Bastille Day

Just wanted to post a couple of pics from our whirlwind Europe trip. We've had a great time, we are exhausted and most of all we're ready to see the kids again. Bless Anna for watching them. Paris is our last stop and tomorrow is our last day in Paris. We didn't know it before but today is Bastille day in France (basically their 4th of July). They had the Eiffel tower lit up in Blue and had an amazing fireworks show set to some amazing classical and Opera music. Simply breathtaking. Bad video of a great show is below.

Viva La France!

Crummy sample of a great fireworks show for Bastille day in Paris France.

book club :)

I am reading this book "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America" by James Webb and it is an excellent read. It goes back in history, starting with Roman days progressing all the way to modern day America and shows how the Scottish/Irish culture developed and how their values helped shape America.

I was just reading the renaissance section, with "BraveHeart" and noticed the Dunlap crest is in the area in which Braveheart was located. Also it shows how the Scottish migrated to Ulster Ireland (Belfast today) and it is these Calvinist and Presbyterian Scottish/Irish that were the bulk of peoples that moved to America and fought in the Revolution. I also noticed that the Burke family married many a maiden from Ulster.

The book is great. I know all of you would enjoy it. It also shows how Andrew Jackson's value system was shaped very much by his cultural history as Scots-Irish. The Scots-Irish were much more populist then the English-whose society was more feudalism based. With the Scottish religions they had local elected priests (as opposed to appointed like the Anglican church) and town leaders who shared the values of their communities as opposed to Landowners that decided the rules of the land. James Webb shows how this value system came with them to America and of course America has politics on a very local level--house of representative, state vs. federal, etc. The English were more of federalists--monarchy etc. While the Scots-Irish would have been state rights. James Webb is a great writer and it is fascinating to see how values developed in 1000 AD have stayed and helped shape the minds and values of present day.

Check it out!

Lower Oneonta Falls

Ann and I went with the youth from our ward, here in Portland, last night on an activity to Lower Oneonta Falls. Oneonta Falls is along the Columbia River a few miles east of Multnomah Falls. The only way to access the lower falls is by wading through the creek because there is no trail or path to the falls. During the year the level of the creek varies but last night it was typically about knee deep but got up past my waist at times. It was probably less than a mile trek to the falls and would be absolutely a great time in warmer weather. Enjoy the pictures.

Happy 25th Birthday to Joe

Joe turns 25 today!
I love Joe because
he is so thoughtful of others.
he is well read.
he is a gentleman.
he is a hard worker.
he is a great brother and son.
he is THERE for his siblings - rides to airport, moving in and out of apartments, rummaging through storage units to find papers for D & A.
he is willing to learn and to change.
he has integrity and is brave enough to maintain it.
he is technologically capable and has helped many a friend with his expertise.
he is creative.
he is dependable.
he is good at not worrying too much about the latest and coolest styles or what the latest and coolest people think of him.
he loves to have fun.

Happy Birthday, Dear Linda !!!

I like Linda because:
She is now as old as me :)
She is more beautiful than ever :)
She is my best friend, my most trusted advisor, and life with her is my most excellent adventure :)
She is always happy, - well almost always :)
She is quick to forgive and always looks for and sees the best.
She has a fine mind and is always, always fun to be with!!!
We have just finished watching John Adams and she is my Abigail.
XOX,
Richard

silly question

Hi everyone,

Recently got my blood type done and I am reading this book "eat right for your blood type." I'm A+ blood type. Curious if that comes from the Dunlap side or my fathers side. Does anyone else know their blood type. Sort of interesting genetic mapping. . .

Happy Birthday Naima

Happy Birthday Naima!!
I love Naima because:
She is my first born child
She has a sweet and loving Spirit
I remember when she was little how she loved pick flowers and arrange them for me. It was so precious.
She is very imaginative,
She loves her family,
She is very creative,
She is very beautiful,
She is brave
She has a very good husband
I am so proud of Nai and all that she has accomplished in her 3 plus decades. She has great character.
I love Naima very much.

Haircuts!

Katie and I got our hair cut today. Kate loves hers and I am still getting used to mine. I think I'll love it once I stop doing a double take every time I look in the mirror. We are donating the ponytails to "Locks of Love" (a charity that provides wigs to disadvantaged children with long-term hair loss).

