Happy Birthday Corey!

Happy Birthday to Corey! We decided to do an epic ride to celebrate. We stayed the night in Park City's Summit Watch, left at 7:30 this morning for a ride, and we would have gone down Crest and biked home, but we had to stay up here to fetch the car. We took Armstrong up to Mid-Mountain and then stopped for a snack at the beginning of Pinecone. 

Pinecone did not feel as horribly long and brutal as last time, but that could be because I tried a strategy of keeping my head down and making sure my visor was blocking the view of the climb ahead so I didn't get discouraged by seeing each new hill. I just looked down at the trail in front of me and as I looked at that dirt I knew "I can do this, easy..." and it was easy, compared to lots of rocky places that we're used to on the Temple Quarry. This was just steep. Just take one hill at a time. We stopped twice for snow to replenish our water, and soon it was over. On the last stretch of Pinecone I was surprised that there were large patches of snow that covered the trail!

But we made it! The view from the top is so amazing - coming up and seeing Brighton and Big Cottonwood Canyon and all the mountain peaks, even Pfeifferhorn in the far distance (right of photo).

We took a breather, fed a ground squirrel some cashews, and then headed down Puke Hill (much better than going up!) Scotty's Bypass had me yelling a few times. Made our way towards Guardsman Pass. Today we decided it was time to revisit Dead Tree. We have only done Dead Tree once, when we were fairly new to biking in Park City in 2021. We're ready to face it again. 

Corey ready to take on Dead Tree with the Heber Valley behind him. Dead Tree was a little narrow and steep in a few places, but not the crazy insane "I can't believe people bike this" like I felt the first time. Once we got to Apex it was all good and fun the rest of the way. Silver Queen was one of the first trails I ever took, when I first did the bike haul in July 2020. I haven't done it since then and it was sooo fun!! I always thought that was all Jenni's that we took on that first rdie, but today I learned that the first part was Silver Queen. They've done work to it since and it was awesome. Really fun like Rush. I think the boys would love it, so we'll try to get them up there to it this summer. 

Corey and I were back at the hotel to get the car shortly after twelve. It was almost a 4 hour ride, which is about as epic as we 50 year olds like to do. The birthday boy wanted to stop for Handel's Ice cream on the way home. Plain Chocolate is his favorite, and yes, he's trying to be more healthy BUT he just did a 4 hour ride, so he can eat it cause it's his birthday! But he said he doesn't want a cake "cause I don't want to die." I told Abi his wishes for no cake, but then she said "what about a crepe cake?" and sent a few pics. I said that is probably appropriate for him. 

After we got home, I ate some leftover red lentil dal from dinner yesterday and it was very satisfying (with kimchi and 'itchen sauce). Fiber for the win. Corey had his veggies and protein, then soy yogurt and fruit, and as he made his food we noticed Abi doing something with crepes. Yes, she was. He went to work cause it's his birthday but it's still a regular day. Ethan, Bella, and Alvie came over on their way back from camping in Idaho - 

Shout out to Bella for sharing these pics on Strava! (hi Alvie!!!)

(Looks like they found snow too!) And then Corey got home and we enjoyed crepe cake and ice cream after Abi got back from work. "Happy Birthday Dear Dad!"

"Happy birthday to you, cha cha cha, ooh la la, stick your head in hot lava, etc etc" 

(I don't love all the birthday add-ons from elementary aged kids) 

Hyrum made a video for Corey. 

Wes was here this weekend and so he and Abi were the parents while Corey and I were gone last night. He cleaned up the yard for us today, was out edging the lawn when we pulled in, thank you Wes! He was in Logan this past week but has this week off. 

We could make him a slave here, but instead he just left with Ethan and Bella to stay at their place. Hopefully he can help them out a little with babysitting this week. He might have arranged that cause he doesn't have a space here anymore. All that work to make the basement nice and then we go and give the guest room to Abi, sheesh! That's gratitude for ya.... sorry Wes. She'll be gone in two months and then you can have it back. Wes has this week off of FSY and then headed to Santa Barbara on Saturday. He'll be back in Orem after that, then at BYU, then is a counselor up in Moscow Idaho for the last two weeks of July before coming back for the Wride Reunion. He said being a counselor at FSY is super fun. 

