September 2024

The first day of September I taught Gospel Doctrine and really appreciated the spirit I felt as I testified of Christ. I got a new calling as YW secretary. I hope I end up loving it. I loved playing preschool games with Darcy and John that evening. It was also fast Sunday, and I felt so much more peaceful about the upcoming trip to Costa Rica after fasting about it. 

The next day was Labor Day, and we hosted the Prices and the Davises for a delicious brunch. I love these older friendships that are easier to fall back into. Canning salsa in the middle of the day was a pain but delicious. And that same evening We hosted the Armstrongs for dinner, which was crazy. I thought we were just going to be hosting Will and his family, but no. He told me that there were going to be four extra adults too. Yikes! It was fun to see the little kids play at least. 

The following day I made stewed peaches like my mom used to. I miss her and think about her everyday. 

The next day I went to my first ever YW activity. I think the leaders that I will work with will be really nice. It was fun to see Eliza there with her friends. The next day I spent some time working on the YW docs and sheets. It was so nice to do it outside on the patio listening to the kids play in the sandbox.  

We hosted the Deru kids for one night. We had a fun evening with Swedish meatballs and cookies and swimming. They are cute kids! The next day we slept in. We made a waffle brunch and then went to the rec center. Pickleball and swimming was such a fun change for a Saturday midday. That evening we fed Marc and Miriam when they came to pick up their kids. Sheesh, we hosted a lot of people early in the September! 

I got set apart for my YW calling. I appreciated the promised blessings. I was blessed to know what to say and what not to say. Hmmm. I don't know if I have been very good at that. 

I listened to a famous book called The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It was intense! I can't believe that such atrocities occurred, but also marvel at the peace and freedom we enjoy. 

One morning Holland woke up with a huge blister over her right eyebrow. It was more than an inch long and about a half inch tall. I took her to the doctor (Ellie had an appointment anyway). She had a skin infection that needed draining and antibiotics. It was a long appointment, and then we had to go get medicine, which all made for a long day! 

The next day Holland was up for practicing her violin. She loved her new song, "Wellermen" and especially she loves a duet we found on Youtube with it. We played pickleball that night with the Gardners, which was a little weird, but fun. I offered my kids to watch her kids while we played but their oldest told them immediately when we walked back in that Miriam had let the baby fall. Miriam is an excellent baby sitter, but they would never have known that with that report. Well it wasn't like Miriam got paid for it anyway. 

The following day was a very busy day! We had a playdate for Darcy, lunch date to Cafe Rio, Miriam's orthodontist appointment, Holland had a birthday party at Hangtime, Ellie had a school football game to attend, and I took Miriam to Taste for the best Iced Chocolate and Creme Brulee, and we played  Settlers Dice. It was such a busy day and such a fun date! 

Thankfully we had a more relaxing Saturday the next day. We spent a lot of time planning our trip, pickleball, watching blog videos, and played games with the Jacobsons. They are nice to chat with! We also got together with the Guinns! Crazy we have known these people for 17 years. 

After church we went swimming and listened to church music. The water was so lovely. Miriam tried to suck on my toes, which wasn't so lovely. More weird and hilarious. 

Darcy quotes:

"Oh Holland is such a silly girl." Said in the most indulgent, patient, amused voice. 

First thing in the morning, "Mommy, tell me about ticks."

"Mommy is 4 old age? It seems a little old." 

"Jesus  died immediately because he was killed, but we won't do that." 

"When I was three Daddy used to tease me, but he doesn't do that anymore no that I am four. Sometimes Daddy's jokes are funny." 

"We need to buy an ice sculpture penguins that don't bite for winter and half summer. With an ice cage. Then we'll wait until the penguins have babies." 

Date night to the Piano Guys concert!!!

The phone lights were a fun touch. 

New YW calling

Made flavored vinegar in all kinds of jars. 

French food book club after reading The Nightingale. 

She's drawing people! 

Lunch date!

Dessert date!

MCO started! It was Darcy's first time doing it! She started out pretty nervous, but tended up getting into it by the end. Her little actions are so cute! One of the conductors is Prof. Bishop. Darcy told me the Bishop was there. 

John is 41! Breakfast bake in the morning. Rainy reading after everyone left. Holland played so well at violin lesson. Homemade pizza for dinner and chocolate raspberry milkshakes for birthday treat. For his presents, John got patio lights, sandals, true lemon, pringles, and chocolates. He is the most excited about the sandals, the true lemon, and the pringles. 

Kitty face craft!

One day all Darcy wanted to do was play plumber. She pretended her high chair was a sink and laid down on the chairs so she could fix it. She kept getting exasperated because the 'sink' kept clogging. 

Darcy plays exactly in the way that makes the most mess. Good thing she's so cute. 

We went to Thanksgiving Point with Kayla and her girls. The dahlias were gorgeous. We loved the variety of color, shape, and size. Afterwards we went to Gourmandize for apps and desserts. It felt so fun and decadent. Earlier in the day we swam in the pool midday. We danced in the pool to Shania Twain. 

