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.

This Friday evening we went to the Payson temple open house.  Allison was gone all night to a birthday part so Robyn got to invite her new friend Gillian who lives across the street.  They were so excited to go.  The temple is truly beautiful in many ways and I loved all the symbolism they used.  We shared the evening with a few thousand people so lines were long but I got to have many interesting conversations with the people around us who also had special needs children.  It gives you an instant talking point.



This week Allison had her end of year school concert.  I loved how she hammed it up for the songs but what I was most proud of was watching her enter and leave the concert helping a special needs girl walk.


Tuesday night Jeremy and I got to play hookey and went to a play on a school night called Big Fish.  It was awesome.  I have never heard the songs before and they had great humor intermixed.  It always feels like we are cheating when we come home late on a school night and everyone is already asleep.

Taylor had his dance festival this week.  After helping our class dance in front of an audience to Everything is Awesome I got to help Taylor dance Footloose with his class.  He had a big smile on his face while I walked and shook him around.

I got to meet with my college advisor this week.  The plus side was that I got to waive two classes for the summer.  The down side is that I was a week ahead in those classes on homework!  But it feels nice to have the load lightened.  Monday I stayed home sick with a cold and spent the day doing homework.  My kids especially Allison think its funny watching me try to get my old brain to work.

Spencer has been busy this week applying for jobs everywhere.  Friday I went with him so he could drive and I was proud of him in his shirt and tie with a resume in hand.  No job yet but many applications out there.  School is basically over for him now.  Most of his classes are watching movies and he is relearning things like what the truffle shuffle is.

We didn't have any big plans this weekend as we have had lots of rain and cold weather.  We work in the yard when its sunny and we now have all our garden in.  Robyn had a swim clinic every day this week.  I know she loves swimming because she didn't mind swimming in the rain at all.  Allison and her friend Evy spent Saturday night cleaning out our playhouse.  They even ironed our curtains.  I love that they considered that fun!

Once again we had rain for Taylor's BBQ party this weekend.  So we celebrated him turning 19 by hanging out inside with 11 other brave families and eating hot dogs, cake and having a great time visiting.  Taylor had two slices of cake for dinner and seemed quite happy about it.  Its one of my favorite traditions every year.

Despite rain and cold moving in for the weekend the rest of the week was full of sunshine.  We worked on shaping up our yard and planting pots and veggies.  A week ago we shipped off our shed that had broken apart in the windstorm and ordered a new one.  So this week that got all set up in our yard and is waiting for me to fill it with all the garden stuff and toys presently crammed into our garage.  I am quite excited at the prospect!

This week I got to go to Salem's fishing day for children with disabilities with my class that I work with.  I got to spend the day feeding them hot dogs and walking around a park and fishing.  Great way to spend the day.

Spencer had his two AP tests this week and is now done with all big assignments.  So he has been busy watching movies at school and catching up on books at home.  Friday night he drove Jeremy and me for our date down to Provo.  We owed him a hamburger at Tommy's for finishing Fahrenheit 451.   Jeremy is so much better at teaching kids driving.  "When you feel comfortable and its clear, switch lanes.  Stop!!  I thought you said it was clear.  No I said when it was clear you should switch lanes!"  Or when he calmly lets Spencer know that he can't jerk in and out of lane changes at 70 miles an hour.  I have finally gotten to the point that I don't stress too bad when Spencer drives us to and from Orem for his crossfit class.  He only needs four more hours of driving and then he can pick up his license. 

Robyn tried out for the AF swim team this week.  She finds out tomorrow what team she will be on and when she practices.  I am sure she made a team.  She was so excited to swim and can't wait for stroke clinic this week with the high school.  She has been busy learning a dance for her school's dance festival and is now on book 2 of Harry Potter.  Stories of wands and spells have been growing in popularity around here.

I started classes this week.  So I have been busy staying up most nights trying to get ahead in all my homework.  Classes actually started Monday but I didn't get registered for three of the classes till Wednesday and one on Thursday as I had to get some prerequisites waived.  It just means homework was due Thursday, Friday and Sunday and I got a late start.  I am hoping to get ahead soon.  My kids think its funny to go to bed and leave me working away.  I guess I should have shown more sympathy towards them during the school year.

Last week Macho came in late one night limping.  We were off to a wedding reception and the Avengers movie so we just gave him a cursury glance to check for blood.  The next morning we did a more thorough exam and saw something white sticking out of his leg.  Tried to pull it out with tweezers thinking it was a claw or tooth from a fight.  Turns out it was a bone.  Since we aren't willing to do surgery for a compound fracture we let nature work its magic for a little while along with some pain killers.  He has been learning to get around on three legs, still purrs, eats and terrorizes Jasper as needed so I feel like he is doing fine.

Allison spent the weekend working at a garage sale for her theater group to raise money for their Disney trip.  Jeremy spent Saturday afternoon helping her clean up from the garage sale after spending the morning taking the kids to the fireman pancake breakfast.  He is such a good dad to our kids. 

Hard to believe that Taylor turned 19 this week.  We postponed his annual BBQ till next week because of unending rain but I did decide Taylor really, really wanted some chocolate cake on his birthday!  And leftover cake for Mother's Day is always a good thing.  It seems so long ago that we were taking him to the ER on Mother's Day and watching him be rushed away with the trauma team.  That was a very long week in the ICU.  And now I have mixed feelings - look how far he has come and look how far away he is from where we thought he would be at 19.  But he had a great birthday full of chocolate milk, baths, cuddles, fires and his digestive system problems even resolved themselves.


