Priest Moab Trip

Chris and Tyler had a great time in Moab and Arches national park with the Priest Quorum

Activity Days - red white and blue

We had a lesson on freedom for our activity.  Lots of red, white and blue

We made fruit flags

munched on patriotic snack mix

Painted stars

Mission Talk

Today was Ben's talk before his mission :)

He was well-prepared and spoke about conversion.  He will be an awesome missionary!

I made cafe rio for everyone who came for lunch

Ben has a great group of friends and they all support each other

Olympic Torch...Youth Conference

The Mutual theme this year is

Since this is also an olympic year, I thought that our Stake Youth Conference was great

Chris and I were able to be a host couple for a group of youth in our stake.  We chose to be team "Greece" because of our heritage and of course the Olympics were founded there.  We had an awesome group of kids and a lot of fun.

I made Greek olive leaf crowns for each of them, and an "Alpha and Omega" medallion to put on them. 
I taught them the symbolism of the olive leaf and of Alpha and Omega.

The winners at the ancient Olympics in greece received an olive branch cut from the sacred olive tree planted at the temple at Mount Olympus.   

The winners of the Olympics in Ancient Greece were crowned with olive branches.

The Olive Tree and the temple have great significance.
The Olive tree is thought to be the Tree of Life.  
After enduring the "Race of Life" we are crowned with a branch from the Tree of Life.    The Eternal Flame - Olympic and Temple Menorah are to never be extinguished.  
Christ is the Tree of Life
Christ is the eternal light, the Light of the World.  He is Alpha and 
Omega.  The beginning of our race and the End as we are Victorious!! (see notes at end)

We had a great day of doing service projects and olympic challenges

I'm trying to plug up the holes, so that the water stays in the barrel

Camie was a riot and we'll never forget when she consumed  two pizzas

Even though Tyler and Jenessa had their own families, they had great experiences too.

Notes:
In Ancient Greece, “the victors of the Olympic games were crowned with branches and leaves from an olive tree growing near sacred altars at Olympia. The games represented the ritual process of obtaining the tree of life, a process described in many ancient cultures” (C. Wilfred Griggs, “The Tree of Life in Ancient Cultures,” Ensign, June 1988). A central motif of the vision of Lehi and Nephi was the difficult journey to the Tree of Life. Those who made it and partook of the fruit were filled with joy and received blessings. This motif is one that is actually common in the ancient world—from the Olympics in Greece to Egyptian legends of the Ished to legends of Gilgamesh in Mesopotamia.

Straw Weaving activity

We tried straw weaving for activity days today.  It does work and it's pretty fun

 Just thread yarn through the straws and then weave under and over and tie it off at the end. simple