Our New Favorite Lake in the Uintas

Chelane and Robin spent last weekend fishing and hiking in the Uintas and we found a great place to go fishing. We went to Rock Lake (seen above from Haystack Mountain in the foreground) where we caught fish after fish for hours. We got tired of fishing and then fell victim to the favorite Phillips pastime - we found a nice flat rock next to shore and look a long nap in the sun. My dad first taught me the finer points of that sport at Kidney Lake with his dad - who probably taught him the same thing. We caught tons of nice foot long Brookies, even when the flies were so haggard that there was only a piece of red thread left on a bare hook. We took a short - really short, like fifty yards - trip to Azure Lake where we only saw two fish jump. It was a nice glacial flour lake set up high against the cliffs of Haystack where the sun goes down at 5:30 - a pretty setting with lots of rocks, but the siren call of Brookies at Rock was calling to us and we were soon back on the shores of Rock reeling in fish as fast as we could. We found that Grey Hackle Yellow and Royal Coachman were the fly of choice for the evening. Dick's was closed on the way home, so I took Chelane to the Oakley Polar King where we got to listen to some of the local youth squeal like stuck pigs until our food was ready. After enjoying the town turn at the mink farms in Peoa, we were on our way and back home before 1o:00PM.

Lagoon Day with the Family

July 16th, we went to Lagoon with Shon & Mel, Isabel, Jake, Max and Sam. Everybody enjoyed the rides - except those with a genetic disposition toward motion sickness. Let's put it this way ... Grandpa got to go on lots of rides with lots of kids. Isabel and Max were there as guests of Lagoon. They drew pictures of last year's trip to Lagoon and their pictures were made into ceramic tiles and installed in a permanent display. Shon thinks they will be on display until the kids are 3o or so. We took Sam with us instead of Laura this year because Laura came down with strep throat. That was actually a stroke of good luck for Grandpa - it was one less time that he had to go around in circles fast to the sound of Abba on the Music Express. Sam was not quite tall enough to go on the 42" rides, so we had to spike his hair to make sure they would let him on. We pigged out on "all you can eat" hamburgers and hot dogs at Robin's company party. Janene must have been starved since she was quoted as saying the food was "pretty good". Robin won a Home Depot gift card in the raffle, which was probably the best thing possible. We finished up just as the full moon came up over the roller coaster. Shon and Mel had so much fun that they returned to do it all again on the 24th of July. Maybe this time they spent most of their time in Pioneer Village in honor of the holiday.

Taking Daddy's car out for a spin.

You see they took their daddy's car and drove it to the hamburger stand now!
They forgot all about the soccer practice that they had at home now!
One turns right and the other turns left at the corner
And they'll have fun, fun,fun 'till their daddy takes the Model A away now!

Dinner Night at Grandma's

Andrew loves to pose for Gramps!

So does Elsie. We'll ask her if we can use this one at her wedding. If she says "no way" we'll use it anyway!

Cy just swallowed a big juicy worm. Mmmmm! Yummy!

Three little monkeys sittin' in a tree. Oh - yes basketball standard.

More of our Trek Photos

Our Little Women.

Jordan thinks everything is going just fine!

Man! That water is cold!!!

Yes - They really are running up that steep hill - and smiling about it.

OUR TREK FAMILY

Here we all are in all our glory. This was the hardest thing any of these kids have ever done - miserable, hot, dusty, smelly, and perfect! Every one of us had a great time and every one of us learned something new. We had five guarantees if we participated fully in this experience. 1) We would become closer to our Heavenly Father and our Saviour. 2) We would learn a greater appreciation for our ancestors and their sacrifice. 3) Increased faith and awareness of our self-worth. 4) We would gain a better appreciation for our own family and our blessings. and 5) Learn to love our trek family and gain new friends. Each one of us succeeded in all of these goals and we have become great friends. Janene (Ma) and Robin (Pa Ra) look forward to seeing each of these young men and women make great things of their lives. We hope to be invited to every missionary farewell, wedding, and baby blessing in the years to come with our newfound friends. Each one of our family is highlighted below. We hope you enjoy them almost as much as we did.

Heather

We have our own Heather, and our "trek" Heather is almost as good. You would never know from this picture that Heather's feet were blistered and bleeding for the entire trip. She asked for help when she needed it, but otherwise you could expect to see her right along side the young men pulling her hardest and cheering us on. She looks really cool in sunglasses and plays a mean Sally Walker, but this young woman is at her best when she was playing the role of junior Ma. The girls all looked up to her and she was a real example of what a Latter Day Saint young woman should be. She shares her testimony with her friends, and shares her smile with all. We all look up to her, and not just because she is so tall.

