Things that are done

So, we've been busy finishing lots of projects around here. And I'm happy to report most of them have turned out quite nicely. Here's the list, with some fun pictures of the finished products...

The Shave Ice Stand

Brian and his brothers spent a lot of time building their own shave ice stand to sell the goooood kind of shave ice (and yes, it's shave without a "d" on the end, authentic from Hawaii. And no, it's not a snow cone, which is an inferior product, as any shave ice fan will tell you!).
A few shots from the construction phase...

It's now FINISHED, and they've got someone running it noon to 7 every day. yay! So come on up for your own taste of Hawaiian ice... pina-colada is great with sweet cream on top. mmm....

The Quilt

I posted earlier about my first quilting project. It only took a week working here and there in the evenings, which was a surprise for me as I was not sure what I was doing at first. But I'm happy with the way it turned out.
So is Sammie...
We're tying the backs to the quilts as a group next Thursday, so you may get one more picture when it's all tied up, before it's shipped off to the Humanitarian dept for some poor cold person who will be happy to have such a fun quilt to keep them warm (I hope!).

The Painting

I've mentioned I've been painting lately. Well, I think I'm done, at least for now. I painted a wall in two different bathrooms, as well as painting Spencer's room. Here's a shot of one of the bathrooms, hard to capture such a small space, but it looks pretty good when you close the door...
Spencer's stripes...
None of the colors looks right in the pictures, (especially the blue in Spencer's room which is NOT neon!) but I'm pleased with the end result and feel like our place is getting more homey all the time.

A little side note on the stripey stripes in Spencer's room... They were a P-A-I-N! But I am THRILLED with the final result. His room is also our guest room when we have people come to stay, so just imagine the lovely room you'll have if you plan a visit to the Bishop B&B. (Oh, and don't worry, Spencer sleeps in the hobby room when we have guests.)

The Talk

Samantha gave her first talk in Primary last Sunday. She was soooo very excited about it. I read her the note from the Primary presidency, telling her the talk would be on June 14. Every day she asked if it was June 14, and how long until her talk, etc. She talked about prayer and held up different pictures with each thing she talked about.
Here's what she said...

Heavenly Father wants us to pray so he can bless us. [pict: girl praying]

Prayer helps me and my family to be strong. [our family pict]

I like to say the prayer when we eat food. [pict: a dinner plate]

At bedtime, I say my nighttime prayers. [girl sleeping]

Sometimes we pray to help people feel better when they are sick. [a sick girl]

Right now I'm praying for my Uncle Trent to feel better because he was in the hospital. [picture of Trent]

Sometimes we pray to help people be safe. [boy in a car seat]

Right now I'm praying for my Uncle Mark and Aunt Dalana's family to be safe on a big long trip. [picture of a minivan]

Sometimes I pray to help me cheer up when I am sad. [Little girl smiling happily]

Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them.

It was so fun to watch her get ready for her talk, and to hear her talk about praying so much.

Middle East Presentation

A few months ago, Brian's mom asked him to put together a presentation about the Middle East that he could share with a group of his parents' friends that meet for a monthly FHE group. Brian went above and beyond, and had a very thorough, interesting powerpoint presentation that he gave to a group of about 20.
It was really well done, and he put a lot of time into it. So did Susan (his mom)! She made several different dishes from the region, including hummus and amazingly delicious baklava. mmmm! Sadly, Susan wasn't able to attend. We'll have to give her a private showing sometime soon!) Here's Spencer, watching Daddy from the BIG BOY chair, after the presentation was over...

And the "display table" of all Brian's (and my) fun treasures from the Middle East. My contribution was gathering these items and positioning them nicely at the back of the room for people to look at afterward...

I think that brings us up to date for the moment. We of course have other projects that are still NOT done (like those dresses I was trying to do yesterday. Still can't figure out the last hem. arrrg!). But they're all works in progress and it's nice to feel busy, right?