March Melee (look it up)

We are finally, firmly established in Spring!  What glorious weather we have been having.  I love it.  This is why people come to Arizona!  How often do I say that? In fact, while we were traveling to Utah and Idaho (more about that later) I kept track of license plates I saw on the way.  I saw plates from over 42 states (I say "over" because I also saw several from Canada), even including Alaska! The funny thing was that we saw as many of those in Utah and Idaho as we did in Arizona.  I think that those were mainly students' cars.  I get a kick out of thinking about why those people are here and what they think about our beautiful desert.  I'm really a desert girl and I marvel at our dramatic desert scenery, I hope visitors find it awe inspiring and not dreary or bleak.  This time of year it is really "blossoming like a rose."

I was so tempted to call this month "March Madness" but I think I called it that in March 2011, so I had to think of something else that describes how crazy March is.  Spring Break for almost all the kids is in March, it is also Temple maintenance closure (so Dad and I wanted to do something fun), and this year it was also Brianna's baptism, and Easter.  March is the month we celebrate the birthdays of nine extra- special people.  Soren, Esther, Jenn, Crew, Emma, Shauna, Daniel, Levi and Grandma Hiatt all had birthdays in March.

Soren turned 5 on the 7th

Esther's birthday was the 8th

Jenn's birthday was the 14th

Crew turned 11 on the 19th

Shauna's birthday was the 22nd

Daniel's birthday was the 26th

Emma turned 7 on the 29th

Levi turned 19 on the 31st

Grandma Hiatt turned 89 on the 31st (She looks great, doesn't she?)

Brianna was baptized by her father on March 2nd in the Thatcher Stake Center.  She asked Lillian to lead the music, Rylie to play the piano,  Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Thomas to pray, Grandma Melody and me to give talks, and her grandfathers to be witnesses.  It was a treat for all of us when she sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." It was a very special day for her.  Mary and Tyson had an ice cream sundae bar afterwards at our house and everyone, all the Biggs and Richins, had a good time.

"If the Savior Stood Beside Me"

I had so many pictures of the baptism and the party afterward, and I couldn't bear to leave any out, so I talked Harrison into showing me how to do Picstitch.  That way I can put 2 or 3 pictures in the place of one!

Priesthood Power

The ice cream Sundae bar and Tyson's grandpa Richins enjoying Jared, and Esther enjoying Henry

Grandpa and Grandma Jones enjoying the party...and a nap.  Maybe Brother Richins is following their example?

Enjoying the food and the company

Marlie and Isabel, Brianna and Grandma Susan, Mary and Henry

a special visit with Grandpa Tom

8 is great!

While Esther and Shad were in town, their kids enjoyed playing with cousins

We also took that opportunity to have a sister (plus Dad) lunch for Esther's birthday even though it was a few days early. She chose El Charro, of course.

El Charro "Happy Birthday hat."

Dalton Overstreet, the owner and our good friend, stopped by to say "hello."

On Jenn's birthday, March 14th, we had a sister lunch too.  She chose yummy sandwiches from Main Street Cafe.

Thomas got home from Seminary just in time to join us.

When the girls asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she said a necklace that Henry could play with when she is holding him.  So, among other really nice gifts, they gave her her wish.

The very reason I am so thankful to have a pool cover as well as a fence!

We went to Isabel's choir concert.  This is a picture of her with her best friend...they both wore bandanas...and Marja Hansen's grandson, something Finch.

The Temple was closed two weeks in March, so we decided to take a road trip to Utah and Idaho.  Ever since I wrote Grandma Brinton's book in 1983, I have wanted to visit Driggs, the little town in Idaho that her parents settled.  I lived there, vicariously, for several years, while I was writing the book, and really wanted to see it for real. I guess I envisioned relics of their past enshrined in their history and preserved so we could see them.  Not so. More about that later. However, we enjoyed the trip and loved the changing scenery as we traveled north.  I just snapped pictures as we whizzed by, so they are certainly not Lillian or Rachel or Mary or Nicole quality, but you get the idea.

The Joshua Tree National forest.  I was so impressed with the horribly ugly trees.

Lake Mead

Las Vegas

We had the goal of making it to St. George before we slept, but when we got there we were dismayed to find that every single hotel and motel, whether nice or not, was totally full!   We finally called Rebecca, who found us a room in Hurricane, about 8 miles out of St. George.  It was an old Travelodge, but they charged more than the nicer hotels later in our trip because they knew they could get it.  They only had three rooms left, too, and we were lucky to get one.

The next day we continued our journey north and I loved seeing the snow-covered mountains.  Of course, our own Mt. Graham has snow-covered peaks, but I took pictures anyway.

