Congratulations JAMIE!

After 2 weeks of waiting...Jamie found out today that she made one of the competition dance groups. She will be a member of the Broadway Babes and is super excited to try out this new experience! Thanks to Aunt Mony for all the hours of private dance lessons in preparation for tryouts!

Hiking around Jensen Lake with Activity Days

For our last Activity Days of the summer, we took a hike around Jensen Lake. Jamie, Audrey, Michelle, Lauren and Sidney ran most of the way, created lots of little games to entertain themselves along the way and took every 'shortcut' they could find! We had a great time and were glad that Rachel and Melanie could join us for ice cream after their soccer practice.

A Day out with Emily

Before Emily leaves on her mission to Australia, we spent one last day with her at the zoo. She has spent so much time with us over the last 8 years and we are going to miss her dearly. :(
But we are super excited for her and cannot wait to her about all her incredible experiences as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. :) She will be an amazing missionary!!

We love you Emily and wish you the best of luck!

The girls even had Emily all prepared with her dollar bill so she could be the assistant during the bird show...this Australian Parrot took the dollar bill from her hand, then returned it to her palm about a minute later!

Gymnastics Meet

We have been glued to the Olympics the past 2 weeks and in the midst of our excitement, it was very fun for Jamie and Sidney to participate in their own gymnastics meet. Here is some short videos of the girls' 3 events and their individual results!

Sidney

Balance Beam
Score 8.6
1st Place

Floor Exercise
Score 8.6
1st Place


Uneven Bars
Score 8.5
2nd Place

All Around: 1st Place
Jamie

Uneven Bars
Score 8.75
3rd Place


Balance Beam
Score 8.4
3rd Place


Floor Exercise
Score 8.5
1st Place

All Around: 2nd Place

Carthage

A trip to Nauvoo is not complete without a stop at the Carthage Jail. This amazing place has been restored to tell the story of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The Holy Spirit definitely testified to us that Joseph Smith was indeed a Prophet of God and restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. He sealed his testimony of our Savior with his life .
The Deans and Burgoynes indulged us with a a quick lunch stop at Sonic in Keokuk, Iowa as we started our 6 hour drive home.

Nauvoo - the Temple

Nauvoo - the Pageant

Thanks to our wonderful family friend, Megan Heaps, we were able to experience the Nauvoo Pageant from the 2nd row. It is an amazing story of the saints during the early history of the Church and their experiences while building the temple in Nauvoo. As they 'build' the temple in the pageant, it is amazing to see it come down and then watch the existing temple takes its place. We really enjoyed the pageant and know that it strengthened each of our testimonies.

Nauvoo - Historic Sites and Great Friends

We had an amazing vacation to Nauvoo, Illinois this month and especially because we traveled with some of our dear Eagan Ward friends, the Deans and the Burgoynes. We fit in as many shows, historic sites and activities that we possible could and even managed to keep every one fed and mostly happy!! :)

Sites we visited:

• Brickyard
• Browning Home and Gunsmith Shop
• Cultural Hall
• Family Living Center
• Historic Nauvoo Visitor's Center
• Joseph & Hyrum Smith Memorial
• Monument to Women
• Print Shop
• Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store
  
• Scovil Bakery
• Stoddard Tin Shop
• Webb Brother's Blacksmith Shop

Activities we participated in:

• Pioneer Pastimes
• Pageant Pre-Show Activities
• Carriage Ride to Inspiration Point

Shows we saw:

• High Hopes and Riverboats
• Just Plain Anna-Amanda
• Historical Vignette - Women of Nauvoo
  
• Sunset by the Mississippi
• Nauvoo Pageant
  

A Best Friend Comes to Visit!

Jamie's best friend Kayla Denison and her Mom Shelyce came for a quick 2 day visit at the end of July. It was so fun to see them again and the girls made the most of every minute. They can't wait for the next time they can get together.

Minnehaha Falls Photo Shoot

Our good friends Donny and LeAnne took us to Minnehaha Falls this week for a fun photo shoot with the kids. Donny takes wonderful pictures and then plays with them on Photoshop and creates beautiful images. They were both so patient with the kids and as always we love spending time with them! I will have more pictures to share soon, but click here for a preview on the Martin's blog.

Chicago - Navy Pier

Another of our favorite places in Chicago is Navy Pier. We love the fun shops, huge carousel, imax theater and yummy restaurants. We especially loved Bubba Gumps this year and all the kids loved the shrimp. They have been asking for more since we have been home! I even got smart this time and made sure the kids swimsuits were close at hand for their hour playing in the fountain!

What a difference a year makes....this is the kids at the Navy Pier fountain last year! Notice how much taller they all are.