A Day of Labor

This is how we spent our labor day, laboring together to can 5 boxes of peaches.

Given a choice we would have rather been at the lake but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead I made a goal to not leave the house all day and tackle the peaches. I thought all day as I was doing it how cozy it would be to can all our food and wondered how people used to do it. The kids were content to be home all day--we are on the go too much and it was the perfect way to ease us into the school year.

Just a Little Exercise

Today I did something I've been wanting to do for years and crawled into my bed for a delicious afternoon nap. It was so good that I was still asleep when the kids came home from school and they were so good and so cute coming into my room to greet me and then back out to the kitchen to make a little snack and watch a show on a sunny Friday afternoon. I had the phone right next to me and it jolted me awake at 4 pm. It was our neighbor letting us know that they spotted Jack about a mile from our house on his bike. I flew out of bed and jumped into the car. By the time I caught up with him he was about 2 miles from home but heading back up the hill. As always he was too dang cute to be mad at and was so excited to see me. He was wearing his backpack and he'd checked the mail (his daily habit) and packed an ice cold gatorade from the fride in the garage. I asked him what he was doing and he said he just wanted a little exercise after school. Then he hopped back on his bike and rode all the way up hill like a little champ.



This is an unrelated picture but I love how you can see my reflection and the landscape in his brown eyes.

The Sound of Silence

I'm not trying to be too giddy but today I sent six happy kids packing and had a 6 hour block of time to myself.



It's not that I don't love having them around but after years of fragmented school days it was nice to have that chunk of time.



This past summer was filled with glorious days at the lake but it was my most trying summer on record.



The older they get the more they have going on and it seemed like I was always driving someone somewhere and trying to keep the fridge stocked. I went to the store about every other day and blew the food budget out the window.



I am looking forward to some structure and the motivation and excitement that accompany the new school year.



We celebrated the kids going back on Wednesday night with a feast (it may have been the only time of the summer I actually cooked dinner) and our traditional back to school father's blessings.



Our family focus for the school year is for the kids to act and not be acted upon drawn from this scripture:

"And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day according to the punishments which God hath given." 2 Nephi 2: 26

Everyone was up bright and early ready to go. We have six kids in 4 different schools this year so the schedule seems a little crazy but it was actually as smooth as can be. The funniest part of the day was when Jonah was waiting for his bus to come pick him up. The little kids went down to the bus stop and I realized Jonah was still there waiting for his bus which was ten minutes late. I told him I would hurry and get dressed and take him but when I went back outside everyone was gone. I texted Jonah to make sure he was on the bus. He replied that he was and he was with the little kids. Apparently they combined the elementary bus with the middle school kids so Jonah the cool 8th grader is stuck with his little sibs for the whole school year. Of course the little kids love it.

And how did I spend my day? I'm past the point of needing time solely for myself. While I was unable to contain my joy at having uninterrupted quiet I spent the majority of the day waiting/preparing for the kids to come home. I really want to take advantage of this time to improve my mothering skills and be ready to give the kids everything I've got when they get home. Just making dinner and trying to gain control of the laundry took the majority of the day. I also managed to squeeze in a quick lunch at a friend's house and a little Relief Society business. It all went too fast and before I knew it I had to pick up Emma and the rest of the carpool from her new school.

Road Trip

We love taking a little road trip, especially in June as we patiently endure rainy and cold days as we wait for summer to make its grand appearance. So earlier this summer we packed up the car and headed off to Utah to drop Eli off at EFY and also attend my family reunion.



It was so fun to be with all six of my siblings and their spouses and kids. The kids had all grown and we even added a new sister in law and a couple of new baby boys.



All the kids had a great time playing together and Eli and Jonah loved hanging out with their cool uncles.



We enjoyed the great weather in Utah and Jonah and Jason took advantage of a great opportunity to waterski with a pro, Marcus Brown. It was the highlight of the trip for them. While they were skiing the rest of us went to a fun pool for the afternoon.





On Saturday two of my brothers, George and Nathan did a triathalon. In the afternoon we went to the chalk festival downtown and then to see Toy Story 3. We all loved the movie. I was a bit startled to realize that the first two Toy Story movies came out when Eli and Jonah were just little toddlers and now they are all grown up. There were a few tear-jerker moments of the movie.







That night we made smores by the fire and played the boys favorite game, Mafia.



On Sunday my brother Jethro blessed his baby boy and had a fun BBQ in their amazing backyard and showed us their very impressive garden.





Monday Jason and I headed down to BYU to drop Eli off for EFY. Eli is so brave and went solo this year. I was a nervous wreck thinking of him spending a week by himself. But by the time we got him settled into his room I realized how great this is going to be for him and how many lessons he will learn being on his own. After EFY he will attend a 3 week Chinese language camp and that will be the true test as it will be very challenging.



Jason stayed in Provo to do some work but I booked it up to Park City to meet the rest of the kids at the Olympic Park. They loved doing the zip line and Lily barely didn't weigh enough so I went on the Alpine slide with her.










My sweet grandparents hosted a big family party for all of the Utah relatives. It was so fun to see cousins I haven't seen for years.

Born on the 4th of July...Almost

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Of course the highlight of the 4th of July is always Jonah's birthday which is July 3rd. We officially have another teenager as Jonah is now 13. Luckily Jonah's birthday fell on a Saturday. There is no better way to spend a Saturday in July than at the lake.

We woke up early, let Jonah unwrap his presents and headed to our favorite lake, Porcupine Bay.

We tubed, skiied, ate and played. The temps were low but that doesn't stop us from enjoying every minute.



Jonah skiing.

Gorgeous scenery

Emma wakeboarding

Anna pulls in the rope.

Jack on the tube

Cool teenager

Loving the tube.

oops..dad drove too fast.

That's better

Happy Jonah on a wild ride by himself.



Burying Reese in the sand.

The girls love the merry go round.

Fun in the sand.

Sunday was the big holiday and I actually loved having the 4th on a Sunday. It seemed very appropriate. I had to teach RS and that was sort of a bummer but I liked doing it. After we got out of church we headed to the cabin to await the fireworks over the lake.





Due to the cool temps the lake was nearly empty. We have never seen it like this on the 4th.

Jason and Jack pass the time.

Puzzle time.

My cute niece Christie who is on bed rest. Passing the time crocheting and stitching.

Finally on the boat.

There's the cousins.

Grandma and Emma keeping warm.

I was there too. Also trying to keep warm.

Finally it's dark enough for fireworks.

We made dinner and then lounged around waiting for the 10:00 pm start time. The fireworks did not disappoint. I am so grateful that Jason knows how to avoid traffic. We always drive the back way home and it proved to be a good choice. Even with our shortcut we didn't make it home until midnight. A small plane had to make an emergency landing on I-90 which delayed traffic for hours. We talked to some friends who didn't make it home until 2:30 am. Jonah had to meet for scout camp the next morning at 5 am for scout camp.

In other news, where is Eli? He's living it up in Provo for a month. 1 week of EFY and then 3 weeks of a Chinese language and culture camp. We have only heard from him a few times. He's too busy to miss his family. I was a little nervous when we dropped him off but it's turned out to be the best thing ever for him. We sure did miss him on the 4th of July.