My oldest son, Elder Brandon Bishop, sent this writing to me for my 45 birthday while he was on a mission!

PAYBACK for me after 19 years of raising him!

Blueberries for Jessie

Happy Father's Day!

The night before Father' Day, I loaded Jess up with these sponge curlers---her FIRST time. She was a pretty good sport. Not really knowing how to roll the different sized rollers, I just randomly put different sizes in Jess's hair.

 THIS IS WHAT RANDOM LOOKS LIKE! A little frizzy, but so much fun for Jess.

Making breakfast for Dad is one of her favorite things to do!

 Daddy and Daughter!

 Missing Elder Brandon Evans Bishop!

 LDS Church missionaries are only allowed to call home on Mother's Day. This was very baffling to the kids as they expected to hear from Brandon on Father's Day! I had no good explanation as to why he could phone on Mother's Day and not today, except that.........

Mom's are COOLER!

....and we smell better!...

 Cousin Massage after a long week at Camp Naish for Boy Scouts!

"The Father's" in my life pose with the reason they get that title!

Kicking off the Summer with my "girls"

The majestic mountains of Colorado were the backdrop of these breathtaking pictures and a

  girlfriend only excursion.

Kelly Lineback, Tanya Huntsman, Grace (21) and Suzanna (14) Amy Stephenson, ME, Mary Ellen Naylor  

The weekend was not only relaxing, but very productive. We talked, laughed, ate, walked, shopped, played games and had some powerful moments of inspiration together! We Mom’s can solve MANY problems you know! 

This group of women is so wonderful and I look to them as mentors, friends, and sisters in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are connected by so much, but most importantly, we KNOW we are daughters of God and can inherit many blessings by honoring him and his church on the earth. We know we also are expected to serve our families and fellow-men and I am pretty sure that I speak for all of us, that we are ready to “conquer” the world after being bonded for 4 days!

We traveled to and stayed at Kelly’s 3-bedroom condo in the mountainous town of Keystone Colorado. She owns this property and travels to it many times to ski and relax from her busy schedule as a Kansas dentist.

My "Therapy" Sisters!

(notice Kelly's new skirt--Ann Taylor outlet--so HOT)

During our shopping "outlet" excursions, the fashioneesta in us blossomed as we advised on "What Not to Wear" to our fellow sisters.  I also purchased Father’s Day gifts and I got Hunter some very inexpensive shirts. (a little productivity during a vacation! GO ME!)  He really enjoys Aeropostle shirts and they look good on him. He will get good use of them at the upcoming Youth Conference and EFY! More girl time for him!

Elder Andrew Naylor, Mary Ellen's son, is serving his LDS church mission near this region--Patagonia.

We took this picture and Mary Ellen sent it to her son. She also purchased some items with the region's name on them for her husband and son.

Traveling to the Denver airport via the Continental Divide was a perfect ending to this excursion. We were surprised to see avid skiers on the slops in JUNE! Many SHIRTLESS! The parking lot of the resort was filled with smoke and the aroma of barbecue! TAILGATING while skiing! I have seen it all!

My sister, Tanya, joined us for the weekend from her home in Windsor, Colorado. 

....Bring on SUMMER!!!!!!!!!! 


I AM READY!

Summertime with friends

Sara and her brother, Parker, Bills spent some time with us. Jessie and Carson loved having a baby in the home and Jess practiced her "motherly" skills.

 Parker is just 2 months old and he is a super smiley baby!

 Carson and Jacob Forred prepare to enter the pool for their swim meet competition. Carson's favorite stroke is the breast stroke and he even came in second this season with this stroke.

 Brad's new camera phone took this shot. Pretty impressive for a PHONE?

 She is a natural

 Hunter's Summer of Dating:  Maggie Brown and Natalie Larson

I soooooo deserve this!

Early this Summer on a hot afternoon, the house had gone quiet after a two-hour trip to the swimming pool. The eery quiet lulled me into a hour sleep until nature spoke.

As I entered the bathroom, this junk pile and this adoring smile greeted me !

"I just want to clean the world,"

 responded Jessie while dropping the last load of wrinkled receipts, old bandaids, samples of antibiotic cremes and rusted nails on the porcelain counter.

Junk drawer revealed! Some items in here have not been seen since 2004!

I quickly (BEFORE her momentum waned) supplied Jess with ziploc storage bags in varying sizes. Instructing her regarding "organization" and "sorting" was a breeze as she already had the cremes in a bag.

My last advice to Jess was to let her Dad know that it was HER that messed with his junk drawer and not MOM!

A week without Carson-Scout Camp

The scouts of our troop managed to enjoy a delightful week at Camp Naish despite the 110 degree temperatures. Ben and Peter Bagley •  Jacob Forred  •  Jacob Hughes  •  Carson Bishop

Jiggle Jam on Memorial Day

Radawn, Peter, Anna, Nathan Bagley and Carson, Jessie and I spent the Memorial Holiday at Jiggle Jam at Crown Center. Although it was overcast and misty, we had a terrific time listening to LIVE music, blowing bubbles, creating crafts and eating FREE hot dogs.

Most of all, we just enjoyed being with our "buddies!"