Before we say good-bye to June, I wanted to say how thankful I am and how much I appreciate the men in our family.  We were in Iowa for Father's Day, and I missed the blog post that day and the opportunity to acknowledge how important you are to me and how much I love you all. Thanks for all that you do for me, and for each other! 💖
 

AND while we are celebrating . . .

Angella and Chris both had birthdays this week ~    

Angella celebrated starting with lunch with Emma, and then she had a plan in place to stop at all the places on her way home that offered free birthday gifts - Ulta, Cold Stone ( I would have just stopped there, because that would make a great birthday day 😊).  Ben made brownies for her and Angella said it was a really good birthday.  

Chris got to celebrate this year not only with Kim, Blythe, Grant, and Spencer, but his sister, Julia, came to town, and he also got a surprise visit from Max.

Apparently, there is a coconut cake that Chris has become addicted to, so that was his birthday treat this year.  

Please send us the recipe, Chris!  Kim confirms it really is delicious 🍰

ON THE GO . . . 

It has been a busy summer already for Angella.  She has been traveling to Denver quite often for work, and last week she was in Panama City Beach.  Angella, are you really working????

Paul was at Fiddler's Green for a Noah Kahan concert -

Adam, Cory, Jake, and Lily have been enjoying Jellystone RV park this past week while their hardwood floors are being sanded and refinished, and new carpet is installed.  

Samantha is in Chicago for several days catching up with aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Have fun Sammi! 

Please note in the background, Grant is checking out his muscles 😂

We have had Milo this week, while Adam and Cory are temporarily displaced. Friday, he came into the office while I was working and he kept knocking his bowl around.  It was a few minutes after 5PM and I finally got the hint that he was ready for dinner.  My morning routine this week has been to feed Sendai and while she is eating I take Milo for a walk. When we get home I feed Milo and then take Sendai out.  For the last couple of days, Sendai has only walked half-way down our street and then she wants to come home.  This morning when she did that, I came home and got Milo, took them both out together, and then Sendai was happy.  I'm glad they are such good friends!

TWO THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEK . . .

For my speech class this week we had to select five TED talks to review, analyze, and then critique.  One of the talks I chose was called How to Gain Control of Your Free Time.  I thought it would be a talk about how to manage a daily schedule, minutes, hours, etc. Instead, it was a talk about deciding what your priorities are and then creating a schedule around that.  My big takeaway from this talk was that when we say we don't have time to do something, it just means it isn't a priority.  That has given me a lot to think about this week, when I am looking at my calendar, and deciding what is the most important thing I want to accomplish. This is the link if you are interested -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3kNlFMXslo

Yesterday, I was the guide for a sister who was receiving her endowment for the first time.  I had an opportunity to talk with her escort for a few minutes before the sister arrived.  The escort told me that this sister was a graduate student studying about mid-wives in the 1800s.  She found the most comprehensive material in journals from the Mormon pioneers.  Reading these journals led her to study the Doctrine and Covenants.  When she finished the D&C, she decided to read the Book of Mormon.  When she completed that, she called the missionaries, and eventually, she, her husband, and two of their three children were baptized.  It was such a treat to spend the day with her yesterday, and what a great reminder that Heavenly Father is mindful of us - of what we need, and is always ready to open doors that will lead us to happiness and fulfillment if we ask, and walk by faith.  

SUNDAY SELFIES 💗

Thanks, everyone! I love these so much!