VISIT TO SPOKANE, "ZANDER'S" BAPTISM

Dear Family,

It has been a busy two weeks. Mom and I went to Spokane last week to visit Jeff and Tammy, Rob and Eva and their families. They know how to throw out the red carpet!

Jeff picked us at the airport and drove us to Rob's eye clinic where I had a thorough exam of my eyes and got fitted with a great pair of sunglasses.

We drove to Rob's other office and met him for a terrific lunch. Bina's husband Scott was there ins Spokane looking at a dental position. That afternoon they all went out and played golf. Scott is a scratch golfer.

Here is a picture of Opa getting swarmed when I pulled out the Ipad with games. That is little Luke climbing on with Leo coming up as well. Luke reminds me a lot of what Rob was like as a little guy, very strong and strong willed. All the kids were cute as could be.

While they were out Tammy put some ribs in the smoker for the evening feast. Jeff went overboard again and had some live Maine Lobsters flown in and Tammy and I steamed them over kelp.

Scott came over and we had such a good time. All the kids were there and they got their fill of lobster and smoked ribs.

Eva brought over their new little daughter, Elena. What a cute little girl with sharply defined features. She was good as gold and
Eva looked so happy. This is our 73rd grandchild.

On Friday, we celebrated Anna's eighth birthday with a party at a roller skating rink. All put on shoes and had a ball skating around. Mom and I sat this one out, hard enough to keep upright without wheels on your feet. There was pop and pizza and it was such a happy time. Rob took a gigantic spill when he first put on the shoes but got his sea legs and skated with the girls.
Saturday was Zander's baptism and we were able to have that individually. There was a very nice program: his older brother, Julius, gave a great talk on baptism. We had the Family Farm Singers sing "Nearer My God To Thee" in four part harmony. That was Rob, Eva, Jeff and Tammy. The original group included Al and Paul. All had lived on our farm in Michigan at one time. They sounded great!

I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and Jeff did the confirmation. It was a very sweet moment.

Forgot to mention that Rob brought over 3lbs of Elk Steak and we ecided to make jerky. We went to Cabelas a second time and we bought a great dehydrator and made the best Elk jerky. It did not last long as the kids ate it with moe delight than candy. I had a few pieces as well.

that night, Zander wanted to go to a restaurant to celebrate so Julius, Anna, Zanderand the grown ups went to a Hunters restaurant where they serve game meats like elk etc. Since i still have about a 100 lbs of Elk meat int he freezer, I ordered something else. It was another great celebration.

Sunday we all went to Jeff's ward, Jeff taught a lesson and Tammy did as well and Eva went in and made good comments. Rob brought over the best Elk Chili that I have ever eaten for supper. It is so hard to lose weight with a steady diet of family celebrations. We had such a marvelous time and we thank Jeff and Tammy, Rob and Eva for their great hospitality. We always have a grea time in Spokane and we are proud of our grandchildren there.

Love, Mom and Dad