mormon matters...

richard bushman, professor of history emeritus, columbia university


amy and i have had some very interesting and invigorating spiritual discussions this past year. it has been a lot of fun talking with her and reasoning out our thoughts and beliefs on a variety of subjects.

the catalysts for these discussions has been her purchase of my father's day ipod. no, we haven't been receiving spiritual confirmations from my personal music collection. in fact, 50% of my music in unlove-ed by my better half.

we have been listening to a couple new podcasts.

one podcast we have enjoyed is mormon stories. this podcast is hosted by an active mormon computer programmer who fell into inactivity while teaching seminary and learning about church history he had never heard before. he has since climbed back into church activity and this podcast started as his labor of love in searching out and discussing the truth of poignant moments in church history in a faithful way. one recent series of podcasts that sticks out in my mind as particularly poignant is his series of interviews with richard bushman. author of rough stone rolling (the new biography of joseph smith). bushman has become the recent face of mormonism in the mainstream media as they look for answers to questions about what mormonism is and how it fits into the broader american culture. here is a transcript of a session he attended at the pew forum of religious and public life in which journalists from several of the major american news outlets asked him questions. their questions and his responses are fascinating.

aside from interviews with bushman, mormon stories contains interviews with a byu history professor, a black member of the church whose membership spanned the 1978 revelation, gregory prince, todd compton, an endowed master mason and many other fascinating interviews. each of the interviews allows the interviewee to tell their story in a supportive environment and each interview is moderated by john dehlin--a sympathetic, active lds member.

i wonder if any of you have already listened to any of these interviews. do you have a favorite? for those have never heard of mormon stories...do they sound interesting to you? is it something you would try if you got bored of listening to 'all things considered' (or if you are tired of grant and amanda...?) is it something you think should be avoided?

what has happened in new york...?

reuters announced that as a result of the nyc subway flooding that riders have 'been stunned' and that 'tempers' have 'frayed'. at times like this, my thoughts turn to the nyc hipster. how are you stevie? did the flooding in the subway affect you personally?

anyone else have a favorite weather story--scary, exhilerating?

not slytherin, not slytherin...

The sorting hat says that I belong in Gryffindor!

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name."

Students of Gryffindor are typically brave, daring, and chivalrous.
Famous members include Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore (head of Hogwarts), and Minerva McGonagall (head of Gryffindor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

a few thoughts...

hello all. i just wanted to share a few random thoughts now that we have been home from our utah-oregon trip extravaganza. life is good. being with family--immediate and extended--is what it's all about.

speaking of family, rosalynde did the frandsen/welch name proud this week in her guest stint over at mormon matters....give it a listen as she reviews a few of my favorite mormon movies (among other more heady moments.) my favorite moment was when she called her co-podcaster john (her husband's name is john.)

i think we may have found a fun new twist on an good old tradition...

we have attended the rodeo on the 24th of july forever and this year's bull riding did not disappoint.



however, what really made me grin was what goes on after the rodeo. something i had never witnessed and will have to make a new part of our yearly tradition. after the rodeo, many of the kids from the stands run down into the arena and dance to music during the fireworks. michael was taken with the site and just had to be a part of it. here is a shot of him getting a good look at real rodeo 'dirt'...



michael was perplexed with the fish rodeo, but did manage to corner a rainbow trout...



grandpa's pancakes were a highlight for michael in oregon. grandpa showed up michael's parents by making very uniquely patterned pancakes...not that anyone could have guessed that michael would swoon over a lightening mcqueen pancake...


amy still fits into her wedding dress and i couldn't resist photo documenting the event 7 years after the fact...


it's hard to remember whom i've told that i'm a harry potter fan. it was therefore a big moment last night when a restrained, drunk adolescent for whom i was caring called me dr. harry potter...did i mention i got new glasses?


aj risenmay...he's so hot right now.


thinking about riding the spine at the top of big cottonwood canyon just before heading back to california still makes me smile...



what's made you smile lately?

Michael's Birthday (belated)...

