Notes from Dad--May 4, 2014

Dear Sammy,

Sure love you!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading your email last week.  Very upbeat and full of enthusiasm!  A great example of how the terms "hard work" and "challenging circumstances" can comfortably coexist with the terms "fun" and "fulfilling."  

Our week was a good one here at home.  As expected, the cool weather we experienced last weekend has given way to the oncoming summer, with temperatures heading back up to the upper 90s, and the weather forecasters telling us that we'll breach the century mark any day now ...

It was a busy weekend--with Eric and Ellen's wedding, as well as Fathers & Sons outing.  I have a big brief due tomorrow (Monday) that I had been working on over the past week or so.  I needed to get a draft completed before Eric's wedding, so I ended up spending the night at the office on Thursday, pounding out the draft. Once I got it into reasonable shape, I send it off for further review to a few other lawyers in the office, at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, then headed home for a quick shower and off to the temple for Eric's wedding.

The wedding ceremony was very nice.  I enjoyed the comments of the sealer, who gave them some good counsel as they begin a new family unit.  In particular, he counseled them:  "Never take a vacation from church."  Then, a bit later in his advice, he said again: "Did I mention:  Never take a vacation from church."  And finally, after a bit more counsel he again repeated:  "And remember:  Never. Take. A. Vacation. From. Church. Ever, ever (even when you go on vacation)!"  

I'm not sure that they will remember anything else the sealer said in terms of counsel, but I'm pretty sure they will remember that they were counseled not to take a vacation from church!  I know the rest of us will remember it!  Good counsel, which I weaved into my testimony in sacrament meeting today (more on that, below).

After the wedding, we ended up waiting at the temple for quite awhile because Ellen forgot her bride's bouquet and didn't want to take pictures without it.  Her brother went home to retrieve the bouquet, but ended up bringing the wrong one, and her Dad had to make a second trip.  So ..., we hung out at the temple for awhile.  I guess there are worse places to be stuck waiting around, right?

Ellen & Eric at the Mesa Temple

Uncle John was here from Singapore on business and extended his trip a day so he could be at the wedding.  Also, Kathy's roommate got married and she has moved in with Richard and Kristi for awhile, so all of my siblings were present at the wedding!  We took a couple of photos of the whole clan.  It was great to be together.

Suzann Garner and her children (MaryAnn, Kathy, Dave, Karen, Richard, Diane, Julie & John)

By the time we headed over to the wedding luncheon (at the church building we attended in the Adobe Ward), we were pretty hungry.  Luckily, your Mother had planned for this contingency and had stashed a bag of Chex Mix in her purse.  We stopped by QT to get a drink to go with it.  After pulling out of QT, we were waiting at the eastbound intersection of Stapley and Broadway for the light to turn green, when a truck whizzed by us in the lane to our right, blowing through the red light and smashing into the front, driver's side of a car pulling out northbound into the intersection. The whole thing happened quickly, but did have that "slow motion" feel about it, as your eyes and brain calculate the speed and trajectory of the cars in a split second and you KNOW that you are about to witness an accident and yet cannot do a thing to prevent it!

Anyway, the driver of the car that was hit was injured, though I don't know that it was too serious. Everyone else was shaken up but did not appear injured.  Thank goodness.  We pulled over and gave our phone number to the folks in the "victim'" car, and tried to reassure them as the police began to arrive.

After that, we headed over to the luncheon and waited for Eric and Ellen to arrive.  They didn't show up till around 2 pm.  Everyone was pretty famished by then, and I was basically exhausted, having gotten no sleep the night before.  I dozed off in my chair a couple of times, while everyone else chatted.

After lunch, we came home and I packed up for the Fathers and Sons.  Kent had packed all of his stuff the night before (of course!), so I was behind the curve.  By the time Kent got home from school, I was pretty much ready, packing-wise, but was exhausted and was a little nervous about making the 2+ hour drive up to Forest Lakes in such a sleep-deprived fashion.  So, I told him that I needed to take a 1/2 hour nap before heading out.  He dutifully woke me up in 30 min. :-)  Anyway, we ended up heading out the door a little shy of 5 pm.  In typical Garner fashion, we got about to the Safeway when Mom called and told us we forgot to take the air mattress and pump, so we had to turn around and go back (glad we did, as the night would have been pretty uncomfortable without the mattress!).

Through the power of prayer and faith, we made it to Payson without me dozing off while driving!! Dinner was burgers/chicken at the McDonald's, then a trip to Basha's b/c we had forgotten to pack anything for Saturday lunch (D'oh!).  After that, we headed up the rim to our camp location, which is the same spot where we started/finished the Pioneer Trek a couple years back.  

The only bummer about the evening was that the forest service had put up fire restrictions, so we could not have a camp fire.  That was kind of a bummer, but we made the best of it.  Bishop K. had texted me earlier in the day, saying that he was not going to be able to make it, and asking me to give a brief message at the "fireside."  I understood that the YM were in charge of the fireside and that I would simply be adding a brief bishopric testimony at the conclusion.  Well, it turns out that I was the fireside.  So, I had to do some quick thinking to try to "beef up" a bit of what I had planned to say with a little more substance.

