Residing at the Memorial

May 12 -24

We had the pleasure of staying at the Memorial from May 15- 20.  Elder & Sister Osborn had special permission to attend their son's graduation from medical school in Texas. They also accompanied a daughter-in-law on her first visit to the Provo Temple and then witnessed the baby blessing of their newest grandchild.  While they were participating in these important family occasions, we enjoyed being amidst the beauty and spirit that surround the memorial.  It is rather exciting to walk around the grounds and witness the emerging of spring with budding trees and daffodils and tulips scattered throughout the gardens. We truly enjoyed the opportunity to, once again, live at the residence for a few days.

Blue sky and sunshine reflecting from the monument

 

MONDAY  We were up and ready to leave the house this morning at 7:00am.  By taking this early flight we have two options to get out of Orlando and two options out of New York.  Our first option from Orlando worked and once we got to NY Laguardia, we ask the desk to call and tell gate D3 we were coming and off we ran.  We had to change concourses and all but we made it before they closed the doors (the airlines will not schedule people for this flight because there is only 20 minutes turnaround time if all is on schedule).  They even had one first class seat to Burlington which I suggested Rhonda have.  Since she moved, I had an exit row all to myself so I had lots of room as well.   We arrived in Burlington around 1:30pm.  We then picked up the car and stopped at Costco before heading back to our apartment.  Before long, it was time to go back to the Memorial for the weekly FHE.  We had previously arranged with Osborn’s to cook our frozen lasagna dinner so we didn’t have to do much to get ready.  After FHE, I went home and sat in the chair and went to sleep so I soon decided it was time to go to bed.  I woke up a couple of hours later and Rhonda was still up.  I don’t know how she does it.     

TUESDAY    In the quiet of the morning, I went out for my exercise stint.  When I returned, the landlords were in the apartment trying to finish the installation of a new dishwasher.  Some  of their hired hands tried earlier but couldn't make it fit right so the boss and his helper were there getting it done right. I was doing my B of M reading while observing from behind.  I was impressed at how the boss was trying to teach his “helper” how to do it right.  It was soon time to go to the Memorial for the missionary meeting.   Before I got inside the building, Elder Osborn asked me to go to the visitor center and escort a couple from California who had come to visit, so, as usual, I missed most of the missionary meeting.  From then on, the number of visitors who came the rest of the day were pretty scarce.  We had just completed the lockup and ready to go home when we were met at the back door of the Visitor Center by Elder Osborn.  As he was backing out, a guy from Idaho pulled into his driveway and wanted to see the Memorial.  Osborns were on their way to the addiction class so he ask us to give the tour.  We had a nice visit.

WEDNESDAY   -    Up and going quite early as we had the early shift and quite a few visitors came.   Once we were home, I was about to go to town (needed gas).  Rhonda decided it would be better to buy bananas, etc. for Monday’s fruit salad tomorrow.  It was a beautiful afternoon so we just enjoyed a little sunshine before heading back to the Church for YW song practice.  It only lasts about 10 minutes and hardly seems worth the trip but that is how it goes.  We had Hart’s pack-n-play to return to them but found out they are still on vacation in Utah so we went back to the apartment for the evening.     
THURSDAY    -     When I tried to open up, the Like’s already had it opened as they were showing her brother through the center.   After a quiet hour, things really picked up and we had a busy morning/afternoon.    At the conclusion of the shift, we headed to town for some gas and a few groceries.  We also had to get some patch-plugs to make a power point presentation on the computer translate to a TV monitor for the history fair on Saturday.  We stopped at the apartment and packed a few things to take to the Memorial as the Osborn’s left early this morning for their son’s graduation from Medical School in Texas and asked us to be the residents in charge for nearly the next week.  After things were all locked up at the Memorial, Rhonda and I took a walk down through the old home foundations and things in the lower part of the property.  We spent most of the night in the office as Rhonda was figuring out the transition for the tv projection.  She is pretty good at getting (and maintaining) the electronic things.   
 FRIDAY   -  Cars started driving through (and stopping) before we were officially open.  Once the Likes came, we turned things over to them and headed for Bridgewater, VT  via the back roads.  It was a very scenic and pretty drive along one of the rivers.   We went to help set up for Rachel Johnson’s outdoor wedding tonight.  It was quite windy and was hard to make the table cloths and napkins stay on the tables.  It turned out to be a 75 mile trip down and back.  When we arrived back to the Memorial there were several large groups that all converged into one big group.  They were mainly people who were in town for graduation at the VT Law School.   After closing, we took another hike through the lower trails.  It is always a nice walk, I still think of it as like going through the Sacred Grove.    

