End of July happenings

Michael is working on his 99th (I think) merit badge- Model Design and Building. Michael is never bored. He always has a project to do, a book to read, a piano piece to learn, a Napoleon Dynamite dance to practice, friends to hang out with, a mountain bike to tune-up, etc... I love that Michael loves life and all that life has to offer.

 Sara and her little neighbor friend Isaac- playing a game of bowling on a hot summer afternoon.

 Our neighbors got an 8 week old English Cream Golden Retriever named Dakota. We couldn't get enough of him!

 Todd and Luke working on the shiplap in our basement.

This wiggly tooth made eating difficult for many days...

Until it finally popped out at lunchtime. Hooray! Aw...our little Sara is growing up so fast!

Now she has a slight whistle when she talks and can make silly toothless faces.

Dress up time with the Matthews.

Our air has been smoky from fires which makes the sunsets and moon red.

Michael went to a Scuba diving camp for a week in California. It was sad to say good-bye to him. Our house isn't the same when someone is missing.

Mary's friend was in a play for the Draper Arts Council, so we went to support her. It was fun to be with my Mary.

Enjoying the sunset in the amphitheater with Mary.

The boys set up a tent to "camp" in our backyard. Notice their guard dog :) 

The girls slept in the tent the night after the boys. When the girls were "camping," it started to rain at 2:00am. The boys hadn't put the rain cover on the tent, so when the girls ran in the house, guess who went outside to bring the sleeping bags and pillows inside? Yep! Mom. I didn't get much sleep that night :) Wouldn't you know it? We've had a very dry summer and the one night it rained, the girls were "camping" in the back yard. :)

Nana's first birthday

Our Nana puppy turned one on July 29th.

 I love that Nana is so chill about wearing a birthday hat and dancing with Sara during her birthday party.

 Nana loved her peanut butter birthday treat!

 Nana also loves the Chuck-It toy that Sara picked on our birthday shopping trip to Petco.

We love our Nana. She is well behaved and a great addition to our family. Our kids tell us all the time how grateful they are that we have Nana. She is a sweetheart.

Happy Birthday Nana-Banana!

Girls camp and High adventure

On Wednesday of last week, our ward sent the Young Women to girls camp at JR Property and the Young Men to High Adventure in Bear Lake. Both groups came home on Friday afternoon (a day early) so our ward could support the Stout family at Baylor's viewing and funeral.

First, we saw Mary off on her first girls camp.

 Mary didn't sleep much the night before camp because she was so excited. The early morning energy from this group of girls was contagious. They had a great time at camp!

 Later that day, we sent the boys off on their High Adventure camp.

 That's a lot of mountain bikes!

 What a great group of young men! They had a great time too!

Baylor Stout

Sunday, July 22, was one of the longest and saddest days of my life. Some friends of ours were involved in a terrible car accident. Baylor, their 13 year old boy, died as a result of his injuries.

Ribbons line the streets in our neighborhood and their house was decorated with love.

 Todd sent an e-mail to his family about the experience. Here are his words;

"Hi Everybody,

Thought I'd fill you in on some events that have taken place this week in our neighborhood.

We have a family in our ward - the Stout family - that we love and admire. Dad (Marty) and Mom (Staci) have 4 boys. Marty and I served together in the YM presidency. They are very good friends of ours.

Last Sunday Marty and their 13 year old son (Baylor is his name) were in a terrible car accident. Marty is fine (a few cracked ribs) but Baylor died instantly. They are devastated and so are we and the ward. I got a call about 9:30 in the morning. The EMT in the ambulance called and asked if I was bishop Stepan. She said that Marty and Baylor were in a terrible car accident, "Marty is stable, but Baylor is bad and we don't think he's gonna make it," were her words.

