Kamie and Nate

Kamie and Nate

Nate and Kamie

Nate and Kamie

shanie and kyle

shanie and kyle

Shanie and Kyle

Shanie and Kyle

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Coeur d'Alene (now that Kamie and Nate live in Spokane)

Coeur d'Alene with all the kids (except Elder Nick Bushman)
Free carriage ride down main street.
Nate rented a paddle board and we had so much fun on it. I tried diving off it but because of the movement of jumping, I ended up belly flopping. The slapping sound of my belly flop echoed for quite a bit...I think I had everyone's attention.
I did pretty good but the oar was way to big for me! I like the board we used in DR better. Not sure what the difference was. But really so fun. We should have all got one. I wanted to take the airplane ride around the lake and then I went down to the ferry ride and finally all the way down to paddle board and free carriage ride. One day I want to take the amphibian plane!
Shanie still can't walk well on her leg (knee surgery)...so kyle took her out on the paddle board.

Family

Wow! I love this girl! It is hard to share her with her parents. There surely isn't anything better than a baby sleeping on or with you. I love to feel their breathing and heart beat. What a miracle! I just can hardly stop kissing her.
Shanie and Kyle came home for a couple weeks but spent half their time going to the coast. They took a whale watching tour on a tiny boat with a marine biologist who knew the names of all the whales by their markings. They were at Depoe Bay and stayed in Lincoln City and near Cannon Beach. These two have the best adventures together! I wish Steve and I would have more adventures...tho, he informs me that we have more than most. I have incredible restlessness...a curse...and a thirst for new adventures.
1st letter from Nick in mission field: On Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 12:58 PM, Nicholas Bushman wrote: Hellooooooo!! I'm here in Texas!! It's crazy finally being in the field!! WOW!!! You wouldn't believe how hot it is!! It really is insane! It feels literally like walking into a sauna when you walk outside. I've come to really appreciate air connditioning. I'm getting the hang of things (a little bit) and it is pretty cool! So I am in Houston 1 Central. That is my area right now. It is pretty ghetto! Ha ha! It's interesting and makes me appreciate where we live, and everything. We do most of our work in this place they call Guatville. It's got a bunch of people from Guatamala. There are tons of broken beer bottles, and trash in the streets and stuff like that. It's kind of cool too because I'm a minority. Almost everyone you see is either hispanic or black. I am with Elder Taukei`aho. He is Tongan!! He's actually from Salt Lake, and he lives pretty close to grandma and grandpas house!! Crazy huh? But he is like 340 pounds, and is hilarious!! He says super funny things, and makes lots of funny face expressions. He works hard too. He gets up on time, and is good about doing all that stuff. I think he is awesome, and I'm glad he is my companion. I'm hoping I can learn a lot from him. Dad, it is hard for me to understand the locals! I get enough of what they are saying to follow the conversacion, but it it a struggle. I'm trying hard to get the understanding part, because I feel like I can talk fairly well (always room for improvement of course) but I need to be able to understand them first. We live in an apartment on the second floor. It's pretty nice. I like it. Bed bugs are a real problem here I guess, and that apartment just had bed bugs, and they sprayed it so we need to wait a while, and they are coming to spray it again, and bring us new mattresses today. We have been sleeping on air matresses in the living room. In our aparment there is a living room with a kitchen and all of our desks and stuff, a bedroom, and then a bathroom off of the bedroom. I'm excited for an actual mattress! I think the air mattress is hurting my back! The bike is awesome! I love it! It works super well, and has all the things I need on it. It looks good too. We ride bikes in our area. It's insane because it is soooooo hot! I wear my backpack, and before we get to our first appointment, my back is soaked! Literally soaked! I have a hankerchief for my face, but it doesn't help too much. My shirt is soaked by second appointment, and it's pretty crazy. Oh well! What an adventure! Yea, I have had some cool, and funny experiences! First of all, we don't have very many investigators. Only one that is progressing. Her name is Paula. She speaks really good english, so our lessons have been in english. She has a baby, and is around 19 years old. She is kind of a flirty type girl. Her baby daddy is abusive, but he doesn't live with her. She lives with her parents and sisters. She seems really open, we just need to get her away from her baby daddy. Her baptismal date is in two weeks I think. There is also a guy that's a recent convert named Jose Mancado. He is super cool. He is one of the nicest, loving guys I know, but I guess he kind of has schizophrenia or something my companion said. He is 32, super lonely, lives in an apartment with no furniture, and just loves the Lord. He will do anything for the Lord. Even gives out Evangelical handouts for that church because they told him if he loved the Lord he would do it! Ha ha! He doesn't have family because they all weren't very good people, and he has had too many bad experiences with bad people, so he doesn't have friends. He said they are all hypocrites. I feel bad for him, and I hope the Lord will bring more happiness into his life.
Kamie and Nate after the arrival of baby Emma Marie. (i didn't look like this after having a baby! i looked more like i had been hit by a truck)

