Eagle Scout

After dragging his feet for over two years, Chase finally got motivated to finish when he realized we were serious about him not receiving his driver's license until he earned his Eagle.

Earlier this summer he organized his Eagle project which was to paint all the fire hydrants in a 1 mile square block assigned by the fire department. He learned a lot about leadership and organization skills in completing this assignment. He had a great deal of support from family, friends and members of our ward - I think 65 people turned out on the Saturday of the project. In addition, he had help from his quorum prior to the project.

Before painting:

After painting:

Many helping hands

In October, an Eagle Court of Honor was held where Chase was awarded his Eagle Scout rank along with 2 other young men in our ward. Chase requested that his Grandpa Doug (Jerel's dad) present him his award so both Grandma and Grandpa traveled from California to be in attendance. We also had other family in attendance as well as many friends. It was a great evening but Chase's commented that his feeling was one of relief.

Grandpa Doug presenting Chase with his award.

Proud grandparents and parents with Chase!

(The Eagle backdrop was painted by Camille's step-dad who passed away last year--Chase's Grandpa Randy. He is a very talented artist.)

4th of July - Heber, AZ style

As we have in past years, we headed out of town for this holiday to one of our favorite 4th of July locations - Heber, Arizona! What a great town and they put on a great celebration capped off with a fabulous fireworks display. Obviously, we head up north to escape the summer heat but we really enjoy the festivities and we always run into several friends from the valley who are also escaping the heat.

We had some great food, played some games, and just basically relaxed and enjoyed the weather.

The fireworks show was fantastical(not a real word but it seems appropriate) as usual. Camille was able to capture these images.

And we were treated to another light show curteousy of Tanner and Trevor complete with Tanner's execution while Trevor laughs in approval.

New addition

After the conclusion of the family reunion in Cascade, we were able to stop in Burley, Idaho to visit with my sister Megi and her family for a few hours. And it was even more special because Megi had just had her 3rd child, a perfect little girl whom they named Atley Jacille Jones.

Here she is (although she doesn't do much).

We love all our nephews and nieces and we were glad that Atley arrived healthy and that Megi was recovering well. They have a great family and we always enjoy the time we get to spend with them. We miss having them close by but we know they enjoy being close to Ty's family in Burley. We were only able to stay a couple hours but it was fun to visit with them and see where they live.

Goodbye Jones family - we love you!

Idaho reunion (6/20/09 - 6/27/09)

Earlier this summer we participated in a fabulous reunion in Cascade, Idaho. My Dad's brother Roger lives in Cascade and he had planned a reunion with all 8 of his children. He invited his 2 brothers and their children to also attend. We jumped at the opportunity to spend time with family and to get away from the summer heat of Mesa.

We left on Friday (June 19th) after work and figured we would drive until we got tired. This was an exceptionally long trip (18 hours) and the reunion activities started with dinner on Saturday evening. Fortunately, we have been blessed with children that travel really well and we rarely have to stop except when it is time to get gas. The trip was fairly uneventful with a couple exceptions. We had just crossed the Hoover Dam and Trevor woke up and started to whimper a bit because he had gotten tangled in his seat belt. Jordan and Chase attempted to help him but they concluded he was stuck. Camille and I were both wondering "how hard can this be" so I pulled over and tried to free Trevor. He was STUCK! We tried several things but the seat belt had retracted and was too tight to get him out. I ended up having to cut the seat belt ($$$) in order to release him. I guess when we have prayer before leaving on vacation we need to be a little more specific, "Help us not get tangled in our seat belt"!

We drove to St. George, Utah and decided to get a room and sleep for a few hours. It was 3 or 4 in the morning and there was an Amway convention in town (people still sell that stuff?) so we had to search a little to find a room in a Camille approved hotel. We slept for about 4 hours, had breakfast provided by the hotel and continued on our journey. We arrived in Cascade around 9 pm and went to Roger's home for dinner before checking into the Ashley Inn which would be our home for the next week. Most of those attending the reunion stayed at this hotel. Cascade is a small town with a population of 1,000 people located about an hour or so north of Boise. It sits at an elevation of 4,800 feet on the east side of Lake Cascade and along the north fork of the Payette River. When we arrived on Saturday, it was cold and raining. This weather continued until Tuesday when it turned sunny and warm for the rest of the week.

