November 17,2019

There were no earth shattering activities in the last two weeks, so I’ll write about the ins and outs of our everyday lives.

Ains is taking a debate class this year and is really enjoying it.  She went to her first debate competition this last weekend.  She competed in the individual novice division.  She won 3 out of 4 of her debates! She only lost her very first debate that morning.  And according to her feedback she only lost because she said “um” too many times.  I think that record is pretty phenomenal. And she came home happy and excited which is great!

While Ains was at debate Owen was with the youth raking leaves.  I’m always thrilled when he has something physical to keep him busy.  He’s been hanging out with a boy that lives in our neighborhood a lot lately.  Logan Stimpson and Owen have had an on again/off again friendship for the last decade.  Logan is a really kind and good kid so I’m happy they’ve decided to do things together again. They even got together this week to do homework. Owen has had a knack for getting into trouble lately.  I guess I can partly blame that on the fact that he’s a 13 year old boy.  His grades are lower than they should be right now and he seems to have a bit of apathy about things John and I wish he would care more about. He is very determined when he decides he wants something, but if it’s not his idea he simply doesn’t care. Hopefully it’s just a phase! He assures us regularly that he knows what he’s doing and that he has everything big under control. Fingers crossed.

The last week was a pretty crazy one for John and I.  John has been in the middle of a big trial and I got surgery on my veins. Again. It seems like about every 10 years they start bothering me enough that I decide to do something about them. Getting this surgery has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. We have a new insurance company with some crazy stipulations for vein surgery.  So after 8 months of the HR at ada county, my doctor, and myself, dealing with promises of coverages and also declined coverage we ultimately won. And apparently I’m a trail blazer,  because what was originally just going to be an individual exception on my policy, is now changed policy for everyone on the Ada County plan.  I’m sure varicose vein sufferers within a 10 mile radius are hailing my name. Right? I picked a poor time to get the surgery because John was busy and my parents were out of town.  So I had to bum a ride off of Brooke to my surgery and then I took care of myself.  I think I did a pretty good job.  I’m still sore and bruised a week later but hopefully within another week I’ll be as good as new.

Anyways, between John always being at work and in trial (which he won...yay John!) and me being completely useless, the kids pretty much had to fend for themselves. They did a fairly decent job of keeping themselves busy and getting themselves where they needed to be. Well done children!


We spent time on Sunday watching the Face to face event giving details about the new youth program. I’m excited for my kids! I think that if they put some thought and effort into it they will be amazed at how they will grow and develop in each of the four developmental categories.  I’d like to have a night where they each write out some goals on some sort of a board to get their minds flowing. I’m a little sad to not be in primary or Young Women’s to see how this new program will be implemented, and yet I’m glad I don’t have to go to all the meetings and figure out how to implement it!

And last but not least....a quote from president Eyring from the last women’s conference that I’ve been thinking about. I’ve been thinking a lot about priorities and making sure mine are in order.

Summer Catch-Up

School ended and Ainsley jumped right into her first real job.  She got a job teaching swimming lessons for Kimberlee Brown, a woman in our stake who has a pretty impressive back yard pool program.  Ainsley had to learn to teach lessons to all ability levels.  She taught group lessons and also private lessons.  She usually worked 3-4 hours a day Monday through Thursday.  It was a perfect little summer job.  Just enough to keep her busy but still leave her with plenty of time to enjoy summer.  And with so much time in the water even with visors, swim shirts, and loads of sunscreen she had the darkest tan I’ve ever seen her with.

While Ainsley and John were busy working and making money, Owen and Emmie were not quite as busy.  So when Heather asked us if we wanted to take a quick trip to Utah for her last appointment at the Huntsman Center we quickly agreed.  We drove down with her three youngest kids, Clara, Christian, and Elsie.  We spent some time at temple square.  I took Elsie and Emmie on a tour while Heather took the older kids to do baptisms before the salt lake temple closed for renovations. We attempted to go to a concert in the park…but we got the day wrong. Oops. We also went to three Maceys before we found one with a working ice cream machine to get our beloved Kong Cones. 

We spent some time at Classic Skate (a skating rink/bounce house/lazer tag/arcade place owned by relatives of the Demars…so we played for free!). We also drove down to the Provo Rec center and played on the slides and in the water before our drive home.  We packed all that fun into 3 days.  It was a perfect little get away and break from trek prep/summer boredom.

