Moving and Birthdays

Well we had a long weekend this last week. Sean and Monica Closed on their new home and we went up to help them make the move. We went up Wednesday. We were planning on going up in the morning but before we could get out of here we lost power in the house. Someone crashed their truck into a power pole, one pole away from the one by our house and broke it in half. The lines were down and a fence caught fire on the other side of the street. We had a hard time getting out of our driveway, but finally did. Monica had most things packed up when we arrived and Sean had things pretty well packed in the garage. We took Loaded and unloaded two big uhaul trucks, my van three times and their pickup truck twice, before the Elders quorum got there that night. I was beat, my only consulation was Sean seemed to be really tired as well. Although he helped the elders load and unload the uhaul truck, while I sat around, for the most part. Truth is my wife said I had to stop, but she didn't have to talk to hard.

I am getting ahead of myself, the first night we just watched the little ones, while Sean and Monica packed a little. Then we went to Seans baseball game and were entertained both by the game and by watching Batman playing in the dirt.



Sean did fantastic at the game, scoring 3 of the 14 runs they had, stopping many balls at third base and busting open his finger. They won I think 14 - 3. Good job Sean.

Monica did get a little carried away on her packing. She was very efficient maybe too much so. Because latter we found Ayden a little surprised in one of the boxes.



Gayelene had brought up a quilt she had made for Gavin. She was very proud of it and Gavin seemed to enjoy it as well. I think Gavin slept through most of the move, which was his job anyway. I can't believe how good my grandchildren are.

We just puttered around the next day, unpacking and putting things together and organizing. I think we only had a couple of small loads the next day, but I enjoyed so much working with Sean putting things together and doing little odd projects. We put together their new Ikea dresser, the crib, their bench, cut down the tv entertainment center and moved boxes around in the house and garage. I must have carried and hiked the stairs a hundred times that day. But it was amazing how much we got done, when the four of us went to work.

I have a story to tell too. During the move when all the elders got to their house we were waiting around to head over to the apartment to get that load. We were standing around in the garage, when Ayden came out of the house to the garage and announced at the top of his lungs, "That is my Grandpa" and points at me. Nobody was listening, so he yelled it again and again, until everyone knew. I was beaming from ear to ear. I love my Grandchildren.

Sean and Monica took such good care of us, we had fun with them, ate like kings, and worked like slaves, and totally loved every minute of it. It was hard to leave, but we left tired and happy. The house is beautiful and they are in. Congradulations.

Next we made it to Spencer and Mary Elizabeths, for the boys birthday. We got there and they fed us dinner and we talked for awhile in the new basement with Aunt Wendy and her husbad. Becky was there and she had made a cake for the boys. It is a transformer cake. We sang the boys happy birthday and Becky puts this big piece of cake in front of both boys. It was more like four pieces of cake and let the boys have at it.



Pen went to it like it was his last piece he would ever have and loved it, kind of made a mess of himself and the whole kitchen. At one time picking up the whole piece and stuffing it in his face.



Logan was different he played with it but kept teasing us looking like he was going to eat a piece and then setting the piece down. Finally he got a bite and then he liked it. But still ate it with one pinky finger in the air. The perfect gentleman.



Of course after cleaning the boys up there was presents to open and play with.



They both had a great time and were a joy to watch.





We loved our time with everyone, but boy were we worn out. What a great thing to visit everyone, and what a great thing to get home and rest.

Vacation

As you may or may not know Dad and I just got back from a wonderful vacation to visit Candis, Joe and Alexis. Alexis is just as cute as ever, smiling all the time and was a joy to be around. Candis and Joe took us all over the place and we got to see so many sites. Here are some pictures that we took but they are not in any order. Check out Candis' blog for additional fun things that we got to do. We basically went to 4 different sites - Philidelphia, Washington D.C., New York and Gettysburg. I have never been to the first three places and Daryl hasn't been to any of the places, so it was all new and a great experiences to see.

We spend a day in New York City and saw many amazing things. Here is a picture of Dad and I at the Empire State building. While in New York we rode the subway, and train. We saw the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Time Square, Grand Central Station and ate a hot dog from a street vendor in Central Park. It is an amazing place and the people in New York were really willing to help you find the different locations and help get you on the right subway. I was not expecting that, I heard that New York people were not nice and you shouldn't bother them because they would be rude. But thank goodness that wasn't the case.



We spend the fourth of July in Gettysburg, where Daryl and Joe got to visit the museum. We walked through the cemetery and saw the spot were Abraham Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg address. Joe took us around the battlefield and explained what happened during the 3 day battle. Joe is amazing in his knowledge of the Civil War. Thanks for making it come alive Joe. After Gettysburg we went to Liberty Park where you could see the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of New York City and watch the fireworks. What an experience and what a great back drop for the 4th of July fireworks. In the distance we could also see the fireworks going off at Central Park. Thank you Joe for driving into that so we could have that experience.



