Homeward Bound

This week has been amazing!  Monday, we had plans to go horseback riding, but we weren't sure we would be able to go since the forecast was for rain all morning.  The weather held and we were able to go ride for our full 2 hour block.  The kids had a BLAST!  James and Evelyn have been asking when they can go again ever since!  Eileen was bouncing around - as excited as she was for the whale watching, and she also loved it!  The riding bothered Anna's knees, so it wasn't her favorite activity and Aaron didn't seem all that excited about it - but the rest of us loved it!  Though most of us over the age of 12 were sore the next day!  The rain held off until just as we were pulling out of the horseback riding place in our car.  

 

Grandpa had planned some activities around the cabin for the kids, and Sandi had some things she wanted to do with the kids, so we were hoping and praying that the weather would allow for all the activities, so when the rain cleared up for a bit in the afternoon, we decided that it was the perfect time for the scavenger hunt!  The kids divided up into teams and went on a hunt for things on a list.  They all had a great time, and had fun getting a bit creative on some of the harder to find things!  Once again, the rain held off until after we were done before pouring all evening.  

Later that evening, most of us were hanging out at the upper cabin when Eileen got a message from Anna that there was a bat in the lower cabin and she wanted help.  So Sandi, Eileen, Aaron and I ran down to see!  Sure enough, there was a little bat flying around the cabin.  Eileen fearlessly caught it while safely keeping it's mouth out of biting range.  It made noises at her for awhile, as we took pictures and oohed and aahed over it, then Eileen released it outside.  

Tuesday morning, we headed over to Breckenridge for the morning.  We stopped at the Continental Divide for a fun (and somewhat muddy) picture on our way.  We had fun checking out the shops and the kids had fun playing on a playground.  We walked up and down main street for a couple hours before heading back.  

We had been hoping for a clear evening to roast marshmallows and make s'mores.  Thankfully, Tuesday evening was just such a beautiful night and Grandpa started a fire and the kids had fun making and eating s'mores!  

And of course, there was time for some exploring the mine and looking for cool rocks! 

One thing that is always connected to the cabin in my mind is cross stitching.  So of course, I brought mine, Sandi brought one to work on and brought a couple small easy kits for her kids.  Evelyn expressed and interest and Sandi had an extra one she could use.  Eileen and Anna haven't really had any interest when I've tried to teach them, but Evelyn really picked it up quickly and had her piece almost finished when her needle broke.  We will have to finish it at home - but it was neat to see her get so excited about it! 

Wednesday morning, we had planned to go down to Fairplay to go through the South Park city old town.  The kids had a blast - especially playing on the old train (which has always been a favorite with my kids)  We had a beautiful morning to see and do everything, then we headed back to the cabin for lunch where we found that it had been hailing - less than 20 minutes away and they had gotten hail while we had a beautiful clear morning!  

We then had a perfect clear afternoon for Grandpa's final activity he planned for the kids - he tasked the kids with finding flowers and identifying them and then did a little quiz for the kids.  They had fun looking for unusual flowers and learning about them and drawing them - Kai turned out to be an amazing little artist and drew the flowers really well!  It reminded me of when Sandi and I were kids and Grandpa would teach us about the flowers around the cabin and we would press the flowers and keep them with handwritten info on the flowers in little scrapbooks.  

Grandpa enlisted the boys help in replenishing the supply of wood for the cabin.  First he taught them how to use a chain saw and cut the dead tree into chunks, then he taught them to use the axe to cut the larger pieces into smaller pieces for burning.  They had a great time and worked hard!  I'm so grateful for a Grandpa who helps teach my sons how to work hard and how to be polite and considerate - he was always reminding Aaron to help me with things!  <3

Thursday, we headed down to Denver to get Sandi and the kids to the airport for their trip to UT and then my mom headed on her way back to Texas, then Grandpa and my kids and I headed back up to the cabin for a few more days!   Our last few days were much less busy - the kids and I have been up there much more often and I was glad to just enjoy the cabin and the hiking and the fun times together.  We did some more trips up to the mine and more time with Grandpa and of course, getting some laundry done.  

