Our Spiritual Anchors and Testimonies

Prompt: Share a spiritual experience that acts as an anchor in your life. Something you can think back on that brings you strength when times are tough. Something that has guided how you act and think.

Tyson: 

I've been thinking a lot about the topic this week and I really appreciate the importance of this topic and recognize the reverence and sacred nature of the topic. That being said we probably all have sacred experiences that are better shared in a different environment when prompted by the spirit. My spiritual foundation/conversion has never been based on a singular event that I can look back on. My spiritual foundation has been built brick by brick, step by step, and I'm so grateful for each experience. I'll share a few...

I remember we had a really old blue Toyota? when I was very young. We needed to get somewhere and the car wouldn't start. Mom suggested that we kneel and pray as a family for heavenly help. We did and then we went out and piled in the car and started it right up and went on our way.

Another time Dustin was lost and we searched the entire house and started searching the neighborhood and called several neighbors to help. After over an hour we were about to call the police but decided we should pray first. Immediately after the prayer we walked straight to a box downstairs that was covered with clothes and there he was sleeping under the pile of clothes (there was a baby gate over the box and clothes piled over that).

Once I was in a field on Grandpa Heiner's farm and could not start the three-wheeler. I was worried I could not finish my work. I tried for too long before praying for help. After praying, the next kick brought life to the three-wheeler and it worked the rest of the day. Heavenly Father cares about the little things.

I had the opportunity to visit the Sacred Grove as a teenager and the group split up so we could all spend some time alone doing whatever the spirit directed. I read some scriptures and knelt in prayer. It was a bit awkward because I already believed the Church was true, but I felt an overwhelming outpouring of the spirit confirming that what I believed was indeed true. I have since felt this same outpouring numerous times when needed.

When pondering what to do with my relationship with Amber (whether to marry her or not) I was in a Book of Mormon Institute class and a combination of the scriptures and the Spirit made it very clear what I was to do. BEST ADVICE EVER! 

I wrote about this while in AZ: I call it "He told me the wrong thing"

Today we were looking for a toy to take back to the Gould family and we had lost it.
Amber suggested saying a prayer, Kelti was voice.
After the prayer we all started looking but Kelti said 'wait guys we need to just listen first.' After a moment of silence she said with surety 'it's in the garage' and proceeded to look in the garage. She didn't even go in the garage, but rather poked her head in and took a quick glance then said "it's not here, He told me the wrong thing," then she re-entered the house and since Tatum was still poking his head in the garage the door shut on his head. He started to cry and wanted his blanket. Kelti ran to get his blanket and the toy was found under the blanket.
God often answers our prayers in ways that we are not expecting.

While living in OKC at the end of my training at the FAA Academy our van was running poorly and had a check engine light on and we were unsure what to do to get to Utah to get our belongings and then to Phoenix. We had little extra money. We considered selling the van but we left our middle seats in Utah. We prayed a lot for wisdom and revelation and a working vehicle. We were open to whatever answer we might receive. In a tithing settlement with our Bishop the week before leaving we mentioned or situation and he promised us that it would work out and because of our faithfulness we would be taken care of on our journey and feel peace. We both received witness through the Holy Ghost that we had enough things to worry about and our van was not one of them (although it was to this point on the to of the list). We did nothing to the van beyond checking the oil and by the time we arrived at Jana's parents house in New Mexico the first night the van was running as good as when we got it and the check engine light was off. It continued to run well until earlier this year when we could afford to fix it. The promise was overwhelming and brought such peace to us, and the fulfillment was unmistakable.

Isaiah 55:9 - For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It is fun to look back and see how true this verse is. It is also interesting to note that the things I want (my ways) are often not God's plan for me, even though they are good things. I end up looking back saying "oh my, I see now why You didn't give me what I wanted back then, thanks for giving me what I didn't want so I can now enjoy my present blessings that wouldn't have occurred otherwise". My career experience has been this way over and over again. I can testify that no matter how hard things seem they will always work out. Also I'm finally learning to be more thoughtful in my prayers, seeking more now for God's will and the ability to carry it out.

(Travis's response)  Speaking of Tyson's Isaiah verse... I've always loved the God is the gardener talk by Hugh B Brown 

Feeling the Spirit through singing is another brick in my spiritual foundation. I remember I was so nervous to give my farewell talk. Our family sang Master the Tempest is Raging right before I was to get up and the Spirit of the song completely calmed me. "Peace be Still", and I felt such peace, more calm than I've ever been speaking in my church in my life to this point.

