Lake Powell Round 1

 Posts coming in 2 batches: these from the Nikon DSLR

(next post from the waterproof Nikon)

 

We found a fantastic beach this year up Gunsight and spent plenty of time enjoying the sand and shallow water. The crew worked on this creation Friday morning and called it the Olympic Village:

 

 Bentley water skied! (Caroline's try didn't work out as well and ended with a lot of water up her nose--so proud of her for readily trying though!) And both kids LOVED tubing even as Caroline nearly flipped out of her seat--always laughing and thinking every bump was great fun!

 Cares quickly decided she would be Mason's "mini Mom" and doted on him often

 When we needed down time or relief from the sun the kids had plenty of supplies to "do a little art"

 Sparklers on top of the houseboat to celebrate the 24th of July and the summer olympics.

My cute mom had all sorts of events and activities planned so we could compete in our own LP olympics on Friday. And then we gathered up to watch the opening ceremonies (did they seem kind of slow and tame to anyone else? All of us in Powell kept waiting for something—or anything really— to happen)

 Kids' medal ceremony

 Of course there were hours and hours of swimming too

(more pics of water play coming...)

 

Our 2012 LP crew

7 Months

 Impromptu backyard photo shoot with our snugly bear:

Luke is pretty close to sitting up in his own but isn't there yet. Joseph was taking these pics and I was kneeling right by the chair to catch the babe whenever he'd start leaning to one side. Such a jolly boy who, as I always say, is growing way too fast! Love.

Picture from the Past

My sweet 3 year old Bentley and a plethora of cars:

Girls Camp 2012

Spent 2 full days with my beautiful, energetic, crazy young women at camp. It was a blast. Honestly. Sleeping on a slant on the hard ground was not the most fun part, but camping is camping and everything else seemed to run so smoothly. Girls camp can easily be fueled with lots of teenage drama but this year just felt so calm, so at ease, and I think that helped the girls feel more connected and happy with each other. Love these gals (leaders included!)

We spent our time setting up camp, snacking on tons of treats, crafting, attending stake devotionals and flag ceremonies, helping make finger puppets for a service project, sitting around our campfire, hiking to the lake, and laughing and talking a ton (often about Jef and Sean on The Bachelorette and then many "real life" boys too--classic girls camp :)

Should this be my new profile picture or what? 

This boy wig is an epic ward relic--pretty sure it has been to girl's camp for skit night for at least the last 6 years

I was sad to miss the last day full of archery, zip-lining, and more crafting, but most of all the ward testimony meeting. I love my young women so much and to share in their beautiful and powerful testimonies is certainly a highlight of my calling. Here's to hoping I'll be back at camp yet again next year!

Smith Babies

Left picture: Cares at 5 months, right picture: Luke at 6 months

Found this darling shot of Caroline when I was looking through old pics last week. See how blue Caroline's eyes used to be? And now they are purely green. Love these cute babies and that they seem to look a lot like I did at their age.

It's that time of year again and I am off to girl's camp with my young women early tomorrow morning. This will be my 3rd year in a row going! I may be the only leader up there with a handy-dandy breast pump, but I know it's important to spend that quality time with the girls. I have had wonderful experiences at camp getting to know my young women, listening to their stories and learning more about their lives/dreams/struggles, and feeling the spirit of testimony working in their beautiful hearts (and mine) up there in the mountains. Thank goodness for Grandma Bobbi and Nanny who will watch over my darlings while I'm gone (and Joseph who will be with them in the evenings after work).

Videos of Luke

This baby is learning to move faster than any of my others—why is he determined to grow up so quickly? Doesn't he know he is supposed to stay tiny forever?

Grandma's Funeral

The funeral for Joseph's grandma was a celebration of an amazing, industrious, full life. I felt honored and blessed to attend and to be among her proud family. The service was so beautiful and enriching. Of course I cried my way through most of it as I saw the love and heartache her children felt for her and how they would miss their mother. I also sat next to my crying husband and I knew he was missing her and saying goodbye through that event. I did cry many tears of joy though as I knew Grandma was released from her ailing body, finally reunited with her children that had died so young, and of course reunited with her very best friend and true partner in life—her husband. Joseph and a big group of cousins sang a beautiful arrangement of Be Still My Soul, Ruth Ann gave an excellent talk and honored her mother (and her namesake) so well. And Joseph's cousin James played a gorgeous medley of hymns on the piano—and I always love to hear him play.

I also felt so lucky to have known Ruth for 13 years, to have a lovely handmade quilt from her for a wedding gift, to have lived in the same "little house" she lived in many many years before, to have dropped by her home a few times when I was over at my moms and seen her in action on a puzzle, to have Luke playing daily on the quilt she made for Bentley when he was a newborn, to have had her in my home for the blessings of my children and to have loved her and been loved by her since I met Joseph.

Our little family had a chance to see her just 2 days before she passed away. She was sleeping soundly and we tried to wake her and visit a little but she was just too sleepy and couldn't really come out of her slumber. We sat quietly in her room with her, looked at all her prized possessions—mainly pictures of her huge extended family, held her hand and hoped she knew we had been there to say goodbye. Joseph was so sweet stroking her hair and then leaning down to gently kiss her forehead. I only hope my future grandsons would feel close enough to me to do the same—it was such a loving gesture.

