Aidan completed his second triathlon. He has been training for this for a few months. It was held up in Bountiful. He started with a 150 meter swim, then transitioned to his bike and rode 3 miles, and lastly ran 1.5 miles. He did it in a great time: 36 minutes! We are so proud of his hard work and dedication. It was thrilling to be able to cheer him on. Jon Lear and his family were there, too. It was fun to catch up with them. We then celebrated at an IHOP for breakfast!
Besides triathlon, Aidan has been playing soccer, playing the piano, and playing pokemon. Busy childhood! Weston is also busy with soccer. He practices three times a week. He is playing mid field and does a great job because he has skills as a defender and an offender. We really like the coach and he is making good friends on the team. He and Aidan went to a Real Monarchs Soccer game and were able to walk onto the field and be presented as those who participated in Real Soccer camps. Fun, but not as exciting as we thought it would be. Still...
Weston is also in full swing in Junior High. And he is doing well. There is always a little trepidation going into something unknown and "big", but he has handled it all well. Scott and Weston went camping with the scouts up to Five Mile Pass. Weston is really loving being in Young Men's and enjoys the activities and friends he is making there.
I am still in Young Women (and I love being able to go to activities with Weston at times!). I was in charge of a combined YW activity and it turned out fun. I made the Questival (that activity in the spring that our family did) into a Service Questival. The girls were put into teams and went around performing acts of service and got points according to how difficult the activity was.
Our neighbors joined us going to the gem faire this year. Aidan bought some buffalo nickels and Brennan and Aidan both bought some copper coins. Brennan is doing wonderfully in flag football, scoring the first touchdown for his team and has scored two other times! He is having fun. He is also studying hard and came home with a "caught being good" card!
Elise has had fun in kindergarten this year. Every few weeks they have what is called a "culminating activity" to celebrate what they have been studying. I get to help out (because I signed up to be the room mom...) and have been able to see her as she learns and grows. She studied Native Americans and how they lived.
The highlight of September was when Omi and Opa came to visit (separately though). Opa came for just a few days but was able to attend a soccer game with us--and Adam. I love it when they get together. Then Omi came and she lovingly helped me make my quilt! We invited my friend Norma over to help out as well. I had put the squares together beforehand but I needed the expertise of ladies who know how to quilt professionally! We set it up and quickly finished it up. Then Omi and I did some shopping to find some decorations to go in the basement. We loved having Omi stay with us--in our new basement! Although the finished plumbing wasn't done, she did at least get to stay in our new guest room.
Besides doing more basement finishing this month, we have been making lots of spaghetti sauce. Lots. Scott is a pro at it now. We have had several people ask for the recipe, so I posted it, and because of that, several people have asked to borrow our veggie strainer. I really should get paid commission on all the things I "sell" to people...
Unfortunately, much of this month Scott has been sick. Because of the antibiotics he was on, and just being sick before, he also got something called "C Diff"and it is a nasty one that just doesn't feel good, and is hard to get rid of. Fortunately, he has seen a specialist and is now on the mend.
With the sickness, we have been more vigilant about being clean. We do not want a winter full of sickness. A happy Fall to you all--may you have healthy and happy October!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
August
The last month of summer is always busy because we try to shove everything we haven't been able to do into the last days before school. This year was extra busy. But, yes, we did get in some fun family time.
The big event was a day at Boondocks (arcade, games, rides, etc). All summer they have been saving their candy and turning off lights (this is a problem at our house) and received POINTS. Those points went into tokens for the arcade at Boondocks. They love to play those dumb games! Though, I admit, it is addicting, and I can see why people become gamblers. But, that is not all we did. We played laser tag, rode race cars, water boats, and played on the jungle gym. We spent hours and hours there, even went home for lunch, and came back! I am proud of the kids for not eating candy and for learning to turn off their lights--worth it!
We also went to "This is the Place" with my friends from France, Karine and Fred Harvard. It was so fun to see them and the kids had blast. Their daughters are sweet girls. They now live in California and plan on visiting Utah again. Karine was my visiting teacher when I lived in France and I learned a great deal from her. She is the only member in her family. She met Fred when I was there, but he wasn't a member. He joined the church and they got married. Now they are a very faithful couple who are great parents and good people.
It is fun to see friends! I also had a visit from a friend from Ricks and BYU, Trevor Cardno. It was great to see him and talk about the old days. Fun to catch up.
The kids had fun with other kids in the neighborhood. We did a "backyard battle"--kids brought any toys that battle; Pokemon, Beyblades, nerf guns, etc. They had a great time! Brennan and his friend Luke had a Magic Show they put on for neighborhood kids. And Aidan, Brennan, and Elise went to a Carnival held by some of the young girls (they had put together little activities for the kids and charged so parents could have a night out, They were quite the entrepreneurs).
For Weston, big changes are happening. He started Oquirrh Hills Middle School AND he got braces! His orthodontist is a guy from the ward and is very good at what he does. And a good guy. Weston was very good for him, and didn't complain at all. He was wary about showing us his silver smile, but eventually we got a grin from him and now he is used to the braces and they haven't bothered him too much (just wait until he gets them tightened...). He is signed up for some great classes. I am excited to speak Spanish with him (we will have a secret language no one else in the family can understand!). He has his locker combination memorized and has figured out how to get to each class. Easy peasy, right? He is doing great on his soccer team and loves going to Young Men. They did another camp out and he is a trooper. Carrying everything he needs on his back! We are lucky to have such a good, responsible kid for the oldest brother in our family!
Aidan's teacher this year is Mrs. O'Donoghue from Ireland. She is a great teacher and will suit him well. He is already loving school and doing well. His big news is that he will be singing in a Primary Choir during the second session of General Conference (look for him!). He has practices weekly until then, so he is keeping busy with that, homework, piano and soccer. We love his hard work and determination (read in Cuz Chron about his newest goal he has set).
Brennan's teacher is Mrs. Periera from England. She is a strict, but good teacher. Brennan is such a sweet boy and always looking on the bright side. He decided to do Flag Football this year with his friend Luke. He told me, "With sports, I don't really care, I just want to do whatever Luke is doing." Easy to please. But, even without caring to much, he is hard at work trying to learn how to play and practicing with Weston.
Elise is now a Kindergartner! I can't believe it. My baby is in school every day! I will miss her, as she has been such a great buddy for me. I love taking her places and doing things with her. :( But, I am excited for her to be a school girl. She is in Mrs. Martir's class and is already starting to learn cursive and all her sounds. She is also busy with tumbling twice a week and she started Let's Play Music! She loves it and is able to go with her friends Halle and Nathan.