Cameron:
I wrote this one day in a sacrament meeting in a singles ward I attended. I like to look back on it every now and then. 
"In 20 minutes from when I got there and 15 from when it started I got informed of 2 months of activities, I got to sustain a sister to a sacred calling, we sang 2 songs, prayed together, and received the sacred ordinance of the sacrament both the bread and the water. Now who could say this in any other organization. I know this is the one and only church of God on the earth."

Dafne:

Something that is in anchor in my life is simply looking back at all the blessing I have and how my life has worked out. When I reflect on my life, sometimes I can't explain how I ended up somewhere, or how something ended up happening. Things just work out. I've had moments in my life where something went completely wrong but somehow it turned out okay. I know our Heavenly Father watches over us each and every day and guides our lives. A good example is meeting Cameron. I had had tinder for a long time and was on and off it constantly. I had actually gotten a prompting once that told me "you're not going to find your husband on tinder." So I deleted it for like a 5th time but a few months later I felt like I needed it again. I then started dating Cameron and it all worked out. In hindsight I now interpret that prompting in that at that moment, I was not going to find my husband on tinder(because Cameron wasn't even on tinder). I had to be patient. The Lord truly loves us and watches over us. We however, need to do our part and follow His commandments diligently. 

(Cameron's response)

I also know God was in the details in meeting Dafne. I was at a point in my life that I was feeling discouraged about the direction my life was going. I felt a deep need for companionship and wanted to start dating a lot, but didn't know how. I know singles wards are a typical scouting ground to look for future spouses. I was looking, but the environment for me was not a good one. I got Tinder to help me get out of my shell and practice talking to girls. I didn't really plan on that being my main scouting ground for dating. I just wanted to get more natural talking to women. This was a good plan, because as I started talking to more girls, I felt less socially awkward, more socially connected, and my confidence was up. My first Tinder date was supposed to be a "warm up" to get comfortable dating, but in stead I found the love of my life and of coarse the rest is history. Through that whole time God was in the details. Dafne and I would never have crossed paths. We have totally different circles of friends and realms of life, but through the direction of the spirit we were able to meet. and aren't we all greatfull for that?!

Amber:

One experience that has been a foundation for my testimony happened when I was 8. The day I got baptised was wonderful. I felt so happy and it was fun to see all my cousins and friends. After everyone left I felt "just normal." I don't know what I was expecting but I started to feel a little let down. That evening I told my dad I didn't think I had the holy ghost with me. How could I know what the holy ghost was? We went to my room and knelt down to pray to ask heavenly father. I prayed and asked heavenly father how I knew that I had the holy ghost with me. I started crying and couldn't even finish the prayer. My dad asked me why I was crying and I said I didn't know why but that I was happy not sad. He said that is the holy ghost saying "hey, I'm here with you" I'm grateful for this experience. It has stayed with me and remembering that experience always brings the same sweet feelings.    I know the holy ghost is real. He has guided me and protected me. He has testified of truth and especially the truth that our heavenly father loves me and knows me.

Travis:

I think we're all similar in that there aren't too many defining moments, rather than line upon line small spiritual experiences adding to our overall testimony. One of many powerful experiences for me was in seminary we were learning about Godly sorrow, so I gave the full repentance process my very best effort with extra attention on the Godly sorrow part... In a crazy house full of boys, finding a quite place to pour my heart out was a little difficult, but one evening I snuck into the little cubby over the porch (the suncrest Orem house) and prayed for forgiveness... After praying I listened to some church music and "I feel my Savior's love" came on and I felt an overwhelming feeling of love, forgiveness and peace... That was one of the first times I felt like I was truly experiencing the healing power of the Atonement in my life :)

This isn't so much an experience, but more way of thinking, but... Everytime I see or hear about someone who is making poor choices, or falling away for whatever silly reason, I feel a sense of recommitment that that will NEVER happen to me... I don't have a perfect knowledge or anything, but I've had too many spiritual confirmations to ever betray the Lord after having blessed me so much!

Obviously we all have several lost and found prayer stories, but one of my favorite was in a BYU married ward, we had a downhill slip and slide activity in the grassy bowl just north of the Provo Temple and because of all the suds one of the guys noticed his wedding ring was missing... Talk about a quick way to kill a party! So the entire ward was searching the grass for his ring. After a while, we decided we needed to pray. It's probably the largest group I've seen with this type of a "please help us find this thing right now" prayer... Our Bishop didn't want to say the prayer, jokingly "because if we can't find it you might think I'm not inspired" so someone offered the prayer as we all exercised our faith. The INSTANT we said Amen, someone said "I found it!" I thought surely it was someone cracking a joke to lighten the mood, but sure enough... Sparkling in the bottom of the little creek was his ring! The water before was cloudy from all yhe commotion, but once we settled down to pray, the water became clear so we could find it :) The entire ward came together as we shared a spiritual experience...

