Parents & Puzzles, Temples & Tolmans

I had my first vocal therapy appointment, as required by the Workman's Comp. lawyer, on Thursday December 14 in Layton, Utah. I drove down on Wednesday afternoon and spent the night with my parents in Providence. My mom and dad took me out to dinner at a nice restaurant that evening, and I helped my mom work on a puzzle at her house. 

There was a cute Christmas light display in Preston, Idaho
that I drove through on my way to Utah. 

On Thursday morning, I left for my appointment. The vocal therapist informed me at the appointment that she's not certified in Idaho and can't even do virtual appointments with me from Idaho. She was the therapist that the Idaho Workman's Comp. chose to handle my case, and it was frustrating to realize that I'd have to take so much time off work and take days off without pay to keep traveling up to 10 times to Utah in order to follow through with their mandates. After I told my lawyer that, there was months of discussion between both parties, and I was thankfully transferred to a vocal therapist in Boise after that who could do virtual appointments, which would cost less overall for both me and the Workman's Comp. case. After my appointment, I drove to Orem to go to the new temple open house there. It was SO pretty with lots of stained glass depicting cherry tree blossoms. I'm so glad I went! I drove back to Logan and spent the night again on Thursday with my parents and worked some more on the Christmas puzzle with my mom. 

On Friday, I went to the Logan temple with my parents in the morning and we did some sealings, which was really cool--I haven't done sealings for many years. After that, I took my mom to Ogden. We visited Amanda at her home. Amanda trimmed both of our hair, and we worked on a puzzle with her mom Hannah while we visited for a bit. Then I took my mom shoe shopping in Ogden, and we both got some new shoes. We went to a new movie called "Wonka" in Providence that night. My mom was so happy all day to have some girl time away from home!

On Saturday, Josh drove down to Utah with his dad and sister to go to a funeral in Honeyville for his older cousin's wife Elaine Tolman. I drove over that morning too and met him there. We visited with some of the Jerome cousins who also arrived before the funeral. It was a nice funeral, and her family paid a lovely tribute to her. She was a generous and kind lady and loved her family dearly. We went to the Honeyville Cemetery and walked around the Tolman plots after the burial. It's a beautiful cemetery! We went to the family luncheon back at the Honeyville church afterwards. It was good to see some family and spend time together! Josh and I visited Amanda and Ryan in Ogden Saturday afternoon and had a nice chat with them before going back to Logan. My parents took us out for dinner in Logan that night, and then we drove around and looked at a Christmas light display in a neighborhood that shows pictures of scriptures detailing the birth and life of Jesus. My mom and I finished the puzzle we'd been working on all weekend. 

Aunt Louise is the last living child of the 10 children
of the posterity of Benjamin Hewitt Tolman. 

We unknowingly wore matching clothes!

We ate dinner at Angie's in Logan. It was the first
time Josh and I had eaten there. It was really good!

Josh and I drove back home to Salmon on Sunday. It was a wonderful trip to Utah, and I'm so glad that I got to spend so much time with my parents and Amanda! I don't usually have that kind of time available due to work schedules. It was the most one-on-one time I'd spent with my parents in years, and I was so grateful that I was able to!

General Conference & Grandparents

My parents had planned to come visit us in Salmon in early September, but on the weekend they were going to come, my dad got sick so they came the last weekend of September instead. They got here on Friday, Sept. 29th. They attended the Pocatello temple on their drive here, so they didn't arrive until about 5:00 that evening. I worked at the pharmacy until they arrived, and Kanyon was just getting off work, so they met us at the grocery store and took us out to dinner to the Bistro. (Josh was out of town driving bus for the football team, so he was unable to join us.) We ate out on the back deck because the restaurant was full inside, but my dad was cold out there the whole time. The food was delicious, though--their chicken coconut curry rice bowl is one of my absolute favorites!

On Saturday, we just hung out at our house. Since it was General Conference weekend, we watched conference together, and my mom and I worked on a puzzle as we listened (we finished it just as the last speaker spoke!). In between sessions, Josh burned our brush pile--my dad liked standing by it for a few minutes until it got too hot and ashy. He said it was the warmest he felt since he'd arrived in Salmon! After the last session of General Conference, my parents took us all out to dinner at the 28 Club that evening. We had a delightful meal together!

I showed them the "Triple S" area we've developed near our home
in recent years. They liked the peaceful, private corner of our property!

Puzzle completed!

After burning the pile in between sessions, Josh was tired!

Grandma and Grandpa Perkins left on Sunday morning to drive back to Logan. We watched the last two conference sessions ourselves and ate at Grandma Kathy's for lunch in between sessions. It was SO nice to be able to see all four conference sessions--I don't always get that opportunity. And watching conference with my parents was fun; it was the first time they've watched it at our house! It was such a lovely weekend in our home. I just love listening to our prophet! President Nelson has brought me so much hope and filled me with peace and provided me direction throughout the pandemic and the past few years. 

Dad's BSA Silver Medal

In May of 2023, my dad received the Silver Buffalo National Award: the highest recognition given nationally by the Boy Scouts of America. It is a distinguished award for extraordinary service to youth, and less than 15 are awarded each year. He was recognized at the BSA local council's recognition dinner in SLC on May 6, but he didn't receive the actual award until the National Council's banquet on May 31 in Atlanta, Georgia. My sisters and I all attended one of the awards banquets to support our dad: Tawna, Tabbi, Trina and I went to SLC on May 6 and Lisa went to Atlanta on May 31. 

