The Best Seat in the House

There's been a whole lot of driving back and forth these days.  In March, April, and May the world stood still for so long that we got used to the new normal of being home and together.  No outside stuff.  Just us.  Now that we're back in school, sports have resumed and dance is back on, our evenings are absolutely crazy.  Mike is back to traveling again and things are crazy some nights when I have to be in two places at once.

Tonight, I was driving to and from and here and there.  By the time football games were over it was 8:00 and we still hadn't had dinner. 

I threw something together and called the kids to the table.  Nathan didn't come.  

I went looking for him and found him in Mike's spot.  Football was on and Mike was out of town.  So, Nathan took things into his own hands and got settled in to watch the game.  I texted Mike to tell him and he said "It's the best seat in the house!"

 

Bryce Canyon

My mom called me up last week and said she wanted to go to Bryce Canyon and invited us to tag along.  We didn't have anything going on that weekend, so we jumped at the chance.  

We've been to Bryce before, but we really just looked at it from the motorhome as we drove home from a big trip.  I think we had Charlie so we didn't get out and hike around.  We didn't even drive the 18 mile loop because we were at the tail end of our trip and the kids were tired.

We were determined to get out and really see it this time.

We took the kids out of school on Friday  

Grandma came and brought Aspen.  It was really fun for Allie to get some time with them.  She didn't have to stay in the hotel room with the stinky boys.  It was a great trip for them.

The Littles had a great time climbing around on rocks like maniacs.  It's still a bit wild and crazy with them, but it's nice that they are a little safer than they used to be when we had to live in constant worry that one of them would fling themselves off a cliff in some wild ambition to fly or something.  

Jason brought Baby Penguin to snuggle throughout the trip and he had to come with us on some of the hikes too.  :)

Mike had to show Jake who's boss a few times too.  

Jason was easier to subdue...

...but it won't be long until he's too big too.

                                                     

We took the 18 mile loop and stopped at all the turn outs.  It got to where only Mom and I got out when we stopped because the kids would fight on the way back into the car so we just started a movie and let them hang out while we looked at the beautiful sights.  How's that for ridiculous?  :)

This bird had a crush on my Mom...

 It was a beautiful day! 

A Trip With Dad

 Mike had to be in Richfield for work.  Since we would be down there the next day on a trip with my mom (more on that, to come), he took the littles and Allie with him for a fun night away.

They claim to have eaten their weight in gummy worms, but I find that a bit hard to believe.  Where would they have gotten 80+ pounds of gummy worms?

They went swimming and trashed the hotel room.  It was all so fun. 

Sometimes life is pretty good when you aren't with Mom.  

Try Not to Be Jealous

Guess where I got to be today...

The Logan Temple!  Try not to be too jealous.

Last time I was up on the temple grounds, for Sam's birthday, I got a phone call from my friend Natalie.  I was walking away and getting back to my car, so I answered and before she even had a chance to speak, I was telling her how much I missed going to the temple, but how neat it was that I could still feel peace just being on the grounds.  I was blubbering about my Sam boy and surprised at the emotions I was feeling.  When I finally paused and gave her the chance to state the reason for the call,  she told me that she had felt impressed to call right then because she had some exciting news.  Her son Zack (who has been set apart as a missionary and has been studying in his home MTC) was going through the temple for the first time.  They had a few people who couldn't go (including her sisters) and she said I could go as her "sister".  She had known for a while that she would have an opening and had planned on calling me, but the spirit had told her to call now.  Once again, there were little tender mercies from my Heavenly Father letting me know that what was important to me was important to Him.  Nat called me at the perfect time.  I was so excited that she had invited me to go, that Zack would be happy to have me there, and that I would have the chance to be in the House of the Lord again.  

It was so neat to be there with a relatively small crowd.  I've known Natalie's family for 30 years now. (Is that even possible?!)  I went to Russia with most of the people in this picture and it was so fun to see them again.    

I know that time just moves on, but it's still so crazy to think that I held little baby Zachary in my arms and now he's about to go off as a missionary.  I know he'll learn and grow so much.  He's got wonderful parents and I'm so glad they're in my life.

Life is good!
 

Celebrate

We didn't do much celebrating for Sam's birthday.  We had a busy evening.  I made chicken noodle soup because it was chilly outside and I didn't want any complaints about the meal.  They all lapped it up happily. Although, there was this conversation...

Jason: Why do you put so many onions in the soup?

Allie:  How can you even tell there are onions?  They're so small.

Jason: You can tell they're onions!  They're huge!  (holding up a potato) 

Nathan:  The only thing I don't like are the tomatoes (holding up a potato).

Allie: Guys...those are potatoes. 

Guess we need some lessons in produce.  :)

We didn't sing, but I made lunch lady bars.

  

Then, Nathan had a flag football game.  The game was nearly over when Jake called to say that we had been delivered some delicious cookies...

Our friends had sent them over for Sam's birthday.  We are loved and it was a nice day.

 

Happy Birthday Sam!

 Hey, Sam boy!  

Happy birthday.  You were born 11 years ago. Born on the most beautiful September day.  When we brought you home from the hospital, the warm sun was shining.  It's so crazy that we had a hard freeze last night.  There was a crazy wind storm the night before.  We had neighbors lose trees and many others were chasing garbage cans or flower pots that had blown over and away.  What a crazy storm!

