Even Iversen's Family Reunion

Evensen Cousins Karen, Maribeth, Elaine and Jay

This past Saturday there was a family reunion held for all the descendants of Even Iversen, my great-great-grandfather who emigrated from Ringsaker, Norway, at the end of the 1800s.  I was unable to attend, as it was held in Utah, however, I had my intrepid reporters on the scene covering the event.

Everyone was given a nametag and told to put their own names and the name of Even's child that they had descended from.  My brother joked that if his son Nils had been there (that's the Nils who is currently serving a mission in Mexico), his tag would have said Nils Evensen twice.

My brother said it was interesting to see all the photos and things people had collected and to hear their stories.  He writes, "A woman asked me if I would translate a document she had.  It turned out to be the ordination certificate for Nils Evensen [our great grandfather] when he was made a priest on August 15, 1876.  I felt like it was such a privilege to be able to hold that piece of paper.  I thought of everything he had done with his priesthood, from going on missions [he served 2], to serving as a bishop, to raising a righteous family that has, for the most part, remained in the church now for generations.  It struck me that a righteous life can influence the lives of so many people."

Miss Livia, the Cutie Wootiest

Here's our sweet little girl, Livia.

Look at those chubby cheeks!

This is Livia with her grandmother, aka Farmor.  Look at that great smile!  (Wouldn't you just like to tickle that little tummy?  It begs for tickling.)

Here is Livia with her mommy.  Notice Livia's High Fashion Model pose.  We can't giggle all the time, can we?

Here is Livia with her mommy and her older brother Fred.  Fred is now 2 years old.  I think he's generously trying to give a cookie to the photographer, his talented Aunt Linnea.  He's a cute wootie, too.

This Cutie Wootie moment has been brought to you by Great Aunt Marianne!

Dinner of the Iguana

Our Hero

When last we left our intrepid super hero missionary Elder Nils in Altamirano, Mexico, he and his companion Elder Dahl, not content to merely save people from sin... were saving a family of iguanas from a drained swimming pool in the neighbor's back yard...

[you sorta have to read that first paragraph aloud with a deep 'announcer's' voice to make it work.  Think the narrator in the movie, George of the Jungle and try it again.]

After they were successful in their iguana wrangling, a local church member told them that iguanas were very tasty and they should have kept them.  He then told them the next time he had them over for dinner at his house, he would fix iguana.

I remember Elder Nils' comment at the time:  Iguana.  Yum.

Elder Nils and the baby iguana

Well a few weeks have passed, so I asked Nils if he had now tasted iguana.  This is his reply:  "..yes, I did eat iguana, it was delicious, kind of like chicken, mixed with fish."

I ask you - does that sound appetizing?  Ewwwwww.  I think not!

He continues:  "Very tasty, apparently very expensive in the States.  Not too expensive here though, just depends if you can catch one or not."

Very funny, Elder Nils!

Let's see... what's the going rate per pound for filet of Iguana in the U.S.?  Iguana chops?  Iguana burgers?  Anyone?  I'm sorry but I have yet to see any iguana in the meat department at the local Ralph's market.  Maybe I have to check at Stater Brothers or Albertsons or Trader Joe's.

Hey!  If Trader Joe's carries iguana, my guess it will be called something like "Seňor Jose's Medallions of Iguana in a light chipotle sauce with rice". 

Faith, the Musical

Faith, the Musical opens tonight in Salt Lake City.

Handcart Pioneers - from LDS Gospel Art Kit

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Cheltenham, England Stake in 2007, a musical was written based on the true story of Latter-day Saints from the British Isles who left Ledbury, England and traveled to the Salt Lake Valley in 1856.

The show is being presented in the Little Theater in the Conference Center, Salt Lake City, Utah.  It will run from August 4th through the 13th.

I'm blogging about this because my beautiful sister-in-law, Kirsti, and my middle nephew, Anders, who is currently ready to start his senior year of high school, are both in the production.  The musical is being co-produced by the South Jordan, Utah and the Cheltenham, England Stakes of the Church. 

Anders plays the clarinet on stage

Faith, is based on the pioneer diaries of the Oakey family who became part of the ill-fated Willie and Martin Handcart companies.  They started in the same area of England where the Cheltenham Stake is now located, and ended up not far from where the South Jordan, Utah Stake is now found.

These pioneers started out from England late (May 4) in the season, and lost precious and critical weeks hastily assembling carts and being outfitted for the journey ahead.  The fact that the carts were poorly built also contributed to the catastrophe, and slowed the Saints down.  Although they were counseled to spend the winter in Nebraska, the greater part of the group decided to forge on to Salt Lake. 

Kirsti plays the violin

When the companies reached Fort Laramie, Wyoming in October, there were no provisions for them as was expected.  So, they cut back on food rations, hoping that their supplies would last them until they could receive help from Utah.  To lighten their loads, the Martin Company cut their luggage allowance down to 10 pounds and discarded clothing and blankets - a decision that would cost many their lives.

On October 19th a blizzard struck as the Willie Company camped along the Sweetwater River approaching the Continental Divide. 

