Seattle and Monroe

 So, all the pictures of this post are backwards from bottom to top, so if you want to read them in order, start at the bottom....

A view of Mt. Rainier on the way home

Gotta love kids and their imaginations!

Somebody bonded with the kiddos real well

Then we got to visit my sweet friend, Carly, and her kiddos for a few nights.  

Mandatory family fun. . .and some beautiful flowers purchased

VERY hard to choose which ones to get!

M had a great idea to go for "crepes" so we went down to Pikes Place Market to have some.  (If you look closely, she is also in this picture somewhere. . . .)

Taking the furry family member for a walk, and enjoying a snack from Oma

M asked if I wanted to play a game.  I told her pick 2-3.  She came up with ALL these.  So we played ALL these.  Once.

My greeter from the train station

Flying into the city at sunset, catching a pic of Mt. Rainier

Montana

Before and after I went to Sturgis, I spent a few extra days in Montana visiting framily and my parents

They were kind enough to lend this vehicle to the Sturgis team for the week

And the color even matched!

The 6 hours of driving was actually really beautiful this year because everything was so much greener than I have ever seen in along this stretch.

Arriving in Sturgis and seeing the "big white cross"

And on the way home, having "severe thunderstorms" warnings on the GPS was a little scary.  This is a picture of a storm that went through the town I ate supper in--but it got there a few hours after me.

I had to stop along the road to get this shot showing a storm that crossed the road right before me, and one trailing behind me.  That streak of blue sky in the middle was miraculously my 3 hour ride north after supper

And since I was close to "home", I had to stop and take pictures of the power houses near our lake right at sunset.  On the other side was lightning across the water.

Ain't no body who can grow flowers like my mama!

And her old gardener friend

 

Sturgis 2025

The adventure that is Sturgis Mission trip came and went at the beginning of August.  We arrived there using various methods. . .

. . .and catching up with cousins on the way. . .

at least for the riders

Super great to catch up with old and new friends alike

After his long ride up from Texas on the motorcycle, it alway makes me very pleased to be in the same room together in one piece!

Boy, do we eat like royalty while we're there.  I helped a lot in the kitchen this round, and this is one of MANY feasts

Len and I both used our God-given talents this year to benefit the whole. . .

He operated the boom lift

And I took some pictures of the whole group on Sunday commissioning service. 

We spent a morning visiting the nursing homes on Monday

And then headed out to the Buffalo Chip campground for an afternoon working at our booth there

These guys were having their spa day there

For the rest of the week, I spent a lot of time helping this talented lady in the kitchen

Except for one more ride out to Full Throttle one morning

I also took a bunch of pictures of our cross walk down main street--a multi-year tradition

Our team from Houston

And from Texas

The cook team that I spent a ton of time with

The day I left to drive back to Montana, catching the guys out on their ride to the ministry

Although I don't have a picture of the two of us interacting, another huge God-moment was when a deaf man came into the mission for help, and I was able to speak sign language to him and share with him.  That took up another few hours of my time, but ended up being a little tap on my shoulder that even though I feel like a fish out of water in a place called Sturgis, God still has a purpose for every single one of us being there, and we all work together for His glory.