May 23, 2019

Another month has flown by and I’ve failed to document it well.  So here are some highlights....

We celebrated Easter!  The week leading up to Easter felt like a whirlwind but we finally managed to color Easter eggs on Saturday night. Emmie cried because she couldn’t get her eggs to look the way she wanted and I had flash backs to several years ago when we had a similar experience with Ainsley over Easter eggs.  Except that time everyone got sent to heir rooms for a time out.  We managed to get the eggs colored with no time-outs and we also were able to introduce the kids to a few favorite They Might Be Giants songs in the process.  So, the night was pretty much a win! We had a nice day at church for Easter and then my parents came over for dinner.  I attempted Chicken Cordon Bleu.  I thought it was gross but everyone ate it.  Maybe because they were afraid to tell me? I may never know! We had a fun Easter egg hunt with the kids that afternoon in the back yard and then we declared our celebrating over.  It’s always nice to celebrate Easter with family.

(Please enjoy possibly the worst Easter pictures ever.  About an hour after these pictures were taken the children were dressed in their Easter outfits looking all Easter-y and picture perfect.  But we chose not to document that with the camera.)

Owen completed his second tennis season.  His hard work and determination with tennis this year has been inspiring.  He made the A team again this year and moved up to second doubles from doubles alternate.  On top of his practice time at school he has spent hours at the tennis courts at the park to get in extra practice.  He progressed a lot this year.  I think with some lessons he could be great.  He got some help from a friend of ours that helps coach the Meridian HS team and ev that gave him some good direction.  He and his partner (Jake Coltrin) made it to districts.  So they go to miss a day of school and play tennis all day! Lucky for me he played at Lowell Scott so I was able to pop out and watch games when things were a little slow in the library. They didn’t place but Owen wants to keep at it and play next year.  Currently we’re looking into some lessons for him and  I guess time will tell how far he decides to take it!

Owen was also inducted into the National Junior Honor Society.  He's pretty much winning at life right now.  Although he has me worried because his GPA is hovering right at a 3.5, which is the lowest allowed to remain in Honor Society.  He doesn't seem to worried.  So I'm hoping he has it all under control. 

Ainsley’s big news for the month is that we purchased a “kid car available for her use”. She’s lucky that she is the only one even close to driving right now. We’re lucky that my mom wanted a new car so we could buy her old one!  Ainsley will be going in to take her state driving and written state test in the next few weeks and then I won’t have to drive her everywhere anymore! Yay!

A few weeks ago I got to spend an evening with Emmie at a Mother daughter activity at church.  It was a lot of fun. They had a game night set up and everyone would move to different tables throughout the night based on answers to questions and pick up in the middle of a game where someone else left off.  Emmie and I had fun and I learned that Emmie doesn’t know my birthday.  But she did know it was on a Sunday this year!

The kids and John had been looking forward to the final Avengers movie for months. I think John bought tickets As soon as they became available.  Although we didn’t go on opening night because Emmie had an early soccer game Saturday morning.  But we made it there on Saturday afternoon.  It was long! But we were in a theater with reclining seats so we were comfortable. Emmie and I had to leave once to go to the bathroom.  And I may have cried a little.  I’m pretty sure I’ve never cried in a super hero movie before! Usually I just tag along because the rest of my family is obsessed!

We also celebrated Mother’s Day since the last time I wrote! I had a great mother’s day.  I got to sleep in a bit because ward council was canceled.  The elders quorum took over primary and the young men served all the women strawberry shortcake during second hour.  It was so nice to relax and visit on a Sunday! I went home feeling rejuvenated instead of tired! We had a delicious dinner.  The kids gave flowers and candy.Emmie wrote me a nice card.  And John got me a manicure and pedicure (which I still need to schedule). We headed over to my moms for desert later than night and had a nice visit with them. It was a really nice day.  I’ve been cranky about mother’s day in the past because I’ve felt like all the attention was superficial.  Perhaps I’m finally getting older and wiser, but this year I decided just to enjoy the day and not over think it...and I’m glad I did.

Emmie’s soccer season has come to a close.  Her team took first in their tournament again this year.  They played well worked hard as a team.  They are a great group of girls and soccer players! We’ve decided to let Emmie try out with the rest of her team for a slightly more competitive league.  Her team will maintain 5 of the same players and then add a few new. I think in the end this will help her develop more as a player and help her along if soccer is something she wants to do long term.  Which I hope she does, because she’s really good!

(Photo cred goes to Ainlsey!)

