Awesome Activity - River Trip with YMYW

"That was a fun Day!"

Quote from quite a few of the participants.

Four boats ferried about 49 people over to the River house

 Bishop and Bonnie Carter set-up and organized an extremely awesome day for the youth in our ward.  Their daughter (Janelle) and son-in-law have access to a River home on the Delta and allowed us to come and play at their place.

The object of this game was to wiggle the Oreo down your face into your mouth without the aid of your hands.  It is possible!

Some canoes went straight, some back and forth.  Everyone made it though a few trips were much longer than others.

 There were 6 feat of skill to accomplish before lunch - you actually got to earn how many points (pennies) you got for lunch.  Zip-line, Canoe skill, rifle target practice, build a fire, sponge-bob relay, and an Oreo eating contest.

The zip-line was so fantastic!  

Sponge-bob contest - get as much water from one bucket down the hill to the next with the sponge.

Dominic eyes his cookie!

Merit, Caleb, Shannon and Collette

Fire-building - build a fire tall and high enough to burn the string.

Addison on the zipline

After lunch everyone got to pick which activity they wanted to do.  Tubing behind the boats, zip-line, canoe down the river and the rifles were the top picks.  Some went swimming, riding on the merry-go-round and explored the island.

Air-rifle - Dominic got all the targets

Alyssa and Amanda take aim.

Elizabeth, Sam and Whitney fan the flames

Devun power paddle in front, Gavin, Sammy and Mike steers in the back - great crew

Bishop Carter tested out the zip-line on the tallest guy - Michael

 The Bishop got quite a work-out catching the youth so they wouldn't smack into the tree at the end of the line.  I'll bet his back and legs needed a massage.

Sam on the Zipline

Tubing was a hit

Even side-wise and over - it's all fun!

 After staying an extra hour and a half, we all said Good-bye and got ferried back home.

Good-bye to a totally great day.......

Jeffrey's famous Chicken Pesto Sandwiches

We were in luck today!

Jeffrey has perfected the art of truly delicious sandwhiches.  Today he cooked up some chicken breasts with olive oil and spices, sauted up some mushrooms in the same pan, cut up the ciabatta bread and spread pesto on one side and toasted cheese on the other side, sliced up garden fresh tomatoes (from Lindsay Bradburn) and used tiny red leaf lettuce when assembling them all together. I added the fresh fruit Regg Penovich brought on Saturday and we had quite a feast!

Nothing better than vine rippened tomatoes!

The Push Needed

Life is a Balancing Act

Something is always breaking, getting old, or falling apart at our house.  In the beginning we had little children who would snap off hoses, dig up my back lawn, or have water fights jumping through the window and running through the house.  Though there are things that just wear out too.  The battle to keep up with everything is interesting.  Many things wait till it becomes no. 1 on the list.

This fall it's the bathroom/garage.  14 plus years ago we had a fire and had lots of construction done in that part of the house.  Nothing since.  I was bothered by the fact that the Sheetrock was peeling and shredding and it looked like occasionally there was something leaking.  There were ominous signs in the bathroom itself.  With kids going to universities and missions and generally just being expensive, putting off repairs just seemed like it was OK.

We've talked about the downstairs bathroom (we're still in the discussion stage) and Anthony Durst did a quick fix-someday-to-be-done-right-job for us because we had company coming.  This summer was full of Wedding, vacations, camps, and relatives from out of town.  

Then a week or so ago, I looked out the window and saw my friend (who is pregnant with her seventh child) pushing a baby in a stroller and walking with her sister-in-law passing out brochures.  When I walked out to say howdy she mentioned that her husband just finished a big job and was now looking for another and would do painting work, though that isn't his favorite.  

 That was it.  I decided we needed the bathroom done now and my excuse to Jeffrey was that I had a deep concern that someday we would step into the shower and the whole thing would drop into the garage.   I know Jeffrey would really like to have some extra savings for the hundred emergencies that seem to keep coming up. We'll just have to be prudent.

The scary thing is when my concerns happen to be based a little too close to reality.  They did find a continuing leak and had to rip out some crumbly boards that the floor is suppose to rest on.   The fact that this is an old house and bringing it up to code may be just a little more expensive than was expected is just par for the course!