With all that is going on now, I have SIX different carpools to get kids to all their activities. I have a special calendar JUST for carpool! It is crazy, and busy, but I have also had lots of time to try and catch up on things--like finishing up the last things in the basement. My big project right now is taking everything out of the storage room, organizing it, throwing things out, and putting it all back in in a sensible manner. Next project, mom is coming to help me finish my quilt. Scott has been doing little things such as door stops, touch up paint, big furniture in place, etc. It is so nice to have it done and be able to enjoy a cool (nice in the summer) place to hang out!
But, finishing the basement has been interrupted over and over again with other things. Such as Scott's parents moving into their new home. They sold the one in Murray and now they will live just 10 minutes away from us! The house is gorgeous, but much smaller (which is good), and so they have gotten rid of LOTS of stuff. And guess who took lots of it? And where am I going to put it????? Good thing I am going through the storage room and organizing! Maybe I can fit all the the new things in it! We are glad Scott's parents are close, but it has come with something: we are constantly being called to help dad move this, do that, etc... I guess we will put up with it since we get to see them often! :)
Scott got extremely sick. He wasn't feeling well, and stayed in bed for a few days. Finally on a Friday night, he was in so much pain that we took him to the Emergency Room. Luckily, Omi and Opa were on their way down, so they stayed with the kids. It ended up being three different bacteria strains, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and something else I can't pronounce. Poor guy was miserable. He was supposed to run a triathlon, but of course had to miss it. A few weeks later was his Half Iron Man. He felt good enough to do it, but I wonder once he was done if he should have done it... Too soon after being sick. But, I am proud of him because he stretched his limits and did something very difficult!
Weather is cooling down, slightly, and we are ready to harvest and make spaghetti sauce. Our trees didn't produce much unfortunately, but honestly, I don't think I would have had time to take care of it all anyway. The basement is so consuming! Thank goodness things are calming down and we are back to a schedule. Love to you all!
The big event was a day at Boondocks (arcade, games, rides, etc). All summer they have been saving their candy and turning off lights (this is a problem at our house) and received POINTS. Those points went into tokens for the arcade at Boondocks. They love to play those dumb games! Though, I admit, it is addicting, and I can see why people become gamblers. But, that is not all we did. We played laser tag, rode race cars, water boats, and played on the jungle gym. We spent hours and hours there, even went home for lunch, and came back! I am proud of the kids for not eating candy and for learning to turn off their lights--worth it!
We also went to "This is the Place" with my friends from France, Karine and Fred Harvard. It was so fun to see them and the kids had blast. Their daughters are sweet girls. They now live in California and plan on visiting Utah again. Karine was my visiting teacher when I lived in France and I learned a great deal from her. She is the only member in her family. She met Fred when I was there, but he wasn't a member. He joined the church and they got married. Now they are a very faithful couple who are great parents and good people.
It is fun to see friends! I also had a visit from a friend from Ricks and BYU, Trevor Cardno. It was great to see him and talk about the old days. Fun to catch up.
The kids had fun with other kids in the neighborhood. We did a "backyard battle"--kids brought any toys that battle; Pokemon, Beyblades, nerf guns, etc. They had a great time! Brennan and his friend Luke had a Magic Show they put on for neighborhood kids. And Aidan, Brennan, and Elise went to a Carnival held by some of the young girls (they had put together little activities for the kids and charged so parents could have a night out, They were quite the entrepreneurs).
For Weston, big changes are happening. He started Oquirrh Hills Middle School AND he got braces! His orthodontist is a guy from the ward and is very good at what he does. And a good guy. Weston was very good for him, and didn't complain at all. He was wary about showing us his silver smile, but eventually we got a grin from him and now he is used to the braces and they haven't bothered him too much (just wait until he gets them tightened...). He is signed up for some great classes. I am excited to speak Spanish with him (we will have a secret language no one else in the family can understand!). He has his locker combination memorized and has figured out how to get to each class. Easy peasy, right? He is doing great on his soccer team and loves going to Young Men. They did another camp out and he is a trooper. Carrying everything he needs on his back! We are lucky to have such a good, responsible kid for the oldest brother in our family!
Aidan's teacher this year is Mrs. O'Donoghue from Ireland. She is a great teacher and will suit him well. He is already loving school and doing well. His big news is that he will be singing in a Primary Choir during the second session of General Conference (look for him!). He has practices weekly until then, so he is keeping busy with that, homework, piano and soccer. We love his hard work and determination (read in Cuz Chron about his newest goal he has set).
Brennan's teacher is Mrs. Periera from England. She is a strict, but good teacher. Brennan is such a sweet boy and always looking on the bright side. He decided to do Flag Football this year with his friend Luke. He told me, "With sports, I don't really care, I just want to do whatever Luke is doing." Easy to please. But, even without caring to much, he is hard at work trying to learn how to play and practicing with Weston.
Elise is now a Kindergartner! I can't believe it. My baby is in school every day! I will miss her, as she has been such a great buddy for me. I love taking her places and doing things with her. :( But, I am excited for her to be a school girl. She is in Mrs. Martir's class and is already starting to learn cursive and all her sounds. She is also busy with tumbling twice a week and she started Let's Play Music! She loves it and is able to go with her friends Halle and Nathan.
With all that is going on now, I have SIX different carpools to get kids to all their activities. I have a special calendar JUST for carpool! It is crazy, and busy, but I have also had lots of time to try and catch up on things--like finishing up the last things in the basement. My big project right now is taking everything out of the storage room, organizing it, throwing things out, and putting it all back in in a sensible manner. Next project, mom is coming to help me finish my quilt. Scott has been doing little things such as door stops, touch up paint, big furniture in place, etc. It is so nice to have it done and be able to enjoy a cool (nice in the summer) place to hang out!
But, finishing the basement has been interrupted over and over again with other things. Such as Scott's parents moving into their new home. They sold the one in Murray and now they will live just 10 minutes away from us! The house is gorgeous, but much smaller (which is good), and so they have gotten rid of LOTS of stuff. And guess who took lots of it? And where am I going to put it????? Good thing I am going through the storage room and organizing! Maybe I can fit all the the new things in it! We are glad Scott's parents are close, but it has come with something: we are constantly being called to help dad move this, do that, etc... I guess we will put up with it since we get to see them often! :)
Scott got extremely sick. He wasn't feeling well, and stayed in bed for a few days. Finally on a Friday night, he was in so much pain that we took him to the Emergency Room. Luckily, Omi and Opa were on their way down, so they stayed with the kids. It ended up being three different bacteria strains, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and something else I can't pronounce. Poor guy was miserable. He was supposed to run a triathlon, but of course had to miss it. A few weeks later was his Half Iron Man. He felt good enough to do it, but I wonder once he was done if he should have done it... Too soon after being sick. But, I am proud of him because he stretched his limits and did something very difficult!
