Dear Friends

Tonight we had a wonderful time with our dear friends Evan and Luanna Byington. We went for dinner together at Freddy's in Hatley. The food was good but the company was better. Our friends are moving to Utah on Sunday to live near children and grandchildren. We certainly can't fault them for that. We'll miss them but look forward to seeing them in October. Evan and Luanna, we love you!

Our Bishop

Today in our Sacrament meeting, Bishop Rekow was our final speaker. Once again he made the plea to the members of our ward to forigve one another and make things right. As he spoke, I saw the "mantle" of the bishop. The Spirit bore witness to me of his divine call as our bishop. He challenged each of us to fast and pray like we've never done before for the month of August. He said to pray to know whether we needed to forgive someone or ask for forgiveness. He promised by the end of the month we would have spiritual blessings poured out on us like never before.

On the 5th Sunday in August we will have a combined Priesthood-Relief Society lesson. Bishop was a little concerned that no one would show up for his lesson, but then he remembered that the 5th Sunday is typically a pot luck day and people come to eat. He said that day we will have the opportunity to share the blessings that we've felt throughout the month of August. He reminded us of some of the things he's asked us to do in the past few years. We've taken his council before and will do so again. We in the Gresham ward are so very blessed to have Bishop Rekow as our bishop . He loves each of us individually as it is visible how much he cares. What a blessing a bishop is!

The Apostle Islands

The past few days Pat and I spent together on a mini vacation. We headed north to Bayfield. Neither of us have ever been to the northernmost part of Wisconsin before. This morning we took a 3-hour tour (kind of like Gilligan) of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. We didn't see any apostles. In fact this picture is of the water caves on the coast of Devil's Island. I can't imagine how many years it took to make this beautiful scenery.

This is just a photo from the boat looking at several islands all at once. My dad tells me that it was very windy in Gresham today. As you can tell, we had calm waters. I think I would get motion sick if it was choppy water.

This beacon is on a pile of rocks to mark a shoal which means a very shallow spot in the lake. Some parts of the lake in this area is only 1 foot deep. Must be shallow to see that pile of rocks.

A little family of ducks I spotted off of the dock on Thursday night.

We took a drive and I spotted this political sign. I thought it was interesting that this woman was running on the platform that she isn't a drunk. Perhaps whoever is running against her is.

The is the Island Princess on which we took our cruise. And yes our captain was about the same size as the skipper on Gilligan's Island. No Gilligan though, just an Adam and Marty to help out the captain.

A lighthouse on one of the islands. I expected something a little more like what you see in the movies. I guess it does it's job.

This is the house for the lightkeeper. Actually a duplex so two families could live here. I wish we could've stopped. Everything has been restored. The lighthouse is the part in the middle that divides the house. Today, this lighthouse isn't used anymore. Instead there's a beacon on the front of the brick house.

The small island off of the big island is called Honeymoon Rock. There used to be a rock arch that connected the two. You can see where the arch fell.

More water caves. Some were large enough to park a car in. If a person could actually park in the water. We had a good time. Bayfield is just over 600 people and full of tourists and tourist shops. I'm sure these people make the bulk of their income in the three summer months. Tonight we drove to St. Paul and attended the temple. We'll begin there tomorrow before we head for home. What a restful way to spend a few days.

What's the common thread in these two pictures?

Here's a picture of my beautiful daughter Sammi. Not the most recent one I have, but still good. In the past few months she's had a lot of questions that need answering. After fasting and prayer not only on her part, but on mine as well and after spending a little time with our Mission President, President Barrett, she's decided that the best thing she could do in her life is to wear what's pictured below.



That's right. She's decided to serve the Lord by going on a mission. The tag is actually mine, the one I used while serving as a stake missionary.

She's got her part of the "paperwork" done and has had her dental appointment. Now for the physical and then she can meet with Bishop Rekow and her Stake President.

We're hoping she has her call by the time we go to Nauvoo next month. She's going because her friend is getting married in the temple. Wouldn't it be great if she could attend the marriage? We think so too. As her mom I can say that I've trusted her judgment and knew that she would follow what the Lord would have her do. I think she'll be a great missionary!

A Day with Cami

Cami and I spent the day together today. She and I went outside this morning so she could ride her bike.









I rode my bike too with her in the back. I'm not really sure what she's doing.
























I'm really impressed with the corn I planted this year. As you can see, it is more than "knee-high by the 4th of July."























I asked Cami to help me make dinner for tonight and she was more than willing. She began with some kind of utensil but ended up using her fingers instead.












Apparently she wasn't stirring after all. She was test tasting. We've had a pretty productive day as she is now asleep on my lap at the computer.

A new grandson!!!

July 1st brings a new baby to our family. Here is the best pic we could get of the whole family. We visited last night and left Cami with her parents and new brother for several hours. Today she was begging to go back.

I find it interesting how Papa brightened up for this picture. He usually doesn't give me such a nice smile for the camera.

A picture of Adam with all the women in his life who live nearby. (Mom was in the bed on the other side of the room.) He's a beautiful little man and we're very grateful he finally decided to make an entrance into this world.