HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY SWEET EVELYN

Little Evie's birthday is Friday and we will be in McCall, so we went up to Nate and Melissa's this afternoon to give her our birthday gift.  We visited with Joe and Ellie and watched Evie do all her new tricks. She is so stinkin cute and still so tiny!

Then she got her package and she tried her best to figure

 out how to get into it.

It was hilarious to watch her. She's smart!!

She'd stop and pose occasionally and look so adorable!!

Then she tackled the package! We all laughed so hard!!

She got the paper out and played with it for a while!

And then mommy helped her get the outfit out of the bag. She played with it a bit. It won't fit her for a while but Mom loved it.

Evie really liked the card I made her. It was a Monster's Inc. with Sully, Mike and Boo.  He mommy let her hold it for a while but then took it away from her cuz Ellie wants to put it in her baby book.  Ellie showed it to us and it is beautiful!! She did an amazing job!

Livie was so happy and clapped her hands.  ADORABLE!!

The kids are getting ready to take a trip to the Redwoods and Joe got this backpack for his birthday. Evie will love hiking with her folks in this. Livie is going with them as well. Should be fun!

We put her in her walker and she chewed on her duck and flamingo toys. She has 6 teeth now. 

We were there about an hour and a half. It was past her nap time so we said our goodbyes and took off for home. BUT, not before I got a picture of this adorable family!

Love them all so much!

GOD IS GOOD!~

THANK YOU RICK AND WENDY

Rick and Wendy gifted Tony and me a night at the HOLIDAY INN by Costco. They had booked a night there when they visited us last week but when they got there, they told them the stay wasn't for another week. They had booked it through Expedia and they couldn't get their money refunded. SO, they called us and asked if we would take advantage of it. We were happy to!!  So, yesterday, we went to lunch at Chick Fil A and then went to check in at 4. the room was lovely and very comfortable!

It had a king bed  and comfortable chairs....

A super nice walk in shower....

We took a walk around the place and found out all it's amenities.  A very nice exercise room. We didn't use it but it was nice. lol

We checked out the pool room and NO ONE was in it, so we went up to the room, put on our suits and got it. It was nearly 100 degrees outside so it felt very refreshing. 

I love my new suit. It covers most of my bad body parts. lol

Tony tried out the hot tub. I stuck a toe in and decided it was too hot for me. He didn't stay in long and got back in the pool.

We decided to get out after an hour and I went outside to get a bit dried off before going to the room. We went back up, showered and got ready to watch a movie. I had hemmed a pair of pants for Scott and brought them to the Hotel for him to pick up there. He came up to pick them up and visited for a bit. It had been an emotional day for them. They had to have Thor put down. His little back legs quit working and the cost of surgery was ridiculous. They decided it would be best to end his suffering. It was such a hard thing to do. Thor was so loved.

They were keeping him in a wagon and they had to take him outside and help him relieve himself. 

They fed him all his favorite things.

It was so hard for them and when Scott was telling me about it we both cried. It's heartbreaking but I loved what Chris said,  

"All dogs go to Heaven."

My heart breaks for them all.  So sad.

We had a nice visit and then I got a picture of Scott before he went home.  After he left, Tony and I crawled in bed and watched the show "OTTO" with Tom Hanks. It was a very good show. We enjoyed it. We then read our scriptures and went to sleep and slept very well. We had a great breakfast in the morning and then checked out and went to the gym. It was so fun and relaxing. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH, RICK AND WENDY!!

SUNDAY, SUNDAY AND MONDAY

We woke up at 7:30 this morning. I noticed a text on my phone from Robin, that she sent at 5:20 this morning. It said to call her as soon as I get the message. I did and got no answer.  Tony showered, (I took mine last night) and we got ready for church. We are going to Scott's ward at  to hear him speak for the last time in his ward.  We ate breakfast and after cleaning up and getting the dishwasher going, I came up to my craft room. I tried calling Robin again and had to leave another message. I assume she's asleep. 

I printed off this handout for the primary kids and I got the program and all the parts organized to hand out to all the teachers and the kids.  I will be gone next week to McCall so had to have it ready today. Jan is out today. I'm sure Diana is getting tired of having us gone but Jan (and she's the president) said, "That's life! We all have a summer to finish up."   I love her!!  Diana was thrilled to see I had the program and parts for everyone. That took a little pressure off.