I ended up sharing with the group the story of Shalane Flannagan's race in the Boston Marathon, and discussed how her efforts to push the pace and do her best ended up not only netting her a personal PR by more than three minutes and a finishing time that would have won any of the past 10 Boston marathons, but that her efforts also pushed her competitors to achieve their potential, with the top 3 finishers all breaking the previous course record.  I tied that into the priesthood, which also challenges us to do our best and to be a light to help others achieve their potential.  I thought the message went well, and it was fairly short (just like the attention spans of most of the young audience)!

With the lack of fire, everyone turned in a bit earlier than normal.  That was fine by me, as I was exhausted.  The good thing about not getting any sleep the night before was that I had the best night's camping sleep I have ever had.  I didn't even wake up once till the morning (even though I had forgotten my pillow and had to make do by using the stuff bag for my sleeping back with some clothes stuffed in as a substitute).  

In the morning, I set up a rope swing (a tradition that I carry on from my own dad, who did that at every F&S).  It was a big hit, particularly with the younger boys, and I spent an hour and a half or so pulling kids and asking them if they wanted "high" or "super high."  

After the line for the swing started to dwindle (and my back was getting tired), I told everyone they could still use the swing, but they would just need to get their dads to pull them.  Then, I went in search of Kent, who I found had been off with a group of boys creating "found weapons" out of various scraps of wood, and engaging in various "battles" and building up/conquering various forts.  They had amassed quite an arsenal.  Jacob Bloom and his dad had brought some duct tape, which made the handles, etc. on the swords and spears more user friendly.

Kent (on the right) and the boys with their weapons!

The arsenal!

I played horseshoes for awhile.  Bro. Payne and I got killed a few times by Bro. Beecroft and Bro. Breinholt.  But we had fun anyway.  After I got tired of being beat, I tracked down Kent, who, along with Jacob and Michael Teague, was constructing a master fort. Bro. Teague and I joined in the construction effort and we made a pretty good little shelter.  

Kent and Dave at the shelter/fort.

After that, we went exploring as a group and ended up shooting .22 rifles with the Teagues.  Kent thought that was okay, but I don't know that he loved the experience.  By the time we got back to our camp area from shooting, it was about noon, and everyone else had headed out.  We made our lunch and ate before heading down off the rim to Christopher Creek to the trailhead for our hike.

We hiked on the Highline Trail from the See Canyon Trailhead to the Drew Canyon junction, which then led us up to the top of the Mogollon Rim along Rim Road 300.  The hike was beautiful.  It was about 6.5 miles long, with 1800-1900 feet of elevation gain, and took us about 3.5 hours.  Kent is becoming a regular mountain goat and handled all of the uphill without any problem. The views from the edge of the rim at the top were spectacular, and we enjoyed a nice stroll back to the trailhead, including a little time playing around in Christopher Creek, which is right near the trailhead.  

We got home about 7:45 pm.  It was the first F&S campout that Kent did not fall asleep on the drive home.  He's definitely growing up!

Kent at the top of the Rim.

Dave on the trail.

May is my month to conduct sacrament meeting, so I bore my testimony today.  I mentioned how we didn't have fire at the F&S, which was kind of a bummer, and compared that experience to having (or not having) the gospel in our lives.  Just as the fire provides physical warmth, so the gospel provides spiritual warmth. Just as the fire provides light in a dark night, so the gospel provides light in a world filled with darkness.  And finally, just as a campfire provides a natural gathering place for social interaction, so the gospel provides a social support network where we can "meet together oft" and "speak one with another concerning the welfare of [our] souls." (Moroni 6:5-6.)  I then shared the counsel of the Eric/Ellen's sealer: "Don't ever take a vacation from church," as doing so separates us from the warmth, light, and sociality that the gospel provides.

The testimony meeting went well, including an unusually large contingent of the primary sharing their testimonies.

This evening we had break-the-fast dinner with the bishopric at the Crotts' home.  After that, we headed over to Grandma's, where the entire family had gathered.  Kourtney and Jared were also down for the wedding.  They gave Grandma a card that said she was being "promoted . . . to Great Grandmother!," and had a printout of an ultrasound photo on the inside.  Exciting news for them.  The baby is due November 5.  If she/he hangs on a few more days, we could share a bday :-).

In other news for the week, on Tuesday, Kent was honored at Academic Night at Carol Rae for being a Golden Scholar.  Paige was honored as well (but they did that during the day, when I was at work).  Amber is also a Golden Scholar.  Lindsay felt a little left out, but other than math, she is doing great as well, and is becoming a voracious reader, artist, and creative writer.

It is getting to be that crazy, end-of-school time of year.  This week we have Paige's orchestra concert, Kent & Lindsay's band concerts, as well as a variety of other activities.  Should be a busy one, but it's good to be busy--as you know!

Hope you have a great week ahead!  Looking forward to hearing your voice and catching up verbally next Sunday for Mother's Day.  Let us know what we need to do on the front.

I sure love you!  We pray for you and your investigators daily.  Keep up the good work!

Love,

Dad



Dear Samantha,

Once again, Dad has beaten me to the letter writing and has, in his well written words, described a lot of our week.  I will add what I can to what he has written:).

I also love you very much and love getting your emails each week!  It is so fun to hear all the things that you are up to and a little bit about the people you are working with.  It brings back a lot of memories from my own mission.