My cousin Carson (Kelly’s son) was getting married in St George the first weekend of May. My mom wanted to go but my dad not so much...so Ainsley and I decided to go with her. And I’m so glad we did! It was a great weekend catching up with family members I haven’t seen in years.  IbwS always closest to my moms side of the family when I was growing up.  Tifani and particularly.  We went to EFY together, and even went to BYU together.  We were never roommates but we took classes together and hung out regularly.  So many of my favorite college memories include Tifani! And she was going to be at the wedding too! Which was just icing on the cake.  We stayed with my Aunt Dode (melody) and I really enjoyed the time we had to visit with her.  We drove up on a Thursday afternoon .  Got to St George after midnight that night.  Helped with wedding stuff for most of Friday. Did wedding stuff all day Saturday.  And then drive home on Sunday. It was a whirlwind and we were tired but it was awesome.  Almost all of Dave and Peggy’s kids were there. All of Kelly’s kids (except Cassidy who is on a mission), and a few of Dode’s kids.  We worked hard and I laughed until I cried more than once.  The reception was outside at a gorgeous resort and included a delicious crepe bar and a fireworks show.  It is hands down the coolest reception I have ever been too, and I loved that Ainsley had so much fun with everyone.  She wasn’t anxious at all and legitimately enjoyed herself and had fun meeting everyone.  She felt right at home with these people that she hadn’t seen since she was 5.  Families really are forever.  There’s just something unique about family relationships, even when they are distant.

(No one is quite sure what I was doing in the above picture. Least of all me...)

And last but not least, random pictures from my phone....

The kids at a youth service project at the church orchards.

My  mom found a box of my stuff when she was cleaning out her closet and I found these gems.

I still make those glasses look awesome!

An egg I distinctly remember struggling with in the 1st grade.  I remember being so upset because no matter how hard I tried I could not get the edges to line up correctly.

Doodles from a folder from 7th grade. 

The young men playing dart wars for mutual.  I believe the scriptural reference that inspired the evening was, 1 Nephi 15:24 "And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction."

April 14, 2019

Spring is here!  That means our weeknights are now filled with tennis, soccer, piano, mutual, activity days, etc.  Spring and Fall are so busy! Last week Emmie had a soccer game and Owen had a Jazz Band concert on the same night.  John spent the night in the rain with a sad little girl who took her turn playing goalie against her teams toughest competitor and ended up letting in 4 goals.  While Emmie is a phenomenal offensive player,  she lacks good defensive instinct.  They lost the game 4-2 and she was so sad.  Luckily she is a ie year old and bounces back quickly from upset. She was happy to be at practice the next night and also had an amazing game on Saturday.  I spent that evening with Owen and got to listen to some smooth jazz.  For a 7-8th grade band they actually sounded amazing!

Owen tried out for the tennis team again this year.  He made the A team!  This year he has moved up from doubles alternate to second doubles.  He plays it cool but I think he’s excited.  He was also selected to join the national junior honor society.  His induction ceremony will be next month.  That boy is really going places.

We spent last weekend in front of the TV watching general conference. I really enjoyed conference this year. Not only were the traditional cinnamon rolls on point, but the lazy Sunday was just what I needed.  Saturday was busy and we listened a lot while we worked, but on Sunday I slept in until 7:00, relaxed and listened all day, and my parents made us a fabulous dinner.  It was perfect.

Owen spent the Saturday of conference in his room having an “Ann Frank” experience for his history class.  He had to spend 8 hours in his room and not talk to anyone.  He couldn’t have devices and could only come out to go to the bathroom.  We slipped in food and checked on him periodically.  And we made him start his time over when he checked on him on hour 2 and he was being dishonest and was playing a game on a sneaked in phone. So technically Owen spent 10 hours in his room and hopefully learned a lesson in honesty.

For me the main take-always from conference were that I need to be more determined to make our family study lessons engaging and educational. I feel like right now we are going through the motions but not really putting much effort in.  We need to up our game. The message I kept hearing was that now is the time to study and learn and teach in our homes, while simultaneously simplifying where we can in our lives. I also felt an urgent need to increase my own knowledge.  The talks that meant the most to me were Sis. Eubanks, Elder Bednar, elder Ballard, and Elder Holland. President Nelson’s talk made me wonder if I should send it to Kortney.  I feel like it was directed toward her. There were also several messages about missionary work.  Missionary work is something that I struggle with.  It is uncomfortable for me.  So I think to begin with I’m going to be less afraid to talk about church at work.

