Jerry and Cathy
Kamas, Washington
At the start of summer Cathy and Nicole went to watch Kim perform in a play at her school. It was so much fun to watch Kim doing what she loves- Singing and Acting. You were AWESOME Kimi!! We loved the scenery on our hike around the lake as Alison swam across the lake to train for a mini triathalon. Congrats Alison!
It was a short stay, but we are so glad that we went.
Pioneer Trek
In June we went on our Stake Pioneer Trek. Cathy and Jerry were ma and pa to 11 children. Our 1st day we pulled handcarts all day and experienced an amazing women's pull. After 13 miles we arrived at our first camp at 12:30am in the dark. The 2nd day we pulled handcarts for 3 miles to our next camp. We played pioneer games and had a hoe down. The 3rd day we pulled handcarts 6 miles to our camp. It was a spiritual day with solo time and amazing trek family testimony meetings. The last day we pulled handcarts 4 miles to complete our trek. Our family was amazing. They didn't complain once and were so willing to do their best. It was hard, it was hot, we walked and walked and pulled handcarts up and down steep trails, but we never felt like we couldn’t do it. Heavenly Father was watching over us and helped us through our journey on trek. The youth came home with a greater appreciation for our pioneer ancestors and learned some great life lessons. Nicole wanted to stay longer. She loved it!!!!!!!!!! Her favorite day was the 1st day which was the hardest day!! It’s amazing what we can do when we have faith in the Lord and put forth the effort required. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each of us and are there to help us along the way.
Lake Powell
In July, Paul and Nadine Craig invited us to Lake Powell once again. All of their children except Matt went this year. Matt is serving in the Mesa Arizona Mission. This year felt a little different because Brayden and Nicole weren't with us. Nicole was at EFY that week and as you know Brayden is serving in the Washington DC North Mission. Nicole was a little sad but loved her experience at EFY. Camron and Whitney were able to come with us and we were so happy to have them there. It was a perfect week. The nights were nice and cool for sleeping and the days weren't too hot.
Jerry surfing
Cam on the sky ski
We had the perfect spot to spend the week
Jerry w/Puff the Dragon
Cathy learning to surf
Cam's catch of the day
Whitney going off the slide
10K Run and Texas
Jerry and Whitney ran the 10K in Salt Lake on July 24th so Jerry joined us in Texas a few days later. They started at Research Park by the UofU and ended at Liberty Park in SLC. Jerry ran the 10K in 57 minutes and Whitney ran it in 51 minutes. We are so proud of them.
Jerry and Whitney
What a fun week in Texas with Jay and Tracy and family! It was warm and sunny all week and we swam every day. Since it was the 24th of July week their ward had a Handcart Days celebration at one of the member's home so we went and enjoyed a picnic and visited with their ward members. The week went way too fast! Thanks Jay and Tracy for letting us come and play with you for the week. We had so much fun. Here are some pic's at their pool:
Jayme and Uncle Jerry playing around
Andie, Bryan, Jerry, and Jay jumping off the rocks
Bryan, Jayme, and Andie playing with Uncle Jerry
Andie is explaining her swimming skills to Nicole.
Hawaii
A few days after we got home from Texas we packed our suitcases and headed to Waikiki Beach for a few days. Jerry had work to do so Cathy and Nicole decided we needed to relax at the beach and do a little shopping. We stayed in downtown Waikiki. The beach was across the street and shopping all around us. The weather was perfect as always.
Jerry and Nicole on our balcony
Cheescake Factory was right across the street from our hotel so we enjoyed a few meals there. Yummy!
Cathy and Nicole at Waikiki Beach. By the way, Nicole meant to close her eyes for the picture! Really!
Girls Camp
So the week after we got home from Hawaii it was time for Girls Camp. We went to Piuta. Nicole was a YCL this year so she stayed up at the Lodge with the Stake Leaders. Our ward had 15 girls go this year which is doubled from last year. The weather was cooler than normal and it rained off an on, but we still were able to do everything as planned. We had some neat experiences during the week with the young women. They are so amazing! I learn so much from each of them. The last night was testimony meeting and Jerry came up and stayed that night. After testimony meeting we played a game called "The Adams Family." The girls haven't stopped talking about Bishop Allen's contribution to the game. Yes, Jerry was one of the HIGHLIGHTS of girls camp. You will have to ask Jerry about his dance moves.
This is a picture of our our cabin beautifully decorated on the outside!
San Francisco
After a week long recovery from Girl's Camp we headed to San Francisco for a couple of days. Jerry had to go for work so of course Cathy and Nicole thought it would be a great place to do some school shopping. We flew into Sacramento Airport because all the flights were full everywhere else. We rented a car and drove down to San Francisco. Jerry worked all day so Cathy and Nicole took the rental car and went shopping. Good thing we had our trusty GPS with us or we would have been lost for sure. Marshall's is one of our favorite stores to shop at so we found just about every Marshall's in the the San Francisco area. We also found an outlet mall along the way. We shopped until we dropped. After dinner at Chili's we came back to the Hotel to take inventory of our bargain shopping treasures, then we relaxed and watched the Olympics. This was a short trip but was worth it!!