A testimony builder for the restoration for me is as a missionary nearly EVERY time we shared the first vision in a lesson, it felt like the world would stop spinning for 30 seconds and everything would get quiet and the spirit would testify very clearly of the truthfulness. Whether they recognized or chose to accept is another story, but it was crazy how powerful it was.

Brittany:

I've been thinking all week about the anchor to my testimony and couldn't think of a single experience but Tyson said it best- my testimony isn't based on one event but brick by brick.

The blessing I absolutely love that comes from living the gospel is feeling completely at peace. I have several friends and family that live without the Savior's atonement in their lives and I see a vast difference in their ability to find peace and joy in this life. Many of their lives are chaotic, unsettled, and complicated. I look at my life and truly feel genuine peace as I have asked for forgiveness, allowed the Savior to help me with my weaknesses, and in living my covenants. I love where Trav and I are in life. I know by keeping our temple covenants, allowing the Savior to work through us, submitting our will to Heavenly Father's and continuing to teach our children gospel principles we will feel peace despite life's challenges.

I often look back on the first time I truly utilized the atonement and asked the Lord for forgiveness. I felt so unsettled with a decision I had made and after praying for what seemed like hours I felt the most outpouring feeling of love. I felt Heavenly Father's arms around me and I felt peace once again.
Earlier this year I set a pretty lofty goal for myself to overcome a weakness and looking back on the first few months versus now it's amazing what you can accomplish/change with the help of the Savior. I love knowing I can always improve, make weaknesses become strengths, and with faith become the daughter of God Heavenly Father wants me to be through the Atonement. I think it's sad when people say, "That's just the way I am, take it or leave it." That statement is ignoring the beauty of the atonement to change and the immense power we can receive through Jesus Christ. I love the doctrine that we can become like the Savior and truly believe that's possible!

Trinsica:

I've been so behind in this group chat, but I have a couple spiritual experiences I want to share. 1) when I was doing personal progress, my friend Ariya who is inactive in there church pulled me out of the room and asked if I could help her understand the scriptures. She asked me so many questions that I had not thought about. The spirit testified to me of the truthfulness while I was beating my testimony. I read the scriptures with her, and prayed with her, then we talked about the plan of salvation. She asked me so many questions about different principles in the church. The spirit was so strong that by the time it was time to go home, my leader walked into the room and could feel the spirit too. She left us there to keep talking while she took the others home. My testimony grew so much that day!

2) I was going through a very hard time. Chloe had completely shut me out of her life when her dad died. I was starting to lose courage, not knowing what I had done wrong and I didn't know what to do. Right before her dad's(Tim's) funeral, I was very anxious and nervous because I knew Chloe was going to be there and I had a feeling she wouldn't be super kind to me. I decided I needed to read my scriptures before hand to have the spirit to be with me. I was in Matthew 5 in my personal scripture study. It was a miracle! That chapter was EXACTLY what I needed at the time. It talks about loving those who are unkind to you and pray for those who despitefully use you. I immediately was overwhelmed with the spirit. I was filled with peace and I knew that no matter what happened, I would be ok. A song entered into my mind after that and it was "a child's prayer". I ended up being ok during the funeral. It was definitely hard, but I had the spirit with me and that's all that matters. I know that when we pray and ask for Christ's help, he will comfort us through our trials.

Dustin:

One that I remember was in the MTC. I had my initial interview with my branch president and he really came down hard, and I started second guessing whether I was good enough or worthy enough. I began pondering deeply and praying about what I was doing and why I was there. The next day our teacher randomly stopped the lesson and decided to just give us some time to study for ourselves, promoting us to find a scripture about the Savior. So I turned to 3 Nephi and started thumbing through. I ended up in chapter 17 and started reading. I began to feel the Spirit and then when I got to verses 20-23 the waterworks started: "20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
22 And when he had done this he wept again;
23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones." I knew that the Lord was pleased with me and that i could use his Atonement to grow closer to him. I've been grateful to be able to look back on that time for reassurance and comfort. I know God loves. Christ is our brother and Savior. He enables me to bear my burdens and blessed my family.

