Dear Samantha,
(FYI: Dad will chime in with a note at the end of this email. We are writing you from Grandma Hugh's laptop in Cedar City!)
Hope your week has been great! It sounds like you have seen some pretty difficult situations. It sure makes you grateful for all the blessings that we enjoy. I remember when Sister S. came back from her first trip to Africa and she went to the orphanage and held babies and she just cried when she realized that there was not much more she could really do. She said that she really prayed and the answer that she received was that there were reasons that these children (people) had to go through what they were going through and that it was in the Lord's hand and he would help them as He saw fit. She really felt comforted. I hope that you can feel the Lords comfort as you serve and try and help others, but realize that you can not solve their problems for them.
Well, our week has been busy (at least the second half). I spent Wednesday getting ready for our trip to Utah. Bishop R. couldn't fix our Suburban until Wednesday so I had to drive Paige's car around to get ready. Fortunately he was able to fix it. We left Thursday morning about 8 am. We drove to Kanab and meet with the family. Karl and Christy were already there as well as all the Lea family. We stayed at Uncle Richard's house (in the back house...they have really made it nice and has a queen bed as well as a bunk bed with a full on the bottom). Everyone came to Uncle Richard's house and we had dinner there with the WHOLE group. We decorated a couple floats. It was fun to see everyone and getting to know all the little cousins.
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| The family gathering in the back yard at Uncle Richard's house in Kanab |
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| More Family! |
On the 4th of July we woke up and went for a short run and then got ready to head to the parade. As per usual we finished decorating the float while we were waiting in line. We won "Best Family" again. No prize money or even a banner this year, but still fun! I helped Troy's little girls and Robert's little girl throw out candy (4,3, 2 years old). It was fun:).
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| Parade time!! |
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| I think all the candy was mostly gone before we hit the turnaround point! |
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| Waiting for the parade to start |
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| Paige rocked the cruiser bike! |
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| Dad and Paige chillin' before the parade |
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| Aunt Joy, Uncle Richard & Grandma lead out! |
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| The float and those on foot, scooter, bike, rip-sticks follow. |
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| We had our own drum beat to keep us rockin'! |
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| We won "Best Family" (as usual!) |
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| Kent along the parade route |
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| Grandpa and McKenna on the quad |
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| Amber on the trike:)! |
After the parade we went back to Richard's and had sandwiches for lunch and then went to the park to see if there were any good booths. There were not so we headed over to the Jameson's (where the Leas were holding their reunion, they had rented G & G's Jameson's home...where Grandma Hugh grew up) for a bit. Karl brought his quads and so he took a few of us out quading for a little while.
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| Cassidy & Amber |
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| Paige & Kent |
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| Kristine, K'Lynne & Chuck patiently waiting for our turn |
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| Mom & Lindsay |
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| Dad & Lindsay |
While were were gone it had rained super hard in Kanab. The city ended up canceling the fireworks because of the weather. We spent the rest of the evening at the Jameson's and ate and watched a show of the pictures from the parade. It was a fun day.
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| Grandma & Grandpa & others watching the pictures! |
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| Amber & Lindsay and cousins! |
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We took a few "old time in front of the fireplace" pics!
(Karl, K'Lynne, Kristine, Jimmy, Eric, Robert, Jamie, Troy & sneaky daughter of Troy:)) |
Saturday morning we went on a hike (same one we did with Grandpa and everyone the last time we went to Kanab, only this time we made it to the top). We lost the trail for a bit but were able to find it later. Our way was a little more difficult:). It was beautiful weather and the sand was not as sandy since it had rained the day before (not muddy though either). The view was spectacular. I really love Utah!
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| At the beginning of the hike |
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| Dave, Lindsay, Amber Paige, & Kent at a good vista of Kanab |
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| Some scary looking edges! |
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| The bench at the top |
We had an Anderson family reunion at noon for a few hours. It was Grandma Afton Anderson Jameson's parents (Eric and Ida Anderson) descendants. There were about 60 people there. It has been a fun family history weekend! (see pictures from Dave's letter)
After we were done at the reunion we headed to Cedar. We drove through Zion because Kent and Lindsay said they didn't think they had ever been there and Amber said she didn't think she had ever been there (she really has, she must have just been too little to remember). It was beautiful! We also stopped at Kolob on the way home.
We stayed at Christy and Karl's house last night and went to church with them today. Aunt Christy taught the gospel principals class. It was on the Word of Wisdom. We talked about the blessings that come from obeying the law. It was a good reminder of the blessings that come from living the gospel.
