Lake Powell

After a LONG and MISERABLE summer last year it was time to get out and have some fun together! Thanks to Stephanie and Paul, we had a great trip to Lake Powell on the Arizona- Utah border.

We swam back into narrow canyons and explored caves..hoping there were no creatures from the dinosaur period that would swim up and have us for lunch! The kids loved tubing, and exploring the caves, rock climbing and playing on the huge sand dune hill. The landscape was so beautiful with the contrast of the blue sky (at moments) with the red rock. We took a small hike up to Rainbow Bridge which I think, is one of the 7 Wonders of the World. This is a place everyone needs to see! Thank you Merrill Family for all the fun memores!

Thanks to Jocelynn, we finally got some family photos!

Ellis' got ran over by a reindeer......

So much for our plans to leave early for vacation in hopes of making good time while the kids were sleeping! At 6:00 a.m. we awoke to a loud yell followed by the brakes and impact. According to Annika, we hit a reindeer who is now sleeping in the grass on the side of the highway in Vernon, Texas.

I was actually proud of myself for not getting to uptight about the whole event. After all, who can be upset when you learn that the world still has good Samaritans in it. Within 10 minutes the nicest cop came to our rescue. He gave each of the kids a stuffed animal, showed them his sirens and lights, and took us to the police station. Then his kind wife took us back 50 miles to Wichita Falls to rent a car. Thankfully we were all safe and although we were a little behind on our trip, we learned how good it feels to be helped in a time of need.

Our Trip to Washington D.C.

Despite the Obama overload, Brian and I had a really good time in Washington D.C. Thanks to his teams' good work on a project at Textron, he and his boss were sent to D.C. to represent the company at an awards ceremony. I tagged along for some touring and we met up Linda and Jamie.

Our favorite sites were the Holocaust Museum, Mount Vernon, and Arlington Cemetary. The part that really hit home was when we exited the museum....there were 2 rooms with shoes piled high and covering the entire room...shoes of Jews that were killed by caloused Nazis. I don't know how anyone can not come out of that museum and changed person. It's amazing to think someone that cruel could rise into power and get that many followers to do unthinkable inhumane things.

Linda and Jamie introduced us to some great pizze (Uno's) and we rode a double decker tour bus to see all the sites of the city. It was great to see Straight-A-Jam-ay again. She just finished her PhD and we're very proud of her. Again...she aced her way through everything! Good job Jamie!

A big thanks to Shayne, Jen, Mom, Dad and Tyler for watching our kids so we could get away! It was so nice to be alone for 4 days.

Summer Fun!

You gotta love it when your kids find something to entertain themselves.....a rare occurence around this house! The kids love to jump on the trampoline when it's raining! Micaela and Wesley can do "knee" flips now!

Speaking of trampolines, last night we had a horrible storm come through. Our neighbors trampoline was thrown over the fence into the greenbelt and the other neighbor's buckled. The kids prayed for our family's saftety and for the trampoline and we all made it through. The tornado sirens went off and we sent the kids to the bathroom under the stairs for safety. It was pretty scary to see the clouds moving in a circular motion over our home! I hope this isn't the "norm" for around here. I think I watched the Wizard of Oz too much as a kid!

Youth Conference 2009 Examples In Action

Who says girls can't build a concrete walkway??? Kelsi, Jenna, and Becca just do it a little different...in style...with pink work gloves! This weekend our youth built a quarter of a mile walk way for a retirement home in Haltom City as a service project for Youth Conference. Our theme this year was Examples in Action based on the scripture :
"Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12)



For the last 7 years many attempts have been made by various groups to complete this sidewalk yet each one fell through. The living center didn't want to give us the green light, and especially hesitated when they were told it would be completed by 200+ kids, ages 14-18. That's what made the completion so impressive. Our youth felt a sense of accomplishment and more importantly, the joy that comes from serving others.



As I watched these kids pitch in, I couldn't help but think of our time with Grandma Little before she passed on. When she was at one retirement home, we walked her over to the duck pond and our kids got to push her in the wheelchair and have time serving Grandma. They talked with her, ate watermelon with her and were able to give her a change of scenery. These youth not only built a walkway, but built a place where memories could be made members...a place where family members can walk and talk with their loved ones.



When I was first asked to be the president of our Young Women's organization I was terrified. But each day I spend more time with these girls I am so impressed with their goodness and their courage. Spending time with them this weekend helped me get to know each of them a little better and they are "examples in action" to me, even though I'm older than them.



Here are a few pictures from our adventures this weekend. Morgan , Becca, Kelsi, and Sarah, Jenna, and Amanda.....thanks for making this such a fun and rewarding weekend. Sarah, you might want to find a new way to solve your nasal congestion problems. Becca, get ready to have lots of June bug funerals, because this is the time of year when they come out. Morgan...glad we could introduce you to honeysuckles!

A "Six-cessful" Birthday!

This weekend Wesley celebrated his 6th birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese! We are so glad he has met some "buddies" here, because for him, buddies make life great. In our family we have to change the saying to , "If Wesley ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" So thank you all of Wesley's friends! I think the favorite part of his birthday was the Toaster Strudels we surprised him with for breakfast that morning. We knew he'd wake up before us since he's up at the crack of dawn. We also knew the first thing he'd hunt for would be waffles. So, we put chocolate Toaster Strudels in the freezer with a birthday card! He was so excited. I woke up to a

smothering hug and a BIG thank you that morning!

Wesley-we love you buddy! You have a giving and caring heart and we love the way you share with Micaela and Annika. You are so full of creativity and energy (.....speaking of which...if we could bottle your energy up, we could solve the energy crisis in this nation.) Thanks for being a good son, brother and friend! Happy 6th birthday!