Well it has been quite a week!  Lindsay was feeling a little under the weather starting on Saturday morning but went to her soccer game anyway.  She stayed home from church on Sunday with a slight fever and a sore throat.  I wasn't sure if she had strep throat or not, but the medicine seemed to help her so I was thinking that it probably was not.

Monday morning I was scheduled for Jury Duty and about 4 am Lindsay got up to use the bathroom and I went in to check on her and she was burning up.  She had a fever of 104 degrees, which is very unusual for her.  I just didn't feel like I could leave her home alone (my jury duty was scheduled in Phoenix).  I also felt like she really needed to go to the Dr. to see if it was strep throat or not.  I just thought that I could call them and reschedule my time to go or something, but Dad said he would be willing to work from home (I didn't even ask him, because sometimes he just has too much going on and I wasn't sure what was on his plate).  It was such a relief and I knew that she would be in good hands, but I was then a little stressed about driving to the courthouse myself (I was just going to go with Dad).  I left later than I had planned on going and was a little teary as I started to drive.  I said a quick prayer and just asked HF to help me just be okay with whatever happened.  I did feel much calmer and had a little more faith to go forward with the day.

It was a very interesting experience to go.  There were about 500 other people there.  I was called up in one of the first couple of groups.  Our group had 35 people in it and I was number 35.  It was a sexual harassment case.  Long story short, I was not chosen for the jury (they only needed 9 people) and so I got to go home.  I got home about 2:30.  It was a case that was going to last all week and so I was glad that I wasn't chosen (too much going on around here, but not enough to be excused because of that).  Another time it might be interesting to be chosen.

BTW you also received a jury summons.  I have to send something in writing to the court in your behalf to get you excused.  I will copy you on the email, hopefully I can take care of it, but you may also have to write an email explaining what you are doing, but I will let you know.  So don't worry about it:).

Lindsay ended up staying home from school M, T, and Wednesday.  I would have kept her home on Thursday but she insisted that she go and her fever was down so I let her go back.  Only a few more weeks and school will be done for this school year.  Kind of crazy!

Aunt MaryAnn was asked by Aunt Karen to do the flowers for Eric and Ellen's wedding and I told her I would help her.  She had put together the boutonnieres by the time I had a chance to help her out, but needed some help with the corsages and the bridal bouquet.  She really just needed someone to tell her that what she had done already looked good!  I did put the bridal bouquet together and I thought it turned out nicely.  You can see it in the picture that dad sent you.  It was fun to work with her and figure stuff out.  

I also helped set up the reception on Thursday night and the tables and chairs for the luncheon.  Aunt Karen asked me to put together some center pieces for the luncheon tables.  Let's just say they turned out fine (with MaryAnn's help).  Ellen was very gracious and said that she loved everything:), hopefully that was really the truth.

Julie, MaryAnn, Kathy and I helped to put all the decorations out at the reception on Friday after the luncheon (Ellen's mom and a few friends helped also).  It all turned out beautifully.  It was held at the house of one of Eric's friends.  It was really beautiful!!  The mom (whose house it was at) of Eric's friend was a hoot.  She reminded me so much of Aunt Christy H. that I almost had to remind myself that they were not related.  We worked hard (we also kept the dessert table stocked).  It was very nice, but I did come to the conclusion that we are only serving cake at all my daughter's receptions!  There just is no need to have so much food:)!  I like to keep it SIMPLE!!!

Saturday, I went to Lindsay's soccer game (it was HOT) and they won.  All the girls (both teams) were super hot and a little sluggish, but what do you expect when it is 90 degrees! 

After the game I dropped Lindsay off at home, ran to Safeway, picked up some cards and went over to Savanah's bridal shower. Stayed for a while and then Sister Teague and I went together to Brittany's bridal shower.  We didn't stay the whole time, but Jessica, Savanah and Brittany were all asking about you.  I took a picture of them that I will attach.

 

Seems like the season for weddings:)!  So glad that you are out serving the lord having some unique experiences that will help you learn so much wisdom and more!  

I talked with Jessica and it is tough financially, but wonderful otherwise.  She said that they don't have enough money for either one of them to go to school right now so she is working full time and he is training to start a new job (selling some kind of financial planning stuff).  Those first years are hard but the hard can help you pull closer together if you allow it to.

Well,  I think that is all I have to say right now.  I haven't been able to find your skype stuff yet, but I will keep looking.  If we can't find it just create a new account.  If we can't skype I will look into how to make phone calls.  I am so excited to be able to hear your voice!  Dad told me that I need to write my questions down, so that when we talk they can all get answered:)!

I love you so much!!!

Love,

Mom

Jury Duty, Eric's Wedding and 2 bridal showers

Dear Samantha,

Once again, Dad has beaten me to the letter writing and has, in his well written words, described a lot of our week.  I will add what I can to what he has written:).

I also love you very much and love getting your emails each week!  It is so fun to hear all the things that you are up to and a little bit about the people you are working with.  It brings back a lot of memories from my own mission.

Well it has been quite a week!  Lindsay was feeling a little under the weather starting on Saturday morning but went to her soccer game anyway.  She stayed home from church on Sunday with a slight fever and a sore throat.  I wasn't sure if she had strep throat or not, but the medicine seemed to help her so I was thinking that it probably was not.

