4th of July

Michelle and Brian and family came up just for the day to enjoy the 4th of July with us.  

Waiting for lunch.

Jaron, Gabbi, and I made cake balls.  There is something deeply satisfying about crumbling cake,  . . .

And mashing frosting into it.

Kenny is always willing to pose for a picture

Michelle trying out Grandpa's new toy.

I tended William while Michelle and Brian took our new car for a spin.  We got some pretty cute selfies:

Dipping and decorating the cake balls.

We turned on the sprinklers and let the kids run.

The completed cake balls.  Gabbi and I decided no one would be hiring us soon to do their weddings, but it was fun.

Even Dad got into the fun.  See the rainbow?

So cold.

Grandpa barbecued ribs, we had garden vegetables, watermelon, and baked beans.

And of course cake balls and homemade ice cream for dessert.

We always make homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert on summer holidays- Hinton family tradition.

Whenever the kids come, they like to play with the neighbors.  We have such a fun neighborhood, full of cute kids.

Later that night our neighbors put on a great fireworks show.  Then the city did one, too.  It was a fun 4th of July.

Our New Ride

A year ago, we visited the Mackrorys in Wisconsin.  The car rental company gave us a Hyundai elantra to drive.  We really liked it.  We have owned a Hyundai Sonata for several years and have loved it.  The Elantra is the next step up.  So when we got home, Ken went to the dealer and expressed an interest.  Since then, our friend who works there has called us about several Elantras.  We finally purchased this one.

Though not our favorite car color, it is a nice break from white!

I guess we need to go on a road trip and try it out!

Best Thing Since Indoor Plumbing

It is NOT a little-known fact that I do NOT like to go to Walmart.  I have been known to drive to and through the parking lot and then go home, not able to face it.  For years now, each time I am in the parking lot, ready to go in, I text all of my family the same message every time: "Cover me, I'm going in."  They all know exactly where I am and what I'm doing.  I often get texts back:"We've got your back, Mom."  "Praying for you."  etc.

But things have changed.  Yes, things have changed with the invention of Walmart grocery pickup.  I am a huge fan.  You just use their grocery pick up app and choose your groceries.  You schedule a pickup time and pay online.  They email you at or around your scheduled time.  You drive over there, park under their awning, and out they come with your groceries.  They have you sign a thing, load the groceries in your car, and away you go.  Honestly, the most convenient invention since indoor plumbing!

It's kind of like missionaries in Russia.  I didn't think it would ever happen.  Just like I didn't think Walmart would EVER be in a My Favorite Things post.  But here it is:  Walmart grocery pickup- one of my favorite things.

To view other of my favorite things, click here.

Our Church Callings

A big part of our lives is our callings in our church.  We both serve in the temple.  I serve as 1st counselor in the young women organization and Ken serves as 1st counselor in the elder's quorum presidency.  All of the above are a big part of our lives, but I realized I don't ever post about them or take many pictures.  When I am with the youth, I am busy and rarely remember to take out my camera and take pictures.  I am determined to try to do better.  I love the girls and grow to love them more and more all the time.  I will also try to get a picture of the elders quorum presidency.  They are, as I write, meeting in our living room.  I would run in a take a picture right now, but I am not presentable!  For history's sake, I'll post a potpourri of pictures that I have, then occasionally post more:

One day, after serving in the temple, I was waiting for Ken.  The flowers in front of the temple were just glorious, so I took a few pictures.  One of my favorite colors!

We feel so grateful to serve in this sacred place each week.

We had youth conference in Morley's(friends) cabin in Brian Head.  My responsibility was Friday night's dinner.  I forgot to take pictures of the dinner: sloppy joes, chips, veggies and dip, and creamy jello salad.

Our friends, the Burdicks had just come home from their mission in Florida.  They did a great presentation for the youth on preparing for a mission.

The service project the next day was to deep clean the Morley's cabin.

The next Tuesday, I was in charge of the all-youth activity.  We had pizza, then went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.

For a recent class activity, we went to the St. George Family History center.  Only three came, but we had a great time.

The family history center is a great place to spend an evening.  They have so many fun things for the youth to do and explore.

One of my Mia Maid claimed she had the best chocolate cookie recipe in the world.  So for a recent Mia Maid activity we tried them.  I think she may be right.  In case you're interested, here is the recipe.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Katelin Nordfelt

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven.0 to 350.  Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.  Dissolve the baking soda in hot water.  Add to the batter along with the salt.  Stir in the flour, chocolate chips, and nuts.  Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.  Bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges are nicely browned.

Our fundraiser for camp this year was to do a ward cookbook.  We did make a lot of money.  But it really was a leader project.  I did a lot of it.  

July's all-youth activity was group games.  This is human battleship.

And bunny/rabbit

The very next week, we, the Mia Maids were in charge of the all-girl activity.  It looked like we were copy catting as we also planned to do group games.  But we had planned it a couple of months before.  We did all different games and really had a fun time.

And finally, now a couple of weeks later, I did get that picture of the elder's quorum presidency.  They meet at our house every Wednesday evening:

Ken, 1st counselor, Rob Marshall, 2nd counselor, Samuel Roth, secretary, and Terry Walker, president.