Lia's First Summer Job

Lia wrapped up her first summer job today after working for Spooner Farms the past two months.  Spooner Farms is a sixth-generation, family-run farm that dates back to the 1800s in the neighboring town of Sumner.  When I was trying to think of a good summer job for Lia earlier this spring, I thought of the few strawberry farms that are still in the area since I figured that they would hire seasonal help each summer.  After calling one farm in Puyallup, I decided to call Spooner Farms on a whim and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the woman who answered my phone call is the person in charge of hiring and that she was interviewing that week and the next.  After quickly submitting an online application, Lia went in for an interview the next week and was hired on the spot.  We were both so thrilled to have this taken care of two months before school got out.

And so Lia reported for work the week after she graduated from high school.  She learned right away that the majority of her time would be spent selling berries at three of the farm's stands in Puyallup, Orting, and Buckley.  Although she did work on the farm a few times, mainly in the gift shop, she spent the majority of the summer working in the stands.  Lia and another co-worker would report for work at the farm, load up a truck, drive to the stand, unload all of their goods to sell, and spend several hours a day waiting for customers to arrive to buy berries.  At the end of the day, they would have to pack up, drive back to the farm, and unload all of the remaining berries and other produce that did not sell that day.  Although this was a relatively easy first job for Lia, we were disappointed to discover that she never was assigned to work more than 32 hours a week and was scheduled to work on the majority of the Sundays this summer.  So although it was a positive, first time job experience, Lia will probably be looking for a new job next summer.

Although Lia worked the majority of the summer at the Orting or Buckley stands, she texted me today on her last day of work to let me know that she was at the Puyallup stand.  Since Ella, Emmett, and I were already planning on running some errands downtown, we swung by her stand to say hello.

A close up of Lia on her last day of employment with Spooner Farms

2nd Summer Trip to Priest Lake

The kids and I just returned from our second trip to Priest Lake this summer.  Although Ron had to work this time, Lia was able to join us.  Sadly, we were not blessed with the best weather while we were there.  We had forest fire smoke on the first day and then a bad storm came in that the second and third days.  By the time the storm cleared, the lake temperature had dropped to 68 degrees.  So although we tried to make the most of our time there, I felt bad the entire time that Lia had missed the glorious week that we spent at the lake in July with warm weather and more family there.  We tried to do some different activities outside that didn't involve time in the water, played lots of games in the cabin, and Ella and Emmett enjoyed playing with the neighbor's grandchildren who were visiting from California.  So, overall, we had a good time and enjoyed spending time with Lia before she leaves for college next week.

We were blessed to overlap with Eric, Rebecca, and Vivian for two nights and one day at the cabin.  As a result, grandma hosted the scavenger hunt for a second time this summer for Lia and Vivian who both missed it last month.  Emmett and Ella ran around with the girls as they found their clues.

Lia and Vivi holding up their loot after finishing their hunt.

Although it was smoky and cooler our one day at the cabin with Eric's family, the kids still enjoyed some time in the water with Vivian.

On the second day of the storm, we decided to drive to the other side of the lake and go for a walk on the Hanna Flats trail where the cedar trees are over one hundred years old.  Here are the kids posing with grandma and the tall trees.

The kids and me.

By the end of our week, the weather warmed up into the low 70s, so the kids enjoyed some time playing in the water.  Here is Emmett paddling along with one of the neighbor's grandchildren.

The neighbor's grandchildren playing on the beach.

Ella paddling Vivian, Titus, and James.

Logan, Ella, and Emmett on the paddle boards.

I took the kids to the nearby river to build cairns.

Logan showing off his cairn built with perfectly flat rocks.

Ella and her cairn built over the water. 

An awesome picture I took of Emmett walking in the river.

We were joined by Brent's family the last 1.5 days that we were at the cabin.  Ella and Emmett loved being able to play with Emileigh.  Here is Ella and Kelsey playing on the beach with her.

Ella, Emileigh, Logan, Emmett, Kelsey, and Lia enjoying dinner together on Sunday evening.

Ella and Emmett playing with Emileigh on the stairs leading down to our bedroom.  They had so much fun with her and were so sad to leave on Monday morning.

The one picture I had taken with my kids and me at the cabin the morning that we left.

Logan's 3rd year at Camp Lamoni

Logan just arrived home after five days and four nights at Camp Lamoni.  Although this was his third year attending camp, it was his first year serving as a district leader.  He was asked by the stake to be one of the older boys to serve in this leadership position and was assigned to be over the group of boys in his cabin.  In this position, he was in charge of getting the boys out the door each day, doing head count at meals, and teaching a daily spiritual lesson.  He was supposed to get the help of an adult leader at camp with all of this, but was assigned a less than stellar adult who basically just expected him to do everything on his own.  So although this district leader position proved to be more challenging than it should have been, Logan tried to rise to the occasion and lead this boys as best as he could.  And when he wasn't attending to his leadership responsibilities, Logan found time to break away with his friends and participate in many of the fun activities that camp had to offer like swimming, rock climbing, axe throwing, miniature golf, game playing, attending some class, and making wood projects like a shield.  So although he returned home this morning a little dirty and sleep deprived from his week at camp, he had an overall positive experience and gained some valuable leadership skills.  Well done, Logan!

Although I didn't get any pictures from leaders at camp, I managed to take this picture of Logan right after he was dropped off at our house today.

Ella's 1st Year at Girls' Camp

After arriving home from Priest Lake on Monday evening, I helped Ella pack for Girls Camp and headed out the next morning to meet our ward group at our church at 7:30.  I then drove a group of girls to Zions Camp where they spent the next three days and three nights.  Since this was Ella's first time going to camp, I was a little nervous about how she would do, especially since she is still quite attached to me and struggles to fall asleep at night.  With the exception of getting a total of 12 hours of sleep over the next three nights, Ella had a great time.  She enjoyed meeting new friends, participating in many of the activities, and being independent for the first time.  I was so grateful that she had a positive, first year experience, but I was also so grateful to have back her home again and sleeping ten hours a night!

Ella posing with the other girls in our ward and her camp leader, Sister Rodarte, before heading off to camp on Tuesday morning.

Since I drove Ella to camp, I was able to help her get set up in her cabin before heading back home.  Here is Ella on top of her bunk bed.

Ella posing with the other girls her age in our ward in their cabin.

From left to right:

Back row:  Madelyn, Gracie, Ella

Front row:  Annabelle & Amelia

Ella practicing her ward's skit.

The girls hanging out around the fire.

Ella and her new friend, Belle, doing the ropes course together.

Ella and Gracie jumping off of the dock.

Ella going down the slide.

Ella and Gracie learning a line dance.

A group picture taken during the dance.

The girls passing around a beach ball.

Ella posing with Tom Holland and one of the YCL's, Sarah.