Birthday Present and Past

 The big ticket item for this big birthday was a wonderful labor of love and time and foresight and talent.  Mom presented dad with 8 volumes - one for each year - documenting Cornwall Comings & Goings.  Each book is a color printed volume of all the posts for one year.  They begin when C C & G started in 2006.  The set will have it's own special spot on the living room book case for easy removal to view and enjoy by visitors and residents of 336.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

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Flashback Friday

Jeffrey and Ressa recently posted on their President's Day Weekend trip which included a stop at the Golden Spike National Historic Site.  Dad asked Jeff if he noticed the historic photo documenting this event of joining the country with rail lines. The photo includes Jeffrey's great-great-great grandpa Neeley - William Neeley.  William was a pioneer whose newlywed parents joined the Mormon Church in Illinois in the 1830s.  He left Nauvoo with the main body of Saints in 1846 and spent a few years in Winter Quarters working with his father - Lewis -  to help others move West.  In Winter Quarters his mother - Helen Miller - died.  William, with his father and siblings immigrated to Utah in the 1850s and located in the Brigham City area of North Utah and was there for the big event in 1869 when the Golden Spike was set and the nation was linked.  He died in 1913 in Neeley, Idaho, which he founded.

If any of you other kids visit the Golden Spike site make sure to notice the dapper man in the lower right corner in the black hat and black coat.

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The Spiral Jetty

Jeff and I have been anticipating the long President's Day weekend, and naturally we wanted to take advantage of the extra time to go on an adventure. We considered heading to Southern Utah and even tossed around the idea of going to the Grand Canyon. Both were tempting, but we realized this would be the perfect opportunity to visit a destination that had been on our list for quite a while. The Spiral Jetty has actually been on Jeff's list for a few years, so it was high time to make the trip. This famous earthwork artwork by Robert Smithson is quintessential in the art world. It was created in 1970 and was one of the first of many earthwork artworks around that time. Smithson was fascinated with salt water lakes. There are only a few in the whole world and The Great Salt Lake is one of them. A unique feature of Utah's salt lake is an algae that blooms to a redish hue. To Jeff (and many others), The Spiral Jetty is just as iconic as The Mona Lisa. It is located on the north end of the Great Salt Lake about 20 miles from The Golden Spike historic site. It so large it can be seen by satellite. The three hour drive to this monumental piece was quite a reasonable distance to travel to see this impressive spectacle. We had a fun bunch go along with us on this day trip. We explored The Jetty, waded through the salty flats, got the kayak out into the lake and had a lovely picnic. On the way back we stopped by the Golden Spike historic site. It was a much anticipated trip and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Happy Valentines From Hermana Cornwall

Mom and Dad received a letter (USPS) from Sarah yesterday.  She included the above photo with her current companion.  Sister Underwood's red skirt makes it look rather Valentine'y.

Happy valentines day

A fun and busy birthday day for Emary

Happy Birthday Princess Emary

We had another fun day

We had a fun day. Highlighted by Marybeth trying out for and getting to final round of American idol and performing in front of a large audience with judges

There was a lot of toy story today which Bennett was thrilled about

Click on image to go to "A Voice From The Vineyard"

We made it and are having fun

Snowy week

Well as most of you know it's been a snowy week and we tried to make the most of it

The kids have had fun playing in all the snow

We did some sledding (more like Dad pulling the sled around the house)

One of the fun things as to go down the slippery slide and slide a few feet beyond the base of the slide. 

I think the kids loved sitting on daddy's lap and going down the slide. And one time we had both Bennett and Emary on my lap. That only happened once

I'm now an author on Examiner.com

To add to my resume, I am now the Kansas City Family Travel Examiner for the website Examiner.com. Here is my profile so you can subscribe to my articles if you wish. It is really hard to turn off blogger and turn on journalist (especially since I don't know what I'm doing. Too bad I didn't pick the appropriate major in college.) I'm excited for all the opportunities and experience this new gig will provide me! :)

William Monroe - I'm a softie for red hair with a perfect wave.

 

Few Monrovians may know that their city’s founder, William Monroe, had red hair that was once described as having “a perfect wave.” They may also not realize that Monroe was a schoolteacher, or that he was a veteran of the Civil War. Indeed, following Monroe’s graduation from college, he taught school in a small Iowa community. However, shortly thereafter, the Civil War broke out. Monroe joined the First Regiment of the Iowa Volunteer Calvary when he was barely twenty years old, and rode a horse from his father’s farm.

Monroe served with the First Regiment until 1863, at which point, now commissioned as First Lieutenant, he was transferred to the Seventh Iowa Regiment. It was while serving at Fort Kearney in present-day Nebraska that he met and married his wife, schoolteacher Mary Jane Hall. At the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, Monroe was mustered out of service, now with the rank of Major. It was said that he never used the title, and few who knew him later in life were aware that he had achieved this rank during his service.