Dale and I both have had some pretty awesome momentous moments this month.
I came across a service opportunity post on Just Serve and Dale and I checked it out. We are now in training at the Cache Valley Humanitarian Center located in Logan, UT. We'll be overseeing a day during the week to allow citizens in the area to come in and help weave sleeping mats and pillows made out of plastic grocery bags or to collect a variety of needed items as donations to help those in need in our area, as well as some of the outlying areas. It's a pretty neat set-up they have running.
I ushered at the Eccles for El Diablo (put on by Pickleville Playhouse out of Bear Lake), a Rick Springfield concert, and for the Dance Sources Spring Showcase (a local dance company).
I was also able to serve in the Logan temple in the Youth Center. I watched a family of four children, all adopted. The youngest child, a beautiful African America child who was 1 yrs. old was being sealed to his parents. What was so neat about this sealing was that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had just changed the Church Handbook and they now allow a child who has a limited-use recommend to do baptisms kneel at the alter to help hold the child during the sealing ordinance. It was pretty touching see this young 12 yr. old Caucasian brother holding his younger brother at the alter and seeing his two younger African American brothers watching on. The Spirit was strongly felt by all in the room, an experience I will never forget.
Dale is still serving as a temple officiator for the Wednesday morning shift, but is now over the handling of the Initiatory work during his shift.
We were able to do initiatory, an endowment session, and sealings for those who have passed through the veil this month as well. We are blessed to have a temple close by.
These callings have been a blessing in our lives and have helped us gain a deeper love for the importance of having temples on the earth today.
Dale's Aunt, Dorene Squires, passed away due to complications from surgery she had on her back. She was 85 yrs. and quite an amazing woman. We were able to attend her funeral and learn more about her. Her husband, Norman, and children, Steven, Shauna & Stacie gave her a beautiful tribute. It was nice to visit with the Squires family again. Our prayers go out to the family. She will be greatly missed here on earth.
To celebrate Mother's Day, Danica, Amie and I went to Vintage Days at the Cache County Events Center earlier in the week, then we had the Mallory's over for dinner. After dinner we played a game of softball in the backyard with them. It was the adults against the kids and guess who won? The adults by one!! It was a fun way to end the day.
I have been blessed with some pretty amazing kids. I truly do feel blessed.
I also am grateful for the wonderful mom I was able to have that taught me and loved me unconditionally. She will always have a place in my heart. Love you Mom....Happy heavenly Mother's Day!
Dale and I were able to take Arwyn on her Birthday Date a bit past her birthday, but we all had a good time going to dinner at Chick - Fil- A' and then watching "The Wizard of OZ" that was put on by The Unicorn Theater (a local children's theater group that puts on plays). It was quite entertaining, and I was very impressed with how well the kids did. Arwyn loved the Cowardly Lion the best and the Wicked Witch of the West the least.
Happy belated birthday Arwyn, thanks for hanging out with us, we love you!!
We were also able to take Luke on his Birthday Date. We went to the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park in Ogden, UT. The weather was perfect and so was the company. Luke sure knows his dinosaurs. They had an exhibit hall where we were able to see some dinosaur bones, skeletons, and even some robotic dinosaurs as well, which was a little scary because they were big animals! We also saw some cool minerals and rocks. After we grabbed a bite to eat at Chick-Fil-A'. Arwyn and Luke must have the same likings for food because they ordered the exact same thing, except for the drink. Dale and I tried something different each time because we've never eaten there two weeks in a row. It was a fun out.
Happy Birthday Luke! We love you!
To celebrate Memorial Day we had a Sunday dinner with the Mallory's and then went and visited the graves of our parents and grandparents who have been laid to rest in the North Logan and Logan cemeteries. Then we came back to the house and played games.
On Memorial Day, Dale and I supported the Hyde Park Lions Club Pancake Breakfast and then visited the Hyde Park and Smithfield cemeteries. We saw a group of deer out feeding close to the road on the way back to our house which was rare during that time of day.
Nate and Diana created some momentous moments. They took advantage of the sunny weather they've been having and spent a weekend climbing in Squamish B.C. From the pictures it looks like they haven't lost their skills.
I got a Face Time call from Nate on Mother's Day when they were climbing and told them to be careful. It looks like they took my advice!! It's nice to know he still listens to his mom ;)
Diana got spend some time in the air with her job this month. I think she likes flying over deskwork, and I can't blame her. I'm sure she sees some pretty areas and there's more action.
Nate and Diana also ran in the Sun Mountain 50K trail race in Washington. They both finished and with this being Diana's first big race she showed her grit and finished.
Way to go Diana!! Way to go Nate! You two make a good team. I wish we could of been there at the finish line to cheer on your accomplishment. You finished and you were still smiling even among the aches and pains. Hope life keeps treating you both well.
With the weather warming up over Memorial Day weekend they hit the water and got the sailboat out when they had Diana's dog, Lili, with them. All had a wonderful time!
