The Month of May

We had the most wonderful month in May. We started out visiting Michael & Melissa in Urbana, Illinois. As you can see, marriage, work, school and church agrees with them very well. We had so much fun sightseeing and just being with Michael and Melissa and seeing where they go during their daily lives. Melissa love's her work and schooling at the University of Illinois/Champaign. It was fascinating for us to have her give us a tour of the very large, very old library on campus. We also toured other libraries on campus and in town. She has writen more about our visit on her blog. We should have taken more pictures, but didn't. Michael's job at the Freestar Bank, campus branch in Champaign is also going well. They are doing so many things in Illinois to make this a wonderful experience for them.

Of course we had to have a reason to go "outside" and our reason was Robert's graduation from the University of New Mexico on May 17, 2008. We were not able to attend Emily's graduation in December, so it was great to have them both in cap and gown for pictures. We are so proud of Emily and Robert for their hard work the past four years!

Grandma and Grandpa Brough came from St. George for graduation. It was so fun to celebrate this wonderful occasion with them.

The rose garden on the UNM campus is one of Emily's favorite spots.

One more picture - the graduates and proud parents. We spent five days in Albuquerque and loved being there with family and friends. The Monday after graduation, Robert started a new job with First Federal Bank.

Garth returned to Fairbanks after graduation and Nick and I continued our vacation. We flew to Phoenix so we could see my nephew, Jordan, return from his mission and visit with Don, Nancy & the nephew's in Gilbert. The only family member I didn't see on this trip was Zach, who is in Brazil on his mission. We drove with Grandma & Grandpa to St. George and spent a few days there. We ate dinner at Brian & Kim's new home and saw all the cute nephew's and niece there.

We went to the St. George visitor's center to see a very moving exhibit by Angela Johnson.

Memorial Day as we were growing up was a fun time to get together with aunts, uncles & cousins that we didn't see very often. We always had new summer clothes to wear and mom always worried about us climbing on headstones or walking on graves. This Memorial Day was different - it was a time to share with my son, Nick, some family history and remember those ancestors so long gone. My brother, Mark, Mom, Dad & I, along with Nick, visited the Garland, Utah cemetary and the Fielding, Utah cemetary.

Nick and I spent several days in Avon with Mark, June & the four great nephew's there. We were able to see Mike and Melissa two more times before we left; they were in Cache Valley for Melissa's brother, Nick's, graduation. On our way to catch the plane for Fairbanks, we were able to visit Joye, Kim, Kylie, Janalyne, Cameron & Makayla (Jesse was at work).

Our family time in May ended with a visit from Rosie & Craig Parker, Garth's sister and brother-in-law. Garth spent some time with Rosie & Craig before Nick and I returned from our trip. We had such an enjoyable time with them. The Parker's took a trip through Denali Park and visited friends in Anchorage (President & Sister Owen's of the Anchorage Temple Presidency who are their neighbors in Boutiful Utah). Our families are wonderful!