The next day we reseeded our lawn...again. It was a hard work day, but it felt good to be finally doing something about all of the dead grass. We tried seeding a microclover in the front yard. I am excited to see how it turns out. Loved doing pickleball, ice tea, and Red Robin for date night. Darcy ended up falling asleep in her high chair, and Miriam moved her to the couch. Sweet girls. 

The following evening we did some late night swimming, which was so relaxing and warm. The kids are so silly and adorable as they swarmed me trying to kiss/lick me while pretending to cry like babies. We brought out a lamp because it was so dark. 

They last day before our trip was a group effort! Miriam climbed into bed with me to cuddle before school. John picked the garden before work. Eliza helping with Darcy while we were trying to get her dressed. Holland being so sweet with me even when she wasn't feeling well. 

And the next day we were off to Costa Rice! It was an adventure! More on that on it's own post. 

August 2024

August 2024 started out with that trip to South Dakota, but because of Noravirus, we ended up bringing home a lot of food that we didn't eat. That was so weird. We had all of the this prepped food that we just ended up eating after we got home. 

But after that trip, we realized that school was approaching fast! We made a big plan of how to make the most of the rest of our summer vacation days. Of course high on that priority list was swimming in our toasty pool listening to the rest of Harry Potter 5. We also prioritized board games and a tea party!

August 8th also marks one year since my mom died. I miss her! No one can replace her! 

School was coming whether we liked it or not. Holland had her back to school night at her new CAS class (accelerated program). I was hopeful that she was going to make some friends, which she has, but not as well as I would have liked. I hope she can be better friends with these kids as time goes on! 

The next day we went on a picnic to Bridal Veil Falls. The weather was so nice, and the river was mesmerizing. The waterfall was beautiful and so was remembering mine and John's first kiss. Later that day we play popashot and went swimming. That evening I met up with Kaylee and McKenzie for a dinner. It made me feel so lucky. I can't believe I am still in kinda contact with these girls after all these years! 

Of course we dress up for tea parties, but it was too hot for John to put on his dress pants. Fortunately he had shorts that matched (?) his suit coat. 

He said no one would be able to see his shorts when he sat down. He wasn't wrong. Bonus outfit was Darcy's cute dress ups! Shoes, crown, fairy dress--she was killing it! 

Back to school for this Sophomore! They give out the best popsicles at Timpview's back to school event. 

Went up to play at the trampolinium one more time!

Darcy quotes:

"When I lift up one of the noggins I can feel my cells." 

Darcy told me 2x in the same morning, "I am tired of the breathing!" 

H: "I'll be your best friend, Darcy." D: "I don't want a best friend." Ouch! 

"I was only tired for a tinkly minute!"

"I had her (birthed (?) Poppy the Penguin) very firmly at a ball where I married Bearby."

When calling John, "No, its not you, silly man!" 

"I like the one about Korihor." (When asked what her favorite Book of Mormon story was by Rob Martinson.)

One day she told me all about her hip bubbles. Still don't know what she was talking about. 

"You have to get a ticket to West Virginia! West Virginia is where we will live!! You have to do what I want. Take care of what I want you to do."

"You know Boss Baby? It is not even giving us spoilers! I never said to Holland, 'Holland, this is giving me spoilers!'" 

"The shiny numbers are God's numbers. And the dark numbers are the Devil's." 

First thing that Darcy said to me one morning, "Have you ever counted to five in real life?" And the last thing before nap, "Vampires have little teeth like people." She called that to me as I was closing her door. 

"It's okay. I have lots of minutes of playing. I am ready for business time now." 

We had a fun day in August where we crammed in a few parent kid dates. First I went with Miriam and her friend Temperance and her mom to lunch and to Sun River Gardens. It was fun to spend time with Miriam and get to know her friend's mom. It was also a little awkward because Miriam had told me a few things about this friend that, to my understanding, the mom didn't know. Yikes! The other funny bit was when she gave me the advice to not compare my children. It's funny because she only has the one kid, so she has absolutely no idea what she's talking about. Of course I am going to try to learn from my experiences with my other children when trying to make decisions about my younger children. It was actually really hilarious, but I held it together. One fun result of this date was that Miriam picked up some dropped leaves from the succulents at Sun River Gardens, and have been able to get the leaves to sprout! 

Later that night, Holland and I went to Leatherby's and had the most amazing caramel ice cream sundae. Wowzers! Afterwards we did drawing videos together and learned how to draw a hibiscus flower and an ice cream cone. John and Ellie went bowling. I am sure it was fun. :) 

The next day I felt inspired to sit by a woman in Relief Society. Turns out she was a new baptism in the ward! I also felt like I should text Jenessa, and she had had her baby 2 days before. I appreciate the evidence of maybe the Holy Spirit is helping me to help someone in some small way. 

Last Summer break day! Facials and then we went to Thanksgiving Point. We started out at the farm and did a pony and train ride. Darcy got scared of the pony, but then decided that the train was scary too. But then she saw the bench inside the cars and deciding it was the best ever! Afterwards we headed over to the gardens where we had such a nice time, but then got hailed on! Massive hail chunks. We loved the dinosaur exhibits throughout the gardens and the cool adventure booklets they gave us. What a fun day! 