We also got so spend a lot of time with cousins this summer.  Syd brought Mae and Evan to stay for about a month. She was here before we left for trek and stayed through the middle of July.  Kortney got here with her girls on the day we left for trek.  So Emmie got to spend a few days with grandparents and cousins to herself.  She was a little nervous about that, because she’s never been alone with any extended family in her life. But she ended up having a great time! When the rest of us got home two weeks of family fun began.  We celebrated the 4^th, spent an afternoon at POJO’s, took family pictures, visited a fun pop culture shop downtown, went swimming a ton, drove out to Jump Creek to play in the water and waterfall, got a little irritated with each other, and had a great time.

A week after family all left Heather once again planned a road trip for us to join her on.  She really wanted to visit her mom and sister who were battling breast cancer along with her but she didn’t feel comfortable traveling alone.  So when I mentioned that learning to slalom ski was on my bucket list she hatched a plan for us to drive to Canada with our previous road trip crew. We would visit her mom along the way and then stay with her sister who lived in a lake and would get me up on one ski.  And we did exactly that.  The trip was really good. I think Emmie struggled a little finding her place being with her best friend who was with all of her cousins. By the end of the week though I think she was more comfortable and had a great time.  The kids spent the majority of their time in the water or on the boat.  I got up on one ski!  (Now I just have to buy a boat or force someone with a boat to take me out next summer so I can master the skill.) I enjoyed getting to know the women in Heather’s family and Owen became the new best friend of Birdie…the 5 year old cousin who latched in to Owen and quickly declared him her best friend. She told us they were exactly the same except for she doesn’t like cheese. And I must say, she is definitely a spitfire like owen. I was recently told she was kicked off her school bus for swearing. Which is hilarious  coming from a sweet little conservative Mormon family!

I couldn't get over all of the beautiful canola fields that were in bloom. This is a horrible picture of one we drove by.  Fields full of yellow flowers were everywhere. It was gorgeous.

We also had a little bit of sad news this summer.  One morning Emmie ran I to my room screaming and crying that Gus was dead.  She had been trying to wake him up and when she picked him up she said he was stiff and cold.  It broke my heart.  All of the kids were shocked and sad.  Emmie sobbed.  Which made me so sad and teary. Owen was emotional and wanted to be the one to place Gus in a bag for burial.  He was so gentle with him.  Later that day I had Owen dig a hole and Emmie made a headstone.  We buried little Gus next to our blackberry bush.  He was a good little hamster, and even though we’re to the point where the kids are asking for another I’m not sure I’m ready to go down that road again just yet.

Trek 2019

John and I had the opportunity to go on trek in June with the youth in our stake. To be honest I was a little nervous about going. I wasn’t sure we would love it as much as we did last time. Although I was happy to be able to go so that we could be with Ainsley and Owen and share the experience with them.

I dragged my feet a bit and didn’t feel nearly as prepared as we were last time, but when the time came to meet our family and begin the trek we were ready. And I would even say that we had a better experience than we did the first time.

We had two activities with our trek families before the actual trek. A get to know you night at the church and a family night at our house. We had a great group of kids. One girl in our group ended up not coming so we ended up with three girls and 5 boys. (Lexi Smith, Seviah Limb, Raquel Benites, Ben Price, Brandon Keetch, Calvin Kinzel, Logan Stimpson, Alexzander Allen ). It didn’t take long for the kids in our group to mesh and we were able to have fun together pretty quickly. Ainsley went with the Demars as her parents and no one else from our ward. She loved her family really quickly as well. Interestingly. Owen was in a family with several youth from our ward but he came home after the first activity a little disappointed about his group. He said they didn’t talk and didn’t really click. But by the end of trek he absolutely loved his family.

We went to a different location for trek this time. We went to a property up above Banks. In fact we spent our second night on the mountain top that overlooks Banks. The scenery was absolutely beautiful.  I couldn't get over the amazing views and and the beauty of mountains and valley's we were in. The trails were hard. We traveled up around 4000 feet and down about the same. All of the ma’s and pa’s were told that they would need to help push the carts because of the difficulty of the trail. And we did. By noon on the first day I was dripping sweat and my shirt was wet. It was disgusting. We worked hard all day.

I had set a goal to make sure I had time to talk with each of the kids in our group. So I tried to ask them all sorts of questions to get to know them individually while we were walking. I loved getting to know them. We had a diverse group of kids but they all got along and worked hard together. I was nervous when we started when it became clear that our oldest boy was not going to be much of a worker. However our 13 year old boy (Brandon) stepped up and was our hardest worker, and he was my little puppy the few days we were there. He was always at my side asking what needed to be done. He was awesome.

