TEMPLE SQUARE

Dear Family,

We had another day of great visits.  Brett Miller, wife and two children came up to say hello.  He was one of our great missionaries in Nirenberg and is currently completing vetnary school in Wisconsin. It was grea to meet his  wife  and his children.

Mike, Rayanne and all their kids came up as well.  It was another wonderful visit.  Mike and Rayanne helped Mom with the Christmas card list, some of the kids spent time in Oma's craft room.

Mike took us all down to Crown Burger for dinner. Salt Lake is packed at Christmas time; there is so much going on.  Traffic is heavy and there is no parking.  We found a spot right in front of the Temple Gates and went into the Square.  It was jam packed!

Above you see a picture that Rachel took of the Salt Lake Temple at night.  It was cold and slightly snowing.  The lights were everywhere and beautiful.  Here is a picture of the group, Oma and Opa, Mike, Rayanne and Family. It was a great pre Christmas night! I was bundled up with my Austrian hat, coat and German scarf just like on our mission.

 There is a ton of activity on Temple Square.  The Church does such a wonderful job of providing seasonal spirit. There was a huge nativity scen with lights and music. There were meetings and musical events in almost every building including the Tabernacle.  While the gals went on an extended walk checking out the lights, Mike and I slipped into the nearest Visitors Center to get warm.  There was this great presentation going on by the Bountiful Bells, a group that has been entertaining for 20 years playing Christmas carols with their bells.  The place was packed with families and there was good cheer in the air.

We went back to the car, back home where we warmed up with hot chocolate.  It was such a wonderful visit with Mike and his family.

Christmas Eve celebration at our home in two nights with the Nativity and traditional Christmas Eve dinner.  Clara wondered if I would wear my Lederhose.

Love and Cheer, Opa and Oma

CATHY AND PETE HAVE A NEW LITTLE GUY

Dear Family,

Cathy delivered her new baby yesterday and here you see Mom and little guy dressed in Xmas cheer not long after the delivery.  Cathy did well and the boy, Henrie Mc Entire O. is healthy and strong and Cathy beaming with this great Xmas gift.

This is Cathy's fourth child.  We saw all the others in the hospital and they are excited!  It is our 75th grandchild! and we are thrilled as well.

Here is little guy.  Lots of comments who he looks like, it is early but one can't help but notice the nose and the hint of a furrowed brow.  We are so thrilled for this new addition and feel so blessed as a family.

The Xmas season is full upon us.  We still had visitors this last week.  Roy and three boys drove down from Colorado.  They stayed at Doug s and by reports, there was not a lot of sleeping going on there as all romped and played.  Roy came over and fixed some equipment and helped Mom with her Mac computer as she was trying to get the Xmas card organized.  Doug, Roy and I had some great time together as we pursued hobbies.

Roy, Emily, John and family, Cheryl, Paul and kids, Mike, Rayanne and family, Cathy. Pete and kids all came up last Sunday for the blessing of Doug and Christina's baby, Elena Stephanie.  We all gathered in church and after the Blessing, Doug gave a Christmas talk in Church.  We went to Doug's after and had one of those  great mini get togethers.  Christina had a great buffet with everyone bringing their specialty treat.

Mom and I headed to a Single Adult Ward where we gave our  Xmas talks.  It was a full Sunday!  I am up more and in better shape than last week although I have not started in the Temple yet.

Next big family event is on Saturday night with our Xmas Eve gathering, Nativity and dinner.  Santa may make a surprise early visit.

We are so grateful for our blessing at this time of the year, for life, new life and the love we have in the family.

Alles Gute und eine frohe Weihnachtzeit wuenschen Oma und Opa!

ITS LOOKING A LOT MORE LIKE XMAS

Dear Family,

We have been busy so I have delayed in writing.  Well the Xmas tree is up and our Salzburg Creche is in the front hall and it looks like Xmas is coming. We have yet to try and get out the cards.

Our Christmas is ongoing much like the German variety.  Something is going on daily and there is joy in the air.  We get Christmas presents constantly, early and it is great.  Jeff sent down six fresh Maine Lobsters and we had lobster rolls, lobster salads, and steamed lobsters and it was great.

 Cheryl gave us an early Xmas ;present with two tickets on the second row to the West Ballet performance of the Nutcracker. It is a professional ballet company but uses students as well in their performances.  We had four granddaughters in that performance.  Cheryl had Annabelle, Mary Clare, Lauren, and Olivia performing.  Here is a Ballet West photo showing two of them.  Olivia was the youngest child and she is such a dynamic performer, smiling dancing, cocking her head and just enjoying herself.  She and Lauren were onstage for almost the entire first act. Mary Clare was the red mouse and the first child out under the skirt and Annabelle was one of the servants bringing in the cake.  It was a great performance.

