This will be my last blog until sometime in July. We are off this weekend to Lake Powell. It is a family trip that everyone has been looking forward to. Some of the best memories of my family and my children when they were young include Lake Powell. From everything I have heard the water is up and ready for us! How fun can that be?? I will take a lot of photo's to share with you. I will be going onto Canada two days after arriving back. April is moving there temporarily to open a new school and she picked me (I'm so lucky) to drive with her. Below is a recent photo taken by the AZ Republic.

This is Mia with her little life vest on. She is all geared up for her first trip on a boat or near water. Izzy and Sydney have their life vest ready to go as well. Lake Powell here we come!

Meet Shania and Tyron. Shania was the first youth I mentored after coming to South Dakota. She was part of the mentor mom program with Big Brothers. She was living in a group home and had just had Tyron when we met. I mentored her for a year. At that time she returned home to Rapid City where she was from. We talk from time to time. She struggles as any young single mother would. She is still working on her education. Shania is 19 and Tyron is now 3.

This is my friend Jessica. I have mentored her for three years. This year she graduated from High School. She is not like the usual youth I have mentored in the past. She isn't street smart and she doesn't live in the hood or run with a gang. She is extremely shy and anxious to please. She loves new earrings, horses and babies. She worked 1/2 days all this last school year at a daycare. There are a lot of new babies in her family to play with as well. We went to lunch every week we could and I quickly found out that lunch would always end with ice cream and a huge smile. Her favorite place was Sonic. I hope to continue this wonderful relationship even though for us the program has ended. Jessica is 18.