Monday morning I was scheduled for Jury Duty and about 4 am Lindsay got up to use the bathroom and I went in to check on her and she was burning up.  She had a fever of 104 degrees, which is very unusual for her.  I just didn't feel like I could leave her home alone (my jury duty was scheduled in Phoenix).  I also felt like she really needed to go to the Dr. to see if it was strep throat or not.  I just thought that I could call them and reschedule my time to go or something, but Dad said he would be willing to work from home (I didn't even ask him, because sometimes he just has too much going on and I wasn't sure what was on his plate).  It was such a relief and I knew that she would be in good hands, but I was then a little stressed about driving to the courthouse myself (I was just going to go with Dad).  I left later than I had planned on going and was a little teary as I started to drive.  I said a quick prayer and just asked HF to help me just be okay with whatever happened.  I did feel much calmer and had a little more faith to go forward with the day.

It was a very interesting experience to go.  There were about 500 other people there.  I was called up in one of the first couple of groups.  Our group had 35 people in it and I was number 35.  It was a sexual harassment case.  Long story short, I was not chosen for the jury (they only needed 9 people) and so I got to go home.  I got home about 2:30.  It was a case that was going to last all week and so I was glad that I wasn't chosen (too much going on around here, but not enough to be excused because of that).  Another time it might be interesting to be chosen.

BTW you also received a jury summons.  I have to send something in writing to the court in your behalf to get you excused.  I will copy you on the email, hopefully I can take care of it, but you may also have to write an email explaining what you are doing, but I will let you know.  So don't worry about it:).

Lindsay ended up staying home from school M, T, and Wednesday.  I would have kept her home on Thursday but she insisted that she go and her fever was down so I let her go back.  Only a few more weeks and school will be done for this school year.  Kind of crazy!

Aunt MaryAnn was asked by Aunt Karen to do the flowers for Eric and Ellen's wedding and I told her I would help her.  She had put together the boutonnieres by the time I had a chance to help her out, but needed some help with the corsages and the bridal bouquet.  She really just needed someone to tell her that what she had done already looked good!  I did put the bridal bouquet together and I thought it turned out nicely.  You can see it in the picture that dad sent you.  It was fun to work with her and figure stuff out.  

I also helped set up the reception on Thursday night and the tables and chairs for the luncheon.  Aunt Karen asked me to put together some center pieces for the luncheon tables.  Let's just say they turned out fine (with MaryAnn's help).  Ellen was very gracious and said that she loved everything:), hopefully that was really the truth.

Julie, MaryAnn, Kathy and I helped to put all the decorations out at the reception on Friday after the luncheon (Ellen's mom and a few friends helped also).  It all turned out beautifully.  It was held at the house of one of Eric's friends.  It was really beautiful!!  The mom (whose house it was at) of Eric's friend was a hoot.  She reminded me so much of Aunt Christy Hugh that I almost had to remind myself that they were not related.  We worked hard (we also kept the dessert table stocked).  It was very nice.

Saturday, I went to Lindsay's soccer game (it was HOT) and they won.  All the girls (both teams) were super hot and a little sluggish, but what do you expect when it is 90 degrees! 

After the game I dropped Lindsay off at home, ran to Safeway, picked up some cards and went over to Savanah's bridal shower. Stayed for a while and then Sister Teague and I went together to Brittany's bridal shower.  We didn't stay the whole time, but Jessica, Savanah and Brittany were all asking about you. 

 

Seems like the season for weddings:)!  So glad that you are out serving the lord having some unique experiences that will help you learn so much wisdom and more!  

Well,  I think that is all I have to say right now.  I haven't been able to find your skype stuff yet, but I will keep looking.  If we can't find it just create a new account.  If we can't skype I will look into how to make phone calls.  I am so excited to be able to hear your voice!  Dad told me that I need to write my questions down, so that when we talk they can all get answered:)!

I love you so much!!!

Love,

Mom

Notes from Dad -- April 27, 2014

Dear Sammy,

Hope your week has been a great one!  I enjoyed your letter from last week.  It sounded so upbeat and enthusiastic.  Glad you and H. Rios are getting along well and that she is "encouraging" you to fully participate in all aspects of the work--including the dreaded "phone calls."  That is one of the hardest parts of learning a new language, since you can't rely on any nonverbal cues (gestures, expressions, etc.) to help you understand what people are saying.  Plus, I don't know how the phone systems are in Peru, but in Eastern Europe, the phone connections themselves were pretty poor, so talking on the phone was always an adventure.  Keep working on it!

We had ward conference today, and Pres. Merrill and Pres.Christensen both asked how you were doing.  Come to think of it, a bunch of people inquired about you today.  Also, last night we had a temple session in advance of ward conference.  Tyler Willardson's parents happened to be in the session and we ended up seeing them at Kneader's afterwards, where we went for a dinner/treat. They asked how you were doing and told us a bit about Tyler's experience in Brazil.  In any event, we've had a lot of chances to talk about you this week, which I always enjoy doing!

