Last Day of Summer

My kiddos start school tomorrow.  They are ready.  I am ready.  Chad is anxious to get going in 2nd grade and to see all of his friends again.  I'm super excited to be starting preschool again.  But there is still a little tinge of sadness as summer comes to a close.  Chad will be starting soccer this week as well (our first time signing up any of our children for any type of organized sport).  I'm already overwhelmed by the practice schedule.  I imagine we'll just have to give up dinners together as a family on those nights for a while.  I guess we'll see how this all goes.  

There are so many fun memories we made together as a family this summer, and I totally intended to record them, but this blog has taken a serious back seat, so for my own sake, here is my summer recap as we head in to school tomorrow morning.  

4th of July Celebration and Telena's Birthday

We had major fires in Idaho this year, and even lost 66 homes to fire in our own town, so there was a ban on fireworks for most of the 4th Celebration.  However, the boys enjoyed doing their fair share of poppers.  

 Of course we had to attend the parade.  

 As for my birthday, Greyson did a great job helping to unwrap most of my presents.  And Dave made me an ice cream cake (see below).  It's scary to look back even just a few years at past birthday pictures-I'm getting OLD!  

Salt Lake City trip, Airforce museum 

When I was down in Utah for my roommie reunion, I also met up with our old neighbors.  Boy, I sure miss them!  While I was there, we took our kids to the air force museum. 

I can never go wrong with airplanes and my kids.  We had a lot of fun together and catching up.  

Yellowstone Park w/ Grandma and Grandpa Jones

 It's not very often that my own little family and I get to take a trip with just my parents and us.  This summer, we planned a trip together to a campground and hot springs nearby, followed by Yellowstone Park.  My boys sure love their grandparents, and it was a special time that they got to have them all to themselves.  We had a lot of fun swimming, followed by exploring in Yellowstone.  

 I had to take the boys down to the Madison river, where I played my life away as a child.  There are several hot springs bubbling up throughout this river and as kids, we would play in them for hours.  I love to show my kids some of the things I enjoyed as a child.  

 We saw Old Faithful . . . 

 and took a few hikes.

 It was very enjoyable and we made some special memories together.  

Girls Camp

Well, I really missed the boat on taking pictures while up at camp, but I had such an incredible experience with our 19 girls up in Island Park.  These girls were the most helpful and positive I think I've ever known at a girls camp.  No complaining, no arguments.  Just lots of bonding, fun and friendships formed.  I love girls camp and I'm so glad that I get to work with these wonderful girls each week.  

We did have one more incredible trip to Bear Lake, which I will have to post separately.  It has been a great summer!  And now, we open our arms to fall as we start back to school.  

Roomie Reunion

Fifteen years ago this Fall, I headed off to what was then Ricks College for my first semester of college.  I didn't know anyone, and I was placed into an apartment by the apartment managers with 5 other girls.  Little did I know at the time the impact these women would have in my life.  We were kindred spirits, meant to be together as roomies.  We were known as the 211 girls, as that was our apt. number.  We had a LOT of fun back then!  Looking back at pictures, we were oh-so silly!  Over the years, each of us have gotten married, moved away and started families of our own.  We've tried our best to stay in touch, but this last month was the first time that all six of us have been together since we were roomies 15 years ago.

This was us then . . .

As our lives have taken us all over the country for school, missions, you name it, it just happened that we have all begun to move nearer to each other and this presented the perfect opportunity to meet up once again.  We all met at the zoo in Salt Lake City. 

 Here we are, 15 years later. 

 And here is what we have grown to, minus our hubbies.  Six of us have grown to 32 total (original 6, 20 children, 6 hubbies).  How fun it was to meet up again after all these years. 

Chad's 7th

Clear back last month, Chad celebrated a birthday.  I don't know who was behind the camera because there were nearly no pictures taken to capture the moment, but I still need to document it, nonetheless.

Chad turned 7 this year.  I feel like I'm entering a different stage of parenting now, and 7 really doesn't sound so little anymore.  The truth is, it isn't all that little-Chad is one of my best helpers.  He is capable of doing so much and I really love that he can help with and entertain his brothers (not that he is always willing to do it when I need him to). Chad's current love is Hot Wheels cars, which he received a handful of as gifts.  His cousin also gave him a pair of Rollerblades, which I think he practically lived in for the first two weeks. 

 

 For Chad's cake, he wanted a "Bounce on 2" cake (a game he plays on the ipad).  Thankfully, Dave did the decorating with Chad's help, and I think it is the most simple and fast cake decorating we've ever had for a birthday!  He was pleased a punch with how it turned out! 