So, yeah! Corey, I hope you had a happy birthday! You're the best and I'm looking forward to the next 50 years of our life together!! (...and eternity after that!)

Youth Conference Report

Today was a good day at church. In sacrament meeting several of the youth shared a report of their experience at Youth Conference and what they learned about the Savior from their experiences. 

Hannah shared how she thought the leaders who sacrificed to provide this growth opportunity for the youth were like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ who sacrificed to provide us with this experience on earth. All they ask of us is to put in the work, and that is what the leaders asked too - for the youth to take advantage of this opportunity and to learn and grow through it. I thought that was great. Neal talked about trust, planning, and cooperation (3 meals a day for 70+ people for more than 4 days). He also talked about cliff jumping and taking a leap of faith. 

Then it was our sweet Sophi's turn, and I thought "what other analogies could there be??" (and she had only been given like 10 minutes notice to prepare her talk after another girl cancelled last minute) - she talked about you need to hold onto the rope when you're surfing or skiing, nice! Excellent analogy! Hold tightly to the rope and develop trust in the boat, that it will keep momentum, to help you stand up on water. And I was thinking how our temple covenants are like the rope that bind us to the Savior. And when we fall down when we're surfing or in life! Christ is there for us and will help us get up again. There were a few more speakers and they talked about the theme of unity and Zion, one heart and one mind, how it was great to not have distractions there (like internet and their phones) and that helped create those feelings. Being present and talking, who knew! I could see that this was such a great experience for the youth to have together and that they are all closer because of it, which is great since we are a recently blended ward. I also loved the closing verse of the hymn today - "Dearest Children" - in verse three it said "God delights to teach you (thinking back to Hannah's comments - it's a sacrifice for God, but he loves to do it and just wants us to grow and become like him) then the prayer in the hymn that is my prayer for all my kids and their families (and myself and Corey!) "Oh prove faithful! To your God and Zion's cause!" Yeah, great meeting. 

The kids watched the Scarlet Pimpernel after church, I made lunch, I had some rice and lentils for dinner, and guess what? COREY ATE SOME! That is a big deal and I'll tell you why. I recently subscribed to Dr Alex's channel, cause Corey keeps mentioning him and so I need to get to know this man who has been able to yield such influence upon my husband. Like Corey has recently become very interested in glucose and not having his blood sugar spike after eating and metabolism etc etc (weird, right??) so I was listening to Dr Alex on Saturday on my way to my Costco run and little tip here: it was great to listen to a health thing before shopping. I avoided all the tempting treats and even didn't buy as meat as I had planned cause I was like "we have beans at home" which are great for fiber, which Corey cares about now. And Dr Alex mentioned "chick peas, beans, and lentils..." and I was like "ok!" I had those at home too, so I got lots of veggies that we can eat with tacos salads, or rice and curry, or Asian rice bowls etc. Today we did rice and beans for lunch, then I wanted to made dome Indian food for dinner, so I did, and Corey has really turned a corner with cause he ate my lentils. For years he has refused lentils, (something going back to bad memories from his mission?) and I haven't made them that much, but I would now and then, but when I was going vegan I made something that I thought could be an exception to the unspoken "no lentil" rule cause it seemed like a good tasty recipe, and when I dished him up he said "Why would you serve me this..." and he wasn't joking or trying to be funny, he was totally serious. I could tell I had crossed a line that should not be crossed. So that was it, no lentils. Don't even say the word cause it's not funny and it's not a joke. But, a few years have passed, and with Dr. Alex's softening of Corey's heart, and Corey wanting to eat fiber, last night I made some Red lentil dal, used this as my base recipe (I'm gonna try this one next time) and I added some other stuff like zucchini, and he willingly ate it! COREY ATE LENTILS TODAY! I'm amazed at this turn of events! Corey's starting to eat lots of vegetables and beans, go on walks after he eats, and also not eat after 6pm!!! (What is happening!?!?)

