What a GREAT July

Stephen & I have been very busy this July. He was involved in a week long stake Young Mens Scout camp and high adventure hike. The younger boys stayed at Camp Kern all week and the older boys set out on a 25 mile trek to discover what they were made of and take in some majestic scenery. The mountains and lakes were beautiful and the devotionals and firesides meaningful. Here is Stephen and his hammock - says he'll never sleep on the ground again.

Stephen said the boys had a good experience. A week and a half later he spent four days with adult scouters at a Woodbadge course. During this time I headed east to see Tiffany and family in Baltimore. I wasn’t hiking mountains like Steph but managed to keep a pretty good pace. I arrived to a sidewalk greeting of, ‘Welcome Grandma’.

Jared & Anna were able to pick something one on one to do with Grandma. Jared of course chose to go see Harry Potter. We loved it. Anna wanted to build a tent in the basement and have a sleepover. I am an excellent tent maker if I do say so myself.


That week we drove north to New York state for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. When we were driving we saw a plane in the sky cursing along then taking a dramatic dive trailing a line of smoke. It was rather alarming and we were sure we were witnessing a crash. As we continued watching it suddenly recovered and soared up again. When we arrived at the hotel we were pleased to find out it was situated close to the airport and what we had seen was a practice for the air show the following day. What a treat to see stunts as well as the famous Blue Angels. I cannot believe how they maneuver so closely without incident.



Here we are at the pageant.


The pageant is beautiful. The stage and special effects are a wonder. The visitor’s center is lovely and first class just like every other LDS property we have visited. While in the area we took in the sacred grove, the Palmyra temple and the old Smith farm and homestead.



Being so close we decided to take a side trip to Niagara Falls. Wow! That’s a lot of water! We had a blast taking the elevator down through the rock to the bottom of the falls. Everyone is given a very attractive yellow poncho in an effort to keep somewhat dry but of course the kids wanted to go as close as possible and got soaked in the process. It is truly a natural wonder.



Another day trip Tiffany, the kids & I took was to Assateague Island on the coast – that’s the Atlantic coast. We had fun in the water - Jared & I that is. All the others were land lovers and were content to play in the sand. The wild ponies roaming freely about the island were fun to see.




One special outing took Tiffany and me to the Kennedy Center in DC to see the musical Wicked. Fabulous! Our seats were in the center of the second row – the second row! It was great to be that close. Being so close we could actually hear the sound of the chorus voices not just amplification. The cast was impressive.


I had a wonderful time in Baltimore. Although we did have fun excursions, it was just as fun to be together at the pool, at home playing games and just everyday hanging out.



I love my family so very much but I missed Stephen terribly. Coming home to him is always the best part of any trip away.