Ready or not here come the kids. I'm glad to be retired, but always feel a bit nostalgic when I think of the excitement of the first day.

First day of school for my nieces and nephew in Santa Cruz, CA (9th, 1st, and 12th grade). Pandemic or not, school started last week in Utah

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Evelyn de Schweinitz was baptized by big brother Nick, a senior in high school! Where has the time gone!

Evie and her family: Fernanda, Nick, Evie, Hannah, Simon and Marc. Many of her cousins ( not all in the photo) came to celebrate in Daybreak, Utah. Fernanda and her mom prepared a nice brunch afterwards at home.

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We had a big family gathering to welcome my youngest sibling, Roy, and his wife Julie and daughter Olivia, after their backpack trip in Bryce Canyon. The next day we hiked at Sundance (ski resort in winter) with Peter, Rebecca, Ming Lu and Cordelia de Schweinitz.

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I'm grateful to be able to attend the temple again, though attendance is limited and by appointment.

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Every year in August before BYU starts, Education Week is held on campus, with a wide range of interesting classes. I attended quite a few, from Lincoln, to art, to film, to conflict resolution (my daughter Emily's class) to Jerusalem, to Columbus, to the Supreme Court, to Women of the Bible, to LDS Church history, to world religions, etc. It was mind expanding if not exhausting! It goes from 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM Monday through Friday.

                                                    

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I was ready on Friday to spend a wonderful weekend camping with family at Flaming Gorge on the Utah-Idaho border (3 1/2 hours from Provo. We spend an afternoon rafting on the Green River (very green!), swimming, kayaking and hiking. We were grateful for a waterproof tent in a nice campground above the blue reservoir, across from the dam and bridge. Unfortunately 2 1/2 families had sports conflicts, so couldn't join us. 

Three year old Phoebe wasn't sure about rafting, but decided it was okay, even the rapids! The water coming from the dam was cold but refreshing! 

I came home last night to a full moon just breaking through the clouds over my waterfall. My phone did not capture the breath-taking beauty of the evening from my back steps!. 

Today was the first day of classes at Utah Valley University in Orem (Provo's neighbor) but I braved the crowds of students to see the amazing stained glass permanent exhibition "Roots of Knowledge" which "represents more than 12 years of devotion and attention to the finest detail handcrafted into 80 glass windowpanes, spanning 10 feet in height and 200 in length. This scene opens with the intertwining roots of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, winding their way through the panes. In the final scene the Tree of Hope for Humanity solidly stands strengthened by the complete panorama representing experiences, discoveries and efforts spanning centuries, continents and cultures. Branches stretch across the upper panels to represent the hope that is inextricably tied to knowledge." Utah glass artists Tom Holdman and Cameron Oscarson and their crew have also created most of the stained glass in our more recent temples throughout the world. These very intricate scenes and vibrant colors are so spectacular that my photos do not do them justice. Come see!

The last panel....
What an amazing world and an incredible time we live in. I'm grateful for all the intelligence, learning and dedication of the men and women who have left legacies in art, science, letters, discoveries, exploration, justice, and humanitarian service. May we use the talents, education, knowledge, and goodness we each have within us to benefit from their contributions and pass our blessings on to posterity. May we respect and feel our connection to every other human being on earth. For a virtual tour: uvu.edu/rootsofknowledge/tour

I was grateful to be able to attend a class given by very dynamic Gail Holdman (wife of Tom and part of the team). She spoke of the choosing and execution of symbols and images on the panels they have created in a few of the temples. Here are a couple of (very poorly photographed!) samples.

The whole process is incredible, the work inspired! What a gift to us!