The Boat Experience by Ally

On June 21 my family went boating with the Hainsworths. We were on the boat when we hit this tree growing from the bottom of the lake. The lake had a small island in the middle that was hard to see. The tree branch made a large hole in the bottom of the boat. Water started coming into the boat. Soon the back of the boat was full of water. We were all rushing into the front, well except Adam. He was just sitting in the back of the boat not knowing what was happening happy as can be. Finally, he went to the front. My mom led us in a prayer. I felt a warm feeling inside that we were going to be O.K. Brother Hainsworth raced us back to the dock and he was able to pull the boat out before it sank. We all made it safely out and then my family and I said a thank you prayer. I am so thankful that I can pray to Heavenly Father whenever I need help.

Here's a picture of the inside of the boat after most of the water drained out.

School on Wheels

Here's a recent idea I had.

Are any of you like me and spending A LOT of time in your car? Even using Dallin H. Oaks' "Good, Better, Best" guide, I still spend a lot of time running around doing the things our family has deemed "Best" activities (school, cub scouts, activity days, piano lessons). At $125 a week (that's my weekly gas bill now!), I felt prompted to start spending that car time a lot more wisely. Thus, I came up with "school on wheels." I purchased several different levels of flashcards (to accommodate the different math skills of my 4 children), I checked out from the library Spanish CDs, and printed off spelling words. All these things fit nicely inside the center console next to the driver's seat. Now, whenever we head out I can just grab one of our little tasks and not feel so guilty about all that time, and money, we're spending on the road.

The Recap Post

I was taking pictures yesterday of the kids and noticed I seriously needed to download some pictures to free up some memory on my camera. So, here's some downloads AND a recap of what our family has been up to:

Nicholas turned 9 years old! Happy late birthday my sweet oldest son.

He had his party at Laser Quest. Here's a picture of Nick with his buddies.

For Memorial Day, we put on matching flag shirts and headed out to our church's Memorial Day Breakfast and Flag Ceremony. It was a great activity and a great way to remember the reason for the holiday. We then headed to the lake. Sorry, I forgot my camera but it was very fun (and a little chilly!)

I made these cute "Be Boards." One for the boys' room and one for the girls' room (I'm so thankful for the invention of vinyl lettering!!!)

Lastly, we got free tickets to a new indoor waterpark in our area. It was a blast! But, we missed Andrew, who was out of town for work (oh, I think I forgot to post that Andrew started a new job!) and Ally, who refused to miss school (she's striving for the Perfect Attendance Award - did I seriously raise this child?!?) Thanks Rebecca and Devon!!!