Highlights from our Utah Trip - Summer 2015

We packed A LOT into a few weeks prior to and during our trip to Utah.  Bailey graduated on a Friday.  Our company was in town over the weekend through Tuesday morning. The kids were out of school the next Tuesday, and we left Wednesday morning to Utah.

All three kids had to sit together in one row in the van

because the back of the car looked like this. And we sent about half of the stuff home in Grandma and Grandpa's car!  It turns out college-bound girls have a lot of stuff.

We made it to Boise to get Cafe Rio.  Of course. And found our way over to a really nice TJMaxx and had way too much fun (we girls did, at least).

The morning after we arrived in Utah we dropped off Bailey at freshman orientation and Dan drove to Manti to our nephew Dallin's wedding. Joseph was able to hang out that day with his cousin Jeffrey.

I took the boys and Aubrey to Sodalicious to get a "dirty soda" and to Clark's donuts to get a scrumptious fried concoction.

And then we went to Inside Out, which made all of us laugh and cry.

When Bailey had a break in her freshman orienting, we drove to her apartment and helped move her in. Mianna rode the train down to Provo so she could come help Bailey unpack.

That night we all (minus Bailey) met up at Zupas for a delicious dinner. Grandma and Grandpa were exhausted and stayed back at the hotel.

That night we drove back to Draper, where we were staying, and the next morning Dan and Joseph hung out while I took Mianna and Aubrey to get a pedicure (Mianna's first time!)

We drove back to Provo and helped Brandon and Angela take their bike into the repair shop. There weren't enough seats for everyone, so Aubrey rode in the trunk with the bike!

Joseph was able to spent a few hours playing with his cousin Blake, who is 13 now.  WHAAAT?

 On Sunday we decided to go to a performance of Music and the Spoken Word, something I have ALWAYS wanted to do. And it was so amazing. They even sang one of my favorite songs and one which is so appropriate for this stage of my life - "Sunrise, Sunset."  It was like a tender mercy just for me.

Afterward we took some pics on temple square.

 Honoring their Dad on Father's Day.

 Back in Draper, Aubrey packed up for EFY while Joseph devised new ways to enter the playhouse under the stairs.

 Monday morning Dan flew back to Washington to work for a few days and the kids and I met up with our friends the Warnicks for breakfast (formerly from Vancouver, currently from Missouri) 

before dropping off the girls at their EFY dorm (which was only a few buildings away from Bailey's summer college dorm.   

So the Warnicks walked with me to visit Bailey in her dorm, and then we walked around with them for a bit and ate some creamies.  Isn't Logan the perfect height for Bailey?  Just sayin'.  And a super nice kid, too.

 
So, that was Monday. Are you dizzy yet?  I am. Monday night we visited with Grandma and Grandpa, who had just returned from their trip to Oregon and the beach house. Grandma and I took Joseph and his friend Kyle (recently moved from Vancouver) to the new Utah Natural History museum and then to frozen yogurt (which we got free because Kyle's weighed the "magic weight" for that day and we had a buy one get one free coupon!).

  

And then Joseph slept over with Kyle for the night.  So, if you are following this you might have noticed that my family was getting smaller and smaller, until it was just me hanging out by myself with my parents. It was fun! The next day Mom and I made the rounds at DI and contacts from KSL.com to find trek clothes for Aubrey, Dan, and me.

And I discovered the sinful pleasure of Swig cookies and Swig's dirty Dr. Pepper. I don't even want to know how much sugar is in this particular treat!  

On Thursday Dan flew back into town and we drove with my parents to the Heber house after getting a treat with Bailey in the Wilkinson Center (and getting a traffic ticket which we successfully appealed - silly overanxious parking police)

and then dropping Joseph off at Brandon and Angela's for a sleepover.

On Friday we four adults went for a hike to Danger Bridge and sat around and talked in the beautiful mountain air.

 

When we got Joseph back to spend the evening with us at the cabin, we played Quiddler with Grandma and Grandpa. I would like to point out that my parents never played games when we were kids. This is something they have adopted in their grandparent-hood!

And finally, on Saturday morning we met up at Magleby's Express for a goodbye breakfast with all five of our kids.  Goodbyes are sad!

Then we drove to Boise, where we changed into our pjs at the hotel and then went to get frozen yogurt because we are like that.

 And then we were home, with an empty car and an emptier house and heart.

Yay - visitors in Washington!

We were so lucky to have visitors for the few days after graduation. We had a great time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa and the Yanceys.

Aubrey was sweet to do a "spa day" with Lauryn.

Joseph and Jayden played on the slip 'n slide and trampoline.

The group (minus most of the guys, who were doing something else, I guess) went for a walk on the Salmon Creek trail.

Bailey very patiently talked to Austin about everything that interests him. These two cousins are almost twins - born 3 days apart.

Sunday we played games and enjoyed a barbecue outside, celebrating Grandma's birthday with candles in ice cream.

A few pictures of the guys golfing on Monday. I'm so impressed Dan remembered to take so many pictures!

 What is it with the Yanceys sticking their tongues out while golfing??

While the guys golfed the girls got pedicures (Aubrey and Joseph were at school and Bailey had a fresh pedicure from prom and was home packing for college)

 That night, rounds of trampoline jumping of selfie taking before the Springers and Yanceys headed off to the beach house in the morning.

