"You are not here to live a mediocre to average life; you are here to live an amazing life, a miraculous life. If it weren't for your challenges, there would be no miracles. You must do that which seems impossible, for it is only in the impossible that miracles are had." - author unknown, but very respected

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Things to Remember week of 7-20-14

SET APART
I got to go to Elder's Quorum on Sunday. I was just supposed to come for Nate to be set apart, but I had already left YW and what I'd heard from the hallway sounded like they were ready to set them apart, but when I walked in I realized they were still getting to the announcement of who it was going to be. Probably ruined the surprise really. Oh well. But can I just say that it just made my day to witness the Elder's Quorum and how it runs. It's been a while. I LOVE the spirit in the room and the peace that I feel when I think about how they are holders of the Priesthood. It hit me for a second that THAT was one of the reasons those crazy women want to be ordained. It really is a special thing. This doesn't mean that I want it, I'm content with the access that I have :), but I really do enjoy being able to witness it every once in a while. They announced the new Presidency and I saw several men's heads nodding (assume in approval) which made my heart jump a little. Then they had the old Presidency bear their testimonies. What a sweet thing to witness that as well. I really admire those men who have been serving in that calling and have a lot of respect for them. They did a great job and the Spirit that filled the room as they bore testimony of the love they have gained for the Quorum, the blessings they've experienced in the process of serving them, the humility they felt, and even a little sadness at being released, was so incredible. I just ate it up :). I'm cheesy like that. The Priesthood is such an amazing power. I cannot get over it. After that they decided they better set apart the new guys (I think they messed up and meant to do it before testimonies, but whatever). I loved hearing Nate's blessing. I feel like this is a good time for him to have this calling and I am excited to support him. I am looking forward to blessings that will come. And they will :). I know they will. It was nice to hear Travis' testimony and the humility that radiated from him.... if humility can do that... it did then. Nate's was my favorite though :). I love hearing his testimony. He really is so incredible. Makes me so proud to have chosen him (and convinced him to marry me for that matter :) ), he is so much more than I deserve. I love that I have him in my life. He is my hero. I look up to him so much. The whole meeting was just perfect. They say very little words to close the meeting, and that was that! Just perfect. 7-20-14

BIKES!
Erika learned how to ride a bike, not too long ago- I hope I posted about it, but I did get pictures, so someday, if I ever get them off my camera, I will get those up here, but anyway- she needed a new bike. Luke's bike has been on it's last lap ever since we brought it home from the DI three years ago, so when the tubes in his tires finally wore through, we decided it was time to get a new bike for him as well. And Kelly's brakes have never really worked. She's been wearing out the bottoms of her shoes stopping herself. Yes, that is very sad. We're horrible parents. So she needed a new bike too. SO, Monday night (after talking with Emily and realizing that this was the best option) I looked on KSL for some used bikes. I found some pretty incredible deals. I was so excited that most of them were going to be available the next morning!!
Nate had a friend from work bring over a whole bunch of stuff to our house that she said were for us, and then whatever we didn't want we could sell in our fundraiser yard sale. I hadn't even looked at any of it, but found out that one of the items was a bike (yellow even!) that fit Kelly!! So Tuesday morning, before we took the time to drive down to Bountiful, we cleaned it up, pumped up the tires, had Kelly try it out, and sure enough- it was perfect! So that was a cool little bonus :). Thank you lady at work :). Then we set out for Roy to pick up Luke and Erika's bikes. We were so lucky to find those bikes. I felt so blessed :).
We got them all home, cleaned them up and pumped up the tires and then set out for our first bike ride as a family in a very long time! I can't believe we've gone half the summer without a family bike ride! I feel very jipped. It was a fun bike ride though! It was special because it was Erika's first time!! She was still not a pro at braking, but a few crashes into the walls, pavement, concrete, and grass later, and she's much better :). She seriously fell like 10 times on our short little ride to 7-11 and back :). It was so sad. She wowed us with her speed though :). I LOVE going on bike rides as a family. It makes me feel good to see everyone all in a row, having a great time, just being out and about together. No fighting, no nagging, just out. It's heavenly. We need to do it more often. 7-22-14

PEDICURES
Heidi, Sarah and I all went and got pedicures together on Tuesday night. (Well, Sarah just did her nails, but same thing :) ) We just sat there and talked the whole time! I LOVED it. And I got cute feet out of it. (well, as cute as my feet can be... they really looked pretty good though :) best pedicure ever) After that we went to Costa Vida and talked for a good two hours. It was such a relaxing time. I'm glad we had the chance to do that. I was feeling in need of some girl time after missing my girl's night last week, so this was a nice little replacement. We will have to do it again soon. It's nice that the girls could tend for me too. Life is good. 7-22-14

YW
We did Water Balloon Volleyball for mutual this week. Lots of fun! It was different with some of the old leaders missing... that will take some getting used to, but overall- fun activity! 7-23-14

PIONEER DAY!!
We didn't get to have Nate with us for most of the day, but it still ended up being pretty fun. The kids and I went down to Bountiful for the Handcart Days carnival-y thing. That was a lot of fun. The kids bought their own tickets with their own money and were able to do quite a bit. They took advantage of the concessions as well :). Which I think things were a little bit cheaper this year... maybe I'm just remembering wrong, but it seemed more affordable. They really got into the pioneer stuff this year, which they haven't in years past. They did some fun things. Made dolls, “pioneer diamond” rings, they got to saw off a small chunk of wood and then had it branded with “HD” and then drilled to make a necklace, they got to make butter and taste it on yummy bread. It was a lot of fun for them! And free. We ran into a bunch of the kids' old friends, that was fun. Just a really good time. I only wish it had been like 10 degrees cooler- we were COOKING the WHOLE time. Poor little Jack went through so many moods there. All the way from gigantic smile on the swings to screaming before I dump water on him to cooling him off, to snoring with his head flopped over. I think he would say he had fun though :). The older kids did too. I'll have to have them write about it.
After the carnival we did some grocery shopping at Costco, ran home to unload the groceries, then headed back down to Nate's work to pick him up and go to the Family BBQ up in Day Break. It was a mad dash and we were late, but we made it.
The party was a lot of fun. They did some water games and then we had a planned water fight which is never as fun as the surprise ones, but everyone still had fun and got drenched. Me and my jeans were soaked for the entire evening which caused some serious chaffing.
We had a yummy BBQ, got to meet Ashlyn's latest guy, talked to Austin a little about their trip and his plans for his mission, watched the kids run around like crazy, and sat and talked with Becky and Meg. It was a good time.
We came home quickly to get down to the Stolpps for the Fireworks!!! They did an amazing job this year! I wish my Dad had been able to make it. He's not doing real great right now apparently, so he had to decline our invitation, but we still managed to have some fun. Jack wasn't loving the fireworks so he decided to go to sleep. It was nice to have Nate there for the whole show this time. 7-24-14


CHARITY'S PARTY
Ever since our last day of school water party, Charity has been dying to have a redo with JUST her friends.  She's apparently too cool for the little kids now.  jk.  She invited everyone she knew and they all came and played around the yard- ate treats and snacks that they all brought, and then we put on a movie outside for them to watch.  It was a very mellow group of 12 year olds!  I was glad :).  They seemed to be having fun though.  7-26-14

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