The Mallory's have Kennlyn, Langston, and Mazin playing soccer. All ended their seasons this month.
Jaxson and Kennlyn are also referring soccer to earn some cash. We were able to go watch Mazin play and Kennlyn was the referee at his game so we got to see her in action as well. They both did a great job.
Langston's games have been out of the valley more and so we weren't able to make it to see him play.
Kennlyn's team
Langston's team after a State Cup soccer game
Langston did a diorama, along with a report on Kane County and also helped his class preform in an assembly for the school and parents about Utah.
Kennlyn received an Award of Excellence at her schools awards assembly for being on the Honor Roll every quarter.. Way to go Kennlyn!
Matt kicked off kindness month with the theme "Rain down Kindness & Brighten Someone's Day like a Rainbow" and the kids added to the wall by writing kind acts they'd done for others on a raindrop. To end the month, he helped with a school Kindness Night where the kids so a service project and then they get to play games and have cotton candy and popcorn. They made wildflower seed bombs for the service project and threw them into Firefly Park in Nibley in an area where they could grow beautiful wildflowers. As a finale for Kindness Night Matt donned a wet suit (under his clothes) and sat at a dunking machine. This tied in with his drops of kindness which gave kids a chance to dunk him. They let Mazin, Langston, and Kennlyn throw a ball at the machine first and Kennlyn ended up dunking his dad. It was a fun evening for the kids and parents and well attended. Way to go Matt!
Andrew and Lindsay have a soccer player in their family. We were able to get to see Eloise play and almost score! She's got the drive. Eloise has taken up the sport and loves it.
She tried out for the NUU (Northern Utah United) club team and made it for her age group. We wish her well.
Andrew got home from his tour and jumped right into trying to get their water situation taken care of by renting a backhoe to dig a trench that he could put a pipe in to collect the water and then channel it to a drain field that he made in the back area of their lot. Dale was able to help him with this project.
The picture shows how much water was being pumped out with the sump pump (it's like a ditch full of water). Once they got that done, the sump pump has never kicked on. Good work guys!
After that ordeal, Andrew went and bought him a mini tractor so that he can get his yard going. I think he likes it. Nora likes riding with Andrew on the tractor too.
As a family they went and stayed with Lindsays brother, Dennis, and then went to the Saratoga Springs Temple Open House. It is the 179th temple to be built within the Church and the 17th temple to be built in Utah.
In school all of the kids classes worked on different forms of art and then they had a program and their artwork was shown off for those there. Pretty cool to see what the kids did isn't it? Now that's an awesome art teacher and some kids with talent!
The kids had their last day of school and Lindsay posted a first and last day of school picture of the kids on Facebook. The kids are growing up way too fast!!
Andrew went back on his work tour and due to a freak accident where a turkey smashed into the front windshield of the crew truck as is was going down the highway, they were out of work for a couple of days before getting it fixed.
On their down time, where they were working in Pennsylvania, they were able to go see Niagra Falls. They got there to late to get on the boat and see the falls from the river, but they were able to get a feel for it's power and beauty. A momentous event for Andrew I'm sure.
Garrett and Zandra threw a family dinner and party to celebrate Luke turning 6 this month. He got a new bike for his birthday. We ate pizza, and salads and visited and played a "How well do we know Luke game"? Then we made s'mores around the fire pit. It was a nice evening.
Garrett recruited the guys to help him fill in the area around their raised garden boxes with rocks to finish off the look. It looks nice. I never got a good picture of what it looked like finished due to bad lighting, but it looks good. Many hands make light work.
Luke had a friend party earlier in the day as well so they were partied out by the end of the day, but all had a good time. Happy Birthday Luke!!
Zandra got away for a gals biking trip. They went to Park City and rode some different trails, and just had a nice time. The weather was great and so was the company.
While Zandra was gone Dale went to their house and helped Garrett trim some trees around their yard and to go fishing. I joined them later that evening. We stayed over and went to see Jorie's tumbling showcase. She's doing great! Danica and June joined us for that as well.
After that we went and watched Jorie and Luke's soccer games. Both of them scored goals for Dale and I. It was fun seeing them catching onto the concept of the game. It was a pretty warm day too, but they endured and so did we. Way to go Jorie and Luke!
Zandra got home from Park City and Garrett and the kids celebrated Zandra's birthday.
Happy Birthday Zandra! Know you are loved.
The last day of the month Garrett went on a bike ride to train for a triathlon that he entered. He had ridden up to Snow Basin and was coming down the hill at about 40 mph and on the turn the road had some sand on it and it make him lay his bike down. He slid for a bit and then rolled on the road. Luckily he had his helmet on, but his right side took the brunt of the fall and he got some pretty good road rash on his cheek, shoulder, arm, elbow, hip, thigh, knee and plam of his hand, as well as a bad gash on his knee. His fingers were blistered due to them sliding on the asphalt and his gloves were in shreds. It was a blessing that no cars were coming up the hill at the time he slid across the road, as well as the fact that he didn't hit his head hard. He got up accessed the damage, made sure his bike was okay to ride and rode home. Zandra was quite suprised to see him all scraped up and bloody, but glad he was alive. She's been his personal nurse and got him wrapped up and taken care of.