We had visits from Michigan.  Bryan came back to visit clients of his business and Becca came up (who is his comptroller) and Sandpointe Consulting had a business meeting in the dining room.

Paul F. works for a Salt Lake firm but lives in central Michigan. He came back for end of year end meetings and they all stayed over.  Here is a picture of all of us with Mom and Dad wearing their new Michigan vests. It is so great to have these ongoing reunions.

We started out the month celebrating John's 30th birthday. It hardly seems like 30 years have gone by since Mom came home from the hospital with the twins, John and Julie  That was such a great event and I thought of my sitting in the waiting oom at Beaumont Hospital.  They did not let fathers in the OR in those days and I walked the room getting concerned over how long it was taking and hoped there was not a problem..  Mom got very large during that pregnancy but the obstetrician assured me he only heard one heart sound and he did not believe in ultrasound.  So the nurse came in breathless and said, "Follow me!" and we hurried to the newborn nursery and she said, "Here is your new daughter and turning to a second bassinet, and here is your new son!".  It is hard to believe nowadays that twins were not expected.;  So we wish John a happy birthday and remember that great day.

I was also tied up over the weekend.  I was having a bit of chest discomfort and went into the emergency ward on Friday.  Doug paved the way and had some of his office there as well to make things a bit easier.and lined up the cardiologist.  The EKG showed changes so on Saturday, I was whisked up to the cath lab and had a coronary cauterization. Three of the five bypasses that were put in ten years ago were open but one was stenotic so they placed a stent to open the narrowing.  So I got out of giving the Priesthood lesson on Sunday, got better and they let me go home the next day.  I am home taking it a bit easy.  I guess the best Xmas gift I could get is a continuance of life and for that we are grateful.  Will be back in the swing of things by the weekend as we speak in a Single Adult Ward on Sunday.

Next big event will be the traditional Christmas Eve gathering/dinner and celebration.

Love you all at this special season.

Mom and Dad

THANKSGIVING AND ROB AND EVA'S VISIT

Dear Family,

We had a riotous Thanksgiving Holiday.  Rob, Eva with family, Anna, Julia, Luke and new baby Elena came down from Spokane for a  weekend visit and it was really fun to have them here. Here is Rob with Anna, Julia and Luke stocking up on canned fizzy drinks.  They had the downstairs apartment.

They came in late Wednesday night.  Thursday morning Rob and I got up;and stuffed the turkey with our signature oyster dressing.  It was a two man job and licking the fingers was great.  It was a good oyster dressing this year.  We had three turkeys for dinner; we did a 25 pound turkey with oyster dressing baked in a turkey bag, Doug brought over two deep fried Emeril's Cajun flavored turkeys and there was only a little form one of the deep friend turkeys left after the wave of eaters cleaned up the works.  We had 32 for dinner; Doug and his family, Mike and his family, Emily and her gang were there and Cathy and all her family came down from Bountiful. Paul and Cheryl and kids came for dessert upping the total to 42.

Everyone brought there favorite side dishes and it was a joyous feast.  There were yams of all varities, mashed potatoes, great gravy, vegetables of all kids, Raspberry jello salad which did not last long, dozens of rolls and two varieties of stuffing.  It was great and we thank all those who contributed.

I gave thanks for Family, Faith and the blessing we all enjoy.  We had to set up a long line for the food.  See the video.  This year we had the Moms go through first and the Dad's helped the little one fill their plates.  We used to time how long it took to put away and three day planned and prepared dinner, but this year everyone tool their time and we had an enjoyable time at the table.

There were great desserts with pies of all kinds some made by the grand kids and they were good. There was lots of Oberschlag, Rob and Eva brought apple pies from Washington, famous for their apples.

Following the great meal, they guys went to the park for the yearly football game.  It was the Dad's, Uncles, one returned missionaries against all the kids.  Even with generousness bending of the rules (cheating) those fast little guys whooped the older Uncles.  There were the competitive board games and then a great and totally fun.  Thanks to Mom, all the Moms and all those who brought great treats. Doug has the deep fried turkey down pat.

Friday, Rob and I got up early and took Luke and Johnny to Cabelas for the Black Friday sales.  It was packed.  The kids like going to Cabelas and we restrained ourselves from any big purchase.  We hurried back and I took Rob to the UoU Colorado football game.  We spoke with Elder Oaks who was in the next box.  Utah did terrible and lost.  We hurried home and Mom, Rob, Eva, the girls  drove up to Ogden to see Cheryl's kids, Annabelle, Maryclair, Loren and Olivia performed in a professional ballet, The Nutcracker. They did very well and it goes on for a couple of weeks.

