Our Summer Vacation

It's a little hard to tell when you're vacationing after retirement. But this week we knew for sure because we hopped in the camper van and took off. We spent 2 nights at Waldo Lake, 2 nights at Crater Lake, and 2 nights at Neil and Pam's. The weather was really hot at Waldo, cool and rainy at Crater, and just right at Neil and Pam's.

We were joined at Waldo by the Dodges and the Andrei. The kids enjoyed playing on the beach and on the floating dock.

Jonathan brought their canoe and Eldon enjoyed going out in that.

Neil came late to run the next day in the 100K (62 miles) Where's Waldo race. We saw him briefly at the halfway point where he was about 4th.

He changed one shoe, his hat and his shirt. Mike and Brenda were his pit crew.

We went to the finish line when he thought he'd come in but missed him coming in by two minutes! What a disappointment. We went back to the awards ceremony. He got $1500 in prize money, but what a hard way to earn money! The guy who came in second (but who had led most of the race) came up and complimented him for an excellent race, especially since he was "employed with children." We were sure proud of him--national champion. He crushed the course record by 42 minutes!

We went to church at the Chiloquin Branch which was very friendly. Plus it was right on the way to Crater Lake. We set up camp and relaxed. On Monday we drove clear around the lake stopping at many viewpoints. There was Wizard Island.

There was the phantom ship.

There was the trail along a gorge where we saw the pinnacles.

Our favorite was a trail through a meadow just loaded with wildflowers. This is the monkey flower.

On the way down to Medford we stopped a couple of places and hiked along the river. This is Pearsoney Falls.

The kids and I went over to Neil's office to pick him up. We drove down to Ashland to a running store where Neil got interviewed by a reporter and Emily bought some new running shoes. We went over to the park and I watched Erik play which the rest went for a run. Talk about multi-tasking, on the way back while Neil was driving he phoned the hospital to get out a chart he needed to sign, changed his shoes and shirt and put on a tie, and called Pam to bring his temple clothes and meet him at the temple. We dropped him off tucking his shirt in as he hurried off.

We hiked up Lower Table Rock while Emily ran up and down it twice and then waited patiently for us. I was glad to make it to the top!

Then we got tacos and went to find apple boxes for Emily to use for her move to Corvallis. Eldon took Pam's Scout group on a hike to identify trees while the others went on a temple trip (such a long trip). Gideon and I went to the park and got caught in a brief shower.

Neil has a good relationship with each of his kids. When he gets home from work Gideon leaps into his arms for a hug. I observed his special farewell hug for Emily. They will miss each other. It made me think of saying goodbye to my Dad. Even though I knew it was for the best and it was temporary, still it tugged on my heartstrings. So a literal-minded physician might say, "Where are your heartstrings?" I say, you won't know until they get tugged. I'm sure Neil knows where they are. We'll do our best to keep her safe from harm while she's with us.

Scandinavian Festival

We went down to the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City with David and Cherrie Blake. We visited a museum, watched the dancers, saw a costume show, and had Swedish meatballs with red cabbage and all the trimmings. It was a fun excursion.

Naturally this got me thinking about our Scandinavian ancestors. I never tire of telling the stories. We have Scandinavian pioneers on both the Olsen and Fugal lines.

Carl Johan Olsen was a young boy when his parents and three siblings came to Utah as new converts from Hjorring, Denmark. His father, Johannes Oleson, a Swede, had gone to Denmark to find work and had married Johanna Christensen. Carl's three siblings wer

e among the 37 persons who died on the strenuous journey. They went by sail ship, on the Emerald Isle, and then by ox team to Utah. They started out in June and arrived in Utah the end of September. This was 1868 just before the railroad was completed. There were 830 members in this company that was the last of the sail ship and ox team travel for organized groups of LDS converts. 

Carl Johan grew up to become Charles John who married Mary Nelson Okerman who had been in the same pioneer company with her grand- parents. Albert was the fourth of their nine children and became Eldon's grandpa.

Another convert family that traveled from Hjorring and was on the same ship and in the same company was the Fugls. It consisted of a father, Christian, who was a shoemaker, his wife, and three of their adult, unmarried children. The oldest at 35 was Andreas. They, as well as the Olsens, settled in Pleasant Grove. The Fugls lived in a dugout at first over 

which an adobe house was later built (next door to Aunt Gail's.)

They were totally self sufficient with chickens, cows, sheep, and a vegetable garden.

Andreas married Hanna Carlsson, a Swedish convert. Their youngest son was Niels, my grandpa, whose school teacher called him her little home- made boy because everything he wore was homemade from the shoes his father made, to the clothes that Hanna made from wool she spun, wove, dyed and sewed.

Because of these tenacious hard-working ancestors, we are blessed to be Americans and members of the only true and living church upon the face of the earth! 

Eldon's Weight Loss

At Eldon's last check up the end of May, Dr. Athay simply said, "You've GOT to lose some weight." So he did! He's lost 20 pounds and is still dropping, as you can see by these before and after shots.

These are the lifestyle changes I've noticed he's made:

1. Whenever he's hungry he says, "Hungry is good," because he knows that's when the weight is coming off.

2. If he needs a snack he has a piece of fruit or some carrot sticks.

3. He doesn't snack after supper any more.

4. He limits himself to no more than one dessert per day.

5. He's noticing the labels on things, particularly the sugar and fat content.

6. He's eating smaller servings. He says he feels his stomach has shrunk so he gets full faster.

7. He read that keeping a log of what you eat helps you lose weight, so he's doing that.

8. He gets more exercise. He tries for 2 walks or bike rides or their equivalent per day.

He's more lovable even though there's less of him now to love!

Thoughts on Death

Beverly Young of our stake died this week at age 62 of cancer. The funeral was very uplifting and positive and included good gospel teaching especially for all their non-member extended family. Three of her kids spoke with honesty about her life and legacy and then her husband Gene talked. He said she was not in that casket, that it was just a "place marker" but that she was probably sitting by "one of you all." They all witnessed that she is giddy with happiness for being able to go on from this life. It really is a good thing we come to mother Earth with a manufacturer's guarantee that we won't be stuck here, as Elder Nelson has said.

I think back to the only experience I've had of watching someone die--and that was when my Dad died.

The indelible impression I had was that he was going through a kind of Geth-semane. He said he wasn't afraid to die, but that he was a little afraid of the pain he'd have to go through to get there. And the pain was awful, but the strongest thing he said was "Oh boy." He talked about getting used to being with Ruby again. He gave Gail a father's blessing. He leaned on Norma those last days and she was a strength to him. 

I also couldn't help but compare the process of death with the process of birth. Both are achieved with some pain. Both struggle through darkness and burst forth into light. Both are a joyful welcoming by loved ones while at the same time a sad but temporary farewell by other loved ones.

I have to look at death as a final test and hope that I'll be ready for it when it comes. And I'm sure that my children will make my funeral just as uplifting and positive as Beverly's was.