Yardwork

This morning, my siblings and I went over to my parent's house and did some yard work for them. Oh my nephew Graigry came too. Neil had the longest drive and he did a great job getting brave by the hornets nest! 

We spending the majority of our time clearing out some peas that had over run the west side of the house. It was fun to be there and work together. The plan was to meet at 8am. Owen and Edmund were both awake and sitting around apparently bored, so I had them come with me. I tasked them with pulling out morning glory from the front lawn.

After a bit, Owen came and asked if they could use my phone to listen to music. I said they could for 30 minutes. I didn't go get it back from them in 30 min, it was more like an hour. And later tonight I saw that they had taken lots of photos, yay.

We accidentally tore the brick roof off of an ant nursery (we gave them time to evacuate the infants) and two HUGE black widow spiders. We didn't do anything with them other than transport their apartments to new lcoations. My sister Beka made a cute comment that I liked as we looked at my dad's little collection of pots and wood and other metal random garden things: "It's like a visual eclectic representation of dad." We could probably sketch a still life of it for posterity.

So I put in my time this morning, then we went home so Corey could get work done before an important meeting on Monday. I took the kids to the library. They requested to go to Whitmore, aka "the far library" cause apparently the Sandy location just doesn't have any books that work for them? Not sure how that's possible, but it's ok, they're about the same distance. But I'm not going further than Whitmore. I'll tell them that there are only two libraries in the county: Sandy and Whitmore. So that's it. Owen started grabbing books - he got some Nicholas Sparks books (I don't think he knows what he's doing) and also some science fiction books on murder... I approved of a few then told him to go look in the junior fiction section.

Peter wanted me to take a pic of these amazing looking jelly fish. 

After we got home the kids played, and I was able to sneak away for an evening trail run! I just got back. I ran a little bit on the way down last Saturday, so that was when I started thinking I could maybe get into trail running. Then ran back down this past Wednesday (had to get back before the girls needed the car for their YW activity - a Lake Powell recap party). It was fun to run more tonight. I did a bit off and on on the climb but I jogged pretty much the whole way down! Atleast until it was too dark to see (I didn't want to trip). It was fun! I just put a running vest on my wishlist. Yesterday I did a morning ride up the quarry.

So pretty, I love this creek and our canyon. Walk, hike, run or bike.

I was having fun and took my time on my riiiiide as I enjoyed listening to this song and singing it outloud. :) 

Today I was listening to a podcast on some kinda confusing & dark stuff, trying to figure out what I think of the accusations. We got onto the topic because of something a high school friend shared over facebook, saying this stuff has hit them very close to home (it was their daughter in law in the interview.) Trying to figure out what I think, but also not sure if I should even explore the topic or learn more.

Sister Date

Abi wanted to take Katharine out for her birthday to Build a Bear, but we were in Park City, and then things came up with work and a busy schedule, but today Abi had time and she took her little sister out on a date. They went and got ice cream at the mall ~

And then went to Build a Bear to make a very special bear. 

Choosing a dress for the bear. I think you get a discount for your birthday, but Abi said she was surprised that she had to pay $20 for a dress. Aurora dress? 

Katharine ended up choosing a Belle dress.

And that is how Belle the Bear joined our family. 

(You're a good sister, Abi)

I think Corey got a Build a Bear years ago... I have a vague memory of if you pushed it's ear or foot or something and it had a recording of Corey saying "Melodie! I love you very much!" So this bear will be special to Katharine just like that one was to Mel. 

Mel's bear is no longer with us, I'm not sure when it got broken/lost... I think this bear will survive a while longer than Mel's did. We'll see.

(Abi, you should have had Katharine in a car seat!) Katharine changed her shirt at home so she could be yellow like Belle the Bear. 

I got back from swimming around the same time A&K got back. The boys were all off playing. It appeared I had an opportunity to go pick up a book I had put on hold at the library. I took Katharine with me to do that. The book is along the current topic of interest for Corey and I: Glucose Revolution.

I started to read while Katharine colored. 

And then we went to Costco cause we were out of spaghetti sauce and Kimchi.

Katharine using her library books as a pillow. I guess it's not just Abi - I should put Katharine in a car seat too.

Selling Cookies

I got up and made bread this morning, then did a little raking in the backyard and filled up the garbage cans before I went on RS visits with Kathy. The visits went longer than usual, but Corey was nice to stay home until I was back. The boys had made a plan for today to make and sell some cookies, to get $, to buy treats for themselves for a movie night. Corey was in charge as they diligently watched their baked goods in the oven.

When I returned, Edmund, Owen, and Daniel were dressed and ready to go sell their cookies door to door. Looking pretty professional, boys!

They got $50 total, $39 profit. Good job kids. 