We attended Scott and Jill's ward. It was so good. Scott conducted the meeting. After the Sacrament was passed, there were 2 speakers. A young man and a young women. When they finished, Scott and Scotlyn sang a song together. I WILL WALK WITH JESUS. At the very beginning, Scott got a bit emotional but he pulled it together and they did a beautiful job. After their musical number, a member of the Stake Presidency stood and released Scott from the Bishopric. Then they sustained another man named Scott. He then asked Scotlyn to come up and bare her testimony and he also asked the new Bishopric member (Scott) to come and bare his testimony. I got so emotional as I listened to this man tell how much he appreciated my Scott and how he had helped this man through some very hard times. I found out later that this man had a little girl who drowned and her name was Scotlyn. He also had lost a leg earlier in life and he told how my Scott had helped him with so many things and how grateful he was to know my Scott. It was a teary meeting. Then Scott was supposed to speak but there was hardly any time left so he basically bore his testimony and expressed his love for his ward family. He also quoted President Nelson and expounded on his quote a bit. It was such a good meeting and we were so glad we were there. We left and headed over to our ward and had sacrament meeting and then Primary for me. I got things handed out for the program and felt good about that.  We came home and I changed clothes and then headed over to Robins to check on her. I stayed an hour and then came home and baked my mac & cheese. At 4:45, we went and picked up Lynn and headed to Mary's house.

There were a lot of people at the party, and I didn't know some of them. Of course I knew this cutie. she'll be heading to Pocatello this coming Thursday to start college.

Hawkins came home for the weekend. He has 2 more weeks of work left and then he and his friend are going to Japan. The family is  going to put down their little dog Thor, on Monday. He has lost movement in his back legs. He hasn't been eating and is suffering.  They took him to a vet but the surgery was going to be $10,000 and it wasn't a sure bet it would work. I think Hawkins was a bit depressed about it. I know it's hard on the whole family. Thor is a big part of the family.  Traci and Isabel came and Traci had a date with her. She told me a head of time I could not take pictures. 

Gavin came. I was so surprised to see him. He looks more like the kids dad than any of them. When I 1st saw him, I thought I was seeing my X. It was weird! He's a nice kid. I wished he'd been looking up but  he was finding old Snap Chat pictures of him and Scotlyn.

Mom Norton was with us and Porter's parents and grandparents were there as well.  Also two of Porter's brothers. Then Claire and Lincoln, Mostyn, Jennifer (Jill's sister) and her daughter were there too. 

Gavin was showing Scotlyn the SnapChat pictures.  They were getting such a kick out of them.

This is Porter's family.

After dinner, Mary brought out a cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to Jill. 

Jill, Mostyn and Scott

Wished I'd got more pictures like this but Traci told me I wasn't allowed to take the pictures (of her anyway)  so I didn't have many posed pictures. lol

Jill opened her birthday gifts. She was gone to Utah for her birthday and then to California. I went to their home before her birthday and gave her our gift. 

She got this goose and she was thrilled!! She said she had been wanting it for a long time. It came with a bunch of outfits for all the holidays. She dressed it it the summer outfit and can't wait to put it on her porch. lol She'll have to pack him away soon as the move comes up. They will all three be driving to Pocatello on Thursday and dropping Scotlyn off. Then Scott will head on to Utah and Jill will be coming home to get more packed and the house ready to sell. I'm going to miss them so much. We came home around 8:30. I didn't sleep very well. A lot going on in my mind. 

Today (Monday) we got up and went to the gym. I was going to mow the lawn early but we forgot to turn the sprinklers off so the yard needed to dry out. So we were late getting there. When we finished, Tony dropped me off here at home, and he took off for a dentist appointment. I took the sheets off the bed and got them in the washer then went out to mow the lawn. When Tony got home, we ate a quick breakfast and I started to get some things done inside. Got laundry done, started getting some things ready for this weekend. Hemmed Scott's pants, fixed Tony's tie and made lunch. Gonna head to bed soon and pray I'll sleep better than last night.

A BUSY SATURDAY

Well, 2 more times to work our Saturday temple shift and then we'll move to Thursday nights.  We got up at 4:30 this morning and worked till noon today. The smoke has cleared out quite a bit. The wind came up yesterday and that helped some.  I got to help in Initiatory for two young women who took out their own endowments. It is so special to see the young people coming to the temple. In our prayer meeting this morning, they asked if those who are serving before their mission, and those who are serving after their mission, to stand up.  There were about 15 young men and women who stood up. It was so awesome!! My last assignment was to help a couple who were having their two young boys sealed to them. They had 2 girls, 12 & 8, who were born under the covenant. They just adopted these 2 little boys. One & two. It was such a special day. The parents were so wonderful and said it was 15 years since they were sealed together.  They had two girls born under the covenant. One 12 and one eight. Such a beautiful family.

I have to admit that I am going to miss all the exciting things I get to do on Saturdays. It is the busiest day in the temple because that is when most marriages and sealings like the one I was involved in today, happen. BUT, we've worked the Saturday am shift for 8 years and it's time for a change. We miss a lot of family events and some church activities when we work Saturday. It's time. 

We stopped at Chick Fil A on the way home and got a salad. Then we went to Costco and picked up a prescription and some rolls for the dinner we are having at Mary's tomorrow. 

