The Olympic spirit has been alive and well around here. Dallas and Rebecca found a great photo op with the Olympic rings. Congratulations to Salt Lake City hosting the Olympics in 10 years.
Glen and I tried something new this year. We attended a musical tribute that was offered for one week only at Hale Centre Theatre. We have only gone to the plays in the past and decided to give this a try. The performer was fabulous. He was an excellent singer doing a fine job impersonating Elton John and Billy Joel.
He was also a comedian and had us laughing our heads off in his talking portion of the show. So glad we made the effort to go. Great entertainment!!
The grandchildren around here have started school. I just love the back-to-school photos--Madison, Spencer, Caroline who recently got her braces off, and Brooke who is now a senior going into 12th grade.
Jonah, Lincoln, Carson, and Eli sporting his pink cast.
And it was Kade's first day of Kindergarten!
Why is it all children are so drawn to electronics?? Madison reminds me of Caroline when she was this age taking care of the babies.
We went out to eat with three missionaries and their wives. We ate with Liam and Erika Clifford at Zupas. He gave us a couple of scares with eating peanuts on the mission and having known allergic reactions. The first time understandable--the second time NOT!!
He knows that is my memory of him and we laughed about it. BUT--he better always be carrying an Epipen with him now days because he wasn't carrying one at the beginning of his mission.
We were anxious to meet the woman engaged to Joshua Mann. He was such a quiet elder who hardly said a word. It was a joy to meet Katelyn and see the adoration in her eyes for Josh. She is a good communicator, and they seem to be a great match. I love that she is a very tall girl since Josh is so tall.
It was a very windy day at Goodwood Barbeque. 
We tried a new restaurant, Ti Amo Wood Fired Pizza, with Skyler and Shayla Higginson. They have two daughters now. He was such a fine, dedicated missionary who was one of our assistants. It is so nice to see what life is bringing for each one of our missionaries post mission.
He was out for his morning walk on Tuesday. He was on the home stretch coming down from Bountiful Boulevard. He had rounded a corner walking very fast (because he always sets goals for himself and had a speed goal he was working on...) when he stepped out into the road to let a couple pass by on the sidewalk.
He greeted them, stepped on a patch of very uneven pavement, twisted his ankle and took a tumble down the road. His earbuds went flying out of his ears. The couple felt so horrible about what had happened. They scrambled to help collect his earbuds. They wanted to go get their car and take him home, but he said he would call his wife.
Unfortunately for him, I did not notice the first five times he tried to call me... Still sorry about that!! Once we connected and he directed me where to go to pick him up, I was astonished at all the injuries he had all over his body.
His right ankle had rolled when he hit the uneven pavement.
A week later, he now has bruising down to his toes and up his leg almost to his knee. Crazy!!
His right hand caught his fall landing on the gutter. He was pretty sure it was broken because it hurt so bad (and still continues to hurt him a lot).
His left knee got skinned up probably at that point.
Then he rolled onto his left arm and shoulder producing more road rash. He has sores on his shoulder, back and hip as well.
As he hobbled into the house, I asked him what hurt the most. He said, "My pride!" Haha!!
By afternoon, he decided he wanted to go to the doctor and see if he had any broken bones. When the girls saw this photo, one of them asked if the wheelchair was for him. Thankfully, he has been able to get around on his own two feet.
Fortunately, x-rays showed no breaks in either the ankle or the wrist.
Of course Glen insisted we fulfill our Wednesday assignment at the prison the day after his fall. He decided it would be best to also wrap his right wrist so no one would shake his hand.
I wished so much that his ankle brace was visible. It would have been a more accurate depiction of how banged up he really was.
He was so sore and hoped he would be able to sit more than usual during the 4 hours, but alas, he only had a short rest and was on his feet (sore ankle and all) almost the whole time. He was sure ready to get home, go to the basement, put his feet up, and ice his ankle and hand by the time our shift was over.
I was the driver for the first few days. He has since taken back over the job of commandeering the vehicle. He sure feels like this has been a long, slow process of healing. He's used to bouncing back from anything that happens to him.
We fed them some lunch after the job was done. By evening, Ben informed us he was throwing up. WHAT!!??!! That was not the news we had wanted to hear!!! He told us Haley and Maverick were having lingering symptoms. I hoped he could recover quickly. And also hoped we would not get it...
I put out a call for help for a family member to come and mow our lawn before trash day. Ben immediately responded in the affirmative. That made me so happy so Glen wouldn't have to worry about that chore for at least another week or more.
The little boys enjoyed playing in the basement while Ben was outside mowing. Kade, Haley and Maverick had had the barfs earlier in the week. Levi held strong not getting the illness. Ben had been out of town, and I was happy he hadn't gotten sick.