This was the pony she actually wanted to ride, but didn't get a chance to. 

The train is fun, see, Darcy! 

Feeding basil to the sheep

The goats were super eager

She loves piggies, but they sure smell bad! It made us all a little gaggy.

We headed to Ashton Gardens with out picnic lunch. 

I love all the flowers!

Such a fun addition to the gardens!

The koi are awesome and kinda gross because they swarm in a seething mass.

Ran for shelter because of the massive hail! Thankfully because of the dino exhibit, there were explorer tents/huts around with artifacts, fossils and other fun things to look at. So we were able to make a dash to the nearest one when the hail started. 

Secret Garden

Gorgeous, massive dahlia

Not just dinosaurs, there was an ice age too!

They are scared of the dinos on the hill. 

On the first day of school, everyone left and came home with smiles. I can hardly believe how old my girls are getting. Darcy still has one year at home. This year is the end of an era.  

First Day of School!

10th Grade!

Eighth Grade!

Fourth Grade!

Return to her first school in Utah to attend the CAS program

End of summer break plan! 

Miriam's macrame craft. She did a great job!

We went to Sam Charles' wedding reception. Twice Darcy cute the line and went up to Stephen. At one point she went up to the bride and said, "I want to show you a trick!" It was adorable and hilarious. 

The next night Holland came in our bed in the middle of the night because of a bad dream. She was so upset because she had been an unkind sister to Darcy in her dream. Her tears were so sweet. 

One day I had to take Ellie to Target for something. This is actually really fun for us to just walk around and browse. I ended up getting some plastic drawers to organize dress ups. I got out my label maker and had such a happy afternoon organizing and labeling. The only problem was that I got too much in my zen zone and didn't remember to pick up the kids from school. I ended up getting a call from Holland. And I also learned to turn an alarm on my phone. 

Sometimes it is so fun to just listen to Darcy. She narrates to herself when she plays, and I think it is the sweetest thing ever. 

John and I went on a fun date where we picked up some Jersey Mikes and went over to the new Provo sports complex park. That evening we did a late night swim with music, which we love. 

A pretty wedding reception we went to.

Pretty gladiolas blooms! Eliza is gorgeous too! We loved all of the flowers in our yard!

Clematis and Gladiolas 

Zinnias and Salvias

Zinnia

A cute girl more interested in her book than the flowers.

Nectarine harvest that was a bit mangled by thrips

John got glasses to help with seeing things close up (mainly his food and his phone). I teased him by calling them his "eating glasses." I can't believe he hasn't gotten a second pair to just keep at work. He just brings them back and forth through the day. He mainly needs them early in the morning and late in the evening. I am so grateful for my lasik surgery! 

Selfie time with John. Not sure what prompted this? 

Fancy numbers for Date night? 

Love this Gladiolas 

This hibiscus is lovely

Summer charts at an end!

Primary exhibit for Stake Conference

Darcy loves this dress of Holland's. 

Family dinner at Kayla's house!

The start of our little preschool group. 

We had Samuel over to come play.

A wasp nest in our bathroom vent. :(

So many pretty flowers this year!

This flower bed is teaming with plants and flowers and I love it.

This is all new stuff this year.

We're definitely planting zinnias again.

Becky Bundy once said to me, "You guys must like flowers." Whatever gave you that idea...

Holland gave a temple lesson that she decide to prepare after church one day. She was so earnest and sincere. I loved watching her sing in Primary today. She sang with ehr whole heart. We drew temples and Darcy said, "I drew Daddy very firmly." 

One evening we participated it the Caldera Family walk, and it was more fun than we expected. It was along the Provo River Trail, but not as far as we had gone before. It was a lovely evening and nice to slow down and do something different. Darcy told us that we need to go to that playground everyday. 

That same day Darcy was helping me scrape pumpkin into containers for freezing. I couldn't believe how much she loved scraping and eating the plain cooked pumpkin. 

The next day Ellie helped me do so much cooking! We made zucchini muffins and egg muffins. That same day we played sight word reading with Darcy which is equal parts cute and exasperating. Holland was so chatty and sweet today especially when we were swimming in the toasty pool in the evening. 

I spent so much time prepping my Gospel Doctrine lesson. It is interesting that the more time I spend with the scriptures, the more I love it. 

The next night John got the pool heater to heat the pool even warmer, and it was delightful in the evening. 

One day Miriam had some friends come over and swim. I loved watching her with her friends: Maelle, Isabelle, and Stella. They were so chatty and happy. John and I did some sealings and one woman's name was Libby-Bibby. We played Century with Eliza afterwards. It was so nice. 

The last day in August we hosted a bunch of Pearsons. Joe and Regina were in town. The kids all got along pretty well - especially Evie and Holland.

A trip to Thanksgiving Point so we can see the flowers and dinosaurs before they are gone.

All the dahlias are so fun.

Is this called being grounded and soaking in vitamin D? 

The stream is lovely.

The zinnia patch!

I wonder if this is life sized? 

Such a fun exhibit.

That's actually kinda terrifying.

Being one with nature, in a manicured garden...

The ship playground was a hit.

I love the Light of the World statuary.