William and Brianna Black Marriage

This is Lar's oldest son, William and his new bride, Brianna.  We loved being at the Newport Beach Temple with the family for the sealing.  Wow, what a beautiful couple and wow what a beautiful temple!  Because of the strict building codes of Newport Beach, this temple looks a little different than most LDS temples.  I absolutely LOVED it--inside and out!  Thanks for letting us enjoy the sacred day with you William and Brianna.

Scripture Chase Gaffe

Our bishop instituted a great 90-day scripture reading program from the New Testament about Christ.  It will end  on Easter Weekend.  What a wonderful experience!  Scripture reading with a young family has its challenges though, so we have tried to introduce some "traditions" to keep things exciting for the kids.

Our own kids will remember this from many years ago:  we light the candle when we begin scripture reading but blow it out if contention arises. Then when the candle is gone we take the family out for a fun treat.  Back then, I worried when a neighbor told us using food for prizes is a good way to make your kids fat because it trains them that calories are a reward to good behavior.   Ha! So now we use $, prizes, toys, yogurt-place, Kiva Juice, candy bars, etc. as a reward for candles (short candles) running out.  That ought to scar Kellie's kids for life.

We have discovered that one of the best ways to encourage these kids to listen during scripture discussions is to have a scripture chase every Monday on the material we covered that week.  The kids really love it!  

During one of these contests I asked, "Who was the apostle Jesus predicted would betray him?"

Seth yelled out, "Judas Hernandez!"

Extra points.

Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

Brush with Fame: John Beck

Ya, so we sat behind John Beck at Stake Conference.  He was BYU's Quarterback and played pro ball for a few years.   LeGrand caught up with him as they put away chairs after the meeting.  LeGrand stuck out his hand and said, "I just needed to shake your hand so my boys will be more impressed with me."  Brother Beck smiled and gave him a nice firm handshake.  How about it boys? 

Tutus

What is there about a dancing costumes that turn ordinary girls into prima ballerinas?

"Dance is the song of the body."
Martha Graham 

Where in the World. . .

Moving means changing homes, friends, wards, schools and jobs. There are always trade-offs in every transition.  

Some places are more fun to live in that other spots in the road.  But as LeGrand promised, there were blessings in every stop. In fragmented phrases here is a brief look back.  Monticello: warm generous people and solid foundations.  Kennewick: independence and a sense of new adventures. Pleasant Grove:  discipline and sense of accomplishment. Price: fun youth and supportive associates. Bountiful: epiphany that people from large places are just as kind and solid and wonderful as those from rural areas.  Blanding:  challenges to meet and surprising events to overcome. Idaho Springs: not everyone thinks the same way we do and Colorado really is so very gorgeous it almost hurts.  Ogden: every city has awesome history, excellent people, and real cultural treasures. Smithfield: you can live a rural lifestyle and only live five minutes from a busy city.  St. George: weather really does make a difference and old people are awesome.  San Diego: lots of people live in California for some very good reasons and again, weather really does make a difference.  

Can  you name the place?