Celebrate Good Times...Come On!

July continues to be a busy month, filled wih celebration and family time!

Dan's birthday was on the 9th.  We celebrated by going to a local swimming pool.

  He and his wife, Nicole, are here from Albuquerque to find a home in the Salt Lake area so she can start her job at the Riverton Hospital.  How thoughtful of him to be here so we could celebrate! 

 Dan  started out big. He was 10 lbs 9 oz and 23 inches long when he was born. 

He continued to grow, topping out at 6'8"  (This joke never gets old)

Dan is one of the favorite uncles!  The kids adore him!

 Do you love the cake pan  from the 70s? 

 He's a very talented artist, working with airbrush on Harleys and other vehicles and paintbrush on canvas. 

The details are amazing!

An artist needs a new camera for his birthday!

Happy Birthday Dan!  We love you! 

(Do you like the way I kept your face covered?)

The day after the birthday celebration,  The Divine Miss Em got baptized!  It was a wonderful day with family, food, and fun! 

Four generations:

Mom, Em, Grandma (me) and Great Grandma (my mom)

Once again, Camille came through on the picture taking!

We're proud of you, Emily Mae!

Look Up In the Sky...

Chiropractors must love the 4th of July!  People craning their necks to look up and watch fireworks and hot air balloons, make for good patients.  We got our stiff necks at Thanksgiving Point.

While waiting for the sun to set, Em and Ad tried to warm up (it was cold on the 4th of July!) Most of the time, when I get out my camera, people will say, "Don't you dare put that on your blog!"

Em wants her picture here and she even gave me a caption.  "Good cousins doing fun things together!"

Jordan and Chelsey had pre-wedding bridal photos taken before they came. Here they're checking out the pics.  Camille is becoming quite the photographer!  I think everyone agrees!

OK everybody, it's dark enough for the fireworks! 

Do I hear an

Ooooh?

Ahhhhhhh!

Wow! 

(I need a lesson on how to take pics of fireworks)

Monday was the hot air balloon festival in Provo.

Not as big as the one in Albuquerque but it was still a sight to behold. (I've never been to the one in Albuquerque but mentioned it in case any of you have and you think this is small potatoes.  Speaking of potatoes, I've been to the hot air balloon festival in Boise)  If you're still awake...on with the pictures...

Not sure if C8's mesmerized by the balloons or is just tired.

Ad's excited about the activity.

 

It was fun to see the different shapes and sizes of the balloons. 

If you look closely you'll see a child in that balloon basket! (crazy!)

That's it!  I hope your neck muscles aren't strained! 

Triple The Fun!

Our 4th of July Weekend was busy and fun!  Hundreds of pictures were taken of family outings, fireworks, hot-air balloons, manicures, pinata breakings, pre-wedding bridal pictures, you name it, it was captured on film!  To avoid picture overload, (snore) this post will only be about 3 special people who all shared the same birthday on Monday!

Emily, Jacob and Keiti

Let's start with Jacob.  He was born 19 years ago and, being the baby of the family, was schooled by his older siblings in fashion sense.

 

It's good to see a young man who will dress nicely for his birthday party!

His post-party fashion is inspired by his brothers; Motel 6 slippers, an XS "wife-beater" and a large weapon completes his ensemble.  Birthday presents and big brothers are fun!

The day Jacob turned 11, his first niece, The Divine Miss Em, was born. His birthday has never been the same, it's been better!  Em had a backyard birhday party earlier in the week with her friends. 

I read that the only reason to have a child's party is so you'll know that other kids are more obnoxious than your own!

Em got her ears pierced on her birthday, thus the hair behind the ears!

Three years ago, Keiti joined the ranks of the best birth day ever!

 

She was born with the ability to sing and dance!  (Takes after her grandma!) Can you tell what movie was/is her favorite?  She does a good job mimicking the tin man during his song.

 

She's a beauty and lots of fun!

Ahhh, birthdays...more fun when they're shared!

Tour de Donut

How familiar are you with the Tour de France?  About the only thing I really know about it was when PeeWee Herman was the winner of the race in his dream.  Well, here's a dream come true that's coming to Utah County on July 17th.  It's the Tour de Donut, a spoof on the Tour de France race, with a tantalizing "carrot" on a string! 

