Fourth of July:
We had some friends over and grilled burgers, brats and hot dogs. They made snow cones for everyone.
My mom gave me this Pioneer Woman platter. I used it for the vegetables and sent her a picture saying, "Thank you!"
One evening, Kira asked to play a game with me. She chose Pay Day and we enjoyed a game night together.
Unicorn, rainbows, giraffes, monkeys, elephants, pandas and green hearts. Oh, it was fun to create and code. You can change the speed, the size of the emoji and the different kinds of emojis.
One night for YWs, the girls did an escape room activity. It was pretty fun. They did a lot of work for it. 
Popsicle break.
I bought a bunch of different ice cream bars too. The kids loved the selection.
Pretty Kira.
My mom sent me a beautiful card...
We taught the kids Uno and we have been playing it a ton.
Isak put together this 500 piece puzzle of Italy by himself.
The same week he was putting it together my sister Kari was actually touring around Italy.
Kira did her messenger bag from her kiwi box. She learned two different methods for tie dye. Circles and squares. The other side of her bag has the squares on it. Cool project. She loves putting things in it and taking her bag places.
Reading lessons. In July we tried to do four lessons a week. They are getting to be good readers. I'm so proud of them. We are so close to being done! We got to lesson #94 the last week of July.
The primary asked us to share pioneer stories. So I found four pioneer stories for the them to share. Isak ended up being sick and didn't go. Kira shared his for him.
I'm glad we had the opportunity to learn their stories more and share it with our kids.
We just needed some down time...the kids worked on their diamond art...
Love Noah's face in this picture.
I made sugar cookie bars. At first I didn't like them. I think it was because I was expecting it to taste like cake...but they taste like sugar cookies. Haha. And once my mind accepted this, I did like them more. It makes a lot...the cookie is kind of dry...but with the frosting its better....I probably won't make it again.
Slushees from dad again...
Selfie with my Sofie.
Just playing with hot wheels down the stairs.
Diamond art...
Isak and I watched the last Harry Potter movie part 1 and 2 in July. We had our caramel corn and enjoyed watching the movies together. Noah and the other kids came and went...
We happened to be shopping in Walmart together and everyone found a fun pair of slippers! Can you tell who bought which slippers??
Yay!
My boys.
Sunday picture with Noah...
My matching girls. 💕
And that's July! We enjoyed being home and recovered from our trip. We had some fun outings, some nice relaxing days, summer treats and time together. It was a good month for our family.
Kira shared with her primary class five ways she can live and share the gospel. I love her writing and drawing.
"Hey Mom, can we play in your room?" Sure...
Isak helped me do the Come Follow Me lesson this week. He colored and cut out the props for the lesson. Each bag had a different activity in it. We learned about Zerubbabel and drew a picture of the temple together. Ezra and took turns sharing our favorite scriptures. Nehemiah and built a wall out of Jenga blocks.
Isak's pioneer was G&G Nyborg. This is what Isak's story said:
My Grandpa and Grandma Nyborg were the first to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Nyborg side of the family. A friend introduced them to the church and they listened to the missionaries while they were living in Utah for a year. Then they moved to California and then to Rochester, NY.
My grandpa Bob Nyborg shares this story. One day while I was at work Donna took a drive in the country to escape the cold winter doldrums in upstate New York. She ended up at the Joseph Smith Visitor Center. She took a tour of the Visitor Center and learned more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints talking with the missionaries there. She came back with some literature and a commitment to let the missionaries come and visit us in our new home in Pittsford, New York.
My grandparents continued to learn more about the gospel and attend church. On August 20, 1977 my grandma and grandpa were baptized and confirmed members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My dad was 10 months old when this happened. I’m grateful my grandma and grandpa were baptized and taught the gospel to my dad. Now my dad is teaching me the gospel!
Kira's was about Ane Larsen and how she listened to the missionaries in Denmark. Her parents did not want her to be baptized. She was anyways and followed her grandmother to Utah when she was older.
Sofie shared about Sarah Thompson Stewart who learned about the gospel in Scotland. She wanted her family to go to Zion. Sadly, she died when her eighth child was eight weeks old. Before she died, she made her husband and son Samuel promise to take their family to Zion. They kept their promise and settled in Utah valley.
Noah shared about his namesake...Did you know that Noah's middle name is Anders? He shared about Andrew Swensen or Anders Swendsen in Norwegian. Andrew joined the church in Norway and even served a mission in Norway. Then he moved to Utah. He was a good carpenter and worked on several temples, including the Salt Lake and Manti temple.
When I was about 5 years old, I remember we visited the Manti temple and my parents showed me the plaque with Andrew Swensen's name on it. Pretty amazing. I'm grateful for these family members that took courageous steps and lived the gospel.
I found the best banana bread recipe. So moist and delicious. Try it with strawberry cream cheese. Mmmmm. Also, it looks pretty on my Pioneer Woman platter. :)
