Our first ever stay in a beach house

Brenda has some friends who loaned her the use of their beach house in Lincoln City for the weekend. It's a cute A-frame perched on the side of a hill with a magnificent view of the ocean and a short (but steep) walk down to the beach. It's a peaceful setting and we enjoyed our time there.
















We drove over after our shift at the temple on Friday in time for a colorful sunset. On Saturday there was the obligatory long walk on the beach, followed by a trip to the mall and Mo's.

Mac Forest Run

Neil and all of his kids except Zachary came up for the Mac Forest 50K Run. It was fun to have them visit.

After running the race 5 times, Neil finally came in first place! He earned a mug and $50. The pictures show him coming in to the finish and then crossing the line. There were almost 240 people entered in the race. We were mighty proud.

 

The finish was at the forestry cabin. Erik had fun climbing on the big wheel.

Some after race pictures with the family:

 

 

Emily made up a song and the girls sang it to him at the finish:

Visit to the Dodge Ranch

We spent a few days in Bend. The teens (Jessica, Jason, and their cousin Meryl) were preparing for the Prom. We made a vest for Jason to wear. He'll have a red shirt and a black bow tie and his date, Savannah will wear red.

Jessica bought her own dress. She's going with a friend named Justin who seems very nice. He's a senior and wants to study mechanical engineering. We also made corsages and boutonnieres.

Dad worked in the yard. I cleaned the fridge and stove. Curtis did lots of cleaning because he was earning money for another singing fish for his astonishing collection!

Nancy Johnson's final recital

A lot of Nancy's former students and their parents came to bid her farewell. Julie Tucker put together some wonderful memory books for her. She was a good mentor to our children, mainly because she loved them. She was genuinely interested in them and would take time to chat with them. She was enthusiastic and flamboyant. And she taught them to love playing the piano.

She looked beautiful today. We will all miss her.

My Uncle Grant

My Uncle Grant died this week at 81 of a stroke.  I have fond memories of him. His girlfriend, Jeniel Judd, was my Beehive leader and I think she paid me special attention because she liked my uncle! When they married they lived for a short time in our basement. We girls thought it was so romantic because they were evidently very much in love and we noticed how Jeniel primped each day before he returned from work.

Thanks to Gail, I have a description of the funeral. "On the inside of the program they have the family genealogy, calling it 'Fugal Family Orchard--more than just a tree' (they have 12 children) On the back were listed 'Dad-isms.'

* Noooobody oughta be in bed past 6 o'clock in the morning.
* We can't afford to save that much money.
* This here's the arm that shook the world, and this is the one that stopped the world from shakin'.
* Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt.
* Figures can lie and liars can figure.
* Can't we get through one meal without somebody spillin' their milk?
* You gonna make a career outa that?
* You're burnin' daylight.
* We'll have to make an obsquensification.
* If you can't spell a word at least 3 different ways you got no imagination.
* Ain't you had no yankin' up at all?
* Kids your age don't get tired.
* You savvy that?
* It'll feel better when it quits hurtin'.
* The only thing you can do in bed after 6 in the morning is rot!
* That was graceful and cow-like."

He was a great man and I can't quit thinking about how happy my Dad was to see him!

Robin turns 12!

Today is Robin's 12th birthday. She started in Young Womens. She's as tall as her Mom now.

Rachel made a professional looking chocolate birthday cake.

We all said what we think is cool about her--she's her Dad's helper, she's always cheerful, she likes to play with Stephanie's kids, she has a great blog site, she has a strong testimony. Nobody mentioned she was born in a bathtub! How cool is that?

We finally got a family picture with David Cyrus in it!

General Conference

Each conference gets better than the one before. President Monson's Easter talk at the end of the Sunday morning session was especially good. He gave a wonderful summary of the Savior's life and how he conquered death for all of us. He told a touching story about a boy in the hospital dying whose brother was soon leaving on a mission. He showed a picture of them and talked about how they were both soon leaving for missions. This story brought back memories for me.

When Neil was in the MTC preparing to go to Denmark, my Dad was in the Provo Hospital preparing to leave this life. Neil and his companion got permission to go visit my Dad so he could say goodbye. Norma commented that both Neils were soon to leave on missions. She quoted D&C 138:57, "I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead."

Many years prior to that when I was leaving on my mission to Germany, I went to visit my cousin Sam who at 16 was in the hospital dying from cancer.  I had the same impression then, that we would both be missionaries soon.

I especially liked President Monson's reference to the words, "He is not here, but is risen!" I think of that when I visit the graves of my loved ones, as we did today to take flowers to Karna's in honor of her birthday. They are not there. They may not be risen yet, but they are not there!