Riding in style

I love getting together in the summer for the monthly family yard clean-up parties at grandpa and grandma's house. They always provide the best dinner---Pizza! My favorite part of the clean-up is riding with grandpa on his sit down lawn mower. We get to supervise and make sure everyone is working hard. Sometimes he even drives me home so I can have a longer ride.

Thanks grandpa--you're the best!

--Jared

Test Drive

When grandpa needed more help getting around, he got a new fancy "Jazzy". I thought it looked like a lot of fun and wanted to give it a "test drive." Grandpa gave me permission to try it out. Jared and I were excited! I figured out how to drive it but forgot to figure out how to STOP it. So, we went as fast as we could right through grandpa and grandma's closet door. My mom and dad had to buy a new door and paint it. Grandpa decided it might be safer to leave the Jazzy out in the garage!

Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa, I love you!

--Raquel

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

I like to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit. I look out the kitchen window with Grandpa to see which horses are out. We have names for the horses. One thing Grandpa likes to ask me is "Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" I love Grandpa.
--Jenna

Great Man

He is a great man and has taught me how to be a man. The way he lives his life is an example to the world. He has had some trials and stumbling blocks placed in his path, and has overcome them. What an example he is! This is a man who loves his family, he not only says it but he shows it.

This was exemplified when he had all 8 children living at home and he was still willing to move Grandma and Grandpa Syme into his home to love and take care of them. Dad, I am glad you welcomed Teri into the family and treated her like your own daughter. I love the way you interact with Joshua, Elise and Mikayla and have always shown them you love them. You continue to be an example to me by the way you have welcomed Jaimie-lyn and Andrew into our family.

I am glad you have the Bob Hope gene and gave it to us. As kids it has always been fun. I love you.
--David

Don't Lose Your Shorts

After all these years I am saddened to find out that the only family picture we have that shows us river rafting is the one above. I remember many fun times with Dad at the Snake or Green Rivers. I remember camping with him and then getting up the next day to hit the river hard. We would run the river multiple times a day. From first light until it got dark. It was always a thrill.

One really memorable trip with Dad was the time we went to the Snake River for a family reunion with Dad's brothers and their families. During one run down the river, everyone on the raft was daydreaming and enjoying the water, sun, and scenery when we realized we were too late to maneuver around a shallow rock in the river. Behind the shallow rock was a large drop off with a lot of back flowing water. Because we were not paying attention, we tried to paddle the boat at the last minute and just ended up making the situation worse. We went over the rock sideways and the raft got stuck in the back flowing current. The raft started to fill with water and eventually collapsed in the middle dumping us all in the river. The moments of panic went a little longer than normal as we tried to account for all the bodies we had before entering the rapid. My Dad took longer than everyone else to emerge. Most of us came up somewhere near the over-turned raft. Instead, the river pulled Dad down and spit him out about 75-100 feet below where we entered. By the time Dad came up the rest of us had already started to swim to shore so we could turn the raft back over and then start down the river again. When we turned the raft over, we paddled down the river to meet my Dad. For some reason my father was still sitting in the 50 degree river. Most people would not be able to sit in 50 degree water for too long. The water was good for cooling off but you would have hypothermia if you stayed in it too long. As we got closer we found out why my Dad was still in the water. He had lost his swim suit. When he fell in the water the current was pulling his suit one direction and the life jacket the other. Thankfully, my Dad valued his life more than his dignity and he held onto the life vest. It all worked out in the end as one of my sister-in-law's had a pair of shorts over her swim suit. My Dad borrowed her shorts and we were back on our way. But there wasn't any more daydreaming on that trip.
-- Matt

Goodies

I get to go visit Grandpa and Grandma once a week. We usually eat lunch while we are there. I like to go to their house. They always have chips and pop. Whenever I have potato chips or cheetos, Grandpa will ask me if I have a bag of goodies. I think that is funny.
--Chalise

When the Saints play

I know my Grandpa likes football. When I played football last year, he held special practices for me and Jared to get extra practice. Grandpa likes to watch football games too. He always tells me that we can only watch football on Sunday if the Saints are playing. So according to Grandpa the Saints must play every Sunday.
--Brandon

Little Green Trees

One of my memories of Grandpa is whenever I eat broccoli with Grandpa, he tells me they are little green trees.
--Lauren

Pass the Bloomin' Onion Please

Grandpa Mills is a great man. Grandpa has always gone out of his way to make sure that I felt a part of the family. He made sure that I was included in the family dinners, and I think I have said the prayer at those more than any other married granchild. :) One of the best times of the year is Priesthood session. We always get together to listen to the session, and then go out for steak. I have very fond memories of the great discussions I have had with Grandpa over a steak dinner. One of the best memories is when Grandpa asked the table next to us if he could have the rest of their Bloomin' Onion because his grandsons were hungry! Here is to many more good memories! Happy Birthday Grandpa, we love you!!
--Andrew

The Genuineness of Claude

I love Claude's sense of humor. The above photo and the note of "appreciation," which appeared on the back of the photograph, give us an idea of his humor upon his retirement from Questar. Moreover, it demonstrates that Claude is not afraid to be himself. He is comfortable with himself and who he is becoming. In a world where many things are fake, Claude is very genuine. He is without guile. Wonderfully I never have to second guess his motives or his desires--what you see is what you get with Claude.

Claude was not afraid to be himself when he was directing a session of a family investment club. The club lasted for a few years, from the late 1990s through the early 2000s, and included a monthly meeting to discuss stocks in which the family might invest. One particular stock caught Claude's attention like no other. His excitement of the stocks history and potential success elicited this response from him: "Great guns in the morning!" It was a classic line that included waving arms and profound study of the stock with bifocals locked onto the stock sheet. Meanwhile, the rest of the family enjoyed a great chorus of laughter. Claude did not mind the guffaws, he enjoyed the experience like the rest of us.

Finally, an aspect of Claude's genuineness is his gratitude. He frequently expresses his gratitude to me for the small amount that I do for him. He expresses his gratitude for doing yard work at his home, for helping him get some food at a family party, for helping his wife, or for simply visiting or being with him. His example of gratitude is worth following.
--Matt Crawford