 Another waterworks story: this was right before my mission. I was sitting with the family in the front row sacrament meeting and we started singing the opening hymn, "Each life that touches ours for good." I began thinking about those people who were examples to me: Jon and TJ had recently left on their missions. And of course my older siblings and their good examples. I was flooded with the Spirit and I was feeling so blessed. I wanted to savor the experience so I just left church and went home to play that song over and over on the piano and I just cried for a long time, feeling so grateful and inspired.

I'll bet it's the first time the spirit prompted someone to leave church!

Skyler:

One really meaningful spiritual experience that comes to mind was on my mission, but it wasn't really the kind of story you would expect. It was the day of our mission Christmas fireside get-together thing and the first part of the day just wasn't going very well. I think we were a little late to the meeting and I accidentally left my white elephant gift at my apartment and just a few other things that individually weren't really a big deal, but kind of damped my hopes of having an enjoyable Christmas party. But then at the end, we had a devotional with lots of great music and there was this one piano duet that was amazing. As soon as the music started I remember feeling the most distinct and powerful wave of love and peace I have ever felt in my life. It totally washed over me, drowned out any feelings of frustration or turmoil I had been feeling, and whatever didn't fit in my heart seemed to overflow in a gush of tears. I just sat there in the chapel weeping and knew without a doubt that God lives and that He loves us so much more than we usually realize and more than we could ever comprehend. I feel like that was the closet I have ever come to understanding at least an inkling of God's love and I always think back to that moment as a reminder of the closeness of God and the depth of His love.

Family Traditions

Trinsica:
My favorite family tradition is when we read the stories and sing hymns by the tree at night during Christmas time!

Travis:

The first tradition that comes to mind for me is rice pudding on Christmas Eve... Not only is the good luck fun, but I seriously can't get enough of that rice pudding! Christmas isn't the same without it :) 

And just singing together in general... I miss gathering around the piano and just singing hymns... It's nice to be around natural talent :)

Mom:

One of my favorite Traditions is going caroling at Christmas around the neighborhood. And of course Mom always wants to do "just one more house". And then going home and having hot chocolate. Love the Caroling and singing acapella with the family:-).

Jana:
Probably 90% of my favorite traditions involve food (shocker, I know!). I loved that my family had sourdough waffles every Saturday morning when I was growing up. I loved making tamales with my family for Christmas Eve dinner. It took hours for my mom, my brother, and me to assemble the tamales, but it always gave us time to talk with each other. I also love that in my family and in this family, Sunday afternoons/evenings almost always mean playing games as a family. And at my house growing up, playing games always meant popcorn. 😋 
With our little family, Friday is pizza night, a tradition that has helped us form good friendships with other people in our wards. Because hey, who would turn down an invitation for homemade pizza? 😊

Dustin:

For a few years while the older boys were at home, we used to have Christmas Eve wrestling matches. Those were so fun! I think one year Travis broke Dad's rib because he squeezed him too hard. But the bruises and carpet burns were worth it.

Around that same time, we played bingo on Christmas, every hour on the hour. Winner would receive a small prize, but the best thing was that it kept us socializing all day rather than retreating to our own spaces to play.

Tyson:

For birthdays Mom and Dad would hide gifts and create poem clues that lead to the next gift. I still remember "look high look low, look for a couch potato" then Travis found his gift under the couch. It was a baseball bouncy net thing that helped practice throwing/catching. This tradition helped involve the family more and created a lot of excitement. It also was extra work from Mom and Dad, a way they showed that loved us.

An Easter tradition that Amber and I have is rolling hardboiled eggs down the biggest hill that we can find and seeing whose goes the furthest.

[Comments:]
(Jana)

That's a fun tradition! How did that one start?

(Tyson)

Amber is awesome! She did this in college on a crazy hill on Utah State campus

(Amber)
Ha ha us, it's  a funny one. It started at Utah state. Some friends and I colored eggs and rolled them down a huge hill on campus. It was the best because there were so many old tree roots in the grass it was like mini jumps. We were chasing our eggs and cringing every time they would bounce in the air! There were so many people who did it the whole hill was full of eggs. I remember so many seagulls eating the eggs for weeks after.  The first time we did it was while we were in Alaska. Imagine 6 25 year olds on the side of a road crying because they were laughing so hard as cars were dodging the eggs.

