The Story of a Family Vacation - Europe 2012

Family vacations were an important part of my childhood.  We had a few traditions that grew over the years, and created many happy memories for us.  As my four sisters and I grew older and started to "go our separate ways" they naturally stopped; we went on to create our own memories and traditions with our new families.

I think our Mother felt the blessing and power of traditions as a unifying force.  In her later years, she had a new dream - she somehow came upon the idea of her five children and their spouses taking a vacation together, without the grandchildren.  I think she wanted us to stay close, to maintain good relationships with each other.  She occasionally suggested the idea of the shared "adults only" vacation, urging us to try to work something out.  She even offered to pay the expenses if we all did something like go on a cruise together!

Mom and her five children in Provo Canyon, July 2005

Total Eclipse of the Sun

I'm not usually a very impulsive person.  But I gave in to an impulse this week, and with agreement from my adventurous family, we had a very nice and unusual experience.

Solar eclipses don't occur all that often.  I remember a couple of times in my youth, seeing a partial eclipse.  And I vaguely recall being in a total eclipse once but don't recall any details.  So when the news reports this week started talking about an eclipse that would be total in southern Utah, I was intrigued.  And when they mentioned that the center line of the totality would pass right through Kanarraville, I was even more interested, for reasons that will be described shortly.

On Friday I made a quick trip up to the Planetarium in SLC to purchase the appropriate "solar viewers" that allowed us to look at the sun safely.  Not having a vehicle large enough for all of us, we rented a minivan at the cost of $140 (impulsive trips sometimes aren't cheap).  I arranged to miss some Sunday afternoon meetings without much problem.  And so, after attending our other morning meetings, we all packed up some fried chicken and other necessities that had been purchased the day before, and started the 3 1/2 hour drive down south.  It was fun to be together with our children and their little families.  It was nice to have Jenna along to continue to build that relationship.

Happy birthday, Aunt Anna!

Today was a special day for a member of our extended family.  It was the 90th birthday of my Aunt Anna!  Bonnie and I were thrilled to be invited to share in the family festivities:

Aunt Anna is a remarkable person, and has been a special woman in my life.  She was born in Talmage just a year after my Dad, and eventually married my Dad's brother (Uncle Albert).  The two brothers moved their families near each other in West Mountain and helped one another on their farms until my Dad's death in 1964.  Uncle Albert and Aunt Anna had six sons and two daughters, plus a son who died in infancy.  Their older children were quite a bit older than us, but then the youngest was younger than Judy.  So we did have quite a bit in common with them, and spent many holidays and family occasions together.  As we've grown into middle age, I've been grateful to live in Utah; it's been wonderful to interact with that family and become even closer.

A visit home

On Saturday April 24, my sister Angie and I spent a few hours driving around Payson and reminiscing about the people and places we knew those many years ago. So much has changed over the decades, but it was fun to see the things that are left.

We started in West Mountain, where our Payson experience began. Our Dad purchased a small farm in 1959 and moved the family there from Salt Lake City. The home we lived in still stands, though it has been dramatically remodeled. The big box elder trees in the yard (the ones showing green in the photos) were there in our childhood, though the other trees have been added since. Here's a photo of the home approaching from the east:

While we were looking at the house from the street, the current owner noticed us and came out to talk. He was very friendly, shared his memories and experiences, and eventually invited us to come in the yard and the house for a tour!

Headstone in Payson Cemetery

I have not done well in keeping up this blog. But today I feel motivated to try to restart. We'll see if I can do a little better in keeping up, at least occasionally.

Since Sarah's wedding in August (and my last post to the blog), the major event in my life was the passing of my dear Mother last November. We had a wonderful funeral, with almost all of her descendents attending and participating (except for two grandsons, Matt on his mission in Chile and Andrew who could not get away from school at UCLA).

Since Mom died in November, we were not able to get the headstone updated and re-seated through the winter months. They had to wait for the ground to thaw and dry out. Conditions finally were right last week, and today, Bonnie and I went to Payson to see the results. (Click on any photo to view a larger and more detailed copy.)

Note the granite slab between the cement and the headstone — that's something we had added. It makes the headstone more permanent, protected, and durable, and also a little more visible. The cement foundation was badly worn in the original mounting, and looks so nice now that it's fresh and new.

Oh, Happy Day!

"Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it…"
- Joseph Smith, TPJS 255

As I consider the happiness of my life as it relates to Sarah’s wedding, I can describe it in three phases.

A GLORIOUSLY HAPPY DAY

Today will surely rank among the very most joyful days of my life (so far!). It was absolutely marvelous in every way. We were blessed with wonderful weather (cooler but calm and clear). Everything went according to plan – there were no significant problems or mistakes. We were surrounded by family and friends. And there was a feeling of deep contentment, of shared joy, of eager anticipation for a bright and shining future.

The day began early with a hair-styling appointment, and Sarah transformed easily into Princess Sarah! She was even more beautiful than normal, though that’s hard to believe. We enjoyed our traditional special-occasion family breakfast of cinnamon rolls and omelets. We gathered everything together and reviewed our checklists as we loaded the car. I had the wonderful, sacred privilege of giving one last father’s blessing, and we were on our way to the Mount Timpanogos Temple.

We had arranged for an old friend of mine to perform the sealing. George Durrant was the stake president when I served as high councilor and then bishop at BYU, so we worked closely for about 4 years. Now that he’s retired and working in the temple, we were delighted to have him available to officiate at this event. In his warm and uniquely personal style, he gave Sarah and Brian counsel about their marriage, encouraging them to become each other’s heroes and to be supportive and united in spiritual growth. He mentioned that life will not always be easy, but that prayers for strength are one prayer that God always answers. He told them to build on the best of their shared traditions and find their own new ones. He said to honor covenants, return often to the temple, and create a home full of the Lord’s spirit. I love this dear man; he added to much to the sacred nature of why we were there.

Wedding Eve

The expected weather earlier in the week mostly has played out as hoped. Today was kind of a yucky day, though; it was still quite hot, but in addition was windy which stirred up quite a bit of dust. And then there was a wildfire to the north, so the air quality and visibility were awful. It would NOT have been a good day to take outdoor pictures! We're hoping for improvement tomorrow.

We did have a nice evening with family members who were in town, and the newlyweds-to-be. We made a large batch of barbecued ribs and enjoyed talking together. Here are some photos:



This one was taken by my niece Rachael, showing one of her gorgeous daughters being entertained by a dignified-looking man:


Well. the time has almost come! Tomorrow will be THE BIG DAY!