So we celebrated Michael's 4th birthday last month... July 2nd... and I am just now getting around to putting some pictures up for ya'll. Sorry for the delay. By now most of our beloved readership has seen the big 4-year-old in person during our "July Tour of Families" in Utah and Oregon. But here is a reflection on the birthday festivities...

This year's birthday was car-mania. When he came home from preschool, take a look at what he found in his bedroom...



As Paul and I put the race car bed together, we kept wondering if it was a little over-the-top... but for $20 at a garage sale... what mom could resist?? He has been thrilled with it ever since.



Here are some of the other cars he got to add to his collection...



... and they've all been riding and talking together ever since.

That Saturday was the CARS birthday party. Although I was tempted, I didn't do another Lightning McQueen cake... but did a race track "4" instead...



He really loved it. That morning the birthday guests arrived... all 18 of them! The rest of it is a bit of a blur, and we don't have many pictures to document the actual events... you can imagine that the 1 1/2 hours with a swarm of 3-5 year-olds (and cute Kaile) took a bit of attention. Luckily my Aunt Sarah was there and helped out a bit, and the girls napped until the very end.

Anyway... we colored pictures of Lightning and his friends, raced toy cars, painted wooden racecars...



and ate "tires" on a string (doughnuts).



We had two other games ready to go, but simply ran out of time. Here was the big birthday moment... which didn't quite go as planned.



All in all, it was a great time and we have a pretty big boy. Time is flying by so fast. It seems like only yesterday he was just a "Schmibbers"...

in the company of family...

video proof of michael's 'stephen inspired' dancing...

why i love harry potter...still.

i just finished it and i am at a loss for words. i loved it. this book was more intense, emotional, rewarding, moving, frustrating, and heartbreaking than the previous six. if you haven't read the books in the harry potter series, then it's time to stop the snobbery and join in this cathartic journey. if you have followed harry on his journey then i hope you enjoy this last ride as much as i did...

why i love harry potter...

as june 21st has drawn near, i have become nostalgic. attending this final book release party and diving into the book will be a bitter sweet experience. for the last seven years i have lived knowing that harry has more to accomplish and that i get to be a part of it when it happens. so much has happened in my life since harry potter was first introduced to the world in 1997.

i came into the harry potter phenomenon a bit late. the first book i read in the series--book 2--i purchased in the phoenix airport while flying to cincinnati on my honeymoon...late August of 2000. at this sublime time in my life i began delving into the life of harry potter. as an era comes to a close, i can't help but feel that a chapter of my life ending with jk rowling's final installment. this post will attempt to reconcile my life and harry's--showing how his journey and mine have intermingled.

book one--harry potter and the philosopher's stone (26 june 1997)

as harry potter's journey through hogwarts began, i began a journey of my own. my entry into the mtc marked a milestone in my life and an initiation into the adult mormon religious experience. my entrance into the temple then the mtc was marked with excitement, elation, and trepidation. harry had similarly poignant experiences--discovering his wizard nature, entering hogwarts school, sorted into gryffindor house, learning of his parents true fate and facing voldemort. it was a big year for both of us.

my first area in the philippines...



dad's letter while in the mtc...



book three--harry potter and the chamber of secrets (2 july 1998)

the second book is harder to correlate with my life. harry interacts with ginny more in this book as she is possessed by tom riddle's diary. i had not yet met amy, but 1998 was a great year for her and her family...

they took a trip to niagra falls the summer book two came out and this picture of aj sums up how we all feel about the harry potter books.


i was a year into my time in the philippines and times were good...


book three--harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban (8 july 1999)

this was a difficult yet important year for harry. he was tormented by the animagus form of sirius (black dog) yet discovered him to be wrongly accused. sirius ultimately brought solace to harry's world as a surrogate father.

coming home from the philippines was difficult for me, but i soon met someone who would change my life.



before we met and during the summer the book three release she was blissfully traveling with her family in preparation for sending her brother to venezuela...

risenmay boys in the waters of florida. i have come to know and love these boys as family.


this trip to island park with her family cemented their kentucky country upbringing...



amy and matt have always been close friends. these pictures from that spring and summer belay this fact...


