Two Week Vacation

We had a two week break. When you work in the Salt Lake Temple, they like you to take your vacation when the temple is closed which is the first two weeks in July and January. So we went to Bear Lake and Michigan.


These were pretty intense vacations where there is work and play. The Bear Lake time was great and various people showed up for the Fourth of July celebration. At one time or another, Roy, Hannah and Aaron were there. Doug and Douglas, Bryan and Scottie, Rob and his family and then Jeff, Julius and Zander were all there for Blitz visits. Roy flew with Bryan and Scottie after the guys finished their backpacking and fishing trip to the Wind river area of Wyoming. Roy dove down and buzzed the house in St. Charls and flew between the Cotton wood trees. Next time he does that, I will nail him with a paint ball. This is Bear Lake about to be buzzed from Roy's plane.


We got the boat out and the two ATV's, checked out Rob on the boat and they went to Bear Lake. It was gorgeous weather, not too hot and cool at night. Doug arrived with the rest of the group and we celebrated with a great barbecue. Roy and his gang flew out the morning of the 4th. Jeff and his kids, Rob and Eva and Anna and Julia took in the 4th of July breakfast in Paris and that is a great tradition. More lake time, Doug and I took the ATV's and rode through the hills west of our place and it is beautiful there. We went on a bike ride in Garden City and then had shakes at a place run by one of my missionaries, Tanner Hunsaker. He is married now and thinking of going into medicine.



We went to church on Sunday in St Charles. they usually have 1000 in each two separate sacrament meetings. The members are so cool up there. Rob and Eva left Sunday morning and we went back to Salt Lake. It was great to see Rob, Eva and their kids. They had a blast and went just nuts when Jeff showed up with his boys.


The place looks great and is so green this year. We have new garage doors that Doug organized and that is an improvement,



Michigan

I worked in the missionary department Monday afternoon and on Tuesday we flew into Detroit. We stayed with Mary and Mark, little David and our new grand daughter, Kathrine Elizabeth. What a little cutie! We all went to Leo's on Maple and telegraph and Bry, Kristina and a bunch of their kids showed up. this was a trip down Memory Lane. We went to Barnes and Noble.


The next day we went to the farm. Bryan is doing a great job with the farm. I got on the tractor and hoisted some old machines into a dumpster. Then I started on the 20 acre hay field. It needs to be cut to keep the weeds and trash growth from taking over and after shearing many bolts, fixing the clutch, I was able to whack the entire field down and it looks like a golf course.



Mom and I also started to go through a few residual boxes in the barn. That was tough and I do not know if I can do it again. There was such a flood of memories that it was totally gripping and I had to go and whack some more brush.


But in a random box in my part of the loft I found a box of old dolls. When we brought them to Mary she squealed with delight. We had found her cabbage patch twin dolls that were so popular in the 80's. They had on Bina's tiny disposable diapers. Then we found Al's German doll and she went nuts. Mom washed the doll clothes and we brought them home. There is so much of these things out there.



Bry's bees are doing well. The beekeepers seem to get younger each year. That is little David and Scottie all suited up. Bry is brave with only the bonnet.


We threw away or burned patient charts, financial records. I found a log of my surgeries since I went into practice and I almost threw them out but could not. It was gripping to look through those logs and remember in detail what those patients went through.


Bry took the kids for a ride around the farm and it seems like everything has shifted one more generation down.


My favorite part was getting in the Green Machine with Mary and riding around like we used to and it was a great trip down memory lane again.











Kristina through a baby shower for Mary in her home and it was a gorgeous event, Karen Koenig was there along with many old ward friends. We were out there on Saturday and Jeff and his family shows up. they drove all the way from Spokane and we saw little Leo, the newest grandson. The next day Tammy's Father came over to Bloomfield Hills ward and Jeff blessed little Leo Richard Wirthlin in Church. Jeff did a nice job.


Well we are back on the job. It is hard to turn time back but we are grateful for all the great experience we have had as a family.