Chill'n, Grill'n, and Celebrating the 4th of July

In April we were thrilled to welcome granddaughter, Preslee, into our family.  This past weekend we drove to Billings, MT, to witness her baby blessing given by her father, Sam.  In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, babies are blessed during the Sunday service. This would coincide with celebrating our country's 250th birthday.   

Our 9-hour car trip was well worth it as we were able to be with three of our children's families during our trip.  Janelle and Dave's family lives in Rexburg, ID, the halfway point to Billings.  We were happy to get re-acquainted with their chickens.     

Lisa and Ryan were also on their way to Billings for the blessing and joined us.

What an exciting time to spend in Rexburg, waking up to their 4th of July parade!  Remember, we are from Duarte, CA, just a few miles from Pasadena and the world famous Rose Parade.  The Rose Parade pales in comparison to the Rexburg 4th of July parade.  You be the judge as you view the photos and video of our parade experience.  

Of course, our grandchildren were the cutest and most patriotically dressed at the parade!

Rexburg had everything, even one of the Founding Fathers on a scooter.

Thank you, Rexburg, for making the 4th so special! 

When we arrived in Montana we were greeted by Preslee, and her sisters and brother.  

Rainbows are especially fun to make on the 4th of July!

Chill'n...

Grill'n...

and shoot'n, all make for an appropriate Independence Day.

Billings has a terrific zoo. We had a grrrrr-great time! 

Ahh!...look out behind you!

Scott doesn't want to miss out on any new zoo information.

What's Independence Day without an eagle on hand?

When the Warrens were in their Billings hotel, the breakfast employee told Ryan she thought he was JD Vance when he walked in.  She was serious!   

You be the judge. 

 

It's not every day you get to attend church with your twin granddaughter.

What a special occasion on Sunday for the baby blessing!

  

It was a choice experience to be with family.

Until we meet again.

Happy Father's Day

Today, Facebook notified me that I had three memories that I posted on today's date--three different years. I was happy to see that they were memories of past Father's Days.

My Dad with our family on one of our many summer trips to Utah.

Below was posted on Facebook June, 2024.  

  

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad of these wonderful children.

1998

This was posted on Facebook in June 2013

When columnist Claudia Heller sent out this request, I knew just what to send her.

“For my Father's Day column, please send me a few quotes and the constant advice your father gave you while you were growing up -- his words of wisdom that have stayed with you, and a sentence or two about him.”

I was happy that she started out her article honoring my dad.(Claudia's words that are highlighted in yellow are shown below the article.)

"Many Alzheimer's patients become mean and cantankerous as the disease progresses," said Kathleen.  "But at the end of my Dad's life, he remained pleasant, and developed a childlike personality.  This is the spirit my dad displayed throughout his whole life. 

"She (Kathleen) fondly recalls that when she and her siblings would work in the yard, her father would often say:  'Many hands make light work.'  

"Duartean Kathleen Magnusson lost her father, Kiefer Harris, seven years ago when he was 76."     

This was posted on Facebook in June 2012:

I’ve had similar experiences as a little girl with my own father and family in Fernley, Nevada, and as a wife and mother with Scott, in Victorville, Calif that is told in the video below.  I’m grateful for the fathers in our lives who have the courage to always keep moving ahead when faced with difficult  trials.  Happy Father’s Day!

This was posted on Facebook in June 2016:

Scott -- a great father to a great group of kids. Magpad 2007

Thank you, Facebook, for the wonderful Father's Day memories.  

The Power of Music

I just happened upon this Youtube video that made my day.  These songs brought me back to my teenage years, and I'm sure my friends that I grew up with will enjoy listening to these songs too. 

This is what the Youtube channel says about this video:

Take a joyful trip back to the 1960s, when pop songs were bright, catchy, and impossible not to smile at. This countdown revisits fifteen feel-good classics that still light up the room within seconds and bring pure nostalgia with every note.

🎵 Songs Featured:

You Can’t Hurry Love – The Supremes

It’s My Party – Leslie Gore

Knock Three Times – Tony Orlando and Dawn

I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles

Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys

Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel

California Dreamin’ – The Mamas & the Papas

The Loco-Motion – Little Eva

Happy Together – The Turtles

Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) – Edison Lighthouse

Do Wah Diddy Diddy – Manfred Mann

Dizzy – Tommy Roe

I’m a Believer – The Monkees

Sugar, Sugar – The Archies

Build Me Up Buttercup – The Foundations

AI says about the 60’s:

The 1960s was an iconic decade of massive cultural, social, and political transformation. Spanning from January 1, 1960, to December 31, 1969, the era fundamentally reshaped fashion, civil rights, music, and space exploration.

Add to that:  I grew up  in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Hippie movement evolved.  It made for an interesting time and place to grow up.  I was blessed to grow up in a home that kept me grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.    

Enjoy.  

June 19, 2026

Here I am 13 days later after posting this blogpost the first time.  Today, I ran into this video talking about the songs from the 70's.  Well, guess what!  I'm also a child of the 70's.  Make that a teenage child of the 70's.  I started high school in 1970 and graduated in 1974.  Enjoy going back to the song of the 70's.

