The FireThe whole upstairs of our neighbors’ house is damaged…either by flames or smoke.  The downstairs was considerably damaged by water, but many things (especially things off the floor) were ok.  A recovery team was there that same night working thru the morning and into the next day, stripping sheetrock and insulation, getting the water out,…

Tonight we had one of the biggest lightning storms I've ever seen.  I was out visiting some women from church, and was afraid for my life on my way home.  As I turned the corner on to my street, a bolt of lightning shook the Suburban, lit up the neighborhood and cracked so loud it…

Derek and I took on a very ambitious task this week…considering we're volunteering for Twilight Camp in the evenings, and chasing our three hoodlums around. We're doing a 6-day Fat-Burning Express, associated with Tony Horton's Power 90 workout.  It's a strict metabolism-boosting 6-day diet with 6-days of the same workout.  Had I have blogged yesterday…

With Jacob at Twilight Camp, Derek and I took the younger two to a local splash park.  It was so fun to watch them play so happily.  Their little smiles and chuckles of laughter just made my day!      And what is sure to be Caleb's favorite picture, entitled "Blast OFF!":

Jacob is so excited to be going to his first Twilight Camp for Cub Scouts this week.  One of the traditions of Twilight Camp is to trade "swap-ems", and put them on your hat.  The theme this year is Cub Olympics, so we had thought about doing beaded Olympic rings, but I bought the wrong…

I read this last week in our Church magazine and it really struck a chord with me.  It was said by one of the General Young Women President's of our Church, Elaine Anderson Cannon. "You can soar if you find out who you are and why you are here. There are two important days in…

This week has been all about recovery for me…laundry, rest, relaxing, etc.  Pure summer fun.  I am making the kids do chores…but have yet to make my official summer chore list.  We've been going to swim lessons, where I learned from their instructor that Jacob is a "natural"…he learned the butterfly and the roll-kick off the…

Derek took Wed – Fri off last week to be home with the boys, while I was at Girls Camp.  And I love him for it.  It was so nice leaving, knowing that they were well taken care of and that they would have a great time.  It was especially nice since Samuel was still…

Girls Camp is an annual gathering of all of the Young Women (ages 12-18) in our Stake (a regional boundary comprising of different wards/local congregations).  This year there were around 215 girls that attended, plus lots of ward leaders, and all of us stake leaders.  I was directly assigned to the Level 1 girls…the ones who…

After all of the difficulty and tears associated with Jacob's second grade year, I am happy to report that he still made it through with flying colors.  And although we're thrilled to have it over, we're pleased with the result.  Jacob had a great semester with Mrs. Rogers.  He was given a Creativity Award, an Oustanding Leader…