A Hello from Paris, France

Brian sent me the best birthday present a mom could get:  a memory card filled with pics!!!  So fun to get a glimpse of missionary life in Paris!  Every letter is filled with joy and excitement.  And apparently, he's not faking it... judging by the smiles in these photos.

Brian's favorite P-Day activity is playing American Football in the "most beautiful park in the world" just across the way from the Eiffel Tower.  

 He says the Parisians take pictures of this crazy spectacle!

Happy and so Handsome!

Brian loves working with the Chinese in Paris.  He loves the language, the culture, and especially the people!

On a rare, precious day outside of the city:  a district hike.

Gangstah's or Missionaries?  You Decide.  This is with Elder Langouet.  Brian has taught this French elder many wonderful things:  like how to use the words "dope" and "sick-nasty" in a sentence.

He loves Elder Lazarev (from Washington DC)

and a special message from the Elder himself.

JUMBO JANGA!

One of Steve's and my favorite past times is the good ole' summer barbecue. We knew when the days of summer were dwindling, we needed to fit in one more backyard bash.

Early in the planning phase, I went to my consultant, Ashley, who is the UPG (Ultimate Party Guru). She mentioned Life-Sized Janga, and I knew we'd found the perfect activity. While the title "life-sized janga" in the invitation confused some of our guests, the more courageous/trusting souls showed up anyway. Did people really think I would stack human bodies?? Disturbing thought on many, many levels...

The final outcome of the evening were great gourmet burgers, a fun backyard movie (hence the classy sheet hanging in my backyard) and a soon-to-be classic game of Janga.

It was so fun to share the evening with friends from different parts of our lives. We are so blessed with good friends who love to have a fun together. We were also blessed that despite the lack of hard hats, no one was injured in this very intense competition. (next time bicycle helmets will be distributed prior to the opening kickoff.) Thanks to Mary Ellen's nimble movements, she avoided the fall of the Tower and won't need to sue us. Again, we are grateful.

We're sad to see summer come to an end, but felt like we did savor it to the fullest!

Lisette Getting Things StartedSteve courageously playing even with his injuries
Out Comes the Ladder
6'3" Dave needed to stretch to reach the top

Mary Ellen: Gracious... and strangely triumphant in defeat