The carrot, of course, is really a donut.  Who wouldn't ride 21 miles to be able to partake of as many donuts as you want every 7 miles? 

In fact, the more donuts you inhale, the better your time at the end of the race.  "Why?", you ask.  Perhaps the empty calories give you the burst of energy you need to keep pedaling, but for each donut you eat, you shave 3 minutes off your time!  (As if I need an incentive)

I've been training for this race by going to the air-conditioned gym, sitting safely on a stationary bike, and pedaling as fast as I can while watching TV.  To really train, I think I'll take a few donuts with me next time! 

Many members of my family will be participating, thanks to my daughter, Camille, for informing us of this fun race.  Hey, did I  mention that it's also for a good cause? Proceeds from this year’s race go to support LiveStrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Amber Alert ID, and Youth Scholarships.

The hubs will be there with his recumbent bike! 

That seat is just like a big, comfy, recliner! 

I get to ride my daughter's bike, "Harry".  (Short for Harry Connick Jr.) 

 My plan is to ditch Harry, half way through the race, climb on the recliner with Andy and while he's pedaling his little guts out, we'll sail across the finish line with both of my sticky, donut filled hands punching the air! 

It's not too late for you to join us!  Go here to learn more about the race!  Would love to see you there! 
(I hope they have e x p a n d a b l e shirts!)

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

Wear a cool visor with attached shades and a built-in fan blowing on your face.

Participate in backyard water activities.

Pick roses from your garden.

Immerse yourself in sweet, cold watermelon.

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Time Capsule

(google image)

Last week we cleaned out the Relief Society closet at church.  Hidden on the top shelf was a box filled with sealed envelopes, dated April 1990.  We had discovered a 20-year-old time capsule that needed to be dispersed to the rightful owners!  Half of the authors have already passed on but they had names of children and grandchildren on the outside of the envelopes so that I could give the letters containing words of love, encouragement, testimony, and wisdom to the rightful owners. 

I was excited to be the bearer of such treasure.  On Sunday, I carried the envelopes to several different people.  They were reverently surprised and pleased to receive this valuable gem.  I took 2 envelopes to an elderly widow in our ward, who had written letters to her children.  I handed them to her with the explanation of what we found and how delighted I was to give them out.  She looked at the envelopes, then at me, tossed the envelopes on the table and said, "I'm not giving these to MY kids!  They're as-h---s!

So much for being overjoyed!

Teaching in China

Learning is a treasure that will follow it's owner everywhere.  ~Chinese Proverb

Joan volunteers to teach English at a middle school in Changzhi. One of the highlights of my trip to China was going to the school to meet the children.

The night before, we made several different flavors of Jell-O for them since they had never eaten it.

 

The students loved the Jell-O and even wanted us to write down the recipe!

Lorie and I introduced ourselves and showed pictures of our families.

The typical/traditional Chinese family consists of parents and one -maybe two - children.  Imagine their horror and surprise when they saw this picture of my family! 

Each student stood and introduced themselves and told us what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Most of the girls said they wanted to be a  "Teacher, because I love children" - or, "A nurse because I want to help people!" 

The boys wanted to be zoo-keepers because they love animals, or a banker, "because I like money!"  One boy said that he has an older sister and she is very beautiful! All 3 of us commented on how nice that was for him to say. The next 2 boys stood and said the same thing! A little "woot-woot" goes a long way!

The children had learned two songs in English, John Lennon's, "Imagine" and Neil Diamond's, "Sweet Caroline" (there are two kinds of people in this world...)  I taught them the sign language to "Imagine".

It just so happens the day we were there was Joan's last day to teach before the kids were out for summer.  Of course they wanted to thank Joan for all her service but they didn't want to ignore Lorie and me, so the principal and superintendent presented all three of us with a gift.  Look at this beautiful mug and lid.  It has the name of their school with gold inlay.  Lorie and I timed it just right!  I will always treasure this.

As we left the school and got in the van to have the driver take us back home, the students throughout the school stood at the windows and waved goodbye.  We felt like celebrities!

It would be nice to feel that love from our students here.  Maybe it was the Jell-O!