2009 June: Robertson

Greetings everyone,

June was a busy month - probably too busy. I will try to keep this short and just focus in the highlights. We were in Rochester a lot this month celebrating birthdays and going to stake meetings. The time for youth conference is winding down so I have been riding the youth on my committee pretty hard to get their assignments in and done. It’s hard trying to get others to accomplish a task without procrastinating when their inclination is to do just that. But I think that the youth conference will go off just fine. I finished one internship for the common book on campus and started the other internship for the film class. I had to miss a week and I have been struggling to get back into the swing of things with that class. I picked up a temporary job over the summer evaluating papers and assignments from the business department on the WSU campus. The business department is trying to get accredited with some prestigious business program. In order to do that, they need to have a certain level of performance in their students and faculty. I was asked to go over the assignments and assignment sheets to see if 1) the students are performing at an acceptable level (they aren’t) and 2) see if the faculty are creating challenging assignments and rubrics that are straightforward and clear (some are). It has been interesting. My report to the business department by the time this is over will probably go something like “Good luck – you have a loooooong way to go.” But then I will have to say something constructive.

The biggest event of the month was the week I was gone to the Aaronic Priesthood Encampment. All of Minnesota’s 8 stakes were represented at the encampment. There were over 1200 people at a little scout camp. We had a blast at the camp. The mission president talked to the young men about serving missions. President Gibson, 1^st councilor in the General Young Men’s Presidency, spent a few days with the young men and talked to them. There were Sacred Grove experiences for the youth and then typical Boy Scout activities – climbing walls, guns, canoes, service projects, etc. I spent the week getting my leader training which entailed me spending most of all day everyday inside sitting on a chair. But I am now fully trained Adult leader for Boy Scouts. Next stop is Woodbadge. The only down side to the camp (as far as I am concerned) was the ticks. In the 6 days we were there, I found about 20 crawling on me and another three that were attached to my person. I dispatched of those blood suckers promptly with my pocket knife. There was a tick battlefield full of tick carnage on the inside of my tent. Other than that, it was great.

While I was at camp, Morgan and the girls spent the week at her parents’ place. They went swimming about everyday and the girls loved it. They started to actually jump into the pool. Morgan was also able to spend some time with some of her old friends who moved back to Rochester. Morgan’s favorite part of the week was all of the extra help that she received in watching the girls. She was able to relax a bit more than normal.

After I came back from camp, I took Morgan on a date. We went to see The Tempest put on by the Great River Shakespeare festival here in Winona. It was a very good play. I hadn’t seen it in a while and got a lot out of it as I watched it that I don’t remember from the last time I read/watched it. It was nice to be able and go out and enjoy each other’s company. Between the pregnancy, the girls, and school, it doesn’t happen as often as either of us would like it to.

I think that does it for us. We think about all of you often. Wishing you the best,

Derik and family