A visit to Idaho

I went to Idaho to get together with my siblings and bury our mother's ashes in her home town. We were able to spend a day at the Teton National Park and visit Jenny Lake. We hiked to hidden falls (a family tradition from our childhood). It was great to see my siblings, sorry my sister Lynne was unable to make it, but we will shoot for all 6 of us another time.

Happy Memorial Day!

After the Cotton Row Run we invited some friends over for a barbeque. We had sack races, played baseball, ulimate frisbee, spun in hula hoops, visited with friends and ate lots of yummy food. Earlier in the week Sarah, Emily and Samantha were invited to a friend's house to make cards and tie a quilt for a soilder serving over seas. It was a wonderful Memorial Day.

Cotton Row Run 2010

The Cotton Row run was great this year. James, Jacob and I ran the 5K and the girls ran the 1 mile fun run with help from James and our friend Ruth-Anne. We got pictures of everyone running (thanks Julie and Jacob) except Kathryn, she just ran past too fast! We look forward to running it again next year. And no, I was not about to pass out even though my face was bright red - it just does that...

15 Years and Counting! YIPPEEEE!!!

James and I just celebrated our 15th anniversary. We ran away from home for a couple of days to the Smoky Mountains. We took the RV and pulled a trailer with motorcycles. Our dirt bikes are street legal so we rode all over the Smoky Mountain Park, on and off road. Needless to say we had a super time. The first day included 50 miles, sleet, cold wind, crab and steak for dinner and a movie in the evening. The second day we rode to the top of the mountain, encountered ice on the road, but sunshine the rest of the day. We went 100 miles that day, including creek crossings, wooded dirt roads, seeing lots of wildlife and enjoyed another delicious meal and a movie in the evening. I LOVE camping in our RV it is so luxurious. The last 15 years have been wonderful and we look forward to many, many more.

Camping for Family Night

One of the bonuses of homeschooling is that we can go camping in the middle of the week. We are going to try to go camping for Family Home Evening as often as possible for the next several months. With our farmer's market booth going on Saturday mornings, our weekends are pretty full so Monday night is the perfect option. we went to Joe Wheeler Park last week to begin the tradition. We rode bicycles, roasted marshmallows and had a wonderful lesson by Jacob. It was a great evening and we can't wait to do it again in a couple of weeks. Emily also reached a goal that night by learning to start a fire by herself. With close supervision from James and Samantha she built a 'tee pee' and lit the fire with one match. She was so proud of herself.

Sarah's Baptism

Sarah was baptized on April 24, 2010. James baptized and confirmed her a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Grandad and Jody and Grandma were able to come for the weekend. We had a big lunch with friends and family later that afternoon. Sarah had a wonderful day and could not stop smiling. She has been looking forward to this day for over a year, counting down the monthes and weeks. Kathryn set the goal to play the piano at Sarah's baptism a year and a half ago. She practiced diligently every day and was able to play "I am a Child of God" and "I Like to Look for Rainbows". It was a very special day for our entire family.

A friend of our family came over and took some pictures of Sarah in her baptism dress. I think they turned out really nice.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Sarah celebrated her 8th birthday on April 22. How can she be 8? Sarah had a terrific day. She chose to go to Steak and Shake for her brithday dinner and Grandma was abe to join us that evening for the festivities. Sarah loved the clothes, doll, sunglasses and toys she got for her brithday, but the best part to her was that now she can be baptized. Happy Birthday Sarah!