Brittany:
Loving all these traditions! Growing up, every Saturday morning was "Donut Day". We'd wake up to a personalized list of chores and mine mostly included yard work because I loved being outside. All my siblings would negotiate trading chores on their list with a "I'll let you eat 5 of my donut holes if you'll clean my bathroom and I'll vacuum your room." Basically the older siblings conned the younger ones because donuts were way more important as a little person! Halfway through our chores mom would come home with loads of donuts, croissant breakfast sandwiches, sausage & boudin kolaches (Trav's favorite!) and fun drinks as a thank you for helping around the house. All of my siblings have carried on the tradition and now do this with their families. We usually do some chores, grab donuts and head to the beach or bike the trails. My kids understand where we are in the week by knowing how many days til donut day. 😂
(Travis:)
And people wonder why I'm fat?! ;) Yeah, it's hilarious... Our kids think "donut day" is something everyone does... Not sure if they even know the word Saturday... Its Fri, donut day, sunday

Brittany (cont.)
Another tradition I thought of was Guy Fawkes Day. Since my dad is British, a lot of our traditions are ones he had growing up in England. Guy Fawkes was arrested for trying to blow up King James I. So on Nov 5, we stuff some old pants and a shirt making a newspaper person and burn him over a huge bonfire as a reminder that the crown will live on. Long live the King! 👑

 We eat roasted potatoes and it's fun creating our person together. Trav has thoroughly enjoyed attempting to lite him on fire with a flaming arrow. 😉

Skyler:

I have always enjoyed our 12 days of Christmas tradition where we pick a family in need and then deliver something each night (doorbell ditching, of course) among with a scripture for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. I also loved making our traditional Christmas treats like the Christmas wreaths, divinity, etc

Amber:

My favorite growing up was cutting down our Christmas tree. I especially like how unique they are. My favorite memory was when Tyson and I were dating. I had been away for college and missed cutting down our tree so since I had moved back to Orem I really really wanted to cut down a tree with my family. You need a permit and they sell out quickly. I was planning on waiting in line before it opens to ensure I could get a permit but something came up and I couldn't make it. I asked everyone in my family and Tyson and no one was available to wait in line. I was so bummed!! I was going to have to settle for a "perfect" tree. Little did I know that Tyson had talked to Travis and he said he'd get the permit. Tyson surprised me with the permit and I was so excited I started crying! It was the best surprise! We ended up getting a huge tree. I think it was so tall we could barely reach the top when standing on the top of a step stool.

Best Marriage Advice

Travis:

It's hard to nail it down to my "best" advice but obviously a big one that people always say is "good communication"... But what does that really mean? To me and in the context of a good marriage, it means always be able to talk... About anything and everything. Giving the cold shoulder treatment, or saying you're fine when you're really not, or any of the silly games lije hint dropping, or assuming they should know what you're feeling WILL lead to problems... Britt and I feel that we can talk about anything, even if it's hard... That way we're able to deepen our relationship and support each other through whatever we may be facing. Obviously we're not perfect, and it's also important to note that even if you say something as clear and concise as possible, if the other person didn't understand it the way you intended to convey it... There was a lack of communication. (I'm still learning that the hard way) like a couple weeks back Britt said can you put this tray the oven and set the timer... I said sure and put the tray in the oven. A few minutes later she asked how much time was left on the timer... I said what timer? All I heard was put it in the oven! Lol I think I just need to listen better... Which is my final point on communication. Focus on becoming a better listener, give the other person your full attention :) -the end

Brittany:

Maybe it's just the recreational therapy background in me, but I think it's important to find activities that you both enjoy doing together so you can continue to strengthen your FRIENDSHIP... A lot of couples that struggle I feel are missing that element and all that ties them together is dealing with kids, work and the day to day... only to find when they're alone they struggle enjoying time together. The end goal being to have your spouse genuinely become your best friend, which opens doors for respectful communication and a more loving connection.

Dad:

Give negative/criticism as little as possible. Positive comments go along way.

Tyson:
Unconditional love. We all have expectations, and communicating those expectations can help them become realistic expectations, but don't ever let your feelings toward your spouse be connected to the fulfillment of those expectations. Always put your spouse above yourself. Consciously and deliberately thinking about someone else all the time can be exhausting and difficult, especially at first, but this gets easier as you make it a habit and life/marriage can be so wonderful when you are both thinking about each other over your own selves. (I'm still have a long ways to go, still working on this). Also realize that in marriage you get to take turns having bad days and helping each other through it. Occasionally your bad days will happen at the same time, decide beforehand how to handle this difficult situation (going to bed early helps us). Also... what Travis and Brittany said 😎 👍


Amber:

This quote kept coming to my mind as I was thinking of what to say... I believe that no matter what problems you face it is better together. Love each other first and you can solve any problem.

