Outing 5/31/2011

I think Sister Clark gets the credit for putting this outing together. It started at Chick-fil-a. The Clarks (and all their kids), Amanda and William (and all their kids), the Wallraths (and all their kids),the Landrys (and four of their six kids), plus Thomas were there. I'm not sure but I think that is 55% of the Branch and 90% of the Primary. We ate and then watched the kids play on the playground.

We then met up a bit later at the movie theater for Kung Fu Panda 2. The movie was good and I managed to stay awake for the whole thing, I think. It was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone. Thanks Stephanie.

Below is a video and a few pics.

Fireside 5/15/2011

It is not often that we have an adult fireside, but tonight we did. It was held at the home of President and Sister Ross. The program involved Brother and Sister Matis and their mission to Damascus, Syria. They spent just over two years there and had a lot of good experiences. They were there because of the affiliation that BYU has with the University in Damascus, and their purposes were largely humanitarian in nature, aside from his professorship at the University.

Their insight on the people, culture, history and economics of Syria were enlightening. I learned a great deal about Syria that I had never known.

Below are a few pictures of the fireside. There was a great turnout and the fellowship was warm.

Young Marrieds Activity 5/13/2011

Once again it was time for our young marrieds night. The Wallraths were kind enough to offer their home. We started by having various types of snacks. Yum, Yum!

Mark and Sandria had prepared a lesson of sorts for us, complete with a quiz and handouts. The message was on "Love Language" and was presented in a video by John Lund. The quiz told us about which love language we speak, thus helping us communicate better with our spouse. Much easier if we know what language they speak.

Lots of fun was had by all. Thanks and big hugs to everyone.

Mutual 5/11/2011

It was decided that we would have mutual on the second Wednesday this month in order to do a bit of service at the church. The youth weeded the front flower beds, although I can't remember any flowers in there. The church really did a good job of creating a beautiful piece of landscaping and we wanted to make sure it stayed beautiful.

The picture below shows most of those that helped that were willing to be photographed. I'm only sorry that I didn't get a before and after picture of the work. Just be sure to take notice of the flower beds in front. They worked hard and did a great job.

Thanks for the ice cream and cookies President Ross and Sister Webb.

West End Cemetery Clean Up... 3/26/2011

Today we helped in the West End Cemetery cleanup. Before I comment at all I want to say that I am not even going to try to name everyone in the photos below. There were that many people that showed up to help.

We began at 8am. It had to be the perfect day to do this job. Breezy and not too hot. There were members of other faiths there as well. The jobs included righting headstones, cutting low hanging limbs, weed eating, mowing, raking leaves, and cleaning up. We worked on about half of the cemetery.

After about three hours we had everything done. The cemetery association fed the workers BBQ.

I have to admit that while I was weed eating I couldn't help but look at the names and dates on the headstones. What was life like back in 1880? I bet they rode horses or walked every where. Was this person a farmer, or did he work in the drug store down town? I bet it was hot in the summer. How could anyone sleep when it is so hot; and without screens the bugs would eat you alive if you opened the windows. Was this person a saint, or scoundrel? More than likely just a person trying to raise a family and make a living.

I just want to express the feeling of joy and happiness that I felt while doing this project. I certainly got the feeling that I wasn't the only one that felt this way.

3/23/2011 Geocaching

The scout troop worked on the geocaching merit badge tonight. Don't know what geocaching is? Well, put simply, it is a high tech treasure hunting. Small containers are all over the world that contain at least a log, and usually some trinkets and sometimes a trackable. Nothing of real value. GPS coordinates are logged into an official web site and the cache is active. Whenever and wherever you are, you can search for these treasures, log that you found them, take (and leave) something. A fun activity that gets you outside and allows you to spend time together.

Troop 980 is in the process of placing a cache at the church. We are placing a trackable item with a hitch hiker. Ours is a compass, being we are scouts. This trackable could, and hopefully will, travel the world.

Be sure to ask the boys about their cache and maybe they will take you to where it is at the church.

Young Marrieds Activity 3/11/2011

We had another Young Marrieds night and it was a good one. Not only did we have a good crowd, but we also played a fun game and enjoyed one another's company. The game of choice was Scattegories. Lots of laughs.

In attendance were Amanda and William Ross, Mark and Sandria Wallrath, Tish Ross, Virgil and Stacey Landry, and Chris and Zaneta Curtis. Thanks to Amanda and Sandria for planning the event. (Also, thanks to the kids that watched the kids for us.)