More places we went in New York-- part 2

On our half days off we'd take off and go see the sites. This is Lake Ontario, although it almost looked like the ocean, its so big! Dad & Uncle Bryan skipped alot of rocks back into the lake.We even hauled some of these little lake rocks home, just to remind us of how industrious and hard working those people were back then. They would haul these rocks, without any type of big machinery and build......

.....HOUSES!

....Big beautiful houses like this one! There are over 100 houses built out of lake-stones around this area. Every one was a work of art! This house sits on Martin Harris' farm, its not his original home, but the church owns the acreage where his farm was. This home is used for the sister missionaries now.

There is also lots of geese everywhere, Canadian Geese. We would see them in open fields, eating and relaxing!

This was a great little spot in Naples, NY. From the name of the town you can guess that lots and lots of grapes are grown in the area. People drive from all over to Monika's Pies and have her famous Grape Pie, which of course we had, however this was an ice cream place. What was cool about it was that they had bicycles to ride for free. We got on 4 of their bikes and rode around this quaint little town. Dad & I were on some clunkers, but J'net & Bryan rode some nice Schwinns.

This is the frame house that Alvin Smith built and wanted for his parents to have a more comfortable home. It has been restored back to the original way it was.
This is the upper room that no one gets to see, but our supervisors took us up there. You can see how they did the walls, very interesting.
This is called the 'Alvin Tree', planted after his death by his family--its huge now!
This was a fun little stop. Its a new way to grow strawberries!
We picked enough to eat and enjoy!

We took an evening ride on the Erie Canal aboard the Colonial Belle. It was a dinner cruise and about 3 hours long. It was so amazing, again to witness the hard work and ingenious of people!

This was entering into lock #32. The huge gates are closing, then over 3 million gallons of water will fill this area up in about 5 minutes. All gravity flow, nothing with electricity.

Then the water level rises until we were up level with the water on the other side of the lock.

It was all amazing!
Sunset on the Erie Canal!!

This was another fun stop. There was this honey stand, selling honey of all kinds of flavors and sizes, and no one around. People were on the 'honor code', take what you want and put your money in the lock box. (It was the only thing bolted down.) Isn't that wonderful that there are still places like this around that they can trust people enough to do this?

Our little mini mission to New York- part I

For those that don't know, LaVerl & I went with his sister J'net & husband Bryan back to Palmyra, NY to help with the Hill Cumorah Pageant as volunteers for 2 weeks. It was a wonderful experience and we loved it. We got to see all of the historic church sites and see many of the beauties of New York. We stayed in the old historic Beckwith Mansion, which has quite a story of its own.

The beautiful Palmyra Temple sits up in a grove of trees, almost hidden from view.

The landscaping is sooo pretty, everything grows so well.
They told us about this window, its called the "Hinckley window". As you can see, all the stained glass windows in this temple are made to represent trees like in the Sacred Grove. All windows in all temples are not clear, one cannot see in or out of them, however you can see that these are!! That is because Pres. Hinckley wanted them that way. He said, "We have the real thing here (the Sacred Grove), we should be able to look out and see it for ourselves."
This is the view from the window inside the temple. They had to cut a "U" shape out of some trees that were blocking the view down to the Sacred Grove.

This is the view from the path that leads from the little log house to the big frame house on the Smith farm. After touring the homes we went into the Sacred Grove!

Words cannot explain the beauty of this place. All markers and signs have been taken down, its just a peaceful forest with paths and trails that you can walk anytime of the day or night. One night we went just to watch the fireflies. Early mornings were great to take our scriptures and journals and just sit on a bench and reflect, ponder and pray.
Its a wonder, when I think about, to actually be in the Grove where God the Father and his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ really did appear to Joseph Smith. Somewhere in this forest, they were there! It makes this place just as sacred as the places where he walked in Jerusalem & Nazareth! We saw what was left of the 'witness trees', big old dead trees that had died years ago, but that had been there at the time of the first vision. Along another path was an old dead ironwood tree they call the "Apostle Tree". It had 12 dead branches coming out of it!

