California, here we come!

Jake and his sign.

Ava and her sign.

Can you tell these two are just a little bit excited about going to California?! :)   Jake made a sign and had Ava take his picture and then Ava girl had to make a sign too and have Jake take her picture. They are all packed up and ready to go. We plan on leaving at 4:00 am tomorrow. I sure hope we have the time of our lives and we'll be safe in the Ocean!

Elder Ethan Daniel Ralph-Back to Gilbert, Az.

Ethan with his two new companions. One (a Zone leader) goes home in 8 days.

Looks like a British safari guide

I wish he had his regular smile in this one because it's my favorite hat.

Not sure what type of hat this is.

Hat #4! 

Well, Ethan was transferred back to Gilbert, Arizona. He didn't stay long in Queen Creek. He has two companions again for just a bit. One is finishing and going home in just a few days.

I'm not sure what the whole hat thing was. He was obviously at a doctor's office and I guess he was killing time. :) Sure do love this boy!

Henderson, Nevada and St. George, Utah

Reagan, Ava, Whitney, Eli, and Jake swimming in G&G Ralph's community pool

Brad, Whitney, Reagan, Jake, Ava, and Nick playing a game called Tenzi

Nick, Brad, Reagan, Jake, Ava, Eli, and Whitney enjoying a treat from Yogurtland

Mr. Style himself! This boy loves fashion, palm trees, photography, and warm sunny climates. He was in his element in  Nevada and of course St.George!

My little beauty!

This little Reagan is such a beautiful girl. She and Ava are both fun, sassy girls.

Our little model!!

Reags

Perfect picture of my two youngest boys! They get along so good-best of buds most of the time!

Jake and Ava's favorite tree. They LOVE palm trees and would have them everywhere in our yard if they could.

Don's been out of town with work lately. He had to go to Saudi Arabia for a couple weeks and then to France. Jill has been trying to get the Henderson house ready for her workers to do some updating. So, I loaded up the kids and went to help. Oh, I have to tell you what my amazing husband did for us first though.  Jill sent a text that if we could bring some screwdrivers, hammers, etc it would be great because theirs were in storage. Dennis said, "Oh no, you HAVE to have power tools". I was leaving the next morning and all his tools were at job sites and the office. Well, that man got up at 4:30 while the rest of us were sound asleep. When I woke up at 6:00 there he was with all the tools all organized on the table. He showed me how to use the drills and charge the batteries. He showed me how to take off the baseboards with a trowel and crow bar and hammer. He is such a good man! He not only tells me that he loves me, he shows me each and every day with all the little things that show me he is thinking of me and wants to make my life easier. I sure do love him!

Okay, back to the events at hand. We drove to Henderson Tuesday morning. We left at 10:00 and with construction and stops we got there at about 3:00 Nevada time (4:00 Utah time). Jill had just one working screw driver but had managed to take off quite a few cabinet doors by the time we got there. Then Brad and I used the drills and it was finished in just a short time. Then we got busy taking off all of the baseboards upstairs and down (in the main living areas). This took a long time but we got most of them off. We worked for about 3 and a half hours and then drove back to St. George to stay at G&G Ralph's house.

The kids swam and played all the next day. They sure have a good time together! We spent one more night there and then came back home. Jill and the kids spent a night here with us on Thursday because she had a wedding to attend at the Payson Temple Friday. It was fun to spend time with them before they move in to their new house in Henderson! We probably won't see them but a couple times a year now.  :(

Last Week in Primary

Roman Bule, Jacie Goodwin, Jackson Andrist, Mason Schoepke, and Evie Haws
Me and Sister Sienna Jepperson

How I'm going to miss this sweet little class! I have so loved teaching this age group. They are full of life and energy and sometimes can only hold still for a few minutes but they are also so full of love and curiosity. They are little sponges and soak up everything you tell them about the Gospel.

* We were missing Asher Carlile and Hallie Tryon.

Loosey Goose Sleeps Again!

Cute little Mom and Dean and Alisa's dog Millie both sound asleep.

Dean sent me this picture while I was at Lagoon with the gang. He said, "While you're off playing at Lagoon, this is what's happening at my house".  ;)  I guess Mom took Ashlyn over to play with his girls since I took Justin and Annaka to Lagoon and Autumn was busy with the Shaws. She almost fell asleep driving so she decided she better sit down and rest for a bit. I love this picture of her. She's so cute!

Lagoon July 2016

Eli, Dennis, Annaka, Ava, and me in front of the little dragon coaster that did Dennis in for a few hours! :)  :)

Annaka, Eli, and Ava on the helicopter ride

Annaka on the swings

Ava, Annaka, and Eli getting ready to ride the cars.

