Rain, Rain

ƸӜƷ This rain is so fabulous. 15 days in a row! It's so exciting. It reminds me so much of England and green feilds. The feild next to us is nicely growing into tall green plants that make our little valley so beautiful. I'm so grateful for all this moisture and don't care a bit if it rains more. In fact if the sun is shining I get kind of annoyed.

Handcart Trek

ƸӜƷ Last week was the Martin's Cove/ Willie handcart trek. It was absolutely fabulous and the best experience anyone could ever have. The stories you hear, the ancestors you and others research and tell about are enchanting and will stick with you forever.

First off, the ancestor's name that I took was Lucy Simmons Groves. She wasn't in a handcart company but a wagon one. She was in the wagon company with Brigham Young, his last trip across the plains. On the first day they started out, she tried to get off of the wagon, but being weak from having a baby ten days earlier, fell off and the wagon wheel ran over her, breaking three ribs. Her husband was nearby and ran to pull her out before the second wheel went over her but it ended up breaking her leg. They stopped the wagon and Brigham Young came over, set her leg and gave her a blessing. Her children had to take all of her responsibilities and she had to stay in the wagon. As she was almost completely healed, her oldest daughter, Patience, tripped over her leg and rebroke it. The pain was worse than before. While in the wagon, each step the oxen took was a new burst of pain. Her husband finally pulled the wagon out of the train. Brigham Young saw this and stopped everyone, gave another blessing and then cut off the bottom of the poster bed and strapped it to the sides of the wagon. Lucy was able to gently swing back and forth like a hammock.

There are billions of stories out there. Several of the missionaries at the trek knew several stories but only told them if someone asked. If I had the time and new this I would have, but I didn't know.

Everything was beautiful and set a new appreciation for everything that is simple. The wildlife is so peaceful and calm there that they seem to have no cares at all that humans are there and close to them. After the trek I was babysitting and even enjoyed watching the boys play with worms and closely watching ants pick up rocks and move them.

Several experiences await everyone and the outcome is phenomenal, the women's pull, martin's cove, the sweetwater crossing, just being dressed like pioneers...aww... I truly miss it and would jump automatically at the chance to do it again. ƸӜƷ

ƸӜƷLast week there was a rainstorm that was fabulous. As the sun was setting it spread out like melted butter over the valley and decided to light up some beautiful colors in the form of two, perfectly arched, complete rainbows. No matter where I went I couldn't fit the whole thing into the camera, so the pictures I took are only a reminder of what it really looked like. I guess that's better right?