Midsadventures near Banff, Alberta

We planned to head to a beautiful lake just outside of Banff in Alberta.  It's about an hour and a half drive from my sister's house.  She knew there were forest fires in Banff, so she asked a friend who is a nature photographer if we should head to Banff or go somewhere else.  She recommended a two mile hike (one mile each way) that would take us to an absolutely gorgeous lake...we looked at pictures of it the night before...it was stunning!

So we headed toward Banff.  After an hour of driving, my sister pulled over and explained that Hannah wasn't feeling well.  Not at all.  In addition, the wind was blowing hard and it had started to rain.  We drove a bit further, and then found a place to pull over.  Our plan was to eat a picnic lunch and then decide what to do.  But we realized we hadn't brought plates or silverware and our picnic lunch wasn't finger foods.  But we made do.  After we ate, my sister gave a couple of us ponchos and we took short walks...but it was still raining and quite wet.  It was just beautiful.  The area where we parked had a sign that said "Banff Gate Mountain Resort" and signs about Lougheed Mountain where we were.  (The mountain is named after a famous senator and his family.)

Right after Rebecca and her two girls took a short walk, the sun finally came out and we all hopped out of the car.  It had gotten late enough that there really wasn't time to finish driving the rest of the way to the hike we had planned, so we just hiked where we were.  It wasn't the plan, and we weren't officially in Banff, and we didn't see the lake, but it was still very beautiful.  The air smelled so clean and fresh, especially after the rain.  It was just beautiful!

Look at those gorgeous peaks behind my niece, Sarah!

Cousins...Ella and Sarah are only two months apart in age.  In fact, Michelle and Evan are four months apart, Sarah and Ella are two, and Gabby and Hannah are about 6 weeks apart.  If only we lived closer to our cousins!

Michelle loves to pose for pictures.  She kept saying, "Take a picture of me here.  Now take a picture of me like this."

Hannah loves her cousin Ella.  

Evan looks ready for the hike!

The kids (especially mine) were fascinated by the moss that was growing in much of the woods, especially this gold covered moss.

I know you can barely see it, but right between the trees is a buck.  The male and female deer were not far from us.  The female moved on ahead quickly, but the male waited and watched us until we moved ahead.  While I didn't get a good photograph of him,  we could see him pretty well.  They weren't far away.

Last summer, there was a lot of flooding in Calgary and the surrounding areas.  If you look up the river, you can see the upended trees and debris left by the flooding.

I found it fascinating to see the debris left by the flooding. You could clearly see the damage caused by the flooding and  how high the flooding had gone up the bank because there were piles of debris left along the trail and bank of the river.

It was fascinating, but sad.  Many people lost their homes and precious belongings due to the flooding.  I'll share a neat story that my brother in law shared with us.  Their stake president felt impressed a couple of years ago to develop a stake emergency preparedness plan. The stake members were encouraged to create 72 hour kits and so on.  But the stake also collected blankets and hygiene kits and stored them in the stake center.  When the flooding happened, blankets and  hygiene kits were collected, and those who were in need were able to immediately get what they needed due to the foresight of this stake president and the diligence of the stake members in helping to collect and assemble the items.  What a blessing it is to have the gospel!!

The girls enjoyed using this limb as a limbo stick.

It was just so beautiful!  

While we were technically not in Banff, we were certainly able to enjoy breathtaking scenery!

This picture was taken by Michelle from inside the moving car... look how blue and beautiful the water is!

We were all so grateful that the sun came out and we were able to take a hike, even if it wasn't to the location we had originally planned.  And also very grateful that Hannah felt better after we ate and got out of the car.   What a wonderful day!

Sikome Lake, Calgary

On our second day in Calgary, we headed to Sikome Lake.  When we first arrived, it was a bit cool.  But it soon warmed up.  We spent several hours at the lake.  The kids made sand castles, they swam, we played frisbee in the water, they got buried in the sand.  My sister Rebecca and I talked and talked.  We had a picnic lunch.  It was a perfect day!

Calgary...canoeing at Glenmore Reservoir

My sister Suzy, my girls and I were able to drive to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to visit our sister Rebecca and her family.   It's a long drive.  But the girls did really well.  We listened to music, listened to books on CD, they watched a movie, they looked for license plates (they found about 35 of the states during the course of our drive and colored them on a map), we played games, we ate snacks.  All in all, the drive went well and no one threw up which is a definite plus!

 On our first morning, we went to a park near my sister's house.  It is a very fun park with some equipment that is different than our local parks here.  The kids all had a great time playing.

