Montgomery Gentry concert

Stan & I went to Phoenix to watch a Diamondbacks baseball game - and a post-game concert with the country duo, Montgomery Gentry. I was awarded a VIP pass (and meet and greet opportunity). With all the chaos surrounding my mom and her care, I was so grateful for this opportunity to "escape"! Our good friends, Darrell and Tricia Rezendes (Tricia is pictured with Mindy in the phot) came with us to the game. It was great to spend time with them! During the game, I went to my assigned spot and met the guys in Montgomery Gentry. They were gracious and a lot of fun! Troy Gentry (pictured on the right) thanked me/us for coming out to the show and hoped that we had a good time.

I went back up to sit with Stan, Darrell, & Tricia and this is the photo in our seats. I have to thank my sweet husband for taking us to Phoenix - and for allowing me this "once in a lifetime" opportunity to meet one of my favorite bands!

Summer Fun

Katie's birthday is July 15th and for a "present" her brothers and her dad got the day before off and we went to our old stomping grounds, Bolsa Chica Beach. We spent the day and all 4 brothers came! Plus, a couple girlfriends. We played in the surf, they built a sand castle, we sat around a fire and made s'mores. It was a great day!

We were able to talk with Nana (my mom) to make sure she was doing OK before we headed out to the shore. It was the best thing we could do for our family in light of the latest stress we've experienced!

The weather was perfect and the company was awesome!

Summer BLAHS

I was really good about posting for awhile, but I've slacked off. So, if you want to see my photos, here's my flickr address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/summersfire/ I do keep that updated with the latest photos.

Current happenings in our household: Nana (my mom) had a stroke on July 9th, while Stan and I were out celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. She had never changed her health care to Kern County, so once the docs were sure that she was stable, they moved her back to LA County. Such joy..... NOT. Now we're 140 miles from her and do our best to visit twice a week. She is closer to two of my sons, and they're doing their best to fill in the gap, so to speak. Nana is eating well but she has limited mobility due to left side paralysis. The prognosis is favorable for her to walk again, but they're not sure about the usage of her left arm. Her spirits are pretty good and she has a nice, friendly roommate. I'm glad that she's in good hands. I just wish that she was closer!

Because of this, we had to postpone a trip to Wyoming to visit the Hoggan's. Wahhhhhh!!! (I'm pouting). But I know we need to be here in California for now. We are realistic enough to know that (with my mom) this could be the shape of things to come. Our prayer is that we get everything in order before the next stroke hits.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. As usual for the Thompson household, our summer is crazy-busy.

Much love to our friends!

99 Things

99 Things.
Saw this here, and thought I'd play along ...
Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child - I'm adopted - does that count???
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - I want to!
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - I was in a commercial
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - custom-made swimwear
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - my wrist... my horse went one way, I went the other!
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - does a slow one count?
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - our truck
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper -- modeling clothes as a little girl
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - Bill Bixby (remember the Hulk show on TV?) and Mike Anthony from Van Halen
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (X 5)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

really nice surprise!

I was honored to see my artwork and photograph posted at the Yosemite blog. Check it out at:http://yosemiteblog.com/ - scroll down to the entry for March 26, 2009. I about fell off my seat when I saw these two creations of mine there!

all things Yosemite!

It seems that I've become a source of info on Yosemite National Park (at least amongst my friends!) so here are a bunch of links for anyone who might be interested:

http://yosemiteblog.com/ Great information here plus beautiful photos!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/yosemiteblog/ beautiful photos here! (My name is "Summrsfire" on flickr, so you might see one of my photos posted).

http://www.littleredtent.net/ We met this photographer on our last visit and she's awesome. Her photos are stunning. She also has a blog at: http://littleredtent.net/LRTblog/

http://www.yosemite.org/129/Web-Cam-View.htm?expandable=1 current webcams

or here: http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm (See different parts of the park at that very moment!)

