We were having family home evening and singing the song "I have a family here on earth". Jerom was teasing the girls like crazy. we sang I want to share my life with them thru all eternity, and Avery yells out in her loud mad mean voice " jerom stop it!" she never missed a beat and continued with the chorus "families can be together forever thru Heavenly Father's plan I always want to be with my own family" maybe you had to be there, but it was a moment of life I'd love to go back and replay over and over.

Friday night lemonade stand!

Being Outdoors

So its been a really long time since I've posted. I know you 've been DYING to know what we been up to. Well lets call it 

Summer

VA

CA

SHUN

A party every day.

Sleeping in the morning.

Hanging out and chillin'

Ok so mostly sweating and not much chillin'

I did decide to share some pics! So enjoy!  And I'll try to update what went down the past few months.

We went hiking to Zions. We got up uber early and went to hike. We thought it would be an easy-peasy morning trip...well we didn't get back until late afternoon. It was so beautiful and amazing there.

 

 Avery  cracks me up in this pic with the sunglasses...she reminds me of a celebrity who is trying to disguise herself.

 Later in June, we went on a big ol' road trip. Good times. We spent an evening at the Manti Pageant.

WE camped on the side of a dirt road Nickle -style.

We hit up Ikea on the way.

We stopped and spent a few days in Rexburg visiting Abes Brother & Sister. It was fun to see how much town had changed since back in the day when I went there. There is so much more housing!

We spent a night in Island Park, right outside of Yellowstone. OK I gotta insert a story here.

So Bad and I had this conversation as we were driving. Should we camp on the side of the road somewhere? Should we pay $15 for a campground? Well I won. We paid and stayed at a campground. I just haven't mastered going to the bathroom in the bushes. I don't want to talk about it, I just don't like it and would rather have a toilet.

So we get camp set up. And, let me just say how much easier it is to camp with older children. I remember going when our kids were little and it was so much work! One person had to be constantly watching children which left the other adult to do the set-up, unpacking, cooking, etc. With older kids, they actually help! And, you don't have to keep a super-de-duper eye on them.  So we grill up some burgers for dinner. They boys get a campfire going and I take the girls to go use the bathroom. We all do our thing (and I am glad to have a seat to sit on, even if there is some breeze on my buns). We go to leave and the door won't open. 

At all.

I turn the handle, and the little thing that goes in and out doesn't move. (sorry I don't know the technical name...)

But it doesn't work.

We are stuck.

Chloe starts crying.

I start laughing.

Avery does a handstand against the wall.

So we start yelling "Help we are stuck in the bathroom"

"Help we are stuck in the bathroom"

After just a minute or 2, someone comes by and hears us and checks to see if we are ok. I send her to go get my husband. Chloe is still crying. Avery and I have the giggles.

Abe shows up. The campsite managers come.Nobody can get the door open. They call the "Boss" of the campgrounds. None of their keys work in the door. A crowd gathers outside.

Let me describe our situation: Its bear country. The walls are brick.The door is sturdy and commercial.THe only good thing I can say is that it really didn't stink. If it did stink I would have died. But it really didn't. A credit card doesn't work. So the workers pass in some tools. I take out the door pins. Still doesnt open. Guys are outside pounding the door to knock it down.

2 hours later

Yes I typed that right...2 HOURS Stuck in the outhouse, they let abe use a ladder and pound out the screening that is at the top for ventilation. I pass the girls up and out. And me? How do I get out? Up a ladder and thru that triangle shape vent at the top of the wall. and awkwardly climbing out in front of the 15+ people crowd that had gathered.

The funny thing is I think I would still be ok to be at a campground again. But I would definitely check out the doorknob before I close the door.

Next stop? Yellowstone!

 This pic of jerom looks photoshopped, but its totally not. awesome!

 We went on this hike that was way off the beaten path; we got stuck in a downpour of rain and had to hide under trees for about 20 minutes. It was a crazy afternoon storm. THere were streams of water running crazy down the trail. and we all got soaked. But it was so fun! Maybe next time we should think about taking raincoats? Maybe. IDK.

 As we were packing, chloe packed a large, large bag full of barbies and accessories. I'm glad she did cause we spent alot of time in the car and boy did she put them to good use!