This is the front of the Grandin building where they printed the first 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon. The Sister missionaries give a wonderful tour here

What's neat about this building is that so much of it is still original. The floors, the planks on the main floor are the same where Joseph Smith walked, the walls on the 3rd level where the printing press was, still have the original in ink splatters.

Then we headed to the Smith farm where we walked through a replica of the little log house where they lived. This was the path that lead between the log house and the frame house that Alvin built. This is the path that you can look over and see the temple.

They told us this is where the girls slept and we were told that the plates were hidden between them one night that the mobs came. I'd never been told that. Isn't the little potty chair cute?
These are the original bricks and the hearth where Joseph Smith had to hide the plates from the mobs that were after them.
The church historical restoration has tried to bring everything back to the way it was when the Smiths lived there. They had to take porches, gables, extra rooms off the house and take plastering off the walls that had been done to modernize it. They don't give tours in the upper room above this floor, but our supervisors took us up there!

This is the little log house, and enclosed in the plastic enclosure is a Bible that dates back to Joseph Smiths time, turned to the scripture in James 1:5. I'm pretty sure Dad isn't supposed to be playing with the antiques! We loved seeing these sacred places and hearing again about the restoration of the gospel that took place right here!!

Niagara Falls-We were really there!!

It was a life long dream of mine to see Niagara Falls, one of those things on my "bucket list" that I never really expected to see! It was so magnificent, that pictures really don't capture the power of it. There are actually three falls, this is a good picture of American Falls, then next to it is Bridal Veil Falls and the one further down on this picture is Horseshoe Falls!

We arrived in Buffalo, NY about 4pm on Sunday, the 4th of July. We headed to Niagara to find a place to stay and then watch the fireworks over the Falls. What a wondrous thing to see, it was so beautiful to hear the sounds of the water, and see the colors in the the sky with reds, whites and blues sparkling overhead! It was a 4th of July I will always remember!
This is looking at Horseshoe Falls from on top. It is so loud, you can hear the 'roar' way before you can see it!
There is a constant rainbow from the mist always coming up from the Falls.
We (Bryan & J'net) all bought tickets that got us into the 5 attractions to see there. It allowed us to ride the trolly bus around to the different places, and into the Aquarium, the I-MAX movie, the Cave of the Winds, (our favorite) and the Maid of the Mist! (Awesome!)

Here we have just passed American Falls and the little one on the top far right is Bridal Veil Falls. If you look closely you can see the decks and walkways. We are headed right into Horseshoe Falls. We got soaked, it was wet, windy and FUN!

I didn't take my camera into Cave of the Winds, but it was so cool. We had to wait 2 1/2 hours because one of the two elevators was broken, plus it was one of the busiest days of the year, but it was worth it. We got to walk right under Bridal Veil Falls and stand on what they call "hurricane deck"! How they built the decks and walkways, I'll never know, but talk about "Up close and Personal!" We were there! We got soaked again, but we just had to stand right under it and feel the power! 65,000 gallons of water flows over the Falls every second!

Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest of all State Parks and has been opened for 125 years! It was so fun being there and seeing it all! I wish you all could have been there with us!!

"Glimpses"

Since I have been here at Kari's, and while Rivers is sleeping, I have read the book "Glimpses into the life and heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley". It is a wonderful book, I cried, laughed, and have been inspired to be better! She was one of those "angels among us" and I want to live my life more like her. I loved knowing that she was just an ordinary person in many ways, but extra ordinary in her outlook on life.

The first chapter: FAITH

She says: "I know that God lives. I know He lives. I have seen too much and experienced too much to ever deny it. He lives. He is truly my Father, and the Savior is my Savior in every sense of that work. If I can just be one more voice to say that God lives and that this is His work, I will be satisfied." Faith is the source of her personal sense of self-worth. Faith is the foundation of her parenting techniques. She smiles that sweet, calm, unruffled way and says, "It will be all right", believing in her perfect faith that it will.

