Debbie & Craig

A 55-Hour "Sunday Afternoon Drive"

2009-09-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Craig and I decided to take a get-away. We left on Wednesday, and headed for the High Unitas. We drove leisurely, enjoying having them mostly to oursleves. We stopped near a place we had taken the kids years age, where they had played in the Provo River, near its headwaters. We stayed in Evanston, Wyo. that night, walking into downtown for dinner. Evanston is much prettier if you get off the freeway. On thursday a.m. we headed up the back roads, into Idaho on the west side of Bear Lake stopping to visit the graves of Craig's G'parents. We went to the California/Oregon Trail Museum in Montpelier. What a great, fun place! We went through Soda Springs, stopping to see the only controlled gyser in the U.S. Then on down into Thatcher to see Mike and Pris. It was a good, if short, visit. We took the long was home, doing some backtracking into Lava Hot Springs, and ended up eating at Maddox's for dinner. A great time with my Sweetie!

Family Reunion, August 7-17, 2009

2009-09-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time together over the course of the week. Caleen and her 4 kids flew in from Dallas on Friday, August 7. We had a steak fry that night at Molly and Paul's, with G'ma and G'pa joining us. Monday, Maren and her two girls arrived and we had a big girls' night at Adrianna's, not getting to bed til 3 a.m. We had another BBQ at our house on Wednesday, again with G. & G. and Uncle Dean joining us. It was a pleasant evening so we spent it in the backyard taking turns swinging the little ones. Craig and I took Claudia and Markelle up Payson Canyon for a hike and drove on over the Nebo Loop for lunch in Nephi. Some of us were able to hike to Timp Cave (I hadn't been in years!) The youngest hiker was Molly's 5 year old, Hayden. He did a great job! It was a wonderful, memorable week and I can't wait to do it again, even though it took me a week to recover!

More Paintings....

2009-06-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

Here are three more of my paintings. The field of poppies is the one I did for Molly and Paul. I let them pick out what they wanted me to do. From now on, I'll decide! The lavender lake is one of my favorites and was hanging on my wall. It now hangs in Caleen and Bret's house in Dallas. Caleen took the responsibility (cost) of getting it there. Makes me feel good that she wanted it that badly. The winter scene is Maren and Glen's in Vegas. They need it to remind them of cool mountain breezes!

24-Day Road Trip

2009-06-29T14:03:00.001-07:00

Craig and I left on May 28, '09for a road trip. We pulled our 22' Hi/Lo trailer and headed for Amanda's wedding to Curtis Niell in Boise. Matt, Luke, Sean, Robb and Jeff Costello are pictured: 2 sets of brothers and 5 of 7 male Costello cousins. From Boise, we took back roads north, seeing great country and talking to interesting, fun people. We went as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. There the sun didn't set until 10:30p.m. and it was twilight until midnight. The sun started to rise at 3a.m. Way cool until you think about the opposite season! Too many experiences to tell about here. We recommend Banff and Jasper Natl' Parks in Canada! Most of the pics are self explanatory except for the one of Craig, me, my brother Marks' daughter, Kam and her mom Sharon and Jeff in front of his "summer home"--a converted van that he lives in while he works for the summer in Jackson, Wyo.

this summer

Kadie Lynne Young and Family

2009-05-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

It's so fun to be a G'ma and to go help when a daughter has a new baby. Kadie was born on May 9, (her due date!) and I drove to Vegas on the 12th. Glen is a good daddy, and, boy does Bailee get excited when he gets home! Bailee is so good to "sisser" and even is already sharing her gold fish with Kadie. Maren is very patient with Bailee's enthusiasm for the new baby, and also with Bailee's high energy activities. Love you, Maren, Glen and girlies!

Trip to Dallas: 4/21-5/2

2009-05-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

I had a great time in Dallas. I tended the g'kids for 5 days while Bret and Caleen went on an award business trip. I had a few days on either end of their trip so Caleen and I could spend a few days together. Most of these photos are of their fabulous outdorr kitchen and pool. One is of Markelle and her award winning art. And me w/ the 4 g'kids and my birthday cake which was actually a Snickers cheese cake. Good Times!

Four Days in Las Vegas!!!

2009-04-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

It's not what you think---we didn't even go to the Strip and were at the outlet mall for only 45 minutes! I had a great time hanging out with Bailee "D" and Maren and on Saturday, Glen joined us. Mostly Maren and I went through Debra's things (Glen's mom, who passed away last December). We boxed up a lot of clothes to donate to Goodwill. Bailee warmed up to me in a matter of minutes and did't cry when I tended her while Glen and Maren went ou on Friday night. Bailee loves to wear her sunglasses and the wig of Debra's she found. The other 3 photos are of the 4 of us at Springs Preserve, that is in the city limits. I had a great time and hope to go again when the new baby is born. Thanks for your hospitality, Maren and Glen!