Grandbaby Emma Marie (most wonderful miracle to happen)

What could be cuter than this?
This picture is on our fridge, as I open the door I have to kiss her lips...even if it is a picture. She is pretty much perfect! We all love her so much!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Things I'm learning: Yoga is harder than anything! Harder than full out sprinting or a jump workout. Pretending to be a Yoga teacher...fun, laugh at myself talking 'like that', struggling to sound soft and calm when I want to grunt and groan, rolling my eyeballs back in my head as I listen to my nonsense (hope no one that has gone to my class is reading this...if so, I'm just kidding). Not eating sugar for three days makes me cranky...oh ya, nothing can 'make me' cranky...except not eating sugar. Next day of crazy sugar eating causes diarrhea and severe abdominal pain...not good just before teaching a Kickboxing class. Trying to lose a few pounds....obsessively thinking about what/when/where and why and when (again) I can eat. Loving shallow things is annoying...but I can't seem to help it. (I'm really deep...really I am!) Politics politics politics! Horses like raspberries...horses like to eat raspberries as I pick them. Fertilizer can make the lawn greener....but also can burn it up {errr...ummm..it wasn't me} 30 year high school reunion....makes me want to lose 5 lbs....thinking about it all the time makes me want to eat chocolate and makes my body want to gain 5 lbs. Nick is so missed...cats can mourn and howl at empty bedroom door, I'd like to join in the howling. Texting makes it harder to adjust to not texting...not communicating immediately with the Nicko. Life keeps changing. Where am I? Who am I? Where is my cheese? (strike that...where is my chocolate?) Grandbaby girl on the way....due on my birthday makes me happy. Can't wait for her to crawl and get into things and go on adventures with me...can't wait for Christmas with toys again, going to parades and lots of places. Kids moving to Washington state...is so sweet. Kids living at my house...with broken dishwasher creates much dishwashing (by hand! I guess people used to do it this way a long time ago). Kids at home have lots of junk...everywhere. Foster(sort of) boy, Tyler has smelly laundry and room. Tyler is fun to blame for everything...like dead lawn from grass bags left on lawn for several days while we gone and roofing nail in the dryer...breaking it etc etc etc. I just say "Tyler did it" now. Did I say that Nick being gone is hard? but good....but still hard....but good... Steve has many caves...where the heck is he all the time? {I need a cave} Hot summer storms are so amazing in Walla Walla....red and pink sky, rainbows, thunder and lightening, torrents of rain...hot and steamy and so wonderful! (the smell of rain on hot pavement...amazing!) I would like one every night! Coconut fragrance is my favorite...coconut oil, coconut scrub, coconut lotion, coconut perfume...I'm crazy for coconut! Dinner is easier to make with crowd here. A full house is great. Nate and Kamie here in between move to Spokane. Tyler still here....will he ever go to college? (just kidding...enjoying him here). Kirsten (Nick and Tyler's friend...and mine) going with me to teach all my classes...so fun. Yoga, Kickboxing, Step, Pilates/TaiChi, Boot Camp, my senior dance class, yet to go to Zumba (together) and she has yet to come to my intense early morning workouts...not a morning girl.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Does he know how much we love him?

I could live in Southern Utah!

I love Southern Utah! There is so much awesome (barefoot)hiking and scenery...can't get enough of it.
Cyn, Jayson (cyn's son), me, Cammy - St. George mini hike.
Why can't I remember to wear a swim suit for The Narrows hike??? Jean shorts are the worst wet! Next time....remember...clothes than can get wet without weighing a 100lbs and rubbing a hole in your skin. (and there will be a next time...i love this hike)
"Should I go in?"
"What the heck, I mean...heck yes!" I would have been sorry to miss this chance and yes it was worth freezing later and itchy skin and heavy clothes...maybe it adds to the adventure.

Old (not age...i mean long time) friends

Childhood Friends! Stephanie Jones Mecham and Syl and Cyn....in St. George.

the kids

the kids
Victoria

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