Our Summer... BUSY but FUN!

We have A LOT going on this summer. We always do, but this summer seems particularly busy. But we have some exciting things happening. I want to write it all out, for my sake, to see it all written out in one place. I'm not adding our regular activities like music lessons, karate, scouts and regular church activities.

So here it goes...

May


May 8 - My Birthday :)
May 11 - Melanie's Birthday (which I still need to add pics of)
May 13 - Mother's Day, 24th Wedding Anniversary and WE GOT TO SKYPE OUR MISSIONARIES!!! Best Mother's Day gift ever!!!
May 18 - Brandon's dance party
May 18-20 - Cabin with Cassie, Allen and I
May 20 - Brandon gets on a Greyhound bus for Provo EFY
May 21 - Melanie and Cassie blood work early am
May 23 - Allen takes test in Kingman - Cassie's doctors appointment - My dad's 74th birthday
May 25-28 - Cabin with family
May 26 - Brandon returns and we move him into his apartment in Cedar
May 27 - My dad's birthday party with family - 4:30pm... going to try and make that.... we'll see!
May 28 - Cassie flies out at 4:30pm to England for a month
May 29 - Melanie's doctors appointment at 9:30am

June

June 4-6 - High Adventure - Melanie may be missing this as much as I don't want her to.
June 12 - Driving to Vegas to drop Melanie off at the airport for her Tongan Humanitarian trip
June 14 - Fly out of Vegas for England with Allen, Chris and I
June 16-25 - Have a blast in the UK!!! And maybe head into other parts of Europe!
June 25 - Fly home from England with Allen, Cassie, Chris and I
June 30 - Pick Melanie up at LAX

July


No plans except preparing for my upcoming school year. But I have a feeling it will fill up as well, it usually does. We usually do school year round (at least light school in the summer months) but the kids will be learning a lot from their travels this summer, so that's good enough for me. I'm planning to start school the first or second week of August.

Now that it's written out and some of it has happened already, it doesn't seem as overwhelming. I'm excited for all the traveling, even though it gets a little stressful. But once there, we always have a great time! I'm very excited for Melanie's opportunity to serve the Tongan people. Her group will be adding a bathroom on to a school. They will also be spending 2 days in Fiji (one of my favorite places in the world!) They will be donating books and school supplies to a village out there. She's going to love it!!

Melanie's and Christian's Music Recital

This was Christian's first year of piano. While he's not crazy about it, he knows we think it's important for him to play an instrument, so he's very good about doing it. He doesn't practice like he could but he's promised to do better this coming year.

Melanie has been taking piano for 2 years and voice for 3 and a half years. She loves music and plans to major or minor in it in college.

Both Melanie and Christian took about a year and a half of violin but their teacher moved and we weren't able to find another one so I started Christian with piano.

Christian had 3 short piano pieces he played at the recital. Melanie played 3 piano and sang 3 songs as well. It was an early birthday present for me this year! Chris DID NOT want to play Happy Birthday... he thought it was too babyish, but I said he would be playing it for me and not to worry about what others thought about it.  I love watching my kids developing their talents!

Chris playing The Gift to be Simple

Chris playing Blow the Man Down

Chris playing Happy Birthday

Melanie playing The Entertainer

Melanie singing O Cessate

Melanie playing Amazing Graze

Melanie singing Early One Morning

Melanie playing Over the Rainbow

Melanie singing Far From the Home I Love

Happy Birthday Ali Lou!

Ali, who just turned 22, spent her first birthday away from home and family this year. She's serving an 18 month mission in England and loving every minute of it!

We couldn't not celebrate her birthday... so here's how we celebrated and may I say, it was delicious!

She sent home a few pictures of her time there celebrating.

Opening presents :D

MORE PRESENTS!!!

Me on my birthday! :D 

We sure do miss her! Next year we'll have one of the chocolate cakes and she'll love it!

Happy Birthday, Sister Ali Stout!! We love and miss you!!

Happy Easter

Today is Easter and it's been quite an emotional day for me. I've spent a lot of time reflecting on my Savior and his great and infinite atonement. I'm humbled by his sacrifice for me and all who have and will ever live. My heart is full of gratitude for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."  ~  John 11:25-26

My Baby's 13!

It's hard to believe that Christian is 13 now. We spent the weekend before his birthday up at our cabin - we had a great time. There was still some snow up there and the last 1/2 mile up to the cabin is a dirt road and we just made. Our daughter, Cassie, who is going to SUU came for the weekend. It's strange having so half the kids gone and our gatherings are getting smaller and smaller.  But I know as they all get married and start their families, that will change. Something I look very forward to :)

Opening gifts at the cabin

He is such a sweetie :)

A quick, chilly pic just before heading home.

As we were packing, Cassie decided to make Christian a cake. The oven in the cabin doesn't work really great and with the elevation, we needed to add more flour - which we didn't have. We also didn't have frosting. She added Nutella to half the cake, in case it wasn't going to taste good. But it was wonderful. We couldn't get pieces out, so we all just ate right out of the pan. Chris loved it :) Oh, did I mention that he's pretty excited to be a teenager :D

The cake after we started eating. We decided it needed some strawberries as well. It made it even better. Doesn't look great, but it was and made a fun memory.

On our way down the mountain, we saw a llama. This is the first time we've seen one in all the years we've been going up to Kolob Mountain - 16 years now. It was in the middle of the street and one of the girls thought it was a horse from a distance, but we were excited to see a llama!

He is so cute. He was enjoying being sung to. One of the elders added his own version of the birthday song and Chris got a big kick out of it :)  

I love him :)  <3

We love having the elders over. They are lots of fun!

Happy 13th Birthday, Christian! We love you, SO much! :D

A Weekend in Prescott

This weekend we went to Prescott, AZ to visit my husband's brother, Adam's family.  They recently moved out there after he purchased a dental practice.  I hadn't ever been to Prescott and I was surprised at how beautiful it is.  They will be seeing lots of us! Especially during the summer!

I wish I could say Christian had as much fun as the rest of us.  He was a little under the weather while we were there but he was a little trooper and still hiked around a little with us. 

Cute litte Charlie... so adorable!

Melanie and Charlie :)

My hubs caught a goose... I don't think we can visit a lake with a bird in it without him catching one for the kids.  

Adam and Ashley with Christian.  Goodness, Chris is getting SO tall!!! 

Melanie with her beautiful smile.  She was especially excited to go to Prescott because she got her braces off.  She wore them for nearly 4 years!  Her teeth look wonderful!

Me and my sweetie pie :)

I love my baby girl!

Me, Allen, Adam and Ashley with baby Cate

I love my baby boy just as much!  :D

Stout boys don't follow the rules if they don't see the point of them.  I just had to get a pic of them on the dam with the sign :)

Hike in the Hualapai's

We've become really close with the elders in our area.  We love them all but transfers are coming up and for sure a couple of them will be leaving next week - they've all been here for 3 transfers.  Before then, we all thought it might be fun to hike up at the Hualapai Mountains, which is about an hour from our town and just outside of Kingman, AZ. It was a beautiful day with my two youngest and Elders Meiners, Kynaston, Parker, and Glessing.

Chris and Elder Kynaston enjoying the park :)

The elk come right up to you.  They'll eat right out of your hand.

(L-R) Glessing, Kynaston, Parker, Meiners

Update: Kynaston was transferred to Boulder City, NV and Glessing was transferred to Henderson, NV.  However, Glessing will be heading to Brazil in a couple weeks once his Visa comes through.  They will be missed.