Girls Camp at Flaming Gorge

Last week our church took a group of young women to camp for four days at Flaming Gorge Reservoir.  I was lucky enough to go and discovered a great campsite for a larger group - one that would work for all of Jared's siblings and their little ones.  We had a theme at camp of "Be Strong".   The girls had sooo much fun rafting and even more fun cliff diving.  The day we ran the river we were waiting for the shuttled drivers before we launched and there were two unlucky groups of boys who put in before us.  They had three water guns compared to our 35+.  Ours were homemade water guns made from pvc pipe.  Simple, but very effective.  It was a losing battle. 

As far as cliff diving, no one really dove but nearly every person jumped off somewhere.  It was a great spot, we could all be close enough to see each other.  There may have been some peer pressure but there was plenty of support, I'll go with you or I'll go first kind of thing.  I hadn't planned on getting wet but decided to be brave and it was very refreshing.  Of course we all had life jackets on and the bishop was with us.  He eventually jumped off the tallest rock after we all urged him on. 

We had a testimony meeting overlooking the lake where we all had the chance to express our feelings about belonging to our church and how beautiful our site was.  It was great to be away from cell phones, ipods, and all other forms of technology.  I didn't hear a single complaint about it from any of the girls.  One night we had a beach dance with light ropes which turned out to be a lot of fun.  It all went really well until one girl got some kind of illness and then another, then another, and so on and eventually bishop was sick too.  It would come on strong and then be done in a day or two.  We were probably lucky more people didn't get ill.  Despite that, I would love to go again. 

Sad News

We received sad news that the young woman who chose us to adopt her baby had a miscarriage. It was a great honor that she chose us out of hundreds of other wonderful couples to adopt her baby. Our deepest condolences go out to you Kaitlin, and we will always love you! May you be blessed for your unselfishness and efforts to help us in our time of need. You will always have our greatest respect. Thanks for letting us be a part of your life, we look forward to hearing of your experiences and accomplishments to come.

We still want nothing more than to welcome a baby into our home. We know that our Heavenly Father has a baby in mind for us and that we need to be patient until he or she arrives. This process is teaching us so much. One thing that has stood out is that so much that happens in our lives is not about us but about helping others and learning compassion. It can be rough but we are strong in our testimonies of the joy this life has to offer.

On another note, we have had trouble with our computer and subsequently have not been posting - we'll get back to it again when possible!

The Best Birthday

We are extremely excited to announce that we have been chosen by a wonderful young woman named Kaitlin to be the adoptive parents of her baby.  We exchanged e-mail for a couple of weeks before we were able to meet in person.  We looked forward to each e-mail as if we were children waiting for Santa to come.  Yet, on the other hand we wanted our responses to be Pulitzer prize worthy so we were nervous too.  From the first e-mail we could tell that Kaitlin was a unique individual.  She was very articulate in her writing and easy to get to know.  When we met in person, we immediately felt welcomed by her and her entire family.  After getting to know each other a little better over lunch we returned home.  Amy was able to meet up with Kaitlin and her family again for some ice cream which was a lot of fun.  A couple of weeks later we were invited to meet with Kaitlin and her family at the LDS office.  They had requested to meet on the 20th (Amy's birthday) which was extremely thoughtful of them.  Unfortunately, I was out of town with work so we met the next day.  Amy is counting the 21st as her new "honorary" birthday.  When they came in the room they had what was basically a miniature hot air balloon.  It was so huge it wouldn't even fit in our car (okay, it's a Beetle so that doesn't mean much).  Tied to the bottom of the balloon was a box filled with baby stuff.  Before we opened that gift Kaitlin asked us to read a letter she had written us.  As Amy and I both read the letter, strong emotions came over the both of us as we read that Kaitlin had put "dibbs" on us to adopt her child.  The feeling in the room is one that I can't really explain, nor will ever forget.  For the next hour we talked and got to know each other better.  It was fun to hear what stood out about us and why Kaitlin picked us.  We look forward to getting to know Kaitlin even better as well as welcoming her and her family into our lives.  It's hard to describe this whole experience but we can say it has lifted our spirits and given us hope.  We are truly blessed.  We love you Kaitlin!!!

