Camp Manapu Service Project

Friday evening we jumped in the Suburban with our camping gear and headed north to go camping.  Our Stake was in charge of heading up a service project for one of the church camps.  There were a lot of projects to help upgrade and improve the camp. 

We took advantage of the

camping trip included in the service package. 

The kids think this camp has a funny name...

Camp Manapu. 

Since we knew we would be traveling through Shoshone, Idaho on our way to Camp Manapu, we decided to save ourselves a little time (and mess) and stop at the Snack Bar for dinner.  We ate their "world famous" grilled hot dogs and didn't even take the time to snap a picture.  We just slopped them right down. 

They were delicious! 

Then we headed on down the road to our camp.  We arrived in time to set up camp and build a campfire for s'mores. 

S'mores are always a perfect treat for camping!

We came prepared for a very cold night.  We snuggled right in to our sleeping bags and slept very well.  Some of the kids said they were so warm, they were almost sweating.  I believe we had plenty of blankets...thank goodness!

We had a yummy breakfast the next morning...Matt always pulls through with something tasty to eat!

We decided to leave our tent up until the sun came out to dry the dew and condensation from the tops of our sleeping bags and tent. 

Then it was time to gear up and go for a morning bike ride. 

We LOVE to ride bikes!

At the end of our bike ride, a few snowflakes started to fall.

One of the service projects we helped with was scraping and re-painging the picnic benches.  We are a paint-magnet family.  It didn't take long for everyone to have new "painting clothes."  Mason got some on his jacket and I tried not to get angry...then he cheerfully said, "That's okay, now I have a painting jacket!"  These are the Swensen's.  Uncle Travis was good friends with Ben growing up.  It was fun meeting his wife and kids and doing service together.  We were the only families with little kids. 

It is fun to do service.

Right as we started to prepare lunch for the group, some little snow balls (kind of like hail) started to drop.  Then they became medium snow balls, then large snow balls, and eventually huge snowflakes that were coming down very thick.  After eating lunch and helping clean it all up, we decided to go take our tent down, since the sun took the day off and

didn't show up to dry out our things. 

It was kind of fun to see the snow coming down like it should have in December!

Then we got to thinking...

Hey!  We are camping, in the snow, in JUNE!

You gotta be tough to live out west...

that's why we do, that's why we do!

Locks of Love

Chloe has been growing her hair out her whole life.  We have trimmed it here and there to keep it healthy, but we have never cut a significant amount. 

Well, this last week Chloe decided she wanted to donate her hair for the cancer patients.  Here are her before and after shots.

  Wendy Kerr, the hair stylist, was very sweet and appreciative of Chloe's sacrifice.  She donated her time as well and cut Chloe's hair for free, which we are so grateful for.

 What a little doll face.  She looks so cute with her new hair cut.  I can't believe how much more grown up she looks. 

What an adorable girl!

We love you Chloe and are proud of your kindness

to those who are in need.

Carter's Pianoforte Recital

Carter just performed in his first...

Pianoforte Recital

Presented by the Students of Joan Allen

 He stood up and said into the microphone,

"Yo.  I am Carter Kear and I will be playing..."

Did you catch that "Yo?" 

I thought I was going to burst out laughing. 

I am not sure where that came from, because it was kind of out of Carter's character, but it really was funny.  He was so serious the whole time and perfomed two really great pieces.  They were the same ones that her performed for the Music Festival a couple months ago.  He did a great job! 

 The two pieces he played were,

Camel Ride by Jaime Jones

&

Drifting Flight by E L Lancaster

 These are all of Joan's students.

 And of course our favorite one, right in the middle...

 When he was finished, he stood up and bowed like a real gentleman...ok, he was quite sarcastic with his bow, but it was funny.  His personality is really developing and he doesn't seem to be so shy anymore.  I gave the camera to Matt to take a nice picture of Carter at the piano. 

This is what they gave me...  Gotta love my boys!

Carter - Just think how talented you could really be if you practiced every day!  :)  You did a great job and we are all so proud of you! 

We celebrated at Kiwiloco afterwards with our friends

The Knowltons.

A musically delicious evening!

Mason's Kindergarten Graduation

Today our little Mason graduated from Kindergarten! 

Here he comes marching in with the procession music.

 Singing a few songs...one of my favorites...

America the Beautiful

 Here is my cousin Haley's son, Preston.  He is so cute.

 As each of the kids came up, their teacher would say their name and then they would speak into the microphone telling what they want to be when they grow up.  This was the cutest thing of all.

Here is what they mentioned...

*These are my favorites!*

*Zookeeper

*Babysitter

*Big Sister

*Hair-Do-er

*Billionaire

Fireman

Police

Doctor

*ROCKSTAR*

*Cowgirl

Truckdriver

My favorite of all was the little girl right in front

of Mason, she said,

"I want to be a Mother." 

I thought I would cry.  She was the only one who said that. 

It was tender.

 Mason said, "I want to be a Cowboy!"

