Tomas (8/6/25)

Jonny's family will have a new member from August through December 2025.  On August 6, 2025, Tomas Goldsack came with his parents, Arturo and Fran, to Dave's and my house for dinner.  Arturo and Fran were dropping Tomas off with Jonny and Jenny to spend five months exploring America's West and attending Salt Lake City's Judge High School as a junior.  Arturo is a John Deere dealer in Santiago, Chile, who met Jonny when Jonny acted as a liaison between John Deere and its Chilean dealers.  Jonny and Jenny previously hosted Tomas' older brother, Arturo, for a stay when Jonny and Jenny lived in Iowa several years ago.

We spent a wonderful afternoon with Tomas, Arturo, and Fran.  One highlight was when Arturo read a tribute he had written about Jonny, describing how Jonny's integrity and family values had impressed Arturo from when he first met Jonny, and how he loved Jonny like a brother.  We are delighted to have Tomas with us for the next few months.  Jonny and Jenny have already scheduled many fun events, from hiking the Subway in Zions Park to surfing on the California beaches and checking out Las Vegas.  There will, of course, be many golf games, since that is a favorite sport of both Tomas and Jonny's family.

 

Ezra and the Temple (8/5/25)

My grandson, Ezra Ebert, visited the LDS temple for the first time on August 5, 2025.  It was an important, joyful event, attended by all the members of Ezra's family who have been "endowed," or have also participated in temple ceremonies, as well as by Ezra's grandmothers, Marilyn Ebert and me.  

The Eberts were thrilled to be back together for a time.  Sophie, with Steve's arm around her, had just returned from her Spanish-speaking mission to Virginia, and Emilie, next to Sophie, was visiting from Dallas.  Jono and Sarah, on the left of this photo, had just moved back to Utah to run their nationwide
businesses from their hometown.  Only Annie was absent, working in Disney's advertising department in Orlando, Florida, and Emilie's husband, Jake, back home in Texas.  

 

By mid-August, Ezra would be on his LDS mission to the Philippine island of Cebu, after a few weeks training in Manila.  We were proud and happy that he accepted his calling as a missionary.

In the Pink (8/3/2025)

Audrey is beautiful, with big brown eyes and an impish personality.  I often wonder what she will be like as a young woman.  Heidi once said, "She'll be like you!" and that would be a great compliment.  Audrey was dressed in her favorite color, pink, when Dave and I visited Mike and Heidi on August 3, 2025, to try out Mike's new Chinese dumpling kit.  Heidi bought it for him for his birthday.

Before dinner, Audrey took me on a tour of her backyard, including visiting the tiny space between the cement parking strip and the boulders by the side of the cement that was her "garden".  Mike and Heidi own a one acre yard, so Audrey's garden seemed a bit meager!

Mike's dumpling kit consisted of a tiny rolling pin, just right for flattening rounds of dough, and a bamboo steamer in which to cook the dumplings.  There were also recipes, including the meat dumplings Mike cooked for us.

Mike and Heidi are both great cooks.  Mike has perfected brisket in his Traeger smoker, and Heidi bakes, decorates cakes, and makes chocolates and other candies.  Calder watched his mom fix the rice to accompany the dumplings.

Audrey patiently awaited her dinner.

Finally, success!