Wow, what a busy week. We've been working with a couple in our ward for several months toward getting sealed in the temple. I actually baptized the husband, Mark Bober, about four years ago. Mark's wife Lucy has been a member of the church for pretty much her whole life, though not always active. They finally were ready to be sealed, and had their appointment scheduled for Tuesday. They had a couple in the ward lined up to go with them as escorts, but at the last minute, plans fell through. They called Sunday night and had an escort for Mark, but not Lucy. Joanne called her cousin Jeremy and arranged for use to come to their house Monday night so that we could attend the temple and Joanne could serve as Lucy's escort on Tuesday. We didn't even get to bring Madeline with us because she had (ugh!) cheerleader camp all week. So it was a *very* fast trip down and back, but it was a wonderful blessing to see Mark and Lucy receive their temple ordinances.
On Wednesday, I jumped on my motorcycle and started to ride west. I took US 40 (the old Cumberland Road) as far as Wheeling, WV, then turned Northwest on US 250. I rode for several hours, past Tappan Lake, and up to Toledo, OH. From there, I went north into Michigan, arriving in Detroit at about 7 PM. The Tigers were playing the Washington Nationals, so I bought a $1 bag of peanuts and a $12 ticket to the game and enjoyed an evening at Comerica Park.
The weather was fantastic, and the game was pretty entertaining. A 19 year old girl desperately tried to convince me to buy her a beer, but I told her she must be a narc trying to get me arrested.
Detroit itself is pretty much a dump of a city. You read about it's woes in the news frequently nowadays, but when you're there in person, you can appreciate how bad the situation is. This boarded up building is one block from the ballpark.
After the game, I rode back down into Ohio, spent the night, and then rode home on Thursday. It was a relaxing and enjoyable ride for me. It didn't rain, but it was cloudy, so I didn't realize I was getting a sun burned face, and I had my aviator goggles on, so I got some pretty wicked raccoon eyes.
Here's a shot of Madeline at the aforementioned cheer leading camp. The tiny girl in pink next to her is her friend Sawyer from church. Despite the fact that we don't want our girls to grow up to be cheerleaders, we were glad she had a fun week.
On Saturday, Opal Shriver had an old-style country auction at her house. Opal is the lady whose husband Bill died last fall. We love the Shrivers a lot and have wanted to be supportive of them. When Bill died, Opal needed to sell their farm and get to a more sustainable type of place to live. She started with an auction of all their farm equipment a couple of months ago. She followed that up with a sale of her farmhouse and land. Then yesterday, she sold most of her furniture and other belongings they'd accumulated over nearly 60 years of marriage. I'd never been to an auction like this before, but I had a great time and it was fun to be a part of, even though it was a lot of work.
The auctioneer is John Lindley, also a member of our ward. He has worked tirelessly to help Opal since Bill passed away. He's the one in the cowboy hat under the tent. We worked from about 9 AM until nearly 3 PM to get all her stuff sold off.
The girls gave me royal treatment for Father's Day. Emily made this banner for me.
This is my cookie cake, which was fantastic. Jessica put "World's Best Dad! #1" in whipped cream on it.
I appreciate the thoughtful gifts and cards sent by many different people for Father's Day. I miss spending days like this with my family in person, but the effort despite the distance is much appreciated.
Here's me with my stuff, my cookie cake, and my girls.
On Wednesday, I jumped on my motorcycle and started to ride west. I took US 40 (the old Cumberland Road) as far as Wheeling, WV, then turned Northwest on US 250. I rode for several hours, past Tappan Lake, and up to Toledo, OH. From there, I went north into Michigan, arriving in Detroit at about 7 PM. The Tigers were playing the Washington Nationals, so I bought a $1 bag of peanuts and a $12 ticket to the game and enjoyed an evening at Comerica Park.
The weather was fantastic, and the game was pretty entertaining. A 19 year old girl desperately tried to convince me to buy her a beer, but I told her she must be a narc trying to get me arrested.
Detroit itself is pretty much a dump of a city. You read about it's woes in the news frequently nowadays, but when you're there in person, you can appreciate how bad the situation is. This boarded up building is one block from the ballpark.
After the game, I rode back down into Ohio, spent the night, and then rode home on Thursday. It was a relaxing and enjoyable ride for me. It didn't rain, but it was cloudy, so I didn't realize I was getting a sun burned face, and I had my aviator goggles on, so I got some pretty wicked raccoon eyes.
Here's a shot of Madeline at the aforementioned cheer leading camp. The tiny girl in pink next to her is her friend Sawyer from church. Despite the fact that we don't want our girls to grow up to be cheerleaders, we were glad she had a fun week.
On Saturday, Opal Shriver had an old-style country auction at her house. Opal is the lady whose husband Bill died last fall. We love the Shrivers a lot and have wanted to be supportive of them. When Bill died, Opal needed to sell their farm and get to a more sustainable type of place to live. She started with an auction of all their farm equipment a couple of months ago. She followed that up with a sale of her farmhouse and land. Then yesterday, she sold most of her furniture and other belongings they'd accumulated over nearly 60 years of marriage. I'd never been to an auction like this before, but I had a great time and it was fun to be a part of, even though it was a lot of work.
The auctioneer is John Lindley, also a member of our ward. He has worked tirelessly to help Opal since Bill passed away. He's the one in the cowboy hat under the tent. We worked from about 9 AM until nearly 3 PM to get all her stuff sold off.
The girls gave me royal treatment for Father's Day. Emily made this banner for me.
This is my cookie cake, which was fantastic. Jessica put "World's Best Dad! #1" in whipped cream on it.
I appreciate the thoughtful gifts and cards sent by many different people for Father's Day. I miss spending days like this with my family in person, but the effort despite the distance is much appreciated.
Here's me with my stuff, my cookie cake, and my girls.
