SisterFest!

I went to Idaho for a friend's wedding, and my wonderful cousin Kathy and her family hosted a gathering! My amazing sisters, some super nieces, and a friend from Bismarck who traveled with me (to pick up her son from BYU-I) had an incredible amount of fun in a day and two nights. Though maybe we "didn't have enough fun," every second was a blast, and I'm so grateful we got together! Thanks to the Jemmetts, and thanks to Darcia, Reida, Nancy, Ane, Alta, Kelly, Celina, and Karleen for reminding me what delightful people I grew up with, and continue to have in my life! Though the pictures are only so-so and not very telling, it was definitely a gift I cherish!



Allen and Kathy, the hosts with the most!


The proof that my photographer's cap was not on: I don't have a good picture of Alta, and none of Ane... But trust me, they were in on every bit of the fun...



Steven dealt with all the hormones with a smile on his face!

Karleen and her whopping 4-month old, Kamille

Isn't she just cute like Mom?

Two of the four cousins (plus second cuz Karleen)that took time from their lives to play with us old girls...Did you hide when I pulled out the camera, Ane?

Thanks for the memories - SURE DO LOVE Y'ALL!

Red Alert! Melanie is an adult!

It's not hard to remember when Melanie came into the world (well, for those of us who are older, that is). It wasn't so long ago, right? Well, reality is this: Mel is 18 today! I can't pretend she's my effervescent, gregarious, articulate little girl any more... But she will always be my effervescent, gregarious, articulate daughter. Love you, Mel-Mel! I know you're going to change the world, in your own unique and clever way. Happy Birthday, Sweet cheeks!

Old girls and weird people (My shortest post ever)

Mel will have to explain this, but it's proof that she can still play doofus with the best of them... (Stake YW Sleepover)









Popping out of the birthday bag; Suzie, don't do this when you're older, okay?

















Halloween party... Redneck parents of the bride. Nuff said.

Fall is flying away, way too fast...

September was a blur. I want more of my favorite month!



Nate, Alisa and Karly came for a fun visit, and Alisa got her hair cut by my hair buddy DeAn... (For more on their visit, see Alisa's blog!)


Mel said goodbye to her transportation buddy of the last two years (our Chrysler mini-van, a vehicle we no longer need) before I took it away to become the transportation solution of...




...the Adamz family,represented by the "big" brothers, aka silly monkeys...


Whom I happily joined to welcome into the world their new brother, Ethan Timothy!



While in IL, I attended my American Mothers, Inc. meetings in Springfield, the land of Lincoln (and enjoyed the bit of history more than the meetings, I'm sorry to say; but my love and admiration for some of the women increased mightily, thus balancing things nicely);


Tim made AND decorated a yummy cake for my birthday during his quick trip to meet Ethan (and attend meetings of his own in Chicago);






I got Shan out of the house and let the monkeys play at the arboretum; enjoyed the gorgeous weather; watched some of Conference before I left, and made memories that are not captured in photos...
















...And got the news about Ben and Emilie's new addition...





Assuring another post before October has flown!

Back to school, haircuts, and stuff...

Mel and Suzie will punch me for this one, but it has to be posted; an old-fashioned ice cream truck,complete with silly music and everything,drove around our neighborhood all season long. It was their heart's desire to say goodbye to summer with a purchase. They bought their treats(not horribly expensive, actually), and sat in the mild sunshine to eat them and savor their last day of freedom...


...And then it was back to school! Can you tell Melanie is quite thrilled to be a senior? Early mornings and all, she was ready. Suzie, not so much, but 9th grade gets better day by day. (And Tim's part of this post is, well, minimal, but you'll see him easily if you look for him. At least part of him...)


I had to have some change too; so I scheduled weeks in advance so I wouldn't change my mind just for one good hair day (sound familiar to anyone?), and chopped this off. I planned on a big change, but my sweet haircut friend convinced me that, teaching gymnastics, I will still want to pull it up. Plus, I learned I have what the trade calls a "duck butt" -- essentially, a bad hairline on the back of my head - not the best feature for a short 'do.


So, I'm back to same old, same old, but I guess the old girl is comfortable with it - for now.

And what good would a blog post be without a Dakota du Nord Sunset? I acknowledge, this one is rather bland as our skies go, and it is a second or two late (my phone photo was perfect timing), but it was the purity of it that captured me. And though I have no photo to share, the moon,like a big, knowing eye and complemented by the jewel below it that is Mars, has captivated more than one night recently. No wonder I stay up late... I do love this place this time of year. ☺

I caught it!

You could take a hundred pictures trying to catch lightning, and never get it. I got it, and had to share! My picture is not amazing the way it would be with time-lapse and an amazing camera; mine is amazing because it was pure chance!

P.S. That's Demory in the photo; the little scaredy girl now loves lightning storms, and she and Suz were out oohing and ahhing - the reason I got out my camera in the first place.

YW Camp

This post won't be long for some simple reasons: No one needs a travelogue on an event that LDS girls all get to enjoy in their own ways; Melanie couldn't go because of the play (a post on that will come later); the pictures don't include very many people my blog people know; and pictures of Camp, like pictures of Trek, only show what you did, not what you felt. And YW Camp, though a lot of fun,is also a lot of FEELING - feeling the Spirit (some for the first time), feeling bonding, friendship and love for others who share you faith; feeling grateful to be included in such worthwhile fun! As a mom, I want to share it with my family. As a stake leader, I want to share it because it was a great success!
Our theme was Courage in Action, which acronyms to CIA, which provides a great spy/mystery/look-out-for-each-other-in-this-scary-world theme. Great pink shirts.


If you look closely at the girl on the right, you'll see it's Sara Sabot - now Steinman, grown up, married, a mama, and having fun as one of the three musketeers, alias awesome Bismarck YW leaders





Suzie and some of her Minot homies, under an umbrella because we got a lot of rain







A sandwich hug - such a frequent occurrence! I'm not sure I/we started it, but it sure works well to share the love!







The pigs in blankets over the fire didn't work that well, but we sure had yummy food overall! From teriyaki chicken to homemade cinnamon rolls, our little camp cook - and all the treats - assured weight gain Suzie needed, but I didn't!





Suzie's is the light blue backside right in front. I went to see what this group of mischevious girls was doing, and found them going around the circle naming favorite things! Ya gotta love those awesome Mormon girls!