"Get A Room"

The, We Look Happy Picture!

Lately I have been told that Cherilyn and I look very happy, this picture in particular has received many comments to that regard.  It is nice to be told one looks happy, it validates that you actually are.

This past weekend, Cherilyn and I enjoyed a wonderful time together, an extra long date.  After delivering a puppy and dropping off the girls at their dad's, (dad lives in Oklahoma City) we were off on our date.  We checked into our hotel and then went to do our service in the temple.  (for those of you who may not be aware, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are a temple going people. For more information on LDS Temples, see my POST from earlier this year)  After our time in the temple we got a bite to eat and went back to the hotel.  Saturday morning was nice and lazy - no kids, no dogs to tend to, just each other to enjoy.  Early afternoon had us doing some shopping which took us to a large mall. - for those of you who know me well, you know I LOVE a good mall - While in Macy's, Cherilyn found some good sale racks to look through.  After picking out some things to try on, we headed to the dressing rooms.  As we were approaching the dressing room entrance, an employee approached us and asked, " Do you two need a room?"  to which Cherilyn replied, "You rent those for an hourly rate here?"  We all got a good chuckle.

This story got me to thinking about the comments that have been made of late about how we look happy.  I am glad that we look happy.  I feel happy and so does Cherilyn so it is nice that people notice. We have been told we look happy by many but we have never been told to get a room.  Were we giving off a different vibe that the Macy's employee was able to pick up on?  Things that make you go hmmmm! :-)

Cookies and Conference

Ingredients prepared and ready to be baked into cookies

Baked and ready to eat

As many of you know, I am a member of the Mormon faith and twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, we have what is known as General Conference.  This is the time of year when we have the opportunity to hear gospel messages from the leaders of the church. Just like every batch of cookies is different from the last in that the shape might be unique or the flavor might be a little different from the last time you made them, the conference messages are unique to the time they are given and just a little different from the previous conference messages.  The underlying principles are still the same with each, however, the cookies are still cookies, a recipe was followed in order to give you the end result, conference is still the same, an outline and format was followed and the messages all revolve around Jesus Christ. 

LDS Conference Center, Salt Lake City

As we add ingredients to our bowels to create the cookie dough, we may not be as exact in doing so each time we do this. We still get a cookie in the end that is good to the taste, unless of course we use a cup of salt instead of a cup of sugar. (that lesson is for another day)  As we listen to the speakers, many of whom are different from the speakers in the previous conference, we still end up with a gospel message that is good for the soul. 

What we obtain from each conference is personal and depends on our preparation. Just as in preparing the cookie dough, when seeking knowledge from on high through those our Heavenly Father has set apart to deliver that knowledge, we must be prepared. With the cookies, we prepare the kitchen by cleaning the counters where we will make the cookies.  We bring out all the ingredients we will be using and gather the bowels and utensils and preheat the oven.  When we want to be taught by God, we must prepare ourselves by doing whatever we need to set our minds at ease and put our spirits at peace.  We perhaps prepare by having enough rest, having ourselves fed so the hunger pangs do not interrupt us in our concentration. We may ponder the issues we are seeking guidance for.

When prepared, the dough is ready for the the oven.  During this time the dough bakes into cookie deliciousness. The loose ball of dough becomes a solid, thinner entity, the cookie.  When watching and listening to conference, we are baking. Once conference is over, we can go back and read the talks or watch it again, we get to eat the cookies.

Just my simple thoughts for the day as the family and I enjoyed the messages of General Conference and warm, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

*to learn more about General Conference click the link to General Conference above
**to learn some interesting information on the design and construction of the conference center, click the link under the picture

Edjumacashonall Thoughts

My wonderful daughter Krystene is close to completing her college career, she graduates in December, where she has studied elementary education. I am very proud of her for her efforts in college and in her choice of an honorable profession. She is, upon approaching the time to step out and obtain a job in the profession she desired, becoming concerned with the political environment.  I applaud her for taking the time to look into what is happening around her.  If you know Krystene, you know that gaining knowledge of politics and national and world events has not been one of her priorities growing up.  I guess that side of me just did not rub off on her as it did from my mom to me.