Devynne had to work on Saturday, so we drove straight through Utah and made it to Idaho before dark on Saturday night.  Oh how we loved seeing Allison!  She was waiting outside when we got there...with no coat!  It was in the 40's, and windy and we were cold.We met her roommates, one of which we already knew, of course, because her parents were in our ward before it was realigned.  Tessa Smith, the daughter of Lynn and Sandra, has ties to Driggs because her dad is from there.  Allison has another roommate, Katie Stewart, who is from Driggs and whose parents are now living in Victor. Victor is the little town, also in the Teton Valley, where Grandpa and Grandma Brinton lived after they were married in 1912, and of which Grandpa Brinton was the mayor for two terms.  I also wanted to see Victor.  Allison had a date Saturday night, with  Zack Ellis, a co-tennis coach, so after a quick trip for cupcakes and ice cream, we went to our hotel and rested up from our long trip...we really needed the rest, so were glad for the excuse.

Tessa is majoring in clothing design and she designed and made this gorgeous wool coat...and 4 more...for a show in Chicago. 

On Sunday, we attended their ward and got to see Allison officiate in her capacity as Relief Society President and Tessa teach the Relief Society lesson.  They both did such a good job.  They hardly seem like students at all, but seasoned teachers and leaders.  We went through a fast-food place for lunch, thinking that no one would know us.  We planned to take it back to our hotel and eat in anonymity.  But wouldn't you know it, the guy who waited on us had served his mission in Safford and had even eaten dinner at our house! He saw our Arizona plates and came out to talk to us.

Later, Allison showed us around campus.  I was amazed at how you can walk anywhere on campus and not be cold.  They have covered walkways and even heated steps so they won't be icy.

For dinner that night, Allison made us the most delicious chicken, bean and chili soup, with cream and sour cream.  It was good.  And we had some of Tessa's homemade bread to go with it.

The next morning, Allison and her roommate, Katie, drove with us to Driggs.  It is about a 45 minute drive.  But as far as cold and snow goes, it might as well have been hours.  Rexburg seemed balmy and almost semi-tropical compared to Driggs and Victor.

Snow covered potato fields, with the Tetons completely covered by clouds.

Coming into Driggs's Main Street.

This is Grandpa Driggs' bank.  Of course it has been refurbished and modernized and bears little resemblance to the one Grandpa worked in.  It has been restored to look as it did in about 1925. Our family left Driggs in 1921.

The white building on the corner is the drugstore where Lynn Smith used to work.  The building was originally the Teton Valley Supply Company, a store owned by Grandpa Brinton and his brother, Milton.

There is a historical  museum in Driggs.  It is huge and is surprising in such a small town.  Katie's dad called the museum people and they agreed to open it for us.  They usually only open it once a week in the winter. 

This man is the one who came to open up and show us around.  He is married to Grandma Driggs' little sister Manette Robison's granddaughter.  She would be Grandma Hiatt's 2nd cousin.  So she is my 2nd cousin once removed.  He is, too, by marriage.  

I was disappointed that we couldn't see the Tetons.  When they are not cloud covered, Katie says, they are right in your face.  We also learned that the Tetons are the four peaks...that's all.  The tallest one is the Grand Teton.  They are in the Rocky Mountain Range.  We saw this painting in the museum, so I took a picture of Dad in front of it.

The museum was amazing.  It was one of the nicest, most complete (with the notable exception of much mention of their founder, our grandfather), well cared-for museums I've ever seen.

They had a replica of the first post office...the next two pictures...but no mention of Grandpa Driggs who was the first postmaster.

They also had a replica of the first school house, but no mention that the very first school was held upstairs in the Don and May Driggs home for a couple of years before the school house was built.  There was a lot about the formation of the Teton County, but no mention that Grandpa Driggs was the first Senator from Teton County or anything much...for that matter.  I was offended, a little bit, at first, but then I realized that the reason there isn't much about our family is that when they left in 1921, they just left.  And no one has donated or contributed anything to the museum.  It is our own fault as a family that we are not remembered or mentioned.  I plan to send some pictures.  The books are all there, I saw them, in a closet in the back room, but no pictures out where people can see them.

Here, Allison is standing by the wall, outside the museum.  You can see what a gorgeous building it is. She is holding the "Don and May" book.

After our tour, Katie showed us the best place in Driggs for lunch.  O'Roarke's .  It was very good! Dad had French Dip and he said it was the best he's ever had.

After lunch we drove the few minutes to Victor.  I never did see a sign welcoming us to Victor, so I made the girls get out and stand by the post office so we could see that we are in Victor.

This is driving into the Main Street of Victor.

The train station in Victor.  When Grandpa Brinton was courting Grandma, he would drive a horse and wagon to Driggs and it took a long time in the cold to go 8 miles.  So one time he got the good idea to drive a hand-truck on the railroad tracks.  It sped along and got him there in no time.  "What a good idea this was," he thought, until he had to pump it all the way uphill back to Victor.

Grandpa Brinton and his brother, Milton, owned the Teton Valley Supply Company in Victor and Driggs.  He ran the one in Victor and his brother ran the one in Driggs.  I saw this picture, not in the museum, but in the drugstore where we stopped for ice cream before heading back to Rexburg.

This is the antique mirror and counter in the drugstore.

On the way back we stopped at the Teton Valley Dam which had broken and flooded the whole Teton Valley and Rexburg in the 1970's.  It was only about a month old when it broke!

You can see where the dam broke through on the left.  The right is the part that is still standing. It is the Snake River that broke through.

We saw potatoes being loaded.

A truck full of potatoes.

We invited Allison and her roommates to go to Appleby's with us that night.

The next day, we drove to Provo, with a stop along the way in Logan, just to see the Temple.  Here are some of the Temples we saw on our trip...Rexburg, Idaho Falls and Logan.  Of course, we saw Salt Lake, Provo and Brigham City in the distance.

When we got to Provo, we went straight to the BYU Creamery.  Oh my goodness!  I remember that store from when I was there in 1964!  The creamery wasn't part of it then.  Anyway, Devynne was working, and it was so good to see her, especially in her natural element.  She got off the last hour so she could serve us and eat ice cream with us.

We watched her make hamburgers.  It was awesome!  She never touched the beef with her hands, only with the spatulas, and made perfect circles out of  an ice cream scoop of hamburger.

We sat down to enjoy our ice cream.  Daniel texted us and recommended orange sherbet, so I got some of that.  I had one scoop made up of a little orange sherbet, a little strawberry crunch and a little English toffee.  Dad had a huge scoop of English toffee.  That demonstrates the difference in our personalities, doesn't it? He's safe, sure and organized, while I'm adventurous and a little bit of a mess! But colorful. Devynne changed out of her uniform and sat down to eat with us.

Devynne had to rush off to an activity, so we drove around Provo a little...didn't see DeWitt and Levi...they didn't happen to be outside at that time...but we did see Daniel's little rental house and Grandpa Hiatt's big rental house. It used to belong to Brigham Young and has four apartments in it.

We also drove over to see the Provo Tabernacle which is being converted into a temple. See the stilts under it?

That night we took Devynne and her special friend, Brock Bennion, to a Brazilian restaurant in Provo.  The food was very good, and the company even better.  We really liked Brock.  Dad was especially impressed when he learned that he is related to the Captain Bennion who was killed at Pearl Harbor.

We left for Mesa the next morning, making it in one day.  That night we stayed at the condo with Rachel and Tony and their family.  They went to the Easter pageant and met Jeremy and Erika and their family at Bahama Buck's after the pageant.

They went shopping for baptism dresses.  Rachel let the girls pick out their own.  They picked beautiful dresses which need only a minimum of adjusting to make them wearable for the baptisms in August.

We went to Lunch with Joel and Crew Wednesday after a nice visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

While we were at their house, Grandpa said to Dad, "Do you know Rebecca? She lives down there where you do." Crew had half-day school that day because of parent/teacher conferences, so he got to go to AJ's with us.  That is a very upscale, fancy grocery store.  It was packed with upscale, fancy winter visitors.

That evening we invited Esther and Shad's family and Jeremy and Erika's family to go to Chic fil-ay with us, but only Esther's family could go.

Daniel and his four boys came to Safford on Saturday.   They came without Connie and the girls because Analynn was sick.  We missed them, but we were glad to have the boys.  They stayed in the basement with Thomas and Jenn.

The next day, Sunday, Daniel and the boys went to church with us.  They kept asking what time everyone else had church and were disappointed to learn that all of us, Rebecca, Rachel and Mary, also have church at 9:00.   That night, after eating too much dinner, we had ice cream.  It was maple pecan, so the little kids opted for popsicles.

Thomas taught us how to play "Tootsie Roll Challenge."  The participants have to open a Tootsie Roll with plastic forks, never touching it with their hands.

Albert vs. Shadrach

Albert vs. Isabel

Porter vs. Rylie  (Porter tried to get around the "not touching" rule by using his hands through his shirt. Notice Thomas' face.

Parker vs. Jenn

The real excitement came when Tyson pushed Mary's Tootsie off the stool!

