Gratitude

We had a wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving yesterday.  Ryan and Samantha invited us to their  home along with other family members and friends.  They have plenty of room both inside and outside the house.  The day was a picture perfect Thanksgiving Day- not to hot and not to cold, no snow and plenty of sunshine.  Everyone brought something yummy to eat and we enjoyed a marvelous meal filled with the bounties of the earth.  We also enjoyed our time together and all have reason to take some time and count our blessings.  Thanks to all who came and joined us in this celebration of Gratitude.  A special thanks to Ryan and Samantha for hosting such a large group in their home.  We love you and your family very much and are deeply appreciative of all you did to make this such a wonderful and memorable occasion.  We missed those who couldn't come and hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful as well.  We all have so very much to be grateful for.  Take some time and make a list., well maybe just a partial list, and discuss it with your families.  Below are just a few of the pictures of the days events.

The formal dining room at Ryan and Samantha's home.

Fun outdoors before Thanksgiving dinner.

Grateful people with plenty to eat.

Avery, Ada, and Smantha.

Filling up the plates for the first go around.

Yummy food a plenty!

 Pies of all sorts and sizes.

Every yummy treat imaginable!

Then there was crafting for the kids and the women. The men watched football and visited.

Again thanks be to the Lord for all our blessings material and otherwise.  We are indeed blessed.

A Short Pheasant Hunt in Cache Valley

Jason called  a few days ago and asked if I'd like to go pheasant hunting with him.  We decided that this Thursday would be a good day.  I told Jason I'd love to go with him, but that I wouldn't be hunting.  I've kind of given the sport up, whether it be for deer, ducks, or pheasants or anything else for that matter.  I told him I'd take my camera and do my hunting in a little different way this time.  This morning he called and told me that JT would be coming along with him.  So much the better.  I love to be with my family doing almost anything outdoors.  Jason had done his research and said the DWR had  released about 11,000 pheasants around the state.  That sounds like a lot of pheasants, but please remember this is a big state in terms of area.  Anyway he thought he knew where we could find some birds.  We ended up at the Bud Phelps Wildlife Management Area near Mendon.  It was a beautiful day to be out tramping around the fields and meadows of Cache Valley in mid-November.

Below are just a few of the pictures of our few hours together.

Jason taking aim with the old 16 gauge he inherited from his Grandpa McMichael.

It just feels good to be out in the field with the old shotgun in hand  looking for an illusive pheasant. 

 He didn't go unrewarded.  Here he is with number one.  The limit is two.   He got  the second about an half hour later.   All in all a rewarding afternoon.

My eldest son and his eldest son, Cache Valley Utah, November 14, 2013

It was a rewarding afternoon unless you are a beautiful rooster pheasant.  Gotta feel sorry for these birds. If you don't think so watch the video below.

A Small Step Back in Time

Today was a beautiful November day.  The sun was shining and  the sky was clear.  In other words the day was calling us to a little adventure.   Ethan has been asking me to take him fossil hunting for quite some time now, so when I saw in the newspaper yesterday that the USU Department of  Geology was having an open house up at their museum on campus I decided  this might be a good opportunity, and one that wouldn't leave my muscles and creaky bones aching at the end of the day.  I met them at the Tranist Center next to Smith's and we took the bus up to the campus.  The kids wanted to ride the bus, and frankly I've been wanting to do the same, so the bus it was.

Here are Kate, Ethan, and Hayden "waiting" for the bus to come.  I was wondering just what to expect.

They actually behaved very well, even though they were full of energy and free from school for the day.

It was great to have Justin there with us. This was his first day off after 59 straight days of work with lots of overtime hours on top of it.  He works hard, is finishing up his degree in in economics and caring for his family.  Needless to say his kids and I treasured the time we were able to spend together.

                                                                  Ethan on the bus.

Fish fossils,  It's hard to believe these were swimming around near the top of a mountain over by Kemmerer, Wyoming about a million years ago.  Well the top of that mountain was then the bottom of a lake.  Times have changed.

We didn't see any woolly mammoths, but their bones have been found in this area.

Ethan being lectured, well, sort of, by one of the geology professors at Utah State University.

Hayden pointing out where we live on a geologic map of the area.

Did you know alligators used to inhabit parts of western Wyoming?  Well, here is the evidence.

Synergy,  this is the name of the statue on the Utah State campus.  It implies many hands working together.  I added one more dimension to it.  I put Etan's brain and smiling face right in the middle of it.

Here. is Kate doing exactly what the sign says toching the cast of a dinosaur track.

A couple of future Aggies.

A small part of the USU library.  I have two college degrees and a lifetime of experience, but I'm not sure I'm even smart enough to check out a book in these days.

A Century of Honor: The LDS Church and the BSA

Boy Scouts of America

One Hundred Years of Scouting in the Church

On Tuesday evening we had the special privilege of attending the program celebrating the hundred years  since the  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints began its nationwide sponsorship of the Boy Scouts of America.  The program was held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and was viewed by Satellite, The Internet and TV by more than a million people across the country.  It was an honor to be there with Stephen and Candice and their two oldest, Mason and Halle, as well as Jason and Rene and their sweet girls, Megan and Maddie.  We know that others of the family were tuned in and their with us in spirit.  It seems like we have been involved in scouting for most of that hundred years, well, not quite, but I was just eleven when I went on my first camping trip with the boys from the old Lanark Ward.  Scouting activities were an important part of my youth.  Some of my most memorable moments from that time have do with things we did and the people who went with us and supported us making these memories possible.  The memories of scouting activities in my mind are great, but even greater are the lessons, whose seeds were sown so long ago, but which have taken decades for me to ponder and to truly cherish for what they really taught, values like those contained in the Scout Oath and Scout Law.  These values, when learned and truly internalized will lead anyone to a happier, more productive, and fulfilled life, whether they are scouts are not.  I am grateful that the Church chose to partner with the BSA a hundred years ago and for the role that partnership has played in my life and the life of our family.  We are proud of our six Eagle Scout sons and our Grand children who have already earned their Eagle awards or are currently working toward them.  We have gained much as a family from the scouting program in so many ways, and we will continue to encourage and support the time tested values of scouting that are so much needed by the youth of today.  The world would be a better place, as would everybody in it, if we would just follow simple scouting principles like "Do A Good Turn Daily."  View the video by clicking on the link below to get a glimpse of the Century of Honor Celebration we attended with some of our family.


http://youtu.be/QyRSq8V7eGs


Below are some quotes regarding scouting.  This is why we are so pleased to have sons and grandsons involved in the scouting program.  It has helped to shape my life and in turn it has helped to shape the lives of our children and their families and many, many others who have embraced the core values of the scouting program.

Thomas S. Monson - President LDS Church

"The Aaronic Priesthood prepares boys for manhood and the weightier duties of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Scouting helps our boys to walk uprightly the priesthood path to exaltation. . . ."

Lord Robert Baden Powell - Founder of Scouting

"There is no religious side to the [Scout] Movement. The whole of it is based on religion, that is on becoming aware of God and His Service"

Ezra Taft Benson - Former President LDS Church

  "Scouting is an integral part of the Church  program for young men and complements Aaronic Priesthood quorum work. Where programs for Scout troops are available, please understand it is not an optional program"  

Gordon B. Hinkley - Former President LDS Church

"I love the Scouting movement. The promise of the Scout Oath and the twelve points of the Scout Law point young men along the path of being prepared for the 21st century. They provide a solid and powerful magnetic force toward development of a well-rounded and noteworthy character that counts..."

F. Melvin Hammond - Former General YM Presidency

"If someone questions the position of the Church in Scouting, I always remind them of these words, 'On my honor I will do my duty to God and my country. . . ." Once again duty becomes paramount. A commitment is made by each Scout; he has given his word of honor, that he will do all in his power to uphold Heavenly Father and keep His commandments. A love of country, with a desire to maintain freedom and liberty, is established in a boy's mind, and it never leaves him during the course of his life. I thank God for Scouting"                        
                                                                                         

Last, but not least is a quote from our sweet granddaughter, Halle, who in spite of her meager twelve years, has seen and experienced some of the wonders and benefits of the scouting program in the Church and in life.

"I love the Boy Scouts.", she exclaimed to me as we were exiting the Conference Center together.  I'm sure she was speaking for her little sisters too.

 

If all of our sweet granddaughters marry men who make and honor the Scout Oath and live by the values of the Scout Law, I will be happy and so will they.

 

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