Signs of Goodness

 Is there good in the world? Have you ever wondered this, with so much bad news around us. Wars, droughts, viruses, mass shootings - it's all a bit overwhelming at times.

My daughter Alyssa is currently on a vacation with her husband and his family. It was originally going to be a Mediterranean cruise, but with Alyssa entering her 3rd trimester of pregnancy, that was off the table. Airfare was already paid for, so they went ahead with their vacation, minus cruise ships. Most recently, they found themselves on the island of Mykonos. I'll give you a minute to Google that.

I woke around 5 am, to a Facebook message from Alyssa, basically saying, "Don't panic, but can you send me some insurance information?". Ok, I'm up. Wide awake even. I say yes, but why? She asks if she can call, and I say sure. Our conversation goes something like this:

"Dad, I fell down the stairs and want to make sure the baby is OK. Oh wait, my doctor's office is calling....". And that's it. No more word. I start to get some pieces of information from Alyssa's mother in law. First off, here are the stairs.

Ok, I'm a bit less worried, but not much. We text back and forth, trying to find somewhere that's open with an ultrasound machine. Their driver, Nick, keeps telling mother in law not to worry. I'm pretty sure at one point she probably wanted to choke him out! They drove to one place, no dice. We keep striking out. They finally find a doctor who agrees to come in on her day off and do an ultrasound. She is very kind, and even tells them that she would like a picture of the beautiful baby when she is born. I was left humbled, not being able to help Alyssa, but knowing that kind doctor had been placed in a spot where she could provide the care Alyssa needed. Baby is fine, and Alyssa is a bit bruised but will be fine as well. Shout out to her kind husband, his family and even the driver Nick, who dared try to tell a mama bear to calm down.

One other brief example. I have a coworker who is on a family vacation back east. On Tuesday, he posted this cryptic message to Teams:

"So my family church history trip great! Saw lots of good stuff in Palmyra, Harmony, and Kirtland.

However, that small tickling cough I had been ignoring flared up and I'm now staying in the hospital in Rochester New York. They aren't certain what is wrong so we'll see how long I'll be here."

And that's it. No word. By Friday, we are all a bit worried. Our director tracks down the wife of this guy, and finds out he is now in ICU, struggling to get enough oxygen. His wife was attempting to drive the family home, and their car broke down in Iowa. Director and team sprung into action. A team member that lives in Indiana was willing to drive to Iowa if needed. Another team member has connections for dirt cheap hotels. And I think our director was ready to fly them all home. By Sunday, the team members family was back in Utah, and his wife was leaving to go back and be with him. In the mean time, our director had contacted the local congregation of our church, who were ready to take care of the children and help however they can. And the congregation in Rochester was aware of the situation and was ready to help on their end. I was again humbled, as I saw each and every team member willing to drive to Iowa, fly to New York, help out here in Utah and just so willing to serve. 

Turns out there is still goodness in the world.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my own good neighbors who brought in food after Lori's surgery. It's amazing how just knowing dinner is taken care of can really simplify the day. It allowed me to catch up on work and take care of Lori, while not giving a 2nd thought to dinner for two nights. 

Tampa Bay 2022

 Once upon a time, Alyssa received a notification about travel deals, flying out of Provo. We looked at the list, and opted for Tampa, a location we knew nothing about. It turns out Tampa has a lot to offer. We chose to do most things through CityPass, which honestly has never disappointed me. I always feel like I get such a good deal going with them.

The current Provo airport is small. Well, it honestly feels abandoned at some times. We arrived 2 hours early, only to find out they really don't even think about security or boarding until what felt like moments before the plane took off.  The parking is vastly in a dirt field. Thankfully, the new airport opens next month!

Waiting for our flight was the scene of one of my favorite moments. You see, there are no food options there, and Alyssa was HUNGRY (pregnant) and knew that flying with Allegiant there would be no inflight food either. Braden had thought to pack some sandwiches, and Michelle offered hers to Alyssa. It was a touching moment, as Alyssa cried over that meal! And Parker taught us how to properly chill at the airport terminal.

We arrived in Tampa with no problems. Actually, our flights were pretty flawless. And we were soon driving our matching minivans on the Florida highways. No regrets on our matching shirts, either.

Sunday was Father's Day. We hit up Costco, Walmart and just enjoyed our time together. One of my favorite things was game time at the house! Some of us went to the beach. I was amazed how quickly Mason and Parker took to beach life. It was a great day.

Monday was the zoo and the aquarium. My goodness, my boy Dallin loves the aquarium! I feel like most of us had a wonderful time at both locations. And I have to tell you, Michelle is one of the most patient, loving Mother I've seen in action. There's a lot of energy between her 3 boys (I'm lumping Braden in there), but she manages them all so well and keeps their family running like a champ!

Tuesday was beach day in Clearwater. We rented a cabana with a couple of lounge chairs, and I was set. I could have napped there all day! It was a much better beach than the first one we had tried. And on the way back, some of us had Nicaraguan food!

Busch Gardens was amazing. I was not impressed with the price add-ons for the front of line passes, but we bought a few anyway. The meal plan worked out. My favorite was their bbq / smokehouse. Wonderful food. And they have so many rides for kids. Parker and Mason had a blast. And this day, Traven was such a great uncle, taking them on rides, through the treehouse, etc.

Man, it's kind of blur already. What did we do Thursday? We went to Ford Garage, a diner based on Ford Motors. I hope Eric liked it.

Friday we did a boat tour, and it was HOT. We also did another aquarium, but at this point we were pretty tired.

