It's been a busy, but wonderful summer!

Yes, we've been busy having a lot of fun this summer! We went to Spokane, Washington for a Clark Family Reunion in June. There were about 75 family members who came and it was sooo great! Lots of fun activities, time to talk and play together and plenty of delicious food. The kids got to know their cousins and aunts & uncles better. It's kind of hard to stay close when we live so far from any family members. So it was a real treat! We did a lot of fun things, some highlights were: a trip to Lake Coeur d' Alene, a family fun run, and a mexican dinner complete with a pinata. We closed it out perfectly by having a family sing-a-long on Sunday evening. We sang hymn after hymn and the Spirit was there in abundance. I could picture Grandma Clark smiling down and feeling the joy of a wonderful family. It was fun for the kids and adults alike.

After we got back from vacation in Washington, it was off to Youth Conference for Hannah, Richard and me. Hannah had a great time! The speakers and activities were great. Richard and I were the cooks for the group. The food was a big hit! Who can go wrong when you let the youth choose the menu?? Michelle went back to Washington for a second visit and when she got back we left immediately for our other trip. Richard had to do some training and had meetings in some of his storehouses, so we tagged along. We stayed in Hays, Kansas the first night, then drove on to Liberty, Missouri where we stayed for two nights. We visited Adam-Ondi-Ahman and Independence. We saw the temple lot and ate ice cream at a little soda shop where Harry S. Truman worked when he was young. Michelle was sick and so she didn't enjoy Adam-Ondi-Ahman very much, but there is something very reverent there. I love being there. Elizabeth loved swimming in the pools in the hotels we stayed in. I had researched and prepared some stories of my pioneer ancestors who lived in the places we visited and it was fun to share them with the girls. Next, we went to Council Bluffs, Iowa. While there we went to the Winter Quarters Visitor Center, Omaha Temple, and Kanesville Tabernacle. We had some delicious mongolian barbeque for dinner. After that, we drove to Nauvoo, Illinois. I love Nauvoo! We have so much history there--history of the church and history of our family. We enjoyed the tours, plays, "Sunset on the Mississippi" variety show, wagon rides, the Nauvoo Pageant, and much more. It was oppressively hot but we loved being there. We met up with my brother, Joe, and his wife, Mikie, and their 4 adorable kids. It was such a treat to spend the day with them! We would like to have stayed another day, but it was time to go home.

When we got home, Hannah started off the marching band season with a trip up to CSU for band camp. She'll be there for a week and then come home and leave a few hours after that for the tail-end of girl's camp.

We've also fit in a few days of going to the pool, gardening, reading, and some projects. I wish we could have a little longer for our vacation but, alas, school starts again, the first week of August! But for now, we'll see how much more we can cram into our summer break! :o)