This week Spencer had his high adventure with the Priests.  They went to Flaming Gorge to river raft, go boating, fishing, hiking and tour the dam.  He had a great time and came home happy and tired and cranky.  So we decided it was a great day to celebrate 7-11 with slurpees and a trip to the pool.  Somehow splashing around in cold water for awhile always cheers everyone up.  And I learned a secret.  If I take Taylor out to the deep end and hang out with the kids they actually play together pretty nicely in sort of a loose circle around me.  It was fun watching Robyn like a limpet on Spencer's back as he tried to throw her off or Allison and Robyn having water fights with noodles.  Taylor thought it was great.  And where was Jeremy?  Slaving away at home to fix a toilet.  What a great guy.


Taylor is having a busy summer.  He started back at school three days a week for three hours each day (I go there to work too but only two days a week). When he doesn't have school he has been going to a camp from 9-3 where they do activities and field trips.  He seems to be enjoying it.  And his masseuse still comes to our house twice a week which he loves.   Jasper is always very concerned when Taylor is getting a massage.  He jumps on the bean bag to watch everything carefully and is usually licking Taylor hand while she rubs his feet or visa versa.  Guess he wants to participate.

Robyn and Allison spent one day deep cleaning their closets and dressers.  It was a really big undertaking.  Getting rid of clothes that were too small, passing clothes down, finding hidden treasures that needed to be tossed.  Making a list of what they would need for school.  This has required re-outfitting Allison with pants which has meant a couple of trips to stores.  To celebrate their clean rooms we went out on a girls night Tuesday night.  Our babysitter cancelled so Taylor joined us.  Jeremy was able to meet us for taco Tuesday and then we went to see Tomorrowland.  Girls thought the night was worth the work to get there.


Robyn still has swim team every day which she loves.  And a day where Allison will help her do all her dolls hair for a tea party is heaven.  This week she got her bottom retainer glued in so she has been learning how to talk and eat with that in place.

Allison has been doing tennis twice a week this summer and two dance classes back to back once a week.  She fills her days figuring out new crafts or activities to do by herself or with friends.  We ran to Hobby Lobby this week to figure out a type of bracelet she wanted to make.  She is extremely inventive.  She has been learning thanks to a mean mom how to bike to friends houses to play.  On Monday she taught a lesson about service with a really cool object lesson with milk and food dye to show how a small action can make a big impact and then took us to weed a neighbor's house.  Spencer thought it was great digging up big clumps of weeds with a shovel and talking a mile a minute.  Thursday night for Beehives we got to go shelf at the Bishops Storehouse.  Its been neat this week to see who Allison is turning into (interspersed with mood swings that still take me aback!)

Saturday night Jeremy and I drove up Emigration Canyon in SLC to a place I wanted to try called Ruth's Diner.  Its this really old dinner next to a creek where its shady, lights in the tree, a little band playing and was just an awesome relaxing place to be for awhile.  Jeremy has been busy taking on side projects for different companies to build up his network of contacts.  Its been good but challenging and busy for him as he has to learn new things and try to fit everything in.


This week I have been working on painting the shed.  I have the main coat finished and now I need to do all the trim.  Eventually it will get done!  I also started studying for my teaching test.  There are five tests I have to do in five different areas.  I was feeling pretty good about it after two tests thinking I need to study but this is totally doable.  And then I hit the reading test.  Its about the science of literacy and teaching reading, something I have never studied.  I didn't even recognize a bunch of the words used.  So I will have my work cut out for me there.

Last week Allison, Robyn and I got to drive to Colorado to meet our new niece, Madelyn.  Spencer and Jeremy stayed home so they could work and Taylor went into the respite place.  We left Thursday right after work and came back the following Tuesday.  It is so easy traveling with just me and the girls!  And we had a great time visiting, playing and hanging out.


We were able to go a water park, to a drive in, a candy factory, a swim meet, roast hot dogs and take the girls to the pool.  But most of all we got to just play and visit.  Allison is the super babysitter and is so good at being patient and taking care of all the little kids.  I think if she could have she would have brought Daniel and Mimi's baby home with us!  There have been visits where Robyn and Claire haven't been quite in synch as they have grown up and times where they are super good friends and have a great time together.  This time they were in the later stage and it was fun to see them walking around together and playing. 


For beehives this week I got to hike with this crazy group of girls


Friday night we did our annual BBQ.  Not as many people were able to come this year but we had fun.  Spencer was working that night so he missed it.  Water balloons, hot dogs, parachutes and sparklers and then watching everyone's fireworks go off around us.  There are some serious pyromaniacs in our neighborhood.


