Oh come on, that's pretty cute

I can't believe I have a hamster.  I never wanted a hamster, but when you're given a free hamster, free cage, and free food and all of your children look at you with those eyes, you have a hamster.  To top it off, I even like the hamster.  He's adorable.  I even paid a ridiculous amount of money to amputate his foot when he broke it.  This is no longer a free hamster.  He has also been renamed.  The hamster formerly known as Pickle is now called Stumperton or Lieutenant Dan.  

Camping at Christopher Creek

The ax man

Our backyard - loved it

There were tons of crayfish in the water

Mallory slipped off the rock and fell into the water.  For some reason I thought this was hilarious.

Look at Megan's face.  She's saying, "Mom, why are you laughing?  That's so mean."

Hearty was so adorable on this trip.  I was strong-armed into bringing her, but I'm so glad I did.  She followed the kids everywhere, played in the creek, and completely tuckered herself out by dark.  

Some of the unfortunate yet tasty crayfish we caught.

Connor hugging his sister...once in a lifetime shot.

The girls caught lots of caterpillars.  I think their names were Jellybob, Juliebob, and Jellybean.

Rock Chamber at SoZo Coffee House

My dad playing good old rock and roll with his band.  I was super impressed and so proud of my dad.

ROCK ON DAD!!

Scout camp

I found out last year that scout camp is surprisingly fun.  It was hot, but the boys love it, and we get to do lots of cool stuff.  I especially enjoyed channeling my inner Katniss and doing Archery.  I also learned that I completely stink at shooting BB guns.

Wildlife in the backyard

We found this cute little guy just hanging out in the backyard.  I'm pretty sure he's just a baby because he still had baby feathers.  I could tell he was scared so we left him alone and kept the dog in the house.  We've been hearing an owl outside every night and I just love it.  For some reason owls are fascinating and super cool, while pigeons are gross and hideous.  

Yong's Baptism Day

My dear friend and neighbor, Yong, on her baptism day.  Her journey has been an incredible experience for me.  Yong and I became friends through our daughters.  When they moved in across the street from us, my daughter about exploded with excitement.  We got to know each other and became friends also.  It didn't hurt that she also has a daughter that is Mallory's age.

Yong asked if she could come to church with us on Easter Sunday.  Of course we told her that we'd love her family to come with us.  The very next day, Yong asked me for a Book of Mormon and told me she'd like to see the missionaries.  I was excited, surprised, and more than happy to fulfill her request.

When the date approached for the missionaries to come over, I was a little worried about what she would think about these two young men.  Yong is a very intelligent woman, a medical researcher.  She was also raised as an atheist in China.  I knew she'd have tough questions.  Would we be able to answer those questions?  Would two young missionaries be able to answer them?

My fears were put to rest just a few minutes after we sat down together.  As the missionaries taught Yong, the room was filled with the spirit.  The Lord truly does speak through His servants.  Yong is amazingly intuitive and it seemed that her questions always led into the next topic of discussion.  We had incredible discussions about Buddhism, Taoism, and the universal language of love. 

After about six meetings, Yong told us that she wanted to get baptized.  She often thanks me for giving her the opportunity to learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but she needs to realize that the experience has been just as amazing and faith-building for us as it has been for her.  I am supremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to go on this spiritual journey with her.