It's springtime in the desert. Our Palo Verde trees are covered with blossoms attracting bees and humming birds and the cotton fields are tinting toward green as the new plants begin to poke their leaves above the brown soil. We've had our first temperatures beginning with a nine and the quail are poking around looking for a safe place to lay their next clutch of spotted eggs.

More progress on the new lawn this week with the network of pipes, elbows and risers mostly in place to channel water to the sprinklers. Jake and I are hoping to actually plant the grass seed by next Saturday. Mom should come home to a new lawn after her trip to the new grandbaby.

Two wards in our stake received new bishoprics this weekend. I do not work with either ward (directly) so I wasn't much involved in the changes. It has, however, affected the composition of our high council. And a couple of long-serving high council members were released in our stake conference last week so we're getting to know several new brethren on the council. That makes me no longer among the newest of the high council members. In fact, there are now five members newer than me. Stake high councils, unlike the Quorum of the Twelve, have no system of "seniority" so it really makes no difference. But it is good to welcome new brethren and benefit from their unique experiences and capabilities.

Mom is excited to travel to Pullman to spend time with Rachel, Rob and her three Packer grandchildren. A small part of her excitement, I believe, is to get away from having to feed and clothe the two men left behind in the household. Jake and I are looking forward -- not necessarily enthusiastically -- to frozen pizzas, cold cereal and canned soup as our main fare while the mother and wife is away. We might try an occasional visit to one of the local Mexican restaurants for a burro and/or taco.

You've probably received notice from my sister Kathy by now about the Hansen reunion to be organized here in southeastern Arizona in July. It is looking to be a "camping reunion" with two or three days on Mt. Graham--a beautiful alpine setting less than an hour's drive from our home in Thatcher. I wouldn't imagine any of my "long-distance" children will be able to make it, but it should be fun for those who do. I think we are planning for July 23-25. It's all still in the formulation stage.

We (Mom and I) will be staying pretty close to home this vacation season. Jake is going to spend a month in Utah living with Grandma Budge and working with Ed in his clinic--sort of an internship, if you will. Mom and I will drive up the end of June to attend Mom's high school reunion and then drive Jake back home. We were planning a few days camping in a more distant location but the Hansen reunion plans caused us to change that to a Mt. Graham camp. But we are looking forward to a good summer, nonetheless.

I noted in the news today the U.S. declaring a national health emergency due to the swine flu outbreak. While it doesn't yet appear to be too threatening, I guess the potential is there for it to spread rapidly and become quite serious. It causes us to reflect on our state of preparation for such unforeseen circumstances that may disrupt normal life. (Is there such a thing as "normal" life?)

I've been doing some low-level family history work -- mostly poking around the new.familysearch.org website. I even found a couple of ancestors that needed some temple work so promptly printed out the temple forms and will take them to the Mesa Temple on our next visit. I've never actually done any temple ordinances for actual family members. I am looking forward to serving as the proxy for someone who is actually part of my extended family.

Finally, please all of you be most careful as you drive yourselves and your little ones (if you have them) in your vehicles. I do a fair amount of driving in my job and I know that we too often become complacent in our driving habits. It's easy to be fatigued -- especially when driving long distances -- and allow our attention to wander. That quite significantly increases the risk of an accident. Cell phone use while driving should also be avoided, although I am guilty of that at times. It is best to pull off the road or wait a few minutes until you are no longer driving to make or receive a call. As grandparents do, we worry about our children and grandchildren and want them always and all ways to be safe and secure.

Have a fantastic week.

Love, Dad