Jana:
Seriously good advice! 👍

🏼 haha, I sat here typing out about 5 different things before deciding on this: I highly recommend reading about the 5 love languages and figuring out what yours and your spouse's love languages are (just google–there is even a quiz to take.) I feel like that information is a game changer for a marriage. It's highly likely that you and your spouse have different primary love languages–or you feel love in different ways. Which means, you might need to learn to become fluent in a different love language to make sure you are communicating love to your spouse in a way that is loud and clear to them. For example, Dustin's primary love language is Physical Touch (or Quality Time, he scored pretty evenly on those two), whereas mine is Acts of Service. Because I speak Acts of Service, I often tried to make Dustin feel loved by doing things like making his meals, cleaning up after him, ironing his clothes, gassing up the car, etc. Which is a nice sentiment and all, but I was distressed to find out he still wasn't feeling loved, because I wasn't saying "I love you" in a language he understood. So I've had to learn to be really intentional about giving hugs, back scratches, holding his hand, and making time for snuggles. Whereas he has learned that if he wants to really make my heart go pitter-pat, cleaning the shower or taking the kids to the park is a really good way to go. 😉

seriously though, read about it. It's really been helpful for marriage, and every other family relationship I have, as I've learned what my other family member's love languages are.

Dustin:
My advice: expect nothing, be grateful for everything. What I mean by that: don't assume that your spouse is going to act a certain way, or know how you feel already, or be able to read your mind. Communication is absolutely essential! Explain how you feel and try and work together to five or why you feel that way. And it's okay to say, "I'm not sure how I'm feeling or what I want. I need help. (Or I need some space)."

Trinsica:

Something I have observed is that it's important to go on dates and have fun! Also, be very open about everything. Never be afraid to talk to your spouse about things. Another thing that is very important is to have scripture study and prayer daily as a couple.

Skyler:

I think one thing I have always admired is when married couples really express their love often to each other and when they refrain from anything that might diminish the message of love they are giving. I think everyone emphasized a lot of those same things, but some of the days I think you can do that is being willing to accept correction, never putting each other down (even if it's "just a joke"), doing small acts of service, expressing love and sincere praise often, and supporting each other in your dreams and interests.

Memories of Grandpa Tolman

Dustin:
First thing that comes to mind is when Grandpa decided to play some baseball with us grandkids. He pitched the ball to me and I smacked it hard (for a young kid). Well the traveled directly toward him and hit him in the throat, or upper chest area. I think it knocked him on the ground too. This was after he already started to feel ill, so I legitimately thought I killed him. I felt so bad, but didn't know how to react, so I think I ran away crying.
I also remember that he had a really beautiful damnation dog named Malcolm. One wintery day Tyson and I decided would take Malcolm on a hike through the snow behind the cabin. Partway up the hill Malcolm decided he didn't like us anymore and started growling. I'm pretty sure he jumped on Tyson, and so I ran for my life. Once again, crying. (At least this is my recollection of my traumatized memories).

Tyson:
I remember Grandpa's favorite drink was Squirt. He always kept it in a Hart's gas station thermos cooler with ice.
One really early memory I have of Grandpa is from when I was 3 years old. He took Travis, Dad, and I hunting with his Ford Bronco and his Motorhome. Travis and I rode on the bed above the driver seat and colored. I remember him taking us in the Bronco trying to climb an extremely steep hill. I was terrified! I thought we were going to flip over it was so steep; he ended up not being able to make it so he had to reverse down the mountain. It was always fun to be outside with grandpa and boy did he appreciate the great outdoors.
I remember Grandpa had a great ear for playing the piano. I don't know if he could even read piano music but he could sure play, especially ragtime music. 2 of his favorite songs were "Nola" by Felix At, and Maple Leaf Rag. As grandkids we would all break into dancing whenever he hit the piano and it was a blast! Mom and Tammy decided to team up and try to play Nola at his funeral because neither of them could play it alone. They struggled through the music and totally botched the ending. Tammy got up and grabbed the music and just walked away and mom was shouting for her to come back and finish the piece but she wouldn't. I'm sure Grandpa was crying laughing at that from heaven. (Nola: https://youtu.be/y_cZBc6249Y)
I remember one winter day right after it snowed Grandpa hooked a couple of sleds to the back of his Ford Bronco and pulled us grandkids all over town. He was always great at creating an adventure!
One time we were playing games with Grandpa and he was having some constipation issues so he ate some fiber cereal. Not long after that he shot up from his seat saying "that stuff works fast!" as he ran to the bathroom. I remember us grandkids dying laughing, something about the way he said it. He was a really funny guy!

Cameron:
I don't actually remember much about Grandpa, but I remember that I was at clear Creek nearing the end of the camping trip. I got a call from the office and it was dad or mom. They told me that Grandpa died. I was sad and cried a little, then dad came and picked me up early from camp.

