Grandpa's 80th

Friday, July 10, 2026

Saturday, June 27

We landed in Nanaimo rather early on Saturday, June 29. Kira, Piper and Cameron had picked up Alex in Vancouver, and they had arrived earlier that day. They picked us up at the airport. We checked into our rooms at the Vancouver Island University dorms and then we headed to Grandpa and Nana’s house. We mostly visited, but Carol had some games that we played. She fed us a nice meal and then we all went back to our dorms and went to bed.

Sunday, June 28

Ben flew into Victoria early Sunday morning, rented a car and met up with us at the Shaw house. We arrived in time for a very lovely breakfast and then we all headed to church at Boyd & Carols Anglican church. It has a fascinating history and a beautiful chapel.

After a nice service we got a personal tour of the building and the renovations they have made and then we decided to check out the neighborhood.

Alex is still recovering from his car accident, so Lisa called up the local bishop and borrowed a wheelchair they had at their church. I think Cameron used it as much as Alex did, but it was a real help.

The girls got stuck in a clothing shop, so the guys (me, Ben, Alex and Cameron) continued exploring. The first thing we found was the Bastion. It isn’t very clear what the Bastion was, but its name suggests that it used to be a defensive building with gun ports etc. When we were there though everything was locked up.

The Bastion overlooked the harbor and as we were checking out the views we saw “Trollers Fish and Chips”. It looked like one of those hidden treasures that are hole in the walls with amazing food. We headed down to the docks and shared an order of fish and chips between the four of us. It was amazing. We didn’t want to eat too much because we were heading back to Nana’s for dinner.

About the time we were licking our plates the women joined up with us and then we headed back to the house. Had dinner and did some more visiting.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Contrary to recommended practice, evidence shows that introducing infants to common allergens (such as eggs) early (in their first year), results in fewer allergic reactions than delaying the introduction of allergens. 

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The Craziness Continues

Monday, June 26, 2026

On Monday I summarized our fun and hectic week, and I was looking forward to a nice relaxing week. That never happened. It all started Wednesday. At some point I had chipped a tooth and while it was little more than a nuisance, I wanted to take care of it before we headed to Canada on Saturday. Dr Belnap was able to squeeze me in on Wednesday morning. 

Immediately after my Dentist appointment I headed to the Blood Bank donation center on Saber Springs Parkway. The last thing they said to me was “no strenuous activity for twenty-four hours”.

I went home and worked for a few hours and then headed off to mutual. They were planning capture the flag in the brush north of the chapel but only four boys showed up so we decided to play chair soccer which is a lot of fun. I joined in the activity. Towards the end of mutual, I was trying to beat a little twelve-year-old to the ball, but I was leaning into my run too much and started falling forward. I caught myself with my hands and it was like reliving a nightmare. My face was only inches from my right hand and in slow motion I could see my fingers bending back far too much.

Several years ago, I was in Texas helping Brandon move and I tripped over a curb and the same thing happened except that time I dislocated my knuckle. My hand hurt like crazy but I couldn’t just lay there so I jumped up and continued playing. My fingers were killing me, but you don’t need your hands to play soccer.

After about ten minutes I started getting dizzy, so I stood on the sidelines to recoup. I was standing next to Chris Sexton, and he was telling me something, but my dizziness got worse, so I told Chris I needed to go sit down. That is the last thing I remember until Chris and Jeff were gently waking me up. I had only been out for a few seconds, but I was very confused.

After ten or fifteen minutes I was back to normal and then I went home. When I walked in the door, Lisa asked me how mutual went so I grabbed a chair sat down beside her and said, “well, let me tell you”. I shared my sad tale.

Just before and after I passed out, I was sweating profusely. That ended at about the time I drove home but as I was sharing my story with Lisa, I got cold and clammy. I rested on the couch for a while and Lisa called our minister to come and give me a blessing. Our minister is Jeff Andrew so that was cool. I then went to bed. As soon as I climbed into bed, I got bad vertigo, that was weird because I have never had vertigo laying down, only when standing.

The next morning, I got up and headed to the bathroom. I could hardly walk. I had to put my hands on the wall to keep from falling. I couldn’t keep my balance. After taking care of my business I went back and sat on my bed to get dressed but I immediately started getting nauseous. I called for Lisa to bring me the “bowl” and no sooner did I get “the bowl” than I started to barf. I hadn’t eaten anything since I passed out so nothing more than water came up and not much of that.

Lisa had tried to take me into emergency the night before, but when she saw me barf there was no talking her out of it. I begged her to give me two hours to let me wake up so she said she would give me an hour. She lied, as soon as I went into my office to do my scripture study she called Kaiser. After hearing my story, they told her to bring me in.

And then we headed off to emergency. Mom drove me right up to the emergency doors. I tried to talk her into parking in the parking lot and walking in, but she told me I’m going in a wheelchair. She left me in the car, went and got a wheelchair. I got out of the car, turned around and sat in the chair and promptly started to barf. Mom had brought the yellow bowl, and she got it to me in time.

