END OF JUNE- JULY 4th

Service club in June was placing flags on the graves for veterans for the 4th of July holiday. We were able to go to the cemetery and do that with our children. It has been, by far, one of my favorite activities. We brought Hallee as well, and hope that sometime soon Jadyn and Colt can come. They were actually trying to find the veterans, and we talked about the different wars and such.

Towards the end of the activity, Sara, our youth service club leader, showed us a very interesting headstone. It was a tree stump that was from the Modern Woodmen of the world, a branch off of Modern Woodmen of America.

Here are two example pictures.



Here's what it said online about these headstones:

One enduring physical legacy of the organization are distinctive headstones in the shape of a tree stump. This was an early benefit of Woodmen of the World membership, and they are found in cemeteries nationwide. This program was abandoned in the late 1920s as too costly.

Typically the headstones would include a depiction of the WOW relics—symbols of the organization. These include most notably a stump or felled tree (inscribed into a more generic monument in some cases, rather than the more noticeable instances of the entire monument being in the shape of the log or tree-stump); the maul and wedge; an axe; and often a Dove of Peace with an olive branch. As Woodmen "do not lie" a common inscription: "Here rests a Woodman of the World".

Pretty neat huh?

June swept out quickly and we saw ourselves in July, finally enjoying nicer weather.

The 4th of July is a tradition with Brandon's family. We have a wonderful BBQ with his family up on Highland hill and watch the fireworks.

This year, I made a 4th of July decoration as well. It was a lot of fun, but took hours longer than anticipated. All done with a little wood, paint, modgepodge, a drill, and wire.



This year, it was just our family and Kathy and Jerry.

Here are some pictures of the kids with their flag.


Peace.


And sitting by the flower area.



I made a dessert from a Pampered Chef book. It is called Strawberry Cream Trifle, pictured below.



Here is the recipe:
1/2 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1 pkg frozen pound cake, thawed
1 qt. fresh strawberries
1 container (16 oz) frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed
1 lemon
3 containers (8 oz each ) blended strawberry yogurt
1 pkg (3.4 oz) cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
Powdered sugar

Zoey variations:
I did not use almonds.
Use fresh pound cake at the bakery area and more than it says (2 pkg.).
Fresh strawberries with a little bit of juice/junket is the best.
Just buy a big thing of blended yogurt.

Directions:
1. Chop almonds. Cut pound cake into 1 - inch cubes. Set aside one strawberry for garnish. Hull remaining strawberries and cut into quarters. Mix strawberries and juice/junket well.

2. Juice lemon to measure 2 tbsp. Whisk lemon juice, yogurt, and pudding mix until smooth and immediately fold in 1 cup of the whipped topping.

3. Assemble trifle. Place one-third of cake cubes into trifle bowl. Top cake with one-third of strawberry mixture. Top with half of the yogurt mixture, spreading evenly. Sprinkle one-third almonds. Repeat layers one time. Top with remaining pound cake cubes and remaining strawberry mixture.

4. Add garnish. Spread remaining whipped topping over top of trifle, Sprinkle almonds and powdered sugar. Create strawberry fan to place in the center.

Delicious, yet light and fresh.

The funnest and funniest part of the evening was when Kate decided that she was going to tell us what her favorite drinks were. Really, we were laughing so hard, we could barely record this! She is saying 'Pespi.' Enjoy!




Fireworks for me were disappointing. Kate fell asleep. Dawson was tired. The music didn't do it for me either. We left before the last song so that we could beat part of the traffic.