http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/ynn.htm great, informative web videos called "Nature Notes" produced by a "Yosemite Steve"; a man that Katie and I were interviewed by on our visit to Yosemite last month. These are also available on podcasts (i.e. from Itunes for free). Steve's done a great job of producing these videos.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/conditions.htm Current conditions, weather reports and road conditions. A great source of info if you're planning a trip to Yosemite.

http://yosemitepark.com/ This is the source for lodging and other concessionaire services in the park. You can make reservations online for lodging. Camping reservations are done at http://www.recreation.gov/ It's best to know the name(s) of the campgrounds that you'd like to stay at and you WILL need to make those reservations 5 months in advance. For a chart of when to make those reservations go here: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/camping.htm

and for basic info go here: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/campground.htm

If you want to try to find a campsite without a reservation, there are a few that are first come, first served. These are listed: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/nrcamping.htm

You can also stay outside the park, in various Forest Service camps, plus private ones. One of the better private ones is in Groveland: http://www.yosemitepinesrv.com/

I should add that the poppies are in bloom along the foothills of the Sierras, so if you have a chance to get out there, it's a beautiful sight! There's snow in the forecast for Yosemite Valley for the next day, so you might want to wait a few days. Our poppies haven't arrived yet in Tehachapi, but there's a lot of color on the hillsides as you approach from Bakersfield. I have a couple photos posted: http://www.flickr.com/photos/summersfire/

the Fissures

the Fissures,
originally uploaded by Summers Fire.

If you ever go to Yosemite, the hike to the fissures and Taft Point is one of the most rewarding! The view STRAIGHT down is awe-inspiring and stomach churning but well worth it.

New photos

I've worked on my photos for my latest trip to Yosemite. A few of them are posted at flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/summersfire/sets/72157614477998768/ and if you have me as a friend on facebook, they're there, too. I haven't been drawing much lately. I did a lot of knitting during this past winter and have yet to get back into the swing of daily drawing - not to mention even updating this blog. I'll be back in the saddle soon! (Let's see how many cliches I can include in this entry)

Happy 2009

I've started a new journal with small drawings in the pages. I've posted them at my flickr site since there's so many limits here on blogspot. Feel free to check them out - if you have time!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/summersfire/

I'm excited to have the New Year here. December was a crazy month for me and January is going to be very intense due to the Stake activities of the Young Women. I hope to keep my sanity by journaling, sketching, painting and knitting.

One of Stan's Christmas presents is a skiiing/snowboarding trip in February (at Badger Pass in Yosemite). We have the reservations for the lodge (YAY!). Katie's gift was for one of the nights and my mom's gift was for the second night. The lift tickets and rentals are only $35 per day, if you stay in the park's facilities for two nights. Shane and I got Stan setup with new clothes and some gear for skiing/snowboarding - since his stuff is from the 80s. It was time for an update!! Now all the Sierras need is more snow - so I'm doing the snow dance, which is kinda like the rain dance. The long term forecasts aren't favorable so I'm hoping they're wrong! If the conditions aren't good for skiing, we'll go anyways and enjoy ourselves in other ways.

It was awesome to have both sons, Shane and Ryan, come up for Christmas. Our oldest son, Scott is in Texas and we miss him. We hope he can join us for skiing in February. The weather provided an icy white Christmas which was really cool. Ryan had never been in falling snow so he was able to run around and take pictures. It made things a little more "homey". If the wind hadn't been blowing the snow sideways, it might have been even more enjoyable - but hey... at least we got some "white" in our Christmas. The boys had to go home Christmas evening for two reasons: they both had to work the day after Christmas AND we wanted them to get out of Dodge before Cal Trans closed the 58 freeway!

On December 30th, we went for a ride that took us from Jawbone Canyon to Kelso Valley up toward the Piute Mountains in Sequoia National Forest. It was the same ride that we took back in October with other families from the ward but Katie had to work then, so we thought this would be fun to do. There were patches of snow in Kelso Valley and we couldn't make it all the way up to the Sequoia NF boundary due to too much snow. We said we'd make it as far as we could. It was a lot of fun. Of course we had to stop for a snowball fight!

