Sarah Joy Russell - 13 July 1999

Sarah Joy Russell was eight years old on 13 July 2007. As a result her baptism was scheduled for 28 July 2007. That date is passed and now I am certain the baptism is past but accomplished. Sarah lives in Woodinville, Washington . I would liked to have been present for her baptism, but circumstances did not permit our being present. I am certain it was a very wonderful time. Perhaps the Spirit was evident like on the Day of Pentacost. Sarah was at our reunion in Hoop Lake on her birthday. I searched through the pictures I had taken. Somehow Sarah had escaped. Alas! She wasn't in any of my pictures, so the picture I have posted includes (right to left), Sarah's mother, Amy; her sister, Hannah; and her Aunt Diane. That's not even close, Sarah, but the best I could muster under the circumstances.

Sarah is very precocious and so creative. She makes and acts out roles so professionally. She is extremely intelligent, beautiful and poised. Any parent would be proud to claim her as a member of their family. Her three sisters and two brothers are also very exceptional - a truly grand and marvelous family. Amy and Tom have done things right. Sarah, I am glad to be your Grandpa.

Cars

Their are four automobiles in this post. I shall not attempt to place the photos in any particular arrangement for any time that I have done such, the "blog master" acts independently and places them as it darn well pleases any way. Consequently, I shall refer to the cars by color and brand name. You will see a lime green metallic KIA Rio . It belongs to Diane, has over 170,000 miles on it and runs fine. The problem is that she travels long distances from time to time. She worries that on some trip her car may decide that enough is enough and quit functioning so well. So she wants a different automobile. She and Evelyn have suggested to me that perhaps she could buy the black Honda CRV that has a little over 90,000 miles on it. Perhaps it would still give many good miles - even as many as 170,000. So some of Clarine's children and grandchildren are looking at the green KIA to purchase it. Clarine and I have the Blue Chrysler Town and Country minivan and the white Toyota. Though we have used the black Honda quite a bit, the two of us really don't need three cars. Evelyn uses the Honda a lot when she is here, and she and I sort of have a joint ownership in it even though I am now licencing, registering, maintaining and insuring it. She provided it initially after it was shipped from Germany. If Diane purchases the Honda, Evelyn and I would divide up the proceeds. She says she would use her portion to rent a car, when she next comes to the area. The Toyota has a little over 90,000 miles on it and the Chrysler has just over 18,000. Our bases would be well covered with those two cars. The windshield is cracked in the Toyota. The replace of windshields is coming to our place tomorrow to replace the glass. Diane had the cracked windshield replaced in the KIA on Friday. So you have probably been told more than you wanted to know about the automobile situation at 230 Lakeview

Black Rock

Here it is Pioneer Day. In the early history of Salt Lake the pioneers visited an area on the Great Salt Lake called Black Rock for holidays and recreational purposes. It is quite easy to drive to Black Rock even though the last half mile of the road is unimproved and rough. Every time I have been to this location it has been on the 24th of July. Diane has been in the party most of those times. You might say that with her and me it is a Pioneer Day tradition. The very lowest picture on the right shows the entire party that went to Black Rock this morning.

Present were Lisa, Phil, Sheridan, Zach, Max, Diane, Evelyn and George. Max did not like the heights as we started to scale the rock, so Lisa stayed with him at the bottom. The photo above is on top of the rock looking over the lake to the southwest. Above, right, is looking to the south. Above, top, right are Sheridan, Zach and Grandpa. This direction over the lake is south. The top left photo is from the top of the rock looking southeast toward the mountains.

We observed an interesting phenomenon on the shore of the lake. The sea gulls were eating brine flies. The interesting part is how the gulls got the flies into their mouths. The gulls would lower their heads so that their beaks were as close to the ground as possible so as to not get a beak full of mud, and then they would run as fast as they could scaring up the brine flies and many of them would end up in the mouths of the gulls. The brine flies would be in swarms so thick resting on the mud that when the gulls would disturb them, it almost looked as if the ground sort of moved, when the gulls ran through. When we got back to the house here Clarine and Diane had provided a scrumptious breakfast. Diane also went out for a paddle boat ride with Max and Sheridan. It is now 12:34 PM; Lisa Phil and children have gone home and we have already celebrated Pioneer Day. Who knows what other activities Evelyn, Diane, Clarine and I may involve ourselves in before darkness sets in?