Skyler:
My memories of grandpa are pretty vague, too, but some of my favorite things were when he would sit down and play some good ragtime piano for us all or when we hitched that little wagon trailer to the back if his four wheeler and drove us around the property.

Dad:
I have great memories helping him build the cabin. I will send pics later.
There's a great section on grandpa with pictures. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0uca9Pbpo32cnN4UFdaWjZ2dnc/view)

This is about how old I was when I got shot

Army picture

Family with great grandfather

Wedding:

Mom:
I remember gong 4 wheeling with him and Dad when I was pregnant with one of you boys.  I was scared to death!  We went up in the forest over fallen trees and boulders and up steep hills where all you could see was sky.  I would rather have walked than ridden it scared me so bad.  He was a good driver though.
Another Grandpa Tolman memory is that he loved to play games, especially scrabble. He could come up with the weirdest words and they were real.  it was always hard to beat him but if I did, he was a good sport.
He was also a very good singer and I loved singing at Thanksgiving time after cleaning up the cabin, we would all sing hymns together and often start the Christmas season singing Christmas hymns as we put up the Christmas tree.  He was always very gentle and loving and kind.
Brad has a lot of his Dad in him.  He gets a hankering to do something and that is all it takes...it doesn't go away until he goes and does whatever it is that he has his mind to.  Grandma Tolman said it didn't matter what she said, she finally learned he was going to do it anyway so learn to go along with him.  He and Grandma used to take long road trips on a big motorcycle.
He had a motorhome for a while and he took the whole family in it to Arizona when Troy married Kristen.  We had all the little grandchildren in it too and that was a fun trip.  When Travis and Tyson were little we also took a trip to Lake Powell in the motor home.  It was just an adult couple trip so we could all sleep in the motor home.  However, Grandpa Tolman snored so loudly that I could not sleep so I went outside and slept in a lawn chair and still had to plug my ears so I couldn't hear him.  (I guess I"m just like him now as Trinsica can attest).

Travis:

Tyson and I have a lot of the same memories of grandpa... I remember him as an excellent example of a patient loving father... He wasn't a man of many words, but you knew he deeply cared for others and you were very comfortable and happy in his presence.  He had a love for the outdoors, motorcycles (I loved cycle rides with Grandpa), driving, good music, playing games and being with his family. I remember going to the Fairview property the day they first started clearing trees, pouring foundation and many other days building the cabin next to Grandpa and his cowboy hat :) I was in the MTC when he passed, so I missed out on the family singing love at home at his bedside. I wish I could have been there... One of his final wishes says a lot about the man he was... He just wanted to be surrounded by his family in the outdoors fishing together. Nobody caught anything, but we enjoyed being together. I think we're all excited to see him once again :)

Most Embarrassing Story

Dustin:
In 3rd grade I chose to wear that little cat costume for Halloween that was in the costume box. It wasn't until the very end of the day on the way home that I realized the tights that I wore we're quite see-through and you could see my ninja turtle underwear.

Jana:
During my first year of EFY, I was eating dinner with my group. The chairs we were sitting on had rubber on the bottoms of them, and were on top of carpet, which made it pretty difficult to scoot your chair in and out. When we were done eating, I was trying to get out of my seat, but I couldn't scoot back. So I held onto my seat and sort of hopped up with it while leaning back. My chair tipped over backwards and I hit the table behind me, knocking it partway over and making those people's trays slide off the table and onto the floor. There was food everywhere, the entire room went silent, and everyone was staring at me while I was stuck leaning backwards in my chair against this table. Thankfully a really cute boy came up and asked me if I was okay and helped me out of my chair...

Tyson:

My most embarrassing moment occurred thw summer between my junior and senior year of high school while boating with a fairly large group of friends at Deer Creek Reservoir. We were tubing with 2 tubes, having battles and seeing who could stay on the longest. Being the wire that I was I could hold on for a very long time and the boat driver had to get pretty crazy to knock me off. One round I waited until my tube bumped into the other tube and I grabbed my contestant's tube and pirate jumped to their tube and started pushing them off. Once I pried their hands off they tumbled into the water. This left me holding onto both tubes, with my body between them. I was determined to never let go but as my body was skipping across the water and the driver was trying to shake me something happened. I'm not sure whether the bumps somehow untied my shorts or the force of the water just ripped my shorts off but either way, there I was, skipping naked across the water stretched out between 2 tubes. It only took me a couple seconds to realize that something was missing so I let go. We never found my swimsuit, but Mary did throw me some ugly red pants that she had made in sewing class so I could at least cover up. It was pretty funny and totally hilarious! Mary never wanted her pants back after that.