So, Happy Birthday, to my oldest.  Seven years ago, I became a mom for the first time, and even with all of the ups and downs and struggles, I wouldn't change a thing.  Love you, Chad. 

Another Run

I love these wonderful women that I get to run with.  This last weekend, the four of us ran another 5K.  Yes, I know we need to branch out beyond our simple 5K, but I think that will have to come after this pregnancy.  My goal is always to run the whole thing, and to beat my previous time.  I love talking to my brain, convincing it that I can and I will  make it to the top of this hill.  This was a great course, and since is sported some serious hills, I thought this quote was very fitting, because I really think running is a metaphor for life.  

"Most of us try to avoid hills, but what's so good about flat?  Think about it: flat hair, flat returns and-the ultimate- flatlining.  Life happens on the hills.  They're opportunities to prove to yourself that you're stronger than you ever imagined.  If you never attempt the ascent, you'll never know the thrill of swooshing down the other side."   

And I totally do feel like I'm stronger than I imagined when I complete an ascent. 

Oh, running!  How I love you!  And how I slowly feel you slipping from my grasp as you become more painful with each step of this pregnancy.  Sigh. 

Trains

We live in a town with a lot of railroad history.  This past week, Union Pacific celebrated 150 years here, and they held a little event to celebrate.  Several large passenger cars had been brought in, which we were able to go through.  We also visited the old train depot, which speaks volumes of history with old wooden, high-backed benches and the worn tiles on the floor from so much foot traffic.  

However, my children's favorite part by far, was riding on the model train, which was just their size.  Trust me, they whined the entire time they had to wait for their turn, but the all agreed that the 5 minute ride was well worth the wait.    

Pioneer Trek

I had the incredible experience recently to go on a pioneer trek with the youth in our ward.  I admit that I was dragging my feet a little to go, simply because of the time commitment involved.  I am so glad I made the sacrifice to be there. 
We drove about an hour from home to a small pioneer town called Chesterfield, Idaho.  Many of the original buildings still exist and it was fun to imagine what life would have been like for those who lived there back then.  We were driven from Chesterfield (representing Nauvoo) by an angry mob and we set off on the trek, pulling handcarts.  Our ward had 3 handcarts.  For the first 3ish miles, we were mostly on a gravel road, with various hills, but we just hiked and enjoyed visiting.  When it came time to turn off the main path and really begin the trail, all of our men and boys were called away to serve in the Mormon Battalion and the women (there were 12 of us) were left to pull the carts alone.  This was the narrowest, steepest, most rocky and rutted part of the trail, and with just 4 leaders and 8 girls pulling 3 handcarts, it was tough.  I think it really helped our girls to think about what those before us sacrificed to make it to the west.  Part way up the hill, the men in our group came as "angels" to help us push and pull our carts up the hill.  I was so impressed with our youth and their attitudes.  It was hard for me to imagine what the Saints gave up in order to cross the plains, but I imagine that their purpose drove them. 

I

 We treked for about 7 1/2 miles on the first day.  It was hot and hard, and even our teeth were brown from the dust by the time we made it to camp that evening.  I have never heard a group of people (about 150 of us total) be so quiet from exhaustion.  I think everyone just checked out for about 3 hours and tried to recover. 

 On the second day, as we treked back into Chesterfield (now the Salt Lake valley), we were asked to remove our shoes and to trek the remainder 1/4 mile into the valley in silence.  It was called the "reverence walk".  We had one young women who had sustained some serious blistering on day one, and for part of the second day, had to ride along our group in a truck, but she wanted to badly to walk in to "Salt Lake" on her own.  Regardless of her pain, she asked to get out of the truck and removed her shoes and silently walked into that valley with tears running down her cheeks.  What a great example she was to me, and to several others who knew her situation.  We do hard things!-and she was such a great example of that.  I think the pioneer message rang true in her heart maybe more than it did for the rest because she knew, even if only a little, of the "pains" some of the pioneers experienced, and yet, she pushed through. 

 

I truly  came home with a greater appreciation for what the pioneers experienced and sacrificed for me to have what I do.  And I am truly impressed with the youth of our ward.  

Baby

Meet our newest addition, set to arrive just in time for Thanksgiving.  They tell us they are 90% sure it is a girl.  That's right, I said GIRL!  After 3 boys, I'm not really sure whether to believe them or not.  Between Dave and my parents, there are 18 grandchildren; only 2 are girls.  Chad is most excited that it is a girl because, as he says, "we have sooo many boys!"

Dave likes the name London, but Tyler much prefers: London Bridge is Falling Down, Falling Down, Falling Down,  London Bridge is Falling Down, My Fair Lady.  I told him that might be a little long when I am calling her to dinner. 

 

Got any girl name ideas?  Send a few my way.