Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Sunday, July 3, 2022
JUNE 2022
CROSS COUNTRY
Davis XC has started back up, officially! Pretty exciting stuff. And this year it's not just Brad and sometimes Noah, it's been Brad (well, technically he hasn't run yet, he's been in a boot of course with his sprained ankle), Luke, Noah AND Erika! So lots of fun listening to them get up in the mornings and going on their own and then talking about how hard or easy it was that day. I've been SO impressed and so proud of them!! They are such cool kids!! I love that they have that together each morning! Such a great way to start the day. And Noah has had work on top of it so hats off to him for not sleeping in til work, but going and running and then leaving the fun early to go to work. Cool kids!! 6-1-22
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!
Kelly is 19! Kinda crazy! Hard to believe! We wanted to do something special for her birthday so we planned a little party up in Logan at a park at Kelly's request. She invited a bunch of her friends and we had pizza and cloud cake :). Everyone played games the whole time and had so much fun! I loved watching Kelly in her element with all her new friends. I really like the friends she's chosen. They were all really cool and so fun with our family, all the little ones. It was cute. I hope I never forget how much fun it was to watch them all play Bunny Bunny. Felt like girls camp but with boys :). Grandpa Hatch and his friend Jo, Grandma Hatch, Heidi and her kids all came as well. We were all a little bummed that Clayton wasn't there, and kind of disappointed that he didn't make it a priority and then later we found out he was planning a surprise party for Kelly for the next night! How fun is that! Redemption for sure :). It was cute that everyone jumped up and went running over to greet Charity when she got there after work. Fun stuff. It was a cool park with all these really tall old trees and right next to a zoo of all things! Kinda cool. Happy Birthday, Kelz! (side note: my cute Kelly was worked about her friend Paige not having family or friends up to celebrate her birthday the next day so she was going to sacrifice her cake and asked me to make one for her friend instead. Such a sweet girl! I wasn't about to just make one for her friend of course, so I did make two. I had to do simple ones of course, but I was just so proud of Kelly and her love for her new friend. I ended up making a twix cake for that one and they ate it at Kelly's surprise party the next day and Kelly said it was a big hit :)) 6-2-22
Kelly is 19! Kinda crazy! Hard to believe! We wanted to do something special for her birthday so we planned a little party up in Logan at a park at Kelly's request. She invited a bunch of her friends and we had pizza and cloud cake :). Everyone played games the whole time and had so much fun! I loved watching Kelly in her element with all her new friends. I really like the friends she's chosen. They were all really cool and so fun with our family, all the little ones. It was cute. I hope I never forget how much fun it was to watch them all play Bunny Bunny. Felt like girls camp but with boys :). Grandpa Hatch and his friend Jo, Grandma Hatch, Heidi and her kids all came as well. We were all a little bummed that Clayton wasn't there, and kind of disappointed that he didn't make it a priority and then later we found out he was planning a surprise party for Kelly for the next night! How fun is that! Redemption for sure :). It was cute that everyone jumped up and went running over to greet Charity when she got there after work. Fun stuff. It was a cool park with all these really tall old trees and right next to a zoo of all things! Kinda cool. Happy Birthday, Kelz! (side note: my cute Kelly was worked about her friend Paige not having family or friends up to celebrate her birthday the next day so she was going to sacrifice her cake and asked me to make one for her friend instead. Such a sweet girl! I wasn't about to just make one for her friend of course, so I did make two. I had to do simple ones of course, but I was just so proud of Kelly and her love for her new friend. I ended up making a twix cake for that one and they ate it at Kelly's surprise party the next day and Kelly said it was a big hit :)) 6-2-22
TEMPLE ENDOWMENTS
Nate and I got to go to the temple on Friday morning! Thanks to Sierra who had stayed the night, we had someone to watch the littles while Brad picked up the bigger kids from Cross Country and it all worked out okay- even getting Noah to work on time! Very cool. We went to the Bountiful temple and for the first time in a very long time we got to be the witness couple! So fun!! I loved being there! I loved it so much. I'm so happy that the temple is going to be easier to go to here soon and that we no longer need to wear masks and such. So nice!! I love it! 6-3-22
Nate and I got to go to the temple on Friday morning! Thanks to Sierra who had stayed the night, we had someone to watch the littles while Brad picked up the bigger kids from Cross Country and it all worked out okay- even getting Noah to work on time! Very cool. We went to the Bountiful temple and for the first time in a very long time we got to be the witness couple! So fun!! I loved being there! I loved it so much. I'm so happy that the temple is going to be easier to go to here soon and that we no longer need to wear masks and such. So nice!! I love it! 6-3-22
DATE NIGHT
We still went on our date night even though we had kind of been on a date all day :). We went to Costa Vida and then to see Top Gun 2 again :). We love that movie! It's really the greatest! Can't get enough of it! 6-3-22
We still went on our date night even though we had kind of been on a date all day :). We went to Costa Vida and then to see Top Gun 2 again :). We love that movie! It's really the greatest! Can't get enough of it! 6-3-22
PRODUCTION
I've been trying to be really productive lately, pulling all the weeds in the front yard, trimming things, lots of cleaning in the house. It's been hard, but I've been keeping up pretty well on the cleaning up, just to keep it a simple task when I do it more often. I've been really proud of myself. 6-3-22
I've been trying to be really productive lately, pulling all the weeds in the front yard, trimming things, lots of cleaning in the house. It's been hard, but I've been keeping up pretty well on the cleaning up, just to keep it a simple task when I do it more often. I've been really proud of myself. 6-3-22
THROWING UP
The throwing up started back up this weekend, Saturday night, when Molly announced that she was not feeling well and then spouted barf like a rainbird sprinkler all over the couch and living room. It was so annoying :). HAHAHA!! We all sat there just mostly annoyed with the whole mess. HA! I mean, we were all very sympathetic to Molly, helped her get cleaned up and a bowl for the next time, but the timing and the way it all went down was just super irritating. Noah had thrown up on Wednesday after going to the first day of cross country and then right to his job and not having eaten anything and then eating a giant bowl of cereal, so we kind of assumed it was from being a little overworked, but when Molly threw up Saturday night, I was rethinking that. Molly was pretty violently sick all night long. I slept by her on the couch in the family room and woke up to pour out the bowl every time she threw up. It was awful. Sunday was a bust, no church for Molly, Sadie, Erika and I. Erika started feeling sick before church and stayed home with us, trying not to throw up all day. She had started fasting and didn't want to throw up, so she didn't eat anything the entire day. I was starting to feel the same way towards the afternoon and I was pretty sick most of Monday. Erika and I both never threw up, but the nausea and stomach pain was a killer, kept us sleeping on the couches as well. Jack on the other hand, started throwing up real bad Monday evening and barfed til we went to bed. We decided to cancel Grandma's birthday party. He was fine in the morning luckily. Nate got sick Monday evening also after taking the day off to help me. He pushed through work Tuesday day and night and then again on Wednesday night! He's been pretty weak and tired and having weird pains in his stomach, but we think he's mostly done with it. So not everyone threw up, but it's been a doozy!! Felt so good to finally sleep in my bed on Monday night!! We think we're mostly done with it all. Fingers crossed. 6-4-22--6-7-22
The throwing up started back up this weekend, Saturday night, when Molly announced that she was not feeling well and then spouted barf like a rainbird sprinkler all over the couch and living room. It was so annoying :). HAHAHA!! We all sat there just mostly annoyed with the whole mess. HA! I mean, we were all very sympathetic to Molly, helped her get cleaned up and a bowl for the next time, but the timing and the way it all went down was just super irritating. Noah had thrown up on Wednesday after going to the first day of cross country and then right to his job and not having eaten anything and then eating a giant bowl of cereal, so we kind of assumed it was from being a little overworked, but when Molly threw up Saturday night, I was rethinking that. Molly was pretty violently sick all night long. I slept by her on the couch in the family room and woke up to pour out the bowl every time she threw up. It was awful. Sunday was a bust, no church for Molly, Sadie, Erika and I. Erika started feeling sick before church and stayed home with us, trying not to throw up all day. She had started fasting and didn't want to throw up, so she didn't eat anything the entire day. I was starting to feel the same way towards the afternoon and I was pretty sick most of Monday. Erika and I both never threw up, but the nausea and stomach pain was a killer, kept us sleeping on the couches as well. Jack on the other hand, started throwing up real bad Monday evening and barfed til we went to bed. We decided to cancel Grandma's birthday party. He was fine in the morning luckily. Nate got sick Monday evening also after taking the day off to help me. He pushed through work Tuesday day and night and then again on Wednesday night! He's been pretty weak and tired and having weird pains in his stomach, but we think he's mostly done with it. So not everyone threw up, but it's been a doozy!! Felt so good to finally sleep in my bed on Monday night!! We think we're mostly done with it all. Fingers crossed. 6-4-22--6-7-22
