2010 Summer Misc…

Here are a few odds and ends from Summer 2010:

(Elder) Brandon Johnson came back for a visit with his parents in July of 2010. He had been gone for over a year and it was so great to see him! He was an awesome missionary and did some great work here in Conyers.

The Noldens with "Elder" Johnson.

Liz and Sister Williams. This was right after we had our Video Scavenger Hunt at church...which was WAY FUN!

Ashley is a water child...she LOVES to be wet. This is one of her super-duper bubble baths.

PJ got to go to Scout Camp for the first time ever this summer. They were in northern Georgia and got to do a lot of cool stuff like river rafting...we have some awesome scout leaders. (PJ - far right, middle)

2010 Young Women Camp

Young Women Camp (better known as “Girl’s Camp”) is a highlight each summer for girls ages 12-18 in our church.  It is a week away from the world where they get to concentrate on spiritual/fun things.

Liz (YCL), Megan (4th year) and Mikayla (3rd year) got to go to our Stake Camp this year and each one had a great experience.  There were tons of cool pics shared on Facebook…and I had a hard time picking which ones to share on the blog because I consider ALL of the girls there “My girls” since I serve them in the Young Women’s Presidency.   But I just selected a few of my favorites for the blog.

The AMAZING Young Women in our ward right after they completed their skit for "Skit Night."

I didn't get a very good photo of the skit because they had glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets on and the stage was darkened. But here you can see Megan in the middle and the different groups were responding differently to her suggestions. The moral was that we can all work together and get along.

This is another ward that had just completed their skit.

There was a braiding class at the camp. Liz, who is already an expert "braider" did these braids for her friends.

Some of the fearless Leaders - LtoR: Sister Stone, Sister Joyner & Sister Watts

Some of "my girls"

Mikayla is on the far Left, with Janna, Kissa, Beebee & Jhoseline.

Mikayla with Janna

Liz, Alex & Kirstin

Megan getting a lift from Sister Joyner

Vanessa & Liz ("sisters")

This is a group of YCLs (or Youth Camp Leaders -ages 16-18). They were leading the younger girls in camp songs before a meeting.

Megan (right) with a camp friend from a different ward.

Laura, Vanessa & Liz

This was Liz's last YW Camp! Next year she will be 18 and graduated...how sad!!! By next March Ashley will be 12 and I will have FOUR Young Women in the program--for a couple of months before Liz moves on to Relief Society.

Mikayla (2nd from Left) with new friends from other wards.

This is our awesome Stake Young Women's Presidency!

The theme of the camp was the Doctor Seuss Book "Oh the Places you Will Go." The girls thought it was funny that the sign was right above the door to the bathroom :-).

The girls hanging out in their AIR CONDITIONED CABIN!! Not all YW Camps are like this...a lot of them (all over the world) do primitive camping. But I think they are pretty lucky given how hot and humid it was that week!

The first night of camp they had a "Let's Make a Deal" Game Show for the girls. They were supposed to dress up crazy like people used to do for that TV show. This is Megan's craziness.

More Crazy Megan

Going along with the Dr. Seuss Theme, here is "The Cat in the Hat" with "Thing 1" and "Thing 2."

Megan on her bunk.

Mikayla (middle) playing NINJA with Sister Watts and Kadison.

Some more of my Young Women LtoR: Laura, Tajheeta, Kadison, Katie & Eileen.

Liz (17) and Laura with a girl from another ward.

Sister Watts and Rachel

Liz - REALLY??

More Ninja for Mikayla

LtoR: Megan (15), Tajheeta, Katie, Melissa, Kadison & Katie (I don't know who the girls in the back are).

Megan got a Stake Award for being a "Peacemaker."

Here are a couple of videos of some of the singing that went on at camp that I got to be a part of.  As mentioned above, the YCL’s or Youth Camp Leaders, got to lead the younger girls in Camp Songs before the main gatherings.  They all had a lot of ENERGY!!!

ABOVE:  2010 Lilburn Stake YW Camp – YCL Songs 1

ABOVE:  2010 Lilburn Stake YW Camp – YCL Songs 2

ABOVE:  2010 Lilburn Stake YW Camp – YCL Songs 3

ABOVE:  YW Camp: YCLs singing “If the Savior Stood Beside Me”

This is the YCLs singing “If the Savior Stood Beside Me” before one of the nightly meetings.