Our timing was perfect; we waited five minutes at most. The first thing they did was an ECG. My heart was fine.

They performed a bunch of blood tests. My blood is good; I wasn’t even dehydrated.

My oxygen levels were 100%.

My blood pressure was a bit high but that was to be expected considering my pain and suffering.

They X-rayed my finger. It was broken.

They gave me antinausea medicine, it made all the difference.

I got a CT scan on my head. They weren’t looking for a concussion but bleeding in the brain. There was no bleeding, but he was pretty sure I had a small concussion because I had all the symptoms.

We waited for ever for all the test results to come in but once the doctor talked with us, they gave me an antinausea patch, splinted my finger and sent me home. They just wanted to make sure that my heart was OK and that I didn’t have a brain bleed.

Thursday was a rough day but every morning since then I have been a little unstable when I first wake up and then I’m mostly fine the rest of the day. Every day gets better. for now I walk very carefully.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Studies show that for adults over 65, being in the  'overweight' range (a BMI of 25-27) is associated with the lowest risk of health problems and the best long-term outcomes. 

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An Amazing Two Weeks

Monday, June 22, 2026

Wow, the last two weeks have been crazy but fun. I am exhausted and a little sunburned, but I feel quite fulfilled. It is going to take me a few days to relate everything but let me give you a brief recap.

Wednesday, June 10 Sterling, Chris and I rode with the Deacons to the beach. We were going to ride through the canyon but there was a rather scary brush fire in the Canyon on the Monday and they wouldn’t let us ride through the canyon so we ended up riding on the bike path.

Thursday, June 11 Sterling, Chris and I drove the deacons to Palm Springs, and we rode up the tram up the mountain and hiked into Round Valley.

Friday, June 12 We hiked to San Jacinto Peak (10,834 ft) and back to our campground.

Saturday, June 13 We hiked back to the trolley station and drove home. I then attended Mark Ma’s graduation from UCSD and then Lisa and I met with President Mauseth who released me as a second councilor in the Bishopric.

Sunday, June 14 I was released in Sacrament Meeting and Jeff Andrew is our new Bishop with Dan Cho as first councilor and Jeff Millard as second councilor. Lisa and I were trained as volunteers at the temple, and we got the house in shape for Alycia and her family to arrive on Monday

Monday, June 15 Alycia and her family arrived.

Tuesday, June 16 Mom and Alycia took the kids on a Torrey Pines hike and then to the beach. Alycia met up with a friend. Trevor and I worked until 5:00 and then joined up with them at the beach. Alex and his family arrived at 12:30 in the morning.

Wednesday, June 17 Trevor collected trash, Queen Lisa, Princess Lisa and Alycia took all the kids to the Children’s Pool while Alex and I worked. As soon as Alex was done one of his morning meetings we joined up with them and went to Old Town. That evening Alycia and Trevor headed to the Legoland Hotel.

Thursday, June 18 We went with Alex and his family to the Temple Open House and then to the zoo. Alycia and family spent the day at Legoland.

Friday, June 19 Alycia’s family headed to Sea World while Mom and I hung out with Alex and his family while they packed to head to Las Vegas. We then joined up with Alycia and her family.

Saturday, June 20 We did the Temple Open house with Alycia and her family and then Alycia and her kids headed for home. Mom and I then went to the Highland Games and manned a booth for the RSCDS (Royal Scottish Country Dance Society).

Of the last fourteen days I have spent the majority of nine of those days outside. Even having emptying most of a can of sunscreen I have a special glow about me but thankfully, my sunburn is mild enough that it hasn’t disrupted any of the fun. A day in the sun really saps your energy.

We are now alone, we’re exhausted but our hearts are full.

--------------------trivia--------------------

For a brief period of time, Pepsi had the sixth largest navy in the world. In 1989 the Soviet Union traded a fleet of subs and boats for a whole lot of soda. The new agreement included 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer. Pepsi immediately sold them to a Swedish company for scrap. 

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Forty-Five Years

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Last Saturday was our forty-fifth wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that we have been married for forty-five years. In my head I am forty-five years old.

I clearly remember the first day that I met Lisa. It was at church on the first day I moved to Edmonton to attend the U of A. I was with Greg and Gaylia’s family and Lisa came up and introduced herself to me. She was friendly and kind and she had a very effervescent personality. To make it all better, she was also beautiful. I could tell that she loved life. I can’t believe I talked her into marrying me.

It didn’t take long before we realized that we belonged together. Our views on life, religion and raising children align very well. Our personalities are almost completely opposite but I often think that is a good thing. We strengthen each other where we are weak. Lisa is outgoing and quick to make new friends. I am quiet and reserved and quite content to be a loner. I can’t be a loner while married to Lisa. She makes me a better person.

Lisa on the other hand stresses about everything that isn’t going the way she thinks it should. I can usually calm her down and help her relax.

Looking back on my life I can’t imagine what it would have been like without her. We have built many memories together and the very best memories include her and the six wonderful children we have raised together.

