NOAH'S TALK
Cute Noah and I had written his talk minutes before heading out the door for church. No matter how much I plan and think I'm going to get things done ahead of time, we usually end up doing everything at the last minute- it's kind of crazy. But we wrote a really great talk about his dad and some of the things he's taught him. I loved helping him write it. So we printed it off, he brought it to church, and then somehow it disappeared between Sacrament meeting and the third hour. Noah was devastated. He searched and searched, but couldn't find it. I felt bad for him, but I wanted him to still be able to give a talk. I suggested that since he had read it and re-read it so many times, maybe he could recite it from memory or at least just tell some of the things that were in it. So he got brave and did just that!! Almost word for word! It was so amazing! It was so touching to hear his testimony at the end as well. He is too cool. Barbara was in tears. She loved it as well. Great job, Noah! 6-18-17
WORD OF WISDOM
Again, my sharing times went really well. I was happy that the Junior primary enjoyed the throwing the play food thing and the Senior primary did great with the Word of Wisdom Jeopardy. I was glad to have it over with though :). I'm anxious for the Prayer one for next Sunday. 6-18-17
LAGOON-A-BEACH
The kids got to experience Lagoon-a-beach for the first time ever! We decided it was time to go and see what all that hype is about :). Boy were we pleasantly surprised! I had completely forgotten all that was there. The kids and I got there a couple hours before Nate could come, so Jack, Molly and I buddied up and lapped the lazy river about a gazillion times. That was actually a lot of fun! I was surprised at how into it Jack was. He had a life jacket on, and after he realized how shallow the thing was too, he just felt right at home. Molly on the other hand wasn't in love with being on the water. She screamed for a few seconds at the beginning and then any time water splashed up on her, but for the most part, she just laid on my chest as if she was taking a nap (even though she was really wide awake), the entire time! It was actually super good for us- good bonding time, and I never pass up a good Molly cuddle. I think she liked it toward the end. Nate showed up with pizza, chips and a sald for me, and we all ate. Then we split up again, Charity and Luke, Kelly and Erika, Bradley and Noah, and Nate, Jack, Molly and I to finish up our time. Everyone loved the slides you ride with tubes. They all liked the tunnel slides. I heard a lot about "Liquid Lightening" and the "Body Drop" ones, which REALLY surprised me because my kids are so cautious- apparently scary stuff doesn't exist with water. They had a really good time. The littles and Nate and I tested out the kiddie area- it was a lot of fun! That's when we ran into Kenni and her girls. That was a lot of fun. Second time we've run into her at Lagoon. It was a really fun evening and counted as our FHE of course. I think we're going to spend more time there than I had anticipated. Lots of fun! Everyone was wasted when we got home! 6-19-17
CAMP KEISL
Noah got to go to scout day camp! He was so adorable getting up and getting ready for it! I was so proud of him. He had a good time. It wasn't his favorite day camp though. Last year's was better I guess. He somehow managed to come home with a pocket knife without taking a permission slip? Go figure :). Funny boy. 6-20-17
LAZY DAY
We totally just bummed around all day Tuesday. I"m not really sure what happened to all of us, maybe it was the funk of having Noah gone? but nobody was motivated to do much of anything! I did get some laundry done which is always good, but it was just so strange! Felt kinda good. 6-20-17
A DOG'S PURPOSE
We needed a movie night after our long day of vegging on the couch, so we rented A Dog's Purpose. I really liked that movie! It was strange that we watched it while Charity was gone swimming at Emily's. I'm not going to lie- I felt really guilty the entire time. I know she's going to love it! 6-20-17
WACKY WEDNESDAY
We took a long time getting ready this morning, we were almost an hour late for playgroup that we planned at West Bountiful Park, and then early for Charity's eye doc appointment which ended up going completely different than planned- he basically just handed her some contacts and said have at it! We're still a little weirded out. Then Nate met up with us and we headed up to his parents' house for a really quick visit. We had heard from Jared that Russ was not doing well at all after going to church on Sunday for Jaxson's farewell. So it was kind of an urgent visit. It was good, Nate went and sat with his dad in the bedroom while we all visited with Paulette and Meg and Jared. Quick, but good. It's crazy how much can change in just a few days. He looked so much better on Friday. We found out tonight that Russ could possibly go within the next 2-3 days to 1-2 weeks. They're not real sure, but going off of his vitals and kidney functioning... plus he hasn't been able to walk and go to his draining appointments, so that's only going to get worse as well. He just isn't good. It's so sad. It's so hard to have to see him suffer and yet it's even harder to think of him being gone. I know this is going to be hard for Nate. The kids and I talked about it tonight after scriptures and prayer. Some of them shed a few tears knowing that his time is so short. I think this will be a challenge for them. It's good and healthy to be sad though- I tried to talk to them about how the reason it hurts so much is because they love so much. We've got orders to learn Come Thou Fount for the funeral. That's always nice to have something to work on. I hope Ruth is doing okay and can be comforted through all of this. She's the one I worry about the most. We just have to keep the faith and keep them in our prayers. 6-21-17
GRANDPA RUSS
