We enjoyed our day layover in PHX, AZ and stayed with Kimber, Dave and the girls. It was fun seeing them, especially since we had not seen the girls for almost a year! We enjoyed playing in the pool, visiting and relaxing. Thanks for picking us up and taking us to the airport.
Than we were off to Grants Pass Oregon the next day. We enjoyed our two weeks visiting with family and relatives.
Things we did: Enjoyed a wonderful outdoor concert (Due West and Nashville Tribute Band) and BBQ at Eastman Gardens, Ate yummy raspberry shakes and hamburgers at my favorite place in downtown Grants Pass, we played at Giffords and Riverside Park, the kids loved playing in the River, we went to the Johnson County Fair, we went on the Jet Boat Tour and had a wonderful dinner down the Rogue River, went boating, Ashton loved playing with the cars down the drive way with Grandpa, the kids loved playing in the pool and Grandma's hot tube as a pool, Jaida loved reading with Grandma, Sunday dinner with Stacey's family, mom and I enjoyed making yummy dinners, we went to Urban Monkey so Ashton could play on the tramps at least 5 times, Stacey and Shayna took me out to eat, lots of wonderful talks and visits, spent time with Jen in her garden and with her chickens, took a drive in Stacey and Shayna's new Mercedes convertible (stace got it up to 140 MPH), and probably our most favorite thing was spending time on the Beautiful Oregon Coast, Ashton and Jaida loved the starfish and SO did I!
Enjoy the photos!
The most amazing spiritually filled concert I have ever been to. Go here to their website to order all three of their CD's if you don't already have them!
It may be the group's third in its series of tribute albums, but "The Work, a follow-up to "Joseph" and "The Trek," has the same strong sense of mission. Iin fact, it's all about missions, missionaries, their parents and families, and the people they find and teach.
Nashville songwriter and producer Jason Deere shares the music and stories behind these songs, which is an unexpected collaboration with Michael McLean. The goal of the Nashville Tribute Band members on this album is to help anyone of any faith understand the motivation and sacrifice of the missionaries they see on the streets around the world.
Read article here about this new CD
Lily and her friend did so good singing with them. She is super talented and has such a beautiful voice!
Success from the concert - Hundreds of Saints blessed, strengthened and uplifted in their testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Missionary Work, a young 17 inspired to go on a mission, the two elders who attended were strengthened and uplifted that they were doing the right thing, an early morning seminary teacher inspired to continue on teaching, Shayna's sister is getting baptized she had the most amazing experience during the concert, LIVES WERE CHANGED!
Here is a letter from my dad to his sister Valerie about the experience and some updates
"The big barbecue dinner with a great young country western group LDS locally put on a great show during dinner. The Diamond Reo Guys went up to them after and told the 16 year old girl she could come to Nashville with them anytime. They are LDS as well. The Duo West Guys (Grammy guys as well LDS) were also very impressed. This little girl played guitar, violin and wrote most of her own songs. Real talented.
But when the big boys began at the back of the property by the water falls under the stars and a full moon, everyone was 'moon struck'. What a group. All of their Nashville Tribute Bank arrangements they have on CD about the early Mormon heritage with just tear watering songs about Joseph, Emma, their children, other Church leaders, early Church history events in NY, Kirkland, Nauvoo, then the trek out west. They had us laughing and in tears for two straight hours. Everyone there were spellbound and had their testimony increased 1,282%. WOW ! ! ! Everyone of the 8 guys are returned missionaries, related missionary experiences between songs and their next CD (all in country western as these guys have Emmys for their regular county western songs and performance), is called The Work, all about missionaries and missionary work. The Bishop and wife just could not believe we had such a group of incredible professional country western artists on Stacy's property doing incredible missionary work. He said if we did it again he would have the Stake President have the whole stake there for sure. It was just incredible. When they opened with an amazing gospel song in 8 part harmonies just occapella, they got a standing ovation and I yelled out (like I can do ! ! ) "And they say the Mormon's don't have revivals?" ! ! ! ! They were better than the Alabama Boys or the Oak Ridge Boys for sure.
The main guy, Jason Deere, who put the whole team together, has written big time songs for Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift and all the big time county artists, is also an early morning seminary teacher back in Nashville (can you believe it???). He says he doesn't have much trouble getting the kids to come to his early morning seminary class cause sometime he just sings to them about the scriptures and I guess he wouldn't have much trouble being a celebrity and all. He told great stories of his kids in seminary and a young couple came up to him after and said he was an early morning seminary teacher as well and about gave up a couple of times but just because of what he hard about seminary, that evening from Jason, he was going to back at it with a whole new perspective and approach------WOW ! ! !
