The Faces of a 9-Year Old

I really think this picture says it all!


What's not to love in this expressive photo of a young man who enjoys life (and food)!

A walk around the Temple

Usually when JoAnn and I go to a new temple we walk all around it. Usually after we have accomplished our purposes for being at the temple. However, we've been in Las Vegas for almost 3 years and had yet to walk around the temple's exterior. I took care of that on Thursday evening. I had done some initiatories and was taking a break for dinner before I went back for a session.

It seemed like a perfect evening to take a walk around the temple and see what it looked like other than from the front. It was worth the time. The temple sits on a hill just below an east mountain. The front faces a parking lot and I have seen it many times, but as I walked south down the sidewalk I found myself in the trees looking east at the temple. As I looked up the spires.


It didn't hurt that the clouds were uncommonly beautiful. When you live in Las Vegas you become accustom to lots of sunshine and few clouds. This spring has been different and Thursday evening was a perfect time to take some photos. As is becoming more common when I'm just out and don't have my Nikon with me I've got my "Brownie Box Camera" or rather my iPhone.


Just to the east from where I was taking photos was a beautiful fountain.


JoAnn says this photo looking at the easr side of the temple up towards the celestial room is her favorite.


We may live in the desert, but the temple is an oasis, in many ways. These photos helped to prove it is a place where you can experience peace on the outside as well as on the inside.

Friday Night Lights - 9-Year Old Style

We are on the road again. I just finished leading a workshop in central Utah so we are taking advantage of visiting with our Utah children and grandchildren. Since they grandchildren are 2 boys we took in a ball game and a play on the book, "Friday Night Lights", which was written about Texas football, but seems to aptly apply to Spanish Fork baseball.



Our 9-year old grandson plays baseball and I think he enjoys it. He is the right fielder, which means he stands 3 feet behind the basepath on the grass and sometimes watches the game. Actually a couple of hits were directed to him and he was on top of them before they got by, not that I'm sure they were hit hard enough to get by him. His throw is a bit of a shotput effect and is pretty good shotput form. The important thing for this 9-year old is that when he threw the ball it went where it was intended, even if it had a high arch.

Getting on base has a pretty standard model - 4 walks to every hit - and then, once on base, it's all about base stealing. For 9-year olds base stealing is about seeing the ball go by the catcher, watch the catcher run to the wall to get the ball and then have it register in their mind that they can steal. My favorite part is the slide. If you run towards a base, any base, you must slide. If you don't quite make it, well then you reach out with your hand and touch the base. If you didn't get to slide during the inning you walk towards home plate and take a slide. The rule? Every boy must go home with a bit of the basepath on their pants. It may be the most important component of the baseball game.

Was it fun? You bet. I think the boys had fun. I know most of the parents had fun. That is what it is all about - having fun! None of the boys took it too seriously and I only saw a couple of dads who took it too seriously. The umpire is 13 or 14 and did a great job. In the preceding game before he made an error and a lady was all over his case. Thank goodness the game was almost over. I went up afterwards, called him over and said, "You are doing a great job. Just ignore the parents." He seemed appreciative someone said he was doing a great job.

Baseball is about fun. If it's not fun then why play it. Kids are forced to take too much seriously in this society and too many parents have to make sure their kids live out their sport fantasies (or frustrations). Keep the fun in the game - and win occasionally, but enjoy it for what it is - a game.

Did I mention that the ballpark has the best hamburgers and fries I have found. Actually Spanish Fork has the best little hamburger joints I have ever found. Friday Night Lights in Spanish Fork is about baseball, boys, families, hamburgers, and fries. Does it get any better than that - I don't think so. Well, maybe they could add fireworks!

Lazy Saturdays

It's approaching summer in Las Vegas. We can tell, the wind has died down a little bit and we teased 90 degrees today. It won't be long before a 90 degree day will be considered cool, but for now, it's still a little on the warm side.

Saturday is our day. It may get busy, like last week with graduation, but usually we can carve out several hours just for the two of us. For our kids with children, eat your hearts out. For us it is usually the best few hours of the week. We don't do anything spectacular, just get out and relax together. We might go shopping, like we did yesterday, followed by a lunch, and then home. Mostly it is about getting out together.

The day started early with me taking a friend to the airport at 6:30 am and then home to wake JoAnn up so she could help me out cleaning the chapel. By 9:30 am we were done and ready to do a little shopping at Bass Pro Shops (sorry Olaf). On the way home we decided to find a new restaurant a friend of ours opened up. We knew generally where it was, but not exactly. We did know the name so we trolled through a couple of strip malls until we found it. We were rewarded with a wonderful time and meal.

First, we were the only people there, which worried us a little, but it is still their soft opening (DW Bistro). We met with Bryce, the co-owner and our friend and had an enjoyable patio lunch. In fact the food was soooo gooood we have designated it as our new "favorite" restaurant. JoAnn had a DW Nicoise – pan-seared fresh tuna, olives, haricot verts, red & white potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, sliced egg, mango & Dijon champagne vinaigrette. It was a very tasty salad. And I had the DW BLT – stacked high, thick bacon, crispy shredded lettuce, tomato with chipotle mayo and they tell you when you order the bacon is Jalapeno bacon - and yes, it has a bite, but a good bite. The cook is from Jamaica and grew up in Albuquerque, so the food is unique. We were just so impressed with the food, how good the wait staff was, and the fact that Bryce spend an hour just visiting with us. Did I mention the fries were sweet potato fries - and they were really good!