I agree that she has valid concerns and should take an active role in carving out the future of the environment she will be working in.  As a result of Krystene's concerns, I have begun to reflect on mine and her educational experiences; as well as look into, on a small scale, some things impeding  the progress of the educational system. Unfortunately, the bottom line turns out to be lack of personal responsibility and the allowing of politics to get in the way.

Teachers are part of the unsung hero class.  They work hard to balance their desire to help a child improve and work within the political correctness  of the educational environment as well as appease parents who demand much and never give back. How many other jobs are there where you need to purchase the supplies without reimbursement? If the carpenter had to pay for all the nails and wood to build the house, how many houses would he ever build? So, with these points alone, you have to think that the majority of teachers are there because of honest, honorable reasons, they want to make a difference.  I am certainly proud to say my daughter will be making a difference in the many lives she touches in her honorable career.

Now, I need to say that anyone in any party has no room  for pointing the other direction. Blame never solved an issue and there is plenty of blame to go around. The groundwork for many of the issues in education began with the federalizing of it.  The Constitution clearly lays out the responsibility of the federal government and NOWHERE in there does it say the federal government is responsible for education.  The tenth amendment, however, states that anything not clearly defined as a federal responsibility can and should be handled by the states. So, education is up to each individual state.  They define it and fund it.

Unfortunately, too many states have decided that money is the answer to education.  Unfortunately too much money goes into management and overhead instead of actual teaching. Example, the $587M price tag for a school in Los Angeles. As if that was not the only way to misuse funds, how many states claimed the need for an "educational" lottery to raise funds? What happens in most of those states is the budget created from tax revenue slated to go to education gets shifted to other items and the educational system is no better off than it was.  Look at my home state of North Carolina, they supposedly "needed" an educational lottery to "save" the educational system and continue to employ teachers.  If that is the case, why have they been laying off teachers if the lottery was the savior of education in North Carolina. The answer is, politicians fudge the numbers and move the monies from one account to another. Dr. Terry Stoops wrote a good article concerning the issue in North Carolina explaining how the federal government went from supporting 6% of the educational workforce to 12%.  Again, if the lottery was to be able to support education, why the need for the federal dollars?

The bottom line - local involvement!  Krystene had two parents who were involved with her education by becoming involved with the PTO, volunteering in the classroom, voting for those who would do the right thing on the local school board and assisting with the learning process through help with homework and providing other educational experiences. If more parents would be more involved, the education system would improve and future employers would have better prepared individuals to choose from.

Again, I express my deepest love for a wonderful young woman who I am proud to say is my daughter. I love you Krystene! May God bless you in your  honorable profession.

Krystene AKA Miss Lang, teacher extraordinaire

5th Wheel Adventure

As we finished our visit with Krystene, we prepared to hit the road with the RV.  The morning after Krystene flew home, we headed north.  Our first stop was just outside of St. Louis.  We arrived at 370 Lakeside Park and dropped the camper. As Cherilyn drove to the airport to pick up her parents and the girls (Brittney and Carissa had been in Utah visiting the grandparents and cousins for 14 days), I prepared the camper and got the nights meal going.

After dinner,  Brittney and Carissa and I took a bike ride around the lake.  It was a little longer than expected.  We had not planned on going all the way around but but Brittney got too far ahead and Carissa and I had to keep riding to catch up.  By the time we did catch up, we we over half way so it wasn't any different to continue going around or turn back, so we thought!

the girls ready for bed :-)

view of the lake to the left of our camp site

view of the lake to the right of our camp site

Ya, not much to say here. LOL

the not so glamorous side of having the RV

We woke to another beautiful day, just about perfect for travel.  Overall the RV park met our needs for the night.  The place was very new so the trees had not matured.  Give it another 5 years and it will look quite a bit different. If we were staying for a few days we would have rented the paddle boats and gone out on the lake. Maybe another time.

Off to Nauvoo!