Hannibal, Missouri

While we were in Hannibal Missouri on our trip to the mid-west, I was in the Mark Twain Museum and I read some captions from Mark Twain's writings that reminded me that I had a copy of the short story, The Diaries of Adam and Eve, which Mark Twain wrote. I came home and found the book which Evelyn gave me containing that and other short stories. I took a picture of the back of the book and Evelyn's inscription - both seem to be out of focus. Any way in the museum I vowed to come home and find the book and read those stories from Mark Twain once more. Seeing his writing in the museum reminded me how much I enjoy him as an author. You can probably decipher the book title. I shall quote Evelyn's inscription to help you decipher that. "If I think about it very much I'm really not sure why I wanted you to have this; it most definitely has not been an item on your most wanted list. Somehow I guess I can associate you and Mark Twain together. I do know that last summer when I read "The Diary of Adam and Eve" I wanted you to be reading it too. I could hear your laughter resounding in my mind above everyone else. Anyway I hope you enjoy whatever may tickle your funny button."

I should report on another thing we did at Hannibal. The four of us went on an evening dinner ride on the MIssissippi. We went up river to the first swinging railroad bridge across the river, then back down for a long enough distance for us to finish dinner. After dinner, went went top side on the ship and watched the scenery. Both shores and the islands in mid-stream were very green. We could spot eagles and water birds along the shores and in the trees. It was a happy, comfortable, enjoyable evening. I guess the bottom line is that stopping in Hannibal has gotten my interest in Mark Twain stuff stirred up again.

Rotating Photos to the Vertical

These images Have been rotated ninety degrees, so that you do not have to lean over sideways to see them as they actually stand. My mentor for blogs, Kim, wrote me an e-mail explaining the process to me. Alas! Evelyn and I discovered what to do shortly before Kim's good advice arrived. It turns out to be exactly the same thing so, Kim and Evelyn, Thanks! The rotated view of the Community of Christ Temple is the view I sent yesterday with the temple lying on its side. I also had one of the Nauvoo temple lying on its side which has since been erected and is included here. I wanted the photo to include the top of the temple, but the person acting as photographer focused on Clarine and me instead of the top of the temple. It is a lovely building in a lovely setting. We enjoyed our time inside.

Community of Christ Temple - Inside and Out

This structure is in Independence Missouri. One shot is ninety degrees off from vertical. I think there is actually a way to rotate it, but I will have to get my blogging mentor to help me with that type of a maneuver. These pics were taken on our recent visit to Missouri. In an earlier blog I talked of a time-share transaction which I thought was closed in Branson, Missouri. In a phone call yesterday, I found out I couldn't have the unit as signed for in the agreement. They said they had made a mistake and needed to increese my annual fees by over $300. That wasn't in the agreement that I signed, so I told them to refund my money and I would get out of their lives. (I don't like that kind of dealing anyway.) So I guess I still have a time-share in Florida which I really don't want. I thought I should pass along this little bit of information since I would be leading you astray leaving you with the idea that I now was in on a time share in Branson.

Pre Reunion Activities

These pictures were at the camp site for the reunion, but Monday and Tuesday before we left for Hoop Lake on Wednesday, we had a houseful and many activities here at 230 Lakeview. Evelyn and Diane are here for a summer stay. Ken, Emily, Alex and Wilmar were here and we had fun as we prepared to go to Hoop Lake. Ken, Alex and Wilmar went to Lagoon for a while on Tuesday. As a final send off on Tuesday night, all seven of us: Clarine and I, Ken, Alex, Wilmar, Diane and Evelyn (Emily went to Salt Lake to visit a friend and attend a concert.) went to Leatherby's Family Creamery and each ordered their choice of sandwich. Most ordered "cheesy fries" too. We finished off by having them bring two huge banana splits and seven spoons. We were all exceedingly full after that escapade. In the top photo (right to left) I can identify Ken, Hanna Russell, Phil and Evelyn. In the lower pic, Ken, Phil and Evelyn are identifiable. The portable covering is provided by Ken, and has been for the last three years that I can remember and maybe more.

Reunion Pics

Here are Clarine and Emily in the top post at our camp site.


Here, Dan is giving Eliot his first instructions
about the very important element of life, fishing.

This is the picture I was having trouble getting to upload. (I don't know how I solved the problem, Kim, but I know you would help, if needed. ) This is the trout Zack helped me land, and I cut the heads off from Alex and Wilmar in focusing on the fish and Zach

Family Reunion

I have an image to add to my blog about the family reunion. I can't get the image icon to respond, nor can I turn off the bold face icon. So this is what you get. Perhaps I will show some images later, but for now, I am tired of fussing with the machine. It has a mind of its own and I am apparently not smarter than the machine.

