Bridger Above Ground Mine Tour - August 2007

PacifiCorp's internal audit department went on a tour of Bridger mines (above and below ground mines) and the Bridger plant. Here's a picture of the Bridger plant in Rock Springs, Wyoming.




This coal-fired plant is owned by PacifiCorp. It uses coal to produce power for Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power.



Before we could go under ground, we had to have several hours of training and pass a test.












Here I am with Roxann - all dressed up like a miner. The equipment on my belt was very heavy.











The above ground mine was so far down it looked like little toy equipment. Isn't it cute?












This is a picture of our department standing in the bucket that reaches down in the mine to move the dirt.











Can you believe the size of the links on this chain compared to the people? I thought it was amazing.














This is the view inside the equipment in the next picture. This guy moves dirt all day long - just like playing in the dirt! See how small that bucket looks - it's the one we were standing in in the picture above.








This is the thing that moves the dirt. I couldn't get it in one picture even though I went back quite a ways so here it is in two pictures. It is unbelievably huge equipment.








Here's the bucket again....
















This is inside Bridger plant showing the control center - at least that's what I'm calling it.












Bridger plant with a view of the Wyoming scenery in case you haven't been to Wyoming before.








The substation near the plant.....













The best food on the trip was this Mexican food at Los Cabos in Rock Springs.













Here's the internal audit department from the left - me, Bill, Roxann, Terry, Sheila, Dan (who said he was joining our department but changed his mind and went to work for Deloitte instead), and Sean, the internal audit director. Dennis is taking the picture. Look how happy we are. This was taken just before we left to return home!







On the way back from Wyoming, we were able to stop for about an hour at temple square. We flew in and out of the Salt Lake City airport and drove to and from Rock Springs.

The flowers on temple square were beautiful! This is a picture of Bill, Sheila, Terry, and me! The picture was taken by one of the missionaries on temple square.

Four days after this trip my appendix ruptured. Some say it might have been the food from this trip. Thus, the reason it has taken me so long to post these pictures.

Through the Snow to Long Beach, Washington (2/2/08)

What a fun trip last weekend! For years I have wanted to go to Long Beach, Washington. I had heard that it was beautiful and lots of people like to go there in the summers to camp on the beach. When I found out that the singles were going there for an outing, I thought it would be a great opportunity to have fun seeing the sights, maybe make a new friend, and take some photos! The trip was very successful for all three of my objectives! We drove through Oregon and across the bridge at Astoria into Washington to get to Long Beach. On the way to and from we had breakfast and dinner at the most popular restaurant in Clatskanie, Oregon. It is called Humps. You can tell from the pictures that it was a rainy day!
I liked the displays of vintage clothing, etc. from yester years.














Here is my first shot at Long Beach. I couldn't see the end of it from the shore. This picture was taken at the Interpretive Center.








The Interpretive Center had lots of information and pictures on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Their trip ended at Long Beach. I had to take a few shots inside.....









This sign was funny.


































Here's a picture of Tom shirring the pot - just like he does on campouts. Tom was the organizer of this fun activity.






I love this picture of the lighthouse. I think I did great!

I wasn't in the mood to go to a museum but when I found out it was free, I decided to check it out. It wasn't a museum! It was a store! No wonder it was free entrance! It had lots of fun stuff to look at but none of us bought anything.















Here's more pictures of Long Beach. It is the longest beach in the world. I just love my pictures.







































































Here's a picture with me, Kansa, and Kirsty who were also in the car with us. Kirsty had a brand new SUV so it was terrific for the trip and made it easy to get through the snow.













The snow was beautiful. The pictures show the snow falling. What a great time I had with Tom, Kansa, and Kirsty! This was the first time I had met Kirsty and I hope I'll see her again. We had a really fun time!

A Surprise for Adalei (January 08)

Cute little Adalei! She's in grandma's bedroom ready to raid the cough drops in the night stand!

Recently, I participated in a singles service project to make fleece blankets for the homeless. It was so fun and fast that I decided to make one for Adalei. It took me about two hours!

