WHIRLWIND WEEK...

I wanted to share some of the pictures of our most recent crazy week...we had so much fun - had great visits, learned much, and enjoyed ourselves immensely!

Bethany, Jantzen, Nick, Jorin & Dennis

We drove to St. George on Thursday - we saw Robin's family and Katie's family and Grandma Reber. It was good to visit with them - that doesn't happen often enough - and it was great to see Trina before she moves to California.

We met the newest member of the family - Quintin Soli - what a sweetie!

I left on Friday afternoon - taking the St. George Shuttle to the Las Vegas airport - and flew to Seattle. After arriving very late - and getting my rental car, I drove to a very tiny town called Gold Bar, about 1 1/2 hours northeast of Seattle. I stayed in a dive of a motel - across the parking lot from the largest bar in town (yes, there was more than one) - where I think most of Gold Bar's 225 adult population were visiting that night. (Must have been payday!)

I took a two day class on how to build log homes - it was fantastic! There were 40 people in the class - from all over the US - and even 3 from Great Britain, 1 from Costa Rica & 1 from the Philippines. There were 3 other women in the class. We met for about 13 hours a day - with only 1 10-minute break and a 30 minute lunch break. It really was non-stop information - and I loved it!




I drove back to Seattle on Sunday night -returned the car - and rode to Longview with Melanie Kitchens. It was such a good visit! It was so nice of her to drive up there to pick me up. Haley and Jon met us there - at midnight - and we drove to Portland from there. We got to their apartment around 2 am - and stayed up until 4, talking...

It was so good to see them! Gannon has grown so much since we saw him in March -

Gannon is now mobile! - look out!

I had a fun - but way too short! - visit with Haley, Jon & Gannon - we walked around downtown Portland, visited Powells (of course!), enjoyed great Thai food and an incredibly rich chocolaty cupcake. I was even able to see Rachelle, Kristen and her kids! That was a bonus surprise. The time went quickly - and I hated to say goodbye.

I flew back to Las Vegas on Tuesday night - and Wednesday we headed back to Grand Junction. It was a fun-filled, educational and all-around good time! THANK YOU to Grandma and Katie for keeping Jorin and Jantzen while I was gone. I know they had such a good time playing with cousins & swimming.

OUR LITTLE SCOUTERS....

Here is Jorin after his 50-mile bike ride! He is still smiling - so it must not have been TOO hard! He did such a great job, despite a major flat tire about 20 miles in...I am so proud of him!

This is the boy scout group in our ward - Jorin was awarded the Emergency Preparedness , First Aid, Leatherwork, Cycling, Music, Fingerprinting, Woodworking, Reading, Cinematography and Environmental Science merit badges - along with his Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class rank. GOOD WORK, JORIN!

Jantzen did a great job in Girl Scouts this year too! She was awarded the top seller in her troop for Girl Scout cookies (over 400+ boxes)! She also earned badges for Money Sense, First Aid, Camp Together, Horse Rider, Outdoor Cooking, Drawing and Painting, Theater, Rocks Rock & Camera Shots! GOOD WORK, JANTZEN!