Saturday morning, Cheryl made a big reservation down at the Grand American Hotel for their Xmas breakfast.  It was great.  We did not stay for the photo shoot but here is a picture of Cheryl with here family and Herr and Frau Klaus









We hurried home to watch the Michigan Ohio State football game which is the game of the year for Mightn't fans.  The word fan comes from fanatic and that describes those Michigan supporters. Doug and Douglas and the guys came over and we watched the game on the large downstairs TV.  It was an exciting game and I managed to catch the guys blarbing on the couch.  This is at the point of a Michigan score that was taken back.  Rob went a little nuts. Michigan won for the first time in a few years and there were some happy campers.

Following the game, we headed for the pistol range and had a great shooting  time with the 45's.  Spence had a 22 and did well. Wall to wall fun,

Sunday we went to Doug's ward as he was giving a talk.  He was the last speaker and was left 5 minutes. We went to Cheryl's for a brunch that was tasty. We took Rob, Eva and the kids to the Airport late in the evening.  This was a great Thanksgiving Holiday and it is so fun to be with the family.  This is only a part of having "joy and rejoicing in your posterity".  There is a deeper and more eternal meaning but what we have here is awfully good!

Love, Dad and Mom

VISIT TO WARRENTON, VIRGINIGA

Dear Family,

We went to Virginia just before Thanksgiving Holiday to see our friends, the Manwarings.  They have this beautiful property that reminds me so much of New England and also southern Germany with open fields and rolling hills.  Larry is an avid upland bird hunter.  He has wonderfully trained Brittany Spaniels who hunt as a team.  We hunted in the long grass and you can see the dogs ahead of us.  Here is a shot of the Dad taking a bead on a pheasant flying through the trees. Believe we got that one.

Here we are at the end of the hunt with the dogs , the hunters, and the birds.  That's Larry on the left Me with my Austrian Drilling.  I took my Drilling that was made in Salzburg, (purchased after the mission in the USA) and it was perfect for this hunting. It is a 16 by 16 gauge doable side by side with a 8x57 JR Mauser rifle barrel underneath.  It is also scoped for deer hunting.

The rifle barrel was used when we deer hunted but I never did get a shot off.  The great hunting vehicle is a Kybota four seater and it took us over hill and dale.

In the morning we got up early and I sat in a deer blind and Larry was up in a tree in an area that was up until opening day, crawling with deer. I did not see anything but Larry saw one down in the woods partially hidden in the bush.  That one got away unscathed.

We decided to ride up the hilt one evening after the pheasant hunt.  Mom  and Madeline met us and we drove through the woods to the top of this hill where you could see the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We ran into no deer which was unusual.  We did run into two large Tom Turkeys but the season ended the day before. I so wanted to bag a deer to complete a perfect New England Thanksgiving dinner.  The only place where we saw deer every day and night was in their back yard.  We did not go out one morning because of the threat of rain but I was awakened with , "Get up, there are four deer in the backyard!" but by the time I got there, the dogs had run them off.

So the next morning we turned the garage into a gourmet shooting blind.  We tested the windows; Larry took one window and I took the one by the ornamental pear trees where there was more sign than anywhere in the woods but alas they read our minds and did not show.  They did show up every day after we left.

On Sunday, we went to church, did not hunt, (even though there were deer in the neighborliness yard) and in the afternoon, we drove up to the Washington Temple to attend the Christmas Devotional.  We took our white suits and clothes.  Larry and Madeline are Temple workers there and invited us as family. It was a great meeting with great Spirit.  We saw two of our friends from the Salt Lake Temple who were there on Temple missions. Also saw one of our former sister missionaries, Annie Baliff, who works for the "Department of Defense".

We hunted all day Monday, went to dinner in the evening and said goodbye on Tuesday. Here are the Manwarings (taken with Mom's Ipad. It was great to be back there and it could be so habit forming.  Larry is also a great cook and showed us how to make whole wheat bread made from fresh ground whole wheat with Chia seeds added. 

It was a great time and I am still unpacking.  We brought a bit of the pheasant and chucker goodies home.

More on Thanksgiving

Love, Dad

VETERANS DAY, NOVEMBER 11. 2011

Dear Family,

Today on 11/11/2011 we celebrate Veteran's Day which date was selected to remember the end of the First World War on November 11th and to remember all veterans and their service..  Here is a photo of the Dad in his dress Navy Blue officers uniform showing the rank of Lieutenant in the Medical Corp.

I only thought about it again today because we were invited to Cheryl's kids performance at their Cardon School.  Each of her five girls either had a signing or reading part in a performance remembering past and current veterans of conflicts.

It was quite a nice program which opened with a prayer, pledge of allegiance, salute to the flag, the choral singing of the National Anthem and readings from each conflict going back to the First World War.

