MAYLIN2007

Maylin has pretty much shown us that she is not afraid of much. She is afraid of heights, but she doesn't let that stop her. When we were on our trip she went zip-lining through the Smoky Mountains.....I will get up pictures soon and at Disneyland over Spring Break she went on every ride. This week we went to our local amusement park. I took the girls and Alex and 3 of his friends. Maylin went on everything but two rides. She was fearless. I will admit I am a chicken. I didn't do half the rides she did. When I sucked it up and went on the wooden roller coaster, I held onto her arm for dear life. Poor little thing having to take care of her big chicken liver mother. There were even rides she wanted to do alone. So the rest of us watched her. She is brave. A little nervous at first about this one, but then she loved it. This was her most favorite ride. She did it 3 times! In other BIG, HUGE NEWS!!!!!! Maylin got.......... Glasses! Isn't she darling...

Many have asked me if Austin chose for himself to go on a mission for our church or if it was just expected of him. Of course, every young man is expected to go, but it is also known that free agency is the number one gift from God and everyone has a choice. So, Austin chose to go. Yes, we raised him so he would be prepared to go, just like we raised him to be prepared to go to college. That isn't a guarantee however, on either aspect. As parents, we were proud of his choice. Having him on his mission has been hard. Missionaries are asked to focus on the work of spreading the message of Jesus Christ. To keep this focus, we can't talk to him or see him for two years. The only exception is on Mother's Day and Christmas we can talk/Skype him for 40 minutes. Other than that, the missionaries are expected to write home once a week. It has been hard not having that daily contact with him, but man, those letters are priceless! I honestly can say that it is okay that our conta...

Part of our trip was time spent in Pigeon Forge. We spent an evening at one of the attractions riding go-carts and the older two bungee jumped. Alex just walked right off the end. When he got down he said he figured he should just walk off rather than stand and think about it. He may get afraid if he thought about it for too long. Kenzie on the other hand took about 15 minutes to decide to jump. She even had two cute boys at the top with her trying to convince her to go. Jay finally yelled up to them to push her.....that he was the dad. She went with a push and had a good time. I think its brave of her. I wouldn't have gone and if they had pushed me, I would have killed somebody.         Should I?      

Mom, this is for you:  http://austinmission.blogspot.com/ Here are some more pictures of our great hike. Before the hike, we stopped at the museum and watched a great movie about the forest. Alex found a stuffed toy deer he bought. He then spent the rest of the trip....thank heavens we were toward the end....making deer noises and moving the front legs of the deer like is was attacking. Pretty funny the first 20 times, annoying the last 200. He even did it on the flight back home. The guy sitting next to him loved it....... At the museum, Alex found a bear hat he had me try on and asked for my best bear impersonation. The picture is below. Jay's feet have really been bothering him lately. The cool water made them feel better. 

Hours after school ended on May 24, the Hill family left for an end of year excursion. It was awesome! I've been slow to post things since the death in my family, so I am trying to get back into the groove of things. Thanks to all for your well wishes. This has been a tough time for us. Anyway, this post isn't from the beginning of our get-a-way, in fact it was one of the last days, but it was one of my favorite days.....that is why I am sharing it first. Kathy, found a hike in the mountains to a falls called Laurel Falls! Wasn't that cool. She thought I would like to hike there, and she was right. The pathway was lined with Laurel flowers. I had always heard about my name sake flower, but I had never seen one! If was sooo cool. They are very pretty and they are oddly shaped. Hmmmm, kind like me. Odd. The kids picked me a bunch and put them in my hair. They are so thoughtful. It was a 3 mile hike round trip.          

My nephew Jordan passed away in the morning hours of June 1.  Jordan was 26 and leaves behind a wife and a two year old. This was my brother's son. His youngest. This is the second time he has lost a son to death. His oldest died while we were in China. His funeral was today. Jordan lived with us for a few short weeks a few years ago. The kids loved his big smile, his warm heart and the interest he took in their lives. He loved to tease and play jokes. He had a quick wit and a great sense of humor. He was a great competitor, yet he was a gentle giant. He never was afraid to make a stranger his friend. He was never afraid to offer a hug or a pat on the back. His love just took you in. In part, this was because in was 6 foot 5 and 350, but it was mainly because he meant every hug he gave. Some of the memories I have of Jordan are of his perfectly clean truck, his fancy wheels, his love for his mother, his love of pop in a large Mason jar so he could fit in lots of ice with his ...

Countertops were finally installed Friday late. We are done! Except for a new faucet and a tiny bit of touch up paint! So excited. I ordered new black barstools. They will be in sometime in August. The current ones will go downstairs to replace the REALLY rickidy old ones. I am waiting on rugs for the new family room! So excited about the color. I am hoping they will be here next week. The room echos so much, the rugs will be appreciated! Furniture for the new area will be here in July! We moved all of our stuff from the basememt yesterday. It was fun to find new homes for all my stuff in my new cupboards. It will take us a while to figure out the new locations, but I am okay with it!     Jay says the island is so big (which it is, surprised me how big it turned out) that he calls in Pride Rock and says we could fillet a cow on it.