4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July this year. Guess who was home for the weekend? Leslie.

 And she is still a bit of a stinker. Look what she and her little sister are up to, even if they are taller than me! Can't turn your back for a minute!

Nice. You don't know it, but there is this awesome mud beauty treatment for your feet.  It causes them to be muddy. A-hem. Glad you could come home, Sis!

We had an extended family dinner at Dave and Tiffany's lovely home. They  live conveniently across the street from a big fireworks show and concert, so we watched those too. Yay!

Jake made sure the cousins all had a little fireworks fun of their own. Grateful for our freedoms. Grateful to those who have sacrificed so much for them. Grateful for a nice weekend together!

Taylorsville Days

We have been attending this fun event for all the years we have lived here in Taylorsville. It always happens the weekend before the 4th and is super fun.

 There is a parade. The longer we live here, the better it gets, because we know more of the people on parade. Sometimes my scouts have had a chance to participate, and this year, Caleb and Ethan carried the banner for the Governor's Award.

Camille's hat and all our fun friends to watch and wave with.

 We have some friends we call our blonde counterparts, because our families are similar in ages and size, but they are all blondes. Hey Baileys! We Love You!

For the last three years, we have watched the live concerts and fireworks with this fun crew.  This year we were supposed to hear Elton John and Billy Joel impersonators, and we did for a time, but a power outage cut the concert short.  No problem we have friends for this.

Except Caleb...he does have a great Bailey friend, but his counterpart was at scout camp. Better luck next year lone wolf.

The good news is that they found a generator so we could focus on some fabulous fireworks, and have music to go with them. Phew.

Move Over

My new house is a place where me and my books can hang out under the trees. :) We made the long anticipated move in mid-March. We have enjoyed spring here with all the colors and new plants.

I spent a large part of April costuming a play that Miriam was in.  I had a great time getting to know the youth and making and gathering costumes.  The play was Shakespeare's As You Like It. (Sorry to those cut off by my questionable photography skills.)

I even had the chance to go to Shakespeare Showdown with them to help and see them put on the play there. Loved that.

Miriam turned 13 this year! Watch out world! Leslie also had a May birthday, (turned 19) but she is at BYU-I and her birthday photos are on facebook.

Ethan just turned 11! Can you believe it? Now the kid who always wanted to be part of a scout troop is! He goes to Camp Tracy with his troop next week.

Summer is in full swing, which for the last many years means that half the family is gone at any one time.  Camille is at camp this week and spent last week babysitting for her cute cousins. Caleb has attended the Big Event scout camp already and the two of them are involved in Trek preparations. Miriam spent a week in Heber with Paul and Nelda helping with little cousins and having fun with them. We miss having a crew around the table and are thinking about taking a leaf out of it, so we don't look so lonely!

I am trying to keep all my new plants watered and saying sweet things to my garden so it will grow. Also keep thinking about that new grandbaby that is on the way in only 8 short weeks! Wow!

Caleb's Surprise

Caleb left for scout camp last Monday.  When he did, his room looked like this:

but messier.  Not two hours after he left, Leslie had the idea to re-do his room while he was gone. Camille is done with her summer job, so she was on board too.  

We cleaned, we painted.

We decorated. (According to Leslie's cool plan and design)  And here is the final product:

 Leslie chose a gray and green color scheme.

 With some blue bits and some black bits.

 This isn't a very good photo, but the pictures are Caleb's self portrait in pencil and Captain Awesome spelled out in Circular Gallifreyan (it's a Doctor Who thing.)

It turned out so wonderful! Wish we had the energy to do it to every room in the house! But this is indicative of our state right now:

So hope is low.  

Until they look like this again! Then, watch out world!

Founder's Day 2013

Our anniversary is here again and we are 21 years married now! Our goofy party theme this time was Muppets. Highlights follow:

 The kids made some great decorations!

We decorated some Little Debbie snacks.  This is supposed to be the pigs in space and Rowlf and Fozzie faces.

 Everyone ready to consume Miss Piggy in a Blankets and a Kermit looking fruit plate.

We played some fun games (with Muppet names)

 And put together a puzzle that Miriam made for the occasion.

 Thanks sweetheart.

Let's do it again next year!

Still Kickin'

Just in case you have forgotten what we all look like...we had a bit of a insta-family photo.  Actually, the kids wanted to know if we could all fit on the couch.  We were at that point of family home evening apparently.  Aren't they fun?  I love this crew more than I can ever say.

Also, Nate and I just returned from a trip to St. George with some lovely friends who grew up there and showed us all the must see places.  Wow! What incredible country that is!  The rocks and the colors really get into your soul. (This gorgeous photo was taken by my friend Jessi)

Nathan has been selling houses since January.  We are just taking life one day at a time, hoping the Lord will show us our path a bit each day, but we are still here.

The Eagle's Nest

You may remember that a long time ago, Jacob finished up his scouting Eagle project.  And then the paperwork sat around for awhile.  But it was finally done too, and in June, Jake was officially an Eagle.  But, he and three friend have all been waiting on each other, and apparently the right moment, to have their Eagle court.  Sunday the 9th of December, it happened!  And what a wonderful evening with friends and family around!

Left to right, this is Teren Jameson, scoutmaster for many years for this group of boys, Randy Ivins, Skyler Williams, Jacob, and Parker Mack.  This is the part of the court where they shared some favorite stories from camps, and some funny things were told on each other.  By the look on Jake's face, I'm guessing this one was on him.

This is Steve Thunnell, a favorite scout leader of Jake's, they got along so well with each other, and Steve was instrumental in the project Jacob chose, and in encouraging him to get it done.  Steve presented Jacob with his award.

This is Dad, putting on Jake's neckerchief.  I pinned on his award.  Then they let each of us take a minute to say a couple of things about Jake, or about scouting.  I talked about the many things scouting has given to Jake. He loves it.  It has been so good for him, a highlight of his teenage years. Nathan quoted Lord Baden Powell about scouting preparing young men for the second coming of the Savoir.  This is in part in memory of Grandpa McAllister, who said the same things at Nathan's Eagle court.

This is Jacob awarding his mentor pin to Curtis Ivins.  He has been one of Jake's Jamboree leaders, and his bishop for lots of years.  This touches me.  These two are very good friends, truly a mentor to help Jake grow and develop. 

Jacob had opportunity to speak his heart.

A boy never gets his eagle alone.  This group of men have all been leaders at one point or other along the path.  There are surely others who were not there too.  And there are parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles who encourage and help.  The whole story is on the faces of these four young men! What a happy evening!