Reading
I read too much this year (93 books to be exact), but I guess that's what an almost daily Trax ride is good for (and without other goals reading is my default). ;) We did have a semi-successful family book club as well, which was fun. You can click on the links for my individual reviews, but here were some of my favorites:
- In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon
- Life is Good: The Book by Bert and John Jacobs
- Love Does by Bob Goff
- The Contrite Spirit: How the Temple Helps Us Apply Christ's Atonement by Bruce C. Hafen
- That We Might Have Joy by Howard W. Hunter
- The Enoch Letters by Neal A. Maxwell
- Raising Up A Family to the Lord by Gene R. Cook
- Walk Tall, You're a Daughter of God by Jamie Glenn
- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
- No Greater Love by Mother Theresa
- Coming to Know Christ by Robert L. Millet
- The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun
- Grit by Angela Duckworth
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
- Hidden Places by Lynn Austin
- Living Your Covenants Every Day by Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt
- The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
But my real favorite, not listed or counted above, was the Book of Mormon. I'm grateful for this incredible book! I know it is truly the word of God and living it's teachings will make us happy today and eternally. This year I focused on JOY, studying, looking for joy...and there is much! The greatest joy seems to come from gratitude, remembering God, faithfulness, obedience, righteousness, family, work, worship, covenants, service, the temple, freedom, truth, scriptures, prophets, repentance, Christ, conversion, missionary work, and the Spirit. If you haven't read this book yet it needs to be first on your list! ;)
Traveling
- St. George - I made it to St. George three times this year - President's Day weekend, July 4th weekend, and Thanksgiving. It was nice to relax and spend time with family hiking and running Snow Canyon, biking the river trail, getting out of the cold, exploring the new parks, feeding the ducks, watching movies, talking, hanging out, watching the rain storms, seeing a play and the live nativity at Tuacahn, and Christmas lights at the St. George Temple.
- Zion - We had a nice Kunzler Family Reunion near Zion National Park over the July 4th weekend. It was nice for so many of us to be together. We had some nice devotionals, a good hike, good food, swimming, a service project, and some fun games. It was a nice week starting with a stop in St. George and then a stop on the way home at Bryce.
- Idaho - After a few days to hang out with most of the immediate family (just minus Josh and Kirsten) in Lehi, Draper, and Salt Lake (fireworks, hiking the Y, Freedom Festival parade, donuts, slip-n-slide, and Albion Basin) we spent another day all together at Lava Hot Springs. Then the #MorganBoyz and Mom and Dad and I spent another couple of nights in Driggs, Idaho so that Dad, Matt, Megan, and I could hike Table Mountain. BEAUTIFUL! One of my favorite hikes and areas on the planet! Then Mom and Dad and I drove home via Rexburg. It was a nice week!
- Vancouver - I spent Labor Day weekend in Vancouver, Canada with my parents and Matt and Megan and their family. Lovely! We drove through the pouring rain from Seattle to Whistler, but then enjoyed Whistler village for a couple of days - biking, walking, swimming, hiking Blackcomb/Whistler mountain (with the help of the incredible peak-to-peak gondola). What a neat area! Then we spent a another night in Vancouver stopping to hike along the way. Some of the highlights: Noah's birthday, Church at the Squamish Branch, hiking "The Chief," Lynn Canyon, walking along Lion's Gate Bridge at sunset, the Grouse Grind (Matt's PR and my surviving and enjoying the muddy mess straight up the mountain through the canopy of trees), and Stanley Park. It was a great weekend!