amy wasn't sure why i included this picture, but it's a great close-up of matt and paul r...

the end of this summer found me unable to keep my eye's off of amy...


by some stroke of magic inspiration? she decided to invite a boy she'd just met to the airport to see matty off...it was good she did as we were hitched before his return...


book four--harry potter and the goblet of fire (8 july 2000)

this was the first book that brought me to tears. harry wins the tri-wizard tournament and is transported by portkey to face voldemort. the priori incantem that springs to life from voldemort's malevolent spell brings harry face to face with his parents for the first time. his heightened emotions at that point mirrored the heightened emotions i would experience in a most memorable summer for me.

the summer began with a marriage proposal...


i was recently asked what i did for my bachelor's party and i didn't have a good answer. in rethinking the question though, my medical trip to the philippines just days after the engagement was a month long bachelor's party--all clean mormon fun.




lafe expresses what i felt as the wedding festivities drew to a close...!


this picture is a tribute to the frandsen thanksgiving celebrations that have mirrored several harry potter movie releases...



book five--harry potter and the order of the phoenix (21 june 2003)

harry took a hiatus and came back moody as ever. however, his life reached new heights as he fought off a dementor attack, started dumbledore's army, fought with death eaters and faced voldemort alone once again.

harry's hiatus mirrored my own. three years of blissful childless marriage were reigned in with the birth of our firstborn shmibbers. he has heightened our emotions and our ability to love in ways i didn't think i was capable.


and let's face it, harry potter has always been about family, friends and love...


notice goblet of fire at amy's feet...used to pass the time while feeding the shmibbers.


book six--harry potter and the half-blood prince (16 july 2005)

harry's time in his sixth year at hogwart's was overshadowed by death...the death of his godfather the previous year and the ultimate death of dumbledore. in the midst of these tragedies, he pushed forward in his quest for defeat of voldemort. bright spots in his life at this time included personal time with dumbledore throughout the year, an emotionally satisfying relationship with ginny and strengthened friendship with hermione and ron. this book in particular seemed to signal a transition from boy to man for harry as the book ends with him leaving school early in search of he who must not be named...

the books release found our family in transition. michael had grown from shmibber to shmichael and we had recently announced our pregnancy...(little did we expect that amy would be great with two children)


michael has not read any of the books, and i hope to read from book one with him this week. however, at the half-blood prince release party, he and i went to the gateway borders party complete with owls, potter glasses and lots of fun...


book seven--harry potter and the deathly hallows (scheduled for 21 july 2007)

where will book seven find harry?

where will book seven find you?

sadly, book seven will mark the end of a beloved story for me. harry has seen me through years of change and i will always look with fondness on these years of my life...

thank you for reading to the end of this really long and excessively nostalgic post. if there are pictures you think i should have included from the last 10 summers, i probably agree with you. but i have very few pictures in our home from before the kiddos were born...

wildfire!...

we're headed to utah on thursday. however, raging in southern utah is the largest fire in the state's history...

reports of absolute, breathtaking panic...

road closures...

and a record setting fire abound.

the specter of making the drive makes your pulse quicken when looking at the top photo.

last july, our little family was driving up I-15 in southern utah for mom's b-day when lightening hit a patch of grass off to our left. we watched in awe as the fire spread at a breathtaking rate from the strike piont. minutes later firetrucks speeding from the north barreled past us in the oncoming lane.


we are excited to see everyone this week, but we'll just play our departure time by ear...

update: uncle ron says, "cut over to Panguitch right after Cedar City and drive up Highway 89"

we'll call udot the day of our drive for further advice. i assume the detour at cedar city would take us down highway 14 to 89 and we would then go north on 89 to I-70 and then head up highway 28 for a chance to pass through gunnison...?

malibu musings...

when's the last time you lounged around in a beach chair...


have you recently created a sand angel with great fervor...


when did you last run for you life...


have you tried rolling around in the sand with abandon in recent memory...


when were you last buried to your dismay...


come beach camping with us and our kids will show you a good time...really, you're all invited.