July 2022

As soon as we got home from the Dinger Family Reunion we dove right into the 4th of July. Leo was happy to be back at my parents...he really likes it there. And we like that my parents will watch him for us when we go out of town. 

It was our smallest 4th of July gathering ever...kind of sad! But we tried to make it fun. We still had the traditional breakfast and swimming, my parents got some fun games for the pool, we made fancy snow cones, played games, and had a bbq that night. We made the mistake of being lazy and agreeing to go watch fireworks at the Markus's (my parents neighbors and family friends). It was super awkward, and luckily the only lame part of the day. Next year we will do better. 

The weekend after the 4th I took Owen and Emmie and Elsie up to the Flake's cabin. Brooke invited us along with some other friends, and it was great. The kids spent hours and hours out on the water, and I enjoyed being at the lake and hanging out with friends. Being at the lake is probably my favorite summer activity. And it didn't hurt that Brooke's cabin was gorgeous. 

Then, mid July, Heather flew to San Diego with me for a little adventure. Heather is a saint. I needed someone to fly down to San Diego with me to buy an old car from Syd and Cy (their old Toyota Scion that Kort and I drove across the country years ago and that Ains and I drove all around New England when I took her there.) and then drive it back to Idaho with me. We spent a few days in San Diego before heading home. We were able to take some walks on the cliffs at Point Loma, and go to the beach to hunt for Sand Dollars, and we even got to go to Sea World!   We also got to help Syd and Cy pack, since they were literally leaving for their move to Michigan days after we left their house. 

Heather was great company, I we talked for the entire time. It was nice, I don't even remember what we talked about, but somehow we managed to visit for 5 days straight!

Syd and Cy stopped in Boise on their drive to Michigan so we got to see then for a few days. We went to Quinn's pond for some swimming and Kayaking, hiked table rock, and spent lots of time at my parents pool. It was a quick visit but nice to see them in Boise for a bit. 

 

June 2022

 Summer jobs of Ainsley and Owen

June got off to a slow start...and if I'm being honest, was kind of a lame and boring month. 

Quinn's pond and a bike ride on eagle green belt at the end of the month to make it feel like summer when it finally started to get warm.

The week after graduation and at the beginning of June Ainsley got her wisdom teeth out. And I am the super lame mom who forgot to take a single picture! She got out of school a week before the other kids, so I figured she had plenty of time to kill and that would be a great time to get them out! While she wasn't thrilled about getting them out, she was super happy when I picked her up! She just kept saying that she was bummed that she wasn't "high" as she kept calling it. Although, seeing as she isn't usually that chipper, I'm certain that she was indeed a little "high". And I laughed our loud when she was trying to drink a smoothie and I turned to look at her and she had smoothie all down her face. When I started laughing she just said, "What?! I thought I was doing so good!" She looked like a toddler with food all down her face and couldn't feel a thing. It was hilarious.

This year brought a cold June. It felt like summer hadn't really started because it was often chilly. The weekend after school got out Emmie and I headed to Rexburg for another soccer tournament. I procrastinated booking somewhere to stay, so we ended up staying with Heather's cousin. I was super grateful! It was a quick trip and a lot of soccer (the girls played 3 games) but I think Emmie had a good time. 

While Emmie and I were in Rexburg, John and Owen were in Salt Lake. Owen and his friend Logan had bought tickets to and AJR concert months ago, so John drove them down for the bug event. Theirs was a quick trip as well. I got home with Emmie on Saturday and we had a girls night of Tin Roof Taco's and the old Top Gun, and the boys were home by Sunday afternoon. 

Ainsley finished her first major cross stitch, which I think turned out awesome.

And then promptly started on her next one.

I was thrilled with my raspberry and blackberry bushes this year. For being in a pot they are doing great and giving me just enough berries to keep me happy.

We spent some time this year putting together this book for my day. And I think my sisters and I spent hours laughing. We filled it with pictures of everyone in the family looking ridiculous. And then we thanked him and told him we owed all that we were to him. The pictures are all horrible and the opposite of flattering and will hopefully bring a smile to anyone's face who might be having a bad day.

Other than that, June was spent working. I continued working for Savvy, Owen took on more hours working at the Grove Hotel and began working on his on-line class, and Ainsley started teaching swim lessons during the week and then worked at the hotel with Owen on Saturdays. And poor Emmie was bored. 

And then finally, the last few days of June summer finally really started. Emmie left for Girls Camp and John, me, Ains, and Owen, headed off to Bear Lake for a Dinger family reunion. I was super sad Emmie wasn't with us, but the dates were exactly the same and so sadly she had to chose. I don't have any pictures to share from girls camp but Emmie came home super excited and had a great time. 

The reunion was a success as well. Melanie found us an awesome house that had private beach access. And she planned a lot of super fun activities. 

