Mission Call for Spencer!

My little brother Spencer just received his mission call to serve for 2-years in the Fiji, Suva Mission! He will be speaking the Fijian Language while he is there. :) He is going to be an incredible missionary as he gives his time, talent and shares the gospel with the Fijian people! We are very happy for him. He will be leaving for the Missionary Training Center on October 1st!
I have posted some pictures from the internet of Fiji and the people there. We love you Spencer, aka 'Spein!' You will bless the lives of the people you meet.

A typical street on the Fijian Islands.
The perfect sunset in Fiji. Wow!









Fijian home and dancers.
Here is a map of Fiji and the surrounding islands. Spencer will be serving in both Fiji and the islands around it.












(I found this great Fijian Dancer and I had to post it. ) Here are some Fijian performers. It looks like a great place to be.
The Fijian Flag.

I love this picture of the Fijian people all gathered together. Spencer will meet some wonderful people and they will abosolutely love him.

Spencer will be a wonderful missionary!
Congrats on your call to serve! LOVE YOU!

Prince Caspian

This year I have been reading the Chronicles of Narnia to my 4th Graders. Ironically, we just finished the 4th book, Prince Caspian. All of the students were really excited to see the movie, so I told them if they brought an adult and paid for themselves, I would meet them at the movie on Saturday and we could all watch it together. Surprisingly, we had a lot of students show-up for the movie and we had fun watching it together. Brett was a big help for the whole event because he was running up and down the isle of the theater trying to direct all of the students to where the class was sitting.(I have a wonderful husband.:)) We had a great time! (The picture doesn't include all of the students that came...there were quite a few that had to leave quickly after the movie.) I love my little 4th Graders!

David Archuleta and Laura

My sister Laura was part of all the excitement in Utah when David Archuleta made his appearance last week. Laura went to Gateway early Friday morning, with my mom on the sidelines, to see Archuleta and get his autograph. She was one of the few people to get in the front line and meet him, complete with the autograph. There were girls screaming and even crying all around, it was definitely a sight to see, according to my mom. (The autograph is now safely put in a plastic protector and sitting on her dresser at home.)


David Archuleta is part of the Top 3 on American Idol right now and winning his way to the finals with all of the teenage votes. Laura only voted 100 times last week.:) (I think she might have a little crush.) :) The picture at the top was in the Deseret News and the girl with the black head band and curled hair is my little sister..I sure love her.)


Here is a video of Laura's favorite song...Imagine...sung by the one and only DAVID ARCHULETA!

Dave living life in Maryland

My brother Dave just moved to Maryland last week to sell security systems for the summer. We are really excited he's out here for the summer! Sunday, we went to see his place in Maryland and it's better than a hotel,complete with a security guard and entertainment room. Nice place Dave! I think we will be coming to his place to swim when it starts to get hot.:)
This is where I will be during the month of June until the baby is born, but not in the hot tub. :)









The lobby...pretty lux.

Gettysburg

"Four score and seven years ago..." This was a common phrase I heard my dad quote when I was a kid. He loved sharing President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address with us while we were growing-up. It was fun to actually be in Gettysburg yesterday and see where President Lincoln gave the actual Gettysburg address and it brought back good memories of when I was a kid. Gettysburg is a very humbling place where so many men gave their lives. We drove through the many different battle fields and learned about the bloodiest 3-day battle on American ground. We definitely have a deeper gratitude for our country and the many men who gave their lives to make our country what it is today. Our good friends Cory and Sarah were able to come down from New York to see Gettysburg with us and it was great to be with them.
Brett standing on the last battle field of Gettysburg...High Water. This is where the last battle at Gettysburg was fought.









This battlefield is called the 'Valley of Death' because thousands of men died in this very spot.









Brett is standing where General Reynolds was shot and killed during one of the first battles at Gettysburg.












Standing at the very spot where Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address.












The Gettysburg Graveyard where thousands of soldiers were buried, many of them 'unknown' or just labeled as a number.









Near 'Picket's Charge' with Sarah and Cory. The other picture is a group of men reenacting what the Union soldiers would have looked like.










Sarah and me getting our picture with a 'Union Solider.' The other picture is the mighty stairs that I conquered with my 'basketball belly.' We climbed two different sets of these. (I must admit that I was proud of my accomplishment of reaching the top both times. :)
A picture of us enjoying the day in Gettysburg!