Just Thinking

Laura is off to Rexburg to drop off her daughter for school.  So Lisa and I have been walking in the morning and she had a great topic I haven't been able to let go.  On one of her daughters applications for a job as a sign language interpreter it asked if a person was deaf all of their life, would they be "restored" with hearing or without in the resurrection ?  (At least I think that was the gist of it.)  I think they wanted to know how the applicant felt about "disabilities" etc.
I've come to the conclusion that we are all "deaf" and blind and don't have all the senses that we could possibly want in this life. Adam and company lived many more years than we do - why?  Because the ozone layer was thicker, mutant genes, environmental damage etc. etc. So if we get "restored"will we have the abilities that we were suppose to have from heaven, but because of factors beyond our control (and some in our control) our lives are limited to what is now available?  Let's even go back to Adam and Eve's bodies before they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden.  Marvelous bodies that were cut short to one of the Lord's days.  If there is a restoration we shouldn't expect a limited earthly body but a glorified one.  I wonder what that is - impervious to illness would be a good start.  Could we hear what an elephant hears or a whale?  Without a veil could we see further, brighter with more colors? Could we feel more from our heart and minds? Would communication of all senses be better?  Maybe mind to mind.
My answer to this question would be yes, hearing would be restored in a much broader fashion to ALL of us who are deaf to some extent or another in this world.

Last of Summer

Rachel and I went Camping Carter Style!
That means a tri-tip dinner, with Cesar salad, baked potatoes, watermelon (cooled in artesia water) and homemade cookies all courtesy of Bonnie.  We had a delicious Spaghetti dinner the next night!
She is a great cook and wonderful hostess.

Disneyland style ride, bumpy, fast, slightly dangerous.  They are strapped in so they won't hit the roof with their heads going over bumps.  We are on our way to beautiful blue Sterling Lake.  It is clear, has fish and very inviting.

Wild flowers abounded everywhere.  Spring is still around in the high mountains as the snow didn't leave until very late.  Lots of colors and variety.  Very nice.

This is really a gorgeous place.  It was hard to decide if I wanted to go swimming more or boating.  So I just waded a minute to feel the water temperature.  It wasn't bad.  Very clear and interesting.

The Bishop pointed out the interesting fact that these trees find a way to grow right out of rocks.  Where do they get the nutrition they need?  Is there really enough dirt in a crack to feed a tree?

I went exploring around the Carter's camp and found this bird nest on an old stump.  I really can't picture a bird building a nest there, so I speculated that the Websters or one of the other Carter grandchildren had put it there.

This is Carter Camping - hot running water for showers, flushing toilets, AC and heat, comfortable beds, ovens, stove, refrigerator, a gas grill outside, 3 ATV's - one a buggy for six, campfire, zip-line and play structure.  Awesome!!

 Bishop Ken Carter showed Rachel how to fish and she caught four!  Luckily for her he was nice enough to bait the hook, net the fish, pull the hook out and touch all the fish.  None were big enough to bring home, but just right to have fun!

We got to be on top of the World, so Rachel is doing some Mountain Silhouettes .

We read all the historical facts as we toured around and this is the famous Rainbow Bridge which has appeared in different movies.  In 2007 a bear got stuck at the top of this arch and had to be tranquilized to get him down.

This is Bonnie and Bishop Ken Carter - a very generous, patient, and nice couple.  The showed us a really wonderful time and showed us wonderful adventures around Cisco Grove, California.

Donner Lake from the top

It was so beautiful everywhere we looked and the Bishop was so nice to stop when I wanted to take more pictures.

This was a comfortable nice place to live and then when it was time to go home, the Bishop rode the ATVs up on an especially put down carpet for storage until next week!

When the freeway came in many businesses that were on Highway 40 closed.  This fireplace was in one of the ruins found in Cisco Grove near where the Carters live.

We walked down a path until we got to this melted snow pool of water - yes it was freezing cold, but clear and inviting.  In fact two dog came up the trail on their own, jumped into the pool, then trotted back down the path to their car.

Laura at Work Again

Laura is really a Pro

at creating a beautiful show with food.  She works so hard to give people what they want at parties, weddings, graduations, and backyard swim parties.  Last Saturday she started out around 8 am loading up her van and taking things to the church.  The culture hall was already decorated by Stephanie, friends and their families from the night before for Stephanie's daughter Christina and Daniel's reception. 

Chocolate and maroon - imaginative colors 

Laura made sure the food for the luncheon was set up and ready to go and then worked on the reception when the line for lunch started.

Laura really doesn't like a camera anywhere near her - good thing we're friends

Laura making the salad

Setting up for reception started while lunch was on

Lots of good food

 The only downfall came with the chocolate fountain.  Despite reading carefully the directions and following them, it didn't work until someone gave the tip that Crisco would make it run smoothly.  The package said to just use the chocolate pieces warmed up.  Nope, 10 minutes after adding Crisco it finally worked.  Very messy, but lots of people said they liked it.

Abby and Pam trying to make the chocolate flow

I think the whole day turned out really well and it was so nice to see the last of Stephanie's girls married.  There was a picture of David her son on the stage because he is in Australia on his mission right now.  I've never seen Christina so happy.   It was really an awesome day.

