I would guess that most of us can remember exactly what we were doing on 9/11. I certainly remember that moment when I watched on TV the horrific destruction of the towers of the World Trade Center. My heart went out to all those involved in the search and rescue and all those who lost their lives that day. What a tremendous loss it was for our nation. Today my husband and I visited a Field of Flags memorial held in Sandy, Utah to pay tribute to each of those individuals that lost their lives that day. There are approximately 4 blocks of flags with tags on each one of them with an individual names and a little about them. As we went down one of the rows and read about these men and women; our hearts were deeply touched and saddened that they lost their lives that day. Below is a video that I hope you will take a moment to listen too because I believe that a kind Heavenly Father knew them all and was there and will always be there for us also. Have some Kleenex because your hearts will feel the spirit testify to you that it is true.
August was a whirlwind of family activities. First of all my husband finally put in for his retirement. We immediately began planning for some family vacation time and perhaps a couple get a way trips were in the future as well. We had also planned to apply to serve a senior couple mission for our church. Our plan was to go sometime in the New Year. While inquiring about local mission opportunities; we met with our Stake President. This was a very spiritual experience and at that time we knew we were to apply to be missionaries in our area. Within a few days we had completed our interviews and sent our papers off to the General Missionary Department. You can read about the calling of missionaries here.We knew that this mission would happen soon; so we made plans to visit children and begin our preparations.
Meanwhile, my sweet husband needed shoulder surgery so we scheduled it right a way.
We traveled to Idaho to attend the birthday celebration and baptism of our grandson, Kason. We had such a great time at this sweet event. His maternal grandparents flew in for this very special occasion. His oldest brother Austin was able to baptize him and then his Father confirmed him a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Middle Left, Grandpa (Roger), Austin, Grandma, (LeAnn) and Kason - Middle Right, Amanda, Austin, Kason and Travis - Lower Left, Haven and Amanda, Travis and Layton, Kason, Back, Austin and Ethan, Front, Karli and Ryley - Lower Center, Austin and Kason - Lower Right, Roger, LeAnn, Amanda and Haven, Travis, Kason, Karli and Layton, Austin and Ryley, Brenda (Grandma), Pierre
(Grandpa) and Ethan.
Upper Left Corner, Austin - Upper Middle, Ethan - Upper Right Corner, Karli -
Lower Left, Haven and Karli - Lower Middle, Haven - Lower Right, Travis and Roger -
We came home from Idaho and then traveled to Heber City for the Birthday celebration for our grandson, Jonathan. He was being ordained to be a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood by his father that day, also. He received a beautiful blessing. We enjoyed being with the family.
Upper Left, Middle, and Right Corner, Jonathan (the birthday boy) -
Middle Left, Mary, Jeffery and Sean, Middle Center, Jonathan - Middle Right, Grandpa Roger and Joseph -Lower, Left, Joshua - Lower, Middle, Jeffery - Lower Right, Joseph -
We next traveled to Prescott Valley, Arizona to enjoy a few days with our daughter Jenni, her husband Michael and their children. They just moved there not long ago so we were anxious to see them. We enjoyed seeing Prescott and areas around there. It was such a great visit. Their family traveled back to Utah with us for Michael's family reunion; so we had more time with them.
Upper Left, Alyssa - Upper Center, Emma - Upper Right, Benjamin -
Middle Left, Michael, Emma, Alyssa, Jenni and Benjamin - Middle Center, Michael and Jenni - Middle Right, Ben, Alyssa and Emma -
Lower Left, Ben and Alyssa, Emma, Grandma LeAnn, Grandpa Roger - Lower Middle, Sammy - Lower Right, LeAnn and Roger -
Upper Left, Emma - Upper Middle, Emma and Ben - Upper Right, Ben -
Lower Left, Alyssa, Emma, Ben - Lower Middle, Ben - Lower Right, Sammy -
Our daughter, Jenni took us to a lake in the Prescott area. We loved the scenery there and enjoy taking pictures of this unique landscape.
When we arrived back home our son James, his wife Amber and their family came down from Idaho. We were able to have the two families together for a few hours. It is always fun when siblings can have some time together.
Left, Amber, Averi, Taylor Jo and James - Right, Michael - Back Row, Amber, Taylor Jo, James and Jenni Front Row, Averi, Emma, Alyssa and Ben -
The next day we went up to Heber city to celebrate our grandson, Jeffery's Birthday. There was quite a crowd and we had fun visiting and being together.
Upper Left, Mary Lou, Tammy, Mary, Roger and Sean - Upper Middle, Michael, Alyssa, Ben, Jenni and Roger - Upper Left, Joseph, Emma and Sean -
Middle Left, Jeffery opening presents - Middle Center, Jonathan and Jeffery - Middle Right, Jonathan, Mary and Jeffery -
Lower Left, Jeffery opening presents - Lower Center, Jeffery, Emma - Lower Right Group picture -
The following week we headed to Washington State to spend some precious moments with our youngest daughter, Tiffani, her husband Dave and their children. We took with us our granddaughter, Taylor Jo so that she could have some bonding time with her cousin, Sarah. We also went here to celebrate the birthday of our grandson, Michael who turned 16 and was ordained to be a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood.
On the first day there we went out to breakfast at a small Airport Restaurant. It was a unique place and we had a great breakfast. Afterwards the children came to our hotel and went swimming.
Upper Left, a photo of Airplanes on the ceiling of the cafe - Upper Middle, our daughter, Tiffani - Upper Right, cousins; Sarah and Taylor Jo -
Lower Left, Kaitlyn, Dave and Sarah - Lower Middle, William - Lower Right, Taylor Jo, Dave and Sarah -
The next day we went to a town celebration - We enjoyed the car show and
I was especially drawn to the red cars.
Our grandson, Michael's High School Band had a concert at this celebration. Michael plays the trumpet in his High School Band. In the following video he is highlighted playing an improv piece. He is really good on the trumpet. We are so proud of him.
On Sunday we celebrated Michael's 16th Birthday. At church he was ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood by his father. It was a very spiritual moment. We then came home for a dinner, presents and of course, cake and ice cream.
Upper Left Back Row, Michael, Tiffani, Dave - Front Row, William, Kaitlyn, Sarah, Taylor Jo -
Upper Middle, Michael, Tiffani, Dave - Front Row, William, Kaitlyn, Sarah, Grandma, LeAnn -
Upper Right, My girls and I -
Middle Left, Sarah, Taylor Jo - Middle Center, Sarah, Taylor Jo, Dave, Kaitlyn and Tiffani - Middle Right, Grandpa Roger and Sammy -
Lower Left, Michael - Lower Center, Tiffani, William, Michael and Dave - Lower Right, Michael -
We later enjoyed some outdoor fun. We were also able to see some dear friends for a few moments; which was awesome. We have many friend in that area and wish we could have visited with more of them.
When we arrived home the next day my husband went in for shoulder surgery. He is doing well and recovering, we hope quickly. My husband is a very hard worker and I knew that it would be hard for him to have such a long down time. He will be in a sling for 8 weeks. After the third day of recovery, he was up and into his office learning to use his left hand to maneuver the mouse for the computer. Then two days later he managed to actually type on the computer. Luckily he isn't do work but just surfing and doing things he enjoys. However, I have had to limit his time there so he will rest a bit more.
We are looking forward to receiving word about when we will start our mission. We will be going down to the Mission Training Center for a week; which will be very exciting. We can hardly wait for this opportunity in our lives. I will post more about this later. I have missed blogging and it still may be sparse at times. I miss all of you blogging friends and am sending hugs your way!