On Sunday, we attended the local branch (my uncle is the branch president). The surrounding area has about 250 members but many are less active so attendance is often boosted by visitors to the area. Our family reunion significantly added to the numbers as did a couple other family reunions that were taking place. We spent the afternoon just hanging out in the hotel and relaxing. We also took some family pictures at Roger's home. Sunday evening we gathered at the church building for dinner and a family home evening. Rolland spent a few minutes showing us pictures of some of our ancestors and relating stories about their lives beginning with Vernon and Juniata. It was very interesting and we were all reminded of the legacy our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. have left for us. We then spent some time looking at scrapbooks and photo albums documenting our lives and the lives of our ancestors. It was fun to remember past times and to see some photos that I hadn't seen before. There was even a photo of my grandpa Vernon's motorcycle - perhaps that's where I get the bug to ride.

Roger had planned for us to spend most of Monday at the lake. He had reserved a great location with good access to the shoreline but the weather was not cooperating. It was windy, raining, and very cold. However, we thought we'd give it a try and hope for the best. We headed to the lake around noon and the car thermometer said the temperature was 46 degrees. We brought our jet ski and my cousin also brought his jet ski so we put them in the water and headed to the beach that Roger had reserved. Roger put his boat in the water too but had a dead battery and was unable to get it started. We spend about an hour or so trying to stay warm and hoping the weather would break. We ate lunch and then decided to call it a day.

Some went back to the hotel and swam in the indoor pool and others went to one of the local hot springs to warm up. Dinner was at Roger's home again.

Tuesday was a much better day as far as the weather went. The adults and older kids went on a rafting trip down the Payette river for several hours. The rapids were fun but nothing crazy. It was a relaxing time with the occasional water fight between rafts. The younger kids were taken to a friend of Roger's who had some horses. He took them on a buggy ride and then a few of them (led by Camille) went tubing down a calm part of the Payette River. For dinner that night, we gathered at a local diner called the Whistle Stop Cafe where we had pizza.

The weather was great on Wednesday so much of the day was spent on the lake. Several of us took some time in the morning to play a round of golf on the local public course. The course left much to be desired but the views of the lake and surrounding mountains were spectacular! We had a great time on the lake. Roger used his boat to pull a large tube for the kids. We had both jet skis on the water all day too with everyone taking turns. The church branch had scheduled a get together at the lake at 5 pm so we welcomed many members of the branch and enjoyed a great dinner with them.

Almost all of Thursday was spent traveling to the Salmon River, enjoying a jet boat ride up the river, eating lunch, riding the jet boats back down the river, and traveling back to Cascade. During the course of our trip on the river, we saw several mountain goats and other wildlife. Again, the weather was perfect and we had a great time. On the ride back down the river, Chase, Tanner, Trevor, and Aaron (Grant's) were riding on the front of the boat. A huge rapid hit the front of the boat completely engulfing it. All four of the boys were wearing life jackets and for good cause. The water lifted them all off the boat and they started to wash to the side. Chase was able to grab Trevor and Aaron to prevent them from going overboard but he was unable to get to Tanner before Tanner slipped off the side of the boat. Fortunately, Tanner was pushed back along the boat where I was able to reach out, grab him and pull him back into the boat. He was pretty wide-eyed when I saw him floating in the river but otherwise he was unharmed. He was excited to tell everyone about how he survived the mighty Salmon River! We missed Camille on this trip since her doctor had advised her to avoid the bumpy river ride. She stayed back at the hotel and enjoyed a quiet, peaceful day reading and relaxing.

Friday was another beautiful day. We spent some time at a local park playing horseshoes and volleyball before going to the lake for a couple hours. Today also brought about the conclusion of our week-long basketball tournament. The church building had a small (half) basketball court and it became a very popular place during the week. Teams of 3 were formed and Matt put together some brackets for a tournament. Games took place after breakfast and after dinner with a round robin portion followed by a single elimination tournament (Alan's team ended up taking home the championship). We had a great time and worked off some of the calories we consumed during the week. In addition to basketball, a few of us also went running in the mornings. On Friday evening, we ate dinner at Roger's home again and made plans for the next reunion.

