How do you know?

Another cousin visit - YEA!!

Krista, Brian and gang came all the way from Connecticut for a summer vacation in California and stopped in San Francisco. The title of this post comes from Aidan, as we went around the city Krista would tell him something - like there are sharks in the ocean - and Aidan would say "How do you know?" Seriously Krista, how do you know?


So, they picked me up on Sunday and we had a nice little drive and dinner. Krista and Brian lived here when Cameron was a toddler, so we drove past their old apartment and all of their favorite sites.

Here is a family picture at the Palace of Fine Arts. Check out Aidan's hair...doesn't it look at lot like his uncles at that age?

Coloring at Beetle Nut while waiting for dinner. Great food! And great artists. Brook would point at the part of the picture she wanted filled in and than commanded Krista to color it. Three year olds yield such great power. Now, really look at Aidan's hair - can you say Marc? Steve? He can't say his 'r' either - really it is uncanny.

Brian insisted that we drive over to Point Bonita. It was a gorgeous drive - and if we had not been socked in with fog it would have been a great view too. I loved the walk, the ocean and the wind. Great idea Brian. Cameron thought it was freezing all over the city and asked me if I was just used to the cold because I lived here.

Brooke and I in the car. Notice my bright red face from the 24th of July picnic sunburn? Foolish Aunt Cyndi. Brook was a great seat mate. As long as I gave her the phone to play with and did everything she asked, we were best friends.

Now, the rest of the pictures were taken by Aidan and I love his artistic flare. He seems to like close ups.

These two are my favorites!





He gets better with a little distance between him and his subject. I love a photo prospective from kids - a great view of life.


Thanks for coming to see me - and thanks for the yummy yummy dinner!

Pioneers and Heritage

I just got back from our Stake 24th of July Celebration and feel that this is a good as time as any to pay tribute to my ancestors. I have many pioneer stories in my family, but one of my favorites has always been the little boy who found a pair of shoes on his way to church .

This woman is Harriet Amelia Decker Little. She and her husband Edwin were leaving Nauvoo with their young son George when the wagon broke through the ice and her husband fell in. He died soon after from the effects of the exposure. So Harriet went across the plains and settled in the Salt Lake Valley with her little boy, George Edwin Little. (His daughter was my Great Grandmother and is where I got my red hair.)


This man is the little boy, George Edwin Little. When he and his mother lived in Salt Lake City they were very poor and he had to go barefoot. He said he did not mind being barefoot in the summer, but when it got colder he really wanted a pair of shoes to wear to church. He decided to pray for a pair of shoes, and the next morning there was a pair of brand new shoes out on the fence in front of his house. He knew that Heavenly Father had sent him these shoes because of his faith. His mother was not so sure and she said that a pair of brand new shoes belongs to someone. She asked President Young to announce that the shoes had been found and ask the owner to claim them. Three weeks in a row President Young made the announcement. Finally he said, "Sister Little, no one is going to claim these shoes, wouldn't they fit George?" George said of course they will fit me, Heavenly Father sent them to me. George explained to the prophet that he had prayed for a pair of shoes and how he found them. Brigham Young told George that the Lord had given him those shoes and he should keep them.


When I was a kid they put this story in the Friend, and I was always a little proud that this was my Great Great Grandfather. Now I realize that more important than the ability to be related to the famous boy in the Friend - is that this faithful little boy passed on to me and my family the tradition of faith and obedience.





Another part of my heritage is the Cardston temple. My parents and both set of my grandparents were sealed in this temple. It was a highlight of my life the first time I was able to attend a session here. I love how it stands out as such a strong and firm monument against the prairie. If you have not been to Canada, I just can't explain it to you.

This lovely lady is my Grandma Toomer. This was taken when she was living in Calgary working at the Hudson Bay Company as a hairdresser. She was adventurous and lived in the big city with her friends. I loved hearing stories about the fun trips to Banff and the fun they had in Cal-Gary.
These are my Grandma and Grandpa Toomer. They were 33 and 37 when they got married - so these pictures look like they must have been about that same time. I don't have a wedding picture of them - which I think is so sad. But I do have a picture of their house because I grew up visiting Grandma in her house in Canada.

Now you might not think that a house can fit into my story of pioneers, but this house is definitely part of my heritage. My mother was born here - which I always thought was so amazing. Grandma had saved up enough money to have her first baby at the hospital, but the neighbor needed help and so Grandma let them use the money and she had mom at home. My grandparents were not wealthy, but they shared what they had. Many of Grandma's family lived in this house when they needed help. This house will always be a symbol to me of charity and love. It was a place where I could go and feel true unconditional love. It was a place where I learned stories of family and visiting and sharing what you had.

