HARVEST FESTIVAL

I know this is late again, but hey, I am a Mormon, right! Anyways, we decided to invite the whole stake to learn about the many wonderful things that you can do with the crops that you have just harvested, and as with any good ward function, we included eating food as part of the curriculum. We had many great exhibitions set up throughout the gym such as freezer jam, apple butter, dried fruit, grape juice (not wine, mind you), Elk jerky (I know that isn't something you "harvest" but hey, who is going to resist jerky if it's offered to you), salsa, fresh bread and I'm sure I forgot something. The great thing is that a lot of the exhibitions were done by people not of our church. We had two great classes, one on freezing fruits, vegetables and meats (did you know that you could put a straw into a ziploc bag, close it most of the way, suck out the air and seal it shut just as you pull out the straw and it works almost as good as an expensive vacuum used for freezing) and a general class on canning, put on by my beloved mother, who came, even though she was sick- if you got sick right after that, I'm sure that there wasn't any connection.

This was the yummy elk jerky- if you missed it, be glad, it is the best tasting jerky that you will ever taste, and you will never get it again.

This was totally unposed, I was just deep into meditation!

2008 Elders Quorum BBQ

The Elders quorum sponsored our wards annual bbq at Burnsridge Park on June 20th. Thank you for doing such a great job. I think we were even able to do a little bit of missionary work by feeding some passerbys. The food was really, really good, just ask Bonny. Sorry Bonny, I had to add this photo, but in all fairness, I believe she gave birth within the next 24 hours to a beautiful baby boy. Congratulations (belated)!

Enjoying some good times between brothers.

Are we seeing double? This was a great shot of two of the Walker triplets. Don't ask me which one is which.

Rylie couldn't keep it all in. Good times.

We were well stocked for the water balloon launch which proved to be a great amusement to all ages. It was fun to watch the small group of youth that tried to catch them on the other end. Oddly enough, they were never able to catch one intact.

Camp Anderson 2008

On July 17th through the 19th, we ventured off to Anderson Park in Vernonia Oregon for our annual ward campout. As you can see by these photos we had a great time playing together and getting to know each other better. If you have any other pictures that you would like to add to these pictures, please email me @ mattggold@hotmail.com. The above picture was taken at the dock at the nearby lake in Vernonia.
There is a great abandoned mill next to the lake that we had a great time exploring.

Of course, there is the river. We spent the better part of Friday afternoon playing in the water. This was right next to our campsite.

And some just watched. Trust me, you won't melt if you get wet!

Here we are hunting for the elusive crawdad (or crayfish). OK, they weren't that elusive, as is evidenced by the next photo. Last year we did this differently. We used a stick with fishing line, hook and a hot dog. This proved very challenging and time consuming. This year we were a little more impatient and just grabbed the net. Much faster!

BON APETIT!

A PLEA FOR PICTURES

We had a great time Friday night at the Elders quorum BBQ. If you have pictures that you would like me to post, I would love it. My email address is mattggold@hotmail.com

2007 Ward Campout

This is a shameless attempt to promote our Ward Campout for 2008. It also serves to help reminisce from last year. They were good times. We spent two nights at Anderson Park in Vernonia, Oregon. Here we are fishing at Vernonia Lake, about 3/4 mile away from the campground.
This is a really cool abandoned mill, next to the lake.
We even provided breakfast.
A sighting of some wildlife.
Just hanging out. We did a lot of that.

There were lots of opportunities to ride bikes.

We took over the horse arena. I don't think anyone stepped in any "horse surprise"; if you know what I mean.

Swing batter, batter. Swing!

Daddy Daughter Campout

I thought this chair was rather iconic of our "Daddy/DAUGHTER Campout". We had great weather for our one night campout at Willamette Mission State Park. We want to especially thank Scott Gardiner for organizing this great event. Everyone had a great time; so we hope you organize this again, next year. Thanks again.
We spent some time down by the river, in a van.... wait a second, that is all messed up. We had fun throwing rocks.

Here we are crossing the river, just like the pioneers did.

The water balloon tossing game with a big old sheet. They need to come up with a better name for this game.

Mike Andrus shows us how it is supposed to be done.

Jeff Bake, always the fashion diva (in case you didn't pick it out, he's wearing two different shoes) way to accesorize!

The infamous shoe kick off. I think Rylie Gold won it for the under 25 bracket and Tom Gibbons won it for the over 25 bracket. All those months of training sure paid off! Way to go guys.

Two peas in a pod. Literally.

We roasted marshmellows and breadsticks.

They had a nice paved trail from the campground to the Ferry.

Dinner anyone?

Sophia, Daphne, and Ivy trekking through the Jungle.

Fly like an Eagle

More Father & Son Campout Pictures

Sorry, these pictures didn't fit on the last post. ENJOY!

Father and Son Campout

We spent the most glorious Father and Son Campout at Camp Wilkerson this past weekend. I was told that temperature reached 101 Farenheit in Beaverton this weekend. Unheard of for this time of year. We are used to waking up at near freezing temperatures in the morning so this was a welcome relief from our normal Father and Son Campout weather.

We had a great time just shooting the breeze with one another but we also had some great events. The Elders quorum put on a very spiritual campfire as we discussed the wonders and blessings of the priesthood being restored to the Earth. The High Priests made a scrumptious breakfast- trust me, no one left hungry. Check out the size of the pancake that Jonathon Willoughby ate. The Young Men organized some great activities, which helped develop the Father/Son comraderie- not to mention the delicious prizes.

Thanks to all that helped make this event such a success!