Foreigner Concert

Straight from the plane to the Foreigner concert.
One of David's coworkers gave me and several friends tickets.
In an honor of that great band we dressed in true 80's clothes, hair, and makeup.
I must say krimped hair and blue eye makeup does me well.
Just a note to yourself: If you are bored next summer at the end on July head on up to ND the State Fair is one of a kind and we finally have plenty of beds for our guests.

Russian River Reunion

 Paddle boarding
We had a great time playing in the water. Canoes, paddleboards, floats, and a super fun rope swing.

 Cute husband

 

 Cute son

 Hiking through the Redwood forest
The trees were really quite amazing. The kids were in awe at the height of the trees. After being in ND where trees are few and far between it was quite a treat to be in this amazing forest.

 Catching bubbles in the grove
The kids had a great time playing in the huge yard out back.
Notice Ella Joy's super cute dress we had to buy the night we went to see Les Miserables in SF after the waitress dumped 8 glasses of soda on her and me.  I got some new clothes out of the deal too.

Papa Dean and Grandma Wanda with all the grandkids, barely.

San Francisco

 Had lots of fun in San Francisco

 Visited Bert and his family.
JuJu got bit by their dog Scout but loved Bert anyways.

 At the Golden Gate Bridge.

 Noah eating his first oyster.
He got the idea from a book he read.
He is my pickiest eater but he said he wanted to try it so they brouht him a single oyster.
He tried to get out of it once he saw it but I told him had to eat it because he asked for it.
He hated it but he did it.
Probably the first and last.

 Dancing at the park.

Playing in the sand with cousin Finn.
I always love visiting Palo Alto.  It is such a neat city. Beautiful weather, bike riding, parks, good food, nice people.

Youth Conference at Lake Metigoshe

Lots of fun!
Love the girls!
The boys from our ward are pretty awesome too.
I was asked to speak at one of the seminars about how to be strong in these latter days.
My talk came from Doctrine and Covenants 27:15-18

15 Wherefore, ^alift up your hearts and ^brejoice, and ^cgird up your loins, and take upon you my whole ^darmor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to ^estand.

16 Stand, therefore, having your loins ^agirt about with ^btruth, having on the ^cbreastplate of ^drighteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the ^egospel of ^fpeace, which I have sent mine ^gangels to commit unto you;

17 Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the ^afiery darts of the wicked;

18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my ^aSpirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be ^bcaught up, that where I am ye shall be ^calso. Amen.

We talked about what we need to do to put on our spiritual armor each day.  David found costume armor that I used to symbolize each of the pieces of armor. I had a volunteer stand at the front with me as we went through the scriptures and learned about what it means to put on the whole armor of God.

Loins girt about with truth--virtue, knowledge, and scriptures are all part of your life

Breastplate of righteousness--where is your heart, what are your feelings toward God

Feet shod with the gospel of peace--willing and ready to share the Gospel

Shield of faith--space, barrier between you and sin, temptation, bad habits

Helmet of Salvation--Knowledge, clean thoughts

Sword of my Spirit--word of God

It was fun to teach.  The youth are really quite amazing.  I love working with them.

Baby Birds

These babies parents chose our front door ledge (pretty amazing because it is only an inch wide), as the home for their cute little offspring. It  has been so much fun to watch them grow and hear them chirp as they waited for mamma and daddy to return with some worms. And when they finally peeked their heads over the edge of the nest our whole family was in awe. I was actually present when they took their first flight.  It was pretty awesome.  Now they are teenagers, out scavenging on their own.

Ella Joy is 6!

On Saturday we celebrated Ella Joy's 6th Birthday. Good thing we did it early because everyone has been sick this week, myself included.  This year Ella Joy requested a My Little Pony party.  When the little girls arrived Noah gave everyone a cuite mark on their cheek. He did an awesome job, way better than I would have done. Next we played pin the cutie mark on the pony.  Then we went downstairs for some freeze dancing, hot potatoe pony, and a pony pinata. We then moved the party outside where we had a marshmellow eating contest and played mother may I.  We came inside for pizza, cake, and presents. It was a fun party. To top off the day right before bed the real Twilight Sparkle called us. The kids were super excited to hear her. 

Proud to be an American

For the 4th we watched an airshow and then grilled out at the Noel's.
We were able to watch the fireworks from their front porch. Perfect.
The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.  I love all the patriotic music, my all time favorite being, Proud to be an American, which I belted from my countertop so that the kids would know what the holiday is all about.  I also like that it is a laid back holiday. Most everyone is off work, there is no pressure to buy gifts, and the only thing that is mandatory is eating something delicious off the grill.  A lot of siting, hanging out, and watching the kids play.  Juju really got into the fireworks and says we need to do them everyday. Hope everyone had a very Happy 4th!!!