Our particular LDS Ward has been assigned to travel to Auger Falls and re-seed an area that had burned earlier this summer. We were instructed to bring grubby clothes, rakes, gloves, seed spreaders etc. They are hoping to be able to plant enough grass down there that will grow quickly and replace the burnt vegetation.

It should be an awesome site with all of the Youth and Adults from Mormon families from all over Twin Falls. I’ll take a video camera along and post some nice pictures of the project.

When I was at “The Y“, I worked at the MTC too but I did not have the cushy job of sorting mail for the missionaries. My job was a little more gritty and unpleasant. I worked in the dish room. Yep, I washed the dishes of thousands of missionaries. I would wake up really early in the morning, like 4:30am or something crazy like that and washed dishes. I remember putting in earplugs because of the noise of the dishes clanking together and the noise from the dishwashing machines, drying machines and disposals. I would put on green rubber gloves, a plastic apron and stand by a conveyor belt. I was assigned the job of cleaning off all of the major pieces of food off of each plate, bowl and cup. Then I would stack each piece nicely on another convener belt so that it would go through the washer correctly. On some of the days, I would work at the end of the washing line where I would have to take off the clean and dry dishes and stack them. At that time, I would have to wear cotton gloves because the plates and bowls were so hot coming out of the rapid dryer that they would burn your skin. After a couple of hours of staking hot dishes, the gloves would be soaking wet. Even though it was not fun work, it did help pay my way through my classes. So, if you want to know what missionaries eat, or don’t eat, I could tell you. I must say, I don’t think I have ever put that work experience on my resume.

Enjoy the video:

This is a set of slides that someone put together for a presentation on the DTG program.
http://www.putonthearmoroflight.com/2010/08/new-young-men-duty-to-god-program.html

Here is another article written about the new Duty to God program. It breaks down each section and each activity very nicely. It talks about how the new DTG program focuses on plan, act and share.
http://bystudyandfaith.net/2010/08/new-duty-to-god/

The Mormon Church has also updated their website with a bunch of new Videos and a PDF Copy of the new DTG booklet.
http://lds.org/dutytogod/

This is a direct link to the “Materials” page of the LDS website for DTG. You will find the links to the PDF file, videos, Q&A.
http://lds.org/dutytogod/materials.html

This is a direct link to the “Implementation video for you men, parents, and leaders.  It is a WMV file.
http://broadcast.lds.org/aaronic-priesthood/duty-to-god/2010-05-1010-overview-128k-eng.wmv

This is a direct link to the “Implementation video for Quroum presidencies.  It is in WMV format.
http://broadcast.lds.org/aaronic-priesthood/duty-to-god/2010-05-1010-overview-128k-eng.wmv

Each year the Stake Young Mens Presidency goes up and feeds all of the scouts from our stake. I have had the privilage to go up 3 times now and do just that. When I’m up there, I usually try to encourage my son to finish off his merit badges and sometimes we do something fun.

This year I decided to make a little video commercial. It was fun to make and will be a great memory of Scout Camp. This is a Spoof of the Old Spice Commercial that you may have seen on the internet or on TV. Make sure you take a look at the bloopers too.

FAMILY HOME EVENING

www.ayearoffhe.blogspot.com – FHE

www.fheinasnap.blogspot.com -FHE

www.fheplanner.blogspot.com – FHE -link to – www.youpublish.com

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

PRIMARY

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com – YW, Primary, celebrations

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.ldsactivitydayideas.blogspot.com – activity days

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.wendy’sactivities.blogspot.com – activity days

PRIMARY MUSIC

www.basicprimarymusic.blogspot.com

www.beehivemessages.blogspot.com – Primary music, YW girl’s camp

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jollyjenn.com

www.primarysingingtimeideas.blogspot.com

www.primarysingingtimewithmatilda.blogspot.com

www.thechildrensing.blogspot.com

PRINTABLES – DIGITAL PAPER

www.pinkigloodesigns.blogspot.com – digital paper

www.steadfast-and-immovable.blogspot.com – YW handouts, digital scrapbooking

www.summertimedesigns.blogspot.com – digital paper

RELIEF SOCIETY

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.enrichmentcottage.com – RS activities, crafts, recipes, homemaking, humor

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

SELF RELIANCE

www.plentyofpicnics.blogspot.com – self reliance, storage, bible stories

www.preparednotscared.blogspot.com -preparedness, planners

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

VISITING TEACHING

www.alittletipsy.com – YW, VT, gifts, tutorials

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.ldshandouts.blogspot.com – YW, VT

