She's Going On A Mission

Cora has know since she was 7 years old that she wanted to serve a mission.  When the age for girls was lowered to 19 she was so excited.  This last year in Edmonton she has spent working to save money and going to mission prep class. (Also making tons of friends, lots of parties, YSA and more)  We are so proud of how she has done on her own.  In March it was finally time to start the process of preparing her mission application.  She got all the paper work done, checked off all the medical and dental appointments, had all the interviews, and finally papers were sent.  Cora so so badly wanted to go foreign that she was nervous.  We knew the call had been assigned and were waiting for it to come in the mail.  I was very sure they would come at the end of the month while we were away.  Monday night Leah and I needed to run into town and just grabbed the mail while we were there.  The Mission Call Was In!!  As luck would have it Cora was not scheduled to work for the next two days.  She quickly drove down Tuesday afternoon.  Also Natalie and I had planned a month ago to hang out on the 14th so they all just happened to be there.  Maycie got off work early and surprised Cora.

I was so glad that they were there.  Natalie took a video for me, Maycie did the FaceBook live and Emily took lots of pictures.  So I could just sit back and enjoy the moment and still have the moment documented.  Thank you so much Toone's.

In the video right before she says where she is going, she does this nervous little laugh.  Later I asked if she had read ahead and was excited about where she was going.  Cora told me no, she had paused because literally the next line would tell her her fate that she had been waiting 12 years for and she was very nervous.

Cora has been called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to...

....BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND!!  Reports to the England MTC Jan 3 2019.  She is beyond excited.  It just goes to show again how much our Father in Heaven knows us and our capabilities.  It truly is the perfect mission for her.  Part of the mission covers Grandpa Puzey's mission and she is loving that.  Sis Puzey you are going to be awesome.

Called to Serve:  Leah between the future missionaries.  Maycie off to Florida in September and Cora to England.

Happy 13th Blake

Blake had a super low key birthday this year.  It fell during our family get together again and on a Sunday.  But he still had a good day.  He requested chocolate cake and Neapolitan ice cream.  I discovered I had bought gross ice cream when we ate it.  Really not the best.  We got up early so he could open his presents before Dave's early meetings.

Leah captured this sweet father son picture.

He is hoping to take his friends out boating, but I'm not sure when that will be able to happen.  Hopefully! 

Blake loves to ride his dirt bike everywhere: to work, to check cows, with his cousin for hours, they have worn quite the path at Grandma's house.

He really enjoys cooking.  He will try new combinations and spices of things all the time.  His new favorites right now is Toad-in-the-Hole Grilled cheese.  Two toad in the hole for his bread slices with a variety of cheeses melted in the center.  And this rice blend that he does.  Cooked rice,sometimes with meat, with a lot of different spices that is delicious.  It is so fun to listen to him.  He is a slow and somewhat messy cook but he has a running commentary on his choices and how he thinks it is going the entire time.  Always in an accent.  Mostly Scottish, but sometimes Italian or Australian.  It is like watching a Scottish cooking show.

Blake can be quite sensitive.  Sometimes when he thinks he is defending himself, or being funny, it gets a little mean, when he realizes how it has hurt others, he feels so so bad and is almost inconsolable.

He has a deep defensive love for his family.  He will not let anyone hurt them.  He is often asking if we are all okay and how our day is going.

Loves doing anything with his Dad.  Dave is his hero, just as it should be.

He will tinker in the garage forever.  He has welded and made a few of his own parts for his pedal bike and dirt bike.  He loves to make things out of wood and most of all LOVES to take apart anything we will let him to see how it works inside.

Sometimes as he is walking next to me, and he is taller than I am now, I will just marvel at this man-boy of mine.  How did he grow so fast?  Sometimes he will do something so mature, I wonder where he is going to go in life, then the teenager comes back. :)  We love him to pieces and are enjoying this journey we are on with him.

Puzey Get Together

Last week we had our Puzey Get Together.  I thought it went really well.  We missed Myrna there, but it is good that we still all get together even though she is out serving her mission.  Everyone came in Thursday night.  We had dinner and set up tents, unpacked and made plans for the next day.  Months before when Rachel contacted us all and we figured out a weekend that we all had available, we could not have picked a better weekend for it.  Friday was above 40 and the perfect day to spend at the lake.  Most of the day was spent in the water, no other way to keep cool.  Leah was supposed to work the entire weekend, but her boss let her have Friday off. We went out early and found a little beach.

The kids tubed, swam, played in the sand and did a little knee boarding.  We all brought our own lunches and ate when ever we felt like it.

Blake tried knee boarding for the first time and got right up.  He really loved it.

At the end of the day everyone wanted just one last ride.  Many were disappointed when it was over.  I think our dinners worked really well.  We each took a night and feed everyone.  We had many delicious meals.  Leah had planned to take up all the teens for a little special time together, but it just didn't seem to work out.  She was disappointed.  Hopefully next year we can plan a little better. Some went up to an outdoor movie at dusk. Saturday we had planned to go back to the beach, but it was cold and really windy.  We thought perhaps the little pool, but then it closed for maintenance.  In the end we just went up to town for ice cream and to visit Leah at work.  After another good meal.  Atwood's had to leave that night.  Dave, Jared, Leah and Blake were singing in church the next day and Dave asked Rachel to play for them.  They sang Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.  It sounded so good.  4 part harmony. They ran through it a few times and then we talked and went home. Sunday was Blake's birthday, church and one last dinner together.  Then it was time to wrap it all up and everybody head back home.  Leah had been gone for most of it, but at the end Freya attached herself to Leah and they had some fun playing while all the other kids were busy.

It was a nice weekend. It was good to see everyone, we had some really great chats and some good discussions.  It was all very relaxing and great weather.  Kids played well, all around just a good time.

Junction Creek Falls

Dave has been trying to take Blake hiking for a few weeks, but work or weather always seemed to get in the way.  He determined that nothing was going to stop them Friday.  He then found out that Leah also had a day off work, and he wanted us all to go.  Dave picked an easy one so I could go to.  I don't like a lot of elevation.  My idea of hiking is a beautiful stroll through the woods.  Junction Creek Falls was perfect for me.  It was going to be a hot day and this hike has lots of tree coverage so we were nice and cool.  It is 15 km round trip.  It took us 3 hours to get in and just over 2 to hike out.  Guess we went a lot quicker.  The very first thing, you have to cross a small river.  It is literally ice water, so cold that you are in pain and just have to keep going to the other side.  It is melting right off the snow just above us.  As Dave pointed out, after crossing we had a new appreciation for the young men at Sweetwater that went back and forth multiple times.  What truly remarkable men they were.

It was a gorgeous warm day.  After getting our feet warmed back up and we felt like we could move again we started the hike.

I am always terrified that we are going to see a bear.  I want to see one driving home in my car after the hike, but NOT on the trail.  Leah saw one just as we were pulling up at the beginning and wisely kept that info between her and Dave until the end of the day.

It was muddy lots of the way, but because of the horses that had gone through there were somewhat dry ridges to step on.  A big step for me, perfect for Dave. In other places they had logs across to help with the mud.

A little over half way we stopped for a snack.

Leah took this fantastic reflection picture.  Later as we were looking at it, we couldn't figure out which lake or stream she had taken it in.  Then she showed us this little puddle.  That is were she had taken the picture.  I thought that was pretty cool.

After our snack we continued on.  There are several small streams you cross on the path.  Mud, and an old sawmill you pass.

We finally reached the Falls.  It was so pretty.  Dave has taken many YM's groups up on this hike and it was neat to see what he has been talking about all these years.

We had lunch and jumped into the falls a few times.  Seriously coldest thing ever! 

We spent an hour of so here, jumping in, warming up and just enjoying being there.  We got into a good rhythm on the way back and made it out in good time.  It was a really wonderful day.  I was glad I was able to make it.  Leah had a bit of knee pain coming out and slipped on her brace, but Blake's feet were fine.  We were all sore, but a good sore at the end.  This is my new favorite hike.  It was perfect with the streams, tree coverage, distance,we only saw 5 people, and no park entrance fee. Goal is to do it again summer of 2020 when Cora is home.