This week was our ward girls camp at our Stake camp in Ogden canyon near Eden. I must admit it was a "luxury" camp with a nice big lodge to sleep in, modern and clean bathrooms/showers and a great kitchen. So NO complaints here or from any of the girls--other than sleep deprivation for the leaders !
I must brag about the marvelous 32 young women who we were blessed with for the week. Not once did I see or hear unkind words or attitudes, but rather so many acts of kindness and sensitivity to those who were new or feeling alone. Their "divine natures" were so evident toward each other and that was truly the success of the camp.
Thanks to our marvelous camp director and YW leaders everything was so fun and organized. The theme was MISSION POSSIBLE.
(a take off from Mission Impossible with groups of CSI, FBI, SWAT, and CFA) Some of the highlights were service quilts made for several individuals and organizations, a value walk, a super beautiful hike, swim-day at Pineview Resevior , and lots of great games, songs and crafts. And the food was delish !
We had 10 YCLs who were so amazing and planned and carried out really wonderful activities. They will soon be fabulous YW leaders.
We loved their fun and creative spirits.
Bishop Ross once again entertained everyone with his dancing. Does everyone love this man or what?
As with every YW camp , small and sweet miracles occurred in building faith and testimony within these beautiful daughters of God. The value walk and testimony meeting were filled with the spirit and I was particularly impressed with their bearing of "pure testimony" with little emphasis on "best friends" as so often occurs at camp. I must admit I was somewhat hesitant about being the "granny" at camp but what a joyous and loving experience it was for me to see deep into the hearts of these sweet girls and feel of their wonderful spirits.
We enjoyed a fun day celebrating Jason's birthday. It is a weird feeling when your children get older than we were when they were born. (not that we feel old, ha) But every stage of life is an adventure and we love them all.
We are so proud of you Jason and the fine husband and father you are. You are a kind, sensitive and very generous man and a real leader in the church and our family.
The girls spent a fun day with the "little indgins" while the men played golf. I'm not sure who enjoyed the beautiful warm afternoon most but we all loved relaxing and playing in LeAnn and Jason's beautiful backyard. Thanks for the time together.
Nalu is so cute and cuddly.
Grandma can't resist these 2 characters.
All the munchkins loved the hot tub.
Guess Ash had enough for one day.
The evening concluded with a relaxing and yummy birthday dinner at Hamiltons. Happy Birthday Jay.
This has been a fun and productive week. We found a great "young" man to help us in the yard and consequently we got alot done with little pain! (do we sound old or what) We are ready now for the 10 yards of bark that is being delivered tomorrow to cover the entire yard. (minus the lawn and plants, haha) We will soon have such a maintenance free yard that we might have time to play golf this summer.
Karli came for a couple of days while Chris was out of town and we had a fun afternoon at the park with Brittany and kiddos. It is so fun to "play" with all these cute grandkids.
This was the last week of school for some schools and Ame's class had a special week of "rain forest" adventures with a very special tour guide. It was quite amazing for a first grade class to see all they had learned and prepared.
We finally got started with our monthly "family Sunday dinners". We started at our house this month and tried out Tri Tip and homemade ice cream (2 more first for us after 2 years) and many more yummy things from the girls. It was a really fun afternoon together and we are excited to make this a regular occurrence. It really is the only time we all get together and we love the time to laugh and enjoy the "antics" of the 10 grandkids in the house. We always think of Aaron, Deb, Ev, Kyle, Luke, & Reid and miss them so much but love the times we get to be with them also.
Do you think the Asplund clan are homemade ice cream lovers or what?
Well once again, fun in spite of our wonderful Utah spring! We got to join the celebration for Taylor's 1st birthday. She is such a little doll. Her continual happy countenance is personified in that adorable little body topped with those red "piggies". (sorry the piggies are hidden beneath the b'day hat) We honestly cannot get enough of her and she is so cooperative with smooches. Yum-yum
Kaiya so enjoyed the party and was glad to be celebrating another birthday and was such a good big sister helping Tay-Tay with all the festivities.
Next we moved on the next morning to "Mr. Speedy's" soccer tournament. Despite our sluggish mood due to subzero temps, Ryan was the champ of the field. Congratulations on all your goals and wins. You are such an amazing 6 yr. old player. We loved watching your tricky feet and cool expression after each goal.
And last but certainly NOT least was Ame's dance recital. That girl not only can dance but has such beautiful stage presentation. She is a natural and always the prettiest one out there.
Wouldn't life be boring for grandma and grandpa without all this fun and excitement!
We just returned from a really great trip to California. Our first stop (only 40 minutes south) was at Temple Square to see our favorite missionary, Sister Sundaram.
It is always such a joy to spend a brief time with her. She has a new companion from Portugal and they gave us a tour around the square.
The tulips were in full blossom and almost as radiant as Sis Sundaram's smile.
We took her a care package (undoubtedly her first) with goodies and scriptures explaining each. She was somewhat overcome and we laughed, cried and so enjoyed our brief time together. She touches our hearts so deeply with her great faith and courage and we always leave with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for our blessing of knowing and loving dear Sister Sundaram.
The real purpose of our trip was to meet our newest grandson, Reid Michael Asplund, and he is a cutie!! (no prejudice of course)
We were able to participate in his beautiful blessing given by his daddy and visit with some of Debbie's family members who were also able to come. He is joining a wonderful family. We are so proud of Aaron and Debbie and the manner in which they raise their team of boys!
We were able to stay at Becky and Bob's beach house (which we always so enjoy) for the first few days and then joined the gang for little league games, fun at the movies, Evan's piano recital and a school field trip.
We did our best to keep up with those busy boys and all the fun activities in the California sun.
We recognize how blessed our lives our by our precious family. We love our children and their spouses and our 14 beautiful and unique grandchildren. Each one holds a special place in our hearts and adds "sunshine" to our souls.
This was a great weekend with lots of activities.
My sister Jerilyn hosted a baby shower for her son's wife ,Mandy, which Karli and I attended. It was good to see my nieces , Tasha and Janelle again after two years and spend some time with Jerilyn.
Later we enjoyed a barbecue at Jason and LeAnne's that was yummy--our first since our return and even included corn on the cob and homemade ice cream. YUM. The kids kept us entertained as usual.
Thanks Jason and LeAnne for a great dinner and Karli and Chris for "live" entertainment!
Sunday afternoon included a fun visit with Matt and Brenna Cox. It was our first opportunity to meet Brenna and we think Matt made a gooooood catch !! Brittany and Quinn and kids joined us and the conversation, food and friendship made for a great time together.
Yummy Skookies!
Our lives are so blessed with these special times we have with our family. Allan and I often return home and reflect how wonderful it is to spend these casual and fun times together with our precious family and how precious each individual is to us.
