National Elvis Week

Yes, it has been a holiday at our house.......well at least for Mike. August 9th started off National Elvis Week. And as those of you know...Mike is a HUGE Elvis fan. Here is a picture of her holding some of her favorite Elvis memorabilia. And let me tell you, this is a small portion of her Elvis collection. She has Elvis calendars, blankets, board games, books, cards, posters, pez dispensers, Movies, CD's, tapes, purses, material, music box, and guitar picks......and many many more things. Mike has been a fan of Elvis ever since about 1st grade. How she became a fan, we are not sure and she can't remember either how it all got started but she is a big fan. Here she is with her prize possession...her Elvis belt buckle. This buckle usually only comes out during National Elvis Week. Help her to celebrate National Elvis Day, which is August 16th. (The day he died) by visiting her favorite Elvis website at http://www.elvis.com/ .

Signs of- "THE END OF SUMMER!"

Yes, the signs are all over for me that summer is coming to and end! It is so sad to see the time go. Summer is such a wonderful time yet it goes all to fast. I guess that is what makes it so special though is that you have to cherish it while it is here because you know it will be gone soon! Here are a few of the signs that I have been seeing. My garden, yea now there is a big sign. Here is the Squash, pumpkin and tomato plants flourishing massively. Notice my peas are gone, they had their season along with the radishes, turnips and cilantro. My strawberry's struggled due to the little birdies that guarded over the garden. Sneaky little things.




Another Sign is all the vegetables that are rapidly producing in the garden. We have been living off of spaghetti squash and crookneck squash. But hey with the prices of grocery's lately it has been nice. I have also enjoyed my green peppers and cucumbers in my salads and Jalapenos for salsa.



Another Sign is that my flowers in my front mound are finally starting to grow. They finally look they they aren't still in their pony packs. This is in an area where the weeds will not grow either! We h ave landscaping issues here!




My bushes in the back are doing really well and spreading.




My Hens and Chicks (which my kids call "hens and chickens and chickens and eggs") have done really well and are spreading.




And of course a great sign is my garden gloves. They are worn and well used by this time of year!




Another bitter sweet sign is the ending of Me and Mike doing K&J window washing together. During the summer it becomes J & M window washing. Good little job for mike while it helps out Kurtis during his busy year. We are required to do Top Stops windows once every two weeks throughout the year. For those of you on the list for windows, please be patient. We are getting there! We had a crazy summer with softball, then when Kurtis found the time of course the threatening of rain decided to come. Yes another sign of summer ending. Doesn't Mike looked thrilled..hahahah.





A huge sign is when your are getting close to the calendar date marked "School Starts"





And Always, when the county fair comes you know that end of summer is here! But it is always fun to go see the animals, exhibits and entertainment.




My favorite entertainment this year was the Demolitions Derby. I think it was a great derby this year. Here are some of my favorite photos I shot.


And always at the derby I am a widowed, the fire department is there to assist with any fires which means Kurtis is out there and I am sitting alone with the family. But this year Kim Howard and her family sat with us. She is also a fire department widow. But we are thankful for our men doing their job.


Here is Kurtis helping out on a couple of fires that happened. He is the one in the red hat.





The kids enjoyed the Demolition Derby.





But the best entertainment was my great Nephew Triston who treated us with his awesome dance abilities while the music was playing. Let me tell you, if you want some dance lessons...this is the boy to come to. What a cutie he is!



But there you go, the end of summer is coming and there is no stopping it. I guess we just go with the flow and look forward to next summer. This summer was filled with some great memories! And now we can move on to the next stage in life......FALL!

Are our Kids Safe?

That's the question I have been asking myself all night. Was Sam safe coming home from Young Women's, was she in danger when the boys pulled up to them and got out of their truck? Or was it a harmless prank gone to far to scare three girls? Last night was a night of no sleep for me as I pondered every possibility that could have happened. So, let me go back to the beginning. Sam and two other young women were leaving the church after their Young Women's activity when a truck filled with 3 -4 boys that had been playing basket ball in the gym (with tattoos, piercings and no shirts) pulled up near them in a truck. The boys got out of their truck and started heading toward Sam and the other two girls. Sam started to get a little nervous, so did one of the other girls. So Sam and one of the girls felt threatened and ran back into the church and hid. The other girl stood there not sure what to do. They boys approached her and told her to get into their truck. She then ran off and back into the church. As she was heading back into the church they yelled something to the effect that they were going to come after them. The girls were scared and found some other young women to walk home with not thinking they could have got the bishopric out of their meeting. So they walked home in a group. When Sam got home I could tell something was bothering her but didn't think much of it until she flat out said to me "We about got kidnapped tonight" . Now that caught my attention. We talked about what happened and when I asked her if she would tell this to the cops she replied "yes". That's when I knew it was something to be concerned about. Normally Sam doesn't like to talk to other people like that, but she was willing. So we had an officer come up and take a report with one of the other girls giving her report also. We'll see what happens from here. It may have been boys (ages ranging from 16-22 by the girls description) just playing around, but the fact of the matter is....THE GIRLS WERE SCARED! Which as I said raises the questions in my mind of all the things that could have happened. And yet I am thankful that they didn't. I will for now on though be taking and picking up my girls for Young Women's. Call me over protective, but better to be safe then sorry.

Back from EFY

Yip, we got Mike back from EFY. I know she had a great time there cuz thats all she has talked about since she got home. That is when we get a chance to talk to her. She has been on the phone since she got home with one of the boys that she met up there. Jeez...guess she didn't miss us to much. HAHAHAHAH

A few friends she made

Spoiled at Girls Camp

Sam made it home from girls camp. She said she had a great time. Some girls camp though......look what they got to stay in. Spoiled! What happened to tents? hahahaha

She said it was so beautiful up there. The pictures didn't do it justice.

Here are her bunks. She slept on the top.

Doesn't take long for girls to make messes does it?

This is the lake where Sam went canoeing. Sam said it was fun, scary and hard. But she thought it was an amazing experience.

They had to do all their cleanup before they left. No spot could be left behind. Major cleanup. Wish I could get that kind of help at home. Hahahah. (in my dreams)

But, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about girls camp from Sam. She said she had such a great time and that her testimony grew so much up there. That was so nice to hear! But you know, my house has been so clean while Sam and Mike were gone. Now that Sam is home it is messy already. Suitcases and bags spread out all over. I can't get her to pick them up. Then we have to go through this with Mike tomorrow. Maybe next year I will send them to a cleaning camp. HAHAHAH