22 April 2018

In an email, Sofi told us that she has met many missionaries who do not know how to mend their clothes.  Since we have three future missionaries at home, we practiced hand sewing for family night this week.  Helen already knows how to sew and she stitched together a small bag with a button closure

Abe has a little sewing experience.  He used the time to sew up a seam that had come undone on his travel pillow.

Sewing was new for Gibson and he was excited to learn.  He made himself a drawstring pouch.

Becky's service learning class is working on a quilt to donate to a local homeless shelter.  This is a photo of some of the kids tying the quilt.  This is the first time the kids have tied a quilt and they are enthusiastic learners.

The Young Women in our ward hosted a spa day for the activity day girls.  The big girls brushed the little girls' hair, gave them massages and painted their fingernails.

The Young Men in our ward had a bonfire.  One of the leaders lives in the country where burn piles are common and legal.  A neighbor still called the fire department because the fire was so large.

Helen went to Oregon State University for 2 days this week as part of a group of girls exploring careers in science.  Helen had a fantastic time.  They started in the math department.  This is a photo of the group doing brain teasers.

The girls extracted fluorescent proteins in the microbiology lab.

This is a photo of Helen and Hannah in one of the greenhouses.

 A piano in the student union had a sign that said "Please play me" so Helen played a song.

The girls wrote thank you notes to the college after dinner on Thursday night.

With Helen in Corvallis, Abe playing golf and Brandan at work, Becky and Gibson did some errands on their bikes Friday afternoon.

First stop was the chocolate shop where Gibson picked out a chocolate for finishing a piano book.  He also picked out a couple of chocolates for his piano teacher.

Next stop was Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone.  It's pretty fun to assign yourself some errands on a sunny afternoon.  We love our small town!

On Saturday we drove to Ashland to listen to Helen play at the earth day celebration.  She's in the back row.

There were a variety of exhibits at the event, including this battery assisted bicycle.  Or maybe it could be called a pedal assisted car.  It even has a passenger seat in back.

We all agree we would that given a choice between a battery assisted bicycle and a Tesla, we would prefer a Tesla.  Here's a photo of Abe sitting in one.

We hurried to our next event, the celebration recital for the winners of the sonatina competition.  Abe played his entire sonatina and Helen played her favorite movement.  This is a photo of the winners for all three divisions.

Abe drove to church today.