TUCSON TEMPLE

(6/10/2017) We took a day trip with the girls to Tucson to see the newly built Tucson temple.  The boys had already gone to see it with the YM and YW so they decided to stay home.  It is a beautiful temple!!

BLOGGING FOR BACK UP

Time to blog again.  I have been so busy that I have not had much time to think about blogging.  Well, today I found out that I have lost some pictures on a malfunctioning external hard drive.  Lesson learned... I need to blog so that I always have a back up of my pictures.  I have lost pictures from 2012 and on and it will cost us to get them back :(. We'll see what happens.  I am grateful to have blogged through Jan 2017... so I may have lost some pictures from Feb-May 2017 and a few others as well.

So far now I am starting with what I have.  Roberts parents came in May 2017 to see Brooke, Lenae, Madison, and Andrew graduate (of course I have lost all of those pictures) but here is a pic before they left back for Canada in June 2017.

TREK 2017

This was my first time being a part of trek and as Stake YW President I was able to have a small part in helping to plan it.  What a huge event it is to plan!  Since our stake had recently split, Phoenix Stake participated in trek with our stake.  Our old Stake President, Ron Waldron, was the Trek chairman.  Months of planning paid off as it was an awesome experience for everyone :)  Both Robert and I were able to go with Garrett.

JUNE 1ST... We left the stake center at 5am and headed toward the trek area near Forest Lakes, AZ.  We arrived and ate breakfast.  Then each trek family got their handcarts packed and ready.  We all gathered at the "Nauvoo Temple" where we heard from a member of the Phx Stake Presidency.  When he was just about to finish, a mob came came and told us we had to leave now.  Robert was one of the mob members.  The mob "shot" a few people so as we left there were a few who were laying on the ground "dead".  Those people became angels who wore white and help us along the path.  Garrett was part of the Anderson family.  Robert rode a horse and I walked and talked with the different trek families.

We stopped for lunch then not to long after lunch we pulled off to prepare for the Women's Pull.  Me and Sister Lyon from Phx Stk YW talked to the girls... Sister Lyon told a story about the Hill sisters who joined the church as teenagers and crossed the plains without their families and how with the help and encouragement from each other they were able to make it.  I then talked about how we will be pulling the handcarts on our own for a portion of the trail and how, like the Hill sisters, we need to rely on each other.  I talked about how we can do hard things and that as we look to the Savior he will give us strength as we go through hard things in our own lives.  The women pull was pretty challenging but it was neat to see everyone helping each other up the steep and rocky hill!  My counselor Bedie and I went back and forth helping pull and push carts.  We all slept good that night!

 DAY 2: This was a day full of lots of walking, games, and activities.  Some of the games played were... gunny sack races, horseshoes, hoop toss, knife throw, buck saw contest, shooting, stick pull, stilts, tug-o-war, wheel roll.  Some activities were watching a blacksmith who made rings for everyone, candle making, and a pioneer sensory activity.  Robert and I helped at the sensory activity all day which was a cool experience.  Kids were blindfolded while listening to difference pioneer stories.  During the stories they were handed different items that correlated with the story being told... a newborn baby, warm sticks, ice cold water, etc.

 DAY 3: We woke for breakfast and trek families found that the babies in their families had died.  Each family found a place in the woods to bury their babies and have a short discussion.  After that myself and a few others had to go and unbury the babies, clean them, and dress them in white clothing.  Families cleaned up and packed up, ate lunch and headed out.  After 2-3 miles we stopped where we had a short fireside with our stake president.  After he spoke the angels wheeled the "resurrected" babies in a small handcart back to the families.  After that everyone headed out to walk a few more miles to be picked up by their parents.  Robert and I went ahead to see everyone arrive to the end... it was neat to watch everyone arrive.  

Yep, f you've never been to trek, it sounds a crazy... dressing up like pioneers and pushing carts through the forest!  But it was a great experience and I'm glad I got to be there with 2 of my favorite people :). We were so exhausted and sore once we got home... our shower and bed never felt so good!