Featuring Family Time

Tuesday, July 1, we started the month by going to the Timpanogos temple. We did an endowment and then some initiatories.

On the 2nd, Dad worked on the garden. While he was out there, my brother Del came to visit with his dog. He was on his way to visit his son Little Del and then on to see my sister Karen. He stayed all day and we had a wonderful visit. We even went to Chick-fil-A!

Tiffany’s family arrived later that day to spend the night on their way to the Jennings family reunion at Bear Lake.

The evening of Thursday the 3rd, we went to the balloon fest with Erik, Shanelle and some of their boys. It’s such a fun event. We especially love the malasadas (Hawaiian donuts). Unfortunately, the weather prevented the balloons from being inflated. Afterwards, Asher came over to borrow some fishing gear. He was excited to go fish the next day.

Front: George Summerill, Parker, Jessa, Kolton, Daniel Colyar, more Summerills
Front: friend of Erik's family, Grandad, me, Asher, Erik, Erin Colyar (Summerill), more friends

Jessa, Parker, Grandad, Erik, Shanelle, Me, Kolton, Asher

On the 4th of July we celebrated the independence of this great country. Erik’s family went fishing. Asher was the only one that caught a fish - and he caught two! We just stayed home all day and had some barbecue. 

We received a surprise visit from “Kamikaze Pugh.” His name is Delton and he played football for Grandad in Blanding. He got his nickname because of the way he used to return kickoffs.

That day Clark put more frames in his beehives.

That evening we put our chairs out on the lawn and watched the fireworks from Stadium of Fire. We love that we can watch them from our house. 

Saturday the 5th Erik and the boys came to mow the lawn. We heard all about Asher’s fish. Grandad finished his first welding project.

Sunday we went to church and then delivered some veggies from the garden to our ministering families. We love being able to do that.

We had a surprise at 4:30 Monday morning. The police came to our house and banged on the door and boy we hustled to the front door. Two policeman said they had just received word that someone’s mother was at our house. She has dementia and was lost. We let them in and Dad took one to the backyard and they looked all over and there was no one there. Her family was so worried and we never did finally find out if they found her. She was 5'2" and 84 years old. We thought it would be very hard to go back to bed and sleep, but I think as soon as we hit the pillows at 5:30, we were both out for the rest of the night. Now I'm a little nervous about having dementia and wandering off.

Later in the day we paid the bills and picked the rest of the peas. And then we pulled up the pea vines. It’s always sad when the peas are gone.

Tuesday morning we tried to do initiatories. I was able to do some, but after an hour of waiting, Grandad finally gave up.

Tiff’s family stopped in that afternoon on their way back from Bear Lake. They needed a break from the car before they headed on home to Vegas. She is so excited that she can finally wear pigtails.

Pigtails

Lauryn & Clara

On the 9th we both had an appointment with Dr. Huber, the dermatologist. We got the bad stuff burned off and now all is good. It took Grandad six hours to water the garden that day. We haven’t had any rain and it is so dry.

That night we went to watch Jonny play lacrosse. His team killed their opponent. Jonny is a great lacrosse player.

This is from the school season. He's now playing in a summer league.

On Thursday the 10th we went to the Payson temple with the Seamons. 

Friday the 11th we went to their home so Grandad could practice more welding. We love spending time with them. We had lunch at Wendy’s and Karen Lindsay, a sister from our Palmyra mission, helped me with some tatting. I'm frustrated that I can't remember how.

Erik and Shanelle took us out to dinner at Brick Oven pizza that night. What a fun surprise! We were so grateful for their thoughtfulness. 

Saturday we went to the farmer’s market at Pioneer Park. We bought some sourdough bread. It was delicious. It is a popular place these days and we had to park two blocks away. We then decided to walk to Pioneer Books where dad bought NINE books! I sat in a soft chair and waited for about two hours. When it came time to leave, I was too tired to walk, so Grandad went to find the car while I waited. About an hour passed (Grandad says it wasn’t that long) and he didn’t come back. Turns out that he couldn’t find the car. He walked all over everywhere and couldn’t find it. After much searching, he found it in the very last stall. 

