More jaw problems in the family, a birthday, girls camp, YSA camp and a family reunion we had to miss.

Happy Birthday Elise (this past Thursday).  Hope you had a great one!

Things were a little quieter this week. Caitlyn was at girls camp most of the week.

Caitlyn with all the young women in our ward right before they left for camp
Roy hauled the camp trailer to bear lake for them, then turned around and
came right home.

I didn't spend too much time with grandkids because I had a little cold.  It didn't last long, thankfully. Tuesday night I went to a shower for Collette--Cameron's bride to be.  It was fun to meet her. Wednesday evening we ate out with Nan and Bruce and took them to the play "Hello Dolly" at the Centerpoint Legacy Theater.  We haven't done anything with them for a long time.  It was good to catch up.  Nan will probably be headed to Hawaii in a few months to help with Hayward's and Tori's baby that's due in October.  She's going on a cruise previous to that, so I won't be seeing her much when all that comes about.
Thursday Roy had a Doctor's appointment with Dr. Guinn.  He, too, has been having a lot of mouth pain.  This is what his x-ray's showed.  The Dr. was concerned with the obvious hole in his jaw.  He wants him to have a biopsy to see what's causing it.  We've been concerned, but not worried yet.  Friday night at the Young Single Adult Campout, Mark Ashcraft, one of the young men in the ward who is in dental school looked at the x-rays.  He said that it looks to him like it is just a congenital defect.  He showed us some similar pictures.  We both hope that is all it is.  Roy asked Dr. Guinn about this possibility (at a Stake Meeting this morning).  He said that he was aware of the congenital abnormality, but he was concerned because this went past the tissue and into the bone.  Roy has an appointment with an oral surgeon a week from Tuesday.  He may also try and see a pathologist, because none of this really explains the chronic burning in his mouth.

Bottom right corner

We had a lot of fun at the Campout.  The leaders all got to sleep inside this beautiful cabin in Morgan Utah.  It's owned by the Young Automotive Group.  It had 5 bedrooms with king size beds and bathrooms attached, plus an extra one near the entryway.  The kitchen had two full sinks, a counter and an island.  With all the luxury it was very convenient to serve dinner and breakfast.  The young adults all slept outside in tents,  They played volleyball and I even joined in.  I enjoyed it a lot, but gave up my spot when another young adult joined in.  I don't play very well, but I played as well as some of them.  

Preparing snow cones for dessert at the camp out.

I'm the one with the pink shoes.

Sunday I was entertaining Orianthi in church by showing her pictures on my phone.  When she seemed to be losing interest, I flipped the camera so she could see herself.  She knew immediately what to do with a reverse camera and took about 12 selfies before I put it away.

I angled to camera to get Nick in the picture instead of myself :)
( note:  I do not sanction taking pictures in church)

After church, Nick came by to help Roy give Caitlyn a blessing.  Dan and Jieun came by, too, to get some grapes from the garden.  They aren't quite ripe, but close enough to taste pretty good.  I'd given some to Hyeji previously in the week and she loved them.  They looked so cute in their dresses, I took a picture.

Doyeon, Hyeji, Yuna

Today in Sunday School the lesson was on Alma chapters 36-39--"Give Ear to my Words." Sister Sharon Jensen taught the class.  She opened the class by having class members share sayings or thoughts that they remembered being taught to them by their parents.  I didn't contribute, but of course I could think of some.  One that came to my mind whenever something got broken, even if it had value, my mother would say, "it's only a material thing."  I really processed that in my brain and have tried to remember it, even when I lost my diamond ring.  My mom taught me by example that people are more important than things.  You will all remember this story, but one afternoon when Nick and Dan had a friend over (Eric Blues [spelling questionable]) from up the street in our Barrington Farm home in Atlanta, the boys were getting a snack and as they lifted a plate from the cupboard, Eric's hand slipped and he dropped the plate.  I must have been a littler ornery that day because I was just about to get a little upset at him, but was stopped in my tracks as Nick said, "Don't worry, we don't get in trouble for breaking things."  This introduction was to set up the lesson where Alma gives instruction to his sons.

We then talked about these instructions. Alma begins in chapter 36 vs.3 saying, "And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee thou thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."  I love that all of you have heeded the teachings of your parents, and have sought to have your own testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am so pleased with all of your choices.  I love that you all see the importance of families.  I, too, know that if you shall put your trust in God, you shall be supported in your trials, troubles, and afflictions, as Roy and I have been supported in all of our trials.