Day 2 of the trip brought us to our destination of Nauvoo, Ill., where we stayed in the Nauvoo State Park. It was nice to camp in an area that was tree covered compared to our previous park stay. 

relaxing at the end of the day

campfire treats, YUM!

During our stay we enjoyed the sites of Historic Nauvoo as well as the festivities of the Nauvoo Pageant.

Family at the Nauvoo Temple

Joseph and Hyrum - last ride

Browning Guns

Carriage ride through town

ready for an old fashioned ox cart ride

Our days were filled with the site seeing and adventures in pioneer experiences in the restored town of Nauvoo. The visitors center had wonderful displays and great information concerning all the activities going on in town as well as explanations of what life was like as Nauvoo was being built and populated.  Our evenings were spent by the camp fire or enjoying the Pageant itself or one of the other shows.
Our Saturday evening treated us to a special evening with the BYU Dancers where we were treated to some very fun routines, including one of their light suit routines which was very cool. Here is a video on how the light suits came to be.

part of the opening act

opening act ensemble

BYU Dancers

 Sunday was a relaxing day which began with a church service and some time walking around the temple with the remainder of the day spent at the campsite enjoying the company of family!

Monday saw us breaking camp and heading home on the 7 hour drive. We survived the first RV trip and the memories will last a lifetime! :-)

Krystene Was Here

Krystene came for a summer visit this year and it was very enjoyable.  She had said before she came that she just wanted to play with the puppies, and that is exactly what she did. :-)

We also went over to Hot Water Farm to do some horseback riding.  It was fun, although, it had been a very long time since I had been on a horse.

On her last day, we visited the worlds largest fork!

It was great to have her here for a visit, I always enjoy the time I spend with Krystene.  We were able to have some fun and she was able to relax a little.  I enjoyed revisiting our time together hanging out and watching GG.  I have to admit that I like the show, although, watching it without Krystene just isn't the same. Krystene, we will always have GG! :-)

Thanks for coming to see me Krystene! You are awesome! I love you and I love being your dad! :)

Kansas City or Bust

In the month of April, the family had the opportunity for a service experience that does not happen every day, we assisted in the open house of the Kansas City Temple. 

As many of you know, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we are a temple building people.  A temple has now been built in Kansas City, MO.

 (For those who would like to know more about why we build temples, click HERE) 

The newest temple has now opened in Kansas City, MO.

KC Temple

Prior to the opening of a new temple, an open house is held for the public to attend. Guided tours and information sessions are given and afterward the attendees gather for a reception with refreshments and the opportunity for one on one discussion about the the experience and the LDS belief system.  In order to accommodate the public, volunteers are asked to help with the many parts of the open house event and Cherilyn and I were able to help one weekend.  We obtained our ticket to go to the open house and drove to KC on a Friday afternoon before our Saturday service.

open house ticket (tickets were free)

open house invitation

The girls in line before the tour

KC Temple

the girls after having enjoyed the tour

We enjoyed our tour of the temple and then headed back to the hotel.  After a nights rest, we were up at the crack of dawn for our service.  Cherilyn and I, along with Jeff and Lori, headed to the temple while the girls got to stay at the hotel, being watch by the sister of Cherilyn's good friend Lori.  Jeff and I were assigned to assist with the parking duties while Lori and Cherilyn helped out with the refreshments inside the Stake Center.  We had the perfect day, the sun was shining and the temperature was not too hot.  I guess we were lucky to have had the early shift.  After nearly 5 hours, we were able to head back home.  We had an enjoyable experience and I do not think it will soon be forgotten.

By the last weekend in April, the tours had ended and the temple was being prepared for its dedication.  The dedication took place the first weekend in May.

Truck Update

The white truck was sold in 24 hours!  (Cherilyn is just that good! LOL) What we got for it was more than half of what we paid for the new truck! :-)

We had the 5th wheel hitch changed out along with the bumper hitch. The bumper hitch had a lock on it that had to be cut off since we either had the wrong key or it had been on there so long the key we had just wouldn't work. Then, it was found that the hitch had rusted and fused itself in, they almost couldn't get it out!