Will You Point at Your Phone and Send This to Grandma?

 Our three-year-old grandson, William was so excited to put on his costume.  As he looked at the pictures his mom took of him, he asked, "Will you point at your phone and send this to Grandma?"  She did.

Happy Halloween!

Great Basin National Park

 We decided it was time for a field trip.  We were going a little stir-crazy in the house.  On Wednesday, October 14, we went on a daytrip to Great Basin National Park in Nevada.  It was a long day.  We left at 8:45am and got home at 8:45pm- exactly twelve hours.

Great Basin National Park is not the most well-known of the national parks, but it is a great one.  It is centered on perhaps the highest mountain peak/sky island in the Great Basin--Mount Wheeler, which is about 13,063 feet in height. The great basin includes most of Nevada, and parts of Idaho (southern edge),  Utah (western edge--west of the Wasatch Mountain Range), & California (eastern edge--along eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range).  Thus, the park includes a great variety of habitats from a high desert elevation of about 7,000 feet to about 13,000 feet. It is perhaps best known for its Bristlecone Pine stands in the higher elevations and for the  Lehman Cave in its lower elevation and for a landlocked glacier. 

When we got there, we ate a picnic we had prepared in one of the very nice campgrounds.

Selfies from several of the scenic viewpoints in the park:

One of the most interesting  features of the park are these trees.  Some of these bristlecone pine trees are over 5,000 years old !! 

The elevation was high.  You could feel it!

We were so glad to see some of the fall colors.

Pictures never do it justice, but the Aspens were golden and beautiful- like shimmering gold coins.

I accidentally got some beautiful sunlight through the trees pictures.

We masked up at the visitor's center.

We found the little town at the entrance to the park fascinating.  Baker, Nevada has 65 permanent residents.  Children go to school K-2nd in Baker and 3rd-6th in Garrison, Utah just a few miles down the road. They go to high school in Escadale, Utah.  All of these tiny communities join together to educate their children in this way. They literally live in the middle of nowhere.  We drove out there through Nevada, and home up through Milford, Utah.   That is one long, lonesome road!

It was a fun daytrip!

Me Before You

 We enjoyed this movie on Netflix DVD.

The Bartender's Tale

 

The Bartender's Tale by Ivan Doig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am an Ivan Doig fan. A master at characterization and storytelling, he weaves a wonderful story of a young boy growing up in Montana, drawing from his own childhood. Six to twelve- year-old Rusty is our young narrator throughout the story and we see his world through his eyes. Most of it takes place during the summer of his twelfth year, 1960. And, oh, what a summer that was! It is a story of family, friendship, and adventure. I am already missing the characters. I think I will be reading everything Ivan Doig wrote. I listened to this book and the narrator was excellent.

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Bel Canto

 

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Right from the first word of the first page I was engaged in this story. A group of guerillas enter a home in an unnamed country in South America during a party being held there and take the party-goers hostage. As days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, we get to know the home’s occupants- those from both sides of the conflict and grow to at least appreciate them, and at best, love them. It is a powerful story of music, love, hope, and unity. After reading the book I watched the movie, which was also very good.

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Another Blast From the Past

 A friend, Scott Seegmiller recently sent me this photo, suggesting I publish it on our blog.  Ken got home from his mission to Japan in April, 1975.  The following school year he attended Dixie  College in St. George and was the LDSSA president that year.  This photo appeared in the yearbook.  I don't think I had ever seen it. 

Also in the picture are two of Ken's good friends since childhood that he is still in frequent contact with:  Howard Stucki (next to him) and Greg Last (three to his left)  Thank you Scott for this blast from the past.

Rewind!

My husband was out of town for a few days, so I used the opportunity to rewatch some of my favorite movies (ones that were available to me.)  Oldies, but goodies!

Since you have probably already seen them, I am lumping them together in one post.

 Sabrina 1995:  I love this movie!  It was a Netflix DVD.

The Wedding Planner:  I really like this one, too.  It is available on Netflix.

The Hundred Foot Journey:  I love this movie.  Available on Netflix

Fiddler on the Roof (one of my three favorite musicals)  I saw this on Broadway, but haven't watched the movie for a long time. It was more powerful to me at an older age.  I love Tevya's relationship with God.  His life is a prayer.  I love the music scenes- all of them.  But especially Wonder of Wonders, Do You Love Me?, and Far From the Home I Love.

What Did the Prophet Ask Us to Do? October 2020

 

What Did the Prophet Ask Us To Do?  October 2020

Opening Remarks- Moving Forward

·        Use this time to grow spiritually, repent regularly, learn, and progress.

·        Stay firmly on the covenant path.

·        Ponder this scripture:

“Whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and wiles of the devil, and lead the disciple of Christ in a strait and narrow course.”

·        Choose to lay hold upon the word of God as it is declared during this general conference.

·        Feel the Lord’s perfect love for you.

Embrace the Future with Faith- Women’s Meeting

·        I urge you to take steps to be temporally prepared (food, water, financial reserve)

·        Be spiritually and emotionally prepared

o   Create places of security- both physically and spiritually: homes, stakes, temple, anywhere you feel the Holy Ghost

o   Create a home that is a place of security

o   Increase your understanding of priesthood power and temple covenants and blessings.

o   Exercise faith in Christ

o   Regularly immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon

o   Yoke yourselves to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

o   Increase your capacity to receive personal revelation

o   Never stop preparing

o   Don’t just endure the current season, but embrace the future with faith!