We got home from Grandpa Russ and Grandma Ruthie's house just in time for Nate and Bradley's Deacon/Beehive activity. So they went to do that and the rest of the kids and I went home. I had to go grab some popsicles for Nate and delivered them at the park while they finished up their water balloon volleyball. On the way home, I stopped to talk to Terrie Tenney. We got talking about the Jr. High and of course that ended up being a lot longer than planned. After a while, Nate came over and stood there and talked with us. More time passed and he was anxious to go so he tried to excuse himself. I took the opportunity and did the same. As we walked home, Nate informed me that he had gotten a text from Jen saying that his dad had passed away. I couldn't believe it! (and even more, I couldn't believe Nate just stood there and waited to tell me while we were standing there making small talk!) My heart just broke for Nate. It was so sad! He was totally being tough and only shed a few tears. As much as I had prepared myself for this moment, I was so not ready for it. We sat out on the porch and talked for a bit. Then recomposed ourselves and came in to let the kids know. They all handled things pretty well, but so differently. Funny how many different types of people we can make. We all sat around talking about Grandpa and all the cool things he's taught us, all of his talents and some of his funny jokes and personality traits. It was really special really. 6-23-17
FAMILY
This weekend, while sitting on the couch in Nate's parents' living room, meticulously planning every minute detail of the funeral and proceedings, it hit me- I married into one of the greatest families there is. I don't know how I got so lucky or blessed or whatever it is, but I really did! Yeah, there are problems and struggles, but even at that stressful, emotion-filled moment, things went very well and everyone handled themselves so well. It was amazing. I had to tell Ruth thank you for letting me be in this family. It really is amazing and I think Russ and Ruth get all the credit for that. They are amazing. It really is an incredible legacy he has left for all of us. 6-24-17
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Things to Remember Week of 6-11-17
TITHING
This week's sharing time went really well. The Bishop came in and talked a little about tithing and how to pay it and then I had a few minutes to do some things. I've been doing completely different things for Junior and Senior just because I don't feel like anything is geared toward both. It's been working much better for me. Even though it is more work. This week was great though. Felt good after. 6-11-17
FHE
Jack Jack was the lesson, he used his fish I had used for Primary and we put some new questions on them about tithing and he asked everyone the questions that they snagged with the fishing pole. I love when he gives the lesson because he acts all official and makes a big deal about things- super cute. And I was happy that he was using the fishing game I'd made him that he's managed to lose some of the fish and destroy the fishing pole. I cannot remember what the activity and treat were. This is why we have a scribe.... 6-13-17
LUNCH WITH MOM
I took my mom out to lunch on Tuesday for her birthday. It was only a week late. We had a nice time talking for way longer than I should have. All heck had broken loose when I got home. But it was a good visit. 6-14-17
LAGOON
We went to Lagoon on Tuesday after it had been raining and cloudy all day. It was such a perfect day to go! There was hardly anyone there and it was not as hot as it has been. We had a great time! This was a different time for some reason. Everyone stuck together for the most part- we did give the little kids about an hour in the kiddie land while the big kids were off on their own. But for the most part, we were together. I loved it. We went on the white roller coaster for the first time this season and I think this is the first time I've gone on it in a very long time. It definitely didn't hurt as much as it did last time I went on it. I swear they fixed it. We went on Wicked for my first time in a while. That was crazy and for some reason, all the rides felt really weird. I'm still not sure what it was. They felt slower or something. I kind of think it's all the congestion I've had in my sinuses, but who knows. I was pretty sick and queasy by the time we left. Kinda crazy being an adult and not being able to handle the spinny rides. This was Jack's first time on the Sky Ride! I couldn't believe we got him to go on it. I'm pretty sure his fears have more to do with the speed than anything. Since he didn't seem too freaked out by the heights. I was probably more freaked out than he was. He was very brave. I'm hoping we can get him to brave some more new rides soon :). We also went on the Haunted House ride for the first time for most of them. It was SO LAME!! Those rides used to be cool- I don't know what's happened. It was dumb. Molly wasn't even scared on it! 6-13-17
MAYA'S PARTY
Erika got to go to her friend, Maya's birthday party on Thursday. This girl is an interesting little girl. When Erika talks about her it is with great patience. I think Maya kind of drives her nuts, but she is really just so patient with her. She tries so hard to be nice to her and be her friend because she knows that she doesn't have a lot of friends. It was interesting to notice the sacrifice that this was going to be- even though she was genuinely excited for the party- it was a swimming party- who wouldn't be- you could tell it was going to be a challenge for Erika and I think she was a little worried about how Maya was going to treat her. Kate was at a family reunion so she wasn't there, but Morgan was there, so that was really good. I think Erika played with her and Megan most of the time. I'm glad she's such a good friend to everyone around her. She really is just so accepting and loving to everyone. Such a sweetheart. 6-15-17
LUDDINGTON SURF n SWIM
So we got our invite to the Luddington Surf n Swim party and got all excited for it. Moved our Manti Pageant day back, bought swim suits for those who didn't have them yet, printed off our "fast passes" to get in without waiting in line, got all packed up and ready to go the evening of, even had Nate switch around his overtime shift... I mean, a LOT went into making this party work! So we pull into the parking lot and I hand Brad the passes to bring them in and a few seconds later he says, "July 13th? This says, July 13th!" HA!!! I had totally read the date wrong. Not sure how I did that- just completely losing it that's all. So we hopped back in the car, all gloomy of course, and tried to come up with a different plan. It was really a bummer. Nate grabbed some pizzas and we ended up having a water balloon fight followed by sleepovers, but duh. I really hate it when that happens. Now we have something to look forward to?? Maybe. Actually, now that I think about it- Charity and Kelly will be at girls camp during the real one. Ugh. Life. 6-15-17
GARDEN!!!
