MAY 2009

The month started off with my return and Bob's yearly trek to Guam, which he will write about later.
This has been a very slow month, especially compared to last month, when we went to San Diego and Hawaii! I haven't seen Bob since we left Hawaii on May 2nd. He should be home at the end of the week...on May 23rd.

I have been busy working at JetBlue, and not much else.

We also had a Relief Society Party, which I helped with. It was a Mexican Fiesta theme, and it was really fun...especially with the bishopric entertaining us with their ponchos, sombreros, and their fake mustaches. They were silly and cute!

The only other thing that I've done is to help Ian with a school project. He has to come over to my house and type and print his report and maps out. It's been fun helping him.

On Memorial Day, May 25th, we went down to Leamington, UT to see Bob's mother's family's gravesites. We drove with Bob's Dad, Mom and sister, Joan (my ex-BYU roomie). We had a good visit on the way down there. Bob's youngest sister, Julie, her husband Jeff, and all six of their kids came down separately. When we got to Leamington, we first visited the farm in this little town where his Mom grew up. Then, we met a guy, Monte Bradfield, at the old church buiding there. It is now a museum, where they have the town history and records of the people that used to live there. We had fun looking at the old pictures and news items. Bob's mother had the most fun, I think, seeing pictures of her Mom and Dad, and remembering all the people that she grew up with...her neighbors and friends. Julie's kids had never been to Leamington, and they really enjoyed the old church, and seeing relics from before they were even born.
After we spent about an hour there, we drove over to the small town of Oak City, where Bob's cousin Kae and her husband, William Dutson lives. We all had lunch there and spent lots of time catching up on each other's families. Her sister, Virginia, came with some of her family, as well as some of her children. Kae stayed busy all day feeding all her relatives! She's a great person. She (and Virginia) are daughters of Bob's Aunt Melva, who passed away several years ago. We all really loved her.
Joan's husband Kirk, and their youngest son, Scott, had been hunting for trilobites earlier in the day. When we got to Kae's house, Joan got a call that their car wouldn't start. Joan and William starting driving over to where they broke down...but before they got there, she got another call that Kirk had gotten the car started, and would be there soon. After visiting for a while with all of us, Kirk, Scott and Joan, all headed back to St. George, UT, where they live.
After we left Kae's house, we decided to go with Julie's family back over to Leamington and see the family farm, which Bob's mother still owns. We found a great, shady place to stop at the bottom of a hill by a small stream that runs through their property. We had so much fun! Julie's kids (and Jeff) really enjoyed the old tree swings that had been there for years; they spent lots of time swinging back and forth over the stream, and climbing in the trees. Bob and I, Julie and most of her kids went for a walk from one side of the farm to the other. We had such a great day with them. Julie had packed a lunch with sandwiches and fruit for everyone. Grandma and Grampa had fun relaxing in the shade, watching the kids enjoy themselves. I think it made them feel good. I think that especially Grandma enjoyed seeing all of the kids playing where she grew up and in the same places she played when she was a small child. After we had our picnic, we went up to the cemetery and placed flowers on the graves of Grandma's parents and other relatives. The cemetery is a small one out in the middle of nowhere..up on the side of a hill. It reminds me of one that you might see in an old western movie. In fact, there's a John Wayne movie, "True Grit" that has a cemetery that looks quite similar to this one. There is another John Wayne movie, "The sons of Katie Elder" where his mother died, and all four sons of 'Katie' come home to go to their mother's funeral. This is interesting because a lot of Grandma's relatives buried in the cemetery have the last name "Elder." There is a grave with a wooden marker with a faded name, and Bob is sure that is where "Katie Elder" is buried.
We got home that evening about nine o'clock. I hope we can start a new family tradition, where maybe next year more of the kids and grandkids can all get together and go visit the old farm.

On Saturday, May 3oth, Bob went to get our big boat out of storage. It is now sitting in our driveway ready for our family to have some great fishing trips this summer!

On Saturday evening, Bob and I went to the adult meeting for our Stake Conference, for the Hunter Central Stake. The theme of the meeting was "God Is A God of Miracles." We had the Salt Lake Mission President, Brother Atkinson, speak about miracles and about the importance of missionary work. His invitation to us is that we should let people around us know how we feel about the gospel.
Our stake president, President Cornell Porter says that not only should we "Choose The Right," (CTR), but also, "Consider The Results" of our actions, and how we can make a difference. They both spoke about being missionaries and that "people are brought near to us, ready to hear the gospel. We should know that God is here to lead and guide us; he always knows what we are doing and what we are going through. He is always speaking to us, and we need to listen to what the spirit is teaching us.
Then on Sunday morning, we went to Stake Conference at 10:00 a.m. We had two newly returned missionaries speak; the counselors and the stake president also spoke.
Our assignment before this conference was to read the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) in the New Testament. They all told of Jesus birth, life, death and resurrection. We should learn that he loves us and we should follow his example. We also had the president and matron of the Jordan Valley Temple speak to us (President and Sister Chamberlain). Sister Chamberlain spoke about how important it is to "joy in the gospel truths." She also spoke on what blessings come from attending the temple regularly. President Chamberlain also spoke about the temple, and that when we attend, we will receive revelation, qualify for blessings, and be able to solve problems that vex our lives. He said that with each new temple built, we lessen Satan's power over us and increase Chist's power in the world.

Also, today in Reno, Nevada our daughter Monica is moving to a new house that she just bought. We are so proud of her. (We wish that she had moved back here, but they have been there since Ariel was three, and two years before Tatum was born.) They live in a really nice area in Reno; it's very clean and has nice neighborhoods and schools. All of Ariel's (and Tate's) friends are there. Their new home is really close to Ariel's new middle school, and still close to Tatum's elementary school and Monica's work. Hopefully soon, we'll be able to go see them, and we'll take pictures of their new home and neighborhood.

Congratulations, Monica, Ariel and Tatum!!!!
You may not live right by us, but we know that you're going to love your new home and be happy there...and you're only 8-10 hour drive or a 45 minute flight away from us. We are also going to join the "Skype" network, so we can see you and talk to you over the computer.