How we spent our summer vacation

We are happy to report that we still like each other after having spent an entire week together. Even Joe and Devon survived their week with the in-laws!

This is the night we've waited for. Luke helped me begin our family night with an opening prayer. We talked about family unity. We'll all think about the story whenever we use chopsticks. Remember we are stronger together just like a big bundle of chopsticks tied together. If someone in our family needs us for anything....remember to say "chopsticks" and then work together to bless one another's lives.

Everyone needs an Uncle Michael!

It was a great day to spend at the beach.
When Michael is at the wheel, it's sure to be an exciting ride!

No wonder Parker has no fear!

nothing like having our own private beach! Oh did I say "private"? You mean we weren't suppose to be there?

Wait...this is a photo op we can't miss. We know the tours of the Midway end in an hour, but we're taking this picture anyway! It's not as easy as it looks to stand like that!

We made it on the ship and went straight to the top so we could see the fighter jets. Devon could have spent three days on this ship and loved every minute of it.

Hurry, hurry, walk a little faster, faster....hurry, hurry, maybe even run! We've put our money in the meter and it's ticking! We only have an hour and a half to do a three hour tour.

Is is really worth an hour and a half wait to ride this thing? How about if you guys go on two or three other rides while me and dad wait in line!!! Actually, we really didn't mind. As it turned out, this was the only long line in the park that day anyway. Great day to go to Disneyland!

There's nothing like seeing Disneyland through little children's eyes.

I never thought a fireworks show could be that amazing!

Warm California nights are the best...especially at sunset at the beach.

Are all California girls blonde and tan? Kimberly finally achieved her goal of being more tan than the rest of us.

I think the guy in charge of this ride loved us! It was the most excitement he's had in days at Lego Land. Nothing like a little competition between family members. I think Dad and Michael's fire truck was rigged!

Michael and Joe continued their search for the most exciting ride at Lego Land. You can tell this one was Waaaay exciting! They look like they are with a summer camp group in the same color shirts.

Taking a break from the heat and the rides....all the adults watched with envy as the kids all played in the cool water park.

Our last night together having dinner at King's Fish House....yummm! The hardest decision of the night was what kind of dessert to surprise Robyn with. We all enjoyed sharing the one piece of chocolate cake that we got especially for Robyn. Thanks for sharing it with us!

"Don't Miss IT for the World"

I never would have imagined myself as a chaperone for Youth Conference in Kentucky. I'll just add this to my list of things I never thought I'd do.

Youth Conference 2007 held at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green Kentucky. The theme for this year's Youth Conference was "Don't Miss IT for the World" ("It" meaning the temple, or at least what the temple represents.) Above is a picture of all the youth and leaders at Youth Conference from the Franklin, Hopkinsville, and Paducah Stakes. What a great group of youth! It is good to know the church and the youth are the same everywhere. Bob and I are in the picture, but good luck finding us. Oh wait, Bob would be the only one with sunglasses on.

Bob took this wonderful picture of me while I was giving some instructions for a game we were about to play. Doesn't humidity do lovely things to hair?

We were given responsibility for 20 kids. Bob had 6 boys and I had 16 girls (how fair is that!). Only four of them were from our stake, so we had to get to know names and faces really fast! We were the "Blue" group which started out having 14 kids and by the end of the get to know you games there was 20. I don't have any idea how that happened, I just know I kept adding names to my list. At the end of the first day, we were able to recognize the kids in our group.

This picture was taken before the last 2 kids joined our group. They were a very "spirited" group (to say the least) but they were lots of fun to be with. Two of the girls in our group were non-members who came with some of their friends (all in other groups) thinking they could have a fun, free food weekend. Both ended up bearing their testimonies the last day of youth conference saying they felt much more, and wanted to investigate why they felt the way they did.

To get this many youth together, they combined stakes from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. Some of these kids are the only member in their high school, so it was really fun for them to be able to spend a weekend with so many other members.

I am still trying to figure out how the paths leading anywhere on campus from the dorms are uphill both ways. My feet could not walk another step by the end of the first day (which, by-the-way, ended at about 3 a.m. when my body finally slept for about a half an hour in between trains). At 2 a.m. I couldn't help but burst into laughter, so my roommate (who I knew was still awake) and I finally got up to look out the window to see how close it was because it sounded like it was right under our window. IT WAS! It was right across the street! Needless to say, it was a long night and we were glad to see the sun rise. It's a good thing they had amazing speakers lined up for the classes.

