Emily's 27th B-day!

No matter how old I get (after the age of 17), I am astonished with how fast time goes by. I can't believe I turned 27 this year! It was a good day. Troy was very excited to give me my present: a "Cricut Expressions" which is essentially a fancy cutting machine so that scrapbookers don't have to buy packets of letters and pre-cut shapes. It also cuts out vinyl, which we are very excited about because we can make customized sayings and put them all over our home! (If anyone wants to play with me, feel free to let me know!) Sophy and I played during the day (I dressed her up in a "You are my Sunshine" shirt and skirt--see, I CAN be girly...on my b-day!). When Troy got home we went to the Bountiful Temple and did marriage sealings for people who have died already. It was a really neat experience and I thought alot about our temple marriage and how much we've been blessed. Then we went to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory (Sophy loved the bendy straw we let her play with), and to purchase vinyl and came back home to play with my present. I think Troy enjoyed shopping for it because he spent a considerable amount of time going through the technological things it could do and making sure I knew how cool it was. I was just happy to be able to make my own cards! ;) Then, on the following Sunday, Troy's mom and I made a new invention called "Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes" for my birthday. They were soo good! (Marie Calendar--if you are reading this: You should NOT have discontinued the Boston Cream Pie. I out ate many people on that pie and no longer have a record to hold!)

Fun Times with Sophy and Friends!

We have had a great time with friends coming to visit recently. We wanted to show a little slideshow of those pictures. We are so grateful for the wonderful friends that we have and all of the fun times we've been blessed to have. Here's to YOU!

And a cute "photo-shoot" of pics of Sophy. I couldn't help myself! TOO CUTE!

Summerfest is OVER!

The international event, "Summerfest" that I was a part of is finally over. I loved most every minute of it, and so did Sophy! I am very grateful to have had my mom come up from Washington again to help watch Sophy the first part of the week, Troy watching her on Friday, and his mom on Saturday. Sophy loved the loud noises (until it was past her bedtime), friendly people, and beautifully bright and elegant costumes. She was known to many of the event staff and smiled and encouraged everyone just when we truly needed it. Troy not only helped to watch Sophy when he got home from work, but picked up 15-20 dozen doughnuts from Banbury Cross EVERY DAY. Of course, since he picked them up, I let him have first pick before we brought them to the park for the volunteers the next day. I don't think I've ever seen/eaten so many doughnuts in my life. Somehow I lost weight too! I highly recommend the Banbury Cross doughnut diet to anyone!

The first day, Monday, we served lunch to the 120-200ish performers who had just performed at year-round elementary schools throughout Davis and Salt Lake counties. Wednesday night was the Streetdance. Main street in Bountiful was literally shut down while the performers had 15-20mins per country to show the public a "sneak peek" of their dances as well as inviting the public to join in with them! It was so much fun! My relatives came up from Oak City, Provo, and Springville, UT and we had a great time. I took my suprised Aunt Lynnie by the hand and we joined in with the Costa Ricans for two dances. Friday and Saturday were pretty amazing. The performers danced and sang in full costume from 10am-10pm at the Bountiful City Park. On Saturday, however, while the Russian Cossaks were dancing a blustery windstorm came through and they kept dancing! It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Their dancing was beautiful and you could feel the point they were trying to make as the air swept their hair and costumes back and forth very dramatically while they moved synchronistically to the music. Another part of the Summerfest was the Loom from the Ming Dynasty. It was on display throughout the week in the Bountiful Rec Center. This loom took 7 people to operate at once and they would use it to make clothes for the Emperor.

The part I did for the event was to help organizing the volunteers. I did some organizational help before the event, and then througout the event, I'd help volunteers get checked in, T-shirt, and badge, and show them where to go and what to do. Additionally, I'd check with the different Event Managers to see what help they needed and we'd allocate un-busy volunteers to those tasks. I had so much fun and learned a great deal. I love Bountiful. There is such a great sense of community and people have fun at the city events that are organized. The weather was great. The crowd was wonderful. The Volunteers were EXCEPTIONAL!! Thank-you to all that can hear my voice and came to help and be a part of such an exciting event.

My favorite part was meeting the performers. They were very friendly. In talking to them, it wasn't difficult to tell that they were excited to be here and that they love performing. I couldn't help but be touched as I watched the performers dance and interact with other performers. I thought about the contrast between this world and the "real-world" we live in. It was amazing to me that while the world seems to be in great turmoil, these countries all came to America (Bountiful none-the-less) for the same purpose, to dance, sing, and be happy. During this week, it seemed there was peace on the earth, and possibilities for future happiness.

Summerfest is coming!

I have been helping the Bountiful Davis Art Center gathering and organizing their volunteers for the Summerfest International coming up next week. We are still running short on volunteers in a few really wonderful opportunities to serve. The shifts are only a few hours and your family can enjoy the festivities at the park at the same time! The Summerfest dates are Thurs, Aug 7th-Sat, Aug 9th. See link for more info on the event: www.bdac.org . Current needs are listed below:

Hospitality: We need adults who will be helping to serve refreshment and encouragement to the performers. This is a great opportunity to meet people from another country and watch the performances at the same time!

Shifts still open are:

• Friday (Aug 8th): 1-4pm, 4-7pm, and 7-9:30pm
• Saturday (Aug 9th): 10-1pm, 1-4pm, 4-7pm, and 7-9:30pm

Children's Art Yard: We need Adults/mature Teens who love interacting with Children. This service includes helping Artists assist children with various art project from around the world. If a parent would like to do this with 1 or 2 of their children that would be perfectly acceptable.

Shifts still open are:

• Friday (Aug 8th): 10-1pm, 1-4pm, 4-7pm, 7-9:30pm
• Saturday (Aug 9th): 10-1pm, 4-7pm

Grounds Crew: We need responsible kids with parents/Adults who would be willing to be the "eyes and hands" of the park keeping it clean and safe. Volunteers will be running items from one booth to another, looking around for garbage on the ground/things out of place. If a parent would like to do this with 1 or 2 of their children that would be perfectly acceptable.

Shifts still open are:

• Friday (Aug 8th): 10-1pm, 1-4pm, 4-7pm, 7-9:30pm
• Saturday (Aug 9th): 10-1pm, 4-7pm, 7-9:30pm

If you or anyone you know would be interested in helping the Bountiful Davis Art Center out with this fun and exciting community event, please feel free to e-mail me at: smilyrunner@gmail.com with your contact information, who will be coming, and what shift you would like and we will let you know where to be and what do to. Thank you so much for any assistance that you can be. I understand that the summer is very busy. This would be, in my eyes, a wonderful way to serve, have a date night, help in a community, and get out and do something fun!