Biking, Wedding and Zions

I got up nice and early today and when you get up early, you get to see the SUNRISE!!! Beautiful! 

I got up because Corey, Wes, Joseph and I had plans to go on a morning bike ride at Corner Canyon, with plans to be back home in time for Joseph to be able to get ready for Talmage's wedding. 

It all went according to plan. I dropped them off at Potato Hill, then I drove back to the cycle park with the car and parked it there. Then I got down my bike and headed up the Corner Canyon Access Trail, hoping to meet up with them somewhere. I mostly wanted to get in a workout anyway, so it was great, and I saw them coming down when I was looking at the info kiosk on the Corner Canyon Access Trail 

and Bonneville Shoreline Trail intersection. They said it was a lot of fun, and then we headed back to the car. I took a Rush access and got on the Limelight trail and that was a lot of fun. I'm excited to come back here later and explore more!

The reception tonight was very nice. Joseph and his friends all decorated Talmage and Cami's car - Joseph on the left with a blue balloon, Emily in the pink next to him. 

We were at the reception for a while visiting with Joseph's friend Scotty and his wife Xani who are expecting their first child, exciting! It was fun to talk to them and we hope to visit with them again. Abi came with us to the reception, and then we were a little late taking her to a friend's house. She needed to catch up with her friends since she was gone all week at camp, so Corey took her over and waited for her at his parent's house, I took Wes to a birthday party for a friend out in West Valley, which he left shortly after arriving because it wasn't a very spirit inviting activity, and he wants to pass the sacrament tomorrow. He called Corey to pick him up, even though I had just left and was probably closer than Corey, but I guess sometimes boys like to share things with their dad. that's ok. Here are some pictures of camp this past week for Abi and Lily.

They had a good sized group of girls.

They did a bit of rappelling

They said it was really fun.

But Abi almost touched a dead bird that was in this water. 

She said it smelled bad. So gross, but fun. Hard work and good recreation. Here are a few pics of Lily -

Feeling more safe at the bottom - 

Lily on another descent:

They also did a bit of hiking to and from the places where they rappelled. 

Zions is a beautiful area!

Lily said she had a good birthday, but that it also didn't feel like a birthday. Good thing she has a few more days of birthday fun. My parents are in Texas today for Kimberly's baptism, so they'll be coming by Monday with their birthday wishes for Wes and Lily.

I'm glad Abi and Lily were able to have such a great experience at camp!

Wesley is 16!!

We've got another 16 year old in our family. It was a real "I'm 16" birthday because today Wes had his driver's test! 

He was pretty nervous. He got there to driver's ed class early enough that he was able to talk to his teacher and, when Wes saw that he was going to be with the "scary" instructor, he mentioned his fear and his teacher switched him to the "nice" instructor, and Wesley says it is because of that that he passed. He's had his permit for two weeks and he passed - not too shabby Wes! He couldn't miss more than 20 points to pass, and he got -18, phew! He was behind after high adventure (oh I still need to share those pictures...) but has been able to get all caught up on his course work, and get all his road and range drives in, and is doing pretty good staying on top of his other classes too (Fitness for Life and BYU math - he's on track from what he reports but I have not verified, so Wes we're taking your word on it!) I picked him up after class and then we went by the Northridge Learning Academy to pick up his Chemistry packet, then we went by Costco for some b-day ice cream. After we unloaded Costco groceries, we hurried to Smith's to get some Wesley's cake. He wanted a sushi cake again.

Make a wish!

His siblings were a little disappointed to not have cake but they were like "Fine... it's your birthday... we'll give it a try..." but Wes was a little protective and didn't want them to have the sushi, HE wanted it all! So I distracted them with some ice cream sandwiches and drumsticks. They all went outside for with their ice cream and Wes was able to enjoy the sushi in peace. (and I had some too, I think my favorite part is the ginger!) I got Wes a Big Joe chair last week as an early b-day present, but I didn't give him anything today. And we didn't put up the birthday banner and I haven't been doing the window decorations lately either... sorry if we were kinda lame. I think Corey's going to take him out tomorrow for stuff. Then the kids worked on their school books. 

Natalie and Daniel are two of my most diligent students. 

Natalie gives herself a sticker for each page she completes. Daniel is still a very careful color-er (4th pic). Corey's parents came by to give him gifts. I didn't get any pictures of him and his b-day presents, but I was going out to take some pictures when we got a surprise - Abi showed up! I thought they were getting back tomorrow! Yay! Lily was lagging behind and had sent a message with Abi to have Sophi come and help her. I said I'd go help. We found Lily.

Everyone is home! 

They didn't know that Lily would show up today and didn't have her b-day gifts, but I guess they had time cause Corey's parents went back home to get Lily's presents. 

I'll share pictures of their camp tomorrow. Welcome back home, girls!

The last thing that Corey and I did for fun today was go out to eat with Joseph and his girlfriend Emily. 

