A 4th of July Celebration, Something Tragic and a little vacation.

We had so much fun last year in Kentucky going to the lake and spending it with family, this was the ONLY thing the girls requested to do this year for summer break. So we thought that the 4th of July week would be the perfect time to go. All started out GREAT. We celebrated the 4th on Sunday with tons of Fire Works. They were just beautiful. In all, I think we shot over $500 worth. It was a big display to say the least. :) 

I also went with my cousins wife to her mothers home. It is the oldest home in the county. I was in total amazement. 

This is the Smoke house and the old barn.

This is the stone that the women would use to get on the horses.

The original fire place.

The stair case that goes up to the second story.

The second story loft.

The holes they used to put the barrel of the guns through to shoot any unwanted guest.

This goes down to the basement. It use to house the slaves who worked the farm. It has a dirt floor and wood  (Log) sides for walls. 

This is a picture of the out side of the house. The left side is were most of the pictures came from. The right side was added on to a few years after the original home was built.

Here are some Mules that call this property home.

On the 4th of July, we went around to my Uncle Doug's and Aunt Margie's house for a small family celebration. 

This, unfortunately, would be the last living photo of my Uncle Doug.

He passed away the next morning in a logging accident. Justin and his two sons were by his side. This is a picture of where the accident took place.

They had his log truck lead the funeral procession. Some of the guys in town came and had it cleaned up.

The funeral line was over a mile long. Justin and I are the 2nd car in the line. If you look close you can see the line of cars.

Justin was asked to perform the funeral and grave side service. The spirit was very strong and he did a wonderful job at honoring my Uncle. It was another testament to me of just how blessed I am to have Justin in my life. To share with you my thoughts on my uncle,  Uncle Doug was one of the greatest men I know. He was so loving and kind hearted. I never heard him talk foul of anyone. He was the kind of man that would go with out just to make sure you had it. He loved his wife passionately and his kids and grandkids with all his heart. He had a wonderful personality and full of pranks and jokes to go with it. I will miss him so much but know that he know has much work to do on the other side of the vale. 

To close our week in Kentucky we did take a day and night and go to the lake. We had a great time and had lots of laughter and smile but a since of somberness hung over. Here are a couple of pictures that captured some fun.

 My Cousin Lorie and Wendell and his wife Lisa.

 Emma and Grace had just come down the slide on the back of the party barge.

 Riding the tube!

 A couple of the cousins.

Us all hanging out.  

2011 Youth Pioneer Trek

Justin and I got to participate on the Youth Pioneer Trek. We had a BLAST!!! In order to go we had the dress the part. Thank goodness for my Mother-In-Law! I am not for sure if I would have gotten my two weeks of sewing done in 3 days if it had not been for her. 

She did an amazing job on Justin's "BISHOPS" vest. It turn out so beautiful.

This is part of my costume..... I did the skirt, apron, and bonnet. I bought the shirt.:)

This year I was in charge of the leather making craft. We did leather bracelets with the kids names on them. They turned out so cute.

Justin was asked to do a shooting activity. All the kids got to shoot a .22 at some cans. Another thing he was asked to do was to be a trail "BISHOP". Part of his responsibility was to bury the pretend babies that had died on the trail. He did such a great job.

A Great Time, Friends & Place...The GREAT Smoky Mountains!

We rented a cabin and called some of our favorite people and headed to the Smoky Mountains for some awesome fun!

The girls were so excited to spend time with there cousins. They are all like "4 peas in a pod".

Here is the cabin we stayed in....it was about 10 minutes from town. In the winter, if you don't have 4 wheel drive you can not get up to it.

 

We went up to Cades Cove. It is a beautiful area with lots of wild life. We saw a total of 12 bears....11 black bears and 1 bare butt!!! LOL! No worries...it was not Justin's...it was a baby playing in the creek. :) 

Here is a picture of a big MAMA bear....

She had a total of 3 babies. They were so cute. I can't believe how close we were to them. They were on one of the walking trails just hanging out. It was AMAZING!

Here is the Gordon family. Jimmy and I are first cousins. We just love them all and enjoyed spending every moment with them. We are looking forward to our next trip that is already planned. 

 Here is a silly picture of us!

 We try going to the Smoky Mountains about every other year. Here are a few pictures WHY....

It is just breath taking!

We did a little racing....I sat out on the last race to get some great pictures.

 This is them getting out of the cars...You can tell by the smiles on their faces just how much fun they had.

What a great mini vacation! Thanks to Jimmy and Tammy (& the girls) for making it super special.

A time for reflection...

Many new, but for those who did not, One of my Uncles recently passed away.

Tim was such a great man. When I was younger, him and I had a very close relationship. In some ways he was like a big brother, in other ways, like a second father figure. He will be greatly missed. After 3 years of a lot of pain and suffering, his battle with cancer is finally over. With my understanding of the scriptures, I know he is in a far better place.

The picture below is of Justin and Tim last summer at the lake. They were being funny and trying to reinact the seen from RV (with Robin Williams) with the "HOSE SPREADER".