Ella enjoyed putting rocks in her shirt, and in her shorts' pockets to make herself look bigger as she pretended.  The rocks left her quite dusty.

That afternoon we were able to go to Glenmore Reservoir and go canoeing. The wind was blowing and the water was a bit choppy, but it was fun. It ended up being one of our favorite parts of the trip. Although if I were to take up canoeing on a regular basis, it was very clear to me that my arm muscles would need a lot of strengthening first.

Michelle thought they were going to tip over...but they didn't.  It was beautiful.

While waiting for turns in the canoe, the kids played on the dock.

There is a paddle boat that you can take rides on.  We didn't do that, but it looked fun.

Although it was windy and a bit chilly, it was so beautiful and great fun!  One of the things that I love about Calgary is that the outdoors seem to be right in amid the city.  My sister lives just minutes from Nose Hill where there are trails and deer and other wildlife roam.  Squirrels were often seen on her back fence.  In fact, one morning as I washed dishes, I watched two squirrels chase each other along the fence...it really looked like they were playing tag.  One squirrel would chase the other.  Then the first would stop, turn around and begin to chase the other one.  Kept me quite entertained.  There are lakes and reservoirs within just a 15-30 minute drive...right around the city.  The mountains are close.  I know that mountains are very close here too, and that I could be/should be better about getting into the outdoors with my children.  But i really enjoyed the outdoors there.  So beautiful!

Animals at the Library

During the summer, I try to take advantage of some of the free programs offered at the library.  Michelle and Ella were able to attend a 3 day STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) summer camp at Magna Library.  It was free and was run by USU Extension.  They learned about architecture and took a tour of the Magna Library and listened to a presentation by the two men who designed Magna Library.  Then they worked in small groups to design and build (out of Legos and other construction materials) a library.  They enjoyed it.

About a month ago, the girls and I all went to Kearns Library when Scales and Tails was there doing a presentation.  We were able to see the different reptiles they brought.

 This cute guy, Little M, is a one year old red footed tortoise.  He will live for about 40 years.

Flapjack is a pancake tortoise.  He has a soft shell because he is a rockclimbing tortoise.  He climbs between rocks, then puffs out his chest so predators can't pull him out. He lives in Africa.

This is Stink, the blue tongued skink.  He lives in Australia.  He makes a good pet because he stays fairly small, eats fruits and veggies and crickets, and he doesn't run too fast.  He will puff out his body and stick out his blue tongue to scare away predators.

Gordon, a Cuban iguana, gets up to 5 feet long and weighs 30 pounds when full grown.  He can hold his breath for 30 minutes.  He eats fruits and veggies.  He isn't a good pet...he lives 25-30 years, bites hard, eats A LOT, and has sharp claws.

This is Tweedle Dum.  He is a gopher snake.  They live in holes and are nonvenomous.   They use mimicry (they look like rattlesnakes.)  There are 30  species of snake in Utah.  7 of these species are venomous. 

Jungle is a Python from Australia.  He lives in trees.  He eats birds by constricting them, then opening his mouth and swallowing his prey whole.

I suspect the girls had almost as much fun playing tag in the grass afterward as they did learning about these reptiles.  They could have touched some of them after the presentation, but they didn't want to wait in line.

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Ideas for Scripture Study: Personal and Family

Here is Part 2 of my Relief Society Lesson on Sunday.   As I studied and researched, I found so many great ideas and resources for really studying the scriptures and making them meaningful for ourselves, individually, and for our families.  I can't possibly implement them all right now, but I want to keep a resource of them to share with others and to revisit in the future.  So here are some of the ideas I found as well as links to some of the resources.  This is certainly not all-inclusive...and you definitely want to prayerfully consider what will be best for you/your family in your current stage and situation.  What is right for my family right now may not be right for someone else...and may not be right for us in a year or two.

Article I like on how to fit scripture reading into our busy days:  how-a-busy-mom-can-study-her-scriptures

Idea 1:  Work on memorizing scriptures. 

Elder Scott said, "Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."

  I saw a great idea to memorize scriptures related to gospel ABC's...you could even create a book for your children to read and reread to help them memorize the scriptures as well.  Scripture Memorization-ABC's

Music helps many people memorize things.  Repetition of the words and perhaps assigning a picture in your mind or an action to each part of the verse.   There is an app to help you memorize scripture mastery scriptures that looks really good.  (If you didn't know, some of the scripture mastery verses were changed a few years ago, so even if you still have good recall of the scripture mastery verses you memorized in high school, there may be verses you don't know yet.  At least if you're my age!)  There's also a free app that has scripture mastery verses set to music.

http://www.latter-dayhomeschooling.com/2010/06/why-and-how-to-memorize-scriptures.html   Good ideas about memorizing scriptures with children.