DOCTOR SMITH
At Kelly's appointment today we asked for some tricks for her leg pain and he showed us a bunch of cool things involving mirrors and video footage of her foot moving around. Kinda funny that that stuff works. Kelly is going to experiment a little more this week on her own with some other things. She did try looking at her hand in the mirror while she was brushing her teeth and the pain went away. Kinda funny. Weird how our brains work. 6-6-22
At Kelly's appointment today we asked for some tricks for her leg pain and he showed us a bunch of cool things involving mirrors and video footage of her foot moving around. Kinda funny that that stuff works. Kelly is going to experiment a little more this week on her own with some other things. She did try looking at her hand in the mirror while she was brushing her teeth and the pain went away. Kinda funny. Weird how our brains work. 6-6-22
TOP GUN 2- TAKE THREE :)
I got this crazy idea to take the boys to see Top Gun 2 on Tuesday afternoon when Nate got home since it was discount day. All five of us went and it was amazing again :). The boys liked it but I couldn't get them to agree that it was the best movie of all time- might just be for adults, who knows. They did like it though. 6-7-22
I got this crazy idea to take the boys to see Top Gun 2 on Tuesday afternoon when Nate got home since it was discount day. All five of us went and it was amazing again :). The boys liked it but I couldn't get them to agree that it was the best movie of all time- might just be for adults, who knows. They did like it though. 6-7-22
LUNCH
For lunches this summer we are doing a new thing for lunches. The kids each have a day of the week to be in charge of lunch. They get to choose what they want to make and then make it for everyone. So far it's been a success! Meaning, I get a break from thinking about lunch and they have been doing it without any complaints! It's been good. 6-8-22
For lunches this summer we are doing a new thing for lunches. The kids each have a day of the week to be in charge of lunch. They get to choose what they want to make and then make it for everyone. So far it's been a success! Meaning, I get a break from thinking about lunch and they have been doing it without any complaints! It's been good. 6-8-22
SOCKS
I folded socks for an hour and fifteen minutes Wednesday evening! I can't believe it! I had no idea it had been that long (even though I had listened to all of Don't Miss This and a couple conference talks, it just hadn't occurred to me how long it was). I came downstairs and like 15 minutes later, Nate and the big kids came home from young men and young womens activities! It was crazy! Just thought it needed to be documented :). 6-8-22
I folded socks for an hour and fifteen minutes Wednesday evening! I can't believe it! I had no idea it had been that long (even though I had listened to all of Don't Miss This and a couple conference talks, it just hadn't occurred to me how long it was). I came downstairs and like 15 minutes later, Nate and the big kids came home from young men and young womens activities! It was crazy! Just thought it needed to be documented :). 6-8-22
FRISBEE AND GOAL SETTING
We went to the park a few times this week with even the big kids and were able to play frisbee a little. It has been so fun! I had this cool little realization at Gailey Park. Nate, Bradley, Luke and I were all throwing the aerobie (the only frisbees I can throw now) and we were having what seemed like a little trouble. Nobody's throws were making it to the person and nobody was having much success catching it. It was kind of weird for us. Well, we did have a few successful moments and we'd get all excited and then Nate called out to all of us and said, "Let's try to get all the way around without missing it." and announced a goal. Immediately, we started throwing better and thus able to catch it better! We didn't move closer or change anything that way, it was just having the goal in mind and probably putting a little more effort into it! We were able to go around a few times without anyone dropping it! It was so cool to me that the Spirit used this moment to point out to me the importance of goal setting and not just setting the goals in our minds or thinking about them, but saying them out loud or writing them down! It's so important! And I felt the Spirit give me this little sermon on goal setting. I loved it. Reminded me that we need to look at our goal charts again and recommit to our goal setting that we've been doing as a family and individually. Pretty cool stuff. And of course I loved being with my boys! It was so much fun! I love that they will humor us and do things like that. 6-9-22
We went to the park a few times this week with even the big kids and were able to play frisbee a little. It has been so fun! I had this cool little realization at Gailey Park. Nate, Bradley, Luke and I were all throwing the aerobie (the only frisbees I can throw now) and we were having what seemed like a little trouble. Nobody's throws were making it to the person and nobody was having much success catching it. It was kind of weird for us. Well, we did have a few successful moments and we'd get all excited and then Nate called out to all of us and said, "Let's try to get all the way around without missing it." and announced a goal. Immediately, we started throwing better and thus able to catch it better! We didn't move closer or change anything that way, it was just having the goal in mind and probably putting a little more effort into it! We were able to go around a few times without anyone dropping it! It was so cool to me that the Spirit used this moment to point out to me the importance of goal setting and not just setting the goals in our minds or thinking about them, but saying them out loud or writing them down! It's so important! And I felt the Spirit give me this little sermon on goal setting. I loved it. Reminded me that we need to look at our goal charts again and recommit to our goal setting that we've been doing as a family and individually. Pretty cool stuff. And of course I loved being with my boys! It was so much fun! I love that they will humor us and do things like that. 6-9-22
JURASSIC DOMINION
So the day finally came! And actually, it came a day earlier for Jack :). I had told him we were going to go see Jurassic Dominion on the 10th (that's the day that they said it was coming out!) but I was able to get tickets on the 9th for some reason. So I decided to keep it a surprise until the day of! Jack has been counting down for two months now so telling him that we were going today instead of tomorrow was HUGE! I told him we were going to go get treats at the store to get treats for our movie the next day and then suggested that we walk over to the toy store and then when it was time for the movie I told him we were actually going right then instead of tomorrow :). His face!!! I loved it!! He was so cute about it! We even saw a Jurassic Park jeep on the short walk to the theater. Had to get a picture. The movie was great. Not exactly what we had had in mind, and I think Jack was slightly disappointed, but still awesome and we loved it! I loved that Jack's favorite part was at the end when they show the dinosaurs mixed in with the flocks and herds of other animals. Kinda cool :). His fist pump when T-Rex wakes up was pretty cute too! And they did good at grabbing his attention with the mosasaurus first thing! Fun stuff. I love my little dinosaur-obsessed Jack :). 6-9-22
So the day finally came! And actually, it came a day earlier for Jack :). I had told him we were going to go see Jurassic Dominion on the 10th (that's the day that they said it was coming out!) but I was able to get tickets on the 9th for some reason. So I decided to keep it a surprise until the day of! Jack has been counting down for two months now so telling him that we were going today instead of tomorrow was HUGE! I told him we were going to go get treats at the store to get treats for our movie the next day and then suggested that we walk over to the toy store and then when it was time for the movie I told him we were actually going right then instead of tomorrow :). His face!!! I loved it!! He was so cute about it! We even saw a Jurassic Park jeep on the short walk to the theater. Had to get a picture. The movie was great. Not exactly what we had had in mind, and I think Jack was slightly disappointed, but still awesome and we loved it! I loved that Jack's favorite part was at the end when they show the dinosaurs mixed in with the flocks and herds of other animals. Kinda cool :). His fist pump when T-Rex wakes up was pretty cute too! And they did good at grabbing his attention with the mosasaurus first thing! Fun stuff. I love my little dinosaur-obsessed Jack :). 6-9-22
TABERNACLE EXPERIENCE
This was really cool! There's been so much build up to this day so I was glad we finally got to experience it, and it was even cooler than I had expected! Luke, Noah and Erika got to participate in hosting it, working as tour guides. Brad has been feeling sick so he had to opt out. Kelly, Molly and I got to go to it together. I LOVE all the symbolism of everything. I really loved when we were escorted into the Holy of Holies and there was Noah and Erika. I got chills even. They did such a great job of explaining the things inside and the mercy seat. I loved what Erika said at the end about the us striving to return home to Heavenly Father. It was really cool!! I loved that they got to be part of that. We saw Luke on our way out. He had been at the first station and was moved right before we got there which was a bummer, but we did get to see him. What a cool experience. So cool that someone to all the trouble to make that. 6-10-22
