What does this sign mean?

The other day, Joshua was reading the kids a book about learning to read, and there was a section with signs to learn. When Joshua asked the kids what the Stop sign read, they got it pretty quickly, as they did a few others. Then they came to this sign (below).

When Joshua pointed to it, Ethan immediately shouted "go potty!" Joshua and I were so surprised by the resemblance that we just laughed and laughed. So of course Ethan had to try the line about 50 more times that night to see if he could evoke the same reaction. He has been working hard lately to perfect his potty training skills (he has been doing great for a long time now), so the subject must have been on his mind.

End of Summer?

It is only the middle of August, but it already seems like summer is coming to an end here in Alaska. The weather is starting to change. The past couple of weeks have been pretty rainy and a few degrees colder. On the warm days it still gets up in to the mid 60s, but on the cold days now it sometimes only reaches the high 50s. We have even had to pull out our jackets again. Today, someone in the ward told us that last week there were some snow flurries in the mountains that border the city. :(

A sign of the rainy season

Also, school is back in session. Tomorrow, I am back on contract. My classes don't start until the 29th, but as of tomorrow I have to officially start preparing for those classes and start doing all of my other work duties. All of the elementary, junior high, and high schools also start school tomorrow and it is exciting to see all of the youth and kids in the ward getting ready for it. It is scary to think that next year Julia will be starting school. At least scary for me and Rebecca - I think she is really excited about it.

Even with summer coming to a close we have had a lot of fun the past couple of weeks. Last weekend I had another conference in Washington, DC and this weekend Rebecca had a camp-out with the ward Relief Society. In between those times we have done some bike riding and some trips to the library and park, in addition to all of the regular routine. One thing we have been enjoying around the house is working in our garden. It has been fun because we have been able to start harvesting some of the plants. So far we have gotten a lot of rhubarb, basil, parsley, mint, some raspberries, and some carrots. We are still waiting on our potatoes, squash, zucchini, the rest of the raspberries, and the rest of the carrots.

One of our other fun activities that we do every week is Family Home Evening. When I was growing up my Dad often dressed up as scripture characters for his lessons. We have started this tradition with our children and they love it. Here we had a visit from King Benjamin and the kids built a tent to listen to what he had to say.