Put me in the zoo

The whole Thompson family (minus Rafe) was able to join us for a delightful day at the zoo. Even Grandpa Mark and Grandma Debra came out. Of course, it was not easy to get them to pose for a photo so this is the best we could do. My dad wore his Wranglers just in case he had to bulldog an escaped rhino. Plus he heard from Brett Favre that they are “real comfortable jeans.”

"Tokyo...this is Easton...do you copy?...over" (I promise I didn't teach him this)

Easton, your wingspan will never even get close to that of a gorilla.

No comment.

Marielle didn’t get to see many animals but she did have an animal sized poo that exploded all over her outfit. The good news is that Grandma Debra came to the rescue and bought her a nice Hogle Zoo onesie.

Taylor was kind enough to lift Easton to see many of the exhibits. This happened to be the bear exhibit...as you can see he is tightly gripping a fencepost. He may have remembered what happened to Luke Wilson's character on the movie Anchorman.

We’ve got this nice monkey backpack/leash to keep Easton from getting into trouble. And who better to hold the leash than his younger cousin Jane.

Here's another cute picture of the Easton and the cousins...oh...and Thad.

Big surprise. Out of the hundred animals on the carousel, Easton chose to ride the wild turkey. I guess birds of a feather do flock together after all.

The day at the zoo was capped off with an enchanting train ride.

Happiness is this right here.

Life Begins at Eighty

Congratulations to Grandma Glenda who had her eightieth birthday party a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun to attend her party and socialize with her thriving posterity.


Easton and I really enjoyed the delicious food served at the party.

Charisse and Marielle had a pretty good time as well.

Truman Madsen, 1926 – 2009

When Charisse told me that Truman Madsen had passed away a few weeks ago, I felt like I had lost a close friend since I have spent so much time listening to his voice. I first heard Madsen’s lectures on Joseph Smith when I was on my mission in Italy. Since then I have listened to those tapes and some of his other lectures hundreds of times. I relied heavily on his material when I majored in Philosophy at Utah State. He was probably the main reason why I majored in Philosophy in the first place.

Anyway, when asked why he spent so much of his life studying the life of Joseph Smith, he responded that Joseph Smith was a window through which he could see the Savior. Well Truman, thanks for letting me look through your window.