I picked up Mike Parker and we ran to the hospital in Provo. Marty was on the bed in pain. The extended Stout family flocked to the hospital. Mike and I just stood in the ER next to Marty. About 10 minutes after being there the doctor came in to Marty and said, "your son, Baylor, has died". He wept. Staci still didn't know what had happened. They were up at their cabin and nobody could reach her by phone. UHP sent a unit up to the cabin to tell her there had been an accident, but she still didn't know that Baylor died. About 30 minutes later Staci showed up at the hospital with the other kids. I watched as the doctor told her that Baylor passed. She fell to the ground in agony.

After about an hour Mike and I returned to the church. I was a mess. We had a missionary farewell in our sacrament meeting that day. A member of the stake presidency was there and he said, "bishop, you have to tell the ward." I was a nervous wreck during the whole meeting. After the concluding speaker, I got up to the pulpit and notified the ward that Marty and Baylor were in a car accident and that Baylor had passed away. People cried. Some even had convulsions. It was extremely difficult.

There was a subdued feeling during the last 2 hours of church. I was very emotional all day.

Throughout the week there has been a special feeling of love and unity as we've prepared for the funeral. The YW decorated the Stout home with hearts and banners. The RS has taken meals every day and placed bows on trees in the neighborhood. Others in the ward have gone to pick up the other Stout kids and have taken them to dinner/lunch or to the pool. The Stout home is overflowing with flowers. There is a special spirit in the home. I've been uplifted at the outpouring of love and concern by so many to the Stout family.

This has been eye opening to all of us. Despite the heart ache and despair the Stout family feels, there is peace and happiness. We all know why. It's obvious. Please say your prayers for all of them."

Despite this being such a tragic accident and the death of a young person, the funeral was peaceful and there was a special feeling of hope and joy. Marty spoke at his sons funeral. Although no parent should ever have to have that experience, he brought a spirit of strength like I had never experienced. Todd conducted the funeral and gave closing remarks that were inspiring. We have all been changed by Baylor's short life. He truly was a remarkable boy who is no doubt continuing to work on the other side of the veil. His parents are good people and their knowledge that they will see Baylor again is giving them strength during this difficult time.

 We love you Marty and Staci. We will continue to pray for you and we will always remember Baylor.

 I am grateful for my good husband who knew what to do when he was called on to help with a very sad and tragic situation. I love you sweetie.

Frank and Melba's history

Early in 2018, Todd's uncle Keith announced a Stepan family reunion in August. In February, I had the impression that I should create a history book of Frank and Melba (Todd's grandparents). In my mind I would round up some pictures and ta-dah we would have a history of Todd's grandparents to share with our children and whoever else was interested. I didn't realize it would turn into a huge project! What was I thinking?!

In March when my in-laws came to visit, we went to uncle Keith's house and I went home with a stack of pictures and memorabilia. That's when I started to indulge in overwhelm. I didn't know where to start to put this history together.

 Finally in June, I started to sort the pictures chronologically as best I could. Todd scanned the pictures for me. Then, I had the feeling that I should start from the beginning. I know that sounds silly but when I'm indulging in overwhelm it's difficult to know what to do. So I started a book with Melba's early years. As soon as I got through those first pages, I started to get the vision and the book slowly started to take shape. My office was a mess for more than a month while I spent every bit of spare time I had to put this history together. It was a special experience for me. I felt the Spirit help me many times. I already loved Todd's grandparents, but my love for them increased. They are special people. They weren't perfect, but they tried hard and lived good lives. I want my children to be grateful for their heritage and the good Stepan name that they have.

 It was an exciting day when my book came in the mail! Luke cuddled close while we read about his great-grandparents and his Grandpa Stepan as a boy. That time with Luke already made this project worth all of the effort.

 That afternoon, we took the photos back to Uncle Keith and we showed him the book. He loved the book so much that he asked me to order 33 copies for the upcoming family reunion.

Todd's Uncle Keith is so sweet. He worked with President Hinckley years ago on the construction of the small temples of the church. Our kids enjoyed hearing about some of his amazing experiences.