Friday, September 22, 2023

Everyday Adventures

 Tessa was so excited to go to Classic for Alyssa's birthday party.

She loved rollerblading, which reminded Rockwell and me that we love rollerblading too. :) So I took the kids rollerblading on the Murdock Canal trail the next day. We had to go down a little hill to get from our car to the trail, and I thought it was so sweet that Rockwell offered Tessa his hand since she was nervous about going too fast.
We stopped for a little rest at the Lindon Temple site.
Rockwell enjoyed showing us some of the places he runs with the cross country team. It was a really fun afternoon.

Brian Moncur took our young women class rappelling in Rock Canyon. It was quite a hike and climb to get up to the Cougar Den, but the girls rocked it.
The views were gorgeous!
I went down first so I could hold the ropes as the girls came down, and then belay when they climbed back up. It made me nervous to not have anyone holding the ropes for me, but after the initial step off I felt fine after that. The girls absolutely loved this activity! It was fun to watch them having so much fun.
We stayed until it was raining and too dark to see anymore. :) The deacons had gone kayaking at Deer Creek that night and Brother Brittner sent us this cool picture he took at the reservoir.

Paul and I went to Jonah's football game at Provo High. He's the kicker this year, and he's doing awesome! It was fun to watch him.
Our kids loved getting to hang out with Hallee and Wyatt while we went to the game.

Damon has been wanting to get a job for a while now. He was hired for a couple little jobs over the summer like weeding and watering for the Martial's while they were out of town, but he really wants to keep working and making money. One day while we were eating breakfast he said, "Mom, can I take that class at church?" I asked what class he was talking about and he said, "You know, the one they talked about in Sacrament meeting. Where you can learn how to get a job." It clicked that he was talking about the Self Reliance classes that our church sponsors. I thought that was the cutest thing!! I love that he wants to work. It's hard to find jobs for an 8-year-old though. :) Roxanne texted a few days later asking if Rockwell would have interest in being hired to stain her swingset. Rockwell is very busy with school, cross country, mowing lawns, and church responsibilities and activities right now so he wasn't interested. I asked Roxanne how she would feel about hiring Damon if I did it with him and taught him how to stain it. She was great with that, and Damon was thrilled to get a job! :)
I was so impressed with Damon the whole 4 hours it took to stain all the wood. He didn't complain, and he stuck with it until everything was finished.
We put on some music and worked hard in the heat all afternoon.
It looked great when it was finished, and Damon loved getting his paycheck. :) Way to work hard Damon!! We're very proud of you!

Tessa went to Clear Creek this week. It's a day camp that the 5th graders get to go to. She was gone for over 12 hours, and absolutely loved it. They got to hike, dissect owl pellets, play games, do team-building activities, roast hot dogs and s'mores, and all sorts of things. Hillary went to help and sent me this cute picture of Tess, Opal, and Evie.

Battle Creek & Grove Creek Hike

Mel and I had planned to hike the Grove Creek to Battle Creek Loop a couple weeks ago, but Ataiya went into labor the night before and so we postponed. Clara was born in the early hours of August 23rd and she and Ataiya are doing well!

Obviously Mel wanted to be with her new granddaughter that day instead! :)
Mel & Earl now have two sweet granddaughters.

We found another day that worked to hike and met up at the Battle Creek parking lot. We walked a mile along the Bonneville Shorline Trail to the Grove Creek trailhead and then it was quite the uphill climb from there! It was about 4 miles of relentless climb. It was very challenging, but also very beautiful!
We got about a mile of flat trail and then the remaining 2 miles were a very steep downhill. 
A log bridge that usually crosses the creek has washed away, so we had to take our shoes off and cross barefoot here. It was freezing but also felt good since it was a hot day!
It was a hard hike, but I really enjoyed spending the day with Mel and getting to see this beauty that's basically in my back yard. Thanks for hiking with me Mel!

Life Lately

 We had a family dinner at Adria's house. The kids always love to see what animals they have when we go.

Rockwell, Hayden, Damon, and Tanner had fun playing on their new pickleball court.
Liam is in the stage where he wants to be out playing with the big kids, but also wants him mom with him every moment too. Luckily he remembered me enough that he let me take him out to play so Marissa could spend some time with her siblings.
Tessa and Brylie were also thrilled to play with Liam and Asher, which made Marissa very happy. 

My book club read Educated and we got to meet with Tara Westover. It was very interesting to discuss that book with so many other people, and then to talk with Tara and hear even more about her experiences and how they are continuing to effect her life. She was delightful, interesting, and clearly very intelligent. This book club is one of my favorite hobbies.

We camped at Grandma and Gramps' house over Labor Day weekend. The kids had a blast as usual! They love playing with their cousins late into the night and getting right back to it the next morning!

Paul met up with Tyler, Bryt, and Liz to go to a breakfast fundraiser on Ukraine's Independence Day. It was put on by a few guys who served in Paul's mission and he enjoyed getting to catch up with a lot of friends.
A few of them went to President & Sister McQueen's house after the breakfast. They were able to visit for a while. Paul always loves when he gets to see them.

Shiree sent me this picture of Tessa and Damon helping her pick peaches. They were out playing in the puddles and saw her working and asked if they could help. :)

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Family Pictures

 Tessa requested that we take new family pictures now that she got her braces off, and I was happy to oblige. :) I am really happy with how they turned out! There were so many that I loved.

And of course a few that I won't be framing, but I love all the same. :)
Rockwell and Damon wanted action shots of them jumping the fence.
And then Paul wanted action shots of him too. :)
Amazing moves Paul!! :)

Al was so sweet to drive up to Big Springs and take the pictures of our family and Paul & me. Thank you so much Al!!