Our family got a table to ourselves at the banquet in SLC. Mom and Dad went early and got one close to the front for my sisters, Bryce and Finn, and I. We ate a nice catered dinner, and there was a keynote speaker who shared an experience he had with a gentleman from Africa, which was a cool story. Then awards were given to various BSA eagle scouts and leaders. Dad was the last one to receive recognition at the SLC banquet for being a recipient of the Silver Buffalo. He received a standing ovation by the entire audience as his bio was being read, which was really neat to witness. It was a fun evening with my parents and sisters!

Dad with longtime friend Brother Jensen

I wish I'd thought to also get a picture of the standing ovation behind us!

Lisa recorded the Presentation of Dad's Silver Buffalo at the Atlanta, Georgia banquet. You can see it here:   National Award Presentation

Dad's Bio

Dad ran into one of his former students at the Atlanta banquet.

Mom & Dad did some sightseeing while in Georgia,
including going to Fort Moore (prev. Fort Benning)
where my grandpa used to be stationed at
and my dad lived there as a child.

Friends, Folks, and Snowy Soaks

Leadore School District schedules their spring break in such an unusual way: instead of having a full week off like Salmon and West J both do, they split it into 2 small breaks. They have 2 days off the first week of March, and 2 days off surrounding the Easter holiday weekend. I didn't have to work on Wednesday or Thursday the first week of March as a result--but it was so weird having a "Spring Break" when it wasn't even spring yet! 

Josh had some cemetery training meetings in Idaho Falls that same week on Wednesday, so I drove down with him. The roads were pretty bad due to recent snow falls and wind blowing drifts across the road, especially from Sign City to Idaho Falls. We saw a few slide-offs on the freeway, but thankfully we made it to the meetings okay, just 15 minutes later than our intended arrival time due to the road conditions. I dropped him off at the meeting location, then I drove to Barnes & Noble across town and  sat & blogged for 2 hours, then I took myself out to lunch at CupBop, and went to a matinee at the movie theater. I picked him up right after his meetings ended that afternoon.

From there, we drove to Utah to visit my parents and spend the night with them. My mom had set the table with her finest china, and had made a lovely dinner of poppyseed chicken, salad, fruit, and rolls for us. It was nice! My dad was in a good mood, and we sat around the table (just the 4 of us), talking and laughing for quite some time. After dinner, mom played Scrabble with Josh and I on a giant board that Bryce and Tawna got her for Christmas. It was a nice, low-key evening. 

On Thursday morning, we drove to North Ogden to visit Amanda and Ryan. Amanda cut and colored my hair (it had been 3 months since I last got it done), and she trimmed the sides of Josh's hair too (leaving his curly locks in the back). Ryan wasn't feeling well: he contracted C. Dif again, so he had an upset stomach with diarrhea that week. He was on medication to help, but he stayed in bed the whole time we were there. We took Amanda out to lunch at Freddy's, and on the drive back to her house, she showed us where Ryan's parents were building a house and where her mom's new apartment is. It was so nice to spend some time one-on-one with her. Shortly after lunch, we said goodbye and Josh and I headed back to Idaho.

On Thursday evening, we had reservations at a commercial hot spring in southeast Idaho called Maple Grove. Northern Utah and Southern Idaho had gotten hammered with TONS of snow from recent snowstorms. They received so much snow that week alone that the 3-mile road to access Maple Grove was actually inaccessible on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thankfully, it was plowed on Thursday, but was only a single lane to get there. It could only be reached with a 4WD or AWD vehicle. Thankfully, we'd driven the Acadia, and with Josh's driving, we made it there okay. 

It was a lovely, small hot spring resort right along the Bear River and next to a mountain. It was absolutely beautiful and SO peaceful! The only people soaking were people staying in one of the 7 on-site lodging options. Winter accommodations there include 3 stone houses, 2 yurts, 1 cabin, and a trailer parking spot. We stayed in one of the stone houses, but had to park a little ways away due to the lack of plowing onsite. They let us use large sleds to carry stuff from our vehicle to the lodging. The room was SO nice and cozy, with gorgeous decorations, and had a little wood stove in it to keep us warm. The only downside was that the only bathroom onsite was at the lodge, which was a couple hundred yards away across narrow snow-packed trails from our lodging accommodations. 

The resort has 6 different soaking pools ranging in temperatures from 98 degrees to 108 degrees. We soaked in 3 of them while we were there, and soaked 3 different times: that afternoon, in the middle of the night, and the next morning. Even though the amount of people was limited, I met someone there that was originally from Tremonton who had my dad for a teacher when he was a teenager, and I know his older siblings, so that was a fun surprise. Another fun surprise was the appearance of wild turkeys that roam the place. We watched them walk around the snow-packed trails while we were soaking in the hot pools, which was a first!

Thursday evening soak

Friday morning soak amidst the snowfall

On Friday morning, it continued to snow again, and the resort didn't have access to a plow. Josh drove like a boss on the 2 inches of fresh snow on the steep, narrow, snow-covered road that leads to/from the resort, and blazed a trail for the people after us who were getting ready to leave, but who were freaking out about the drive (all of which were from Salt Lake--one couple had gotten their truck stuck the previous day when we were checking in and one lady was in a big Sprinter van and she couldn't back up without help). After we got back to the highway, the roads were considerably better coming home on Friday than they had been on our trip down on Wednesday. It was a great way to spend my "first" Spring Break: visiting my parents, seeing my best friend, and spending time with the love of my life soaking in some amazing hot springs while snow fell around us!