I love this song and I missed most of it…I only got them singing the last verse (see lyrics below).

Lyrics:
by Sally DeFord

1.If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?
Would I think of His commandments and try harder to be true?
Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously,
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

2.If the Savior stood beside me, would I say the things I say?
Would my words be true and kind if He were never far away?
Would I try to share the gospel? Would I speak more reverently
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

3.If the Savior stood beside me, would my thoughts be clean and pure?
Would His presence give me strength and hope, and courage to endure?
Would His counsel guide my actions? Would I choose more worthily
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

4.If the Savior stood beside me, would I often kneel to pray?
Would I listen to the Spirit’s voice, and hasten to obey?
Would I count my many blessings? Would I praise Him gratefully
If I could see the Savior standing nigh watching over me?

5.f the Savior stood beside me, would I comfort those in need?
Would I try to show the Savior’s love in every word and deed?
Would I give to those who hunger? Would I serve more willingly
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

6.He is always near me, though I do not see Him there
And because He loves me dearly, I am in His watchful care
So I’ll be the kind of person that I know I’d like to be
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me.

Temple Trip – South Carolina

Our ward (or geographic church congregation) rented a bus in July 2010 and a bunch of us left at 5:00 am for the Columbia South Carolina Temple. It was an awesome trip!

The Atlanta temple has been closed for a year already and will be closed at least another 6 months for renovations. You so take it for granted when you have a temple close by (which I have for the past couple of decades). I can’t wait until the ATL temple opens again. It felt so good to be there again!  I felt rejuvenated.  We also had a fun time being with our “ward family” for the day and experience that together.

The part of our "ward family" that attended the temple that day together.

 

Us and the Bus

The Angel Moroni atop the LDS South Carolina Temple.

A side shot of the temple. It is one of the "small" temples.

And the beautiful grounds of the temple....

2010 Trip to Washington DC – 1

On July 5th we left for a whirlwind trip to Washington D.C.   We saw all the “BIG STUFF” in two full days of running from one site to another.  That wouldn’t have been quite as difficult if the East Coast hadn’t been experiencing a significant HEAT WAVE at the time and most of the “running” was done outside. 

It was 103 degrees our first day there (and 100 the 2nd day).  Our friends in Las Vegas will scoff at that seemingly “low” temp.  However…the humidity was also around 100% at the time.  This makes for  a most UNBEARABLE experience.  I’ll never forget walking from the Lincoln Memorial over to the White House in those conditions.  Uggghhhh!  We actually left a tour of the Capitol building midway through in order to make it to the other end of the Washington Mall for our elevator ride up the Washington Memorial (we got our tickets early in the morning for a 4:30 tour)…we did that in 15 minutes, riding Metro part of the way…and running in the heat (can you see all 8 of us running like maniacs?)…crazy, but worth it!

But, despite that one large challenge…we had a most excellent adventure in the country’s capital.  We made a lot of memories.

I don’t want to be negative, but I will mention two big observations we made while we were there:

1.  The Washington Mall is in horrible shape.  The grass is brown and unkempt, and everything looks very undesirable.  I know all that upkeep costs, but it doesn’t present a very “shiny” image for our country.

2.  People in Washington D.C. aren’t very nice.  We have lived in “The South” for the past two years now…and I think we have already started to take “Southern Hospitality” for granted.  I remember when we first moved to Georgia from Las Vegas…we were in awe at how truly nice everyone was…like the cashier at the grocery store, or a person on the street that you needed to get directions from, or the people that wave at you in your car even though they have no clue who you are.  We realized, after we stepped out of our “Southern Bubble” that we have let that become something that we expect instead of appreciate.  We will try to do better now .

Yeah...the 12 hours of torture was over...we had arrived!

We stayed in Arlington, Virginia...

We stayed at the Hilton near the airport in Arlington.

We got all day Metro (subway) Tickets and rode the train from the hotel into the city and also used it to get to different places in the city. That in and of itself was an adventure.

Mikayla, Frank and Megan on the Metro.

