A new ward....time to party

We are just getting used to our new ward boundaries. We had to say goodbye to all our friends on the west side of Olathe. It was so sad...especially because we will miss seeing the Terrys every Sunday.  But, we gained a square mile of members right next to where we live! And they have tons of awesome families and loads of kids and teenagers. We desperately needed the boost in our youth program!

Another fun perk is the Tiafau family. They are from Samoa and they are super fun. They worked so hard putting together a Luau for our whole ward. Let me tell you, it was clear that we had best step up and wear all the floral cloth we could find. We made hair clips out of the flowers we used to use as a centerpiece in the play kitchen. I found some leafy fabric at Hobby Lobby and we tied them around our waists. 

Ethan ordered Polynesian tattoo sleeves on Amazon. He was super into it.

Look at that spread! And don't even get me started on the chicken. It was legendary.

Hey, Courtney!

Tami and Julia

Bishop and the boys

Mark and the girls perform the "Lava Song"!

There was lots of awesome dancing...

We especially loved the Bishop's "resortwear".

But really, everybody looked great!

It was a fun night and we ended it with everyone pitching in to clean up and a bit of Electric Slide!

Art for Juliette...A Silent Story of Friendship

Laney does this.

And I am amazed.

Time for a new do

The hair was long...and I was ready for a change.

Mark will miss my long hair, but (in theory) will love me no matter what my hair looks like.

I think once I stop freaking out, I will really like it!

What to do? What to do?

The kids are at school for like 6 WHOLE HOURS.

We are giddy with the possibilities.

We are gonna watch an entire Royals game and the only snacks we fetched were for ourselves. Look at those smiles!

What will Laney choose?

It's Laney's turn to pick an instrument!

Will it be the trumpet? Emily is showing her the ropes!

Mathew was super sweet and got her buzzing on the trombone.

But her heart was captured by the clarinet. I think she knew before she even came tonight.

It seems we will be going to a band family through and through!

Dumb Decisions

So, I committed to participate in a Triathlon. The entire thing was a bit of a mess.

Well, actually, I did really enjoy the biking practice with friends in the morning. It was a lot of fun and almost made the end goal worth it.

Almost.

The swim was SOOOO awful. I was lucky not to drown. And because I started first (I had to because I am so slow), I had an audience to my misery and ineptitude. Let's stop talking about it. I'm still hoping I can block the memory.

Then the bike.

Little tip: don't do a triathlon on a "mom bike". It's stupid hard.

And then....the run.

So I look happy? No...I do not.

The best part of this whole experience was driving home.

Never ever EVER AGAIN!