The most immediate lesson I learned from conference was from Sister Eubank.  I’ve really enjoyed her talks in the past but her talk on Sunday morning was one that calmed me and helped me feel peace. I’m embarrassed to admit this because it seems stupid and silly in some ways, but I had an experience where a friend did something that really hurt my feelings.  I won’t go into details but I felt sad, and mad, and lonely all at the same time.  This happened right before the start of the Sunday morning session.  I loved listening to Sis. Eubanks talk and was reminded of the peace that we will always feel when we are listening to others teach and testify of Christ.  My plan is to go back and listen to talks that I loved, and also some of the talks that I missed.  And then of course to try a little more fully to be a little better in the ways I was prompted.
Emmie has recently been trying to read at least  300 minutes a week.  It’s doable…but sometimes tricky when there’s so much going on after school! She told me they get a prize if they read that many minutes and that there is a reading competition going on at her school.  If there’s one thing I can say about Emmie, it’s that she is a fierce competitor.  She has made sure to get her reading minutes in, even if she has to try to read while eating, walking, and brushing her teeth.

Yesterday John and Owen joined the scouts on a 10 mile hike/walk.  So the girls and I drove downtown and hiked table rock.  We’ve heard that this years trek will be a little more rigorous than the last and that people need to make sure they’re in shape.  So that’s what we’re doing.  I’m mostly concerned with everyone breaking in their shoes.  So I foresee a lot of hikes and walks in the near future.  We’ve got just under 2 months to get ready!  Clearly I need to start thinking about it…we’ve got a lot of gear to gather, work to do, and plans to make.

March 2019

I’m feeling behind in my writing!  I need to try harder to write weekly so it doesn’t feel so overwhelming!  The beginning of this month I finished up the used book drive I was in charge of at work.  We ended up collecting over 3,500 books and raised close to $1,000.  During the chaos of the book drive and everything else that makes me busy, I had a moment of crazy.  I applied for another job at the school district.  I didn’t really want the job, but the hours were appealing.  Still 15 hours a week but crammed into two days instead of five.  This pushed me to talk to my boss about my hours.  I feel like 15 hours a week should be doable.  But with my kids’ schedules it just feels like I don’t have time to get anything done.  Luckily I work with great women.  My new schedule will be 3 days a week, 5 hours a day.  I will still be able to get Emmie off to school and be home before anyone gets home.  But I’ll have 2 days a week to get things done at home, clean for my mom, or work on instrument repair.  I’ve only actually worked this schedule for one week because of spring break, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be life changing!

The week before spring break Ains and Emmie had a piano recital.  The kids were all encouraged to memorize their songs and play without music.  Ainsley had a hard song and this was stressing her out.  She was still struggling with a couple of parts and had a nervous break down an hour before the recital.  I think she didn’t want to feel like she had let everyone down.  But what she failed to understand is that no one would feel let down if she used her music.  In the end both girls were amazing. Ainsley took her music up with her but didn’t use it until the parts she struggled with.  When she sat down after playing she told me that she had drawn a blank half way through and couldn’t find her place in her music so she was just making things up!  And I’m pretty sure only her teacher and herself even noticed.

My friend Natalie had some free ski passes to Tamarack.  Unfortunately for her, but fortunately for us, she wasn’t able to use them.  She was kind and offered them to us! So we got a free day of skiing on a new mountain.  We got up early on the Saturday before spring break, loaded the kids and gear in the car, picked up some breakfast burritos, and started the two hour drive toward Cascade.  John and I have never been to Tamarack before, so we were relying on our GPS.  In an attempt to be prepared I had called the resort earlier in the week and the woman I spoke with on the phone reassured me that the roads were clear and we would easily get there in our van.  Sadly, our GPS chose “the road less traveled” to get us there! It was horrible!  We turned off of a clear highway onto a dirt road.  Well, technically the road was sometimes dirt, sometimes paved, sometimes sheets of snow and ice, sometimes full of horrifyingly deep ruts of snow, and always FULL of the biggest potholes you have ever seen!  So many potholes you couldn’t even dodge them! It was the worst road I’ve driven on in my life.  And we were in our van.  We saw 2-3 trucks during the hour we spent on that terrifying road.  My stomach was literally in knots and I was worried we weren’t going to make it.  I couldn’t figure out how the Tamarack lady thought these were clear roads!  Eventually we did make it.  And I’m sure we did permanent damage to the van that we have yet to discover.  We learned upon arriving that the road we took is a nightmare year round.  And that if you stay on the highway there are clear paved roads the whole time.  Needless to say our ride home was a breeze!  Once we finally got to the resort we had a nice day skiing.  It was really warm and the snow was a little slushy. Strangely John and Ainsley were the ones to ski the longest. By the end of the day we had explored a lot of the mountain and found a couple of favorite runs. The mountain closed at 4:00, but we were tired and done for the day at 3:30.  It was a nice little getaway and a good end to ski season!

