summer time

I cannot believe how quickly this summer has gone~it will be August soon. Life is just busy filled with lots of random things right now so to catch up here is what we have been up to; my parenting group that i am teaching started last night so every Wednesday for the next 14 weeks that is where I will be! It is fun and we have a large and diverse class so it will be a new and interesting challenge.

Our Thursday evening class which runs 7 more weeks has been really good for Chris and I to talk about difficult topics and prepare for the things that are coming. We have met some really great people and enjoy the evening together. With these two nights a week now gone we feel a little overwhelmed since Tuesdays are usually church meetings and YW activities are getting busy again in August! But it is worth it and we are learning a lot about each other.

We have enjoyed BBQ's at the house this week with our home teachers, visiting teachers and friends from the branch. We could not love them more and appreciate their friendships and examples. What amazing people! Family Home Evening this week we talked about budgets and living debt free. Which is something we are still working on but great ideas and suggestions were shared.



The ravioli shop just down the street has the most amazing homemade Italian bread, pasta and sauce in town. We are LOVING it!!! You can buy the pasta in sheets in this little paper box and then you pick your favorite sauce to compliment. yummy!



Our lilies in the front have exploded! they are chris' favorite flower, star gazers; right now they are 3 feet tall. my mom bought them for us at the farmers market last year..LOVE them!
thanks mom!!!




I am in love with the colors and vintage style of pottery barn right now and we have updated the pillows that i bought (not that long ago) but the colors are perfect for the living room. As well as the matching roman shades. It makes me really happy! Thanks honey!!

Lastly, Friday we enjoyed a youth dance out at Seneca Lake with the Ohio youth conference. There were over 200 youth from surrounding stakes. It was a beautiful night and such a pretty spot for the girls camp over looking the lake! chris even danced with me for a few songs. It was fun to chat with the youth there and back.



Chris and I stayed up way too late last night remembering our missions; Italy and Brazil. We laughed so hard and so many things came back as clear as yesterday even though I am coming up on my 6 year return mark and Chris just passed his 11th!!! Crazy old....
But hands down I have the most hilarious mission stories and this one might be my favorite besides Lisa and on the bus with wet pants!
I had not thought about this little boy in awhile but in Maua there was a 2 maybe 3 year old named Christian. He was very large~obese really, probably 60 lbs no joke! He was the counselor in the bishopric's son so we would eat with their family sometimes. Side note he would not sit at the table but circle it eating off of ALL of our plates with his FINGERS!!! and the parents said nothing.
He was so big that he could not wear anything but sweat pants even in the summer time and T-shirts or sweat shirts with really dark features but lighter skin. And on Sundays he would just make thundering circles around the chapel and up onto the stand because his dad was there. We tried to stop him a few times without any success; it was distracting to say the least and really embarrassing when bringing people to church with us.
Which is so funny but the best part was one day we went to eat lunch with them and they lived above his parent's house so we were waiting for them downstairs in the living room. There was a long hallway leading into it and I was standing by the couch! I remembering looking up and seeing Christian come thundering down that hallway toward me with a grin on his face. I looked back to the group since I figured he was just joining the grandparents. The next thing I know he had tackled me and I was flipping over the arm of the couch and onto the floor....he had totally taken me out! Flat...a 3 year old! AWESOME...I wish I had a video of that because it replays in my mind in slow motion and it makes me laugh!
~Brazil; i love you!

the kitchen

ah! this kitchen....after a month we finally have our kitchen done!!! And we love it. The big items and all the details. It turned out very different then we orginally planned because of some surprises but it is much improved....yeah!










we have a few favorite vintage pieces that fit perfectly into this space! I still need to make the seat cushions for the dinner room table but what a big difference. We love it.

this was so much work! we painted all the cabinets, the hardware, the light fixtures, replaced one and new bamboo shades, wallpaper (yeah!~chris gave in and he likes it). the hardest part was not having time to complete it so we were doing it after work or meetings at night. A few times 12:00 or 1:00 in the morning before our homestudy and before house guests for hill cumorah.




we learned a lot and will take a break before we start on the bathroom.