Yesterday, Kent and I started our training to hike Mt. Whitney by taking on Flatiron.  A cold front moved in over the weekend, and the high temperatures dropped 20 degrees, from the mid-90s to the low 70s.  Still, I couldn't convince myself to throw a jacket in my backpack (after all, it's nearly May -- in Phoenix!  a jacket? really?).  Well, I regretted that decision when we got to the top of the canyon and made our way out to the edge of the Flatiron.  It was cold and WINDY!  

The cold and wind didn't bother us much on the way up, since we were somewhat protected by hiking in the canyon, and mostly because we were hot and sweaty trying to conquer the challenging elevation gain.  We made good time (1:38 from start to the tip of Flatiron) and I was impressed with Kent's stamina.  We only took a couple of brief breaks for water and some apple slices.

I wanted to do a bit more exploring in the area on top, and perhaps head up to the peak, but given the conditions and our lack of warm gear, we didn't stay up there too long.  We did go visit a new memorial that was recently put up for the 3 children and company that died in the plane crash up there on thanksgiving in 2011.  On our way down, it started to rain.  When we hit the "bowl" area, the rock was very slick and I biffed it.  Nothing hurt but my pride.  We basically slid/scooted down the rest of that area.  Kent thought the rain and wind made the adventure even more cool.  :-)

We were home by around 11:15 a.m.  I spent the rest of the day on a few projects that needed to get done:  unclog the downstairs bathroom sink; fertilize the grass in the backyard; and continue doing battle with the mesquite tree in the front.  On the last project (tree), I chopped off a couple of major branches, so now none of the tree is hanging over the driveway.  Doris came out and asked me if I'm cutting the whole thing down.  I said:  "undecided."  Mom thinks it looks good.  I think it still needs some work, but I had to wrap up for the day so we could make it to ward temple night.  Mostly, I was grateful for a cool day to work in.  I don't think I'll get another Saturday in the 70s for a long time.

Lindsay has been sick this weekend (fever, sore throat), but insisted on going to her soccer game, which she won.  Kent and I were hiking and Mom was at a conference, so Paige went with her and waved the family flag.  They won.  Lindsay spent most of Sat afternoon and evening resting.  She stayed home from church today, but seems to be feeling a bit better now.  Hopefully, that trend will continue because Mom has jury duty tomorrow and has to be in downtown Phoenix all day.  (So, she gets to carpool with me.  Yay :-).

On Friday, Mom took me on a date to go play racquetball again.  She beat me when I played left-handed and played well even when I was using my right hand.  She's definitely a competitor!  I love spending time with her.

Thursday was Paige's bday.  She didn't want to do anything elaborate, so we ordered take-out from Panda Express and had cheesecake and opened presents here at home (mostly clothes). Mom had taken her pre-bday-shopping the prior Saturday.  Grandma came over after her shift at the temple was over and ate some dinner with us.  All in all, it was a pretty laid back bday, which is pretty much Paige's style.  

Our fancy dinner for Paige's B-day!

Grandma Garner & Paige on her birthday!

I taught FHE on Monday, based on Pres. Monson's conference talk about love/kindness.  I challenged everyone to memorize the little poem he quoted:

I have wept in the night for the shortness of sight

That to somebody's need made me blind,

But I never have yet shed a tear of regret

For being a little too kind.

Monday was also the Boston Marathon--one year after the bombing at the event in 2013.  An American, Meb Keflezghi, won the men's race--something that has not happened since 1983.  It was fun to follow his path to victory.  Meb is nearly 39 (getting pretty old in the elite racing group) and has a marathon PR that was 4 or 5 minutes slower than a number of the elite runners in the field, and the last marathon he ran, back in November, was his worst time ever.  Yet, he pulled out the victory in Boston, leaving the pack shortly after the halfway point and building a lead that none of the supposedly "better" runners could bridge to catch him at the end.  There are a lot of good gospel analogies in the victory (which was also a PR for him).

The women's race was exciting as well.  An emerging American star, Shalane Flanagan, led the women's race for nearly 18 miles before being passed up by the eventual victor and and a few other elites (Shalane ended up finishing 7th in a time that:  (a) was a personal best by more than 3 minutes; (b) was a Boston record for any American woman; and (c) would have won any of the previous 10 marathons).  Unlike the elite men (who "let Meb go" earlier in the race, confident that he would burn out and that they could catch him later), the elite women stuck with Shalane's punishing early pace, and as a result, the top three women's finishers all finished under the prior record time on the Boston course.  Again, lots of good gospel analogies here :-)

I chuckled reading your experience in being thrown into teaching Sunday School.  I was looking back at my mission journal and realizing that I gave my first sacrament meeting talk in Serbo-Croatian after being in the mission field for about two weeks.  So, I feel ya!   Sounds like you not only survived, but it turned out well.  Good for you!

I could also relate to your mention of random people on the street trying to speak English to you. On my mission, we called them "English jocks."  Sometimes they were pretty funny.  Other times it was kind of sad, because the only English words they knew were swear words :-/...

Well, we are going to head over to Grandma's for one of our regular, Sunday evening visits, so I guess I'll sign off.  

We are proud of you and pray for your success in your labors. Keep working hard!

Love,

Dad

P.S. As Mother's Day is approaching, let us know what arrangements we should make as we anticipate an opportunity to call or skype.  