On Sunday, we headed to Utah.  There were road issues on the normal way, so we ended up going a longer way, so we got in a little later than I'd hoped, but the drive was otherwise uneventful.  Since it was Sunday, I would only let the kids watch Veggie Tales or Church movies, but we all had a blast singing along to the Veggie Tales!  We got in to Utah in time for a YUMMY dinner with Paul and Candace and fam, followed by getting the two youngest to bed.  Then when it finally got dark an hour later, the fun started.  Paul and Candace have neighbors who go ALL OUT when it come to fireworks on the 4th, so we had fun sitting in the driveway and watching the kids set off fireworks in the cul-de-sac and seeing the amazing stuff set off by their neighbors all around.  David and James slept straight through it, but the rest of the kids had a great time!  

Colorado Here We Come

 Monday morning, we took the kids to a local community pool to swim and play for a couple hours before going to Collin and Bailey's wedding.  The kids had a blast - they loved the water slides and the lazy river area.  And once the diving boards were open, they had fun there too.  

After, we headed up to Collin and Bailey's wedding - they are having a civil wedding now, because Bailey's dad is a mission president in Germany and couldn't come back to the states for the wedding, so they had a beautiful outdoor civil wedding now, then once they can get over to Europe, they will be sealed.   The ceremony was beautiful with sweet words spoken by both fathers.  Then there was a lovely reception that we enjoyed while we could stay.  Then we had to go to get the kids to bed.  

Tuesday, we headed out to Colorado and Dan headed home to Oregon.  We went the right direction - the weather has been beautiful here - cool and a bit rainy sometimes, but not so much as to stop us from enjoying out time there.  While in Oregon this week, they have hit record breaking temperature highs.  We got into Denver just in time to meet up with the family at Stuart and Rebecca's new house.  It's totally different in style to their old house, but still beautiful!  We had a fun time chatting and playing and eating.  

After the dinner party, we headed out and dropped Anna off at Nevaeh's house, then headed to our air bnb.  The house was big with lots of rooms, so we parceled out rooms and crashed.  

Wednesday, I took the kids to the Butterfly Pavilion and we had a great time looking at butterflies and and all the other creatures in there.  The kids were excited to get to hold Rosie the Tarantula again.  

Then we headed out to meet up with Kay and Reggie for dinner and Rosie's diner.  We had a fun time together, it was so great to see them!  

Thursday was a bit crazy.  I took Eileen up to meet up with her friends Mel and Felix, then later, we went to the Whale of a Used Book Sale and grabbed some fun reading stuff.  Finally, we headed to Becca and Jeremiah's house for dinner and hanging out.  It was wonderful.  I just wish I could collect all my favorite people into one wonderful place.  Sandi and the kids got in late on Thursday, so we got everyone settled in and crashed hard!  

Friday, Sandi and I had some planning and preparing to do for our trip up to the cabin.  Then in the evening, Eileen and I met up with Becky for a craft night.  We had a great time watching Emma and crafting together.  Then Eileen and I needed to get up a bit early so we could head down and get checked out of the air bnb by 10.  So we got everyone packed up and then headed up to pick up Anna before heading out towards to cabin.  

We stopped for some fun at Tiny Town on the way.  We rode the train, meandered around the houses and played at the play ground - letting the kids get out and stretch their legs.  We had fun, then we headed out to grab lunch before heading to the cabin for real.  

The cabin has been great, though most of us are still adjusting to the altitude, and I am dealing with allergies, but it's beautiful and cool up here!  The boys have had fun burning stuff with Grandpa and playing with Mark and exploring and playing up here.  Of course everything is better with cousins!  

This afternoon, during a break in the rain, Grandpa organized a scavenger hunt for the kids.  They split up into 3 teams and had fun running around and finding everything on the list - some things were harder than others.  But they all seemed to have a good time!  

On the move!

 It's been an insane week!  We started out with all the craziness of trying to get everything ready for the trip and trying to get all the kids school stuff done before we left.  The kids enjoyed their last couple days of school and we packed up and got stuff ready to go.  

