June 28, 2012

June Happenings

Well, now that June is about over...how about a shmorgasboard post of random happenings? Okay? Okay.

Garage Sale/Relay for Life Fundraiser:
The first weekend of June was our annual garage sale. We had less stuff this year, but more quality items I would say. We didn't do too bad and made $300 for our team. Wahoo! Jennifer and Steve drove down to help with the garage sale and so we had fun spending the weekend with them. Hmm... no pictures of them or of any of us for that matter, though. I guess that's a good thing though, right Steve, since the only pictures that we seemed to take were ones of Steve posing in his 8th grade basketball googles that he was finally willing to part with- all in the name of the Relay for Life. That's the spirit, Steve! Way to take one for the team. And since I am not in possession of said pictures-- they can't be posted here. Boo. 

A sampling of the goods. The hilariously ugly roosters we spent all evening making fun of? First items sold. No joke.One person's trash is another's treasure, truly.
Don't be alarmed. The piano did not get sold at the garage sale, but this goes here because Jen and Steve were kind enough to drive down our new piano when they came! Wahoo! It is actually the piano that we had growing up, but since Jennifer and Steve have everything times two, they decided to part with one of their pianos and we are the lucky recipients. We have enjoyed it immensely already. I have busted out the hymn book and have practiced daily-- probably more than I ever did in my combined 10 years of piano lessons as a child. Sally (my poor piano teacher of old) would be proud.

Utah Valley Half Marathon:
As much as I would like to tell you that I ran a half marathon, don't fall off your chair yet. I did no such thing, but my amazing sisters-in-law, Kirston and Jana did! We were lucky enough to have Grady (Jana's son) the night before the half, plus her husband Karl, who drove from St. George on his motorcycle to be there to surprise Jana at her race. What fun. We got up early and went to see them cross the finish line. They looked amazing...much better than I did and I hadn't even run two feet. Good job ladies!! They are doing another half in August and have tried to persuade me to join them, which I most definitely would-- if I could run more than 2 miles at time before dying. Maybe in a few years....ha.  

Summer Fun: 
I just love summer. I love the warm weather, the awesome fruits and vegetables, the ability to send the kids to the backyard for hours at a time...everything. Summer is in full swing around here and we are definitely loving it. 
 
The kids in the kiddie pool. This and the sprinkler are nearly daily occurrences. This was the first time Flor ever got in the pool. I am a mean mom and made her sit there while she cried for a minute or so because I knew she would like it once she got used to it, she just never allows herself the chance to get used to it. A little exposure therapy does our Flor good. :)


Our cherry tree. This alone sold me our house when we were house hunting and it has not disappointed, especially this year. Check out that goodness. We had insane amounts of cherries this year. We have consumed and given away a lot of cherries-- and they have been delicious.

Doesn't he look pleased to be picking the cherries? He really was quite happy, just doesn't look it here.
Bike rides. Yes, please. (or if you are these two--apparently they mean "Not again!" by the looks on their faces)


Ummm:
I really shouldn't be posting this picture because it is rather incriminating, but we like chicken nuggets, Okay? You just can't go wrong with McDonald's chicken nugget meal deals. Every time Che' and I have gotten together (a fair few times since we have been working hard on the Linda video) it seems we end up consuming our own body weight in chicken nuggets. Seriously, though, lest you be too concerned, please know that these nuggets also fed Devin, Hallie, Jace, Flor, and Hudson. But yes, permission granted to still be slightly concerned.

Father's Day:
Well, since I never posted anything about Father's day....here is a small recap:

This is as crafty as I get, folks. I thought it was pretty great though, if i do say so myself.

Studly man with his studly boy and beautiful girls. Don't mind Jace's mis-matched clothes. He insisted upon that tie.

We ended up at Devin's parent's house for dinner for Father's Day, which was especially great because we got to see Devin's sister Shawna and her kids. They had just arrived from Moscow, Russia and will be here for the summer. Wahoo! Here are Hallie, Kylie, and Megan enjoying their ice cream from Grandma (Megan is Shane and Marcene's; Kylie is Shawna's youngest.)


Broaddus Family Visit: (don't ask me why this font is weird...it looks normal in my compose mode, but it is apparently not. Oh well)

Just yesterday, we had a much anticipated visit from our friends, the Broaddus family. Well, part of them at least. Stephanie and the three youngest girls came through town on their way to Oklahoma. We met this incredible family during our adoption process for Flor, as they were in the process of adopting their Alison from Ecuador as well. I can't tell you how life saving it was to have friends to go through the crazy process with. No one quite understands like they do. When everyone else was sick of hearing about everything, they weren't. We hoped that our paths would cross in Ecuador and we were blessed to have that happen. We spent a truly memorable Christmas together in Quito, along with the Harlan and Schinnerer families and that is a Christmas I will long remember. This is the first time we have seen any of those families that we came to count as such close friends on US soil. So, needless to say, it was a really awesome reunion.




Steph and the girls were only able to stay for a few hours before they had to hit the road again, but we enjoyed every minute. We had a little barbecue in the back yard and let the kids play while we chatted away. This is the youngest, Jenna, with Hallie and Flor. Hallie had been asking about Jenna recently, so it was fun for her to be able to see her. They play really well together--Jenna puts up with a lot (she is seven and Hals three, so you know...)

Okay, so someone smudged the camera here, so never mind that...but here is the crew having a little dinner.
Stephanie and Flor

And...I was there too. Devin and I with Steph and Allie (age 15).

Could he be any dirtier? Yikes!

Allie is a very tender hearted, mature young lady. She was very instrumental in her family adopting Alison. She really has a heart for the orphan. I am so impressed with her...really, I think about what I was like at age 15 and shudder. Eek. I was nowhere near as mature as she is. My biggest concerns were what others think, boys, how I looked, boys, oh did I mention boys? I want my girls to be just like Allie as teenagers!

Two less orphans...and next time we see the Broaddus family, there may be one more to add to this picture! No, not us-- but Stephanie and Andy are pursuing the adoption of another child in Ecuador-- a little girl who was in Flor's house at her orphanage. We are so excited for them to embark on this crazy journey, AGAIN. What great examples they are.
Well, I think that covers it. Let's see- races, garage sale, piano, friends, chicken nuggets, holidays...yep I think all the important stuff is there.

3 comments:

Lauren said...

Are they adopting the little girl you posted about before?

Kim said...

It's not Lauren...it's another little girl. This one they have had their eye on for a while and started the process a few months ago. The one I mentioned just barely became available with our agency.

Jen said...

I am so happy that you got to meet up with the Broaddus's (spelling?). I love the picture of Flor and Allison together. So special!

And yes, we are very grateful to Steve for parting with his goggles from 8th grade basketball. What a man!