July brought our family a momentous event. We took a week to join together at Yellowstone National Park. My wife and I enjoyed spending an entire week with all our children, their spouses, and most especially our ten grandchildren. We rented a vacation home in Island Park, Idaho which is about a 20-minute drive from the west entrance to the park.
Each day we enjoyed games, visiting the park, meals together, and family prayers. We had full-blown family meals as well. Most of the time was organized chaos. A few evenings we enjoyed sitting around the fire pit outside, and cooking hot dogs and s’mores. Several good conversations happened then as well.
One of the highlights came on Sunday. Our son Jacob and his wife Kanneisha recently welcomed their first child into their home, Lucy Paulene Beach. Their bishop gave permission for us to hold the baby blessing at the cabin with Melchizedek priesthood holders joining the blessing circle. Some of Kanneisha’s family traveled up from Logan, Utah to join us for the blessing as well.
Outside of visiting the park each day we scheduled one afternoon for a group horse ride on a nearby ranch. Another day we drove up to Gardiner, Montana to take a two-hour whitewater rafting ride. These side trips were lots of fun.
My wife and I were happy to find a way to make all this happen financially. We plan these reunions every third summer. We do it at this interval to give our children a summer with their in-laws and one on their own should they choose that approach. The reason we put so much emphasis on this is that we believe strongly that giving our family experiences is much more important than giving them stuff. We also get to see the solidarity and love within our extended family. We believe these memories will bring more strength to all of us in times of difficulty. Knowing we have others who care and will be there for us whenever we wrestle with difficult life moments brings some peace. These events also give us an opportunity to share direct testimony. Though we did not make a formal arrangement for sharing testimonies, there were a number of them shared in various settings with groups larger and smaller throughout the week.
Three specific thoughts come to me from the family proclamation in connection with our week together.
Each day we enjoyed games, visiting the park, meals together, and family prayers. We had full-blown family meals as well. Most of the time was organized chaos. A few evenings we enjoyed sitting around the fire pit outside, and cooking hot dogs and s’mores. Several good conversations happened then as well.
One of the highlights came on Sunday. Our son Jacob and his wife Kanneisha recently welcomed their first child into their home, Lucy Paulene Beach. Their bishop gave permission for us to hold the baby blessing at the cabin with Melchizedek priesthood holders joining the blessing circle. Some of Kanneisha’s family traveled up from Logan, Utah to join us for the blessing as well.
Outside of visiting the park each day we scheduled one afternoon for a group horse ride on a nearby ranch. Another day we drove up to Gardiner, Montana to take a two-hour whitewater rafting ride. These side trips were lots of fun.
My wife and I were happy to find a way to make all this happen financially. We plan these reunions every third summer. We do it at this interval to give our children a summer with their in-laws and one on their own should they choose that approach. The reason we put so much emphasis on this is that we believe strongly that giving our family experiences is much more important than giving them stuff. We also get to see the solidarity and love within our extended family. We believe these memories will bring more strength to all of us in times of difficulty. Knowing we have others who care and will be there for us whenever we wrestle with difficult life moments brings some peace. These events also give us an opportunity to share direct testimony. Though we did not make a formal arrangement for sharing testimonies, there were a number of them shared in various settings with groups larger and smaller throughout the week.
Three specific thoughts come to me from the family proclamation in connection with our week together.
- Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3).
- Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.
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