Nanjing China Teachers Reunion

On the 15th October we drove to Calgary in time for Church in the Somerset Ward.  We stayed overnight at Nathan and Tara's and the next morning Tara drove us to the airport.  We traveled to Reno with one stop in Salt Lake.  Marilyn and Doyle met us at the airport and we went to Marilyn's home for supper.

Marilyn's Back Yard

The next morning we set out for Lake Tahoe stopping at Donner Pass.  We wandered the grounds and visited the museum and learned some of the sad history of the 1846 Donner Party:

In the spring of 1846, a group of nearly 90 emigrants left Springfield, Illinois, and headed west. Led by brothers Jacob and George Donner, the group attempted to take a new and supposedly shorter route to California. They soon encountered rough terrain and numerous delays, and they eventually became trapped by heavy snowfall high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Purportedly reduced to cannibalism to survive through the winter, only half of the original group reached California the following year. 

After a picnic lunch we went on the Lake Tahoe where we stayed until Friday.

We did a cruise down Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay.

Emerald Bay State Park

     Look down on this astounding bay and you can see why Mark Twain dubbed Lake Tahoe "the fairest picture the whole earth affords." While the main lake is as blue as a topaz, a color created by Tahoe’s remarkable clarity and depth, this somewhat shallower bay on the lake’s west shore takes on a startling and beautiful blue-green, made all the more striking by the perfect dot of tiny Fannette Island—the only islet in Lake Tahoe—right in the middle of the bay. There the ruins of a tiny stone teahouse perched on the top of the island. The teahouse, and the 38-room Scandinavian-style stone castle known as Vikingsholm that’s built on the nearby shore, were constructed by Lora Knight, an extraordinary woman who married into extreme wealth, then used her money to educate young people who could otherwise not afford it. 

We went back to Reno via Virginia City.

On Friday evening we went out for Chinese food.  One other couple that had been in China when we were joined us.  Later Marilyn took us for a drive around downtown Reno.

All too soon our reunion was ended.  Marilyn drove us to the airport.  We went by Salt Lake and Seattle and didn't get back to Calgary until midnight.  Nathan picked us up and we stayed over at his place.  We arrived home on Sunday.

Thanksgiving

Jeremy and Julie and girls came on Oct. 8th for Thanksgiving.  On the Monday Sue-anne, Darryl and family joined as all the dinner.  (Bob's enchiladas instead of turkey).

September 2017

Where did September go?  We did the usual things - not a lot to tell.

Austen returned to attend U of L.

Mickey and a couple of her friends came to stay one night.

We went to Calgary on the 26th September - my birthday.  That evening we went out for Mexican for my birthday supper.  Edward, Jeremy and Nathan and families that were there.

Nathan and Tara went to Utah for the J Reuben Clarke law conference and Bob and I stayed with the boys.  Bob had to go back to Lethbridge for a meeting on Wednesdy and came back to Calgary on Thursday.  Nathan and Tara returned on Sunday night.

Last Week of August

July and August passed too quickly, although the weather is still very hot and may continue.  There has been no rain all summer.

We arrived back from Echo last Friday.  Bob did his Temple service on Saturday.

Sunday we traveled to  Calgary and attended the Somerset Ward where Orson gave his last talk before leaving on his mission.  Edward, Miranda and Bentley, Jeremy, Julie, Mickey and Kennedy, Sue-anne, Darryl, Taylor, Langley and Carter were also there as well as some of the Crawford family.  Orson did very well.

Later we gathered at Nathan and Tara's for supper. 

We stayed overnight with Jeremy and Julie and Monday morning went to the passport office (which had moved to the Sundance area which made it convenient) to renew our passports.

We arrived home by 1:00 p.m.

The rest of the week we were lucky to have Sue-anne and Carter and our home teachers on Tuesday, Taylor on Wednesday and Nathan and family on Thursday.

22/33

After church on Sunday we drove to Echo Lake.  Jeremy & family (without Jacson), Edward and all his family and Sue-anne, Langley and Carter were at Jeremy's cabin when we arrived.  Later that night Nathan and family without Orson arrived. That made 22 of the 33 members of our family were there.

We were looking forward to the eclipse of the sun on Monday morning.  For me it was very disappointing.  It didn't get dark - just a little dim and cooler.

Before the Eclipse

Boring Eclipse - Intriguing Book

Lochlan's Baptism

On the 19th August Sue-anne and Carter picked us up and drove us to Calgary for Lochlan's baptism. He was baptised by his father.

For lunch the Crawfords and Baines gathered at Nathan and Tara's house for a barbeque.

We drove back to Lethbridge later that day.

Summer Update

It has been a hot few months with no rain since earlier in the spring.  It was good for growing raspberries and for Bob's spaghetti squash which has taken over the garden.

Everything has been usual for us - home teaching, visiting teaching, a Family Home Evening end of year party, book club, a few temple sessions and Bob at the Temple on Saturdays.

On June 3rd I went to an AGS genealogy workshop hoping that I might find out some new techniques or sources.  Although it started at 7:30 a.m. I didn't get there until 9:00 a.m.  When the speaker started talking about writing out pedigree charts and group sheets in pencil I got a little bored and left early.  The next week I attended an AGS meeting about DNA, but it wasn't anything I didn't know.

On the 9th June Bob, Joan and I went to Brooks and had lunch with Paulette and Donald and Diane.  We went to the cemetery to see the new headstone for Mom, Dad, Ross and Bobby.

On the 18th June we went to Calgary.  Originally it was to hear a Father's Day talk by Nathan, but as he ended up in the hospital Liam read his talk.

Erica visited a couple of days in June.  We went to O'Sho for supper and Sue-anne and some of her family joined us.

From July 3rd to July 8th we were at Echo Lake.  Jeremy and Julie were there when we arrived, but left later in the day.  It was really too hot to do anything.  We went to the Big Fork Summer Theater and saw "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers".  We enjoyed the July 4th fireworks at the lake, although we went down too early and left too early.

Nathan and Tara came and visited us from July 16th to 18th and left Keaton, Lochlan and Matt with us until Nathan came back on Friday.  Lochlan celebrated his 8th birthday here.

On the 23 July we attended a multi-stake meeting at the Enmax Center.  Stake and ward boundaries were realigned.  We are in the same ward with different boundaries and in the same stake.  Our meeting times change to 11:00 a.m.

Miranda and Erica arrived that night.  Erica left in the morning, but Miranda stayed for the week and attended climbing camp at the U of L.  Edward and Austen came on Friday evening and we met Erica and Lincoln at O'Sho where we had supper. Bob went to the Temple on Saturday and Edward, Austen, Miranda and I had lunch at Harvey's before they left for Calgary.

On August 4th Joan and Jenn Lucas picked me up for breakfast at Cora's.  When I got home Bob and I left for Calgary.  We stayed with Edward and family and went to the Temple with Orson and then out for a snack.  Orson had come from Ottawa for the long week-end.  On Sunday Nathan and Tara had a barbeque and Edward & Jeremy's families came.

Last week Bob volunteered at the Soup kitchen and started his FM group audit.  He is continuing with the audit this week.