The newly-constructed monument at the Bethel History Fair

SATURDAY   I got up early and tried to be on my best behavior as ELDER ANTHONY D. PERKINS of the SEVENTY came with one of the Stake Presidency of the Concord Stake for a tour of the Memorial before we officially opened.  He is really a spiritual yet down to earth person.  I enjoyed showing him the visitor center, etc.  We even looked at a couple of movies (Jarom Frye for one) which he hadn’t seen and was very impressed.  Elder Harman (Kent) was cleaning the building and I asked him to get the new quad-gator to escort us to the bottom house foundations.  Elder Perkins was impressed with all the options below and then we went up Patriarch Hill and viewed the Monument from the top which is very impressive.  We tried to take the short cut to Camp Joseph but there was a couple of boggy/muddy places and Elder Harman didn’t want to spin mud on the General Authority’s suit so we ended up abandoning that trip but we got back just at the time they said they had and they soon were on their way back to Concord NH for their Stake Conference.  It was a great experience to escort a general authority.  As part of our discussion, I found out that our old neighbor in AF (Janice Abbott) was his mother-in-law.  What a small world.  Shortly after the brethren left, things at the Memorial got quite busy.  We were almost non-stop until it was time to trade locations with the Likes.  We traveled to Bethel to participate in the Vermont Post Card and History Fair.  Likes and some FM missionaries set up last night and opened this morning.  
After we sat at the booth for a while it was our lot to do the tear-down and clean up.  The Harman’s came to haul the Memorial Replica home which was a great help.  After we got settled there, we went back to the Memorial and found the Likes were still visiting with the same couple we had left them with a few hours earlier.  Once their guests left, we asked Likes if they wanted to go home early since they had actually started early by going to the Bethel exhibit.  They were happy to take up the offer, realizing we had to stay there anyway.  After finally locking up, we took a walk through the trees and the bog and around Camp Joseph.  Talked to the Wilson’s for a minute and made our way back via the main roads. 
 SUNDAY   I got up early to watch the finals of the tennis match then ready for Church.  Rhonda had to go early for a visiting teaching lesson so I walked down later.  After Church we hurried to the Memorial for a quick stop and then went to our apartment for the afternoon, just to get away. (Likes were scheduled for duty today).  We stayed at the apt. until it was time to close and then we returned and took another hike the long way around Camp Joseph.  We passed the Joseph Tree which is kinda neat but didn’t have a camera so will have to go back.  Several cars drove through after dark.  You just kind of have to be on “alert” all the time.    
 MONDAY    Cars started ringing the buzzer before 7:00am this morning.  That got me up so I just stayed up and walked down to get the newspaper, put out the flags, etc. and had things ready for the Likes when they arrived.  When it was time for our shift, things were pretty quiet.  That gave me time to get things organized for FHE, since I was in charge.  Things went pretty smoothly.  After all the FHE people finally cleared out, we took a walk down to Macintosh Pond and the area on that side of the road.  It is still amazing how there is a house here in the trees then farther up the road there is another house.  No close neighbors, not even within sight of each other. 
 TUESDAY  Cars started driving through before 6:30am.  Guess I need to change my sleeping habits.   Once awake, I couldn’t go back to sleep so after laying there for a while I got up and put out the flags, etc.  Rhonda started cleaning up our guest room so I decided to take a walk up Patriarch Hill. 

I went up the gator road which seemed a little shorter and no steeper.  After getting to the top and doing some investigating, I finally found the “Patriarch Tree”.  Is pretty large and knarly (lots of outward branches all over).  It wasn’t too far off the hiking path so I did the trail coming down the hill.  Talked to Elder Harman and spread mulch on LDS Lane with him a few minutes before coming to the house and get ready for the afternoon shift.  We had a few more visitors than the morning shift but it was a long way from being busy but as is quite often the case, visitors came the last 15-20 minutes before the scheduled closing time.  With the visitors and trying to get our things moved out of the home, we were an hour late getting to the apartment.  Once we finally got settled, I was tired and soon headed for bed.

 The Farmers' Markets in South Royalton  started on Thursday.
Rhonda played her accordion for a little musical entertainment, even though it was a very rainy day.

Marvelous Mother's Day

May 5 - 11

The FM Missionaries are still working to get the Christmas Lights down

MONDAY    I got up early this morning and left Rhonda home while I went golfing with Elder Osborn.  We went to the Montague course in Randolph but it wasn’t the best.  All temporary greens as all the regular ones had frozen and were all dead brown grass.  The fairways also needed a little warm weather to start to grow but it was at least a time to get out.  (I did hit the ball quite well for  not having been out only 1 time since last July.)  I hurried home and got ready for our afternoon shift at the Memorial.  Several visitors came before the start of FHE which is now delayed an hour until 6:00pm and the Memorial is open until 7:00.  