 And I think he will be!  :)

 This is Mason with his teacher Mrs. Olson. 

She was a great teacher for Mason. 

He really learned a lot from her and enjoyed her as his teacher. 

 What a handsome little graduate!

I can hardly believe that my little

Mason is finished with Kindergarten!

He is growing up waaaaaayyyyy too fast!

Congratulations MASON!!!!

We love you and are so proud of you!  You did a great job and I am so excited to have you home for the summer!  

TaVaci Spring Concert

Chloe is in a little singing group and she had the wonderful priviledge to sing a solo in a Taylor Swift Medley this year.  She was so brave and sang at the CSI Fine Arts Auditorium that seats many people.  I think I was a Senior in High School when I sang my first solo there in Madrigals.  Chloe did an exceptionally good job.  She has a strong and beautiful voice.  Momma was so proud of her girl, I even shed some tears!  Way to go Chloe!!!

General Conference April 2012

One of our favorite times of the year has just come to pass.  April General Conference!  We love this time of year when we gather as a family, pull out the tables and chairs, print out some conference worksheets, turn on the internet and make a yummy candy mix.  Something special happened this year though...we were able to receive 4 tickets to the Sunday afternoon session at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, UT.  So, we watched Saturday's sessions per our tradition, and then Sunday morning, Matt, Alice, Carter and Chloe all prepared to travel to Salt Lake City to see President Monson and the apostles speak at the Conference Center.  What a treat!  We were able to listen to the morning session on the radio throughout our morning travel and then to be able to see, for our first time, a live session at the Conference Center...what a memorable experience for all of us.  (Mason and Josie were so lucky to stay home and watch conference with Memaw!  Their day will come when they turn 8 and we are able to go again.) 

We had to wait over an hour once we found our seats in the Balcony section 7.  We were on the very front row of the balcony, until we realized the gold bar was blocking our view of the podium.  We moved up one row and Carter was a little more relieved because he discovered he has a little fear of heights.  "It's a long ways down..." he said as he looked over the railing.  As we were approaching section 7, one of the ushers told us that once the seats are filled, the balcony drops 2 feet.  Then he reassured us that it was April Fool's. 

Here are Matt and Chloe anxiously waiting...

 ...and Carter and Mom waiting as well. 

 It was fun watching all the Mormon Tabernacle Choir members file in to their seats as well as the 70's and the Apostles.  There was a soft rumble of voices while everyone continually filed in to their seats.  Once everyone was seated, an absolute hush came over the entire congregation of 20,000 + people and then everyone stood as the President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf all entered the building and took their seats.  It was a special and powerful feeling to witness.  President Monson was cute because as he began to sit down, he motioned with his hand for everyone to sit down.  I wondered what he must feel like to be so revered.  Chloe was so disappointed when she realized she would not be able to shake her favorite apostle's hand - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  Carter kept saying, "I am so excited to just be here in the same room as the prophet!"  He was almost giddy.

 After the session, we were able to walk around the Conference Center for a few minutes and look at the waterfall and over the balcony at the Salt Lake Temple.

 Carter and Chloe witnessed, for the first time, the anti-mormons picketing outside of Temle Square.  The men were yelling "Joseph Smith can't save you!" and "You claim Adam is your God!"  Carter and Chloe were both able to recognize the true and false acusations that were being made.  We know that Joseph Smith and all the prophets are the Lord's mouthpieces on the earth and that Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us.  We also know that Adam is not our Heavenly Father that we worship and pray to.  Carter and Chloe recognized the contentious feeling that accompanied these statements and the aggression with which they were spoken.  We were very touched as we heard and then felt the Spirit radiating from young adults as they lined the sidewalks and sang hymns of our Savior as we entered the gates to Temple Square.  There was a very obvious contrast in feeling.  The Holy Spirit immediately dispelled the contentious spirit and it felt good to know the difference. 

 We walked around Temple Square for a few minutes and looked inside the Assembly Hall.  Carter and Chloe enjoyed going up the narrow stairs and touring the balcony.  Matt asked Carter how he would feel if he was assigned to sit in this seat during a meeting...

What a wonderful weekend!  We truly feel blessed each conference weekend to be able to saturate ourselves with the Spirit of the Lord by listening to our magnificent leaders.  They have so much inspiration and wisdom to lead, guide and direct us throughout our lives.  Absolutely uplifting!

My testimony in leaving this special experience is that President Monson is the prophet for our day.  It doesn't matter if we are sitting in a small room gathered around a computer monitor, sitting in a car listening to the radio, or gathered among thousands in an assembly hall, when we listen to his voice and the words he speaks, we can feel a powerful spirit of truth.  He is the mouthpiece for the Lord and he will lead us back to our Heavenly Father.  Nothing or nobody can take that feeling away from me or anyone who feels it.  It is true and it enlightens my soul.  I am so grateful for this experience, but I think I honestly prefer to be gathered in a small room among my sweet family listening and learning together.  This is the gospel of Jesus Christ and I know it is true.