Where Have We Been?

Another two months without a blog posted! Does anyone else go that long? It's been a busy summer and the blog was the first thing to be neglected. What made it so busy? I'm not quite sure. I taught a few music classes to children in the neighborhood (Millie loved it!), we've all had our turns being sick, and now I'm finally gaining control of my life again: the dishes are done, the laundry pile is small, the stack of mail is GONE, the bills are paid, the toys are organized, the carpet is vacuumed, dinner is planned, the girls are supposedly sleeping, and instead of taking a nap, I'm going to blog! What a feeling! This NEVER happens!

So, here are some highlights from our summer:


PLAYING IN THE BACK YARD


I love that the girls are young enough to get complete satisfaction from a $6 swimming pool from Wal-mart.

We played outside with our neighbors almost every day. I'm not sure that life will be the same for Millie when they move next week. Okay, I admit it, I'm going to miss them like CRAZY!



Cheap fun!

Gracie has (by default) passed up Millie in bike progression. She rides the BIG wheel!


THE MONARCH MIRACLE



Our monarch caterpillar turned out to be a beautiful butterfly. I kept marveling at the symbolism that it displays: We can experience miraculous change in our lives because of the atonement of Jesus Christ.



CAMPING WITH THE YORGASON FAMILY



This was a spontaneous camping trip, and since we never went camping as a family growing up, it was fun to see that my siblings can actually handle it (maybe they were more surprised about me). I hope this is the start of a family tradition!




4TH OF JULY PARADE & WATER GAMES

Our neighborhood has a small parade every year--the kids always love it. This year's addition was a water dunking contest at the park afterward. Paul was the first to go, and he somehow convinced others to join in the fun. As soon as they started suggesting me to get dunked, I was out of there! Luckily, I had a real excuse of why I needed to be home. :)




THATCHER FAMILY REUNION

The second annual Thatcher family reunion was a great success! As you can see, we had a pirate theme.

Gracie the Pirate

Millie was trying to help Jack with his hairdo

The marshmallow blowgun game was a lot of fun



The slip-n-slide was Millie's favorite event. It took a while to warm up to it, but I'm glad she overcame her 'wimpy' tendencies that she inherited from her mom. Here's a film:




DESIRE'S BAPTISM



We loved having the missionary discussions with Desire in our home. She was so incredibly sincere as she learned about the church. When the Elders asked her if she would like to follow Jesus Christ by being baptized into his church, she replied, "yeah, wholeheartedly." I was so touched. Her baptism was a sweet experience to take part in. She has become a good friend. And we've never known better missionaries than Elder Garcia and Elder Williams.



LAGOON

We all went as a family for a few hours, then we came home, put the girls to sleep for a nap, and we went back as couples for a fun date night. We got into Lagoon for a great deal since it was "bounce back." However, after cutting the costs of Paul's new phone breaking while on the wild rapids ride, it wasn't a cheap day. Oh well! Millie can't stop talking about the rides.







Almost a Year and Finally Crawling

Now that Gracie learned how to crawl, she just wants to crawl to Mommy and gesture for me to pick her up. Isn't she supposed to be crawling around to explore? At least she isn't crawling toward the stairs...unless I'm at the bottom of them. Yikes!

A Month with the Aussies!

We had such a fun time with our Australian friends, Luke & Jerusha Howse. They were here most of June. So, here's a try at capturing a whole month of vacationing in one post:

They are Finally Here!!


Millie & Blaise--Friends at First Sight



The Reunion of Two Mission Friends




A Trip to Paradise--Thatcher Manor


Millie & Blaise Learning to Share



Luke & Jerusha at the Logan Temple



A Sunday in Paradise--A Nice Break



A Private Bath Just Her Size



Now This Is Paradise for Grace!



Kangaroo Zoo!!


Tummy Time with Perks


Blaise with a Bat


Here's our little Kangaroo



Downtown SLC

Temple Square Visitor Center



Trax!



Gateway




An Austrian Mission Reunion



Vacation in St. George





Swimming at the Washington Rec. Center







Zion National Park






Bee's Baseball Game



Finally learned to share with a smile


Time to Say Good-bye



We loved our time with Luke, Jerusha, Blaise & Ethan. As you can see, we packed it in! They are like family to us. Hopefully our next reunion will be in Australia!

________________________________________________________________

Gracie and Millie
Finally in Matching Dresses!

Lost Child at Lagoon

Last night at Stake Lagoon day, we were standing in a long line for the Wild Kingdom Train. Paul saw someone he knew further up in the line and went to say "hello." I remember looking down to see Millie's empty stroller and thinking, "Oh, that's nice, Paul took Millie with him." When Paul came back about 5 minutes later, without Millie, we realized she had been gone for a while. When we began the search, I thought we'd find her in a matter of a minute or two. We had our neighbors helping us. But each time I met eyes with one of the others on the search team and saw that they hadn't found her, I began to worry more and more.

I had thoughts like "How far can a two-year-old go in just a few minutes? What can she do? Is she crying? Why can't we hear her? Would someone take her? Where's Millie?"

Then I began praying. I didn't want to panic, but I really began to worry. I prayed and prayed as I frantically looked for her. Paul was praying too. We met up at the Merry-go-Round where we had been earlier. As he searched to see if she was on there, I thought it was a waste of time. How would she get on there? But Paul's face lit up, "there she is!" She was sitting on a sleigh with a mother and children, going around and around, but with the expressionless face of a lost child.

How did she get on there? No clue! I doubt she waited in line. She probably got in through the exit.

We were just so grateful that we found her relatively quickly and that she was safe. We feel that Heavenly Father heard our prayers and inspired Paul to look on the Merry-go-round.

After finding Millie, we held her more closely, hugged her more often, and felt more gratitude for her. I guess losing (and finding) a child can be a good reminder of the treasure that you have.

Three Years Ago Today...

A perfect day





An afternoon wedding




Sealed in the Holy Temple for eternity



Family and friends surrounding us





But lost in our own little world









And now, after 3 years...








More acquainted

More knowledgeable




More than just us





More experienced

More fun memories








More devoted






and most importantly...





More in love

I Love You, Sweetheart!

Oh, the Joy of Blowing Out Candles!

Millie turned two on May 24th. We had a fun little "bug" birthday party with a few friends. The ironic thing is, within a day or so, she had a big bug bite right on her nose. The bandaid wouldn't work on the nose, but it did it's job while on the cheek.

Here's Millie singing happy birthday to herself (with a little help) and then blowing out the candles. We did this over and over all week long. She loved it!