It was very nice and I was moved.  They had each veteran stand and say in which service he served, during what conflict and what branch of the service.  I stood up and said, "US Navy, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Medical Corp during the Vietnam conflict".  They had two men there who were Navy who had fought in the WWII in New Guinea, a few from Vietnam and several from the current conflicts.

I have never talked much about this in the family so this is a short note.  They had a doctor draft during the Vietnam war and you had to serve two years either in the Peace Corp or in the armed services.  Instead of being drafted, I volunteered in the Navy and a friend got me into the School of Aviation Medicine, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida where we served from 1964-1966.  Pensacola was a training command so they were strict about uniforms, saluting, and inspections.  I had to wear a sword with my dress whites during an inspection.

I did not see conflict.  I saw more conflict and gun shot wounds in Boston and Detroit.  The school of Aviation Medicine trained Navy flight surgeons and did a lot of basic research related to the space program..  I was in a pulmonary lab where we measured oxygen consumption and pulmonary functions on the Mercury Astronauts and I  met several of them.  The computation of oxygen consumption involved a series of calculations so I wrote a program in Fortan to solve this, the data was punched on IBM sort cards and run through one of the real old huge computers we had in the school.

We did basic research on vestibular function in hypobaric conditions, (altitude).  This was for the space program where there were problems with vertigo.  I set up a lab where we studied coronary artery flow in awake greyhound dogs at altitude and wrote a a couple of papers. I also had to stand watch in the base medical dispensary at night and you could not leave that watch.  I had to stand watch the day Bryan was born; we had our neighbor who was the Naval Obstetrician pick Mom up when she started labor, deliver Bryan and then he called me on my watch.

The base trained Naval Aviators and the Enterprise was the carrier that they qualified on.  I had such respect for these men and for what they gave.  It is so appropriate that we remember those who have served, those who have fallen  and those who have returned to guarantee our freedom and safety.

Love, Dad

CREPES ON SUNDAY

Dear Family,

Sunday was very busy.  Paul invited me over to his ward to give his Priest class the lesson on Patriarchal Blessings. So we drove over to Holiday and when I got there, they had assembled the Priests, Teachers, Laurels and MIA Maids for the lesson.  there were about 30 - 40 kids,

They were sharp and knew a lot about the House of Israel and the concept of birthright. I gave a half hour lesson and Mom said it was good. (Some adult leaders were taking notes.}

After church, Paul took us  up to his parents for brunch in his new huge van.  Many of his family were there and it was quite a sight with Karen constantly cooking and providing for all the grand kids as they came.  I  had a chance to visit with Paul's Dad.  It was a very good time.

I had a Patriarchal Blessing that evening and after felt kinda tired. .We got a call from Paul Jr. that Cheryl and Paul were having a special Family Night and could we come. Also we think you should  make some crepes.

Well we had spent the afternoon with them but OK, we will gladly come over for Family Night and bring my crepe recipe and special pan. It could be that the kids were behind this request.  After a Family Night, they all pitched in and wanted to help with the crepes.  Someone broke the eggs, others measured the milk, another measured the flour, another the water.  Mary Clare melted the butter, I added a little vanilla flavored Kefir milk for zest and we turned on the blender and viola, perfect crepe batter.

I cooked crepes one at a time for at least a half an hour and they kept coming back for ,more. Finally after the second batch of batter, they were full and wandered off to bed.

The next night I get a call from Loren,  "Grandpa, we are having scriptures now, can you come over for that and make some more crepes?"  I guess they figured out that I am a sucker for Family Home Evening and scripture reading and can easily be talked into making crepes. " I can't come now because it is too late and we are in the Temple Tuesday and Wednesday night but how about Thursday night?"  "Cool Grandpa!" So we have a date for Thursday night.

I guess I like doing sweet things.

Love, Opa

FAMILY FUN AT HALLOWEEN

Dear Family,

We had a busy weekend with Rick and Gemina's visit and many get togethers,  Saturday, Doug and I went to Farmington to watch Rebecca in her La Cross game. She did well and scored the first goal and her team won.  Did not quite understand the game as it was the first one I had seen but there were a bunch of little gitsl with sticks raised high and screaming at each other. But it was fun!

After that, Doug and I made our way to the Bountiful Lyons Club shooting range and sighted in a couple of hunting rifles.  Then it was home.. Mom dropped me off at the University of Utah football game and picked up Rick and Gemina.  Rick joined me in the box and watched the game.  They stayed at Cheryl's so we went there, stayed late, watched a movie.

Sunday was church and then a get together at Paul and Cheryls.  Gemina and Cheryl prepared a healthy meal.     Gemina prepared a hearty soup in California, froze it and brought it up on the plane in addition to a salad.  Mike and Rayanne, Emily and John, Doug and Kristina, and Cathy and Pete and all the kids came for a great visit.  Here is Cathy, Rayanne, Emily and Cheryl enjoying the goodies.