This was really cool! There's been so much build up to this day so I was glad we finally got to experience it, and it was even cooler than I had expected! Luke, Noah and Erika got to participate in hosting it, working as tour guides. Brad has been feeling sick so he had to opt out. Kelly, Molly and I got to go to it together. I LOVE all the symbolism of everything. I really loved when we were escorted into the Holy of Holies and there was Noah and Erika. I got chills even. They did such a great job of explaining the things inside and the mercy seat. I loved what Erika said at the end about the us striving to return home to Heavenly Father. It was really cool!! I loved that they got to be part of that. We saw Luke on our way out. He had been at the first station and was moved right before we got there which was a bummer, but we did get to see him. What a cool experience. So cool that someone to all the trouble to make that. 6-10-22
DATE NIGHT
We went to Zupas this week and then walked around station park! We came home, got the kids in bed and then watched a whole movie, Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit, together, on our couch without any interruptions! It was so strange and so wonderful. Felt like the old OLD days! I love that we are making our date night a priority, it is much needed these days! 6-10-22
We went to Zupas this week and then walked around station park! We came home, got the kids in bed and then watched a whole movie, Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit, together, on our couch without any interruptions! It was so strange and so wonderful. Felt like the old OLD days! I love that we are making our date night a priority, it is much needed these days! 6-10-22
THE TREES AND MY ALLERGIES
I've been begging Nate to kind of thin out all of our trees. Lots of dead and out of control branches, in the back yard. So he did it! It ended up being quite the project for all of us- chopping them up enough to bag them up and put them on the side of the house. Took everyone all morning. I helped for a while and then had to call it good with how bad my allergies were getting. I could barely breathe with my runny nose and sneezing. So I went inside and cleaned the fridge instead. Took me a good hour though, so it must have been productive. But the backyard looks a little better! That was just the one tree in the back middle, so we'll see if we ever want to do more :). 6-11-22
I've been begging Nate to kind of thin out all of our trees. Lots of dead and out of control branches, in the back yard. So he did it! It ended up being quite the project for all of us- chopping them up enough to bag them up and put them on the side of the house. Took everyone all morning. I helped for a while and then had to call it good with how bad my allergies were getting. I could barely breathe with my runny nose and sneezing. So I went inside and cleaned the fridge instead. Took me a good hour though, so it must have been productive. But the backyard looks a little better! That was just the one tree in the back middle, so we'll see if we ever want to do more :). 6-11-22
GRANDMA HATCH'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
We met up with Grandma, Simon, Steve, and Heidi with her kids at West Bountiful Park for some birthday fun. My mom brought all the food and I made cupcakes. She had requested graduation cap cupcakes since she just graduated her anxiety clinic and they turned out pretty cute, just maybe too much chocolate, not sure. If you call it "Death by Chocolate" I think you can get away with Devils Food cake, chocolate frostsing, resses peanut butter cup and ghirdelli square on top. Lots of chocolate. I wish I hadn't been trying to be careful, I could have had one :). They had totally melted too, which was strange, so you could actually take a bite through the whole thing! kinda cool, until they were droopy. Steve made them look really yummy! He was hilarious. Trying to make it a surprise party the whole time and then playing with the kids and swinging on the swings. He's hilarious. I was feeling so tired probably from my allergies that I just laid on the blanket on the grass. It was pretty hot too. Fun times though. I think my mom felt celebrated! 6-11-22
We met up with Grandma, Simon, Steve, and Heidi with her kids at West Bountiful Park for some birthday fun. My mom brought all the food and I made cupcakes. She had requested graduation cap cupcakes since she just graduated her anxiety clinic and they turned out pretty cute, just maybe too much chocolate, not sure. If you call it "Death by Chocolate" I think you can get away with Devils Food cake, chocolate frostsing, resses peanut butter cup and ghirdelli square on top. Lots of chocolate. I wish I hadn't been trying to be careful, I could have had one :). They had totally melted too, which was strange, so you could actually take a bite through the whole thing! kinda cool, until they were droopy. Steve made them look really yummy! He was hilarious. Trying to make it a surprise party the whole time and then playing with the kids and swinging on the swings. He's hilarious. I was feeling so tired probably from my allergies that I just laid on the blanket on the grass. It was pretty hot too. Fun times though. I think my mom felt celebrated! 6-11-22
COLE HOMECOMING
Cole Noriega had his homecoming this week. I have always loved Bradley's admiration of him and it just melted my heart when Brad walked right up to the stand as he was headed to the sacrament table and went up to Cole to shake his hand! Such a cute little reunion moment. Then Cole's little shout out to Brad talking about how much he's grown these past two years. Kinda cute. He gave a great talk! I just LOVE that my kids have him to look up to. Seeing how quickly that two years goes by, hearing about all that he learned with following the Spirit- even the times that nothing huge came of it and how important those times are! Very cool! I guess Brad and Luke made it over to their house for goodies after church. Just cool that they have someone like Cole. 6-12-22
Cole Noriega had his homecoming this week. I have always loved Bradley's admiration of him and it just melted my heart when Brad walked right up to the stand as he was headed to the sacrament table and went up to Cole to shake his hand! Such a cute little reunion moment. Then Cole's little shout out to Brad talking about how much he's grown these past two years. Kinda cute. He gave a great talk! I just LOVE that my kids have him to look up to. Seeing how quickly that two years goes by, hearing about all that he learned with following the Spirit- even the times that nothing huge came of it and how important those times are! Very cool! I guess Brad and Luke made it over to their house for goodies after church. Just cool that they have someone like Cole. 6-12-22
GIRLS SLEEPOVER WITH KELLY
Erika and Kelly have been planning to have a sleepover for a while now and it was finally going to work out this weekend. They had originally planned on Kelly picking them both up Saturday night and staying til Monday when Kelly has a doctor appointment, but with how badly Molly wanted to go, they changed it to just staying here Saturday night and then going to church here and sleeping over Sunday night only, but also bringing Molly with them! So fortunately, it was the perfect week for Kelly to be here- she got to hear Cole's homecoming address. Then she took Erika and Molly back home with her! They sounded like they had some fun planned and when I texted at night, they were all doing fine! So that was good. We've missed them! We feel empty without them here! Kinda strange how the dynamic of our house changes depending on who's here. The boys all left for XC in the morning and it's just been Jack, Sadie and I and boy is that different! Quiet for the most part, but super different. Jack is good at assuming the big kid role. So proud of him! Can't wait to have our girls back :). 6-12-22--6-13-22
Erika and Kelly have been planning to have a sleepover for a while now and it was finally going to work out this weekend. They had originally planned on Kelly picking them both up Saturday night and staying til Monday when Kelly has a doctor appointment, but with how badly Molly wanted to go, they changed it to just staying here Saturday night and then going to church here and sleeping over Sunday night only, but also bringing Molly with them! So fortunately, it was the perfect week for Kelly to be here- she got to hear Cole's homecoming address. Then she took Erika and Molly back home with her! They sounded like they had some fun planned and when I texted at night, they were all doing fine! So that was good. We've missed them! We feel empty without them here! Kinda strange how the dynamic of our house changes depending on who's here. The boys all left for XC in the morning and it's just been Jack, Sadie and I and boy is that different! Quiet for the most part, but super different. Jack is good at assuming the big kid role. So proud of him! Can't wait to have our girls back :). 6-12-22--6-13-22
FAMILY MEETING
We finally made it up to the family meeting! It's been a few months. Ruth shared family history stories and then we all got to chat as we picked out makie up samples from Jared. Jack was really happy with his turnip. The kids tried molasses. We had stopped to get some birthday gifts from Becky for people so we handed those out. Very productive :). I had brought my camera so I took a few pictures with this new lens from my dad. He had mentioned that it is better in low light, so I thought I'd test that out :). We'll see how it goes. I felt prompted to take a picture of the kids with Ruth and then didn't. I hope I don't regret that. I need to follow those things. I just didn't want to bother anyone. 6-12-22
