End of the month, and all is well.

Well, here it is the end of January. That means that in about 45 days Spring will officially begin. That will be wonderful. It isn't that we don't like the snow, the sleet, and freezing cold weather. It's been the best snow year that we have had for who knows how long. But the thought of waking up to sunshine outside and birds chattering in the trees along with early spring flowers and newly greening grass brings anticipation and joy to our hearts. Besides, we want to see if the back yard seeding project is going to produce and new lawn for us.

For those in our immediate family, we are starting to use another site on the MyFamily.com web site. It was started by Vicki Higginson, Uncle Arland's daughter. She's sent invitations to her extended family members to join and participate. Vicki has communicated with us through e-mail and has voiced a desire to communicate more closely in order to renew family ties and relationships. More information and details will be forthcoming.

When we arrived home from the trip to Idaho Falls and Logan last Sunday, we discovered water seeping in over the large window of the bay window in the living room. We've called our insurance company and they are sending a claims inspector from Salt Lake City to evaluate our claim of damage. Somehow the ice buildup on the edge of the roof over the widow has caused part of the roof to separate around the shingles and caused water to enter when it gets warm enough during the day to melt part of the ice. It has caused portions of the paint to separate from the dry wall on the ceiling over the interior part of the window. Who knows how much work it will take to fix it and how much it will cost. We have a $250 deductible and I hope it won't cause an increase in our premium.

Then, of course, we heard the news of President Hinkley's passing away. It was a surprise, but not really a shock. We all knew that he seemed to failing in strength. His speech was weaker, his mobility was more guarded, and he just seemed to look very, very tired. And, of course, he was. What a great example he has been to all of us. He was so dedicated and so driven to do everything in his power to do what he was called to do. And he did it with boundless faith and love. We will all miss him. He will always be one of our greatest heroes. We all need to catch his vision and do our best to follow in his footsteps.

Congratulations to the happy couple, Brent and
Tiffany Perrin Hunter. This is just the beginning
of a new and exciting journey in your lives.

It was good to see John, Sarah, and Audrie this past weekend and spend time with them on the trip to Idaho last week for Brent and Tiffany's wedding. It was great fun and we had a wonderful time seeing and visiting with extended family members that we haven't seen for quite some time. We are grateful for Uncle Jay and Aunt Rita providing us with a warm bowl of home-made chicken noodle soup and bread, a comfortable and warm bed and home for the night on Friday, the 25th. And on Saturday morning, Jay cooked us up a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with bacon and a scrumptious milk shake. Ummmm good!

We went from the Critchfield house in Pocatello to Idaho Falls for the wedding and arrived just in time to sit down and get settled when the wedding ceremony began. Immediately after the ceremony, a luncheon was served in the cultural hall of the LDS stake center we were in. Then, after the luncheon there was dancing in another end of the cultural hall. You can't go to a Perrin wedding get together and not have a time for dancing. Everyone had a good time.

Could Sarah be pointing to her lip to John to indicate
that he has some food on his lip that was left when he
finished eating his food during the luncheon?

Around 2:30 o.m. we loaded up in John and Sarah's Blazer and headed for Logan, Utah to visit Marylee and Tyler and their four children. We were excited to see the children, Alicia, Canyon, Isaac, and Leah; and we also joyed in seeing their mom and dad. We had a fun evening got to bed around 11:00 p.m. The next day was Sunday. We were up by 6:30 a.m. We showered and got dressed for church. We had bacon and eggs again, Tyler Mills style, and then it was off to Sacrament by 9:00 o'clock. After the block meetings, packed up the Blazer, ate Sunday dinner (sorry, I don't remember what it was. My memory cells must be dying because of oxygen deprivation), and started for Sandy, Utah (we had met John and Sarah at Sarah's parent's house and parked our car in their garage while we drove in their Blazer to Idaho and back) at about 2:00 o'clock.

All during our trip the weather was great. There wasn't a storm and the roads were basically clear and dry. When we reached Sandy, it was overcast and the wind was blowing. We transferred our belongings from the Blazer to our minivan, including my oxygen equipment, and headed for American Fork. It was quite windy over the Point of the Mountain between Salt Lake and Utah Counties and Gloria, who does all the long-distance driving, was getting a little nervous and concerned about potential stormy and bad weather and roads. We visited with the Merrells and had a bite to each, again no currently recollection of what we ate. And then it was time to head home. By then it was about 6:00 to 6:15 p.m. and it was getting dark.

The I-15 South freeway was clear and dry, and the sky was mostly overcast with blowing winds. When we reached the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, Highway 6 South was wet. As we proceeded up the canyon there started to be light, sanded snow on the sides of the road and in the center. Traffic slowed and by the time we reached the Red Narrows it was down to 30 mph. It began snowing very lightly and snow was drifting with the wind in spots. We maintained the 30 mph speed on up to the top at Soldier Summit and ten further south down Price Canyon. By the time we reached Helper, the road was simply wet, but there had been some snowfall earlier. We made it home safe and sound ounce again, thanks to Gloria.

This week has gone by very fast. We wonder if February goes by as fast as January has. We're looking forward to our next family newsletter. We hope that everyone is getting over their colds or flus and that you're all happy and well. We love you! Gloria and Roger