This week I got to go with our YW to the Payson temple open house.  It has to be the most beautiful temple I have ever seen.  And Allison always impresses me with the choices she is making.  She has had to make a tough choice lately at school - whether to do what she knew she should or whether to go with her friends.  She is having courage and choosing to be kind - she has the moto from Cinderella written on her mirror.


This week I got to leave work early one day to attend Robyn's author day.  She got to show off the book she wrote and show off all her work.  Today she announced that she was off to teach her dolls bowstaff lessons:


and now they have moved onto sorcery lessons inside.  She finished reading Sisters Grimm and has started the Harry Potter series.

This week was sign up for our city swim team.  We were unable to get Robyn in due to some snaufus.  Lots of tears on her part.  She is going to try a neighboring city's swim team try outs this week and see what she thinks.


Jeremy has been continuing with his citizen police academy this week.  He had one night where he got to be tasered - he has always been curious and see the K-9 unit.  Another night he was able to do a ride along and then he got to spend Saturday morning learning about use of force.  He has been enjoying it and learning a lot.


Saturday morning my friends and I created a new Mother's Day tradition.  We ran down Provo Canyon from South Fork and ended at Kneaders with their free french toast for mother's.  It was awesome and the torrential rains waited till we finished.  Mother's day has been great.  Kids and Jeremy work me up with breakfast and presents and have done all the work today.  My mother's day flowers are sitting in the garage as it we couldn't plant anything Saturday due to rain.  So tomorrow I am planning on a marathon planting session.

This week a few new changes came up.  I finally got together with Utah State, went through their admissions and am starting their special ed severe program tomorrow.  It all happened very fast but their semester started this week.  This is the first year they are doing this program at a distance instead of just on campus.  They actually started January 1 so I get to do double classes for a semester to catch up.  If all goes well I will take 6 credits every semester, student teach in 2017 and then graduate in December 2017 with a second bachelors in severe special ed.  I am hoping that I am not too over confident but everything has fallen into place and this seems the right direction to go.  I will do classes online and then on Monday and Wednesday nights.  This semester it will only be on Wednesday nights.  Kids are excited to watch me doing homework.

We celebrated May the 4th this week with cake and Star Wars.  The benefit of not doing TV on school nights is that when we do a movie on a school night our kids are highly motivated to get their jobs and homework done so they can participate.

Spencer turned in his first job application this week to the library. He has his AP tests this week and then he is going to tackle some more.  I am so excited to have him working this summer!  A busy Spencer makes for a happy household.

For FHE this week I had a bad mom moment when I asked Jeremy to take the kids for ice cream for FHE treat while I stayed home with Taylor and eat cheesecake while sitting by myself in peaceful quiet.  Glad Jeremy understands these moments and our kids are none the wiser...I think.

This week Spencer had his last volleyball game with the end of the year tournament.  They lost in the first match with just a bunch of nerves and mistakes.  But they have come a long way in their abilities and had a great time.  Girls sat up high in the bleacher with their packed dinners and periodically looked up for a cheer.  We are working on what it means to cheer each other on.  But at the end they both came down to tell Spencer what a great job he did.  Spencer also had his end of the year guitar recital.  He was with several girls who performed tear jerky sentimental songs.  Then Spencer belted out Wonderwall.  The guy in front of us had his head nodding along.  Now Spencer just has to get through 2 AP tests and all the end of the year projects.  We are in count down mode.  Spencer started back up to cross fit on Friday.  He is driving there with me in the passenger seat trying really really hard to keep my breathing under control.  I don't think he understands at all how stressful driving with him is!

I am loving all these end of the year things as life starts to calm down as we slowly get rid of things that filled up our schedule.  This week I got to play hookey on Thursday thanks to an awesome husband who took care of everything and go to the BYU women's conference with my friends Brenda and Jenn.  I even got to spend time in between classes catching up with my college room mate Emily.  It was wonderful to be filled with ideas and inspiration on what I can do and improve on.  Plus I got a BYU brownie and came home to fed and going to sleep kids - doesn't get much better.

On Saturday we got to go my niece Bryn's baptism and afterwards our three kids stayed for Bryn's birthday party and a sleepover.  They came back tonight happy and tired out.  Our respite worker cancelled on us so I got to take Taylor to do all the shopping and errands while Jeremy did a photography job.  It reminds me how much I dislike taking Taylor in and out of stores, especially Costco.  I can do it but I prefer not to.  I usually take it for granted that Spencer or Allison can help out with Taylor so I don't have to.  It had been a long Saturday for Jeremy and me as I also had gotten to take the beehives to the temple early in the morning plus all the other usual jobs that needed to be done.  So our date was eating dinner outside and then laying on our couch with a movie.  Taylor was happy to join us.

Whenever the sun is out I have been sneaking in some yard work.  Bathrooms might be dirty but my tomatoes are planted!

Taylor has not had the best week.  Although he did plan a big blow out when I was gone Thursday and Jeremy was on diaper duty which was super thoughtful.  I think its still tied to his digestion issues.  His seizures have increased and he just hasn't been as happy as usual.

Allison and Robyn had their cast party this week.  They came home sad to say good-bye and on a sugar high.  Robyn got the award for best backstage cheerleader for cheering everyone on and Allison got the award for most improved dancer.  She has loved her dance classes and has signed up to take some during the summer.

And because Jeremy was the photographer here are LOTS more photos of our girls: