June 2009 Idaho-Utah Trip

In June 2009 we made a road trip from Virginia to Utah and Idaho. We first arrived at Chris and Brindy's. After catching up on our rest we went up above Spanish Fork for a picnic. We took a short hike to a water fall grotto. It was a nice and beautiful spot.

We then drove to Nephi where we watched Justin and Jenny's (our grandkids) while they had an anniversary trip to Las Vegas. We enjoyed the kids and took them on a weaner roast and smore trip up the Salt River. We also made cookies...yum yumm!

On Saturday, we then gathered for a picnic at a park in Taylorsville for a picnic with Mom Stoker, Karen Stoker, the Jaynes families and the Whitehead families. We played games and enjoyed visiting. On Sunday morning we went to the Tabernacle Choir and Spoken Word at Temple Square and then met at Dad Stoker's gravesite for a memorial and prayer.

We then traveled to Twin Falls where we stayed with Brian and Marcella. We went through a session in the Twin Falls Temple. We took a stroll down memory lane by having a picnic in Randal's boyhood adventureland--now the Rock Creek park. We went on a drive by two of the former homes where Carol and Randal lived years ago, the waterfall by the Perrine Bridge, Shoshone Falls, Caldron Lynn, and the old farm in Buhl. While close to Buhl we went to the aligator ponds and then to Niagra Springs where Randal formally proposed to Carol 31 years ago. Just to make sure she would still accept, he proposed anew--and yes she did accept!

We then gathered at Kenny and Ilene Hulse's place (Carol's brother) were we again feasted and played lawn games, ping pong, and visited.

On our way home we stopped by the Nauvoo Temple, went through a session there and enjoyed a few shows. During the night (we were tent camping) it started to rain hard. We broke camp in the rain and made the final trek back to our Virginia home. What a wondeful and memorable trip!

Wolf Gap Camping Trip

We managed to escape the busy rat race around here and enjoy a fun camping trip and hike at Wolf Gap in West Virginia. We had a great time hiking, relaxing, playing games, eating chicken tin foil dinners and Smores!!!

This picture reminds me of the song we had at our wedding reception "I'm on the top of the world....."

We almost lost Rachel over the edge of the cliff.......Good thing her dad was there to help her..... Just kidding she is actually standing on a very safe ledge below her. But she still made me nervous and she sure scared another hiker that came by.

I call this picture the generation gap.........

I was a little out of shape for the 3 mile hike but I didn't do to bad keeping up with them

Our fearless leader pointing out the valley below. The view at the top was worth the steep climb!

Spooky story time......"I see some eyes"...........

We count our blessings

Becky received her call to the Argentina Salta Mission. She will be reporting to the Provo MTC on Sept 2. She is very excited and has been studying up on Spanish. She studies her scriptures and is preparing to teach the gospel. She will be going to the Temple Aug. 1st. She is working at a Day Care/Pre-School and saving up her money. We have enjoyed having her home this summer. We will really miss her but she will be a great missionary and we are excited for her. Look out Argentina here she comes!!

We have enjoyed having Rachel home too. She had a car accident several months ago and we feel very blessed that she wasn't hurt badly. She was bruised and sore for weeks but very lucky. She some how lost control and hit this tree stump on the side of the road. She was probably lucky it was there or she might have rolled the car and it would of been a lot worse.

While recovering she slept and slept. She said she had never slept so much in all her life. She sure came out with a nice "shiner"...

Our Bishop and his family brought her the beautiful yellow tulips and ice cream. Our great neighbors made her brownies. We bought her her favorite "Subway" sandwhich and took really good care of her.

We only owned the car for a few months but cars can be replaced....we are glad we have our "Rach"




Rachel is working at The Institute of Navigation. It is a very high tech informational Instituition for different types of navigation and communications. She is the receptionist and does other secretarial needs. It is a good job and she really likes it. They were moving into this new office the week of her accident. I guess that was one way of getting out of moving but not the best way. Her office is the one on top with the lights on. She is also attending NOVA community college evenings and Saturdays. Things seem to be working out pretty good for her.

We enjoy Having them both home. We are truly blessed....

Thank Heaven for # Seven

Grandma Carol meets Lydia Carol Bennett. What a sweet baby. It was really fun to be with Brindy, Christopher, and Lydia for a week In Orem Utah. It was so fun holding her I didn't want to put her down. She was born on Valentine's Day 7 Lbs. 2 0z. She is such a beautiful baby.