The other chapters talk about her "Genuineness", "Mothering", "Gratitude", "Enthusiasm for Learning", "Confidence Builder", "Grandmothering" (I really liked this one!) and others.

She never thought bad of anyone, had a way of including everyone, made everything fun, and was very thoughtful and kind.

A favorite quote from the book. "We all have a responsibility--a responsibility to make a difference, to be an influence, to lift someone. We are all in this together to work out our salvation, to reach our potential, and to be our brothers keeper. To help each other."

I would encourage all to read it. I've read two other books while in Palmyra, but Dad read them too, so I'll let him give a little book report on them!

Conquer The Chaos

I've had this grand idea to read 1 book per month for a while now and I am finally getting around to actually doing it. It's been so easy to convince myself there are other things I'd rather do I guess. BUT NO MORE! I hereby officially commit to read one book per month and then blog about it and give a little review, aka a book report on it. I might even go crazy and read one business-type book AND 1 religious book per month, but I'm only committing to you 1 for now. We'll see though.

My 1st book I read was in June and is called Conquer The Chaos - How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy.

It was written by Clate Mask, the CEO of Infusionsoft (where I've worked for the past 4 1/2 years) and by Scott Martineau, the founder. These guys are class act leaders who I admire and respect very much.

So here's what I thought: Section I called The Quest for Freedom talked about why entrepreneurs revolt against "the man," how and why chaos enters the small business, and that if the small business is to survive, it must grow. I thought this section was a little too much fluff for me, but I'm sure small business owners will identify very closely with this discussion. To me this section was only the appetizer when I was hungry for some meat and potatoes.

Section II titled Mindset Strategies: Achieving Balance was a very pleasant surprise. It presented the idea of investing in emotional capital before and during the process of becoming a small business owner. It says your emotional bank account is even more important than your financial bank account and is ultimately the strength of your business. Wow, what a profound thought that I think many entrepreneurs overlook when they decide to go into business. The inherent chaos that quickly consumes the business can easily dissuade an entrepreneur that has not invested sufficiently into their emotional bank account. You've gotta be in the right state of mind to jump up out of bed every day to face the challenges owning a small business presents. I think this topic was my biggest take-away from the book.

Another Mindset Strategy discussed is called Disciplined Optimism which is 1) an undying belief you will succeed 2) while confronting the brutal facts of your current reality 3) and attacking those facts because you want to, not because you have to. This idea could also be known as the Stockdale Paradox which the book mentions here. It's all about finding the right balance between knowing you'll end up on top, but also understanding there's a steep hill in front of you and it will require hard work to ascend to the summit.

Section III is all about Systems Strategies: Controlling Speed. This is what I thought the entire book was going to be about; the nuts and bolts of putting in processes and workflow strategies to begin to own your business instead of your business owning you. It talks about the importance of centralizing your data, following-up with your customers and prospects, and automating manual and repetitive processes. I was surprised that Clate and Scott didn't tout Infusionsoft more during this section, because frankly, this is exactly what our software is designed to do for a small business. During my years at Infusionsoft, I am 100% confident that using the software to accomplish the 3 systems strategies mentioned above will indeed Conquer The Chaos in a small business.

The last section is a quick reminder to the now Liberated Entrepreneur to not return to the old ways of doing busines and what to do now that you have found your freedom.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to all entrepreneurs who are tired of being overwhelmed by their business. Of course there is much work to be done, but the principles and strategies learned here will definitely give the business owner clear direction and a pathway leading to success.

I read this book with my wife's business Whippy Cake in mind and I am excited for her to read this book (no babe, this little summary does not count) so that we can really start to implement these ideas into her business.