Sorry if that was kinda rambly. Corey and I are up in Park City for the night and are about to head to bed. We've continued our health conversation cause we found out a former bishop has cancer. Corey said it seems like cancer is something that is always lurking there in the future, that you don't know which one is gonna get you or when, but it's just a matter of time. And then he offers his deep thought "But... what if the things we eat affect this?" ding ding ding! "I'd rather eat broccoli than get cancer..." I immediately thought of this post I did in 2017 about the dragon in Revelation that is coming to devour Zion. Corey especially liked this quote from Elder George Q. Cannon, warning that future calamities will wake the saints up to the need for better observance of the Word of Wisdom:

"Our religion impresses upon us the importance of taking care of our bodies. Yet, notwithstanding that which the Lord has done for us in revealing to us the true principles of life, there is a great amount of ignorance even among us upon this important subject. . . . Many of the Saints do not seem to be alive to the importance of those laws which pertain to well-being and preservation of the health and strength of the body. Their old traditions cling to them, and it appears to be difficult for them to shake them off. Yet the day must come when the people of God will be superiors physically and mentally, to every other people upon the face of the earth. Before this day shall come . . . pestilence of various kinds, which we are led to expect through the word of the Lord are yet to break forth, will have their effect in calling the Saints’ attention to those laws of life and health which, to be a strong and vigorous people, we must observe.

"If pestilence should stalk through the land . . . many who are now careless respecting the words of the Lord contained in the Word of Wisdom will be likely to reform their habits and pay attention to the counsels which He there gives. . . . We are promised greater safety than other people are likely to enjoy; but the promises are based on certain conditions, which must be observed . . . why should people in our day expect to enjoy health and an exemption from the visit of the destroyer when he goes forth as he did in Egypt if they do not comply with the conditions which the Lord has prescribed."

- George Q. Cannon, “Topic of the Times,” Juvenile Instructor 27, no. 22 (November 15, 1892): 689–691.

Ok, well tomorrow is his birthday, and we're gonna get up early for a long bike ride as we seek health and longevity and I've brought some dried fruit and nuts for breakfast for us that I will be able to bring along! :) Should be fun!

Need a Break

I missed the temple on Tuesday, cause I got up at 4 to bake bread and get the girls out the door by 6am for youth conference. I wasn't sure when I was going to go this week, but then I had a dream about going to the temple this morning, and biking after, and I wasn't able to find my helmet so I went to look in the car for it and it was taking forever, one of those fever dreams, and I was worried Corey was already done and waiting for me and I hadn't even started. Anyway, with that dream, I woke up and was anxious about getting to the temple, so I decided to go do both like I had just done in my dream - temple and ride. I did initiatories at the Draper temple and put the bike in the back of the van for a ride after. 

I came home to find that Owen, who still has a great internal clock, had made breakfast for everyone again. While I appreciate his initiative, but I don't like the mess. I honestly don't know how he makes such a big mess? It's just pancake batter, shouldn't be that tricky to get it on the pan? I guess I was kinda impressed by the mess he made. 

That bowl was dried on drippy on every side all around it, plus the counter, stove top, and drying pancake drops on the floor as well. Yeah, I'm not going to buy pancake mix for a while, but it's cute. He set the table and everything.

Owen has been a good host to his cousin Edmund. They've become a little duo and are having fun, and we're trying to help them not leave out Daniel and Peter. I'm ready for the girls to be back home tomorrow. Corey's been working a lot, which is normal, but without the girls here to help me get a break it's been a little bit hard. They went to play at a neighbors house, then they came home to get their swimsuits so they could swim. The older kids were all invited to come too, which I knew meant that I should go help watch them. I didn't want to go spent the rest of my afternoon there, but knew I should go help, so I sucked it up and told Edmund Owen and Peter to get ready and we'd all go over. They had fun. 

I wish there was more shade, I wasn't able to avoid it very well. I had a visor but I should have worn a long sleeve shirt and bigger sun hat. Oh well, I tried to keep my back to the sun. The neighbors have such an amazing view from their back yard. 

So I sucked it up and then I got a call from Wes asking us to pick him up, yay, he's home for the weekend after FSY. He was able to help watch the kids and then I was rewarded with a date night with Corey after clocking lots of mom hours this week. We went to Aubergine and then went on a walk around the business district there afterwards. (Corey texting Ethan something...)

