July is Full of Surprises

 I received my FOE games craft exchange. She made me custom Meeples containers. Meeples are the figures you use to represent your player in a game. 

Charles had a friend from school moving away so we had a playdate at McDonalds.

   It had been so hot, I was watering the garden at 5 am and the bees were already bearding out! I tried my hand at garlic preservation. Usually, Daniel does it, but he was in Belgium for Butler school so I had to figure it out with the internet's help.

I made a new bonnet for my LARP

Lizzy going off to FSY

Coming home to find the door ripped off our garbage shed. There was trash all down the backyard.

 Devon loves his wild hair!

We got these tiny Mexican squashes from the farmer's market and tried them stuffed. I loved them, but the kids wouldn't try them.

I got to drive the youth to the temple. It was a nice trip.

   It was the first time for one of the boys, so I helped him as much as I could, I had Charles and one of the Bishopric help him in the dressing room. The poor thing had no idea how anything was done. Later we all had lunch at The Olive Garden, and it was clear he had never been to a restaurant like that before. We showed him how the forks were used and helped him order. He had a good time, but I felt bad that this was all in front of his peers. I talked to his aunt about it and she said that their family is very sheltered. I'm glad I was there to help.

Emily busted her lip. Never a dull moment!

Community Days

 Our little town of Goldendale has an annual Community Day. This year we were asked to participate as members of the Goldendale Community Theater. The kids got to be in the parade and we had to man our booth for a bit. I volunteered to make a bean bag toss for the booth. I had Lizzy draw it out and help me cut it. I painted it out.

  I sewed up some bean bags and Daniel helped me cut the centers out. Luckily we had the wood already so I just had to buy some paint and hinges. Not bad for $11. It was a big hit too. Maybe we can put their logo on it for next year.

I never did get to explore the Native Village.

It was our 150th anniversary, so they dug up the old time capsule and put in a new one with this cover.

Goldendale through the years.

Our booth had a photo station with props from the play that the people could ware.

The parade!

Henry kept bugging the fellow in the coral shirt. He was very nice about it, it was funny.

Here is some of the youth from our ward:

The Yakama tribe float was beautiful!

Henry didn't want a picture with Smokey. 

This is Makayla Gutierrez, our rodeo queen. She is super nice.

  Lizzy had to be there from 7 am until after 4pm for FFA hours. She enjoyed it, but when it came time to pick her up I couldn't find her. Daniel and I both searched and eventually, he found her. 

   It was a long day, and I think I got the most interest in the booth when I was working it. The other people were content to sit in the shade and answer questions if anyone came up, but I was inviting people in, explaining the theater group, etc. Most of the town had no idea we had a theater group. 

   In preparation for the event, the library hosted a scavenger hunt for historic spots in town, we had a fun time searching out the clues and when we completed it we went to the library and the kids got lots of prizes: water bottles, t-shirts, and pieces of the cement that housed the old time capsule that were covered in glitter! Also, their names were put in a raffle for Mayor for the Day. We found out later that Emily won! Also that the Mayor is a member of our ward! Crazy!