A Wonderful Ending to a Great Career!

After 12 years as the head coach for the Blue Ridge Varsity Boys Soccer Team Dick is retiring. This weekend his team won the state championship beating Phoenix Country Day 4-0. We had a little family conspiracy between our oldest son, Aaron and our daughter Brie. We surprised him by flying Brie in from Utah. He was so surprised it brought him to tears. Thank you Aaron and Brie. This is Dick's 6th State Championship. What a incredible accomplishment. I am thankful for the influence he has had on so many people's lives. I am especially thankful that he got to coach our two sons who were involved in three of the six wins. I love you and thank you for taking me along on a wonderful ride!

Hamburg Happenings!

When it comes to missionary work...

The days can be long,

The work can be hard and exhausting,

But in the end, it's all worth it!

Christopher was able to see this family baptized before he was transferred to his new area. What a blessing to see the fruits of his and his companion's labors. He is now serving in Langenhorn which is in the northern part of his mission. It is near Hamburg which is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Germany. He is also a District Leader there and is very excited about his new area. His companion is Elder Foutz, who has lived in New Mexico, and who last name is also the maiden name of his grandmother who is also from New Mexico - a relative? Perhaps!

Nachrichten aus Deutschland (News from Germany)

Christopher is doing well. He just got a new companion - Elder Badger. He has only been out for four months. He is from Salt Lake and likes soccer a lot. They should have a good companionship. The work is very hard. They have had to drop a lot of their investigators because they are not progressing like they should. So Christopher tells us they are essentially starting from scratch. We know that with hard work, faith, and prayers they will be blessed. He is now a District Leader. We are proud of him and know that he will do well.

Less Than a Year But Who's Counting

It's official - July 30th was Christopher's hump day. Now we can say that he has less than a year. We're so excited!

Missionary Update...Just 10 days Until Hump Day (but who's counting)

Christopher is doing well. The work is tough but he is enjoying his mission. He is still in Oberhausen and will probably be there until October. He and his companion are working with several people and are hoping for baptisms soon!

Alma Street - a great place to do doors!

One of Christopher's English students - Jan Philipp.
Looks like he's full of it. Christopher really likes him. Cute kid!

Pondering...

His shower - looks like fun...

We Aren't in Lakeside Anymore!

Dick had a conference for work in Boston. We decided to make this our vacation. We also went to Maine but I will post Boston pictures first. This is where we went to church. It was a very cool building. It was once an old boiler factory for steamships. Church was awesome. It's so comforting to know the gospel is the same no matter where you go! This it the "T". This is how Bostonites and Lakesideites get around.

We walked along the Freedom Trail which takes you to the historic sites of the Revolutionary War. We saw too many too post. We walked the entire trail which ended up being 14 miles roundtrip. It too was awesome!

Yes, this is where "Cheers" was filmed. But I'm pretty sure they didn't know our name.


The last stop on the Freedom Trail is the Bunker Hill Monument. It has 294 steps to the top and yes we climbed everyone of them!

We saw some street performers. There were two brothers and a sister and they are from England. They were amazing!

Besides being extremely limber, he could juggle, do acrobatics and had incredible balance as did his brother and sister.

We also got to go to the Boston Temple. It was really beautiful but there were only seven of us in the session.

Rocky Mountain High

Dick and I got to watch our grandbaby while his mom and dad rode the Narrow Gauge Train from Durango to Silverton. We met them in Silverton. We loved being able to spend time with Grady. He is such a sweet little boy and he brings so much joy into our lives!

Cute as a bug!!!

GRANDPA???

That's better, grandpa and Grady resting.

Waiting for mom and dad to get off the train.

The Narrow Gauge Train

If you have never done this I highly recommend it. It is a beautiful, scenic ride. It is 4 hours one way though, so its best to split of the trip with someone else.

One tired little guy!