This past Sunday, (drum roll) a certain son bore his testimony - for the first time in his 18 years. In fact, all four of us got up there. I was the last one so I knew that I had to complete the circle. It was very special.

So I hope everyone has a blessed 2009.

Sunrises and Sunsets

I've posted some pictures from the last couple days at my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/summersfire/ and at picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/mindy.thmpsn

Thanksgiving-time 2008

Back in 2002, my son Shane (center) played Babe Ruth All Stars with Mike (left) and Tim (right) Dewhurst. This is a photo taken at the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament in Galt, California (near Lodi).

(The photo below is of my son, Shane (right), with Mike Dewhurst- taken December 2, 2008).

On Tuesday, Shane and Ryan drove up from San Gabriel Valley to spend Thanksgiving with us.
After visiting with each other for a bit, Shane said that he had some bad news: our mutual family friend, Tim Dewhurst (age 23), was killed in a car accident. Tim and Shane had played a lot of baseball together - including the 2002 World Series "Dukes"Team that went to Stamford, CT. Shane had also played on the same team as Tim's brother, Mike in the 2000 Babe Ruth World Series in Moses Lake, WA, which they won.

Mike & Tim's dad, Pete had become our friend. He helped our family by repairing the "BIG RED" Chevy truck which has been passed around the family. We have some good memories with the Dewhurst family both on and off the baseball field, like getting on a bus in San Francisco and Pete handed out tickets using a (non-politically correct) fake Chinese language. I laughed so hard that I cried. During that same trip, Shane, Tim & Mike spent a good amount of time spitting off the Golden Gate bridge and watching how the air currents would catch it before gravity took hold. The photo below shows the partners in crime!

I clearly remember the time that Scotty Nestor (one of the Dukes' teammates on the Stamford, CT team) told off Bobby Valentine, who was the coach of the New York Mets at the time and Pete defended him. Tim, Pete, Shane and I went to New York City (with the rest of the parents and teammates) and one of the stops that we made was "ground zero" for the World Trade Center only 11 months after September 11, 2001. It was a somber moment that we shared. We later ate at a McDonalds that was 2 stories with a guy playing on a grand piano upstairs! (only in NYC!)

On Tuesday, December 2, 2008, I drove to LA County to meet Shane. After lunch at his old work (Islands Restaurant in West Covina), we went to Pomona First Baptist Church for Tim Dewhurst's memorial service. There was about 1000 people in attendance. The service was very special. Several of Tim's friends spoke and his brother, Mike, said that Tim wanted the best for every person he met. In fact, Tim saw the best in others and tried to help them be their best. Mike had the song, "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton played. That's when I started to sob. Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven... cause I know I don't belong.. here in heaven (some of the lyrics).

One of the moments that touched me in the memorial service was the pastor read from Tim's Bible. It said a lot about this fine young man with the things that were marked and noted in his scriptures. He said that B.I.B.L.E. stands for Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. How ironic he would write that. And from the things I heard at the service, Tim did his best to live his life accordingly.

We went to the graveside service and met up with Charlie Paz (one of the Dukes coaches), David Uribes (who was on two of the same World Series teams as Shane) and Scott Nestor (who was released by the Florida Marlins organization and was picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies). The photo shows these MEN (no longer boys) at the cemetary. (L-R, Shane, Scott, Charlie, and David).

Shane (#19), Scotty Nestor (the tall one) and David Uribes (directly beside Shane) - at the State Tournament in July of 2000. These boys were 16 at the time!

Shane and Charlie Paz after winning the 2000 16 & under Babe Ruth World Series in Moses Lake, Washington.

