe even more. I'm hoping to take John,Pam and Annette to see it if at all possible. The Dinner dance was close to Sheila's so Jane and Randy picked me up. Rudi took this picture of "The Girls", Jan, Pearl and Sheila. I'm not sure where the one went with Jane and us but I was glad to see this one. They came after me earlier than they thought they would be because the music was too loud and it wasn't as exciting as in the past. Church started at 9:30 and we decided to go home and have a good night sleep before the day started.
Sunday we got up and went to church. I went with Jane to her new little Sunday School class and she is such a great teacher. They all seemed to love her and she had some handouts to reinforce her lesson. The church is the same today as in the days when Jesus organized it, Joseph Smith was the prophet that organized the church in this last dispensation.
Seth had a concert in the afternoon and then we went to Firestone,CO where Allie and James Thornnbrue live. After we took Marie and Tessa to school we traveled about 8 more miles to Johnstown, CO There we looked at the house that James and Allie are buying. It was a repo and the people had taken all the fans, the fridge, the dishwasher,and even the light switches. Really a sad deal but they aren't too worried about that. They are trying to find someone to take over their old lease. They are to move into the new home December 31-31. They went to their new ward Sunday so the Primary could be expecting their children and Ben will be in the Sunbeam class. I think they are all excited and that makes life easier for all concerned.
After seeing the house we went to Wal-mart and bought a gingerbread kit for the children to decorate when they came home from school. Jane and I took a short nap while Allie made her famous Candy Cane Bread. A tradatation from Jame's mother and it was so good. This is a favorite place for Grace as long as she is eating and visiting with everyone. We woke up and ate some good chicken soup and started the gingerbread house. All the children were so good. Ben wanted to eat the house before we were through.Grace was so good in th high chair. She had been eating. Randy called, "said it was snowing and we needed to get home ASAP." We weren't quite through so we finished and before we started out Allie took this picture of me and the four great grandchildren. I'm holding Grace,Then there is Ben, Marie, and Tessa. Beautiful and loved to do different activities. Sunday we played their favorite game, SPOONS. I was the slow one but finally won one game. YA! What a fun time we had.
As we got into the car and got gas at the service station we said a prayer and drove home via the Toll Road. It took us 2 hours and I was proud of Jane. She was a good driver and when we stopped for a break we were warm and started out again and both of us were relieved to get in the house, put our p.j.'s on and go to bed.
We had a full day Tuesday, the last full day before I was to go home. :) We wrapped presents, washed clothes, hemmed pants and tried on tops that needed some lace to make them a little more modest. It was lots of fun.
Wednesday, we made a quick trip to Sheila's to say good by before she went to her Dr's appoinment and I wanted to tell Jan good by also. She was planning on leaving for Payson, UT Thursday the 11. We came back to Janes and I had some pictures taken of me and Bryson.
Jarom was making a ginger bread cake. He had seen one in Seattle and wanted tocreate one like it.
He got ideas from the internet and here is what he had made while I was there. I hope he finishes it and puts it on his blog. Check out the stain glass effect on the windows. They are so much fun to do. They take a lot of time and a lot of patience which Jarom seemed to have while he was working so hard at it.
Before I knew it it was time to go. Jane stayed with me all the time and the worst thing that happened was she lost her favorite hand lotion. I felt so bad. I hope she can get somemore, Sheila seemes to think she can.
The flight to Vegas was very smooth and John was there to meet me and I was glad for that. We had planned on staying all night becaause it was too dark to drive home. John had been waking up every morning at 5:00 while I was gone so he really slept in. I wasn't sure we were going to get out of the room without paying for another day.We made it home intime for me to attend our ward Relief Society Chrtistmas Party and it was a lot of fun.
I hope I have remembered everything and I know it isn't in order but everything we did was fun and I had a great time. Thanks to everyone who made me feel so welcome. Love, Grandma Pearl

