Warm and Sunny

December seemed like the coldest December I could remember in Tucson. This March has been the warmest I can remember. The highs have been in the 90s. Usually I can't ride up the backside of Mount Lemmon this time of year because the snow hasn't melted from the roads. I tried it on Saturday.

Wild Horses on the trail 

The dirt road was completely clear of snow. There were two places where small snow-melt streams flowed across the road. 

The most remarkable thing I saw was a Prius struggling through the rockiest section of the road. I should have stopped to take a picture but I didn't.

There were patches of snow to the side of the road at the top.

Felicia and I went to the movie "The Shack" on Saturday. It does a decent job of explaining why a loving God allows bad things to happen on earth. The view of the Godhead that was portrayed seems to be a mix between LDS and Nicene Creed doctrine with an added measure of political correctness.

Several Evangelical leaders have called the film heretical. While the Godhead doctrine was flawed, the message, in general, was uplifting and worth the time investment.

How We Met

Today in Priesthood Meeting we all were asked to share how we met our wives. I was the son of an educator in Brigham City, UT. Felicia was a Doctor's daughter from San Antonio, TX. In 1980 we were assigned to the same BYU home evening group.

Our BYU Home Evening Group

Initially, Felicia seemed reserved and quiet in the group and it didn't really enter my mind to date her. On Saturday, Nov 1, 1980, one of Felicia's roommates knocked on the door and said Felicia had tickets to the football game and wanted someone to go with her. Jim McMahon was QB and BYU was 6-1 at that point in the season. The game was against UTEP. The girl I thought was quiet was whooping, yelling, cheering, and singing the whole game. BYU won 83-7. That's how I learned the words to 'Rise and Shout'. BYU put in the 2nd string for the second half and stopped throwing but UTEP had just given up. BYU scored every time we got the ball. We talked while walking back to the apartment and I thought I wouldn't mind dating her some more.

The next day was Stake Conference. I also had an interview with our Bishop, Joseph Fielding McConkie, that Sunday to renew my temple recommend. After conference and the interview I felt really guilty for not having a special girl to date. The Gold and Green ball was coming up and I was thinking I would go without a date and dance with Felicia a few times and also some other girls to kind-of see how I liked her relative to others. An additional awkward thing was another girl in the ward had asked me already to go to preference. Well my roommate, Craig, wanted someone to double with him at the G&G Ball. He saw Felicia walking to class and shouted out our bathroom window that I had something to ask her. What could I do at that point?

Felicia and her Dodge Omni

We went to the ball, had a good time, and the girl, Sarah, who asked me to preference was there looking kind of depressed. I never wanted to be more than friends with Sarah but I also felt bad about making her sad. I went to preference with Sarah the next week and then I asked Felicia to go with me to the Doobie Brothers concert the week after that. We dated steadily from then on. Sarah didn't return to school after the Christmas break. Felicia and I were essentially engaged when school was out in the Spring. I did an internship with Thiokol near Brigham City the summer of 1981 and we were married June 11, 1982. The bishop didn't like that we were engaged so long, but Felicia's mom did not want us to get married at Christmas time. The rest is history. It all worked out. We have a great family together with terrific children. I love Felicia very much. This summer will be our 35th wedding anniversary.

Open House Date

I've always wanted a good video of me riding through the water on my bike. I like the artsy ones with water flying in slow motion all around the rider. I finally had an opportunity to film it this weekend but I underestimated how close I need to be with the GoPro to get a good image.

We now have dates for the Temple Open House:

Open House: Jun 3 - Jun 24
Cultural Celebration: Aug 12
Dedication: Aug 13

My bathroom update continued by replacing towel rods and the TP holder.

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Neil Diamond Stones (video)