Weekend at Bear Lake 2019, Part 1

Not to be outdone after our trip to Lehi Thursday, we went out of town again Friday morning and headed up to Bear Lake to spend the weekend at JB's grandpa's cabin in Laketown.

On the way, we stopped at Gossner's for some cheese curd and root beer milk (like you do), and we also paid Dad a brief visit in the Smithfield cemetery.

His headstone, apparently, was still there, and so were the flowers Mom left for him on Memorial Day weekend.

Once we reached Laketown and the cabin, we had a relaxing weekend along with JB's sister Danielle; her husband, Tyson; and their kids, Kiera and Tatum. We watched DVDs, read books, napped, enjoyed raspberry shakes at LaBeau's and Zipz, and just generally relaxed and had a good time together in cooler temperatures than we are used to at home in Bountiful.

On Friday the 5th, we had a second Independence Day/fireworks night, which included shooting Roman candles off toward the direction of the lake (or casting Harry Potter spells, if you will):

The second night, we made s'mores around the campfire:

Come Sunday, we cleaned up and packed up and were on our way back home to Bountiful. Leaving was an emotional moment for both JB and her sister. They had spent a number of days in their childhood and youth up at this family cabin. and with JB's dad and siblings agreeing to sell the cabin recently, it may very well have been our last chance to spend time up there.

Independence Day 2019

Our country had another birthday this past week. Our family celebrated the occasion, as we are wont to do, by getting together to enjoy a barbecue and fireworks.

Scott and Claudia invited us down to their home in Lehi, where we were also reunited with our cousins Jamie and Jared (who was visiting us from California) and portions of their families. It was the biggest extended family group we've had together in one place since Dad's funeral over two years ago. Claudia's cousins from California also joined us for the occasion.

The hamburgers and hot dogs were plentiful and delicious, as were the fruit and other side dishes, as well as the desserts.

This Fourth of July was unusual in that it was much cooler than others in recent memory. A storm blew in at one point, driving the BBQ indoors for a few hours.

Fortunately, the storm broke in time for us to light of some fireworks out on the street, what we like to call Cul-de-Sac of Fire. By this time, the temperature had dropped to the 60s, which is rather unseasonable for July. And I loved it.

The fireworks were also plentiful, as well as colorful.

The company was even better, and it was good to spend an afternoon and evening with our extended family members.

Bees'-Eye View

On Thursday night, JB and I ventured out to Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City for our second Bees baseball game of the month and of the summer. We were more than happy to accept an invitation from Dave, who works for the Larry H. Miller business empire and was given tickets to access the company suite for the evening. Jessica, Kira, and Jake joined us for our evening out.

Friends in high places, amirite? It's nice and also rare to get such royal treatment. Not only did we have a nice view of the game from the first-base side of the diamond, but our suite was also stocked with a dinner that included chicken tenders, soda pop, popcorn, and other goodies.

The home team got killed once again---we must have that effect on them or something. But it was nonetheless a fun night for one and all.

"Forever Plaid," Again

My brother Ben recently completed his second time playing the role of Sparky in the musical Forever Plaid (the first time around was five years ago). JB and I caught the show Monday night along with Mom, Dave and Jessica, and Steve and Summer.

As an added bonus to that evening's performance, Ben pulled some strings and arranged for Steve to get called up onto the stage as the audience volunteer during the "Heart and Soul" number, which led to hearty chuckles all around. For his trouble, he got this cool certificate:

Semper Fi

"A soft answer turneth away wrath" (Proverbs 15:1).

Today at church, I watched as a new brother to the ward sat down near me in elders quorum. He had long hair, tied in a ponytail. Soon after he sat, one of the elderly brothers sitting behind him made a comment to another elderly brother next to him that he wanted to clip off the ponytail.

Insert brief tense pause here.

Instead of moving to another seat or ignoring them, this new brother instead turned around, smiling the whole time, and introduced himself to these two elderly brothers. After a few moments, he was laughing and joking with them. He told them that he had served in the U.S. Marines for a number of years and that he always had to keep his hair very short during this time, and now he was doing something else with his hair. He was proud of it, and he said his girlfriend loves it. After the meeting ended, he talked and joked with these brothers for an additional few minutes, and I think it's safe to say they were friends by this point.

This new brother handled this moment perfectly. It was the brightest spot of a memorable, wonderful day fellowshipping with my fellow Saints.

Plowman Family Dinner/June 2019

Earlier tonight, Mom hosted monthly family dinner for June at her home in North Salt Lake. We were all there to take part in the fun, especially Super Daniel:

Twenty-month-old Ike enjoyed dinner along with the rest of us:

JB made the desserts this time around, including a much-requested banana cake, which doubled as the birthday cake for our three June birthdays, Adi, Mom, and McKenna.

Roots

A few weeks ago, JB and I sent DNA samples in to Ancestry.com to have them analyzed and to learn a little bit more about our own respective ancestries. Today, I received my results. They look like this:

Confirming what we all basically already knew, I am pretty much the whitest white person around.