MonaMike.com

Living it up  -  10/23/2021

Clear skies and smooth water on a morning paddle at the Lower Twin Lake, Idaho.  Mona and Mike will be back up one more time this summer to celebrate family anniversaries and birthdays.

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Welcome to our website.  We are posting images from family to share during our close reunion..  Photos will be shown on the following pages as they come in. 

Email us to say hi. We promise not to sell your contact info to anybody else.  This site contains contact info, a journal, calendar, favorite links and photos. 

MLKimbro@Yahoo.com or MikeVanVoorhis@msn.com  Skype Phone: 801-639-9728

Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City, Utah

To contact us:

Journal of Activities

Our immediate VanVoorhis clan will gather from near and far (Brooklyn, NY, Salt Lake City, Ut, and the Inland Empire) to share stories, enjoy a bbq and re-connect since our last reunion several years ago.  Laura is in charge!

We will load up our dogs and gear to take a drive through Seattle, around the Olympic Peninsula, down the Oregon coast, and into California to celebrate our anniversary. 

Coming up: Family get-together at Hayden, Idaho

Then: Mona and Mike take a drive along Washington, Oregon and California coasts

· More details... Look for journal posts as we progress...

Photos and Blog

We enjoy sharing the following photos.

The 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad connection at Promontory Summit, Utah was celebrated by the arrival of the largest operating steam locomotive on Earth, Union Pacific #1440, “Big Boy,” and it’s never-retired workhorse, #840 “Living Legend.”  We inspected them at Ogden and later went to the Golden Spike site with family: Ken, Jack, Scarlet, Henry and Hazel.

Just 4 years ago, our oldest grandchild, Scarlet Allen, performed a dance recital to an audience of hundreds.  On stage, she demonstrated poise and elegance with confidence while making sure her costume was properly adjusted.

Mona and Mike as they navigate Istanbul, Turkey using busses, ferries, cabs and good old foot work.  This photo was taken just before I realized that I left a piece of luggage on a ferry boat that just sailed away. OOPS!  After running back to the terminal, we communicated our plight to a gate agent who radioed the boat’s captain who’s deck-hand secured the parcel on the bridge.  Later, when the ferry returned to our terminal, we jumped aboard, RAN to the bridge, secured the bag, gave the captain a “high-five” and RAN back down to the deck just in time to jump onto the dock.

Istanbul has palaces, bazaars, mosques, museums, and history.  We found the city to be full of life and still have much yet to visit in the future.

We rehabbed the house Mona grew up in in Holladay, Utah.  We had surprises, challenges, successes and made more than a few changes to our plans as the project progressed over a year or so.  This is us putting the floor down in the kitchen.   Below, Mona paints a bathroom.  I made repairs outside, in the basement and on the roof through days of snow, wind, rain and sunshine.  Mona’s eye for detail made the final house a place to be proud of. 

Our grandkids give us pure joy and their parents, Max and Callie Allen, share them freely.  On one occasion, we received a gift of a painting lesson in which we each painted one half of a finished work.  Mona showed Mike how to make waves and took care of the matchup of colors and brush techniques.  Mike followed instructions and the result still hangs in our home today. We always squeeze in for selfies whenever a chance appears.

Laura and Casey took Mona and Mike to breakfast on day at Micky Dee’s, a popular fine breakfast dining establishment in  Coeur d’ Alene, ID.  After conversations ranging from gereatrics, home mortgages, fixer-uppers, Bob Ross and growing up in Dillon, MT, we took a little walk in the nearby cemetery (not to be associated with Mickey Dee’s).  This shot caught us all with smiles.

Mike, Mona and Laura at the “Red Iguana,” in front of the big red iguana.  

Five generations in one shot: Baby Scarlet, her dad and mom, Max and Callie, Callie’s dad and step-mom, Mike and Mona with his mom, Gerrie and her mother, Thelma Alberg.  That’s a photo that only comes along once in a great while.

Mona’s favorite companion, Abby, the best frisby dog ever.  She had fun playing in the snow the day this photo was taken.  Each afternoon she would bring the frisby to Mona and drop it at her feet, ready to go out to play.  She carried it in her mouth along the two block walk to the local soccer pitch where it was tossed and returned.  Abby was even in a TV advertisement playing frisby. 

Bonnie, Mona’s mom, smiles during our wedding at Willow Creek Country Club, Utah.  Mona and her brother Mike, and sisters Kathy and Diane.  Mike’s dad, Jim, blowing bubbles at the same wedding when Bonnie smiled.  The family of Jim and Gerrie, enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at their home on Loche Marie, Hayden, ID with Holly, Jack, Mitzi, Ken, Gina, Alan, Mona and Mike.  John Wenzl with Mona at her home in Salt Lake City, UT.   

Site: 8/11/19 by Mike

More photos will be added in the future, come back to see.