Tomorrow we are headed to central utah (big rock candy mountain) for the Hugh family reunion. I will tell you more about that next week!
We sure love you and everyone asked how you are doing. It is fun to share about you and your mission. Hang in there! Love you tons and continue to pray for you constantly.
Love,
Mom
P.S. From Dad---
Hi Sammy,
Hello from a wet southern Utah! It rained a bit here in Cedar today, and Mom mentioned above the rain that fell in Kanab. I looked at the weather in Gilbert, and apparently it's supposed to rain there as well. It seems like whenever we decide to escape the heat in Phoenix, it cools down and rains there (oh, the irony!). Oh well. Hopefully, it won't rain on us while we are outdoors playing around at the Big Rock Candy Mountain reunion the next couple of days.
Mom filled you in on most of the Utah trip to date. Amber and I went running on the morning of the 4th in Kanab. We did about 3 miles. The city was putting on a short "color run," but we didn't know about it in advance and didn't bring clothes that we wanted to get color-bombed in, so we just did our own run.
After running with Amber, Mom decided to stretch her legs as well, so I did another mile an a half with her. We ran down by the old Pugh homestead, etc.
We were a little disappointed that they canceled the fireworks. It actually was fairly nice weather by the time it got dark. They said they were postponing it a day, but we found out that they cancelled it again after in rained hard in Kanab on the 5th as well.
Our morning hike on the 5th was fun, and with the cloud cover and recent rain, the temps were very pleasant. About the time we were coming back, the sun came out and things started to heat up and get a bit more humid.
Before we went over to the Anderson reunion, Grandpa Hugh took us out east of Kanab to Johnson Canyon and showed us an old western town that had been built for filming a lot of the western movies in the area.
At the Anderson reunion, Aunt Joy's family had arranged various activities for kids and adults for the "free time," including foot races, a short zip line, and rocket launching. I think rocket launching was a favorite. Jimmy and Shauna (Lea) had brought a contraption built by their neighbor that was made out of PVC pipe and water sprinkler valves, which was hooked up to an air compressor and an electrical switch. The kids made simple rockets by wrapping heavy paper and duct tape around a pvc pipe form, and then some added fins etc. They then duct-taped a metal washer on the tom and, voila, a rocket! The rockets were then put on the pvc pipe launch pad and then launched using the compressed air, when the electrical switch was flipped and opened the sprinkler valve. I was impressed with how high/far they would launch. Turned out that Paige was the master rocket engineer, building the two highest and farthest launching rockets.
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| Rocket making station |
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| Kent hard at work |
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| Kent on the zipline |
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| Kent on the "Horse" |
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| Lindsay on the "Horse" with Kent looking on! |
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| Paige and Lindsay |
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| One of the races! |
The drive back to Cedar through Zion was fun, albeit a pretty superficial tour. Grandpa Hugh said that July 5 is typically one of the busiest days of the year in Zion. We drove through the mile-long tunnel, stopped and took pictures at a couple of pull outs (Checkerboard Mesa and Canyon overlook arch) and then stopped for Grandpa's treat of ice cream at the Bumbleberry Ice Cream place in Springdale, before heading up I-15 for a stop at the Kolob overlook and then to Cedar. Suffice it to say, that my list of "to-do" hikes has expanded as a result of our whirlwind tour of Zion.
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| Look out point in Zion (checkerboard mesa) |
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| Zion |
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| Looking back toward the tunnel (dark arch is a window of the tunnel) |
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| Little ice cream treat from Grandpa |
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| Kolob |
Other than that, we are just enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon at G&G Hugh's. Grandma made us Hawaiian haystacks for break-the-fast dinner, a group is working on a puzzle, the teens (and Mom) are hovering over their smartphones/gadgets, Grandpa is trying to round up recruits to pick apricots from the tree in the backyard, and the younger kiddos are still having fun building "forts" in the gulley.
Later, we will head over the Karl and Christy's for a celebration of McKenna's 18th bday (which was yesterday). Hard to believe all of you guys are growing/have grown up so fast. Time sure flies.
Well, hope your week has been a great one in Tumbes! I assume we will have at least some cell coverage tomorrow at the resort and will be checking in for you email. We sure love you and miss having you around, but we know you are exactly where you need to be at this time in your life. It is fun to read your emails and see how you have become an instrument in the Lord's hands to bless the lives of the people in Peru. It's also clear that your life is being blessed and enriched by the experience as well. Keep working hard and having fun! Sure love you!!
Love, Dad
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