Let's begin with the two temple experiences. On the 16th of the month, we went with Gary and Deon to the Lindon temple open house. We waited in line for about a half an hour then were taken into a tent for instructions. We were told that there was 175 stairs we would need to climb if we went on the walking tour. If we felt we couldn't do that then we would want to get in the elevator line where they would take us from floor to floor on the elevator. We opted to walk the stairs so we could get the full effect of the beauty of the temple. And beautiful it was!! There are two baptistries in the basement with the font areas done in pinks and blues. Different but beautiful. It was then up the first set of stairs to the main floor. We climbed another set of stairs to the chapel then another set of stairs to the endowment rooms. The sealing rooms were up another set of stairs. I counted the stairs and there were indeed 175. The celestial room was the most beautiful of all, as it should be. As you walk in, the first thing you notice is the amazing stain glass window featuring the Linden tree. We were tired by the time we retreated down all those stairs and got to our car but so worth the trip. This temple will probably be the temple we will go to until our Heber temple is completed.
The second temple experience came at the end of the month. We traveled to St. George to be with Julia when she received her endowments. We were so glad we could be there with her to celebrate this wonderful occasion. After the temple session, we all went to Ryan and Katie's home for dinner. They had brought in the pork salad makings from Costa Vida. It was delicious and easy for Katie and Ryan. Katie's parents, her two sisters, and her aunt were also in attendance. We left early the next morning so we could make it back to Heber for our Sacrament meeting. Andrea and Casey and Lydia joined us as they were in town for a workshop production of Hattie's Echo. Afterwards we had dinner and then they left to go back to Oregon.
Then there was the two birthdays - Kailee's and Olivia's. Kailee birthday is at the first of the month and she always wants a German Chocolate cake for her birthday cake. She also always wants Malibu chicken for her dinner. We had lots of people there on that Sunday to help her celebrate as Jon's high school friends, Brian Sherrick and Mark Moore were in town and joined us for dinner. We had 17 all totaled as Brian's son, who goes to the University of Utah, was there along with Jon and MIndi and Clark, Olivia, and Carly. It was a great day.
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| I failed to take a picture of Brian and Mark but this is the vase Brian brought planted with bulbed tulips. When they died I used the vase this way. Mark brought sparkling cider and lots of candy. |
Olivia's birthday is at the end of the month. She wanted applesauce cake for her birthday cake so I tried to make it look festive with candles and a happy birthday sign. She loved it as well as her tri tip and chicken dinner.
The two gymnastic meets were for Aria and Avery. We went to Aria's on the first day and she did really well. She has come a long way over the past year and an half. The next day was Avery's meet, She was doing so well until she touched the beam to prevent a fall and then forgot the rest of the mandatory routine. She was devasted when she got a 6.4 from the judges. She recovered and did a great floor routine and vault. She even medaled in a couple of events. They both had meets at the state tournaments and each got there 36s which is always the goal.
This picture was taken at the state meet as
I didn't get any good pictures at the meet we attended.
We had another fun thing happen this month. We got a call from Janet Rands wanting us to meet them and the Holdaways at Olive Garden for lunch one Saturday. Steve and Nancy Holdaway were in town for a funeral and wanted to get together with all their old friends that had moved to Utah. We hadn't seen them for years so it was good to catch up on all the news from Spokane and in their lives. Janet Harman was there, too, and it was good to see her again.
Steve and Nancy
Bob is struggling with Parkinson's disease
After lunch, we met Ryan and Katie and Nathan at Leatherby's in Orem for some delicious ice cream. They were in town so Katie could help Julia find a temple dress and clothes for her mission. We were glad to meet them as we had all sorts of BYU things to give to Nathan. We had cards and posters and head bands and t-shirts that we had collected at the basketball games this season. He was thrilled.
I referred to Hattie's Echo earlier in this post. Charlotte and her team put on a 4 day workshop type performance to try and generate interest in getting this production on the big stage. We attended the performance on Thursday as we were leaving the next day for St. George and Julia's endowment session. Andrea and Casey and Lydia came in town on that Wednesday and stayed till Sunday after dinner. We were told that the performance got better each night, getting standing ovations both Friday and Saturday nights. We were so happy for Charlotte as she has worked so hard on this production. This version is a complete rewrite from the previous ones we had seen. It was powerful with a message that needs to be heard. As of Saturday night there were several venues that were interested in putting this on their stage. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
This was taken after the show we attended. Belle, on
the right is explaining that the show is based on the life
of Charlotte's family. Todd was there to solicit donations.
He helped get this production this far because
of a substantial donation he made to the cause.
Casey and the actor who played Casey in the production. 
One of the hit songs of the productions was
about a big pink elephant in the room, hence
this picture with Maggie, Allison, and Lydia.
Basketball season officially ended this month. At the last game, the seniors were recognized with Richie Sauders getting a standing ovation for his contribution to BYU basketball over the years. We played Iowa State and were able to pull out a victory which was unexpected. The team went on to play in the big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament but didn't play as well as we all wanted them to. When Richie Saunders went down with a torn ACL the season went sideways. He was the leader of the team, for sure.
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| Head bands handed out in honor of Richie. |
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| The students stormed the court when we won the last game of the season. Iowa State was ranked 7th in the nation. |
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| A.J. Dybanska will be missed next season |
One last darling picture.. Lincoln is obsessed with Harry Potter. Todd reads a chapter to him and the girls every night. When they finish one of the books they can watch the movie. Lincoln loves everything Harry Potter so one Sunday he came downstairs dressed like Harry Potter.
Love this boy!!!
