Priest Quorum Bike/Hike/Swim/Camp Trip

Ammon and Addison were able to spend Monday through Wednesday adventuring with the Priest in our ward.  They went to St. Charles Canyon where they camped.  They drove to Bloomington Lake where they played in the freezing water and then biked back to St. Charles Canyon. They did some hiking  through Minnetonka Cave and then on the way home, they went to Oneida and floated the river.  I am a bit jealous, because it all sounds fun and it is usually the boys who get to have all the adventures.  

I am glad that Ammon went.  He was the only dad that went ( other than the Bishop).  He is good to support the kids and spend time with them.  It also helps that we have a passenger van, so we usually end up being the transportation for most trips and outings, but that's okay, we got the van for just that very reason.  It definitely get's used. 

Addison made it home about two hours before he had a race at Mountain Crest.  He was beat to say the least.  I had to keep waking him up.  He also had some cuts on the bottom of his feet from the river ( no watershoes) and his thigh was sore from a rock/squirrel incident. ( Long Story!) 

~Race pics/post later.~ 

Gethsemene Song

Ada and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song and maybe after a bit of practice, may just sing it in church one day.

I Did It!

Wahoo! It's over! Ammon, Addison and I spoke in church today. I am not a great speaker especially in front of adults. I had the jitters this morning at home before church and I thought surely I would end up fainting or something up on the stand. Avery, Ada and I said a prayer before we left and asked for peace and a calmness to come over me so that I could say what I had prepared. Needless to say, all went well and I spoke way too long. Ammon only had 10 minutes to cram his talk in. I actually feel good about how it went and I am glad that I had the opportunity. I learned a lot as I studied and prepared. However, I hope we're done for a long while!
I'm grateful for the power of prayer and that I was at peace and felt a calmness as I spoke.

Addison did awesome!
Ammon had to read fast and summarize- all good thoughts though.
Man, I never knew that I was so long-winded.

Oh! Ya! Mom and Dad- Christina England- Hale sang "I know My Redeemer Lives" between mine and Ammons talks. Of course, she did a beautiful job!

Elder's Quroum Party

We attended our Elder's Quorum Party last night. It was a lot of fun. I forgot to get the camera out an catch some of the festivities. We had Ribs from IGGY"S ( the owner is in our ward) and many different salads. It was fun.Ada and friend after playing kickball with mom.
All the adults took to a game of volleyball. Avery wanted to keep playing and tried real hard to get in some hits of his own. He helped us get defeated! It was fun though. He would run right in front of one of the adults and go after the ball. It usually ended up in a turn over.
I'm glad that the adults were okay with it and had a sense of humor. It was more important to keep him included than to win the game.
He tried so hard. At the end of the night , his arms hurt form hitting the ball
He insisted on sticking with it. " I learned this in P.E. Mom", he said. We had to let him practice what he had just learned. Addison was on the other side and thought that it was soccer. He tried hitting it with his head. Fun night overall.