Weather is cooling down, slightly, and we are ready to harvest and make spaghetti sauce. Our trees didn't produce much unfortunately, but honestly, I don't think I would have had time to take care of it all anyway. The basement is so consuming! Thank goodness things are calming down and we are back to a schedule. Love to you all!
Cuz Chron
Brennan:
I am in my third semester of playing piano. I can play "Song of Joy" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". I made my own piano song about my neighbor's babies, Avery and Asher. It is about them trying to get their toys, but they can't get them. So they start crawling and get them. We are learning about puppet show called, The Royal Problem (Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 3rd Movement, by Mozart). My favorite part is the dragon. I go with my friend Jack to Let's Play Music.
Aidan:
My dad and I have been training for my triathlon. It is on September 7th. I will be swimming 150 yards, bike 2.5 miles, and run 1.5 miles. I took lessons in swimming for a month. It helped me go faster. My dad and I ran and biked a lot together. It's going to be fun.
I started my soccer season playing for South Jordan Rec. We had our first game and we won 5-0. I scored three goals!
Our school class did a really fun thing called "Ambassadors". We learned about being respectful. We did a relay race where someone was blindfolded and another person had to help them through. We went to a class and learned how to meet people properly. We went to another class and learned how to write Thank You notes. We went to a classroom and learned how to go through a refreshment table. We got to eat cake. I had fun at the Ambassadors event!
Elise:
We do arch ups, cartwheels, handstands, and splits. I love tumbling. The end.
Kindergarten is fun. And we had a fun day. We had to cursive and it was fun. And we can be nice. The Kissing Hand is a book about a kid afraid to go to school and the mom put a kiss on her hand. My mommy did that to me. One of my friends is Maren. We have a fun time. My teacher is Mrs. Martir.
I am in my third semester of playing piano. I can play "Song of Joy" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". I made my own piano song about my neighbor's babies, Avery and Asher. It is about them trying to get their toys, but they can't get them. So they start crawling and get them. We are learning about puppet show called, The Royal Problem (Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 3rd Movement, by Mozart). My favorite part is the dragon. I go with my friend Jack to Let's Play Music.
Aidan:
My dad and I have been training for my triathlon. It is on September 7th. I will be swimming 150 yards, bike 2.5 miles, and run 1.5 miles. I took lessons in swimming for a month. It helped me go faster. My dad and I ran and biked a lot together. It's going to be fun.
I started my soccer season playing for South Jordan Rec. We had our first game and we won 5-0. I scored three goals!
Our school class did a really fun thing called "Ambassadors". We learned about being respectful. We did a relay race where someone was blindfolded and another person had to help them through. We went to a class and learned how to meet people properly. We went to another class and learned how to write Thank You notes. We went to a classroom and learned how to go through a refreshment table. We got to eat cake. I had fun at the Ambassadors event!
Elise:
We do arch ups, cartwheels, handstands, and splits. I love tumbling. The end.
Kindergarten is fun. And we had a fun day. We had to cursive and it was fun. And we can be nice. The Kissing Hand is a book about a kid afraid to go to school and the mom put a kiss on her hand. My mommy did that to me. One of my friends is Maren. We have a fun time. My teacher is Mrs. Martir.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Cuz Chron
Weston
This month I went to scout camp with my troop. We had a lot of fun. Our troop staff helper, Zack, aka Poptart, was really nice and funny. We each did five merit badges, I did: rifle, art, archery, wood carving and environmental science. It took me two tries to finish archery. We were supposed to get a score of 160, but the first time, I got 89. The second time I got 162-- Just passing! My favorite merit badge was rifle, I got one of the highest scores out of everyone for the whole week. I got 85, the top was 89. We each had to cook two meals. We had everything from cold cereal, elk meat, to chicken alfredo. We slept in a three walled cabin called an Adirondack. It was really cold the first three nights. There was frost on the benches in the morning. The lake was really cold and we all had to jump in, in the morning (when it was freezing!). I got a new pocket knife with a dragon on it. It also has a seat belt cutter and a glass breaker in case you are in an accident. Scout camp was really fun!
This month I went to scout camp with my troop. We had a lot of fun. Our troop staff helper, Zack, aka Poptart, was really nice and funny. We each did five merit badges, I did: rifle, art, archery, wood carving and environmental science. It took me two tries to finish archery. We were supposed to get a score of 160, but the first time, I got 89. The second time I got 162-- Just passing! My favorite merit badge was rifle, I got one of the highest scores out of everyone for the whole week. I got 85, the top was 89. We each had to cook two meals. We had everything from cold cereal, elk meat, to chicken alfredo. We slept in a three walled cabin called an Adirondack. It was really cold the first three nights. There was frost on the benches in the morning. The lake was really cold and we all had to jump in, in the morning (when it was freezing!). I got a new pocket knife with a dragon on it. It also has a seat belt cutter and a glass breaker in case you are in an accident. Scout camp was really fun!
Monday, August 3, 2015
July
My kids are so creative! Weston held a soccer camp for neighborhood kids to earn money for his soccer team. He had several kids sign up. For three days they met for two hours doing drills, practicing, and playing fun games. He had gatorade and popsicles for them. The kids all loved it, and I loved that it got them out there playing and having fun.
But that wasn't the end of soccer camps. Both Aidan and Weston attended the RSL soccer camp in Herriman. It was every day for a week from 9-12 and then they had a lunch break. Then from 1-3 they had a tournament playing games against each other earning points. They both did great, Aidan ended up with 64 points and Weston with 130, which won him the tournament and he was crowned the King of the Jungle. Supposedly they will announce his name in an RSL Monarchs soccer match some time (though they haven't told us when...). They both learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Weston also had to have his normal team practices, so on average he played about six hours a day.
