Good-bye to Gary King

Gary King has worked at the firm for several years and he has decided to retire.  They had a party for him at work and Taylor got a painting done for Gary to put up in his man cave/den at home. He is such a great asset to the firm and a great friend, he will be missed! 

Grandma and Grandpa's again

 Are we lucky or what? We got to go to Grandma and Grandpa's again. Not a lot of pictures of all the fun this time, but we nagged a few. Love all of the moments and memories we get to make there! 

Fancy Sunday Dinner

 The kids have been enjoying doing Fancy Sunday dinners. This week they decorated the table with the Hawaiin theme. I can't remember what we fixed to eat, but it was another yummy one :) 

Another week Ellanor wanted to make these rolls. They are Japanese pineapple buns (delicious I might add) and that gave us the theme for that night's Fancy Sunday dinner. We had fried rice and potstickers. Again the kids decorated the table with the theme. They even utilized the bamboo from the backyard. 

Virtual Girls Camp- Go and Do with Grace and Grit

 We really wanted to still have a girls camp experience for the girls in our ward since the in-person camp was canceled. We decided to keep the theme that it was going to have, which was Step it Up, Go and Do. And we were assigned the ballet slipper as our shoe and the color red. (each ward was assigned a different shoe and color). We took the theme a bit further to zone in on our shoe. We added Step it Up, Go and Do with Grace and Grit. Each of the girls got a little camp kit that had treats that counted down to camp. And they also had all of the supplies to make themselves a red ballet tutu. We all logged on in the morning and had lessons, did crafts, and played games. Each of the girls also received a special and unique lunch of things that they love. We logged off so everyone could have a break and eat dinner together with their families and then got back on again in the evening to have a message from Bishop. It was not the same as being together for days at camp, but it was a special experience and I think the girls and leaders really enjoyed it. Technology is such a blessing that we were still able to connect. 

4th of July with Grandma and Grandpa

 We stayed a bit longer to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa for the 4th of July. Grandma helped the kids make lots of fun and festive cookies. We made paper lantern decorations for the table and a flag cake and a new one this year...stained glass jello. We played crochet, swam, and watched fireworks. Another fun-filled day! We love being able to celebrate with family. So very grateful for our country and the freedoms that we have. 

Mele Kalikimaka

 Grandma and Grandpa were able to get in their trip to Hawaii right before the shutdown and they brought back some fun things with them for everyone. So it was very fitting that our Christmas in July celebration (even though we did it in June this year) was themed Mele Kalikimaka. :) We had a tropical celebration. We decorated the tree with ornaments that the kids made of sea creatures and bright colors. Everyone had flower leis. All of the boys got a t-shirt from the islands and the girls got a cute pineapple backpack with a fancy coin purse and flower bracelet. Of course, the kids decorated the giant gingerbread cookies. And this year they went along with the theme and made a hula girl and Maui. Alison brought up her fun backdrop to play around with and it was a lot of fun. And coupled with Grandma and Grandpa's backyard, made for some amazing tropical Christmas photos. We played fun games together in the evening out on the basketball court. Lots of laughter and memories :) 

The days to follow were filled with just as much fun. Basketball, volleyball, watermelon football in the pool, naps on the patio, legion games, and of course...grandma's mint brownies!!! And to finish up the week we were able to celebrate Adelaide's Birthday. 

Gordon and Legion

 Gordon has really gotten into a new game called Legion. He bought the core set of the game to get started and has really made it his hobby. He has hand-painted all the characters and created different terrain for the game board. He has such an eye for these things and he is so creative. It has been a lot of fun to see him develop this skill and talent.