We finally made it up to the family meeting! It's been a few months. Ruth shared family history stories and then we all got to chat as we picked out makie up samples from Jared. Jack was really happy with his turnip. The kids tried molasses. We had stopped to get some birthday gifts from Becky for people so we handed those out. Very productive :). I had brought my camera so I took a few pictures with this new lens from my dad. He had mentioned that it is better in low light, so I thought I'd test that out :). We'll see how it goes. I felt prompted to take a picture of the kids with Ruth and then didn't. I hope I don't regret that. I need to follow those things. I just didn't want to bother anyone. 6-12-22
MONDAY FUN DAY :)
Kelly and the girls came home so that was exciting. It was funny how much the boys missed them and recognized their absence over and over again :). Erika had an ortho appointment and Kelly had her appointment with Dr. Smith but then we were able to pile everyone (except Noah) in the car and head on over to Kaysville Creamery to let Brad and Kelly try it out. We had gone back on Friday or Saturday (can't remember which) for the first time, but we were missed a few. Noah and Charity still haven't had it yet. It's really yummy and such a cute place! Even got Kelly's cuteness stamp of approval. We came home to Nate! Roasted hot dogs for dinner in the almost rain, and then had FHE. It was a really fun evening until Molly barfed. It was nice that the popcorn bowl from our movie was still sitting there she was able to use that. Poor girl threw up one more time and stayed up watching movies with me all night, but is feeling pretty good this morning. I hope she's done. 6-13-22
FHE
Brad was our lesson- he taught the analogy with a crisp ten dollar bill and it's worth comparing it to our worth. I love that lesson! Such a good reminder. He did a great job! We watched Hitch as Luke's activity and had apple pie rolls for Noah's treat since he wasn't here- I got to choose :). It was a good family night. 6-13-22
Brad was our lesson- he taught the analogy with a crisp ten dollar bill and it's worth comparing it to our worth. I love that lesson! Such a good reminder. He did a great job! We watched Hitch as Luke's activity and had apple pie rolls for Noah's treat since he wasn't here- I got to choose :). It was a good family night. 6-13-22
BECKY
I was supposed to go help Becky today, following her surgery yesterday, but her oxygen levels were too low for them to release her so she stayed overnight. I was finally able to get ahold of her in her room and heard that the surgery went well, just not getting enough oxygen. She is hoping to go home today but it's later than I can be there to help. But hopefully she's okay. Casey took work off to help. We'll see how this goes. I want to keep checking in on her. 6-14-22
I was supposed to go help Becky today, following her surgery yesterday, but her oxygen levels were too low for them to release her so she stayed overnight. I was finally able to get ahold of her in her room and heard that the surgery went well, just not getting enough oxygen. She is hoping to go home today but it's later than I can be there to help. But hopefully she's okay. Casey took work off to help. We'll see how this goes. I want to keep checking in on her. 6-14-22
OGDEN TEMPLE BAPTISMS- BRIAN MAY'S FAMILY
We got to take Brian May's biological family's names to the temple for baptisms! What a neat experience that was! Nate, Bradley, Noah, Erika and I all got to go and participate. (Luke was feeling sick still) This was a cool experience. It was fun to hear that his grandma had been "kicking him in the butt" to get her work done, so this was much anticipated :). We had a nice time! The spirit in the temple is so incredible. Always helps me to recharge. 6-14-22
We got to take Brian May's biological family's names to the temple for baptisms! What a neat experience that was! Nate, Bradley, Noah, Erika and I all got to go and participate. (Luke was feeling sick still) This was a cool experience. It was fun to hear that his grandma had been "kicking him in the butt" to get her work done, so this was much anticipated :). We had a nice time! The spirit in the temple is so incredible. Always helps me to recharge. 6-14-22
RELIEF SOCIETY NIGHT
We had a fun "family reunion games" night. I loved all the games. I want to use them at girls camp and our family parties. They were a lot of fun. I thought it was strange that nobody was volunteering to go up and participate, but oh well. I did most of them. I liked the water balloon volley ball the most. Me and Merit totally dominated. 6-14-22
We had a fun "family reunion games" night. I loved all the games. I want to use them at girls camp and our family parties. They were a lot of fun. I thought it was strange that nobody was volunteering to go up and participate, but oh well. I did most of them. I liked the water balloon volley ball the most. Me and Merit totally dominated. 6-14-22
IMPROMPTU TRIP TO HOGLE ZOO
We decided pretty much on a whim to take a trip to the zoo and use our pass :). Sadie was beyond excited to go, so that was fun for all of us :). She skipped through the first hour or so, going from habitat to habitat barely glancing at the animals and then wanting to see something else. Which totally worked for us. It was pretty fun to have all the big people with us (minus Kelly and Charity of course). The reptile house was a big hit this time. A lot of the animals like the monkeys were outside, really active, but a lot of them were snoozing. It was just after lunch time so... But the weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, we got all the traditional pics of the kids. Molly and Sadie begged enough to be able to take a ride on the carousel and judging by their reactions, I think the big kids enjoyed watching them as much as they enjoyed riding. Sadie was sad to go, but she was also sad during the last half hour or so, so we chose to go. We missed out on the bears and that side of the park, but it was a nice little afternoon outing. We all crashed at home. 6-15-22
YOUTH ACTIVITIES/ADVENTURE DAYS/SADIE, MOLLY AND MOMMY TIME
While the big kids were at activities and Jack was off learning about the flag and playing capture the flag, Molly and Sadie and I were... well, it wasn't fun, I was breaking up a fight between the two girls about every five seconds. Originally we were going to go to a park, but then I remembered that Jack would be done around 7:30, so we were trying to kill some time, but we weren't just killing it, it was cold-blooded murder! They were so grumpy! I finally got us out the door around 7:20 to walk to the Perry's house and pick up Jack. I thought the walk might be nice. It did end up being pretty good. We saw Richelle, Leslee, Denise and Keren Perez, then talked with Melissa Giatras while we waited for the activity to end (it took us about twice as long to get there as I had given us, so luckily the activity went a little over time). Then Gretchen Widdison showed up and we talked with her as well. It was a good evening. We got to go see what Jack was up to, talked a bunch more, then headed down to Ponds Park for Sadie. We stopped to talk to Krista Allred and say hi to Nate and the boys he was taking home, but we made it to Ponds Park with about a half hour to play. It was fun when Erika and Kate showed up with Nate and then I found out that Nate had to go to work. I was so bummed. I didn't get that memo. But it was a pretty fun evening and we came home and watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 at Luke's request so we could watch Jack laugh. 6-15-22
DR. SMITH
This week when Dr. Smith asked Kelly what was hurting she said, nothing except her jaw! Pretty awesome, I mean, comparatively speaking! So he worked on her jaw the entire time. She didn't seem to experience a whole lot of pain relief while we were there, but hopefully some of the things he's having her do this week help a little. We shall see. She had three days with no pain in her legs this week! That's pretty awesome! And slept for 11 hours one night! It stinks that her pain is coming back, but we are trying to focus on the good! We don't want to feed the negative feedback loop. 6-16-22
DATE NIGHT
We had our date night a day early this week, knowing Friday was going to be at the Fairy Tale Festival. It was a last minute idea so we didn't have anything planned yet. We ended up going to Jimmy Johns for unwiches and then to see Jurassic Dominion. I liked seeing it a second time and I think Nate really liked the movie. It was a good recharge for us. 6-16-22
FAIRYTALE FESTIVAL AND DINOSAURS
Grandma Ruthie invited us to go to Thanksgiving Point and experience the Fairy Tale Festival with her and Meg and Sierra. Sadie was in her "beautiful" butterfly dress that she picked out at the DI and wandered around looking at everything with so much pleasure for the most part. She wasn't in love with a lot of the normal fun things like the bouncy house, but she liked making her own crown and wand and got pictures with Belle and Ariel. She got to pet a unicorn and I think the thing that topped it all off were all the "cute" dinosaurs all over the gardens! She LOVED the dinos. It was so funny. She knew Jack was loving them too :). She wanted to go walk up to each one, reach her hand up, think about what they could do... it was hilarious. But I think she did like the fairy stuff too. And her snow cone :). It would have been nice to have been with Nate the entire time, he was driving Grandma, Erika, Jack and Noah in the golf cart, so we only saw them for a bit. But it was nice talking with Meg and Sierra and spending the time with Brad, Luke, Molly and Sadie. Fun kids. We went to the restaurant at the water tower for dinner and waited almost a whole hour for our food! It was pretty good food. And then we came home. Fun day! We watched Father of the Bride II for our movie night. Jack laughed REALLY hard when George is sleepy- made me laugh! 6-17-22
TREK PREP
