Picking up Caleb from Scout Camp

Today we went to TiFie Scout Camp above Mount Pleasant, Utah, to pick up Caleb. He has been there since last Sunday night working as a volunteer on the camp staff.

We couldn't find him at first, so we did some looking around. Katie, Molly, and Matthew took a close look at a teepee that was pretty neat.

Caleb looked great in his uniform.

He said he wore the same pants almost all week. I said that was a little gross, to which he replied, "Well, it's scout camp!" Right.

The first thing I noticed is how thin he looked! I asked him if he had been eating, and he said he had eaten a lot, but he had been walking about 5 miles a day.

I was happy to see him!

On the way home, we went over to Manti to look for an ancestor's grave that Hannah had wanted to visit. Caleb was so tired.

Poor guy! I think he just wanted to get home, but he didn't complain.
He stayed in the car while we tried to find the grave. We never could locate it. I found another one that interested me, though. It was William Fowler, the man who wrote "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet." Caleb had an opportunity and actually interviewed for a full-time position at TiFie at the beginning of the summer, but he chose not to take the job. Instead he has been able to finish his Eagle project, go to our ward's scout camp at TiFie, and work as volunteer staff at TiFie. He will also go for a week on staff at Timberline, which is a leadership camp, and back for another week on staff at TiFie later this month. He's really enjoying himself, and it's turning out to be a great summer for him!

Year Round Gardening

Russ is finally getting his greenhouse. He's been wanting one for quite some time, and he finally found some plans that looked do-able. He calls it a "hoop house." It is made of PVC pipe and rebar, and of course, plastic sheeting. Here are some pictures, but if you want the whole scoop, he has written about it on his blog at http://www.themegagarden2009.blogspot.com/. This is how he got some of the PVC home after he found a really good deal at a warehouse near his work.

The next time, I had an appointment in Salt Lake, so I drove the suburban and went with him, and then I took the pipe home with me while he went to work. This is Russ gluing the pipe together.This is Russ with Matthew and Molly helping him measure and drive in the bars every three feet.Russ and Joshua constructing the frameHere's what it looks like now....ready to have some plants planted right into the ground. Russ plans on raising meat chickens in one end to help generate heat. He won't put the plastic and the endwalls and doors on until it gets colder. It will sure be exciting to have our own fresh produce in the middle of the winter!

Emily at Girls' State

Emily went to Girls State, which is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. The event was held at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, and there the girls lived in dorms and learned from sunup to sundown. It is a week where the girls set up a mock government at the city, county, and state levels and elect officials, write party platforms, hold congress, and basically experience firsthand how the political process works.

Emily ran for governor, but was not elected to that position, but she was a county and state delegate and a member of the platform committee for her party. She also was the main songwriter for their city song. The girls are required to dress in modest dresses the entire week, which I thought was refreshing. The ALA also promotes patriotism and respect for the flag and our service men and women. Part of the week was a flag retirement ceremony where they actually burned flags that had become too worn to display.

Emily's favorite part of Girls State was the missionary experiences that she had (she even gave away a Book of Mormon), the incredible amount that she learned, the singing of the armed forces songs, and the confidence that she developed. It was a great experience for Emily! These are the delegates from Levan, left to right,

Malea Kenison, Angela Hone, and Emily Goates. The different colored shirts are because the girls were put in different cities. ALA doesn't put people who know each other together, so that creates an interesting situation with more equal footing when the girls are running for office and holding elections.

This is Emily in her dorm room with her two roommates

Emily got to carry the Utah flag in the graduation ceremony

This is Emily with her counselor Angie Jensen, or "Mama A.J."

Scout Camp

Russ and the boys went to the new TiFie scout camp in the mountains above Mt. Pleasant, Utah, with the inaugural group of scouts. A lot of the facilities weren't finished yet, so they used the boys for cheap labor while they were there. There was a swimming pool, but it wasn't heated yet. Joshua and Caleb were pronounced Polar Bears because they went in anyway! Russ said the week was a good diversion from regular life, although he did come home a couple of times during the week to check on his mega garden. The boys had a great time! Joshua in the red hoodie

Joshua looking serious


Caleb carving

Here's most of the crew. Joshua is on the left front in red, and Caleb is on the back row on the far right.

Russ and George Barnhill with our troop's flag

Joshua doing the rifle shooting merit badge