It was fun to have a visit from Justin, Jenny, Zoey, and Tyler. They are relly growing up. I loved the kisses and hugs. I can't wait to spend more time with them in June." It was also fun to see my Mom, Larry and sister Sherry. We had a nice visit. I appreciate them driving from Idaho. What a great family. I am so grateful everything went well and little Lydia is here. What a blessing she is. Thanks Randal for letting me go. He gets his turn at the end of March when she will be blessed. That will be a fun trip and another blog moment!!

WE MOVED!!!!!!!

Welcome to our new house, just kidding, but we did get to visit the Biltmore house in Asheville, North Carolina. It is America's largest home. It was built in 1895 by George W. Vanderbilt. He was a bachelor for the first three years that he lived in it. Yeah, one single man lived in a home with 250 rooms; There were 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. Do you think he had any women wanting to be his bride?

Nicolette, Ryan, Gabe and Rachel were there too but didn't want to get out of the warm car for a picture. We were glad Mom could go with us on this fun trip. She really enjoyed the tour of the house especially the part where we pushed her all around in a wheelchair. She even got to go up in the orginal DC elevator. At the time the home was built, few homes had the features of this home: running hot water, indoor sewer systems, walk-in coolers, indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, and electric lighting.

Fall in Virginia

This Fall (2008) we went to the George Washington Forest to get wood to burn this winter. It is now paying off and we are enjoying the cozy warmth of the woodstove. It saves on the bills too. Randal sawed them off into 6 foot logs and then we hauled them home and cut them into smaller pieces. We also enjoyed the time together in the outdoors away from all the traffic.

Here is my Paul Bunion. Thank heavens for chain saws. How did they ever do it with just an AX!

Loaded and headed home where the work continues. It was a beautiful Fall day. Not too cool and not too hot....Just right!! The load doesn't look that big but it was a lot of work and all of the logs were heavy and solid oak. In total, we got 3 trailer loads. The permit was only $20.

Well, if you are going to have a flat tire some where you might as well do it with a great view!! And, yes, we really did have a flat tire. I took this picture while Randal put on the spare.

We love the Fall in Virginia. It is really beautiful. The trees are so thick in the Forest that they make a canopy over the road. The variety of colors and the contrasts really are amazing.

Virginia Beach Trip

Last Fall we got to keep Gabriel over night while Nicolette and Ryan went to a Rascal Flats concert at Virginia Beach. We drove to Virginia Beach the next day with Gabe. I love this picture of Grandpa driving and you can see Gabe in the mirror sleeping peacefully. He was such a good boy but was glad to see his Mom and Dad again.

We love visiting the Ocean. There is something romantic about it.

It was too cold to swim so we enjoyed getting our feet wet and watching the waves.




Nic and Ryan took Gabe and went on to visit some friends in North Carolina. We went on a loop drive to the Great Dismal Swamp. The water actually looks black and the land around it is like a big sponge. This 22 mile canal was built by slave labor. They worked in mud and water up to their wastes and sometimes necks trying to drain the swamp with buckets. They were motivated by being told that their labor would buy their freedom. However, few of those who lived through the ordeal were able to actually do so. The conditions of the swamp were very harsh. There are stories of alligators and wild beasts, torturous insects, copperheads and cottonmouths.

The orginal swap exceeded one million acres. It became a business venture for timber. Cypress and Atlantic white cedar trees grew well in the swamp and became very profitable. Not only was it a business venture but the dense forests provided refuge to runaway slaves. There were very few spots in the swamp that were not covered by water but the slaves would find them and plant corn and other crops and live off the land. They also survived on wild hogs and fowl. They built huts in back places hidden by bushes. Some of them lived there for 20-30 years. They would rather be free and suffer the harsh condtions of the swamp than the harsh conditions of slavery. Slave owners would hire men to go in to the swamp and find their slaves but few came back out alive.

The Great Dismal Swamp was certainly dismal! But oh how interesting! We hoped that the aligators would take to the bait but no takers. Today the swamp has a great Visitor Center and is open to canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and ferryboat tours of the wildlife refuge. Nature lovers and bird watchers come from all over the world. We had a great time.