CELEBRATING THE 4th

John and I had a really fun holiday with the kids. Brandt and Soupie invited us over for dinner on the 3rd of July. Wow, what great turkey burgers Brandt made! The whole dinner was wonderful and it was so nice to spend some time with them. We missed Carlee, she was away for the evening. She is going to miss our Bear Lake trip too, but I know she will have a lot of fun with the young women at camp.

TAYLER LOVED THE FIREWORKS

On the 4th during the day, Larry had to go to work. Shannon and John worked on her kitchen, so I took the boys to the Murray Park Carnival. I think they had a lot of fun, I know I did watching them. They picked a ride that was a blast, they spun around till they were really dizzy. They played in a couple of bouncing houses. They loved the tug of war while the fire fighters sprayed them with water. They tried out hockey (ps mom, Dresden said he wants to play hockey.) They both scored very high, way to go boys.

DRESDEN & LOGAN LOVED THEIR TREATS

The evening of the 4th John and I enjoyed being with Natalie, Jay, Collin and Sydney. We had Kentucky Fried chicken, John bought some kettle corn and they also had snow cones. You'd think all that sugar would have kept the kids up all night, but by the time the fireworks started we had some tired children on our hands. They worked really hard at staying awake but it was worth it, the fireworks were spectacular. I think the kids had a lot of fun! I know we did! Thanks for the invitation.

NATALIE, COLLIN AND SYDNEY WATCHING THE FIREWORKS

A FOURTH OF JULY TO REMEMBER

My most memorable Independence day that I can remember was when I was flying to Rochester, New York to start my mission for the LDS church on the night of the 4th of July. It was very frightening to say the least. I was already scared and excited all in the same mixed emotions for my new adventure in life, but to have a night of complete terror on a flight that hit turbulence with lighting and thunder was a surprise. I remember seeing the flight attendant crawling on the floor trying to get our food trays back to their place on the plane. I don't know how long the storm lasted, but it felt like eternity, we were rocking and rolling! We had to fly into Syracuse and be bused back to Rochester. It was a long night but one that I will never forget. The Funny thing about this flight was that we were given a card board firecracker as a favor from the airline when we were served our dinner (you'd never see that today). We were all holding onto our firecrackers with fear and trembling. I can laugh about it now!

MEXICO 2009

FAMILY TRIP TO ENCENADA, MEXICO 2009

Top, left to right

Papa John, Mike Strong, Logan Curtis, Cole Strong, Sydney Rudel, Natalie Rudel, Nana Donna

Bottom left to right

Larry Curtis, Jay Rudel, Dresden Curtis, Savannah & Baby Creed Strong, Collin Rudel, Shannon Curtis, Nicole Strong

NANA & PAPA WITH THEIR GRAND KIDS

THE DOLPHINS GREETED US EVERY MORNING AROUND 8:00 A.M.

LA BUFADORA (the blow hole)

WAITING FOR THE WATER TO SPRAY UP!

THEY ALL LOVED IT!

EXCEPT FOR COLE!

ENJOYING THE FIRE OUTSIDE ON THE PATIO AREA

THE GRAND KIDS FAVORITE THING WAS TO BOGEY BOARD

I LOVE THIS PICTURE OF SAVANNAH

(all pictures courtesy of Larry Curtis, thank you, thank you)

COLE'S FAVORITE THING WAS TO PLAY IN THE SAND

WE WANTED OUR CALI FAMILY TO ENJOY OUR FAMOUS SPAGHETTI DINNER

INSIDE THE BAJA HOUSE

WE HAD BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS

The only thing that could have made this trip any better would have been if Brandt, Soupie and the girls could have joined us. We missed them and hope that next time we do this they will be able to be with us. It was a wonderful trip with lots of excitement along the way.

COME UP TO THE MOUNTAIN

I was privileged to be a leader that helped our ward youth get ready for the Draper Temple Celebration, which was on May 29th.

What an awesome experience! We only had two months to prepare for this task. But the youth pulled it off and might I add, they made it looked effortless.

Seven thousand youth (Draper temple district), ages 12 to 18 participated in this celebration. Each Stake had a choir and dancers. Our Stake was assigned the Farmers dance. We practiced Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so if a youth couldn't make one night they could come the next night or go to both. We practiced at the Conference center only a couple of times. Dress Rehearsal was the first time all 7,000 kids got together. What a site that was!

My favorite part of the celebration was the ending when the Temple that was hidden rises up in front of the mountain, then a woman and a man climb the stairs when they are almost to the top their children come out from behind some rocks and then the family finish climbing the stairs to the front doors of the temple. It was breathtaking to say the least, I cried, EVERYONE CRIED! What a testimony building experience for our youth!


The next night was Oquirrh Mountain's youth celebration. They had the same music, but they had their own dances and costumes, I wish I could have seen them! Carlee got to be a part of this celebration. I am so very proud of her! She was a rollerskating car hop from the 50's. She said she had a blast!






















President Monson was at both performances. We sang "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet" as he entered the Conference Center. He spoke to the youth and all eyes were on him. As he left the center all the youth were waving to him, he stopped to talk to them. What an awesome experience for our Youth!

SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE FESTIVAL

This is becoming a fun family tradition, if only the weather would cooperate! The Rudel's and Curtis's visited the Strong's in Ephraim this Memorial Day weekend. Three years ago we set up tents out front of Grandpa Bills and Grandma Ellen's home and had a blast, but the last two years have been cold and rainy, but we still managed to weather the storms.

We also combine Grandpa Bills birthday with our visits. That's always been a nice added bonus.

We start out with the parade in the morning. Grandma Ellen fixes lunch for us and then we go over to the festival and walk around to see all the creative booths and try out a few of the tasty foods. The kids go on a couple of rides and that is about the extent of our stay in Ephraim. Oh the most fun and the one thing the kids really look forward to is riding the ATV's. It wouldn't be Ephraim if we didn't take the kids to see the Elk Farm.

Hear are a couple of pictures from our adventure

The most fun part for the grandkids is the candy that they collect

Getting ready for the big ride!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA BILL

ON MAY 26TH

HE WILL BE 82 YEARS YOUNG