Hiawatha Trail

In 2014 I went to a regional training. Elder Vern Stanfill was there and talked about riding his bike on the Hiawatha Trail in Montana.  In October 2015 he talked about the trail again in his General Conference address. (Link below if you are interested)

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2015/11/saturday-afternoon-session/choose-the-light?lang=eng

When I heard him talk about it I came home and told Neil I thought it was something we should do together.  We were finally able to make it happen this summer.  We left here bright and early before 5:30 Tuesday, August 6th and drove to the Trail.  It was a great drive together to have time to talk and reconnect. We listened to a book on the seasons of marriage. It provided great conversation starters for us.

We got to the Hiawatha Trail about 1:30 in the afternoon. It was hot, and we wished we had more time and more water, but it was still a great adventure together. We planned to walk the trail instead of biking.  We had to wear helmets which we hadn't planned for. Someone who had just finished the trail let us use the helmets they had rented.  I didn't really like the long tunnel. It was muddy and slippery. I was glad to be on my feet instead of a bike. The tunnels were cooler and that was a blessing.

We walked about 6 miles on the trail before we turned around to be back on time.  It was beautiful. There were quite a few bikers doing the trail, but we were the only ones walking that we saw.

We stopped in the town by the trail and bought lemonades. They sure tasted good!  We drove on the Couer d'Alene to spend the night at a fun bed and breakfast.  We ate at a fun little pizza place in Spokane that had board games on the tables to play while you waited. What a great idea.  It was a fun trip and a great experience together.

Cycling merit badge

Dallin recently worked on his cycling merit badge with his friend Dexter Opps. Neil helped them as their counselor.  Dexter's dad, Zac Opps, also went along for the fun.  They had to do a total of 150 miles on their rides.  They did two10 mile rides, two 15 mile rides, two 25 mile rides, and one 50 mile ride.  I went along for one of the 10-mile rides, but that was all the fun I could take. 

On their 50 mile ride, they went from Powell to Lovell and back. They left bright and early at about 5:30.  They stopped in Lovell and had sour warhead Slurpees for a treat.  Neil expected the boys to take some breaks on the way home, but they just kept biking along. When they got home the boys decided to take the tandem bike out for a victory lap. You just can't have enough fun on a bike.  I think they enjoyed this merit badge. It is great that Dallin has a dad who will help him do these things and a great friend to do them with.

Collections

Joshua has an amazing pokemon card collection.  He loves to sort them and do pokemon battles. I think this collection is his most prized possession.

Ralph and Bonnie Sharp Reunion 2019

The Ralph and Bonnie Sharp reunion was on August 3, 2019, in Herriman. We planned it around MaryAnne and Abby's trip to EFY.  Sam and Anne and their family weren't able to come, but the rest of us enjoyed the day together.

We left Powell on Thursday (August 1). It was Matthew's last day of work. He didn't have to work very long so we were able to leave earlier than we planned to. We drove through Yellowstone. We stopped at Yellowstone Lake and Gibbons Falls. The kids had fun trying to skip rocks on the Lake. We stopped at Grandma Karan's to spend the night. We wanted Matthew to have the opportunity to see Grandma. He hadn't seen her since his mission.  We enjoyed seeing her.  Joshua and Lydia performed their clogging songs for her.  Aaron liked playing at Grandma's house and sleeping in her garage.

 On Friday we went on to Utah.  Everyone in the van traveled very well and it was a fun trip.

Saturday morning MaryAnne and Abby went to the temple with Grandpa Sharp.  Naomi and Randy, Bethany, and Matthew went with us to do sealings at the temple. Neil said it was a family reunion on both sides of the veil.  It was a beautiful day in the temple together. Grandma Sharp stayed with the younger children.

We had lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's house and enjoyed visiting together and playing games in the afternoon.  Grandpa and Grandma took everyone to Culver's for dinner. It was delicious!!  Afterward, we went up the Little Cottonwood Canyon and Nate showed us how to rock climb. The kids had fun playing on the rocks and trying to climb.  Matthew and MaryAnne were able to make it to the top. Lydia and Joshua tried hard and did better each time they tried. It was a super fun evening together.  The canyon was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  It was a great reunion. Next year hopefully everyone can be there.