We've been doing a lot of prepping/shopping for trek this week. Found some good hats at Walmart that I'm pretty happy with. I think they will be able to use them as fishing hats after. The DI didn't have a huge selection but we did get a few shirts and pants for some of the boys there, then Good will had the rest. We got buckets and stuff for first aid kits and finally were ready to pack on Saturday. I'm SO excited for my boys to have this experience! It was one of my favorite, most spiritual experiences, so I hope they are able to get something wonderful out of it as well. 6-18-22
FATHER'S DAY HIKE
We wanted to do something special with Nate for Father's Day but he works on Sunday and frankly, there's not much to do on Sundays anyway, so we had him skip work Saturday instead! We were able to go up to the Deuel Creek South Trailhead and went on a pretty fun hike up to see a tiny waterfall and then further to go on the rope swing! It was a lot of fun! I loved watching Sadie experience everything- minus that she was pretty slow. She had to pick up all the loose rocks within her reach and stomp on all the bugs. She had fun talking with Bradley and playing with him at the rope swing. She liked throwing rocks and gravel and really anything into the river which was right there next to us pretty much the whole hike. It was a really great hike! I was surprised! I have never been up there for some reason. It was a really hot day and the hike didn't really feel all that hot to me. It was a little windy and we got sprinkled on a little, but it was really perfect! Charity came which was a lot of fun! I was glad to have her there. Brad would tell you all about Sadie's little adventures and all the funny stuff she said. Molly said some pretty funny things to him too while riding on his shoulders all the way down. She had a good time and even braved the swing! Luke, Noah and Erika stayed up in the front with Charity- I did get little moments with each of them and we got to talk a little, so that was nice. Jack was a trooper- no complaints from him, just anxious to get to the swing. He did great! And I was pretty proud of Molly and Sadie both for walking all the way there! They both got carried down, but hey! All the way up is pretty good! We mostly didn't want it to take too long to get down. We had noticed on the way up how narrow the trail was and that in muddy/rainy weather it would be really dangerous, so with the sprinkling up at the swing, I thought it would be a good idea to say a little prayer that the rain could hold out! It was a nice little moment. We did make it down safely which was awesome! We got a few minutes of a picnic next to the car, but the wind just totally picked up and kind of turned us all off. We hopped in the car and came home. It was probably good because we needed to deliver trek gear and Noah wanted to go to his friend's house. It was such a fun evening though! I think we need to do more of that stuff! I loved it! Happy Father's Day, Nate! 6-18-22
FATHER'S DAY
We should call it Father's Hour, because that's really all he got! We did our usual breakfast in bed, shower him with gifts. Brad did an amazing job on the omelet and I somehow screwed up the whole pan of bacon. Not sure how! But the omelet was amazing! Everyone gave him gifts- Sadie had already given him some sour lollipops earlier in the week after we got home from shopping. We hadn't explained to her how she was supposed to wait. So she gave him the Mango Habanero beef jerky I had picked out and the Big League Chew gum. Then Molly gave him the book she made him which was so cute!! I was glad she thought of that. Jack gave him some sour candy and some beef jerky. Erika got him a window hummingbird feeder and some caramels. Noah got him a Jazz hat. Luke got him a bottle game and Bradley got him a Corn Hole game. Kelly got him a thread wallet. We missed Charity. Things just aren't the same without her. I think he liked all of his gifts. After that it was time to get ready for church! Father's day was basically over. Kind of a bummer. 6-19-22
CHOIR/PRIMARY SINGING
Molly has been so excited for this day! She kept telling me, "I get to sing with you!" So you can imagine the distress when she found out I wasn't going to be able to go because Jack had woken up with a tummy ache. Thanks to Kelly, though, we were able to finagle things a little. She went to Sacrament meeting with everyone, took the sacrament, and then came home to trade me and I was able to go and sing with the choir/primary. We sang Child's Prayer! So beautiful! I had just poured my heart out to the Lord on my quiet quick drive to the church, so it really jerked on my heart strings when we were singing the words, "Speak, He is listening". I needed that. I got to listen to Shalane's talk and then came home to relieve Kelly. 6-19-22
FATHER'S DAY BBQ WITH GRANDPA HATCH
We went up to my dad's for his Father's Day bbq. It was really fun! Everyone was really hyper for some reason. There was a lot of chaos and some of us felt overstimulated, but it was a lot of fun. Jo grilled up burgers and hot dogs and we gave my dad his water balloon launcher and tootsie rolls :). I think next year I want to try to do the dinner for him instead of him spoiling us. Seems kind of weird that I haven't thought of that til now, but with Jo emphasizing that the whole time... I just want to be better. Steve seemed off... not sure why. But I missed him. Heidi and her kids were there. We reminisced about Trek :). It's funny that we were on the same trek and she hated it and I loved it! HA! Funny stuff. 6-19-22
TREK
We said goodbye to the boys early Monday morning. They were all ready to go and totally feeling pumped- I think :). It was raining a little so the drop off at the stake center was inside instead of outside, so I just hugged them and they hopped out of the car. I have said more than enough about trek and how much I loved it and they've heard testimonials from everyone else on the planet about how horrible it will be, so I think they know it all depends on their attitudes :). I can't wait to hear about it all! 6-20-22
LITTLE KID FUN
While the big boys were off on Trek we decided we needed to have some little kid fun :). So Monday, first thing, we ran to Hobby Lobby and got some crafts to work on. Erika got a pain by number- a really hard one that she may have bit off more than she can chew, but she is feeling the motivation to complete the challenge :). Jack and Kelly got shiny scratch art, like Kelly used to love when she was Jack's age. Molly got a paint by number as well, on an age appropriate level. She worked on the practice page the whole time :). Sadie got a basket/purse thing full of tea set stuff :). I got her a little paint book. It was fun to watch everyone work on their projects! I can't wait to see the finished products!
After some crafting we all took a little break. I even got a tiny nap. Kelly had taken off to help a perfect stranger and take her down to Sandy after her car broke down. Such a cool girl. We had Kelly's appointment and then when we all got home, we wanted to have a picnic in the park but couldn't decide what food, so we just went to the park! Barnes park was a nice little outing. Sadie let me swing her almost the entire time we were there, which made it really easy for Ty to come over and talk to me the whole time :). He's so funny. The bigger kids played on the spinning toy almost exclusively and then sat around. Jack wasn't feeling great- probably from all the spinning. We grabbed some Jimmy Johns and Wendy's on the way home and had our picnic at our table. I tried.
Tuesday was our bike ride day! We took the scenic route to the Hokulia which wasn't open for another half hour, so we rode over to Heritage park (by the freeway) to kill some time and then back to the Hokulia. There was this crazy mom at the park who did not stop talking. I know I shouldn't judge people, but these kinds of moms are overstimulating for me even. Then I noticed that her child could barely talk and I really think it's because she didn't let him! She was finishing his sentences for him, answering before he finished... it was kind of sad! She seemed like a good mom, she loved her kids and was taking very good care of them. It wasn't anything horrible, just an observation. Every mom has her flaws. Mine was grumpiness that day- I had started out really grumpy for some reason. Thankfully, the Lord answered my prayer and we were able to go on this bike ride with no hang ups, everyone was safe, and we didn't have any flat tires! Huge!! I should have given a prayer of thanks. Some kids had wanted snow cones, some had wanted ice cream, so we got snow cones with ice cream in them to appease the masses :). I'm learning that it's not always possible or necessary to please everyone with every activity we set out to do and that has been a good lesson! Once in a while I do try though- this one worked! Jack and Sadie shared one, Molly and Erika shared one- I got a sugar free coconut one that looked like I was eating just ice :). It was pretty yummy though! The ride home was hard and hot, but we made it! I loved being Molly's cheerleader on that last leg. She is one tough little girl. She had actually ridden her bike the whole time we were at the park as well, so she was probably pretty tired. When we got home we rested a little, had some lunch. It was great! Nate came home and we decided to hit the splash pad! Perfect thing to do while the big kids were gone :). The little ones loved it! And Nate and I got to sit against the bathroom wall and talk :). It was great! Sadie particularly loved this activity and didn't want to leave. We will have to go there some more with her! None of our kids have loved splash pads much, so I was pleasantly surprised. It was only 80 degrees so she was kind of freezing the whole time, so we had to get in the towel and warm up a bunch :). When we got home we roasted hot dogs and S'mores for dinner! So fun! And then a movie night to top it off! We couldn't watch Beethoven like I had wanted, but we found a movie called Home Team that was pretty fun.