Here are a few highlights from the classes on Friday:

• We can tell how we are doing spiritually by the way we feel about sin.
• Two words that describe the secret to scripture study are: consistency, and intensity.
• Get out of the "check off the box mode" when it comes to scripture study.
• Learn to "juice" the scriptures.
• Keep a scripture journal.
• There's more to a picture of David and Goliath than a small guy, a big guy, and a rock.
• If you are a casual christian, someday you will be a christian casualty.
• Write down your general impressions and follow them.
• If we follow our general impressions, more detailed impressions will follow.
• Keep a small notebook and pencil with you.
• Tommy Babylony Figer is not the place to shop.
• You can always tell where something was made whether it be Zion or Babylon.
• So check your music, clothing, movies, books, etc. and see where they are made.
• We are in the middle of the most brutal custody battle ever waged.
• "Who's your daddy?"...you choose.

Great fun, free food, and so much more...

Ready, get set...take a deep breath...go!

Pictured from left to right: Hannah (the bride), Paulette (friend from Florida), Me, Peggy

Bob and I hosted an open house for Tim Morris and his new bride on Friday the 29th of June. He and Hannah were married in the San Diego Temple on June 2nd. Hannah is from Tupelo, Mississippi...she's a doll! They make such a cute couple. This was their third reception. They had one in Placentia, one in Tupelo Mississippi, and this one in Nashville. We just love the Morris' and feel like they are part of our family, so it was a pleasure to do this for them. I think Peggy and I were both giving ourselves positive reaffirmations saying "you will live through this!". We did...and I lived to blog about it!

I wish I had more pictures of this event, but we were in such "high gear" from the time Peggy and Aubrey arrived late Wednesday night that taking pictures just didn't happen. I only posted this picture out of desperation. It does, however, show one of the smaller arrangements we made for the tables and the 7-Up that was used to keep them alive. Aubrey had driven us all over town on Thursday gathering everything together. I was the navigator (which means it's a miracle we found anything). They kept asking me with confidence where things were, and I just kept faking it and guessed my way around.

It was a really nice evening. I was so impressed with how Peggy and Aubrey keep friendships alive. They had close friends drive all the way from Florida so they could be here for Tim and Hannah's open house. These are friends they made when they lived in Florida a long time ago. Such nice people! I feel like they are my friends now! (Paulette, pictured above, and her husband Troy were two of their friends from Florida.) After spending almost a week together, I can see how they make and keep friends. If I'm ever in charge of an event, I want Peggy and Aubrey on my team!

Here's a few things I learned this week:

• Sleep a little, laugh a lot
• it is possible to prepare for a big event in one day (crazy, but possible)
• Costco has EVERYTHING
• People never eat as much as you think they will
• It's ok to stop for a long leisurely lunch with friends and family in the middle of a lot of chaos.
• Positive reaffirmations telling yourself "I will live through this" seem to help
• Chocolate fountains are sooo good, but sooo hard to clean
• 7-Up and flowers are a good mix
• White paper bags with sand and candles inside make a great lighted pathway and patio
• You'll never get it all done, but no one will notice
• People will find your house without the balloons and signs marking the way
• no one will use the pretty paper hand towels in the powder bath if you leave a towel hung
• If you rent tables for outside it WILL rain, if not the weather will cooperate
• They'll know you're not from the South if you wear pantyhose in the summer
• Loreal's Subline Glow really works on even the whitest of legs

It was quite a week!! It's over now and we did live through it. I am so thankful for good friends. Good friends are like stars...you don't always see them, but you know they're always there!! Congratulations Tim and Hannah!!

Happy Birthday "Shout Out" to Blake

Happy First Birthday Blake! It seems like we've barely blinked and time has gone by! For such a small guy, you've had quite an impact on our family!

You were born one year ago today in San Diego, California (or "Paradise", as we like to refer to it...if it's not Paradise, we're sure it has the same zip code.) If your dad had his way, your name would be "Diego". Lucky for you, your mom talked him out of it. Your parents had a hard time agreeing on a name, but once they thought of "Blake", it just felt right. (Although, a blue eyed, blonde haired Diego would have been a good conversation piece.)
You always have a smile on your face and make people want to pick you up and give you a big hug! Your smile can light up a room! You even smile when you have a severe ear infection. Hopefully those are gone for good! What a great year it has been...we've loved every minute you've been with us. There is a part of our hearts that is reserved just for you...we love you Blake.