Notes from Dad--April 20, 2014

Dear Sammy,

I sure love you!  Last week I grabbed a couple of photos of you from the blogs of some of your fellow missionaries and posted them on FB.  Lots of comments about how beautiful and beaming you look. I couldn't agree more.  Sure hope that you have had a great week!

We had a great Easter service at church today.  Of course, the focus was on the Atonement.  Bro. Breinholt was one of the speakers.  As part of his talk, he referenced the 2001 World Series when the Diamondbacks were facing the New York Yankees.  After the Dbacks one the first two games at home, we were feeling confident heading back to New York.  After losing a close Game 3, we went into the late innings of Games 4 and 5 with a lead.  Each time, the D-backs "closer" (a pitcher from Korea named Byung-Hyun Kim), came in to relieve the starting pitcher and "close out" the game.  In each game, however, he gave up home runs that led to Yankee victories.  Bro. Breinholt talked about how discouraged Kim must have been, not only to be "responsible" for losing a crucial championship game once, but twice in a row!  While he as criticized in the media and some fans lost faith in him, the team rallied to his corner and ultimately, the Dbacks won the series in a dramatic and final Game 7.  Like Kim, we can sometimes get discouraged in life, feeling like we can't do anything right and that we have "lost the game."  Yet, through the Atonement, we are able to pick ourselves up and try again for the victory, knowing that even when we lose faith in ourselves, the Lord continues to have faith in us.  I enjoyed the analogy and message.

After church, we dyed some Easter eggs.  Mom bought a dye set that had colored cups to match each of of the dyes.  The problem was that the color of the dye "pills" were a bit ambiguous.  We made our best guess as to which color went into which cup, but when we poured in the vinegar, we found out that we had put the yellow in the orange cup, the orange in the green cup, and the green in the orange cup.  We did good with the blue and pink, though!  Everyone got a chuckle out of the mix-up. So, now Lindsay, Amber and I have another dozen hard-boiled eggs to eat, since no one else around here likes them :-)

Dave explaining why the colors are not in the right cups.

We invited Grandma to join us for Easter dinner.  (We invited Julie, too, but she was in San Diego for the weekend).  Mom cooked turkey, homemade rolls, and mashed potatoes and gravy.  We had strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It was yummy!  We debated about what you were having for Easter dinner, and assumed it probably involved chicken and rice :-).

Easter Dinner 2014

After dinner, we played some Liverpool Rummy.  For a change, I won!  Doesn't happen too often.  Kent also wanted us to play Pictionary, which we did.  We modified the game a bit.  It was Grandma, Lindsay, and I against Mom and Kent (with Amber chiming in on their side occasionally).  Our team pulled out to a big lead early on, but Mom and Kent kept gaining ground, but never could take the lead, until their very last turn of the game, which gave them the victory.  

Yesterday, I got up early and drove up to Las Sendas to do a 12 mile run.  I ran up to the top of the community, where there is a trailhead that leads up to the top of the mountain behind the community with the microwave towers on it.  The trail was a brutal climb, gaining about 800 feet in about 1.2 miles, but the views were great.  It was cloudy with some rain falling from the clouds in the distance (though I think most of it evaporated before it hit the ground).  I snapped a couple of photos with my iphone.  Once at the top, I descended down the opposite side of the mountain on a service road the lead to Usery Pass road (Ellsworth), which I then ran down to McDowell and back to Las Sendas to complete the loop.  It was a challenging but fun run.
 

Top of Usery Mountain on Dave's Run

What do you guys do in Sullana for exercise?  

I hustled home after my run for a quick shower and then headed over with the family to the Ward Easter Egg Hunt at the Smith's house.  The egg hunting went well and was well-organized for the various age groups.  Amber and Paige went over early to hide eggs, and Amber volunteered at the face painting station.  All in all it was a good time, though I forgot to wear a hat or sunscreen, so I got a bit sunburned. Grrr.

Amber painting Dave's hand (he didn't want his face painted)

Mom and Paige at the Ward Easter Party 2014

 

We left from the party and headed over to Lindsay's soccer game.  Her team is the Smurfs.  They faced some tough competition and were down 3-0 at half time.  They picked it up in the second half, scoring twice, and gaining momentum.  But, they ran out of time and ended up with a close loss.  Lindsay had some good defensive "clears" and enjoyed the game. We were glad for the cloud cover, which made the whole day a rather pleasant one.

In the afternoon, I took Kent shopping for some hiking shoes.  We went to REI and Sportsman's Warehouse, but couldn't find anything he liked. But I got a new pair of hiking/trail running shoes :-)  We start our Mt. Whitney training next weekend, with a hike up Flatiron!

After shopping, I decided to tackle trimming the mesquite tree in the front.  You know how the branches that hang over the driveway are bird magnets and result in a bird-poop-covered car :-/.  So, I decided to give the tree a serious haircut, chopping off most of the branches over the driveway.  I'm not quite done yet, and the tree looks like a bit of a mess, but I took us till about 9 pm just to clean up the mess we had already made.  So, I'll need to tackle it again soon.  In the meantime, it might qualify for the neighborhood blight award ... Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of the mesquite tree, as the chants of "chop it down" are getting louder from Mom, Paige, and the rest of the kids.  We'll see.

