Ricks Siblings, East and West

Dad got to make a presentation at a BASR (British Association for the Study of Religion) conference in Bangor, Wales, in September, so we used that opportunity to plan a “vacation.”

Driving in Wales was an adventure! Roads were very narrow and had hedges or rock walls right next to the lane. Most of time the we had little or no shoulder. It took Dad a day or two to get used to driving on the “other” side of the road (and car) and me a day or two to get used to feeling like my side of the car was going to run into the hedges or walls.

We walked some along Offa’s Dyke, an eighth-century earthworks delineating the separation of the Anglian kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys. It stretches for 80–150 miles along eastern Wales and was likely built as a political statement. The dirt taken from the ditch on the Welsh side was piled high on the English side. It was up to 8 ft high.

This was outside one of our B&Bs (bed and breakfasts) in Hay-on-Wye, a small town distinguished for its thirty or so bookshops (and, yes, Dad did buy some books here).

We always try some of the local cuisine, this time fish and chips. One order was plenty for both of us. It was hot and tasty but probably not especially good for us.

The green Welsh countryside was beautiful, with the sheep grazing on the hills.

We made a special point of coming to this northern Welsh town that has one of the longest place names in the world. The Welsh name translates as “The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio’s of the red cave.”

Ok, the car was moving so this picture was out of focus, but it looks look an impressionistic painting to me. This represents the one brief spell of rainy weather that prevented us from riding the train to the top of Mount Snowdon, the high point of Wales and Britain. Dad says that just gives him an excuse to go back to Wales sometime.

So instead of going up the mountain, we drove a little further, the sun came out, and we had a delightful visit to Bodnant Garden, which spans 80 acres and features a wide range of plants.

We wandered until closing time through the flowers, trees, and estate gardens.

We flew with Ryan Air to Dublin, Ireland. Flying with one carry-on 20×40x55 cm each was an adventure; everything (purse, camera, computer, etc.) had to be inside one bag weighing less than 10 kilos. We made it! A missionary couple, Jim and Colleen Magelsen, picked us up at the airport, so we stayed with them for a couple of days.Here we are among the heather on a peninsula east of Dublin.

I like this shot of Dad peering at the back of the wardrobe, which C. S. Lewis is opening. Bill Geddis took us on a C. S. Lewis tour to various places in the Belfast area that were significant in Lewis’s life. Dad was able to give two firesides in Dublin and one in Belfast. We had a delightful time in the unusually great weather of Wales and Ireland!

Well, let’s see where the last few months have taken our family:

After Jonathan and Tine moved out of Wymount Terrace, they moved into our basement for a short time and convinced me we needed to upgrade our guest bedroom. Best thing about that—they were willing to help!

Then Jonathan and Tine moved to St. Louis (after a trying adventure in getting Tine back from Germany without a green card).

Here are Jonathan and Dad taking off with a very full car for St. Louis.

And we had a surprise visit from Jonathan and Tine in August (after they moved to Houston)—they came to participate in the wedding of Jonathan’s long-time friend James Barrett. And we always try to get together when family is in town—Jennifer, Cayelle, and Ryan were able to join us!

Jennifer and Ryan haven’t moved, but they did get to Lake Mona—this is a wonderful family picture!

Here we are on Wednesday getting Lora’s classroom ready. The next day she and John got the news that a birth mother had selected them to be adoptive parents—and that she was in labor at that moment. How quickly life can change! It’s a good thing Jennifer was willing and able to step into Lora’s classroom for the first week.

Gabe and Elijah are peering through a bridge in a Baltimore park on our May trip to see Marc and Sarah.

And here are Gabe, Marc, Elijah, Sarah, and baby David John on their church lawn in the Cleveland area, where Marc is working on his residency in pediatrics.

It’s been so fun to have Nancy and Robert near us this past year. They are getting ready to move out of their tiny home in preparation for their summer stay in Jordan, where Robert helped direct the BYU Study Abroad program in Arabic for Spring and Summer Terms.

Having never made it to Jordan, Dad and I decided this would make a wonderful opportunity to visit Robert and Nancy in that country (their apartment is in the background).