Hyrum's been texting me for a while to look around for his passport. Today I finally did look thorough his boxes of things in basement storage, no luck. I told him so, said I could go do a more exhaustive search if he so desired, and then he had the thought to look in his backpack, and there it was. He's been carrying it around with him for weeks, but in his defense, it was in a pocket he doesn't use much. 

I went on a much needed hike this afternoon. The mountains love me, and I love them.

This is one of the many ways that people make hearts with hand gestures in 2026. I'm gonna paint this part of the creek sometime. This part is close to the bottom of avalanche hill. 

I got home and was productive, blowing off the driveway and porch from Wesley's mowing two days ago. Katharine came out and played in the air of the blower, squealing with delight. She's cute.

My hips haven't been hurting much lately, not sure if it's cause I am doing anything to help them. I do try to alternate the foot that is forward and back when I'm on the descent after biking. I also try to not sit down much. Currently I am standing as I blog out on the small deck off our bedroom - it's kinda rickety, but standing is good, bonus that I can keep an eye on Peter and Katharine as they jump on the trampoline. Pretty good set up.

Not much happened yesterday. Did some cleaning and laundry, catching up from taking Monday off. Good news for taking care of business: yesterday I finally scheduled Abi's wisdom teeth appointment. It was going to be this morning, but then Abi changed it to be after she gets back from her Senior Trip  next week. So not this Saturday but next Saturday morning is the day, at 8am is the time. Fun for her.

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!

Work & Play

The kids have really liked the library lately. Lily took them yesterday, so they were reading books after breakfast. 

Then I got my act together and we did some Saturday chores out in the yard, yay, raking pine needles 

Cleaning off the benches, chairs, table, and patio. 

After getting them to work, I was ok for them to do whatever Corey had planned. Kids chilling watching stuff on Wesley's phone.

Corey was there in the front room, and the conversation switched to talk about aliens, which somehow came up last night during scriptures. Peter asked how we know if things are or are not real. Then Corey taught the kids about AI and how you cannot trust everything your eyes see. First example - he told Edmund and Daniel to strike a fighting pose. Good...

And watch this! "I can turn it into a different picture..."

Then everyone wanted a turn. Katharine stood in front of Corey, and imagined being a princess in front of a castle. And then it came to be!

Yes, this is exactly how she imagines herself! "Now do a mermaid!" Done.

Owen's turn to be Darth Maul - 

Or driving and AT AT -

Peter wanted to be Yoda -

Daniel and Edmund in another battle. 

The kids were loving this!

After dinking around online doing fun stuff, they headed out for a fun day with Corey, and I got the break I was wishing for yesterday. Corey's been meaning to take them to Five Guys for a week, so today was the day. But first, a bike ride. Peter remembered my personal MOA advice from last time, and he went and changed into a long sleeve shirt and long pants before the ride (he changed sometime in between watching stuff on Wesley's phone and the kids in flight photo). Peter had a small tumble but only got a scratch on his knee cause his skin was protected! I hadn't noticed he had changed clothes, but after they got back he told me the reason why was that he remembered how I said I ALWAYS wear long sleeves and long pants when I ride cause it's just not worth the risk of road rash. 

Now he has his own witness that my counsel was good advice. A trip to Five Guys for burgers and fries brightened him up. 

Wes was slightly horrified/cringed out over how all these little kids were behaving. 

He mentioned to Corey that he is glad that our life is not his life. It might be someday, but yeah, you're probably not ready for a daily level of this much "kid". 

Just give yourself little doses and brief exposure now and then, Wes, and it will continue to help you be prepared to be a great father someday. After Five Guys, they went by Scheels to get someone's bike fixed. While they were there, they had ice cream - 

And rode the ferris wheel. 

It's always a good time when Dad takes the kids out!

(He's the fun one.)

Peter and Wes on the escalator.

So while they were gone all day, I got a few things done around here, enjoyed my quiet house, then I went to Costco. I should have gone to the gym though. I stayed until I could go pick up the girls at 7:45, which was their estimated ETA from Lake Powell - they all arrived safe and sound. A little sun kissed, but everyone was good. 

They stayed to help clean up the boats, so I took the van home with their sleeping bags and stuff and then I went to the rec center hoping to get in a very quick workout, as I only had 45 minutes until they closed at 9. That was when I learned that they close at 8 on Saturdays! Boo. So then I went up the canyon for a quick walk to the ruins from Lisa Falls. 

I love the creek and the canyon. I had to make sure I did "the thing". This is a poem that Lily shared with me a few weeks ago that I read to Corey today. We like it. 

Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing. 

Scheduling time to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Making a to-do list for the thing isn't doing the thing.

Telling people you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn't doing the thing.

Writing a banger tweet about how you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on other people who have done the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn't doing the thing.

Fantasizing about all of the adoration you'll receive once you do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Reading about how to do the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading this essay isn't doing the thing.

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

Oh, and Mel and Christian are in Brazil visiting her mission before baby comes. They are having a great time! How fun to watch the world cup in Brazil!