'I did not come this far only to come this far'

"No matter what challenge you are currently facing, remember: 'I did not come this far only to come this far.' Keep going. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. As I have said before, Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever."
— Jeffrey R. Holland

“An High Priest of Good Things to Come”  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

October 1999

Beautiful morning for a walk...

 

Magic...

The magic of Grahm... and bubbles!

ThrowBack Thursday - Boys in the mountains...

 

“Je t’aime”

Grahm and I were watching a movie upstairs on Sunday while the rest of the family were watching Harry Potter downstairs. Mark and Tiffani have been reading the Harry Potter series with Cash, Colby, and Grey. When they finish it's time to watch the movie! I love it when they come over to watch the movie at our house. 

At one point during the movie, Grahm jumped up and ran over to the Alexa device. He asked, "How do you say I love you in French." He came back to the couch and said, "Ya, it's je t’aime.” He pronounced it perfectly. What a boy. Love in any language...

Grahm enjoyed some of Grandpa's tomatoes while watching the movie! 

Grizzly also came for a visit. He wasn't sure about the step, but with a little coaxing from Colby he made it. He's a good boy!

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Hemingways Nairobi...

Before leaving Nairobi, Kenya Christopher enjoyed a visit to the beautiful Hemingways Nairobi Hotel. What a beautiful setting along with some delicious food!

The original Hemingways opened in November 1988 on the Kenyan coast in Watamu. Named after the famous author, explorer and fisherman, Ernest Hemingway, who travelled throughout Kenya, this iconic hotel has been a favourite holiday destination for many years seeing the same guests return year after year for a hit of the famed Hemingways hospitality. The Collection was expanded in 2012 with the addition of a luxury boutique safari camp, Ol Seki Hemingways Mara, and then again in 2013 with the opening of the Collection’s flagship property, Hemingways Nairobi – a first of its kind 5 star luxury boutique hotel in Nairobi which is now considered one of the finest hotels in Africa. Hemingways Collection is staffed by a dedicated team of hotel and hospitality professionals who all have the same vision – to be the best luxury boutique hotel collection in Africa.

Chris enjoyed his time in Africa and

is now on his way to the Philippines!

Kindness...

Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known. Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes.

Kind words not only lift our spirits in the moment they are given, but they can linger with us over the years.

The Virtue of Kindness | Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
April 2005

ThrowBack Thursday ~ Goo...

Cute Goo-Goo!

Giraffes in Nairobi...

Another stop for Chris, this time in Nairobi, Kenya. Giraffes are beautiful animals!

Nairobi is Kenya’s capital city. In addition to its urban core, the city has Nairobi National Park, a large game reserve known for breeding endangered black rhinos and home to giraffes, zebras and lions. Next to it is a well-regarded elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Nairobi is also often used as a jumping-off point for safari trips elsewhere in Kenya.

Solid and wonderful promise...

"People ask me frequently what is my favorite verse of scripture. I have many and this is one of them, 'Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers' (D&C 112:10). What a promise to those who walk without arrogance, to those who walk without conceit, to those who walk without egotism, to those who walk humbly. 'Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.' What a solid and wonderful promise that is." (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 265.)

~Gordon B. Hinckley

Best seat in the house!

Grizzly enjoying a movie with the 

fam on the best seat in the house!

PC to Tiff

Summer fun continues...

Grahm saw my popsicle molds the other day and wanted to have some homemade popsicles. It's been heating up here, so I got busy and made a few. I made pineapple-coconut and watermelon-mint flavors. The pineapple-coconut popsicles were the fav. When Grahm saw the popsicles he said very enthusiastically, "Thank you Grandma!"

Grandpa took a few pictures of Cash playing soccer this week. He went with Tiffani while I helped get the others boys to their activities. He really enjoyed watching Cash and having Tiffani chauffer him around!

Grey and Grahm had their last swim lesson on Friday. They both passed all their skills! Grahm was the fastest swimmer in his group, he was excited about that! Grey really has a can-do attitude and gives his all. He is quite the athlete. Grahm is so fun to watch. He is always so excited to try new things. He smiles a lot and is pure joy. You can tell his instructor is charmed by him! The last day of swim lessons they get to go down the big slides. Grey and Grahm loved doing that!

Colby loves playing with Grizzly. 

Kisses!

I sure was happy that Cash came for Grandma Day on Friday. We had lots of fun. We stayed in the basement where it was nice and cool.

Grey had a busy week, he enjoyed relaxing, and playing.

Colby saw me making a blanket using my fingers. It's a fun way to crochet without using a hook. He wanted to try so I got him some yarn. He caught on really fast and it's been fun helping him make the blanket. It's almost finished. Now Grey wants to try so I'll get him started soon!

Colby chose the yarn, its called limeade. It's bright and cheerful just like he is!

We have been with the grands a lot more than usual and I'm so grateful! I was a little sad today, I can't help but miss them. 

Chris took a two hour boat to Zanzibar. He always captures the most beautiful sunsets by the ocean. 

The Zanzibar Archipelago sits in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanzania. It's actually made up of 3 main islands (Unguja, Pemba, and Mafia)

Summer is not over yet, more adventures to come!