Also another amazing thing, we had them all over to our place for Saturday morning pancakes, bacon, eggs, lot of fruit and biscuits. Jenn and Mom put on a feast. Oh, Deirdre was here to and helped. Beautiful morning so we ate outside on the deck looking over the peaceful green valley with all the cows down to the river (quite a spectacular site you should really see sometime), and they just loved it. Said it was just like home in the Tennessee hills where some of them were from. They didn't want to go and went on and on and on about how they loved us all having them and treating them so well. Then Stace and Shayna took them to the Redwoods and on to the coast at Brookings where they had a performance for a Ward in Coos Bay on the coast.
But, just out of the Redwoods Stace called me and said we wouldn't believe what just happened. My heart stopped, you know me thinking they must have had a terrible accident or something, but he said, no, no, this is all good. He said they had just pulled over to the side of the narrow paved road and the guys of course stopped behind them. He said they were all hugging each other and all in tears as cars were whizzing on by and even honking, I am sure wondering what all the expressed emotions were about. I asked what the heck happened. In between sobs he said that Shayna's younger sister (about 18, just graduated from high school last spring) and moved to Roseberg, about an hour from here as she got a scholarship for badminton, and visits Stace and Shayna quite often. Well she was there for the performance, and she called them as they were on the road to the Redwoods to tell them that amazing night of music and testimony from this band had convinced her to be baptised.
WOW. Shayna could not handle it so the pulled over immediately and told the guys and they were all hugging, crying and saying how if it only brought one new person to the gospel they whole trip was worth it (but that one person was Shayna's flesh and blood) so you can imagine how over the top emotional they all were about that one ! ! . Could you just imagine how Shayna felt. She never did press the church with her siblings as they were a little opposed to the pressure, but this sister would ask her question at times and did come to Church with them when she visited but that was about it. Now there will be two in Shayna's Jewish family in the Mormon Church and this sister went on and on and on and on about how that music and testimonies of these amazing professional Band Members had really affected her. Stace had the first two rows all reserved for family and she sat right behind Sharry and I and I heard her laugh, saw her cry and cheer all night. After the show she went up and talked to all 8 in the band and I asked her how she liked it. She replied it was the very best thing she had ever heard------and then later the next morning we really found out how it had affected her. WOW ! ! !
Also an assistant in our High Priest Group brought his struggling (but good kid) 17 year old son. And he said as well it was the best thing he ever brought his son to. His son talked with all the band members then bought their two album CD's and on Sunday his Dad said he heard his son playing them all the next two days------really affected him and everyone. One of the very best concerts we have all ever attended. These guys were great. I mean the banjo player and picking guitar Verl would have drooled over. He has won all kinds of CMA (Country Music Awards from Hollywood crowd), for his playing. He is terrific and the harmonies were out of this world. Just go 'online' to the LDS web site and find their CD's and order them. You will be amazed. Just type in Nashville Tribute Band.
We have been playing them in the car (all around including our trip in Missouri) and everywhere else for the past two years------Just amazing and the history they tell in each song is just too real. They were and are inspired for sure. And they do this all just for missionary work. Well they get paid to as Stace gave them $20,000 to come out here. They were just returning from a trip to China (the Ward at Beijing had invited them as well), and from Australia where they put on a big show for the descendants of Joseph now living in Australia. WOW ! ! ! What a trip but they sure loved it here. The giant Redwoods blew them away and they loved the ocean as well, something you will surely have to come see as well. ! ! ! SOMEDAY ! ! ! If Stace bring them back it will be well worth the trip for all of you guys to come down. You will never, never, never, ever regret it. I am sure you won't anyway without them even being here------but that would just put the icing on the cake for you all.
Well, hopefully this explained and answered the one question. Nice to have Deirdre here with her 2 kids for 10 days to. We took the fantastic jet boat ride down the Rogue River (Oh, Stace took them on that one to and they just loved it ! ! ! ----getting wet and all)----and so the summer just went by. Everyone else is well, Amanda really enjoying being a new Mother in Phoenix and we hope to have her up for a few days soon. She has fallen in Love with Phoenix after spending a rainy, cool (no Sun) summer in Seattle, but the 112 degrees and broke some records two weeks ago with over 120, kept her in the house and in the pool. But she would not trade it for anything.
Hope all is well there. Sharry and I are Temple workers now. I guess they decided seeing all the name we were putting through to give us a real job there where we could get more endowments done for the big file we have for males to do. The females all get done right away and I just did the last male I had in there dated since I started in January 2009. Gonna send you guys some more males to do as well. I have now am up to 738 names found and submitted for temple work. My good friend and his wife are temple workers to and he just found the last 100 Powers names for me so he keeps me busy as well. But when I get a little to proud of the work I have been able to get done, he reminds he has over 50,000 names of his family members now in his computer------I just sigh and try to forget that one ! ! !"
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