Lake is going,going,gone

Well we kept the water in the lake for over 2 weeks after the girls left. Now we are gaining a mud hole inch by inch. We have now been placed in Camp Hinckley to serve as camp hosts for the remaining time on our mission.

Elder Jensen to the rescue.

One of our lake missionaries to the rescue of 3 young women in an overturned canoe. This is a fairly regular occurance and we take turns manning the rescue raft. Just one of the many things that we do here.

Busy beavers.

Our lake "Busy little Beavers" were very busy indeed. They chopped down a couple hundred little trees in just a few days on the edge of our lake.

And the sunsets ?

Beauty surrounds us.

On top of the mountain

Pat at the very top of Bald Mountain in Heber City Utah. We rode our ATV to the summit which is over 10,000 feet. A wonderful view of 3 mountain ranges. As you can see the weather was threatening, but in Utah the saying is wait an hour or drive 5 miles.

Follow the leader anyone?

Young women are having a great time on the lake playing follow the leader. It is a great time for most of them and we enjoy most of them too.

Many deer here as well.

Very tame and very interesting.

Feathered friends on the lake.

Well as you can see the ice and snow have finally left the mountain and have been replaced by Spring and Summer. We have been very busy but are getting settled in to the work routine. We see a lot of wild life at the lake including Moose, Deer and a lot of Ducks. Will try to find time to include more postings on the Blog. Jim and Pat

Are we ready for camp yet?

Back in Utah again!!!

We arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah 3:30 am on Saturday, April 11, on our way to serve another 6-month service mission at Heber Valley Camp. In SLC, we visited Pat's sister Linda and her husband Karl before driving to Kaysville to stay two nights. It was fun spending Easter Sunday with my niece Lisa, her husband Dylan, and their four children. We attended Church with them and then enjoyed a wonderful Easter dinner. Monday morning it was back on the road to Roy for a visit with the Penman family (formerly of Chico). That afternoon, it was a short trip up to Brigham City to see Ron and Louise Cefalo and some of their family. They served the previous 2 years at Heber Valley camp. The weather was a warm 73 degrees with clear skies as we left the Cefalo's home and headed for Heber City where we arrived at 7 pm at Bell and Ed Jones' home. We were greeted with many hugs from Erik, Jakob, Katie, and Anika Jones.

By 9 pm Monday night the rain began and continued through the night and most of Tuesday. It was really chilly with the cold wind and rain when we went with the Jones family to attend the girls' 6 pm soccer game.

Wednesday morning the sky was clear when we drove up the mountain to take snow photos of camp and visit with some of the "chosen frozen" missionaries there. By noon it was snowing and continued as we left the mountain. Even as we drove towards Provo, the hillsides were covered in snow. We stayed overnight in Spanish Fork with relatives and woke up to more snow. The sun came out Thursday, so most of the new snow melted that day.

Returning to Heber City on Thursday, we stopped at Costco, in Orem, and Pat saw a big line of Marie Osmond's fans waiting to get photos and hugs from Marie as she signed her new book there. Pat took 15 photos which she posted on her Facebook site.

Friday, April 17 was clear and windy. We stopped to visit old missionary friends and meet new ones where they gathered with their RV's at the rodeo-grounds "Cowboy Town" parking lot in Heber City. Then we drove up to camp in the afternoon for our interview with the camp directors.

While there, we learned that we will receive our assignments next Friday. (We were co-hosts in Camp Sariah last year.) Monday night we'll go back to camp for a potato-bar dinner hosted by the 5 "Frozen Chosen" couples. We'll begin training at the church at the base of the mountain on Tuesday morning. Then next week, on the 27th and 29th of April, missionaries will be taking their RV's to camp. We are all scheduled to attend a temple session in SLC on Tuesday, the 28th, followed by lunch together in the Joseph Smith building.

The sun was out for a warmer day on Saturday. In the morning, Pat went with Belle and the girls for another soccer game. Jim went to help Erik, along with about a dozen others, with an Eagle Project at a care home for the elderly. When the project was finished, it was back to "Cowboy Town" to see friends (the Evans) who had arrived from Nevada. Later that evening, we went with Elder and Sister Evans, and Spencer Madsen (who came up from Arizona), to have dinner at Ruby Tuesdays in Park City.