Our very first stop was at the Arlington National Cemetery. Here is a quote from the official website for the cemetery: "Arlington Mansion and 200 acres of ground immediately surrounding it were designated officially as a military cemetery June 15, 1864, by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery. Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the Iraq and Afghanistan. Pre-Civil War dead were reinterred after 1900."

It was a very humbling experience to be there. To find out more about the cemetery you can go to: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/

 

 

We were privileged to watch the "Changing of the Guards" at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. See our VIDEOs below.

 

The senior officer was checking the gun of the replacement soldier in the official ceremony.

 

 

I don't know if they do this every time, but the wreath that was in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was changed out after the changing of the guards. This particular one was contributed by the Daughters of the Revolution. They had a few older ladies there to be a part of that ceremony.

After we watched the changing of the guards we got in line (luckily in the shade) for the next Shuttle to take us back to the Visitor's Center. We had quite a wait as a funeral procession was keeping the shuttle from getting to us (remember it was 103 degrees at this point). While we were waiting an ambulance and a fire truck arrived with lights flashing. We never heard for sure, but we assumed someone had collapsed from the heat.

 

After we were done at the Cemetery, we got on the Metro and headed right into the heart of DC. One of the first things we did was find 1111 Constitution Way. What, you say you haven't heard of that address??!! That would be the official IRS headquarters. ;-)

Our next stop was the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

I thought my Utah friends would like this...a piece of Sandstone from Moab sits in the Smithsonian...how cool is that?

Does this look familiar to you? Remember the movie "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian"?

AND...for my Arizona friends. Did you know that right in front of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, they have a couple of pieces of Petrified Wood from none other than HOLBROOK, Arizona? That's where I spent my first 9 years of life. Another "cool thing" on the trip!

And...it's the family "on the Mall"...Washington Mall, that is. That's the Capitol Building in the background.

And agin...this time with Shayne...hey, I want to be in the pictures sometimes too ;-).

This is the family standing in front of a museum on our way to the National Air and Space Museum. We kind of hoped we would get some respite from the heat by the water. You wouldn't believe how many bottles of water we went through in those two days.

ABOVE:  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 1 – Initial Announcement

ABOVE:  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 2 – Checking the Gun

ABOVE:  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 3 – New Soldier Takes Over

2010 Trip to Washington DC – 2

More photos of our Trip to Washington, D.C., in the early part of July 2010.

Here I took a picture of PJ taking a picture inside the National Air and Space Museum.

Can you see that Liz is blushing?? She wanted to take a picture with the fire hose because she has a thing for firefighters. So, she looks at me and raises her eyebrows twice but a boy passing by thought she was "making eyes" at him...and I caught the ensuing embarrassment ;-).

Donovan with his head in the clouds...

...touring a partial airplane. The kids were very thirsty and tired at this point. Don't let their smiles fool you ;-).

Frank

Ashley with Amelia Earhart

On the Metro again: Ashley, PJ, Frank and Megan

Sitting in the Metro station...waiting for a train.

We were back in the heat hiking from the National Air and Space Museum down to the Lincoln Memorial (a very long distance...even when it's not 103 degrees).

The Washington Monument. We thought it was ironic that they were advertising and getting ready for a big Mexico celebration on the Washington Mall.

 

The Washington Monument

And the family at the Washington Monument!

We got past the Washington Monument and still had quite a ways to go to get to the Lincoln Memorial (in the background).

PJ and a squirrel...they were NOT afraid of people. This was taken on our very long walk from the National Air and Space Museum down to the Lincoln Memorial. Again...103 degrees + humidity...some of us weren't sure we were going to make it.

Hahahahahaha....

Frank and Shayne in front of the Reflecting Pond with the Washington Monument in the background.

Getting ready to visit the Lincoln Memorial...

Walking up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial...

This is Donovan "Posing" in front of the Lincoln Memorial looking back at the Washington Monument (reflecting pond in between).

This was taken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking back at the Washington Monument.

And, finally, we got our turn to take a picture in front of Lincoln (he didn't say anything).

The Lincoln Memorial

After our visit to the Lincoln Memorial...getting ready to see the Vietnam Memorial and then hike over to The White House.

ABOVE:  Trip to Washington DC – Motorcade

While we were getting tickets to go up in the Washington Monument, we witnessed this Motorcade. Liz swears she saw Obama sitting in one of the SUVs with the window down…but I’m pretty sure she was mistaken .