Glen and I went to the prison the following day for our Sunday worship services for the incarcerated. I was involved that day in a prison incident which I have included at the end of this blog.
By midnight on Sunday, Glen left the bed to go to the basement because he was feeling sick.
He woke up feeling like he was about to throw up. He went downstairs to be sick. By 2 a.m. he was throwing up and threw up two more times. He had body aches and the light hurt his eyes. He couldn't sleep for two nights in a row. It took him a day longer than me to recover from the illness.
I had a stomachache all night long and made a couple of runs to the bathroom. Then at 7 a.m. I was throwing up. Thankfully, I only threw up one more time a few hours later, with more runs to the bathroom.
My body ached and the light really bothered my eyes. I holed up in our bedroom all day with the curtains closed to block out the light. I couldn't even stand to watch television.
My body was aching by bedtime, but the rest of my problems had subsided. I took some Tylenol before bed and had a good, restful few hours of sleep. By morning I was feeling MUCH better.
PRISON INCIDENT
Clark and Leah Burbidge regularly go into the women's mental health unit on Saturday mornings to do addiction recovery after they spend an hour with the men also doing addiction recover. They also go into the women's mental health unit for an hour on Sunday for an abbreviated worship service. After that, they are able to attend the second group of men's worship service.
Recently, we have been rotating one of the district council women to go into the women's mental health unit with Burbidges on Sunday to give a 10-minute talk. It was my turn to go in this past Sunday.
Unlike the geriatric men who walk out of their sections and go across the hall to the chapel and classrooms, we go right into the women's section. It is the most unnerving thing we do in all our assignments at the prison. Burbidges love it, and all the rest of us are thrilled they are so willing to be in there with them.
I had just finished talking to the women about my thoughts on Elder Rasband's talk "Words Matter" and Clark was giving his thoughts on the subject. At that moment, Crystal had rejoined the group of three other women who were attending our meeting.
She had been with us for a few short minutes at the beginning, got up to go outside (frequently the women wander in and out of the meeting), then went upstairs to her cell. When she came back down the stairs, she stood by the couch where she had been sitting and was holding her large beverage cup while Clark was speaking.
All of a sudden her arm shot up and I thought she was going to punch Clark in the right side of his face. What happened was she had viciously and deliberately thrown her full cup of very warm water right into Clark's face as he was speaking. He got drenched, Leah got a soaking as well, the water also reached me, and all our scriptures and hymn books got wet.
We were all so shocked. The other three sister inmates looked as shocked as we were. One was asked by Leah to get some paper towels to dry off with. Without saying a word, Crystal had just turned around and walked back up the stairs to her cell. The three other women walked right to their cells without being told because they knew they would immediately be in lockdown.
Many officers descended upon the section to assist and assess the damage. All of us were relieved that no one was hurt. We were all thankful there had been no steaming coffee in that glass. Clark described the water as bath water warm. Leah and I thought it was probably warmer than that, but it was definitely not hot enough to harm Clark's skin.
We collected our things and were escorted into the officer's offices across the hall and were greeted with more officers and some medical staff. A reporting was made, our names and phone numbers were taken by two different officers, and we were offered medical help and counseling.
We were a bit shaken up by the event, but that was the extent of it. We were told she would probably be charged with assault--which is described as "propelling substance/object at officer/employee/ volunteer/provider." That means an extra year is added to her sentence.
One officer told us he does not ever remember an assault happening to a volunteer. There are inmate to inmate and inmate to officer assaults, but this seemed an anomaly. Lucky us?!??
We were thankful we were able to finish up there in time to get back for our second hour worship service. That was a wonderful way to recover from our disconcerting experience.
The Burbidges are an inspiration to all of us of their commitment and dedication to the women and also the men in our branch that they serve. I heard Clark telling the officers on our way out of the section that they hope this doesn't cause them to not be able to go back in there. What an example of Christlike love and service!!!
Clark said he hopes this will not discourage me (and other women) from joining them to "help save these women who are so deeply in need of the Lord's atonement and love."
Clark gave us an update later in the day: "We have already been contacted by the prison inspector who's following up on the case and we have told him that we do not wish to file charges and that we have requested that if possible we be allowed to be escorted to visit her in the max security area so that we can tell her how much she is loved and that she is forgiven in hopes that her tormented soul can calm."
I, too, got contacted by the Deputy Executive Director at the prison who offered an apology, was checking in with me, and thanked me for my service at the prison.
Glen has since been notified by the prison that we will no longer be going down the hallway through 5 heavy steel locked doors to get to the women's unit. Officers will now be bringing the women out to us in the same hallway we always use.
It will be tricky because the men and women inmates are not allowed to see each other, so there will need to be some good juggling during movement.
Ahhh, never a dull moment at the prison!
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