So, How Was Your Weekend?

Elder Michael Teh, Bob, President Tipps, Pres. Newsome, Elder Tingey

We didn't know any of these men, except Gary Newsome, until yesterday. Interesting how fast you can make friends in the Church.

President Johnson 1st counselor, President Tipps, President Newsome 2nd counselor

(These men will be seeing a lot of each other over the next 10 years)

So...how was your weekend? I'm sure many of you will return to work tomorrow and be asked this question. Perhaps you may be the one to inquire. Whatever the case may be, you can ususally rely on a typical response such as "it was too short", or "it was a pretty good one". I'm wondering how Bob will respond tomorrow to such an inquiry (since none of his co-workers belong to the Church). He is sure to get little or no response from an answer like, "I was called to serve in the newly formed Nashville stake presidency". The explanation may take more energy than he will have left by tomorrow morning, so I think he'll stick with the typical response. Now we just need to hope they don't ask how he's sleeping at night. His response may be similar to that spoken of by Elder Tingey today where he told of a newly called stake president being asked how he slept the night before being sustained and his response was "I slept like a baby....I woke up every hour crying!"

My Sister

My sister Penni and her husband Rick came to visit for the Memorial Day weekend. Rick had to be in Tampa the following week, so they traveled through Nashville to spend some time with us. We had a great time together.

On our way to downtown Franklin, we stopped to show them the Nashville Temple. We hurried and took some pictures outside the temple as there were several wedding parties coming outside. The grounds are very small so there are very few places to take photos...so we hurried and took a few pictures and got ourselves out of the way.

It was fun showing them around the Brentwood and Franklin areas. We went to the famous Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant for lunch, visited some fun shops in Franklin, went to the movies, hung out with some friends in the ward on Memorial Day...in general, we just played all weekend. Bob was still suffering from a little jet lag, but we didn't let him get any rest. On Friday night, just after they arrived, we drove to the Bluebird Cafe for dinner and the show. We ended up at a table for six and sat with a couple from Tennessee. They were a nice couple who were on a date together and had never been to the Bluebird. The lady was quick to let us know that her husband had died several months ago and that this WAS NOT her husband. We were able to have some light conversation before the show began which led to all the questions about where everyone was from. Penni and Rick mentioned that they were from Murray Utah, which I found interesting to hear them say Murray instead of Salt Lake. I'm sure this couple had no idea where Murray Utah was...but the Utah part was totally understandable. (It's like us saying we moved from Orange County and not saying Placentia.) Penni then asked the girl where she was from. She said "Columbia". I could see the look of surprise on both Penni and Rick's faces as they both asked questions such as "What took you to Columbia?" and "How long did you live there?" The girl didn't think anything of it answering their questions with simple answers like..."Work"...and "Until my husband died." I figured out what they were thinking by where their questions were leading and figured I should pipe in with something that would let Penni and Rick know that there is a Columbia in Tennessee. I said..."I think I saw a sign on the freeway to Columbia when we drove to Lewisburg." This stopped Penni and Rick's quesitons in their tracks. I believe the next few questions may have been something like..."Do you speak Spanish?"...or..."Is that where your husband died?"...or..."Were you part of the drug cartel?". We laughed about it all weekend.

Greetings From Yokohama part two

Good morning to all y'all back in the United States. I thought you might like to see a few more pictures from Japan. I'm starting with the important things first. This just so happens to be the toilet in my hotel room. I happen to be staying in one of the nicer hotels here in town. The 70 foot tower is the tallest building in Japan. It also happens to have toilets in each room with a bun warming seat. A fan that turns on when you sit down. The capability to wash when you finish doing what you normally do when sitting on the toilet. Yes, I do enjoy having this feature. Diane and I should talk about having one of these babies installed in our bathroom at home. Those cold winter mornings would certainly be nice when you have to sit down for a short break.

In my last blog I mentioned i had the opportunity to observe a wedding taking place. This is the bride on the left and the groom on the right. This shrine type place is right out in the open where everyone can see. The other wedding party we saw had the bride dressed in white. As I mentioned earlier, I felt funny standing and watching the ceremony. Out of view of the camera is a group playing traditional Japanese music. Also there is a young girl doing a very somber ceremonial dance. Fun for us Gaijin to see, but maybe a little annoying for the girl knowing the world is watching her wedding.

