A Big Hug!!

At the family reunion we all sent a hug with a drawing of ourselves and good wishes to Adam.  It arrived in Italy and you can see that Adam is enjoying his big cinnamon roll hug.  Family is the best!

Are those Superman pajamas?

Grandpa's Corner

Yes, it is True!

When I went on my mission to Brazil in June of 1961, there was no MTC.  I arrived not speaking one word of Portuguese.  It was hard!  I wondered if I had made a mistake. I wondered if our church was really true. I wondered if I could really do it.

I kept working and soon realized that I did have a testimony. In fact, when I understood what a testimony was, I realized that I could not remember when I did not have a testimony.

One of the most wonderful parts of Heavenly Father's plan is that each of can know for ourselves that His plan is real.  That knowledge, which we call a testimony does not come from books, scientific proof or intellectual means.  It comes through our thoughts and feelings from the Holy Ghost.

Here are some helpful thoughts about a testimony:

• a testimony does not usually come in a flash
• it is not a single event like buying something at a store
• sometimes we have special experiences that confirm or strengthen testimony
• sometimes people cry when they bear testimony. Strong emotion or crying is not required for a testimony
• your testimony is whatever you feel about God, the atonement, the Church, prophets, etc.
• Bearing your testimony can include words like:
• I know
• I believe
• I think
• I feel in my heart
• to get or increase your testimony you can:
• learn by reading, participating in Sunday School, Seminary, home evening, etc
• pray, ask God to give you a testimony
• obey the commandments
• bear your testimony and listen to the testimony of others.

I know there is a God and that we belong to His true Church and I know that  you can know too.

College Bound

Grandpa and I pick up Bright in Salt Lake City on Thursday.  We transferred her gear into our car and started on a little adventure.  First we went to Trader Joe's and bought some fresh groceries for her apartment, then we headed back to Provo.  Erica was in Provo for a student job interview at BYU and she joined us for lunch.  We then took Bright and Erica and drove to Price, Utah.

Bright got all check in to USU - Eastern and is very excited.  Her roommate is from the DR Congo and her name is Blandine.  She is a French speak and is still working on her English.  We only had to make one trip from the car to Bright's room as there were a multitude of "ambassadors" to help carry up all her belongings to the 3rd floor.  The campus is really nice and very compact.  The LDS Institute is about a 5 minute walk from her dorm.

Erica is coming on Wednesday to check into her dorm at BYU.  These are exciting times!  Jane will then be back a few days later. Can you believe she is a Senior!

Bright and Erica in front of Carroll Hall where Erica will live at BYU

Erica and Bright in front of Jones Hall where Bright will live at USU-E

Corner Book Marks

We had some cousin fun in the Dungeon yesterday!  School starts in Utah today.

Lou and Clara with their creations

Llamas and Pyjamas

The California Ostergars had an adventurous backpacking trip in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.  It was strenuous but made more doable with the use of Llamas, Sonny and Aspen, as pack animals.  (Aspen is the spotted one.)

They spent 5 days in the mountains, hiking, fishing, jumping into freezing lakes and enjoying time around the campfire in the evenings.

Enjoy some of their photos:

Julia connecting with Sonny, the llama

Ruth with her first ever catch of fish!

Liquid Chalk - How about that?

I had the opportunity to bend my back in an awkward position for 10 1/2 hours making signs for a local bakery.  The two one word signs were a pleasure to do.  The four multi-word signs were somewhat challenging to do!  Fortunately we spent the next few days at Bear Lake which was a great place to recover.  Here are a sample of my signs.

How would you spend $500 in 3 hours...

Erica - Books
Rae - Books
Bright - Food, Clothes and Music
Mary - J. Crew for 2 hours and make a difference in someone's life
Daisy - Tennis clothes
James D.  - Book a trip to Disneyland with Lily
James A. - Feathers
Ruth - Plane tickets
Golden - $400 into savings, $50 on food, the rest on Pokemon Cards
Sunny - Plane ticket to anywhere adventurous
Lou - Round trip from Utah to North Carolina and back to California
Peter - Video game
Julia - Plane ticket
Clara - Buy an awesome metal detector
Noah - Plane ticket
Jane - Disney pass with no block out dates

Buying a plane ticket was the most popular answer.  I am sure it was to visit your grandparents, that's really adventurous!

Laketown Activities

Grandpa and I spent a few days In Laketown, Utah. You know our neighbors, the Calls.
They have a fun home they have fixed up for their family, plus a bunk house and a shed for their kayaks, bikes, scooters, canoes, etc.  They have a raspberry patch that we spent a little time enjoying.

Grandpa and I stayed in the little apartment that is part of the bunk house.

Our favorite things at Bear Lake were:
Seeing Bright
Seeing James A.
Seeing my cousin Ken Kyle and his family (32 people)
Eating raspberries...yum
Floating on the lake and Bananagrams!

James A. and friends with Bear Lake in the backgroud

Bright took this photo

Bright's summer job is at La Beau's, right next to Bear Lake