In the beginning...

I've been wanting to start a blog for quite a while. I just couldn't quite figure it out. So here it goes....the happenings.

Steve is busy getting caught up at work so he can leave with his 11 year old scouts for the overnighter at scout camp on Thursday. He loves working with the youngest scouts because they are excited every week to see what he is going to do with them. He also gets to teach them on Sunday in their Primary class which gives him the best of both worlds. He really is a great teacher.

Maggie (me) is catching up from being gone to Canada for 6 days with my sisters and mom. That was a wonderful opportunity to see people that we hadn't seen for many years. We were treated royally and enjoyed great food along with the great company. I came back late on Monday night and turned around and went straight up to girls camp to teach the music class every day at lunchtime. I also got to spend the rest of the day with my great friends in the kitchen cooking for the 150 people that were at camp. We dubbed ourselved the "Liberty Ladies" because we were either all from Liberty Ward or used to be in Liberty II Ward. Greta was there for the first time which made it even more fun because I could get lots of hugs and kisses throughout the day as well.

Greta is in summer mode with a long list of things she wants to do this summer. Most of the list concentrates on accomplishing her Personal Progress goals because she wants to be finished with all of it before she turns 13 in July. I'm not sure she is going to be completely done (and she knows it's going to take a little longer, too), but I'm pretty sure she will be done before we go back to school the end of August. Her biggest project is to paint the teacher's lounge at Sycamore where I teach and she will be in the eighth grade. It's very dreary and in need of something more uplifting. We're thinking about using that bright green she has in her bedroom.

Spencer is in a decision making mode right now trying to decide where to go for school this fall. He's still the shipping and receiving manager at the local ACE Hardware store. They are really good to him there and work around his schooling. He's also been asked to be in charge of a huge undertaking for the Young Single Adults at church. They are having a huge conference statewide in August and he and his friend Jennifer are organizing the YSAs from Gridley to Redding in addition to being on the planning committee.

Chris left us in April to go live in San Antonio with Cari. He is sooo happy there. He and Josh are bonding and Cari is a good sport and great big sister. He is working for a company that prints checks for banks. Josh works for USAA which is an insurance company that was started by some military men. It's a great company and he is happy there. Cari has been substitute teaching in the schools in their neighborhood and is thinking about working full time this fall. They are going to Utah for a wedding the end of July so we are all going to meet them there (including Chris who is flying home first for a couple of days). It might just turn into a mini-reunion. :)

Jinny is turning 30 on Thursday so I invited her to come home and let me have Helaman and Isaiah for a couple of days. She and Omar are going to have a couple of days to themselves in Sacramento to play and go to the temple. They moved to Ridgecrest, CA in the middle of the high deserts of So Cal. Omar is an engineer working for the Navy while Jinny plays with the little boys in their sandy back yard. They took a house with a very interesting color scheme (you'd have to see the pictures to understand) and turned it into a very nice home.

Bill (handsome as ever) is in Salt Lake City for a little while longer. He is going out on a cruise ship to play his guitar for 4 months. The cruise starts in Australia and heads north to Viet Nam and Thailand, etc, for 3 weeks at a time. We will miss him, but thanks to Facebook and email we do get to keep up with him somewhat. His music is what I listen to most.

Michael is already gone this week to Scout camp. He's the 14-15 year old leader (I can't remember the official scout title) and teacher for them on Sundays. He loves to play so this is a great job for him. His paying job is still working as a banker for Wells Fargo in Chico. Tara and Ava Belle are heading to So. Cal. to be with her sister while he's gone. Tara's been teaching swimming lessons in their pool and Ava is fearless in the water. That, of course, makes me all the more nervous - it's a grandma thing.

That's the update for now. We've got some traveling to do next month so if I can remember how to do this....I'll be back.