Yesterday a few of my precious grandchildren were visiting so I really planned ahead and did some Easter activities with them. First we dyed eggs. This is something I grew up doing every single year but apparently not every family does that! My daughter-in-law did not do it when she was growing up, for example. It was great fun. And the kids loved eating the boiled eggs afterwards. Another activity was an Easter egg hunt. The night before, I put a little candy or pennies in some plastic eggs. Mindy hid them for me and then we sent the kids out with paper bags to find them. Inspired by a YouTube channel , the new activity I tried this year was rock art. First we looked for rocks (fortunately there are plenty of rocks near our house). This was a popular outing. After first losing the cute leg weight... Then the oldest grandchild put together this picture, using the video to guide her. The picture is of Christ suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. He's laying on a rock with the weig...

 A few days ago, my son Everett got engaged! He's been dating this girl Caroline since they met at the BYU Jerusalem Center more than a year ago and he finally popped the question *officially*. Congratulations Everett and Caroline! We're excited for your wedding in August! I have never been to the BYU Jerusalem Center although someday I hope to get there. Just today I read an inspiring talk from 2019 that was given at the occasion of the 30-year anniversary of the Center.  The talk was given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland who talked about the miracles involved in getting the BYU Jerusalem Center built. He was closely involved with the project as the president of BYU at the time. Here's the  text of the whole talk--which I highly recommend--but I'll try summarizing it. I include some pictures of Everett's Jerusalem trip among the text. First you need to understand that Israel is a contentious place with not so much religious freedom as you might hope for.  There seems ...

 At the beginning of March, Scott took Talmage, Everett, and Everett's roommate, Matt Allen, down to Birch Hollow near Orderville, UT to "do" Birch Hollow.  It's a popular canyon that is not too technical and you don't need a permit. Scott wanted to go early in the season before it got too hot or too busy.  They drove down Friday afternoon, camped by the trailhead overnight and then hiked it in the morning. It took about 5 hours to do the roundtrip car to car. They dropped off a bike near the exit so Scott could go get the car more quickly. They managed to stop at the favorite "Hot Spot" in Salina on the way home where you get those delicious (read not healthy) deep-fried tater tots. The hike-out was challenging and the mud was amazing. We still have mud on our driveway a few weeks later--it just keeps falling off the bottom of the van despite Scott's washing the van. a Talmage picture This is near the end of the hike. This is a 60-foot rappel. The s...