I wish I had a picture of my Grandma and Grandpa Brown to post. I have lots, just not that are in the computer. I grew up about 30 minutes away from Grandma and Grandpa Brown and they were always a part of every celebration and family event. The pioneer story about the little boy and shoes is from my Grandpa Brown's family. My Grandma Brown was a convert. She was the only member of her family, but now my Dad has been doing lots and lots of genealogy and we are doing the temple work for her family. My Grandma Brown was a classy lady and she taught me a great deal about manners. Sometimes when I was little I did not appreciate it, but now I am grateful to her. Someone was telling me the other day that I had good posture and it made me think of Grandma. If anyone taught me to stand up straight - it was Grandma! Grandma and Grandpa Brown were always proud of me and encouraged me to do my best. Even after Grandpa died, I could always feel him pushing me along. They gave me a great blessing of living up to my potential and fulfilling my talents.

I am very greatful for my ancestors and for the legacy that they left me. I come from good people who loved the Lord and were kind and charitable. I hope I am making them proud.

So, it was another nice pioneer day and a great time to reflect on the great example that my ancestors gave to me.

Memory Lane

My friend Kim just put this on her blog. Could be fun.


1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

A Second Day in San Francisco

I was just telling Cathy the other day that no one ever wants to stay and go to Brunch on Saturday morning. This is a very popular activity in San Francisco, but I can never talk a visitor into the activity. I was so excited to realize that the girls were staying over and that we could head over to Filmore and get some yummy brunch. We went to Crepevine and enjoyed eggs, crepes, fresh orange juice, hot apple cider, the works. Yea!

Camille and Carly were naturals at the muni. The first time we got on I forgot that there was a youth fare, so we paid too much. Good thing they read the signs - what do I know?

After shopping for Sunday clothes, we dashed into an afternoon showing of Mama Mia. Hilarious! I absolutely loved the movie. Carly wanted the soundtrack, and we danced around the apartment when we got home.


Of course, we stopped by and got our free sample and shared a hot fudge Sunday.

Some favorites of the day...

• Two teenage girls dead asleep despite my banging around the apartment. I finally just woke them up at 10am and begged them to get up so we could go eat breakfast.


• The grape guy at the farmers market...beautiful!


• Three girls in one dressing room at old navy. We picked out outfits, then they saw the clearance rack and picked out cheaper outfits. Love the frugality. They ended up buying matching dresses. Can't wait to go to church.


• Colin Firth


• Camille, "No, I've never seen Charade"....movie starts, "hey I've seen this movie!"


• Carly while watching Charade when you figure out that Walter Mathow is not Mr. Barthalamue..."Hey that is not the right guy!"

and now an update....here is a picture of the matching dresses. Aren't they adorable?

Bad news for Grandma Ann, Good news for Me

The day started with the news that Grandma Ann had thrown out her back water skiing and could not come to San Francisco today. Very bad news for Grandma Ann, since she now has to stay in bed and take pain pills and lay on ice. Not fun. But the good news for me, Camille and Carly were visiting Fawnhill and were scheduled to come to San Francisco today. With a quick change of plans the girls still came to the city, but I got to pick them up from the train and take them to the Chihuly exhibit at the de young museum.
Dale Chihuly is an amazing artist from Seattle. We works with blown glass and makes crazy statutes and displays. For more pictures of the exhibit or to learn more about Chihuly see, http://www.chihuly.com/

This big orange one is hanging from the ceiling, and it was one of our favorites.

This room had a ceiling full of the glass and gave the feeling that you are under water. You can see that the girls are enthralled.

This is the ceiling up close. If you look carefully you can see a glass baby at the bottom of the picture. Kind of freaky! We never did figure out the significance of the glass babies.

Carly points out her favorite piece.

This is a chandelier from the bottom looking up.

After we went through the exhibit we went up to the big hall where they had a swing band and dancing lessons. The girls were great swing dancers. They get to stay the night at my place and tomorrow we are heading to the Jelly Belly Factory. Yummy!

A day at the Portland Zoo - and more!

I had a conference in Portland last week, so I set up a trip to the Portland Zoo before I had to get to work. Anna had never been to a zoo, so we did it up right. It was at least 95 degrees - which just added to the fun. In preparation of the trip, Cathy and Anna got online and printed out the map and posted it on Anna's bedroom wall, so upon arrival it was the first thing that Anna wanted. And then she would not take her eyes off the map, even to walk.

We watched an animal show and then Aunt Laurie took Anna right up to the front. It was way too close to the yucky snake for me. I frankly can't believe that I have a picture of this snake on my blog - yuck!

Here is all of the gang (except for Mark who is taking the picture). Mark and Karyn joined us after Karyn finished up her orientation at Portland State.