Nate and the kids worked on putting the stone around our garden Friday morning. We did things in the strangest order, I know, but it's finally functioning! I am so relieved to have the stone holding in the soil/seeds/sprouts and it's also nice not having the pile of rocks on the side of the house :). Nate is so awesome to do that for me. I know he would much rather wait until he can do a proper stone job on it, but it looks great for now and will be totally doable another time. He loves me, what can I say. I'm just so relieved to have a garden this year! I hope it all survived the craziness and we have a good harvest. We planted tons! 6-16-17
A WALK WITH GRANDPA RUSS AND GRANDMA RUTHIE
We were headed down to the Manti Pageant and thought it would be fun to stop at Nate's parents' house. Nate's mom had planned a little walk to the park where we let the kids play and we visited. Then walked a little more. It was a really nice time to have with them! Nate's Dad looked great. I couldn't believe he was walking on his own and able to step in and out of the house. I don't think he loved having me push his wheelchair, but Nate took over so it was all good. But really, just a nice time together. These moments are like gold these days. 6-16-17
MANTI PAGEANT MINUS THE CAMERA :(
We made our traditional trek down to Manti for the Pageant on Friday! It was a great trip! It was fun to be in our nice big, roomy car and not be crammed in there. We ran into a little traffic, but were able to skip over most of it taking the west side. I was completely devastated when I realized I didn't have my camera!!! SO SAD!! That's part of my tradition :). We did snap a few selfies with our phones before it started though, so that's not too bad. Because we'd left Nate's parents' so late, and the traffic, we had to get our Subway (and Chick-fil-a Market Salads for Kelly and I) to go. When we got there, we realized that it didn't really matter that we were late, there was plenty of space in the blanket section. Everyone did so well! I think everyone loved it except for Molly. She was a wild animal the entire show! In fact it made the show seem like they'd cut it in half or something! It went by really fast because I was juggling her the whole time. She could not settle on a mood, and was sharing her loudest vocals with everyone around us. I felt kind of bad for them, except when it was in the form of laughter... her giggles are the cutest! Our favorite thing this year was running into the Maughans! Of all places! They had been on their family reunion. Kind of funny if you ask me. We did great getting back to the car, no incidents, not even any protestors, which was nice. Everyone did well on the way home, mostly sleeping. I struggled to stay awake and didn't for part of the drive. I felt bad. But all was well. And we of course slept in the next morning. Good times. 6-16-17
SO TIRED AND HOT
We worked on the backyard on Saturday, once everyone had dragged themselves out of bed. It was a LOT OF WORK! We pulled all the weeds by the shed which took us a few hours and Bradley trimmed up some of the trees. He helped the entire time and everyone else came and helped for a bit at a time. It was crazy how many bugs and weeds there were! Sure looks a lot better though. 6-17-17
This week's sharing time went really well. The Bishop came in and talked a little about tithing and how to pay it and then I had a few minutes to do some things. I've been doing completely different things for Junior and Senior just because I don't feel like anything is geared toward both. It's been working much better for me. Even though it is more work. This week was great though. Felt good after. 6-11-17
FHE
Jack Jack was the lesson, he used his fish I had used for Primary and we put some new questions on them about tithing and he asked everyone the questions that they snagged with the fishing pole. I love when he gives the lesson because he acts all official and makes a big deal about things- super cute. And I was happy that he was using the fishing game I'd made him that he's managed to lose some of the fish and destroy the fishing pole. I cannot remember what the activity and treat were. This is why we have a scribe.... 6-13-17
LUNCH WITH MOM
I took my mom out to lunch on Tuesday for her birthday. It was only a week late. We had a nice time talking for way longer than I should have. All heck had broken loose when I got home. But it was a good visit. 6-14-17
LAGOON
We went to Lagoon on Tuesday after it had been raining and cloudy all day. It was such a perfect day to go! There was hardly anyone there and it was not as hot as it has been. We had a great time! This was a different time for some reason. Everyone stuck together for the most part- we did give the little kids about an hour in the kiddie land while the big kids were off on their own. But for the most part, we were together. I loved it. We went on the white roller coaster for the first time this season and I think this is the first time I've gone on it in a very long time. It definitely didn't hurt as much as it did last time I went on it. I swear they fixed it. We went on Wicked for my first time in a while. That was crazy and for some reason, all the rides felt really weird. I'm still not sure what it was. They felt slower or something. I kind of think it's all the congestion I've had in my sinuses, but who knows. I was pretty sick and queasy by the time we left. Kinda crazy being an adult and not being able to handle the spinny rides. This was Jack's first time on the Sky Ride! I couldn't believe we got him to go on it. I'm pretty sure his fears have more to do with the speed than anything. Since he didn't seem too freaked out by the heights. I was probably more freaked out than he was. He was very brave. I'm hoping we can get him to brave some more new rides soon :). We also went on the Haunted House ride for the first time for most of them. It was SO LAME!! Those rides used to be cool- I don't know what's happened. It was dumb. Molly wasn't even scared on it! 6-13-17
MAYA'S PARTY
Erika got to go to her friend, Maya's birthday party on Thursday. This girl is an interesting little girl. When Erika talks about her it is with great patience. I think Maya kind of drives her nuts, but she is really just so patient with her. She tries so hard to be nice to her and be her friend because she knows that she doesn't have a lot of friends. It was interesting to notice the sacrifice that this was going to be- even though she was genuinely excited for the party- it was a swimming party- who wouldn't be- you could tell it was going to be a challenge for Erika and I think she was a little worried about how Maya was going to treat her. Kate was at a family reunion so she wasn't there, but Morgan was there, so that was really good. I think Erika played with her and Megan most of the time. I'm glad she's such a good friend to everyone around her. She really is just so accepting and loving to everyone. Such a sweetheart. 6-15-17
LUDDINGTON SURF n SWIM
So we got our invite to the Luddington Surf n Swim party and got all excited for it. Moved our Manti Pageant day back, bought swim suits for those who didn't have them yet, printed off our "fast passes" to get in without waiting in line, got all packed up and ready to go the evening of, even had Nate switch around his overtime shift... I mean, a LOT went into making this party work! So we pull into the parking lot and I hand Brad the passes to bring them in and a few seconds later he says, "July 13th? This says, July 13th!" HA!!! I had totally read the date wrong. Not sure how I did that- just completely losing it that's all. So we hopped back in the car, all gloomy of course, and tried to come up with a different plan. It was really a bummer. Nate grabbed some pizzas and we ended up having a water balloon fight followed by sleepovers, but duh. I really hate it when that happens. Now we have something to look forward to?? Maybe. Actually, now that I think about it- Charity and Kelly will be at girls camp during the real one. Ugh. Life. 6-15-17
GARDEN!!!
