Dad loves it when grandkids come.
Way out of order, but I just found some pictures Kristin took when Camden's openied his mission call to Poland. Out of order or not, they must be in the book.
On June 30th, Tiff picked up Cameron and Baylie to go to the Jennings Family Reunion at Bear Lake. She left Titan with us.
Some time in here, we had an air balloon fly over the house. Jalen loved it.
What a great day to start a new month. We attended the Saratoga Springs Temple Open House with Kristin, Jalen, Clark, Dianne, Ashley, Simon, Beatrice, Riley, Bailey, George and me. What a spiritual treat. The temple is so beautiful with wonderful paintings everywhere. It has three stories and the beautiful baptismal font is so different. The oxen are in gold, which I have never seen in a temple. Everything was just perfect and the spirit was so evident. We met Adriana Ojuka in the Sealing Room. She is a special friend. Her family moved to Provo from Uganda many years ago. She was the baby. We just hugged each other. Kristin noticed her first and what a reunion. It was definitely a gift of the spirit. Jalen pushed my wheelchair from floor to floor and room to room. He didn’t bump anything. It was just a great day.
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| Little Beatrice enjoying the flowers |
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| Dad with Jalen pushing me |
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| Kristin and Jalen |
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| Riley, William, Gronky |
Sunday the 2nd was such a weird meeting because they did not sing one patriotic hymn. I was so disappointed and upset. I love singing those powerful songs to show our love for our country. Many people were upset.
We went the evening of the 3rd with Erik and Shanelle's family to see the synchronized balloons to music. It was too windy so they just did the flames without the skins. It wasn't as pretty, but was still a lot of fun.
Clark, Jonny, and Dad tore out the lilacs alongside our garage. They were very tall, in the way, and had never bloomed. It was very hard work. They made it into a nice bed and planted four flowers that Bill Hoagland had given us. They are called 4 o'clocks or Mirabilis. We hope they grow.
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| Granddad and Jalen finished the job. |
On July 4th, we got up at 5:30 to go to the same practice field to watch the balloons take off. It was so worth it. I had no idea of how many balloons were there - more than I could count. People were everywhere and could stand right by the balloons as they rose. It was amazing! Kristin and Jalen went with us. We had such a thrill to watch this event. What a great thing to get up that early and be so happy.
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| AMAZING |
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| Army |
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| British |
Friday July 7th, after Dad’s shift at the temple, we drove to Blanding to attend Coach Morris Swenson’s funeral. He was 90 years old and such a great man who was a pillar of goodness for youth. He coached different sports in Blanding, Utah. He was Dad’s high school coach and then when he retired, hired Dad as the new coach. We were living in Baldwin Park, California, at the time and just finishing Dad’s degree. He hired Coach Swenson as his assistant. They were a great team and won many games. The entire town of Blanding loved coach Swenson. Dad could not miss this funeral. It was filled with the wonderful people of Blanding and many of the players he and Dad coached were there. It was an honor to be there. Dad’s football players were so excited to see him. They mentioned that he was so little. We laughed because they knew him as the “Big Coach,” but did not remember that they were the young high school boys. It was such a fun time and Coach Swenson will always be a fond memory in our lives. We went to the cemetery and were not surprised to see that the coffin was blue and gold. Everyone cheered and then they yelled out the San Juan Broncos cheer.
While in Blanding, we were able to visit with Aunt Mikki and Katie, who are now sharing a home. We also visited Lyman and Jean. Alisha lives with them and Misty was visiting with her kids. We drove around Blanding just for the memories. We ate at a restaurant that serves Navajo tacos. It was a great visit, but too short.
Monday the 10th, we went to Salt Lake City for Dianne’s Grandma Julie’s funeral. She was a very sweet Grandma and we have the same birthday, but she was a little older. The funeral was so kind. She taught music and humanities and took many students to Europe in the summers. They loved her and many came to the funeral and sang. The Piano Guys put in an appearance because of her giving Jon Schmidt the love of music. They are very popular and have many engagements, but just bopped in, played, and left to go to another event. It was amazing.
The 11th, Dad took our car in because the automatic trunk would not work. $700 dollars later - ouch!
Wednesday the 12th, we worked all day in the garden. It was a hard day, but the garden is beautiful. A young man came and put a new router in our home. Hope things are better now. It took us two days to figure everything out, but we hope all is well now. Kristin was on the phone for over an hour to help us.
Friday, Dad smoked three different kinds of jerky. Sure did smell good.
Today, Lauren spent five hours taking tests for school while the others shopped. She was burned out by the time she finished. Crazy school. I don't know the order of these pictures of their visit, but you can just guess.
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| Cameron loves his new shirt. |
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| I just need a little loving. |
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| My bathroom? |
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| The guest room |
The best thing happened on the 18th. Erik, Shanelle, and Asher came over for a visit. It was so good to have them, and Asher and the twins had such a fun time together. It’s seldom that this group gets together. They spent several hours and we could hear them laughing while they watched a program, Bluey. Even the adults said it was a funny program. It was just a fun evening. Before they left they told us the date for Camden’s Farewell and Kolton’s Homecoming. Wow! October 15th is soon. We are excited for both of them. That is close to the same time Molly will be home.
