Helaman's Camp

Our Stake has a priesthood camp for the young men every summer up at Bennion Creek in Spanish Fork Canyon. Ben & Mark were blessed to be able to go this year for the entire week. They came back having been spiritually fed and physically strengthened by all of the activities. I am very grateful for all of the leadership that provided this opportunity for them. They came home having memorized scriptures and heard spiritually uplifting stories. Ben's group got to rapel down a 160 ft cliff, bike ride and play several games of rugby, just to mention a few things. Mark's group went on a 9 mile hike, a 15 mile bike ride and skeet shoot, just to mention a few things. The entire group was also able to provide lots of service. Here is what they looked like when they came home. They didn't seem to mind at all that it rained every day they were gone. They were happy.

Goofing Around

Ben and Stephen decided they needed to have their feet massaged. This is what they did with the water. How creative is this? I'm not sure how much soap they added to the water. I didn't see this happening but saw it later from the pictures.

Swimming Lessons

Stephen has taken swimming lessons several times over the years but never been comfortable in the water. He tends to swallow the water and then throw up. This year we found a private teacher for him and he has learned how to swim. He can go off the slide and go off the diving board by himself. He has gained some confidence in breathing and blowing out of his nose. I am grateful that he has had such a great teacher.

Linda,Renee & I went to St. George this weekend. We saw some of the historic sights, hiked some of the trails in Zion's and saw the show "Footloose" at Tuachan. It was a great weekend. I am very grateful for great friends.

"Here are the pictures from the finished part of the basement. Mark worked with our contractor friend and learned the texturing technique and then finished the bathroom. The whole family worked on this project."

Many weeks ago Mark decided that he needed a haircut. He has been serving with the local missionaries and his hair was getting way too long. I trimmed his hair, which is what I usually do and he is happy with that. This time, a few days later he came and asked me to cut more off. This is the shortest his hair has been since he was 13 years old. This picture doesn't do it justice but he does look very nice with short hair.

Well, as most of you know, the Stanley Cup finals have begun. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings are battling for the Cup. Our good friends, "the Fisher's and the Hutchison's, dedicated our yard to "their" team. Hopefully all of you know that Ed's team is the Penguins. Ed woke up at 12:30 am Saturday morning to find this in our yard. He went out in his house coat and took pictures of the door and then immediately washed it off. The next morning he had hoped the sprinklers would wash off the grass, but unfortuately it will have to grow out and we will have to mow it off. Competition is such a great thing.