Stake Summer Carnival

Our Stake hosted a Summer Carnival on Saturday night...and it was really well done!  We had a great time on mower-pulled wagon rides...

Booth games

Noodle Sword Fighting (trying to knock the Saltine cracker off of a string tied around each boys' waist)

Elizabeth taking it all in.

Our stake president was a really great sport to get dunked...way too many times...in the dunk tank!

Sunday Afternoon Decompress

Three hours of church sometimes feels like a test in sheer survival these days.  By the time we get home...and while I'm getting dinner on the table...some serious decompression needs to happen.  If that decompression can be channeled in a remotely positive way we feel pretty successful.  Today's involved three mittens, a rifle, a stick horse, and a bat.  This could give some cause for concern...but the game was hockey...and the injuries were minimal.  (No babies were coorced in the playing of this game...she found her own mitten, "stick", and jumped in the fray.)  (Also please note Daddy--the ever attentive referee--doing his own laptop "decompressing" in the background.)

Harvest Season Begins!

It's the beginning of the harvest season!  Gotta love reaping the "fruits" without doing the planting!  (There's something wrong with the principle this teaches.)  =)  We went this Friday up to our favorite farm to do our annual raspberry picking.  Some years we've gotten enough to make jam...but this year we only picked a tiny container.  Just enough for the experience! 

We went with a friend from Nathan's kindergarten class, Mayu, and her mom and brother.  The kind of day I love to claim being a "rural" girl!

Joshua and Kotoro

Lisa

Elizabeth...hard at work

And, as a little reminder that blogging doesn't always paint the whole picture...that things are not always as "glossy" as they appear...we'll include this one.

The "petting farm" next to the raspberry patch was about more than Joshua's nose could take.  He got up close to the pigs and took one whiff...and was headed away with his signature matter-of-fact-walk as fast as possible.

Visiting Friends

We had a chance this week to go visit my dear friend, Deborah, in her new home.  What a beautiful house and great neighborhood!  It was so good to be together again--for both kids to play and moms to catch up!  We miss you guys!

Gone Fishing

Nathan and Joshua have been dying to go fishing all summer long.  There is a little pond down just across the parking lot from the swimming pool in our neighborhood where we've seen fish and snapping turtles.  A few nights ago we all went down to give fishing a try.  Two poles, a lot of power bait, and a tired baby later...I decided to head home with Elizabeth.  The one success we'd had so far had been when Nathan put his pole tip clear down into the water, Greg had gotten after him, and Nathan jerked up the pole so hard and fast he'd snagged a fish by the gill!  By the time I got home Greg called asking me to bring some "human food" for bait.  I had little faith, but decided to humor him...running back down baggies of cheese, hot dogs, bread, and roast beef from Sunday dinner.  Later that evening three happy boys came home...hot dogs gone and 10-15 little blue gill fish caught!  (Will post some "success" pictures when I get them off Greg's phone.)  What a great fishing memory for all of them!

**Update:  Went fishing again Saturday.  Another great time.  Here are some pictures.

Elizabeth saw her first fish and just knew she needed to touch it!  Greg lowered it down and she just reached up and held onto its flipping tail.  The boys were amazed and not sure they were so brave.  They hadn't even thought to touch one!  But, eventually they came around.  Where did we get this fearless girl from?!

Baby Blanket

We are so excited that my brother John and his wife Valerie are expecting a baby boy in September!  The colors for his room are going to be the "antique" reds, whites, and blues.  As Valerie says, he'll be our little "patriot".  I just finished a baby blanket...and am more convinced than ever that the colors Valerie has chosen are going to be so fun!  We love you John, Valerie, and Elodie! 

Family Pictures

Took advantage of having Emily here by having her take some family pictures while we were in our Sunday clothes today.

"Cruise for a Cause"

Our Primary just had a Quarterly Activity on Friday morning. Quarterly Activities are one of the things I’m responsible for in the presidency…but this was really a collaborative effort! Laura (the president) thought of a great service idea: Humanitarian School Kits (perfectly timed for the Back to School sales). And Jody, the other counselor, thought of the “fun part”: a parking lot “cruise” to coincide with the community’s big “Cruise In” this weekend here in town.

At least I get to claim naming the activity! (At least I did until last night when Greg reminded me it was his idea.) But it’s been really fun to be a part of making “Cruise for a Cause” come to pass.

Laura telling a special story about what these kits have meant in the lives of those who have received them.

Assembling the kits.  We made 40 in all.  Each child got to go through a kind of assembly line...picking up a bag (made by families of those in the ward and YW as Value Projects) and then adding the school supplies needed to complete the kit.  (Supplies were donated by the ward members in the weeks prior...we had them sign-up for specific items in approximately $5 increments.)

Children with their finished bags.

Kids brought decorated "vehicles".  They registered at the "check-in" table...and received a tag to wear with a number on it.  The number coincided with their numbered parking space.  (Done by the cub scouts and sidewalk chalk.) 

An awesome guy was asked to be our announcer.  He started things off with a cheer and then blew the whistle.  Kids lapped the parking lot until the ice cream was served (or in our case...until they crashed and burned--literally). 

All the great pictures above (minus the two of my boys) were taken by my good friend, Tobey!  You can see all her beautiful work here.

Emily's Visit

Greg's sister, Emily, has been here visiting for the weekend.  She spent a day at Cedar Point with some friends, and then we've gotten to spend a few days together here.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures so far!

A stop at one of Emily's favorite cafe's for breadsticks.

The next several are ones from our visit to the Davisburg home (see more pics below).  But, these are my favs!

Emily has been great for all of us.  But, she's been especially wonderful to focus on Nathan (who can be quite "tucked back" lately) so it means a lot.  I'm so glad we've got these pictures of them to remember this trip! 

A Step Back in Time

Greg's sister, Emily, is here visiting for the weekend. Just wanted to do a quick post for our family to see. Yesterday we drove by "all the old places" from when Greg and Emily (and the rest) "grew up". We've driven by their old home before. But, it's tucked away and you have to drive down a long winding private driveway to see the house. Last time we tried...there were people outside when we got down the driveway...and we hurried and drove away! We decided to try again yesterday and found the house totally vacant. It was so great to get to walk around the yard and just take time in that spot...hearing stories and "remembering". Sorry for the quantity!