Road Trip - Day 1 (Grants Pass, Oregon) June 20, 2014

 Jeff and I decided to drive to Grants Pass, spend the night, drive to Roseville/Folsom the next day, and then drive back to Portland the day after that.  We arrived in Grants Pass about 7 pm that Friday night and meet Nate, Misty and the kids at a Japanese restaurant for dinner.

 Isaiah is in the left corner.  He enjoyed the food except the fermented beans that Nate ate.

 We all enjoyed the California rolls but decided that the Teriyaki chicken was the best deal.

 This is Nate eating fermented beans.

 I'm not sure Nate really liked them either.  I tasted 2 beans but didn't care for them.

 I had brought raspberries from home and the kids enjoyed eating them.

 For dessert, I ordered sesame balls that were filled with sweet bean.

 The sesame balls were delicious and one of my favorite things to get when I have Japanese food.

Here's a picture of three of the kids outside the restaurant as we were leaving.  It was so fun to have dinner together.  Thanks to Nate and Misty for picking out a great location.

Jeff's Baptism - May 3, 2014

 On approximately February 10, 2014, Jeff started talking to me while I was waiting for the MAX.  I had the impression to invite him to church so I did.  We went to dinner on Valentine's Day and then he came to church that following Sunday.  He wasn't interested in the missionary lessons or attending Sunday School but would come to Sacrament meeting and then leave and go to the Baptist Church.  He said he had been Baptist all his life and couldn't imagine being any other religion. 

 He continued to come to church and one day I invited him to dinner along with the missionaries.  They gave him the first lesson without him knowing what it was.  At that point, he became very interested and wanted the rest of the lessons.  I gave him a Book of Mormon and read Moroni 10: 3-5, telling him that if he read and prayed about it with a sincere heart, he would know that it was true.  He told me that he would make time to do it.

 He read the Book of Mormon and compared it to the Bible and prayed about it.  In April, he felt like he had an answer to his prayers and knew that it was true.  He wanted to be baptized.  It was so exciting to work with him and answer his questions along the way.  I was so impressed by how he would read scriptures daily and pray about them.

 On May 3rd at 7 pm, Nate baptized Jeff and he became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I shared his conversion story from my perspective at the baptism.  I had a migraine yet it was such a special day and the spirit so strong.  

 I was amazed at how calm Jeff was and how sure he was that he wanted to be baptized.  I just can't describe what an awesome experience this was for me.  When I met Jeff, I was praying for a missionary experience and I got it!  My prayers were answered.

 Sister Herpick and Sister Birch were the missionaries that taught Jeff the lessons.  They both had me in tears at different times.  What special times we had together.

 My brother Randy was a witness at the baptism and also came for his confirmation.

 After Jeff's confirmation, we were privileged to have Elder Call (Of the Seventy) and President Shafer (Stake President) in my home to meet with Jeff and talk to him about his conversion.

This is a picture of us with the missionaries at Sheridan's Frozen Custard.  We've gone there twice now to celebrate Jeff's baptism.

Post Race Activities - Grants Pass - June 7, 2014

 After we finished helping clean up the race, we went to one of my favorite places for lunch - La Burrita. 

 Elijah was having fun making scary faces and wanting me to take pictures of him.

 Isaiah was so patient and yet so hungry.

 More scary faces from Elijah

 After lunch, we hurried to a baptism where Jeff, Nate and I had a hard time staying awake.  Then we went home and the kids played for a while.  They had lots of cute ducks that they got at the carnival part of the race and were having fun playing with them.

 Isaiah was walking around and having a good time.

 Brielle took me over to the school to play at the playground.

 I got lots of cute pictures of her.

 I especially liked this picture of her with the flowers.

 We decided to have pizza and watermelon at the river.  Nate and the kids rode their bikes/scooters to the river and we met them there.

 I thought this was a cute picture of Nate and Misty with Isaiah at the beautiful river.

 Nate was sticking Isaiah's head in the cold water.

 They were having a good time.

 Brielle kept wanting me to take a picture of her.

 This is a candid picture of Elijah.

 The kids spent quite a bit of time wading in the water.  It was a very hot day.

Nate cute the watermelon for us.

 The Pizza was really good.

 Isaiah was enjoying his dinner.

Even Jeff got in the water.

It was so cool and relaxing at the river.

 Before going to bed, Adalei played a couple of songs on the piano and sang. 

 The next morning we had to leave to go home.  Elijah had breakfast in his new basketball bowl that I had brought him.

 Adalei and Brielle looked so cute.

 Isaiah having breakfast

 What a great picture of Misty

 A smile from Elijah

 Happy Nate all ready for his church meetings

A final picture of Isaiah...  It was such a fun weekend.  We had a good time.

Kids Dash - Grants Pass, Oregon - June 7, 2014

 Jeff and I drove to Grants Pass for the weekend so we could help Nate with the Kids Dash.  He had a record turnout - 275 kids in the races.  It was a big success.  I did the registration booth and collected all the money.  He netted approximately $3,500.  Jeff took most of these pictures since I didn't get to see any of the races other than the color run.  Adalei is in the picture above getting green color added to her!

 Nate supervised the color run.  I didn't see Brielle or Elijah participating in it.

 I think Brielle and Elijah were at the carnival having fun instead of doing the color run.

 Brielle had fun with the face painting.

 Isaiah was so good.

 This annual event was held at the Grants Pass High School.

 Pretty Brielle

 Nate was helping with the races.

 Nate ran in the challenge against Dr. Nate and came in second place.  He was running with an injured knee and did great!

 Nate told the kids they could only have one Popsicle per race.  I think Brielle said she ran in 4 races.

 Nate coming in second place for his race.

 Brielle finishing one of her four races.

 Brielle was having a great time.

 Nate is good good with the kids.

 I think Nate was having fun also.

 Brielle full of energy.

 Adalei after one of her races.

 Elijah having a Popsicle.

 Brielle finishing race number two.

 Adalei finishing her race.

 Brielle finishing race number three.

 Nate and Isaiah

 Misty - Adalei - Elijah

 What a nice smile!

 Adalei ran two races and received two medals.

 A picture including me after I finished at the registration table.

 Adalei getting yellow in the color run.

I took pictures after the registration table closed before the color run.

It was a great event and I'm glad I could be there to support Nate and see the color run.  This was his third annual race and I have attended all three events.