One of our first trips was to the well-preserved Roman ruins at Jerash—we are at the coliseum.

Robert and Nancy are walking down the colonaded street at Jerash.

We enjoyed a variety of restaurants and foods while in Jordan. Our taxi driver (to the left) is helping to eat the delicious food at a Lebanese restaurant.

This unassuming restaurant was next door to our hotel in Amman. Mensaf is a Bedouin specialty: lamb on a bed of rice and peanuts (or pine nuts). We poured a tangy sauce of cooked yogurt mixed with fat over the rice. That was very tasty. The other dish we got was kapsa, which was a spicier rice topped with grilled chicken. There was a sort of vegetable soup that we could pour over that.

This was our second meal at the Yemeni restaurant across the street from Robert’s university office. We broke off pieces of the hot flatbread and wrapped some of the food into it to eat (a chicken dish, a potato dish, and beans)—all very tasty. Note the fancy, disposable tablecloth.

Archaeologists believe this may be close to the actual baptismal site of Jesus. Ruins of five churches are at the end of the marble staircase described in pilgrims’ accounts.

I’e always wanted to go to Petra. This huge carving in the rocks is known as the monastery and is found at the end of a long hike (note the size of the rocks in comparison with Stephen standing in the front). The more commonly pictured treasury is near the beginning of the ruins.

The beautifully colored rocks at Petra remind me of southern Utah!

On our May trip to see the Flinders, we ate lunch at a park in Chicago before going to see the world premier of Harry Potter: The Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry. We spent all day in the museum and particularly enjoyed the Harry Potter stuff—we’re all fans.

Meagan has been the big traveler from her family—she spent the month of June in Utah. She and Cayelle were the only girl cousins at this point.

Rebecca and Marcus and their family have seen Marc and Sarah’s family in Cleveland a couple of times. I’m so glad they are close enough to get together.

It’s great that we work hard to make paths cross—family is what it is all about!

Wow–how does the time pass so quickly. Lots has happened since I have last posted. First, the graduations!

Jonathan and Tine both graduated from BYU in April–at least Jonathan did; Tine was able to walk even though she still needs to complete her student teaching (in Houston, no less).

In May we were able to drive back East for Marc’s graduation from Johns Hopkins Medical School—that is a real achievement for their family.

The past month has brought two new grandchildren into our family—

David John joined Marc and Sarah’s family on 30 July 2009 and was blessed on 16 August 2009. His older brothers, Gabe and Elijah adore him.

And here is darling, tiny Maya Jane with Lora and John—she was born on 13 August 2009 and was able to join her adoptive family on 15 August. She was only 4 lbs. 10 oz. when she was born, but she is a great eater.

Here is an unusual opportunity to get pictures of six of our eight grandchildren—in the Cleveland area.
Here is Cayelle on my counter—we love her smile and curls.

In the past several months, we’ve traveled a lot, and some of our families have moved. I think I’ll start a new post for the gallavantin’ part!

I haven’t posted for a while, so I need to catch up!

Here I am in one of my last activities as Laurel adviser–youth conference at Aspen Grove!

On March 1 I was sustained and set apart as the Relief Society president of the Edgemont Fifth Ward. My secretary, Maren Mazzeo; education counselor, Becky Callahan; me; enrichment counselor, Elizabeth Crowe.

Another birthday–older and wiser. My first official duty as RS president was to help two families in the ward: a 13-year-old boy in our ward accidentally shot and killed a 16-year-old girl.

A cute girl shot while Rebecca was here!

Five of our six wonderful children together!

St. Patrick’s Day green–after Lora’s class play.

And just days later, here we are at St. Patrick’s grave in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland–almost being blown over in the cold wind.

Here is Dad organizing his book haul from our trip to Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Germany.

John Hancock and Robert ran a 5K on a very cold morning, and some of us cheered them on.

Jen Ballif Moeller with baby and husband, Lezlie and John Ballif, guests to dinner.

Dad dancing an Israeli line dance after a student Passover.

Making tortillas for our family progressive dinner planned by Lora and John.

Lots of love to all!

Mom