TUESDAY    I woke up earlier than usual, so I ended up taking a walk, doing some extra reading, etc., waiting for our shift at the Memorial which is now 2:00pm.  By closing time at 7:00pm it seemed like a long day.  I did meet with a couple from NY which was quite interesting.  The man had a little knowledge about Joseph Smith and the lady had “diarrhea of the mouth”.  She couldn’t quick talking.  Rhonda started with them but soon passed them along.  When I was trying to talk about Joseph Smith the lady mentioned something about a metal book.  I explained about the golden plates and how they were translated by Joseph Smith to become the Book of Mormon.  She immediately said she had that book.  Every time I would try to talk, she was talking, finally her husband told her to “just listen to the man”.   When I tried to tell Rhonda about my experience, my answer was, “I got four works in”  

Sis. Sumsion and comp. with investigator from Maine

WEDNESDAY    We opened up this morning and when we walked into the office area, it was mostly cordoned off with plastic.  Several workmen were working in a corner of the office, sawing, drilling and mainly making a great noise.  The phone kept ringing and it really seemed like a circus trying to get things accomplished.  Luckily, when visitors came, they weren’t yet working in the visitor center but will eventually get there.  The high water is rotting the floor joist and they are not holding on to the foundations.   One interesting thing happened as a couple of the groups met at the Monument from the same ward.  One of the men, who used to be a missionary at the Monument, told me he heard Pres. Hinckley say JOSEPH SMITH’S BIRTHPLACE IS THE SECOND MOST SACRED SPOT ON EARTH, -- SECOND ONLY TO BETHLEHEM.  If it were not for Joseph Smith, there would be no Palmyra, Kirtland, or even Salt Lake. 

It was fun to see Sis. Sumsion again.

Things seemed to get really busy for a while as several of us were conducting tours at the same time.  Rhonda had to come back to the Church to practice with the YW in the evening so we decided to take a “tour” on our way home.  We took the back roads past the Memorial through the woods, finally ending up in Tunbridge.   From there we took another side road and ended up going through Bethel and located the high school where we will be going for the Vermont Post-card Fair in about 10 days.  
THURSDAY  I got up early and went for a walk.  When I returned, Rhonda was still asleep so I went back to bed for a while.  It was such a nice day, we ended up taking our folding chairs outside to do our Book of Mormon reading.  We finally ended up going shopping in the afternoon.  We really didn’t need much but a few things.  Found a deal on soda and ended up taking my diamond ring (dating back to 1969) to the jewelry story to have it re-sized to a size 14.   We spent part of the night packing our suit cases in hopes of taking a short trip to Florida tomorrow afternoon.    
FRIDAY   We switched our workday with the Likes so we did the
morning shift.  In the afternoon, we had a training with Jason Mitchell from SLC and the Church Missionary committee.  Pres. Stoker was also here.  The training wasn’t too intense and about 2:40pm Pres. Stoker ask to be excused as he had a meeting in NH at 4:00pm. We left right behind him-- rushed to Burlington, parked the car and went directly to the airport.  Shortly before the scheduled flight time, Randy called and said the plane was delayed a couple of hours.  There was a long line of people at the desk, all with questions and trying to change flights, etc.  Finally I told Rhonda I was leaving and not waiting for the plane.  She wasn’t too happy about my decision but what could she do.  I decided that we could be back to the Memorial for the monthly Sr. Missionary party.  We were only a half hour late and got there right after the blessing.   Harman’s were the hosts and they had brought some Kobe beef steaks and Idaho potatoes back from their trip to Utah.  They did a BBQ and also had fresh Salmon BBQ’d.  I think it was the best Salmon I have ever eaten.  I was glad we went.  After eating, we soon excused ourselves and went to the apt. to look at other flight possibilities on getting to Florida.  About 11:00pm I finally decided upon my best alternatives, listed for the flights, printed our boarding passes and went to bed.  It was a couple hours before Rhonda supposedly came to bed.  SATURDAY    We got up at 3:00am to start our day.  Shower, shave, etc.  we headed off for the Burlington airport again.  Parked back at Thrifty rental cars and shuttled to the airport.  We ended up getting first class seats from Burlington to NY-Laguardia.  After about an hour wait, we got seats to Orlando and soon headed through the skies on our way.  We had three seats for the two of us so we flew in great shape.  Once in FL our timing was almost perfect as  Ryan was there about the same time as we got out to the loading area.  It was great to see him.  We made a couple stops on the way to Ryan’s home as he was looking for a Mother’s Day gift but without success.  Upon our arrival, all the boys came running to give us a BIG hug. We were amazed to see how much Ty has grown (not a toddler any more).   It was so nice to see them again.  Rochele had lunch ready for us and things were going great.  After a short visit we all headed to Chace’s basketball game.  His team lost by two points but Chace did really good.  Back at the house, Ryan ask for some help re-setting his toilet.  We found the flange was broken so it was a trip to Hope Depot to get some additional parts.  Before doing any more on the toilet, it was time to go to dinner.  We ended up going to Chili’s (I think it was my doings we went there).  Rhonda and I thought we were taking the family out but somehow Ryan paid the bill over some type of internet gizmo that was at the table without us even knowing it.  Just another sign, I am not up to speed with modern technology.  After returning home,  we got out to put the kids to bed while Ryan took Rochele Mother’s day shopping at the mall.  Soon thereafter, I was to bed.  
SUNDAY   I didn’t know anything until I heard Ryan talking downstairs.  I looked at the clock and it was 8:53am.  Church started at 10:00 so we hurried and got ready for Church.  Ryan and the boys had made Mother’s Day breakfast so we had to hurry.  When Church was out, Ryan had to do fast-offerings/tithing so we left him at the Church.  At that time, Chace and I finished putting the toilet together and hooked it up,  No leaks were detected.  I then had a chance to look at flights to get back to VT.  Some options were better than others.  I choose the one which left at 8:50am so as to have a couple of options in NY.  After that, we just enjoyed being with the kids, playing a few games, etc.   It was nice to have family prayer, etc. with Ryan and his family.  I went to bed while Rhonda did a little more visiting.   We thoroughly have enjoyed this brief, marvelous visit with our family in Florida.