Nate and the kids worked on putting the stone around our garden Friday morning. We did things in the strangest order, I know, but it's finally functioning! I am so relieved to have the stone holding in the soil/seeds/sprouts and it's also nice not having the pile of rocks on the side of the house :). Nate is so awesome to do that for me. I know he would much rather wait until he can do a proper stone job on it, but it looks great for now and will be totally doable another time. He loves me, what can I say. I'm just so relieved to have a garden this year! I hope it all survived the craziness and we have a good harvest. We planted tons! 6-16-17
A WALK WITH GRANDPA RUSS AND GRANDMA RUTHIE
We were headed down to the Manti Pageant and thought it would be fun to stop at Nate's parents' house. Nate's mom had planned a little walk to the park where we let the kids play and we visited. Then walked a little more. It was a really nice time to have with them! Nate's Dad looked great. I couldn't believe he was walking on his own and able to step in and out of the house. I don't think he loved having me push his wheelchair, but Nate took over so it was all good. But really, just a nice time together. These moments are like gold these days. 6-16-17
MANTI PAGEANT MINUS THE CAMERA :(
We made our traditional trek down to Manti for the Pageant on Friday! It was a great trip! It was fun to be in our nice big, roomy car and not be crammed in there. We ran into a little traffic, but were able to skip over most of it taking the west side. I was completely devastated when I realized I didn't have my camera!!! SO SAD!! That's part of my tradition :). We did snap a few selfies with our phones before it started though, so that's not too bad. Because we'd left Nate's parents' so late, and the traffic, we had to get our Subway (and Chick-fil-a Market Salads for Kelly and I) to go. When we got there, we realized that it didn't really matter that we were late, there was plenty of space in the blanket section. Everyone did so well! I think everyone loved it except for Molly. She was a wild animal the entire show! In fact it made the show seem like they'd cut it in half or something! It went by really fast because I was juggling her the whole time. She could not settle on a mood, and was sharing her loudest vocals with everyone around us. I felt kind of bad for them, except when it was in the form of laughter... her giggles are the cutest! Our favorite thing this year was running into the Maughans! Of all places! They had been on their family reunion. Kind of funny if you ask me. We did great getting back to the car, no incidents, not even any protestors, which was nice. Everyone did well on the way home, mostly sleeping. I struggled to stay awake and didn't for part of the drive. I felt bad. But all was well. And we of course slept in the next morning. Good times. 6-16-17
SO TIRED AND HOT
We worked on the backyard on Saturday, once everyone had dragged themselves out of bed. It was a LOT OF WORK! We pulled all the weeds by the shed which took us a few hours and Bradley trimmed up some of the trees. He helped the entire time and everyone else came and helped for a bit at a time. It was crazy how many bugs and weeds there were! Sure looks a lot better though. 6-17-17
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Things to Remember Week of 6-4-17
JACK'S TESTIMONY
All of the kids bore their testimonies this Sunday, and did a great job, but unfortunately I missed theirs because I was out in the foyer with Molly, but I did get to hear Jack Jack bearing his testimony. Noah had been encouraging him and was helping him think of some things to say and writing them down. He'd asked me if he could help Jack bear his testimony and I said no, but since I was gone, Nate had consented. Jack was so brave and did such a good job. I love that Noah wanted to help him and was there for him. Even though I'm not a big fan of the prompting kids on what to say thing. I've let some of the kids do that in the name of taking care of siblings/bonding. They did great. I'm proud of them both. 6-4-17
SHARING TIME- MODESTY
My sharing time went so well this week! I was so relieved! Even the Junior Primary seemed to understand what was going on. I loved playing Tic Tac Toe with the Senior Primary. 6-4-17
NATE AND BRAD IN MOAB
We spent a lot of time getting things ready for Nate and Brad to go on their much anticipated camp out. Buying snacks, water shoes, extra snacks, doing laundry and packing. They left bright and early Monday morning. It was hard to say goodbye to them! They rode up with Chet and Bridger, camped, hiked, slept, ate, hiked, played in the river, hiked, had water fights while rafting on the river, hiked, caught snakes, lizards, toads, crawdads, and hiked some more. They were really fun to talk to during their trips to the store for their daily ice. They had a lot of fun. I should have them write about their fun stuff. We sure missed them. The house just wasn't the same that week with Nate, Brad, and Charity all gone. We were definitely in a funk for a few days... took some adjusting. 6-5-17
EFY- THE WAY TO BECOME