Mom and I capped off the evening with a Netflix viewing of Thor.  I give it an "okay."  Not bad, but one viewing was enough.  Paige also got asked to "Spring Formal" (aka Mormon Prom) by McKay M.  She was excited.

Friday, the kids were out of school for Good Friday, but I went into work.  In the evening, we went out to dinner at Culver's and then Mom, Amber, and I watched "Catching Fire."

The only other highlight of the week was that Kent's artwork from school was selected to be on display at Norwood Furniture in downtown Gilbert.  They held a reception for the artists during the week, so we went down and checked it out on Tuesday.  Kent's piece was a colored-pencil landscape of an African savanna.  He did a great job and it was nice that he was recognized.

Kent with his picture.

Lindsay taught our FHE last week on the symbols of Easter.  She had prepared the FHE in activity days, which consisted of placing the symbols (e.g., a nail to represent the crucifixion) in numbered, plastic Easter eggs and then pulling them out and discussing them one-by-one.  She did a good job. 

Well, that's the scoop from me for the week.  I'm sure I've forgotten something, but hopefully Mom can clean up what I missed (or mis-remembered) :-). 

Hope you are doing great.  We pray for your health, safety, and success daily, as well as for your ability to continue progressing with the language.   Keep working hard!

Love you,

Dad

Notes from Dad -- April 13, 2014

Dear Sammy,

Another week has gone by!  Today was fast Sunday.  I got up early for bishopric meeting and then had to miss sacrament meeting because I needed to go to the airport to pick up Mom, who was flying back from attending Kyle's wedding in Houston.  It was a whirlwind 48-hour trip for her, but she had a fun time and was able to reconnect with K'Lynne and the Wagners, as well as spend some time Gpa and Gma Hugh.  She'll fill you in on the details.

I got back in time for 1/2 of Sunday school and the rest of the third hour.  We reorganized the beehive and laurel class presidencies.  Paige was called as the secretary for the laurels.  I was able to set her apart.  She is such a neat gal. I am so grateful for the blessing of having such wonderful children.  We had our fast Sunday PPI's with each one, and mom & I enjoyed spending a little "2-on-1" time.

This evening we went over to Bishop Kingsford for the traditional bishopric break-the-fast dinner.  Amber made brownies for dessert and did a great job.  Over the past couple of weeks, she has made banana bread multiple times (whenever our bananas go bad before we can eat them :-).  She also made pancakes the other morning. She is becoming quite the chef!

We got home around 7 and spent a while out on the back patio enjoying the pleasant evening.  I even got on the trampoline to "jump a bus" with Kent and Lindsay for a bit.  The tramp works muscles a bit differently than my running, so it didn't take too long for me to call it good on jumping for the evening.  Ha ha.  We also planned out/calendared a number of hikes over the next few months to help Kent and me prepare for our Mt. Whitney trip.  Should be fun!

Other news of the weekend:  I got up early on Friday to get mom to the airport by 5:30 and then headed into work.  I arrived at the office by 6 am and had a couple of hours with no interruptions to focus on a few things at work, which was good.

Friday night, Kent and Lindsay and I went on a bike ride over to Grandma Garners.  When we arrived, her garage door was open, so we walked in and called her name.  No one answered and when we stepped into the kitchen, we saw a man and a woman standing over by her front door, working on the door handle.  That took me a bit by surprise.  I realized that they were the painters (Gma had her house painted last week).  I asked where Gma was and they said she had gone to a ward party.  I took them at their word, and the kids and I mounted up for a return trip home.  Before we left, I sent Gma a text to tell her we had stopped by.  When I got home, Gma had not replied and I became a bit worried about her. So, I called her cell and got v/m, which made me a little more nervous.  I had just about decided to get in the car and drive over there, when I called her home phone and finally got ahold of her.  She had indeed been at a ward party and had left her cell phone at home.  So, it was all on the up and up with the painters, but it gave me a bit of scare for a while there.  

That evening, the kids and I watched Tin Tin (I had not seen it before).  I enjoyed it!

On Saturday, I got up early to get in a 10 mi. run before I had to attend a BSA training.  It was a nice morning for a run, and I spent a mile or so of it, criss-crossing thorugh/around the Riparian. While running along the west side of the preserve, I looked across one of the marshes, with the Superstitions framed on the opposite side, and the sun just rising above the ridgeline.  It was a beautiful view, and I wish I had had a camera to capture the moment.  As it was, I tried to savor the image, while still maintaining an 8 min/mi. pace :-).  The Riparian is really a neat little gem to have so close by...

The scout training lasted most of the morning and I missed Lindsay's soccer game.  Paige took the ACT, and Amber went babysitting for the Sawyers.  Poor Kent was the only one with no firm agenda for the day.  

In the afternoon, I went to a baptism for Madison (did you know her)?  She is a YW who has wanted to join the church for a long time, but her parents would not let her.  She turned 18 on Friday and scheduled her baptism for the very next day.  She is friends with Brianna T., and number of the other youth in our ward (Riley H., Chase E., Brooke A., etc. were all there).  Bro. Wilkinson was also at the baptism (he is a counselor in the Gilbert Mission presidency).  His hair was just beginning to grow back from his chemo treatment.  I went up and shook his hand, and, pointing to my own head, told him that he didn't really need to get cancer in order to have a cool haircut like mine!  He laughed ....  He actually looked quite good, which is encouraging. 