This is a picture from the Shinto Shrine we visited on Saturday. These basket type devices were used for special ceremonies. Our Japanese tour guide didn't provide a lot of details for these units. To me they look like someone would sit inside and be carried by the big Sumo wrestler type Samurai.

This is me on Tuesday morning taking the train to our destination. This happened to be a little less crowded than we experienced some mornings. On occassion the trains were packed. When you get on and they keep coming, you inhale so you can reserve all the space possible.

This was a picture of a crowded train. An interesting note of train riding is the number of people sleeping either sitting down or standing up. I have no idea how they know when to wake up. One morning a young boy was out cold. I wondered if he even knew when his stop came up. I'm guessing they have kids come late to school due to sleeping on the train. As I have said on more than one occasion, you have approximately 1/2 the population of the United States living in the state of California. It's very crowded to say the least.

This picture was taken from my hotel window Sunday Morning. The only time I have ever seen Mount Fuji is early in the morning before any haze rolls in. It is a spectacular sight. The Japanese think it is a special occasion when they see Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji is to the west of Yokohama.

The trip is going well. I'm ready to come home and eat regular food that I know what it is. I've been a good boy and haven't eaten any sashimi or sushi. I like my food cooked a little more than this. The Japanese staff has been incredibly good to us. I tried to find a special gift for Nagahama-san at the department store near the Yokohama train station. No such luck. He went above and beyond the call of duty taking us sight seeing on Saturday.

Today I gave out a Japanese pass along card to Shibukawa-san. Yesterday I was able to teach about the Word of Wisdom at lunch time. This came about after I told the group I attended a LDS church on Sunday. They thought this interesting I would do this. Shibukawa-san told me he really likes the Bible (Book of Mormon) I gave to Ogawa-san last summer. I'll send him another copy when I get home.

I hope all of you are doing well. I miss you and can't wait to be in the same or similar time zones.

Have a great day.

Bob-san

Diane - ILYSM

Greetings from Yokohama, Japan

OK, I'm now an official blogger. Diane kept telling me to add a few of the pictures I've taken while being in Japan so here we go. Actually Diane let me bring her new camera with me to Japan so I have some good shots. As Diane mentioned in her blog, I had a heck of a time getting out of Nashville so I could make my connecting flight in Chicago. You know you look harried when the girl at the news stand asks you if you are having a bad day. I made it to Tokyo and met my co-worker at the airport. It all turned out all right. My pictures are a little out of order as I'm new at adding pictures. I've found you start adding the last picture first and the first picture last. This first picture is me with Nagahama-san on the island of Enoshima. This is south and east of Yokohama near Fujisawa. We hiked to the top of the island today to see what we could see. As you can tell it was a beautiful day. This morning we thought it might rain on us, but it held off. Enoshima is a beautiful island that is all of 4 kilomters around. I think we hiked all 4 kilometers. Part of the island has an escalator to go up and part has stairs. One section of stairs we counted 250 steps. I think I lost a few pounds hiking today. I don't know exactly how much we walked, but I'm guessing it was a good 5 miles. The air temperature was around 80 degrees, with the humidity high enough to work up a sweat while climbing the steps.
This picture was taken at the entrance to the island. Nagahama-san couldn't read the konji. He said it was an ancient text.

The second place we visited today was Kamakura Daibatsu at the Kotoku-in Temple. This is a 37 foot high bronze Buddha and is the second largest in Japan. The statue was built approximately 1258 AD. When you first see the statue, it takes your breath away at its enormous size.

This is a shot of John Buskey and myself in front of the Buddha. I find it interesting the crow decided to stay atop the statue for quite a while.

Another shrine we visited in Kamakura had several weddings taking place today. We watched part of the ceremony for one couple. I felt out of place watching this couple getting married. Everyone around the couple were taking pictures of the entire event. I wonder if they have a good photographer. I'm sure the pictures I took with Diane's new camera would look good in their photo album of their wedding.

This is the hotel I'm staying in. I took this standing below the hotel. This is the Landmark Plaza with the hotel called Yokohama Royal Park Hotel. The building is 70 stories high with the hotel occupying floors 49 to 67. Floors 68 and 70 are restaurants. The 69th floor is an observation deck. For Japan this is a very nice hotel, with a nice size room. Friday morning I could see Mount Fuji from my window on the 53rd floor. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of the mountain. In case you wanted to know, it's still snow covered.

