Book of Mormon Read-A-Thon

We issued a challenge to our Young Women to read the Book of Mormon over the summer for their Virtue or Honor Bee projects. We held a big kick off read-a-thon at my house. It was a big success, and the girls did AWESOME! We made it to 2 Nephi 24 (all the way through the Isaiah chapters). Here's a brief summary of how our night went:

At 5:00 the girls showed up with their scriptures, marking pencils, pillows and blankets. We fed them pizza for dinner and then had them settle in and get comfy. We listened to the title page, intro, testimony of the three and eight, testimony of Joseph Smith, and the explanation. 

 We had 22 girls show up! A couple had to leave early, and a couple came a little late, but the majority of them were there the whole 7 hours!

 We gave them a really cute tracker to mark off the chapters as we read them.

 We also gave them a really cool list of page titles that they could write at the top of each page as we read. It's a 1 sentence summary of each page. It can be found at www.confessionsofaslackermom.com. 

 Bailey was really excited about this activity. She did so great, and I think she learned a lot.

At 6:00, President Fuller (Stake President) came over dressed as Nephi and kicked us off by reading the first 2 chapters to us. He had the brass plates, and the sword of Laban. He was so great, because he would explain what he was reading as he went. I learned a few thing, so I'm pretty sure the girls did.

 President Fuller

We had some acting going on for the next few chapters. 

 Nephi smiting off Laban's head. I think Ali had WAY to much fun killing Emily :)!

The next part of the night was my favorite. Neal Larson came over as Nephi and explained Lehi's dream to them. The girls even got to walk through it. 

 Lehi's dream.

 We ran a rope (rod of iron) from my house to a tree out on the canal road (tree of life). The girls had to hold onto the iron rod and make it to the tree.

 Ha! We even had a mist of darkness for them to go through :)!

 On the other side of the canal (filthy waters), there was an big, empty field where some of our young men acted as the great and spacious building. They were HILARIOUS!!! They were blasting music, dancing, mocking us, and yelling taunts. Conner was waving some weeds back in forth in the air and yelled, "Hey, who wants some weed!" Then after Sawyer shook his butt for us, he lifted his shirt up and yelled, "You don't get abs like these from reading your scriptures!" I was DYING! Even Mark busted a few good moves.

 Once they made it to the tree, they got to partake of the fruit.

We listened to some chapters, and had some guest readers come to finish out first Nephi.

Mark narrated, and Sawyer acted out 1 Nephi 16. It's the Liahona and the broken bow. 

When we finished 1 Nephi, we gave them a handout that said, "The scriptures are to be used like bread...for daily use. Not like cake...for just special occasions." But we told them finishing 1 Nephi was a special occasion, so we had cake.

We knew that 2 Nephi would be challenging, because there is some hard stuff to understand in it. But the girls amazed us with how well they paid attention. We had some giggling during the last few Isaiah chapters, but who can blame them. We face timed with Tammi a couple times, had lots of guest readers, listened to it on double speed, gave them lots of treats, took some breaks to do Book of Mormon truth or dare, and just kept plugging along. We ended at midnight! Now the girls only have to read 5 pages a day during the rest of the summer to complete the challenge!

I love my calling! I love the awesome, and extremely dedicated ladies I serve with, and I LOVE the girls!

Celebration Breakfast

Today is the last day of school! For Bailey and her cute friends, it's the last day of their elementary school career. We got up extra early and took them to breakfast at Smitty's to celebrate. We had just enough time to stop by the river and take a couple pictures of them before we dropped them off at Falls Valley for their last time. 

 Smitty's

Bailey, Hannah, Neesha, Marlee, Madi, Annie, and Emily

 I know that middle school will be a whole different ball game. I know they will make new friends based on their talents and interests, but I hope these girls will always remain close.

I LOVE this picture! I LOVE all these girls!

Have a great summer girls!

Falls Valley Graduation

Falls Valley had a fun graduation ceremony for the 6th grade students. The theme was, Our Future Is Unwritten.  The graduates sang Unwritten, and did a fun dance. Bailey gave a short speech, and then performed, A Place in This World, with Mark. She doesn't get nervous anymore when she performs, but this one was a little scary, because it was in front of her peers. She did a beautiful job. There was one other speaker, and then the kids were presented their diplomas. She's had such a great elementary school career. Her time at Falls Valley really has been wonderful. I'm not even sad that she's leaving, because I feel like she's well prepared, and ready to tackle middle school. 

 Receiving her diploma from Mr. Guachay.

Whahoo! Diploma in hand!

 Hannah, Madi, Marlee, Neesha, Bailey, Annie, and Emily. I love these girls! I feel like I can credit a lot of who Bailey has become to the wonderful friends she surrounds herself with. 

