Spring Break 2011

Our trip began on Tuesday and ended Sunday the 3rd of April. We started  with a visit to family in Richfield  Utah and continued on through to Kanab, to Page AZ, then on to Cortez Colorado. We hit Mesa Verde National Park the next day and drove on from there to Colorado Springs where we spent the next few days with the most beautiful twins in the world. We loved every minute of our trip until we headed home and through Wyoming once again, slide offs and blowing winds and snow.

All in all, it was a beautiful drive, saw the most unique and beautiful redlands, the movie set from the Outlaw Josie Wales in Kanab, Glen Canyon dam in Page, and the drive through the Navajo country was spectacular. The best way to view america is on a two laned highway. forget the interstates.

The Denver Aquarium is an excellent place to go if you want a great aquarium experience. The Rykenzies loved it and Dave & Steph are the best little parents ever.

Also, David makes the best pizza ever! I mean it was tasty. Stephie makes the best spagetti using the other white meat as opposed to the artery clogging hamburger we're so used to. Here's some pictures:

Christmas Time 12-25-2010

We started out at Tony & Julie's house in the morning and ended up at our home in the afternoon to open with Ell and Critter. The pictures are self explanitory. What a blast.

Ed thought he was really Leonardo from Ninja Turtles. All were happy with their Christmas. We heard from Dave and Stephie and we'll be there this weekend to visit with them in Colorado Springs.

My Quick Visit to So Cal

I had a wonderful trip to Lancaster CA to visit my family and to record the old High School days band "Fuzz". I traveled alone because Annette was in school teaching and is saving her days for our trip to Colorado Springs to visit Davey and Stephie and the RyKenzies. It was a fact finding trip and a trip that helped to understand human behavior and how we, as the people we are, deal with consequences. What I learned wasn't harmful or mean, it was just revealing and helped me to understand those I love and admire.

The other day I went to lunch with my friend Curtis. He shared with me how we in this life because of our choices, are always dealing with consequences.From start to finish, we make choices and then we deal with the consequence from that decision whether it is a good, bad or indifferent decision. Anyway, it was a time for me to plan and reflect upon my life and goals that I am working on as well as my business plan too, which is really nothing more than a goal or set of goals to accomplish for the year.

The first night I spent with Kevin, Karen and Troy in North Edwards. I woke up to a beautiful morning where I awoke and saw Troy off to seminary, Kevin heading to work and Karen got ready putting on her War Paint for the day. it was fun. After they left i took an hour plus walk/hike along the little buttes around North Edwards. I saw coyote, bobcat, and quail tracks. I also saw quail too. Then I traveled in to Lancaster to see my folks. They are so funny in that their schedules are so mixed up and are so unorganized. They seem to do everything rather last minute or in a fashion that is opposite to the way I'd do given the same choices. Anyway, it was a fun day with them and spending the glorious time together. We topped it off with a meal in Victorville at the Marie Calendars. Everyone was there except for my brother. We had a real good time.

The next day was spent with the Old Fuzz band in Tehachapi. Martin came up from Woodland Hills and we traveled together to Steve and Ellens home where we met up with Steve and the very frail Dale. it seems as though life has dealt him some serious business. But, even with all the challenges he faces, he stayed a full 8 plus hours to record 4 songs together. There will be a link to see at least one of themm. It was fun and the feelings shared where ones never to forget.

You can see all the Youtube videos of us if you type in HEPLAR in the search. it should populate all of our videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0mBiy2tTDA
A great time for sure.

Pics from Missy & Toms wedding

A glorious weekend with the family attending the wedding. I'll let the pictures & video speak for them selves

She Turns 25 on 9-3-2010

Happy Birthday Marissa! The above picture was back in 1995. Ever since she was a little girl, she was always dressed to the hilt. Annette always made the best clothes (all homemade) for our girls. Marissa was always the ham and loved showing off.



