So long summer and Bear Lake - it was fun while it lasted.

Our first morning on the property, we woke up to this group of moose - or is it moossen?  They spent the entire day close by, but as more people came to spend the weekend on the hill - they moved on to quieter resting spots.

Each of the three girls had an assignment to plan an activity during our weekend at Bear Lake.   Lauralee (and Quinn) took us letter-boxing.  (kinda like geocaching without the GPS). Quinn found a letter box opportunity in Round Valley, south of Bear Lake just over the hill.   We headed towards the Round Valley Cemetery following the clues provided and after a walk up to the cemetery Quinn was successful in locating the cache.  Quinn shared the history of letter boxing with us -- cutting it down from a 45 minute presentation (just kidding) to a quick 5 minute synopsis (classic Quinn) - thanks Quinn, but a powerpoint would have been fun.

.

For her activity, Anne taught us how to make balloon animals.  She's quite confident that if she can't find a job after graduation that she can look for work as a clown.  Quinn, Laura, Jeff and Carly used their new found talent to create hats.

 

Carly's activity was a blast from the past - Bingo with a special appearance from Nancy (of Snowbird fame).  Sorry, no pictures here but who doesn't like Bingo when prizes worth up to $1.00 were at stake.

My favorite part of our Bear Lake weekend - these 3 cuties!

So here's my latest project - my dresser!! 

And I love it!

Before:

 After:

My car is glad I finally finished the project, 

it was tired of sitting out in the driveway getting watered and dirty everyday from the sprinklers.

Lots of fun this weekend in Southern Utah.

The best part of the weekend?  

You guessed it - visiting Carly, Jeff and OWEN!

 

Also part of the fun was attending

To Kill a Mocking Bird

All the children were amazing, but the young girl who played Scout was a local girl who 

had never acted before.

New this year was Scapin - 

"Mayhem, mischief and Moliere" - a classic story with lots of contemporary references!

The Merry Wives of Windsor

We've seen this play before 

but it is so much FUN.

We laughed out loud 

over and over!

Of course we couldn't go to the 

Festival without seeing

Les Miserables

I went in to this play as not the 

biggest fan of the story or the music.

I know - you're saying right now 

"You've got to be kidding"

Don't worry, I think I've been won over,

It was wonderful, and if you haven't heard,

the festival is extending the run of this

production through the end of October!

So, if we weren't playing with Owen or attending a play, we were still busy.  

Carly and Manja (and Owen) shopped and shopped.  

Bryan golfed and golfed.  

And when Bryan and Jeff finally got together they took out Bryan's "trainer" remote control plane so they could learn to fly before Bryan puts the real deal in the air.

 

When we got home and settled we were able to Facetime with Daniel and Hannah and our favorite little Ohio baby Lyla.  Hannah was so excited that Lyla finally fits in her sailor dress - ahoy little miss!

   

So I realized that I have this great son on a mission in Alaska and I haven't even posted about him or his mission, so indulge me while I share a little about what he's been up to.


August 1st was Taylor's 4 month mark.  His first assignment when he arrived in Alaska was a ward in the Anchorage area.  His companion was Elder Martinez from Mesa, Arizona.  Here they are together in front of the Anchorage Temple.

Just before being transferred after 12 weeks training with Elder Martinez, he participated in the baptisms of two women.   In the picture below the husband was able to baptize his wife.  

The following week Taylor was able to baptize this woman.  He was thrilled that she asked him to perform her baptism.

Taylor is currently serving on Prince of Wales Island in the town of Craig.  There is a small branch for the entire island and there are about 50 members there currently, but that is because it is summer and there are many seasonal residents attending the branch.  Taylor's new companion is Elder Terry from Orem, Utah and they are having a great time together because they both love to sing.  

Here's what Taylor had to say about his new assignment:
"Ok, so we (Elder Sondregger and myself) got to Ketchikan and the airport is on an island about half a mile from the mainland where the city is so we jumped on a smaller ferry and on the other side I met my companion! ELDER TERRY!!! He is the man! He stayed with the Ketchikan elders so he wasn't alone. After a quick stop at Walmart we jumped on the big ferry that took us to Prince of Wales Island about a three and a half hour ride. We got off the ferry and all there was, was a parking lot and two buildings. I was pretty nervous thinking, man this is tiny!!  But the Island is pretty large and we cover the entire thing! We live in Craig where the branch is. This place is smaller than Morgan, UT. I think that's the best way to describe it. There are about 3 to 5 towns that size here. Craig and Klawoch are right on the water. To give you an idea... everyone knows everyone and there is not one stop light on the entire island! You either get here by float plane or by ferry."

Below:  Elders Van Bibber and Terry

After a week in Craig, Taylor wrote this:
"We drove to Hydaburg where the Hiata native people mostly live and they had a totem pole raising. IT WAS AWESOME!!! the pole raising starts in the carving shed where they carved three 40+ feet long poles this year. The entire town and any visitors gather in the shed and the elder shares the symbolism and the history of the pole and blesses it. It was really interesting because the elder prayed to Christ and blessed it in the name of Christ. We were confused because we thought they believed in Raven who is their creator and savior but as we talked to people that was a great way to start talking about Christ and then we can introduce our believes of Christ.  So after the blessing of the pole we put a bunch of 4x4s and had 2-3 people one each side of the pole. We then carried the pole without anyother support except the 4x4s and the physical strength at least a mile from the carving shed to the totem pole park. These poles are gigantic."

Here are some pictures Taylor sent of the totem pole raising

Taylor wrote this:  The poles were so heavy and Elder Terry and I both still have bruises on our arms from carrying it. The first pole was the women's pole because the lead carver was a woman, so all the men just had to watch the woman carry it to the park. The second pole was for the men and Elder Terry and helped with this one. While were there we did a ton of contacting and we have a few people who want to meet with us.

So we're pretty proud of Taylor and so happy that he's having great spiritual and cultural experiences.

So -- should you feel inclined, go ahead and send Taylor a letter.  You know missionaries, they love mail!!  His address is in the upper right hand corner of my blog.

signed - proud missionary mom!