June

June 14,  Girl's Camp and Boy's Weekend

Hi Lincoln,

How are you doing?  We've sure been thinking and praying for you.  We hope you are doing well!

We had a good week!

Ned was able to work for Ed Seastrunk on Monday- something he really enjoys doing.  

Gwen and I went to Girl's camp early Wednesday morning.  We had a great time up at Uncle Darrin and Aunt Tiff's cabin.  There were 27 girls, plus 5 YW leaders and Brother Seastrunk, and Brother Williamson.  We had fun riding go-karts, horseback riding, and hiking along with lots of crafts during the downtime at the cabin.  Gwen really enjoyed spending time with Bella, Emma, and Keerslee one last time as she likely won't be able to go next Summer.  It was especially nice that Emma and Keerslee were able to come back into town to attend the camp.  I was busy helping out with cooking and cleaning up.  

Dad had fun here at home with your brothers.  I know he spent time with them playing tennis/pickleball, going on a bike ride and swimming.  He also painted our bedroom on Saturday before I got home.  

We're now getting ready for our next trip.   Gwen and Ned will be attending FSY this week.  Dad, Nyle, West, and I will be going down to Anaheim for his conference.  The boys and I will be spending time at the beach and parks.  We're bringing bikes to ride along the boardwalk, pickleball, and Nyle might have talked us into going to Golden Corral, as he will be missing his Deacon's Quorum trip.  

We're going to be driving down to CA tomorrow morning, but I'm hoping we can be down there early enough to be stable and able to talk to you when you're available.  

Love you so much and so excited to talk to you tomorrow!

~Mom and Dad

Getting ready for our trip to CA

Showing some World Cup Spirit

Bike Ride at LLV

Gwen and Bella leading girls in camp songs in Flagstaff

Faith Walk at Girl's Camp

Horseback riding at Mormon Lake

More World Cup Spirit

Gwen, Keerslee, Emma and Bella

 

June 7, 2026

Hi Lincoln,

Aloha!  We returned late last night from our Maui trip.  This Summer has started well.  True to my word, I painted the loft in the first week of Summer, then we prepared for our Hawaii trip.  The weather took an unseasonable cold dip, so I was able to do a little bit of baking for probably the last time until the fall.  We packed up and headed out to catch a plane to Portland, OR, then on to Maui on Saturday.  

The trip was great!  We enjoyed the warm Hawaiian weather and spent the majority of our time out in that amazing weather.  The weather there is quite humid and warm, but there were some nice breezes, and there was almost constant rain on the nearby mountain. Occasionally, the clouds would save a little and drop down on us by the coast, but often we just enjoyed a bit of a spitting rain that blew from the rainfall over on the mountains.  We saw quite a few rainbows, which helped us to see why Hawaii is called the Rainbow State.  

Ned-trying out the snorkel gear

A beautifully enormous Rubber Fig tree on our walk to Black Rock

Sunday, we mostly just walked around and explored the grounds as well as the nearby resorts and beaches.  Most days we snorkeled.  The snorkeling was so convenient.  It was literally steps away on the shoreline just off from the Westin, where we stayed.  We just had to walk a few steps and then we were at the beach.  A few more steps and we could see the coral world just under the water's surface.  We saw some amazingly colorful fish, including the Hawaiian Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, a pencil fish, a few large sea turtles, and some cool glow-in-the-dark fish.  My favorite were some bright yellow fish shaped like Dory in Finding Nemo.  The cool thing about snorkeling there is that you don't have to do hardly anything to just float effortlessly on the surface of the water, making snorkeling so easy! The water is definitely different from the water in California. 

We also made a few visits to a beach about a mile away that was behind the Sheraton Resort at a place called Black Rock.  It's a popular place to cliff jump.  Your dad and brothers all jumped.  They said it was pretty cool to be up on the cliff because the water was so clear that they could see all the way to the bottom, which was probably about 15 feet deep.  On one occasion, West and Nyle jumped, and then there was a bit of commotion in the water. From where I was standing on the water, I looked out and could see a triangular-shaped fin swimming rapidly toward West and Nyle.  I was a bit nervous, but so were they.  I've never seen them swim so fast back to the cliffs to climb out of the water.  It turns out the fins were not sharks, but a few stingrays that were likely playing around with each other.  They (the rays and your brothers) are such fast swimmers!  After a little while, they swam off, and everyone was able to jump back in and swim to shore.  Walking back wasn't really an option because the climb was a bit treacherous.  At black rock, we also enjoyed watching a Monk Seal sleeping on the shore line.  

We went on one excursion to go for a hike, but were sidetracked and went to check out the blowhole.  Afterwards, we stopped to walk through some jungle to a protected cove.  Your brothers found some coconuts that had fallen to the ground and brought them back to the villa were they hacked at them for a while before they were able to free them and crack them open.  The meat and water was pretty tasty!

