The Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Last Saturday, August 22nd, we had the priveledge of attending the dedication of the new temple and were seated in the sealing room directly off the celestial room where the live proceedings were taking place. It certainly was a memorable experience and the crowning event of the 25 years we have lived in this area. We are anxious to start attending this new temple now that it is dedicated. We truly live in "the valley of the temples" as there are eight within an hours drive.

GRANDMA'S DARLINGS

 

GRANDKIDS VISIT

We spent five wonderful days in July with Jason's family--their first visit to Utah in almost four years! Even little Parker got along well and adjusted quickly to the altitude change. We attended the Oquirrh Temple open house, rode the TRAX train and went to the children's museum. We spent one day at Joe and Amy's house and one day at Mindy and Chris's house. Nanny treated everyone to dinner one night which proved to be the only time we got the whole family together. It was so much fun to have them here!! We surely hope its not another four years before they come again.

We received some exciting news last Sunday. Mindy is pregnant! This is after four years and two miscarriages. She is through the first trimester and all is going well. We are very excited!!

Classes start Monday at the prison. I am looking forward to my new job though for a while I will still be doing my old job as well. I will only be having class for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon until a replacement is hired and trained.

We are heading to Cedar City tomorrow to attend the Shakespear Festival--an annual event for us. We will see at matinee and an evening show and drive home Sunday. Then it's off to school Monday morning!

WHAT'S HAPPENING

I guess I'm no better at blogging than I am at keeping a journal! A lot has happened since my last entry.

Craig attended the funeral for Kathryn Nelson, the infant daughter of our niece Paula (Romney) and her husband Mike Nelson in Denver. It was a sad occasion but nice that Craig could spend a little time with his siblings. (see picture).

Craig and I spent the 4th of July in St. George where we met Bill and Joanne Spelts at the Tuachan theater and saw "Footloose." It was a great show and a fun trip. We even found a nice hotel there that lets you have pets, so we took Lizzy along. She did great!

I am currently enjoying two weeks of paid vacation as I have accepted the job as the high school teacher at the prison starting in August. Since teachers don't get paid vacation, I have to use up what I have earned from my previous position. I am going back the last week of July, however, to hopefully train my replacement before starting my teaching position August 3rd.

Last Saturday we cut down the big cottonwood tree in our backyard. It had gotten way too big for our backyard and we were tired of raking up all the leaves in the fall. It also kept us from growing a garden (no sun). We were afraid if it ever got hit by lightening and part of it fell, it would wipe out several neighbors fences including our own. We have a neighbor who does that on the side and he got a lot of volunteer labor from the ward--it was quite a production!

We are anxiously awaiting a visit from Jason's family next week. It has been almost four years since they were here, so we are very excited to have them and are planning some fun activities. I anticipate that my next blog will be all about their visit.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY!!

We have had the most incredible amount of rain lately--every single day we have at least one HUGE thunderstorm and this has been going on for over a week now. The forecast shows it continuing the rest of this week. YUK!! Even the Angel Moroni on our new temple got hit by lightening (see picture). Notice the black arm and trumpet. This is the Oquirrh Mountain Temple just 2 miles south of us. We are both volunteering at the open house this coming Friday. It will be dedicated in August.

Last Friday I went shopping in Park City at the outlet mall with Mindy and Amy. We had a great time and found some good deals. I took Craig back on Saturday to check out some flip flops that were on clearance--you heat them in the oven and then mold them to your feet. We both bought a pair. We heated them in the oven on Sunday. While they're still warm, you stand in them for two minutes and then you can walk around in them. They mold exactly to your foot's shape. They are REALLY comfortable.

This Wednesday evening, Carrie is going to join us for a session at the new Draper Temple. We have not been there since it was dedicated so we're going to try and get into a session. The ordinance rooms are small so hopefully we will get in!

IL DIVO

Friday night we attended an Il Divo concert at Energy Solutions Arena. This is the group created and marketed by Simon Cowell of American Idol fame. They aren't showman as all they did was walk around and sing, but they have amazing voices and all look like Armani models. It was quite enjoyable. The funny thing about the concert was that the avergage age of the audiance was probably 50. I ran into two old friends from my childhood days in Idaho Falls as well as a coworker at the prison. Prior to the concert we had dinner at PF Changs with a coworker of Craig's and his wife but our seats for the concert were not together. All in all, it was a fun night.

Sunday we had the privelege of fasting and prayer for our dear Parker. I think my prayers were as much for Jason and Jen as there were for Parker. We continue to pray that all will go well with the heart cath on Wednesday. We love you Parker!!

GRADUATION DAY

Today we awarded 361 high school diplomas to inmates in the adult education program at the Utah State Prison. This number is an all-time record. This is my favorite day at work every year and a great opportunity to cheer for these guys and see them so proud of their accomplishment. For some of them, it's probably the first positive achievement of their lives. Our speaker was Larry Galwick, the Highland Rugby coach whose story is told in the movie Forever Strong. He is not only a great coach but an excellent motivational speaker as well. Prior to his coming for graduation, he gave us a copy of the movie and asked us to show it to the grads. Most of them were able to see it and I think it touched them all. This year I requested a clearance for Craig so he could attend the graduation. It was a great opportunity for him to get a glimpse of what I experience at the prison. All in all, it was a great day and I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to make a difference in these inmates lives.