Not Quite What I Agreed To?

One of my recent finds is a book called Not Quite What I Was Planning, a collection of six-word memoirs by all sorts of people. The premise is to capture the essence of your life in a brief bit of prose-poetry (my work-in-progress: "Left-handed man, right-handed world"); I even asked my students to give it a try last term, with great success. So the title here is a riff on that, with what I agreed to being my new calling, and it's pretty tongue-in-cheek.

One of my main duties on the High Council is to speak monthly in one of the nine wards or branches in the stake or, as was the case this past Sunday, in the dependent group of the Socorro ward that meets in Alamo. Alamo is a village in the Alamo Navajo Reservation, a small branch of the Navajo Nation located in the mountains of west-central New Mexico.

To get there, we drove south to Socorro (1.5 hours), west to Magdalena (30 minutes) and northwest to Alamo (30 minutes) for the 11:30 sacrament meeting. The meetings are held in the Chapter House, which is essentially a community center. Sacrament (and Sunday School as well) is held in the main room, an octagonal-shaped room used apparently for a range of activities, from council meetings to social events. It is a cross between the chapel and the cultural hall. Primary is typically held in a small side-room, but with our kids, they moved to an alcove off the hallway outside the main room.

Attendance was rather high Sunday--32, including our brood. A member of the bishopric and his wife delivered supplies, assisted by a senior missionary couple and a few local members. "Supplies" includes tables, hymnals, lesson manuals, materials for the sacrament, and a small CD player for musical accompaniment during the hymns.

I was asked to help prepare and bless the sacrament, and two local Priesthood holders then administered it to the congregation. We prepared one cup too few, so we had to fill and bless an additional cup (water came from a bottle brought by a local member). I then spoke, we sang and prayed, and the meeting was adjourned.

After the two-hour block, the main room was rearranged to host a pot-luck meal prepared by the local members for visitors, in this case, us. Several members thanked us for staying, as apparently many stake visitors leave after the first hour to get back home. We then helped clean and pack, and were on our way.

What stands out to me the most from this is how wonderful and surprising this experience was. I had heard a number of things about Alamo, and I was pleased with our visit. The members there were gracious and friendly, and the spirit during the sacrament in particular was strong. About 60% of the congregation consisted of children, and the acoustics of the room were not conducive for an LDS worship meeting, but the congregation was very reverent (my message, by the way, was on reverence, an area of emphasis from the stake; the real sermon was given before I spoke a word).

I was also impressed with our children. This is the second time we have all gone to visit another unit, and both times they have done a wonderful job of joining in. Even Isaac, who fussed about going, not only to church, but to church somewhere else, behaved himself well. And this is after over two hours in the car driving there.

One last lesson learned from this experience is how the church works to bless the lives of our people in all sorts of places. This small place, hidden from most of the world, where Socorro (population 8,000) is the city and Albuquerque is but a myth, is on tap to get its own meetinghouse, a place where the members there can meet regularly and under better conditions. To think of this, and the possibility that this group would become its own self-sustaining branch, is marvelous. And that I got to go there. Not what I expected, by a long-shot. And far more than I could have hoped for.

One Decade!

Ten years ago today Summer and I were married, and, at the risk of a horribly sappy entry, here are some thoughts on ten years of marriage. As we have said to each other several times over the past week, it has flown by. Oddly, despite how quickly time has gone by over these ten years, it is also hard to imagine a time when we were not married. Thank you for making my life more wonderful than I ever imagined possible.

Here are some highlights, by the numbers:

• 10-years of (mostly) bliss (there's been more bliss as we've gone a long)
• 9-number of ward callings Summer has held since we got married (not including her most recent one as a RS substitute teacher)
• 8-different teaching/tutoring/writing jobs I have held over the past 10 years (plus 4 custodial jobs at BYU)
• 7-trips we have made to CA since we married
• 6-years spent in ABQ (years we thought we would be here=3)
• 5-number of places we have lived (also, the number of years spent at the most recent home)
• 4-children born to us (also, the number of our siblings' weddings we have been to since our own)
• 3-number of hospitals in which members of our little family have been born
• 2-sets of parents who have moved to UT/WY since we moved to NM

And finally:

• 1-number of awkward wedding day photos we will ever post online--enjoy!

Goblin Valley, Day 3

Friday night was insanely windy, but by about 2 am it had calmed down, and the kids all slept fine, so we were up and at it by 6:30 Saturday. After we ate (Summer made breakfast burritos before we left, and they made a great first meal of the day), we made our way out to the Goblins for another hike.

We hiked for about an hour and a half, and it was fun to watch the kids interact with Chelle and Jon, both of whom were a lot of fun to hike with. Here are some assorted photos from the hike.

First, Ryan, apparently holding the rocks apart:

Next, Isaac with the sun peeking between the rocks (looks as if he's shunning some heavenly visitor):

Finally, Allyson and Isaac being adorable:I carried Evan in the front carrier and got some pictures of the rest of our party, including this one, in which Isaac seems set on leading the group somewhere, but he's not at all sure where:
We found some new and bizarre rock formations, including this Michelle-shaped one:
And, finally, Isaac at the end (clearly) of the hiking:
After lunch, we broke camp and headed home. This was a fun trip, and there will be more stories from both us and the kids, as well as pictures of various hikes, climbs, and, in Evan's case, napping, over the next while. Now, for that next camping trip...

Goblin Valley, Day 2

Our plan for Friday was to get up and fed early and then go to the park to try to get a campsite for that night. There are about 6 nonreservable sites, and our hope was that one of them would open up. So, as is typical of a camping trip for our family, the kids began waking up around 6:00, and by 7:00 we were dressed and eating breakfast.

One of the things I love about camping is how it allows you to appreciate simple things, like clean teeth (brushing that morning at the state park was one of my happiest moments) and food. For breakfast we had hot cocoa and oatmeal, and it's amazing how simple food like that can make you so much happier. At home, it would be disappointing, but on a camping trip it's wonderful.

We go to the hoodoos around 8:30, and I left Summer and the kids to explore a bit while I went to the ranger station to look into getting a site. Two sites opened up that morning, and we got one, so Friday night was spent in much more developed conditions.

We then hiked for an hour or so among the hoodoos. We explored further to the east than we did on Thursday, rounding a corner to find an entirely new area hidden from view from the observation point at the parking lot. Here are the kids after a mile or so of hiking:



By the time we returned to the car, the morning was getting warm and we were getting hungry. The hike back to the parking area includes a decent climb up, and Allyson decided to help pull Summer up:We then went to our first campsite to break camp and move over to the park. This went surprisingly quickly, and we were packed and on the road within an hour. After setting up the tent, we ate and rested. Summer took the kids on a walk while Evan and I napped; after they returned I took all four on another hike--this will deserve its own entry, as we got lost and wound up hiking about 2.5 miles on the 1.5 mile trail.

The rest of the day was low-key. The kids explored the campground, which has a few fun formations of its own, including this rock directly behind our cooking area, which Ryan turned into his own roost:
That night I took the older kids to an evening ranger presentation about the ways in which water shapes the desert. As we got back to our tent, a car pulled up--Chelle and Jon had arrived.

Goblin Valley, Day 1

On Thursday we left home for the first camping trip of the year, a joint trip with the Ellsworths to Goblin Valley State Park in central Utah. We knew that it would be tricky to get a campsite in the park, so we hit the road early and got there in the early afternoon. But alas, the campground was full, so we resorted to Plan B--the BLM land west of the park.

Here we set up for our first attempt at primitive camping--no water, toilets, parking areas, or camping fee. We pitched the tent at the base of Wild Horse Butte facing west, which gave us a great view of the sunset. Additionally, the remote nature of the area made the night sky amazing.

That said, primitive camping is a challenge. We were about 100 yards from the car, which required us to tote all our gear in across the ravine. Here is the site we chose--mostly flat and free of cow pies:
The rock formations here are similar to those we later encountered in Goblin Valley, but less concentrated and dramatic. After setting up camp, we did some hiking among the canyons near the tent (later that night, I imagined those canyons to be home to mountain lions):
To eat dinner, we went to the park, where we began with a short foray among the hoodoos for which the area is famous. Summer and I had researched and gotten excited about the area, but nothing could prepare us for the reality of these otherworldly sandstone formations. The variety and complexity of these are astounding. Here the kids pause to take it all in:
We hiked for about an hour, nearly half of which was spent keeping the kids in sight. The hoodoos make for a maze that Isaac considered ideal for playing hide-and-seek; we may do that when they're older. But we did set up this shot--try to spot me and the kids:
Easily the best part of this hike was seeing how each child approached the area differently. Allyson took a sensible approach to scaling the hills and observing the formations; she imagined various shapes and named many of them but did little intense climbing.

Ryan, on the other hand, saw only one thing in the shapes: a challenge to be conquered. He scaled the rocks like a mountain goat, making Summer very nervous. But he always knew his limits and never go in trouble.

Isaac revelled in the chance to race among the rocks, repeatedly tackling climbs beyond his ability but never despairing. He would stare at the rocks with his sister and then climb them with his brother.

And Evan, who spent every hike in the front carrier, would laugh uncontrollably whenever I would run or jump, and loved looking down when he and I climbed atop a hoodoo.

Here is a quintessential view of the three older kids at play:
After we ate and washed up, we headed back to our site, where we ate smores and watched the stars come out. And after having hiked a few miles, the kids fell asleep quickly.

Coming next--a full day at Goblin Valley, and did we get a site in the park? And when would Chelle and Jon meet up with us? Such suspense...

May is here...Let the games begin

This Week:

Allyson and I went to see a beautiful play at the Albuquerque Little Theatre and then went to our second favorite cupcake place in town.

Ryan read 23 chapters of the Book of Mormon on his own. As Roy puts it, we are overjoyed that he is reading the scriptures on his own initiative, but we feel a little bad that it wasn't anything we said or did that spurred this on.

Isaac made up new lyrics to a song I have sung to the kids for forever (Becky I am sure you will appreciate the link). The new lyrics are "You're my honeybunch, sugarpea, piece of macaroni-cheese." He has been making up other songs as well.

Evan started to say "da-da," no meaning attached yet, he is just enjoying making noises and copying our sounds. He has also started to copy us when we shake our heads no. So, why are the kids okay when he copies them, but it is a mortal sin if Isaac tries it?

Animals at the Zoo

On Tuesday, Ryan's class had a field trip to the Rio Grande Zoo (which our bishop once called "the best zoo in the world"), and since I'm on break, Summer and I joined in with the little boys. It was a gorgeous day for a zoo trip--warm, even at 9 am when we set out, not windy or too hot.

We arrived before the heavy-laden school buses and waited for the zoo to open. While we did so, Isaac stood for a photo by this sculpture of a Mexican Grey Wolf:
Minutes beofre we left home that morning the phone rang. Ryan was calling from the classroom, and what I gathered of the "conversation" was that he wanted to know if Destiny, a classmate of his, could join us at the zoo. Apparently I agreed to this, because our group consisted of 5 Turners and Destiny, who is a sweet girl and Ryan's best friend. Here are she, Ryan, and Isaac by the flamingo area:

The zoo is always fun (well, maybe not when the tigers escape, ala San Fran), but especially when the kids get excited. And early on we asked if they wanted to see the seals, which resulted in immense excitement. So once we got to the seals, their joy knew no bounds. We went all over the zoo, seeing the reptile house, the elephants, the koalas, some ridiculously loud monkeys, and the polar bears. Here are the kids at the home of the latter: