Priest Lake

Jory T., Dallin, Camri, Cody and I were able to go to Priest Lake with some friends over Labor Day Weekend. Jory was still too busy planting and Kylie had a vball tourny, but the rest of us went anyway. I felt guilty until I got there and saw how beautiful it was. We had a great time. We played all day in the lake swimming, paddle boating, jet skiing, fishing, diving, and canoeing. We went on a nature walk and went to these rock water slides. I got the biggest bruise in my life from them, but couldn't show anyone because of its location;) The kids were able to do lots of four wheeling and motorcycle riding as well. We have the best friends in the world, not just because they took us up there, but because they truly love and care for us. I sure love them:)

Kylie is enjoying volleyball and doing great. Her team is lacking in heighth, but she's having a great time. Her first home game, she sang the National Anthem and forgot where she was at. The audience helped her out and cheered afterward. Last Thursday, her friend Michael gave the coach a volleyball for Kylie that read, "It would be a hit if you went to Homecoming with me." The coach gave it to her during serving warmups. She went bright red and got hugged by her team. The next night, she sang the National Anthem for the home football game. After she said, "Michael Hale, yes I'll go to Homecoming with you." The crowd cheered and the team started smacking Michael around as football players do. So she's excited to go to homecoming. Pictures to be posted later;)


Dallin decided to break his arm after school. He was playing king of the box on top of a utility box in the park. He lost as he was pulled off and landed on his arm. I was driving by shortly after and saw him walking home, crying. I figured an eighth grader beat him up. No, he was just being a boy. He broke both bones in his arm. It was a clean break. It was broken like how a can starts to be crunched, so he didn't have to have it set. We go back next week to see if it is healing well. He was really excited for the cast and everyone to sign. As a parent, this was not a big deal. I had Jory T. at home to babysit. Kylie showed up later to fix dinner. I just got to sit in the Drs. office and tell Dallin stories of all the stupid things I did as a kid. I love having teenagers. Well, most of the time.
And we did start school again. Everyone goes quite early, so Camri is the only one I remembered to take a picture of. It's been a good start so far:)

This last weekend. We went on our first family four wheeling trip. Jory's taken everyone at different times, but this time he borrowed extra toys so we could all go. It was lots of fun. Jory took us to Dayton and we rode for about four hours. I even rode the dirt bikes and didn't crash.

The Rest of the Summer Has Come and Gone

Kylie went to Europe with the Washington Ambassadors of Music.
London was her first stop and she saw Prince Harry!
She saw Les Mis in London!!!! Nick Jonas from the Jonas Brothers guest starred as Mirius. She said he was amazing and all the girls screamed!
Next was Paris!
She loved Switzerland and the Matterhorn the best.
They sang in some beautiful cathedrals.
She visited Germany, Italy, and Austria as well. I keep thinking she will blog it for me soon:)
While she was away, we went to the Seattle Science Center.
We spent the whole day there.
Even my teenager wants to go back. It was fun.
Then we went to the Ure Family Reunion!
Jory was able to go with us this year!
We never get tired of the slip and slide.
I had to make everyone play Just Dance!
I think my brother Rychael was the best:)
Then I rushed back to Seattle to welcome home my baby! She enjoyed a safe and wonderful trip.
We spent many days on the river!
My sister and her family came and played with us as well.
We had to take the boat out.
We swam at the neighbors!
We love our neighbors.
We went to Silverwood.
It was Cody's first year and he loved all the rides. Next year he'll be tall enough for the rollercoasters!
We went to the fair and had to ride the mechanical bull.
Kylie hasn't lost her touch!
Dallin's been riding since he was one year old. He's still got it!

WANTED: More Summer
REWARD: Labor Day Weekend

Summer is half way over?

I can't believe summer is almost half way over! Time flies when you're busy. We started out taking Kylie to basketball camp at Gonzaga University. She had a great time. One game she got really upset and told her teammates, "If I wasn't a Mormon, I would call her a bad name!" All the girls laughed at her. One girl said, "You're the nicest Mormon I've ever met." She's the only member on the team. Her coach gave her a tub of white frosting for being the "whitest" girl and the "purest" girl. Jory T. drove to pick her up and went shopping at Cabellas for the first time. Cody liked shooting the guns (so did I:).
Thanks to my mother-in-law coming to stay, the next week Jory T. and I went to the LDS scout encampment. I was on the cook crew. I got there Sunday night at 7p.m and we started putting lunch sacks together. We assembled over 4500 lunch sacks that week. We fed on average 1500 scouts and leaders for three meals. It was HARD work. I don't know how our team leaders planned so well. Those boys ate well! They were very thankful as they came through the lines. We had a few wards come help with clean up and many leaders helped with dishes. I don't think I've ever seen so many cookie sheets. My hands and back are still recovering. I knew it would be hard, but I wasn't expecting to feel the spirit like I did. I cried after seeing how happy my son was one night and how much fun he was having. He told me later he didn't need to go to church. He'd gone to a week of church! Wait till your mission kid The next week Kylie and I went to girls' camp. It was like a vacation compared to scout camp. I didn't have to cook all week. I took a few naps and loved being a stake leader; card games at night, raiding the fridge for homemade ice cream, showering when I wanted. Talk about a vacation. :) Ropes course Kylie on the rope swing Cards at night with the ladies.
After camp, I helped Kylie get ready for Europe! We rushed around Monday morning and got her packed. Her dad met us outside of Kennewick and gave her a blessing then off she went with a friend to the pre-camp in Puyallup. It was my bday that day, and our new encampment friends had a post scout camp party. The rest of the kids got to swim and they sang happy bday to me. It was nice. Wednesday, my super friend took me to the movies for my bday and then to dinner later! She's the best! Thursday, the kids and I went to Puyallup to listen to the Washington Ambassador's choir Kylie is in. It was awesome! Such talent throughout the state performed after only two days of learning the music. We took Kylie with us to a hotel and swam all night. Then, Friday morning I took the shuttle with her to the airport and off she flew. She sang today for church services at Wesley's Chapel built in 1777! The rest of Friday, the kids and I went to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. We had a blast. This bike was pretty scary. Dallin tried it first. I think he was braver than Jory. The Space Needle was right behind us. I asked the kids if they wanted to walk around it. They said no because it was right there. The circus building was the most fun for the kids because of this bouncy thing.

The insect house was fun. Yes those are bees. That's a cockroach. YUCK! Cody did not like the Butterfly House.