This was a major milestone for me, having my first kid experience EFY. I had been looking forward to this for her for a long time! It was exciting to get her all ready to go and talk about my experiences there. She was really excited and a little nervous too. We were both a little anxious not knowing who her roommate would be. Monday morning we stopped at Target to get some last minute things./clothes, then made it to BYU right in time for check-in. It was so fun to see all the kids walking around with their wrist bands and lanyards. Very nostalgic. We checked Charity in and then went to Chik-fil-a for some lunch. One last hang out with my little girl before I leave her on her own! We got back to her room kind of early so I stayed and chatted while she unpacked. It was fun to look through her schedule and see all the changes they've made in the last 20 years. I was getting more and more anxious for her and nervous too! Some of the girls from her group came back and so I left. It was hard to not cry, but I did it! I met up with Andrea at a park in Provo on my way out of Happy Valley. Charity ended up having a pretty good time. She struggled a little with those first few days, though. Her roommate was late, didn't show up til halfway through the day, so all our jokes about her possibly not having a roommate started to feel like they had jinxed it! It took her a while, not until they made a group text for everyone in their group, to feel like she fit in. And she was super homesick. Sounded too familiar :). She did so good though! She toughed those days out and got to reap the rewards the rest of the week. I was so proud of her for trying out for the variety show and for joining the singing group. She is so brave! Picking her up on Saturday morning was a bit of a fiasco. I missed my alarm and woke up an hour late. I only had a half hour to get there before check-out time ended. I was frantic all the way there, and way too stressed. Then once I got across the street from BYU I learned that they had blocked off all of the East outlets from University Avenue for a Half Marathon! It was SO ANNOYING!! I didn't get to Charity until 8:30!!! after taking a ridiculous detour. I had missed an email apparently. So we cancelled our hang out with Bliss and just stopped at Kneaders for breakfast on our way home. It was fun to hear all of Charity's stories and see her video of the kid trying on dresses in the Bookstore. She really did have a good time- that was a relief. I need to have her write about her week. Sure was weird to have her gone! We all missed her so much! 6-5-17
FIRST WEEK OF SUMMER
So even though things were a little strange with three people gone, we managed to have a pretty fun first week of summer. It's all running together for me though, so I'm just going to put it all together. Monday after I got home from taking Charity, dragged everyone to Home Depot where they were having a deal on veggie starts. We filled our cart with all kinds of seeds and starts. We stopped at Chik-fil-a on our way home and then planted our garden for FHE. It was a lot of fun to have everyone working together! I hope we planted everything right. If we did, we should have a good harvest! Now that we've got double the space, I think it will be really productive. I'm excited to see how it all turns out. We had wanted to get snow cones for the treat but the line was a mile long, so we went to Dollar Tree instead and got treats for a movie night. We ended up watching movies every night that week! Tuesday we got snow cones first thing in the morning- well as soon as we could. That's always fun. I got ice :). It was so much like eating snow it was weird. We then crammed Seven Peaks, picking up the license plate, and making dinner for a lady in our ward into our small evening. We only had about an hour at Seven Peaks. I had needed to redeem our vouchers that I bought forever ago, before they expired. We were unpleasantly surprised with how ghetto that place was though. I don't think I've been there for at least two and a half decades! Not to mention the slides require tubes and the tubes are not include in our passes, but cost $6 to rent! SO DUMB!!! If I'd known we were going to get Lagoon passes, I would have passed on the pass of all passes. I should have let the vouchers expire I guess. I'm hoping the one in Provo is nicer, or at least worth the visit. Kind of annoying. Good thing they were only $9 passes. Wednesday was playgroup at the Layton Park. That was fun. Everyone got along so well! It was nice to just sit and visit the entire time. Thursday Grandma brought the Hatch kids over to play. She was tending them while Brent and Sarah were in Zion's. They played hard! Water balloons and all- Luke was so happy to have people to throw water balloons at! He'd been at it a few times during the week with very little participation from anyone else. He was slightly addicted to the balloons and couldn't think of anything else to do. ever. Funny boy. That night Noah and Jack slept over at Grandma's with the Hatches. They stayed all day Friday too! That was the night that Kelly, Luke, Erika and I slept out on the trampoline. It was funny when it occurred to me that Molly was in the house all by herself! She almost never has a problem in the night- in fact, I can't remember the last time she needed something in the night- so I tried to talk myself into not worrying about her, but since I'm a mom, I know better than to think that things will stay the same as they usually are when I need them to. So I went and set up the baby monitor that has been in storage for almost a year. Got the extension cord and everything so that I could have the receiver right by my head. She ended up sleeping just fine, but luckily, I woke up to her fussing in the night and saw that the back door was open! It was a little freaky and I did run inside and make sure everything was okay and that there wasn't anyone extra in there. I checked on Molly, she was out and then brought Misty and Buddy back out with me and shut the door. I was pretty relieved she had woken me up. I can't imagine what we'd have in our house if the door had been open all night. Mosquitos to last us a lifetime I'm sure. We all slept pretty good otherwise, though. I got up and slept the last hour of the morning in my own cozy bed though :). Friday we spent the ENTIRE DAY cleaning the house! It was much needed and looked totally awesome when we were done. Kelly, Luke and Erika were rockstars! They totally busted their bums. We had wanted it to be especially nice for those coming home. Friday evening we met up with Hatches, Grandma and Simon, Heidi, John and Steve for one last picnic dinner before the Hatches head out next week. That was fun. Then during our late night movie, Nate showed up! He had come home early with Chet. It was so good to see him! I only wish Molly had been awake so I could witness her reaction to him coming home! She missed him! I was gone when he got her out of her crib the next morning. Saturday was a little funky too, with everyone getting back into the swing of things. It always takes some adjusting when people leave or get back. Had to say goodbye to Nate again, so he could go to work, then we picked up Bradley. It was nice to have everyone back even if it wasn't all at the same time. We had another movie night while I frantically put together my sharing time. 6-10-17