The frenetic speed of life

How do people find time to do things like write in a journal every day or keep up a blog? I'm pretty lousy at both. We seem to move from one busy season to another, and any downtime is usually in the company of my family, in which case I choose to not sequester myself in the den to catch up documenting life events.

In addition, life has been really tough lately for people I love. And that puts all things in perspective and sometimes mutes my desire to write about the minutiae of our lives.

But I know it's important. My kids like to look back on the paths we have walked, and my memory bank is getting so full at my advanced middle-age that I won't remember everything if I don't take a picture and write it down.

So today my goal is to summarize some of the major highlights in the lives of my family from July through September.  I'll add posts with pictures and more details later.

Our house is really feeling emptier these days. We have a completely empty bedroom for the first time. I only have to keep track of two children's packed schedules. It feels weird.

Brandon and Angela are busy finishing up school classes (Brandon will graduate in April and Angela a semester or two later).  Brandon finds lots of opportunities to expand his skills and make himself immensely useful in the world of video editing/colorizing.  He is very good at what he does and seems to really like it. Angela is finishing up her Microbiology degree and is looking at Pharmacy school.  

Mid-August they spent a week with us in Washington (lucky us!) and right after returning to Utah moved into a triplex we purchased in Provo.

Bailey attended BYU for Summer Term (and now is in Fall Term) and has had a great time, as we knew she would! We are so proud of her and miss her so much. 

She has literally climbed mountains since leaving to college, and has pushed herself to do lots of fulfilling things, including going to a leadership camp and signing up to help with some BYUSA projects. She is tackling some difficult classes this semester and is learning a lot about juggling college-level stress with fun social activities. 

She and I took a whirlwind trip to San Diego with Mianna and Laura Sullivan right after summer term ended, and then she also spent a week with us in Washington. We were so lucky to have all our family together for a few precious days!  Bailey is going to ditch college for a few days and fly to CA to join us in Disneyland in a few weeks.

Aubrey had a super busy summer.  I will consult the calendar on my phone so I can remember everything. . . 

She drove with us to Utah the day school ended to drop off Bailey at college. That same day we dropped off Aubrey at BYU for a week at EFY with her good friend Kate. At the end of the week we drove home and she attended a tap dancing class every day the next week. Then, during the weekend she flew back to Utah to spend a week at the Young Ambassadors camp, a really special experience. She attended with our friend in the ward, Hailey Johnson. 

She arrived back from Utah on Saturday night and early Monday morning left on a backpacking overnight 4th year girls camp hike. (Which she ROCKED and really loved). The girls went straight from the hike to a week at Girls Camp, their last year before they are youth camp leaders. I was there as a leader, so Aubrey and I bonded during a fun and dusty week at camp.  

After camp Aubrey had her only free week of the summer, during which we crammed all sorts of doctor and dentist appointments, all the while packing up for Pioneer Trek. On July 29th Aubrey, Dan, and I left for a 4 day pioneer trek. So much more to say about that, but it will have to go into a separate post.  

Two days after returning from Trek Aubrey started daily rehearsals for a musical called Seussical and 3 times a week driver's ed classes.  She finished rehearsals for the play and performed three times the weekend of August 21st. She was AMAZING, but once again that needs to be the subject of another post. The week after the play we did all her school shopping, went to the lake with some youth in the ward, and then it was time for school to start!  

Aubrey is a sophomore this year is and is doing really well. She has been involved in quite a few fun social events, some of which she hosted! In addition to her three times a week theater/conditioning/dance/vocal classes through her theater company, she takes lessons off and on with three different vocal teachers.

Joseph was all about the friends this summer. He liked the trip to Utah, during which he connected with a good friend who recently moved from Vancouver. Once he returned home he spent his days planning which friend(s) to invite over. Socializing is not a problem for him!  

In July he attended Cub Camp with Mom as a helper. He finished his Webelos badge and read the first two Hunger Games books. Joseph was able to have a few sleepovers at his best buddy's house while we were involved in youth activities (camp and trek) this summer. 

Joseph wrote numerous pages of dystopic and futuristic books over the summer. He plans out entire series of books and then plunges into writing the first book. Sometimes he gets tired of writing one book so he switches gears and writes about another compelling idea. I am his official editing helper, and he has hosted several "author lessons" to teach me how to write better.  

This year Joseph is a 5th grader, the big kid in the school and on the bus, and loves it. He is on a great soccer team and is just about to start basketball.

Dan and I were really busy making sure all the above things happened.  The end.

Okay, maybe there is a little more. Dan just began his 4th year of teaching seminary. So far so good. He has the prep down to a science, but has a really squirrelly freshman class this year.  He continues to like to work out (he and Aubrey work out at the gym in the mornings after Seminary and before she goes to school at 9:30.)

I received a new church calling just before Girls Camp in mid-July. (Stake Primary President).  I had almost six weeks to stew over counselors and to try to effect a smooth transition from my job in YW before I was finally sustained on my birthday the end of August.  The new calling has been an interesting ride. Humbling. I am learning a lot, including how much I don't know, and the Lord is stretching me, which is a good thing. Yesterday I spoke at the 7 a.m. Sunday Stake Priesthood meeting. It went well and ended up being a good experience, after an agonizing week (okay, 3 weeks) of preparation, trying to get the message to be what the Lord would want it to be.

In addition to going to San Diego with Bailey, I also was able to spend a few days in Boise in August with a few friends from high school. It was fun to reconnect with them.

Life is Good We are back in the swing of the school schedule, which means we are pretty busy. But life is good.