 This picture choked me up a bit. These two goof balls met in first grade, and I feel like they have been almost inseparable since then. They have truly been the definition of best friends. 

Marlee, Neesha, and Bailey. These three are so different from each other, as far as talents and hobbies go. It will be interesting to see what happens in middle school. It's inevitable that things will change along the way, but I hope these girls can always support each other, and stay close.

Congratulations Bailey! We are so proud of you! You have had a successful Falls Valley career, and we know exciting things are in store for you at Rocky Mountain! We love you!

6th Grade Track Meet

Today I got to enjoy some sunshine, and a great track meet! All the 6th graders in the district meet at Bonneville High School for a one time track event. It's so fun and exciting for the kids! I saw some great talent, and some great school spirit from the Falls Valley crowd.

 Annie, Neesha, Bailey, Marlee, Emily, and Hannah

Bailey ran the mile, the 4X100m relay, and the 75m speed dash. She got 3rd in the mile, which she was very disappointed in. I think she did awesome and should be proud of herself! I wish she wouldn't put so much pressure on herself. She wasn't so much disappointed in the place, as much as her time. She had been running a lot faster when she practiced for it. The race started out really fast, and I think it was tough on her mentally. She's a hard working, determined little thing, so she has a great running future ahead of her.

 Bailey and Emma warming up for the mile.

 Starting the mile

 Finishing the mile

Their 4X100m relay team did great. We took them to the track the day before to work on their hand offs. They all did them really good!

 Getting ready to start the relay.

 The relay team: Marlee, Brooklyn, McKenzie, Bailey.

She also ran the 75m dash. This one stressed her out big time! She was having some serious anxiety issues before it started. It was the fastest boy and girl from each school. She got 4th, which I think is great (especially with her jello legs after the mile). She was just glad when that one was over. I guess she doesn't want to be a sprinter :)!

Bailey with her ribbon from the mile. 

Way to go Bailey! 

Commencement

Sawyer asked Melissa McMasters to Commencement. I must say, the kid's a nut! Here's the story:

 He made this great shirt :)! He put his hoodie on, and went to track practice. When the kids were stretching, we walked up to Melissa and gave her flowers and a sharpie. She asked what the sharpie was for, and he unzipped his hoodie, revealing the shirt. At the same time, his friend started his i-pod, and played the song, Check Yes Juliet. I think that's hilarious!

As goofy as he is, she still checked yes! He was pretty excited!

For their day date, they went indoor rock climbing. He did the same thing last year for his day date, and wants it to be a tradition. It's unique, and everyone seems to like it.

Sawyer and Melissa

Kendra, Blair, Melissa

Here's the whole group: Kendra, Sam, Tyler, Rachel, Zakk, Christie, Dirk, Blair, Melissa, Sawyer.

Dirk, Sam, and Sawyer. Wow, who wouldn't want to go out with them ;)!

After rock climbing, they went and got Jamba Juice. Then, they dropped the girls off so everyone could get ready for the dance.

When they picked up the girls, they went and had pictures done, then went to dinner at Olive Garden. The dance was at the Red Lion Hotel, and afterwards they came back to our house and watched a movie. I know I say this all the time, but I'm so grateful for the awesome friends Sawyer has. I never worry about him getting into trouble, because he's always around such good kids.

Sawyer looking studly!

Sam, Kendra, Zakk, Christie, Blair, Dirk, Melissa, Sawyer

This picture is my favorite.

 The beautiful girls!

The handsome guys!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was great!

 My day started off with this yummy breakfast!

Throughout the day the kids would walk up and give me presents! Who doesn't love presents?!? They did, however, pull a pretty mean trick on me. I had mentioned to Mark that I wanted a pair of sunglasses. I don't usually wear them, but my eyes are starting to get bad, so I thought it would be a good idea to start protecting them a little bit. Well, the kids handed me this hideous pair of sun glasses, and acted totally serious and excited about it. I wasn't even sure what to say! I tried to be really nice, and I said, "I'm not sure if I can wear sunglasses." Then I put them on and was even more horrified! I said (again, in a very nice voice), "Wow, they take up my whole face!" That's when Mark started cracking up, so I knew it was a joke. Brats! It did mean that I get to go pick out my own real pair of sunglasses though :)! I also got a flower cricut cartridge, a really cute over night bag, and a Barnes and Noble gift card! I'm spoiled, I know!

 Here's me with all my loot, and my 'cool' shades.

 Oh man, Sawyer's face kills me!

 Okay, one serious one, and then back to the fun...

And my day ended with this nice little treat!