Fairy Tale

On Labor Day we went to the Delta Fair here in Memphis or the "fairy tale" as Emmy calls it.

We went with some friends from Brandon's school and their families. We had a great time even though it was extremely hot.

Close to the entrance of the fair, there were these really cool swing sets made from wood. The kids had a great time playing on them.
The boys loved all the tractors they saw. They each picked a tractor to sit on for their picture.After the tractors, we went and saw the tent with a whole bunch of goats and other animals. Emmy and I stayed on the edges. Emmy is terrified of animals and wouldn't even walk through the tent. We had to walk around the tent in order to meet up with Brandon and the boys. Ben and Hyrum on the other hand loved the animals and enjoyed petting them.Next, we went to the place where they had knights jousting. The boys thought that it was pretty cool.After we saw the knights, we went and saw a fun car exhibit. The kids picked the coolest car to have their picture with.Can you tell the boys were excited about the cars?

Next, we went back to the place where the knights were to watch a Demolition Derby. The boys were in awe. They thought it was so awesome to see the cars crash into each other. Emmy was too hot to really care or enjoy the day by this point.For our last big excitement at the fair, we let the kids each pick two rides they wanted to ride. The kids chose to ride the race car ride that Hyrum rode over and over two years ago. The kids had so much fun. The expressions on their faces was priceless as they rode the ride. You could tell that they were having such a fun time.
To finish off the hot day, everyone came back to our place and we had a yummy lunch and chatted while the kids play.

It was such a fun and exciting day. It was so nice to spend some time with our family.

End of August

At the end of August, Brandon started his second rotation out of three this year. At the end of April/beginning of May he will graduate! However, we are strongly considering a residency program which will add on another year. We will have to see what happens.

I think he looks handsome in his white coat.Brandon's parents came up for a quick visit the last weekend in August since Brandon was put into the bishopric in our ward as the second counselor. He feels a little overwhelmed with the calling, but I am sure he will do a fantastic job.Either way it was nice to have his parents come and visit. The kids had such a great time playing game after game wit them on Sunday. It was wonderful of them to come up for the big occasion.

Our Beloved Papa

Today is our beloved Papa's birthday. He turned fifty today. The BIG 5-0! The kids love their Papa Van so much. They were very excited when they heard that it was their Papa's birthday.
Some of the things the kids love about their Papa is that he plays baseball with them and takes them fishing. Also, they love that Papa takes them to Lake Powell and wrestles with them. They also love it when he reads books to them. They love their Papa and I think they can really feel that he loves them. They couldn't have asked for a better Papa.Ben and Papa, Easter 2008

Hyrum, a few days old, Nov. 2004

Emmy, a little over a month old, Dec. 2006

Since we couldn't be there in person to celebrate the big day. We made some fun videos last night to celebrate.


We Love You Papa! Happy Birthday! Trying to give himself bunny ears in the picture

I Love to See the Temple

The kids were so excited to hear that they were going to the temple. It was wonderful to see their excitement as they told their daddy that they were going; especially, Emmy.

Myself, and the other members of the Primary Presidency, planned a temple outing for our quarterly activity(September 11th).When the kids first arrived, we watched a short clip about temples(found on the FHE movie the church has).

Next, we had a member of the temple presidency, who is in our ward, come and talk to the primary children for about fifteen minutes about the temple and its importance. Originally we planned to have this talk out on the temple grounds, but it was raining on the day of the activity and so Brother M. came and talked to the children in the church(which is next to the temple).

The children then went on a short tour of the temple grounds (the Memphis, TN temple is one of the smaller temples). Brother M. was our tour guide and provided information about the temple and answered questions the children had about the special and sacred building.

We then took pictures of the kids at the temple.
Ben and Emmy with their teachers. Have I mentioned that Ben has LICKED the teacher in the black a few times at church? He thinks it is funny. Hyrum and some of his Primary class.To finish our activity, we had the kids go back to the church and do a craft. The children were given marshmallows and toothpicks to use to construct a temple. It was interesting to see what the kids would come up with. In the picture below, Ben is bugged because I am taking his picture instead of helping him with his temple.The primary children were given a couple cookies, water and a very beautiful temple picture that Brother M. gave to each of them.

It was such a fun activity and there was a special spirit that day. I am grateful for the calling that I have. I have already learned many things from this experience in serving the children (and their parents) of my ward.

After the activity, I took Ben, Emmy, and Hyrum over to take pictures at the temple.This picture is ,"Mom, I am trying to smile for your picture, but I really need to use the restroom."
Each child wanted to take picture, with the camera, by themselves.
Hyrum's
Ben's
Emmy's


In this picture, Hyrum was pointing to the butterfly that was flying close by. After this picture was taken, he stuck his finger out and said that he wanted the butterfly to land on his finger like Jesus.

Can you tell by the pictures that it was so muggy and humid that day?This picture summarizes Ben to a T. How I love my Ben Boo even though he drives me crazy sometimes.My sweet, handsome Hyrum! He has always had such a sweet and tender spirit about him.Emmy, is all diva! I think she and I have the same love (or lack thereof) for the Memphis heat! I love her smile and her giving spirit.Hyrum loved every minute of taking pictures at the temple. He wanted to take many more pictures, but Emmy was done.

Brandon and I are so lucky to have a temple so close to were we live. I remember the first time I did a session in the Memphis temple, there was such a wonderful, unique spirit there. Our lives are blessed by the temple.