One of the points that was brought up was how we need to write things down.  We need to keep a record of our lives.  We need to record our testimonies.  I was reminded of my great, great grandfather, Phineas Wolcott Cook.  When he first heard about the missionaries, while living in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he had to borrow a pencil so that he could listen and take notes.  Paper was also very scarce.  Even though paper was hard to come by, Phineas kept many journals throughout his life.  Sadly, many of them were burned.  The journal we have of his was saved from the fire. Though written without much punctuation, and often without regard to proper spelling, he shares the experiences that shaped his life.  You can feel that he has a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as you read his words.  Janet Porter, who has done a lot of genealogy in the Cook Family line, has studied his journal and written a book that makes his story a lot easier to read.  While doing other genealogy, she came across a paper that had quoted some things that Phineas' had written.  I'm not sure how she recognized his writing--there may have been an actual example of his handwriting-- but though it was not attributed to Phineas, she recognized it as his.  It took her a year of research to find where the quote had come from.  When she discovered it was in a "Bishop's file" she knew it would be hard to gain access to the writing.  It took her another year and a half to get permission to read the file.  After she had read the file, she wanted to take photos of each page but was denied.  She finally received permission to transcribe each page, with the stipulation that anything that was of a confidential matter not be shared with anyone.  What I found interesting is that because of the scarcity of paper, he used every inch the paper he had.  Much of what was transcribed by Janet was not confidential bishop's notes, but journalistic material.  Every page she transcribed breathed his testimony.  Some of the paper had writing going one way, and then, when the page was full, Phineas turned the paper on its side and continued writing. Janet painstakingly transcribed every word.  I saw these papers and I'm sure I would have given up.  

We not only have paper and pencils in easy supply, we have computers and printers and ways to store our writing.  We can even do as I've done and put in on a blog where it can be accessed for a long time to come.  In this record we need to let our families know our testimonies, as Phineas' did.  I want all of you to know that I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know it's true.  I know Christ lives.  He has supported me in times of very serious and intense trials and afflictions.  I want all of you to know that my heart lies in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints.  I love my Heavenly Father and I'm grateful to him for all the blessings I have been given in my life.

Sunday night we had Gloria Toomey to dinner and enjoyed visiting with her.  Uncle Mike didn't come with her to Utah this time, Her daughter and her family had a family commitment (other side of the family), so it was nice that we had invited Gloria so she had a place to go.

We got to hold Effie for a few minutes Sunday also.

Effie

Elise sent us this picture of Andy and Maverick:

We thought Maverick looked like our side of the family until Elise
sent this picture of Andy when he was about the same age.  Interestingly,
Max didn't look anything like that picture, but he sure looks like his dad.

AJ and Adrienne were the only members of our family to be able to go to the Casper Family Reunion at Elaine Berry McKay's house Friday night.  They shared a couple of pictures.  This one is Gunnar wtih his great grandpa, Verl

AJ and Gunnar

Hectic Summer

Doyeon

Crista stayed with us through Tuesday this past week.  She was going to join us in Flaming Gorge for the weekend, but on her return to Logan, found that she was sick, she ended up being ill for several days.  Adrienne and AJ were also planning on going with us Thursday, but AJ had to work, so they didn't come up until Friday night.  Caitlyn ended up getting asked on a date for Thursday evening, so she decided she'd come up with Adrienne on Friday...Roy and I decided we'd hang out and go up Friday instead, since everyone's plans had changed and we had a wedding reception we felt we should probably attend.  By staying in Bountiful one more night we were able to zip down to the South Davis Recreation Center for the Summerfest and check out Jieun's art booth.

Hyeji, Doyeon, and Yuna hanging out at Summerfest

Jieun practiced Facepainting during her down time

 We had the opportunity to visit Nick and Sara and hold Effie one more time before we left.  We did leave as planned on Friday morning (Caitlyn came with us), and had a fun, relaxing weekend.  AJ and Adrienne arrived Friday night at about 7:30.  We let the kids enjoy "camping," for a few hours before they went to bed.  Of course, they wanted to sleep with their parents in the tent, because, as Gunnar said, "I don't ever get to sleep with my whole family in a tent."  We were able to take the boat out Friday after we arrived, and again Saturday morning.  A storm started coming in at about 1:00, so we took the boat off the lake for everyone's safety, severely disappointing Gunnar who "just really wanted to fish."  We went back to camp to eat lunch, but Ollie and Finn had fallen asleep in the car which gave Adrienne and AJ the excuse they needed to just eat and head back to civilization.  The boys had a blast, but sleeping in a tent was a sacrifice for their parents. 