Walking after our big meals is a new habit we're striving for, to do for a 5-10 min walk after we eat (Dr Alex health hack #3 to stop dementia, which I'm probably pre-disposed to since I'm the next female in line after my mom and maternal grandmother suffering with it). Corey shared that video with me this morning. He's been listening to Dr. Alex a lot, it's been good cause Dr. Alex is telling him stuff that I've mentioned to him for years. This is different though, cause Dr. Alex is explaining the why behind his advice, where as I usually would just be trying whatever hack or health tip that I heard because I trusted it at face value (I'm easily influenced). It was a good date, we were able to visit and he thanked me for all my work this week and he's gonna give me a break tomorrow, yay. 

Sabin Howard Presentation

Corey and I just got back from another Sons of Utah Pioneers ("SUP") thing (Temple Quarry chapter) that we went to this time to represent Abi, who was awarded a scholarship from them. I'll talk about that in a sec, cause the real highlight of the evening for us was the program tonight, where we enjoyed the coolest presentation by Sabin Howard! I didn't know his name until tonight, but he recently moved to Utah and is neighbors with the SUP President elect Chad. Sabin is a sculptor who made the World War I monument in Washington DC called "A Soldier's Journey". They had a short video presentation about that, and then he shared his story of how he became a sculptor and how he feels called to do this work. He was about two minutes into his speech when I though to hit record on my phone, so I'll come back and transcribe a few parts of that that I loved. Then he talked about a new sculpture, Grand Liberty Arch (video about it here) that is going to be on the grounds down at the Utah Capitol. When it was first proposed, they liked it and said they want it but only if it can be ready by the 2034 Olympics hosted in Salt Lake. Sabin said he could do that! 

He had a 3D printed version of the statue on display that we were able to go up close and see after his presentation.

He knew he wanted to make this monument of telling the story of America’s Journey through freedom: 56 figures that tell of liberty, equality, democracy, respect for the rule of law, and patriotism. Though he had the vision of this monument, he didn't know where it would be. He was in Texas looking at places there but didn't get enough support. He didn't share too much of what led him to Utah, but after a few fortunate meetings and willing helpers, he told his wife Traci that "This is the place" to have the monument, not knowing that that is a famous little saying in our state! We all smiled at that!

It was super cool and I said I'd love to join their cause and help anyway I can, or have my kids help if they need live models or anything!! So kids, here's your notice that you have been volunteered. There will be a monument unveiling (I think it's free) on July 6, but unfortunately we won't be able to go to that cause we'll be on vacation in Newport. 

They're in the process of finding a warehouse to buy where they can work and sculpt each figure and panel with live models. The end stage is when it goes across the Atlantic to the UK Pangolin Editions Foundry where the figures are cast in bronze. (You can see Sabin's Shell Shocked soldier at minute 2:19 of the flying visit vimeo video of the foundry half way down at their website). Sabin said making the World War 1 memorial was a 4 year marathon, and I'm sure it will be for this Grand Liberty Arch as well. I'm seriously hoping we can get involved some how and help, even if I'm just one of the janitors for the studio. I am really glad we were able to come tonight and see this presentation. Thanks to our friend Laird for treating us to the dinner and event tonight, and also for reaching out and inviting Abi to apply for this scholarship. They took our photo during dinner with Laird who I think is the chapter President? and President elect (?) Chad Mortensen who is the neighbor who knows Sabin and invited him to present tonight. 

There were two other girls there who were awarded scholarships, and they each spoke as well. Abi did not speak because she's gone at youth conference. Last month we told Laird that she would be gone, so she recorded a video to say thanks and accept the scholarship. We went into the room for the program where Corey was able to play that video of Abi. They have a good historian who takes lots of pics for their records. 

So after dinner and Abi's acceptance video, we got to listen to Sabin. It was a really great evening. Other than that it was a mostly normal summer day. Today's chores went well again. Peter is a sweet and faithful little worker.

After chores, I took the kids to the library. Katharine played in the toy kitchen, then put on a puppet show for her brothers.