All of the kids bore their testimonies this Sunday, and did a great job, but unfortunately I missed theirs because I was out in the foyer with Molly, but I did get to hear Jack Jack bearing his testimony. Noah had been encouraging him and was helping him think of some things to say and writing them down. He'd asked me if he could help Jack bear his testimony and I said no, but since I was gone, Nate had consented. Jack was so brave and did such a good job. I love that Noah wanted to help him and was there for him. Even though I'm not a big fan of the prompting kids on what to say thing. I've let some of the kids do that in the name of taking care of siblings/bonding. They did great. I'm proud of them both. 6-4-17
SHARING TIME- MODESTY
My sharing time went so well this week! I was so relieved! Even the Junior Primary seemed to understand what was going on. I loved playing Tic Tac Toe with the Senior Primary. 6-4-17
NATE AND BRAD IN MOAB
We spent a lot of time getting things ready for Nate and Brad to go on their much anticipated camp out. Buying snacks, water shoes, extra snacks, doing laundry and packing. They left bright and early Monday morning. It was hard to say goodbye to them! They rode up with Chet and Bridger, camped, hiked, slept, ate, hiked, played in the river, hiked, had water fights while rafting on the river, hiked, caught snakes, lizards, toads, crawdads, and hiked some more. They were really fun to talk to during their trips to the store for their daily ice. They had a lot of fun. I should have them write about their fun stuff. We sure missed them. The house just wasn't the same that week with Nate, Brad, and Charity all gone. We were definitely in a funk for a few days... took some adjusting. 6-5-17
EFY- THE WAY TO BECOME
This was a major milestone for me, having my first kid experience EFY. I had been looking forward to this for her for a long time! It was exciting to get her all ready to go and talk about my experiences there. She was really excited and a little nervous too. We were both a little anxious not knowing who her roommate would be. Monday morning we stopped at Target to get some last minute things./clothes, then made it to BYU right in time for check-in. It was so fun to see all the kids walking around with their wrist bands and lanyards. Very nostalgic. We checked Charity in and then went to Chik-fil-a for some lunch. One last hang out with my little girl before I leave her on her own! We got back to her room kind of early so I stayed and chatted while she unpacked. It was fun to look through her schedule and see all the changes they've made in the last 20 years. I was getting more and more anxious for her and nervous too! Some of the girls from her group came back and so I left. It was hard to not cry, but I did it! I met up with Andrea at a park in Provo on my way out of Happy Valley. Charity ended up having a pretty good time. She struggled a little with those first few days, though. Her roommate was late, didn't show up til halfway through the day, so all our jokes about her possibly not having a roommate started to feel like they had jinxed it! It took her a while, not until they made a group text for everyone in their group, to feel like she fit in. And she was super homesick. Sounded too familiar :). She did so good though! She toughed those days out and got to reap the rewards the rest of the week. I was so proud of her for trying out for the variety show and for joining the singing group. She is so brave! Picking her up on Saturday morning was a bit of a fiasco. I missed my alarm and woke up an hour late. I only had a half hour to get there before check-out time ended. I was frantic all the way there, and way too stressed. Then once I got across the street from BYU I learned that they had blocked off all of the East outlets from University Avenue for a Half Marathon! It was SO ANNOYING!! I didn't get to Charity until 8:30!!! after taking a ridiculous detour. I had missed an email apparently. So we cancelled our hang out with Bliss and just stopped at Kneaders for breakfast on our way home. It was fun to hear all of Charity's stories and see her video of the kid trying on dresses in the Bookstore. She really did have a good time- that was a relief. I need to have her write about her week. Sure was weird to have her gone! We all missed her so much! 6-5-17
FIRST WEEK OF SUMMER
So even though things were a little strange with three people gone, we managed to have a pretty fun first week of summer. It's all running together for me though, so I'm just going to put it all together. Monday after I got home from taking Charity, dragged everyone to Home Depot where they were having a deal on veggie starts. We filled our cart with all kinds of seeds and starts. We stopped at Chik-fil-a on our way home and then planted our garden for FHE. It was a lot of fun to have everyone working together! I hope we planted everything right. If we did, we should have a good harvest! Now that we've got double the space, I think it will be really productive. I'm excited to see how it all turns out. We had wanted to get snow cones for the treat but the line was a mile long, so we went to Dollar Tree instead and got treats for a movie night. We ended up watching movies every night that week! Tuesday we got snow cones first thing in