HAPPY SUNDAY AND  WELCOME BACK TO THE  BLOG!

 Sorry, I didn't mean to take such an extended vacation from the blog, but it was difficult to fit in between schoolwork, and having fun with Sayre, and posting photos was also a little complicated.  I am making up for it today though with lots of photos and stories to share 😊

It was a busy week, leading up to our flight on Thursday.  Saturday, Lily, Jake and Milo came to stay while Adam and Cory headed off to New York on their vacation.  Saturday night as I was getting clothes ready for Church on Sunday I had an Ahhhhh moment when I saw the tie Jake brought - it was one Grant used to wear 

We did some shoe shopping, made a trip to Barnes and Noble, and found Jake has a soft spot in his heart for the elderly.  He wanted to visit Helma one day so we made her cookies and stopped by to see her for a few minutes.  She hasn't been well and is very frail right now. 

Jake was also happy to go with me to see Shannon.  We picked her up and took her to lunch at a little cafe just a couple of blocks from where she lives.  They both ordered French Toast and got huge servings with butter and syrup, and powdered sugar.  Jake said it was the best ever!  He is such a conversationalist that he always keeps the party going. 

A funny Jake story - We were shoe shopping and he told me he only wanted Puma or Under Armour shoes.  We went to Marshalls and they had some nice Under Armour shoes which he tried on but they didn't have them in the right size.  Then we found some Puma's he liked but when he tried them on and found out they weren't "slip-on" he wasn't interested.  So that narrowed the search down a little more - they had to be Puma's or Under Armour's, AND they had to be slip-ons.  We left Marshalls and went across the street to Ross.  I saw a really nice pair of Sketchers but he immediately said "no" to those because, of course, they didn't meet his criteria.  We did find a couple of pairs of Puma's that he tried on but they were either the wrong size or had to be tied.  I finally found another really nice pair of Sketchers(blue and orange, his favorite Bronco colors) and asked him to try them on, but didn't tell him they were Sketchers.  He loved them, said they felt really good on his feet.  When I told him they were Sketchers, he didn't miss a beat or bat an eye, he just told me that Sketchers are made by Under Armour so it would be ok for him to get them.  😂

Wednesday I took Paul to take his driving test and YAY, he passed!  We celebrated at McDonald's and now he is driving everywhere - just another sign we are all getting older. AND speaking of Paul - he and Sammi came down Sunday evening for dinner and he went with me to take Milo and Sendai for a walk - when oops - a bird used his arm for target practice 😁

Sorry, Paul - it was just a little bit funny 😊

We spent 1.5 days in Chicago with Kim and Chris.  It was just enough time to get hugs from the kids, visit Target, and complete the Global Entry process.  

I need to take a break from vacation adventures and celebrate two very special birthday people.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SPENCER on June 15th !!!

What a dynamic and handsome young man he is! Kind, thoughtful, loves his family, his work, and is looking forward to great things ahead.  We love you so much Spencer and know you will be great at whatever you do💖 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SAMMI on June 18th !!!

We sure love this young lady who can always make us laugh with tales of her co-workers, knives under her pillows, wanting a specific kind of taser . . .

She is always thinking of others, stopping by for a visit with an elixir in hand, or a cookie, and she is a wonderful sister to Paul, Lily, and Jake.

We are so blessed to have these wonderful people in our lives ~

So, picking up where I left off - 

Flights didn't look good going to Cedar Rapids on Friday so we hopped in the car and Chris drove us to Dixon IL. where Kate met us and off we went, across the Mississippi River and on to Iowa.  

I definitely see a baseball future for Sayre.  He is a great batter, and has an accurate and powerful pitch.  As you can see in the photo below - we were throwing a small plastic ball at each other (pretending they were bombs - it was Sayre's idea 😀) and he caught me right in the mouth!  I spent the week with a puffy lip, and bright purple mustache.

However, that did not slow us down! 

Ji-Chan and Sayre spent a morning fishing.  We went to Chick-fil-a several times (Sayre's favorite), the children's museum, the trampoline park, and took Clementine to Daines Dairy for the best ice cream ever!

Couldn't go anywhere without the hat

Clementine loved her pup cup!

When it was too hot to be outside we had some "lazy" time, and I even learned how to play Mario Cart - although I always came in at #11, and Sayre always won!

Sayre had a great time piloting our plane in the flight simulator at the Children's Museum

And I love Sayre and JiChan in bed one morning, both on their devices 😊

We got home late Friday night - thanks to Chris who got us on the plane, and Adam who picked us up!  Hollie, Eilis, Ben, and Josh kept tabs on the house and loved Sendai for us while we were gone.  Saturday Holly, Ben, and I walked to the Mall - Hollie wanted to get tape for her skateboard so I took Ben to the train store.

This is his favorite place to be - he loves trains!

We stopped and got ice cream from Baskin Robbins and then walked home.  It was a good day, but we were all tired last night.

PHOTOS THAT NEED SHARING ~

Milo missing his Dad 😢

Adam and Cory Cruising

A "churro dog" instead of a hot dog at the baseball game. I think it is filled with ice cream with chocolate on top?