Once fed, all the cousins break up into age groups, the little kids get into the toy room, the teen age boys shoot a few hoops in the basement and the teenage girls get into Madeline's bed and just talk.  Here is Madeline B., Natalie H. and Madeline H. 

The  trick of climbing into bed was not limited to the teenagers.  With the main TV screen out, we had to go to Cheryl's bedroom to watch a movie.   

Here is Mom, Gemina, little Johnny, Rick on the Droid smartphone and Paul Jr. watching Midway.  Cheryl kicked everyone out at 10 PM.  Well it was really fun and Mom says her bed is comfortable.


The next night was Halloween and the family everywhere had a great time.

The next night was Halloween.  I do not have pictures ow what all the family was doing but here is a sampler.  Here is Al and her kids.  They went to Bloomfield Hills and hit our old neighborhood on Kingsgateway. The Breer's emptied all their candy into the kids bags!  All used to start at the Breer's and then work their way to the end of the block, then put on sheets and work their way back up the street.  It was most effecient and they always got the most.

Here is Becca but no matter what she puts on, she will never look like a witch.

Here is Libby, Mary Claire, Madeline and Loren as a 

Popcorn box.  Here they are in front of the house.

Here is Cheryl's gang in front of the house. It was a ;lot of fun.

Mom and I met the kids at the door as ourselves and that was scary enough 

Alles Gute und alles Liebe, 

Dad and Mom

HUNTSMAN EXPANSION DEDICATION

Dear Family,

We had a busy weekend with many get togethers.  We are always finding the smallest excise to assemble and  visit.

This weekend, we were invited to the dedication of the Huntsman Cancer Center Expansion, John, Karen, family and staff built this gorgeous expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Center.  They added 50 more inpatient beds and expanded the outpatient treatment center.  There is also a new OR with MRS capability during surgery.  It allows the Neurosurgeons to check the margins of cranial tumor resections.  They can tell during surgery by wheeling in an overhead MRS imaging device if they got all the tumor.  Fantastic!

 They built a most beautiful outpatient facility with the comfort and needs of the patient uppermost in mind.  Paul took us around the new infusion outpatient ward where patients receive outpatient chemotherapy.  There are individual cubicles outfitted with TV, computer access and comfortable chairs and beds.  It was fantastic!  It has a full floor to ceiling glass view of the valley and this is stunning.

He showed us where He and Cheryl plan to dedicate a nurses station to the memory Julie .  It will have her name aboe the nurses station for outpatient chemotherapy.  If anyone wants to contribute, contact Cheryl.

The dedication was impressive.  The picture shows John and Karen giving their remarks.  There were four members of the Quorum of the Twelve, the Governor of Utah, Senator Orin Hatch and many dignitaries from the University of Utah.  John Huntsman Jr. who still is running for the [presidency in 2012,  gave the keynote address and did a very nice job.  It is such an outsanding accomplishment ot have built that unit with its research facility here in Utah.  I was impressed out of my mind.

Later that night, Rick and  Gemina came for a visit.  We went to the Football game and
Rick came in the box.  We went over to Cheryl and Pauls after and "hung out". So much fun there.

Well that is about all for now.  Love you all.. Dad

STAKE CONFERENCE, STYLE 2011

Dear Family.

We had Stake Conference this weekend. One of the things about my calling is that I do not have to go to any meetings such as High Council or Stake PEC.  This is always nice in one way but we are a little out of the loop.

I got a call about Thursday from our Stake President informing me of the Stake conference coming this weekend.  I had seen it on the Stake calender and put it on my calender but did not know where the various meetings were to be held..

The "Evening Adult Meeting" was held last night in the Jordan River Institute building which has this huge hall.  Mom and I finally found the place (it was on a street that did not exist on any of my GPS devices).  We went to the Jordan River Temple and asked for directions.  The place was packed with hundreds of Single Adult members.  President Plumb always asked for me and Mom to sit on the stand in front.  I looked at the program and it was outlined the same way they did it in Germany.  There was the list of participants and the exact time allotted each one.  I did not have an assignment and we sat back to enjoy the meeting.  At the end, just before President Plumb was to speak, he turns to me and says, "You have two to three minutes!"

Well I have always had the rule that a good five minute talk in the church had three essentials; one scripture, one story and one main point.  In a two minute, you can still get in one scripture and make a short point but have to leave out the story.  The councilor in the Stake Presidency talked about his Patriarchal Blessing and I tied it in with that.