We were invited to the family home after the graveside service for Tim. There we got to hug the family. Mike gave Shane a big hug and then realized that I was standing there. After our own big hug, we both said that it was so wonderful to see each other, even under these circumstances. I was glad to be there for Shane, for Dewhurst family and to honor Tim's memory. I needed to be there for myself as well. I can't even begin to understand the depth of hurt that the family must be feeling right now. In less than 6 months, this is the second set of parents that I know that have had to bury their child (even though they're adults when they passed). I wish I could take the pain away for them, but I know that I can't. I hurt for them!

Happier times. (Left to right: Pete, Mike, Shane, Tim, & Stan) in San Francisco, July 2002.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So back to the details of our Thanksgiving: we went for a ride at Dove Springs before returning home for Thanksgiving Dinner. It had rained the day before so we HAD to find some puddles!

This was Ryan's first time riding! He did a great job and I think we've got him hooked!

Stake Youth Halloween Carnival

Brother-sister acts: Cory & Erica Lange looking "MARVELOUS" with Maddy & Ben Jacobsen looking equally fantastic!

Brother Jacobsen is our new YM president and here he is with Erik & Berlyn.

Sister Gubler had some fun carving her pumpkin.

Fun with Friends

What happens when 5 families get together? We have a lot of fun! The Anderson's, Harris', Peterson's, and us, the Thompson's are pictured here. The fifth family was the Jespersen's but they couldn't join us on this ride since they had soccer games. It was a lot of fun and it's something that I hope we do again sometime soon. The ride took us from Jawbone Canyon to Kelso Valley all the way to the border with a portion of Sequoia National Forest.

That's Stan on his quad turning around a little ways up the dirt road. Can you tell from the photos that we were COLD!!! My hands were numb at one point during the ride. We stopped with Rick & Diane Harris and warmed our hands against the quads' exhaust! It was as cold as I've ever been (at least while riding).

This is a great shot of Erik Thompson and Ryan Anderson!

more Yosemite

This is a favorite place of mine to take a photo of Half Dome. In another month, many of the leaves will have turned yellow to orange. There was actually more water than we expected - but it was typically dry for fall. It was beautiful! On October 4th (a week and a half after we were there), the Tioga Pass (shown in the picture) closed due to snow!!! We were glad that we took the trip when we did.

Nerds R Us!

Stan and I were able to "escape" on our own for four whole days! We went up to the high country in the Sierras to Tuolumne Meadows. We had a wonderful, relaxing time. I read two books (over 900 pages), we hiked, we did some sightseeing, and we just enjoyed the quiet. With Stan's work schedule and me being in YW plus having my mom (still) here, this was just what we needed!

Some of the pictures are posted on my "Facebook" pages plus a few are on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/summersfire/
if you want to take a look!

Now, we're back home and trying to figure out the best way to meet my mom's needs. She probably can't go home again - at least not to live alone. So some decisions need to be made. And, those decisions aren't easy ones to make. This is going to take a lot of thought, prayer, and planning to get things worked out.

random thoughts

So, my mom is still here - for almost 9 weeks. I have to say that this has been difficult. My posting on this blog has been scarce. I'm ready for some normalcy! Stan still doesn't have a calling (sigh). I hope that changes ASAP since it's really hard for him.

sunset pics

http://www.flickr.com/photos/summersfire/ more sunset pics posted here

Beautiful Sunset

I love the colors in the sunsets that we get in our area. This was taken from the Antelope Valley - about 50 miles from our house.

Service

These girls taught me a powerful lesson at camp. When Heidi and Amber returned from their hike, the Berlyn washed their hair, and other girls took off their hiking boots - and washed their feet. It makes me think of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. The girls were given foot massages as well. After that long backpack trip, what a welcome relief this must have been!

I'm really proud of these young women.

Here's a link to many of the photos from camp:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mindy.thmpsn/GirlsCamp2008

As for me & my house, we will serve the Lord...

If you're offended by reading things with a religious/spiritual theme, please don't read the following. I assume since you have my blog address, you won't be offended!

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and e very single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters ce lebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu & nbsp; If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot20of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica c ame from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I beli eve He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Mu rray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou sh alt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein