A Cry For Help

That title makes this sound a bit more psychological than it is. It's really a practical ting, but I suppose it's hard to ask for this help, so it is a bit of a cry.

Here's the deal. Summer has relented to my plan to get a scooter, but on the condition that I make some real progress on our backyard (it's a fiasco, really). Her latest deal: once we get the retaining wall built, I can get my wheels. So, I cry for help.

Here's the plan. The week of 11 August I beginning a two-week break, and I want to build the wall then. I'm working on getting either Dad's help or at least his advice/guidance, and then any other kin who could make it down to help would be welcomed warmly (seriously, August in ABQ is warm, but it's been pretty rainy this season). We may also try to get the ward to help out--our home teacher has two teenaged boys, Summer's visiting teachers are married to the Elders Quorum and Young Mens presidents, etc.

(There, I asked for help. Next thing you know I'll ask for directions too...)

Thanks in advance

Defining the Blog

Remember when you're dating someone and the relationship has begun to evolve, and there is that moment when one or both of you realizes that it's time to define the relationship? In the world of single folk at BYU, "DTR" is as important an acronym as GPA, but I'm far removed from that world. Or so I thought, until Summer set up her new blog. Suddenly we have to figure out if this is my blog and that is hers, or if this is ours and I have my work blogs to fill that part of my life.


(I know, so far this is shaping up to be the worst blog entry ever. It will hopefully get better...)


This of course gets me thinking about the roles the blogs play, as I now find myself at least partially responsible for this and 8 other blogs over at Wordpress for work (I'm not counting my two defunct work-related Blogger blogs). But only this one fills a personal need. In my case, that need is to stay in touch, to share moments from our family's life. It's a blend of email and photo albums that makes me feel more connected.


I say all this because my high council speaking topic for this month is the role journal-keeping plays in family history work. It's a topic that makes me less than comfortable, mainly because my journal-keeping experience has been abysmal. Even on my mission, I would miss months on end. (I claimed I was working too hard to have time for a journal, but we all know I eschew work and would certainly rather write.)


But in thinking about and studying the topic, I have come to some conclusions about how families work and the role a family plays in our lives. And I think this is the direction I wish to take for my talk. (Is this then a thinly veiled attempt to get feedback on my talk? Perhaps...)


I contend that there are three reasons why we have families. The first is to feel part of a group, to love and teach and serve and learn from each other. The second is to find and create an identity for ourselves, to give, both literally and metaphorically, a name to our sense of who we are. The third purpose is to unite ourselves to both a past the precedes us and a future that we will not see.


I see journals playing a role in all three facets of family. They help strengthen our relationships, both in the act of reading each other's thoughts (which, as it turns out, is made more possible via blogging) and in the act of reflecting on our connections to those we love. They allow us an avenue for exploring identity and putting into words that sense of self. And they help us create a record that--whether is is preserved for posterity or not--factors into the turning of the hearts that is central to our theology.


I see this last role as crucial. Obviously family records play a role in family history work today, as we are able to compile the information needed to carry out temple work through records kept by our ancestors. But we also fulfill in part Malachi's prophesy and Elijah's mission by stepping aside from our daily concerns, the minutae that occupies so much of our lives, and contemplating from whence we came and what will remain when we are gone. As I said at the Catherall Memorial Day gathering, our great fear is that we do not matter, that when we are gone, no one will know that we ever were. And in recording our lives we turn our lives to both the past and the future.


To return to where this began, I see this medium as an exciting way of doing all of this. And I take from my wife (as I typically do) a lesson in finding ways to live gospel principles that I usually do poorly at.

Ryan=7 Years

For Ryan's birthday, we went to the Albuquerque BioPark and spent the whole day at the various facilities. We began at the Aquarium:
After seeing the fish and such, we ate lunch at the restaurant on site and then caught the train to the Zoo. Here the kids wait (awfully patiently, I must say) for the train:
We spent an hour or so at the Zoo and then rode back to the Botanic Gardens, where we saw the Butterfly Pavilion. After going home and eating dinner, Ryan opened gifts. The main one was this telescope (the Isaac was extra):
Once it's no longer cloudy and the sun sets before 9 pm, we'll use it. This was followed by cake, which Summer decorated as Ryan's favorite planet (Mars) and its two moons:
Ryan had that smile on his face all day. It was a very fun day, much like the past seven years of having Ryan in our lives.

Part 3

We spent Friday in Evanston, and, no offense to the good people of the Queen City (odd nickname for that town), but we will not spend another July 4th there. The insane display of reckless residential fireworking still boggles my mind. And I live in ABQ, a city with no apparent laws. It was a 6 hour long post-apocalyptic scene of fire and brimstone.

Anyhow, the day began with a birthday celebration for Isaac and Ryan. First we have Isaac with his gift from the grandparents Turner, an outdoorsy backpack complete with lantern, binoculars, and whistle:
He spent the rest of the day enthralled with the gift, and when he learned that my mom has all of those same things, he was overjoyed.

Summer and I gave him a dozen or so packs of astronaut ice cream:

And my folks gave Ryan an RC car, which he quickly became quite skilled at driving:
The next day we left town for the Evans family reunion in Ogden. The drive took us along I-84, past Devil's Slide, which is even cooler than I remembered.

Once there, we settled down for a few hours of food and fun. The most fun was watching the babies do things like this:

And this:And this: Fears of Ben and Evan getting into a death match were ill-founded, as Evan is much too scared of his cousin. This may be why: I was amazed at how fast Ben moves, as well as how cute that nose crinkle thing is. One of my favorite moments, however, came when I was holding Evan and mom was holding Ben and we traded. Both babies looked around, confused at this disruption of the natural order of things and then, in unison, cried until harmony was restored to their little universes.

The older kids had fun on the playground, where Ryan did this: And Allyson this: That evening we stayed in Eagle Mt. again before leaving for the long drive home Sunday. We decided for this trip to take food instead of eating out on the way, and we loved it. It was less expensive, faster, more fun, and on a Sunday trip, less guilt-inducing.

All in all, we enjoyed the trip immensely. That said, we're not leaving the state again until Xmas, at the earliest.

Happy Birthday, Isaac!

Our first full day in Utah Valley was Isaac's 4th birthday, one full of glee. After a lazy morning, we left for an outing. We began with a trip to the Mt. Timp Temple, which is hidden much better than you'd expect. After wandering aimlessly in American Fork, we arrived. The day was obscenely hot (many bank signs read triple digits), so we moved quickly to the shade. But the kids were excited to see the place where Summer and I were married over a decade ago:
The kids also got to lounge in the grass:
And Evan, who has been taking steps while hanging on to furniture and the legs of adults for a few weeks, decided to take an unassisted step toward his mother. (This isn't that, but it's all I got.)
We then went out to UVU (formerly UVSC, a school that for some reason used to send me alumni stuff; I like to think my two terms of part-time teaching there earned me an honorary degree) for the second Owlz game of the trip. Here's our crew in our seats, 6 rows back, right behind home plate:
A fun feature at the ballpark is the playground, where Evan did this:
And Isaac did this:

Before game time, the boys posed by the field:
And we all visited with Hootz, who scared Evan to no end:
And Allyson made this face every time I said something ridiculous:
The game was fun, and during the 8th inning, Isaac's name was featured on the scoreboard for his birthday, which was later celebrated with a fireworks show. We then drove up to Evanston, where we spent all day Friday.

Coming next, birthday presents, and more fireworks.

Day 1

Our latest trip to Utah and Wyoming began last Tuesday; after work I came home and we loaded up the car. We made it as far as Cortez, where we camped at the KOA. It’s a good blend of roughing it (sleeping in a tent) and being civilized (hot showers).

On the way we encountered some road construction. Some years ago, on a similar trip, I saw a sign marking the end of the work area and joked that it made a weird political slogan; this is now a running gag in our family:
At the campground, Evan was contained in his portable crib, for the last time:
And Allyson was apparently eaten by the tent:
Wednesday we made it to Utah Valley, where we visited the Monte L Bean Museum, a favorite from our Provo days. For Allyson’s birthday, Grandma C gave her a card game called “There’s a Moose in the House;” here there’s a moose in the museum:
That evening we went to an Owlz game in Orem with Michelle. Here Ryan lounges pre-game:
And here are Summer and Evan:

Coming next, more baseball, and Evan’s first steps.

Another UT Trip Down...

This is just a quick recap--pics will follow. We got back from the latest trip last night, and the drive was uneventful. It is good to be home.

Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

• A trip to the Monte L Bean Museum at BYU
• Two Orem Owlz games on consecutive nights
• Isaac's name on the scoreboard at game 2, on his birthday
• Playing more catch with Ryan than I typically do in a month
• Fireworks in Evanston
• The Evans family reunion thing
• Evan and Ben sizing each other up
• Spending time with Summer's parents and my folks, as well as two of my sisters and their hubbies, and Nathan