Wednesday morning, we headed out to Idaho.  We found ourselves stuck in traffic outside of town and passed a semi that had been burnt to a crisp that had been the cause of it.  That put us back about an hour, but we still got there in time to see Jessica and her cute little girl and have dinner with them and then do a little birthday cake and ice cream and presents for Anna and David.  

Thursday, we made the drive down into Utah, once again hitting traffic, this time due to an bad accident.  We got in and had dinner with Paul and Candace and family before heading to the air bnb and to bed to get ready for an early morning for the girls!

Friday morning, bright and early, the girls and I headed to Spanish Fork Stadium for rehearsals for the MCO concert.  I realized that I had an old friend in the Soprano section with me - one of the girls from the dorms freshman year at BYU was standing in the row in front of me!  It was fun to see her again, and I'm hoping this can prompt another reunion with those amazing ladies! 

After the morning rehearsal at the stadium, we had another rehearsal at the new Provo High auditorium - it was inside an air conditioned building, so it started out cooler, but it did not end up that way once we had hundreds of people packed into it.  Then a quick dinner break to get dressed and ready for our concert.  We headed back to the stadium for another quick sound check with David Archuleta (I can now say that David Archuleta has said it was an honor to sing with me) then it was performance time.  It was an incredible concert and a wonderful night!  We were all a bit tired by the end - especially Evelyn who was up way past her bed time.  We headed home and crashed!

Since we had the van, Dan was mostly stuck at home with the boys all day.  The air bnb has a trampoline that they had fun on, they played in the sprinklers a bit, and they had some fun watching a movie together because it was miserably hot outside!  (lol - we are already sounding like spoiled Portland residents who whine when it gets over 90!)

Saturday the girls and I mostly slept in a bit to recover from the night before, then in the afternoon, we took the kids to a nickel arcade that Bianca told us about.  The kids mostly had a great time and came home with some fun little prizes.  

Then after dinner, we did scriptures and prayers with the kids, then the girls and I got ready and headed out for our second concert.  Grandma and Grandpa Jones and Uncle Paul and Aunt Candace came to this one!  It was wonderful again!  

Once again, we had a late night, and we had a bit of a scare with picking up Evelyn after, the Youth Chorus kids had to be checked out, but there were so many people there and so much going on, and she and I must have just missed each other a couple times, It wasn't until it started clearing out and I started getting worried that they let me in to go look for her and I was able to find her and take her home - but by that time she was tired and a bit worried.  :(  She did such an amazing job, but two late nights in a row for her was rough.  

Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa Jones came down and had lunch with us and watched church with us.  Then in the afternoon we headed up to Paul and Candace's house.  We had fun playing games, and doing more birthday with David and Anna, then the party started!  Candace's family came over, plus all the Jones family who was in town for the wedding, and we got to meet some of Bailey's family (Collin's fiancée) It was great to meet them and we are all excited about the wedding tomorrow!!  

We had David and Anna's presents shipped to Paul and Candace's house so we could do a little birthday with them with the whole family together since Dan will be back in OR and we will be in CO on their birthdays.  David got a stuffed sloth and he LOVES it - it is now called "Sloth-y" and he has told us multiple times today just how much he loves it!  Anna got a ton of colored shoe laces so she can now have fun mixing and matching and coordinating and having fun with them - she immediately went and changed her laces to match her current outfit and she was practically giddy with excitement and plans for her laces - especially the light up laces.  :) 

Wait... it's almost summer?

My brain has not really been able to wrap itself around the idea that it's almost summer.  Maybe because it feels like the school year went by really fast, maybe because the weather has been cool and rainy all week and it doesn't feel like summer, maybe just because I'm not ready...  

The week has been a week of school, swimming (at 5am!!!  ugh) youth activities and family stuff.  David and I spent a lot of time playing cars and legos and dolls and whatever else he could find.  It's funny because he often picks up on jokes that his siblings try to tell (and usually they tell the joke incorrectly or the punch line incorrectly) but when it's mixed up by this sweet little boy it's much more funny!  

David: Want to hear a pizza joke?

