Week #23: Strawberries by the Ton

This Week...

...we went to a belated birthday party for Jaiden. His foster family decided to throw him a little party since he never really got to celebrate on his birthday. We all went out to Finley for blueberry cobbler and ice cream. Bishop and Suzanne came along with Phil Lewis and his kids. It was fun to see Jaiden and Bentli; to see them in a stable home with people to care for their essential, basic needs. There was lots of room to run and play; lots of room to worry about being a kid and not so much about being a parent.

...we went to the Strebels to pick strawberries. When Mary said she had tons of strawberries, I had no idea she was being literal. She said they had more than they could use so I took the kids and we went over to pick some. Much to my surprise and delight when we arrived, there were tons! I froze some and made strawberry freezer jam with the rest. Yum!

...Paul had his band concert at school. He has sure enjoyed playing in the band. He's pictured with his friend Bradley. Aren't they just so handsome?!!

...Elder Sanchez got transferred out. He was such a fun missionary to have in our ward. We loved working with him. We sure laughed a lot with him too. He has the best smile!

...we picked up Paul Boehning for ice cream at Dairy Queen with the kids. We were so surprised when he ordered the cotton candy blizzard. We love hanging out with the Boehnings. Lainey was excited to sit right next to Paul as we ate our treats.

...Brennan graduated!!! It's amazing that he is old enough to graduate, but I'm so excited for him as he takes the next steps in his adventure. He is such a good,hard working kid. We had good food, a little convo around the fire with Grandpa Zirker, and great entertainment. They had a pinata with his picture on it. There was quite the group that wanted to take a whack at it. Sydney didn't hold anything back. Haha! 

Week #22: Worth the Wait

This Week...

...we had our ninth annual Grandkid Luncheon. We had chocolate and cheese fondue. With all of the pots plugged in the circuits kept tripping, but we finally got things stabilized so we could enjoy the eating. ;) We had three pots each of chocolate and cheese spread out so that everyone could gather round. It was a fun undertaking, but I wouldn't have been able to pull it off without Aunt Shelly's help. She knew how to make up the chocolate and cheese and keep them at the right consistency. 

After lunch, we discussed our theme. This year it is Worth the Wait. I read the Piggie and Elephant book Worth the Wait by Mo Willems. Of course, they had seen and read the book before. They helped me out on Gerald's groans when he is made to wait and wait and wait. After the book, we had a discussion of those things that are worth waiting for; that it's not always easy to wait; and that things worth waiting for always take hard work to achieve or attain.

We went out for our annual picture after the theme. It was SO HOT! We tried to walk fast and work fast. We paused at the stop sign for a picture because Sydney suggested it. She said sometimes you have to stop and wait for the things that are worth it. I loved her application so we stopped at the stop sign. (It's probably my favorite one.)

...this is something that I've been learning in my calling lately. It's from the men's session of April conference. I am learning that not everything done in the name of efficiency is justified or the right way to do things. Sometimes, I have to let others try...and succeed or fail. Sometimes, all the time, I need to consider other people's feelings...and then I can make the right decision every time.

...we went out to the McNary Wildlife Refuge. Paul needed to find evidence of 10 wild animals in our area and 10 native plants to our area. We took the camera and walked around the refuge for an hour. It was fun! Paul took pictures and I grabbed the camera if I saw something I wanted to capture. We even got to see a turtle up close through the view finder (the turtle is the black speck in the water in the second picture below).

...Cheryl Ann got some pictures of Jason when he took his car in to be washed. He was a little silly and told her not to post those, but she did anyway.  

...we did some more random acts. Emma, Lainey, and Claire drew chalk hearts on the sidewalk in front of our neighbor's house. Then they place pennies in the center of each one. The next morning as I took Emma to zero hour, we noticed their sprinklers come on. She was sad to think of their art work washing away, but there was nothing we could do at that point. Then when Tiger and Emma came over for me to take them to school, Tiger had a handful of pennies. He was so excited to show us what he had collected on the way to our house. Even though the art got ruined, Emma Joy was happy to hear that Tiger had been so excited about.

...Jason has been helping with the campaign for Jerry Hatcher, the Benton County Sheriff. Since Sheriff Keane retired earlier than expected, Jerry hatcher was appointed the interim Sheriff. A Sergeant from Kennewick Police Department decided to run against Jerry in the special election that will happen this November to secure the last year of Sheriff Keane's term. Then another election will be held in 2019 for a full four year term. Jason and Justin Gerry got a bunch of signs to distribute and will be posting large signs around the area. I wonder who we're supporting?!

...we took another bike ride/walk with Marty and the kids. This is one of our favorite things to do. It's not very extravagant, but it sure builds relationships and gives us exercise.

...Emma went with the youth to do baptisms at the Temple. This is a great group of youth. I'm also very thankful for the leaders that work so hard to help our youth succeed.

...more fun with Emma. She went to a backyard smores activity for mutual at the Greenhalgh's. She worked on some cards to donate to Project Warm Up for Random Acts of Kindness. I love that Emma has embraced her silly side a little earlier than I did. She's got a store of quirky faces that she's not afraid to use in front of the camera.

...we witnessed the most amazing sky at sunset. We ran out to see orange blaze across the sky.

Week #21: A Ransom For The Porch Plant

This Week...

...Emma had her orchestra/band concerts at school. I'm so glad she is musically talented. I love to hear her play both the violin and the piano. It's been so fun to have her accompany the Jazz band - something we never would have considered if they hadn't found out she played the piano. 

...we took a walk around the neighborhood. Grandma Zirker came with us. It was a slow stroll to be sure.

...Ben received an award at Pack Meeting tonight. The Greenhalgh's were kind enough to host the event. 

...Emma had a random acts of kindness assignment for leadership. She decided to put bottles of bubbles around the park with a tag saying free. We had a fun time placing them and wondered what people would think when they found them. 

...my Relief Society Presidency hosted an Italian Soda social. We invited the other Women's Auxiliary Presidencies - Young Womens, Primary, and 5th Ward Relief Society Presidency. Our goal was to enjoy a treat together and spend some time discussing how the RS can better inform and include all the sisters in the ward, regardless of where they serve. It was a great gathering and we laughed and learned a lot. Nicole King was my model of how good the drinks were. :)

...we went on a bike ride with Marty. I sure don't appreciate how he cuts right in front of me when I'm on my bike. Sheesh! I have to brake really hard and that causes me to almost fall over. Silly Marty!

...someone stole our flower pot off the front porch. They're holding it for ransom. They made some demands that we have to meet in order to know what to do next. That's ok, we met their challenge. Ain't nobody gon' take advantage of us. We'll get that plant back. Boom!

...Paul worked on an explorer project at school with Bradley Lemmon. They chose James Cook. Paul had the best time researching about this explorer. He and Bradley divided up the different requirements for the poster. His favorite part was making the Help Wanted Poster. Way to go Paul!