Adrienne and AJ

Finn

Roy and Finn

Caitlyn

AJ

Ollie

Adrienne

Roy, Catharine, Caitlyn

Gunnar

Roy took Caitlyn to Dr. James Guinn on Thursday morning.  He is in our stake.  The dentist had referred him because of Caitlyn's jaw pain.  Dr. Guinn took X-Rays and showed us that Caitlyn has worn away most of her jaw bone.  He thinks that this has happened because of a fall she took about 8 years ago when she hit her chin ice skating and had to have stitches.  Apparently, the fall knocked her jaw out of place as well as cutting her chin open.  Since Caitlyn doesn't complain much, it took getting knocked in the jaw again at Youth Conference to cause her enough pain for us to know something was wrong.  Unfortunately, there's not a lot that can be done for her.  The Dr. is making her a mouth guard and has prescribed a muscle relaxant that she needs to take for a couple of month until the inflammation in her jaw has settled down.  He also wants her to take glucosamine supplements, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, and fish oil, to help prevent any more bone loss.  I am taking her back tomorrow morning to get the mouth guard.  I plan to ask him about implants to see if there isn't anything more that can be done to help her.

healthy jaw

Caitlyn's jaw

Sara and Nick have been home, Sara recovering and both of them enjoying the new addition to their family.  So far, Effie is a good baby, she doesn't cry very often, but she does squeak on occasion.  They told me that when she does cry, she's a little bit louder than Ori was when she was a newborn.

Elise and Andy were due to return home from Grandma Camp this weekend, but they found out that the timing belt in their car was worn out.  The cost to fix it was too high to make it worthwhile, until they talked to the GM car place and convinced them that they should help with the cost since it shouldn't have happened in such a new car (2010).  They came down on the cost a couple of thousand dollars.  It's still expensive to fix it, but not as much as it would cost to get a new car.  Now they have to wait until the car is fixed to leave Midland and return to Houston, but at least they are in a comfortable home with grandparents and cousins for Max and Mav to enjoy. 

Max

Mav and Max

Mav

Unfortunately, Jennie wasn't able to travel with us this weekend either.  We're glad she's getting lots of hours at work and learning to be so responsible.  She also likes her job, which is always a blessing.

We haven't had much action on either selling our current home or getting our new one closer to completion.  The sheet rock crew finally got started on Friday--only a week after we were told they were going to.  We're pretty sure that we won't be moving until at least November.  In the meantime, we are praying and trusting in the Lord that everything will turn out for the best in the timing of selling our home.  After ward prayer tonight we drove by and discovered that most of the sheet rock is completed.  The crew may be done after tomorrow.  Jennie said she saw that they were working today-which means they are anxious to catch up if they're working on Sunday.

Caitlyn in my wedding dress

Jennie, grandma Clyde's dress

Jennie playing dress-up

Caitlyn

Welcome baby girl

 Welcome to the newest addition to our family.  Name: ? 6 lb. 4 oz. 19 inches long.  Ori has been a little concerned that she's being replaced.  I didn't know a two-year-old could articulate these concerns, but she told Caitlyn on the way home from the hospital that she was sad.  Caitlyn asked her why and she said, "because I don't like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren.

 Is that why you're sad?"

 Yes.  And because my mom and dad don't love me anymore."

"They love you.  They had a baby so you could have a sister to play with."

"Why?" asked Ori, then she sighed and said, "I miss my mommy."

"She'll be back home soon with the baby, said Caitlyn.

"Why?"

I'm sure she'll soon adjust to the baby and be glad to have a sister.

Effie Mela Rasband

Ori and Sara

Crista and Effie

Sara, Ori, Effie and Nick

Several of her aunts have been to see her already.
We're very grateful that everything went well with both the baby and Sara.  The baby was taken by C-section about 3 1/2 weeks early to make sure that everything went well for the mother.  We feel especially blessed.  Especially since Sara was so happy about how things went that, she said, "I might even consider having another one."

