...And we're back!

Sorry for the long hiatus from posting. Here's some of what's happened with the Blackmers since last August (my last post):

Our new roommates! They (appropriately) live in the super hero room. The mission boundaries changed in Salt Lake and there's a need for more homes for missionaries.  We love having them around. They are the lowest-maintenance roommates you can have (they're never here!) and we love hearing them sing hymns in the morning and play hymns on the piano. They bring a wonderful spirit to our home. We don't know how long they'll be with us, but we're happy they're here.

For Thanksgiving last year we visited Ted and Elise in Rochester. They were such gracious hosts and we had a memorable Thanksgiving in their apartment living room. :) We loved having Al, our newest family member, there!

We got to visit several of the Church History sites, including the Sacred Grove (above). This was one of my favorite sites of the trip, in addition to a replica of Joseph Smith's boyhood home. It made the stories I've heard all my life much more real and strengthened my testimony of them.

Site where the gold plates were buried.

I was recently released from my calling as Young Women's President. I really miss spending so much time with the beautiful, fun, faithful, amazing Young Women and the talented, dedicated, humble leaders I was privileged to serve with. 

 Now I teach the four-year olds and do fun, (borderline sacrilegious?) crafts like this.:)

Christmas with the Rysers - sorry, no photos with all of the Blackmers or of our own Blackmer celebration. Ever since we moved into our home we sleep in the living room on Christmas Eve with the tree lit up, roast chestnuts in our fireplace, and talk the night away. My favorite holiday tradition!

What would Christmas be like if we didn't get a new game?! Labyrinth - a new favorite!

 My incredible, hard-working, humble, faithful, funny, loving Grandpa left us last month. As a tribute to what a wonderful man he was, his grandchildren from across the country all came in town for his funeral. We enjoyed being together and telling stories about Grandpa. He is very missed.

This summer we are going on the trip of a lifetime! We're going to...

Spain! Nick will serve as our tour guide, since he returned from his mission there less than a year ago.

 and...

Germany! Maggie will be our tour guide here, since she also (fairly) recently returned from her mission to Berlin.

 and...

Ireland! While we're on that side of the globe, how could we not visit one of the most enchanting, gorgeous, charming places on the planet (according to Dave)? I've never been to Ireland, but Dave will be my tour guide on a week-long trip around the southern part of the country. We can't wait!

Ryser Updates

A LOT has been happening with my family lately. Here are the updates:

Maggie is getting married to this wonderful guy! His name is Al and we all adore him. We are so excited for their upcoming wedding (October 7th)!!

Ted and Elise's new home. Ted started med school at the University of Rochester. We miss them terribly.

Check out this handsome RM with his arm around me! The Last Ryser has returned! We have LOVED having Nick home again. He stopped in Rochester on his way home and so he got to see Ted and Elise, too! All of the Rysers will be reunited at Maggie and Al's wedding.

Mom also was released from her calling at the Salt Lake Temple as the shift coordinator in the baptistry and Dad was released from his calling as bishop at a singles' ward at the University of Utah. Well, that includes major changes for everyone in my immediate family.

Girl's Camp

I absolutely love this picture. It about sums up Girl's Camp this year - can you tell how much fun we had?

Singing "Tootie Ta Ta"

We had a cowgirl theme. Here we are at roll call

Helping the beehives make their first fire ever! They were little pyros. :) Notice the gorgeous scenery in the background!

The zipline - highlight of the camp for most of the young women

Games! Snorta is a new one for me, and Dave and I are going to have to add it to our collection

Hiking - again, gorgeous!

Girl's Camp Essentials: doing hair and making friendship bracelets

Canoeing on the lake!

Of course, plenty of pranks were played - leaders included 

Plenty of Minute to Win It!

The silliest game ever, Bunny Bunny

Girl's Camp this year was the best one I've ever attended. It was difficult for me to be away from Dave and to take so much time off of work (and to plan the entire thing!), but it was all worth it. I loved being with the girls and getting to know them all better. I loved seeing them develop new friendships and have such a great time together. I loved being silly with them. I loved being out in nature. I loved feeling the Spirit while I was there. I loved learning about new flowers and seeing a part of Utah I'd never seen before. And, I especially loved testimony meeting. :)

Summer Fun

Since I haven't really blogged at all this summer, here is a smattering of photos of things that we have been up to lately: 

Water fight with the most adorable nieces and nephews on the planet!

Teaching Fatuma how to read a calendar

The ESL Center was awarded the 2011 Non-Profit Volunteer Program of the Year award! Here's the staff with our award. We're so proud. :)

Craft night with my friends. We made mini-hamburgers

San Francisco Trip

 At the end of June (yes, it's been a long time since I last blogged) we went on a fantastic trip to San Francisco! Here are some of the highlights of the trip.

The real purpose of the trip was to get these three together. This is Dave and his two best friends, Aaron and Kyle. Kyle moved to Texas a few years ago and we don't get to see him and his family very often. The last time we saw them before this trip was two years ago. It was such a fun reunion!

Group photo at Pier 39. Kyle and Alysha with Kaiden (baby Makenzie is covered in the stroller), Aaron and Katrina with Austin in his stroller.

 

Kaiden and Austin were adorable together!

Dave and I spent a day together wandering through Golden Gate Park and walking along the beach. It was relaxing and beautiful. Our kind of vacation!

The Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park. My favorite site of the trip!

We stopped by Lake Tahoe on the way home and did a short hike near Emerald Bay. It was gorgeous!

The Oakland Temple

We drove to Cali with the Fishers and got to spend a lot of time with this adorable little guy! 

 

 

Where's Waldo?

Dave turned 29 on Friday!

This year I came up with a great birthday surprise. When he left to run an errand on Saturday morning, he came home to a Where's Waldo book with a list of items and people that he needed to find at the Gateway Mall.

My mom wins the prize for best costume. Some of the people at the mall stopped her and asked if they could take their picture with her!

Dave collected the different items that make up Waldo's costume along the way. We also all tagged along on the search as he found each of us.

Checking "pilot" off the list.

Odlaw was the hardest to find - he kept running away and hiding when Waldo got close

The entire group - Odlaw, a lumberjack, baby Awesome, a pilot, a football player, a cowgirl, a Vietnamese fisherman, Woof, Wenda, an Indian chief, a Hawaiian tourist, and Wizard Whitebeard. The only thing missing was someone getting poked in the eye. If you haven't looked at a Where's Waldo book lately, someone is getting poked in the eye on every page. 

Wenda, Waldo and Woof