She was also always my bright spot in life. I don't want anyone to think that she was my favorite at all. Many think that and it's not true. I will say, Marissa and her dad communicated well. We were always on the same page. Unless I was never given "The Book" so to speak! ha ha ha.. We only disagreed on a few of the boys she dated and maybe about a few teenage things. I took care of the first boy that asked her our with a pair of Bull Balls that my friend Scott Bowman had taken from a bull turned steer. I would place these testicles on the table and ask if he ( the boy) knew what they were. I waited for their response while Marissa would cry out "MOM...He's talking to my date!!!! I used those balls to intimidate boys by telling them that if their's were bigger, they would be welcome to try to do something wrong to her. If their balls were smaller, then we were going to have a nut brunch and they were hosting! Marissa hated me for doing that! I'm not sure the boy ever came back for a second date. The two gate keepers were Tony and myself. Somehow, the balls dissappeared by the time the second boy came around.



Tommorrow my baby girl turns 25. She is an absolutely beautiful girl and fun to be around. I love her very much and I wish her a happy birthday tommorrow and I'm happy that her and Tom are getting married this month! I'm sure Marissa will have a wonderful family. I'm seeing boys. More than one. Heaven forbid there should be a girl in her family!!! That would be competition! ha ha ha

Mountain River Ranch with Julisa and Ellory

When I was a little boy growing up I was fascinated with the Old West and generally anthing Pioneery! I enjoyed our family vacations to Virginia City Nevada or even to Knotts Berry Farm which had a sort of Pioneer feel to it. Even traveling to El Paso Texas with my Aunt on the train traveling across New Mexico and Arizona via the train was enchanting in my mind. I would envision wagon trains and individual riders and basically anything that resembled somthing I saw in the old west movies of the day.

The terrain across much of the West is so very picturesque that it was easy for me to imagine ( as I did a lot as a kid).

As I grew older, my travels with my dad to Fallon Nevada from Lancaster California had us crossing old pioneer trails and old outlaw laden country ( in my mind). i grew to love the Old West and was grateful to live in the place where it all really happened. Life in Fallon was at least 50 to 100 years behind life in L.A. County and i welcomed it. Thanks to my dad to help me be able to let my mind just wander in my youthful daydreams.
Anyway, that still continues to this day. I enjoy going to Lagoon to the Pioneer Village and anything where there is a Pioneer theme. Today we went to Mountain River Ranch and enjoyed the company of Critter & Ellory. Ell loves horses and wagon rides. Critter deplores it but Ell and I have a common thread. We love outdoorsy stuff and live for it.

Thoughts on April 18th 2010, but a week late

So, in the year 1980, the month of April, and the day 18, a beautiful girl of 20 years from Utah and a boy from the California desert were married in Manti Utah in one of the most beautiful LDS Temples that has ever been built.

Over the years we experienced joy in so many ways and heartaches in so many ways too. We've loved each other, been really mad at each other, wanted to SHOOT each other, told each other to go to (someplace really hot!), held eachother through difficult times, held each other when loved ones past on. We've made common goals with each other for our family and ourselves both collectively and independently (albeit, many times we took different routes getting there), stood behind our children when tough choices needed to be made, shared with non family members perhaps when we really didn't have that asset or commodity to share. I could go on for hours and tell stories for days. That part I'll leave in a book that I have been writing from time to time called "My Life History". I'm certain ,my kids won't care about it but perhaps my grandkids will find something of value in it at the time that they elect to read it.

Anyway, back to Annette and Ralph. We spent our 30 year anniversary here at home, me doing domestic chores and Annette suffering with strep throat. Not the glorious 30 year anniversary I had anticipated so many years ago. We did celebrate an evening out to the movies with Ellory and Critter by going to see Oceans, a Disney Nature movie last night, a week later. Will we celebrate another day? I'm certain we will, but unlike before when it was so important to make sure we celebrated on that given day, we will just do it on our own time. I know, I know, it's my unstructured nature that makes me this way.

Hey, at least we did go to the Oregon Coast and to Bellingham to see Missy and Tom. I'm sorta counting that as part of a celebration though certainly not substituting it for the actual celebration. We'll get around to it and no one has to tell me that I have to do it on the said day. Ahhh, there is just a whole bunch of good about me getting older! No structure! ha ha ha ha

Here's some pics of our vacation ( my first one in years other than hunting vacations)