I've loved this time with the little guys. It's been pretty easy. We've gone to bed at decent times and we're waking up at a decent time. I have been extra proud of Erika for getting up and going running with the cross country kids Monday and Wednesday without her brothers OR Kate being there! What a cool girl! She did Vita for the first time on Monday, in the rain, by herself! Well, she did make a new friend who is going into 8th grade who she was able to run with for part of it. She had made a goal to run at least 5 miles and she did it!! She loved it! She keeps saying what a great run it is! I'm so proud of her!! We decided it was a good time for a trip to Seaquest on Wednesday. This ended up being a lot of fun. There were more people there than there has been in the past. Looked like a couple really big birthday groups or something. But we still managed to have some fun. Sadie keeps us moving, but we did stop and watch the iguana, lizards and turtles for quite a while and watched them playing around, climbing on each other, swimming, trying to get up on the edge, falling in the water- it was pretty entertaining! Molly made sure that we spent plenty of time with the tickly fish :). We came home and had some corn dogs and then rested until it was time to pick up the boys! We were all very ready for them to come home! 6-20-22--6-22-22
TREK
I am so happy to be posting about Trek! For years we have begged and fought for this opportunity! It finally came! I was happy my boys all got to go. We waited til the last minute to get things ready but it worked. They were all set to have positive attitudes and just enjoy the experience. I was so proud of them and their willingness to do this. Most kids whined and complained about it first, but not these boys!! They said it was pretty hard, even though they are very physically fit, but they had a great time. I need to have them type up something and talk about the experience. It was fun to see them all dressed up and dirty and tired when they got home. I loved hearing all about it. Made me even more jealous! 6-20-22--6-22-22
I am so happy to be posting about Trek! For years we have begged and fought for this opportunity! It finally came! I was happy my boys all got to go. We waited til the last minute to get things ready but it worked. They were all set to have positive attitudes and just enjoy the experience. I was so proud of them and their willingness to do this. Most kids whined and complained about it first, but not these boys!! They said it was pretty hard, even though they are very physically fit, but they had a great time. I need to have them type up something and talk about the experience. It was fun to see them all dressed up and dirty and tired when they got home. I loved hearing all about it. Made me even more jealous! 6-20-22--6-22-22
SUMMER AT LIBERTY PARK
It has been three years since we saw each other. We finally took the time to meet up at Liberty park Thursday. It was really good to see her. I'm happy to hear that she is happy. We talked the entire time while the kids were totally awesome. I was really grateful for their help and that they were such awesome kids. Noah was working so he missed it. 6-23-22
It has been three years since we saw each other. We finally took the time to meet up at Liberty park Thursday. It was really good to see her. I'm happy to hear that she is happy. We talked the entire time while the kids were totally awesome. I was really grateful for their help and that they were such awesome kids. Noah was working so he missed it. 6-23-22
TEMPLE WITH THE MAYS
We got to go do endowments with the Mays on Thursday. We all did Brian's biological family names! That was so awesome! I loved being there and LOVED that we got to do that for his family. It is always nice to be in the temple too. We're so excited that they are not longer requiring appointments. 6-23-22
We got to go do endowments with the Mays on Thursday. We all did Brian's biological family names! That was so awesome! I loved being there and LOVED that we got to do that for his family. It is always nice to be in the temple too. We're so excited that they are not longer requiring appointments. 6-23-22
LIFETIME COMMERCIAL
Bradley, Luke, Noah, Erika, and Jack this time, got to go do a lifetime commercial. They wanted it to look like Jack growing up to Bradley's age. We got up bright and early to go over to West Kaysville to stand there and wait for the camera guy's cousins, but the kids all say it was worth it :). They all make big bucks doing these! In fact, Brad was asked to do one on Thursday night and then it was cancelled but he still gets the $100 for it! Pretty awesome! Can't wait to see it! 6-24-22
Bradley, Luke, Noah, Erika, and Jack this time, got to go do a lifetime commercial. They wanted it to look like Jack growing up to Bradley's age. We got up bright and early to go over to West Kaysville to stand there and wait for the camera guy's cousins, but the kids all say it was worth it :). They all make big bucks doing these! In fact, Brad was asked to do one on Thursday night and then it was cancelled but he still gets the $100 for it! Pretty awesome! Can't wait to see it! 6-24-22
BRAD'S WISDOM
Bradley finally got his wisdom teeth pulled!! We were very anxious for this and so glad to get it over with. It was such a fun adventure! Bradley was of course hilarious. I thought his performance before falling asleep was almost as fun as the post-surgery antics. But he was a lot of fun. Couldn't hardly get out of the chair, we were all dying laughing. Dangling his bloody gauze in front of my face while I'm driving. He was very entertaining. We all watched the videos of him all day and sent them around to the girls. Lots of fun. We were lucky he didn't have too many issues. Everything healed really quickly and without too much trouble. He only took pain meds for two days. No swelling. It was pretty awesome how well it went. We'll give Dr. Richardson the credit for that :). Brad's pretty tough too, I think that's part of it. I think he wishes he could have milked a little more. Too bad. He'll learn :). 6-24-22
Bradley finally got his wisdom teeth pulled!! We were very anxious for this and so glad to get it over with. It was such a fun adventure! Bradley was of course hilarious. I thought his performance before falling asleep was almost as fun as the post-surgery antics. But he was a lot of fun. Couldn't hardly get out of the chair, we were all dying laughing. Dangling his bloody gauze in front of my face while I'm driving. He was very entertaining. We all watched the videos of him all day and sent them around to the girls. Lots of fun. We were lucky he didn't have too many issues. Everything healed really quickly and without too much trouble. He only took pain meds for two days. No swelling. It was pretty awesome how well it went. We'll give Dr. Richardson the credit for that :). Brad's pretty tough too, I think that's part of it. I think he wishes he could have milked a little more. Too bad. He'll learn :). 6-24-22
DATE NIGHT
We squeezed in a date night, leaving Luke in charge of Brad and his pain meds. They were all so good to let us go. We need those date nights! It's survival. We went to Texas Roadhouse and then to see Elvis. Pretty entertaining movie, I just think I get too into it and feel so bad for the person and their crappy decisions that ruin their lives. It was pretty intense. Good show though. 6-24-22
We squeezed in a date night, leaving Luke in charge of Brad and his pain meds. They were all so good to let us go. We need those date nights! It's survival. We went to Texas Roadhouse and then to see Elvis. Pretty entertaining movie, I just think I get too into it and feel so bad for the person and their crappy decisions that ruin their lives. It was pretty intense. Good show though. 6-24-22
STOWELL FAMILY REUNION
Becky was in charge of the reunion this year. She did a fantastic job! It was short and sweet and very simple. We all made posters of what's going on in our lives right now. Ours was huge :). Nate did the food. We all went, ate, talked for a minute, had some questions for the kids to win prizes. Everyone loved the squishmallows. Then it was time for us to go to the Air Show. It was fun to see everyone. I talked to Jeff and Natalie for a bit. Kathy and I caught up. It was great! 6-25-22
AIR SHOW!!!!
We had to sacrifice some of the Air Show this year for the reunion, but it was still amazing :). We parked at a small shopping center just north of Northridge cuz it was full, and WALKED all the way there. It was a long walk, but not too bad really. We found Kelly and Clayton pretty quickly and then wandered around a little while we waited for the Thunderbirds. We climbed into a helicopter and looked at a tank. We got to look at all the F-18s, F-16s, F-35s... so cool :). We LOVED the Thunderbirds! I was shocked that even Sadie was having fun with it! She didn't like the volume, but other than that, she was pretty happy. We all loved calling what they were going to do next. It's just so thrilling. I loved seeing Erika enjoying it for the first time really. She was very excited :). It's just too cool to not be really. Then it was a long walk back to the car, but we did have Kelly. We all crashed when we got home. Nate headed off to work. 6-25-22
YW
I got to go to Erika's class on Sunday when Leslie asked if I'd come sit in her class and then Mandi showed up but Jeri still wasn't there to go in with Miranda :). So I got to be there for her Law of Chastity lesson :). Pretty great! Miranda did a great job. Erika was the only one making any comments. I was proud of her and her ability to respond. She's a good girl. I love the YW. I wish I could be in there so bad!! 6-26-22
I got to go to Erika's class on Sunday when Leslie asked if I'd come sit in her class and then Mandi showed up but Jeri still wasn't there to go in with Miranda :). So I got to be there for her Law of Chastity lesson :). Pretty great! Miranda did a great job. Erika was the only one making any comments. I was proud of her and her ability to respond. She's a good girl. I love the YW. I wish I could be in there so bad!! 6-26-22
KELLY SIX DAYS
Kelly has gone six days with no pain!!! We are all on pins and needles wanting this to be a new permanent thing. She had her appointment and Dr. Smith didn't even know what to work on. It's so crazy!! Hopefully this can be something consistent. 6-27-22
Kelly has gone six days with no pain!!! We are all on pins and needles wanting this to be a new permanent thing. She had her appointment and Dr. Smith didn't even know what to work on. It's so crazy!! Hopefully this can be something consistent. 6-27-22
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH MEETING
This was dumb. I don't know why I didn't realize what it was going to be. It was me, talking about how stupid I am, then Chet getting up and scrutinizing my stupidity and analyzing what I should have done differently for everyone to hear. So great. Dave owes me. That was dumb. 6-27-22
