Primary Activity

We had a great primary activity the end of June. We had the kids sitting at one of the stake pavillion tables and told them the story of Lehi's Dream. They sat so quietly, looking at the pictures and listened better then I have heard them in church. We then acted out the story from the Book of Mormon. The kids walked across a beam that was the straight and narrow path while holding on to their iron rod. My counselors and I had water guns and were spraying them while they crossed, just like the fiery darts of Satan trying to get us to fall off the path and let go of the iron rod. They made it to the tree of life, Heavenly Father's love, where they could pick off a fruit (in our case a heart shaped cookie). We also had a slip and slide to show how easily it is to get off of the path, but that was at the end and they just had fun getting wet. I love being in Primary. I had an amazing experience as I watched the children listening to the story. I really gained an insight to how much they are loved by our Heavenly Father and Savior. Each one of them has divine worth and is individually cared about. It was such a humbling experience to feel that love. Writing about it does not do it justice to the strong Spirit that we felt that morning. I am so thankful to have a Heavenly Father who loves me and wants me to hold to the iron rod and endure to the end and return to Him.

Summer Fun

Our kids get so creative during the summer when it is too hot to play outside in the afternoon. The boys invented golf hockey in the basement. Jonah is the goalie with his baseball helmet and protective wear. It got pretty rough. We always have friends over and they love to play games. Yesterday Noah and his friend designed an 18 hole miniature golf course in our basement. They charged $1.50 for one round! Hannah, Noah, Jonah, and Ezra spent 8 days at a golf clinic which finished with a tournament. This was Ezra's first year and he already has a great swing. Jonah and Ezra's group the 8 and under everyone gets a trophy. They love the trophies, they are a little bobble head golfer with a golf ball for a head. Hannah took first place in the 12-14 girls and Noah took first place in the 9-11 boys. Noah shot a 48 on 9 holes! Noah was at baseball practice so he couldn't go to the awards show. Hannah, Jonah, and Ezra are standing in front of the tournament scores. For Father's Day we always make Scott a giant cookie and each child gets to decorate a portion. The last picture is of us burying a dead bunny. The boys found a dead bunny on the sidewalk by our house. We have about 20 rabbits who live off the grass in our front yard so we attract coyotes as well. Scott dug a grave and the boys said goodbye to the rabbit.

Summer Swim Lessons

Ezra and Esther took swim lessons in June. Esther loves to swim and Ezra can jump off the diving board. Jonah and Noah do not like swim lessons so I did not sign them up this year. They say they can swim in Grandma's pool and that is enough for them! They both had two weeks of basketball camp while Hannah had a volleyball camp.

Noah's Baseball Season

When I put pics of Ezra and Jonah playing baseball I hadn't taken any of Noah. Then he sat out for a week with his knee injury. In this game he hit a double and then stole 3rd before being hit home. His last game was June 9 but he was chosen to be on the All Star team so he has been practicing this week and next week in the morning and night. We go to Flagstaff on June 27 and 28 for his tournament. It is a double elimination tournament so we could go back over on the 30th. Last year the team did really well and we were in Flagstaff a total of 6 days! It is a lot of fun for our whole family.

Our Front Yard Snake

We catch snakes in our front yard during the summer. They like to go on our grass and lay in the sprinklers. Noah was pretending the snake was attacking him and Esther was scared to death! I had to take Esther's picture she was really upset. We of course thought it was funny. Luckily children are resilient and she wanted to pet the snake after she went inside for a few minutes. This is our small town entertainment that we love!

Hannah & Esther's Dance Recital

Hannah and Esther both had dances in the summer Jazz show. Esther was the smallest girl in the youngest group but by far the cutest! Esther's class danced to "It's A Hard Knock Life". When Esther got her costume a month ago at dance class she said, "Mom, this is not a princess dress." She thinks if she is dancing she should look like a princess. I rented the movie Annie for her and then she wanted to wear the outfit. Hannah's class danced one jazz number and one modern. She had a lot of fun.

Last Day of School

School is out! Noah and Jonah had an awards assembly and both received awards for reading, math and physical education. Noah three days before had been mowing the front lawn and a big rock came under the mower and hit his knee. He wore this brace for a week and took off a week from baseball but he is back to normal. We were blessed it was not a break. The last day of school was on May 23, the Friday of Memorial Weekend. It was 60 degrees when I picked up the kids from school. Rainy and windy. This was the first year I could not take a picture outside of the school when I picked them up, which has been my tradition. I took a picture of Hannah and her friends, Marisa and Brianna, when I took them to the middle school for their last day of 6th grade. I think I blinked and Hannah is going into 7th grade! She loves school and friends and is the best girl in the world. We are so grateful for her! We are now in full summer swing of swim lessons and golf.