We have shared and overcome every challenge we have been faced with and we have done it together. We have comforted each other through many trials and carried each other through times of grief but we have also shared every joy together.

While Lisa will never enjoy Star Trek as much as I do and I will never enjoy a Hallmark movie like she does, I am happy to sit down and watch a Hallmark movie with her and she will actually take me to Star Trek concerts and we have gone to every Star Trek movie together when new movies come out.

Having said that, there are many things that we both love to do. When I was at BYU I audited a Ball Room Dance class and I taught Lisa everything that I could remember. While that isn’t much, we love to waltz, Samba, Cha Cha, Latin Hustle and others but we have excelled in Swing Dancing. We would Swing Dance with our kids and our kids would swing dance with each other. More recently we have joined a Scottish Country Dance group that we both love.

We also love being outdoors. We go to the beach; we used to go skiing often (but not so much once kids came along). We love to go hiking and often go for walks. Walking on the beach at sunset can’t be beat. Lisa also ran with me in several races but due to her Mortens Neuroma she could never be a serious runner.

We also love singing. We have always attended our Ward Choirs together and in our younger years we occasionally sang in our Sacrament Meetings together.

While Lisa would like to travel a lot more than I care to, we do love to travel and while we hope to travel more as we enter retirement, we have been able to travel to England, Scotland, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico and many of the US States together.

I guess what I’m saying is that Lisa is a part of who I am. Our lives are intertwined and I can’t imagine life without her. I am excited about spending more and more time with her in the future and my heart swells as I imagine spending the eternities with her. If the last forty-five years have been remarkable, I can’t imagine what it will be like in the eternities as we build worlds together.

I love her more than I could possibly express, I am blessed that my Father in Heaven brought her into my life and I am excited for the next forty-five years together. Well, forty-five years may be a bit ambitious, but I’ll take as many years as I can get. Happy anniversary sweetheart.

As I was sorting through pictures I came across many more than I need for a post but I thought I’d share them anyway because I received so much joy in reminiscing over them.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Decades of research show a powerful link between a healthy marriage and physical/mental well-being. Married individuals generally live longer and have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, depression, and cancer.

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Spring Tea Dance

Monday, June 1, 2026

Saturday was our spring Tea Dance for our Scottish Country Dance group. We just finished our third year of dance classes and I’m just now starting to feel like I’m becoming an OK dancer. Until recently, if we were doing a dance that is new to me, it would take several tries before I could catch on, but in the classes, you don’t get several tries. You walk through it and after a couple of walk through’s they dance the dance and then you move on. In the beginner class they focus on the steps and a few simple figures and in the intermediate class they learn all kinds of new dances, but they move rather fast.

At the last big dance party we did, I found out about an app where you could download videos of the dances for upcoming events. The dances are all rated as being easy, medium or hard. I picked the dances I wanted to do and made sure I didn’t dance the dance just prior to the one I wanted to dance. I sat through the dance before the one I wanted to participate in and went through the video repeatedly until I had it stuck in my brain. It worked very well and I had a great time, but I only got to dance half the dances.

For the tea dance, both of our classes focused on the upcoming dances, so I was relatively prepared and then I used my app to embed the dance moves into my brain. I danced every dance and had a blast. It was a very fun weekend. That dance was in the Balboa Park Club building and the atmosphere was amazing. I also got to wear my kilt.

--------------------trivia--------------------

The first collection of Scottish Country dances was publish in 1724. 

Those dances (and the music) are still danced today.

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Renaissance Fair

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Sunday was a relaxed day. We went to church with Brandon and his kids and then we hung out and enjoyed each other’s company. If I remember correctly, Sydney hung with us for a bit and then disappeared to another graduation party.

We played games and I set up a water jet “T” ball sprinkler thing that was quite fun. It was also fun just hanging out with the grandkids.

Monday was our last day in Texas. Sydney and Hayley were YCL’s for their girl’s camp and headed to camp Monday morning. Lisa and I drove them to their drop off point and hugged them both goodbye. We then packed up the rest of the kids and headed to a Renaissance Fair that was going on.

The Fair was pretty much a twin to the ones they have in Phoenix but perhaps a little bigger with a few more attractions.

It was also hot just like the one in Phoenix. We had a lot of fun. Brandon slaughtered anyone who would accept his challenge in sword fighting... 

and the girls got their hair braided.

As we were walking to our car to go home, we saw a huge thunderhead coming our way. Our car wasn’t close, so we kept gauging the distance. Luckily, we were unlocking the car when the rain started coming down. It was a fun day but as soon as we got home, we loaded up the car, kissed the kids goodbye and then Brandon and Ally took us to the airport. For some reason it feels like we’ve been gone for a month. I guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun.

--------------------trivia--------------------

While Mt Everest is the tallest mountain when measured from sea level. Mt Chimborazo in Ecaudor is the mountain that is closest to space. Because the earth bulges at the equator, sea level in Equador is higher than sea level in Tibet.

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