the morning- well as soon as we could. That's always fun. I got ice :). It was so much like eating snow it was weird. We then crammed Seven Peaks, picking up the license plate, and making dinner for a lady in our ward into our small evening. We only had about an hour at Seven Peaks. I had needed to redeem our vouchers that I bought forever ago, before they expired. We were unpleasantly surprised with how ghetto that place was though. I don't think I've been there for at least two and a half decades! Not to mention the slides require tubes and the tubes are not include in our passes, but cost $6 to rent! SO DUMB!!! If I'd known we were going to get Lagoon passes, I would have passed on the pass of all passes. I should have let the vouchers expire I guess. I'm hoping the one in Provo is nicer, or at least worth the visit. Kind of annoying. Good thing they were only $9 passes. Wednesday was playgroup at the Layton Park. That was fun. Everyone got along so well! It was nice to just sit and visit the entire time. Thursday Grandma brought the Hatch kids over to play. She was tending them while Brent and Sarah were in Zion's. They played hard! Water balloons and all- Luke was so happy to have people to throw water balloons at! He'd been at it a few times during the week with very little participation from anyone else. He was slightly addicted to the balloons and couldn't think of anything else to do. ever. Funny boy. That night Noah and Jack slept over at Grandma's with the Hatches. They stayed all day Friday too! That was the night that Kelly, Luke, Erika and I slept out on the trampoline. It was funny when it occurred to me that Molly was in the house all by herself! She almost never has a problem in the night- in fact, I can't remember the last time she needed something in the night- so I tried to talk myself into not worrying about her, but since I'm a mom, I know better than to think that things will stay the same as they usually are when I need them to. So I went and set up the baby monitor that has been in storage for almost a year. Got the extension cord and everything so that I could have the receiver right by my head. She ended up sleeping just fine, but luckily, I woke up to her fussing in the night and saw that the back door was open! It was a little freaky and I did run inside and make sure everything was okay and that there wasn't anyone extra in there. I checked on Molly, she was out and then brought Misty and Buddy back out with me and shut the door. I was pretty relieved she had woken me up. I can't imagine what we'd have in our house if the door had been open all night. Mosquitos to last us a lifetime I'm sure. We all slept pretty good otherwise, though. I got up and slept the last hour of the morning in my own cozy bed though :). Friday we spent the ENTIRE DAY cleaning the house! It was much needed and looked totally awesome when we were done. Kelly, Luke and Erika were rockstars! They totally busted their bums. We had wanted it to be especially nice for those coming home. Friday evening we met up with Hatches, Grandma and Simon, Heidi, John and Steve for one last picnic dinner before the Hatches head out next week. That was fun. Then during our late night movie, Nate showed up! He had come home early with Chet. It was so good to see him! I only wish Molly had been awake so I could witness her reaction to him coming home! She missed him! I was gone when he got her out of her crib the next morning. Saturday was a little funky too, with everyone getting back into the swing of things. It always takes some adjusting when people leave or get back. Had to say goodbye to Nate again, so he could go to work, then we picked up Bradley. It was nice to have everyone back even if it wasn't all at the same time. We had another movie night while I frantically put together my sharing time. 6-10-17
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Things to Remember Week of 5-28-17
CHARITY'S TALK
Charity spoke in Sacrament meeting today! She spoke on the Spirit of Elijah and did such a great job!! I loved it! I am always so impressed with how well she presents when I know how nervous she is. She didn't seem nervous at all. And she did such a great job on writing her own talk. I was so impressed with all that she had learned and taught us. Very cool. 5-28-17
MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day started out right with a flag ceremony and breakfast with the ward over at Ponds Park. This is a tradition the Ponds Park ward has had for a long time, so it was fun to participate in that. The kids played on the playground the whole time while I visited mostly with Julia Worthen. Mostly about school stuff. I'm getting more and more nervous to be PTA President. It was a fun morning though! If Nate had not been working it would have been perfect :).
After that we picked up groceries and relaxed. Then we paid Nana a little visit. I just love thinking about her and giving her those few little minutes of a visit on Memorial day. I feel like she appreciates it. Steve had left some M&Ms so we helped ourselves to some of those :). They still taste like hanging out with Nana :). We took a few pictures, said goodbye, then headed up to the Taylor's house (finally got to see their new house!) for a BBQ with the fam. This was a nice evening. I talked mostly with Becky. The kids were thoroughly entertained the entire time :). I loved watching Molly with their little dog. She is so fearless when it comes to animals. Just like the rest of our kids I guess :). And why shouldn't she be, she's got our giant black lab wrapped around her little finger 24/7.
LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL
The last week of school felt insane! It felt like a whirlwind that started at the beginning of May and then went in slow motion for four weeks and then came to a screeching halt on June 2nd (or maybe the third since we were still doing Kelly's birthday party). It was nuts!