Also this past week we attended an Alonzo Laker Cook Family reunion. Nan did all the work to put it together and it went very well.   It was well attended by the Vernon Cook Family, the Phyllis Smith Family, and Laurel Cook Jorgeson (Grant''s daughter) and her family.  Krell Cook and Barbara Cook Peterson (Melvin Cook's children) were also in attendance, as well as Kay and Russell Canning (Lois Cook's son).  I spent some time talking to Kathy (Smith) Phinney and discovered that Alonzo Cook left several journals.  She said her dad had given them to Stephen Hunsaker.  I didn''t know about these journals, so I looked on Facebook for Stephen Hunsaker and found his son.  I don't know why I didn't realize the man was too young to be my first cousin, but in any case, I was directed to his father who soon called me.  I told him that at our family get together I had heard he had the journals and I was wondering if I could borrow them to get them digitized so we could share them.  He told me he didn't have them because he had donated them to the church.  He said they are almost all digitized and will be on line for all of the family to enjoy.  He was a little unhappy with me that I "hadn't invited him to the reunion."  I told him that it was all done on Facebook, and I didn't think to make any effort to find any extra cousins, but that I really had no excuse.  I now have his phone number and will let him know if we have another one.  I also owe him a visit.  He invited me to come anytime, but if I come at lunch time on a Monday or a Friday, he'll take me to lunch.  He goes to a little place by his house every Monday and Friday and has two carne asado tacos.  Twice since he has been going there he has ordered something different, the chile rellenos.  I told him I'd lend him a copy of dad's book, and since my Mondays and Fridays are booked for over a month, I think I'll visit him on another day to take him the book, then when he's done with it I'll pick it up and eat lunch with him.  He also said he has a greenhouse with three hundred tomato plants, and it sounded like he might give me some.  Ample reason for me to show up :)
I know Bruce Oblad took a lot of pictures at the reunion.  I only took a couple:

Ori

John Oblad and Nick

 I had a really good time talking with my cousins.  We were there (in 100 degree heat) for almost 5 hours.  Roy told me I better not complain when we go to one of his family reunions--for 1/2 the time and probably 1/2 the temperature, too.


Crista came down for the weekend because Matt is out of town for work.  We've had a fun time with her and Ruby.  We also got to enjoy Ori Saturday night and most of Sunday since her mom and dad were busy at the hospital. We also had a lot of the family over for Sunday dinner.  

Roy

Ruby

Ruby

Max was sick last weekend.  This is the aftermath on Monday.
They were all wiped out.

Crista's Memories

Crista sent me her memories this week.  It was so fun to read, I figured it deserved a post all by itself.  So, I am posting a mid-week entry.  Enjoy:

I am so sorry I didn't send you a memory last week. I really wanted to have time to think about it and write it out in a coherent way, and it was just a really crazy busy weekend. 

Note after writing this LONG written work: I planned on just doing one memory, but it turned into this and how everyone contributes to our family memories. 

Family Memories:

Dad: Dad is always so outgoing, even to complete strangers, so he always seems to open up awesome friendships when we go on trips. A family we met in Hawaii invited us to a family luau, and then they gave dad a Hawaiian Lei that their daughter had crocheted. On top of that, Dad is the one who has helped us create so many memories, because he is such a great trip planner. He always plans our trips with the right amount of activities and down time. One of the most memorable experiences I have ever had happened because of him; we got to swim with huge, 15-foot wide manta-rays at night, while they fed on plankton that was building up by our flashlights. There are several other trips that I will mention as well. When I was just starting to play tennis, Dad had the patience to play with me, beat me, and deal with my poor sportsmanship. Over time, he had the patience to play with me even though I easily beat him. He was there for many of my tennis matches cheering me on.

Mom: Mom has helped pretty much all of my siblings gain a love of reading. When the Harry Potter series were all coming out, many of my siblings would take turns reading the newest book. Caitlyn and I still have Harry Potter trivia battles, and I enjoy have discussions with my other siblings about books either of us have read. And while mom may not like this, her focus-intensive mind makes her do some hilarious things; not being able to hear things around her when she is reading, talking to herself when playing board games, and exclaiming, "THAT'S NOT TRUE!!!" to something I don't even remember what it was about. 

Nick: I would definitely call Nick an animal whisperer. Some of my favorite highlights of family vacations have been when Nick catches different critters native to wherever we are vacationing: wild chicks and frogs in Hawaii, spiky and whiskery puffer-fish in Mexico (yes, he swam and caught them with his bare hands), lizards in Saint George, and more. While I may not like getting germs from touching wild animals, it always added an exciting element to family time. Nick also has a booming laugh that makes it so you can't help but at least smile. Both he and dad have let out farts, at the kitchen table, that literally felt like an earthquake. Both he and dad were able to keep straight faces as everyone burst out laughing and walked away as fast as possible.