All the cousins and Spencer and Robyn went back to Jason and Kelly's house Friday night to spend the fourth with them for their neighborhood breakfast and bike parade.  Allison went off to a friends house to watch a movie in their backyard till super late.  But she was determined that we were going to the Provo Parade Saturday.  So she and I got up early and went down and had an awesome time cheering away.  And then Allison came home and slept all afternoon.


Jeremy decided to stay home with Taylor and catch up with some work.  Taylor was grateful.



Saturday night we met up with Jason's family and his friends at Thanksgiving Point for a picnic and to hang out for a few hours before the fireworks started.  Allison made her special fourth of July drinks and we had fun just playing games.  Spencer really enjoys bocee ball now.  We will have to do that again.  It was a huge park full of families playing and at night running around with glow sticks.  And then 40 minutes of awesome fireworks with music playing.  The hour long wait in traffic to get out of there we will just forget about.


With so much going on we told kids to sleep in as much as possible today.  Everyone slept the morning away and I think everyone will go to bed again early tonight.  I am done with school now till mid-August.  I went to my last two classes and took a final and turned in my project that Wednesday before I left for Denver.  A friend caught me studying a the library while Robyn was in her library class.  I came home late that night from school and found she had left me a cupcake and an encouraging note.  What a blessing family and friends are in my life!  Happy fourth everyone!

Tonight was Spencer's Eagle Court. It is done, it was awesome and now we are finished. I am proud of him for all the work he has put into this and grateful for leaders who love and understand his sometimes quirky personality and help him in so many ways.

Taylor started summer camp this week.  There was no ESY (extended school year - 3 hours of school in the morning a few days a week) so he was able to go every day.  He spends the morning doing a class where they play, work on goals and do art projects.  Then they eat lunch and do an activity.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday they go places like a movie, a museum, a city carnival and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays they do swimming at the Provo pool.  I pick him up at 3 and he is tired and happy.  Then twice a week he comes home just in time to meet his masseuse.  Its a tough life I tell you!  He really does seem to be enjoying having more activities in his life as I am trying to step up my game a bit with him.  He also has not been doing great on the digestive front so hopefully he gets better soon.

Monday was going to be our pool day but after Spencer ran over a screw it turned into a replace all our tires type of day.  You would think that would be a bad thing and it was to our wallet.  But our kids were all so excited to postpone their pool day to a FHE night.  Allison made dinner and packed our picnic.  Spencer fed Taylor and when Jeremy walked through the door it was a lets mob Dad moment and play at the pool type of evening.

Saturday the scene repeated itself as we did a family day at the zoo.  Jeremy kept whispering to me, "do you think the kids want some dad time?" as they literally couldn't stop talking, poking at him and being his little shadow.  By the end of the day they had calmed down and were just happy to stop by Trader Joe's to stock up on treats and help cook meals drenched in butter for a photo shoot for Jeremy.

This week I have been working on my farmer's tan as we have spent a lot of time working on our yard and relearning that summer does not mean not doing work.  Allison and Robyn have been finding friends to play with.  Spencer continues to work and enjoy his free meals.  Robyn loves swim team and is fully dressed ready to go an hour early most days.  I have two weeks left of school left and am finishing up final tests and assignments.  I retook my math test and passed it this time.  I couldn't believe I got an 85% the first time - its 5th grade math!  I learned my lesson.  Never take a test after a three hour class and an hour test without dinner.  My mind just stops functioning.

Robyn is heavily into Harry Potter and spent some days putting off jobs all day because she could not stop reading.  Then a friend stops by or night games start and she gets the needed motivation to do her work.  She started a library class once a week where she gets prizes for reading and they have a class for the older kids about different books.

This week we got our new door in our kitchen.  My super generous parents got us new door for Christmas and we have been slow in getting them in and ordered.  I still have to caulk and paint and we are waiting for a stucco guy to fix the edges on the outside.  But we are all really enjoying having a door that opens and shuts so easily.  We put a little ramp over the door's threshold so we can push Taylor in and out.

Robyn made a bucket list at Activity Days and has been busy working on it.  One of her items was to make fancy cupcakes so Sunday she and Allison got busy.

Robyn had her first swim meet this week.  It was just her and me because everyone had commitments but she stayed by me while I timed events and made all her heats.  I forgot how looooong swim meets are!  She got 1st in fly, 3 in breast and 4th in fly but most importantly she didn't get DQ'd which is a huge accomplishment for her.  Her coach has been working with her and said she is ready to move out of the beginner team but Robyn decided that she is starting to make friends and really likes her coach so she doesn't want to move.  She just wants her coach to keep telling her what she can do better after practice and she will work on it on her own.  One day this week we made it to 3 different pools in one day - Robyn slept really well that night.