The Fourth of July was a busy one this year, we crammed a lot into a short amount of time. The night before we attended the annual Cul-de-sac of Fire fireworks show. It was a show stopper this year, probably lasting about 45 minutes. It is a great way to watch the fireworks--front row seats, no need to both with parking, and doesn't cost much (the cost of donating a firework, about 25$). Plus, surrounded by fun people and treats! The next morning Scott woke up nice and early and went on a 30 mile bike ride up and back down Big Cottonwood Canyon. The kids and I met him and the rest of the Daw family at the top of the canyon to go hiking. The big kids went up to Lake Mary, and the little kids/girls walked around Silver Lake. It was beautiful and nice to get out and move. Plus, I walked past a guy that had a Pillsbury Dough Boy on his shirt and it said, "Poke Me." So I reached out and poked his tummy. He was surprised... but thought it was funny. Everyone else laughed and laughed, and I just thought that I should do what his shirt said...
Then we went back down the canyon and stopped at Rita's Ice (YUMMMMMMMY, just ask Ali!) and then onto the Daw's house. Their neighbor has a pool and they were out of town so they allowed us to use it. The kids had a blast and the adults, too. We got to know Uncle Cam's new girlfriend, Abby (hoping she is a keeper...), and had a delicious barbeque. We ended the evening with another fireworks show (not as big, but still nice).
During all this time having fun, we were still diligently working on the basement (getting closer!). One of the biggest chores was tiling the big room floor. We recruited some of the neighbor kids and got everyone handing us tiles, cleaning up mess, ringing out sponges and running them up and down the stairs to us to clean up the grout mess. We just finished the tile in the bathroom as well, so now we are just finishing baseboards and touch up paint. I am so ready to be done!
We took a break from the basement to be "goodly parents" for Stake Youth Conference--Book of Mormon Journey. It started off with us dressed up in BOM gear, living in Jerusalem and then leaving with Lehi and his family to the promised land. Ending up at Hinckley Scout Ranch (which is quite a story--the night before the stake property we were supposed to go to got flooded and was inaccessible, so the Stake was scrambling to find a different place!). We split into families, we had eight kids (different kids from different wards, so mostly people didn't know each other), and got some time to set up camp and get to know one another. Each day they had several different activities that talked about different times in the BOM. Such as "building a boat", we had to cross an area as a team on boards. A lot of the activities were "team building", but they did have a really neat one where we went to the iron rod. We were blind folded and had to hold onto a rope that was tied from tree to tree leading to the "end". We weren't given much instruction except that if we ever needed help, all we needed to do was kneel down and raise our hand. During the "journey" we stumbled over logs, got whacked in the face with tree branches, and some got lost. There were people pulling on us, "tempting" us to go another way. And it was confusing. I would be at a place that I wouldn't know where to go, and they told me they were helping me. It sounded to so nice to go with them and get me out of my mess. But, then I realized what was going on, I knelt down and raised my hand and someone came to help me get on the right track. It was such a GREAT experience for all the kids (and us!). Definitely something that they will remember for a long time. It was fun to be a part of that experience and I love my new "children".
Ali came for a short visit, but productive! We cleaned my pantry (she is an amazing organizer). We also went to lunch at Pizzeria Limone and Rita's Ice (again, yum) for treats. We took some of that to Hil and hung out with her for awhile before taking Ali to the airport. Short, but sweet.
The weekend before pioneer day, our stake was invited to be part of the Youth Parade in downtown SLC, but we were so busy with basement stuff, that we decided to skip it. But, in place of that, we and our neighbors, the Ferguson's, decided to have our own party and parade. The kids dressed up as pioneers and made a parade float--a covered wagon. They took a walk around the neighborhood and then ate a little breakfast of muffins and juice. Then we had "pioneer games" (drop the napkin, tag, etc) and Weston made up a fun little scavenger hunt. Each clue was a fact about the pioneers and told them where to find the next clue. To end, the last clue was "This is the Right Place" and they received a special prize of popsicles. Lindsay (the other mom) had made up cute little booklets of a story of a pioneer and some coloring pages. They read the story and then colored. They had a blast! I love things like that!
We haven't been camping to our "normal" spot for awhile, so we went up to Wasatch Mountain State Park for the 24th weekend. We got there around 5 and set up camp--the kids are finally at a stage where they are really (kind of) helpful. Scott's parents joined us for dinner that night, which was our favorite, tin foil dinners. We had smores (best kind I have found are coconut marshmallows, rolos, and graham crackers) and then watched a movie and went to bed. Friday morning we had a fun breakfast. I cut oranges in half, then scooped out the inside. Then I put cinnamon rolls in some and muffin mix in some, and then put the top on, wrapped them in tin foil and cooked them in the fire. So fun! Definitely a keeper. Our friends have a cabin up there and they let us borrow their ATV to ride around in. Scott took the three boys and Elise and I met them at Cascade Springs, which is a beautiful spring with a little boardwalk hike around it. Then Aidan came back with me, Bren and Elise fell asleep in the back of the ATV (how???) and Weston and dad drove back to camp (yes, Weston took a turn driving!). We had lunch, hamburgers, and then went to get ice cream at Dairy Keen (that is the name of it, no typo). We found a nice park and played bocce and just hung out. Then for dinner we had hot dogs. The boys did quite a bit of wood carving (Weston bought a new knife and has become quite good, and Brennan got to try his first time at it) and rock collecting. That night wasn't the most pleasant. At about 4 in the morning, Bren woke up sick. He threw up a few times, and then spent the next hour and a half in the bathroom (fortunately there is a bathroom!!!). I didn't want him back in the bed with the kids, so he slept in the back of the car, and I "slept" in the front. He felt better in the morning, but didn't go fishing with the other boys. Who didn't catch anything, but still had a good time. We tried to go on a little hike (Bren didn't make it...), and then packed everything up and headed to Provo Canyon. We ended our fun trip with a raft ride down the Provo River. That was quite an experience. I guess I didn't know what to expect, but hundreds and hundreds of 18-50 year old naked people wasn't it. Well, not completely naked, but they couldn't lose much more... And most of them were drinking, etc. At one point a big group of them grabbed onto our raft and floated with us. They were so friendly and fun... Then, later when we were separated from them and we were going through a bit of a rougher patch of the river, they called out, "Save us Mormon family!" So many lessons, parables, etc you can make from that! We all had a great time and were sad to have the trip end.
And just when we thought we were done playing in the mountains for the month (I had been somewhere in the mountains four times this month already), we went back up for Scott's high school reunion, held at a restaurant up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was fun for him (though he'll never admit it) to catch up with people he hasn't seen for 20 years. I have made friends with several of them, and wives of his friends, so I had a great time, too.