BRAD WISDOM TEETH FOLLOW-UP
I have been so thankful for uneventful Brad's surgery was. He only needed pain meds for a couple days, no swelling, no other issues. It's been so easy! Well, I'm sure it was hard for Brad still, but really, pretty mild and thankfully no problems. He agrees, he should have milked those few days a little more :). His follow-up proved that everything is well and good! We feel very blessed. 6-28-22
MAYNES MAUGHAN CAMP- MARSH LAKE VERSION
We had another successful M&M camp this year! So much preparation and so much help from everyone. I was really grateful for everyone's help. We got the house all cleaned up like I like and all packed and ready to go by noon! I think that's a record for us. We did stop at Walmart and Arby's on the way, but we made it. And it wasn't as far as I thought it was going to be! That was a pleasant surprise, but also kind of a bummer since that was part of the reason Charity and Kelly weren't able to join us. But we got up there just after it had rained. We had the entire campground to ourselves! This was a first! Got all set up and the Maughans showed up. We had hot dogs for dinner with S'mores to follow. The guys all took turns going down to the lake that was a two second walk from our camp to fish. The kids all played and explored. It was kind of fun to be at a different camp this year and I really loved being so close to the lake. Usually the guys have to drive away and be gone for hours to go fishing, so this was great. That first night was a wet one. It rained off and on for almost the entire night. I couldn't believe how much rain came down all night. Poor Sadie was in the one spot that was leaking a little so halfway through the night we had to modify her sleeping arrangements. Plus, she needed me to put her back in her bag (she kept calling it a bean bag and then correcting herself. It was so funny in the night when we were both so groggy) like every two minutes. Plus, that first night, she was still feeling a little feverish. Kind of a bummer. I had a cool moment when I went to the bathroom that first night, I looked up at the sky just as I was climbing back into the tent and I was so glad I did! The big dipper was just glaring down at me!! SO big, SO beautiful, SO bright!! It was amazing!! It was this cool little "I love you" from Heavenly Father and for the next half hour all I could do was talk to Heavenly Father about how I want to be His. I want to be here for Him and do what He wants me to do. His blessings stood out in my mind and all that I have been given in this life flooded through my thoughts. It was incredible. I really loved it. And then to top it off I got this cool little answer to prayer. While it was raining, the wind started to pick up and after our Moab trip last year, I just wasn't sure our tent could take the rain and the wind. I just had to ask Heavenly Father to hold off on the wind. I didn't mind toughing out the rain. We need rain and I wanted Him to know I was okay with a little challenge, but please no wind. And the wind went away immediately. It was pretty cool. I loved it. And the entire time we were there, there was never anything that even remotely resembled a gust of wind! I was so grateful. So that first night was a challenge, but worth it :). The next day it was nice for the morning. We really wished we'd taken advantage of the sunshine. I did sneak in a little walk with Sadie where we went around the campground loop and walked along all the curbing and railroad ties to our heart's content. She was so happy it was so cute! But of course by 10:00 it started raining and it rained just like it had all night, off and on with big bursts and then small sprinkles. It was really crazy to watch the lake and see the rain coming. We still managed to have some fun, talking, snacking, the kids weren't afraid to play in the rain. It was a little cold, so I stayed bundled up mostly, but we really made the most of it. The kids braved the water during one of the breaks in the rain and got out on the paddleboards and went to the rope swing. I was glad they could go, but knew the rain was going to come back. They made it back just as it was starting back up again. They had a lot of fun on the rope swing. We were all glad Brad knows all the secrets of Marsh Lake from his three years of XC camp! We had a very wet camp by the end of the day but we were able to build a fire and cook our taco meat for Taco salad dinner. That was a relief. We had hot chocolate that night too. Everyone was pretty tired and kind of anxious for the night I think. We went to bed kind of early. After oohing and aahing over the beautiful sunset. All the clouds made it so incredible!! I got some pictures that might almost do it justice. I will have to check them out. That night it rained, but definitely not as much as the first night. In fact, I never heard any more after about 11:00. So that was nice. Still had to put Sadie back in her bag every two minutes, but it was okay. I was really happy with all the time I'd been able to spend with my kiddos and talking. Watching them do boondoggle and build things with sticks and rocks, and I hope I never forget cute Molly, scooting her little headlamp light along her book to read "Princess and the Pauper" before going to sleep. I really love how camping brings me back to the basics. I need that so much. Friday was a lot nicer weather-wise. We were able to go down to the lake for a little bit. I even got out on the paddleboard with Sadie for a few seconds. It was nice. I didn't realize it at the time, but I got a little sunburn too! Crazy stuff. We sat there, Emily, Rachel, Jonah, Sadie and I with the men fishing while all the other kids went off to the rope swing! It was a nice time. I really loved when Nate sacrificingly took Sadie with him to fish off the "dock" so that I could get a little break from her. They were adorable to watch too. I got to take a lot of pictures this camp out that was fun! I miss doing that. Unfortunately, the fun did have to come to an end, in the form of another rain storm. We were glad the kids made it back shortly after the rain started. We hunkered down and took some time to do our tie dye shirts that day as well. It was a good day. We had dinner up at the Maughan's camp that night, yummy fajitas! So good! And some woofums to follow. Then this is when the craziest part of camp happened. We had been sprinkled on for a while at the Maughan's camp and Sadie and Molly had finally worn me down that we needed to go down to our tent, so we left. I set Sadie down in the tent, got my pjs on, and then what felt like an eternity, but was really only about two minutes, we embarked on the crazy ride of everyone coming back from Maughan's, trying to get into the tent as the rain really picked up, but the zipper was some how broken. Then the closest flash of lightning and the loudest clap of thunder we had experienced the whole week broke the sky right then! It was so startling, I saw Nate duck even! Poor Sadie burst into screaming tears, wo which Erika stepped up to comfort her since I was still working on the zipper with brad on the inside and Luke holding the umbrella on the outside- it was nuts!! For the entire campout, I felt like I had set the tent up wrong because we were using the round door which I hate. So everytime I opened it I was annoyed with the zipper- it just doesn't work as good. So you can imagine my frustration when now, the two zippers were not longer meeting at the bottom, they were both at the top and the one was no longer on both tracks, so it wasn't closing the tent anymore! And at that moment, it was actually stuck, so we were looking at having it open all night, letting in all the cold and rain all night long. Not okay! So anyway- luckily! And probably not luck at all, but a blessing from the Lord, Bradley and I got it figured out. No more using that door, but it was shut! The timing for that zipper to break was impeccable in the worst way. Then as soon as we got inside, I realized Erika still needed some ibuprofen for her tail bone and I still needed to go to the bathroom, so I grabbed the umbrella, slipped on Luke's crocs (what a blessing it was that those were there!) and trudged out in the very pouring rain to get the ibuprofen, go potty, grab my water bottle, fill it up, and some granola bars for Erika to take them with, all while walking through huge puddles of water! It was kind of crazy and I knew if I just waited the rain would let up, but I just wanted to get those things done. I did just fine, got back and all was well. Erika was relieved to have the ibuprofen and I was able to climb in my (Nate's actually- I totally stole his and it was amazing!) sleeping bag. And when I got back we had this cool bonding moment with the whole family, listening to the loudest rain I think we'd had all week, and we were all safe and all happy. We realized that this is really all we need. The Spirit was really strong that night as we all laid down to sleep. I was so grateful Nate had thought to put the tarp down for the girls' sleeping bags to not get as wet, and all was well! Such a cool calm in the storm. I was very relieved at the thought that our next night would be in our own dry beds at home. And the rest of the night was pretty uneventful minus the dumb blinking light from some neighboring campers. I had seriously contemplated grabbing a stick and knocking out the light. Lucky for them it was cold outside. We had gone almost our whole campout with no neighbors and then that last day it felt like the cavalry showed up! RV after RV came barreling through the place. We were disappointed, but we knew it was coming. So the peace and quiet was nice while it lasted. I thought it was funny that Kate mumbled under her breath that her "mom is not going to be happy" as the dogs came frolicking through our camp, and I totally thought it had been one of my kids that said it. So funny. So we woke up bright and early and packed up camp in record time so that we'd have plenty of time for marshmallow wars! This was a highlight for a lot of us. We had a cool area to work with and everyone stayed in good spirits I think. We had a lot of fun! I loved the firing squad on Bradley at the end. It's always such a good time with the Maughans. We feel so blessed to have such good neighbors who we love to be with and trust with our family. Their kids are adorable and we all just have so much fun together. It's so great! We decided on the way home we are going to have a hoodie design contest and vote on our hoodie design and then actually make one next year!! I can't wait!! Should be fun :). We did great on the drive home, grabbed pizza as we got into Layton. Nate unloaded the trailer into the backyard and then took off for work. It was a long evening of all of us feeling really tired. I wimped out and we had microwaved hot dogs for dinner. But it was good. A nice ending to a nice week.