This week was Strawberry Days - our city's festival.  Spencer worked a couple of night and came home soaked in grease from the grill and I do mean literally soaked as his work is right next to the carnival.  We went to the parade Saturday morning and kids grabbed tons of candy and cheered for the pooper scooper.  Saturday night we went to the rodeo and decided that next year it will be worth it to pay a few dollars more to get seats in the shade.  Sitting for 2 hours in 100 degrees on metal seats gets really hot.  But we got to hoop and hollar, watch the crazy cowboys and motorcycle stunts and fireworks and eat some strawberries and cream.  Its one of my favorite family times of the year.


Friday night we were able to have a BBQ at our house with a group of ladies I run with and their spouses.  It was fun for Jeremy to meet all the people I talk about.  I am blessed to know people who put up with my 6 am slow running style and always are fun to be around.  They make me run and bike faster and longer than I could by myself and always leave me wanting to do a little better in my life.

Two tender mercies this week.  Robyn has been wanting to make fudgecicles - its on her bucket list.    She even called my mom to get her recipe.  One day my visiting teacher showed up with all the ingredients in hand.  Robyn kept saying, "how did she know?"  Another time I was saying how much I just wanted something chocoalte with frosting and debating whether I could be selfish enough to run to Kneaders for a single serving.  I literally finished saying this when the doorbell sounded and there was my neighbor with brownies.  I recognize that God is blessing me with chocolate this week - obviously he knows me very very well.

The last two weeks have been winding down of school and last week activity activities and then Girl's Camp.  Summer is officially here and school is out.

Spencer only had one day of school that last week.  So he spent some quality time sleeping, job hunting and getting his driver's license.  It was a big week for him!  He got hired by Chubby's a hamburger place by us that he loves.  He was so cute walking in for his interview, hair done, church clothes on, and resume in hand.  He started while I was at Girl's Camp and worked 5-6 hours most nights.  The first night Jeremy took Robyn in for a shake and to wave hi at him.  He has his station toasting the buns and making salads.  Best part is that he gets a free meal for every shift.  I anticipate our food bill going down!  He is worried that he is going to get a fat belly so he is trying to mix up his meals and not just have heart stopping burgers every night.


Spencer was psyched to get his driver's license and Jeremy spent Saturday night driving his route to work over and over with him so he would feel comfortable.  He drove Allison to a party one night and Robyn to swim team.  He still makes me very nervous but he is trying hard and is super proud of being able to go places by himself.  His goal this summer is to get through his ACT prep book so he has been working on that every morning.



Robyn had her dance festival at school.  I was able to go into work late and loved seeing her.  She has been working hard on memorizing her dance.  For super hero capes they cut up old t-shirts.  She also had field day and parties galore.  The last day of school we had cousins come over and we burned all our homework books, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and went to the pool.  It was a great way to finish the school year.  Robyn's friend Kelly who used to live next door was in Utah for the week and joined us for most afternoon/evenings.  Robyn loved it.



This last week Robyn started swim team.  She was so excited and nervous to go the first day she made Jeremy come home from work super early to drive her over.  Now she is an old pro at it.  They put her in an easy level so they are going to move her up.


Taylor did not have the best last week of school.  He just was not his usual happy self, think he just was backed up.  So a weekend of a big clean out - don't worry I won't share details - was in order before he left Sunday night to go to a respite place at DSPD.  He stayed there until Saturday afternoon.  They accidentally wrote Jeremy's cell phone number with a 4 instead of a 9 so when I got sporadic cell phone service Tuesday I had all these messages saying they were concerned about Taylor.  But Jeremy talked to them.  Taylor had a bunch of seizures and then went back to his normal self willing to eat and drink again.  When I picked him up Saturday he looked quite content and happy - full belly, freshly bathed, laying in a bean bag by an open door listening to music.  He was noticeably thinner though and has been happy and eating a ton since he got back.   Think it was a good learning experience and next time will be much easier for everyone.


Allison and I left bright and early Monday morning to go to girl's camp in Heber Valley till Friday morning.  It was an awesome week.  Hikes, firesides, skits and songs, personal progress, crafts, devotionals, canoes, ropes courses and very, very little sleep.  When we got home Friday Allison fell asleep in the bathtub and spent most of the day sleeping.  I grabbed a little nap before heading off with Robyn for swim team and errands.  Sort of felt like I had run a marathon, just needed a few days of sleep, healthy food and a regular schedule.  But I loved girl's camp.  It was an awesome experience.


The week before we left was spent getting ready to leave and doing lots of homework.  While I was gone Jeremy ran point on kids and activities and everyone was still alive and happy when I got back.  I had arranged for Taylor to spend one more day at the respite center so I could unpack and clean up and we could do the city family hike on Saturday morning.  The city serves a breakfast and has games and crafts along our favorite trail to the waterfall.  Always a fun time.


And although Spencer was willing to help Robyn with the sling shot challenge and Allison was willing to help make a princess hat for Jasper, I had to step in for the obstacle course.