Sara: Sara continually surprises me with her mad skills. I think everyone was impressed when she introduced our family to her delicious homemade creme brulee at New Year's. To my family, food is a major part of every event and every memory, and she has made so many gourmet breads, vegetables, salads, treats, and more to share with everyone. She is always willing to share her knowledge and share the fruits of her labors!

Dan: Some of my favorite memories that involve Dan also involve his hair. Long ago, his hair was getting really long. It was around Christmas time, and I got this picture of him with a pretty legitimate poofy afro. Not too many people as white as Dan can get hair like that. Dan's awesome hairstyles have continued occasionally when he had a "Pebbles" ponytail like his daughter, Yuna's, and flames razored into his beard. His funny sense of humor really helps him pull off all his unique dos. Both of my brothers have always created random games to play using their own imagination like bouncing bouncy balls really high, seeing how far we can get a static shock to go in a human circle (8 people!), and hide and go seek in Goblin Valley.

Jieun: When Jieun married my brother, they moved to Hawaii pretty shortly afterward. We got to go visit them over my sixteenth birthday, and it was an amazing trip and a great opportunity to get to know Jieun better. Jieun and I did lots of buddy snorkeling together. We saw sea turtles, dophins nearby, and even an eel swim right below us (to which Jieun grabbed me and squealed through her snorkel mask). Not only has she added some funny Korean humor to our family, but some good competition to mom in Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and even Boggle! It can get pretty heated sometimes haha.

Elise: Elise has a really good long-term memory herself. I'm looking forward to reading about what memories first came to her mind, because she seems to remember many things that happened a long time ago. Because of that, I'm able to relive many things I don't remember myself, and learn other things that I was too young (or not around) to remember. Elise and I used to share a room, and she would always help me avoid bad dreams at night, while I served as a good listening ear during the typical difficulties of high school. Elise has a great laugh and makes everything seem more humorous. It seems like our family does a lot of laughing, which is always a good thing. 

Andy: Andy has a very loving personality, but is obviously super tough at the same time. He always cracks us up when he repeatedly says, "Rub some dirt on it" to Max or anyone else who may be whining about something. Andy is always there to help with a niece's or nephew's injuries, and is willing to share his vast knowledge to help us fix things and know what medicine to take. With so many new parents in the family now, I think it really eases the potential stress that we could have!

Adrienne: Adrienne used to have some pretty bad stomach issues. I have always looked up to her for her perseverance and hard-core-ism. Even though she would throw-up a ton every time she would climb the Middle Teton, she would still choose to do it again the next year. I fear throwing up and fear seeing throw-up, so the year that I decided to go with my Dad, Adrienne, and Elise, I prayed the whole way up that Adrienne wouldn't throw up! Thankfully my prayers were answered, and when I had a scary fall, she and Elise were there to show their sisterly concern for me. Once again, their examples helped me to decide to continue on. Adrienne, too, is a great cook, and always makes the fanciest cakes for our family parties! One of my favorites was her 4th of July cake (cream cheese frosting with strawberries and blueberries as the stripes) for my Grandpa's birthday one year. It was delicious. 

AJ: AJ adds a laid-back feeling to the family, but also has a great sense of humor. He is often the cause for the family laughter I was referring to earlier. As an attorney, he also gives some great opinions and sides to conversations. When Caitlyn told AJ that Adrienne loved him on their 2nd date, AJ kept his cool and kept dating her. And as the first one to marry into our crazy family, he has always been an awesome brother. He has brought the sweetest firework shows to our July festivities and made everyone excited about fireworks.

Matt: Matt is infamous for his dry humor. While I love it since I chose to be married to him, it always brings the same dry laughter to our family. Every so often, though, Matt can hit the spot with an actually good joke and bring tears to the eyes because of our laughter. Every so often :) One such time was when Elise was telling us about a time when Andy broke his arm and didn't tell anyone about it. He kept playing football through the pain and it really ruined his arm for a while. After Elise finished telling the story, Matt said, "So when he hurt his arm, did he throw some dirt on it?" 

Thomas: While I was only 12 days old when Tom passed away, one memory that my family has given me of him has helped me feel a close bond to him. All my siblings were taking turns holding me, and Thomas really wanted a turn. We have a picture of him looking a little grumpy while one of my other siblings held me. I know he loved me because when my mom was pregnant with me, she made a blanket for me that Thomas really loved. He was sad to know it wasn't for him, but he gave it to me when I was born anyways. While Tom's death was a horrible tragedy for my family, I truly believe it brought my family closer together, and I know it will be the most incredible reunion when we all get to see him again in heaven. 