The part that I didn’t get on tape was something that happened right before the cars started coming down the road. One of the police officers that was supposed to get the road blocked off so the motorcade could go through started going balastic.

We didn’t know what he was doing at first…but it turns out there was a taxi sitting on the side of the road right in front of us that shouldn’t have been there…they were probably waiting for someone that was running up to get their free tickets to the Washington Monument. The police officer started yelling at them to move their vehicle. They were not hearing him or not paying attention. So he ran over and started banging on the trunk of the taxi yelling, “MOVE THIS VEHICLE!!!!”

I can see why he was being so intense because the motorcade was on it’s way and he hadn’t done his job securing the area…but it was pretty intense. I wish I had gotten THAT on video . Lucky for him the taxi drove off just in time for the motorcade to arrive.

ABOVE:  Washington DC Trip: Playing “Ninja” while waiting for the Metro

I know this video is a little dark…but I love it. During our trip to Washington DC we rode the Metro from our Hotel in Arlington over into DC and then getting from place to place in the city.

This video shows the kids playing the game “Ninja” in the underground Metro station while we were waiting for our train.

I guess Ninja has been around for a while, but I have just become acquainted with it. It seems to be a big crazy right now. It’s a weird game…but the kids love it.

2010 Trip to Washington DC – 3

And even more photos of our Trip to Washington, D.C., in the early part of July 2010….

We were so hot and we took advantage of the few sprinklers that we found.

This was our visit to the Vietnam Memorial. Frank's dad is a Vietnam Vet.

More Vietnam Memorial...

Donovan was really hot and was trying to shade his head and face...so he used this pamphlet to make a "hat."

Liz helping Donovan with his hat on the way to the White House.

Yeah...we survived the VERY HOT walk from the Lincoln Memorial over to the White House.

Liz (17) in front of the White House...

Megan (15) in front of the White House...

Frank and Shayne in front of the White House...

And...the WHITE HOUSE!! I didn't realize we would be so far away from it. You always see shots from right there on TV, but it's very different standing out there than I had imagined.

Can you see the security guy on the top of the White House?

That's us riding the escalator up out of the Metro (subway). This picture isn't a good representation of this...but we learned very quickly that when you are on an escalator in DC, you "GET OVER TO THE RIGHT!!!" People are on the move and want to get wherever the heck they are going. You had better get out of their way. So, you leave the left side open for people that don't have time to wait and we learned to be single-file on the Right-hand side of the escalator.

Yeah! We made it to the grounds of the Capitol Building!!!

My only regret about our visit to the Capitol building is that we never made it around to the front of the building to look out over the mall and stand where the little bill sang, "I'm just a bill on Capitol Hill..." :-)

LtoR: Megan (15), Frank, Shayne, Donovan (9), Ashley (11), Liz (17), PJ (12), Mikayla (14).

Did you know Philo T. Farnsworth, the Father of Television, was a Mormon?? His statue is in the Capitol Building where you line up for the tours.

The Rotunda of the Capitol

Our tour guide was kind of on the boring side. She was also not very friendly. Right before we got started, I tapped her on the shoulder to ask her a question and she jumped and turned around and looked at me like I had just violated her somehow. I'm thinking she has issues. This was take right before we ditched the tour to make it back to the Washington Monument for our tour up the elevator.

COOL! This was taken from atop the Washington Monument. Can you see the White House?

Another picture taken from atop the Washington Monument. This is looking down upon Constitution Avenue. The second building up on the right-hand-side is the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Right across the street from that (to the left) is 1111 Constitution Way -- the Ultimate IRS building!!! ;-)

This was taken from atop the Washington Monument looking toward the Capitol Building. Doesn't the Washington Mall look in bad repair? If you were looking in the opposite direction you would see the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pond.

This is a little stage off to the side of the Washington Monument...I'm not sure why it is there. That's Donovan posing on the stage.

One more picture in front of 1111 Constitution Way...the IRS Building...

The last night we were there we were able to drive to the north area of the DC Metro area...up into Maryland...where the Washington DC Temple is located. It is absolutely gorgeous and the grounds are beautiful. Here are the kids in front of the temple before we went into the Visitor's Center.

