Happy 14th Birthday Andrew!

The Rivera Family

Our dear friends were sealed in the Washington DC Temple this past weekend!

How exciting!

Project Room AFTER

Look at all the space on the shelves! These shelves are in the closet part of the Project Room.

These shelves are inlaid into the wall. I love them.

And the counter/workspace with lots of cabinets for storage.

Project Room BEFORE

Melissa's 5th Grade Graduation

Melissa's 5th grade class had their graduation today. 6th graders will begin going to the Jr. High when school begins in the fall.

Receiving her awards.

GREAT JOB MELISSA!

Mr. Malakosky, the principal and Melissa

Mom and Melissa

Idol Blues

I love you poster...... prepared.
Abby REALLY loves David A.


Hearing Ryan say "David".

Realizing that he just said "Cook"

Giving a typical Simon gesture.

Thinking this is a rip off.

Still thinking.

Had Enough.

American Idol will be coming to Oklahoma City in late August. The cheap tickets are $40.00.

She wants her dad to take her. Abby takes checks, cold hard cash, and Paypal.

American Idol Prayers

Ok.....Miss Abby is taken with young David Archuleta, in fact she wants to go to Utah to visit him and marry him. Last night after watching American Idol, she was on a roll and it took a while for her to calm and get ready for bed. At prayer time she asks me, "Can I pray for David Archuleta to win?" My answer: "If we pray for somebody to win, then somebody has to lose, Wouldn't David Cook be sad if he lost." After thinking about it for a while here was her solution:

Dear Heavenly Father, help David Cook have a safe trip HOME!

I had to leave the room for fear of exploding with laughter. Gotta love quick thinking kids.

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush!

Our side yard is full of fresh yummy mulberries. The kids have been picking them and staining their fingers purple. We're going to try to pick enough this week to make a couple of jars of jam, for a picnic on Saturday. Yummy.

Are You My Mother? or Father?

When Sam came home, look who was waiting on the front patio!He had came down out of the tree is and is living in the bushes by the house. He still can't fly but doesn't seem to have a broken wing.
Mama is still keeping an eye on him and feeding him mulberries from the side yard. She squawks up a storm when we walk out the door.

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When Jacob was little his favorite story was "Are you my Mother?" We would read it over and over. Only Daddy didn't know that Mommy had a special voice for the baby bird. So one night Daddy read the story to Jacob and Jacob with a big frown upon his face said "What happened to the baby bird?......because he doesn't usually talk like that."

The Bird

Look who came to Visit! A few days ago he fell out of his nest. Unfortunately his nest was all the way at the tip top of the tree. Sam scooped him up in a storage box and duct taped it around some branches. So tonight Sam looked up and this little guy was on the branches near his make shift nest/house....how did he know he was there?????

His momma was hollering at him, either that or warning Sam to STAY AWAY.

Armed Forces Day Concert

Kristen Johnson, escape artist. (You can see her straight jacket falling) She and her husband Kevin Ridgeway put on an illusion show later in the evening. Kristen also escaped from a water torture chamber. The kids loved being able to go up near the stage and watch. Jacob got a little excited when he thought she wasn't going to be able to get out of the tank.

The Volunteer Army band put on a concert. There was music for every music lover, a little bit of old time rock and roll, country and of course patriotic as no military concert would ever be complete without Lee Greenwood's I'm Proud to be an American!

After the Army band and illusion act, Michael Peterson took the stage in a community building tour. I must say I was disappointed. Since the Army was a sponsor, and we're promoting Army Strong and Army Family Covenants, I would have thought his concert would have been more family friendly. Of course he is a country music singer, and while I personally like country music, it's not all about bars, drinking and divorce. While he does have great songs, like From Here to Eternity, he decided to sing Alison Krauss's You Say it Best. He said he would like to add a part to the verse that you would never hear on radio..............you say it best when you wear nothing at all............and while he got giggles, he also got a lot of questioning looks.

Really disappointing.

The Grand Finale of the night was Fireworks over Lake Helen.

How To Save a Life

Did you know that one pint of blood can save 3 lives? Or that only 5 % of eligible Americans donate blood?

Thank you to those who donated blood March 20, 1971- March 22, 1971, after a call went out that an emergency donation was needed for a newborn. That donation saved MY life.

Sheldon Tennant you are MY HERO.

To find our more about donating blood and those it saves click here.

~ In memory of Zachary and Sam Juhlmann~

She Thinks My Tractors Sexy

I prefer this one, umm......the tractor that is :) The red/rust one.

The only thing missing was an International Harvester!