EFY for Emma

Emma loved EFY and we were so glad!  We had always talked about sending her to BYU for her first time at EFY, but then we found out that a lot of kids from our stake go up to Tacoma and love it, so that’s where she ended up going.  She roomed with her friend Ashley Leptich and they had a great time together.  I loved getting texts from her saying how awesome everything was, especially when she learned something new in a class or when she was touched by something.  And I got a few pictures texts (from Ashley’s phone) like when she was all ready for a dance.

This text totally made me happy.  She ran into our old friend Jane Robinson.  These girls hadn’t been together since Emma was in kindergarten.  They had fun catching up and I can’t believe they even recognized each other!

She liked her company, the Receiver Believers, and she made new friends.

Best of all, she strengthened her testimony and learned new things.  Success!

Her siblings and her cousins were so excited to welcome her home.

They worked hard on these cute welcome home signs.

They even made up a cheer for her!

We were all glad to have Emma home, but even happier that she came home ready to be Anxiously Engaged in the gospel.

Cast Off, Grilled Cheese Grill, OMSI & Cousin Sleepover

The next morning Isaac got his cast off.  Wahoo! 

Like I said in a previous post, he told Ryder all about how the saw worked. 

After that happy occasion we met up with the rest of the family for lunch at Grilled Cheese Grill in SE Portland.  David and Lesli and their family had gotten into town from Texas the night before so now it was an even bigger cousin party!

Oh man that bus was so hot!  The adults all ate outside, but the kids love that double decker bus and didn’t mind the heat.

Hot or not, those grilled cheese sandwiches are good!

After lunch we headed to OMSI to play.  I really thought Isaac would love the dinosaur exhibit.  Wrong!  He was terrified and Granny had to take him through quickly to the end.  Poor kid!  The others seemed to enjoy it!

We had all sorts of OMSI fun.

But I think the favorite activity at OMSI was going up and down the elevator.

They did it too many times to count.  Silly kids.

Avery and Ashlyn went home with us for a sleepover.  7-Eleven had free Slurpees that day (in honor of July 11th) so I had promised the kids we would stop on the way home.  Oops, the free Slurpees were done at 7:00 and it was past that time, so I had to stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream cones instead.  Darn!

 

Isaac had been bummed that he couldn’t spend the night with the boys.  He got over it pretty quick, especially when the girls looked over the new Lego magazine with him.

These three girls were super silly that night and didn’t go to sleep until really late, but I loved seeing them sleep together in the playroom.  Cousin time is the best!  Isaac was smart to sleep in his room though…

Pedicures for Mom’s Birthday

My wonderful mom had a birthday and so my sisters and I took her to get pedicures to celebrate.  We missed Tenley and Lesli but still managed to have a good time!  We also went to Thai food for lunch, yum!  We love you mom and are so blessed to have you.  What a fun day that was.

Ryder spent the night that night.  These kids had their hearts set on going to Dollar Tree to spend some of their own money.  Oh how I dislike them buying things at Dollar Tree!  I think I finally convinced them of my way of thinking when everything they bought broke that night!  Oh well, it was still fun to shop and pick things out.   They were so excited about it.

We also went to the library to watch a movie.  Meet the Robinson’s is one of my favorites, but I was lucky enough to get a comfy chair and read my book through the whole movie.  I think I liked that even better!

This is the scene I found when I checked on the kiddos that night.  Cute cousins!

Aerial Tram, Grant Park, and Salt & Straw

Kristin, Meredith & Molly went to the zoo the day after we went to Sauvie Island.  We didn’t join them because it was the cheap day at the zoo and I don’t like how crazy busy it usually is on that day, plus I needed a quiet day at home to catch up.  I was fine with that and I don’t think Isaac and Grace even realized what they were missing!  But the fun continued the next day when we all went on the OHSU aerial tram.  How cute are these cousins waiting for the tram?

It was a pretty day in Portland so we had great views on the way up.

We hung out on the observation deck for awhile.  It’s fun to see the Evans and McGuire grandkids together!  Too bad we were missing Emma.

We were there at just the right time because Lee was going on a break from his clinical at the VA.  He ran down to see us really quick.  It’s always good to see Daddy!

Then we rode the tram back down, again with pretty views.

After the tram we drove over to Grant Park.  It is such a beautiful park that we hadn’t been to since the twins were babies.  It is the neighborhood where Beverly Cleary grew up and where she based the Ramona books.  We didn’t do the walking tour this time but I pointed out a few landmarks I remembered to Isaac and Grace.  The kids played in the splash pad around the Beverley Cleary statues, made a gimp craft, and played at the playground together while the mom’s and grandma sat and talked.  It was great!

The best part of the day may have been watching Kristin and Molly play tetherball….

Never mind, the best part of the day was actually when we stopped at Salt & Straw for ice cream before we headed home.  Such yummy ice cream!

Isaac is the messiest ice cream eater ever…

Perfect way to end a fun day. 

Good thing it was so fun because the traffic on the drive home was terrible!