Ethan's Play

I have always said that Ethan would make a good actor. He is so dramatic, and has us in stitches most of the time.

When the opportunity came up for him to be in a play, we jumped on it. Every summer our local Arts Association sponsors Prairie Fire Children's Theater which essentially comes in with two people who not only direct the whole play, but act in it as well. It all takes place in one week (5 days, actually). Monday, they have tryouts and cast the play. Tuesday they go over all the parts. Wednesday and Thursday they have run-throughs and a dress rehearsal, and Friday they perform!

The play was Tom Sawyer, with a few major changes. Ethan was cast as a 'townie' and had to dress as properly as they would in Tom Sawyer's day. 

That's Ethan in the middle pointing at someone. 

 The entire cast...

 The play was great. Ethan had a blast and it was a terrific birthday treat for me to watch him perform.  And we're still singing some of the catchy songs from it!

 

It finally happened! -- Alex's Eagle Scout Project

Alex has been in Boy Scouts now for 5 years, and has been working towards getting his Eagle Scout.

After a lot of preparation, planning, begging, praying, coercing and whatever else it took, he got his Eagle project done!

His project was to tear out some old dangerous stairs at our local state park, Hayes Lake, and put some pine branches down to prevent erosion.

 

Here is all the wood they tore out,

and what it looked like after the stairs were

removed.

 Adding the branches.

He also replaced the tops of a number of benches on the walking trails with new wood.

He had help from a few scouts, leaders and family members. Lots of snacks and food helped with the motivation.

Mom and Dad couldn't be more proud of him and happy he won't lose his driving privileges over it! Now on to the Eagle award.

Alex Had a Birthday!

Seventeen years ago this dude was born!  All 8 pounds 10.5 ounces of him. 

That was a joyous day - he was such a blessing in our family, and is still today.

His Grandma and Grandpa Israelsen were there the day he was born, and here is Alex with Grandma 17 years later.

When Alex was younger, Grandpa used to take him over his knee and give him birthday spankings to make up for not being there on his birthday. He also always had to check for frog hair in Alex's ears, and would tell him he was 'full of frog hair'.

 See that awesome smile?  I think it's the best smile I've ever seen - and sometimes I still catch a glimpse of it.

Alex wasn't here on his birthday to celebrate since he was on pioneer trek, but when he got home we had a party in which he got gifts fit for a cowboy: a hat and shirts....reminds me of the very first man in my life.

He also got a camo backpack with a quiver for bow hunting, and this cool cake (which Olivia got to before the picture) that Elder Maylett helped design and couldn't help eat because the kids got home too late from trek that night.

Happy birthday to this awesome guy - we love you Alex!  Thanks for making life full of laughter and excitement.

Olivia turned 5!

So this cutie had a birthday!

Bet you can't guess how old she turned...

or what her favorite movie is!

  

 Her talented sister Lilly decorated her cake for her this year.

 And some of her friends were able to share her day with her

and us.

 

Olivia got some appropriate presents, like an Elsa doll, sweatshirt, pajamas, and a special Frozen treasure box (from Lilly). Eli was thrilled!

Her eyes lit up when she saw this present -- her very own bike that wasn't ten years old and falling apart!  

And the night ended with ice cream and Elsa cake, a perfect birthday!

Olivia, you're the best - we love you to pieces!

Lilly's Mission Call!

It really happened!  After all these months of talking and preparation and paperwork and shopping and guessing where she'd go, this amazing girl got her mission call!

As her Dad is the Branch President, one of the perks was that we were able to track the progress of the call after it was submitted.  We were expecting it this past week on possibly Thursday or soon thereafter.  It didn't come that day or Friday, so we were pretty sure it would be Saturday.  After a few trips to the mailbox, Ethan came home and said, "Start inviting people over!"  And there it was.

It was so tempting - probably more so for us than for Lilly.  We tried to get her to just open it right then, but after seeing her Dad holding it up to the light, she promptly hid it from all of us.

 

Lilly wanted to invite a few friends over, so we planned to open it at 7 p.m. around the campfire.

I had prepared myself, I thought, for her to go anywhere in the world, but as you can hear from my reaction in the video as she read where she would serve, I apparently hadn't considered THAT place!

Oh my goodness!  I think I'm still in shock - not only for where she's going, but for what her primary assignment is!  She has felt led to get her RN, and now she realizes how the Lord knows us each individually, what our talents are, and where we are needed and can use those talents.  She was hoping to speak Spanish and go on a foreign mission, and hardly dared hope to think she may get all three of her desires in one mission! 

 

There was lots of congratulations and hugging and smiling.  Then I had to text some friends who were waiting on pins and needles to hear where she was going.

 

After she submitted her paperwork, but before her call arrived, we had a contest to see if anyone could guess where she was going.  We had our entire map filled with guesses, but here is the one that won:

That Mel Gunnell must have a sixth sense when it comes to these things!

 

Lilly is busy now completing all the things she has to do before she leaves on Oct. 28th like getting a passport, some more immunizations, Spanish scriptures, flea repellent (thanks Heidi!), etc.

 

And I am just trying to figure out what reality is going to be without her.

Olivia, in her sweet 5 year-old mind, is just beginning to get an understanding that Lilly's not going to be here for a long time.  She has already shed some tears since then.

Oh we love that Lilly so!



Gunnells!!

How could we get so close to Boise and not find a way to see our beloved Gunnells?  We simply couldn't, so we found a way, even if it was just for a couple days.

Mel and the kiddos drove up to the cabin to meet up with us after what seemed like a lot more than a year since we last saw them.

The kids picked up right where they left off, all except Olivia and Cam - who took a few seconds to remember each other, but after that they were great.

We had a great time on the zipline,

 

hiking to the spring,

 

 

 

 

 

shivering through Minnetonka cave (in spite of the 16 year-old power-hungry, very dry-humored tour guide), and a husband who couldn't resist annoying him,

 

and we found the perfect beach at Bear Lake for the littles (and the bigs) with a shallow area leading out to a sandbar. 

 

 

 

 

 

And don't forget the amazing food Mel prepared for us - I even got a recipe from her before she posted it on her famous cooking blog - the perks of friendship. ;)
We even found time to play kickball - just like old times, except we didn't divide by families.  I think the Gunnells were afraid because Brian wasn't there to help them win.  That's ok - that just means we'll have to do it again another time.

 

 

 

The little kiddos that didn't play kickball enjoyed the swing and a tickle game invented by Mel.

 

 

 

Mel and I are going to have to find a way to get together sometime so we can get in some serious catch-up chatting in.  Not much of that took place this time as we were way too exhausted and fell asleep with our kids.

We love these guys - can't wait to see you again!