Puppet Theater - 

We didn't spend too long there, cause after 10 minutes they already each had an arm full of books. Edmund is in the back setting his pile on the ground and trying to re-balance his stack, I think he got 14.

We checked out almost 40 books! It was 38 or 39. I hope we don't loose them. Right after that, we drove to the Temple Quarry to show that to Edmund. The boys each had a K'nex rifle. They've been making guns the past two days. They are big tough boys. Katharine is sweet little girl and thus holding any weapons. 

The boys were running around climbing on rocks, "shooting" stuff, yelling, etc. Edmund said he was going to do a double back flip off the rock, which made Daniel nervous. I had to whisper to Daniel that  it was ok, I was positive he was just talking and was not actually going to try it. 

More boulders to climb. 

The one the boys are on here is a very safe and possible boulder to climb, even for old ladies (last pic). Katharine could have done it with my help, but we were both content to stay on the ground. Katharine and I found a rock to be our "bed" and then a cave to be her house.

K and I strolled along. They boys went to the river and we followed behind. I helped her climb the rocks, and as we walked, she was concerned that they were getting too far ahead. 

I reassured her that we would find them and that I knew where we were. We all met up at the east of the path, and that was where K and I decided to leave the boys and walk back to the car. They were going to play for a bit and then would run and catch up to us. K seemed concerned again that we were leaving them. "It's ok, they are fast and they'll catch up. Cause boys like to run. We like to walk." "Yeah..." "And boys like guns and to shoot. We like flowers!" "Yeah..." and then Katharine asked "Why does Peter like bad animals??" Haha, yes, Peter likes T-rex dinosaurs and sharks and anacondas... I guess they could be considered dangerous or mean, aka "bad". Peter was not far behind and I asked him "Yeah! How come you like BAD animals, huh!?!?" Peter's defense: "I just think they're cool!" It was a fun little kid hike with the boys and my princess.

Lake Powell & Chores

The girls are in Lake Powell this week. None of them have their phones but the leaders have phones to document the fun. Lily out on the boat today with the yellow life jacket, her friend using her dad's phone in this pic. I also see from this photo that Lily took my sunglasses without permission, tsk tsk.

I'm glad she took them off when she got in the water. Lily ready to try surfing!

Yesterday I looked at what the weather forecast in Lake Powell would be, and in Page it was gonna e in the high 90s everyday. I took one pic after dropping them off at the church yesterday morning at 6am. 

Yesterday I had to get up at 4 am to shape and bake bread for them to have in their lunches on the way down. I made the dough early enough, I thought, that I would be able to bake it Monday night, but then the dough didn't rise fast enough so I had to get up early to make it for them. Turned me into a bit of a zombie, but after they left, I was able to take a nap while the boys kept sleeping. Corey went to the temple but I didn't make it, I'll have to go another day this week. Other than the lunch meal that they were in charge of for themselves yesterday, the ward is taking care of all the food. That is no small task I'm sure! 3 meals a day for 70+ people!! Wow

I'm sure they're going to have a great time and that it will be good for them to get out and recreate and also have a slight detox from their phones for a few days. Lily will be coming back early (tomorrow) cause that's when she could get a ride and she needs to be back to take the ACT on Saturday morning. 

So the house has been much more quiet with all the girls gone. It's also been quite a bit cleaner. We're starting to wonder if it's actually the teenagers that make all the messes, not the little kids!

The little kids were good helpers yesterday, I didn't make them do much today cause the house is pretty much clean. I need to make the lanyard cards for deep cleaning stuff. Daniel yesterday, very excited for his chores (I let them watch Gravity Falls when I went to execise/swimming).

After I got back, we got back to work. Peter worked hard wiping the panels under the island but he was most excited about scrubbing under the island counter, which has never been cleaned and where kids have wiped their sticky gooey fingers for the past 15 years. Yesterday we just did the edges. We'll do that clean project a little bit at a time.

Edmund has been a great helpers, deep cleaning the dining table and sweeping and mopping under the table. 

Katharine has been a cute helper too. Yesterday I had her get of the pencil and marker scribbles that she put all over the coat closet. She has been a good worker for a 4 year old. 

