The Stories That Bind Us

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal recently called "The Stories That Bind Us". I highly recommend reading it. Our stake has had a goal for the past six months that every member of the stake would find an ancestor to perform temple work for before our next stake conference at the end of October, so family history has been on my mind.

This article tells about some really interesting research done on the impact family stories have on children. What is interesting is that they found children who were raised hearing stories about their family are actually more resilient, happier, healthier and have higher self-esteem. I think this principle of story telling applies to more than just families as well. Think about the stories we tell in the Church and the stories that have been told throughout the history of mankind:

• The fall of Adam and Eve (which is a story we are still taught today in the temple) and the Plan of Salvation. This is a story that binds us to the entire human family. The fall is something we can all relate to and definitely can help us be more resilient in times of trial.
• The many stories that have been told within the House of Israel throughout time. The story of Joseph in Egypt, the story of Moses leading them out of Egypt and delivering them, the story of a Messiah that would come to redeem Israel. These are stories that are all part of our family history.
• The stories of our more recent and direct ancestors, such as Samuel Lorenzo Adams getting married at the drop of a hat and sailing to America. I shared this in our ward recently and the sisters seem to be a little stand-offish now. I don't understand why.
• Then there are stories about the Peter and Melody Hall family. Wages Creek, Bodega Bay, breaking down on the way to Idaho, and Vanilla Ice come to mind. 

I have to say that I am grateful for the stories that bind us together as a family. I've listed below some memories, some are more story-like than others.

From my family members, including any cousins that have memories of our families interacting, I want to solicit stories in order to document our "family narrative" for our children and our grandchildren. Feel free to give as much or as little detail as possible. If you can think of any stories just comment on this post. Thanks!

• Swiss Colony, little smokies, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
• Bodega Bay  - "Yo Vanilla, kick it one more time, boooyyyy!"
• Breaking down on the way to Idaho (x15)
• Wages Creek. Getting up early to go out and collect shells when the tide was out. Watching grandpa Hall play horseshoes. Michelle making friends with just about anyone and everyone Michelle boogie boarding without a wetsuite. Waking up and hearing dad starting the fire, then getting up and having hot chocolate and pop tarts.
• Digging out half of the pool to make a "deep end".
• Kim realizing that her bike was green.
• Popcorn and cranberries on the Christmas tree.
• Doorbell ditching plates of cookies at Christmas.
• Mom making clothes for us.
• Having extra money left over after the garage was built and getting a trampoline!
• That time Michelle got here appendix out the hard way.
• That time Chris got his appendix out after the worst camping trip ever.
• Having "the cousins" come over to swim.
• Coming home from trips to Idaho and seeing that the deck around the pool had been painted by "the cousins".
• Dad trying to be good and have family home evening even though there was a Giants game on, and somehow successfully getting both done.
• The "little blue car" that Pam drove in high school. You could hear it coming from a mile away.

Chalk the Block

Last weekend Becca and I went to an event called "Chalk the Block". It is held at an outdoor mall in Provo called the Riverwoods. Each artist takes a parking stall and they probably had 50+ pieces. Here are a few that I especially liked:

Faster than a speeding train.

Its time to start the show.

Great memories with Max.

Scooooby-doo!

This one was so cool because the artist intentionally drew it for people to take pictures with. Doesn't it look like we are actually in the drawing? Mary Poppins comes to mind.

I'm feeling so mel-onc-oly. 

Idaho 2013

Last week a few of my friends and I took a trip up to Idaho to do some hiking and camping. Here are some highlights.

The "Blue Hole" in Rigby, ID. Best rope swing around. This is me halfway through a backflip.

The Darby Wind Caves, a must see if you are ever near Driggs, ID. Its a really neat cave with a waterfall coming out of it. Its only 5 miles round trip, pretty accessible for just about anyone.

Inside the cave (from left to right): Jerika Terry, Philip Stewart (not sure why his sunglasses are on, there wasn't an ounce of light), Jarom Bridges, and Nate Llewellyn.

Me and Becca Pike on our way out of the cave, at the mouth of the waterfall (it is a spring that comes out at the mouth of the cave).

Someone got this candid shot of Becca and I eating lunch at the base of the waterfall. 

We visited Jackson for an evening.

Our campsite. The highlight (for me, others may have their own opinion) was reading "The Cremation of Sam McGee".

Saturday morning we woke up to blue skies, but they didn't last long. Just as we finished cooking breakfast a dark thunderstorm rolled in. Within minutes lightning was cracking overhead (directly overhead once, which got our hearts beating) and the rain was pouring. So, we quickly threw everything into cars, except breakfast, which ended up in the bear box. So we took turns putting our breakfast burritos together under the tarp, then getting in the cars to eat. 

Due to the inclement weather, we decided to bag our Table Rock hike. We went west and found a great hike to a bridge in the middle of nowhere. In this picture you can see the storm we escaped, and the beautiful alternative we enjoyed. 

I know there are a lot of these, but it was really incredibly beautiful. 

After the hike to the bridge, we had some milkshakes at one of my favorite places, the Frostop, in Ashton.

That evening we headed back to Rexburg and showered and relaxed. Some of our company had never been to Rexburg, so we decided to treat them to the well known "Taco Truck", which has been upgraded to a bus since I left Idaho.

Sunday we attended a student ward on BYU-Idaho's campus. As we were about to go we decided we needed to grab a bite to eat first, and it turned into some kind of tailgate party. We had some strange looks but it was fun.