Slideshow Image 1 Slideshow Image 2 Slideshow Image 3 Slideshow Image 3
Sunday, June 25, 2017

Family Visits


We were thrilled to have my brother Daniel and his family visit us from Denver for a week.  When they came they managed to bring with them a freak cold spell for a few days.  But we do not let the fun stop just because its 42 degrees and rainy!  And thankfully after a few days it warmed right back up.  We made s'mores, spent a day at This is The Place Park freezing and loving it, did our annual picnic at an outdoor play at SCERA, went to the children's museum, ate way too much junk food at JCW's, visited BYU, spent a wonderful day at Lagoon, went to the pool, the city concert, the parade and the rodeo.  We packed in as much fun as we could and it was way too short.  Spencer came home every day asking what fun thing he missed while working (Lagoon was a bitter pill to swallow) but he joined us every night.  We just love their family and wish they lived closer.


Because we had a super cold day, swimming lessons were cancelled and Allison got to join us for the children's museum.  She was able to join us for most things as she only teaches till 1p.m.  When we went to Lagoon, she and Jeremy joined us after she got off of work.  Jeremy brave man that he is let her drive the whole way up on the freeway!


Sunday, June 18, 2017

Too busy living to write


Allison saw this title and said excuses, excuses but it is true.  Not busy crazy stressed but rather too busy just enjoying being with family and living to think about things like taking pictures and writing more than a few sentence in my journal at night.

First of all Jeremy had one more crazy awesome trip, this time to Mexico.  This time he went as an editor which mean more hanging out inside working hard.  But he tried to play hard too when he could.  He came home tired and happy.

While Jeremy was gone we did all the end of the year madness and I was able to spend some time at my new school.

Robyn had her school dance festival as did Taylor.  Taylor was a volcano in Lava and did not enjoy wearing Hawaiian gear in our 50 degree cold spell but was super happy once we went inside.  Robyn danced away with a smile to "Can't Touch This".  Robyn had her economics fair where she sold shrinky dinks and her author's fair where she read to me all her stories.  It was fun to be able to go to everything.  Robyn has a few tears when she realizes that next year I won't be there during school for these events as I will be at my own school.

Spencer had his Calculus AP test and all his finals along with so many senior events that there really wasn't school for the last two weeks of May.  He had a senior BBQ up in the canyon.  He had a Lagoon Day for all the seniors.  He had a senior dinner/dance at the aquarium.  He had yearbook day and graduation practice.  It was a lot and he loved it although you could tell the stress of everything ending was getting to him a bit.  He got a full time job for the summer and quit Chubby's which he was very happy about as he was done with flipping buns and hamburgers.  They even had cake for him on his last day.  His end of the year project for woods was to make an art horse for Robyn.  She now tells everyone the play house is her art studio.


And most importantly he graduated from seminary and high school!  Seminary graduation was an awesome fireside that talked about how they went and did because they were going and doing.  My girls pointed out that they didn't see many other siblings there!


My parents flew out for his high school graduation which was very fun.


Graduation was at the Marriott Center at 9 a.m. (that means that everyone had to be there by 8 a.m. in church clothes!!!  not the easiest task).  Great talks, a few hiccups to keep things interesting and it was a great morning.  Jeremy followed along via texts and photos.  Followed by lunch out at a Korean BBQ place Spencer really wanted to try.  Then we hosted a party in our backyard for 30 of Robyn's classmates (Spencer and my dad figured out the outdoor movie set up) and then Spencer was off for his all night graduation party.



Allison had all of her end of the year stuff too such as testing, choir concerts and Lagoon Day.  She missed yearbook day because of graduation then skipped the last day to spend a day playing with friends.  Allison also had job interviews and then training to become a swim instructor at our city pool.

Before work and swim team started we picked up Jeremy at the airport and spent a few days playing.  We went to Gardner Village (minus Spencer who worked his last shift hopefully every of cooking fast food).  We ooh and awed at fairy houses and Robyn and I were inspired for our garden.  My mom helped Allison figure out a pioneer outfit for Trek and worked hard at sewing it all together.  Allison loves it!


We spent Memorial Day along with our guest Kaori driving down to southern Utah to hike Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon.  It was an awesome hike.  It involved a lot of scrambling over rocks and even wading through water but it was one of the most beautiful slot canyons I have been in.  Jeremy had to help lift my mom and me out at the very end when we had to get up and over a 6 foot wall but we all said it was worth it.  Then we spent a few hours recovering at Goblin Valley before heading back, everyone tired out.



Tuesday real life came in with a vengeance.  Spencer started working 9 - 5 every day.  The first day he didn't pack a water bottle and only brought a sandwich and an apple.  He came home exhausted and collapsed with the fact that he needed to go to cross fit and mow the lawn looming over him.  It was a tough transition to adulthood!  But he is doing much better and packs lots of water and food for his day now and realizes that jobs do not disappear even if you work all day.  And now I no longer do his laundry along with all the other adulting stuff.  He is figuring it out.  The hardest part is him realizing all the fun stuff he has to miss out on now because he works.  That part sort of stinks.

Allison is teaching swim lessons every day from 9-1.  She really likes it and enjoys all the cute preschoolers giving her hugs.  She has gotten so tan already.  We had to get all her stuff set up for concurrent enrollment which was a bit of a pain but she did it and now she just had drivers ed to work on for the rest of the summer plus a dance class.  We have had to learn all sorts of lessons such as curfews and how to communicate plans with parents etc.


Robyn started swim team every morning at 6:30.  I am driving which means I have to be up and going early as well.  Once I am up I am good but that initial getting up is really tough!  Luckily Robyn loves swimming so much she is up before her alarm ready to leave!  She is my buddy this summer as we tackle all our projects and summer cleaning.  We had a clean out challenge of getting closets and dressers all cleaned out and scrubbed down.  Allison and Robyn met it and we all went out for snow cones at our favorite place as a reward.  Spencer missed the carrot part of the challenge but then the stick of no electronics kicked in and he got it done.

I signed my official contract with the district and have been trying to start on getting everything organized, meeting with parents etc.  But fun stuff keeps getting in the way.  But our yard is getting back in shape, I have fairy lights strung up in the playhouse and new birthday present chairs on our deck so I probably need to get my butt in gear a bit.


Taylor is doing well.  We finished switching out one of his medications for a newer one to help his seizures.  It seems to be helping.  We have used respite a few times so that we can do things such as hikes that he cannot do.  We have gone swimming a bunch which he loves and he has enjoyed hanging out, laying in his newly pimped out swing and going places with family.

Jeremy continues working and exercising hard and trying to fit in family time.