Meridian Magazine  had an article on memorizing that said this, "Each of these techniques— breaking down the section into smaller parts, putting it to music, hearing it, attaching great emotion to it, and simply repeating it—are all proven ways to help you memorize. You can listen to scriptures as you drive in your car. You can put a scripture to music in your head. You can think of a real-life application for the scripture that you care passionately about. You can read the same line over and over and over until your brain sees a photocopy of it. You can make flash cards, have someone test you, or make it into a family game. You can jot a scripture on your calendar or post it on your bathroom mirror. You can keep one in your wallet for moments when you have to wait, and can work on it."

2.  Read straight through the book.  Many people like to read the entire Book of Mormon quickly in just a few weeks or a few months to really get a feel for the story, the timeline and to notice doctrines that are repeated often.  Others read a chapter a day or a certain number of minutes.  With my children, we read one page a day.  When children are young, read the Book of Mormon stories and search for picture books that reinforce scripture stories (I own many books that tell scripture stories...but I also check them out from the library from time to time as well.) But don't be afraid to read the actual scriptures to young children as well.  They can learn more than we might expect.

3.  Study topically.   Choose a topic related to a question you have, a lesson you will be teaching at church or in FHE, or a problem you are trying to resolve.  Then search for scriptures related to that topic.  Many people recommend using different colors of colored pencil for each topic.  (I saw one idea for children to use green to show Go:  Things we should do, Yellow:  Caution, Danger, Things to Avoid, Warnings,   Red:  Stop!  Things we should not do.)

I love to study topically....and I especially love to connect my scripture study to conference talks.  I try to reread conference talks two or three days a week and then look up each scripture mentioned in the talk and read several verses before and after to gain additional insights.  About a year ago, I read President Monson's biography and was very inspired by it.  Over the course of several months, I read or listened to every talk he had given since he was sustained as prophet, recorded my favorite quotes from these talks and read and studied each verse of scripture he referenced.  It was a remarkable experience.   I just found that BYU has created a site where you can look up any verse of scripture and it has a link to every conference talk that has referenced that scripture.  It is called the   LDS Scriture Citation Index. What a powerful way to learn more about a topic, for example repentance.  You could study verses about repentance and then read each talk that quoted those verses of scripture.  See some more ideas  as well as the link to the BYU Scripture Citation Index here:  How to study the Book of Mormon

4.  Scripture jar:  if you're just getting started or your children are young, scripture study might be brief and happen at dinner time or breakfast.  One family I read about had a jar where family members put their favorite scriptures on a slip of paper and put it in the jar.  Each day, they drew one slip, read the scripture and discussed it.  What lessons did it teach?   Why did someone choose that scripture, etc.

5.  Use study aids such as footnotes, index, Bible dictionary as well as gospel doctrine study guides, institute manuals, or even books of commentary.  

6.  Use Preach my Gospel as part of study.  Preach My Gospel has many insights and ideas for studying the scriptures.  See pages 22-24 for ideas.  In addition, Preach My Gospel teaches principles and then provides scripture references to study that relate to the principle being taught.   We have been encouraged to use Preach My Gospel in our personal or family study...it truly is a great resource.

6.  Scripture journal to record insights, questions, promptings, things totake action upon.   I liked the ideas at this site:  Scripture-Journaling-with-Children

6.  Include prayer...before and after you read.

7.  Make it enjoyable for your children.  Allow them to read if they are old enough, even if you have to help them with many of the words.  Play a charades game with your kids where they take turns acting out a scripture story or a prophet and everyone else guesses.  You can have your children draw pictures of the events in a scripture story.    Play 20 Questions with scripture prophets.    Have scripture chases.   Scripture letters!!--Love this idea...Started doing this over the summer...hope to do one per month.   Writing-scripture-letters  (I also have to mention that she has scripture journals that she sells that look really good.  I haven't spent a lot of time on her site, but she seems to have some really good ideas.)

If you're interested in products you can purchase, here's a great list of available resources:  21-ways-to-teach-your-child-the-book-of-mormon
This article had some good ideas:  how-we-started-family-scripture-study-and-stopped-feeling-guilty

And of course, if you visit Pinterest, there are hundreds of ideas for scripture study...bookmarks and lessons and printables and on and on.

Challenge:  Decide to make scripture study a priority if it isn't already. Pick one way to improve your personal or family scripture study and begin to implement it today.

