4th of July Weekend

We had a nice quiet 4th of July.  We spent the day at home, working on the house and watching Star Wars.  We lit off a few fireworks in front of the house, but went to bed pretty early.

The 5th of July was a whirl wind of a day.  We left the house in our truck, pulling our tractor, in our church clothes, with our guns. You know your in for an exciting day, when it starts like that!

Our first stop was a baptism, followed by a family luncheon.  Next we stopped in at Shane's parent's house to change and drop off the tractor.

Then is was up to the Gundersen property for skeet shooting.

 The Gundersen men step up to the line.

 Perrin is a good shot. 

Connor is a GREAT shot.

Shane throws for his Dad.

I did a little shooting with my beloved 20 gauge.  When it got too hot, I retreated to the shade to listen to Grandpa Gundersen make fun of his son, grandson and great grandsons. 

After shooting, we made a quick stop at Taco Time for dinner (it's embarrassing how often that place feeds us) and we made it home just in time for smores and fireworks with the neighbors.

Welcome to the family Thya Rose!

Thya Rose Black came into our lives on June 4th!  She is our dark haired beauty.

Perrin, Connor and I got to go have a visit with our Emery County family.  We had a fun and busy time, helping with the new baby and helping Lacie and her family move.

Vance in his crazy glasses.

Jayda loves her sister!

Here's our proud Mama.

She'll probably hate this picture, because she isn't wearing makeup.  

But I have always thought that Lacie was so so pretty.

Kaydence snuggling with her newest cousin.

Perrin is always so sweet with babies.

And here's our camera man.

It's a good thing he got the camera out, because
I didn't take a single picture while we where visiting.

He also took no less than, 30 selfies...
here's to a healthy sense of self. 

P.S. Our book for our trip was "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman.

I heart summer!

The first week of summer was so much fun  We had a day of swimming and a day of doing nothing but watching TV and playing Minecraft. We read a book called "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman.

We also got to spend a day at the International Peace Garden in SLC.

It was lovely, shady and quiet in the garden.  And the exhibits where interesting and educational.

Crazy Connor missed most of the garden, because he had such a bad sunburn that he had to hide out in the shade.  But his kindle kept him busy.

This! This is why I love summer.  I love the long, unhurried days that don't belong to the Box Elder School District. I love when my boy's time is all mine.

Community

 “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

"All this time I was finding myself. And I didn't know I was lost"
--Avicii

When I arrived, the room was full. Full of friends, leaders, neighbors...the room was full of support.  We were all there to lend a hand.  To find out what could be done to help and what our part was in that help.

Turns out the only service we could offer was support. She was in capable, medical hands. We stayed long enough to watch the life flight take her on to the next hospital.

As I drove home, I began to think about how blessed I am to belong to this community.  How lucky we all are to be surrounded by neighbors who are friends and advocates. Servants of the Lord, who follow the greatest commandment.

Thank you to those who where in that room.  And to those who will rally to aid in the recovery.  I am so grateful for all the study, prayer, love, work and compassion that I am surrounded by. Whether it's working in the garden or saving a shop from a flood, this community is always willing to work for our neighbor.  Whether it is a lesson that needs to be taught or a talk that need to be given, this community is always willing to study for our neighbors.  When it is a visit that is needed, our community comes thru there too.

I am thankful that I am your neighbor. 

I am grateful that I am your friend. 

I am so proud to be a part of you.

Rough and Tumble

The last two weeks have been pretty hard on Connor.  It all went a little something like this:

• He slipped on some ice, scrapped both legs from knee to foot and had to be checked by the in school EMT for broken bones
• He fell out of a swing and had to be checked for a concussion 
• He gave himself 2 massive burns, while putting wood in our fireplace

But nothing beats today.  Today he ended up in the ER AND had to see an ENT specialist, because of an injury he got from WATCHING a game of 4 square.  Who even gets hurt while PLAYING 4 square?

No worries.  He's fine and will heal up.  Just let this be a warning to all you kiddies out there: Your Mom isn't kidding when she says you shouldn't walk around with a pen in your mouth.

Let's just hope this streak of weird luck is OVER.

My Happy Valentine

Anyone who knows Shane, knows he can't do anything in a small way.  He's a "Go Big or Go Home" kinda guy.  So when he was asked to put together an Elder's Quorum Valentine's Day dinner, I knew we where in for something special.

He spent an entire month planing and putting it all together.  From the center pieces he designed and built, to the prime rib dinner and entertainment it was a night to remember.

Our boys worked hard to help us set up.  They also served dessert and helped clean up.

It was probably the funnest Valentine's Day I have ever had.

Cisco, Swimming and Sickies

This year our January Bear Lake vacation was a low key affair. Most of us where pretty sick, so we really spent most of the time sleeping.

We did play a lot of  games.  We also watched movies and did a little swimming.  When all was said and done, we only had one day of fishing.

And although it sounds like we had a sad, depressing time, the whole vacation was quite lovely.  It gave us time for much needed rest and family time.

I couldn't be bothered to drag out the camera, so here are some pictures from our past Bear Lake adventures.

Clear water 2011

Fog in the valley 2012

Ice on the lake 2013