Luke's Eagle Court of Honor

Luke got his Eagle Scout award in December 2007. I wanted to record it permanently here. The picture of him with another scout is his good friend Dallin. In front of them is their German teacher who attended this Court of Honor for both of these boys.

Just Hangin' Around

Yesterday Gracie and Christy went to a birthday party at the place where you can bounce and have fun. Did you know that you can put on Velcro suits and then jump or be lifted up and stick to a Velcro Wall? I didn't...but I do now!

A Hike For Activity Day

This past week, Christy went to her Activity Day activity. They went on a hike starting at a local park. As you can tell, they ended up where there was a great view!

Love Without Boundaries Auction

The Love Without Boundaries Art Auction started yesterday and goes through the 29th. The money will all go for Chinese orphan children's heart surgeries. Hopefully, then they will have their paperwork submitted and be adopted!!
Check it out!
http://stores.ebay.com/Love-Without-Boundaries-Store

Our Own Track Star

Last week, Darrell attended one of Carrie's track meets. This is her second year in Track. She is in 8th grade in Middle School. She participates in the hurdles, the shot put and the discus throw.

Happy Birthday, Bishop Dad

Darrell's birthday was on April 11. That was the day we got home from Leavenworth. He decided to go fishing, so when we got home, he wasn't here. Therefore, we decided to celebrate it the next day. He got his traditional Hershey Bar cake, which I make specially for him once a year. It was something his mom made and he really likes it. It was our first family member's birthday to celebrate since we got back from China with Gracie. Happy Birthday, Bishop Dad (What Christy sometimes calls him!)

Last night, we went to Christy's piano recital. She had to introduce herself and play a piece. Gracie is also learning piano, but we didn't make her do it yet. Carrie was supposed to go, too, but yesterday morning she came home sick from school. I took her in since my kids are susceptible to strep and sure enough, she had it.

Wrapping Up Spring Vacation

Today I am posting pictures of our in town shopping in Leavenworth. There is a cute hat shop and I took pictures of the kids in fun hats. Christy and Gracie got some dishes sets and enjoyed have little tea party meals and washing their own dishes. They are SUCH good friends. They get along really well. I am so glad they have each other.

Walk Near the River

More about our trip to Leavenworth. Yesterday I mentioned that we walked along the river to go to the village. Today I am posting pictures of the kids on this walk! It was a nice day and a nice walk. We also spent a little while throwing rocks in the water. What kid doesn't like that?

Spring Vacation in "Bavaria"-Like Village

Last week was our Spring Vacation. On Tuesday, I drove up to Leavenworth. We stayed for 3 nights. I took Gracie, Christy, Mark and his friend Nathan.

Leavenworth is a village that is a tourist town...it has been made into a "Bavarian" town. There is fun shopping (ladies type fun shopping) and places to eat. The resort we stayed at is probably a mile or less from the small village. There is a path along the river you can walk on to get to town. We did that one morning. One morning in town shopping was plenty for me and for my pocketbook. One of the highlights was the hot tub. The pool is outdoor, so we spent time mostly in the hot tub. Mostly is the key word for the ladies. The boys went back and forth between the VERY cold baby pool and the hot tub. This was Gracie's first experience with "swimming". Besides admitting that, the first clue was underwear under the bathing suit the first time she put it on. I think she actually enjoyed the hot tub. we will see what she thinks about real swimming in a couple months. Darrell stayed home with Carrie and Luke. They are the ones who actually had to work instead of play last week.

Friday Evening's Activities

Friday evening, Carrie had a couple friends come over to spend the night. They spent time in the trees. One tree was the apricot tree. The other was a VERY TALL sycamore tree.











Christy and Gracie were wearing winter hats on this beautiful spring evening. But, they all had fun.

My Baby

I love this picture! When I was in Shantou, China, in January, I asked the office lady if there happened to be any photos of Christy in her file as a baby. I had none. She gave me about 5 shots (several copies of some of them) from baby to young child. From a black and white photo, which was very small, I had an engraving made while I was in China, which effectively enlarged it. It is very well done. This was after her surgery which was done at 10 months. I also have one photo of her that was taken before her surgery. Not the best quality, but the youngest photo I have of her. These are treasures. I have NO baby pictures of Gracie, and much less information on her past.

Camp Wooten Fifth Grade

Last week Mark became the 4th Damstedt to go to Camp Wooten as a fifth grader. I went for my 3rd time as a camp kitchen help person for part of the week. Mark was there to learn and have fun! He fished, went to classes, attended Campfires and slept in a cabin. Luke also went as a cabin counselor and he was Mark's counselor.

I went to work. The kitchen help works hard. The food is really good up there, but there is a lot to do to prepare meals for over 100 people. The next time I go, in 2 years, I hope to stay the whole week when Christy and Gracie go as fifth graders. I haven't decided if I want to be a cabin counselor for them or kitchen help again.

Family Night

Tonight we took pictures at Family Night. We had Gracie conduct the meeting. I led the singing with Mark getting some special attention. Christy and Dad did the lesson on baptism.