Kim's Birkenstock's caught my eye as I kept seeing more and more colors in her basket - I love it!!!😁

And I loved getting hugs from these wonderful people - even if it was only for a day 💖

AND Kevin - the best partner in crime ever! 💕

LAST THOUGHTS FOR TONIGHT ~

There were a couple of things I wanted to share with you tonight -

1.  If you are behind watching The Chosen, hurry and catch up! Season 4 has been amazing - I think it might turn out to be my favorite.

2.  Our next assignment in my speech class is a TED talk so I have been doing some research and ran across one of my favorite talks on stress.  I might have posted it once before but it is really worth rewatching when you have a minute. 

https://youtu.be/RcGyVTAoXEU?si=hF_zpzJI_nTcyXnS

3.  I read an article the other day about scam "gangs" that make billions of dollars and they are not only targeting the elderly, but younger people as well - we all need to be aware!

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/17/asia/pig-butchering-scam-southeast-asia-dst-intl-hnk/index.html

I love you all so very much and am so grateful you are in my life.  I hope you have a wonderful week, and don't forget to send me pictures!

 HAPPY JUNE . . . if you can believe it's already here!  I love summer so I am a happy girl ~ Even though I don't have much showing on my calendar for this past week, I feel like we were busy - I did have a lot of school work, housework, errands, and a primary lesson to prepare.  

We are in the midst of putting artificial turf in our backyard, so poor Sendai has been pretty much been confined to the house.  We have taken her for many walks, but she is NOT a happy girl.  

My speech for class this week was supposed to be informative, so I did one on travel hacks and tips for summer vacations.  I had fun preparing and thinking about some of the trips we took - Remember, trips to Salt Lake to see Grandma and Grandpa?  or the trip to California when Kate got sick? and the trip to Eugene Oregon when Kim got sick?  And we can never forget all of the flights back and forth across the Pacific, and last but not least, the infamous camping trip.  While some of our vacations may have been more successful than others, I count the minutes and hours that we spent together as treasures.  

Max was brave holding Jake on our family camping adventure.  I don't think he had a clean face the whole time we were there 😁

Remember our trip to Lake Tahoe? The paddle boats, and late-night Hearts games with Papa?

I'm not sure where we are going in this photo, but we are going in style 😀

Adam and Grammie at a family reunion where I don't think we knew anyone 😊

Kate and I took a trip from Spokane to California with Grammie and Papa.  We stopped along the Oregon Coast so Kate could dip her toes in the Pacific Ocean.  (We were actually moving Yokota Air Base, Japan, and I left Kevin in Spokane with Kim, Josh, and Adam, to pack and clean the house.) This was a different kind of family trip and one of the most relaxing times I can remember 😀

And what's a family trip to Marysville with a stop at Casa Carlos?  Fun that we had Grandma and Grandpa with us, as well as Zack (I think my Mom must be taking the photo).

Such fun family memories.  I wish cell phones had been invented a little earlier and we would have much more, and much better photos.

FAMILY HAPPENINGS ~

Cory and Adam celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last week!

    Congratulations! 

We love you so much💖

Chris and Max are finally home from their Vietnam trip.  They were able to spend a couple of days with Julia and Clint in Seoul and then stopped in Salt Lake for Phil's wedding.  It was so thoughtful of them to visit the gravesites of Meredith, and Grandma and Grandpa while they were there.  They are home tonight in Park Ridge, and I'm sure sound asleep 😌

We got to see Ben and Hollie this weekend.  They came and stayed with Sendai while we were at the Temple yesterday.  Today Ben said he needed some "quiet time" in the hammock and probably spent  about 30 minutes just resting.  Hollie is going to be a YCL at Girls Camp next week so she had a meeting tonight and while she was gone, Eilis came.  Eilis, Hollie, and Emma are such great sisters to Ben.  He is one lucky little guy to be so loved!  Hollie also got to spend a day in Manitou Springs last week with some friends.  I think everyone is enjoying their summer vacation so far.

THIS IS THE PHOTO that really made me smile this week ~

Sammi just finished some wings and, if you look closely, she has sauce on her face, forehead, and hands.  She has the best smile ever, so they must have been delicious  😂.

Sayer still has a couple more days of school and then he will be an official first-grader.  We are so excited to see him next week!

SOCCER, SOCCER, SOCCER . . .That's the name of the game for Paul, Lily, and Jake.

Lily after her hat trick (three goals in a game) - Way to go Lily!!! ⚽⚽⚽

Paul and his teammates buzzed and bleached their hair at their soccer tournament last week 😀

Jake finished up his soccer season and has been busy with Activity Days.

Take a look at this bridge he built - 

I can't forget my good friend, Milo!  Sammi took him to the groomers last week and brought him home with a mohawk 😂

Love these two little guys ~

SUNDAY THOUGHTS ~

I love this thought from President Nelson and wanted to share it with you. Let's do it!

I am soon approaching my 100th birthday. One of the places where the Savior used the number 100 in the scriptures was the parable of the lost sheep. Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the 1 who was lost.

At age 99, I have no need of physical gifts. But one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to “the one” in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.

Over the coming months I invite you to consider prayerfully: who do you know who may be discouraged? Who might you need to reconcile with or ask for forgiveness? Has one name been on your mind lately, though you haven’t quite known why? As you bring these questions to the Lord, He will inspire you to know how you can reach out and lift one who needs help.

What a beautiful example the Savior has shown us – that through each of us ministering to just one within our reach, we can spread the love of Jesus Christ throughout the world. #99plus1