Tuesday: I had produce. This was one of the few times Jack and Molly have come with me, stayed and actually HELPED! Like real help, not un-help. It was nice to have their help because I needed to hurry. Then we went and grabbed ice for Field day. 20 7lb bags of ice and then back to the store for 10 more. Good thing we have this big delivery truck for hauling stuff like that! It was nice of my mom to watch Jack and Molly so I could do that. Made it a million times easier. Luke had his field trip to Gailey Park which he loved! He and Clint played together the whole time- I think they even played Badmitton?! Fun stuff. I wish we could have come and watched but I was home making cupcakes for Kelly's family party that night. After school, we rushed up to South Ogden for our races and trophies! Then we hurried back home to grab the cupcakes and went over to Gailey Park (yep, twice in one day for Luke) for Kelly's family party. Then I crammed in a Presidency meeting that evening as well!! We cleaned out the Primary closets! Crazy day. 5-30-17
Wednesday: Field day! Also known as the day I died of allergies! I signed up to help set up, worked the volunteer table for a few minutes (still not sure why they needed me to do that), ran the dunk tank for the first half of the day, then ate my delicious Costa Vida salad courtesy of the PTA, then set up again, ran the dunk tank, then cleaned up afterwards. It was a busy day! I think I had 12,000 steps by 3:00! The best part of the day was working with Emily. We owned that dunk tank! The sixth graders were a lot of fun too! I loved that Bradley wanted to get dunked by his younger siblings and even came out during class so that Erika could :). I love the bonds between some of my kids. So cute. I was dying from my allergies the entire day- several sneeze attacks and LOTS of itchiness in my eyes, but it wasn't until I got home that it really hit me. I passed out on the couch and hardly did a thing for the rest of the evening. It was SO BAD!!
Thursday: Charity's "Ditch Day" so I took them up to the temple. I was going to try to do initiatories while I was there with them, but the wait was so long- I just don't think I would have made it. After that I got to go help out at the 6th grade dance!! It was so much fun! I hope Brad wasn't too embarrassed by me, because I loved it. He is definitely the most handsome boy in his grade. And the sweetest :). That night Kelly had her Lacrosse Banquet at her coach's house and Luke was her plus one there, which I thought was adorable :). The rest of us went to Erika's softball game while Nate and the older three went to Mutual.
Charity spoke in Sacrament meeting today! She spoke on the Spirit of Elijah and did such a great job!! I loved it! I am always so impressed with how well she presents when I know how nervous she is. She didn't seem nervous at all. And she did such a great job on writing her own talk. I was so impressed with all that she had learned and taught us. Very cool. 5-28-17
MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day started out right with a flag ceremony and breakfast with the ward over at Ponds Park. This is a tradition the Ponds Park ward has had for a long time, so it was fun to participate in that. The kids played on the playground the whole time while I visited mostly with Julia Worthen. Mostly about school stuff. I'm getting more and more nervous to be PTA President. It was a fun morning though! If Nate had not been working it would have been perfect :).
After that we picked up groceries and relaxed. Then we paid Nana a little visit. I just love thinking about her and giving her those few little minutes of a visit on Memorial day. I feel like she appreciates it. Steve had left some M&Ms so we helped ourselves to some of those :). They still taste like hanging out with Nana :). We took a few pictures, said goodbye, then headed up to the Taylor's house (finally got to see their new house!) for a BBQ with the fam. This was a nice evening. I talked mostly with Becky. The kids were thoroughly entertained the entire time :). I loved watching Molly with their little dog. She is so fearless when it comes to animals. Just like the rest of our kids I guess :). And why shouldn't she be, she's got our giant black lab wrapped around her little finger 24/7.
LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL
The last week of school felt insane! It felt like a whirlwind that started at the beginning of May and then went in slow motion for four weeks and then came to a screeching halt on June 2nd (or maybe the third since we were still doing Kelly's birthday party). It was nuts!
Tuesday: I had produce. This was one of the few times Jack and Molly have come with me, stayed and actually HELPED! Like real help, not un-help. It was nice to have their help because I needed to hurry. Then we went and grabbed ice for Field day. 20 7lb bags of ice and then back to the store for 10 more. Good thing we have this big delivery truck for hauling stuff like that! It was nice of my mom to watch Jack and Molly so I could do that. Made it a million times easier. Luke had his field trip to Gailey Park which he loved! He and Clint played together the whole time- I think they even played Badmitton?! Fun stuff. I wish we could have come and watched but I was home making cupcakes for Kelly's family party that night. After school, we rushed up to South Ogden for our races and trophies! Then we hurried back home to grab the cupcakes and went over to Gailey Park (yep, twice in one day for Luke) for Kelly's family party. Then I crammed in a Presidency meeting that evening as well!! We cleaned out the Primary closets! Crazy day. 5-30-17
Wednesday: Field day! Also known as the day I died of allergies! I signed up to help set up, worked the volunteer table for a few minutes (still not sure why they needed me to do that), ran the dunk tank for the first half of the day, then ate my delicious Costa Vida salad courtesy of the PTA, then set up again, ran the dunk tank, then cleaned up afterwards. It was a busy day! I think I had 12,000 steps by 3:00! The best part of the day was working with Emily. We owned that dunk tank! The sixth graders were a lot of fun too! I loved that Bradley wanted to get dunked by his younger siblings and even came out during class so that Erika could :). I love the bonds between some of my kids. So cute. I was dying from my allergies the entire day- several sneeze attacks and LOTS of itchiness in my eyes, but it wasn't until I got home that it really hit me. I passed out on the couch and hardly did a thing for the rest of the evening. It was SO BAD!!
Thursday: Charity's "Ditch Day" so I took them up to the temple. I was going to try to do initiatories while I was there with them, but the wait was so long- I just don't think I would have made it. After that I got to go help out at the 6th grade dance!! It was so much fun! I hope Brad wasn't too embarrassed by me, because I loved it. He is definitely the most handsome boy in his grade. And the sweetest :). That night Kelly had her Lacrosse Banquet at her coach's house and Luke was her plus one there, which I thought was adorable :). The rest of us went to Erika's softball game while Nate and the older three went to Mutual.
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