Sunday, April 19, 2009

"The Mother Ship" aka Dairy Queen at night



We recently updated all of the exterior lighting
at the DQ. We had super old 8ft interior
flourescents around the building and we replaced
it with weather-proof 4ft fixtures with two high
output lights in each. WOW! It is so much brighter.
We also added all new lighting in the front of
the building. All of the lights aren't even on in this
picture as they go farther down the sides of the
building, but due to breaker overloading, we have
some disconnected until Chris can get is all straightened
out. Many kudos to Sean and Lance who did most
of the work (with Dad's supervision!) They did
an awesome job and learned alot about electricity.
We decided two things can now be seen from space,
the Luxor in Las Vegas and the DQ in Show Low!

T-Bucket comes out of the garage!


We have been building a "DQ car" since August
of 2003. The last time it was running was
June of 2005. Sean got it up and going a few weeks
ago when he was home painting the DQ and we
took it out again yesterday. This is one of the
pilots, Scott and Chino (Marco, another pilots, son)
going for a ride. We still have a bit of work to do
to complete it, not to mention the DQ logo that
will eventually be on the side, but the weather
was beautiful and we had a great time running
around - boy it is fast!!!!







Sunday, April 12, 2009

Mac and Parents Super Short Visit


Mac, Billy, Me, Kayla and Loren
So Sean calls me at 5 pm on Thursday night and
says that his mission buddy Mac is coming through
Show Low and will be staying at the house. I say
"OK" "When?" - he says tonight. I say "OK" and then he
adds - "Uh - he is bringing his parents with him."
"WHAT!!!" I say. I have about 4 hours to prepare my
house for people I have never met! My boys know I am
a bit of a freak about that. In fact, I don't even like
it when my kids surprise me and come home when
I'm not prepared. But it was great! We loved Kayla
and Loren immediately - they are now officially family!
They were so great and even brought a washer and
dryer to give to Sean for his wedding! We are
so blessed by our son's missions in so many ways -
here is yet another! Come back anytime guys-
we love you! Next time hopefully they can stay
longer than 11 hours! (Sleep included in that figure)

Bettie's Memorial Service


Me, Lisa (Bettie's daughter), Trudy (Bettie's
sister) and Brandon (grandson)


Lisa being goofy!


Bettie's extended family
We had the memorial service for Bettie on Tuesday
April 7th at the LDS Stake Center. I gave the life
story, Tim and Sean sang "Be Still My Soul" - Glen
Jackson gave a talk, Bishop Pratt added remarks
and we ended with an awesome "Nearer My God
to Thee" by the DQ Choir. I think I might take the
choir on tour! Made up of young DQ current and
former workers, they were amazing! Following the
service we had a dinner in the cultural hall. I brought
all my little cars and DQ stuff for the tables - Bettie
would have loved it! Her family was very
appreciative and I was happy I was able to help
give her a loving send off. We love you Bettie!

Bettie's Memorial Service Con't


Everything set up DQ style!


DQ Workers table


Bettie's brother Dale, his wife, nephew Kenny
and Sean, Lance, Lauren, Lynsi, Dorline & Seya

Chris, Dad, Glen, Tim & Bettie's family

Ted & Ellen Smith, Ken & LaFawn, Maylene
Pearce, Marshall Pratt, the Mel West fam



Sunday, April 5, 2009

In Loving Memory of Bettie Clark


The only "non-halloween" picture I have of
Bettie. She was very adamant about not having
pictures taken - it was so hard to get one!


Bettie taking care of her flowers - she took alot
of pride in our beautiful flower bed.


Bettie as "sponge bob"


We laughed and laughed over this - she didn't
mind posing for these pictures!
Last night I lost a wonderful friend and former
employee to a battle with cancer. Bettie J. Clark
passed away on April 4, 2009 in Snowflake at
Webb's care center. I hired Bettie in the winter of
2001 just out of the blue. I normally never hire
people I don't know, but for some reason I felt
impressed by Bettie. Boy was I on target! She
literally became a member of our family. She
was a faithful employee, never missing work and
always working her hardest, as honest as the day
was long and always looking out for my best
interest as "the boss." She quickly fell in love with
all of the teenagers and especially my five sons.
Tim never actually worked with Bettie, but all
four of the rest of them did. She loved Tim even
though she didn't really know him, but she made
it clear how much she loved the other boys.
Bryan nicknamed her "B to the Eddy" and she
loved that! All of the boys worked with her in the
kitchen cooking and she and Sean would yell
"Let's get ready to rumble" everyday before the
lunch rush. She worked with Kenny both before
and after his mission. She loved "her little Skippy"
as she called him because he was only 12 years
old when she started working at DQ. She was always
a champion of the teenagers and if I would ever
get on them, she would come to their defense
saying "they are just kids." If she liked you, she would
do all of your side work for you during the day
(Sean and Skippy capitalized ALOT on this benefit).
She loved to "hide" the towels. We tend to use too
many towels each day and it would just gripe her to
no end - when they would come in each Monday she
would grab some and take them upstairs to hide them
heaven only knows where! I don't think she could
find them again if she wanted to, in fact I found some
just the other day! We laughed and laughed!
She worked until June 30th of last year and then she
simply could go no longer. All of the pleading in the
world wouldn't get her to the doctor until late Sept when
she finally ended up in the ER - from there she went
directly to the Hospice center where she was given 10 days
to live. You have to know Bettie, she is pretty stubborn! She
went on to live over 6 months longer than they anticipated.
She was a fighter. We loved Bettie and she will be sorely
missed. Knowing her made my life so much richer and I
will remember her always!


Repainting the flames








When we remodeled our house nearly 5 years ago,
Sean and Skippy wanted to paint their room
a bit extreme! We let them with the understanding
that they would come back and repaint it later.
Sean made good on the promise this weekend and
the room is "normal" again. We are planning on
turning this into our "aviation" room. We are in
the process of adding to our collection!


Bucky's first visit to the Park







We took Bentley for his first visit to the park while
I was in Provo. It was a gorgeous day and
he loved tasting the grass, swinging, teeter-tottering
and just general park fun! We were lucky because
on Monday we woke up to about 3 inches of
snow! Look how pretty the grass is already!

Bucky loved the swing!

Wheeeee!

Leslie's Recital








Leslie & her accompanists
Pianist - Chris & Violinist sister Natalie
On March 27, I was lucky to be able to fly to Utah
to see my daughter in law in her senior recital at
BYU. She is a vocal performance major and the
recital was her crowning achievement. She was simply
stunning! So much talent and she sang in four
languages! I can barely speak one (not so good at that most
of the time!) I am so glad I got to attend. I flew into
Salt Lake and rented a Toyota Yaris (aka - "go cart") if
you have never seen one of these check it out - it was
really pretty fun to drive, but not for the long distance!
I stayed with Leslie & Kenny and they were wonderful
hosts - thanks guys!