Abundant Recompense Copy

Addison gave a talk today in Primary about pioneers. He did a great job and we wanted to share with all the grandparents.

My friend Melissa invited the kids and I over to her parents' farm today so we could watch the combine cutting the wheat. The kids were thrilled. Her dad was nice enough to even let them ride with him while he cut a row! They got to watch the grain coming out of the arm and going into the truck at the end of the ride. They were telling me all about their ride and both were very specific when they were talking about the "sharpies" that turned to cut the wheat. They were pretty sweaty after the ride, so we went in the shade and they had popsicles and played for awhile while they cooled off. It was a really fun outing and the kids had a blast.  I forgot my camera, so Melissa saved the day and took these pictures for us. Thanks again Melissa! We had a great time!

We got back on Saturday from a two-week vacation to Georgia to see my fam. It was an action-packed, wild and crazy time. Tons of fun, tons of pictures. We threw a bridal shower, went through the temple for Megan's endowment, married off Megan and Sam, pulled off a smashing reception, and blessed Leah at Kaylyn's baptism (also Kaylyn's birthday). And that was just the first week! All ten of us kids were there with our spouses and children in the same house. That's 8 grandchildren, six of whom were under the age of three! It was loud. Especially around dinner time. But it was so darn fun that I want to turn around and go right back. I'm sure there will be many posts to come hitting the highlights, but for now, a sneak preview.

We came home from vacation to a few surprises: 1. The freezer door was open and the contents of both fridge and freezer were in various states of decomposition.   2. These beauties: (Addison dropped one.) 3. The first produce from our garden, including a zucchini about as big as Leah. Considering the state of the garden, this is miraculous.

A few weeks ago I took a work trip back East. We spent two days meeting with the Papers of Thomas Jefferson staff at Princeton in New Jersey and then a day at Yale in New Haven, CT, visiting the staff of both the Works of Jonathan Edwards and the Papers of Benjamin Franklin. It was really fun to talk to people who do the same thing I do and trade ideas. And those are some really prestigious universities. Very different feeling, though. Princeton was very pastoral and small-town feeling. We had an evening get-together at the managing editor's house, and it was a beautiful colonial-looking house on a half acre in a beautiful  neighborhood. Yale, by contrast, is in the middle of busy, dirty city. But Yale has the most amazing library I've ever been in. The first night, we flew into Newark and decided to drive to Manhattan. Had delicious pizza at Lombardi's (supposedly the oldest pizza parlor in the U.S.) and I accidentally led the other car into driving to Brooklyn. We visited...