Offutt Air Force Base- Air Show Aug. 27, 2011

Preparation Days are so much fun!!!

I love hanging out with my boys.

Back to School

Matt is a freshman in high school.
How can that be?

He's funny, 

kind, 

happy, 

creative, 

and a pure joy to have around.

July and August Trail Center Run 2011

On your mark...get set...GO!

On your mark...get set...GO!

Hot, sweaty and happy!

Great job to all!

August Farewell

Goodbye to our wonderful young missionaries.

Our prayers go with you
as well as our hopes that all your dreams will come true.

Memory Lane

Do you remember wishing that Miss Nancy

would see you through her Magic Mirror

on Romper Room?

Or that Sheriff John would sing the Birthday Song to you?

Do you remember Captain Kangaroo,

Dancing Bear, Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Moose and 

Mr. Greenjeans?

Do you remember how Mr. Moose could make pingpong balls 

fall from the ceiling all over the Captain

and Bunny Rabbit knocked his head on the table

when he wanted carrots?

Do you remember the theme song to Felix the Cat?

"Felix the cat, the wonderful, wonderful cat.

When ever he gets in a fix

he reaches into his bag of tricks.

Felix the cat, the wonderful, wonderful cat.

You laugh so hard, your sides will ache,

your heart will go pitter-pat,

watching Felix, the wonderful cat!

(I can still remember every word, along with the melody!)

Or Rockie and Bullwinkle who never seemed 

to get the best of Boris and Natasha?

If you remember these classics, 

you are a child of the 50's and 60's.

What a time of innocence that was.
I wish those days back again
for the children of today.

August Sky

Because the land is so flat here in Nebraska

we are treated to the most dazzling skies

and lovely sunsets. 

The pioneers saw these same beautiful skies
and I'm sure their thoughts, as do mine,
turned to the majesty of this world's creator.
Surely the Lord wanted us to marvel at the beauty prepared for us
and remember it was all done out of love.
Everything He did was a testimony of His love
and the love of His Father for us, His children.
I'm sure these lovely skies gave those pioneers hope
and courage to carry on.
Kind of like a letter from home saying:
I'm close by,  I love you,  I will never leave you.
We will make this journey together.

The City of Joseph Aug. 1, 2011

Matthew attended EFY in Nauvoo this summer.

The only problem was getting him there.

As a Mission President's wife I had to have permission

to leave our mission boundaries.

It would be a very quick trip

but I was thrilled because Sarah decided to come with me.

After Matthew checked in
we raced over to attend an early session at the Temple.
What a blessing that was for me
to be there with my sweet daughter.

Then we spent the day

  visiting as many wonderful things as we could:

the pioneer displays,

a couple toe-tapping shows,

the gorgeous flowers,

 and of course all the historic buildings

Our trip ended too soon,

and with a fond farewell,

we said good bye to the beautiful 

City of Joseph.

But,

I was blessed to spend a perfect day with my

darling daughter.

I think we talked enough to make up for the time

we missed during her mission.
How I love my beautiful girl.

Who Needs Animals? July 27, 2011

One of the first things Sarah wanted to do

was to go to the zoo,

 (of course).

It is so wonderful having her home

and back together with her brothers

that I spent the whole time taking pictures

of them...

at the aquarium,

at the Madagascar Bridge,

during the penguin workshop,

at the gorilla house and

all the way home again.

I'm thinking that I can still post group pictures of missionaries

but just not names or locations...

What do you think of that idea?

Or am I rationalizing?

A Quick Trip Home July 21, 2011

I had the opportunity to make a fast trip to Utah

with a wonderful Sister Missionary who was going home.

With just a few hours before my flight back,

my family planned a breakfast

so that I could see as many as possible.

It was so good to see all their dear faces...

my wonderful father,

my sweet mom,

David and his family,

lots of nieces and nephews,

several of my darling sisters,

and my precious grand-baby.

Way too short a visit, but such a tender mercy.

How I love all these people!

Great Platte River-Road Archway July 20, 2011

Every time we drive to Kearney for Zone Conference or training

we drive under this wonderful museum
that passes over route 80.

We finally took the time to visit
and loved it.

It is self guided, using earphones and 

as you walk across the archway you travel through Nebraska history,

including the Mormon Pioneer period.

A beautiful mural of the state's history finishes the tour.

This is the little slice of history we are so proud of

and feel so connected to, here in the mission.

These were wonderful men and women, 

who set a pattern of sacrifice and faith.

A Visit with Stacey and Carolyn July 2011

My sweet baby sister, Stacey, 

and her daughter, Carolyn, came for a summer visit.
How fun!
We picked them up at the airport and went straight to Omaha
to see the First National Bank's 'Pioneer Courage Memorial'.
This time we followed it through Omaha to all the wildlife statues.

The artist wanted to symbolize that the animals were here long before man

and so they run through buildings and land in fountains.

It really is a wonderful!

Then we hit the city slides.  

Even the 'grown-ups' couldn't pass this up.

Carolyn loved the zoo, especially the aquarium.

Dan and Matt came to the zoo with us.
They can't ever pass up the chance.

Carolyn is a little camera shy

but otherwise that she is a bright, happy, talkative little girl.

We really enjoyed getting to know her.

And last but not least, 

Stacey got to visit her dear friend, Gene,

who she worked with many years ago

when Curtis was in dental school.

They had so much fun reminiscing.

Gene lives very close to us and we have had him over

several times since meeting him.

He is a wonderful gentleman and he sure thinks the world of Stacey.

Anyway...

the visit ended too soon 

and it was several days before we quit missing

Carolyn's little voice.