Dr. Hall

I don't know where the time goes, but it is obviously not going into this blog. Perhaps it is going into our corn . . . which seems to be growing about a foot a day! We should have taken pictures.

But we did take pictures of a very special day about a month ago when James graduated from UOP as a doctor of pharmacy. The Comeaus of Indiana had just flown in and we began with a feast at the homestead in Elk Grove. Here is James with his mom.

And with his big sister . . . the only one he's got.

There were others there too, like Grandma Hall (in the background) and KLC on her grandpa's lap. She took to him like Ty to water as soon as they got off the plane.

The video below shows the actual awarding of the diploma, so here he is filing out with the others.

Once outside they provided a really nice reception area for photos, complete with food and water - it was hot that day.

Here's the great event. If we had thought, we could have sat where we could actually see him get his diploma, but you get the idea anyway. He's the one who walks across the stage after his name is called.

What a great day for both James and Sabrina. We are so very pleased they are part of our family.

Biking in the Snow

I know I have not kept up on my blogging. I haven't even gotten through 1/2 of the stuff we did in MA with Tyler & Co. - then we have Dr. James' graduation - and the visit from the IN Crowd. But I just had to let you know that crazy as it seems, I went mountain biking with Bill Lewis yesterday and it snowed! The first picture is of me at the point of departure, Alpha & Omega (that point on Hwy 20 just before you get to Bear Valley where there is a rest stop). It was not snowing like this when we left, but we soon ran into it and it got rather interesting at times.

From Alpha & Omega we rode down to Skillman Flats and then on to White Cloud where this next photo was taken. We had stopped to catch our breath and because the snow was getting pretty thick (like us). But we began to chill so we took off again and soon had to stop because we couldn't see the trail.
But in reality, it did not snow much, just intensely in places. There was quite a bit of mud though, in places, and I took the opportunity to biff it in one of those places. Slight knee bruise only. Otherwise, it was a great ride with fantastic views and good company. Long before we reached our destination, however, I felt the effects of doing at 4500-5000 feet above sea level what is more natural for me down here at 50.

Quincy, MA

One of our favorite places in MA was the town of Quincy, home of John Adams, a great man and one of the Founding Fathers. We learned a lot about his life, family, and the way they lived. Here is a statue of his wife, Abigail, and son John Quincy Adams.
Here is a photo of the front of the house John Adams was born in. It is not as big as it looks, but is as old as it looks. It is really a shame you cannot take pictures inside as the living accommodations were remarkable.

This house has obviously received some remodeling, but on the inside it was still authentic. Here is where John & Abigail lived after they were married. While John was away Abigail climbed a hill less than a mile to the east of this house and watched the Battle of Bunker Hill some miles away on the other side of the river in Charlestown. She wrote that it was that experience that convinced her that there was no turning back, that they were indeed at war. By the way, the house above faces this side of this house. I took both pictures virtually standing in the same spot, just turning.This is a great library, holding all the books of three+ generations of Adams'. It is a lot of wood and a whole lot of books inside. Very nice!

This is the west side of the Adams' place that they moved into upon their return from Europe. Only the very front (on the right) is original, the middle and the back (on the left) were added on later. Everything inside is original - some of the furniture, which is very fancy, was brought by the Adams family from France and was the first furniture in the new White House. Oh, and by the way, it was purchased second-hand in France.

This is the southeast view of the house. The original house stopped where the porch does, so you can see that even though the house at the time was one of the most spacious in town, it really wasn't that big.

And finally, here is a video of the grounds on the west side of the house. They are beautiful. One of the things we really loved about our visit to Quincy, and indeed, everywhere we went back East, was the blooming lilac bushes that seemed to be everywhere.

Mainety

For those of you who were missing your TVH fix. Here are some classic moves that we saw in Maine. He does love to blow dandelion seeds, but needs to work on his form.

Lighthouses

A pause from our normal blogging is in order here to do some explaining to those of you who have received a token of our rememberance of our trip back East (and to the others, we will get to you as we can). We saw some really great lighthouses in Maine. For some reason we really like lighthouses. They remind us that truly Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy, and invite us to Come, All Whose Souls Are Lighted. So we got something for us, and for each of our families, to remember to "send a gleam across the wave", either "from Greenland's icy mountains" or where-ever.




"My counsel for all of us is to look to the lighthouse of the Lord. There is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what its beacon light can rescue. It beckons through the storms of life. The lighthouse of the Lord sends forth signals readily recognized and never failing.
"I love the words found in Psalms: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; . . . I will call upon the Lord . . . so [I shall] be saved from mine enemies.”
"The Lord loves us, my brothers and sisters, and will bless us as we call upon Him."

President Thomas S. Monson