Dog Days of Summer

Dottie the Dog

Well I'm back to blogging. Just thought I'd start by posting some summer highlights. We had a full fun summer. Even had time to play with Dottie. Here she is waiting for me to hit her a tennis ball. What a dog!

Me, Kellee, Carson & Jessica

at Kellee's Graduation

We've had such a joy spending time with Cousin Kellee. We started off our summer by attending her graduation. We are really proud of her accomplishments. She's moved on and is attending Brigham Young University. If she does as well in college as she did in high school...She will Do great!

Angie, Jessica & Janna

Beach Fun!

You never know who might come visit if you just ask. Cousin Janna from California just graduated from high school and came to see us. It was so wonderful to have her. This picture is of them having fun at the Kure Beach.

Angie and Friends from Single's Ward

River Rafting

Angie came back in June and found a job here in Fayetteville at High Smith Rainey Hospital. She lives only ten minutes away and likes the single's ward. She shares teaching gospel doctrine class. One of their fun activities this summer was going river rafting. Do you think she might be having too much fun?

Jessica & Sophia
Stake Camp 2010

I'm so glad that my girls have had good experiences at YW Camp. Its good to know that they can have fun even in North Carolina where it's hot and muggy in the summer. Here's Jessica acting goofy with a friend from the ward. As my mother would say: "the fruit don't fall to far from the tree. "



Dave and some of the Youth and Adult Leaders

Stake Youth Conference

"A More Nobler Desire"

Dave and I got to be host parents for a group of young men at our youth conference. The theme was "A More Nobler Desire" A week before youth conference they were given a challenge to go on a digital fast: no tv, movies, texting, or computer except for absolute necesities like summer homework or keeping in contact with parents. Then the youth did service projects all weekend. Some of our activities included reading the newspaper to the blind over the radio, feeding the homeless in downtown Fayetteville and putting up a fence for a neighbor. It was great experience and helped us all to keep our priorites in order.

Jake the Graduate

Bachelors in Geography

with a minor in Spanish

Jake had a Summertime Graduation. Since BYU doesn't have a ceremony in December, Jake had his celebration in August. He still has a class he's finishing up with for Fall Semester and will be done in December. Then what? Well, we shall see.

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When I moved to North Carolina, one of my first friends was Hilda Brock and she was a wonderful primary music leader. At the end of the summer she would teach the primary children the song: "Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime" after they would learn it she then let the children make up their own verses. I thought it was so clever. I'm so glad I witnessed this wonderful woman sharing her talent and light to all.

Here's my feeble attempt to honor her love for music and show how our family spent the summer:

Oh, what do you do in the summertime

when all the world is green,

do you swim in a pool,

graduate from school,

or play with your dog all day long.

Is that what you do?

So do I.

How I Met My Husband...

Beth & Dave 1983

Today is our 27th wedding anniversary. I met Dave a few months after I had graduated from Brigham Young University in 1982. I went back to Provo to visit an old class chum and while I was sitting in the living room of her apartment, I could look out her window and see the front doors of all the other apartments in her building. As I sat, I watched how this guy was knocking on each door, going in for a little while and coming out and then going to the next door. At first I thought he was just some guy in the neighborhood mooching meals but there was something different about him. I asked my friend who he was and she said, "Oh that's just Dave, he's in the elder's quorum presidency, he goes around all the time, he'll be here in a minute. He's my home teacher" I was intrigued... was this guy for real or was he just trying to get brownies from some naive coeds. As I met him and we dated, I realized what a sincere, kind person he truly is. Today, I still know that he's that kind, young man I saw over twenty-seven years ago... always the one willing to listen and to help others. There's been times that I've thought, "he's too nice...he lets people abuse him." Then I think of the scripture, "charity suffereth long and is kind..." He's always been the example I've needed to be kind and loving to everyone.

"...I know that I am...the luckiest"

~Ben Folds

Back in the Swing

Its been hard to get back in the swing of things. Especially since my laptop hasn't been working. I spent almost 3 hours with "Dell" getting it cleaned up from some viruses obtained on our road trip. Anyway, all is well now so I thought I ought to recap some of the past few events.

Dave & Jake "Gone Fishin'"

Dave hasn't gone fishing in a long time. Jake was home for a week in between semesters at BYU- Provo so they went out like old times.

Hope Mills 1st Ward
Primary Temple Trip

We all had a good time going to the Raleigh North Carolina Temple and hearing Sister Draughon and Bishop Lockhart tell the importance of the temple.

Lauren, Erika, Carson
Cousins--Together at the Temple

Carson
"As we touch the temple
the temple will touch us."
~Thomas S. Monson

Angie, Carson & Jessica
at Carthage Jail, Illinois

We had a great time with Angie. She took us up in the Arch at St. Louis and then we all went and stayed a couple of days in Nauvoo and also went and saw Carthage Jail. It was a great way to end our road trip out to California.

Happy Belated Birthday Dave - March 29th

You're My Inspiration--Dave

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

DAVE THE MARATHON MAN

at Myrtle Beach Marathon 2006

He missed it this year

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm not a person that shows a lot of "public display of affection." In fact, true love is so emotional to me that I keep a lot of it locked in my heart because I can get so crazy and goofy about it. Another reason I don't talk about it a lot is that I'm a afraid that if I get too repetitive with my love expressions that it could be perceived as insincere because I'm always teasing an joking about my husband. Anyway, but this is Valentine's Day and I truly love my husband and want to express it. Dave has been an inspiration to me from the moment I met him. About twenty-seven years ago, I was visiting a friend in her apartment at BYU--Provo, Utah. As I looked out her window, I saw this guy going door to door to each apartment and my first inclination was to think "What's with this guy," is he mooching food from every girl in the apartment building." Then my friend told me he was the elders quorum president and that he does that all the time. He just likes checking up on everyone. When he eventually got to my friend's apartment and I met him, I was totally smitten. Dave is so good, not only spiritually but in almost every way. I think his most endearing trait is that he is so self-sacrificing. Whether it be church service or going the extra mile for a customer at work. He tries to help everyone he can, almost too much in my opinion but that's another story. This year is the first year that we've missed the Myrtle Beach Marathon or half Marathon. Dave loves to run, he even got me to run a marathon one year that's how inspiring he is but we just had too much going on to get there this year. When Dave became bishop he had just bought a new pair of running shoes. He brought them to church the day he was sustained and told the ward that he knew he would have to give up most of his running because he knew being bishop would take up a lot of his time. So its a little sad around our house today because we missed our annual trek to Myrtle Beach to see Dave run but its bittersweet because we know he's dong nobler things. But, just for the record. . . He's out running right now. He hasn't given it totally up. . just some of it. I love you Dave, thanks for putting up with my weirdness all these years.

I love this quote because it sounds like something I'd say,

"We are all a little weird,

and life's a little weird,

and when we find someone,

whose weirdness is compatible with ours,

we join up with them

and fall in mutual weirdness

and call it love."
Anonymous

26 YEARS TOGETHER

KIM & BRETT'S WEDDING

KIM & DAVE

Dave's sister Kim was married on the 13th of September.

A beautiful wedding on a farm near historic Staunton, Virginia. Dave's dad, Walter, was there with his wife Fran. Also there was his brother Chris, sister Karen with her husband Scott & their three boys and Kim's son Corte. Uncle Earl and Aunt Joan were there along with other relatives from Barbara's side of the family. It was great fun and we loved being in Virginia.

Welcome to the family Brett!

CHRIS & DAVE

Having Fun Waiting For The Ceremony

Storybook Horsedrawn Carriage

CORTE

SCOTT & THE BOYS

WALT & FRAN

KIM & BRETT
BEST WISHES