As of July 20th, we had been married 57 very happy years. There have been some tiny rough times, but that just makes it even better. I am so blessed to have a husband who loves the Lord and lives every day helping me in every way. He is always there. I even have to have him decipher my writing so now he writes on the birthday cards. We love each other and have such a wonderful family who we love so very much. We are so blessed to have some of them so close to us. We love them all and are so grateful that we see them often. They are the frosting on our cake. They are always doing things for us and we cannot imagine any of them missing. The gospel of Jesus Christ is so important and we love that we are all sealed together in Heaven if we follow Him. What a comfort that is. They make our lives so happy and filled with joy. The Lord has given us five children with six spouses, (Clark's bride, Theresia, died early in their marriage), 18 grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. What a joy! We are so blessed.
Friday, the 21st, we left for the Bayles Family Reunion at the ranch in Colorado. Cameron was the only other one from our family. We had a great time and had over 100 people there. It was wonderful. We love the ranch. It is a great family and it was so good to be with everyone. They have a time when stories are told of their ancestors and it is always special. Saturday they have a trading post for the young ones who are given Bayles Bucks to shop with and a silent auction for the adults. The money goes towards the next reunion.
I took family pictures every day and they are in no order. You may guess who they are. I am just showing a few. If you want to see more, come next year.
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| Mark and Dad |
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| Lyman, Julie, Bill |
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| Nate, wife, and granddaughter |
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| Lyman, Sharon, Alisha The Boss Man |
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| Justin etc. |
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| Proud Spencer's walking stick |
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| Reid, Tyler and Luke |
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| Katie, Mikki, and more |
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| a few |
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| Sorry but there are just too many. |
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| Adam Cochran heated the pots. |
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| Everyone gathered around |
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The next night Justine’s parents made Navajo Fry Bread for dinner. They are Navajo so it is always yummy. We brought 100 hamburger buns for Sloppy Joes, which we gave away when we got home due to the fact that Navajo Fry bread is much better than rolls. That night stories were told by Aunt Mikki and Grandad. Grandad told about Salize Hill and Mikki told the egg story about tithing and Christmas.
Sunday morning we had breakfast and a wonderful testimony meeting. It is always the last thing before we go home. This year the adult oldies had a family meeting on how to make the next reunion even better. We are excited about this. We had such a great time.
The next day was July 24th, which is a day we celebrate the Mormons entering the Salt Lake Valley. Many of our ancestors were part of this migration and we are so blessed that they endured this trial so we could be in a place of our own. They pressed on and never wavered. We owe so much to these great pioneers.
Today our youth make a handcart of their own just to feel a small feeling of they worked to come to Zion.
That evening Erik and Shanelle had a bar-b-que for some of our family. They made this nice dinner for Clark and Dianne because Dianne’s mother has been in the hospital and some of their nieces and nephews needed a break, especially the adults. They had a lot of fun and it was so good to have them playing games and eating good food. It took their minds off their grandmother and they could relax for a while. It was just fun to be together. Erik and Shanelle were so good to do this.
Later that evening Clark and Dianne came to our home for George to give Dianne a Priesthood Blessing. We feel it really comforted her and Clark. The priesthood is so strong.
Dianne’s mother, Patricia (Patsy) Goats, died the next morning. She was only 75 years old and had served others without fail her entire life. She was a perfect lady. She loved the temples and serving others. Dianne has had a hard time these past few weeks, but she is amazing with her faith and prayers. We love her so much.
The 27th we went to an elementary school field and watched Jonny play lacrosse. We love watching him with the family.
Another birthday this month was to celebrate Clint Washburn’s birthday. We have loved him for many years. He went to Provo High when George was principal and they became very close. He is just a great man. He is definitely a part of our family. He takes such good care of us with anything we need him to do. We love him.
The 30th was Scott and Bethany’s wedding anniversary. They have made a wonderful family together with three special children. We love all the things Scott does for us and he never seems to mind how often we call on him. Bethany is so talented and loves to be involved with her daughters and dance and Nixon with all his sporting events. We love this family.
The next day was Erik and Shanelle’s anniversary. They have made an incredible family of boys. They are so fun and will do anything we need. They keep our lawns beautiful and love sports. We love watching them in all their activities. They have taught these boys to honor their priesthood. They have been taught service for others. We love this family.
What a wonderful month to celebrate out country and it's freedom. We are so grateful for all we have and for the family we are blessed with. We are so blessed to have a prophet on the earth today to guide us in learning daily of what we need to do to progress in this life. Our children are our greatest blessing and pray for them always. Thanks be to God.
Here are 2 of our special gifts. We love the way they serve our Heavenly Father as missionaries. We love them and are so proud of how diligently they serve.
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