   Let God Prevail

·        Assist in the gathering of Israel:  missionary, temple, and family history work.

·        Build faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve.

·        I call upon our members everywhere to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice.  I plead with you to promote respect for all of God’s children.

·        The prophet asked us soul-searching questions, much like are found in Alma 5:

o   Are you willing to let God prevail in your life?

o   Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life?

o   Will you allow His words, His covenants, His commandments to influence what you do each day?

o   Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other?

o   Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over any other ambition?

o   Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?

·        As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised he will do for covenant Israel.  Ponder these promises.  Talk about them with your family and friends.  Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life.

A New Normal- Closing Remarks

·        Let us not spin our wheels in the memories of yesterday.

·        Turn your heart, mind, and soul increasingly to our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ.  Let that be your new normal.

·        Repent Daily

·        Seek to be increasingly pure in though, word, and deed.

·        Minister to others

·        Keep an eternal perspective.

·         Magnify your calling

·        Live each day that you are more prepared to meet your maker.

·        Build and maintain yourself so that you can be worthy to enter the holy temple.

·        Go forward, preparing yourself and the world for the 2^nd coming of the Lord.

Surprise at General Conference!

We had a great surprise during general conference.  Elder Gary W. Stevenson served his mission in the same Japanese mission(Fukuoka, Japan)  that Ken did.  He entered the mission about a year after Ken, so their service overlapped for about a year, but Ken doesn't remember him from then.  When he came to a conference held in Sendai when we were serving as senior missionaries, Elder Stevenson told Ken that he remembered him. But that is often the case, the younger elders remember the older.  But anyway, back to the point.  When he told the story at general conference of being disappointed that his mission president didn't allow he and his companion to attend the huge Tokyo conference where President Kimball would be speaking, he showed the picture of he and his companion.  Ken saw the picture and yelled out, "He was my companion, too!"  His name is Elder Hasegawa.  Ken served with him in Naha, Okinawa prior to this time.  Ken recognized him immediately.  They were only companions for a short time.  

Ken came home from his mission before the Tokyo conference was held, so he didn't get to attend, either.  But what a fun blast from the past to see a picture of his former companion displayed at general conference! 

 

Wonderful Weekend With the Prince Family

 We volunteered to tend the Prince kids so Michelle and Brian could get away for the weekend for their anniversary.  They headed to California to stay at a beach resort. They had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. We had such a fun time with the kids.  How we love them.  They all quarantined for a couple of weeks before (as best they could) so that we would be safe from the virus.  

Michelle and Brian on the beach

We brought them this aqua doodle playmat.  No mess.  Color with the water pens and colors appear.  They disappear after awhile.  It was something they all enjoyed.  Here, they were working together to get the whole mat filled in before the colors disappeared.

Ta Da!

Gabriella is a gift giver.  She is always thinking about what she can make for her loved ones.  Almost as soon as her parents left on Friday afternoon, she started making air dry clay.  We brainstormed and came up with the idea of making a nativity set for her parents with the clay.  Here, Jaron is forming the stable and Gabbi is making Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus, a manger and a palm tree.  She worked on it all weekend as the characters kept cracking as they dried and she had to reform them.

Gabbi is cleaning up the clay mess and we entertained the crowd by casting youtube videos of songs.  Here they are dancing to my choice: Happy Together.  We each took turns choosing a song.  It was such a fun activity that we did it both Friday and Saturday afternoons when they got a bit restless.

Jaron and Gabbi standing by their nativity.

The drying nativity before it is painted.  Didn't they do a nice job?

Friday night is pizza night.  These kids (and their grandparents) love pizza!!!  Saturday night we got Café Rio.

It was still hot in Vegas, so after dinner is the best time to play outside.  Brian installed a light on their basketball court. They played HORSE and Grandpa and Kenny against Jaron.

Kenny singing to the pancake song.

Ken took them all on a bike ride and to play at the park.  We made cookies.  We read a lot of books!  We really had a grand time.

On Saturday night, we got them bathed and ready for bed early, then told them they could watch the first quarter of the BYU game with us.  They were having so much fun and enjoying it so much (as were we) we extended it to the first half.  What a great game!!!

Jaron wanted to take a picture of us watching the game.  Notice little William has a Book of Mormon.  He "read" the entire Book of Mormon during the first half of the game, occasionally yelling, "Go Cougars!"  I didn't even know that was in there.  I'm going to have to reread that book!

This is my favorite picture from the weekend. Celebrating a Cougar score. Kenny and Jaron were both so into the game and are true Cougar fans.  They were wearing the wrong color, true, but they are blue through and through.  We put them to bed at halftime.  The first thing Kenny asked the next morning, while wiping sleep from his eyes, "Did they win?"

Jaron and William cuddle on the couch

The next day we had home church.  The Prince family has a great plan for home church and they all know what to do.  It was Kenny's turn to give the talk.  He did such a great job.  Grandpa gave a great Come, Follow Me lesson.

And here is the painted, completed nativity.  Didn't they do a beautiful job?  They carefully wrapped each piece and wrapped it in a box.  They presented it to their parents when they got home.  

Michelle and Brian got home about 4:00 on Sunday afternoon.  We had a roast beef dinner and then Ken and I reluctantly went home.  Who knows when it will be safe to be with them again?  We were both exhausted, but it was wonderful to share their life for a few days.