The Willie Company ran into a rescue party on October 20th, however, on the 23rd they faced the most difficult section of the trail - the ascent up Rocky Ridge.  The climb took place during a howling snowstorm through knee-deep snow.  That night 13 of the emigrants died.

The Martin Company was at the time about 110 miles further east.  After they crossed the North Platte River (near Casper, Wyoming), the blizzard struck.  Suffering from frost-bite and hypothermia, 56 members of the Martin company died before help could reach them.  The survivors finally met up with the main rescue party three days later.

When the Willie Company arrived in Salt Lake City on November 9th, 68 members of the company had lost their lives.  The Martin Company arrived in Salt Lake on November 30th.  At least 145 members of that company had lost their lives.  In addition, members of both companies suffered the loss of fingers, toes, and limbs to severe frostbite.

As they arrived in Utah, they were taken in by the local residents, who generously opened their homes to the emigrants and cared for them over the rest of the winter.  Eventually, these survivors would go on to Latter-day Saint settlements throughout Utah, Idaho and Arizona.

Survivor Francis Webster was quoted as having said, "Was I sorry that I chose to come by hand cart?  No.  Neither then nor any minute of my life since.  The price we paid to become acquiainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Hand Cart Company." (quote taken from Wikipedia, Mormon Handcart Pioneers)

Faith, the Musical pays tribute to those faithful men, women and children who made that perilous journey and obeyed the call to 'Come to Zion'. 

Part of the cast of this musical comes from Cheltenham Stake.  They arrived from England last weekend and presented a fireside on Sunday night.  One attendee writes: "I was blown away ...these folks from England are incredible, Broadway-caliber singers. And the score that Brother Marcum from England has written is fantastic. They sang about eight songs for us last night. It was quite moving."

Our Pint-Size Celebrities

I have sometimes wondered what it must be like to be born to celebrity.  You know, to be famous for nothing other than who you are and the family you were born into.  Take Prince William of England, for example, or Lisa Marie Presley - what would it be like to be instantly recognized by total strangers, or followed by photographers everywhere you go?  And this is totally independent of your actual physical self, whether you are tall or short, blond or brunette, fat or thin.  Or your personality, whether you are an extrovert or an introvert.  Of course my two examples are not hurting in the looks department, but you get my drift.



Fred Incognito

 
But these things only happen to the rich and famous, right? 

Wrong. 

Evidently, mixed race (Chinese-American) babies cause quite a stir in China, where they are still very rare.  The Chinese feel these babies are beautiful and so will gather around Holly and the children whenever they go out in public.

As my brother writes: "Can you imagine stopping someone on the street here [in the USA] and wanting to take a picture because they have a mixed-race child? Maybe we're so politically correct it keeps us from enjoying things like that. " 




Well, the Chinese people are not shy!  But they do seem to be very nice about their delight in these children.

Our Princess Being Photographed




Gathering a crowd in Shenyang

I just had to share these photos which my nephew Daniel took.  I can't comprehend being mobbed on the street by people who are enthralled with your children, people who want to stare at, poke and photograph them.

It might get old fast!


Miss Livia Posing for the Camera



Still, they are pretty adorable, don't you think?

One Year Anniversary

I got Jack a year ago this week.  It doesn't seem like that much time has passed by already!  I must admit we had a bit of a stressful period of time getting to know each other.  I had just come out of a 20 year relationship with another cat, and Jack was young and frightened.  It took us a few weeks to get to know each other.  Now, we rub along fairly well together.  It's a process.

This morning, Jack was having a good time playing with his Turbo Track.  He still shows a lot of enthusiasm for the game.

 All I had to say was, "Jack, I want to take some pictures, can you pose for a minute by the track?"

I think he did a very good job of posing.  He's so sweet and obedient.  He kept fairly still and stared at the ball until I got a good shot.  Thanks, Jack!

And then I noticed his little bit of kitty engineering - a tiger tail shimmy - obviously applied to make the track run more smoothly:

It cracked me up.

And, yes.  He placed the flower there, too.  He stole it from my "Time Out" doll's back pocket and carries it around the house with him.

A friend told me I named him after the wrong Richard Dean Anderson TV character.  Instead of Jack O'Neill, he should have been called MacGyver.

Ya think?

Good McMorning!

Did you know there is a McDonald's restaurant right on the Champs d'Élysées in Paris?
A-yup.

(Hint) This isn't it:

Morning in Pico Rivera

Okay.  True confessions time.  My guilty pleasure is to pick up breakfast here at this Mickey D's on my way to work.  It saves me having to cook and I get to see the familiar friendly faces of the employees here at this location.  This is in Pico Rivera, so they are pretty much all Hispanic.  Maybe that's why they are such a nice bunch.  And they really are nice people  They know I like extra salsa for my breakfast burrito without me asking.  Which probably tells you way too much about me and my bad habits!

But, when you live alone, there's a lot to be said for seeing nice people first thing in the morning, who ask you how you are doing today and give you a big smile.  In return, I counsel Cesar, the cashier, on how his mother is right when she says, 'no more tattoos, mijo'!  And I tell the manager how much I like his staff.

You can't put a price on that personal interaction.  It's certainly worth the price of a breakfast burrito.

Gracias.