The baptism was very nice and I looked at it through somewhat of a different lens, in light of your service.  I watched the sister missionaries there, who were pretty much beaming throughout.  I shook their hands afterwards and told them that I was sure they would be writing a neat letter home to their families this pday!

After getting home from the baptism, I took Kent shopping for some new tennis shoes as well as to look for some hiking shoes for him, as we prepare for our summer trip to Mt. Whitney.  We didn't find any hiking shoes, but did find some tennis shoes. Mom had taken him shopping to Sports Authority the week before and they had found a pair that he liked as far as comfort but didn't want because of the color (florescent yellow).  Well, I took him to JCPenney's and he found a pair that he really liked, so we bought them.  Then we went back to Sports Authority to look at hiking shoes.  I had him show me the yellow shoes he had tried on the week before, and it turns out that they were the exact kind we bought at JCP, just a more "acceptable" color.  And we got them for $8 cheaper!  I guess he was destined to get these shoes!

We didn't find any good hiking shoes for Kent--not much of a selection.  I think we will need to try REI.  Anyway, on the way home, we dropped by Home Depot and I bought an ax and hatchet with $ I still had from Gma from last Father's Day.  Then we stopped by Fry's for some brownies and stuff we would need for Sunday dinner.  After a final stop at Little Cesar's for pizza, we stumbled back home.  Two and a half hours of shopping was a lot more shopping that Kent or I are used to :-).

I dropped off the pizza and then headed over to Gma's, where all of the Garner family adults were gathering to celebrate Gma and Gpa's 51st wedding anniversary.  We had a platter of mini-chimis from Nando's and everybody brought some side dishes to share.  It was a nice dinner.  Gma told us about her wedding and "honeymoon."  They were originally planning to marry in the Salt Lake Temple, but it was being renovated and ended up not opening in time, so that's why they ended up getting married at the Logan temple instead.  Gma was in school at the University of Utah (where she had transferred from Utah State to finish up here degree), and Gpa was teaching seminary at Granite high school, so they didn't end up having much of a honeymoon to kick off their marriage.  (Sounds about like your mom's and my honeymoon ;-).  Gma also told us that before they were married, Gpa paid for the last semester of mom's tuition at UofU.  I guess that's one way to make sure she was committed to him. Haha.

Gma also told us that their first day home after the wedding, she took Gpa's brand new car (a Volkswagen) and dropped Gpa off at Granite HS, and then headed over to her classes at the university.  But, she forgot to turn off the lights and the battery was dead when she went to go home.  Some guys talked her into rolling the car down the hill and starting it by popping the clutch.  Gma was pretty nervous that she had messed up his new car and might screw it up further (or crash it, with the rolling start), but it ended up working (she got it started) and was able to make it home. :-)  Whew!  Crisis averted!

After dinner and stories, we played "Actionary" with the Pictionary cards.  It was hilarious, as you can imagine.  Diane was the pro!  One of the words she had was "gangplank."  She got us to guess "plank" fairly easily, but was having trouble with the "gang" part, so she started jumping around, throwing some "gang signs," which ultimately allowed us to guess the word, but mostly just made us laugh.  Good times.  Also, Richard got a bit frustrated with his team (not really, but mostly in a joking way) when they could not guess his impression of "polar bear."  The closest they got was the "Abominable Snowman."  Richard was pretty animated and thought his impression was rather obvious, so we had a fun time kidding him about it.  Thankfully, he has pretty thick skin.

Gma was a good sport and played along as well, even though she had been "traumatized" by this game when we played it years ago.  She had been given the word "tidal wave" and all we could guess was "beached whale"!  She hasn't ever quite been able to live that one down.  But again, she's always been a good sport (and actually did a great job)!

The Garner Crew at Grandma Garner's

Like the aging folks we are, everyone was tired and ready to go home by about 9:30, so we wrapped up for the night.

Saturday night was also prom.  Paige invited a few other friends over who did not have dates to the dance for a girls hang-out.  Rachel ended up coming and they ate some pizza and watched movies.  Paige was cool with skipping prom and, in her usual laid-back style, just took it in stride. I love that about her personality.    

In other news:  On Tuesday night, Lindsay and I went to Barnes & Noble so I could pick up a book on Yosemite and start reading up on it for my trip this summer with Kent.  I've had a good time reading about the hikes and the area in general.  There's no way we'll be able to enjoy it all during our short visit, but I'll consider our visit this July as a "scouting trip" for a future visit as a family some time.

Sis. Wrigley was released today as the Stake YW president ... after six years!  That's quite a tenure for such a calling.  Sis. C. Speth was called as the new YW president.

All in all, life is good.  We look forward with anticipation for your emails and hang on every word (I usually end up reading your email 3 or 4 times at various points over the week).  Looking forward to seeing a few pictures.  We are very proud of you!  We pray for your health, safety, and success daily.  Hope your Spanish is coming along and that you and Sis. Rios are building up a good teaching pool in your new area.  Keep a good attitude even in your trials/challenges.  You'll find that the more challenging the trial, generally the fonder the memories when you look back on it later in life.  There is not much worth having in life that does not require hard work and perseverance.  

Te amo!  Have a great week!

Love,

Dad