I still can't get over those amazing views!

This month we also celebrated John’s birthday.  We got to celebrate with his parents this year since they were in town watching Dan and Paige’s kids.  It was nice to have them over. We celebrated by taking the kids to one of our family favorites, Red Pavilion, for dinner.  Then both of our parents came over that night for presents and cake and ice cream. It was a pretty low-key celebration.

The day after John’s birthday we packed up the car and headed to Salt Lake.  We hadn’t been in nearly a year and John’s mom is having a hip replacement in a few weeks  so we thought it would be nice to visit for a couple of days. On our way there we drove into Burley and ate dinner at the Taco Bandito.  I remember eating there as a kid.  It was a fun little jaunt down memory lane as we were able to drive past the Welch Music store and my elementary school (Dworshak) on our way to dinner.

While in Salt Lake we didn’t do much.  Saturday we took the kids to temple square with Steph and her kids.  We spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday just hanging out at John’s parents.  It was nice to visit and relax a bit.  We also got a call from Brother Tingy (a member of our old stake presidency) that Sunday.  He called and asked John and I if we would be willing to he trek parents again this year.  I’m assuming they had more kids sign up for trek than they anticipated and most likely had couples called that had to cancel.  We were a logical choice since we’ve done it before.  I think it will be a great experience.  We will be trekking in a new location and will have two of our kids there with us. Poor Emmie will he home alone.  I'm glad we’ll be able to go, but honestly we’ve been so busy I haven’t really even had time to think about it.

On Monday morning we packed up the car and stopped by IKEA on our way back to Meridian.  Somehow we spent over $500 while we were there.  We have issues.  Actually, most of that was some new book shelves for our front room for John’s birthday.  We kind of bought them on a whim.  But due to the fact that John is a book hoarder they were practically a necessity  (Sometimes I get tired of storing books…but I suppose there are worse things!). Due to the fact that we weren't really planning on bringing home two big book shelves from Salt Lake we hadn't really planned for the extra space. After unpacking and repacking the van very strategically we BARELY fit our family and all of our stuff.  It was a squishy ride home.

I have been dreaming of "Marie Kondo-ing" our house since watching Tidying Up on Netflix a few months ago. I decided that Spring Break would be the best time to make my dream a reality.  The day after we got home from Salt Lake, with surprisingly little whining, the kids and I attacked the house. We all spent the next few days getting rid of junk. We have completely cleaned out almost the entire house! We've filled bags and bags for DI and the garbage.  It feels amazing. Look at those organized drawers!

Only my bedroom and closet remain.  John and I hope to tackle that this weekend. Sadly my organized feeling was short lived. The new shelves we purchased turned into a decision to completely redo our front room.  So the second half of our Spring Break was spent painting.  I pulled our desk outside and sanded it down.  Repainted and stained the desk.  I repainted and recovered our desk chair.  I still need to make some floating shelves, paint a side table, and paint some frames for some sheet music to go above our piano.  It will look awesome when it’s done!  Hopefully we’ll finish up all of our projects this week and I’ll have a de-junked house and a beautiful new office/piano room. Fingers crossed!

My poor kids had a fairly boring Spring Break.  A true first world problem I suppose.  One day after getting my daily painting done I took Owen and Emmie to the park to fly kites.  If you look closely you can spot Owen and Emmie and their kites in the pictures below.

Ainsley was a little social and got together with her friends a couple of times.  And Owen was able to get together with friends once or twice.  But mostly we were home working.  Which is okay.  Because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Just for fun...

John and I went to dinner one night and got a million calls and texts from the kids.  Apparently too much time at home also causes sibling fighting at my house.

We also got family pictures taken recently.  I still don't have any copies back.  But here is a preview....

And last but not least…a quote. “I’m full handed”. —Emmie anytime her hands are full and she doesn’t want to carry anything else.

March 10, 2019

Well, I turned 40.  Why do I still feel 27?  For years I felt like I was 21.  So maybe feeling like I’m 27 is a sign I’m growing up. I celebrated with a full birthday weekend.  On Friday John and I took the day off work to take Owen and Clara up to bogus for their final race, the “Dotty Clark”. Owen was certain he would place because he’s placed in all of his other races.  Unfortunately, it just wasn’t his day.  I think he was a little bummed but hopefully the nice sunny day and beautiful skiing conditions made up for it. We skied from 10 that morning until 6:00 that night.  Clara and Owen pushed John and I to our limit and we came home dead tired.  It was an awesome day.

