Braden and Courteney are MARRIED!!!

It was an absolute GORGEOUS day at the Gilbert Temple!  The sealing was so sweet and tender and the sealer gave such great counsel and teaching to Courteney and Braden!  It was a beautiful ordnance!  After, I was bracing for the heat, but it was actually under 100 degrees and there was a nice cool breeze!  In the shade it wasn't hot at all!  For the end of June, we got lucky!  We got some beautiful pictures and then Robin, Bill and I went to Kneaders for lunch afterward!  We were really hungry because we didn't have any breakfast this morning.  (We stayed at Allison's house and played games last night.)  Lunch tasted good!  Then we went over to Deseret Bookstore and I was able to exchange my garments for a better size.  The lady there was really helpful as the new sizes and fit are so different.  She explained that very patiently to us!  Then I just poked around the store and bought a few cute patriotic decorations and a new book to read.  (Excited about that!)  Then we went back to Allison's house and played more cards and then around 4:30 headed down to Tucson for the reception there.  It was a beautiful reception and we had an enjoyable time.  I'm glad we could support Robin in this special day with Braden and his new wife.  We left the reception as soon as it was over and got home to Peoria around 11:30.  Beautiful day with family today!  And it was so nice to have a leisure day and not be in a hurry or with a to-do list a mile long!  We just enjoyed the day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Day at Kristine's Endowment Session

Today was a beautiful evening!  Kristine Higbee went through the Phoenix Temple and received her endowment tonight.  It was such a beautiful session and she was so sweet and tender about it.  Her emotions were on the surface the whole time!  Many people in the ward came to support her and were there to hug her as she came into the Celestial Room. When she did, she was just tearing up with so much joy and happiness.  She loved everything about the temple and is just beaming with so much joy right now!  I love to attend the session when someone I know is going through for the first time because it makes me really think about things more and as I wonder how they are thinking and understanding things, I do the same.  Tonight was no different!  I really enjoyed sharing this beautiful time with Kristine and am so happy that she's taking this next step on the covenant path! 

Girls Camp Stake Center Style Day 2

Camp was only 2 days because of all the changes.  First the girls started with a ward pool party at the Grover's house, then they all went to the church for dinner and an evening program-- Bishop's Night, so Bill and I got to go to this.  It was a fun day!  In the pool pics below are Bella Squire, Heidi Hinton, Grace Hart, Olivia Withey, Katelyn and Hannah Hinton.  Then the next few pictures are from a cute rap done depicting our Stake Presidency-- I'm not sure who played the other 2, but Pres. Hinton was played by Erin Trimble!  It was so funny and so cute!  (Done to the tune of Run DMC's "It's Tricky"-- a popular 80's rap song!)  They also played a game with all the Bishop's and their wives-- we had to guess an answer to a question of how we think our spouse would answer it.  They divided everyone into 2 groups, and Bill and I won from our group.  (Bishop and Diana Anderson won from the other group.)  Then, the YCL's performed the "Living Christ" as they do every year where they all take a part and say it memorized.  Then everyone sang the song, "Peace in Christ" and then we divided off into wards and had our own testimony meeting-- Rose Valley met in the YW room.  Most of the girls bore their testimonies!  It was a really nice evening with a lot of fun, but it was also spiritual too!  (I loved that it was air conditioned and CLEAN!)   

Girls Camp Stake Center Style!

Camp was a little different this year as Camp Lo Mia was under stage 3 fire restrictions causing camp to be cancelled at Lo Mia.  Soooo, our stake just did it at the church and the girls came home at night.  Here's some pictures from the first days' activities.  They were there at the church all day from 7am to 8pm!  Katelyn loved it and said it was a lot of fun!  Here they are below making PVC guns... Katelyn's was used against me a couple of times when she got home!  First 2 pictures Katelyn is with Sammy Holmes, Shea Pribyl, and Hannah Hinton.  The next picture is also with girls from our ward: Hannah Maughan, Olivia Withey, Makay Baker, Sammy, Shea, Hannah, Joanne Anderson and Katelyn in on the floor!  Cute girls!