Here are some top 10 moments from some family members:

Mike:

Top 10 vacation moments for me, in no particular order:

1. Alyssa crying over a sandwich.

2. Wendys when we arrived in Florida. I was so hungry!

3. The storm, where the lightning was exploding all around us.

4. Relaxing under the cabana at the beach.

5. Not getting a speeding ticket.

6. Ford's garage.

7. Nicaraguan food.

8. Mason and Parker just enjoying everything.

9. Playing cards.

10. Kaylee's semi circle sunburn.

Kaylee:

No particular order.

1. Ice Show at Busch Gardens

2. Ice cream at the zoo

3. Braden finally winning Five Crowns

4. Mason and Parker

5. Seeing the Scientology Center and seeing real life members going in and out

6. Seeing Bucs Stadium and a giant picture of TB12.

7. Traven being a great uncle with the boys

8. Watching Dallin at the aquarium

9. Deep talks with Lyss while seeking shade at Busch Gardens

10. The fan Dad bought be for sleeping

Alyssa:

1. Nicaraguan food

2. Mason and Parker everywhere 

3. Beach

4. Hanging out with Kaylee while surviving the heat

5. Ice cream

6. Braden hitting the minivan and trying to say he didn't....

7. Cards

8. Watching Dallin enjoy the aquarium 

9. Bathroom doors getting locked several times (sorry Mason)

10. Mason singing primary songs on the airplane. 

Jason:

1) mason and Parker enjoying everything. 

1.5)Alyssa crying over the sandwich. 

2) spending time with the family 

3) Nicaraguan food

4) the beach 

5) mason singing primary songs everyday. 

6) mason and Parker telling me jokes. 

7) seeing dolphins at the aquarium

8) the smoke house at Busch garden. 

9) sharing a room with Kaylee. 

10) The heat and humidity, really enjoy that. (I was not the only one sweating from doing nothing). 

Lots of memories and stories. Despite our house deciding it missed us and having a number of things go wrong, it was a successful trip. Also, Jeremy, Lauren, Lucy and Max are the best house sitters!

Temple Outing

 Let me tell you about my Saturday.

The time came for my parents temple work to be done. My sister and I had a LOT of questions about the paperwork, the timing, the order of things, etc. I immediately thought of the temple recorder at the Payson temple. I coached one of his sons several times, and I figured he would have the answers. Brother Woodbrey  didn't just have the answers. He scheduled everything out, had the living ordinance paperwork done so my sister and I could be sealed to our parents, and had even lined up our good friend Richard Rife to to the sealing. Brother Rife is a lawyer and former mission president, and is probably the most entertaining while being spiritual person I know.

Saturday morning, my son Braden and I met my sister Charlotte and her husband Larry at the temple. Braden did the initiatory for my Dad. While Larry and I waited, you could hear someone's alarm going off in their locker. It was a generic Samsung alarm tone. I looked at one of the workers while it was going off and said, "Well, it could be a worse tone....". He then shared several stories about the dressing room and ring tones. The day was off to a good, humorous start!

Mom had been to the temple herself while living, so we were set for the endowment session at that point. We were joined in the chapel by my wife Lori, my daughter Alyssa and her husband Dallin, Braden's wife Michelle, and my son Jason.

Braden and Michelle are picked as the witness couple. As Jason walks by his older brother, Braden gives him a kick. This is in the endowment room, so the person next to Braden whispers, "Why did you kick that man?". Without missing a beat, Braden's says,"I'm his older brother. Establish dominance.".

Jason and I sit down next to each other, which is a problem. Imagine me, but with a serious amount of muscles. That's Jason. This seating arrangement is not going to work, so we move Dallin between us. We call him "Fun-Sized", just because he is not built like an Elquist man. I then look over and see Lori and Alyssa having a good laugh at Dallin, who is now dwarfed on both sides. We are doing my Dad's temple work, and I like to imagine that, with his sense of humor, he is really enjoying this session. By the way, I'm sure Dallin would like you to know he is 6 feet tall and ripped!

As we near the end, you know the drill. I'm paired with a very, very old temple worker. 5 times he tells me the wrong thing to do or say. I do the correct thing anyway, and I have a very interesting time as the person on the other side keeps correcting the worker. Definitely off script. I'm sure my Dad is in tears at this point. When I am done, I am supposed to keep my Dad's card, but the dear old brother is not having that. Rather than cause a scene, I just proceed. You see, Brother Woodbrey is in the session with us. He asks how things are going, and assigns a temple worker to track down the card, take it down to be recorded, then deliver it to the sealing room.

I did notice at this time that Lori and Alyssa had vanished. Turns out Alyssa, who is 5 months pregnant, had a bad bit of morning sickness in the celestial room. Don't worry, they made it to a restroom in time!

I assumed the sealing would be a quick procedure. Brother Rife had my sister and I share a bit about our parents, then he did what he does best. He had us laughing, while learning a lot about temple work. My Dad was not a church going man in the least, and I worried about if doing his work was the right thing. He had told my sister and I NOT to do it. But he really wasn't himself towards the end, and Brother Rife shared some teachings on how the gospel is accepted in the spirit world. In the end, I felt a great deal of peace. Charlotte and I proxied as Mom and Dad for their sealing, and I swear she has never looked or acted more like her Mother. Larry and Lori then proxied as my parents while Charlotte and I were sealed to them. I loved experiencing aspects of these ordinances that I had not seen before.

Finished the day with lunch at Chubbys, where we met up with Kaylee and Traven, Top Gun Maverick in the afternoon, then roasting hot dogs and making s'mores in the evening.