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.visitingteachingblog.blogspot.com – VT

www.visitingteachingsurprise.blogspot.com – VT

www.visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com – VT

YOUNG WOMAN

www.alittletipsy.com – YW, VT, gifts, tutorials

www.beehivemessages.blogspot.com – Primary music, YW girl’s camp

www.christysclipart.com – Primary music, Primary, YW, RS

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com – YW, Primary, celebrations

www.jillsldsyw.blogspot.com – YW

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.ldshandouts.blogspot.com – YW, VT

www.papercakesandicing.blogspot.com – YW lesson aides $$

www.steadfast-and-immovable.blogspot.com – YW handouts, digital scrapbooking

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

OTHER – CRAFTS / SEWING

www.alittletipsy.com – YW, VT, gifts, tutorials

www.controllingmychaos.com – recipe cards, crafts

www.deckthehalls-christmas.blogspot.com – craft ideas

www.enrichmentcottage.com – RS activities, crafts, recipes, homemaking, humor

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com – YW, Primary, celebrations

www.makingitfun.blogspot.com – sewing, tutorials

www.mormonchic.com – gospel, recipes, mommy, style, crafty, healthy, deals

www.plentyofpicnics.blogspot.com – self reliance, storage, Bible stories

www.preparednotscared.blogspot.com -preparedness, planners

www.skiptomylou.org – crafts, recipes, teacher appreciation

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.thecottagehome.blogspot.com – sewing tutorial

www.theideaattic.blogspot.com

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.thequiltingdiaries.blogspot.com – quilting ideas

www.threebears.wordpress.com – sewing tutorials

OTHER – MISCELLANEOUS

www.christmasintheair.blogspot.com – Christmas stories

www.educationaltoysplanet.com – wooden toys

www.etsy.com – shopping

www.executivehomemaker.com – kids, parties, holidays, gifts

www.family.go.com – Disney site

www.lds.about.com – 150 wrappers for Life Savers

www.mormonchic.com – gospel, recipes, mommy, style, crafty, healthy, deals

www.mycreativestirrings.blogspot.com – ideas

www.partiesandholidays.blogspot.com – lots and lots of ideas

www.room-mom101.blogspot.com – lots and lots of ideas

www.skiptomylou.org – crafts, recipes, teacher appreciation

www.wonderwoman.blogspot.com

ALL AUXILLIARIES

www.emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries, handouts

www.jackandjillofalltrades.blogspot.com –  YW, Primary, celebrations

www.latterdaychatter.blogspot.com – all auxiliaries lesson aides, cute handouts

www.lds.com.about – clip art, visuals

www.ldshandouts.blogspot.com – YW, VT

www.mormonshare.com – all auxiliaries, clip art, activities, primary talks

www.plentyofpicnics.blogspot.com – self reliance, storage, Bible stories

www.sugardoodle.net – all auxiliaries, much stuff

www.theideadoor.com – all auxiliaries, much stuff

Even though our summers are very full of activities, they are all growing experiences that hopefully build character, responsibility and leadership.  It also helps teach our children what is like to be away from home and hopefully, in a positive way, teach them to be more independent.  That way, our children will be ready to leave the nest when it is time to head off to college.

Next week will be the craziest.  I’m planning on traveling up to Scout Camp, Deanna will be helping at Girls Camp, we have a family reunion and we have a wedding reception.  After that week, we might be home for a little while just to vegetate and enjoy having our family all together again (if we can keep them from fighting).

My Dad brought over a CD the other day and wanted me to copy it for a family reunion we were having in a couple of weeks. He said it had some audio of my Grandpa Carter and Grandma Carter. I knew my Grandpa Carter so the minute I heard Melvin William Carter’s voice, a flood of memories came into my head. I could quickly picture him in my mind and I remembered his mannerisms. As I listened, I then heard a short clip of my Grand Mother Birdie Ione Carter. I don’t remember hearing her voice before. I didn’t ever know Grandma Birdie Ione Carter because she died about the time I was born. I’ve seen some pictures of her but never any audio so this was quite a treat to hear her voice. I have listened to this audio over and over again to get a sense of who she was and to get a feel for her background. It is really interesting to hear her accent. To me she has an Idaho accent. There are certain words that just come with a little bit of a twang and some of the words are slurred together to shorten a sentence. For some reason I always thought of Grandma Carters as a very prim and proper woman which didn’t laugh or tease but this audio shows her more of a fun lady with jokes and stories to color life’s experiences.

I decided to grab a few still pictures of Mel Carter and Birdie Ione and put them together with the audio and uploaded it to YouTube. For those of you who are not related, it isn’t very intersting, but for those of you who are related to the Carter Family, you might enjoy the clips I’ve edited.

A couple of the most famous clips I have added are told by Grandpa Mel Carter about some stories he memorized (recitations) when he was younger. First is his account of learning the Alphabet Backwards, the second is the story of the Cremation of Sam McGee.

There might be some people out there in the world wide web that don’t know that Mormons can dance. One of the wonderful things that the Mormon Church does is to plan and carry out wholesome activities for teenagers. Not only are they fun activities, but they are always supervised so that parents can feel comfortable dropping off their youth and know that they will be safe and that everything will be kept within certain guidelines that reflect gospel principles. Some of the dress standards that are followed are found in the “For Strength of Youth” pamphlet. In our Multi Stake Region, we ask all youth to ask their Bishop for a Dance Card. The dance card simply details out the standards that are kept at the dance and has a signature that states that the young man or young woman will abide by these standards. If someone doesn’t have a dance card, they are generally not turned away unless they are not abiding by the standards.

As I walked around the building (until my feet ached) I thought about how wonderful it was that church leaders would freely give of their time to host and chaperon a dance so that youth could mingle, dance and socialize in a safe environment. As a Father in an LDS Family, I am very thankful for the youth programs that train my kids and offer them opportunities to socialize, grow and prosper.

Anyway, enjoy the little video.