July 2021

July was a bit of a blur. It started out with the girls and I going to stake camp. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to go, but the stars aligned and we were to a point in the remodel where I knew being gone for a few days would be possible. So I left my mom and John with instructions, and I left town!  It was a stake camp this year, and while I'm sure it was very nice, I spent nearly 15 hours a day in the kitchen, so I was exhausted! Heather was with me. We worked hard every day and then went swimming to cool off in the evenings. And then we woke up at 5:30 the next morning and started again. We ended up having a good time, but after the first day we were a little worried. There was some tension in the kitchen at times, it was definitely a learning experience! And honestly, it was a nice mental break from worrying about the remodel. So I welcomed the change.  The biggest thing I learned from my experience is that I want to be a helper. There were a lot of empty offers to help us. And we needed all the help we could get. One of the priesthood holders up there for the week came and spent a lot of his time helping us. It was an example to me. I know that I have given lots of empty offers to help in the past, this made me realize that I need to fix that. I need to just act.

The girls had a great time. I have very few pictures. Like three. The week was filled with devotionals, swimming, eating, dancing, skits, and playing games. But I only got pictures of the knife and ax throwing. Which we're pretty good at. 

This was Emmie's first girls camp. She was a little nervous. Especially about her tent assignment because she didn't have any close friends in her tent. However she ended up having a great week and getting to know the girls in her tent. I was relieved that she had a great time. She was so young and I was nervous too!

Look...they let me out of the kitchen!

This was Ainsley's last girls camp. She was a YCL and did a good job of involving all of the girls she was in charge of. she played games and involved all the girls. It was awesome to watch her be such a great leader. She had a bit of a panic attack one day. I think she had over exerted herself, was over tired, and probably dehydrated. So I took her down to the lake and she took some quiet time to swim and have a moment to herself. Afterward she was ready to go!  The lesson learned for her is that sometimes we have to make sure that we recharge ourselves so that we can help others. 

Two of my favorite young women friends left me this beauty on my phone. And they were always sure to say hello when they walked by the kitchen!

Owen also started a construction job in July. He worked with another boy from his school (a teammate of Logan's from the LAX team). They just did whatever random jobs this contractor needed done at a few of his job sites. He mowed lawns, chopped down trees, swept, cleaned, cut down weeds, and all sorts of other miserable jobs. He worked for 6 weeks and made well over $1000. He hated it! But he is a hard worker and did everything that was asked of him. I was very proud!

And when I got home, my showers were done!  YAY!!!

With the showers being done we just needed plumbing, and then we could move back into our house. We were finally able to move back in on July. We moved back in on July 8th. And then I spent the 9th helping with Olivia's Demar's wedding reception. Truth be told, there were  a few awkward moments when I inadvertently invited myself to the family dinner, but it all ended up being ok. We worked all day decorating. Heather is incredible at decorating and putting together parties. She did an amazing job putting it all together. During the reception I worked with several other friends in the kitchen keeping the food stocked. It was a fun night. But I'll be honest, after all the crazy...I was ready for a rest.

I came home from that reception and slept for a very long time. And then when I woke up...it was time to enjoy the end of summer just a bit. The cabinets weren't finished, and there were still a million projects to get done at the house, but I needed a break.

We were able to schedule a time at the baptistry for Emmie to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. The appointment as at 6:30 in the morning, but it was great. It was the first time having my whole family in the temple together. 

We ended July with a trip to McCall for some kayaking. We did a day trip with the Demars and went just north of McCall to where we had camped along the river last year. We hadn't been able to do any camping this year so this was as close as I was going to get. We left in the morning and got a subpar spot on the beach. But the water was nice and we were able to spend time kayaking and playing in the water. We even got to see a moose crossing the deep river. We just saw her huge head bobbing along the surface as we kayaked. It was awesome! We made a fire that night and had some dinner before driving home. A close second to camping. 

June 2021

 We made it through the worst of the remodel with all the crazy of May, right? Wrong. But we also managed to have a little fun. Emmie's YW leader sent me these cute pictures of the Beehives. Actually technically they are the 12-13 year old girls now. 

And I also got called to Young Women's again. I was asked to work with Ainsley's group. Strangely I accepted with conditions. Which I've never done before. John has been in Young Men's for years, and we have been struggling on Wednesday nights to get everyone where they needed to go. Often times all 5 of us were at different locations. While I was a primary activity leader this was only a problem twice a month, but every week felt overwhelming. There had been rumblings that John was going to be released soon, so I asked that they not call me to YW until after John had been released. I also felt like that would give me time to get the remodel more under control, and maybe even move back into our house! I had also been asked to be a camp cook with Heather, so now I was going to be doing double duty at Girls Camp the end of June.