Big Stuff climbing into his own car

The two girls squeezing into their car. :)

Annaka and (?) riding the planes

Ava and Eli riding the planes

Annaka said these were her first "dippin dots" ever! Since she can't have milk she picked the sherbet kind. Ava and Eli had mint.

Ava and Annaka on the Skyrider. Dennis, Eli, and I were in the seat just ahead of them.

I LOVE Annaka's face in this one!

This group stuck together and did the big rides (minus Eli)

This group stuck together and did the little rides. And we did the Ferris wheel too!!

Boy did we have fun!! I stayed with the Littles and Dennis went with the big kids and Caya on all the big rides. I prefer the little rides anyway. :) Everyone had a great time and we stayed from open until close! We took a cooler full of food and water. We mostly wanted water!

One funny thing that happened. When Dennis first got there (he worked until 11:00) he went on the little Dragon roller coaster with Eli and me. It just goes in circles forward and then backward. He got so sick. His face was white and he was dizzy and out of sorts for the next couple of hours. He went to the Lagoon-a Beach and just laid in the sun until he could stomach the rides again. He avoided all the kid rides after that because he just can't handle any thing that just goes in circles. So funny!

Annaka tried "dippin dots" for the first time and she loved them. Ava and Eli (and mom) love them too!

Jake's Photography

Provo River with longer shutter speed.

Provo River again

Drops of water (shutter speed super fast)

More drops of water in mid air

Heart with headlight (shutter speed super long)

Jake did his own name with a headlight.

Caya taught Jake how to do some pretty amazing things with his new camera! She is a middle school teacher and also over the Yearbooks so she knows how to slow down the flash or shutter and how to brighten or darken things. I didn't catch it all but Jake is going to have fun experimenting with his photo shoots from now on!

Caya Russell Snethen and Grace

The "Bigs" (and Eli) at Lagoon
Justin, Brad, Jake, Grace, Caya, and Dennis

Ava, Grace, and Eli

Caya taught Jake how to take the prettiest photos of water!

Eli getting ready to toss his toy Anna into the river.

Blondie-blue

This is the photo I want to use as our family photo for the newsletter this year.

Caya captured this one of Eli playing with his Anna toy

Jake took this one. He said he liked it because my hand was guiding Eli.  :)

Caya and Grace

Me and the Littles at Lagoon

Dennis' best friend from high school, Caya Russell, came for a visit this year. Her daughter, Grace, was attending a soccer camp at BYU so when she finished they came and stayed a few days with us. We went to Lagoon, up to Bridal Veil Falls, fed some horses (they belonged to Caya's friend), and Caya, Dennis, and I met up with a few other friends from Virginia for dinner one night. Ava and Eli LOVED Grace and had such a great time. She and Jake hit it off and Dennis and Caya are hoping they will remain friends just like they have over the years.

Caya was Jewish growing up but knew Dennis was a "Mormon". She also knew Mormons didn't drink, swear, and were not immoral. One day, in gym class, Dennis got upset about something and said a few choice words. Caya went up to him and said, "I thought you were Mormon. You're not supposed to swear". Well, that humbled my hubby and he apologized.  Right before his mission he gave Caya a Book of Mormon with his testimony written on the inside cover. She was heading off to join the Army. She read the Book of Mormon and knew it was true. She joined the Church. She then went into the Army, married a non-member, and has become inactive. But she told us she knows the Church is true and her little Grace was baptized and loves to go to Church with neighbors. Caya also has an older daughter who was not baptized. But while Caya was here, she went to church with us and even shared her conversion story with Dennis' class. She thanked us after for inviting her to church. Who knows, maybe someday she'll be active once again.

Elder Ralph (July 2016)

My boy!

Ethan sent me this picture a few weeks ago and he just looked so tired! I asked him what a typical day was for him so he broke it down for me. Up at 5:30 (pray and read the Book of Mormon)  5:45-7:00 (workout)  7-8 (get ready)   8-10 (study/pray)   10-12 (out teaching)   noon (lunch)   1-3 (out teaching)   3:00 (inside to study and get out of the Arizona heat)   4:00 (out teaching)   5:30 (dinner)  6:30-9:00 (out teaching)   9:00 (journal/relax)   10:00 (pray/get ready for bed)   10:30 (go to sleep)

Missionaries sure stay busy. I'm glad he's busy and happy even if he looks a bit tired. He absolutely loves his mission and is growing so much!

Beggars

I love this picture of Pip and Popi waiting patiently for Jake to notice them!

Jake was trying to enjoy his sandwich when these two decided to "silently beg" for a bite. They sat right beside his chair not making a sound but just waiting for him to notice them. They just look at you with their big brown eyes until you can't help but give in.  :)