Jeremy’s Birthday

I made and decorated a cake for Jeremy’s birthday this week. Although not perfect, I was satisfied with the results, especially with my limited cake decorating resources. I do want to report to Mom & Dad that Jeremy is reading “The Dangerous Book For Boys” that you gave him from cover to cover. He keeps it on his night stand with his scriptures. I do believe that it is probably the most popular gift given this year, at least in our family.

Vaughn J. Featherstone Fireside

This past Thursday, we had the pleasure of attending a fireside for all Cub and Boy Scout leaders. It was given by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone and held at our stake center, less than a block away from our house. There were a few others who spoke first. One of which was a man in the Las Vegas Area Council leadership and belongs to the Roman Catholic church. He met Elder Featherstone for the first time many years ago and has kept a sweet friendship with him through the years. He was apparently familiar with our beliefs, especially with the Aaronic Priesthood and it’s relationship to Scouting. He gave a beautiful talk. It was so free of religious barriers and it brought me to tears. He ultimately said that our purpose in Scouting is to raise up young men who are the kind of men our Lord and Savior would have them be. There was no hint of “your way” vs. “our way”. He simply addressed us as his fellow brothers and sisters. He was the most spiritual non-LDS speaker that I’ve ever heard. When Elder Featherstone stood to speak he said, “Now that we’ve heard the LDS talk, I’ll give the Roman Catholic address.” At the conclusion of the fireside, we approached Elder Featherstone and shook his hand. He patted Grant’s head and cheek and said, “Now there’s an attractive young man, a future Boy Scout I hope.” A story to file in Grant’s journal for sure!

Grant’s Birthday

It was wonderful to have Mom & Dad visit over Grant’s birthday. We invited our friends Katie & Kurt Skillin and their 3 children over for cake, it being Katie’s birthday as well. Grant had his first experience with the unwrapping of gifts and was more than happy to entertain the crowd.







I didn’t know if I wanted to let him do this or not, but when it came time for the cake, we stripped him down to his diaper and let him dig into his own slice. At first he just poked at it, but soon he had crumbs up to his eyebrows. In the end, there was nothing to do but plop him straight into the bathtub. All the excitement left him exhausted.

Cammie Arrives

Cammie flew in on the same day that Jeremy’s mother departed and it was so much fun to have her here. It was just for a long weekend, but it was a nice visit. On her first night in town, she invited her Italy-buddy Daniella over for dinner. To our surprise, she came bearing gifts for Grant’s birthday. Among others, she brought him an adorable little jacket that has plenty of room for Grant to grow into. It was so sweet of her!
Cammie, I’m sorry for the photo, but it’s the only one I had of your visit. Woops! Tee hee!

Grandma Sharp Comes to Visit

In August, Jeremy’s mother, Paula came to visit us. It was so wonderful to have her here and with Grant especially. I’m so lucky to have a warm relationship with my mother in-law. During her visit, we drove out to Pahrump to visit her father, Grant’s Great Grandpa Onnen. He is in his 80’s and is still as sharp as ever. He works as a greeter at Walmart because he can’t retire enough times and he LOVES his job.
Paula had decided to stay until Grant’s birthday, but difficulties from a car accident have been giving her back problems and she had to return early to Seattle. For Grant’s birthday she bought him a bike/scooter with a steering wheel and dashboard with lights and sounds that he can interact with. What’s neat about it is that the dashboard is removable and we can take it with us in the car, as seen in the picture above. When we went to drop Paula off at the airport, we let him play with it in his stroller. When you honk the horn it sounds, “Beep Beep, Out of the way!” in a cheery woman’s voice. He kept hitting the horn while we were walking and people would turn around, startled and looking for someone coming through. Needless to say, Grant saw to it that we didn’t get stuck in any crowds.

Jeremy Climbs Mt. Charleston

On August 11th Jeremy took the challenge with some of the Boy Scouts in our ward and climbed to the top of Mt. Charleston (just shy of 12,000 ft) located just north west of the Las Vegas valley. With my wife/mothering cap firmly in place, I insisted that he be prepared for anything (let ME tell the Scoutmaster how to do it) and found a bunch of websites with precautions and warnings specific to the Mt. Charleston area. Poor Jeremy put up with my pestering and assured me that he had enough to eat and drink, the right shoes, his first aid kit, and even an emergency blanket in case he got stranded overnight. I don’t know if he really took the blanket, but he calmed my fears. When he got home that night he declared that he was through with hiking for a few years. I said, “Good, so am I, but I was ready long before you,” and we both had a good night’s sleep. The next morning he wasn’t even sore which surprised us both. When his brother Shawn heard that he had climbed to the top, he said that he would like to go too. There has always been a competitive spirit between them, not wanting to be outdone by the other. Jeremy seemed to receive renewed strength and said, “Sure, I’ll take you whenever you want to go.” They still have yet to plan it, and it hasn’t been brought up again.