Before:

After:
After a little taming:

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Papa Bennion!

We hope you felt special today recognizing your 32 years of dad-hood! Rob & I love you!

We made the cake the night before and the boys (especially Burke, as you can see) really enjoyed it when I gave them a beater to lick. Burke just had this mischevous grin after he did this to William.

Will's friends Mads (pronounced mess), Olivia (Mads and Olivia are cousins). and Isabella. Isabella is actually the daughter of Heather Pulley's brother Tim and his wife Olga. We enjoy having a family connection here in Copenhagen. William loves all of his friends, and gets especially hyper with Isabella. Maybe because she also speaks English, I don't know. We think William thinks all the Danes around him are speaking in jibberish. When he runs and plays with his Danish friends and they speak to him in Danish, he'll occasionally yell something back in total nonsense syllables. It's hilarious.

John's Big Ride

I went on my second semi-big ride this evening. It took me about 75-80 min, and you can see the route below. Notice the numbers on the map are mile markers. The chart on the bottom is the elevation gain. I did 16.34 miles and had a 800 ft ascent. Now to compare with L'Alpe D'Huez (hors categorie in the Tour). It is 8 miles with a 3,350 ft climb. HELLO!!!

It was a workout like I had not had in 20+ years. I was actually scared my body would not pedal any further. The last time I felt like this was when I took my first swim test at Camp Oljato. Death seemed like a real possibility. I didn't think I would die tonight, but I thought my cell phone might die, and I may have to lie on the side of the road for an hour and recover. I was looking for someone to offer to pull me up the last hill. Think the scene from"Napoleon Dynamite" -- It would be nice if you could pull me [up the last 400 feet of hills]. Anyway I was really proud of myself.

San Diego

My Mom is in San Diego with Burke and she took this picture from her cell phone. Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Burke look great. Grandma's hat gave her the perfect shade in the light. Thought I would share. Looks like a beautiful day in Southern California.

Catching Up with the Beaverton Bennions.

We have not posted for a while so here is our attempt at playing catch up:



Below is the family at Nathan's baptism (May 2). Note William's expression. The aversion to being photographed continues strong from child to child.



The two pictures below are of climbing Beacon Rock -- The second largest monolith in the world (1st is Gibraltar). Nathan, Gregory and I went camping 2 weeks ago and climbed Beacon Rock with a group from our ward at church. Note Greg's smile (similar though not as violent reaction as William's at the baptism).






Wendy and I got away this past weekend for our 10th Anniversary. WOW! We stayed in Leavenworth at Pension Rohrbach. This is the view from our room. Muchas Gracias to Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe for taking the children (note the sincere smile on Wendy's face).

Happy Birthday Robin Burton!

Tomorrow Robin, our first born, will celebrate her sixtieth birthday.

I love Robin because she is happy, compassionate, loving, irrepressible, gutsy, lovable, and beautiful.
I love her for her courage and her fortitude in difficult times.
She is so talented in so many ways, but most especially when she sits down at a sewing machine to create lovely and practical clothing.
She makes everyone feel special as she lights up a room.
Mom and I are anxiously awaiting her visit on May 27 the day after her birthday along with her brother Burke.

Happy Birthday Richard

What a surprise came to Don and Margaret Bennion on May 24, 1949 when 2 baby boys, each weighing in at 7+ pounds arrived! How lucky I feel that one of those bouncing baby boys became my husband 24 years later! How I love Richard!
I love him because
he is the most generous person I know
he is unstoppable when he is sure that the thing he is pursuing is right. When all around him give up in exhaustion, he keeps on going
he is an excellent sounding board for ideas
he is interesting and intelligent
he is funny and witty
he is wise and I trust his instincts completely
he loves great art and great literature
he is a fabulous father - knows how to have fun and how to work hard and has been a part of most of the boys scouting adventures
he has taught each of us in our family how to serve others
he can fix just about anything
he is remarkably supportive in the political causes and church activities in which I am involved
he is a loyal friend
he is a first rate genealogist
he is a compassionate doctor who is dearly loved by his patients
he is a romantic and an optimist
he loves to give a "perfect" gift
he loves my family and would do anything for them
he lights up whenever our children are home
he loves my company and makes me feel like I light up his life
he is always ready to pitch in and help with the dishes and the laundry
he is the best thing that ever happened to me!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOTHERS

We hope that all you mothers will have the happiest day imaginable. We are so proud of you all and your motherly instincts are amply demonstrated in your sons and daughters. We have taken such great pleasure in witnessing how marvelous you are.

fun times at usc

hi all! we went out to dinner as girls from the branch before lots of them take off for jobs, missions, etc. i thought i'd post a picture. this is in five points, the down town party area. there are lots of bars and bands and places to eat:

also, every wednesday this sports bar type restaurant has a trivia night. it's kind of like bingo--at 9pm they start the game. everyone has team names and they call out the questions over a microphone and every team writes down the answer. the team with the most points at the end gets gift certificates. some grad friends and i went a few weeks ago. alas, i don't have a picture. it was a blast--we were team northern agression and ironically the final question was to name all the states that seceded from the union. they also have amazing burgers--home made patties and everything.

so, can anyone name the 11 states without looking it up? we were super close...

Tivoli

Tivoli is like Disneyland, Botanical Gardens, an outdoor Concert venue (every day), a state fair, a restaurant megaplex and the Bellagio Fountains, all wrapped together in a tiny package. It is pretty small relative to American entertainment parks, but they manage to pack a lot into it and it is beautiful and so fun. There are gorgeous flowers everwhere you go. There are 40 restaurants and food stands, ranging from hot dogs and hamburgers to expensive Italian or traditional Danish cuisine. You can also bring in your own food, which will be doing most of the time. Last night we ate there--hamburgers and hot dogs, drinks and fries for only $50! Yikes. There are beautiful places to eat or just to sit and enjoy the weather and surroundings, like below.

There is four or five really fun rides, comparable to Disneyland rollercoasters, and the Magic Mountain Free Fall. There are plenty of little airplane rides, boat rides, vintage car rides, bumper cars...things for our kids to do. There was a ride similar to It's a Small World at Disneyland. Will loved this ride (in the picture) with his dad. We thought he might be a little nervous because it went high in the air, but he loved every second of it. The little girl next to Don was so cute. I don't know where her parents were, I never saw them, but she did this ride atleast three times in a row, and that's just what I saw. She would get off, go to the back of the line (which was very short), and was able to get right back on. Then she'd just scream on the ride. It was cute to watch. There are also all sorts of carnival games (shooting a target, throwing balls, skiball) where you can win prizes.

This might have been my favorite part of the night. It is about 9 pm in this picture--amazing how light it still is. The orchestra was playing a medley from My Fair Lady and they sounded really good! It felt so cheerful. The stage and the flowers are so gorgeous, and the weather is unbeatable. About a five minute walk from this stage was another stage where a big band was playing the coolest jazz music. The atmosphere was just so charming. Don and I bought season passes, so my thought is we have really cheap date nights for the whole summer. Just come here and listen to these concerts. Both the band and the orchestra play almost every day, and from June-August there are daily concerts from a Boys Guard Band, also. There are rock concerts every Friday night. There is a light, water, laser and music show every night, but since it doesn't get dark until late, that show is at 10:30 pm. Hopefully our kids will stay up late enough at least a couple of times to catch the show. They have special engagemens, and the New York City Ballet will be performing here for six nights in September. There is a pantomime theater with shows every day. There is also a 100 foot long aquarium here (the longest saltwater aquarium in Europe) and you can watch them feed the fish every day. There is also just a big playground with slides and a long air filled bouncy thing. This place is amazing. From how long I have ranted about it, I am sure you can tell I'm pretty sold on it.

Wild Life in SC cont...

Every night there is a racket of some kind in our backyard. I've always kind of wondered what it is (geese? ducks?). No, friends, it's frogs. And they are going CRAZY!!

I found out tonight when my two two dear friends dropped by to chat for a minute in the midst of writing papers. When I opened up the door there was a little violently green frog chilling on the other side right in the middle of the door and 3 more chilling on the wall outside. I live in the JUNGLE!