Jordan

Wow! This young man is simply outstanding. From his Michael Landon good looks to the strength of his testimony, we were pleasantly surprised to to have him in our family. He was always on hand to help with anything we needed, volunteered to do things for us, and took care to make sure our young women were comfortable, shaded and happy. He took little Jesse under his wing and became his best friend, despite the difference in years. We will never forget the way he bore his testimony to the mountain man and even offered him his scriptures. In our quiet moments, he was one who shared his experiences in life and love of our Saviour. I know he will do well on his mission and as he goes through the rest of his life. We were blessed to have him as part of our family.

Annie

Look at that smile! Would you believe that this was one of the hardest things Annie had ever done? We really enjoyed this happy young woman. She seems so innocent and pure, that nobody would suspect her of masterminding the "bucket on Pa" incident. We never heard a word of complaint from her and she did more than her share of the work. We will never forget this special girl. She is going to be a great mom someday - and some young man is going to be extra lucky.

Jason

What can we say about Jason? I think the picture we have of him just about says it all. I couldn't find another picture of him. He was always running to help someone, or do something nice. Even though one of the leaders thought he was a deacon, he didn't let on that he was upset, He just explained that he was almost a priest. It was his energy and "extra effort" cheerleading that got us through all the tough parts. He is a very knowledgeable and spiritual young man, but he also knows how to have fun and can hold his own with the big guys. One of our favorite memories will be of his sleeping bag "worm fights" with the rest of the boys, and our tenderest moment was the one in this picture.

Libby

Our littlest one and one of our birthday girls. Libby worked really hard the first day and then got sick on the second day. Eventually she had to go in the sick car, but she got better and came right back to help us the rest of the time. Her uncle was in charge of the porta-potties and she made him a sheriff's badge that said "Bowel Boss" on it. Her birthday was on Wednesday and that night she told all of us that it was her best birthday ever. We sang her all of the verses to "Happy Birthday" and teased her a little. She was one of the culprits who kept us up until 1:30 in the morning. We apologize for this picture - she really was hot at the time and she had a mouthful during lunch. She is far cuter than this picture lets on.

Zach

I think Zack was our oldest young man. He was a real trooper, always willing to pitch in and help wherever he could. For part of the time, he didn't really feel very well, but he never complained publicly and never let his challenges get in the way of doing his part. He is spiritually strong as well as physically ( He smoked Pa in the stick pull!) and is going to make a great missionary. He was not afraid to volunteer when Prez Campbell needed a scripture and made us proud.

Lauren

What a beautiful young woman! And we don't mean just in appearance. She has a tender heart and reached out to care for all of the other girls. She was the first to suggest that we put one of the kids on the cart and carry them. We found out that she has some grown-up cares about some of her friends and really wants to be able to help them. She actually went back and helped another group of women with the womens pull after running with her girls up the hardest part of the hill. She never complained once and helped out wherever she could.

Jesse

He says they call him Messe Jesse, but we could never figure out why. As our youngest man, he was incredibly fun to have around. The first day, he was really kind of quiet - we were wondering if he felt OK, but then somebody turned on a switch and he came to life. The first night, we thought he would never stop talking - much to the annoyance of Trevor. He can do all sorts of impersonations and accents and knows the script to tons of movies - word for word. He developed a great relationship with the older boys - especially Jordan, and was a perfect gentleman with the ladies.

Mary

Mary or Mar Mar. How do you describe a warm fuzzy ball of excitement like Mary? She had us laughing during the whole trip, but especially into the wee hours of the morning. This girl has some talents we didn't think any girl knew anything about. She would be a ton of fun at girls camp, but she has a tender side as well. She worked hard and taught us all how to care for each other.

Trevor

Trevor was our hardest puller. He always wanted to be front and center in the yoke of the cart. We told him he had to take a few minutes in the back or on the sides, but he couldn't stand it - he said he needed to be where he felt like he was doing some good. His knowledge of music trivia is incredible. He likes to goof off a lot but we had a few spiritual moments with him as well. We know he is going to " do some good" wherever he goes and whatever he does.

