Eagle

In June Braden received his Eagle.  We are so proud of him for all of his hard work. I can honestly say that I was not a mom who earned the award for her son.  He did not even want me to help with the paper work.  

 

My dad surprised us all when he walked in during the middle of Sacrament and sat down in front of us.  We had hoped that he would come and when I saw him you could say that it overwhelmed me emotionally.  I could not stop the tears.  I have said many times that it is hard for me to live so far from my family.  Thanks for coming dad-I love you!

Brady is surrounded by such good youth leaders, cousins, and friends.  Having never put a program together before I did not know what to expect.  Everyone did such a great job.  It was a surprise to Braden that his "hommies" would be there.  The words that were shared by Bro Carter, Pres Ricks, Bro Clark, Bro Biesinger, Papa Hand, and his friends touched him.  Braden (along with his dad and I) was surprised at how emotional he got.

A highlight of the night was the words that were shared from Major Biesinger( I think that title is correct-Julie let me know).  He talked about Braden's eagle project and presented him with a certificate from the Department of Defense and a flag that was flown over Camp Blackhorse, Afghanistan on September 11, 2008.  It was neat to hear about the project and the affects it had on so many. 

Cameron and some of his buddies performed the flag ceremony.  They did a good job.  It was great to share the night with so many family and friends.  Way to go Braden!!!

Can you do this?

Girls-Girls-Girls

The girls are growing to fast.  These are just random pics of them.   Megan and a friend found a fun way to use up the extra hair paint from dad getting his hair done at his elem. school.    Katie and Megan participated in an egg drop from the roof of a gymnasium.  Katie's was surrounded with toilet tissue tucked inside of an old b-ball.  Meg just put hers inside a bag of quilt batting!  We were worried about Katie's because it sure landed heavy with a loud thud, but they both made it.  (They won a gold dollar!)  The girls got baby kittens that they both adore.  Jim woke up at 6:30 one morning hearing a noise in the garage.  It was Katie sitting on the floor of the garage in her jammies playing with the kittens.  They do a great job taking care of Dusty and Smokey!

They sure love to swim and think of all sorts of creative games in the pool!

Cave exploring

I have a lot of catching up to do with my blog (journal).  A few months ago our family went hiking up to the Mount Timp. Caves.  It was a great day.  We started the hike at 4 in the afternoon so it was a little cooler.   If you were to ask me, Jim, or the girls the hike was not that bad.  Cam was a bit sick with a fever that day and did not want to miss it (We pre-bought tickets or we would have rescheduled)  He was a trooper.  Brady doesn't understand the enjoyment of the hiking thing unless your chasing a little white ball.  The caves were really interesting.  Well worth the climb.  Every one of us thought so!

Sisters trip

This Spring Tami and I took a trip to Colorado Springs for a little get away.  We spent the first day hiking and doing the tourist thing.  We came upon this cute little town nestled at the foothills of the mountains.  It was lined with little shops and cafe's.  We sure had fun together.  We laughed a lot and walked a lot, and exercised a lot, and talked a lot, and got lost a lot.  Tami also showed me around some of her mission area and talked about her mission.  (Funny I never did sit down and chat with her before about her mission.  Why is that Tami?)  It was good to hear the stories.  We had dinner with a sweat lady she new from her mission.  We enjoyed the no schedule no worries trip!  This trip was very rejuvenating for me.  Words can not say what she means to me!