The next morning, our leadership meeting was held in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square,  pictured above.  Mom and I sat up front in those big comfortable chairs and we did not have to speak.  At 9:30 AM, we hurried across Temple Square to the Conference center.  This was a regional meeting and 120 Stakes participated in this session.  21 Stakes were invited to meet int he Conference Center and it was packed.  Elder Bednar was the main speaker and it was great. It was televised to the other 100 Stakes in the South Salt Lake Area

When I was growing up Stake Conference was a little more complicated;, there was  always a Saturday night Leadership meeting.  Then on Sunday, it was two two hour sessions, one in the morning from ten to noon and then another one in the afternoon from two to four PM.  The afternoon session was always a bit more sparsely attended.  They are getting this down pretty well.

Lots of visiting in the family this past weekend.  Roy went back to Detroit to talk to people at GM and spent some great fun time with Bryan at the farm fooling around with Bry's new Kabuto ATV.  Then Rob was down in Orlando visiting an ophthalmology meeting and got together with John.  We are starting to think about Thanksgiving when Rob and Eva and crew and even maybe John and Kaley + kids will visit.

We love you all, Mom and Dad

MINI MISSIONARY GET TOGETHER

Dear Family,

We are back in full swing.

We had a little get together last evening with a few of our missionaries.  Dario and Trisha Dzierzon and their kids were in town.  Trisha's parents have moved to Utah so maybe we will see them a little more often

They flew in from Freiberg, Germany, the city in which the East German Temple was built. They came with their four children including the red headed twins.

It was great to see them again.  They wanted to visit with some of their old companions so we had an informal get together.  This is almost like a family picture now complete with the kids.  Front row: Heidi, Mom with one of the boys who speaks fluent German and American English.. Behind is Kristi, Trisha and Dario with the Buben.  Back is Dianne, Daniel T., the pilot in the Air Force), Tommy M., Jordan B. and Elizabeth with hubby.  It is wonderful to see all moving ahead with their lives.

It is school vacation time in Utah so people have taken off.  Cheryl and Paul and their gang drove down to San Francisco.  I took three of Doug's boys down to Cabelas that was packed with families and their children.  I did not buy anything.

Thanksgiving should be fun with Rob and Eva coming and the gang here in Utah.

All is well, Love, Dad

OCTOBER FUN

Dear Family,

I have been getting over a nasty flu and have been grounded for a couple of weeks so there has not been too much going on up at Sherwood Drive.  We did get out on Sunday night to visit old friends from Vienna.  Here we are with the Husz's.  They have been called to preside over the Freiberg Temple in East Germany.  He was my Austrian counselor on our mission to Germany and Austria.  They are great members and his wife is an absolute miracle.  While we were over there, she had an abdominal cancer with spread, had a huge surgery and was sent home to die but her recovery is something that I have never seen before.  They will be great in their Temple service. As we left, I started to sing, "Sag beim Abschied leise Servus", an Austrian song of parting, and at the end we broke out into a duet.  Great friends, great time.

We attended a solemn assembly in the Salt Lake Temple. There are about 5000 who are serving one way or another in the temple and they have these meetings once a year.  They  had two sessions, the first had about 3000 present.  We went to the 11 AM session and there must have been at least 2000 there.  President Eyring gave the address and the whole experience was wonderful.

In the meantime there was plenty going on in the family especially in Michigan.  Rick went back to Michigan.  We have all visited Rick's tree farm in the Sierras and helped with the wood cutting.  This time he came to work with Bryan and Paul in cutting wood.  Here is the doctor of the chain saw, Rick with Paul on their farm getting a winter supply of wood.  He also spent a couple of days with Bryan clearing wood from the additional property that Bry added to our old farm.

Here are the two wood cutters getting a bite  to eat in that hole in the wall place in South Lyon called Chinese Food.  So there is Bryan in his Carhart bib overalls, President of a successful business computer company and there is Rick in his wood cutting outfit, Rick a partner in a Beverly Hills Law firm returning to the earth and.  So great

So while the guys were in the Chinese restaurant in South Lyon, MI, Dr. Doug was actually over in China, eating real Chinese food.  He was there for two weeks on his yearly excursion to better the results of the surgical operation, carotid endarterectomy.  He did not operate on this occasion but gave many talks in many places including Beijing and Shanghai.  We may go back with him next year if I am feeling pretty good.


Here is something that went on at Al's farm.  She went out and bought three Marino sheep who will lamb in December.  Paul put them in the back of their van and hauled them to their farm.  Al wanted this particular sheep for the wool which she will use. There farm goes as far back as you can see in the photo.

Here is Rick and Bryan's daughter, Sarah, going to church in our Bloomfield Hills ward with the Detroit Temple in the background

Then the entire Family clan got together for dinner at Al and Paul's farm in Munci, MI. There was Al, Paul and kids, Mary and Mark with their kids Bryan and Kristina and their kids with visiting guest woodsman, Rick.

I wish we could have been there also.

