Clarkston Cemetery

Yesterday was a great day in Cache Valley. We left Rexburg at about 6:45 am and arrived at the Logan Temple almost 2.5 hours later to the minute. There were a lot of folks there for the big wedding. It was a very nice affair. After the ceremony there were lots of pictures (in another post) and then off to Smithfield for a relaxing and very delicious luncheon. The company there was delightful as well. Then on the way out of town 91 north we saw a sign directing us to the Clarkston Cemetery . . . so off we went. Turns out Clarkston is pretty far over in the northwest corner of Cache Valley, the Utah side. And it is really beautiful. Here is a view of the cemetery with Cache Valley in the background.

And here is a view of the hamlet of Clarkston. Pretty nice photo, if I do say so myself.
So why did we detour to such a beautiful, but out-of-the-way cemetery? Because it is the final resting place of Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses, and the one who financed the original printing of the Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ. He came to Utah late in his life and lived in Clarkston with his son. He was always happy to share his testimony of Joseph Smith, Jr. and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. When he passed away in 1875 he was laid to rest here. This is a view looking west.
And this is the view looking north.
It was a beautiful day.

Twin Grandpas

Poor Atticus seems to be surrounded by twins. Yesterday we went to see Michelle's family (i.e., the twins). They are very cute, and extremely good-natured. Well, as soon as I got in the door, Atticus ran up, grabbed me, and just hung on for dear life, exclaiming "Pa". He obviously mistook me for my twin brother. But the story ends well, when I left I told him he could see grandpa again today.

Goofing Off

So - we're sitting here in Rexburg, ID just having fun. (Thought I'd put that in as some of you seem to be wondering where we are.) This afternoon we went for our little 5K walk/run that we do 3x/week and it was not as good as we do at 50 +/- feet above sea level. So when we got back to the apt. I checked to find out what elevation we are, and it turns out we are pretty high: around 4865 feet up.

Anyhow, the website I got that information from also has all kinds of other information. And being the sucker I am for demographic and other kinds of statistical information, I downloaded the information presented for home sales in selected cities around the country. Depending upon whether you are buying or selling, looks like the cities of Jasabh and Jeranc are on the top/bottom of the heap. What surprised me was what houses are selling for in Provo and Rexburg. Hmmmmmmm. Wonder what could be impacting those markets. Fortunately Pelah and Natemb will not be staying.

Hope you find this as interesting and conversation-provoking as I did.

There Is No Time - Let Me Sum Up

Funny thing about being gone for a whole month - things pile up & wait for your return.

We had a great time visiting family and friends during the month of March. I had planned to blog as we went, but I don't know where the time went. I'll try to get some more specifics out now that we have had a week to get on top of some things. But in the meantime, here is a smattering of what we did last month. We didn't get nearly as many pictures as I had planned, but we did come away with some pretty good ones.

I'll begin with our drive to UT on February 28. It was cold! And on the salt flats, windy. Here's the happy couple at our favorite photo op just east of Wendover.

After a brief stop in UT where we met Nathan's folks, very nice folks, we hopped a plane to IN. Here are some really happy (not to mention cute) girls.
Although there was no snow while we were there, it was plenty cold, so we had fun with the snow toys anyway. As you can see, it was windy there also - a lot. But we got outside anyway and had loads of fun.
Going to the park was one of our favorite things to do. Here is KL with her omnipresent bear. She loves to swing.
And here are the other two of our park party.
We did a lot of things in IN, which will have to wait for a future post to detail. The food was incredible and the company delightful. But all too soon it was time to fly back to UT. We were there for just a few days before driving down to AZ, but we got our money's worth. Everywhere we went we shopped for those things (mostly clothes) that we will need to go in June. So we are about shopped out. But I must say that we couldn't have done it without the great assistance of our daughters. They were all incredible, and believe it or not, we saw all four of them within a week around the middle of the month. Especially nice was Saramarie coming down to help shop for things for the upcoming nuptials. I haven't seen the results of that excursion (except in the financial records), but I understand it went very well. One of the great things we did in UT was attend the induction of M into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at BYU. Nice meal, great company. Here are a couple of photos from the evening.

We also did a lot of visiting while there. The press for time meant that we had to split up for some of the visits. I visited Mac & Patty & family, Birkenshaws, Jacque & Byron, Uncle Mike, and Thain & Sonia. This last visit was really nice as Sonia was born in El Salvador. Although she left as a child, she was able to talk a bit about things she had heard from relatives about the country. And as everyone always mentions "pupusa" when we say we are going to El Salvador, she was actually able to let me know where in Provo I could get one. So on the way out of town I stopped off on Center Street and picked up one. It was good! We also were able to visit the Garners and this lovely lady pictured below, Aunt Lois. What a kind and generous hostess she is. We wish we could have stayed longer, especially because Doug Flegal was there, and it was nice to visit briefly with him too.

One last word . . . at the food court in the Wilkinson Center at BYU they sell what they term "extreme doughnuts". I was intrigued by one particular item, so I bought it and devoured it. Yes, that is a bacon-topped maple bar. It may not look like much to you, but I found it delicious.

One Sunday we went to Church early with N & M, then hit the road for AZ in hopes that we would miss the storm predicted for the next day. It was an interesting drive. I think the highest point (literally) of the trip was the pass between Beaver and Panguitch. I believe it is close to 10,000' in elevation. We did see lots of snow, but not after Flagstaff. We did have some interesting events on the way - details later. As we approached our destination it got warmer and warmer, which was okay. But that first week in AZ I was still cold . . . I was alone in that feeling however. By the second we were there it was plenty warm, but still cooled down nicely at night, making sleeping a pleasure, especially with the windows open. With a bonus that with the window open I could hear the coyotes howl every night. Now that's living. And speaking of living, here are some photos of the "living end" in grandkids.

Not much that TV does escapes ME.

The Tucson Zoo - a pretty nice place. I like that they have it laid out by continent. Here is what appeared to be an albino peacock.
Closer to home is a Safari Park made up of bronze animals that, depending upon the time of year and time of day can be touched without getting burned. Here TV is checking out the Hippo.
We did a return engagement at Old Tucson Studios. Great place. The little ones loved the train, the merry-go-round, the cars, and the horse. Of course TV got thrown in the pokey for being a desperado (or is that "little bedlamite"?).
Well, that's all for now. There is obviously lots more to tell, but I need to move on for now. Hope this gives you an overview and whets your appetite for more. I'll sign off for now with a photo of ME saying, "Adios pardner".

Called to Serve

Earlier today we received a large white envelope from the Office of the First Presidency (haven't received one of those for years). It contained our call to serve as missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are assigned to the El Salvador San Salvador East Mission. Our primary assignment is to labor in the El Salvador Perpetual Education Fund Country Office. We will report to the Provo MTC on Monday, June 6, 2011 and will serve for 23 months.

We are very grateful for this opportunity to serve, and are extremely excited to be working in the great Perpetual Education Fund program.