Thanksgiving in Oceanside, CA

Wednesday, November 26, we headed for Oceanside CA in a rainstorm. It rained all the way, if Thanksgiving wasn't the next day we would off stopped. We "seniors" have a hard time seeing at night with rain and headlights in our eyes but we felt we were protected and we arrived safe and sound. The children, Garrett, Kayla, Nathan and Elsie were delighted to see us and that made the trip in the rain worth it all. Rabecca was home but Paul was still finishing up his UPS job in San Diego. We were glad when he came home, it was pretty wet for him also.
Thursday it was still raining and Garrett wasn't feeling good so Grandpa Pete stayed home with him. Grandpa put the turkey in the oven while we ran, walked in the race. This logo was on their shirt. Kayla # 1817 and Nathan was # 1818. The rest of us went to the 3rd annual Oceanside Turkey Trot race. Rabecca opted not to race so we went down to the starting place with Kayla and Nathan. It was really raining and boy did we get wet. I thought it had rained in St. George for the Mayors Walk in October but in reality it was dry. Paul tried to keep up with Kayla, Rabecca went with Nathan and I pushed Elsie in the stroller. She wasn't quite sure she wanted me to do that but we made it all the way. There were 4,100 runners. They had it divided in different categories and made it easier for the children to participate. Kayla and Nathan were in the 6 and under age group.
Kayla ran her mile in 10 minutes 49 seconds. and Nathan ran his in 16 minutes 58 seconds and there was no time for Elsie and I and I but we did make it. It was a lot of fun and this is a small picture of the medal they received.
The next day it was bright and sunny so we went to the pier. There were a lot of people fishing and walking around enjoying the sunshine. As we were coming back we were so close to this pelican.Well, this wasn't the actual Pelican, it is too clean and white. But it was fun to see and all of the people didn't seem to bother him at all. None of us had a camera so there wasn't a picture of the one we saw so I got this one off the internet. Somedays I'm pretty proud of what I can find and use. I had never seen one that close and it was neat. I am amazed that God has created animals such as these and they come in all shapes and sizesThere were a lot of seagull's also. The seagull is Utah's state bird so I have seen many of them. The three you are looking are gossiping according to the internet. I guess we humans aren't the only ones that like to talk.
Afterward we went to Paul and Rabecca's favorite eating place, The Soup Plantation.
We also went to the beach the next day. Garrett brought a friend, he was a lot of fun. I can't remember his name, help anyone??? When it was time to go everyone showered off in the cold water and I held up a towel while they changed. Sunday we started home and when we got to the CA / NV border there was a grid lock, traffic wasn't moving at all. By the time they got it moving it, it was dark and we knew we couldn't go any farther so we stopped at the Texas Station and stayed all night. While we were there Jane called and got me a terrific price on Southwest Airlines so on the 3rd of December I flew to Denver. I was glad Jane caught up with me and we booked the flight that night. We had fun with the Peter's family and Nathan, Rabecca, John and I enjoyed a short trip to Lego Land. If you've never been there you should make it on your" to do list". It was expecially nice at Christmas time. I think that covers the Oceanside Trip, if I get pictures of the children running I'll post them or maybe Rabecca and Paul will. They were as exciting to watch when they were through as it was to see Allie and pictures of Melissaa in their Marathon. Will there be someone in our family next year ? I hope so but I'll stick to the Mayor's Walk.

PHOENIX ARIZONA

We finished the HWSG's(Huntsman World Senior Games) on Friday and headed to Phoenix on Saturday. Our plans were to drive as far as Kingman AZ and spend the night. We love the drive and I had forgotten we traveled by Hoover Dam or Boulder Dam as it is sometimes called. I 'm not sure any of our family have seen the dam or know a little about it so I'm going to show a few pictures and tell a little of it's history.

Hoover Dam, is sometimes known as Boulder Dam, it is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. Construction began 1931 and was completed 1935. Two years ahead of schedule and was opened to the public 1936. It is maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Hoover Dam was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. President Herbert Hoover was instrumental in the dam's construction, he was Secretary of Commerce and later president of the United States.