I will start back in the temple this week.  We have a little get together this weekend with our friends, the Dzierzons who are visiting from Saxony, Germany.

We go to Virginia in November to see our good friends the Manwarings and do a little project in his woods but it won't be wood cutting, ()could be however) . Rick and Gemina come for Halloween and Rob and Eva and their kids will come for Thanksgiving.

Love to all,  Dad

AUTUMN, VISITS, EAGLES AND CONFRENCE

Dear family,

I have been getting over the  flu so I have not kept up as well.  Autumn has arrived and the mountains are beautiful. The west has such a charm and this little picture was taken on top  of immigration canyon.

We had a visit from John, Kaley adn the boys, Grant (I call him Grantli) and Garrett.  Kaley's brother was married in the Salt Lake Temple.  Her uncle by marriage, Elder Andersen, performed the ceremony.  There was a dinner the night before at the Joseph Smith building and here is a picture of John leading a chorus of the William's grandchildren  There is Grant front and center singing with enthusiasm.

I always have fun with the grandsons.  Grant played with me almost non stop when he was at home.  Here he is in the Basement.  He calls me Poopa instead of Opa.  He said, "Look, I built a Temple!"  He builds temples instead of forts with the big blocks.  It was good to see them even if briefly.

Then there was the Eagle court of honor for Mike's son, Joseph. This was a great court of honor as Joseph completed his  Eagle award just before his 16th birthday.  We are proud of his accomplishment.  We have a growing Eagles Nest in the family with all eight sons having earned their Eagle awards in addition to now, Aaron, Johnny, Josh and Douglas.  Others are in the loop. Here we are with Mike, Rayanne, Joseph the star, Oma and Opa.

We had a great General Conference of the Church..  We watched at home.  The Counsel and direction was on the point and very uplifting. All the guys came up for Priesthood meeting that was broadcast in our stake house.  They came from Mapleton and Cottonwood Heights.  There were twelve of us on a row.  This is a tradition that goes to my youth as well.  I al;ways went with my father for as long as I can remember.  After the meeting, we gathered at our house for the semi annual steak barbecue and a great time was enjoyed by all.  Part of the deal is that I quiz the boys on each talk given in the meeting and they did pay attention..

Then we made grape juice!  My friend, VL Kesler, is a master horticulturist, and has this great vineyard in Holliday.  He had a bumper crop of grapes and invited us over to pick. I got sick and could not go but Mom went over one moring and came back with a load of grapes.   We had purchased a Victoria Steamer in high hopes of our three vines doing something but alas that will be in the future.  You fill the top container with grapes, start the steam and the juice comes out the plastic tubing.  It is ready to be sealed in a Mason jar.  You get about 5 quarts from one filling.  We ended up with 35 quarts of the best grape juice.  Interesting that now Al and Cathy are doing it also.  Cathy says that canning grape juice "is easy, Pete does it!" I did the first batch and totally trashed the kitchen,  We figured out a better wat to avoid a lot of mess.  It is one of those,"Sweet is the work"


Well that is about all for now Alles Gute, Opa u. Oma

DE JA VU, FRIDAY NIGHT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Dear Family,

Had a bit of De Ja  Vu recently when we went to watch Highland High School play Brigham High School. We went to watch Madeline cheer lead.  We were up in the bleachers again as we were 20-30 or more years ago watching our kids play various roles in Andover High School football games.

There were the guys who played football.  There was Bryan, Doug, Jeff, Rob and John ( whose team went to State). We were the obnoxious parents cheering our sons as if they were the only players on the team.  Bryan was great and could catch a pass if it came withing six feet of him but he got permanently injured when he was hit from the side.  I was the team Doctor having to bench Bry when he injured his knee.  He has since had several operations on that knee.  All played their hearts out.

Rob played tough football and he was big and strong from doing some work at the farm.  John played almost every position and it was so great to watch our sons play.

But we also went to watch Andover cheerleaders as several of our daughters were Cheer leaders. There was Emily, Cheryl, Mary, Al and for a short while, Julie. Al was going out with her future husband, Paul, in High School and she used to cheer for him.

 

And now this has shifted a generation.  Here is Madeline, Cheryl's daughter who is cheer leading for Highland High School. She is into ballet and is very graceful.  It was so much fun watching her with the others.  They have to be athletic for all the tricks they do now.  Way to go Madeline.

Our other daughters did a sport each term of school.  They were all runners and still are.  Mary and Cheryl are going to the Boston Marathon next year.  Becca and Suz are still doing marathons.

Life is a marathon as well and we have such good runners in the family.

Love you all, Dad

BYU - UTAH GAME; A CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Well they are not smiling so much now!

With the knock out victory of the  Utah Utes over the BYU Cougars by forty, count them, points,  things are kinda quiet down there today.