After we were kicked out of the zoo at closing time, Laurie found us a great place for dinner. This time the picture is all of the gang, but David - I think he slipped out to the bathroom just as the bus boy came over to take the pic. We never did manage to get a picture with everyone.

Michelle got the ribs and we talked her into wearing the bib so we could get the great picture!

A few zoo souvenirs with Anna's favorites - giraffes and elephants.

Most of the group went back to Corvallis, but Cathy, David and Anna stayed with me at the hotel. After that long hot day at the zoo, the pool was great. Anna slept in my bed, and for such a little girl she sure took up a large part of real estate. I sat down on the edge of the bed to tell Anna some scripture stories. When I was done, I was right on the edge of the bed and Anna was cuddled in as close as could be, then Anna says 'night night Aunt Cyndi'. I tried and tried to move her over, but apparently after she stakes her claim she does not give up an inch!

The conference turned out well (not to forget the work I was doing while in town!). I also was able to fit in two trips to the temple. It is hard to find a temple open in July, but lucky for me the Portland temple had their cleaning the first part of July.

And finally, the best attraction of Portland....Powell Books. It is the most amazing book store. More selection of books than any store I have ever been in (and I have been to quite a few book stores!). My friend Mark came up on Monday night and we took the MAX over to downtown. We had a great time exploring the store. The best part is, they have used books and searching for the best deals is all part of the fun. I got 6 books for $15. I wish I had driven to Portland, I would have filled up the trunk with books!

I made a really cool scrapbook on my photo shop account, which I thought I would be able to post...but it did not work that way. If you want to see it, let me know and I will send you the invite. Why can't this technology work together?

And one final note. I was shocked at the traffic back to the airport! It took me 90 min to get from the temple to the airport! It was 3:45pm, so I thought it would be bad, but not that bad! It only took me 30 min from the airport to the temple the night before. I might have lost a little of the nice warm kind Christlike feeling I had as I left the temple and arrived at the airport. Talk about temptation.

Update! The baby has a name. Thomas Andrew Hutchins

Isn't this a cool picture? I can't figure out what they did? He looks very peaceful, and such a pretty round head.

Grandma and Baby. Julie must have driven fast all the way from Boise!

Mommy and baby. Congratulations Megan - you look great - a natural.

Really Great Aunt Cyndi - Really

I am well aware of the fact that I am a GREAT Aunt, but today I also became a Great Aunt. Our Little Miss Megan has gone and had a baby. 8lbs 19 1/2 inches. No name yet. Stay tuned.

Sam and Jared went over to the hospital and got some pictures with the little guy. They are the only pics I have seen, so that is what is getting posted.

He looks like he loves me already. Love those adorable round face. I hear he likes to cry, but he hasn't even been here for 24 hours yet so how would he know? I think he is just trying out those new lungs of his. Smart boy. Test out all of the equipment right away.

Way to go Megan and John! I do some how feel older today with my new title. I am not at all sure I will be using it.

Sunday. Stick races, No Donkeys, and Croquet

Sunday morning we went up to feed the donkeys - as tradition would dictate. We were loaded up with carrots and cameras, but the donkeys would not come over to the gate to see us. Unbelievable. These poor children never got to see the donkeys or be photographed with them. I will have to put up a post to the donkeys (in honor of Uncle Craig) and explain the inside joke.



We had to make due with a stick race. Baby Isabella won - but Bailey came awfully close.



Lovely Beth is all ready for church. Julie, Beth and I had a little shopping trip on Saturday while the rest of the group went to the Railroad Museum. This was Beth's find. All I got was sunscreen - what is wrong here?

Sunday evening we set up the ultimate croquet. Carter added a new dimension to the game - pants optional.



Bailey enjoyed the swing more than the game.

Can you believe how big the trees have gotten? Mom set up the coarse - it was not as big as when Craig sets it up - but she put all of the hoops in slopes - takes real talent to win this game! But Aunt Marilyn made the final shot as poision and got out the big boys (Matt and Rich).

Parade and Fireworks

We decorated Dad's new Father's Day Wagon for the parade. Aunt Marilyn brought the decorations and supplied the grandchildren.

Baby Isabella waited patiently for the parade to start.

Other than our kids, this was my favorite float in the parade. It even had real train sounds.

Aunt Jill and Baily Jane - quite the duo.

Our float! They walked the entire way - and no complaining. Fantastic troopers.

You can't tell from this picture - but Mom has the biggest smile in the entire parade. She loves to get participants!

Happy 4th of July. After the parade we stayed at the fairgrounds for the fireworks, baby Paige loved them - she was totally mesmerized. I did not get any pictures of the fireworks - they never seem to turn out.

Bailey was determined to get a pony ride, but after she got on we could only coax one smile out of her.