The next day was the day before our anniversary and we decided to keep up with the tradition of having the kids make us dinner. They did great and had a fun time. I especially loved it because they cleaned up after as well! For our anniversary, we didn't do anything since we have been so busy with the basement (and we have been helping move Scott's parents from their old house), but we will plan something later. I hope. I am so ready to have the basement done so we can have our lives back!!
Aidan got to go to Webelos camp and Weston went on his first ever real scout camp. They went to Camp Steiner from Monday until Saturday. We sure missed him, but he had a great time (he will tell about it in Cuz Chron). While he was at that camp, Bren and Aidan did a half day robotics camp. They got to figure out how to make robots and even make battle bots. Aidan's won!
Now the busy part of summer is over and we can... not relax. Because we have to finish this dang basement. And get ready for school to start again! I am not sure if I am ready for Elise to go to Kindergarten, but I am ready for school to begin. I need a routine again!
But that wasn't the end of soccer camps. Both Aidan and Weston attended the RSL soccer camp in Herriman. It was every day for a week from 9-12 and then they had a lunch break. Then from 1-3 they had a tournament playing games against each other earning points. They both did great, Aidan ended up with 64 points and Weston with 130, which won him the tournament and he was crowned the King of the Jungle. Supposedly they will announce his name in an RSL Monarchs soccer match some time (though they haven't told us when...). They both learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Weston also had to have his normal team practices, so on average he played about six hours a day.
The Fourth of July was a busy one this year, we crammed a lot into a short amount of time. The night before we attended the annual Cul-de-sac of Fire fireworks show. It was a show stopper this year, probably lasting about 45 minutes. It is a great way to watch the fireworks--front row seats, no need to both with parking, and doesn't cost much (the cost of donating a firework, about 25$). Plus, surrounded by fun people and treats! The next morning Scott woke up nice and early and went on a 30 mile bike ride up and back down Big Cottonwood Canyon. The kids and I met him and the rest of the Daw family at the top of the canyon to go hiking. The big kids went up to Lake Mary, and the little kids/girls walked around Silver Lake. It was beautiful and nice to get out and move. Plus, I walked past a guy that had a Pillsbury Dough Boy on his shirt and it said, "Poke Me." So I reached out and poked his tummy. He was surprised... but thought it was funny. Everyone else laughed and laughed, and I just thought that I should do what his shirt said...
Then we went back down the canyon and stopped at Rita's Ice (YUMMMMMMMY, just ask Ali!) and then onto the Daw's house. Their neighbor has a pool and they were out of town so they allowed us to use it. The kids had a blast and the adults, too. We got to know Uncle Cam's new girlfriend, Abby (hoping she is a keeper...), and had a delicious barbeque. We ended the evening with another fireworks show (not as big, but still nice).
During all this time having fun, we were still diligently working on the basement (getting closer!). One of the biggest chores was tiling the big room floor. We recruited some of the neighbor kids and got everyone handing us tiles, cleaning up mess, ringing out sponges and running them up and down the stairs to us to clean up the grout mess. We just finished the tile in the bathroom as well, so now we are just finishing baseboards and touch up paint. I am so ready to be done!
We took a break from the basement to be "goodly parents" for Stake Youth Conference--Book of Mormon Journey. It started off with us dressed up in BOM gear, living in Jerusalem and then leaving with Lehi and his family to the promised land. Ending up at Hinckley Scout Ranch (which is quite a story--the night before the stake property we were supposed to go to got flooded and was inaccessible, so the Stake was scrambling to find a different place!). We split into families, we had eight kids (different kids from different wards, so mostly people didn't know each other), and got some time to set up camp and get to know one another. Each day they had several different activities that talked about different times in the BOM. Such as "building a boat", we had to cross an area as a team on boards. A lot of the activities were "team building", but they did have a really neat one where we went to the iron rod. We were blind folded and had to hold onto a rope that was tied from tree to tree leading to the "end". We weren't given much instruction except that if we ever needed help, all we needed to do was kneel down and raise our hand. During the "journey" we stumbled over logs, got whacked in the face with tree branches, and some got lost. There were people pulling on us, "tempting" us to go another way. And it was confusing. I would be at a place that I wouldn't know where to go, and they told me they were helping me. It sounded to so nice to go with them and get me out of my mess. But, then I realized what was going on, I knelt down and raised my hand and someone came to help me get on the right track. It was such a GREAT experience for all the kids (and us!). Definitely something that they will remember for a long time. It was fun to be a part of that experience and I love my new "children".
Ali came for a short visit, but productive! We cleaned my pantry (she is an amazing organizer). We also went to lunch at Pizzeria Limone and Rita's Ice (again, yum) for treats. We took some of that to Hil and hung out with her for awhile before taking Ali to the airport. Short, but sweet.
The weekend before pioneer day, our stake was invited to be part of the Youth Parade in downtown SLC, but we were so busy with basement stuff, that we decided to skip it. But, in place of that, we and our neighbors, the Ferguson's, decided to have our own party and parade. The kids dressed up as pioneers and made a parade float--a covered wagon. They took a walk around the neighborhood and then ate a little breakfast of muffins and juice. Then we had "pioneer games" (drop the napkin, tag, etc) and Weston made up a fun little scavenger hunt. Each clue was a fact about the pioneers and told them where to find the next clue. To end, the last clue was "This is the Right Place" and they received a special prize of popsicles. Lindsay (the other mom) had made up cute little booklets of a story of a pioneer and some coloring pages. They read the story and then colored. They had a blast! I love things like that!