A little BBall fun with Chace & Cael

Zac seemed to enjoy his go-cart

May the Sun Shine Brightly

April 30 - May 4

The grass is quickly turning green

WEDNESDAY    Today seemed altogether different than other Wednesdays. We only had to work the morning shift now that Elder and Sister Likes are here to work the afternoon shift.  (Usually Osborn’s day off)  So, after we left the Memorial, we came back shortly for Sara Dunkle’s piano lesson.   Then, we were only home for a few minutes when Rhonda had to go back to the Church to play for the YW.  While she was at the Church, I went to Mooney’s and cut his hair.  By the time we got all that done, it was dark so we just stayed home and relaxed.    
THURSDAY   Today is our “P”-day.  It was finally time to wash and iron my white shirts that I had been saving for a while.  I ended up doing nine shirts.  We went shopping in the afternoon,  It was time to stock up on a few of the essentials.  In the evening, I spent most of the time watching TV.  It was BYU baseball and volleyball so that kept me occupied.    
FRIDAY  My morning was interrupted by a knocking on the door.  It was Ed (owner) coming to see about the dishwasher that doesn’t shut off.  After visiting with him, I decided to do some reading, etc.  This is our first day on the new schedule of going to the Memorial at 2:00pm and staying open until 7:00.  I’m glad we had several visitors to help the time pass.  We had the sister missionaries there to help give tours but of course not enough people so we were definitely "over staffed".  It was nearly dark when we finally got home and I sure was hungry.  I couldn’t wait to get the left over chili warmed up.  Not much good on TV on Friday nights so I spent my night balancing the checkbook and paying some of the monthly bills.   
SATURDAY    We were back to work early shift today.  Our first visitors came pretty quick but then they were in the restroom for 40 minutes.  Apparently they had slept at a rest stop in their car and needed quite a bit of freshening up before they could make an appearance.  We watched the monitor, then got nervous that the door was open so Rhonda went to see if they were inside the visitor center.  She finally got tired of waiting and came back to the office and watched the monitor some more before they finally started up the sidewalk.  With a number of visitors, it made the day go by quite quickly.  After we returned home, we did some cleaning as Kent and Tammy Harman were coming to spend the night at our apartment spare bed while their kids are here.  I helped  a little with the cleaning but took a couple hours off waiting for the Kentucky Derby to conclude.  It was a good horse race!  I also watched the finals of the NCAA men’s volleyball match which was also exciting.  When Harman’s finally arrived, we talked with them a while before finally retiring for the night.

SUNDAY    After Sacrament meeting, we agreed to take the Harman family,  on a personal tour at the JSBM.  We watched a few movies and had a good time.  By the time they were leaving, it was time to open the Center for the day.  We had a fairly busy day--especially adding in the visitors that came for the piano recital.  Emily Burkholder (the ward Primary President) teaches piano lessons and held a little recital at the memorial.   When we got home we had a nice telephone visit with Brayden on his 12 birthday.  He told us that he was ordained a Deacon on his birthday which is pretty special.