Daybook 7-29-15

Outside My Window...

It's hot.  We love watching the little squirrels that live in the trees outside our window.  They're probably asleep right now though.

I am Thankful...
for Jesus Christ and His love.

I am Thinking About...
community involvement.  I went to the Neighborhood association picnic tonight with the kids. It's fun to find new ways to be involved and reach out to people. 

Notes About School...
The boys do some kind of work almost daily to keep up their skills.  We do lots of reading as always.

From the Kitchen...
I'm doing the 21 Day Fix and I really love it.  I love changing habits and feeling healthier. I've done clean eating challenges before but this one is helpful with portions and eating small meals during the day.  My new favorite is peanut butter that I grind at the store.  It feels great to give my kids peanut butter that is just peanuts.

I am Creating...
Crafting and decorating and home projects are on hold.  We were going full steam ahead and need a small break. :)  We've still got to put the baseboards on where the floors were redone. 

I am Working On...
keeping my morning routine of scriptures, yoga and exercise a habit.

I am Reading...
Balancing it All by Candance Cameron Bure.

I am Praying...
for my brother.

I am Struggling...
with realizing that there are changes happening in the world today and I just have to remember that the Lord's in charge and His plan will bring true happiness, even if the world seems pretty crazy.

I am Hearing...
the AC unit--thank you Alan!

Around the House...
I'm watching for the tooth fairy to see if I can catch her getting Max's tooth.

One of my Favorite Things...
swimming.  We spend a lot of our time swimming and I love it. .

A Few Plans for the Next Week...
Pray, serve, swim.

A Swashbuckling Good Time with the Mays

Tony's cousins had a reunion and since the Western Washington cousins were hosting, they invited us to come along for the ride.  It was a pirate theme and it was a blast.  I will be pilfering more pictures as cousins post them online. Arrgh!  But for now, here are the group shots!

There were treasure hunts!

Pirate tales! 

Pirate Goldfish bingo!

One day was rainy but we still ventured to the beach because we're pirates!

Beth wrote this is the sand! Awww

People walking llamas on the beach.  Random, but we like random.

Beth got teased for the love message so the kids changed it to this.  Ely is in the front of the picture below and the back of the picture after that.  He wandered off to write Maykids VERSUS Epperson, haha!

Digging for treasures!  Arrghh, thar be gold!

A pirate feast! 

Very pirate-y games!

A stroll to see the sunset!  There were more than us but just a few of us took couple shots.

On Saturday we cleaned the beach house and some headed to Mt. St. Helens on their way to Oregon and those of us not traveling so far headed to Ocean Shores for some more beach time.

And we bought shark toys at Sharkeys.  

It was a lot of fun.  Tony got to go fishing and I got to play Nerts and Telestrations!  Thanks again Maykids!

Cub Day Camp

Max had such a fun time at his first cub scout day camp.  I got to be a walking parent one of the days and took some pics and videos.  The theme was Cubs in Shining Armor and the first day's craft was this awesome horn that lives outside.

This was a fun game of throwing sheep, pigs and chicken and trying to wake the "dragon".

Max loved archery.

14 fun boys

Cooking class--pudding in a bag

BB guns

Missionary Devotionals

One of my favorite Sunday activities is going to Missionary Devotionals.  The Washington Federal Way mission holds missionary devotionals every third Sunday of the month.  People share testimonies and speak on truths of the gospel.  It's fun to go with friends and see missionaries who have transferred out of our ward.

I heard this song at the devotional this past month and it's a favorite. :)

Driving Down Memory Lane--Showing the kids my pre-Tony Tacoma favorites

When I researched grad schools, the University of Washington had the 3rd ranked Master of Social Work program.  The other two schools were east coast schools and I didn't want to move to the east.  At the same time I was praying about going to school at UW, my best friend was praying about getting her doctorate in Physical Therapy at the University of Puget Sound.  What?  Could we be roommates again (after 4 years at BYU)?  It was meant to be.  She found a house that was only looking for one more woman to rent, but we asked if we could share the master bedroom and just put two twin beds in it, (our rent was cheap and the owner got a little bit more).  We moved to a house in Lakewood, just south of the border of University Place.

This is the sign as you enter the neighborhood.

This is the side of the house.

This is the front of the house.

The current owners advertise their construction company.

I have so many good memories here.  The house was owned by a woman who lived in it (with her roommates who became our roommates) and then she got married.  Her father owned the house behind us and he was a professional horticulturist and his landscaping was immaculate.  His yard was featured in magazines and part of a garden tour.  There was a little gate behind our house that went onto their property and they welcomed us to take people over there to see it.  My first roommates were Kim, Kim and Kimber and so it became known as the Kim house.  We had get-togethers all the time.  We loved having people over.  We regularly had Nerts nights and potlucks.  The garage was converted into a rec room so there was plenty of space.  Kimber eventually moved out and Rachel moved in.  It was still known as the Kim house. :)  All four roommates would usually hang out in our room and get ready for church or dances together in our Master bathroom.  Tony and I dated and became engaged when I lived at this house.  Happy memories. :)

Another favorite area is Steilacoom, a small town with so much charm and an amazing view.  I fell in love with it when I house sat for an institute teacher.  The sunsets on the sound were phenomenal.

I've been to several receptions at the Steilacoom Town Hall.

Evelyn was asleep as we drove through here and so we didn't get out but I showed the kid the beautiful drive along the sound winding along the edge of the water, then going along tree-lined streets up to University Place.

It's also fun to ride the train south from Tacoma because the tracks go right along the water. 

Sunnyside place was a favorite place to hang out with friends.  I'll have to take the kids there when it's not nap time.