On Our Way

Pedro and I packed our life into my little Mazda 626 and his Ford Ranger with a trailer and left the familiarity of Provo for the open road to Minnesota on Monday, August 18. We enjoyed visits along the way; grandma in Heber, mission president's wife in Vernal, great aunt in Nauvoo and cousin in Iowa. We slept under the glorified tarp Pedro made (yes, he actually sewed it together) in state parks or national forests along the way.

A morning hike in Dinosaur National Monument was our last Utah adventure before climbing slowly up the steep canyon roads in Colorado to Rocky Mountain National Park. Camping and hiking in this park reminded me of family backpacking trips in the Uintahs and the Windrivers. We saw a mama & a baby moose, a fox, elk, lots of friendly rodents and a black bear at Mills Lake (across the lake from us, gratefully). Beautiful pine forests with reddish hues not from autumn leaves changing colors, but from the destructive pine beetle, covered the canyon walls. Park rangers thwarted our attempt to paddle our little kayak to camp on an island in the middle of one big lake. They said the island was privately-owned in the middle of this big expanse of federal land. Foiled!

We cooked oatmeal, ramen and soup in a cup on a little gas stove Pedro made from a pop can. PBJs and Wendy's value meal kept us alive, too. Though for more than one meal, we scarfed Sister Cranney's amazing zucchini bread. Thank you Hermana Cranney!

Goodbye mountains. Hello corn fields and big sky. Kansas had a nice visitors information center. That's about it.

We arrived in Independence, Missouri about 2:30 a.m. because we couldn't find the state park in Kansas, so we decided to sleep in our car. A good thing because a big storm raged that night.

The LDS visitors center in Independence was very nice. I especially appreciated the simple beauty of our temples after seeing the thick, twisted spiral of the RLDS (now Community of Christ) church's temple. Before we knew what it was, we joked it looked like the great and spacious building. No offence to the RLDS.

Liberty Jail had a special feeling of sacrifice, humility and revelation. A testimony that the three go together; whereas Carthage had more of a sobering feeling. Far West and Adam-ondi-ahman lay in the midst of beautiful rolling hills of farmland. I never realized how hilly Missouri is. We felt a sense of peace and quiet and waiting calm as if the disparity of the saints situation in the late 1830s dissipated with the wind.

Nauvoo was alive. We rode our bikes through the historic town visiting restored homes of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Lucy Mack Smith, John Taylor and others. Because the pageant had ended the week before, more couple missionaries occupied Nauvoo than anyone else, so we felt like we had the town almost to ourselves. The sunset over the Mississippi River glowed bright orange as the statue of Joseph and Brigham points to the west.

An endowment session in the Nauvoo Temple made our time there so sweet. The majesty of that sacred edifice stands as a memory to the sacrifice and dedication of the early saints. The beauty of the inner walls shows the simple beauty of the gospel of Christ and the glorious plan of happiness.

Fishing at Vivian Park

Smiling cousins, barbequed hot dogs and baited fishing poles - what more could you ask for to have a great time at Vivian Park.

My Brother, the missionary

My brother, Brycen, entered the Missionary Training Center. After three weeks of preparation in the MTC, he will live in West Virginia for two years sharing the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and eternal families with anyone who is willing to listen.

Being in the MTC brought back so many special memories of when I served a mission. We sang "Called to Serve," and tears came to my eyes. I feel so much love for the people I taught in Bolivia. Christ changed their hearts as they kept His commandments. I know that the message of the restored gospel is true. We are all called to serve God and share His message of love and peace and joy.

Go with God, Elder Mills!!!

Top of Timpanogos

Saturday, Pedro and I hiked to the top of Timp with my brother, Brycen, my dad, and a couple of family friends, Sharon Larkin and Gary Brimley. The wild flowers were incredible, so many varieties. It was my last hike with Brycen before he leaves on a mission to West Virginia. I loved chatting with him along the trail. We made our way down quite a bit shorter by sliding on our feet (or rear) down the snow fields - steep, a little scary, but exhilerating.

Happy Independence Day!

We enjoyed Independence Day Weekend in El Centro, California and in Mexico. The long drive was worth it to eat authentic Mexican tacos with Pedro's grandparents in Mexicali on Thursday. They showed us old pictures of when they were teenagers. At 17, his grandma was absolutely gorgeous. She still doing pretty good. Later, we visited his other grandma, Nana Flora, who fed us way more than we were capable of eating. She loves to tell stories about Pedro when he would visit her as a little boy. She explained how his mom would dress him in spotless white shirts, shorts and shoes, but when he got to grandma's house, he was free to take it all off and run free. In the evening, we ate the traditional shrimp with Pedro's dad. After dinner we went to the stake center for a ward basketball game. Pedro got to see some of his high school friends and play basketball with his dad. It was nice to see family and friends before taking off to the cold north of Minnesota.

Friday, the fourth, we enjoyed a pancake breakfast with the ward in El Centro. Their ward does a kids parade with red, white and blue decorated bikes and lawn mowers just like we did growing up in Holladay. Later that afternoon, we headed out of the 110* heat into the mountains above San Diego for a camping trip. At night, from the top of a hill, we could see thousands of stars. I sang quietly to myself some of my favorite songs: "America the Beautiful" and "My Country Tis of Thee." The next day we headed to Ensanata, Mexico, where we enjoyed a boat ride in the harbor and shopping in the streets.

Going back and forth over the border so easily made me grateful for my citizenship. How blessed we are to live in a free nation. I LOVE AMERICA!!!

Island Park, Yellowstone & Teton National Park

It was so fun going back to our adopted Grandpa Dan's cabin in Island Park. I remember as a child feeding the chipmunks and the yellow-bellied marmots that lived behind the wood pile. The marmot doesn't hang around any more, but we did see beavers and otters in the Buffalo river (no fish) and a moose among the trees.

We enjoyed kayaking down the Snake River and mountain biking along the side. Brette brought her paints, and we rediscovered the relaxing joys of painting nature. One evening the guys fished on Henry's Lake while Mom took Brette, Kelsey and I to see Oklahoma in West Yellowstone. We had a blast and laughed all the way back to the cabin.

Saturday, Pedro and I saw Yellowstone and the Tetons, at least as much as you can see in a day. It was a great day for seeing animals. I think Pedro brings luck. We saw a bear, a wolf, a mama & baby moose, deer (about 15 feet away, no joke), elk, bison and about 2.3 billion mosquitos. And to add to our luck, just after we saw Old Faithful, a much bigger and less frequent geyser, the Beehive geyser, started to spout. Pretty cool!

Worlds Apart

Pedro had a great time in Uganda, except, of course, that he missed me unbearably and swore to never leave me again. Fine by me; we can go together to see the world. I was so happy to have him home again, especially after two canceled flights.

He was using his computer science skills to set up computers and internet in a rural orphanage among other engineering projects. He taught the nuns who run the orphanage how to use email and how to make salsa. While he was gone, I spent some time in Mendon. Devan showed me how he gets the hummingbirds to sit on his hands. Brycen showed off his cloud-eating and tree-climbing skills. I'll never forget the gorgeous rainbows in that peaceful, quaint Cache Valley of mine.

Memorial Day Adventures

My family came to visit us. We played around at this ropes course, ate at Zupas (my favorite soup/sandwich/salad place), and saw Prince Caspian. I think the best moment of the day was when Mom started squealing as she dropped down in the giant swing. She bravely accepted all of the high-up challenges. Brette, Kelsey and I had a fun Girls' night. Pedro was sweet and insisted we buy some icecream. :) Oh, and our cousin, Cameron, arrived home from Iraq. What a great Memorial Day Weekend!