Memorial for Grandpa John

My grandfather passed away last November and we had a celebration of his life on June 11^th in my home town of Driggs Idaho. We had waited until all of the family would be able to attend since many of us traveled from many different states to get there. My grandpa John is actually my dad’s stepfather but my dad says that he is responsible for teaching him everything he knows. He actually said that if it was not for him he may never have learned how to turn a wrench.  My dad provided for our family most of his life with his hands, mostly doing construction. If it was not for John A taking him in as one of his own son’s my life could have turned out very differently.

John Anton Melehes

John Anton Melehes of Manhattan, MT died November 21, 2010. He was 88.

John was born January 10, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1950 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He worked for Thiokol Corporation in Utah for twenty years, retiring in 1977. He was also one of the principle engineers that designed the Minute Man Missile Systems.

John later moved to Alta, Wyoming where he built the Teton Teepee Lodge with his children. He was also responsible for building the Targhee Village Golf Course in Alta and the Bunkhouse motel in Driggs, Idaho.

John later moved to Manhattan, Montana and lived there with his wife Joy until his death.

John was a Pilot, First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force during WWII.

John loved motorcycling, skiing, traveling and working in his shop and was a master of crosswords.

He is preceded in death by his daughter Kim Melehes.

Survivors include his wife Joy, his children Mark Melehes, Squeak Melehes, Dana Ross, Marsha Black, Brenda Baker, Marlowe Beck, Sam Cross, Bridget Maddox and 25 grandchildren.

We started out our trip with dinner and then headed over to our hotel where we were staying. We got up Saturday morning and went and played 9 holes of golf at Targhee Village golf course. This is the golf course my grandfather designed and it is beautiful. We took Greydon with us to the golf course and he has a blast.

The Wake was that afternoon at the Teton Teepee. This is a ski lodge my father and all of his brothers and sisters built with the idea and inspiration from grandpa John. We all shared memories, laughs and tears for about an hour. Then we had a Rum and Coke toast (his favorite drink) and we danced the night away to a band that Grandpa had liked.

The next morning we all gathered at the Teton creek behind the Teepee and spread his ashes in the water along with some flowers. It was a good time and exactly how he would have wanted things to go.

I love you grandpa!! Rest in peace.

Happy Anniversary

Darin and I celebrated our 4^th anniversary on June 9^th. With the help of grandma Greydon picked me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Darin had to work late but he came home with 6 red roses for me. The last 4 years have flown past and so many amazing things have happened. I look forward to seeing what comes our way in the future.

Bottle Hollow

We went with the Romero's to Bottle Hollow that is located in Roosevelt Utah. Maree's family has some property there that we camped out on. The lake itself was not too impressive but it was fun to get out on the boat in the sunshine. Grey and Lilli played so good together as always and it was so much fun to watch them.

Sitting in the grass eating a string cheese

Splashing their feet in a muddy water hole

 Driving the truck

All buckled up and ready to go

First Knolls Trip.

We went to Knolls for a day over Memorial Weekend and met up with our friends the Whitney’s and the Galer’s. It was my first time every riding anything motorized in the sand and it was quite the experience. I spent the first hour thinking we should go home and sell our Ranger because it was going to kill us all. After a while I got a little more used to it and started to trust that it would not roll or hurt us. I even got brave enough to drive it for a little bit. I think a few more trips and I will be comfortable with its capabilities and really start having some fun.

Darin and Klint did go for a ride on there own and took some scary pictures. It’s a good thing I was not in the Ranger because I would have peed my pants.

 Leave it to the boy's to have a child get under the teedering Ranger for a picture!

 They got a little stuck, but we pulled them out

Klint and Darin made it all the way up this canyon

I'm rocking the sock and boot combo =)

Happy Birthday Mom

My mom’s birthday was May 21^st. For her birthday she requested that in place of presents we all go to Joe’s Crab shack and pig out on some yummy sea food. We were all very happy to honor her request. The food we delicious and the entertainment was great too. They have a guy that makes balloon animals, the waiters dance every so often and they made my mom due a hula dance since it was her birthday.

It was a lot of fun for all of us. Happy birthday mom we love you!

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother’s day this year. We started off with a yummy breakfast that Darin cooked along with a mimosa. In the afternoon I hosted a dinner party for some of my favorite mom’s. My mom, James and Jaret came over along with Julie and Ray (my neighbors) and Maree, Adam and Lilli. We had a delicious dinner and there was a lot of time to relax and enjoy each others company. Here are some cute pictures of the kids:

Lilli and Grey having a sucker

 Sharing his favorite toy "Buckley bear", children just love buckles

Viva Las Vegas!

I was lucky enough to go to Las Vegas on a girl’s trip with some of my besties the end of April. Darin allowed me to go to celebrate turning 30 this winter and not doing anything “big” with my friends. Since most of my friends turned 30 this winter we planned a trip to celebrate, but only three of us were able to make it this time. I guess we will have to do it again =)

We flew out early (8:00 AM) on a Friday and so it seemed like we had an extra day in Vegas. We stayed on

Fremont St.

at the Golden Nugget. This hotel was AWESOME! The rooms have just been remodeled and were very nice. The pool is amazing and actually has a water slide that goes through a shark tank. Maree’s husband Adam was nice enough to rent us a pool side Cabana as our belated birthday gifts. This Cabana had a flat screen TV, refrigerator, ceiling fan and lounge chairs and bed’s to relax on. We spent most of the early afternoon eating nachos, having drinks and watching the Royal Wedding on TV.

We spent three nights staying up too late, drinking too much and sleeping in to long.  I could not have asked for a better time. I don’t have many pictures because I was too busy having fun. There is one picture I will have to post later that was taken with Maree’s camera; it was all three of us girls with 10 members of the Las Vegas fire department. They were doing a charity where you donate money in their boots. Misty loves fireman so she donated a $20 if we could have a picture.  Here are a few:

Before:

 After:

 The Cabana

 Look at the annoyance of the camera guy on the left. He was trying to shoot an episode of Cops and I jumped in and wanted a picture. What do they expect trying to film on Fremont St.

Water slide going through the shark and fish tank

 Waterfall going into the lazy river that surrounds the fish tank

 We went to the Pawn Stars pawn shop. Misty loves this show and had to go there.

 Misty inside of the pawn shop.