Jennie: Jennie is the potsticker queen, and always has been. She would make potstickers for us all the time on the weekends. We would get some of the neighbor kids over when we were little and play like we were spies or wizards. So, when someone in our ward made Jennie, Caitlyn, and me wands, we were able to really bring our playing to life. Jennie is a gorgeous cosmetologist, but when she was little she once walked outside completely naked (probably 4 years old), and once she cut her own hair, and it had to be cut into a boy's hairdo. One thing is for sure, if anyone ever made fun of her, her siblings were right there to defend her.

Caitlyn: I have several vivid memories of Caitlyn sleep-walking, screaming in the middle of the night, and screaming and crying when trying new things while boating. Caitlyn used to have night-terrors, and she would wake up screaming, and sometimes thrashing, in the middle of the night. It was something that would make my heart pound violently and make me super nervous. Jennie and I were often the ones there to comfort her and help her calm down. Sometimes, me and some other members of my family would be up watching the news or doing something at the kitchen table, and Caitlyn would suddenly walk in in her nightgown with droopy eyelids. Most of my siblings have seen this occurrence and we'd all say, "Go back to bed, Caitlyn", because it was kind of scary. She was very obedient and would turn around straight away and go back to her room. My dad was less spooked I guess, because he would say, "What are you doing, Caitlyn? Don't go outside. You need to go to the bathroom? Well, it's right there in that door next to you." Boating has always been one of my family's favorite things, but I think it brought some anxiety to Caitlyn. We tried to help her learn how to wakeboard or ski, starting her at the shore once, and from behind the boat. She would sometimes start crying the second she would get in the water, and would come back in the boat because of it. Other times she would start crying once she'd fall into the water after attempting to get up. We all look back on these memories as being pretty funny, even Caitlyn.

Of course, all of our nieces and nephews create very memorable events. They say the funniest, cutest things. They also bring some awesome chaos to every party, but it's amusing.... after the fact anyways. Our family has many amazing memories that have been made together, and we are all really close because of that. I have heard of siblings in some families having vendettas against each other and refuse to work it out, even when they are full-grown adults, but I know that is something that will never happen to my family. We have too many good and joyous memories that tie us tightly together and because of that, I am very proud of my family and love them so much.

And, just a short memory: the time in St. George over Thanksgiving, at Las Palmas, when we sat in a circle, built up static electricity in a super staticy chair, and barely touched fingers together to see how far the static would go. It went all the way to Zach's tongue once (Nick's friend). That was an awesome experiment.

Pioneer Day and Happy Birthday to Nick and Effie! Also, Uncle Dave, Grandpa Cook and Rosilene!

Happy Birthday to Nick this coming Friday and Happy Birthday to baby Effie this coming Friday, too. Sara is going in to have a scheduled C-Section and the baby will be born on her daddy's birthday.  We're so excited.  Happy Birthday to my brother David, on the 27th, and my dad on the 30th.  (We sure miss him).  Happy Birthday to Rosilene on the 31st.  

Family History has been on my mind this week.  It started with an email invitation to participate in a 72 hour indexing push (Kentucky Marriage Records).  I accepted the invite, then promptly forgot because of all of our family activities.  When I turned on my computer last week to begin my family newsletter, I saw a reminder email.  I opened up the indexing page and did a couple of batches, then did a few more on Monday.  The indexing "push" was over Sunday night, but there were still Kentucky Marriage records to be indexed so I felt that I at least made an effort on my commitment.  Later, I got a call from Janet Porter, our Cook Family Organization Vice President of Genealogy.  I had agreed to help her prepare a program for the Cook O Rama coming up on the last weekend of September (The Thursday night before General Conference).  Her call was a reminder as I'm obviously very forgetful about my commitments. Our idea for the Cook O Rama is to center it around how we can teach our families about their ancestors.  She had found an article in the New York Times called, The Family, Stories that Bind Us.  The article states, "The single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative."  It mentioned that among a group of disabled students, “The ones who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges,” The last paragraph of the article: "The bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family’s positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come."

So, we are using that article, and also one by Quentin L Cook The Joy of Family History Work, to plan the Cook O Rama for September.  We are going to invite families this year, and have a couple of skits that can be used in Family Nights, and some FHE lessons, etc.  Then at the end, we'll probably spend a short time teaching everyone how they can get started on family history--especially for those of us who feel, "so much has been done, I'm overwhelmed, and I don't know where to start."  (So, mark your calendars now because I think this will be an excellent way to spend your time on Sept. 1).  

