11 June 2017

Helen's class went to the water slides on Friday for an end of the year party.  The weather was cool and sunny.  This is a photo of Sophie and Helen trying to get warm in a sunny spot.

 Abe and friends celebrated the end of middle school at the 8th grade dance on Friday.  From the left are Ashton, Jake, Malakai, Spencer, Camden and Abe.  We are very thankful for this great group of boys.

 Ashton's dad took the boys to Shari's for dinner before the dance.

After the dance they met up with others from our ward at the Father/Son campout.  Brandan and Gibson were already at the campground.  The weather was a little drizzly.  Everyone stayed warm, though, even if they weren't dry.  Here's Abe shaking some of the rain off the tent.

Sofi spoke in our ward on Sunday and gave a great talk about hope.  Brandan wore the tie Sofi brought him from China.

We invited friends over Sunday evening for an open house.  Sofi leaves for the MTC on Wednesday.  Helen made a beautiful bouquet with the Taiwanese flag for the refreshment table.

 Here's a photo of Tiffany, Helen and Justin showing their mad chopstick skills by eating M&Ms.

 Sofi's best friend, Joey, has been on a mission in Florida for 5 months.  Joey's family came to say goodbye.  From the left are Abe, Sofi, Andrea, Blake, Logan and Camden.

 Here's a photo of Abe wearing a candy lei the Barber family brought Sofi.  You can see Brandan's dad, Dan, in the background.  Dan and Martha drove out from Utah for the weekend.  We had a great visit and didn't think to take a photo with them the entire time they were here.

Abe left early Monday morning with a school group for a trip to China.  He gets to see some amazing sights like the Great Wall and the terracotta warriors.  Hopefully he'll get to practice some Chinese.  We're looking forward to hearing his stories and seeing his photos.

Here's a photo of Abe heading through security.  We'll get to see Abe in two weeks, except for Sofi who won't see him again until December 2018.