The dam is 726 feet tall and is 144 feet in length.
The Colorado River Compact was signed November 24, 1922. The state governors of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada , and New Mexico helped to work out an equitable arrangement
ELWOOD MEAD: He was the overseer of the construction of the dam.
for apportioning the water of the Colorado River for their state's use.In 1922 two bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate for approval for the dam to be built. In December 1928 the bill was approved and December 21,1928 President Calvin Coolidge signed and approved the Boulder Canyon Project. Lake Mead is the reservoir created behind the dam and is named after Elwood Mead, who oversaw the construction of the dam.
During the first year of the dam's construction a town called Ragtown was constructed to house the workers. A temporary city that wasn't very desirable and the workers went on strike. Ragtown was deserted and Boulder City was built and there was no gambling, drinking alcohol,and prostitution permitted. Boulder City is the only town in Nevada that dose not allow gambling to this day and alcohol was illegal until 1969.


There are two inner diversion tunnels that have concrete plugs in them. These large spillway tunnels have only been used 3 times. The first one during the second half of 1941 for testing, the second one was for about 6 weeks during the summer of 1983 when record precipitation and snow-melt in the Colorado River basin drained into Lake Mead. The last one in 1999, again when heavy precipitation filled Lake Med. I think, if I remember correctly my sister Luana and her husband Ray Baadsgaard traveled from SALT Lake City, UT to see the sight. They said it was "awesome." The dam crosses the borders between two time zones, Pacific Time and mountain Time. There are two lanes of traffic across the top of the dam. By the year 2010 a new Hoover Dam Bypass will be completed and it will divert the U.S. 93 traffic 1,500 feet downstream from the dam. I can't describe how the construction looked as we were crossing the bridge. It is very scary to me and I hope I'm brave enough to cross it when the time comes.
Some transportation is diverted and large trucks and different types of vehicles are subject to being search. Since September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks are a large security concern. They are diverted to a bridge near Laughlin, Nevada.
There were 112 deaths associated with the construction of the dam. A true story that J.G.Tierney, was the first person to die during the construction site. He was drowned and his son, Patrick W. Tierney was the last man to die working on the dam. 13 years to the day. These statistics do not include heat stroke, heart failure, etc deaths during the construction.

John and I traveled as far as Kingman AZ that night. We were really tired. The next morning we found several addresses where we could attend Sacrament Meeting for the LDS church. It was on North Avenue and there were several wards listed and we thought we could follow the address with out any problems. Wrong, if you have ever been in Kingman you know the street starts, stops and winds around like a Jojo. We finally went back and started over with another directions. They forgot to tell us it was like going out of town almost before we found the Steak House (eating resturant) and turned right. We finally made it and was glad we did.

We attended church in the HUALAPAI Foothills Ward Kingman, AZ. The meeting was great and 12 of their sisters sang this song, and introduced their Family Home Evening Ward Service Project Idea.
In This Very Room Words and Music by Ron Harris

Matthew 28: 20 "and, lo, I am with you always.
Even unto the end of the world.

In this very room there 's quite enough love for one like me.
And in this very room there's quite enough joy for one like me.
And there's quite enough hope and quiet enough power to chase away any gloom.
For Jesus, Lord Jesus...is in this very room.
And in this very room there's quite enough love for all of us,
And in this very room there's quite enough joy for all of us,
And there is quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom,
For Jesus, Lord Jesus...is in this very room.
In this very room there's quite enough love for all the world,
And in this very room there's quite enough joy for all the world,
And there's quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom,
For Jesus, Lord Jesus...is in this very room

It was just beautiful and each sister was given a d.c.r to share with their families and friends as we left Sacrament Meeting. I was so happy to receive one. I wanted to do the same but haven't been able to rip copies but I'll keep trying. They were accompanied by a violin and a flute. ( I have memories of Allie and Staci when they play those instruments together.), our granddaughters Girls, keep it up. you have a wonderful talent and share it with others please G. Pearl

They had a service like our ward, serving needy families in our own ward and making Christmas one of giving joy hope and love to others who may need it especially this Christmas Season.
It is my wish to all of you that you'll remember the true meaning of Christmas and have a wonderful Holiday season.