Saturday we got some chores done and then John and I went shopping for me a new bike for my birthday.  I’ve been riding my blue “Iguana Giant” since I was 14. Although it’s become a classic I think it might be time to put her to rest.  I still can’t decide what I want in a new bike so we’ll have to go out shopping again before I make a decision.  The kids decorated the house for me that night and John took me out to dinner.

On my actual birthday I got up and went to ward council.  But my friend Carrie, the Young Women’s president, made me an awesome birthday sign and some yummy cookies.  So it wasn’t too bad.

(A little, funny, behind the scenes from this pic...I walked into ward council and sat down across from this huge sign and didn't even notice it.  I was talking about some things that needed done and everyone in the room was sitting awkwardly looking at me and I was worried that I had walked in on a conversation I shouldn't have.  When I finally took time to look at the sign and read it I realized why there had been such a weird and awkward vibe in the room!  Sometimes I'm a little slow. Haha!)

I also got this great shirt from my sister. Rumor has it that she has one to match that says, "I'm Kortney." What I found hilarious though was that I already owned the exact shirt that she bought for me.  She knows I love a good Walmart shirt.

After church that day I went to an open house for one of my old mia-maids that is leaving on a mission.  Then I came home and the kids watched me make myself dinner.  I made delicious bruschetta.  We opened presents and had cake and were done by 3:30.  Then I hopped in the car and picked up Heather for our trip to Salt Lake for her follow up appointment from the mastectomy she had had just a few days before.  We had a nice time visiting in the car and it was actually a nice calm end to my birthday.  We got to Salt Lake around 10:00, slept at her aunt's house, got up early for her appointment (which went well), grabbed some food, and then drove straight home.  We were back to Meridian in time for dinner!

In other news…soccer season has begun!  There was snowfall during Emmie’s first game.  We froze! And technically her first game should have been last week but there was too much snow/water on the fields.  Why they start soccer season the beginning of March in Idaho I will never understand.  But Emmie’s team won 1-0.  Emmie scored the only goal.  Her team had some great plays and had a great first game.

Owen got sick…again.  He ended up missing 3 days of school, a ski team party, a birthday party, and a day of skiing. Poor kid. And while I shouldn't laugh. Owen's txts that day made me laugh until I cried.  Mostly because he said the school nurse was useless.  I know he wasn't feeling well, but he seemed a little dramatic....





He fought fevers and a horrible cough, but luckily he was well enough to make it to his band concert.  He's still first chair.  Way to go Owen! Ainsley also had an orchestra concert last week.  But I forgot to take a picture.  Oops.

The girls and I had a girls day up at bogus with my ski friend Mandy and her daughter Ava last weekend.  Owen and Ava are perfect little ski buddies so I was bummed he wasn’t there but it ended up being a fun day for the girls.  Ains even made it down her first black diamond.  She might be as slow as a snail but she can get down anything!

Ainsley has also started driving herself to and from school (with John or I in the car). We’re trying really hard to get the rest of her supervised driving hours finished so that she can get her license this summer.  I can’t remember if I wrote this before…but Ainsley got a job teaching swimming lessons this summer.  We are super excited about it! But I don’t want to worry about driving her.  So we’ve got to get this done.  Her driving has turned a corner and she’s getting far less scary to drive with! I’ve been amazed at how much improvement she’s made just with consistent drives to and from school every day. She’s so close!

I’ve been crazy busy at work lately.  One of my favorite things about my job is how low stress it is. But somehow I got put in charge of the used book drive this year.  I’ve actually enjoyed putting it all together, but it has added a level of stress.  I’ve been working extra hours and it’s become one more thing to worry about.  The book sale will run this next week and then it will be back to regular library business, which I think I’m ready for.  I spent last week counting and organizing the 3,500 donated books, coordinating prizes for kids, and making sure everything was ready for the book sale to run smoothly.  At this point I just have to hope I remembered everything!

Owen and I also got to spend some quality time volunteering at the Meridian Food Bank.  He has to do community service hours for one of his classes and this is what he chose to do.  John took him the last time he volunteered.  So when we showed up this time he knew what to do and where everything went.  I'm glad he had the opportunity and hopefully he learned a little bit of gratitude along the way.

I discovered the Family Search app today.  It is so cool!  I made my kids download it and they played around with it and read about their ancestors all afternoon (and if I'm being honest, during sacrament meeting). Things like that make my heart happy.