I can easily say that one of the harder things about being a missionary is missing out on making memories with our families in the states.

If your family decides to go on a joint vacation, you probably go. If there is a family reunion, you do all you can to make it there. Those things are generally not much of an option for us because of distance and cost, so creating shared memories is important when we are stateside.

This summer we were able to create some great memories with both our families. It was refreshing to be together, laugh together and have good conversations without a delay, figuring out a time when we are both awake to talk or loosing the connection mid-sentence.

Here is a picture recap of some of the good memories we made with our families and friends.

Kayaking in Oregon

Lance and his brothers kayaking

Hiking at Elk Lake

Lance and I got to have five whole days to ourselves and we spent it at our favorite place… the ocean!

Poking at tide pools at Seal Rock

Pit stop at Tillamook!

Ukraine friends reunion

Family reunion at Lake Wallowa, Oregon

Roberts family at Lake Wallowa

Building a rock dam in Canada

Building cairns along the river’s edge

Family vacation to Canada

June 20th marks the day my two sisters graduated from nursing school as registered nurses. It really is a big day!

Ready for the festivities to start!

The both decided to attend the nursing school at Seattle Central Community College at the same time. They were almost going to be in different cohorts but switched at the last minute so they were in the same classes for the past few years. They enjoyed being able to share classes, especially the last half a year where they discovered they could just send one to class and share the notes later… Cheaters.

Alison pinned first

Kathryn pinned second

Lance and I were able to be there to witness the momentous occasion. It was truly an exciting moment. They had the option to be pinned by another registered nurse or have a school representative pin them, they naturally chose to be pinned by our dad, a registered nurse for over 30 years! He got to pin both his daughters! It was a little comical to hear the gasp as the announcer said “Alison Murray, pinned by her dad George Murray… and Kathryn Murray, pinned by her father.” The crowd thought it was pretty cool too.

One proud dad

So glad we could be there to congratulate them!

The kids together