And the family in front of the temple by the Visitor's Center.

We were there later in the evening and it got dark before we left. Check out the video of the temple as seen from the freeway below.

The LDS Washington DC Temple – - at Night

I have always heard stories of how magnificent the Washington DC Temple looks as you drive up on it on the freeway at night.

I video-taped it as we were driving up on it on the 495 freeway…and I was very excited to witness it for myself.  It was just as amazing as they said it would be!

ABOVE:  David Williams – Washington DC Temple Video Display

Soon after we entered the Visitor’s Center at the temple, Megan called me over to a Video Display that she had been looking at. There on the video was David Williams, a friend in our ward back in Georgia. He was talking about the Book of Mormon.

He told us later that it had been done several years earlier and he didn’t realize they were still using it there. It was such a cool thing to see him on there!

4th of July BBQ & Fireworks!!

We had a fun 4th of July this year!  We had a BBQ at our house and invited The Jacksons over (Frank’s sister and her family), The Horners (our neighbors), their Grandson Ben,  and the 5 full-time missionaries serving in our ward.

After we ate we also had a fun game of baseball and later we did fireworks up in the cul-de-sac.  It was a great day.

Picking Teams: "Ooh, ooh...Pick me!!" Picking Teams

Frank pitching

Liz up to bat

Sandi up to bat

PJ pitching

Elder Campbell "posing" - 1

Elder Campbell "posing" - 2

Megan and Liz

Time for Fireworks!!

The Fireworks Crew: Bobbie, Yvette & Savannah (neighbors) joined us for the fireworks.

 

 

 

Larry, Sandi, Mikayla (back), Liz & Megan

Bobbie, Frank and Glenn

Megan

Lighting sparklers?

Clean-up time...

Another Six Flags Trip…

Ok…you probably get sick of seeing us at Six Flags…but when you get season tickets, you’ve gotta make sure you utilize the park …and there are always photo ops…or “blog fodder” as we call it!

Frank and I finally tried Six Flags on date night recently.  It was awesome.  We went at 8:00 (it closes at 9:00)…and we were able to go on one of the rollercoasters twice without getting off because there were NO LINES!  We almost went a third time until it started thundering and sprinkling and they shut down all of the rides.  Bummer!

This was the last trip we took with the kids though.  It was soooo great.  It was Saturday on the 4th of July weekend and we figured we were crazy to even try it because the crowds would be so awful.  But it was actually one of the lightest days we had been there.  The lines were very minimal and the weather was actually pretty nice too.  It has been an VERY hot and sticky summer, but this particular day happened to be RELATIVELY low in temp AND humidity….which made the low crowds seem even more weird.  We had a GREAT TIME!

The kids...waiting for dad...who had to park the car and then walk a mile to get to the front gate.

Mikayla & Megan

PJ & Liz - our resident "Brace Faces" :-)

Ashley & Mikayla

Megan & Donovan (he never smiles for pictures

Mikayla, Megan, Frank and Ashley waiting for "The Scorcher"

Megan & Frank still waiting for "The Scorcher"

Waiting for the Swings to start

Ashley & Frank waiting to get on "Batman." This is the first time Frank and I had ridden Batman. Usually the line is unnaturally long, and it doesn't seem worth it. Neither of us want to ride it again. I like Goliath & The Scorcher WAY better than it...it is rough and you can't see where you are going.

Batman's car was cool though :-).

Cody & Whitney Engagement Photos

There were sooooo many cute ones, and I couldn’t put them all on here…so I had to pick a few of my favorites. 

You can click on ANY photo to see a larger version and look at them in a slideshow format…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pioneer Trek 2010

Pioneer Treks are a semi-recent tradition in the LDS Community. Each year (typically in the summer), LDS youth in different parts of the world have the opportunity to pull handcarts, dress like pioneers and do a lot of the same things the Mormon Pioneers did in the mid to late 1800s. Our Stake offers this opportunity to our youth once every 4 years (this was the first year).

One of the goals of ”The Trek” is to help the youth appreciate what the pioneers did for us…all that they sacrificed and went through in order to find a place ”out in the West” where they could practice our religion without fear and persecution.  Other things that are accomplished by the Trek are:  1)  the Youth learn to appreciate the modern conveniences and luxuries that we enjoy but take for granted, 2) unity is developed amongst the youth of the Stake, and 3)  they learn to work together as a group for a common goal. 

