Saint Blair the Bybee

I realized the other day that there is a post I should have written a long time ago, paying tribute to one of the very best men I have ever known. (Of course that description fits both of the fellows in the photo above, but only one of them hasn't been mentioned on the blog.)

This person is named Blair Bybee. He's a retired pediatric oncologist who has lived in our neighborhood for a lot longer than we have, and has been of great service to our ward. In fact, the young men a few years ago renamed him Saint Blair the Bybee. He certainly carries a feeling of sweet saintliness around him, and does so much for other people.

We were lucky enough to be his assigned family to Home Teach, then, when alterations were made to the system, to minister to. He checks in on us every single month, usually bearing a box so stuffed full of treats that we can barely lift it. He heard me say one time that I love peanut butter, and ever since, no matter what else is in the box of treats, I can usually find a few peanut butter cookies mixed in. 

There really aren't adequate words to describe the great life this man has lived, but I will tell you that when Troy needed surgery and also when my dad was admitted to the hospital with the case of influenza that would lead to his passing, we called on Saint Blair for help in giving blessings. He's always been there for us, and I would be remiss in not recording the part he has played in our lives. And if you ever need a good read, ask me about the book he wrote about being a medical missionary in Samoa in the 60's. 

Ringing in the New Year - 2023!

 The traditions continue. For the 3rd year in a row (or maybe more?) the St. Georgians came to SLC for New Years. I was a little nervous at first - after all, we are down our main bedroom right now. So even though they would be sleeping at a hotel, I still didn't really have a place for the kids to play. Then Troy realized that we could do something unthinkable. Clean it up. We put most of the tools away, took the ladders to the back porch, and vacuumed up all the wood shavings and sawdust and plaster. We set all the floor-protecting boards against the wall and the sheets of plastic on the table outside. And vacuumed some more. And voila! A playroom.

We really had a pleasant time. Whenever we go to St. George Sheri takes us on all sorts of outdoor adventures. It's rare we ever go to the same place twice. But SLC seems to be much more of a quiet time for us to visit and we rarely go anywhere but the zoo when they visit. But this time we picked a few things to do. Yes, that still included the zoo. Funny enough, we, for the first time in at least a decade, do not have a current zoo pass. Usually we share one with the Romney's but we let it run out. We were debating on whether or not to renew when Sheri discovered that it was $5 day at the zoo and that seemed good enough for us!

Our activities included ice skating, (which just about broke Emma who wasn't feeling good), a trip to the zoo, lunch and a stroll through City Creek Mall, checking out the candy window display at Macy's, heading to the Grand America Hotel to see their holiday window displays, watching Top Gun Maverick, and the grownups went out to dinner at Bombay House to celebrate Troy's and my 25th wedding anniversary. TWENTY FIVE YEARS!!!!

I know that most people do a lot more than dinner for their big anniversaries, but we just don't have it in us to do much just before New Years. It's really fun to be with family and I love just being grateful for the wonderful man that I married. (Troy! I love you!!)

We celebrated a New York New Year's eve on Saturday night, staying up all the way until 10pm when the Romney's left for their hotel and we Preslars all fell asleep before midnight. Well, I was still awake. But in bed, cozy and relaxed and ready for sleep. I did a silent "happy new year!" shout in my head then zonked out, ready to bring in 2023 with lots of high hopes and gratitude for the great year it had been. 

 

Everyone else on New Years Eve:

Me on New Year's Eve:

I didn't know I was so frowny when I napped.