Girls Night Out

I got to go to my friends party! I had so much fun!!! We did facials and went shopping and someother girly things!! :) I had soooo... much fun!!

Hill Cumorah

We spent many evenings just sitting at the top of the Hill Cumorah and watching the sun set...there was no one there because the Pageant season was over and we had the Hill to ourselves for the most part. The children ran around playing Lamanites and Nephites, and rolling down the Hill. When I think of the Hill Cumorah, the word that comes to mind is PEACE. That is what I felt when I was there. That is in direct contrast to the events that took place there, but the peace I felt there was just as amazing as what I felt in the Sacred Grove.

PS - The crazy bird now lives at the Hill Cumorah. It took us all week to teach him how to be a bird and how to eat like a bird. We would set it free each evening on the Hill, but as it got dark, it would fly back to us and want to be put back in its cage...no joking here!!! One afternoon we took it deep into the forest on the Hill and let it go....only after we knew it could eat on its own. We went back the next day and it did not call to us or fly to us and land on our shoulders as it usually did. We figured it was finally happy being a bird!

Sacred Grove

Shawn and Derrick got to fly up to Palmyra on Friday night and stay until Sunday afternoon. It was fun to go to the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah for the first time as a family. We all absolutely loved being in the Sacred Grove. I spent several mornings alone in the Sacred Grove...It's something I will never forget.

When we were there as a family, it was raining a bit, and then the sun broke through the clouds for a while. The lighting in the Sacred Grove was quite dramatic in a few areas, so we took advantage and got some cool pictures of the kids kneeling and looking up at the light. We never saw the lighting like that for the rest of the week...I can't tell you how much we loved being there.

EFY in Palmyra, NY

Coley and Kristen got to go to EFY (Especially For Youth) at a beautiful college near Palmyra. They LOVED it!!! It was a "special" session, so they got to also tour some Church history sites, like the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah, and the Whitmer Farm. This was an amazing experience for Coley and Kristen. They are still emailing friends they met from all over the U.S. Kristen roomed with Analee....they did not know each other, but it turns out Kristen's first crush on a boy from Church when she was 5 years old is Analee's cousin!! Coley and Tyler roomed together..they are friends from church. They all had a great time!

What we came home to....

After a big storm here, Scott found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest. Actually, he found 3 baby birds, but that is a long story...we'll just tell you about this particular bird. We found him when he had just hatched...he had no feathers and was pink and so helpless. After several attempt of trying to put him back into the his nest, his mother decided to abandon him. Scott could not stand to see that bird suffer, so he kept it and fed it and nurtured it. That bird woke him up chirping for food every morning at 5am, and he faithfully fed it. The birdie was not ready to be on his own when we left for vacation, so we asked our neighbor Ken to take care of him for a few more days until it could fly away. Ken is an animal lover and likes unusual pets, and we knew he would take good care of him.

On Monday morning when I was picking peaches, Ken came over with the bird...the birdie could fly away, but he would rather stay close. He likes to be on your shoulder or hand. He has flown on top of my head several times. So now Scott has a pet bird. He loves Scott too. This is a mocking bird that should be flying around outside in the trees, but he keeps coming back and landing on the porch or on Scott. Every day is an adventure around here.

Peaches and Beans

We arived home from our trip after midnight on Sunday. We were glad to be home to feel the humidity and ride in our 15 passenger van! (Once you have one of those, you never really like another car!)I woke up Monday morning and spent 3 hours in the garden and picking peaches from 3 of my trees. I picked ten 6-gallon buckets of peaches...and I have still have 2 trees left that need to be picked. I already have 50 quarts of peaches from my trees, and I have 8 more buckets to process! I have nutured these trees for many years and have never gotten a crop because of frost killing the buds. This is my first harvest, and I am so excited!

Look at the picture of Scott standing in the green beans! Have you ever seen green beans like that? Before I left for Utah, I chopped them back about 5 feet, and now they have grown een bigger. They are just flowering, so I should have a ton of green beans soon! How fun! I love to garden!

Our Trip to Utah! Summer 2008

Hello Everyone!
I am blogging so I do not get yelled at by Kay, Holly and Linda again. :) Are ya'll happy now? :) We loved being in Utah at the 3 reunions we attended. It was so good to see all of you and catch up on your lives. Thanks for all of the fun memories!

Fun Memories!!

Hey, we need more pics of this fun vacation....would ya'll send some to us? Jeff, would you please email us the awesome pictures of us boating...that was such a fun day!

We Love Our Cousins!

My children loved being with all of their cousins. It's fun to see them all together. We missed Davie in Kamas...good luck in California! We love you!

Fun at Art and Mickey's

What cute pics of MAC and AJ...my kids loved playing with them! Of course, Art had to get in on the fun! They all wrestled him down. Art thinks he "won", but I think the kids actually did!

Brandi's Baptism

A hole bunch of our family went up to Michigan for Brandi's baptism!It was a really great experience to be around family at such a special time!I had a ton of fun and want to go back and see the Gantts again!