Beautiful Diamond Fork Canyon

2009-02-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today we went up to our favorite winter hiking spot, a side canyon of Spanish Fork Canyon. It's only a 25 minute drive. This is the place where last week we watched two pair of eagles soaring above us. It was like watching pairs figure skating: so graceful and so in-sync. Absolutely beautiful. It's rare that we don't have the place all to oursleves and we usually see wild turkey, deer and, of course, the eagles. We also see evidence of elk. This is the same place where, last March, Spot flushed out a moose that had bedded down for the night. The bad thing was that the moose was between us and our truck! It had no intention of leaving and we couldn't climb above and around it in the hip-deep snow (I know it was hip deep, because I tried to go around). We were trapped 2 hours bofore 2 guys heard our emergency whistle and dared to come down to where the moose was and help us get past it. Even the dogs were afraid and were glad to run as fast as they could past it. We've also seen a cougar in this area. Craig was so excited! When I told him to get his gun, he told ME to get it (no gun experience here); he was getting the camera. And he did get a shot! These pics don't do justice to how beautiful it is.

Adrianna and Michael's Wedding

2009-02-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Anrianna and Michael were married January 25, 2009---a beautiful winter day with snow flakes falling that were as big and soft as cotton balls. Adrianna was absolutely radiant and Michael got teary eyed as he said his vows---an endearing touch to this mom-in-law. Happiness forever to this union!

Utah Winter Wonderland

2009-01-22T16:37:00.001-08:00

It's been cold here so the snow that we got in mid-December has not melted off. If you can't read the yardstick, it's at 8". Where's the January thaw I've heard about!?

Extended Family Christmas Party

2008-12-23T15:59:00.001-08:00

We had a fun family Christmas party on Thanksgiving weekend, with 4 generations attending. Only 2 of the third generation were unable to come: Mark's daughter, Kam and her husband Tony from Montana and our daughter, Caleen and and her family from Dallas.We had plenty of good food and renewing of friendships and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Clause.

More Paintings

2008-11-17T14:24:00.001-08:00

Here are 3 more of my paintings. The top one is one I did for Adrianna and hangs above her fireplace. It looks great with the colors in her room! The next is a desert scene with a light dusting of snow clinging to the cliffs. I let Matt pick this one out for me to reproduce and it was HARD!. From then on, I pick what I want to paint. The bottom one I did for mom and dad and gave it to them for Christmas '07. It hangs above their mantle, too. I'm working on a landscape now that will be my last one for awhile; I'm going to try some portraiture. Depending on how they turn out, you may or may not see them in this space!!

The Twins' Blessing Day

2008-11-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

Clay and Elise had their twins, Jaden Belle and Bryn Elise, blessed in Clay's parents' ward on Nov. 2nd. Four generations stood in the circle, with G.G. Heger, age 88 1/2 being the oldest. Both G'pas and of course Clay, plus other family members were also in the circle. After the meeting, everyone came to our house for hot soup, rolls and desserts. It was a good day and a day of family togetherness. In the pics, Matt is holding Jaden and Luke is holding Bryn. I can't tell them apart yet, but Elise always dresses Bryn in pink and Jaden in a darker shade of pink or another color. Elise started a method of telling the girls apart in the hospital with pink and teal nail polish: pink for Bryn and teal green for Jaden. Elise still paints their nails, which is a big help to me! For the blessing gowns, I was able to find tiny heart buttons in a soft pink and a teal green shade. You can just see the buttons down the fronts of their dresses.

G'ma and G'pa Heger

2008-11-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

Here are two pics of "the folks". Batman and So-n-So Fett ( Molly's boys, Cohen, 2 and Hayden, 4) having lunch with their Greats. And having dinner at Red Lobster.

My Paintings

2008-10-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

The upper left is my only seascape. The original artist is Aspevig, so when I sign it, I put "Debbie Costello after Aspevig" to give proper credit.This painting is for sale, with the discalimer that it is a copy of another's original, and that it was used for teaching purposes. Top right is for Luke for Christmas. Bottom left is my very first and Steve actually worked on it, too (I don't let him paint on my paintings anymore).The mountain colors are what took me so long to mix just right. The clouds I painted in honor of Dean, my brother, since he always had such a great view of them when he was a pilot. My first painting and the clouds are hanging in my house.

When I was at BYU, I was an art major. When I got married, I left my art on the back burner to raise our kids. I rediscovered my love for art 2 years ago when I started a class in oil painting. My teacher, Steve, has us paint from "scrap"-- a photo of a painting. He has to approve the painting; it has to have good composition, a strong center of interest etc. We are allowed to use only the primary colors: red, yellow, blue plus white to mix all of the colors in our painting. My first time, it took me 2 hours to get the right hue! Anyway, two years later, here are the results of some of my efforts.

Craig's Summer '08 Trip

2008-10-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

Craig finally left on a road trip he's been talking about for years. He left on June 6 for the Great White North, pulling our 22' hi-lo trailer. No he didn't hunt or fish; it was strictly a sight-seeing/ wildlife spotting trip. An important obervation he made about the trip was that, being alone, he could live in the past present or future in his thoughts. When your with someone else, you tend to live only in the present. I thought that was pretty profound.

Debbie & Craig

2008-10-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

O.K. So I am now an official blogger! Yeah! I don't know how exciting or interesting it will be. One of the main reasons I created it is to be a portfolio for my art work. I have given away 6 paintings to family with 2 more to be given at Christmas; I sold one and have 2 hanging in my onw home. I need to figure out how to down load the photos of the paintings. Thanks for visiting!!