We went to the India House, cause there's never a wait and it has nice ambiance. And because it is delicious, so we enjoyed a very nice visit as we ate good food. Joseph is in town because Talmage is getting married tomorrow, and Emily will be spending the day with Joseph as they attend the sealing and celebration. It's been nice to have him here for a few days! He will be going up to Bear Lake on Tuesday with Emily and her family and spending a few days up there for the 4th of July weekend (their relationship might be getting serious!) So that will be fun for him! 

One last thing that I almost forgot to mention - today we found out that Ethan is finally going to be going to the Dominican Republic! He is going to go on July 8th. We are excited to talk with him on Monday about it. He had known for a few weeks that his high school BFF and current companion, Elder Pugsley/Truman, is leaving for his original assignment to Mexico on July 6th, so yeah, we're happy for him that he'll be able to go and that he'll almost have a year there! It is good news and we are grateful.

Practice and Playing Hair

Peter didn't wake me up late night, which is always a nice surprise. I went to check on him after I got home from the gym, and saw that he had appeared to have woken up Wesley during the night. Wes let me know that Peter had been quite fussy and didn't want to go back to sleep on his bed, but Peter did agree to come up to Wesley's bed, where he proceeded to kick Wesley through out the rest of the night. You can see Wesley sitting in his chair below the loft bed. He did not get a restful night's sleep. 

Thanks for taking the hit for me Wes! 

A good thing about today was that I was able to schedule some appointments for myself at the temple! I'm going to initiatories next Friday morning, and I scheduled an endowment session for the 21st. In April 2020, the Living Prophet President Russell M. Nelson told us:

"When these temporary COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, please schedule regular time to worship and serve in the temple. Every minute of that time will bless you and your family in ways nothing else can. Take time to ponder what you hear and feel when you are there. Ask the Lord to teach you how to open the heavens to bless your life and the lives of those you love and serve."

So "schedule regular time to worship in the temple..." When I first heard that, I thought of looking at my calendar to schedule it in, but really, we have to log in to the website and schedule an appointment now! I thought that was very prophetic! As if I needed more proof that he was a prophet. I've read the book on his life, I know he is the man chosen by Christ to guide the church today. Also, back in October 2019 when he gave his closing remarks, and he said that the April 2020 General Conference would be "not only memorable; it will be unforgettable" my first thought was "Wow, that's a big statement! How is he going to do that? Another commemorative video or musical number?" But President Nelson maybe didn't know how it would happen, just that it would, cause Christ probably told him that. It was God's promise, not President Nelsons and it really did happen! Not just cause of covid, but it's been a launch pad for me into learning so much over this past year, I'm go grateful for all the videos and podcasts made by such able teachers that have enriched my gospel learning. 

So little tangent there, but I'm so glad that the temples are open for proxy work again. :) What else from today... Joseph and Emily came over again, and it's always fun to have them here. although I hope we don't smother her, although it looks like we are in this picture of her sitting on the couch, listening to Sophia read from her 3rd grade book, while Daniel and Natalie both braid  her hair! She is passing the test of tolerance, but we're hoping the little kids don't scare her away! They love Emily!

I was able to get them away when I took Sophi to soccer practice. The little kids came with us. Friendly Daniel started up a conversation with a lady at the park and she was so nice and let Daniel throw the ball to her dog and he stayed over there with her for the whole hour!

The dog's name is Leah. 

I stayed watching Owen and Peter at the park. 

I was the lava monster and they taunted me, daring me to just try getting them - 

After soccer, I took Wes over to my parents' house. They are going out of town this weekend and Wesley is going to go by and take care of their yard and garden while they are gone Friday and Saturday. Each day is a 2 hour watering process. Wesley made a color coded map to help himself remember how long to do each plant and which setting on the hose to use. 

I think he's an architect or landscape artist in the making. While my dad showed Wesley around again, the little boys played with and fought over my mom's sequin pillows. 

Wes's decoration was the last one and thus the one that will be preserved until another grandkid comes over. It said "Wes Is Best". And finally, a cute moment tonight happened when Daniel told Wes his hair looked weird and D was trying to give W advice on how to fix it/ Wes couldn't get it right though. 

Finally Daniel decided to just do it himself. 

Owen helped too. We have a little toddler barber shop, ha.

Cute kids. 

Moments of Summer

Today is Lily's happy birthday. She is 12 years old! She is celebrating today with her friends at camp, and we didn't celebrate here without her, but we did think of her. And we'll celebrate after she gets home this weekend. 

I've been doing good at going to the gym - I'm doing Body For Life style of exercise again, which is alternating weight lifting and cardio every day, and on my weight lifting days, alternating Upper and Lower body. I've mostly been going biking for my cardio. I might never be able to go on a walk or jog again, it's just so fun to bike. This morning I decided to test out distances - I rode to my parents house and was able to say Hi to my Mom!