Any way our reunion was held at Hoop Lake in the Uintah Mountains. The lake is so much on the north slope of those mountains that it is most easily accessed by going via the Wyoming communities of Evanston, Ft. Bridger, Mountain View, Lone Tree, and back into Utah. The lake elevation is above 9,000 feet. I could feel it in the breathing difficulty. All of my children were there with some or part of their families if they had such - 23 of us total. Mostly we interacted, entertained, hiked and fished. My first great grandson, Eliot was there and put on an excellent exhibition of how to enjoy dirt. I even did one of my increasingly rare presentations of "Ah, Ah Nickoshe." I am now seventy-nine years old. Maybe there won't be too many more such renditions. It turns out that my posterity knows better than I how the words need to be sung. After two or three attempts it got so that the words they told me to use felt right.

I fished for trout for the first time in many months. I got lots of help from grandchildren and children, but on my line I believe there were nine or ten trout caught over the three days. (One of the pictures I was going to post was of a trout that Zach helped me land. In focusing on Zack and the fish, I cut the heads off from Alex and Wilmar.)

Here is a statement from Clarine that can be taken as a compliment. She is amazed how well each of the family interacts so well with differing opinions with no one getting out of sorts or arguing. Opinions are just accepted as that and love and calm prevails. I am obviously very proud of each and every one.

When we got home, we spent some time getting clean and napping a little bit much.

(Kim has taken over the role as my mentor in blogging. If she gives me a call and tells me why my icon for "adding an image" is not responding, I may yet send a pic. Maybe she can also tell me why I can't turn the "bold face" type off.)

Nauvoo and Carthage Images

These photos are taken at Nauvoo and Carthage. Top: a family sculpture in the garden by the vistor's center. The center is yours truly pointing at the bullet hole in the door where the first shot came through, struck Hyrum in the nose in a fatal manner. The third shot is also in Carthage jail and displays Clarine and George inside of the jail.

We enjoyed attending a temple session at the Nauvoo temple. My pics of the Nauvoo Temple do not display it well. We spent two days in the Nauvoo area - even visiting the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) properties which they charged us an admission of $6 to see. Emma Smith stayed at the residence after the martyrdom and after the body of LDS had gone west.

We drove through Quincy, Illinois, just down river from Nauvoo. Quincy was good to the destitute saints when they had to leave Missouri. Their town still looks prosperous and blessed.

Since we were geographically there, we stayed overnight in Hannibal, Missouri before heading to western Missouri. There we visited some Mark Twain stuff. In the museum much of the stuff was displayed using paragraphs from things that he had written. I like the way he uses words. Perhaps that is one of the reasons he is one of my favorite writers.Then we drove on to Western Missouri. My previous blog mentioned Adam Andi Ahman. While we spent the next two days in that area, we additionally visited the temple site in Farr West and Independence, and Liberty jail. The Community of Christ has all ready built their temple and auditorium in Independence. We toured their sites their free of charge this time.

The next day we drove to Branson, Missouri. We spent the nest four days there. We saw five shows - all good music and humor. The Chinese acrobats displayed phenomenal strength, agility and coordination. I also traded my time share in Florida for one in Branson. There was additional cost too, but the usage agreement will be far less burdensome and easier to trade vacation weeks with other locations. My usage will be double my previous ownership and the expenses will be half, so I feel blessed.

After leaving Branson, we headed home via Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Ponca City, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas;and Denver, Colorado. The rivers we saw in southern Missouri and northern Oklahoma were at flood stage, running muddy and well up on the greenery along the banks. We had no trouble and the trip home was calm and direct. After twelve days, we were glad to be back.

Adam Ahndi Ahman

This site is very beautiful and green. It is also peaceful and quiet. It was one of the choice places we visited on our recently completed vacation .

We traveled over 4,000 miles in twelve days and we saw many wonderful things. We got tired, but we are glad to have had the opportunity to go. Here is a brief statement of our itinerary: We visited Winter Quarters, Nauvoo, Hannibal ,Missouri, Adam Ahndi Ahman, Liberty Jail, Carthage Jail, Independence, Branson, Witchita, and Denver. The photo to the left is at Adam Ahndi Ahman. I will post more about the trip as time progresses. I particularly enjoyed visiting this site as I have heard of it all of my life. The only other time I got there, there was a fence and a gate, so we did not enter. Now the site is developed and cared for with signage and descriptions. It is very peaceful and green. I am humbled to have stepped on this sacred ground.