When we got home, I made a pan of Mac & Cheese to take to the dinner tomorrow as well.  Mary is making London Broil, Jill is making some kind of potatoes. I think her sister is making a salad. Anyway, it'll be good. I was going to have the kids to my house for a going away party for Scott, as he is moving to SLC for work next week. But, it was Jill's 50th birthday recently, and her mom wanted to throw a party for her. It will be a combined party. Birthday and going away. Gonna miss those kids so much!

This afternoon at 4:30, we picked up Liz and Mom and we went to do baptisms at the temple. Drue and Yeti went as well.  It was windy and started to rain on the way to the temple. I did all the women baptisms and Liz did the confirmations. Tony baptized me and then Yeti baptized Drue and then Drue baptized Yeti. Drue had signed up to do sealings after we finished so he didn't get to be in the picture.  He's there in spirit. It was beautiful and clear when we got out.

 We  did 70 baptisms total.   30 female and 40 male and confirmations for all. 

I love going with these great people. Yeti is waiting to take out his endowment. He is waiting for Salt Lake to approve him getting the Melchizedek Priesthood. Liz is ready but has to wait till November when she's been a member a year.  As we sat in the chapel, waiting for the men to finish confirmations, she said, "I sure love you guys." I told her we loved her too. She has been a very special sister.

It was a great day!

GOD IS GOOD!

BEN AND CHARCIE STAY ON THEIR WAY HOME

It's still smokey here in the valley. We went to the gym Monday and Tuesday and the smoke made it possible to stare right at the sun. 

Not sure when  thie air is gonna clear up but I'm sure it will eventually. We just feel so blessed that our home and community have been free of fire. I feel so sorry for those who have lost their homes and belongings. So terribly sad. On Monday, the Primary Presidency had a meeting to discuss the Primary Program that is coming up in September. Jan is leaving Thursday for an Oregon vacation on the coast and I will be gone the following weekend. So, after our meeting, I told the sisters that I would get the program all typed up and ready to hand out parts this Sunday. SO, Tuesday, I was on my computer most of the day. I got it all typed up and children and teachers assigned to various parts. I ran the rough draft over to Jan for her approval and she called and said it was perfect. The only thing I had wrong was the spelling on one of the boys name. I fixed it and then ran off programs for  all the adults. Then I ran off the parts for the kids and got them cut out and ready to hand out this Sunday.

We were relaxing and watching TV later in the afternoon, when I got a text from Charcie. They were on their way home to Warrenton, and they had spent the morning on a river, tubing. They were sunburned and tired. I was so glad to accommodate them again.   They arrived about 7:15 in the evening. We were visiting when I heard the doorbell ring. I looked out the window and could see a fella with a bunch of pizza's. I couldn't see his face. Tony got the door and it was Rick and Wendy.  I was so happy they stopped to visit. They had made arrangements to sleep at a motel, but they stayed, and we had a great visit for about an hour. We ate pizza and salad. Both Rick and Wendy were pretty tired, so they said their goodbyes and left for the motel. I sure wish I had a home with room for others to stay.

I got a picture of Rick and Wendy before they took off. Charcie was outside with us so I told her to get in the picture too. Love them all so much! I have the most wonderful family members.  After they left, we went back in and visited for a bit. Ben was tired too and Gabe was not feeling very well so they went to bed. 

Little Abraham was sure wound up. I thought it was because he had been in the car for so long but Charcie said it was so unusual for him to be so wild. He is the cutest little bugger. 

Dianna and Gideon were so cute. They played with their tablets and each other and were good to be quiet so their dad and brother could sleep.

I got a cute picture of them all (minus Gabe) 

Tony went to work on his puzzle and Dianna said she would help. She said "I'm  an an expert at this."  lol We got such a kick out of her. She told me she wanted quesadillas' for breakfast.   Around 11PM, we decided to go to bed. Charcie got the rest of the kids to bed but I guess little Abraham was so wound up that she didn't get much sleep. When Tony and I got up the next day at 7:30, we tried to stay as quiet as possible so the kids could sleep. Ben and the kids got up around 8:30. I did have tortillas, so I made cheese quesadillas, scrambled eggs, raisin bread toast and grapes. Dianna was thrilled. As a matter of fact, ALL the kids ate them.  Ben said Charcie asked if she could sleep as long as possible because she'd been up half the night. The kids and I played with SnapChat on my phone for quite a while and they all got such a kick out of it. 

Even Abraham was entertained. 

Dianna loved all the silly faces it gave her. Soon, I gave up my phone to the kids,  and I helped Ben take all the bedding, air mattress and what not to their car. 

Before they all left, I got a few pictures. The sun was out and they were having a hard time looking at the camera. I got s good one though. All but the little guy . lol

Then one with Mom and Dad but then the sun was just too much! lol It was wonderful to have the kids stay again. They were such a joy to be around. And they are so well behaved. Love them all so much.