That evening as we were sitting down for dinner, Erik and Shanelle came by on their way to pick up a niece from FSY. It was another fun visit. Erik told many tall tales from his childhood (most of which were true).

Sunday was church and the youth spoke about their trek experience to Martin’s Cove. It was wonderful to hear their testimonies.

Monday, July 14, Clark gave us an FSY update. He’s having a marvelous experience and wishes he could do it full time. He even ran into a group of youth from Taiwan. It was an unexpected tender mercy. He checked in on his bees. He's also got a new hive. 

Dad worked on some canes and cleaned the house while I did laundry. (Not bad for a pair of 80+ year olds.)

Wednesday, we went to Dr. McKell and got our teeth cleaned. Look, Ma, no cavities! That was a relief since our previous visit ended in $1,000 worth of work.

July 17, we found out that our good friend Carma Bush had a bad fall. She broke six ribs, fractured her neck, and ended up in the hospital. We’re so worried about her. She will need to go to a care center when she is released from the hospital. Hopefully she will be home soon.

Friday, Scott came and repaired our fence. It was falling apart. We’re so grateful for the help he gives us. He also helped Grandad put up the flag we bought at the reunion last year. (Not that I’ve been nagging about that or anything.) 

Dad also repainted the slats on the heart flag on the front door. It’s much more patriotic now.

On Saturday, Dad spent a small fortune on his car: battery, tires, naked lady hood ornament, etc. (Note from Kristin - I’m going to start throwing in these little eggs 0 to find out who actually reads this blog.) He also laminated some tatting instructions that Sister Seamons had made for me. It helps me remember what to do. Kristin and family tried to come to visit early, but they had a flight delay and couldn’t come.

On Sunday, we celebrated our 59th wedding anniversary! 

Grandad sends a daily thought to all the kids and this is the message he sent:

I replied: Well, I had I had him hook, line, and sinker, and I didn't intend to let go. I would never let go. I pray that each of you have the same feelings about your spouses. There's nothing more beautiful or more celestial than a good marriage. May you be blessed through eternity.

After a few mishaps (as usual) Kristin and her family finally made it to Utah. And Behold My Joy is Full. Nothing reminds me of the Celestial Kingdom as much as time spent with my favorite child, Kristin. She is like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way 0. 

Monday morning I was woken up bright and early by people who are from a different time zone.

Erik and Shanelle invited everyone over for a farewell dinner for Parker and Jessa. They are moving to Washington so Parker can go to optometry school. Grandad started smoking the meat early that morning. 

The dinner was so much fun having so much family together. Poor Jessa wasn't feeling well, but she was a trooper. The food was delicious and the company was even better.

Most of the gang

Asher, Riley, Bailey, Kolton

Grandad, me, Will

Parker and Jessa

Jalen, Grandad, me, Rosie

Di and Shanelle

Bailey, David, Kristin, Erin & Teddy Summerill, Riley, Will

Wiffleball

Cheerleaders: Rosie and Bea

The ribs were amazing!

We will miss Parker and Jessa, but we are excited for this new opportunity. Jessa will be working as a nurse in an emergency center.

Tuesday Baylie made more cookies and zucchini bread. We ate more ribs. Grandad and Kristin's family went to Traverse mountain to do some shoe shopping. They always like to do that when they're here.

Wednesday Grandad and I went to the temple with Kristin's family to do baptisms. It's so fun to do this with our grandkids. All of us got baptized.

On Thursday, Kristin continued with reunion prep, Baylie made a lot of cookies for the reunion trading post, and the guys went fishing with Erik, Shanelle, and Asher. They didn't catch anything, but they had a great time. 

Jalen, Erik, David, Grandad, Asher

Jalen, David, Grandad, Erik

Planning the reunion can make you a little crazy.

Friday we finally headed to the reunion. We stopped at the food truck park in Moab. The food was as good as we remembered from last year.

We love this unique landscape. It holds so many memories.

We checked into our hotel in Cortez and then headed to the ranch where we met up with Clark and his family. 

Ashley, Bailey with Bea, Grandad, Riley with Rosie, Me, and Hailey

Clark, Jonny, and Grandad

Setting up the giant canopy.