Family Party

Here are a few pics from when Jared's sister was in town and one of the other sisters graciously agreed to host.  The hostess claims she had a hidden agenda to get help putting up their new basketball standard but her husband managed it before anyone could get there.  It is always fun to have the old folk, the tiny tots, and the yet to join the family all together to talk and laugh.

  Some of the kids here aren't family, it seems that in their neighborhood one house is as good as the next one to hang out.  We didn't mind these little party crashers at all!  It looks like a very child friendly place to live.  And then there were popsicles.  It seems like these things have been around since the ice age (pun intended). 

There is always someone interested in a pickup game.  There are plenty of tall people on one side of the family so this bodes well in a competitive game.  Then again, if you're playing against 8 year olds, it's more about having a good time.  Someday Jared's side of the family really wants to create a volleyball team to enter tournament play.  It would require some travel since so many of the players live a good distance from each other, two in Utah, one in Colorado, one in Arizona and one in Idaho.

Trees & Tulips

As part of my Master Gardener certificate I have to do 40 hours of volunteer service.  I signed up to spend a lot of time at the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival.  Monday was my first day and it was very busy.  I was at the door greeting guests and handing out maps.  Later I was posted in the garden.  It was lovely.  Then Wednesday came.  I was outside for the whole 2 shifts, nearly 7 hours.  It started with rain, then a couple hours of sunshine, then a violent hail downpour.  After that the weather was drizzling and cold.  I left early once I started shivering.  The tulips that were opened were a bit hammered but the many ones yet to open should be fine.  I'm going back tomorrow and rain is in the forecast.  I hope the weatherman is wrong.  I did get this shot while the sun was out.

I really love being outside working as soon as it starts warming up.  Over a week ago we helped take down and clean up some trees at the old log cabin.  It was a smooth operation, my brother ran the heavy equipment which lifted the "loggers" to the tops of the trees.  Several family members helped by breaking down the large limbs and running them through a chipper.  My uncle on the tractor moved the large pieces that will become firewood. We benefitted by getting 3 pick up truck loads of mulch which we have tilled in to the garden - thanks to dad on his tractor.  And my sweet aunt bought our declicious lunch from Kneaders.  Wow - their turkey cranberry sandwhich is delicious and their cookies are some of the best I have ever had.  There are still a couple of huge trees by the old house which need to come down, the city has said they will remove them.
  We're wondering when they'll be getting to it.

Not So GREEN Today

Over the past couple of years we have tried to keep a tradition going that Amy participated in growing up. Her grandfather had a small orchard and every year they pruned the trees to prepare them for another year of producing fruit. All the pruning created a large pile of branches that needed to be discarded. So, they lit the branches on fire and had a hot dog roast. An "old-school" practice for sure, beginning before green waste disposal or wood chippers were handy. Of course, we followed city regulations and kept it very safe with hoses nearby!

In our neighborhood Amy's family designated their last empty lot in our cul-de-sac to put our "green" waste. Some of the neighbors and Amy's dad contributed to the pile. Today we torched it and had our own neighborhood hot dog roast. We also ate fresh fruit salad, homemade potato salad, and smores. One of the kids at the party had a great idea of stuffing a square of chocolate into the middle of the marshmallow to help it melt. Genius! It was the perfect day for the event. The weather was beautiful and the company of family and neighbors was enjoyable, we LOVE where we live. It is amazing how much better a hot dog tastes after it has been cooked on an open fire.

Volleyball

Over the years I have enjoyed playing volleyball. Unfortunately our high school did not have a men’s team, but in college I enjoyed playing co-ed volleyball on an intramural team which won first place. That same team then decided to enter a volleyball tournament in Moab where we didn't do as well. Since then I have had a hard time finding others to play volleyball with. Each ward I have been in I have attempted to get people interested and have not had any luck. My little brother invited Amy and I to watch him play in a tournament at the University of Utah. He played for the Weber State club team. This was the first time I saw in person a team play at such a high level. They had set plays which they seemed to execute with ease. At that point I desired to play more volleyball. Two years ago when we moved into our home, I again expressed an interest in playing church volleyball which no one else seemed to be interested in. Then, one day after church a neighbor said that he and his cousins played volleyball once a week at a church house and he invited me to play. To my pleasant surprise they were quite good. They used hand signals to call plays similar to what I saw my brother's team do. Since then every winter I have played volleyball with them and have enjoyed every minute of it.