Jen's Big Day!

Check out the similar outfits (total coincidence)
Uncle Ranse, Jenny & Aunt Shelly
The Gale Boys: Darin, Brian, Ranse
Friday, August 29th is a day that Jen will always remember. She was able to take out her own endowment at the Sacramento Temple. We were honored to be there with her. She had a lot of family there to support her and had a wonderful evening. We love our Jenny! She's amazing!!!

The last picture goes to show that even wild turkeys know that the Temple is the place to be.

Soccerfest featuring "The Rockers"

Soccerfest was actually a couple weekends ago. I'm just a tad bit late. In case any of you didn't know, Taylor and Malia formed their own rock group called "The Rockers". They were the hit of Soccerfest! Taylor and Malia got lucky this year and were placed on the same team. They are hilarious. Watching them together takes me back to my younger years of acting like a complete fool with my best friend. It should be a good soccer season.

I can't fail to mention Michael. He is playing soccer for the first time and is lots of fun to watch. His coach told him to get the ball when it was coming his way in his first game and instead of kicking it, he bent over and picked it up. 4 year old soccer should be called comedy hour.

Our outing with the Warren's

The tiniest piece of tri-tip you will ever see!haaaaa
Taylor kayaking on her own
The two lovebirds :)
Michael and Taylor enjoying Emeli's company

O.K. first off, call me crazy cause it is 2:00 a.m. and I am blogging. Is that a sign of true addiction? I have been killing myself trying to get our letter ready for Michael's diabetes walk and have fallen behind on my blog. I'll try to recap the events of our visit to Paul's house for dinner to see Emeli off to college. Paul has come to our house many times for our family gatherings and dinner, but we have not made it his way at all. So, the tables were turned and we we're treated by him.

Upon our arrival, we noticed a very "tiny" piece of tri-tip sitting on the counter. Ranse and I both thought that there must be more coming. WRONG!! We took this as an opportunity to harass Paul all evening and have a good laugh at Paul's expense. Did he not realize that the Gale's are GIANTS? Hilarious!!!Thank goodness for the larger than life baked potatoes.

After dinner, we headed over to Lodi Lake to kayak. We all had a great time! Along with kayaking, we also enjoyed watching the kids get chased by the ducks.

We headed back to the house for a wonderful dessert, made by me and shared a few good laughs! The kids enjoyed hanging out with Emeli(literally). We'll miss her while she is away at school!

Ranse's first talk in Sacrament Meeting

O.k. here goes the bragging mom again! Sorry, but I can't resist. Ranse gave his very first talk in Sacrament meeting on Sunday, August 24th. He's 12 and got up there like an adult with many years of practice. He put the talk together himself and did not share with me what he would be saying except that it would be on service. I completely trust him to say appropriate things and speak from the heart. So, anyway back to Sunday. He got up and shared his thoughts on service and how Jesus was the perfect example of serving others even when you are mistreated. Then he shared the story about the good Samaritan from the scriptures, then wrapped it up in his own words. Then to finish it, he thanked Ranse and I for serving him all the time even though we have hectic schedules, are stressed and argue sometimes. O.K., he could of left that last part out. I think he enjoyed mentioning that because he got a good laugh from everyone. He had overheard Ranse and I going at it on the couch the night before because I wanted to get an ingrown hair off his chin and he did not want me to. Yes, I admit I like to get ingrown hairs and pick pimples. Gross huh?

Anyway, Ranse did an excellent job and made his parents proud!

Play date with the Yuba City cousins

Who's da' man? These two were having an all out battle to see who was the tougher cousin. Ranse's idea of course to let them each put on one boxing glove and have at it. The only rule was that they could not use their bare hand to hit. They both have a powerful punch. I had to call the match when I started noticing big red welts on each of their faces. No WIMPS here!

Here's the cousins anxiously awaiting some popcorn. They all piled on the kitchen island and sat and stared at the microwave. I never knew it was so exciting to watch popcorn pop. Especially when it's in a bag and you don't actually see it pop anyway. Oh well, I thought it was a cute photo opportunity!

Me & my Bro

I love the reflection of my arm in my glasses
Eric and I down on the field after the game
Here we are again
The kids at the temple
Michael wanted to pose with the statues...so I let him

My brother was in San Francisco this past weekend for a business trip so we headed over there Sunday after sacrament. It's been almost 3 years since we've seen each other, it was great getting to spend some time with him. He's two years older than me and I remember how much I idolized him growing up. We were inseparable! We only had a few hours to spend together so we went to the Giants game and had a great time. Yes, we broke the sabbath, but we did stop by the Oakland Temple on the way home. Does that count for anything??haha

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!

This is the "don't mess with me" look
This is the Ranse we all know
This is the "I'm ready for some action" look

Yep, it's that time of year again. Ranse has been practicing hard since early July. This coming Saturday will be his first official game and we are pumped!! Ranse has participated in two jamboree's the last two weekends and has scored a touchdown each weekend. I was screaming so loud after the one play, a guy next to me made the comment "that must be your kid". Why yes it was!!! We are so excited to think Ranse is even getting to play, last year he pretty much stood on the sidelines all season. He has made huge improvements and really does great job out there. He has the heart and desire and it shows! I'm so proud of how far he has come(in case you haven't noticed) I'm one proud momma!!!