We haven't been camping to our "normal" spot for awhile, so we went up to Wasatch Mountain State Park for the 24th weekend. We got there around 5 and set up camp--the kids are finally at a stage where they are really (kind of) helpful. Scott's parents joined us for dinner that night, which was our favorite, tin foil dinners. We had smores (best kind I have found are coconut marshmallows, rolos, and graham crackers) and then watched a movie and went to bed. Friday morning we had a fun breakfast. I cut oranges in half, then scooped out the inside. Then I put cinnamon rolls in some and muffin mix in some, and then put the top on, wrapped them in tin foil and cooked them in the fire. So fun! Definitely a keeper. Our friends have a cabin up there and they let us borrow their ATV to ride around in. Scott took the three boys and Elise and I met them at Cascade Springs, which is a beautiful spring with a little boardwalk hike around it. Then Aidan came back with me, Bren and Elise fell asleep in the back of the ATV (how???) and Weston and dad drove back to camp (yes, Weston took a turn driving!). We had lunch, hamburgers, and then went to get ice cream at Dairy Keen (that is the name of it, no typo). We found a nice park and played bocce and just hung out. Then for dinner we had hot dogs. The boys did quite a bit of wood carving (Weston bought a new knife and has become quite good, and Brennan got to try his first time at it) and rock collecting. That night wasn't the most pleasant. At about 4 in the morning, Bren woke up sick. He threw up a few times, and then spent the next hour and a half in the bathroom (fortunately there is a bathroom!!!). I didn't want him back in the bed with the kids, so he slept in the back of the car, and I "slept" in the front. He felt better in the morning, but didn't go fishing with the other boys. Who didn't catch anything, but still had a good time. We tried to go on a little hike (Bren didn't make it...), and then packed everything up and headed to Provo Canyon. We ended our fun trip with a raft ride down the Provo River. That was quite an experience. I guess I didn't know what to expect, but hundreds and hundreds of 18-50 year old naked people wasn't it. Well, not completely naked, but they couldn't lose much more... And most of them were drinking, etc. At one point a big group of them grabbed onto our raft and floated with us. They were so friendly and fun... Then, later when we were separated from them and we were going through a bit of a rougher patch of the river, they called out, "Save us Mormon family!" So many lessons, parables, etc you can make from that! We all had a great time and were sad to have the trip end.
And just when we thought we were done playing in the mountains for the month (I had been somewhere in the mountains four times this month already), we went back up for Scott's high school reunion, held at a restaurant up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was fun for him (though he'll never admit it) to catch up with people he hasn't seen for 20 years. I have made friends with several of them, and wives of his friends, so I had a great time, too.
The next day was the day before our anniversary and we decided to keep up with the tradition of having the kids make us dinner. They did great and had a fun time. I especially loved it because they cleaned up after as well! For our anniversary, we didn't do anything since we have been so busy with the basement (and we have been helping move Scott's parents from their old house), but we will plan something later. I hope. I am so ready to have the basement done so we can have our lives back!!
Aidan got to go to Webelos camp and Weston went on his first ever real scout camp. They went to Camp Steiner from Monday until Saturday. We sure missed him, but he had a great time (he will tell about it in Cuz Chron). While he was at that camp, Bren and Aidan did a half day robotics camp. They got to figure out how to make robots and even make battle bots. Aidan's won!
Now the busy part of summer is over and we can... not relax. Because we have to finish this dang basement. And get ready for school to start again! I am not sure if I am ready for Elise to go to Kindergarten, but I am ready for school to begin. I need a routine again!
Monday, July 20, 2015
Cuz Chron
Elise
We are spies. We can be friends. We always be friends. We are pirates. We are like Jesus. The end.
Brennan
I drew two red birds at Christmas time on a tree branch. It was hard to draw and to paint. The tree was hard to draw. I drew an alien. My alien has one eye. He is in a spaceship and he is in outer space. My alien looks like a pig. And I drew a hippopotamus. Part of its body is under water. It looks like a pig, too. There are goldfish by it. I used really water to draw the water--I drew blue lines where the water is supposed to be, then I took a brush that has water on it and then brushed between the lines. And it looks like real water. My favorite is the alien because it is so cute. Which is your favorite?
We are spies. We can be friends. We always be friends. We are pirates. We are like Jesus. The end.
Brennan
I drew two red birds at Christmas time on a tree branch. It was hard to draw and to paint. The tree was hard to draw. I drew an alien. My alien has one eye. He is in a spaceship and he is in outer space. My alien looks like a pig. And I drew a hippopotamus. Part of its body is under water. It looks like a pig, too. There are goldfish by it. I used really water to draw the water--I drew blue lines where the water is supposed to be, then I took a brush that has water on it and then brushed between the lines. And it looks like real water. My favorite is the alien because it is so cute. Which is your favorite?
Sunday, July 19, 2015
June
You shouldn't have to go to school in June, but we still did. Weston had another week of school, and Aidan and Brennan had two more weeks! Elise actually had preschool until the last week of June.
After all the hard work, and great grades (all A's) Weston participated in some fun activities his last week. They had a field day full of fun--face painting, cotton candy, games, etc (a bit extravagant, but I won't get up on my soap box about how schools spend money...). There were also races and Weston won the 200 yard dash and the 4 x 100 relay. Then, the next day there was a 6th grade 5k. I got to sit along the route and direct kids and cheer them on. When I saw them coming, Weston and a few friends were leading the pack. Once the race was over and went to the finish line and found out Weston had won! He ran it in about 25 minutes and 42 seconds. He is such an athlete! Once done with school, he started his last summer before junior high. We have signed him up at the local junior high with high hopes that it is the best choice for him. Luckily there are several boys from his soccer team that will be there. From what we understand once you are on a competition soccer team it seems that those are the people you are friends with (thank goodness the boys on his team are good kids!). He started practicing with his new team--they practice three times a week for 1 1/2 hours each time. They have a few competitions coming up. He did have to say goodbye to his old team and coaches, Chris Welch and Tyler Twitchell. They will be missed!
Weston needs to earn money for his competition team and for scout camp so we did a yard sale. Great way to make money... Lots of work! We asked people if they had anything they were getting rid of and they would bring it to us and we sold it. Our garage was FULL of stuff for several weeks! We labeled it all, organized it and set it out on a Saturday morning. People came pretty much non stop from 6:30 am until 2:00 pm! Weston and his friend Braden did a great job selling things. Now they have earned enought money for this year AND next year's scout camp!
Aidan and Brennan got all A's in school as well. Their school makes them help clean the school (love it!) and then they got to have a fun field day full of games (and they even got to wear "normal" clothes). Aidan gets to take piano off in July, but in place of that went to a week long piano camp. He learned about Edvard Grieg, Modest Mussorsky, Bedrick Smetana, and Aram Khachaturian.
Both Weston and Aidan celebrated their birthdays. Weston, of course, is entering a pretty big year of his life. He had a huge party with friends and they were planning on playing soccer, but there was a lightning storm, so we ended up playing "Werewolf" inside and watching the rain come down. Not only were there 10 or so of his friends, but Aidan had a friend over, and our neighbors Halle and Luke were here as well with Brennan and Elise. It was a FULL house! For his birthday dinner, he wanted to go somewhere nice, with just us and Grandma and Grandpa, so we went to his favorite Tepanyaki. Then we came home and opened presents--big kid stuff. He was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood the first Sunday of June. Grandma and Grandpa, Omi and Opa, Uncle Adam and Grandma Nancy were all there. After we had a nice dinner. We are so proud of him and what a good boy he is. At the beginning of the year, he made the goal to finish the Book of Mormon before he turned 12 and just a day or two before his birthday he finished it!