There were a few injuries along the way. We learned that Ainsleys hand got caught between the cart and a tree. Her hand was torn up pretty badly. But I was amazed at how tough she was. I was told repeatedly that she was a hard worker and positive the whole time. One of our girls (Seviah) twisted her ankle our last night. Not only was she sad about not being able to help but we were sad to lose her! And our workhorse (Brandon) was struggling with the ankle he had had a surgery on just a few weeks prior. We had our hardest and steepest incline the last day. So steep that when we were walking up I couldn’t keep my skirt and apron out from under my feet. Thankfully two members of the photography crew saw us struggling. I don’t think we would have made it with lout them.

Our trek was shorter this year, only two nights instead of three. But it was incredible. We worked hard all day and at night we danced and played games (we even have pictures of Owen dancing with cute girls during the dance. One of which may have been a cute highschool girl that I convinced to dance with home). We had great conversations. We had great devotionals. And we had some time to remove ourselves from the distractions of our daily lives and think about what really matters. I’m grateful that we were able to go and that our kids were able to have that experience.

November 10, 2019

I let myself get behind.  But I'm not going to let that stop me.  So my plan is to write about the past few weeks...and then stick in a few highlights that I missed. So here we go.

Lets start with October.  It was a crazy insanely busy month.  The first week of the month I finished up my last volleyball games and practices. I coached the 7th grade B team for Lewis and Clark again this year.  I really enjoyed most of the girls on my team. Sadly I had a few girls, and one parent in particular that made the season a hard one.  There was too much negative parental involvement, too many entitled players, and some bad attitudes.  I was really happy to see the season end. If nothing else, just to have another 10 hours a week back in my life.

October also brought the end of Emmie's soccer season. She played in a competitive league this year. They lost their first two games and we were worried they were going to get annihilated every game.  But the girls started to come together a bit more as a team and they tied for second in the league by the end of the season.  Sadly, (in my opinion) Emmie is getting to an age where she is worried about what others think, and so worried about breaking rules that she is losing some of her carefree self, and also losing a bit of her drive and love for playing soccer. Every now and again we would get  a glimpse of Emmie playing soccer like she loved it, but it seemed like more often that not she played like she was worried about doing something wrong.  I hope she stays with soccer long enough to outgrow those fears...because she really is amazing!

John and I went on a little get away during the middle of October.  We went to Disneyland!  With just the two of us!  We both really needed a break and couldn't settle on a place to go.  One day we both had the thought that we should just go to Disney, and we both love Disneyland! So why not?  When volleyball ended and since soccer was winding down, we ditched the kids for a few days and flew down to California.  We spent some time at the beach, went to Balboa Island, Spent two days at Disneyland and came home exhausted!  It was a great trip but definitely not relaxing.  I think I love Disneyland a tiny bit more with kids, but it was nice to enjoy the parks at a bit of a slower pace and not have to worry about cranky kids or so many peoples opinions. Currently we are planning on taking the kids this summer. But we're a little nervous about the crowds...I guess time will tell.

As soon as we got home from our trip the month of October tried to kill me.  We got home late on a Saturday night.  The following Sunday was the primary program. Which meant we had the program practice during that week. And on top of that I was in charge of the ward Halloween party that was 5 days after the program.  I think the bishop was trying to kill me.  In short...everything happened.  The program practice was good (kids actually came). The Program on Sunday went beautifully. There were moments of laughter and moments of being touched by the spirit. And after a lot of hard work and spray paint the ward party was a hit.  My strategy was to ask as many people as possible to help in some form, hoping that attendance would be decent.  The party had been scheduled over a 3 day weekend for our schools and not many people came to last years party so I was worried it would be a flop. My first counselor and I took care of the decorations, but I asked a lot of people to help with food, I asked 8 couples to be in charge of a carnival type game, the young women did a spook alley, and we had corn hole for the adults and teens. Not to toot my own horn...but it was a raging success.  We had so many people that we had to pull out more tables and chairs so people had places to eat. All of the kids and most of the adults were engaged the whole time.

Less than a week after wrapping up the ward party we celebrated Halloween. Emmie was the only one that completely celebrated Halloween this year.  Owen dressed up as Dwight from the office and went trick-or-treating to a few houses with some friends and then watched a scary movie.  I think they only dressed up because they didn't know what else to do.  He's definitely at an awkward transition age. Ainsley stayed home with me and we passed out candy, made muffins, and took down Halloween decorations.  Halloween is not my favorite and I was ready for some cleanliness and order in my life.

