5/9/2009: Jo’s wedding

Melissa and I were able to get away for the weekend for my sister Jo’s wedding in Texas. It was a whirlwind trip for us. Mel’s parents were kind enough to come stay at our place and watch the kids for a few days while we took off (bless their hearts). It was a beautiful in a wedding facility located in a newly developed “village”. The setting was very nice. I was able to offer the opening prayer in the ceremony and Melissa sang a beautiful song for the group. I really enjoyed the ceremony. Boy oh boy, if Brad (her new husband) only knew what he was getting into with our family!! (kidding) After the formal ceremony, we had a great dinner and danced the night away in the dance hall. This was one of the rare times when my siblings and I have danced together. It is A LOT of fun to dance as a family. My sisters can shake it! The low point was probably when I performed my rendition of “The Humpty Dance”. Leave it to me to be totally inappropriate. But I think I was forgiven. It was a blast. Afterward, the bride and groom would spend the next day (Mother’s Day) with the family, then head off on a long honeymoon, I believe to Bermuda. Nice. Melissa and I caught the earlybird flight back to Portland and were able to have Mother’s Day lunch at home with the kids just before heading to church. It was a quick trip, but really was fun. Congratulations Brad and Jo!

4/25/2009: Wapiti camporee

In my Boy Scouts role (11-yr old scoutmaster), I attended the Wapiti district camporee with our troop. It was interesting because Friday afternoon when we left, the weather was gorgeous. We all showed up in shorts an t-shirts, set up camp and played some ultimate Frisbee. Everything was going great. Then (queue doom music) the district told us that campfires were not allowed at this camporee. Yikes. So it started to get colder at night and we all huddled around the propane stove with the burners on high. It was ridiculous. And cold to boot. The next day, we discovered that most of the boys did not pack any warm clothes because the weather was so nice when we left. It never warmed up that Saturday, so it was stinking cold for all of us – all day. Fortunately, another adult leader was kind enough to make the hour drive home to pick up some coats for all of us. It was a very memorable lesson in why layering your clothing is so important on a campout! You never know!!

4/18/2009: Abbie’s 40th party

My sister turned 40 on May 1. In order to surprise her, they (her husband and younger sister Iris) arranged a surprise party 2 weeks before her birthday. They figured it was so far in advance that it wouldn’t really be on her “radar” yet. I think they succeeded. She seemed very surprised. It was a 1970’s disco theme party. There were some great costumes at the gig. I wore a big black afro with a sweet disco shirt and bell bottom pants. Melissa wore a “Farrah Fawcet” (sp?) wig with a 70’s blouse and some awesome red bellbottom pants. Iris looked really authentic with an afro and black dress. I think it was her sunglasses that sealed the deal for her. It just made the outfit work. Jonathan was hilarious with a sweet leisure suit and a big, puffy/curly brown fro. It looked awesome. The costumes were so much fun and we boogied the night away. It’s amazing how just some costumes can change the mood of a party. It was a blast. Abbie is such a great sister. Now she’s also an OLD one! (kidding, Ab)

4/12/2009: Easter talk

I had the opportunity to speak in our sacrament meeting for Easter Sunday this year. I had prepared lots of material, however the previous speaker took a great deal more time than expected, so I ended up giving a short summary of my sermon. What I boiled it down to were a few particulars about the Savior’s last hours on the earth. I used the image of me in May of 1999, as a 21-yr old, standing in the empty garden tomb, just outside the walls of old Jerusalem. That was a sacred moment for me. In my talk, I used that as the image to illustrate the journey that would be ahead of me, which I did not know at the time, in which I/we would rely on the Savior, His atonement and the redeeming grace of the gospel to get us to where we are today. We are constantly progressing in life (for good or ill) and “becoming”. We can attribute this privilege to Christ and His love for humankind. He gives us the choice to become what we choose to become. The empty tomb signifies many things, one of them being the Hope it gives the entire human race.

4/3/2009: Utah: Mission reunion & General conference

Wow. It’s been 10 years since I returned home from my mission. Lots has happened since then, but there will always be a place in my heart for the special memories and relationships forged while serving the Lord full-time. A mission reunion was arranged for April 3rd, so we loaded up in the family car and made the 14 hr drive to Utah so I could participate. President Jones and sister Jones were able to make the trip from their California home, so it made it a really neat experience to see some familiar faces, find out what people have been up to, and reminisce about our time serving. I had forgotten about some of the funny videos that were produced for zone conferences, and just some of the general jokes/humor that can only be understood by someone who has served a mission. It was great to reconnect with old friends and thank the Jones’ once again for the service they rendered all of us. Missions are not easy. But they are definitely worth it. Testimonies flourish (if allowed and with deliberate effort) and eternal bonds can be created. What a wonderful thing it is to serve in the Lord’s army, even for a short season…then continuing on in other forms throughout our lifetimes.

3/23/2009: Brooke is 5!

It’s hard to believe, but we celebrated Brooke’s 5th birthday in March. She had some friends over and they had a blast. I think one of her favorite things is to have people over and tell them what to do! She likes being in control, that’s for sure. I guess that’s not too surprising, as she has siblings on both sides of her, vying for attention. When gets the opportunity to take control, she relishes it! A couple of unique things that makes Brookie, well, Brookie: 1) She loves BBQ sauce (like daddy). 2) She and I are also the only ones who like “bug juice” (soy sauce) on our rice.

1/16/09: Mailman knocked down our hoop

Some bad news. After a few months of enjoying my newly-refurbished driveway basketball hoop, the mailman bumped into the pole and knocked it down. We’ll figure out a way to get it taken care of. The frustrating part is that he is denying knocking it over. I won’t go into details, but it is so overtly obvious that he did it, c’mon, man. Man up, admit it and move on. But it’s worth some effort on my part, even if I have to work around a dishonest offender. I will miss our hoop. I really hope to get another one up sooner than later. Bummer.