Grand Canyon

Our family got to speak in the Grand Canyon branch July 26th. We drove for about 1.5 hours, did some sight seeing and had a picnic. Then we headed to the small branch held in the Shrine of Ages Chapel. Spencer wanted to speak about King Benjamin. Here is his talk.

"My family is reading about King Benjamin in the scriptures. King Benjamin was a good king. When he got old he wanted to speak to the people. The people all came and set up their tents around the temple so they could listen.

King Benjamin told them to serve each other and keep the commandments. He taught then about Jesus. He told them to repent. He said parents should take care of their kids and not let them fight, but teach them to love each other. He told them to help others.

I think we should all listen to King Benjamin. Doing the things he said will help us be happy."

Then he bore his testimony. He did a great job. He told me he wasn't even scared because the congregation was so small!

I spoke on a conference talk entitled "His arm is sufficient" and Travis spoke about service.

After church we headed off to do a bit more sight-seeing. Isn't it beautiful?

This deer was having a snack on the side of the road as we drove by.

I'm not often thankful for the chance to speak in church, but I have to admit, this was a great experience!

Isn't Music Great?

On the way to school this morning the boys wanted to sing songs. First up was Star Wars. Duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh....Then came Indianna Jones. Da da da da, da da da....It was great. Then when I walked in the door from dropping Spencer off, dreading the chores waiting for me, Jaws was playing. Dun dun dun dun dun dun AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Idaho

We recently spent a week in Idaho. We had lots of adventures. The Kears came too, so of course our adventures were twice as fun! Memaw and Alice have both been working on getting names ready to have temple work done. One of the sweetest moments was when Grandma Ward was able to be sealed to her mom and dad.

Memaw's got quite the collection of wasps at her house. Spencer got stung 4 times on our first day there. He wouldn't go outside for days after that. It was a little frustrating wanting the kids to get out and play. Carter wanted to hang out with Spencer so he ended up in the house more than he probably would have. Sorry Alice!

Carter was lots of fun to talk to. Smart and funny. We don't see each other very frequently, so I really enjoy catching up with the kids.

As usual Chloe was full of spunk and pizzaz. She was great at helper. I had a lot of fun talking to her too. What a beautiful girl she is!

Mason was a crack-up. He is just so darn cute. There is really no other way to say it!

Josie enjoyed hugging and hitting Bria. After getting after her so much I was glad to see she still liked me enough to give me hugs. What a doll with her sweet blond curls!

Mason did not want his picture taken!

Of course Bria and Chloe did. They know they are beautiful!

The kids had a marvelous time playing in the water.

After a few tries Spencer started to get the hang of the slip and slide.

Chloe made the best faces, her eyes usually closed and her neck stretched as long as it could go!

Bria just watched the kids play.

Drew played teeter-totter by himself. He had no interest in getting wet.

Bria had a thing for Memew's marigolds. She pulled them out whenever she got the chance. Sorry Memaw!

Travis worked on caulking the house with Matt and Alice When he wasn't doing that he was splitting and stacking wood or hunting down wasps.

As usual, we enjoyed a meal at Gertie's. They have lots of fun kinds of pizza. My favorites are the sauerkraut and Idaho special. For dessert I like the Reeses Pieces pizza. Yum!

One of the most exciting things that happened was Alice taught Spencer to ride his bike!

Of course I've tired for quite awhile. When I asked him what Alice said that helped him he said, "You have to pedal fast to get your balance easier." Yep, that's it. The magic answer!

Doesn't he look great?

Memaw had to work so we didn't get to have her around as much as we would have liked. Her honey Mark came over one evening for dinner and to help with the quilting machine. One evening we had a BBQ with Kim and Jess. It was fun to see them. I want to get the real story behind Jess and Bob's rustling experience! Memaw, maybe you should research that so we can get the scoop! Thanks to Matt and Alice, the day we left we had a birthday party for Travis. We all loved the ice cream cake. Thanks to Memaw for letting us come and to everyone for the fun!!

Back to School BBQ

I am the ward activities chair. Every year our ward has a BBQ when school starts. This year it started out with a bang. Thunder shook the house as my family loaded up the car with hamburgers and hot dogs. The last activity was cut short due to a storm, so I was a little worried about this one even getting started. Thankfully, by the time we got to the park the rain had stopped and the sun was peaking through. We ended up having a really good turn out. Here are some of my wonderful helpers.

We started out with a hot dog eating contest.

The winner is...Brent Jirsa.

Everyone seemed to have a good time visiting and eating all the yummy things people brought to share.

Some of the kids had a great time playing in the sand. They took cups full of water to bury in the sand. They were making a really neat lake. Carter, a boy in Spencer's primary class thought they were wasting the water his family had brought. He's a pretty rowdy kid and didn't waste words. He jumped into a fight, swinging and kicking. Spencer fought back, and ended up with a bloody nose, which made him cry. I asked him who won and he said Carter, because of the bloody nose. That pretty much ended the fight. I missed the whole thing, but was told that the boys dads took care of it. Spencer says he and Carter are still friends and so I guess every one is happy enough. This is where it all happened. Spencer's first fight!!! (and hopefully his last)

First Grade

I love this picture of my Spencer. He is a great kid and so excited to be in the 1st grade!

Spencer's 1st grade teachers are Mrs. Worcester (Wooster) and Miss Beth. Miss Beth was in his classroom last year. We are so excited for him to be attending a wonderful Montessori school. Travis interviewed Spencer on the way to school. Spencer is excited to have his own locker. What a great kid we have!!!