mike and ruth

Mom and I celebrated our 35th this week by staying in Park City in conjunction with my commitments there with the choir. Our rehearsal with the Utah Symphony was Thursday night and we stayed over in Prospector Square that night and then went to the Factory Stores Friday morning. We drove to Ogden to have lunch at Ristorante La Ferrovia Friday, and hoped to make it out to Antelope Island. No such luck, the traffic on Antelope Drive through town was really bad and we ran out of time. I left Mom at home for the performance that night, and Saturday we had considered a few things but we were busy with other things we needed to do. Robyn and Eric were here earlier this week and will also be here next week. They went to Bear Lake for a family reunion while we were away. It was fun to get away but just as fun to get back to enjoy the family. Melodie is home now too for several weeks! Fun times!

We had some camping experience this weekend as we attended the reunions of Dad’s family and Mom’s family. Thursday night was the OJH Family reunion at Balsam Campground in Hobble Creek Canyon. You can see that we had a lot of people there. I was told that we had a total of 86 people (and 6 dogs) which is considered some kind of a record. Mom was at a care center so was not here again this year but is happy and enjoying her surroundings. Dad slept in his Springbar tent, and there were serveral “tin teepees” used by family. Thanks to Eric and Derek who provided their tents for family members since I left the tent stakes at home for the squad tent.

The CWH Family reunion took place Friday night and Saturday morning at the Heber Valley Camp which was a contrast to camping at a Forest Services campground. This place was really nice but also at a very high elevation. While there we participated in some of the challenge activities including an elevated log crossing, the zip line, and group rescue activities. Ed discussed the Family History program of the church and we were treated to many, many photos of ancestors and family members scanned over the past several months at Janice’s by the sisters. Thank you everyone for your hard work and preparations for a very successful and memorable experience by everyone.

Tamara and David welcomed their sixth child to their family Tuesday June 29th at 4:47pm. Megan Elizabeth came into the world weighing 7 lb. 2 oz. and 20.5 inches tall. She is a sweetheart born into a family of loving children that love her so much and are very excited to have her here! We visited her and her mother at the hospital today and took several pictures so you can get to know her. Grandma said she had a heathy cry which she heard on the telephone last night, but we didn’t hear her cry while visiting at the hospital. We are very pleased and happy for their new addition. CONGRATULATIONS!

Summer has come along with very warm temperatures and the green will soon become more brown with the heat of the day reaching close to 100 degrees faraenheit each day. The rain water from the spring has made the hills very green as you can see and the flowers are beautiful at this time of year before it gets hot enough to slow them down. Time for a vacation, but in a place where there is some protection from the heat. We hope everyone gets a chance to get away for a little break during the hot weather, and that everyone is well. The summer months should bring time for get-togethers with those who are important to you. We look forward to spending a little time with David Hill and his family who are visiting from Texas. It has been quite a while since we have been able to visit with them for more than a minute or two, and they aren’t in Utah very often. They will travel later this week to another reunion further west at Lake Tahoe with Kathleen’s family. Although the summer weather is beautiful we are not yet used to the temperature so we will be staying in the house most of the time instead of spending time outdoors for now. The family reunion campout at Balsam will give us a chance to be outdoors but at a higher altitude, so it should not be so hot. We look forward to that!

Today we went to the Orem City Cemetery and took Grandma Hill with us. Kristen decided to drive. We met family members at Grandpa’s grave and put flowers all around the headstone and also on Jennifer’s grave. We heard the program from the Veterans Section of the cemetery but it was far enough away that it didn’t drown out our voices as we sang “There is Beauty All Around, When there’s Love at Home”. Part of the family went to Gunnison and Centerfield to decorate graves there. We stayed home to get some work done on the house. We were so tired we didn’t get the work done we wanted to but did get a little rest. Mom had a few students this afternoon too. We went to Rosie and Derek’s home for a barbeque in the late afternoon and had fun with the grandkids. Ethan and Julia are really becoming soccer experts. They spend a lot of time with their friends shooting penalty shots into the goal that Derek made for them. Julia was chosen to help her dad plant some things in their garden. We took a few family pictures at the end of the day. It was fun!

I remember when I graduated from high school and thought I was a “real” adult. I still had a lot of growing up to do. Try not to ‘prove’ that you are a real adult by doing anything you will be sorry for in the future. This is what I was taught and what I am passing on to you. You who are graduating this week are truly the hope of our future, and we are very proud of you and of all your accomplishments. Please remember that we are counting on you! We wish you the very best of what the rest of your life has to offer, and we hope you have wonderful, memorable lives.

We celebrated birthdays for the month together on Monday night and had David and Andrew’s birthdays to celebrate together. We had two cakes and two different kinds of ice cream to celebrate, and the kids enjoyed each other’s company while we were all together at home. We love having everyone here and miss those that cannot be with us.

Here are three songs that Melodie recorded with her friend Jenny for Jenny’s facebook page. I thought they were really neat, and that the family would enjoy them. Jenny accompanies on her guitar and the duets are very nicely done indeed!

Jospeh Smith’s First Prayer

When I am Baptized

Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy

We had much of the family here for Melodie’s birthday celebration. It is hard to believe she is already 26 years old. We love her and are so grateful for her cheerful disposition and for the love she has for children. She will always be one of the favorites of her nieces and nephews because they know how much she loves them! We had a fun evening with everyone and are happy that we were all able to get together for this event. Rosaylnn and Derek were home taking care of Chase but Ethan and Julia were here and had fun with their cousins. We missed Dev and Emily and Robyn and Eric and their families but hope they get an idea of the festive mood when they see this blog page.

Rosie and Derek welcomed a beautiful baby boy just after midnight at the Orem Community Hospital. Derek told us that he was impressed just how very strong he felt when he was moving around while Derek was holding him. He weighs 8 pounds 6 ounces and is 21 inches tall. The family is trying to decide on a name for him among several they like. They will select one soon. These photos were taken that same morning at about 9:30am at the hospital, close to where the kids go to school. They were allowed to go a little late so they could welcome their little brother to their family. They were very excited to tell their friends and teachers about their new little brother when they arrived as school, and could hardly wait for the day to pass while they were thinking about returning to see their parents and the new baby after school. We hope they have a good day. CONGRATULATIONS!