We took a trip to California to see some of the areas Michael served in while on his mission. This is at the cross on a hill in Ventura. I can't remember the real name, but it was a cool place. The cross was placed there by the first Christian missionaries back in the 1800's.

We spent a lot of time in the car, eating and eating and eating.....you get the picture?

We stopped in Primm, Nevada to ride the world's tallest rollercoaster at Buffalo Bill's. Well, it was the tallest, in 1996, there's probably a taller one by now.

Me playing Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. This is the actual set where it was filmed. We are standing outside the door to her office.

More fun at the Paramount Ranch where Dr. Quinn, MASH, and lots of other shows were filmed. We didn't get to see the MASH set because the rangers had all gone home for the day. I was so disappointed, but maybe next time.

David and his three amigos.

Me and my boys.

We visited some members in Ventura that took good care of Michael while he was there, and Uncle Jay tried to fatten him up a little by cooking him lots of yummy food. When we got there, we were greeted by Apple Cranberry pie, a lemon tart and fresh homemade bread! I guess Uncle Jay was trying to fatten us up as well! The beautiful scarf was a handmade gift for me from Grandma Smith. What wonderful people they are!

We went to dinner at Andria's on the harbor with some of the people from the wards Michael served in. They were great company and we had an awesome time with them.

Having fun at the harbor in Ventura.

We found a cool hat store on the harbor, and Devin got one of his brothers to take this picture. I had nothing to do with it.

This is Shawn, a member Michael taught and helped reactivate in Ventura. He has a great story, and he was moved almost to tears when he saw Michael at his door. This was probably one of the best days we had.

We met Michael's mission president and his wife, President and Sister Murri.

We paid a visit to the first elder Michael trained, or his boy, Elder Smith. He is the one next to Michael. We made his companion get in the picture as well, even though he didn't want to.

Michael and Jaron playing on the rocks at Morrow Bay. I was afraid they were going to get washed out to sea.

We saw crabs, amemones, starfish and lots of other sea creatures.

Devin can't read very well.

Playing in the water at Ventura Beach.

Good times at the beach.

We laughed about this sign for at least an hour. It says: "Jesus, we need help! We need a truck."
We had a wonderful time visiting Michael's mission areas and meeting the wonderful people he worked with.

Stake Girl's Camp 2009

This year our Stake was able to go to the Heber Valley Camp. It was a beautiful place, and here is the whole group jumping for joy on the first day we were there.

This is Allie Jensen dressed up for skit night. Love the hair!

Brittni, April and Claire, some of our awesome YCL's.

We had a sunrise devotional as part of Laurel's camp. It was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.

All the YCL's and leaders from Laurel's camp (except for me, the camp photographer!)

The high line or zip line was the highlight of the challenge course. It's a 25 foot climb to the top, then you walk across to the other side and slide down the zip line. It was a blast!!

Sister Mary Cook from the General Young Women's Presidency came to speak to us. Her talk was so inspiring. She is a wonderful lady.

Me, Shelley Thorne, Amanda Gibson, Brenda Smith, my first counselor, Lisa Chandler, Beehive advisor, Osa Summerhays, and my 2nd counselor, Heidi Brophy.

All the YW presidents and Stake leaders.

We got rained on the last night, and everyone was soaking wet and freezing, yet spirits were still high. We don't let a little rain ruin our fun! Girl's camp was an awesome, exhausting and spiritually uplifting experience. Thanks to all my girls and leaders who made it the best camp ever!

30 Years Ago, But Who's Counting?

The same day I attended my 25th HS Reunion, David had his 30th. We went to both, and had a great time reminiscing about the good ol' days. On the far right is Karl Mortensen, who went all through school with David, and in the middle is Cliff Olsen, who went to Utah State with David, and ended up marrying a girl David went to high school with, Sherilyn Hicks.

L to R: Karl Mortensen, Jeff Benson, David, Robert Yack.

Some of the graduating class of Union High School, 1979. Go Cougars!!

It's Been How Many Years???

It was my 25th high school reunion on Saturday, and after going back and forth over whether to go or not, I put on my big girl pants and went! I'm so glad I did! It was great to see some "old" friends and catch up on what is going on in their lives.

We played Name that 80's Tune, but the girls lost.

This is one of my best friends from high school, Marilyn Anderson Karl. She lives in Idaho now, so we rarely see each other.

This is my friend Sonnet Swain Hullinger, who has been my friend ever since I can remember. With us is her gorgeous daughter, Lizzie. Sonnet and I are conspiring to get her to marry Michael!

Those of us in attendance were jumping for joy that we are still alive and kickin' 25 years after we graduated! Way to go, class of '84!

Happy Camp

My niece Jessica invited us to go to a 4-H Camp that she was in charge of in Jackson Hole, WY. It was called a family camp, but we lovingly referred to it as "Happy Camp". And guess what the theme was? One Happy Camper! This is us playing some get-to-know-you games.

Michael and Kenny represented our family in a game called "The Old Family Game" (instead of the newlywed game). Our team won! Woo Hoo!

G-ma kicked some butt at the Ping Pong tournament.

After she beat everyone at ping pong, she did a happy dance.

Service projects are fun to do, fun to do, fun to do......

Our family was in charge of the archery rotation. The guys taught it, and we just tried it out for fun.

Craft time! We made bug jars, how cute!

Our home away from home for 3 nights. It wasn't so bad, the spiders and wasps seemed only a little bit angry when we moved in!

We visited the Grand Teton National Park on our free day. And we learned that we can spell things with our bodies.

More craziness in the Tetons.

Beautiful Jenny Lake.

We went to see the Bar J Wranglers on Friday night. They were really funny, and great entertainers as well!

Michael and Jaron went looking for the ugliest shirts in all of Jackson Hole. I think they succeeded!

Saturday morning and time to go home! Left to right: Bryce, Jessica, Jaron Michael, Devin, David, Linda, Karl, Danny, Nikki, Debbie, Kenny, and Kenny's new girlfriend, Abby.

After cleaning the cabin (thanks Nikki!), we had a piggy back race. It is still up for debate who won, let's just say it was a close call between the two RM's and their mammas! Happy camp was great fun, and a wonderful bonding experience for us as a family! We came away with some new friends, good memories, lots of mosquito bites, and a whole new appreciation for our comfy beds!