Last Sunday we went up to Sundance to take some family pictures. Damian and Jenelle had asked us to take their family pics, so I figured we might as well take ours too. It was totally nuts up there. There were people EVERYWHERE taking pictures and it was like a race to see which person could get out of their car the fastest to stake the best spot. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite pictures.
This is my 4th or 6th great grandmother Sarah Goode Marshall (we are still trying to figure out how many “greats” she is to me). She, along with her 6 children came 1,400 miles across the plains and arrived in Salt Lake City in 1856. She was one of the first handcart companies to arrive.
This is a descendant of Sarah Marshall, Lynn Cleland.
I can’t express the feeling I got when he arrived at This is The Place pulling his handcart. It must be close to the same feelings that Brigham Young and the other saints who were already in Salt Lake felt when they watched all these faithful saints arriving at last. So many of the pioneers lost everything – their family, their friends but they still came. Lynn talked about after the first 3 weeks, he felt like he couldn’t make it anymore. But then he remembered the motto that he put on his handcart - “Faith Greater than Pain” and he said it helped him to continue on. We often wonder how the saints did it…and it was because their faith was greater than their pain. They believed in this gospel and they would do anything to follow the promptings of the spirit. I am so grateful for Lynn and his desire to do this. It has given me a greater testimony of the importance of family history because it actually became real for me. Here were several generations of us all gathered together on Saturday and it was amazing! I am thankful for the example my great grandmother was and for her desire to join this church. Who knows where I would be without her faith and determination to do what was right. Here are some pictures from our trip and also a couple of newscast videos :)
This is the Place Monument
My Uncle Fred and Kylie
The descendants of Sarah Marshall
Great Uncle Ray, Aunt Debbie, and Great Aunt Beverly
Kylie and Lynn
Kylie after Lynn looked back at her….
If you look closely at this first video, you can see me and Austin and Kylie walking on the road. Austin is wearing a red hat.
Today marks 6 months from when I had my back surgery. I can't even believe it. The time has flown by so fast. My last appointment with the doctor is on October 8th. My back feels great so I'm sure he'll say I'm good to go. You have no idea how happy I am today! Thanks again to all those who helped me out. This has been a very difficult experience for me and I would not have been able to get through it without you guys!
Yesterday we decided to head down to Payson to visit the Grotto Falls. Neither one of us had been there before, so we were excited to check it out. It was a little bit chilly, but it was such a fun, short hike. Kylie loved it. I’m so glad she likes going hiking :) The trail ends at the falls and it’s such a beautiful little area. We were the only ones there, which made it even better. If you haven’t been there, you really need to check it out. We will now proceed to the 10,000 pictures I’ve uploaded :)
