Martin's Cove

Early in August (2024), the West Stake leaders took the youth (14+) to Martin's Cove. As the Bishop's wife, I got to accompany John which was so nice because Jessica was one of the youth in attendance. I was asked to be one of the photographers, which was a huge privilige. 

The weather was hot, everything was covered in dust (EVERYTHING), and once a day, a fierce Wyoming wind storm would blow through. Those wind storms were unlike anything I had ever experienced. 

But the moments with the youth were sublime. 

I loved watching them all work so hard and I loved getting to be with some of "my" Young Women again.

It was a real gift to get to be there with Jessica too. She sand a musical number at the end of one of our days there and I was so in awe of her. She has had some great opportunities to share her testimony through song.  Listening to her sing is my favorite. 

On the final night, we had a testimony meeting and it was so nice to hear from our youth. There were some great streis and great moments that came out of that weekend. 

How grateful we have been for inspired leaders who are willing to invest in these experiences for our youth!

Glacier Day

A beautiful day in Glacier National Park - just John and I. 

Nate and Jess were both at work, so we drove to Many Glacier and hiked into Lake Josephine. 

It's the hike we always did when the kids were younger. 

We had to stop at the "Elephant Stump" our kids used to sit on. 

My heart ached a little for days gone by. 

John fished and I meditated - which basically means that I sat on a rock and thanked God for this good life. The mountains make me do things like that. 

 

It was a lovely evening.

 

Random July

July was a god month. My scchooling and subbing was over, and it was early enough in the summer that I could still procrastinate September prep. I was still naive;)

During this month...

Jess went branding with the Leishman family. It was so nice them them to let her join. Apparently, she was fiesty and wiling participant. That girl likes to get dirty on the farm.

We hosted a family dinner with my family. We did burgers and can cooker, which was fun. I don't think we hoste very often, but it is aways fun when we do. 

Jessica LOVED working in Waqterton this summer. She was surrounded by friends and they played more than they worked, which made for a good, good summer job. 

Our garden was good to us. 

John and I had a summer where we had no choice but to do things together, just the two of us. With both Nate and Jess working crazy full time hours, we were really on our own. Fishing and hiking when our schedules allowed was how we passed those summer days. 

Times are changing for us, but I am thankful for every day. 

Brooke's AND Myas weddings

This summer made for some happy summer gatherings. 

In July, Brooke married Brady. Betsy Atwood and I helped host a bridal shower and I was able to help with food during the reception. I particularly loved that Sam's former girlfriend, Paisley came to the reception and ended up helping me in the kitchen. 

A month later, we were back together, celebrating Mya's marriage to Josh. 

Again, I helped Betsy host a shower in Betsy's backyard. It was stunning. 

The wedding day was lovely. Mya and Josh are a darling couple and we loved being able to celebrate them. I feel so excited about all the future holds. These kids are growing up. It is a JOY to watch!

Hardy Party 2024

When John's family gets together, it is always a big deal. 

This past July, we all rented a house just outside of Waterton. 

It was large enough to house the 40+ people who attended and close to our favorite National park. 

Some of the highlights of this week together included: 

- Attending church in the Waterton Branch

- Crafts and visiting with cousins

-Holding the obligatory family carnival.

- The cousins enjoyed a giant bonfire together.

- Some hiking in Waterton and afternoons spent skipping rocks

- And even a Walley's Beach day!

- It was nice being close enough to home so that we could still water the lawn, have a place to shower, grab supplies, etc. 

- We enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner at MINGS, a family softball game at town square, and a play at the Carriage House Theatre. 

One evening, we stopped in at the Chinook where the family hosted a Family Home Evening for the residents of the lodge. 

It was a beautiful week spent with family. 

We learned some hard news about John's brother, Aaron, and came together as a group to support him and his wife and boys. Due to Aaron's diagnosis, I know it will be a hard year for this group of people, but I know that they will be caring for each other, every step of the way. 

Fruitland or bust

When our niece Maddie announced that she was serving a mission, Jessica and I both resolved to go to her farewell. We had wanted so badly to support the family, so when the weekend of her report came, we hopped in our trusty 2007 Chrysler impala and crossed the border - headed for Fruitland, Idaho. 

We hit roadblock after roadblock all along the way. 

For example, 15 minutes into the trip, I realized that I had grabbed John's passport, not mine. Home we went.

Three hours into the trip, when we stopped to rent a car because we figured ours wouldn't make it all the way, we learned that there wasn't a rental car in all the land.  Well, atleast not in Great Falls. Forward we went. (We probably shouldn't have continued in our car, but we were determined.)

We LOVED stopping in Helena to see the new temple and we REALLY enjoyed Chic Filet. 

Somewhere, near the town of Dillon, well past dark, the check engine light came on and the car started to sound a little bit funny. Fueled by childhood memories of a similar vehicular situation near Dillon, I instructed Jessica to take the first exit she found and we drove straight to a hotel. For that night, we wondered and debated. Do we press on (we were only halfway through our journey) or do we head home? I did not want to risk going further south only to run into worse trouble with the car. 

By morning, I had decided that we would close the gap between us and hope and turn around. 

That said, we were 20 minutes from Rexburg Idaho, so we did go there and spend a few hours on campus, exploring the nursing floor and getting a sense of the area. It piqued Jessica's interest and put the thought of BYUI back on the table. 

As we finished up on campus, we said a prayer and asked for safe travels as we started for home. The car ran great for about 6 hours, the engine light only coming on again as we pulled into the parking lot of a hotel in Great Falls. I knew we'd make it home safely the next day. 

We were sad to have missed our chance to support Maddie, but I was sure grateful for the time spent in this dingy old car - with this girl. She's made life fun. 

I'm grateful for her.