We spent one day in Washington D.C. that was a lot of fun. We did so much. We saw all the war monuments. the Lincoln, Washington and Thomas Jefferson memorials and also the American History Smithsonian. We visited the National Archives were we saw the original Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights and even ate a hot dog from a street vendor. The following picture is of Candis, Alexis and I sitting on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial. Everyone sits there in the movies so we had to join along as well.



In Philidelphia we visited the Liberty Bell (following picture is of Daryl and I by the Liberty Bell). We saw Independence Hall, and ate at the famous Jim's Steak were we had the original Philly Cheese Steak and it was delicious.



We had a really great vacation and appreciate Joe and Candis for letting us come for a visit and for showing us around. Candis your an excellent tour guide (Joe had to work part of the time we were out there) and so nice of you to go back to different places that you had already been so we could see them as well.

Youth Conference

Well I got invited to youth conference again. Bishop called me up Wendesday and asked if I couldn't go to youth conference to help out. It was at Camp William this year. The kids did all kinds of fun things before I got there including games, repelling off a tower, and swimming. By the time I got there they were just finishing up swimming.

As always it is a lot of hard work, here are some of our helpers in the kitchen. I mostly stayed with the youth, but did a little in the kitchen.




As you can tell we had good eats. Kids always make it fun but especially when it comes to food.





After the food came our guest speaker, it was Lavel Edwards. I can certainly see why he was a coach and a good one. It was quite motivating, and several great messages. After that a testimony meeting.




We Slept in the barricks at the camp. The adults and boys together, on the main floor and the Girls and their leaders on the second floor. It wasn't too bad. The next day packed up, cleaned up and went through the open house at the Oquirrh temple. Kind of a short trip, but worth while. I am glad the Bishop thought of me to help out.

The Perfect Day

Dad and I had a perfect day, believe it or not, and I wanted to share with you what it was all about. It started out by being woken by two little voices (Penn and Logan) talking to each other. So we quickly jumped up and retrieved the boys to our bed. We played with them for a little while, it was so much fun and brought back a lot of memories of when our girls were little and we used to do the same thing. Then it was time to help Mary Elizabeth feed the boys and then cook breakfast. Meanwhile Dad was downstairs helping Spencer hang some doors in the basement in preparation to getting their new carpet in. - See it was a perfect morning.

Then we headed off to Mantua to do some 4-wheeling. I haven't been able to go 4-wheeling since May of 2007 and I was excited to do so. We invited Dad Gudmundson and Judy to go with us. This is one of the first times that Judy has done anything like this. We put Grandpa and Judy on the yellow Honda 4 wheeler and we were on the red suzuki and off we went. It was on a groomed trail and a perfect day. All the way up the mountain I was telling Daryl that there had to be bugs in my teeth because I could not stop smiling I was having so much fun. So image my surprise when we finally reached the top of the mountain and Judy told me that she did not understand why people enjoyed 4 wheeling so much. To her it was miserable and she was not having any fun. We could not make it all the way to Inspiration Point becuase there was still way too much snow on the road. So we stopped for lunch (it was Subway sandwiches). I love subway sandwiches so that just added to the perfectness of the day. We took the following pictures and walked around for a little while.



This is the scenery from where we stopped for lunch. Notice the heart shape tree off to the right of the picture. It was beautiful. We could see all the way down into Pineview Reservior in Ogden canyon.


This is a picture of dad and I in the meadow.

This one is of Dad, Grandpa Gudmundson and Judy right after we reach this space. The sign told us we were at 9,300 feet above sea level. What a beautiful place.

After we ate lunch we traveled back down the mountain, where I relectedly let dad drive. So you can see we had a perfect afternoon.

Now it was time to head home. Dad and I were both so exhausted that we didn't make it all the way home before we knew we had better pull off the road and take a quick nap. We were on the Legacy highway and able to pull off at a rest area. We both laid back in our seats and were sound asleep. After awhile I woke up because it was so hot and had to move around to cool off. Dad joined me and then we were able to continue our ride home. As you can see it was the perfect afternoon.

Now the Temple was closed for cleaning this Saturday, June 27. So Daryl and I had decided it would be a great day to visit the Draper Temple and see all our friends that were transferred to that temple from the Jordan River Temple. I cut Daryl's hair and he cut mine (which added to the perfect day) and we got ready to go to the temple. The Draper Temple really is hard to find. You have to be on the right road or you cannot get up to it. Since this was our first trip to that temple, it took several wrong roads and extra time to get there. By the time we arrived the session was full so we did sealings (that was the only option available). But let me tell you, from the minute we walked into the temple we were bombarded with friends that we used to work with at the Jordan River Temple. It was wonderful to see them all again and feel of their love. We were able to do the sealings and then we went to the Celestial room to enjoy the Spirit and talk about Spiritual things. While in the Celestial Room, Sister Koch came up to us (she used to work in the Jordan River Temple) and told us that we would be eternal friends because of the relationship we had with her and her husband in the opportunity of being temple workers. You know we felt the same way. The Temple has the best people working their and it is a honor and privilege to be able to work with them. We have made many special friends while having this opportunity. - what a perfect evening.

After the temple it was late and we hadn't had time for dinner so we stopped by the Golden Corral for dinner which just added to our perfect day.