Girl's Camp 2008!!!

I went to Girl's Camp last week and had a really great time!!!
The theme was:

I wish my camera worked because then I would have some
pictures of the the girls from the Lake Charles ward and
also from the Orange, Texas Stake.
But instead here are some of my favorite activities from camp!!!

We went swimming, canoeing and water sliding!!
We had great classes and certification!!!

We made fun craft projects, like this cool photo album.

We made some red, sparkly flip flops, so we could all look like Dorothy
for the last nights program and testimony meeting.

And all of the leaders were given this great plaque to remind us
of our Eternal home that we are working towards.

We were very spoiled by having air conditioned cabins,
nice showers and great cooks to feed us for each meal.
(It was great not having to cook!!)
Thanks Vicki, Gwen, Kristen and Samantha!!!
And of course we hung out with the girls and some of my best friends,
Julie and Lynn.
It was an all round great time!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day mom! We love you. You are the best mom, mother in law, and grandma. Thanks for being so amazing. It gives me something to work towards!

I love you!

Jen

Our trip to Washington DC!!!

Wayne had a business trip to Washington DC this last week
so I was lucky enough to go with him and
see all of the magnificent sights
of our American heritage!!!The white house is one of the smaller buildings, believe it of not!!!
I have never seen so many huge buildings that take up entire blocks!!!
President Bush waved to us from the White House!! (believe it or not!!)

Climbing to the top of the Washington Monument
was another awesome experience.
We were in the presence of greatness as we rode to the top
of the monument
with a boy scout troop from North Carolina!!

The Lincoln Memorial was the one monument that
I was the most excited to see!!!
And it was even grander than I imagined!!!
Sitting on his lap was very cool too!!! (believe it or not!!)

The Iwo Jima memorial was the first monument that we saw after
arriving in Washington DC.
It was in walking distance to our hotel.
We walked there just before dark and my first thought was "It's Huge"!!!
Pictures do not do it justice.
The same thought went through my mind all week upon seeing Washington DC.
It is amazing how such a small area of land can hold so much history!!!

There was a few times that I was drawn to tears
because of the magnitude
of where and what I was looking at.
The Iwo Jima monument was the first time,
a couple of days later the Vietnam memorial took my breath away
as I thought about my POW bracelet that I wore all during high school,
and the third time I was standing in the rotunda of the capitol
looking up at the immense hand painted ceiling.
Seeing over 200 years of history in one week is beyond words.

Another monument that was one of Wayne's favorites!!!

Wayne being taught by the master!!
This is also one of my favorite pictures.
Some of our favorite works of art include...
the "Ghost Clock"
which doesn't look like much until you realize the sheet
isn't a sheet at all,
but part of the complete carving of the "clock"!!!
Right!! It is all wood!!!
Even in person it was hard to tell that it was wood!!!

Van Gogh...

Monet...
Around every corner there was another original work
by one of the masters.
It was incredible!!
I could have stayed at the National Gallery of Art all day!!
Oh!! I did!! And part of the next day!!!

And of course, you can't leave Washington DC
without seeing
the Hope diamond!!
This picture doesn't do it's 47.5 carets justice!!!

We loved Washington DC!!
With all of its heritage, culture and beauty!!!
We kept wondering why we never took the kids
when they were younger.
But we can always plan for the future!!!

Watermelons Anyone??!??

While we were in Jennings today going to church, we took one of the members home and passed this unique house!!! I couldn't resist taking a picture of it. It reminded me of a house in Ponca City, Oklahoma where we lived for 9 years. That family decided to hang all of their treasures on the outside of their house until there was not any room left to hang anything else. (Maybe that saved on having to paint!!) But compared to the Ponca City house this one looks good enough to eat!!!The only thing I would add to this fruity version of the witches house in Hansel and Gretel is a huge azalea bush planted on the side. Too bad they are not in bloom any longer. This is our azalea bush on the side of our house. It was beautiful while it lasted!!!

Los Cabos, Mexico

Matthew emailed us today and he is in the southern
most part of Baja, in Los Cabos.
His companion is Elder Lamm.
They room with 2 other Elders, they walk everywhere they go,
they have taught 15 lessons this week
and one of their investigators is almost ready for baptism!!!
Wow!!! What a week Elder Sorensen!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Mexico or Bust!!!

Matthew arrived safely in Culiacan, Mexico last week along with 7
other Elders. This picture was taken at the mission home along
with his Mission President,Marion R. Johnstun, who was a professor
at BYU-Idaho before being called as a mission president.

Congratulations Matthew and Good Luck!!!