The same week Tim passed, I had two other Uncles and a cousin go into the hospital. One with a stroke, the other for sugery to remove his spleen and the top of his pancreas.  My cousin was in sever motorcyle accident coming home from work. He is still in the hospital, stable yet in broken shape. The doctors have said he is lucky to be alive. 

Needless to say, the passed week or so has been a very emotional and reflective time for me. I have thought long and hard about the all men (immediate and extended family members) in my life and just how blessed I am. (I am sure you can tell by some of my most recent post.) I am so greatful for each and everyone one of them. I love them all very much, including those special ladies in my life too. It doesn't get much more important than family. And I am greatful to my Mom for instilling that in me from a very early age.

It's a hamster! Not a rat!

This is Lucy. The newest addition to our home. 

She is a very cute and friendly hamster. 

Emma and Grace just love her. And so does Tucker! 

He likes to get up on the chair and watch her run on her wheel. 

The kind of Son parents pray to raise.

Justin is an amazing son to his parents. He is the kind of son parents pray for. He is obedient, extremely intelligent, trust worthy, forgiving, Christ serving, loving and very generous. He is also the kind of son who never asks, wants or expects a handout and never takes his parents for granted.

Here are some examples of just how great he is...

• Justin served a mission for the church when he was 19 years old. To show responsibility and to lighten the burden on his parents, he worked and saved up to pay for his mission clothes, bike and other things needed for his mission.
• Never got in trouble with the law.
• Has never drank or smoked.
• Became an Eagle Scout at age 14. He would have gotten it a little earlier but he was also active with the Masons at the same time. 
• Married in the Temple / church.
• Is a responsible parent to his kids.

Here is a picture of Justin recently serving his parents.

The guy next to Justin is one of our Superintendents / Project Managers that works for us. Both guys worked extremely hard all day gutting Justin's parents kitchen to get it ready for a remodel. 

Bob and Melanie are blessed parents to have a son like Justin. And I am so grateful to be the lucky girl he chose to give his heart too! 

Could I get some fancy foot wear to go with that?

You bet! Here you go....

Justin has been having some pains in his stomach area for about the past year now. After multiple doctor's visits and many test and medications, nothing seemed to be working. They could not find the problem. So a scope down the throat was needed. Justin got some really fancy socks and a super nice blue shirt out of it.

Woo Hoo! All of Justin's fashion dreams have now been full filled!

Doesn't he look so excited??? He just could not contain himself! So much so, they had to sedate him. :)

Turns out...the lining in his stomach has been compromised. (Stomach lining has a raw spot on it.) With 2 different kinds of medication for 6 weeks, he should be all better.

If you build it, they will come!

Girls Camp 2011 has come and gone again. This year, this was our theme...

I am the Brandon Stake Girls Camp Director. I absolutely LOVE my calling. It allows me to work with some really amazing women and spend a week with some super great young women.  I feel so blessed to be trusted by the Lord to help spiritual mold his children. We spend a week with the girls doing spiritually fun stuff.

This year for the YCL's, I thought it would be a great experience to take them on an airboat ride. The girls had some much fun and really got to see just how beautiful Florida's nature is. 



One of our activities was to build a cake based on a story from the Old Testament. The cakes turned out so good. Here is a picture of 3 of the cakes.

Noah's Ark , Jonah and the Whale & The Garden of Eden

The girls are also given the opportunity to get on the shooting range. Wow can some of the girls shoot! I am so impressed. We talk about protection, not only from a physical stand point but from a spiritual side as well. Thanks to Justin, my father-in-law Bob, and Al Russo for always helping with this activity. It is a highlight of the week.


For our service project, we built this...

On the last night of camp, this is what I got out of the shower to find.... my bunk had been attached by caution tape!


Here is a picture of the entire group! I am so lucky to get to know all of our Stakes Young Women! I just love them!

Twister!

March was a tuff weather month for our area of Florida. We had odd weather and lots of rain. This included...

But ours was no movie! It was the REAL DEAL. The tornado touched down about 5 miles from our house. Here is a picture and a short movie clip....

This USE to be a fruit market stand

Here is a video clip of us driving through the hit area with in about 20 minutes of it touching down. It was just coincidence that we drove through that day.

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Justin and I celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary. We are lucky people to have found each other.

A few things I love about Justin....

He is kind

a gentleman

loving father

hard worker

has an amazing testimony of Jesus Christ

smart

liked by others

not selfish

puts up with me

and loves me

Thanks Skeeter for all you do. You are a GREAT man!

Justin and I celebrated our anniversary at one of our favorite places on Earth......Disney!

The above picture is of a gift from a friend. She is very creative and thoughtful. It was so cute I had a hard time allowing it to be used.

Grace goes to "Cracker Country"....

Grace got to go to "Cracker Country" this year for her 2nd grade field trip.

Here she is making a candle from Bee's wax.

And here is a class picture. May I say, Grace's teacher "ROCKS"!!! Grace LOVES her!