Daniel vs. Thomas

The highlight of the evening, I have to say, was listening to Isabel play the ukelele and sing.

Maya, long an admirer of handsome boys (she loved Josh, DeWitt and Levi) would, at first, not have anything to do with all these big strange lads.  She rode in our car to church, along with Shadrach, who went with us to help Dad with Una Mae Larson's wheel chair.  At first, she wouldn't even sit in the back seat with him, sitting on my lap in the front seat (in spite of Dad's vehement protests) and hid her face in my shoulder.  By the time Sacrament Meeting was over, though, she was already friends with Shadrach.  She sat on his lap all during dinner and wouldn't leave his side the whole day for any reason.  The next two days were the same.  On Monday, she finally gave up and fell asleep.  She did allow Jared to share him for a few minutes.

The boys spent Monday morning in the pool.

Then they went to the Seminary building in Safford to have lunch with Lillian and Rylie.  They took pizza along with them.

Albert, who wasn't invited, went to El Charro with us.

Another Monday activity was the framing of our beautiful puzzle, encased in plexiglass.

That night, we had a birthday party for Daniel.  His birthday was Tuesday, the 26th, but we fudged and celebrated for family home evening on Monday the 25th.  We had French dip sandwiches and German Chocolate cake from scratch, which was falling apart and falling down.  It was delicious, though.  I called it the most delicious German Chocolate disaster they would ever eat.

Watching family videos

The next morning, before they left, Jenn and her kids gave Daniel a surprise birthday assault rifle.

After hugs all around, Daniel and his boys left.  They went to Mesa, where they stayed in the condo and attended baseball spring training games.

On Thursday, the 28th, Esther and Shad and their family came to Safford for a seminar at El Charro, introducing him and the Dana Law Firm to Safford.  His wife is Murray Woods' daughter.

After the seminar...eating El Charro leftovers, rehashing the evening and playing with legos.

The next morning, we drove out to the desert between Mary's house and Thatcher to have our annual Easter breakfast picnic.  Some years it has been so cold, even when Easter was in April, but this year it was sunny and hot.

Exercising to work off the bacon and biscuits

That afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt.  The big kids hid the eggs and the little kids found them.

  

Then they all went swimming

Laughing it up over mac and cheese...or as we used to say, "cheese spaghetti."

 That evening, we fed the kids mac and cheese and went to the Branding Iron dressed in our grungy picnic clothes.  Rebecca and Scott weren't able to come, but Joel and Steph were in town at a Layton gathering, so they came with us...they looked good...clean.  

On Friday, the 30th, we drove to Mesa to attend Grandma's 89th birthday celebration, and stopped on the way to meet Jeremy and Erika and their family at Oak Flat.

Dad, looking down on his grandfather's rock house.

His mother, Nora, was born in 1906, in Mesa, but her family was living, at that time in this little rock house at Oak Flat.  After they moved to Superior, they used this house as a cattle drive shelter.  They drove their cattle herd up the steep, rocky, narrow path, winding through Queen Creek Canyon, to Oak Flat for summer grazing.  Then, in the winter they drove them down the same ridiculously dangerous path back to Superior.

These are some of the wooden corrals still standing.

I call this "Signature Rock."  Dad thinks that his grandfather Worth etched a self portrait on the face of this rock. More pictures under "News From Around the Family."

After the hike to the cabin, we went to Los Hermanos for lunch.  That is the restaurant in Superior where we like to stop for fresh tortillas.

We drove on down to Mesa and went to Grandma's birthday party. She's a pretty 89-year-old isn't she?

Thomas and Jenn went to see her the week before,when they went down to Jenn's brother's Temple sealing.  Joel and Stephanie were there earlier in the afternoon.  And Esther and Shad went later in the evening after the Young Women broadcast.  Rebecca and Rachel both had YW responsibilities due to the broadcast and so couldn't go but both sent cards and treats and birthday wishes.

All the Hiatt siblings except Phil, who was in Utah. L-R: Karen, Lisa, Karl, Susan, Nancy, Jan

As usual when Hiatt's get together, the main activity is visiting.

EASTER

I have included Easter pictures from all those who sent them to me.  I'm sure others of you have them, (you are related to me after all) but have just neglected to send them.  If you do, I'll put them in, whenever I get them.

We had an Easter ham dinner with the Richins, the Thos Biggs, and Josh and Nicole with an Easter egg hunt.

Your loving parents

The Daniel and Connie Biggs family

The reduced Rebecca and Scott Evans family

The Jeremy and Erika Biggs family

The Rachel and Tony Alder kids. The only picture I've ever seen of Rylie without her cover girl smile.