Ok, first review complete! I've already read another book that I will blog about probably next week. This month I'm currently reading Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Anyone care to join me? :)

Chadwick

Our brother Chad isn't much of a blogger, So I thought I make a little post about him so that we can all remember what a wonderful part of our family he is.

Ryne and I have both mentioned several times that one of the best parts about moving to Pinetop is being able to spend more time with Chad. Here are some reasons he is so great:

• He laughs A LOT! Especially when watching T.V or a movie, and the laughing is quite contagious

• He loves playing with kids and is loved by all kids. The other day he came over to hang out on his day off (Jocelyn brings him over) and my visiting teachers were here with 3 kids and Chad kept them very entertained while I visited, they all loved him.

• He is the best example of reading his scriptures. Every time he comes over he brings along his scriptures and reads them when ever there is any down time. He is also good at keeping me in line by asking if I have read yet.

• He is so fun to play games with. Every Friday he gets together with some of his friends there in Eagar- Richard Wiltbank, Jared Crosby, Phillip ?, and a couple others. Ryne and I have joined their game night and Chad is so good at teaching and helping people when they are new to the game.

• He is not a picky eater, unless he see's that something is fat free. He doesn't like olives either.

• He is so thoughtful. When Jocelyn dropped him off at his house the other day he invited her and her family over for dinner to eat some Lasagna that mom made for him while she's gone. If he has something he loves to share it.

• He is completely non-judgmental. He doesn't care or even seem to notice what someone looks like, how they are dressed, or how old they are, he just see's them as people.

• He is very forgiving

There are just a few for now- feel free to add anything you love about Chad.

Here are some facts to get to know him better.

• Favorite food: Lasagna
• Favorite dessert: Oreo dessert, but he really likes all sweets
• Favorite church song: Latter-day Prophets
• Favorite sports to play: Frisbee and racketball
• Favorite sports team: BYU
• Favorite games: Five crowns, Monopoly Deal, Mexican Train, a Dice game I don;t remember the name of, and Chicken Foot
• Thing he misses most about living in Provo- working in the temple every week
• Thing he likes most about being back in Eagar- having a car, mom's cooking and game night
• He wishes Eagar would get a bowling ally
• Employment: Safeway

Hmm thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

I am so grateful to have Chad as my brother. He teaches me so much, and we have a lot of fun together.

Why Kirk should've been in the Navy...

1. Aircraft Carriers. Have you ever stepped foot on one of these? Supersonic jets take off and land on them. When deployed, more than 5000 people call it home. There are 9 of them all over the world. The world is 2/3 water and we own the seas!!

2. Ranking structure. Although we may both be Lieutenants now and he may well be a Captain before me, my next rank is Lieutenant Commander, I'll be called Commander for short. Kirk will never be called Commander. Commander Crosby sounds good.

3. There's more to the military than killing things, like caring for the wounded. And from personal experience, Marines are ALWAYS getting hurt and always need medical attention. The marines have no medical personnel. In fact all those who support the Marines medically are Navy corpsman and doctors. Without the Navy, our brave Marines would be in a world of hurt.

4. The US Marine Corps is a division of the Department of the Navy. When our fighter jets get worn out, we hand them down to the Marines and buy ourselves new ones.

5. The Blue Angels. They belong to us, nuff said.

All joking aside, Marines are awesome! In my time away from the hospital, I tend to gravitate towards Marines because they love physical activity as I do. In fact, CrossFit has a program called Operation Phoenix, where people can donate $ to outfit Marine bases with Crossfit equipment so they can train to be hardened fighting machines. If I would've had it my way, I would be the Flight Doc for a Marine squadron and deploy with them, but it didn't work out that way. But luckily, there is a marine squadron here in NOLA that I'll be able to fly regularly with on their Hueys and Cobras (2 types of Marine helicopters).

When it comes down to it, all military personnel, whether Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard are the reasons we enjoy our freedoms today and I consider it a great privilege to take care of them on a daily basis.