Elonna's Birthday and Golf with My Boys

Elonna turned 8 last Friday and we had a great birthday bash for her at the Pirate Island Pizza joint. Lots of fun by all. She had lots of friends and family and really cool humongous cupcake cake....red velvet...mmmmm goooood! She got all kind of fun presents too.

The next day I was able to golf with both of my boys, Chris and Jimmy, we had a blast together. I get a chance to golf with each of them on occasion but rarely with them together so this was a huge treat for me. There isn't much I'd rather be doing. Enjoy!

Scout Court of Honor

The Stake held a Scout "Court of Honor" last night at our Stake Center for all of our Boy Scouts who earned merit badges or rank advancements. Have I mentioned that we have phenomenal youth in our ward? Well, we do. They are all on their way to becoming great young men and women.

We also have some of the finest adult youth leaders that I have had the pleasure of knowing. They are great examples to the youth, because they are great husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers. They love the youth and they love the Lord. I am so blessed to be associated with each of them and it is an honor to be their Bishop.

Each of the boys received recognition for earning about 9 merit badges each at summer camp...this is outstanding for those of you who may be uninitiated in the ways of the scouts. They each also earned at least one rank advancement. I may be partial, but our troop was simply awesome.

Sue went along to support me and the scouts too. You have no idea what a great feeling it is to have a wife who is not only supportive, but is actively engaged with me in this calling.

Here are some photos of the evening and some of the things that are so right with our great country.

Luau in the Desert

We went to a community luau this past Saturday that was sponsored by the 3 Coral Canyon wards and Sun-Cor, the homeowners association. About 300-400 people showed up. There was plenty of food for everyone, Kaluah roast pork, macaroni salad, rice, and tons of desserts that everyone brought. There were even a couple of jump houses for the kids to play on, not to mention that we had it at the Coral Canyon park, where there are all kinds of things to do. The evening was topped off by some great island entertainment...it was like seeing a mini version of the Polynesian Cultural Center on the North Shore of Hawaii. Jimmy, Hollie, and the kids were able to come to and we had a blast with them. Enjoy some of the photos.

Busy Labor Day Weekend

What a fast, fun, and serious weekend. Annie & Brett came to visit from Southern California.

The weekend started off on Saturday morning when we all went hiking out in Ivins to see all of the petroglyphs that are out there. It was a fairly hot morning and the hike to the petroglyphs was nicely invigorating. As always, this was a great hike with some great scenery...always being rewarded by the 1000 yr old petrogplyphs. Lots if photos were taken and even took a few of the photographers taking photos.

After our desert adventure we all headed into St. George to check out a new hamburger place in the middle of ancestor square that was in the old territorial jail. The food was good but the compnay and relaxation were even better as we sat outside under some trees and a great umbrella.

Then it was off to home for a little R&R before we headed back out for dinner later that nght. We were shut out of entertainment options but that did not deter us. We chose to drive up to Pine Valley and have dinner at the Brandin' Iron restaurant which is only open on the weekends. It's a great cowboy steakhouse kind of place nestled in the mountains. We loved the setitng and the cool temperatures. It was a great way to beat the heat.

Sunday was a the usual busy but great day of worship that we all enjoy so muc and is such a big part of our lives. I did make some homemade chicken parmigina that was pretty good. The restof the day was full of R&R

We resumed our busy activiites early monday morning by heading out to Silver Reef (old silver mining town) and Leeds to do some fun hiking and geocaching. We visited old pioneer cemetries, long abandoned silver mines, and plenty of old pioneer home ruins. We even found the foundation of a pioneer era brewery in the area. We also found the southern home that the LDS church owns and uses for the Apostles and select general authorities when they vist the area. It is a really nice home in Silver Reef. We found many geocaches and treasure. Brett and Anne had not doen that before we think that they really enjoyed themselves.

After we spent about 4 hours trekking throught he desert we headed back home to get ready for our annual family Labor Day BBQ. Brett helped me prepare the ribs and chicken for the smoker. Then he and Annie took off for a few hours of shopping and some much need relief from Sue and I (just kidding).

Chris, Alicia, and their kids came over, along with Jimmy, Hollie, and their kids, Along with our friends, the Kelvingtons. A great time was had by all. Family times are special and great. We had such a wonderful weekedn and it is becasue of the family that we have. We are truly blessed.