Doesn't entirely finish the job, but she tries, which is enough to get me going and I finished this. Peter got sad cause his lanyard was too long around his neck and got in his water bucket, then the water made the writing on the card bleed and he wasn't able to read it anymore, so he didn't know what to do. I helped him out by wrapping it twice around his neck, and told him not to choke, and I said to just keep doing what you're doing, don't worry about reading the card, I'll fix it later. He looks a little defeated.

They were rewarded yesterday with permission to go play in the neighbor's pool this evening.

So we've just been cleaning and they've been playing wit friends. I was able to sneak away for a quick ride to the ruins tonight. Yesterday my exercise was housecleaning, which was ok, I broke a sweat and I'm sure got in a lot of steps. Almost time to call it a day. I'm in here blogging, and Corey is telling our Katharine a bedtime story. She's so cute. 

He was telling her the Three Little Pigs and then Little Red Riding Hood, and her eyes got real big when Corey told her that the wolf swallowed the grandma! Then she was a little worried when he ate Red Riding Hood too! How will it end??!

Those ones were a bit intense. My turn, I told her the Ugly Duckling and it made her tear up when the ducks weren't nice to the ugly duckling, she's a sensitive soul. I love these kids. I miss the girls cause it's a little trickier getting a break or some free time, but it's good. I thought that this week I could just pretend I'm a mother of 5 young children, 4 boys and one girl, and I waited to have my children until I was 38. :)

Eye Exam & Cleaning Rooms

A couple of weeks ago I finally scheduled an eye exam for Sophi, and that was today. Go me for getting her in to see an eye doctor. 

She hasn't been asking to go, but we often notice her eyes slightly crossing. Her left eye is weak and lets the right eye do all the work, so she got a prescription for glasses and the doctor also said we could do a surgery to fix it, so I'm going to ask Corey about if he thinks that would be good. 

It was nice to be back home after a week of chillin up at Park City. I was ready to get working and clean the house. The easiest room to do was the front room, and I had four good little workers to help me. Thank you Edmund Owen Daniel and Peter. 

We did a deep clean, even wiping down the couch cushions and arm rests. They all worked hard, and the little lanyards I made worked pretty good as a visual reminder to them that it was chore time. We found some jelly under the couch, which must have fallen from someone's bread and jelly - and I pointed out that there obviously shouldn't be food out of the kitchen ANYWAY, and then whoever felled this bread MOVED THE COUCH over it, cause I noticed when was putting the couch back that it was not in the right space centered under the mirror, it had been moved over to cover the jelly! Darn kids. It was also really dried out and hard on the carpet so I kinda tried to cut it off and then scrubbed for a few minutes to get it gone. I hope they'll just tell me next time instead of trying to hide it. 

The girls didn't help clean, they were packing for Lake Powell and cleaning their bedrooms. Natalie and Kathairne got the award for room that got cleaned up first! 

Good job! Giving themselves thumbs up, K is so cute. 

And then they went down for their brownies that were left over from Connor's wedding, and that is when I discovered that Natalie had just literally thrown everything into Katharine's toy box. No no no no... I called her back up. This does not count. 

You can put toys in there, but not paper, clothes, garbage, etc etc... Cough that brownie back up. Ok, you can keep it down, but you gotta fix this. She did, I helped. So the real actual winners for a clean and organized room with no shortcuts was Lily and Sophi. 

Their closet is still half a mess (top is organized, floor is a mess), but that's ok. You win. 

Today Abi did some stuff for her Visa to Panama. I taught her how to address an envelope and was laughing about that, haha. 

Then Corey got home like at 10, but that was when we were having dinner. 10:30 pm dinner

And it was a good productive day, rooms look good. Corey and I took a morning ride to the ruins. It was a lovely morning, as it always is on a ride up our canyon. Not sure how I'm gonna be able to exercise with the girls gone this week, so we'll see how this goes. 

The girls are leaving for Lake Powell at 6 am tomorrow morning, so I'm setting an alarm to wake up at 4 to bake bread for them. I was going to bake it tonight but it hadn't raised enough, so now it's gotta be stinkin' early tomorrow morning. Thus I shall now go to bed