This is what the Youtube channel says about this video:  

These 15 songs from the 1970s feel like pure golden hour sunshine. No heartbreak. No heaviness. Just warm, uplifting nostalgia that still glows decades later. From soft rock classics to joyful pop anthems, this countdown celebrates the happiest side of seventies music.

🎵 Songs Featured:

Let Your Love Flow – The Bellamy Brothers

Make It With You – Bread

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) – James Taylor

Take It Easy – Eagles

Sister Golden Hair – America

Our House – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

Dreams – Fleetwood Mac

Summer Breeze – Seals and Crofts

You're So Vain – Carly Simon

Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain and Tennille

My Sweet Lord – George Harrison

Danny's Song – Loggins and Messina

Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) – Looking Glass

Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens

Welcome Baby Preslee

Sam and Makelle welcomed sweet Preslee Ann into their family this past week.

Dax will get great of advice from his dad on how to deal with all sisters.  

 

"Exploding Stars"

Here is a fun activity I haave done with my grandkids. Grab a package of popcycle stickes and have some fun. (As you watch the video, be sure the sound is on in the link) 

@keith_schacht

Exploding Stars

♬ original sound - keith_schacht

2025 Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas from the Magpad 2025

 You can see our other Magpad Christmas cards through the years by clicking here.  

If You Chance to Meet a Frown......

I love children and I love to interact with them. Recently, I printed up the next two pages back-to-back on card stock, and cut out each face.  I put the faces in my purse.  I started to hand them out to my grandkids.  It's fun to see their reaction of how the frowning face can turn into a smiling face.  To continue with the fun, I'll show them one of the next three videos with the face in my hand, turning it to match the words in the song.  

Try printing up some faces yourself and hand it out to a child.  It will make your day.  

  

You can also see the video by clicking here.   

 

 

You can also see the video by clicking here 

You can also see the video by clicking here.

Thankful for Fall

Fall is my favorite season of the year.  Could it be that it's my favorite season because Scott and I fell in love in the fall of 1976?

Well, here we are in the fall of 2025.  I'm grateful for the reminders that fall is here once again and our love for each other continues to flourish.  

These pumpkins were harvested this fall from the Anderson's and Warren's gardens in Rexburg and Logan.  

These decorated Halloween sugar cookies were made by some of our grandchildren this fall. 

We love our Harvest Villas community.  The bushes with red leaves is the view out our front window -- a daily reminder that it's fall.

I'm enjoying our fall decorations in our home.  

Is that a watermelon pumpkin?  Yes!  Expect this kind of gift when your grandkids know that watermelon is your favorite food! 

We have so much to give thanks to God for...for the fall of 1976 as well as for the fall 49 years later! 

From Prehistoric to Eternity

Vernal, located in eastern Utah, is a small town. But, a unique temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is located there. We decided to drive the three hours to see it this week. 

Originally built from 1898-1907, and known as the Uintah Stake Tabernacle, the building was used for worship services and large community events. After decades, the tabernacle became obsolete as the town grew. In 1994, Church leaders announced that the historic building would be converted into a temple for use by Church members in eastern Utah.  

We enjoyed very much the spirit we felt inside the Vernal Temple.

We went to the temple to perform proxy sealings for five couples, ancestors of Scott, who didn't have the opportunity to have their marriages sealed for eternity during their lifetime. What exactly does an eternal marriage sealing mean? This three-minute video clip taken in the Rome, Italy Temple tells more about this special gift from God. 

Click onto the above arrow to watch the video.

Elder William Walker says this about the sealing ceremony:  

"The sealing room in our temples is a very wonderful and special place. It's a wonderful and a remarkable thing to look into the eyes of a man and a woman who are about to be married. They love each other with all their hearts. When two people are getting married, they can't imagine the idea that this beautiful, loving relationship would ever end.

So it's an important part of the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that it doesn't need to end at death. This marriage can go on into the eternities, and a loving God intended it to be that way. So He gave us this power and authority.

It's actually what Jesus was giving the Apostles in Matthew 16:18-19, when Jesus put His hands on Peter and the other Apostles and conferred upon them the authority to have bound on earth and have it be bound in heaven. That's what was happening there. Jesus was giving the sealing authority to His Apostles. And that's utilized in the temple, in the house of the Lord, where a man and a woman can be sealed together for eternity."

_________________

Vernal is also known as dinosaur country, home to the Dinosaur National Monument located a half-hour east of town. Over 1,500 dinosaur bones have been discovered in the rocks and hills. Unfortunately for us, due to the federal shutdown going on, the visitors center of the National Monument was closed. 

Still, we enjoyed reading the outdoor explanations of this unique part of the world where dinosaurs once roamed. 

A park ranger explains what Dinosaur National Monument is all about:

You can also see this video posted on Youtube by clicking here

Farewell, Vernal. From the prehistoric to the eternal, you have it all!