There was a Dutch Blitz tournament that took place over several days and got pretty intense since there were gift cards for the winners.

And then there were hours of games played at all hours of the day. The Hunsakers traveled with a full size suitcase full of games.

There were two visits to Le Beau's for milkshakes.

There was a family trivia night.

A trip to the Minnetonka Caves.

And even a power point presentation night where each family shared a power point presentation. Topics ranged from the Bear Lake Monster, to the grandkids as super heros, to insane assylums, and even animals of Australia. However, I have to admit that we might have won (even though it wasn't a competition) with our fictitious presentation about the secret lives of cereal mascots. Thanks to Ainlsley's photoshop skills and John's creative writing.

Somehow I had never been to Beak Lake before this, and now I want to go back! It was beautiful! The water was gorgeous and so fun to swim in (but cold) and the scenery was beautiful. And as an added bonus we got to drive through Lund and see the area where my Grandpa grew up...which was gorgeous as well.

May 2022

May brought with it warmer yet temper-mental weather and a graduating senior. 

Owen was extra busy and finished up his track and tennis season. He also spent a lot of time sleeping. I'm surprised he didn't wear out his mattress. His tennis season started out strong and he won his first match against Mountain View. He played singles this year and did a great job. If he wants to do tennis again next year he'll be guaranteed a spot on Varsity. At his track meets he competed in the 800 and the mile. He loves to run, but he's never at the front of the pack. He wasn't able to beat his nemesis, but he was happy with his times and did great for trying to do 2 sports at the same time. 

Owen also got a job with some friends. He got a job doing housekeeping at the Grove Hotel downtown. He worked with his friend Emma and Clara. I was a little nervous about it at first, but Owen was working with friends and said it was a super easy job...which he loved. But after hearing some of his stories I don't know that I ever want to stay at a hotel again! Ewww!

Emmie created a piece of art to auction off at the YW ward fundraiser with the help of her art teacher. (Spoiler alert...her art piece sold. To her parents, because we couldn't part with it.) Emmie's works of art are slowly but surely filling up our home. Which I love.

We got a late snow this year and I snapped this picture one night while I was walking Leo during Emmie's soccer practice. I loved how we had green grass and snow covered mountains for a few days. 

Emmie ran track and did soccer this spring. However she only got to compete in 2 track meets. We had my grandpa's funeral during one track meet and she had a soccer game during the other. She ran hurdles and seemed to enjoy it. I'm guessing she'll do the same thing again next year.

End of year band concert for Emmie. 

John and I also let Ains and Owen stay home alone while we took Emmie to Idaho falls for a soccer tournament. And this was the only picture I took. I went on a walk one morning with another mom and snapped this picture. The tournament was so windy. SO windy. We lost horribly and spent hours in the wind. But the good news was that we stayed in a big and super fun house with several other soccer families and the girls all had a blast. 

I also attempted some yard work. This photo is proof that I am my father's daughter and can't seem to leave bushes and trees alone. My pruning efforts often end in messes like this. 

The good news is...somehow this bush grew back beautifully. So maybe my pruning efforts are actually more skilled than I realize.

And finally graduation. 

Ainsley graduated from seminary with 2 other kids from our ward. Ainsley was a bit of a lone wolf in our ward youth program. She was the only active senior girl and didn't hang out withe the only other senior boy. To be honest, she really didn't like going. But she did it...and now she get to move on to bigger and better things in college!

John's parent's were in town for Zach's mission farewell, so it was a nice treat to have them here. We went to his farewell that morning, Ainsley's graduation that afternoon, and then Zach's open house that night.

And then finally on May 27th graduation day came. And from what I can tell it was a success. Ainsley had to go to school that morning for a rehearsal with all of the seniors. Then she came home and had time to get ready for that night. 

The ceremony was at the Ford Center in Nampa and was pretty good for a graduation. The speakers did a good job and the ceremony was over in less than 2 hours. 

After graduation we all went to a Japanese steak house for dinner. Which is always fun because its a dinner and a show. 

Then we came home and Ainsley opened a few gifts and we watched a video that Owen and I made of her whole life. It was LONG! But super fun to watch. And after that Ainsley headed out with her friends to the Senior all night party. This year the kids went to Wahooz and had food and played all the games until about 4 in the morning. And with that...Ainsley's high-school journey came to an end. Which is completely bitter-sweet.

 

April 2022

April started with a little bit of fall canning. Apparently this year has been a busy one, because I finally got around to making jelly from the grapes we picked in October and salsa from the tomatoes from our garden last fall. My theme this year could be "better late than never." Sadly, several of my jars of jelly never set up. I'm currently trying to sell my family on the fact that grape syrup is a thing, but they are fighting me on that.

