Happy Birthday, Sean

Sean turned 19 yesterday. We started the day in Powell and he opened a couple presents. Page and I got him a tape recorder and some blank tapes to add to his missionary supplies. Lacey got him a Beatrix Potter box to store things in and a set of CDs to learn some Spanish before he heads to the MTC in a couple weeks. After that, we packed up the cars and headed north to Livingston to spend the weekend. We had Sean's Birthday Dinner at the Rib and Chop House in Livingston. Here he is after eating a steak dinner with a piece of cheese cake and a candle. He got to blow out the candle and make a wish.

Today we went to the Livingston Ward then went to Park High School's graduation to see some of kids in the Ward graduate. Congrats to Kenny, Chelsea, Jamie, Jessica, Nicole, Kyle and Cavin!!! We also went to a couple graduation parties before heading back to WY tonight. Sean is staying an extra day to hang out with some of his friends.

Lacey wrote Sean a note on the paper tablecloth at the Rib and Chop House

Idol Thoughts

The best part of the finale was when the USC Trojan Marching Band and USC Song Girls came out and performed. AWESOME TROJANS!!!!

Well, Sean and I rushed back from Billings (getting his Typhoid shot for his mission) to watch the finale of American Idol but when we got home we found that the channel was not working due to bad weather we are having today. UGH!!! But eventually it came back on and we saw a little over half of it. I had the feeling David Cook was going to win, based on blogs and also news reports on the radio that Cook's lines were busier than Archuletas last night. I wanted Archuleta to win, but like most, I think both Davids were good and too bad there could not be two winners. I think David Archuleta sang better last night in the finals and he has the smoother voice. Even tonight Archuleta was singing better than Cook, but I think Cook has the persona people like better. I'm sure both will go on to have great singing careers. But I was disapointed that Archuleta didn't win. Lacey and I probably voted about 60 times between the two of us last night and Sean even got into voting about 15 times. But Cook won by 12 million votes! I don't think our little fingers could have made up that deficit.

You know what really gave it away that Cook was going to win? When Simon apoligized to him. I mean, Simon said Archuleta was the victor last night, but then he and the other judges were totally back peddeling right before the announcement. Hmmmmmmm.........

Pompeys Pillar Picnic

Pompeys Pillar is one of the most famous sandstone buttes in America. It was named by Captain Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1806. It is named after Sacajawea's son. His name was John Baptist, but they nicknamed him Pomp. The butte is now a National Monument and you can still see where Clark carved his name in the rock about 200 feet up the side of the Butte.

This is Pompey's Pillar. It is on the Yellowstone River about 25 miles east of Billings. The Native Americans used it as a place for meditation and lookout. There are native drawings on the rock. It is a National Monument today because Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition carved his name in the rock, and this is the only place today that provides evidence that the explorer came this way.

Today the Gilmore family had a picnic at the pillar. We only have a few short weeks left with Sean before he goes on his mission to Argentina so we want to spend as much time together as we can. He wanted to see Pompey's Pillar one more time. He saw it last year with his tennis team. This is the first time the rest of the family has seen it.

We packed a lot of food for the picnic. It also was very warm today, hitting 90 degrees.

Page was a real trooper. She has had a terrible toothache all weekend and was in pain and nauseated, but still wanted to come enjoy the family outing. She really didn't get to eat much.

Sean loves his Root Beer. There will be no Root Beer in Argentina.

Mike with fried Mac and Cheese, recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

Lacey enjoying a turkey sandwich

We had a great picnic

Sean and I walked to the top of Pompey's Pillar to see Clark's signature. This signature in the rock is 202 years old.

Sean and I near the top of the Pillar

Sean on the Yellowstone River

Mike on the Yellowstone River (it was windy or my hat would have looked a lot cooler)

We saw some canoes carved out of trees at the base of the pillar

Archuleta is In The Finals

David Archuleta made it into the finals of American Idol tonight. I'm sure my 5 votes helped. The kid can sing. I haven't watched much this season, but have seen his performances a couple times on YouTube. Last night was the first time I have voted for a contestant since Katharine McPhee. I have to admit, David being Mormon made me want to vote for him to get into the finals. If he wins, you think he will go on a mission? I really enjoyed him singing "With You" last night. Right Boo?

I might not vote Republican

I just read this on Newsmax:


Source: Huckabee Tops McCain VP List
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:46 AM

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is at the top of the list of John McCain’s possible running mates, according to a top McCain fundraiser with ties to his inner circle.