Simultaneous to all of this crazy going on, I had been told by my bishop that my time in primary was coming to a close.  I honestly think its the only thing that kept me sane.  Knowing that I just had to finish these last few events and then I would be finished made it doable.  I was officially released last Sunday.  I said my emotional goodbye last week, handed over my keys and binder, and closed that chapter of my church service.  Today I went to relief society for the first time in nearly 10 years.  It was weird. I loved that I didn't have any problems I had to deal with today, but I'm sure that soon I will get bored on Sundays.  My goal for is to make good use of my extra time. Spend more time with my family, keep our home a little more orderly, record events of our family here, etc.  I've done okay so far. Right now my car is clean, my garage is clean, and my yard is ready for winter (after we had a pipe burst because we were too late getting our yard ready for winter. Ugh.). I typically do better when I feel that my home is in order. And I must say, I'm feeling pretty good right now.

An update on Ainsley. She is driving! In June Ainsley officially became a licensed driver. Somehow this is terrifying and awesome all at the same time. Her first drive was to drop Owen off at the Demars. In our neighborhood. And Owen had to beg her to drive him. Needless to say her worrying personality kind of killed the excitement of freedom that new drivers often feel. However, slowly but surely she is gaining confidence. I don’t have to drive her to school, or piano, or the gym, or to mutual...and I love it! And she can pick up kids and run errands for me which I also love. I have received a few panicked phone calls when she has been lost, which I haven’t loved. But I’m confident that with time she’ll gain more confidence and maybe even start to enjoy her freedom a bit.

Ainsley is doing great academically this year. She decided to to debate instead of orchestra, and homework instead of swim team.  And while I'm sad she won't be playing the violin or swimming as much anymore, I'm happy she is developing other talents. After talking with her debate teacher it sounds like she can join the debate team in January if she's interested.  She finally (after weeks of building up the nerve) stayed after school last week for a debate club meeting and ended up having a great time. I'm hoping this year provides her with some opportunities to make some friends. Ainsley is incredibly well liked and has a milllion wonderful acquaintances, but not really any good friends.  I'm also making her go to/join the Meridian Youth Mayor's Council.  It is a youth group that meets twice a month and works on passing legislation, community service, and youth activities. She's gone to two meetings so far.  She came home from her last one happy and excited...so I hope that will be a good experience for her as well.

It seems like Owen spends most of his time growing (he's taller than me now and wears an 11 men's shoe), in front of some sort of screen, playing piano (I love that he will sit down to play even though he won't take lessons anymore.), with his friends, or pestering his sisters or John. Owen is one that thrives when he is busy. Unfortunately for us all Owen is not involved in any extracurriculars.  Which means he has a little too much free time on his hands.  He is also coming to an age where he is more and more picky about the activities he is willing to participate in.  And while I'm fine forcing him to do things, I'm searching for something for him to do that he loves. Ski season and tennis season are too short.  I'm hoping this new youth program will strike up a desire in him to set and accomplish some goals.

We celebrated Emmie's 10th Birthday just yesterday! I can't believe my youngest is 10.  Its a little surreal.  We did a little window shopping in the morning at a fancy Christmas store.  Then then I took Emmie, Elsie, Owen, and Ains to our beloved PoJo's for some games and bumper cars.  We were lucky to get to ride the bumper cars because there was a fire (with actual flames!) on the bumper car platform while we were waiting in line. Lucky for us, PoJo's is ghetto enough that 10 minutes later, without even attempting to diagnose the problem, they started those cars right back up!  Later that afternoon Emmie and Elsie went to their end of season soccer party.  Floor hockey, pizza, and ice cream at the church.  Emmie was careful not to eat too much though, because she still wanted her favorite Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner and Oreo Ice cream cake for dessert.  We ended the night with gifts and watching the first Pirate's movie.  I think she had a great day. And we had fun celebrating her.  Emmie is probably my  most tenderhearted child.  She is smart, and funny, and shares a love of gross bodily functions with a teenage boy. I hope she always stays as tenderhearted and fun as she is right now.  

And a word about John.  John works.  That's pretty much it.  I'm getting pretty good at getting things taken care of at home and for the kids without asking for help.  He's doing a lot to support our family right now, which is good, but I'm anxiously awaiting the day when the county gives him one or two more members on his team to lighten his load just a bit.  We miss him. 

Picture's from the last month:

Our magic pumpkin plant that sprouted in our garden.  We've never ever planted a pumpkin plant.  It had to have come from pumpkin guts dumped there at some point. And it gave us 5 pumpkins!  

General Conference

General conference weekend was also salsa canning weekend.

Los Angeles and Disneyland

Ward Halloween party after we were done decorating.

Ainsley's awesome spiderweb.  That thing took her an hour. And there is a matching one on the other side.

Emmie as a witch.

A fieldtrip I got to go on with Emmie to Celebration Park.

Emmie's birthday at PoJo's.  I need to get some more pictures from John!