Simple Truths - We Hope You Enjoyed the movie!

Simple Truths - We Hope You Enjoyed the Movie!

This has such a wonderful, yet simple message for leading a better life.

Kait's College Graduation

With so many things happening this spring and summer, I forgot to post about Kait graduating from Cornell College on Memorial Day weekend. My mom, Terry, & I flew to Cedar Rapids, IA and met Kait & Dustin there (they had flown in from Philadelphia where they are working for the summer). While there we also went to Nauvoo so Kait could get her Endowment done in preparation for her upcoming temple wedding.

We also toured a collection of Old World-style villages called the Amana Colonies. These were settled by Germans back in the 1800's. Although a lot has changed, they still retain the quaintness of that time period. (I'll do a separate post on this adventure.)

On Saturday we first attended a Bacclaurette service in King's Hall on campus. It is a very old church building that now houses their music department, and that the school uses for concerts, plays, and special events. It has some gorgeous stained glass windows throughout. We got to see the class banner that Kait was chosen to design as it led her class into the building. (There were some small changes to her design by the ladies who sewed the banner to accommodate an easier assembly.)

After a break for lunch we then attended her commencement ceremony which was held in their sports complex. Thankfully her school is small because they only have fans in that building and the humidity was more than we like. Between the graduates, their families, faculty, and other school personnel, there were about 600 in attendance. Terry found a spot up high that he could get some great views for photographs.

Ryder's First Race.mov

Ryder really loves his walker... and his daddy. And of course, since Aric loves racing, he wants to share that love with his son. Check out this video clip that they made:

My dad

While we were all back in Iowa for Kait's graduation, my father passed away in his sleep. He had Parkinson's Disease for about 35 years (which is an amazing length of time for this type of illness), and he finally succumbed to its affects. He was living at the NV State Veterans' Home at the time... a place where he had been for the past 7 years. Prior to that he had been 2 years in the UT State Veterans' Home in Salt Lake City. He had a very strong will in all things, and it carried him through his battle with Parkinson's. He was still participating in events and conversing with others at the Home up until the very end. Although his decline was very gradual, and we all knew it was inevitable, but his passing took everyone by surprise. 

One of the few early childhood photos I have of my dad & 

one of the more recent photos (3 yrs. ago at Aric & Janille's wedding).

 

This photo is of my parents and me (about 2-3 yrs. old)... back when we were all skinny.

This is one with his sister, Vella, and his adopted brother, Lou, at our house back in the early 70's. 

This is how I remember him most.

Because of the wedding, and that so many who knew him are not around anymore, we chose to have a small private memorial for him at our house the day after Kait & Dustin's wedding. It was a favorite thing of his to have Sourdough Pancakes on the weekend, so that is what we did in his honor. I managed to scan as many photos of him as I could in the couple pre-wedding weeks I had to prepare for this, and we were able to view a DVD as we reminisced.

Good bye Dad... you will be missed

L. Donald Long

13 Feb. 1931 - 28 May, 2010

Wedding week photos

A couple of more photos taken prior to their wedding. These were all taken in Red Rock State Park. It is great having a talented photographer in the family. Janille did a great job and we can't wait to get all the finished photos. These are just a few to keep us happy and so we have something to share for now.

When it got too dark to take any more photos, they all headed over to the famous Las Vegas sign. While they were there Elvis showed up !!!, and they were able to get a few photos with him.

An Iowa barn!

The barns (& farms) in Iowa are very well kept... unlike what we see in Utah with its ancient barns that look they will fall down at any minute. Anyway, along the highway from Cedar Rapids to Mount Vernon where Kait attended college, there is a barn that someone painted a very well done copy of the famous painting, American Gothic, by Grant Woods, the patron artist of Cedar Rapids.

Our new neighbors!

A pair of Mourning Doves have built a nest on top of Aric's old speakers in our breezeway.  

They started with two eggs which finally hatched after a couple of weeks. After about a week their babies left the nest and everyone was gone. We had hoped they might hang around a bit more. After a couple of weeks the parents are back and have laid more eggs.