Aidan's birthday party was a Minecraft theme. To the invitations to the games, everything Minecraft. Except the Buffalo pinata of course... I found a donkey pinata, but spray painted it brown, and it actually looked like a buffalo! They had a great time. He had several friends over, but one of them had become his best friend at school, Agni. Unfortunately, he moved to the East Coast once school ended and we will miss him. For his birthday we went to the local pizza place (we go every year for his birthday...) and then opened presents. He received a lava lamp, rocks, and a shirt we made him that has a picture of his mythical buffalo "mr" that said, "Keep Calm and Love Buffalo". What a kid!
Brennan is my reader this summer. He has recently started reading the Magic Tree House books and so I bought him the first 15. He had already read two, and then read another two in June. He loves to time how much he reads daily. He also got a summer workbook that he has been working in and does such a great job. He and his friend Luke are always wanting to teach the other kids school. They are so excited for Luke's little twin siblings to grow up so they can teach them! Brennan also tried making brownies ALL BY HIMSELF for the very first time. I didn't help at all! They looked delicious. Then he tried them. Somehow he didn't quite get the instructions right and put in WAY too much salt. He took a bite and at first thought it would be ok, but that didn't last long. So funny and cute!
Elise finally graduated from preschool (so darling!) and is now preparing for Kindergarten. She is about the funniest thing around. We had SO much fun in Chicago together. She was a perfect angel on the airplane. The only thing that was a problem is that when she got bored, all she wanted to do was eat and I didn't bring a full meal, just snacks! She was very interested in all that was going on and had no problems flying. It was great going with Heidi and Rowan as well. I always get sick on planes, but at least I didn't throw up... Scott met us (it is a good thing because I would have been totally lost in that airport. It has been too long since I have traveled) and we had a great conversation with him on the way home (Beesley talk is always fun...). We arrived quite late and went to bed. Ali was so darling putting together the kids little Secret Agent packets. They each got sunglasses, water guns, etc. We had planned lots of water activities and then it ended up being rainy and wet, but we still made things fun. The kids played with chalk, bubbles, and did lots of fort building. Ali, Heidi and I played lots of Phase 10 though I got sick of it quickly since I NEVER won... At one point Heidi had five wilds in one hand and I had only had one wild in eight rounds! Nevertheless, it was fun (of course). I had the opportunity to not cook or clean, but I guess I missed doing that cause I still wanted to make some meals--Heidi's famous white bean chili, cauliflower soup, french bread, banana muffins, etc. Though I enjoy making food for others when they are appreciative and help clean up... ha h! One of my favorite outing was the temple with Heidi and Ali. I can't think of a time when we have been together to a session, so it was nice. Then we had the best salad EVER (Thanks for sharing Ali!). Ali really knows good food--we ate out at the best restaurants! And she knows how to shop. I love shopping with both Ali and Heidi. We have such similar taste. The zoo was amazing and we could have spent several days there. And the kids really did well there, and didn't get too tired. It was a very restful and enjoyable time. Ali is such a great hostess and a wonderful sister! The kids had a marvelous time playing together. Elise especially loved being with her cousins and made a special bond with Noah. And fun for Elise, she lost her first official tooth while there! The Tooth Fairy visits Chicago, too! Main memories: Les Mis, X-Files, Laughter, and Love. Hard to go back home.
But, I needed to get back to my busy life. So much was going on! The main thing was that I was busy getting old. I have now entered my last year of my 30's. Scott and the kids (and his parents) spoiled me with decorations for the basement and Omi and Opa gave me a darling olive oil can. That night we went out to a huge celebration the city held in my honor. Ok, not quite, but they did have a big celebration of their 150 years and the party happened to fall on my birthday so I had Alex Boye singing for me and fireworks to light up my night.
A few days later I packed up and went to girls camp. Though I shouldn't call it camping because we were in a ginormous lodge with a swimming pool, hot tub, and maid service. All the food was provided (cafeteria style) and we didn't even have to make our own fire for s'mores. Some of the older girls planned the entire camp (DARE--Difficult Afflictions Require Endurance) and did a great job with everything. My only tasks were to pull jokes on people and prepare the devotional for the morning hike. I didn't do well on jokes (I don't like mean things....), but the devotional went well. Unfortunately, I was sick almost the entire time with a cold. They told me to go home, but I couldn't imagine leaving a nice camp like that. I can understand leaving if we were camping in tents, etc, but not when people were waiting on me hand and foot! So I stayed and suffered through it (ha, really it was them that had to suffer me and my boogers!). I am glad I stayed, and I just love my young women!
Scott has been seriously working in the basement. By the time I came home from Chicago the walled and ceiling were primed and painted and the closets were built. Now on to the flooring. He is so handy. He is also trying to keep up with the garden. The peas came and went pretty quickly, the lettuce hasn't stopped, the basil is out of control and it is a lot of work to stay on top of things. We are definitely keeping busy and happy as can be. Looking forward to the time when we can FINALLY say the basement is ready for you folks to come visit!
After all the hard work, and great grades (all A's) Weston participated in some fun activities his last week. They had a field day full of fun--face painting, cotton candy, games, etc (a bit extravagant, but I won't get up on my soap box about how schools spend money...). There were also races and Weston won the 200 yard dash and the 4 x 100 relay. Then, the next day there was a 6th grade 5k. I got to sit along the route and direct kids and cheer them on. When I saw them coming, Weston and a few friends were leading the pack. Once the race was over and went to the finish line and found out Weston had won! He ran it in about 25 minutes and 42 seconds. He is such an athlete! Once done with school, he started his last summer before junior high. We have signed him up at the local junior high with high hopes that it is the best choice for him. Luckily there are several boys from his soccer team that will be there. From what we understand once you are on a competition soccer team it seems that those are the people you are friends with (thank goodness the boys on his team are good kids!). He started practicing with his new team--they practice three times a week for 1 1/2 hours each time. They have a few competitions coming up. He did have to say goodbye to his old team and coaches, Chris Welch and Tyler Twitchell. They will be missed!
