Mello Yello

Each year Mackenzie's section in marching band - the Mellophone section - makes t-shirts and this year Mackenzie and another girl in her section designed their t-shirts with Steve's help.

Steve made up the design on the computer and then printed them off our printer onto transfer paper. It says "mello yello" with the kids' last names written within the letters and their graduating year printed on their right sleeve. Here is Steve cutting out the design.

Ironing on the transfer!

There are 9 kids in the Mellophone section - so we made 9 t-shirts for them and one for the director and his assistant.

Here is Mackenzie modeling her new "Mello Yello" band t-shirt! So cute! Nice job Mackenzie and Steve!

First Day of School - 2011

Our summer officially ended bright and early this morning with our girls heading back to school. They also started back at early morning seminary and that begins at 6:00 a.m. every morning.

Mackenzie is a senior in High School this year. Wow! We are asking ourselves how that happened so quickly. We would love to freeze time and keep our girls little forever. :o{

Mackenzie drives her and Brooklyn to seminary and school each day. It's so nice having a daughter that can drive! But look how dark it is at 5:55 in the morning! They are definitely up before the sun rises!

Brooklyn is a sophomore in High School this year and is looking forward to being with friends again.

As for Steve and I...we are sad that summer has ended. We had a great time together as a family and are not ready to get back into a schedule again. But ready or not...here we go!

Brooklyn - Silver Lake Swim

This is Brooklyn's second year on the Cascade High School girl's swim team. She has been practicing everyday for the past 2 weeks in preparation for their first swim meet that will be in a couple of weeks. They have a tradition every Labor Day of swimming across Silver Lake. Monday was a beautiful sunny, warm day and Brooklyn was excited to swim with the rest of her brave teammates!

Team picture before they did the swim.

Brooklyn with one of her teammates.

Nice action shot of Brooklyn diving into the lake. She is the one 2nd from the right. It's about 1 1/4 miles over and back.

Yeah...she made it! Check out that cute smile! We are looking forward to a fun swim season watching Brooklyn.

Fun Photo Shoot

Over the weekend we had a fun photo shoot with our girls. Mackenzie has to submit a photo to the yearbook committee for her senior portrait so we decided to take them ourselves. And for the amateur photographers that we are they didn't turn out too bad!













Steve and I are ready now for a photo shoot of the two of us! But...hmmm...we just aren't as fun to photograph!

Mackenzie & Brooklyn's 22 mile walk to the Temple

Yesterday morning Mackenzie and Brooklyn along with the young women, young women leaders, our Bishop and a few other men from our ward started bright and early at 6:30 a.m. on a 22 mile walk to the temple. They have been preparing for this walk over the past 3 months. The 22 mile journey was symbolic of their own journey to the temple as well as in honor of John Rowe Moyle, a pioneer, who despite having lost his leg, walked 22 miles at the beginning of each week and back home again at the end of each week so he could fulfill his call as a stone cutter to work on the Salt Lake Temple. (see his story at the bottom of this blog)

Here are a few of the young women with smiles on their faces at 6:00 a.m. - about to begin their journey.

Here is a picture of the group.

Steve and I drove over to the temple that afternoon so we could be there when the girls took their final steps onto the temple grounds. Here is a neat picture of Cynthia with the temple in the background.

The night before the walk our family made this big banner for everyone to hold when the girls came walking into the temple grounds.

One of the YW leaders designed a really cute logo for the t-shirts that they had made for the girls to wear on the walk. Steve took the t-shirt and scanned the image and blew it up so we could have that logo on the banner. Here are Mackenzie, Brooklyn and Heidi helping make the banner.

Steve and I painting the border around the banner.

The group in front of the Seattle Temple after the walk. It took them 9 hours to complete the 22 mile walk.

We are sure proud of you Mackenzie and Brooklyn. Nice job on your journey to the temple.

For those that might be interested, here's the story of John Rowe Moyle

“John Rowe Moyle … was a convert to the Church who left his home in England and traveled to the Salt Lake Valley as part of a handcart company. He built a home for his family in a small town a valley away from Salt Lake City. John was an accomplished stonecutter and, because of this skill, was asked to work on the Salt Lake Temple.

“Every Monday John left home at two o’clock in the morning and walked six hours in order to be at his post on time. On Friday he would leave his work at five o’clock in the evening and walk almost until midnight before arriving home. He did this year after year.

“One day, while he was doing his chores at home, a cow kicked him in the leg, causing a compound fracture. With limited medical resources, the only option was to amputate the broken leg. So John’s family and friends strapped him onto a door and, with a bucksaw, cut off his leg a few inches from the knee.

“In spite of the crude surgery, the leg started to heal. Once John could sit up in bed, he began carving a wooden leg with an ingenious joint that served as an ankle to an artificial foot. Walking on this device was extremely painful, but John did not give up, building up his endurance until he could make the 22-mile (35-km) journey to the Salt Lake Temple each week, where he continued his work.

“His hands carved the words ‘Holiness to the Lord’ that stand today as a golden marker to all who visit the Salt Lake Temple.

“John did not do this for the praise of man. Neither did he shirk his duty, even though he had every reason to do so. He knew what the Lord expected him to do.