Frank participated in a Trek several years ago and had an amazing experience. This is the first Trek that our kids have been involved in. Liz, Megan and Mikayla all got to participate.  According to their report, all of the above goals were achieved.

 I’ve posted one of these links before…but for more info on the Mormon Pioneers, click on these:

 Mormon Pioneers:  The Pioneer Story

 Mormon Trail of Pioneers

 The Pioneer Trek

 **Here is a quote from one of the above links:

 ”All along the Mormon trail, and during the years that the pioneers traversed this great trek west, hundreds of Saints of all ages, especially the young and elderly, died from hunger, cold, sickness, disease, and exhaustion.¹ Countless stories have been told and recorded of the trials and tribulations of the Mormon pioneers. Nevertheless the Saints remained faithful and continued forward with “faith in every footstep.”²

On July 24, 1847, the first pioneers finally reached the end of the Mormon trail. Led by Brigham Young they came out of the mountains and looked down upon the Salt Lake Valley. Upon seeing the valley President Young declared, “This is the right place.”³ The Saints had been led to a place where they could live in safety and worship God according to their beliefs without the overwhelming persecution they’d faced in the east.

From 1847 to 1868 about 60,000-70,000 pioneers traveled from Europe and the Eastern US to join the Saints in the Great Salt Lake Valley, which later became part of the state of Utah.”

I took the first four pictures when I dropped them off...before they got dirty :-). For the rest of the pictures I was at the mercy of other people, so I didn't get a lot of good ones of my kids...but I was very happy to get the ones I did. Jackie Ober (Stake YW 2nd Counselor), Melissa, Mikayla, Megan, Nancy Goodyear (Stake YW Pres), Liz, Ma? #1, Ma? #2.

Jackie Ober (Stake YW 2nd Counselor), Melissa, Mikayla, Megan, Nancy Goodyear (Stake YW Pres), Liz, Ma? #1, Ma? #2.

Here are a bunch of the handcarts that the "families" pulled during the Trek. This was the first year that our stake did a Trek and the Stake leaders and Priests and Laurels actually made all of the carts in the Spring.

Mikayla, Melissa, Megan & Liz (who was not too happy to be there).

Can you see Liz? She is in the center/front, right above the wheel of the handcart (braided hair).

Another gathering of the youth...

This is Mikayla's "Family." She is on the Right in the pink shirt.

This is the Buck's Family (they were a "Ma and Pa" for the Trek)...Melissa G. is in the center.

The Bucks again...both on the Right.

I don't know the rest of these kids, but you can see Katie P. from our ward at the back of the wagon.

That's Melissa G. in the middle.

There's Liz behind the wagon...

Katie P. again (front Left)...

Melissa and the Bucks again...

That's Megan sitting with her back to the camera...I wasn't able to get a lot of good photos of her.

Hmmm...looks like a real pioneer camp...

Vikki P. (Center, facing forward)

That's Megan on the far Left (looking down) and you can also see Vikki P. from our ward (center, looking down).

Liz...making pancakes the hard way...

That's Liz on the Left...looking at all of the fired-up dutch ovens. Mmmmmm.....

Liz helping make pancakes...

I don't know who the guy is...but that's Megan in the background.

Mikayla enduring the heat and humidity of the great Georgia outdoors...the Trek took place during an unusually hot June...temps were in the 90's...PLUS humidity...I was proud of them for enduring it so well.

...entertainment...like the Pioneers had...

Sariah B. (far Left) at the dance.

Ferree B. (2nd from Left) at the dance.

Mikayla's first "Church Dance." :-) She turned 14 a month before the Trek.

"Stick Pulling" was an activity the pioneer men entertained themselves with. That's Bro. Heaton from our ward on the Right.

A stick-pulling win...you can see Mikayla in the pink shirt off to the Right.

Brother Heaton and his cute baby! The baby was only there for part of the Trek.

Yuck!! We were really worried about the girls getting ticks...but it didn't happen. They really didn't even have many bug bites.

Online Videos about the Mormon Pioneers: