Lake Powell

This is Lone Rock, with my son Jacob in the foreground

On September 9-11 my family went to Lake Powell with my wife's siblings and their families. We thought it would be a good way to celebrate her birthday, and we had a great time!

We went to Lone Rock, down towards Page, AZ. It was perfect weather for the lake: hot enough during the day to be comfortable in the water, but not too hot for sleeping at night. I guess everyone else thought the same thing because the beach was packed with people, but we had our own little niche and that made it ok. We also had three ski boats, and with about 50 people there, that was just right.

This was also the inaugural voyage of my wife's new digital camera. Yes, we finally went digital. One of my wife's cousins was upgrading, so I bought his old one, a 10 megapixel Canon Rebel EOS XTi, for her birthday. We had a great time taking pictures and learning how to use it. Taking pictures will never be the same.

Jennifer grew up in and on the water, and so our kids do the same. She has been teaching them to waterski every chance she gets. Here are a few pictures of my oldest daughter, Erin



So far, so good



The Beginning....

                  

The Ending



Ouch!



 I love the feature on the camera that takes two pictures in a row when you hold the button down. Allows me to get fun shots like this.

 
My sons also had a good time learning, but they started on the knee board:



Sometimes I'm glad when my children inherit my qualities, but sometimes, I'm not so glad. Joshua did NOT want to go on the knee board, but we made him do it, and he ended up having a great time. That quality he inherited? STUBBORNESS!

Jacob is my wild man.  He had no problem doing the kneeboard, and was good at it.  He is also a fishing fanatic, and got his grandpa & uncles to take us out fishing at 10 pm.  I had never fished for bass before, but Jacob had studied up on it and had the right line and the anchovies for bait.  I was only a little nervous that we were speeding across the lake at 30 m.p.h. without lights, but we made it up next to Lone Rock.

The way bass fishing works is that you hold a lantern over the water to draw the fish to where your bait is, and then wait for them to bite.  Well, it worked like a charm because we didn't have to wait for long.  We caught one fish in the first minute, and three fish in half an hour.  We had numerous bites as well.  Here is Jacob's first bass:



Jacob was very excited, and now we know how to bass fish.

It was an enjoyable time at Lake Powell with my family.  The lake was beautiful and it was a lot of fun.  We won't be waiting fifteen years to go back next time!



Fringe benefits of serving as bishop

The privilege and opportunity of serving as bishop brings with it many things that are difficult to deal with, most notably the emotional ups and downs of dealing with so many people and their needs, as well as the amount of time taken away from family. But there are many benefits and blessings that come from this service as well, several of which I want to talk about.

As bishop I have the ability to interact with my children in ways that I would not be able to were I not in this calling. For example, in January my son Joshua turned twelve years old. Not only was I able to confer upon him the priesthood and ordain him to be a deacon, something I would have been able to do anyway, but I was also able to interview him for the priesthood, and sign his certificate of ordination after he was ordained. I would not have been able to do those things had I not been his bishop. I am grateful for the opportunity to have shared that with my son.

Another thing that I hope my children will remember is my candy jar. I keep a jar of candy in my office for primary children. On their birthdays, the primary president gives them a slip which they can redeem in my office for a piece of candy. Well, my children are in there every week, right after church, to get a piece of candy. No, it isn't their birthday every day, but they know they can come and write on my dry erase board and show me what they colored in primary and get a piece of candy. I love the fact that they want to be there, and I will always keep candy for them and hope that they will remember it as a good experience.

One other experience that I had with my older children recently was going to the Draper, Utah Temple open house with all the youth of my ward. I was able to go with Erin, who is 13, Joshua, 12, as they are both in mutual, and Jacob, 9 who was able to go because I went. It was a special opportunity to be in a temple with them, and to answer questions afterward.

I am grateful for these experiences that being bishop allows me to have with my family, along with all other blessings that we are being given, that are too numerous to mention.

Erin and Jacob

Erin after having her hair cut!

Bag of Erin's hair..some child is going to have a wonderful hairpiece!

Jacob after his mom shaved his head...

A number of months ago my wife's brother Jeff was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a blood disorder akin to leukemia, though more treatable than leukemia. The treatment for this disease is chemotherapy, followed by a bone marrow transplant, with the donor generally found among the siblings of the person.

So last week, the process began. Jeff went to the Huntsman Cancer Institute to begin his chemotherapy. Before he left, he decided to shave his head, since he would lose his hair anyway due to the chemotherapy. The next day, his dad, several of his brothers and brothers-in-law, and nephews, decided to shave their heads as a show of support. Two of my children wanted to participate, so Jacob shaved his head, and Erin, who had long, beautiful curly hair down to the middle of her back, cut if off and sent it to Locks of Love, an organization that creates hairpieces for children that have lost theirs due to a medical condition. I am very proud of them for supporting their uncle. It is a big sacrifice to make such a big change, and risk teasing from their peers, in order to support someone in need. I will post pictures of them later today.