With Thanks in 2008

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for - family, faith, freedom, friends, and food.

We spent five beautiful days in the desert with friends, as we have for the past 8 years. We normally get away once a month, but this time it's been two and a half months, and we could really tell. It is so relaxing to just leave.

Here is some of the gang at the buffet table.


Don and Sean are in the center back in white and grayish. It rained Thurs. morning, and the DARK clouds were gathering in the afternoon. We expected rain at 3:00, our feast time, and it did rain - for about 10 minutes - then cleared up. Hurrah!! We have had to eat in the trailers a couple of years.


Here's our feast table and our "other" family. The Jorgensen group is at the top, Don with his arms outstretched. With Brad (bf), Becky, Carolyn to the his right, and Sean, Donnie, Julie, Joe and Janey to his left. We were so happy they could all make it. It's a 3+ hour drive and they came just for dinner with us. Tami and Kimber went with their friends to a different desert.

Since prices on "toys" are way down, and Becky is an excellent money manager, she was able to buy a 2006, 23' Week-end Warrior trailer/toy hauler and spend a couple of nights. The normal Thanksgiving crowd was a little light, and the dunes were great. Becky and Brad ride motorcycles, Don drives a sand buggy.

I'm back!

Sorry for the long absence. My hard drive crashed in August and when I got it back, it wouldn't recognize the USB ports - so no pictures could be downloaded. But it's fixed - so here we go.

Here's 4 month old (June 28) Janey Heathman in her workout clothes for Halloween. She's a real cutey with a dimple, and oh so strong.

And here's 3 year old (Oct 10) Kimber as the little Mermaid. Always with flowers and a smile. Must be the age. She's either got a princess dress or a very full nylon slip on most of the time.

This is our house from the top of the driveway. It's 3/4 of a mile to our mailbox, with only two houses for almost the entire way.
Don has really enjoyed creating an army of rock sentinels along our driveway. There are so many rocks here, and he has used MANY of them in the landscaping.

This is our view toward the north west. Not much out there. In the valley there are some farms and our next door neighbor has 25 acres of dragon fruit. It's a Vietnamese treat and he's the largest producer in the USA.

This is our view of Escondido to the south east. Note the strong wind blowing the flag, that also blew the big, heavy wooden swing over the bank.

Escondido is much different then living on the coast, but we are really enjoying it. Our ward is small and struggling and we're feeling needed. It finally dropped out of the 80's today - thought winter would never get here.

Have wonderful Thanksgivings where ever you may be, and travel safely wherever you go.