Here is the view from the front door of the house we stayed at in Nauvoo! The beautiful temple.
Yes, Lar, you can go up in the Arch in a tiny little people-mover. Not much room up at the top. Here is a picture of the ball field in St Louis taken from the top of the St. Louis Arch.
Dear Family,
Time does fly, doesn’t it?
Genna and Jeff moved in with us the beginning of May. Their apartment lease was up, Genna’s hours and pay have been cut, and Jeff is still waiting to hear about the CHP Academy. When he does get in, he will live there for 6 months and Genna would prefer to not live alone. So we aren’t empty nesters anymore. And it is fun to have them here. They brought their basset hound Indy with them. He and our dog Walker get along just fine. There is a bit more barking than I prefer, ditto for the dog wrestling, but what can you do?
Craig and I have been called to work in the baptistery at the temple starting in June. We are excited. We have several friends who do it and they all love it. They especially like that you can work with your spouse. Craig will be ordering a white suit. We know it was meant to be by the way things all came about.
The failing economy has not been easy for anyone, and that includes the city. Declining sales tax and property values/taxes mean Craig is not having as much fun at work as he used to and lives with even more stress than before. So I say he needs to get out of town as often as he can. Too bad all city travel is now out. In March, we did go to Phoenix for Spring Training for a few days. We went to a game every day. Including the new field the Dodgers and White Sox practice in, now that they left Florida behind. It was a very popular field. There were only 3 tickets left in the whole place (don’t forget they sell 3,000 tickets just to sit on the grass!). Those 3 tickets were in air-conditioned boxes. And you got lunch included in the price, as well you should. $$ I think I would like that kind of seat every time we go to a game! Don’t tell Craig, but the part I liked best was watching the Air Force Thunderbirds put on their show in the opposite direction of the game. They were something.
Craig spoke at a big event the Chamber of Commerce puts on every year. This year the keynote speaker was Meg Whitman. Craig was VERY impressed with her. She is very confident, self-assured and he would rate her with high leadership skills. Very family oriented, proud of her mother and her father as they were good role models. As governor, she would focus on control/manage spending, job creation and retention, and public education reform. Stay tuned.
Craig was talking with our stake patriarch who is in business with an Area Authority from our stake, and the patriarch related that the Area Authority went to a stake conference with a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. The Elder used to ask Stake Presidents how their stake was, but the answer was always about all of the problems members were experiencing. Now he asks how the full tithe payers, temple recommend holders and families holding FHE, family prayer, etc., are doing. The stake presidents answer they are doing fine. Then they relate the problems the other members were having. Interesting.
On Laurel’s birthday we left to visit Craig Jr, Rachel and Eva in Arkansas. We flew into St. Louis and drove 5 hours to their new house. It is beautiful! Eva, being one, was not really receptive to the whole grandparents visiting idea. But she did tolerate us and we got to see her in person! We had not seen her since Christmas and she had been doing some growing in the meantime. Once she started walking, she could walk rather long distances.
After a fun few days visiting there, we spent my birthday driving 7 hours to Nauvoo! Neither of us had ever been. We have a friend who has a house right across from the temple and we got to stay there. We woke up both mornings to the temple chiming the hour. WOW. Coincidently, a couple from our ward happened to be there at the same time and we were able to share the whole experience with them. If we had tried to plan to go together, it never would have worked out. We took in a session at the temple, saw the play the senior missionaries put on, and visited most of the historical sites. We went to the Land and Records office and were able to look up John Lowe Butler and John Hardison Redd. There was property listed for the Butlers – two lots kitty-corner from each other. But when we went to see the lots, they were back to their natural state with trees all over the lots. Ah well. No property was listed for the Redds. We did see our first fireflies!
We stayed for one night in Hannibal, Missouri, where Mark Twain was born. Interesting little town.
We ended the trip by going to St Louis and taking in a Cardinals/Cubs game there (NO box seats for me this time. Hmmm). It is a beautiful stadium. We went up in the beautiful St. Louis Arch and that was fun.
When we got home the Myers were here and will stay about a week. We will be able to celebrate Clementine’s third birthday. She wants blue cake, blue frosting, blue sprinkles, blue candles and blue presents. Because blue is her “favorite, favorite, favorite”. Then you shall have all of those things, my dear granddaughter. She also wants cookies at Grandma’s house. I can do that. Van is bigger than he was at Christmas, too. He is a big, cute boy.
Jeff Redd is having a family reunion this summer and they will be rafting down the American River, our closest river, for 2 days. They have invited us to go with them and we think it will be hilarious. I don’t think the rafting company knows what they are in for. I already bought some super strong sunscreen.
I was released from my Primary calling and am now back in YW. Beehive Advisor! Fun. There are 8 total in my class, with a few more coming by summer.
I am now officially a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers – I got my certificate last week. We have a fun group. I can’t wait until it is my turn to share a history. I am going to do Hans Ulrich Bryner, Jr., who is Grandpa Redd’s grandfather. The President of the International Society of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers came to our Northern California convention. I saw Doreen Blackburn there!
We hope everyone is doing well. We are looking forward to reading all about you.
Love,
The Robinsons
Anne and Roger's darling Miles
Miles is so handsome in his yellow tie
Grandma P. half a century ago
Does this kid look like Grandma P. or what?
Two excessively smart people
Another Dr. in the family
You can't hide from Relief Society forever, Sis! The new R.S. president surrounded by Dr. Pimentels