We hope that infection doesn't set in and that his healing goes well. He is one blessed guy.
They were able to have a "date night" by going to a motor cross event at the Uof U Stadium. My guess is Jason planned this date, but Danica was glad to join him. Those events are pretty amazing.
With the weather warming up they've been out on the golf course and taken advantage of Jason's mom's outdoor pool when the weather allows it.
Danica also got to go to the Shania Twain Concert in Salt Lake with her Kapp cousins and Aunt as well as Jasons sisters and sister-in-law for a girl's night out. The guys took the kids to a Bees baseball game, so all had a good time.
The Hassell's found themselves a home a couple of miles away from the townhome they've been living in since they've been married. They put their townhome on the market and had it rented out starting the first week of June! So, they've started packing up what they can, with June helping when she can. They close on the house the first of June, so they'll have a busy weekend moving. They're excited for this new journey and we're excited for them too.
As you can see we all had some momentous moments this month. An event I was able to watch on TV was the coronation of the new King of England. With the passing of Queen Elizabeth awhile back, her son, Prince Charles became the new King and his wife, Camilia, became the new Queen. It was pretty interesting to see all of the symbolism and the history behind this type of event.
With all of the snow we got over this past winter we've been feeling the effects from it as the snow has begun to melt in both good and not so good ways. Starting with the good we've had the lakes and reservoirs starting to fill, but on the down side we've had statewide flooding issues on farm land as well as with damage to roads, bridges, and homes.
From some news articles locally:
LOGAN – The National Weather Service is projecting warmer temperatures this week with more chances of rain in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, adding to already-swollen rivers from snow melt. Several rivers in Northern Utah are overflowing at various points, including Bear River, Blacksmith Fork River, Little Bear River and Logan River.
Several flood watches and warnings are in effect in Cache County. The Bureau of Reclamation, Utah Division of Water Resources, and Cache County continue to actively monitor the Hyrum Dam for potential high-flow releases into the Little Bear River. Flooding is most likely to occur in Paradise along the Little Bear River, but also in low-lying areas in Hyrum, Wellsville and Mendon down stream. The river will continue to peak near flood stage through early next week. Agricultural land in northern Cache County and at various points throughout Franklin County are experiencing areas of flooding along the Bear River.
The Blacksmith Fork River is already impacting Creek Side RV Park in Logan, but rising temperatures this week will cause increased snowmelt to occur and affect more locations along the river. At 7.6 feet (1198 cubic feet per second), NWS is reporting that flooding along select homes in Blacksmith Fork Canyon will occur. Additionally, homes in the Country Manor subdivision in Logan will also be affected. On Wednesday morning, the stage was 6.9 feet. The river is expected to remain above action stage through Friday morning, gradually decreasing below action stage over the weekend.
We're just hoping for the best and helping those in need until the water subsides. On the good side, everything is a vibrant green and SO pretty! The weather does fluctuate from warm to colder and from sunny to rain which is helping slow the snow melt as well. It's just that there's still a LOT of water up in the mountains due to all of the snow.
In the Church News we learned that our dear prophet, Russell M. Nielsen, is slowing down a bit and acting a little more like his age of 98. We received this from the Church News --
“You may have heard a rumor that someone saw me somewhere using a walker or a wheelchair. Well, it’s not a rumor,” wrote the 98-year-old Church leader wrote on his social media pages on Tuesday afternoon, May 16.
“From time to time, I’m having a little challenge with my balance. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when little issues arise as I near the century mark.
“Gratefully, my heart is good, my spirit is strong as are my legs, and my brain still works.
“I love you my dear brothers and sisters and am grateful every day to serve the Lord and you.
“Little challenges with balance should be the least of our worries. Onward and upward!”
Born Sept. 9, 1924, in Salt Lake City, President Nelson is the oldest President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the faith’s history. He is also the Church’s longest-living Apostle in this latter-day dispensation.
LOGAN – After months of searching for qualified candidates to replace Noelle Cockett, the Utah Board of Higher Education selected Elizabeth “Betsy” R. Cantwell as the 17th president of Utah State University on Friday.
Cantwell will assume the position later this summer as Cockett steps down to resume teaching and research opportunities with the university. Cockett served as president from January 2017 to May 2023 and announced she would be resigning in November 2022.
“I’m enormously grateful for the Utah Board of Higher Education for the faith they’ve put in me to become the next president of an amazing institution like Utah State University,” Cantwell said in a statement. “I’m very thankful for President Cockett for setting Utah State up as well as she has to be on the upward trajectory that it is today. I’m so excited about serving the students, faculty and staff who have been welcoming, charming and made me certain that this is the place to be.”
There you have it our Momentous May. Life is good!!
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