Friday night was the annual crawdad fishing expedition.

Back: Baylie, Dianne, Bailey, Jalen, Riley, Jonny, Clark, Shawn, and Justine
Front: Katie's grands - Addie, Alex, and Knox

Jonny, Baylie, Jalen

Simon, Ashley, Will, and Tyler

Saturday morning was the Trading Post, Silent Auction, and Raffle. It's always a highlight.

We even had a piñata!

We took a family photo of everyone at the reunion. I was going to name them all, but there's just too many.

Back: Tyler, Clark, Di, Baylie, Jalen, Hailey, Jonny, Riley, Bailey, Kristin, and David
Front: Rosie, Ashley, Bea, Will, Me, Grandad, and Simon

Crazy Version

Clark's Family: Hailey, Jonny, Dianne, Clark, Ashley, Rosie, Simon, Bailey, Rosie, Riley, Will, and Tyler

I wish I could put all the pictures, but here are some favorites.

Ashley as Supermom with Bea and Rosie.

Baylie, Me, and Jonny

Alisha had some of these hats made with the family brand. They were a big hit.

Baylie and Jalen loved swimming in the hotel pool.

But I think they would have had even more fun if they'd gone to the pool where most of the family was staying.

Clark's kids and grands with Cody's family

Saturday evening we had a program with family history stories. We chose to share stories about Grandad and his brother Eric when they were kids. Ashley's kids acted them out while Clark narrated. They're too long to upload, but you can watch them on YouTube.

Later that night was the crawdad boil! (I do not eat crawdads.) The kids loved them.

Bea, Tyler, Jonny, and Simon

Me, Dianne, Ashley, and Rosie wearing Dianne's homemade fleece jackets.

Sunday morning is the highlight of the reunion because we have a family testimony meeting. Just before the meeting, we took a picture of the original siblings and spouses.

Back: Bill, Julie, Eric, and Sharon
Front: Lyman, Jean, Me, George, Mikki, Kay, and Mark

Julie, Lyman, Eric, George, Mikki, and Mark.

Testimony meeting attendees

George had a nice long visit with his siblings while the kids packed up and then it was time for the long drive home. It is getting hard for them to make it to the reunion every year and the family is getting so big, it's hard to pull it all together. We're going to skip the reunion next year and then decide what to do going forward. It will be sad for it to end, but it may be time. 

Wilson Arch

We were told Milt's Burgers was a "must stop" in Moab so we grabbed a bite to eat there. It was delicious and affordable. (Also a little greasy.)

Grandad got up super early Monday morning to drive Kristin's family back to the airport. Everyone was so tired, but the kids start school next week so they had to get home. Fortunately they made all their flights and were able to sleep in their own beds. We were tired from the visited and rested and recovered.

Tuesday the 29th we cleaned the house and adjusted back to not having house guests. 

Thursday the 31st Scott came and finished painting the fence. We will write more about this in August because he did other things for us in early August and we'll share it all at once.

Missionary Update:

From Camden: This week one thing I really liked and focused on was this verse from 3 Nephi: "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

It's been a mild theme across the past month or few, but I really thought about it this week. I looked back at the difference of who I was before the mission and where I am now, and most importantly, where that is guiding and directing me to be. And it was really enjoyable to select Christlike traits that I could work on such as patience, humility, and trust. Trust that everything would be alright and that everything would turn out for the best. And it was amazing. Seek ye Jesus and your perspective will brighten. 

From Lily: The week I became a missionary, I felt like Satan was attacking me in a lot of ways I had never been attacked before. I was doubting my desires, knowledge of the scriptures, abilities, and pretty much everything regarding a mission. I talked to my parents about it and my dad was able to give me a priesthood blessing and they told me they had faith in me and knew I could do it. I chose to take a little bit of that faith that they had in me, and go with it! It was hard, but I can honestly say now that I love being a missionary and I'm so grateful that I chose to believe and put my faith in God and Jesus Christ! There is no way I could have made it this far in my mission without them. 

Cameron has finished his mission. He is going to take out his endowment in the temple and then head back to Provo for school. We are so proud of his choices and his willingness to serve.