Weston needs to earn money for his competition team and for scout camp so we did a yard sale. Great way to make money... Lots of work! We asked people if they had anything they were getting rid of and they would bring it to us and we sold it. Our garage was FULL of stuff for several weeks! We labeled it all, organized it and set it out on a Saturday morning. People came pretty much non stop from 6:30 am until 2:00 pm! Weston and his friend Braden did a great job selling things. Now they have earned enought money for this year AND next year's scout camp!
Aidan and Brennan got all A's in school as well. Their school makes them help clean the school (love it!) and then they got to have a fun field day full of games (and they even got to wear "normal" clothes). Aidan gets to take piano off in July, but in place of that went to a week long piano camp. He learned about Edvard Grieg, Modest Mussorsky, Bedrick Smetana, and Aram Khachaturian.
Both Weston and Aidan celebrated their birthdays. Weston, of course, is entering a pretty big year of his life. He had a huge party with friends and they were planning on playing soccer, but there was a lightning storm, so we ended up playing "Werewolf" inside and watching the rain come down. Not only were there 10 or so of his friends, but Aidan had a friend over, and our neighbors Halle and Luke were here as well with Brennan and Elise. It was a FULL house! For his birthday dinner, he wanted to go somewhere nice, with just us and Grandma and Grandpa, so we went to his favorite Tepanyaki. Then we came home and opened presents--big kid stuff. He was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood the first Sunday of June. Grandma and Grandpa, Omi and Opa, Uncle Adam and Grandma Nancy were all there. After we had a nice dinner. We are so proud of him and what a good boy he is. At the beginning of the year, he made the goal to finish the Book of Mormon before he turned 12 and just a day or two before his birthday he finished it!
Aidan's birthday party was a Minecraft theme. To the invitations to the games, everything Minecraft. Except the Buffalo pinata of course... I found a donkey pinata, but spray painted it brown, and it actually looked like a buffalo! They had a great time. He had several friends over, but one of them had become his best friend at school, Agni. Unfortunately, he moved to the East Coast once school ended and we will miss him. For his birthday we went to the local pizza place (we go every year for his birthday...) and then opened presents. He received a lava lamp, rocks, and a shirt we made him that has a picture of his mythical buffalo "mr" that said, "Keep Calm and Love Buffalo". What a kid!
Brennan is my reader this summer. He has recently started reading the Magic Tree House books and so I bought him the first 15. He had already read two, and then read another two in June. He loves to time how much he reads daily. He also got a summer workbook that he has been working in and does such a great job. He and his friend Luke are always wanting to teach the other kids school. They are so excited for Luke's little twin siblings to grow up so they can teach them! Brennan also tried making brownies ALL BY HIMSELF for the very first time. I didn't help at all! They looked delicious. Then he tried them. Somehow he didn't quite get the instructions right and put in WAY too much salt. He took a bite and at first thought it would be ok, but that didn't last long. So funny and cute!
Elise finally graduated from preschool (so darling!) and is now preparing for Kindergarten. She is about the funniest thing around. We had SO much fun in Chicago together. She was a perfect angel on the airplane. The only thing that was a problem is that when she got bored, all she wanted to do was eat and I didn't bring a full meal, just snacks! She was very interested in all that was going on and had no problems flying. It was great going with Heidi and Rowan as well. I always get sick on planes, but at least I didn't throw up... Scott met us (it is a good thing because I would have been totally lost in that airport. It has been too long since I have traveled) and we had a great conversation with him on the way home (Beesley talk is always fun...). We arrived quite late and went to bed. Ali was so darling putting together the kids little Secret Agent packets. They each got sunglasses, water guns, etc. We had planned lots of water activities and then it ended up being rainy and wet, but we still made things fun. The kids played with chalk, bubbles, and did lots of fort building. Ali, Heidi and I played lots of Phase 10 though I got sick of it quickly since I NEVER won... At one point Heidi had five wilds in one hand and I had only had one wild in eight rounds! Nevertheless, it was fun (of course). I had the opportunity to not cook or clean, but I guess I missed doing that cause I still wanted to make some meals--Heidi's famous white bean chili, cauliflower soup, french bread, banana muffins, etc. Though I enjoy making food for others when they are appreciative and help clean up... ha h! One of my favorite outing was the temple with Heidi and Ali. I can't think of a time when we have been together to a session, so it was nice. Then we had the best salad EVER (Thanks for sharing Ali!). Ali really knows good food--we ate out at the best restaurants! And she knows how to shop. I love shopping with both Ali and Heidi. We have such similar taste. The zoo was amazing and we could have spent several days there. And the kids really did well there, and didn't get too tired. It was a very restful and enjoyable time. Ali is such a great hostess and a wonderful sister! The kids had a marvelous time playing together. Elise especially loved being with her cousins and made a special bond with Noah. And fun for Elise, she lost her first official tooth while there! The Tooth Fairy visits Chicago, too! Main memories: Les Mis, X-Files, Laughter, and Love. Hard to go back home.
But, I needed to get back to my busy life. So much was going on! The main thing was that I was busy getting old. I have now entered my last year of my 30's. Scott and the kids (and his parents) spoiled me with decorations for the basement and Omi and Opa gave me a darling olive oil can. That night we went out to a huge celebration the city held in my honor. Ok, not quite, but they did have a big celebration of their 150 years and the party happened to fall on my birthday so I had Alex Boye singing for me and fireworks to light up my night.
A few days later I packed up and went to girls camp. Though I shouldn't call it camping because we were in a ginormous lodge with a swimming pool, hot tub, and maid service. All the food was provided (cafeteria style) and we didn't even have to make our own fire for s'mores. Some of the older girls planned the entire camp (DARE--Difficult Afflictions Require Endurance) and did a great job with everything. My only tasks were to pull jokes on people and prepare the devotional for the morning hike. I didn't do well on jokes (I don't like mean things....), but the devotional went well. Unfortunately, I was sick almost the entire time with a cold. They told me to go home, but I couldn't imagine leaving a nice camp like that. I can understand leaving if we were camping in tents, etc, but not when people were waiting on me hand and foot! So I stayed and suffered through it (ha, really it was them that had to suffer me and my boogers!). I am glad I stayed, and I just love my young women!
Scott has been seriously working in the basement. By the time I came home from Chicago the walled and ceiling were primed and painted and the closets were built. Now on to the flooring. He is so handy. He is also trying to keep up with the garden. The peas came and went pretty quickly, the lettuce hasn't stopped, the basil is out of control and it is a lot of work to stay on top of things. We are definitely keeping busy and happy as can be. Looking forward to the time when we can FINALLY say the basement is ready for you folks to come visit!
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