A Short Evening Hike in the Uintas

This afternoon I was able to take a short hike in the Uintas just for fun. I tried to get John and Zach Rogers to go with me, but they could not leave on such short notice. The snow is mostly gone from the lakes in the Provo River drainage, although I was able to stash a couple of cans of pop in a snowbank and pick them up on the way out. I hiked in to Haystack Lake first and caught this fish on the first cast, and followed that with another a little larger on the third. From Haystack, I hiked cross country to the west and then north up to Rock Lake through a big boulder field. When I got there, I took a picture and then realized that I had lost my BlackBerry - it had fallen out of my holster somewhere. Thinking I must have lost it in the boulder field, I backtracked through the boulders and then gave up. I headed back to Rock Lake and caught a 12" Brookie on the first cast. From that point on, I pretty much got eaten alive by mosquitoes. I gave up on fishing - I couldn't fish and swat mosquitoes at the same time - and decided to head down to Blue Lake, where I caught another Brookie ( smaller) on the first cast and then headed west at the base of Haystack Mountain. I thought I remembered another lake out west, but I walked for an hour and a half to another cirque at the base of the mountain, but no lake. I headed back, picked up the pop at Rock Lake and then headed out over the boulder field. I decided to pray for help in finding my BlackBerry and did so. I tried to walk back the way I came, but every boulder looked the same and once I got to the hillside leading down to Haystack I realized it was hopeless to find the same way I had walked in since I was just going cross country and I hadn't really paid attention to where I had gone. I could hear a stream, and I went towards it and just as I got there, there was my BlackBerry right where I had jumped across the stream on the way in. Needless to say, I knelt down and thanked my Father in Heaven for the help. I should have had more faith that it would work- I had just about given up when it just appeared. I was rewarded later with a beautiful view across the meadow near Trail Lake. What a wonderful experience to have on a hot Saturday afternoon.

July 4th - A Day for Birthdays

The 4th of July is always a bittersweet day for us. We started by decorating Dave's grave last night in preparation for his 28th birthday. Several people stopped by his grave during the day including Laura Lynn McIntosh who also stopped to tell us how often she remembers Dave. She always remembers Dave's birthday. Brenda Hoskins Colleli also called from their lake house to let us know she remembered Dave as well. Our morning started with a Fourth of July celebration that our ward always does - a big breakfast and patriotic program. Robin has cooked for this program every year since we have been in this ward. We get to associate with all of our neighbors on this special day that always starts with a fly-by of four F-16 fighters and a C-137 Tanker from Hill Air Force Base. This time Mark David led the children's bicycle parade. He was asked because he is really a kid at heart. This afternoon, we had a birthday party for Robin's mom at their home. Darlene is now 75 years old - a milestone unsurpassed by anyone with her condition, and a milestone none of us ever expected her to reach. God has blessed our family by allowing her to remain here with us. She has been able to see not only her own kids grow up, but now her great grandchildren get to enjoy her. Laura gave her a special hug that about broke my heart tonight and Michael sang her a well practiced Happy Birthday. Each of our grandkids did something for her 75th birthday - she got lots of colored pictures from the girls, and a messy house from the boys. We topped it all off with fireworks for Heather and Joseph's children at our home and some quiet time to read the letters we received when David died. Twelve years is a long time, but it can all come flooding back with a few reminders. Julia's David was also missing from our July 4th celebration, and the pain for her is almost too hard to bear. We will always miss his uncanny sense of humor and on this day especially, we will miss his neighborhood fireworks display in the circle. Bittersweet is probably the only word that can really describe a day like this. There are so many good memories, but they are all tinged with a bit of sorrow and loss.

Handcart Trek in Wyoming

I want to post a few pictures of our Handcart Trek we just completed today. We have lots more pictures, but I wanted to get a few posted right away especially for our Trek Family to see. Alex Morrill from our ward was the company piper and he really added to the flavor of the whole experience. I would imagine that some of the Scots who immigrated here by handcart would have brought their pipes. He is a very accomplished young man who has won many awards at his young age. He is related to the Barclays who own a cabin on Mill Flat near Grandpa Morton's. Janene caught a picture of Mike and Patty Wright in a tender moment. Mike serves with me in our bishopric and has taught me a lot about compassion and service during this last year. We were blessed with an incredible trek family that included Trevor, Annie, Jason, Lauren, Zach, Mary, Jesse,Heather,Jordan and Libby. I will post something later about each of them, but for now you need to know that each of these young men and women were chosen by inspiration and we ended up being especially close, and had more fun than we should have on this trip. It was incredibly hot and dusty, and we ended up travelling about 25 miles camping at different places every night. The last night, our girls had a burping contest (mixed with other unmentionable sounds) that continued until about 1:30AM, while the boys figured out how to jump and hop on top of each other, all while zipped up entirely in their mummy bags. They looked for all the world like silkworms boiling in a pot. Between the two groups, I don't think I have laughed so hard for quite a few years. We really gained an appreciation for those of our ancestors who made the trek west with handcarts, as well as those who travelled using other methods, and we will never be the same after this experience.