Category: Extended family

Four Wheelers

Richard and his brothers and dad went camping and rode four-wheelers a few weeks ago near Richfield. Russ shared these photos with me. I am told someone with a gun in a holster tried to run them off his land, even though they were on a forest service road. They met some people who fed them strawberries in the shade, and Richard’s dad seemed to draw energy and vitality from the adventures.

I am glad the men had this time together and that the crazy guy did not draw his gun. I understand that after submitting to having photos taken and being followed, they were on first-name terms with the guy. In the end, crazy guy gave them a phone number to contact him when they “came back with their women” next time. We women can’t wait. 😉

Eagle Court of Honor

On Sunday evening at the Spencer cabin, we held Daniel’s Eagle Court of Honor during our family reunion. Thanks to Richard J. and Sarah, we have some great photos from the evening. We were surrounded by family, friends, and special guests, but we were also in a sacred setting. The cabin and mountains, with more than 100 years of family memories, added to the feelings of the evening. Daniel earned his Eagle a long time ago, but the court of honor felt intimidating to do, so we delayed. I’m so glad we decided to do it in this setting before he leaves on his mission.

Half Moon Bay

We arrived at Half Moon Bay after dark on a Sunday night. We set up quickly and fell asleep to the sound of waves. It was so dark, we couldn’t know how close we were to the water, and looked forward to the morning to reveal where we had landed.

In the morning, the beach was ours to claim, cold and beautiful, and we did claim it, most of us in a commando crawl on the sand to stay warm and out of the wind. Mark, of course, took on the waves with little boy zeal in a longer, leaner version of himself than the last time he was at the beach. I knew I was watching some of the last of his childhood as he moved to attack the waves with kicks and leaps. He will be more reserved next time. I will brace myself for that.

Two favorite memories from this leg if the trip: an eclectic and well-stocked used bookstore and an old fashioned diner.

Good surprises from Half Moon Bay: a new friend at the campground named Dave, flowers everywhere along the path to the beach, Daniel’s videos of Mark, and we became faster at folding up the pop-up trailer each time.

Menu: chicken salad on pitas, breakfast burritos, pizza, diner food, roasted hot dogs, and cinnamon sugar doughies by Mark and Richard

Essentials: jackets, heater, books, magazines

Favorite conversation: at Grandma Ruth’s house about “The List” of things she is not supposed to eat anymore.

 

 

Joyful Celebration

 

Most of us will never know what it is like to lead the class procession at graduation and give the valedictory speech, but I can say that being Daniel’s mother this evening felt pretty great. I felt distant among all the conversations and congratulations with friends, I think because I was busy finding dedicated places in my heart for all that this evening meant to me. Now, late at night, I am going through pictures, alternately smiling to myself and drying tears.

Tonight was one of the last nights it will be possible to have all of our children together for a few years. Paige left for New York tonight, accompanied by Richard, and she’ll come back just in time to say goodbye to Daniel before he leaves on his mission.

On my shelf in the kitchen, I just placed a sign that says “Gather,” but I keep thinking that the more fitting word for us this summer is “Fly.”

 

Good Things from Last Week

Paige was accepted into the Illustration BFA program at BYU and things are moving forward with her internship in New York this summer.

Mark was awarded three ranks in Scouting. He achieved the rank of First Class, just in time to turn twelve.

Paige and I drove to Cedar City for lunch with Richard’s female relatives to celebrate his mom’s birthday. I didn’t capture everyone in this picture. With so many schedules it was amazing that so many could make it.

Dessert in Beaver

Daniel learned he is Valedictorian of his class and received the Heritage scholarship at BYU.

Not pictured: Timothy in his tux playing at the State Band competition, winning Frisbee points at the tournament on Saturday, and the electric guitar he is making in his woods class.

Richard and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary.

 

Not every week is a harvest, and I am thankful when one comes along.

One page of the Book of Mormon

I pause at the corner store near my grandmother’s home in California when I visit and feel gratitude for the store owners who simply gave a Book of Mormon to each of their neighborhood customers. The Book of Mormon they gave to the Sanchez family sat on a shelf for years before my dad, a teenager, decided to read it.

Sometimes I think we forget that the biggest tool to bring people to Christ is the Book of Mormon. I loved this account of a BYU advertising project which asked people of all faiths to read one page of the Book of Mormon, highlight references to God, and tell what they thought and felt as they read. The responses were remarkable.

Here is what a few people said after reading:

Danny, Christian, page 4

I’ve never heard of the Book of Mormon before. But it wasn’t foreign. It was more familiar reading it. It’s like I was listening to a song that was familiar, but I couldn’t remember what it was called or who it was by…It makes me want to find out more.

Amna, Pakistan,Muslim, page 397:

This [experiment] is a brilliant idea. You should take out an ad and tell people to be here. I woke up and turned on the TV today, and all I saw was war, refugees, violence, and problems. The world needs to see this [experiment]. To see that there is hope and love in the world and that God is good…I am so grateful to be part of this project today. The whole world needs to see it. Thank you!

The full (short) article is here:

https://magazine.byu.edu/article/an-experiment-upon-the-word/