Anyway, reading these articles and thinking about these assignments led me to ask all my children for memories.  Adrienne and Caitlyn responded.

Adrienne:Hey, so I was thinking about some of my favorite memories traveling. And I remembered Goblin Valley. That was SO much fun! We played hide and seek and lots of other games that I can't remember, but I do remember how much fun we all had as a family! Also, when we would drive to Florida dad would put that mattress in the back of our BMW, [Big Mormon Wagon] and we would bounce around and have a party the whole way there!

There was one time I was lucky enough to come to Utah with you and Tom before he passed and I remember walking out into the snow one of the mornings we were there and the snow being so deep that Tom just sunk right down in!

Caitlyn said that the memory she wanted to share was when we went to the Yurt:

When I was around 8 years old we went on the Yurt trip.  It was around Christmas time.  I remember the long drive and the long hike up to the Yurt.  I wasn't a fan of the snow shoes.  I remember pushing my feet up and down in the snow and beginning to get tired.  I remember AJ and Adrienne were married and Elise was recently returned from her mission.  Toby (Nick's friend) came along as well.  When we got there, I fought Jennie for the top bunk, but we ended up sharing, which was a mistake. 

It was a fun trip at the beginning.  I remember the warmth of the small fire, the struggle to make clean water with snow.  I remember the delicious scones and the warm hot chocolate.  We played card games, weird games, some other games I don't remember.  And--I remember how cold it was.  It took us forever to get warm.  Then comes the bad part.  During the night Jennie was trying to get into my sleeping bag because she was cold.  I refused her entry like I usually do (although I think we are better friends now).  And then I remember falling off the bed--that 6 foot high bed--onto the hard wood floor--stupid night terrors.  I remember throwing up all night long.  I felt bad for everyone else.  I remember that most of my siblings were mad at me because they wanted to sleep; and I remember Toby making sure that I was all right, and concluding that I had a concussion.  That night was one of the longest nights of my life.  When everyone was awake the next morning, I remember the smell of French toast in the air and how I was not allowed to have any because I would throw it up.  That was the worst part of the trip.  But I remember there were funny parts, too.  I remember seeing Toby's name in the snow the next morning--written in pee.  I remember mom struggling to find a flashlight in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom [in the outhouse] and her panicky self.  Then as we went back, I was lucky enough to ride on AJ's sled with the cooler.  good thing he's strong.  The car ride back was a little bit miserable because I was nauseous the whole way, but I had my coke and my saltines.  We got back on Christmas Eve.  I was worried our Christmas was ruined, but, it turned out to be one of the best Christmases yet. 

I can't help but add my memories of that experience:  

The hike in to the yurt was really fun.  It was only about 1 1/2 miles but it was very cold and the snow was very deep.  We had snowshoes, which were fun but a lot harder than I had thought they would be, so I didn't use them the whole time.  We did have a great time in the evening, it was when we all went to bed that things changed.  The Yurt had this large, insulated door that you were supposed to close to keep the heat in.  We had the wood stove going but we never figured out what that insulated door was until we were leaving the next day--needless to say, it was freezing.  We could not get warm.  The bunk beds had pads--but they were a joke.  I couldn't get warm--or comfortable.  Sleep would never come for me.  I also was the one who made the mistake of allowing Caitlyn to sleep on the top bunk.  I don't know why I didn't think about her night terrors.  I got up to go to the outhouse at about midnight.  I had to go alone.  It was 0 degrees outside.  At regular intervals, Caitlyn would scream, then settle down again.  At about 1:00, she sat up, screamed, and rolled out of bed.  At least after that I had company in my sleeplessness.  No one got much sleep after that.  I told Roy he'd never get me back to a Yurt again and I've been true to my word.  

This week I went to a funeral of a man who was in our ward until about a year ago when his wife left him.  He had been addicted to pain killers all of his adult life and as a result lost his health and his wife. He was one year older than I am.  It was a sad funeral.  The three children shared memories of their dad.  The memories of the two sisters were not very complementary memories, in my opinion.  The older daughter remembered when her dad had taken her to "Galaxy Diner" to get a chocolate coke and a cherry coke--it was a Sunday.  She remembered thinking it was bad, but because it was her dad it would be okay.  Walking out of the diner with their cokes, her dad tripped and spilled coke all over the both of them.  He looked at her and said "Let this teach you that you should never break the Sabbath."  Then he said, "What are we going to tell mom."  

