5th Sunday

We have a member of our branch who has been the inspiration for the last three 5th Sunday lessons. The first lesson topic was: As head of the family, a man should make some financial contribution to the household. This topic was received with much trepidation and wonder from the male sector of the branch. The lesson didn't say that men should be the sole financial support, that would be asking a lot from this culture, just that if his wife is providing the apartment he lives in and all the money he spends, he maybe think about getting an actual job and helping out a little. This lesson procured a lot of philosophical remarks about how "support" is a broad term that encompasses all aspects of a relationship, especially emotional and spiritual support, and how spiritual and emotional support are actually more important than mere financial support. Ironically, the member who inspired the lesson made the last comment along these lines. The second lesson topic was: If you've seen Jesus or an angel, you should keep that information to yourself. Again, the topic was received with surprise. Unfortunately, my russian isn't good enough to know if these experiences are still being widely shared in our branch. The third lesson topic was: If you've ever been clinically dead for any amount of time, please try not to use your experiences from the other side to speculate about the doctrine of spirit prison. You might think that a member with these sorts of issues would be an outlyer-- not in our branch. He's one of the most active and stalwart members, and these attributes certainly don't make him unique from the other members.

The boyfriend shirt

My college roommate, Wendy Bennion, has a son, William, just one week older than Ella. Neither of them have ever shown much interest even in playing together, and they have only met twice, but I thought it was cute that Ella wanted to wear William's shirt at church.

Odds and Ends

If I had known how much Ella would have liked the Sea Doo, I would have taken her on it earlier. She didn't seem to mind the speed. I think she enjoyed feeling the wind in her hair.
Every few years we spot a bald eagle in this area, fishing. This year there were two.

The Last Cabin Pictures

We celebrated Eliza's birthday at the cabin. Ella gave Eliza a belly-dancing sash, one of her favorite dress-up items that she received from Elena. Even the baby couldn't resist the jangles.
Nate's definitely man enough to pull this off.
Mom and dad enjoying a relaxing ride on the Sea Doo, probably contemplating whether or not to tear down the cabin.
Ella liked the hat a lot better than she liked multiple sunscreen applications. I take pride in her skin being almost two years old and still never knowing a sunburn. It helped that we usually didn't make it down to beach until after she woke up from her nap at 2pm or so.

So Tired

The kids all played so hard every day that they couldn't quite make it through the evenings' entertainments. Here are pictures taken at the tail end of the variety show.
Nate is the most discreet.
eliza has had enough.
Julie is thinking Dalton is a little big to be cradled like this.
Even Ben, the self-proclaimed "almost adult" couldn't last through the last numbers.
But then, neither could all the adults...

Beach Fun

The kids built themselves a posh hottub to enhance their beach day-spa that they created. Most of the treatments were a variation on a mud theme.
Ella really liked little Tessa.
Nate got worn out by so much fun in such a short time.
Nate wasn't the only one who had more fun than he could handle.

Brinton Store

Even though Ella never earned any "Brinton Bucks", she enjoyed shopping at the store.
Nate's special talents.