JENSEN PRIMARY TAKEOVER!

It was combined 5th Sunday and the Bishopric wanted to have a meeting with all the adults so the youth signed up to take over primary. Emma signed up for chorister and since Jared is in Oregon and no one was signing up for pianist - I went ahead and signed up for that so we could be a team! We did great considering we were big time subs! Emma even went and borrowed a bunch of singing time supplies from Kati Hall to make it more fun for the kids. Then when singing time was over we snuck out to get a drink! shhhhhh we earned that though!

TWINS GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!

The twins have been looking forward to this birthday for a few years now because Eli's golden birthday he got an xbox so they knew they needed something big because that was only fair. That was a lot of pressure put on this single mommy...but not gonna lie - pretty sure I nailed it! The second to last week of school I brought the boys donuts for their class to sing to them and pass them out - of course they loved that. Then the day after school got out we had their massive birthday party! Since Jared is living in Oregon I got Eric to help me build these pallet things for their party and we rented out Element and had a giant Nerf party. Everyone got a bandanna to pick their team, they got a bag to wear around their waist to carry all the bullets in them we gave them and they went to town for 2 hours playing death match, capture the flag, etc. Then we had treats and drinks to take home. They had the BEST day!!! They were so happy and even got 18 kids to show up - not to shabby boys. Then the next weekend Jared was in town for our anniversary so we took a day and celebrated the twins fake birthday so Jared could be apart of something. We had strawberry shortcake (their pick), they opened their present - a gas powered bike thing and then with all their money they got from friends and grandparents they went out and bought paintball guns and spent the weekend shooting up the pallets we built and riding their bike. THEN on their actual birthday, we went to lunch at Joe's BBQ, dinner at Joe's Farmgrill, played all day and then had an ice cream cake - their second dessert of choice. These boys bring so much joy to our family we were super glad to bring them so much joy for their golden birthday - even if we did celebrate it 4 times - ha ha!

GIRLS CAMP AND BOYS CAMP!

Emma had what was probably her last Girls Camp and Eli had his first Boys Camp. Both had a great time. The boys and girls both spent the first day at Slide Rock together so Emma and Eli got to see each other. Emma stayed up a camp just outside of Payson. Eli camped in Flagstaff. Emma loved being a YCL to the 1st years and Eli thought he was a stud hanging out with Nate Bell and Michael Jolley and all his deacon friends. I got to go up for a day on Wednesday and bring supplies that some leaders needed and snacks for everyone, drinks for the leaders and yummy lunches for Emma, Noelle and Addi. I did have Alyza with me but as I was driving I realized I was driving right by Caryn's house so I called her and asked if she could babysit Alyza for the day, she of course thought I was joking but 8 minutes later I dropped her off - ha ha! Emma was asked to give a little talk to the girls up at camp. She is so good at these things. Eli came home from camp and talked about it a TON for a couple of days afterwards. They even got to swim at NAU's pool and eat at their buffet. We are so grateful for all the leaders who put some much time and effort into making these camps so good for the youth. They always come home so tired and happy!

IGNITE HAS COME TO AN END!

It's the end of a good little baseball era for Eli. Ignite finally came to end - I believe it lasted 3-4 years! We loved having Coach Matt Palmer and Coach Alfred Abalos. They were so good to Eli. They prayed after each game. They respected the boys and Eli was happy there. He loved his team and having his own walk-up songs. Coach Alfred picked out, "My life be like" - Eli loved that song! Eventually he added in YoungBlood, Thunder, and Immigrant song. Eli cried when it was over. That was rough. They were sad. Hopefully he remembers this time forever. Go Ignite! (these pictures were all taken in Spring 2018 before the team split into a red team and a blue team)