Much Behind

 School is over.  The kids survived their finals and didn't do to bad. Blake ended up with an 88% average.  Way to go!!

He performed at the school end talent show again this year.  He dressed up in his church clothes, carried a stool out on the stage, sat down and proceeded to eat a granola bar.  He got much laughter and cheers.  It actually was pretty funny.  Him dressing up like it was a great performance was a nice touch.  Leah didn't have an exam that day and so she came with me to watch.  She thought it would be hilarious to fight in front of the kindness wall.

Dave has set up the car hospital in our garage again.  For a few days we only had one vehicle running.  That was fun.  Luckily it happened in the time Dave had time off work. Blake has been busy taking apart the 350 again and seeing what is wrong with it.  He has stripped the engine right out and is working on getting it back together.

In the mean time he is riding the 100 for work and fun. When it's not raining.

On our way to move cows. 

Last week of school Leah and I attended her sports banquet.  We went for softball and was quite surprised when they actually mentioned the basketball team.  And so were pleased that not only did it get a mention but that Leah won the Coaches Award.

This girl is keeping me exhausted.  I have said it before and I will say it again.  I really think I got more sleep with a newborn then with teenage.  There has been a lot of parties and outings the last few weeks. Yesterday she didn't work and was supposed to got watch some basketball and go hiking.  But she decided not to go and stay home.  I guess even she was partied out.  Leah and her friends are trying to make the most of this last summer together.  Next summer they will be moving, going on missions, etc.  She is having fun at work when it is busy, still more party invites.  We let her go to one the other day since she knew the guys' friends.  She  was only allowed to stay 30 mins and said it was a blast.  Dave and I had an adventure last week.  We were on our way to town at 5 in the morning.  We got half way and we heard a big clunk clunk.  I slightly panicked and asked what it was.  Dave said the same thing happened the day before and when he checked it all was fine so it was probably just rocks from the gravel coming off.  Right after our battery light came on and the temp skyrocketed.  Turns out the belt had fallen apart and come off.  We pulled over and thought about our best option.  We knew Leah wouldn't be awake yet to answer her phone and come get us.  He had to be to work in half hour.  What to do?  He texted work and explained he had engine trouble and we decided to drive home to switch cars.  If we could make it. As soon as we turned on the car, it was super hot again and Dave was worried the battery would die.  To try to make a long story short, what we did is turn car on, we could go about 1/2 mile before temp was in the red.  Dave would pop it in neutral and turn the car off.  We could coast for about a mile.  Then as car slowed down he would put it in second and pop the clutch so the car would start itself and save the battery.  Go 1/2 mile again and repeat.  It took a prayer and over an hour to go 30 miles, but we made it home.  Amazing what you can do with a stick shift.  We then woke up Leah and told her she would need to use the truck in the morning, but we would be back before she left in the afternoon, then headed back to town.  Crazy!

 Update on Cora: She has been transferred to Lichfield.  Here she is eating local ice cream her last night on the island with Sis Goodwin. She had served 5 months on Jersey.  Totally loved it but was ready for the change. She met some great people and had some wonderful experiences.  Cora is back with her MTC companion Sis Carter.  She said they worked really well together in the MTC and was looking forward to serving with her again.  Cora would mention once in while that she wasn't sure if the ward like the missionaries.  One time I asked her why she thought that.  She said that she had been told the previous Elders had just worried about getting investigators baptized and not following up with them.  When she got transferred to Jersey, the island had been switched to different England mission and had not had missionaries for 6 months.  They were opening it back up.  And she felt that their job was to build that relationship up again.  She said she felt like they were preparing the field, removing grass and trees, plowing it, and getting it ready to plant. She said they worked so hard to build up that trust again, to become friends with the ward members and less active.  Cora mentioned this a few times over last 5 months.  In her final letter from Jersey she said, "So, the flat in Jersey is in the middle of a wheat field, which is hilarious because this whole time spent in Jersey I feel like I've been prepping the field, mostly planting and now it's finally time to harvest."  She was a little sad to miss the harvest but is pleased with the work she did and knew the rest was some one else's job.  She is looking forward to new adventures and experiences in Lichfield.  Her letters show how much she is growing and learning.  I mentioned to Dave a few days ago, one of the things I love about her letters is how much she talks about her love of obedience. Cora always like to push the line.  She was obedient, but didn't like all the rules and didn't understand some of them and would push as much as she could.  But on her mission she often writes about how obedience is key.  How it brings greater blessing and greater joy.  She has thanked us for all we did and the rules we set. How she has gained a testimony of obedience and the love she has for it in her life.