It's been so strange.  I've gone to the temple every month for so many years.  I've been in the temple on your birthday every year unless it was a Sunday.  This year, the coronavirus kept me from being in that sacred building where I always hope to catch a glimmer of you.  I hope to feel of your spirit.  I hope to feel a connection.  I hope to do work for someone you have taught.  I just love to be in the one place I know you are sure to go to find me too.  

So, today, I went.  Even though I couldn't go inside, I went.  I sat outside and looked up at the spot that says "Holiness to the Lord."  I remembered sitting there with your dad when I was pregnant with you and we were making some hard decisions.  I remembered getting answers to questions and being so grateful for the temple.  Today, once again, I was so grateful for the temple.  I didn't have to be inside to feel the power of it.  I didn't have to be inside to feel close to you.   

    It was a beautiful day and I was so glad to be there feeling close to you.

I love you Sam boy!  I love that I am your mom and I always will be.  Thanks for being my anchor.  Thank you for helping me through this life.  I am excited to see you again someday.  I'll give you more birthday kisses than you can count.

Love, Mom 

Today

Today was a slow day.  We did the home church thing and Mike gave a great lesson.  He always does such a good job and the kids listen.  We talked about Samuel the Lamanite and as always, we are reminded to follow the Prophet.  It's really cool how easily we were able to fall into this quarantine thing and keep up with church at home.  Our Prophet really does know the way.  The inspiring move to have the Come Follow Me program is pretty amazing.  We aren't the best at it, but we're figuring it out.

We're still sorting pennies, so we did that after our "church meeting" while we watched Ephraim's Rescue.  My mom's brother is married to one of Ephraim's great granddaughters, so it's cool to watch that show with her and her family in mind.  Jason and Nathan thought it was pretty sad.  And it is.  It's hard to see people suffer as they were trying to do what was right.

As we sorted, I found a cool Lincoln/JFK penny.  I guess it is a commemorative coin. Lincoln is on the front, but JFK's face is printed on there too, tiny on the side.  It was a pretty exciting find.  I had never seen one before and didn't even know they existed.  It's not worth much more than a dollar (according to google), but it really is cool to add to our collection.  We came across 4 wheat pennies today too.

When that movie was over, I tried to keep the kids from fighting as Mike took a snooze.  

We made pork chops for dinner.  Mike smoked them in the smoker and they were delicious.  

Allie made us muddy buddies for dessert and we sat down to watch Mulan.  We wanted to see the animated one because the live action film is coming out.  It was so funny to watch Jason as he fretted and worried over what would happen.  He hates suspense and just wants to know how things are going to end.  That's the way I am.  If things get intense, I want to know the ending so I can just relax and enjoy because I know everything is going to work out in the end.  Even if it doesn't all work out, at least I know to expect that.  So when Jason watched in horror as the bad guys came out of the snow, he wanted to know how it all ended.  I was inclined to let him know it was all going to be ok in the end, but Mike told him he had to watch and wait.  They loved the movie and I was surprised that they had never seen it before tonight.   

Allie, Jason, and Nathan slept out in the backyard in a tent last night.  Jake stayed for a little while on the trampoline.  I think the littles slept like a couple of rocks.  Allie, on the other hand, had such a rough night.  Jason is a snuggler and since they were laying head to feet, he was sleeping soundly on her legs.  He's also a hot body so she just sweltered all night and couldn't move.  I'm so glad she does things like that with them though.  

By now, the house is quiet and all the kids are snoozing.  As much as I love them all, this is my favorite part of the day.  I need peace and quiet from them to recharge. I anticipate this week to be a bit rough.  It's Sam's birthday and although I love celebrating him, it can also be like poking a bruise.

But for now, we've got the day off tomorrow.  The sun will be shining.  Things might be crazy in the world, but in our little corner, life is good.   

75

 

Happy birthday to my dad!  He'd be 75 years old today.  I found myself with a little time today and realized I have neglected my blog.  I sat down to catch up a bit and decided to write about my dad.  Here is another reason I am committed to this blog.  I knew that I wanted to have a picture of my dad to post, so I started scrolling through my picture files to see what I could find.  He died 17 years ago.  That's before I got a digital camera, so I went to my "complete pictures" file and found a file that I had gotten from my mom.  It was a scanned version of our 1994 scrap book.  

My mom.  

She's the one. 

She's the reason I blog.

She showed me how important it is to take pictures and put them where people can see them.

She made it possible for me to look at these two scrap book pages and smile because it takes me back.  It takes me back to when my dad was alive and well.  

She picked this guy, Robert Johnson.  The guy who, according to him, made the girls at BYU fly the flag at half mast, out of sorrow, on the day that he was married.  

She picked him, she married him, and she was in it for the good times and the bad.  

She was busy.  A few pages after these scrapbook pages, she documents some things that she did as the RS President.  Life was not slow and peaceful, but she still made the time to take pictures and record things for all of us.  

I'm so glad she taught me that.  

I'm so glad that I can share these pictures with you...on the day that celebrates the birth of my dad.  

Happy birthday in heaven Dad!  I love you and I'm so glad you're mine!