We had an electrical scare when we tried to mount a desk on the wall for Emmie. The probability was almost impossible, but somehow we managed to drill right into a wire. There was smoke, and a fried drill bit, and we then lived without power to that part of the house until an electrician was able to come fix our mistake. 

Fun fact: I am writing this in September an the wall still looks exactly like this.  One day I'll post about how I got around to patching the wall and repainting. Its best for me to put off projects like this so I can continue with my "better late than never" theme.

The biggest and most exciting event for John during the month of April was the new fence. We (along with several of our neighbors) hired a fencing company to tear out the old and install a new fence for us. We still needed to redo the 2 sides of our yard since we had only done the back last spring. They accomplished in 3 days what would have taken us weeks to do. And I agree with John, the new fence looks amazing. This is the only picture that I have...and even though its just a picture of our unsightly side yard....it still looks amazing.

John's best time of the month also corresponded with his worst time of the month. He somehow managed to scratch his cornea in 3 places. Ouch! He was pretty miserable. I drove him to the eye doctor the same morning that the fence went in and then we promptly got him some medication and he had to rest and keep his contacts out of his eyes for weeks until it completely healed. I guess at least he had the beautiful fence to look at after his eyes healed.

April for Ainsley meant prom. Her friend Brett asked her. We spent the month ordering and returning dresses, shopping for jewelry and trying out hair styles.

(This dress took second place.)

April for Owen meant track and tennis. He attempted to do both. Which was tricky. Also, tennis is the hardest sport to get a decent picture of your kid in action. The fence makes it nearly impossible. Anyways, Owen had to leave track early every day to make it to tennis, and he also had to miss several track practices due to tennis matches. He likes running and really likes the kids that are in track, but his focus was tennis. Next year if he makes the varsity tennis team he won't be able to do both and will have to choose. 

I'm also fairly certain that we celebrated Easter in April. However the only photographic proof is this picture of the hams at Costco. I did indeed make a ham. Which just reminded me that I don't really like ham and neither does my family. If I'm able to find any pictures of actual Easter I will add them...in an attempt to be less lame.

April also brought with it Owen's new hobby of cake making. It all started when he and his friend Clara made a birthday cake for their friend Logan. From there the cakes obsession continued, and if the kids were bored on a weekend, making a cake always seemed like a good idea. Some cakes were better than others, and my kitchen was always destroyed in the process, but I can't complain about a bunch of teens getting together to bake.

The end of the month brought with it Ainsley's senior prom. We made her date a boutonniere. Which I was happy to model.  

She went with some friends from her French class and they all seemed to have a great time. During the day they went to the zoo. And that night they had dinner at Brett's house and then went to the dance that was held at the Old State Penitentiary. There was a sudden and fierce rain storm as soon as we finished taking their group pictures, but all the kids didn't seem to mind and had a great time.

 

Sadly we ended the month of April with my Grandpa Welch's funeral. His leaving us was sad, and yet I couldn't be too sad about it because he lived such a good and long life and was finally not sick. His cancer had made it so that he couldn't eat and he was slowly wasting away. He was so frail. We went to his funeral in Twin Falls. Syd and Kort and Dan all flew in for the funeral. Sydney had to play the piano for my cousin Hailey and her husband Mark, they sang a song called called "Goin' Home" and were not successful at getting though it without crying. My dad and Randy spoke and Pam gave the life sketch. My dad had a hard time getting through his talk but did a good job. He shared lessons that he learned from his dad and told about a time when he stole some bowling shoes when he was growing up and how my grandpa had vouched for him when he was accused and said that my dad had never given him any reason to assume he would have stolen and lied. My dad said this just about killed him and he learned a valuable lesson about honesty that day. My uncle Randy shared a very dramatic story about the day that my Grandpa was a hero. In the seventh grade his school basket ball team was playing their rival and the game was tied the entire game. At the end of the game my grandpa made a buzzer shot from half court (even though the coach had instructed them to only shoot lay-ups) and he made the basket! They won the game 2-0! Randy also talked about how they had taken care of some chichilla's while my Aunt Zeda and Uncle Howard were on a mission in Australia. They had to go give the Chinchilla's their shots and my grandpa accidentally pushed too hard and the needle when all the way through the poor chinchilla. Upon hearing this Emmie let out an audible wail during the story. It sounded like she was crying over my grandpa...however everyone that knows Emmie knew that she was actually sobbing over the poor chinchilla. 

This was our last funeral in a string of three. I was able to visit with cousins that I hadn't seen since I was a kid. It was nice to be with family and to remember the life of my grandpa. My dad pointed out that he hadn't seen his mom or brother since he was 17, his dad for 40 years, and his wife and sister for over 20. I'm sure his reunion on the other side was a joyous one.