Youth Car Wash / Yard Sale

So, a few months ago we had the brilliant idea of holding a car wash/yard sale to raise some money so our youth could attend camp. We had a lot of support from our ward and neighbors who donated several items, but we didn't have anywhere to put it so it all ended up in our front room...for 4 weeks!. These pictures were taken after about 2 weeks. There was a lot more "stuff" when it was ready to transport and sale.

But we had a lot of fun at the car wash and made a good chunk of change..cha-ching!

Service with the Youth

For our combined mutual activity on Wednesday, our Priest Quorum decided to do service at the Bishop's Storehouse.

We had a great time unloading pallets, stocking supplies, packaging nuts, stocking the frozen goods, etc.



We have a great group of youth and we know that they felt the Spirit as they served. They were so happy to do service and actually suggested we do it again, but maybe that was because the storehouse workers provided a bunch of sweets for refreshments =>

Youth Temple Trip

So last weekend, we took our youth to the Washington D.C. temple...visitor center. We reserved a theater to watch the Joseph Smith video and arranged for the missionaries to provide a quick devotional. One of the sisters was Sister Snelson, from Springville, UT. She was all excited to ask me if I knew of any Hoffmanns in Springville, but when I heard her name (and verified it with the name tag...good thing they wear those things in public), the conversation quickly turned to the Snelson mystery. Apparently her and Brooke had always been asked if they knew each other's families, but they had never met. Anyway, the visitor's center trip was great.

We followed it up with some chili cheese dogs and then made our way back home.

It was a great visit and well worth the 4 hour (on a good day - which this was) round trip.

One of our YW brought a friend who was so amazed when she saw the outside of the temple. She kept saying, "wow, wow, wow." And her friend (the one who invited her) kept saying, "you're giving me the chills." I got the chills too. She was expressing how I feel every time I see a temple. But it's interesting how we tend to take some things that really are amazing for granted. I want to be a person who will always say "wow" when I see the temple.

Halloween!

Here are a few pics from our Halloween fun with the Young Men and Young Women in our Ward.



Carving pumpkins is always a good time

Costumes!

Left, one of our youngest Young Men - roughly 4 years old. I couldn't resist posting his picture.
Right, us, we just wore orange and black, because we didn't want to steal the spotlight from the children.
Below, our YM/YW (16) twins dressed up as Dora and Diego. I had no clue what they were talking about...I'm old.

When the youth planned a Halloween party for all the young men and young women, the first thing they put on their list was....


bobbing for apples.

They also wanted to eat donuts from a string.

There were more spectators than contestants, but it was fun.

The videos are short, but they give you an idea of what it was like....

Just look at the intensity!


The guys were a little more competitive...

Halloween is Fun!!

High School Football in Virginia

A couple of our young men play high school football. We've been to a couple games so far this season and I thought I would post some pics.

Number 25 is Dwayne. He moved to Virginia from Jamaica a few years ago and plays linebacker. He's a senior this year and hopes to play college ball for a year before he leaves on his mission. He's a beast!

Dwayne is also the punter. Last year, he played for a team that had not won a game in 3 years. He would play the entire game: offense, defense, special teams, punter, kicker, and more.

This was his first win after loosing over 30 games in a row. He was... happy.

Our other young man (number 86) is on the JV team of a different High School. This is his first time playing football and although he has gained some respect for football players, he prefers tennis to standing on the sidelines.

Enjoying the game!
Most of our young men had never been to a high school football game. It can be dangerous to go to some of the games. You have to go through security (guards with metal detector wands and a bag search) to get in and they make you leave as soon as the game is over.
As you can see...I think it's a lot of fun!

Some more pics. of Dwayne's recent game.

Youth Car Wash

Our great Youth had a car wash fund raiser......

and lemonade stand!

We washed about 50 cars in 4 hours and were grateful for
the wonderful weather, resulting in Joshua's tiger- striped
burned feet.