Abundant Recompense Copy

Back in July we went on quite a vacation. We hit Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Twodot, Montana (yeah, we'd never heard of that one either.) It was our first time ever camping as a family anywhere other than our back yard. The car was completely stuffed. We saw signs like this everywhere and found them very hilarious. Apparently this is an issue. Jackson, Wyoming, was a fun, kitschy town. Antlers everywhere! We ate at a very crowded McDonald's. Our first order of business once in Grand Teton was to spot this moose across the river. It was so cool! After finding our campsite and setting up camp at Jackson Lake (we got the second to last spot in the campground!), we headed out for our afternoon of Grand Teton adventure. We drove to Jenny Lake and took a ferry ride across it. It was really fun, and also pretty breathtaking. Fish at the dock. Here comes the ferry! When we got to the other side of Jenny Lake, we hiked up to Hidden Falls. The kids brought along little notebooks. Leah ...

Before the end of last school year I taught Bryn the basics of using my sewing machine. She's been working on making a patchwork picnic quilt. During the summer, one of my friends who has a couple girls Bryn's age decided to teach a sewing class, and Bryn was so excited to get to go! She learned lots of good things and got to choose her own fabric to do a couple awesome projects. Her finished projects! She made a skirt for her cat, Cherry, and a matching one for herself!

August 5, 2017 Bryn got baptized. Usually Bryn is pretty shy in front of a crowd, but it was delightful to notice her complete confidence on her baptism day. She wasn't scared at all. Just excited, and sure of herself. We were so glad to have family and dear friends come out for the event. The ordinance and confirmation were perfect. Simple and beautiful. Baptism days are definite paydays for parents. As has become tradition, we invited family and friends to our home when the baptism was over to have dinner. Bryn chose the menu and we had pigs in a blanket, tater tots, fruit kebabs, a veggie tray, and Costco cake. Kim's kids and dad were there, our neighbors Frank and Irene, Gerald, Dottie and Jerry, all Nate's side of the family, and Brianna. Also two members of the primary presidency and our bishop. Several members of my family also sent little notes for Bryn.  It was wonderful to have so much support. Linda also did a photoshoot with  Bryn in her pretty white dress. Isn...