I found this fleece with cats on it. It seemed perfect to match her bed and she loves the cats. Isn't it cute?! Now she has a blanket for her pretty little bed. The reverse side of the blanket is a solid pink.

Next, I want to make a fleece blanket for Brielle, then Paisley, and then my first grandson!

























What a beautiful smile! I love this little girl!

"It's Nifty to Be Fifty!" (Quoting Susan Plessinger)

September 16, 2007 was my fiftieth birthday! My wonderful friend Tracey gave me these beautiful roses and took me to dinner to celebrate. It was so fun. I really enjoyed turning 50! It was a great time and I stretched it out as long as I could!
It's hard to believe that I am not 50 years old! Since most of my grandparents have lived to be close to 100 years old, I figure my life is only half over! One of my single friends said that now I'm on the best side of 50! I sure hope she is right!

So much happened that I'm sure I won't remember everything now so I may be updating this post later when I remember or someone reminds me of what I failed to include.

It was a joy to have Adalei come play dolls with me on my birthday. She had a great time eating kettle corn - we both love that!

Charity came to spend the weekend with me! What a wonderful surprise! I had a great time having her here. Not knowing that she was coming, I had a lot of plans for the weekend before she arrived.
Charity was such a good sport to keep up with the weekend long birthday celebration as planned! I am so blessed to have a daughter that would come to make my 50th birthday very special.

This was a picture of Misty on my birthday! Misty was so sweet to make my favorite dinner (7 layer salad and Texas sheet cake). In addition, she invited all my extended family and close friends for cake and ice cream. (Misty makes great cake!) It was a wonderful surprise! She went to a lot of work and I really appreciated it as she was just moving into her house a few days before that so was living out of boxes at her house. She put all that aside and planned a special surprise birthday party for me! Thanks Misty - you are great!




Now, when it comes to friends, I was thrilled with all my friends that called, stop by, and especially those special friends that had a surprise birthday party for me! This was a terrific 50th birthday! Mo hosted a potluck, surprise party at her house where we enjoyed delicious food, birthday cake and I was showered with fabulous gifts. I am so blessed with awesome friends. Thanks so much to Mo for doing so much to make my birthday a celebration! Even my father called to wish me happy birthday which was a surprise since I rarely hear from him.

My visiting teachers went all out for my birthday - Sheila and Sandy are the best visiting teachers I have ever had. They love me and truly care about me which is a great example of Christ-like charity. They took for me a manicure and pedicure and included Charity also. It was so relaxing and I thoroughly enjoyed being pampered! Can you tell which feet and hands are mine and which are Charity's? Don't we look great? After the spa treatment, we went to a delicious lunch followed by carrot cake and all the leftovers came home with me! It was so fun!

For my birthday, Nate washed and waxed my car while I played with Adalei! It was a rainy day and he was washing my car in the rain. I think he was surprised that I didn't want to postpone our plans when the weather turned bad. However, it worked out quite well because we planned for Misty to prepare for a surprise birthday party for Nate while he was washing my car.

Little Adalei was so cute in her rain clothes.












She had me sitting in the canoe for a bit and I took a picture of her from the other end. I'm sure she really wanted to go kayaking but she didn't get to and was a little disappointed.






Look how good my car looks! Thanks Nate for a super job washing and waxing my car! This was a perfect birthday gift for me!










Here's Adalei on her birthday tricycle. I think she enjoys pushing it more than riding it but I did capture this shot when I had a chance.








Now, for my birthday, I bought myself a ticket to "Chocolate Confessions" and invited three coworkers to join me. From middle to the right - Lee, Judy, and Cathie..... We had dinner, then watched the show and had a chocolate dessert during intermission. In the picture by me is the creator, actor, etc. of the play. She did such a great job that I invited her to be in my birthday picture with us.





This is a poster announcing the event. I even bought myself and Jenna a chocolate cookbook! Now to find the time to enjoy some of the recipes but I'll have to lose a few pounds first! I really enjoyed my birthday - about 10 pounds worth!!! But no regrets! Like my dad said, "You only turn 50 once."





Thanks to all for a perfect 50th birthday celebration! It was the best ever!