Economic conservatives are likely to oppose the choice of Huckabee as McCain’s vice presidential candidate, given the populist tone of his campaign and his tax record as governor of Arkansas.
But in his “Capital Commerce” column for U.S. News & World Report, James Pethokoukis points to the fundraiser’s disclosure and cites several factors that could make Huckabee a strong asset for McCain.

For one thing, the former Baptist minister is a great campaigner who could garner support in the South among social conservatives and at the same time appeal to working-class voters in the crucial states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Huckabee would also appeal to many more voters on a “he cares about me” level than millionaire investor and possible vice presidential choice Mitt Romney, especially given all the turmoil on Wall Street this year.

Finally, even economic conservatives who might hesitate to back Huckabee would certainly favor him over the threat of Obamanomics and higher taxes across the board.

If Huckabee is on the GOP ticket, there is NO WAY that I will vote Republican this year. I have always voted Republican since I registered to vote in 1980, but I will never vote for a person that I think is a BIGOT. It was bad enough even considering to vote for McCann, but I felt if he picked a decent running mate, I would reconsider. Surely this isnt a done deal and McCann may pick another running mate, but I'm just saying IF it is Huckabee, the GOP just lost my vote. I have no interest in a Clinton or Obama Presidency either, but I will not support Huckabee under any circumstance!

Mother's Day

We had a nice Mother's Day. We started off going to church. Lacey and Sean were both sick, so Page and I went alone- no kids on Mother's Day. I made dinner, a ziti and prosciutto casserole, cheesy bread and a spinach salad with strawberries and mandarin oranges. Lacey didn't eat. But everyone had an appetite for dessert later on after we played Scatergories. I made everyone banana splits. We had hot fudge, caramel, butterscotch, strawberry and whipped cream, nuts and a cherry for the top. We all the Grandmothers in California too and had sent them corsages to wear to church today. Page got a Mary Englebrit paperwate, a willow statue of a mom and son and some church birdhouses that she likes. All in all, it was a nice day for Mom.

Wisdom Teeth

Sean had his wisdom teeth pulled today. We attempted this last Wednesday but the immunizations that he received last Tuesday caused a 101 degree fever and the oral surgeon felt like we should wait, so the drive to Billings was a bust. We drove up to Billings this morning and had the surgery done. Sean is actually doing very well. He left the office 10 hours ago and he has eaten a little (apple sauce, pudding, mashed potatoes...) and says he is not feeling any pain. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

Temple Trip

On April 25th, Sean received his endowment in the Los Angeles Temple. We traveled down to California after we picked him up from BYU so that his grandmothers could be in the Temple with him. The LA Temple is special to us because this is where Page and I also received our endowments and were married, same as with both sets of Grandparents. Grandpa Art was a Temple worker here and Grandma Sherry still is. We had a very special experience and know that the veil is very thin, especially in the Lord's House.

Sean after coming out of the Temple

Grandma Sherry, Grandma Wilma, Mom and Aunt Kim shared this special day with Sean

Page, Sean and Me

Sean and Grandma Sherry

Grandma Wilma and Sean

Saint George Utah Temple, the first operating temple in Utah

On the way home to Wyoming we stopped and went through the Saint George, Utah Temple

Back from BYU

Sean finished up his first year of college at BYU on Wed. April 23rd. Page and I headed down on Tuesday night and spent the night in Lander, then headed out early to Utah. We had a lot on our plate. We had to get Sean's stuff out of the dorm, make sure it passed inspection (Sean did a great job cleaning!) then get his stuff over to Aunt Hopes for a few days because we headed down to Los Angeles on Thursday morning so Sean could go through the temple for the first time in Los Angeles with his grandmothers there. Before we left Provo we took Sean and Natalie to dinner and did some missionary supplies shopping. We went to the LA Temple on Friday then headed back home on Saturday morning. We stopped Saturday in St. George because Sean wanted to go through the temple there, then we got into Orem about midnight and got some sleep, then on Sunday morning loaded the stuff from Aunt Hope's in the car and headed back to Wyoming. We did a lot of driving but had some great experiences.

Page and I took Sean and Natalie to Tucanos Brazilian BBQ in Provo. We spent most of the day getting the last things in Sean's dorm room packed up and hauled over to Aunt Hope's garage and cleaned the dorm room. It passed inspection and we bid BYU farewell.

Page finally got to meet Natalie. Tucanos was so noisy that she still didn't get to chat with her too much. But Natalie did stay with us after dinner to go shopping for all of Sean's mission clothes at Mr. Macs.

Here is one of our servers, named Sean. Servers come around with BBQ meats and carve them and serve them right at your table.

Snow Day

Did it snow today where you live? It's May 2nd and we wake up to snow!