The Esther and Shad Brown kids

The Thomas and Jenn Biggs kids

The Mary and Tyson Richins kids

This is ridiculous! Isn't it?

NEWS FROM AROUND THE FAMILY

The Nebraska Biggses had a visit from Josh and Nicole during their spring break.  They spent some time searching for the perfect house for when they move back there after graduation from EAC. They found just the right house.

Hannah took part in her school's production of "Guys and Dolls."

Congratulations from Mom

Hannah in her prom dress with Mason

Hannah with her friends in all their prom finery

Joel and Stephanie took their boys to Florida to the Kennedy Space Center for spring break.  They got to meet Astronaut Bob Cenkar.

Our future astronaut.  I asked him if he was going to go to Mars someday.  He said, "No. It takes 8 1/2 months to get there and you would have to stay at least a year.  People would think I was inactive!"

On Saturday before Easter, while we were exploring Bellamy history with Jeremy and Erika's family, Joel and Stephanie's family were visiting Biggs' historical sites in Lehi.

The old Biggs home, the first brick home built in the Mesa/Lehi area.

After Daniel and the boys left Safford, they stopped at the rock house at Oak Flat.

They went to some Diamondbacks spring training games

Ahhh...  How cool.

Connie's March cakes.  The lion on the left is Daniel's and the zebra is Emma's

While the boys were gone, the girls went shopping!  What else?

Jonathan with his teacher's baby.

Rebecca and Rachel, along with the other stake YW presidency at the tri-stake "Mormon prom."  It really did have a name, but that is what all the kids called it.  They didn't do the background, by the way, Thatcher did.

Lillian and her date

Rebecca and Scott's family took a hike in the Chiricahuas during spring break.

All smiles after hearing from DeWitt.  He called to tell them he was going to do a visa wait in Las Vegas.

Spring break sleepover

Polly's pets

Hayden's winning book contest team

Jeremy and Erika and their family at Oak Flat.  It really was a nice trip and they learned a lot about their great grandfather Bellamy.

By the wall of the old stone corral.

Hayden could do a lot worse than to follow in Grandpa's footsteps!

The Jeremy and Erika Biggs family

At Los Hermanos.

Rachel was in charge of the refreshment table for the "Mormon Prom." The palm tree in the corner wasn't hers.

Isabel at her track meet.

Rylie, in a match against Thatcher.  She won 6-0

Brynlie and Camille at play practice for "Little Mermaid." Brynlie is Ariel's littlest sister and Camille is a sea creature.

Shad now has an office in Safford! He will commute twice a month or so.  We are so excited.

Rachel decorated his office

The newspaper advertisement for their seminar.

It looks like we have more than one set of twins in our family.

Esther's boys in the doctor's office...again. She and Mary have had constant sicknesses among their little ones.  They get well one day and are sick again the next. 

Soren's birthday party at Chucky Cheese...yes, he was sick for his birthday.

On their way home from Safford, the Browns attended the Renaissance Festival...notice Bridger with his turkey drumstick

With G&G at the birthday party

Thomas and Jenn and family stayed home for spring break.  Kirtlyn wrote in her "what I did for spring break" essay that she just stayed home.  But, she said she had fun because she went swimming, had sleepovers with her cousins and visits from other cousins and parties almost every day.

Thomas and Jenn went to Mesa later in the month to attend her brother's sealing to his wife, and while they were there, they visited with Grandma and Grandpa.

Here they are at the Mesa Temple on the day of the sealing.

Mary and Tyson took their family to Cotton City to visit grandparents and then to Tombstone on the way back home.

OUR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Nicole is having fun with theater makeup for school 

Self explanatory!

Allison and roommates on Easter

Devynne took her friend Brock Bennion home to meet the family on Easter weekend.

OUR MISSIONARIES

Levi is doing his visa wait in Salt Lake City

After 5 of our own missionaries and 5 grandson missionaries, this is the most I have ever seen inside the MTC, except for the hallways and big meeting room where they let us say "goodbye" to our boys.

DeWitt says there are 6 beds in that tiny room!

SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU SMILE

That's Rachel in a pink wig on Esther's phone!

So, that was March.  What a month, huh?  We had so much fun, visiting with each one of you, and look forward to some time with Nathan's family in April and May.   You'll never know how much it means to us that you even want to spend time with us.  I suppose the time will come when you are the grandparents and we'll be the old great grandparents who sit around hoping someone will come and visit.  It comes to all of us sooner or later, I guess.  But your happiness is our happiness.  We truly find joy in seeing you be happy in your lives.  Keep us posted because we love knowing what you do.  See you in  April!