The day was pretty long with the burial down in Pleasant Grove and then a huge family dinner back in Holladay—long but good. We left the kids with my mom during the funeral but took them to the graveside and the dinner. They had a great time playing with all their LeBaron cousins. And we loved the chance to be with family too. It isn't very often that Joseph's siblings are all in town together these days. Makes me think of when we were first married and would hang out with the whole family (except those on missions) at every Sunday dinner. Needless to say, I grew rather fond of all of them. I do miss those days. Simpler times for sure!

Pictures from the day:

 Rob (only in-law who's been the family longer than me!) with Luke & Joseph

 Nanny with 2 of her sisters Marty (on her left) and Andrea (on her right)

 half of the pallbearers (notice cute little Samuel, Joseph's cousin who is the same age as Bentley)

 

 Ruth Ann and her siblings

Ruth Wilson Adams 1926-2012

Grandma Adams' Obituary:

Ruth Wilson Adams, 86, of Holladay, Utah died on June 29, 2012 in Salt Lake City. Born May 31, 1926 in Midway, Utah to Reese Arthur and Eva Huber Wilson, she was the second child and first daughter of seven children. A child of the Depression, Ruth learned about frugality, hardship, and loss at an early age, but in her usual way, turned trials into qualities of determination, persistence and creativity. The death of her father in a mining accident the day before her 14th birthday only cemented those characteristics.
 
After spending her youth in Midway, Ruth left to attend Brigham Young University in the fall of 1944. There she met her future husband, Arza Paul Adams, and they were married December 20, 1945. Upon his graduation from BYU, they moved to Ames, Iowa, where Paul completed his Ph.D. After a year back in Utah, they moved to Fargo, North Dakota for nine years. In 1963, they settled their family in Holladay.
 
And what a family it was! Ruth gave birth to her first child in December 1946, and had 12 other children in a 20 year span. Never one to be idle, she served as LDS Relief Society President, PTA President, and working mother during much of that time. Perhaps one of her proudest accomplishments, given her deep love of education and knowledge, was to complete her Bachelor of Science degree the week before the birth of her last child. She then went on to receive her MBA and CPA license in the next three years. After receiving her degrees, she worked as a private CPA and for the Ensign Corporation under Dave Ensign, taking over many of the operations of the company after his death in 1976.
 
Upon retiring, Ruth and Paul served a mission in Leeds, England. They also served as volunteers in the Translation and Farm Management Departments of the LDS Church.
 
When asked to describe her life, Ruth used two words: busy and work. Those words go far to describe the key to her greatness. Ruth understood in a profound way that to serve is to do. And so she did, as she would say, "what was required and expected." A woman of a quiet and unassuming generosity of spirit, she was tolerant and kind. At the same time, she was driven by a powerful need to demand the best of herself, not to please anyone else, but because that was what she required and she expected. Although her presence will be greatly missed, Ruth's spirit is firmly rooted in those of us she left behind.
 
Ruth is preceded in death by her husband, Arza Paul Adams, and her children, David James Adams and Susan Kay Adams. She is also preceded in death by her brothers Harold Huber Wilson, James Martin Wilson, Reese Alan Wilson, David LeRoy Wilson and sister Helen Elizabeth Taylor. Survivors include her children Marty DeBloois (Mike), Wilson Paul Adams (LeeAnn), Ruth Ann LeBaron (Neil), Mary Mahoney (Steve), John Arza Adams (Lisa), Harold Kenneth Adams (Marie), Stephen Arthur Adams (Michele), Robert Alan Adams (Lynne), Bruce Kevin Adams (Lynnette), Andrea Moesser (David), and Daniel Jeffery Adams (Jennifer). Ruth is also survived by 46 grandchildren and 51 great grandchildren.
 

Viewing will be held Thursday, July 5, from 6 to 8 pm at Larkin Sunset Lawn (2350 East 1300 South) and Friday, July 6, from 9:30 to 10:30 at the Holladay South Stake Center (4917 Viewmont St.). Memorial services will be held at 11 am on Friday, July 6, at the Holladay South Stake Center. Internment will take place at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery.

4th at the Cabin

July 3rd-5th

Our stay was just perfect and so much fun. To sum it all up we enjoyed:

Cousins, poppers, red white & blue everything, late nights, hot tubbing, Oakley Rodeo, yummy meals, Luke's first official solids, fun crafts, gorgeous views (which became thick with smoke as the Quail fire burned in Alpine), ATV rides, puzzles, and an amazingly cool Thursday filled with lots of rain. We love this family tradition!

I have to add that Caroline and Maddie spent 30 minutes on the phone the day before we left so they could coordinate outfits and doll things to bring and so on. And Cec informed me that Maddie hid away in her room while on the phone and then pretended to be Kirsten (her doll) talking to Cares and telling her about anything and everything. I heart little girls!

 Cowboys & Cowgirls:

These 2 didn't even attend the rodeo with us (it started at 8:00 and they were both fast asleep by then.) But they sure wanted in on the dressing up time. Connor has mastered the cowboy smirk!

This darling guy was loving the rodeo clown oh so much. He was laughing so hard and getting such a kick out of everything he said! Such a fun memory for me to see him loving that silly humor. Love my funny Beans. He makes a dang cute cowboy too!