BEFORE:

it is hard to remember the kitchen like this!!! yeah~i am so happy it is not...

HCP

Hill Cumorah Pageant



It is Hill Cumorah Pageant time! Life stops in Palymra, NY for the pageant. Last friday we joined with our branch to eat pizza and watch it together. It was such a clear night that we could see a million starts. So pretty.

Many of our YW and members of our stake were performers in the pageant! It was really fun to see them before and after pageant. They did a great job.


Then this Friday we took a co-worker to pageant. She knew a little about the BOM. It was great to share our belief in Jesus Christ. We had a great conversation about our different churches and were able to understand each other better. Before and after the protesters were there saying all kinds of things. And my friend when we were leaving turned and said "well that is not very christian is it?" So funny that she recognized the difference in the spirit.

Until next year pageant~we are not necessarily "pageant people" but you never know maybe one day we will be cast members. It is starting to grow on us a little more each year. It is a great example of what we believe and a good testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. And we had a great time sharing this experience with others.

Day 3

Sunday we slept in and then drove to the beach where we spent the day relaxing and enjoying the area. This beach was different than the ones I spent time at mainly Florida growing up because it was really rocky. Chris loved to find flat rocks and skip them across the waves.


we saw seals pop there heads up all day. they were really fun....just poke their heads above water, look around and then off they went! we would see them again down the beach. so fun!


this day we ate yummy fresh shrimp and enjoyed long walks up and down the beach! towards later afternoon some surfers came out and caught a few waves. it was so pretty. we looked for shells but there were not too many along this beach.


after dinner we found a good place to fish and spent a few hours trying to catch something. the best part I have to say was not the fishing (sorry chris) but the sunset!



And the moon came up just as soon as the sun went down. it was really beautiful! our last night we made a fire and watched the stars. we are so grateful to have spent some time away and with each other. what a great trip! we listened to one of chris' favorite books on the drive; Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

I love spending time with Chris...we laughed so hard and had some really good conversations. It is nice to feel so connected and close to him again. life gets busy and time off reminds me again of why and how much I love and appreciate him. We have a wonderful life together. Full of great things; hard things, challenging things but we have a wonderful time together!

happy 4th of july

Happy 4th of July!
We spent the day in Provincetown. A little touristy and a little crazy with people but really cute shops, great food and beautiful beaches.

Chris loved walking on the mudflats looking for shells. He found several really big, nice and fun ones. It was quiet and beautiful!





It was fun to watch all the boats come and go.

This lighthouse was built in the 1850's; it was moved away from the shore in the '90's. This was the one thing i wanted to do and tour because it is always what I pictured when thinking of Cape Cod. There were beautiful views. We saw the whales in the water from the lookout.


overlooking the sand dunes in Provincetown~the Pilgrims cut down all the trees for cattle grazing and then over did it so now there are no trees and the sand has nothing to hold the vegetation. we read all kinds of things at the visitors center! interesting.

we saw the most beautiful skies this trip. it was unreal. pictures just do not capture it all.

and of course fireworks~this was the best show i have ever seen...sorry lander, wy and bills family. maybe it was the beach or the water or the full moon but it was really fun to celebrate this way

Cape Cod

"A man may stand there and put all America behind him."

Henry David Thoreau 1890

Cape Cod National Seashore is so beautiful...we had the best time over the 4th of July. The Pilgrims originally landed at Provincetown, MA. They spent 30 days there and did not like it so on they went to Plymouth.

It was an 8 hour drive to our hotel Thursday evening and then Friday we drove out to Wellfleet to the campsite. (yep~car camping) it was a really nice place though with quiet couple sites and really nice spots. Then we unpacked the bikes and off we rode about 5 miles to the beach. I will spare you pictures because it was really hot that day but the one above is of the beach we rode to. After the ride we got settled, setup camp and I took a long nap. Then foil dinners, s'mores and off to bed. We miss Wyoming camping where you backpack in and see no one for days but this was almost as good. And a trip I will remember and want to repeat often!