Happy 16th Birthday Joshua!!

I found this cute picture of Joshua when we was 4. The other picture is one I took of him just before he left for his first date. Yes, his first date was on his 16th birthday. He asked a girl to Homecoming and a whole group of kids went. It sounded like he had a good time.

We celebrated today with a big dinner and cake and presents. I forgot to buy birthday candles so we made do with what I could find.

Notice Adam's face.

More BYU Football

David took Rachel to a BYU football game today. They sent this to me via e-mail while they were at the game. Aren't they cute?

All 3 Suitcases Are Jared's

The other missionary is one that is already there and he is just helping Jared with his luggage.  :)

Jared is Officially a Missionary!

We took Jared to the MTC yesterday. It's hard to believe that my little Jared is now on a mission. I am so proud of him and am so glad he has made this choice. It was very exciting to get ready, pack, and then take him down to Provo. I felt a little sad to see him leave for 2 whole years but for the most part I just feel happy and excited. He was so ready and excited to get going. We took a few pictures at home before we left and then we just dropped him off at the curb at the MTC. Because of the swine flu they don't have the families come in anymore. So we said a quick goodbye and took a picture of him walking away.

Go BYU!

David and I got to go to Texas for the BYU vs. Oklahoma game. Talk about fun. The stadium was unbelievable and the game was even better. I am now a renewed BYU fan.

About 1/3 of the stadium.

The huge screen is indescribable and can't really be done justice in a picture.

Don't you just love that final score?

Moments in Time

Sunset Photo taken by Joshua Powell

I spent all day making chili sauce because we used up our last jar. Since you can't buy it at the store and we love it on our roast or meat loaf... I had to make some more. It is my grandmother's recipe and I've never had anything like it except at home. I found a local farmer who sold me about 30 pounds of tomatoes for way cheap and then I went to work with some help from Jared. The house smelled so good! I ended up with about 18 pints which should last us until next summer when I can make some more.

This is one of Rebecca's baby mice that she is holding in her hand. So think of an 8-year-old's hand and then maybe you can picture how little the mouse is. They are very active and curious now that their eyes are open. We have to be careful when we hold them because they scurry fast and tend to jump. They are quite entertaining to watch in their cage.

Dreams of Traveling

I saw this on a friend's blog and wanted to do one myself. I love traveling and have dreams of going to every state in the U.S. as well as all the countries I can get to. I also happen to love maps so the 2 maps below are fun, fun. The red shows the states and countries that I have visited. It looks like I still have a lot of the world left to explore. Maybe my next country will be Peru with David? We'll see.

visited 41 states (82%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or website vertaling duits?


visited 25 states (11.1%)
Create your own visited map of The World or Like this? try: Mapped Web