After exercising, I come home to take Wes to Driver's Ed. When I got back, Corey and Wes were both up and enjoying day 2 of their scripture study together in the morning. Good job boys. I have been letting Wes drive us there to school, and he drives home too when I pick him up. I do NOT like being the one in the passenger seat while he learns, but Corey's done most of the kids, so I'm trying to grin and bear it. I just panic and feel like the kids aren't braking fast enough and I fear we're going to rear end someone. But Wes really hasn't given me any justified reasons to be nervous, I just am. I told him "It's not you, it's me, but knowing that doesn't mean that I like it any better." Maybe it's a control thing - I like to be in control, and I'm not when he's driving so I can't relax, so it's stretching me, but Wes is doing great. 

What else is going on... Owen is doing really well at working to check off his chore list. Today he even did his job by himself! Well, by himself with me, but not with Lily who is his partner. Actually, I'm thinking instead of having him switch chores around with Lily, maybe I'll just have him always be on the front room. He's a good kid. He made his bed, I helped him with his bedroom and clothes, he cleaned the front room and has been doing great doing school work. He's almost got all the words in his sight word book down, good job buddy. 

I filled up the pool today for Daniel, probably not the best thing to do during a drought. This was a Costco buy that I got when Daniel came with me once. I always end up buying things I don't want when kids come with me, but we have a fun memory with it, so it's ok, but once this is busted, I'm not buying it again, it wasn't a good buy. It was too cold, but with where I set it up on the cement atleast we should be able to leave it up for a few days and not worry about it killing the grass. Of course, if it is up for a few days, it gets lots of bugs and debris from the trees in it, which makes the kids grossed out and not wanting to use it. Daniel stood in it for a few minutes and then he was done. 

Wesley scored a pretty sweet find at the thrift store! Nice huh! It's all good, in the hood! We love Mr. Rogers! 

The kids have been playing Uno a lot (and there are uno cards aaalllll over the house). Yesterday Owen and Natalie were trying to play Uno, while Daniel and Peter run laps around them and right over their piles of cards.

I was impressed with their ability to focus and for playing for as long as they did.

I'm working on laundry, and we still have one rose - a pretty picture I took of it yesterday. Take time to smell the roses! But these ones aren't very fragrant. They used all their beauty points with their color.

Life is good! 

Kingdom and Bike Ride

It was a regular summer day - I went on a bike ride this morning, and got back in time to take wes to drivers ed. I didn't clean today, didn't practice, but I did listen to Follow Him podcast as I drove. I listened to Episode Lynne Wilson, Part 1, Part 2 which were both really good. I picked up Wes at noon.  After I was back home, the kids hadn't done their chores so they weren't playing with friends, but they were playing with each other here at home. The little boys were obviously dressed up for something....

I could tell Owen was the king, but the king had fallen asleep in his royal throne. Super cute.

Daniel was the prince, but he was acting more like a butler. 

He was talking very properly and told me "The king... is taking.... his royal nap."

These little boys were waiting the very best that they could for Sophi and Natalie to come, and they were being very patient. The princesses were taking for-ev-er getting ready. 

Finally the girls came to join the game. Natalie says it was Sophi's fault - "She took forever making my crown"

Ok, wake up the king! Let's do this. 

According to Natalie "How we play 'Kingdom' is we dress up fancy and pretend we're in a castle. And that's it, basically." So they had fun doing that today. I helped make some crowns. It was still a normal Monday with missionary phone calls and violin. On our way to violin, I'm in the top left corner - the boys all fell asleep on the drive to our lesson. 

Peter was able to sleep through the transition from the car to the couch, so he slept the whole time. 

Daniel and Owen were very nice playing puzzles together. 

Right after violin, we went to Sophi's soccer practice which was at 5:30. It was hot, but we picked up pizza and went and ate it outside at the hot park (no trees around it at Midvalley Elementary where Sophi's practices are held). I've set an alarm for her practices to be sure to bring water next time. Sophia really liked soccer and so we're experimenting and she joined a club team this year. This is our first time doing club soccer, and I didn't know how expensive it would be, so I'm wrestling with my regret over that ($350+ for registration and fees and stuff, $200 for her uniforms... I haven't paid it yet, but I think I'll have too - it might be too late and would be bad manners to back out now.) So I was in a bit of a funk from that. After Corey got home he wanted to go on a bike ride, so I took them up to Snowbird. 

Peter was super cute. 

So cute that I feel like I need to share all three pictures of him to capture it all.

I tried to ride with Daniel again, but he still can't brake, so then we went back to the car. Daniel and I drove over to pick up SNOP and then Corey and Wes biked home. 

We were headed home but then I decided to stop at the Quarry trail to see the river.

The kids played for a little bit at the quarry rocks. 

Corey had a small wipe out near the bottom on some gravel. He got scratched up but no broken bones. He ripped one of his favorite shirts a little bit. So that's about it for today's report.