 And whats a trip to Yellowstone without a stop at the ice cream shop? Its a great way to pass the time while waiting for Old Faithful!

More to come soon! Our trip doesn't end there! That was just the first few days!

Millions of peaches, peaches for me. Peaches come from a can they were put there by a man in a factory downtown. Do you know that song? Cause I can't ready peaches without singing it. These came from my friend's tree. So so so great! Guess what's for dinner!

It's been a long time! We had a fabulous summer vacation. Some day I'll post pictures and stories. There are some good ones too. But today I want to tell you why I'm so happy.

Let me tell you about our kids. Well maybe the absence of children. Or should I just come right and say it? Ok fine. We had some scheduling conflicts with work this past week. So we took our kids to az and left them there for a week. That means abe and I got a week to ourselves.

So fabulous! It's been so wonderful.

We were spontaneous. We went to dinner. Twice! We went to a show at tuacahn. I got my hair done. I went shopping alone. Twice. We watched movies that are not picked by children. And most importantly, we got lots of hours in at work so we will be ready for school to stay on Monday. I couldn't believe how much more simple life is without kids. Way less food. Cleaning. Laundry. Stress.

Abe isn't really missing them but I am. So here's a gigantic Thank you to all who helped us this last week. You guys rock!

So fun to find on my pillow tonight. Avery is so sweet.

Let the summertime fun begin!

Its going up on my mirror.

This is my new favorite quote. Have you heard of ali fox? i came across her blog. shes a mormon with tatoos all over. she inspires me to be better. and judge less. cause for real, you are blessed more than you realize. you are doing better than you think you are.

Only in utah! every time there is a relief society mtg these signs pop up all over the place! lol

Happy easter!

Only in UTAH

I have been wanting to start a series of posts called "only in Utah" today ill start.

at the mall, there is a kiosk in the middle of the hall way that sells green tea something or other. they have signs all over it. yes you read that right. word of wisdon friendly. lol. lol. lol. only in utah.

Spring Break!!

Happy Spring to everyone! Well I don't know if its spring where you are, but it has been

Beaut

E

Ful

here. Today is a little crummy outside, but we've been in Tshirts, riding bikes, playing at the park, and opening the windows. I even turned our heater off for a few days. Life has been crazy normal busy around here. Jeremiah auditioned and got in the the school musical! It was a year ago at his previous school they had an end of the year performance. He stood on the stage with his hands over his face he was so shy/embarassed to be on stage. He's come a long ways to be confident on stage. I'll get you pictures in April when he Performs. Or you can come see it. Come visit! You have 2 weekends to choose from.

So since December, when I really posted last, lots has happened! Mostly just day to day stuff. One of the chores I have my kids do each week is to put their clean clothes away. I have my kids hang their school clothes up in the closet so its easier for them to find things to wear. Here's how I discovered Jeroms closet one day. Sure enough, he was certainly hanging his clothes like I asked him.

We've been having birthdays like crazy!
First comes Avery.

 Next is Abe and I. But we didn't have a party. I'm sure we did something fabulous though. My friend made me a cake! I am so thankful for the ladies I have gotten to know here. They are amazing and wonderful!!

 Jeroms birthday is right after Valentines day. And we had yet another party. The weather was beautiful that day so we took a bunch of boys out to the sand dunes to play. It was so great!!

We've been fortunate that our kids have made lots of good friends since we've been here. All 3 of them have friends they LOVE more than ANYTHING to get together with, which makes me happy.

She must have been really tired to fall asleep sitting in a chair. Sweet thing!

 Avery has been asking (or begging) for some time to have a sleepover with friends. Some of them I would be happy for her to go stay the night at their house. Others, I am not very comfortable with sending her over. And, there is no way to explain the difference between who is ok and who is not ok. So, I've turned in to a mean mom who doesn't do sleepovers. Instead, we do late nights. Well we never actually did a late night. Until yesterday. Avery and Chloe invited over some friends. We had 8 little girls from 7-10 doing all sorts of girlie girlie stuff. Fun times!!

This is the invite we gave out to everyone.

Freeze dance

Nail painting

twirling in a hula hoop. Would you believe all 8 girls were in it at one point? Silly girls.

Friends!!

Well, thats about it for today. I'll see if I can add some silly stories I have saved in my head throughout the week. Yay for spring break!!!




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