Me: Sure

David: Never mind, it's too corny!

David: Want to hear a corny joke?

Me: Sure

David: Never mind, it's too pizzy!

I've been a bit stressed out this week with trying to get things ready for the trip next week.  I don't feel ready for it at all...  This weekend included some shopping to try and get everything ready for the trip, for the MCO concert and for the Colorado.  

Saturday, Evelyn and I went over to Jon and Sandi's new house to help with unpacking.  Evelyn's job was to help keep Taz and Kai out from underfoot and I was there to help Sandi and keep her company.  We gave mom and dad a video tour of their house.  Their house is really nice - I think it's going to be perfect for their family.  We got their kitchen unpacked and put together and cleaned up so that they could use it.  Then Evelyn and Kai did a gymnastics contest for us and I helped Sandi out with a couple other things, before we headed home to get everything ready for next week.  In the evening, Anna and I went out walking, even though it was raining.  Anna was so cute - she spent the whole walk splashing in puddles and getting soaked - and she had a blast.  It was fun watching her and laughing at her!  She used her umbrella to play with rather than to keep rain off - but since it was a kid's umbrella, given to her by Great Grandma Penny many years ago and even has her name embroidered on it, it wasn't really big enough to protect her well anyway! 

My two weeks post 2nd vaccine shot are officially up and I am officially fully vaccinated.  It's funny because while it feels like a relief to know it's done, I am also not really changing much - I'm still wearing a mask in public and at church.  

Today was great!  Church was wonderful, then Evelyn had a great idea to make a little car mat for David to have in the car, so we took some felt and hot glue and had fun.  Anna came in and loved the idea too and helped out.  It came out so cute - the girls did a great job, and it was a great idea! 

Memorial Day

 This week started out fun!  The kids and Dan had Monday off for Memorial Day.  Some ward members were going to a nearby lake for swimming and paddle boarding and fun, so we packed up and headed up to Vancouver Lake.  It was about an hour drive, so not too bad, and it was a beautiful day for being on the water.  A bunch of ward members brought paddle boards they were willing to share and we all brought some food and fun.  We had a great time, and even with sunscreen managed to get a bit sunburnt.  

In the evening, we went to the Bennion's house for a fun get together with a bunch of people from the ward, we played volleyball and ate yummy food and I made a new cute little 4 year old friend.  It was a fun evening, then we all headed home to collapse after a long but fun day!

Tuesday was back to the usual.  Our morning was a bit crazy.  David was refusing to put weight on his foot, so I took him in to an urgent care where they x-rayed it, it was fine, so they wrapped it and sent us home to ice it and take it easy.  

It was a rather insane week with all the end of year stuff going on.  There were band practices, swim practices, I had a Relief Society Activity on Tuesday evening - the first one back in person since COVID started.  

Wednesday was not a usual work day - since they had had Monday off - they had school on Wednesday.  Aaron and Evelyn had ortho appointments - Aaron is officially back in braces.  Evelyn will be getting some hardware at her next appointment.   In the evening, there were youth activities and the boys and I watched a show together.  The kids had a blast playing games outside for their activity.  Anna also had an induction meeting for Leadership - but it was virtual, so I watched from home and she watched from her phone.  

Thursday was crazy... After school, Eileen had drama club and Anna had to go to the school in the afternoon to help set up for the band concert.  Then I took Eileen to swim practice and then went to Anna's band concert.  It was outdoors on the football field, but it was a great concert and Anna even got a most improved award! Next year as a sophomore, she will be playing with the highest level band in the school! 

Friday was a usual school day, followed by a swim meet in the evening.  The girls swam well and had a good time.  The outdoor pool they have been in the last two weeks may be small, but the weather has been beautiful, so being outside has been kinda fun!  

Saturday was full of lots of little errands.  Anna had a service project in the morning through Leadership, and the older 3 kids all went to get their second shot. Our family is now as vaccinated as it we can be, now we just need the vaccine to be tested and approved for younger kids.  

Church was wonderful - the testimony meeting was beautiful and the afternoon was spent playing together and chatting with family and singing.