We (the girls and I) got to celebrate Olivia Demars' wedding with her at her bridal shower and at a party the night before. For her Bachelorette party she chose to go to a restaurant/bar in Caldwell for appetizers and line dancing. It was actually a lot of fun. Although the highlight of the night was when people started taking turns on the mechanical bull. It was the highlight of Emmie's night! 

The beginning of June also brought with it the end of the school year. School got out late this year (because they started late due to covid) so they were in school until June 11. It seemed like the school year would never end! Emmie finished up her last year of elementary school with flying colors. She won an academic award, had an awesome music program, and (as per 5th grade tradition at River Valley) got to ride in a limo. A pretty good graduation for a 5th grader if you ask me!

Emmie had a busy June. As soon as her graduation party was over she and John hopped in the car and took off for Rexburg for a soccer tournament (The Yellowstone Cup). They did a bit of sight seeing in between games and got to have a fun father/daughter weekend. 

Ains and I were originally supposed to go, but that ended up being the weekend she was going to be taking the ACT for the second time, so I opted to stay home with her. In hind sight it wasn't worth it. The test organizer at her location was a disaster and had all of the kids start over an hour late. Ains was off her game due to all of the confusion that morning and ended up scoring lower than she had the first time. Her first ACT score was a 33, which is awesome, so this test was just an experiment to see if she could get any higher. Had i known she wouldn't we would have gone on the trip with John and Emmie!

As soon as Emmie got back from Rexburg Owen took off for Lagoon with his friend Logan and his family. It was a nice little get away and a fun way for Owen to end the school year. And as soon has he got home from Salt Lake he started summer workouts for cross country. He decided to join the team which I was thrilled about. They practiced 4 mornings a week during the summer and had a few "Fun Friday" activities where they went out to different locations for a change of scenery. He went to a lot of the practices and improved his distance and time a lot!

After the ACT, Ainsley jumped into her summer jobs. She was working at Welch music and teaching swimming lessons again. She was busy!

Up next...a unique piano recital. Due to covid, Emmie and Ainsley's piano strudio had small groups record their songs and then put together a video to be shown at a drive-in theater out in Parma. It was a really cute idea. Ainsley opted not to come, but me and Emmie and my parents trecked out there and had a nice night. 

Progress was made on the house. And more drama. My cabinet guy had a heart attack and needed bypass surgery. My plumber threw out his back and I had to search for a new plumber. I got several referrals, most of whom were booked out for months, and then found someone who wasn't my favorite but could hopefully get the job done. 

I was grateful that our new tile guy agreed to take care of our showers and floors as well, even though he was originally only scheduled to do our back splashes. Our bill would be about $1500 more than we were planning on but it was well worth it to get it all done earlier. As soon as we gave the go ahead, the demo and tile setting all happened quickly. Even with me changing my mind on the floor tile in the master bathroom at the last minute. I didn't end up loving the tile that I had picked out for both bathrooms and after it was put down in the kids bathroom I decided to go and buy new tile and just take the loss of $200 of the tile that we couldn't return and wouldn't end up using.

(Kids Bath)

(Master Bath)

I also had a melt down over the discrepancy in counter depth from one side of my oven to the other. It ate at me for a long time. But to be honest, I don't even notice it anymore.

Despite my cabinet guys heart attack, his assistant got our doors installed and got us to the point that we could at least move in. Which I was grateful for. Is it currently October and we're still waiting for finishing touches? Yes. But you can't win them all!

Oh, and we also made ourselves into cartoons. While still living at my parents. Because we have our priorities straight and still made time to do the important things in life.

How the heck is this John?!?!

A few other random highlights from June:

Owen started doing summer workouts with the cross country team. He wasn't sure about actually joining in the fall and this was a perfect way to decide how much he actually liked running. 

Owen finished drivers training and got his permit. Teaching kids to drive is the scariest part of parenting.

I noticed a few tender mercies throughout the month as well. One morning as I was sad and frustrated and headed from my parents to our house Syd called. It wasn't much, but it somehow made me feel a lot better that day. And then that Sunday in church someone gave a talk about how no matter what, "Everything would be OK." Which was just what I needed to hear. Sometimes I lose perspective and forget little things like that. 

I asked my parents if they could live in one decade for the rest of their lives, which decade they would choose. They chose the 90's. Was it because the 90's were that awesome or because that's when they still had all of their kids living there? Then I started wondering what other people would say. And now I want to interview people and find out what the most common answer to that question is. 

We also got to spend some time with John's parents in June. They came to town for Zach's graduation and priesthood ordination. Its always good to spend time with them, but sadly, I rarely think to take pictures.