What would I do without angels?!!!

Angels come in all sizes, shapes, and sex.  I find them in my life both seen and unseen.  I can tell you much more about the seen ones, than the unseen - times I just feel something or someone there.  Now the seen angels many times don't realize they are coming as an answer to my fervent prayers.

So I was asked to be the quilt leader for girls camp - now really quilt LEADER - not just the one coming to do what she has been asked.  Called 2 months late mind you - after the overstock sales are over.  If you are a close friend you'll know this has been an interesting year over here at the Adams zoo.  Stuff has been piled high for cub day camp, wedding, shower, and of course the quilt material, yarn and batting.  The interesting point is that every month something major seem to crop up and when I asked God how it was going to get done someone would call, recommend someone else or drop presents on my doorstep.  God would keep the chaos one step away from drowning me.

While Wedding preparations were going on in April and May, JoAnn Carney showed Janey Bates and I how to sew up nine patches and change them around to make interesting quilts.  I told several people about my new calling and they literally handed me boxes of extra material (Lanette Hopkins and others).  It came in all sizes, colors with mostly flowers (lots of purple showed up).  I wanted to find a way to make it fun.
Then Jeanne Rumsey (a former quilter at camp) gave me 17 perfectly sized and matched ready to go quilt sets.  Wow, half of my quilts ready to go!  In May and June while the cub day camp started heating up, Janey Bates came up with the idea of sewing around the edges so we would only have to tie them when we got to camp.  She proceeded to sew more than half of the remaining quilts in July while I checked cubs in, assisted in a pie eating contest, directed parents to children and found lost articles. Did I tell you in July another son decided to get married?
 JoAnn gave us 5 beautiful sewn up quilts and told me two more for the men were on the way.  Jeanne Rumsey made sure I had a 50% coupon when I bought the batting on a roll (Jeffrey donated that) and I think Janey was the one leaving yarn and material on my doorstep.  We didn't have to buy anything for camp.  Everything was donated this year.
The wedding went off beautifully thanks mostly to Laura (and all those who so generously volunteered their time), a shower was generously donated by Janae Parkin with women who came when they heard about it just to support our family.   I've felt so lifted and sustained - warm and fuzzy.  The Adams family had a wonderful week-long family reunion in San Diego   that ended on Saturday and Monday morning Rachel and I were on our way to camp.

Some of the quilts at camp

Feeling like I'm on a water tube with the river of life rushing under and around me, Angels successfully helped me navigate to a beautiful finish at Rucker Lake where we were finished with all of the quilts tied up by Wednesday afternoon and got to  just enjoy the girls and the ambiance of camp.  I love Angels,  I really hope I can be one too.

Girls camp service quilt for
a Missionary in the Oakland Mission

I'm winning....I'm sure I'm winning......

So we had this nice adorable kitten that grew into a cat.  Nice mouser - also catches rats, squirrels, and birds - but at least he knows his job.  Well, there was a time we didn't have a screen in our bedroom window.  It was a nuisance because insects could come in at night if the window was open but it usually wasn't opened until late when we went to bed.   Welllllllll...... the cat discovered he could jump through the open window, but that was fine because I put a fan into it and he stopped jumping through.  But then!!!!! he jumped up onto the fan and into the bedroom - at 3 in the morning.  Sometimes the fan would unbalance and fall over then crash onto the floor and bed.  Not so fun.
So I put up a screen.  Got a kit from Home Depot followed the directions and then re-screened a few more windows that just needed it.   Wellllllllll...... that darn cat would butt his head (or whatever) against that screen -secretly I'd laugh --- until he got in after 3 months - the screen gave way from the spline.  Just a little gap.  A large cat can fit through a little gap!  Soooooo...... I rescreened it with an 1/2 inch more screen to spare on all sides taped down.  And then I wrapped the bottom of the screen in another layer around front and back and sewed it together (luckily the window's on the second storey of the house so no one can really see it).
Let's see who wins this round................!

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty

Open House for Nate and Kelsi

Irony at it's finest, there were only 2 hours in the whole weekend that it rained on Ardenwood Court in Concord..........yes the half hour before the celebrations started till half hour before it ended.   So the pretty bows on the branches were soaked

 and the pretty flowers were dripping

 everything was rushed into the house

 and set up inside

 with delicious food set up

  vases  put on the mantle

 because I hadn't done as Laura suggested and found a place in case it rained.

 The open house was lovely, cosy, intimate and beautiful.

 Nate greeted friends

  

and introduced Kelsi

while music played in the background

 courtesy of Teemaree                                        
and friends chatted and ate.

Perfect!!

Thanks Laura.