Parade: For the first time in decades the Day's of '47 Parade displayed proper pacing. Proper parade pacing mean that after one entry passes by the next entry is right behind it. Was the pacing perfect? "No, but it wsa dramatically better than it has been in decades." Here are a couple of parade floats.
Swimming Party
Decades ago my mother started a swimming party after the parade on July 24th. She invited the families of her brothers an sisters. Not all of them participated, but those who did came every year. We also invited my father's sister's family since they lived just a block away. Since we finished our backyard pool in 2020, we continued the tradition, but only with out children and grandchildren.
Since many copainies don't offer the 2th of July off work, our party now starts with dinner around 5:00 pm. This year a brief but strong thundershower hit just as we were sitting down to dinner.
We have races every year. I tell the grandchildren we race so I can see how they are progressing with their swim stroke. This year we had something different happen. After the formal races were over, the grandkids wanted to race other cousins, so the races continued on. After that my children got involved in the annual races. In the videos below Avery (daughter of Jared and Melissa) races Makenna (daughter of Kevin and Angela) race for the 9-10 yr old championship. Rob then races Jared in the "Dive and Glide Challenge" where you dive in and float to the other end. Rob just needed a little more air to win that challenge.
Step 1 Insert anchors into the roof; Step 2 - Attach aluminum rails to the anchors
Step 3 -Attach the solar panels to the rails and electrically connect to the next panel. Step 4 - Connect the power grid to the solar grid. The solar side required six new boxes
Drone photo (courtesy of my salesman) of the completed system
April 11, 2023 -
At the current cost of electricity and after $18,000 back from "Uncle Sam," it will take 20 years to recover the investment. That said the system came with a battery (housed in the garage) that can power the home for 60 hours of average use." The battery can also charge electric vehicles, which would reduce the time nedeed to recover the investment. Assuming one electric vehicle the recovery time comes down to 14 years. Excess energy is sold back to Utah Power and Light, but I'm not assuming much from that.
July 8 - Reed's only brother John Lee Haslam died in Kansas City, Kansas. John left home when Reed was twelve. He spent two years at Cornell University in Ithaca New York, before mvoing to Larence Kansas, home of the University of Kansas. He resided there for fifty-two years.
He had been hospitalized for several months, but was unable to recover from quadruple bypass surgery and a fight with fluid in his lungs. He and he wife Gale had lived in Lawrence Kansas for over 50 years where he worked as a research chemist doing drug development at entities associated with the University of Kansas.
His Church service included Bishop and Stake Patriarch for the Topeka Kansas Stake. He saw the church in Lawrence Kansas grow from a small branch to three wards plus the student ward at the University of Kansas. He also was an ordinance worker at the Kansas City Missouri Temple from shortly after its dedication until the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic began. It was a 140 mile round trip to and from the temple. He was still working part time as a research chemist when he fell ill. He was 83.
Reed and Sherry traveled to Lawrence Kansas for the funeral. The funest part of the day was the police motorcade from the LDS Church that John helped build, to the cemetary. Reed participated by offering the dedicatory prayer at the cemetary.
June 30 - Sherry's older sister Patti Ann Westberg Gilbert passed away at Utah Velley Hospital during surgery. This was so unexpected and so soon after her mother's death that it really rocked the family. She was the mother of three children, Jennifer, Heidi and Nicholas. Her funeral was held on July 7 in Lehi Utah. Family and many friends some from years gone by attended the funeral. She was 68.
May 25 - Sherry's mother Donna Lee Solt Westberg passed away
passed away at the home of her oldest grandchild (an M.D.) in Lehi, Utah. She was the only great-grandparent our grandchildren ever knew. She knew she was going to return home to her heavenly father and made preparations to do so, like purchasing a new white gown and customizing it the way she wanted it. She had gone to the Riverton Hospital less than a week earlier with a gastrointentinal tract infection and as soon as she learned what it might take to defeat it, she happily chose to pass on. Her funeral was on June 9. She was 88.