The following picture is myself with the Japanese staff. From left to right, Shibukowa-san, Nagahama-san, myself, Reiko-san, and Kaneko-san.

In case you might be wondering why I'm in Japan. I'm here to learn first hand about the G37 Coupe and a new Nissan model called the Rogue. Once I return home I start developing training on both vehicles. I always enjoy coming here. Maybe next time Diane will come with me. This picture is of our group in Japan with the Japanese staff. We have myself and John Buskey in the back. Yang-san from Korea, Chang-san from Taiwan, Steve Comacho from Guam. I took this picture in the mall attached to the hotel. These two girls work at the information booth. Both John and I thought their uniforms made them look like they were out of a Audrey Hepburn movie. Little did they know they would make it into a blog.

A Week With my Boy the Ambassador

As Michael walked down the terminal, I'm sure he was a little embarrassed to see his parents waiting with a camera. His plane was late, so this picture was taken a little past 11:30 p.m. in the Nashville airport. We were excited to have him come and spend some time with us, and enjoyed hearing all about his visit to Honduras. Evidently he is now an Ambassador for Honduras and will be working to coordinate efforts to alleviate poverty conditions in the country. One of the first efforts being made is to supply a hospital with a mammogram machine. I don't fully understand it, but it sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Leave it to Michael!

Since we only had him for a week, we tried to pack a lot into his time here. We went out to dinner with a family in our ward on Friday and then went back to their house to watch the movie "Music and Lyrics". I wish I had a picture of their theater room, or their house for that matter...it was amazing! It was a lot of fun. I think Michael had second thoughts about spending his summer in Provo after Ross extended an invitation to shadow him at work. (He's a cardiac anesthesiologist.) He'll have to take him up on his offer when he visits next time.

On Saturday night we went to the Bluebird Cafe to see the third annual "Mamapalooza". (It's their Mother's Day show.) The songwriters performing were Sue Fabisch, Jacqueline Jacquman, Kim McLean, and Hometown News. They were really fun to see. Luckily we were able to get reservations! We had our picture taken with Kim McLean before the show...she and Hometown News were our favorites. (Michael has the picture on his camera, so maybe he'll post it onto his blog.)

Bob barbequed for Mother's Day and invited a few of our friends over. It was a fun time and Bob's cooking was great!

Michael had this picture framed and presented it to me for Mother's day. Doesn't it look like it has been photoshopped with that background? They took this picture when they were all together in San Diego. Thanks kids...I love it!

If any of you recall the dilemna I had about whether or not to go to Japan with Bob...well...as it turns out, it was a good decision not to go. When Bob got to the airport early on Monday morning, his flight to Chicago had been cancelled due to mechanical problems. This created a nightmare morning for him as he had to scramble to get to Chicago and then to Japan. Without going into the details..."Mr. cool calm and collected"...almost lost his cool! We all know that it takes a lot to ruffle Bob's feathers!! If I had been along...it would have been much more complicated. Good thing I didn't go.

I'm glad Michael was here to keep me company; we had a great time together. I got us lost trying to find Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant in Franklin. We finally found it after venturing as far as Leapers Fork (and that was with the navigation system). Then we walked around the quaint, historic downtown Franklin. Tuesday we went to the Opry Mills factory outlet stores and did a little shopping after having lunch at the Macaroni Grill. Wednesday we got our culture in by going to the FRIST museum to see Matisse, Picasso, and the school of Paris, after eating lunch at Demo's in downtown Nashville. Thursday before heading to the airport, we drove out to the Loveless Cafe for breakfast. It sounds like everything we did was centered around eating! You'd think that was our favorite thing to do! That could explain the "Tennessee Ten" that I seem to have put on. I'll have to work on that later!

Happy Birthday "Shout Out" to Parker

Just one year ago, we were anticipating the arrival of our sweet Parker baby. I can't believe Robyn's tummy could have ever been this big! (I hope she doesn't mind my posting this picture.) We were all ready to get this thing over with...especially Robyn. Even the castor oil didn't hurry things up. It did send her to the hospital, however, only to be sent home. Good things come to those who wait! Parker was sure worth the wait!This is proof that the infamous swaddling proceedure worked. We all laughed about it, but it worked every time...especially when Joe did it.
Blessing day was a special day. Parker looked so cute in his little white suit wrapped up in his white blanket.

Time goes by so fast! We can't imagine our life without Parker in it!! We love you Parker! Here's your happy birthday "shout out" from Nannu and Papa J.