Since I issued that challenge, I figured I better take it.  Our FHE was on the blessings of scripture study and then I talked with my children about how we are going to change and (hopefully) improve our Family Scripture study.  I am excited about the change, and they seem excited about it.  I hope it will make our scripture study more meaningful.

Blessings of Scripture Study

On Sunday, I taught Relief Society.  It was a lesson that I am certain was as much for my benefit as any one else's.  I have learned a great deal as I have studied and prepared for this lesson, and I am making some changes in our family scripture study as well as working to improve my own personal scripture study.  I know as I do that, I will be blessed.   Here are the blessings of scripture study that we discussed in Relief Society:

President Benson said this about the Book of Mormon:  

"My beloved brethren and sisters, today I would like to speak about one of the most significant gifts given to the world in modern times. The gift I am thinking of is more important than any of the inventions that have come out of the industrial and technological revolutions. This is a gift of greater value to mankind than even the many wonderful advances we have seen in modern medicine. It is of greater worth to mankind than the development of flight or space travel. I speak of the gift of the Book of Mormon."

Why are the scriptures one of the most valuable gifts we have?  How do they bless our lives?

We read the following quotes about scripture study and verses of scripture and I listed the promises made to us if we study the scriptures.  We completely filled the board!  (I did this activity at home with my children also, but only used a couple of the quotes and we filled a much smaller board.  I have pictured our board at home here.)  Such remarkable blessings!  Blessings I want for myself, my family, and each of the members of my ward!!

President Benson said, "This (scripture study) is an answer to the great challenge of our time. The word of God, as found in the scriptures, in the words of living prophets, and in personal revelation, has the power to fortify the Saints and arm them with the Spirit so they can resist evil, hold fast to the good, and find joy in this life."

President Benson gave a wonderful talk to priesthood leaders in 1986.  He said this, " You must also bend your efforts and your activities to stimulating meaningful scripture study among the members of the Church. Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels in our stakes. We work diligently to raise the percentages of those attending sacrament meetings. We labor to get a higher percentage of our young men on missions. We strive to improve the numbers of those marrying in the temple. All of these are commendable efforts and important to the growth of the kingdom. But when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow."

"Success in righteousness, the power to avoid deception and resist temptation, guidance in our daily lives, healing of the soul—these are but a few of the promises the Lord has given to those who will come to His word. Does the Lord promise and not fulfill? Surely if He tells us that these things will come to us if we lay hold upon His word, then the blessings can be ours. And if we do not, then the blessings may be lost. However diligent we may be in other areas, certain blessings are to be found only in the scriptures, only in coming to the word of the Lord and holding fast to it as we make our way through the mists of darkness to the tree of life."  --President Benson

President Marion G. Romney said, "“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity—the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness” (Ensign, May 1980, p. 67)."

President Benson spoke repeatedly and powerfully about the Book of Mormon and how study of the scriptures would bless our lives, but President Monson and others have also spoken of its importance.  President Monson

said, "study diligently. Every holder of the priesthood  (and sister) should participate in daily scripture study. Crash courses are not nearly so effective as the day-to-day reading and application of the scriptures in our lives. Become acquainted with the lessons the scriptures teach. Learn the background and setting of the Master’s parables and the prophets’ admonitions. Study them as though they were speaking to you, for such is the truth."

Alma 37:44-45

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Romans 15:4

Helaman 15:7-8

I was in Canada last weekend and one of the speakers referred to a book he had read by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers.  I read it several years ago and it really struck me...he says that to become an expert at anything you must spend 10,000 hours practicing.  I have thought a lot about this in relation to other areas but had never connected it to gospel study or gospel knowledge.  If you want to be an expert at the gospel, and hopefully we all do, then we need to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and applying it.     Thirty minutes a day gives us 182 hours per year and means it will take us 54 years.  To some that may seem discouraging...but I think it is pretty exciting.  It will take a lifetime to truly become an expert (by the world's definition) but the Lord has promised magnificent outpouring of knowledge and the spirit if we seek to understand His gospel.  If you spend just 20 minutes a day, then in one year you will have studied 121 hours...and in 5 years, you will have spent over 600 hours.  Think of how that could change your life and the lives of your family members!  By small and simple things shall great things come to pass!

There are so many great talks about scripture study, but here are a few that I read and found helpful and inspiring.
"If You Lack Wisdom"--April 2014

The-Power of Scripture-Elder Scott
Keystone of Our Religion-Benson
The Power of the Word-Benson  (I find this one especially powerful and touching!)
Be Your Best Self-Monson
My Soul Delighteth in the Scriptures-Julie Beck