- Philadelphia - Kind of last minute I joined some friends for a few days in Philadelphia. It was a great adventure. I probably walked close to 20 miles in 2 days all around the city, from river to river. ;) It's a wonderful place! Some of the highlights: Logan Square, Benjamin Franklin Parkway (and all its flags and fall leaves), LOVE sculputre, City Hall (and watching them set up Christmas), Reading Terminal, Chinatown, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Constitution Center, Christ Church, Elfreth's Alley, Penn's Landing, Benjamin Franklin Bridge (across the Delaware River), the Free Library, Rodin Museum, the Art Museum steps and the Rocky Statue (at sunset while the city prepared for a run the next dayd), the Schuylkill River, Boat House Row, and the Fairmount Water Works. There is so much history and culture. I really like Philadelphia - it seems to me a combination of Boston and Washington, D.C. We also got to attend the new Philadelphia Temple. It's beautiful, designed so closely after Independence Hall, helping you remember and feel the spirit of freedom and brotherly love. Then the main highlight of the trip was visiting the newly renovated Priesthood Restoration Site in Harmony, Pennsylvania. I can only think of a few places in the world more sacred or special and important. This quiet spot along the Susquehanna River was a place of growth and learning and peace for Joseph and Emma Smith. I remember visiting Harmony eleven years ago with my family as a part of a trip around the Northeast. This was one of my favorite places because of the peace, simplicity, and profound power. I was grateful for the chance to return, now with a beautiful visitors' center, introductory video, restored homes of Elizabeth and Isaac Hale and Joseph and Emma Smith, and peaceful pathways to the river and the sugar bush. In addition to the visit of John the Baptist and the restoration of the priesthood, this little area was also where most of the Book of Mormon was translated. What blessings to the world! It was wonderful! On our way to the visitors' center attended church at the Scranton Ward. It was a great weekend topped off by a stop at Valley Forge where the highlight was a walk around 'Mount Joy' through one of the most beautiful forests of fall leaves! Great weekend!
- Christmas - It was nice to not have to travel anywhere for Christmas, but to get to spend time with family. I enjoyed having Josh and Kirsten stay with me for a few days and hanging out quite a bit at Cari and Mike's house to celebrate. We did some singing, visiting, golfing, hiking, sledding, elf-ing, and just hanging out and having fun. We had some nice time visiting with Grandma Morgan and Grandma Kunzler as well.
Other Learning / Exploring
- Temples - The temple is always a highlight of my year and week. This year I attended the Salt Lake Temple often, the Draper Temple quite a bit, the Oquirrh Mountain Temple once, and I had the -chance to attend four new temples - Provo City Center, Twin Falls Idaho, Rexburg Idaho, and Philadelphia Pennsylvania. I'm grateful for the blessings of the temple in my life!
- English Teaching - Since June I have been teaching an English class to refugees every Tuesday night through the ESLC. It has been a wonderful opportunity to meet some special people and learn from them. Right now I have students from Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Congo, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, North Korea, and Bhutan. They have overcome much and have such positive attitudes and desires to learn. I enjoy being a part of the community and learning with them.
- New Ward - They created a new mid-singles ward in Sandy in June. It has been nice to get to know some new people and have some new opportunities for service - visiting teaching and missionary outreach work mostly, but a highlight has also been the ward choir! I'm grateful for music, for chances to serve, and opportunities to learn and worship.
- Hiking - One of the happiest parts of the year has been time in the mountains...chasing flowers and fall leaves mostly, but just being outside is a blessing! The highlights were Table Mountain in Idaho/Wyoming and the mountains of Canada (Blackcomb/Whistler, "The Chief," the Grouse Grind), but I also loved the Wasatch. I hiked Grandeur Peak, Red Pine Lake, the Snowbird Tram, Willow Heights Lake, Dog Lake, Cecret Lake, Lake Blanche, Lakes Mary, Martha, and Catherine, and lots of other adventures of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons as well as Bell Canyon and the Draper trails. I'm grateful for our Heavenly Father's beautiful creations!
- Running - I didn't do as much running this year, but did complete the Hobble Creek Half Marathon in August (which was actually more like 14.1 miles since we had to walk about a mile from the bus to the starting line before we began). It's a beautiful course down the canyon and on a lovely path through Mapleton and it was fun to do with Dad!
- Mission Reunion - We had a wonderful and unique mission reunion this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Church in Korea. An all-missions, all-years reunion was held at the UVU events center in September. It was so neat to see so many friends and feel the spirit of missionary work and Korea! What a great blessing in my life that continues to bring joy!
- BYU MPA - I'm glad to still have a close association with the BYU MPA program as one of the class representatives to the board. I spent a day in Provo for meetings in November. It was fun to reconnect and learn what's going on lately.
- Light of the World Garden - While not a huge thing, I did enjoy a visit to the new Light of the World Garden at Thanksgiving Point. These beautiful statues portray the life of Christ so wonderfully in a lovely setting.
Life is good!