But wait, it wasn't over. Bryce learned to cook scones when he lived in Ireland and he treated us to blueberry and raspberry scones that we thought were awesome. They were the lightest scones we had ever had. We will be taking our kids out to eat when they come. It's a great neighborhood restaurant and fits in with our other favorite, Frank and Fina's (Mexican where JoAnn gets the sweet potato enchilada)/

A quilter's husband

Over the last 20 years JoAnn has become more and more involved in quilting. I think it is great because she is so creative and she loves doing it. I think we have lost count of the number of quilts she has made and given away. However, if 40 years ago someone would have told me my wife was going to be a quilter I would have laughed. And yet over these years I've watched her grow, gain confidence, and serve as an inspiration and teacher for others. She is just awesome.

We are fortunate to currently live near several quilt stores, but when we lived in Terre Haute, IN we drove 20 miles to Paris, IL to her favorite quilt shop. That was when I learned to always bring a book along and to look for a Dairy Queen. Personally, I think there should be a law that all quilt shops have a DQ within 200 feet. When we are on the road we can almost always find a quilt shop. We have found them in Williams, AZ, Ventura, CA, Reno, NV, Boise, ID, St. Louis, MO, San Diego, CA and many other places. It's almost like they are a magnet for us. It's not always JoAnn that finds them. I'm as good at it as she is. Now I bring along a book, my computer, iPhone, and iPod. I can sit in the back seat of the car, listen to my kind of music (mostly classical) and get all kinds of work done. I always anticipate at least 60 minutes of quiet time.

We found this quilt store in Williams, AZ when I left the interstate to stop for gas and thought we would tour their downtown. It only took 40 minutes for gas (okay for looking at quilt material), but then, I wasn't in a hurry. I don't think I'm allowed to be in a hurry when we are within 10 miles of a quilt shop.


As I walked around the house today I realized just how much quilting has become part of our decor. Granted, the girls just left last Sunday and JoAnn has had a busy week, but we have at least 3 quilts in progress. All are from last weekend. For those who don't understand how quilting takes over I thought I would take you on a tour. That's our futon, or was until it became a quilt staging area.


The quilt shop is the hub of all of our operations. Usually the sewing machine is in here, but when she is in certain stages of construction the sewing machine goes elsewhere.


I'm told we don't have much material, but I reorganized a whole closet just for the material. It is all organized by color. I call this area the quilter's candy. Last weekend when the girls were here it seemed that every time I went by the quilt shop there were 2 or more girls in there fondling the quilt candy. Of course, as JoAnn says, that's what it is for.


We have a wrap-around couch and futon in the living room. Right now they are quilt staging areas. You will note the quilt squares all look similar. Each of the girls made a quilt square, including JoAnn (that totals 8 squares) and then most of them made their own 9th square. Here you see the whole couch and futon are converted to staging areas.


Finally, we have the dining room table, or more appropriately the large quilt sewing area. I'm pretty sure we had a meal on that table in that location at least once, but I can't be sure. In JoAnn's defense I also use it as a meeting table when I have colleagues over, so it's really a multi-use table.


Being a quilter's husband is less of a challenge than it is an opportunity. I've learned more about quilts than I ever thought that I would, or even thought I wanted to. Yet I can talk to JoAnn about a log cabin design, or color matching, etc. It's almost scary.

Daughters are special...and granddaughters too!

Last weekend we had all of our daughters in town for sisters' weekend and while I'm officially uninvited I still hung around this year. For me the joy comes from seeing how our daughters have grown and matured. I still remember them as children and while I try not to treat them that way, they are always special to a dad and always his little girls. I love each one of them individually and collectively. Individually because of their own unique and special qualities (and quirks). Collectively because of how much they love and support each other. There are still friendly competitions between the girls, but you can sense their love for one another. JoAnn and I can sit and listen to them for hours. Of course, with 5 girls all talking at the same time it can get a little loud, and always has.

When we sit back and reflect about not many years ago when they ranged from a few months to 14 and the photo below taken when Krissie must have been about 3, you can see how similar and different they are. The two older girls are in their teens and have earrings and at least one necklace (I think JoAnn would call those earrings and necklace "bling-bling"). The others are watching and developing their own personalities. Our home was never dull, not with all those girls and 2 brothers. I sometimes wonder how we survived.


And yet here we are, now almost 6 years as empty nesters and some children gone for almost 20 years. They have husbands, children, families, different friends, live apart (most of them), and yet, when they get together, they are still best friends. Better than just best friends they always invite their brother's wives because they want them to share in the fun. This year our newest daughter-in-law came and was initiated into the "sisters' weekend." This is also the first year we had babies attending (I think, but then I wasn't present last year).


As JoAnn and I have sat on the back patio and talked about our daughters we have realized, once again, what a great family we have been blessed with. They are all good kids, working hard to raise their own families, even if it is just a husband and wife, and knowing that they are never alone. Between Facebook, email, and telephone calls this has got to be the most connected our family has ever been.

Thanks for coming girls and for sharing our two youngest granddaughters. I can hardly wait until the granddaughters are old enough to join sisters' weekend.

Sunset at the Beach

It has been several weeks since JoAnn and I were at the beach in Ventura, California, but I have finally found time to sit down and work the photos so I could show them in succession. Enjoy the photos as they show the last 10 minutes or so of sunset.

and then I turned around...