The girls got back from Girls camp and had a great time. I am so grateful for the good leaders in our ward. I am also very proud that Jacinda stayed the whole time and was able to manage her anxiety. That is a huge step. Here are the girls just before leaving. They had to say their “goodbyes” to Fozzie since they would be gone for a whole week. Seth and Teagan also are saying their “goodbyes” to the girls.
Had a great time in California visiting
Chris and Tricia. On the way down we stopped in Parawon and visited uncle
Gary and Aunt Jacque. It was so fun to hear their missionary stories about
South Africa and Prince Edward Island. I could tell they really loved serving
in these different areas. Jacque is such a lively person. It is always so fun to hear her talk.
Especially when Gary is sitting next to her. She likes to brag about Gary and
all the things that he did as a young boy. One story was about Gary finding
some paint in his neighbor’s garage and then painting his driveway. After she tells the story, she turns to Gary
and asks him to verify it. Gary and just looks at her with his eyes wide open
and shakes his head and smiles with embarrassment. It is fun to be with
them. They are a great couple.
Our next stop was Grandma Grandpa
Butterfield's house. That was a neat experience because I got to sit with Papa
John and listen to his stories about the Vietnam war and the approach, he takes
to teach art to his students. He does
not make them memorize dates, paintings, and artists. Instead, he shows how the artistic behavior
was derived from the cultural events of the time. It was fun to hear him speak about the things
of interest to him. Tim got to play the piano for Tracy, his sister, and his
mom and they enjoyed it thoroughly. Tracy really responded and was touched by
the hymns Tim played. The kids loved
playing with Chico, the dog. They were
going through Fozzie withdrawals.
The next stop was Chris and Tricia house. We arrived at 1:00 in the morning and went straight to bed.
Later that morning, it was so fun to visit
with them and spend time with them. We went to a train museum, the Mormon Battalion
visitor center, Handel’s ice cream, and had lots of beach time. We stopped at
parlor donuts for some gourmet goodies.
We also went to the Rip Curl outlet to buy some clothing to remember our
trip. Tim got stung by a stingray at the beach. The lifeguard gave him a hot
pack for his sting, but the hot pack wasn't as hot as the sand, so Tim just
stuck his foot in the sand to break up the toxins.
We brought a raft to the ocean. It is a riot riding the waves and trying not
to tip. We enjoyed lots of boogie
boarding and skim boarding. I also got
to read a little bit in the California sun and the kids got to fish and caught
some thorny back rays.
The kids filled up a gallon jug with
shells. On the way home, the shells
smelled so bad, we had to tie them to our car’s back door. We also stopped in Vegas and said hi to
Xavius. He brought out gummies to share
with everyone. My kids love gummies.