Skyler:

One of my most embarrassing days was in 6th grade. I had diarrhea that day and had already gone to the bathroom a couple times before lunch. I had to go again about 15 minutes before lunch, but I was scared to ask the teacher to go for a third time, so I decided I could just wait it out. It got pretty bad, but the bell finally rang and I zipped out to the bathroom. I got to the stall and everything, but it took me too long to undo my belt and everything and I lost it all literally right in front of the toilet. It got all over my shoes and everything, so I tried to hide them behind the toilet and clean everything off the floor. But there was no way I was going to be able to go out, so I ended up just crouching on top of the toilet so nobody could see I was there. A few kids ended up seeing my shoes behind the toilet and started laughing and I'm pretty sure if I wasn't already crying by that point, I started balling then. Finally someone figured out I was barricaded in the bathroom and had the office come check on me. They called mom, she brought me some extra shorts and I just went home for the day. It was terrible.

Trinsica:

My embarrassing moment was when I was in 4th grade. I was gossiping about one of my friends. All my friends made a weird face and left the table. To my embarrassment, the girl i had been gossiping about was sitting right next to me. I say next to get in class after that and it was so awkward. I'm sure she hated me.... 😳

Mom:

Embarrassing moment #1  I was assigned to hostess BYU sports for Education Week.  As a hostess, you have to make sure everyone who enters the class has a ticket or they don't come in.  They are supposed to wear the ticket on a lanyard. I had just finished one class and the people were coming in for the next one.  I was checking the lanyards and this gentleman started to come in the class without one.  I stopped him and told him he needed a ticket or I couldn't let him in.  He said "I believe I am the next speaker".  I asked "Who are you?".  He looked at me like "are you for real"? and then said "I am Lavell Edwards"!  Then he laughed and I let him in.  Then when the class started he began by saying "the hostess just about didn't let me in because she didn't know who I was! Would you come bring me a drink of water so they all can see who you are?"  He had a big grin on his face which was something he was not known for so I gave them all a good laugh. 

Embarrassing moment #2  When I was a Sr. in High School, my boyfriend was in college and he was a great dancer and very strong a 2 time state champ wrestler and he was 6'3".  He came home on the week ends and we went to the Stake dances together. He could do all kinds of crazy dance moves with me so at the beginning of each dance we would be the first couple on the floor and it was kind of like a floor show with just us out there for the first couple of dances.  One night I wore my very cool red satin disco wrap around skirt that had short ruffles down the side where it wrapped and around the bottom.  It looked great while dancing.  I usually tied the bow in a double knot so it would stay tied.  This particular night as we were dancing our floor show, he did the dance move where you twirl the girl away from you and then bring her back in.  Well in the process of twirling me out, he accidentally grabbed the end of my tie on my skirt and I twirled right out of my skirt until it was on the floor!  We both grabbed for skirt and wrapped it back on me as we ran off the dance floor! 

Embarrassing moment #3 I  While working on the wagon train during the summer the only way to get clean was to go skinny dipping in the cold mountain creek and wash our hair and bodies.  One sunny summer day the other camp cook, Patty Hardesty and myself rode the horses up to a creek to take a bath.  We laid our clothes on the creek bank and proceeded to bath in the very cold water, gasping and screaming as we did so.  As we were just about finished, we heard a helicopter coming nearby so we hid under the bridge that we were near.  The chopper was some forest service people and spotting our clothes on the creek bank, they decided to have some fun.  They came really close and hovered right over the creek so they could see us under the bridge and they stayed there for several minutes just laughing.  Finally they flew away and we were able to haul our numb bodies out of the fridgid water and get dressed.  Those naughty boys!

Travis:

Tyson and I were selling for apx in Buffalo, NY and myself and a few other geniuses decided it would be a good idea to skinny dip after hours in the community pool. Apparently we were being a little too loud so someone called the cops... They flipped on their spotlights and I scrambled out of the pool looking for my shorts with 2 cops getting a free show. They threatened to write is up for indecent exposure, luckily we were salesmen and weaseled out of it somehow. So... Yeah.

Amber:

So I didn't think I had any embarrassing moments.. that I could remember... I am well aware that I get embarrassed often I just couldn't think of any. But today I have been reminded about a few I could share. So at our wedding lunch my friends shared about how we went to Dennys for breakfast and I was so excited because we were finally seniors so we could get a discount now ha ha to bad a sr in high school didn't count :-)