We had another successful M&M camp this year! So much preparation and so much help from everyone. I was really grateful for everyone's help. We got the house all cleaned up like I like and all packed and ready to go by noon! I think that's a record for us. We did stop at Walmart and Arby's on the way, but we made it. And it wasn't as far as I thought it was going to be! That was a pleasant surprise, but also kind of a bummer since that was part of the reason Charity and Kelly weren't able to join us. But we got up there just after it had rained. We had the entire campground to ourselves! This was a first! Got all set up and the Maughans showed up. We had hot dogs for dinner with S'mores to follow. The guys all took turns going down to the lake that was a two second walk from our camp to fish. The kids all played and explored. It was kind of fun to be at a different camp this year and I really loved being so close to the lake. Usually the guys have to drive away and be gone for hours to go fishing, so this was great. That first night was a wet one. It rained off and on for almost the entire night. I couldn't believe how much rain came down all night. Poor Sadie was in the one spot that was leaking a little so halfway through the night we had to modify her sleeping arrangements. Plus, she needed me to put her back in her bag (she kept calling it a bean bag and then correcting herself. It was so funny in the night when we were both so groggy) like every two minutes. Plus, that first night, she was still feeling a little feverish. Kind of a bummer. I had a cool moment when I went to the bathroom that first night, I looked up at the sky just as I was climbing back into the tent and I was so glad I did! The big dipper was just glaring down at me!! SO big, SO beautiful, SO bright!! It was amazing!! It was this cool little "I love you" from Heavenly Father and for the next half hour all I could do was talk to Heavenly Father about how I want to be His. I want to be here for Him and do what He wants me to do. His blessings stood out in my mind and all that I have been given in this life flooded through my thoughts. It was incredible. I really loved it. And then to top it off I got this cool little answer to prayer. While it was raining, the wind started to pick up and after our Moab trip last year, I just wasn't sure our tent could take the rain and the wind. I just had to ask Heavenly Father to hold off on the wind. I didn't mind toughing out the rain. We need rain and I wanted Him to know I was okay with a little challenge, but please no wind. And the wind went away immediately. It was pretty cool. I loved it. And the entire time we were there, there was never anything that even remotely resembled a gust of wind! I was so grateful. So that first night was a challenge, but worth it :). The next day it was nice for the morning. We really wished we'd taken advantage of the sunshine. I did sneak in a little walk with Sadie where we went around the campground loop and walked along all the curbing and railroad ties to our heart's content. She was so happy it was so cute! But of course by 10:00 it started raining and it rained just like it had all night, off and on with big bursts and then small sprinkles. It was really crazy to watch the lake and see the rain coming. We still managed to have some fun, talking, snacking, the kids weren't afraid to play in the rain. It was a little cold, so I stayed bundled up mostly, but we really made the most of it. The kids braved the water during one of the breaks in the rain and got out on the paddleboards and went to the rope swing. I was glad they could go, but knew the rain was going to come back. They made it back just as it was starting back up again. They had a lot of fun on the rope swing. We were all glad Brad knows all the secrets of Marsh Lake from his three years of XC camp! We had a very wet camp by the end of the day but we were able to build a fire and cook our taco meat for Taco salad dinner. That was a relief. We had hot chocolate that night too. Everyone was pretty tired and kind of anxious for the night I think. We went to bed kind of early. After oohing and aahing over the beautiful sunset. All the clouds made it so incredible!! I got some pictures that might almost do it justice. I will have to check them out. That night it rained, but definitely not as much as the first night. In fact, I never heard any more after about 11:00. So that was nice. Still had to put Sadie back in her bag every two minutes, but it was okay. I was really happy with all the time I'd been able to spend with my kiddos and talking. Watching them do boondoggle and build things with sticks and rocks, and I hope I never forget cute Molly, scooting her little headlamp light along her book to read "Princess and the Pauper" before going to sleep. I really love how camping brings me back to the basics. I need that so much. Friday was a lot nicer weather-wise. We were able to go down to the lake for a little bit. I even got out on the paddleboard with Sadie for a few seconds. It was nice. I didn't realize it at the time, but I got a little sunburn too! Crazy stuff. We sat there, Emily, Rachel, Jonah, Sadie and I with the men fishing while all the other kids went off to the rope swing! It was a nice time. I really loved when Nate sacrificingly took Sadie with him to fish off the "dock" so that I could get a little break from her. They were adorable to watch too. I got to take a lot of pictures this camp out that was fun! I miss doing that. Unfortunately, the fun did have to come to an end, in the form of another rain storm. We were glad the kids made it back shortly after the rain started. We hunkered down and took some time to do our tie dye shirts that day as well. It was a good day. We had dinner up at the Maughan's camp that night, yummy fajitas! So good! And some woofums to follow. Then this is when the craziest part of camp happened. We had been sprinkled on for a while at the Maughan's camp and Sadie and Molly had finally worn me down that we needed to go down to our tent, so we left. I set Sadie down in the tent, got my pjs on, and then what felt like an eternity, but was really only about two minutes, we embarked on the crazy ride of everyone coming back from Maughan's, trying to get into the tent as the rain really picked up, but the zipper was some how broken. Then the closest flash of lightning and the loudest clap of thunder we had experienced the whole week broke the sky right then! It was so startling, I saw Nate duck even! Poor Sadie burst into screaming tears, wo which Erika stepped up to comfort her since I was still working on the zipper with brad on the inside and Luke holding the umbrella on the outside- it was nuts!! For the entire campout, I felt like I had set the tent up wrong because we were using the round door which I hate. So everytime I opened it I was annoyed with the zipper- it just doesn't work as good. So you can imagine my frustration when now, the two zippers were not longer meeting at the bottom, they were both at the top and the one was no longer on both tracks, so it wasn't closing the tent anymore! And at that moment, it was actually stuck, so we were looking at having it open all night, letting in all the cold and rain all night long. Not okay! So anyway- luckily! And probably not luck at all, but a blessing from the Lord, Bradley and I got it figured out. No more using that door, but it was shut! The timing for that zipper to break was impeccable in the worst way. Then as soon as we got inside, I realized Erika still needed some ibuprofen for her tail bone and I still needed to go to the bathroom, so I grabbed the umbrella, slipped on Luke's crocs (what a blessing it was that those were there!) and trudged out in the very pouring rain to get the ibuprofen, go potty, grab my water bottle, fill it up, and some granola bars for Erika to take them with, all while walking through huge puddles of water! It was kind of crazy and I knew if I just waited the rain would let up, but I just wanted to get those things done. I did just fine, got back and all was well. Erika was relieved to have the ibuprofen and I was able to climb in my (Nate's actually- I totally stole his and it was amazing!) sleeping bag. And when I got back we had this cool bonding moment with the whole family, listening to the loudest rain I think we'd had all week, and we were all safe and all happy. We realized that this is really all we need. The Spirit was really strong that night as we all laid down to sleep. I was so grateful Nate had thought to put the tarp down for the girls' sleeping bags to not get as wet, and all was well! Such a cool calm in the storm. I was very relieved at the thought that our next night would be in our own dry beds at home. And the rest of the night was pretty uneventful minus the dumb blinking light from some neighboring campers. I had seriously contemplated grabbing a stick and knocking out the light. Lucky for them it was cold outside. We had gone almost our whole campout with no neighbors and then that last day it felt like the cavalry showed up! RV after RV came barreling through the place. We were disappointed, but we knew it was coming. So the peace and quiet was nice while it lasted. I thought it was funny that Kate mumbled under her breath that her "mom is not going to be happy" as the dogs came frolicking through our camp, and I totally thought it had been one of my kids that said it. So funny. So we woke up bright and early and packed up camp in record time so that we'd have plenty of time for marshmallow wars! This was a highlight for a lot of us. We had a cool area to work with and everyone stayed in good spirits I think. We had a lot of fun! I loved the firing squad on Bradley at the end. It's always such a good time with the Maughans. We feel so blessed to have such good neighbors who we love to be with and trust with our family. Their kids are adorable and we all just have so much fun together. It's so great! We decided on the way home we are going to have a hoodie design contest and vote on our hoodie design and then actually make one next year!! I can't wait!! Should be fun :). We did great on the drive home, grabbed pizza as we got into Layton. Nate unloaded the trailer into the backyard and then took off for work. It was a long evening of all of us feeling really tired. I wimped out and we had microwaved hot dogs for dinner. But it was good. A nice ending to a nice week.
Some other highlights:
Erika's answer to prayer when she and Molly were on the paddle board and got scared from the thunder so they said a prayer and the thunder stopped until they got back.
Noah talking to Erika about life in Junior High and filling her in on all the cool stuff as we were falling asleep.
Nate and I watching Mission Impossible 1 on his phone with his earbuds pausing it like every two seconds unless our heads were right next to each other :).
6-29-22--7-2-22
8 DAYS!!!
Kelly has gone EIGHT DAYS with no CRPS pain!! (she's had major sunburn and a headache a lot of the time, but the CRPS pain was gone!) Seems like we're making some progress!! 6-29-22
Kelly has gone EIGHT DAYS with no CRPS pain!! (she's had major sunburn and a headache a lot of the time, but the CRPS pain was gone!) Seems like we're making some progress!! 6-29-22
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