Garden Day

Memorial Day weekend holds a strong tradition of planting flowers all around Grandma and Grandpa Bodily's yard. This year I'm attempting my first vegetable/herb garden in a portion of their yard. I planted spinach, lettuce, sweet peas, squash, zucchini, a pumpkin, and corn from seed. I'm pretty sure that I've done it all wrong (planted the seeds too deep, didn't plant them deep enough, planted them too close together, planted them too far apart, etc.) so to make myself feel better I bought some tomato and pepper plants as well as basil and rosemary. At least I'll have that much growing if everything else fails. Kylie's cousins came over to help and had a great time playing and making mud pies.

Amanda helping Grandma while Janeen watches from her chair.

Just a few weeks to go.

James, Erica, and Kylie in a tree.

Making potions.

Caroline

Finally done.

Elder Dawson Update

We have received many letters from Elder Dawson since he arrived in Spain. Traditionally the new elders spend 6 weeks in the Spain MTC (Missionary Training Center), but because he already spoke the language so well he was assigned a companion and let loose on the city after just a few weeks. He had his first baptism last weekend and another baptism set for this weekend.

It's great to read his stories about meeting people in the city and following the promptings to teach them the gospel...then going after them and teaching them some more. He wrote about a man that he and his companion felt prompted to talk to on a train. They gave him a Book of Mormon then they all got off at the same stop. LD wrote: "Just as we hit the escalator to go up and switch trains I was prompted to go after the man. I grabbed my companion and started running after him. As we came closer I could see he was reading the Book of Mormon and walking. We caught up to him, but he did not want to talk to us. I asked for five minutes so he said yes. We taught him for about 15 minutes and he cried the whole time. We learned he was looking for forgiveness so I asked if we could send the missionaries and he said yes. I explained they could help him then I bore testimony that God loves us and through the sacrifice of Christ we can be clean and forgiven. I told him God wanted to forgive him but it would not be easy and he would need faith. (This is the way cool part.) The man immediately told us he had been praying for forgiveness for quite some time. He told us today he felt like he should walk, didn't know why. After walking over three miles he got on the metro one stop before ours, didn't know why, then we talked to him and he knew why he had done all of what he did."

He also wrote: "It is amazing how in a matter of weeks the gospel has changed these peoples lives. There is now a feeling about them and a light in there eyes that was not there before. The gospel could not do that if it was not true. I am grateful for the atonement and that we are, as Moroni taught us, perfect through the grace of Christ." We are so proud of him!

Milky Way Dairy Field Trip

Kylie's kindergarten class went on a field trip to the Milky Way Dairy, along with all the other kindergarten classes.

Kylie was excited to ride the school bus.

They wore tie-dyed shirts of the same color to keep the classes separated.

The first stop was the newborn calfs, just a week old.

Each kid fed a calf from a bottle.

Kylie and Brinley Kylie's friend Jenna had to fight off a calf who wanted to eat her shirt. I wish I had video of the class standing in front of the older cows. A cow started peeing and the entire class started screaming and laughing--it was so funny!

Joey, Ashley, and Kylie posing in a tractor wheel. Mrs. Hellstern's kindergarten class. Kylie is on the back row in the middle.

Our last stop was inside the milking barn. The kids were fascinated with the process.

Kylie and Laura.

Fun Week

I forgot to take my camera with me all week. Grrr. Brian was home this week and we spent a lot of time together on the farm getting ready for and planting the hay. Kylie enjoyed watching her cousins practice roping and riding in the arena. I got to play the part of "flapping idiot," which consists of me standing 10 feet away from where the cows come flying out of the pen being chased by my 12 year-old niece on a horse. My job was to jump around, flapping my arms, yelling jibberish to encourage the cow to run straight down the arena rather than fleeing in every possible direction. For the most part the cows (with little 3-inch horns) steered clear of my antics. However, one cow lost its head and decided that the horse with the twirling lasso and kicking spurs was more formiddable than the 5'1 girl flapping like a bird. The stupid thing came running straight for me and veered at the last second. The horse, however, was right on its heels with the rider in hot pursuit. Between my nieces cries ("Katie! Katie!") and my stumbling and scrambling, we somehow ended the chaotic ballet with me safely on the fence and the cow at the end of the arena. The only thing I have to show for it all is the nasty blood blister I got when I pinched my finger in the gate. I recounted the events to my husband later and all he said was, "Yeah, that happens. That was my job when I was younger." No sympathy.

This weekend was the Mountain Air Helicopters open house at the Logan airport, Lee's awesome Perfect Picnic day, and Richmond's Black and White Days. I recall as a teenager being apalled that I lived in a valley that "worshipped cows," which is the general theme of Black and White Days. Bovine relics aside, we enjoyed the festivities. The highlight of the day was the horse pulls. We met up with Brian's cousin and his family. They brought pineapple upside-down cake and we brought homemade ice cream. Life doesn't get much better! It's so amazing to watch a good team dig in and work together. The winning team pulled a 8,500 load.

The week has also been full of lots of anxiety and prayer. My little 8 year-old cousin was kicked in the head by a horse and life flighted down to Primary Children's Hospital. For a few days we thought we were going to lose him. Toward the end of the week his body began to respond and every little step (a cough, a breath on his own, a finger twitch and squeeze) were so encouraging. I received a text message today that he woke up from his drug-induced coma and they were able to take out the breathing tube. I haven't confirmed the details, but we are so happy! We have all prayed that his life might be spared, if it was the Lord's will. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and we all prayed that he didn't have to die to satisfy whatever purpose this event held. His family is not sealed in the temple and it broke my heart to think of them losing him without that promise. We are all hoping that he can be the same little boy he was last week, that his injuries will heal without any permanent damage. He's been an amazing example for our family.

Spring is Here!

I think it's safe to say that Spring is finally here in Cache Valley, Utah. I'm so excited that even my blog is being splashed with color and flowers. Bear with me as I celebrate.

Miraculous

Coleen sent me some pictures of their totalled vehicle. It's absolutely amazing and miraculous that Anabelle was completely unharmed, Dave had bumps and bruises, and Coleen fractured her vertebrae with no resulting neurological impairments. I joked that they should have taken a picture of the angel's hand prints all over the vehicle. Coleen continues to do well and is recuperating at her mom's house on the island. They will come back to the States in June and move to Florida for the next round of training.

My hubby, the hero!

Dave, Coleen, and Anabelle before they left for the drive.

'73 Dodge Powerwagon--For Sale

Brian is thinking about trading his truck for another truck with a co-worker. This is the only way I know how to share photos and videos for this long-distance swap.