The other one was even less complementary--the younger sister remembered going hunting--just her and her dad.  She was wearing big waders to protect her from the wet and cold, and while walking behind her dad, she got stuck in the mud.  She knew she was supposed to be quiet, so she just waited several minutes until he noticed she wasn't with him.  He came back and lifted her out of the mud and turned around and began walking again.  She had so much muck and mud in her boots that she tipped right over.  Again, her dad didn't notice for some time and she patiently waited for him to come back.  When he did, he laughed and dumped all the muddy water out of her boots and put them back on her.  She said her feet were cold all day, but they didn't go home because, "we haven't killed anything yet."  

I'm not sure why she would share that memory.  I hope at my funeral your memories are happier.

These stories did remind me of a couple of times that we did not keep the Sabbath as we had been taught.  The first was when I was pregnant with Dan.  We went over conference weekend down to the Sand Dunes.  The plan was to play and enjoy Nick on Saturday, and then to listen to Conference on the radio on Sunday.  Sunday morning, a neighboring camper offered Roy the use of his three-wheeler.  The fact that it was Sunday was forgotten completely.  We didn't even think about it.  Roy took the three-wheeler for a ride on the dunes and came back to take me for a spin.  I got on the back and we went off.  As we headed up a hill, the three-wheeler started to tip and we went over.  It landed on me.  Roy was concerned about me because I was pregnant.  He jumped up and pulled the bike off of me.  I looked at him and blood was literally spurting out of his leg.  He looked down and saw it and immediately sat down and put pressure on his leg.  He told me, "If I pass out, continue to put pressure on the wound until you can get the bleeding stopped." Luckily for me, he didn't pass out.  I had to drive the motor home  (we were using my parent's motor home) and take him to the hospital.  He had a lot of stitches.  The first question my dad asked when we called him and told him what happened was, "Did it happen on a Sunday?"  He had also learned his lessons of the Sabbath the hard way.

There was another time that we broke the Sabbath.  We had been asked by Wendy Sharon (one of the actresses in some of our plays) to go to Road Atlanta.  Her husband owned it, so we could go in with VIP tickets.  Our first response was that we should say no because it was on a Sunday.  But we kind of talked ourselves out of that option.  Paul Newman was racing that day and we thought maybe it would be okay just this once.  We didn't have anything terrible happen, but our kids were disappointed in us and the day was kind of miserable because of it.  Paul Newman didn't even look up at all the people gathered to watch him get ready to race.  Not even a wave.  I remember being disappointed in him as a person, that he wouldn't acknowledge his fans.

No one else sent me a memory.  You can all try again for next week :) 

Other than thinking about family history and memories, we also made some new memories this week. Monday night Roy and I went with friends out to dinner and to the Hale Center theater to see Big River.  It is amazing the talent they can get to act in the plays there.  Roy left Tuesday to go on High Adventure with the young men.  Yes, he's been released, but when you have a boat, you're never really released :)  I spent 3 days sewing.  It was great.  I also was able to spend a lot of time with Caitlyn.  We practiced violin, played a few games of Splendor, and watched Merlin as well as a movie or two.  

Nick

Nick was also with Roy at the High Adventure Camp.  He braved the cold water for a bit of wake boarding.

You'd think that Roy would've been tired and wanting a rest when he got back.  However, he couldn't rest Friday afternoon/evening because he was helping with the Bountiful 24th of July parade.  He helps every year as part of the Ham Radio Club.  Their job is to keep the parade moving along and to minimize the gaps in between entries.  This year he did that, but he also was in charge of getting a group of Young Single Adults there to pull handcarts. He took care of all of that Friday afternoon and evening, and then, as he is starting to realize how few weekends we have left to play this summer,  he wanted to take the boat out.  Crista, Matt and Ruby were our willing captives on Saturday.  We went up to Strawberry to fish, Matt, Crista, Roy and Caitlyn threw their lines out.  No success.  When we pulled up the anchor to change locations, it was obvious why we had been so unlucky--all four lines had gotten caught in the anchor rope.  I guess it was because it was so windy (or lack of skill???)

Roy and Ruby

Ruby

Roy's  Young Single Adults parade group

Dan and Jieun enjoying California

We had another night of Fireworks Saturday night--courtesy of the Greens (Mark Green supplied the fireworks, AJ supplied the locale)

Nick and Ori

Adrienne and Finn

Ori, enjoying the proceeds from her garden.  That is one large Armenian Cucumber.