Sunday, from 9 am till noon, we attended church with the Jones family in Heber City. Then we drove to Orem's Suncrest 9th Ward, where we joined the Evans, to hear L. Tom Perry speak in their sacrament meeting at 1 pm. This is the home ward of Elder and Sister Gordon. On future Sundays, all the missionaries will be attending church together at the Coppertop building at 1365 E. Center Street in Heber City. That is until about the first Sunday in June (weather permitting), then we will all attend church in camp in one of the large pavilions. Beginning the 26th of April, potlucks are scheduled in camp following church services. Also after church, we will have district meetings, in groups of 7 or 8 couples, where we study Preach My Gospel together. Last year, there were 103 Senior Missionaries that served in camp along with volunteers that came from all over to help with various projects. We are looking forward to a great summer! What an awesome place to serve a mission at 8,000+ feet elevation -- surrounded by the beauty of the camp's 8,600 acres. Visitors are invited to our first Open House, to check out the camp, on May 16 from 1 until 5 pm. Also, a lot of information can be found at the Heber Valley Camp website.

Visit to Lake Shastina to see my Mother.

Well I took a few days last week to go say good- bye to my Mom and Sister in northern CA. before my wife Pat and I take off on another 6 month service mission. It can be very nice up there and that was how it was this time. Mom is 89 years old and has good and bad days but it was good to see her. She is at the point that in order to have a conversation you have to ask something that requires an answer that is not yes or no. She had a good day on Wednesday and Friday but Thursday was a sleep nearly all day-day. I had an opportunity to catch up a bit with my sister and brother-in-law however. And I was reminded what life without DSL is like. I would have to move or get satellite because dial-up is painful after being spoiled with DSL. I did have a chance to help Mary Ellen download a picture program (Picasa 3) to help her organize her pictures. It only took 2 tries and something over 2 hours to accomplish. It was also hard to keep in touch with other family members and friends from New York to Washington state. The picture that I am adding was taken some other time from my sisters home.

Foggy day in Salt Lake City

One thing that we won't need this year! THANK YOU CHARLIE!!!

Well there is one thing that we will not need this year. That is to have one of our good friends send his ATV 750 miles to us and then pick it up after camp was over. We did not have a required ATV so Charlie and Wendy sent theirs on a mission with us. We purchased a used one at the end of camp and it is stored at camp in one of the pavillions waiting for us. Here are some pictures of part of our support staff.

ALMOST TIME TO HIT THE ROAD

Well the time is getting short and it is nearly time to hit the road again. That means trailer packing time and figuring out what to take with us this year. The only difference between this year and last is that at least we have a clue as to what we will need. We know what the weather can be like and what is available in the area when we go to shop. Of course we never know what the weather across the mountains will be like that early in the spring.

Another Day

Well it was another exciting day in the life of an old retired guy. Slept late today and then checked my e-mail etc. I finally went outside in the afternoon and did a little work out there for a change and it was a nice day. Cut the lawn and trimmed some of the low hanging redwood limbs so that I won't have to duck the next time that I mow.
This evening I watched a little TV and talked with my niece Janea in Iowa for nearly an hour and a half. Discussed a little family history fact and fiction . It is nice to be able to keep in touch with family and friends. I don't know what we would do without our computers.

A hike in the mountains of HVC.

Last fall colors surround us at the Temple on the mountain

Heber Valley Camp

Here are some of the trails that we will soon be returning to.

Sunday

Sunday, one of my favorite days of the week. Except for the fact that it started an hour earlier today(spring ahead) it was pretty nice. Our normal routine is to be in church for 3 hours on Sunday morning. I guess that some people would call that obsessive but we normally find it relaxing and uplifting. Beside the spiritual benefit we have a chance each week to see our friends and their families and that is an extra blessing of the day. We get to worship our Creator AND we get to associate with our friends. If that isn't a win win I guess that I don't understand the concept. Maybe we need to campaign to have at least 2 Sundays in each week. That might make the average person less stressed!

Now what?

Well I guess that this is where I am supposed to start writing something very profound. I could write that the Country is in trouble. But that would be an understatement, and so obvious that everyone already knows it. I could say that we need a change but didn't we just get that ? Just goes to show you that we sometime get exactly what we ask for and still don't like the results. Go figure. I guess that we will have to start planning what we will do NEXT time, if we are fortunate enough to get a next time. I suppose that you can already tell how I voted.

What am I doing???

Well I suppose if one is going to keep up with the technology you must try something new from time to time. We thought that this might be a way for some of our friends to keep up with us if we are away. I don't know what direction it might take but it might be fun. So buckle up and enjoy the ride. Jim