It was a great week full of fun memories with family. We love spending time together which seems to be somewhat abnormal in this world we live in.

We lost a true friend

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to a good friend and fellow member of the family - our dog Pepper. Pepper has been a part of our family for the past 14 years. He came into our life a few months before Jordan was born. He was a Border Collie / Akita mix (we think) and when he was a puppy he had dark fur with a sprinkling of white reminding us of pepper - thus his name.

He wasn't always the most obedient dog. He was just a puppy when I planted several citrus trees in our back yard. He would dig around the tree roots and eat the sprinkler head off the drip line. I replaced many drip heads and tried a variety of solutions to curb his appetite. It took many tries before I was able to come up with a way to stop him.

Then there were the nights when he wanted to come in the house. He would sit by the back door and perform a half-bark until someone would let him in. I'm sure our neighbors loved it!

He would occasionally sneak out and roam the neighborhood. One time, he got out at night and we couldn't find him in the morning. We were all feeling some despair so we gathered as a family and offered a prayer to our Heavenly Father that He would help us locate Pepper. Not long afterwards, a friend of ours recognized Pepper as he was bounding along the side of the road having crossed at least one busy intersection. He was soaking wet but otherwise unharmed. We felt blessed and once again gathered as a family to express our thanks to God for His tender mercy in bringing our dog home.

He loved to run, wrestle, and play. One of his favorite activities was going for a walk in the neighborhood. He would practically drag you around, sniffing and checking out the sights. He loved our family and was a great watch dog. He hated to take a bath and he very much disliked going to the vet. He was a big dog (around 75 lbs) but he was gentle and patient with our children as they grew. He took a lot of abuse from toddlers over the years, probably more than we realized. But through it all, he was a true friend. He was always there to lend an ear for your troubles - there were many times when we would find an upset child outside talking things over with Pepper.

He had slowed considerably over the past couple years. His hearing had diminished and his joints gave him problems. But he was still always happy as he would struggle to his feet and make his way to you for an affectionate lick. We loved Pepper and he loved us. He will be missed.

Fathers and Sons

Our annual Fathers and Sons campout put on by our ward took place a couple weeks ago. We went to Airplane Flats campground which is close to Canyon Creek and the Canyon Creek Fish Hatchery. We left on Friday afternoon around 2 pm and headed up to the campground. We had an uneventful trip stopping in Payson to fill the water tank on our trailer. We discovered at that time that the hose which runs to the water tank had developed a large leak from age and heat. Fortunately, the tank sits higher than the hose so most of the water remained in the tank.

The campout was well attended and we had a great time. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed being in the outdoors. We had a campfire program on Friday night and a fabulous breakfast was provided by the ward on Saturday morning. After breakfast, we relaxed and went fishing in Canyon Creek. Soon it was time to clean up and head home so we could finish our preparations for Mother's Day.

Shooting a Potato Gun

It's just not any fun unless you're several feet from the ground!

Wild Hogs vs Stormin' Mormons

Our neighbor, James, has a Fat Boy Harley-Davidson motorcycle and has talked to Jerel for a while now about renting a motorcycle and going on a day ride with him and some other guys.

So of course, Jerel invited his brother Shad to go too since he loves to ride motorcycles. One night they even got together with some of the guys who had expressed an interest in going, ate a bunch of food and watched "Wild Hogs." Well, this past weekend was the BIG DAY!

In the days and weeks leading up to the ride, several people in our ward indicated they would like to come along. When all was said and done, 6 guys (5 in our ward plus Shad) made the trip. They left around 7 am with plans to be gone most of the day. They had a route in mind but not really any particular destination - just ride and enjoy the sights. One member of the group was Jay Klepinger who is Chase's teacher's quorum advisor. When Jay pulled up on his Harley, complete with doo rag and leather vest, Chase said, "Oh wow!"

The event went off without a hitch arriving home around 4:30. No mechanical problems and no accidents or incidents to report. They traveled around 300 miles stopping along the way including breakfast in Fountain Hills and lunch in Globe. Jerel had a great time and they have already begun planning their next trip.

Here's James with his Harley.

Shad on his sport bike.

Jerel ready to ride!