JE & SJ Rasmussen

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:52:24 -0700

Jens Edward Rasmussen married Sarah Jane Darrington December 21, 1910. From that union, they were blessed with six children including my father, Ralph Waldo Rasmussen. The picture above shows Ralph and his siblings from L-R: Ralph, Robert, Roberta, Joel, Floyd, and Elmo . Robert and Elmo are the only ones still alive. We met with them yesterday for a family reunion. This was a momentous event because this Rasmussen family has not been very good about staying in touch. It was fun to get acquainted with some of my cousins and their families. Thanks to Elmo and Faye for putting it together. Yesterday, we met in a beautiful park in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Fifty-One

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:27:08 -0700

I was deeply touched by the many friends and family members who reached out and sent me well wishes on my birthday. Face Book has been great way to get reconnected with so many of you. The party started Monday night with awesome seats at the D-backs/Yankee baseball game. My thanks to Dr. Gary Core for providing Janet and me a very memorable evening. It helped that the D-backs rocked the Yankees but it was a blast even if they hadn’t.
One of my birthday traditions is playing a round of golf. This year it was at Superstition Springs with my son, Chase. What a great opportunity to spend some fun time with him. He videotaped a few of my putts. I even made one!

My Dad

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:15:28 -0700

Twenty-five years ago, my dad was serving an LDS mission at the Oakland, California Temple Visitor’s Center. He didn’t serve a mission at age 19. He was a child of the Depression. He worked hard in the small farming community of Elba, Idaho to help his family. He entered the US Army in 1940 and served 20 years which included World Ward II and the Korean War.
He always encouraged my siblings and me to serve LDS missions. Ralph served in Denmark (1965-1967); Greg in Germany (1968-1970); Ed in Japan (1975-1977); I served in California (1978-1980); and Mary Jane served in Massachusetts and New Hampshire (1986-1987). I know Dad paid for my mission and I’m pretty sure he did the same for my siblings.
In September 1984 it was finally Dad’s turn to serve a mission. He and Mom served one year at the Visitor’s Center. On Father’s Day, June 16, 1985, Dad made the following entry in his journal:

Being a Dad

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 12:42:20 -0700

Four times my wife went into labor and delivered four miracles. I remember looking into each of those tiny faces and being amazed that I was their dad. Very humbling. Very exciting. Thanks Brent, Chase, Annie and Jillian for honoring me. You are each incredibly gifted. I consider our family (and the hope of being together forever) as my most prized possession.

Soccer Woes

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:28:13 -0700

Ned’s Krazy Subs Club Soccer took the field with high hopes after last weeks 4-2 victory. Unfortunately their hopes were quickly dashed when their opponent scored 4 unanswered goals in the first half. Ned’s did come out in the second half much more aggressive. They scored a goal and clamped down on defense but time ran out with Ned’s on the losing end of a 4-1 game.