We have been conflicted over whom to root for.. well anyway Mom is.  We had 15 of our 16 living children go to the "Y" and they picked up 18 degrees there including 15 Bachelors, two Masters and a PhD.  I will forever be grateful for what the "Y" has done for my family, However, I cannot bring myself to root for their football team!  All our kids root for them.  Here is a picture of Rebecca, Paul and all the kids  faithfully wearing the colors on the day of the big rival game.  Even the little guy not yet one year old is being indoctrinated!

Paul is one of those rabid BYU fans.  Even though he graduated from the "U", his loyalty to the BYU football team knows no bounds.  He even sat in the "Must", the section of Utah students at the U stadium, waving a big BYU banner and got a little pommeled couple of years ago.. That did not dampen his enthusiasm fpr the "Y".  He and Becca came up from St. George for the game.

Mike and Joseph were there as well including Doug, Douglas, Spence and Nate.  Doug paid BIG BUCKS to get tickets but they all had a good time until the game started and it was downhill with a vengeance for the BYU football team.

You got to remember that Mom and I received our Bachelor degrees at the "U".  In addition, my Dad played football for the "U" in the late '20's.  I grew up seeing him wear his red letter sweater everywhere including deer hunting in New York.  Elder Wirthlin, when he was a teenager, used to go up to the "U" to watch my dad play football.  Elder Wirthlin also payed football for the "U" and became one of their best fans.  So I do not think I will root for the "Y".

I guess I will have to repent a little for all the great Schadenfreude I felt.  BYU has beaten the "U" several times by only a point or two in the last minute and this drubbing was a joy to watch.  Sorry all you BYU fans in the family.

We had a busy Sunday;  I gave the lesson in Priesthood on the Gathering of Israel.  Mom and I gave talks in the singles ward and then there was a blessing in the evening. That work has been busy this last week.

Love, Dad and Mon

SURGICAL REUNION MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

 Dear Family,

One purpose of the trip was to attend a surgical reunion at the MGH.  I had never been there before and it was time to visit old friends.  We flew back on Friday night and took a cab to the hotel.  The cabby took the long way around and through traffic in the middle of Boston and yes it was like old times.

 We stayed at the "Liberty Hotel" which was the old Charles Street Jail built in the early 1800's.  Here is a picture of Mom in front of the Jail Hotel.  It was strange because it was still a jail when I was there.  We used to send drunks over there from the MGH ER.

The reception was there on Friday evening.  We went to register and this gray haired lady comes up and gives me a big hug, "Dr. Wirthlin, we are so glad you came; you are a legend!"  It was apparently one of the nurses I had worked with years ago.  It felt so good to be back among friends and men whom I had also trained, who have since all become pretty big names in American surgery..

 Here is a picture of me and Hardy Hendren, who is still a legend there.  He was professor of pediatric surgery and one of my great teachers.  He took me to Africa with his scrub nurse when I was his resident.  We went to Malawi and did surgery for about six weeks and that was the adventure of a lifetime.  We chatted about our experience there recalling some of the more difficult surgeries.  I reminded him of time he tried to shoot a 'dik dik' with a 30-06 rifle with a shortened stock.  He really cut his eyebrow down to the bone and I helped stitch him up.  In a recent talk to the Brookline Country Club, he talked about the African experience and showed a picture of our last Xmas card at the 50th reunion and it brought a gasp from the audience.

Here is part of the surgical intern group of '62.  There is George May with home I used to go pheasant hunting.  There is Mike Margolies who married one of the nurses and is still married to her.  It was fun to talk with them both.  Mike was a big hard bench biochemistry esearcher at the MGH.  We saw so many friends including John Wesley who ecame Professor of Pediatric surgery.  He is  a direct descendant of John Wesley the Reformer.  His son met a returned sister missionary, joined or church and was married in the temple.  John visit them and goes to church with them.  John was very helpful in getting Doug mitted to University of  Michigan medical school.  Just a great friend!

I was standing in the lunch line and over heard the person behind me ask his neighbor the date of his marriage and he wondered, "Which one?".  There were a lot of marriage casualties to academic surgery in that group.  We ran into one of the successful ones in Mel and Jodie Platt.  He was chief of the East when I was chief of the West surgical services at the MGH.  We chatted and chatted and went to Legal Seafood for a great Boston seafood meal.  Mel is still operating in Dallas.

We had a day of meetings on Saturday and they even quoted something funny I had said years ago.  The presentations were interesting.  We ditched the meetings and took the MTA over to Harvard Square.  Everything was so different.  There was a clambake in the evening and we got our fill of lobsters and steamed clams.

It was so great to see old friends and colleagues after so many years and relive the days of the surgical trenches and battles at the best Hospital

Alles Gute, Dr. Opa amd Oma