We enjoyed playing a few rounds of bingo, where West and Gwen won a free root beer float, among other things, then the following day, since we had had so much fun playing bingo, we went back to play Hawaiian bingo and won some cool Kukui nut bracelets while learning some of the Hawaiian language. Dad and your brothers played a ton of pickleball and made a friend who taught them the rules. I even played a bit!  We also spent some quality time in the pools, hot tubs, and listened to the live music while watching the Sunset.  Oh, and the boys did a ton of flips and back flips off the sand!

Triple Rainbow! Two in the photo, and the person who took the photo for us was incidentally named "Rainbow"!

There, that about sums up our trip.  I can't wait to talk to you tomorrow and see how you're doing.  Hopefully you're feeling better?  We love you so much.  Every Sunday, so many people ask how you're doing. Everyone is so interested in you.  

Love you so much!

Mom and Dad!

Anaheim and FSY

June 21, 2026

Hi Lincoln, 

Happy Birthday today!  I know we'll probably get to talk to you soon, but I still wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday.  I've been thinking about you all day!  

We had a good week.  Nyle, West, and I accompanied Dad on his work trip to Anaheim.  Ned and Gwen enjoyed FSY all week at UNLV. The boys and I hit the beach everyday and got some good bike riding in.  Since only the four of us went, we decided to take the back seat out of Herbie and loaded up 4 bikes.  It was so fun riding along the sidewalk on the beach!  We also found a cool park in Huntington and explored it with our bikes. On the first day, we went to Costco to grab a pizza, then took it to eat on the beach.  Some guy was selling churros so we got some authentic churros as well, and I got to use my limited Spanish to ask him how much, and a few other things.  Nyle and West were impressed, but I doubt you would have been ;).  We held a similar routine all week, but I took the boys to Golden Corral on Tuesday.  We figured that since Nyle was missing his Deacon's Quorum trip because he was in Anaheim with us, we ought to take him there, as that was a tradition on their Deacon's Quorum trips.  Wednesday  and Thursday evening, we walked through Downtown Disney to absorb some of the amazing Disney atmosphere.  It made both West and I to really want to go to Disneyland.  The boys particularly enjoyed a soccer store called Pele with tons of cool soccer jerseys and gear. 

Thursday, Dad finished up his conference early and joined us at the beach.  We went for a much longer bike ride and rode to the end of the path in one direction.  It's such a cool feeling to ride along the beach with the sea breeze in your hair!

Inside a ginormous Moreton Bay Fig near the hotel

Ned and Gwen had a great time at FSY.  Gwen didn't really divulge very many details about her time there, other than that she had a really good time.  Ned said he had a blast and was super busy.  He participated in all the extra stuff- Variety show, choir, etc.  He said it kept him super busy, but it was fun because he got to know a lot more people.  

Today was Father's Day, and we had Grandma and Grandpa Shamo over for dinner.  It's always fun to catch up with them!  Dad wanted fish for dinner, and I made a Lemon Meringue and Cherry Pie for Grandpa and Dad.  For your siblings who didn't want fish, I made grilled chicken, in honor of your birthday.  I wish you could have been here so we could celebrate your day with you, but your Dad and I are so proud of you and what you're doing! 

Love you so much!

Mom and Dad

June 28, 2026

Hi Lincoln, 

Happy Pday!  How has your week gone?  How are things going with the transition to the new mission president?  How about transfers???

We're doing well.  We had a nice break from vacations and were able to take care of a few things at home.  

Gwen is doing summer school, so she has been spending long hours at the dining room table, catching up on the assignments she missed while she was at girls' camp and FSY.  We also had doctor's appointments, scheduled Ned to get his Driver's permit once we return from Lake Powell, and sent Gwen's physical information for her mission papers to Bishop.  

Ned got back into working with Brother Seastrunk and put in 4 full days this past week.  He is adapting to spending all day out in the heat and is learning that he needs a lot of calories and a lot of hydration.  He's been trying to choke down the "Mass Gainer" protein drink that has been sitting in our pantry.  

I've been working on making sure Ned has enough nutrients, and have been acting as Gwen's cheerleader to help her get her work done.  She caught up enough that I don't think she needs much more help from me, and she'll do great with her classes. 

Nyle and West have been having fun with the Jerez boys every day. They will be moving to a larger home over by CVS since they've effectively adopted Alicia's (Isaiah's Niece) three kids.  It'll be a little harder for these boys to get together when they do, but we'll see what happens.  They have also been selling golf balls here and there.  West had his eye on a new electric bike, and Nyle really wants to buy a nice mountain bike.  West was able to make enough money to get his bike, and it arrived on Saturday after we all spent some time up at the rec center playing basketball, pickleball, pool, and ping-pong.  The three boys worked together to assemble it.  

We're excited to head up to Annabella this weekend for the 4th, and excited to hear about your week!  

Love you so much!