Summer Hike

It's been a while since I posted anything because being large with child I find that I don't have the energy to do much worth posting. We did go on a family hike Saturday morning first thing, the boys had a great time throwing rocks into the stream.

On Father's Day

In the spirit of Crabapple Farms' post on Mother's Day, I want tp note a few of the great things about my Dad:


I'll start with a list of some great memories
Perhaps the earliest I can recall is a trip to Market Lake when I couldn't have been more than four. I can remember being scared to death of a goose I must have frightened off her nest.
In second grade, during a class on cowboys or the old west, I boasted to my teacher that my dad could play real cowboy songs on the guitar. When Mrs. Vargason invited him to class a week or so later to perform, I knew I had the greatest dad in the world.
For several years, my great goal in life was to be an artist, and I remember dad taking time to sit down and draw with me. His picture would inevitably be of a jet!
I have great memories of spending evenings with him building the perfect Pinewood Derby car--and learning about good sportsmanship when he offered our "secret" graphite lubricant to my friends.
Dad has a great, unusual talent in being able to facilitate youthful adventure. An olympic torch made from a cattail and kerosene stands out as a prime example.
Years later in high school, when another "adventure" ended disasterously with my brother's arm in flames, his patience and calmness in dealing with the aftermath was a lesson in forebearance I'm still learning from.

Though these activities and countless others, he's taught me so much:

• How to use wood tools
• How to shoot a gun
• How to prune a tree
• How to pour concrete
• How to change the oil
• How to solve a multi-variable algebra equation
• How to play the guitar
• How to use the Priesthood
• How to treat your wife
  

He's taught me how to love the outdoors, to love my country, to love the church I belong to.

In the desk drawer of my office is a single page from my old Bible. One column has a good-sized smudge on it, a combination of grease, dirt, and other gunk that gets on your hands when working on cars. It summarizes so much about what I admire in Dad.
It was a Saturday afternoon, and Dad and the boys were repairing another of the Ricks family fleet of cars, when a relative telephoned with an urgent question of the soul. Grabbing the nearest set of scriptures--which happened to be mine--Dad expertly resolved her concern, and calmed a troubled heart. The fact that this relative would choose to call Dad, and that he was willing, able, and spiritually in tune to address those needs--when only seconds before he was engaged in his everyday life--is just another reason of why I admire him so much.

Dad, I love you.

The New Piano

While in Idaho, I hried Mr. Bechtel to do some trucking for me. He brought us a NICE piano, a set of bunk beds, and a few small odds and ends. He returned with a queen-sized bed, an electric organ, several copies of my family history story Torpedoed! and a dozen miscellaneous trees and bushes. Sure is nice to have family that's willing to help each other out! The piano sure looks great set up in the front room.

Idaho Trip

On Thursday, Lillie and I spontaneously decided to go to Idaho for the weekend. Everyone had a ton of fun. On Friday, we went to Sandy Downs, along with cousins Braeburn and Granny Smith. All the kids had fun jumping off the steep side of the sand dune. Ben was somewhat hesitant at first, but he quickly got the hang of it. Dan's favorite part was sliding down the sand feet first on his belly, flipping his arms and legs like a beached sea turtle.

Saturday afternoon, the family went to Green Canyon Hot Springs, which was another hit with the kids (and parents!) Leslie came too. Daniel is a little waterbug like his brother. He'd lift his feet off the pool bottom so he was floating with his water wings, and just laugh and laugh. He also got a kick out of half running/half falling down the steps into the pool and landing in the water. Ben enjoyed jumping off the side of the pool, trying to make a splash as big as the "big boys" jumping off the diving board in the deep end. He did much better once we reminded him that he needed to plug his nose, not his ears!

In between activities, the boys played with their cousins on Crabapple farm, petting the goats, sheep, cats, etc. The weather was perfect. Only a slight breeze most of the time! Lillie took an iMovie tutorial from Braeburn, so perhaps viewers will be able to watch video of the weekend fun soon.