JUNE 2024

One of my favorite summer activities is the OUTDOOR AQUA ZUMBA class.  They had a kickoff class the morning after we got back from Washington that was Barbie theme.  Very fun!

My family waited to celebrate Memorial Day until June so we could also be there.  It was very fun to be there together although it was difficult to get Dad to come with us.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being together to celebrate Mom!

The day we left for New Jersey, I got to go to the baptism of one of my former students, Kasette Stubbs.  And it was delightful to also see 3 more of my former students, Sophie Parkinson with her little sister April, Claire Gubler and of course, Kaison Stubbs, Kasette's little brother.

Just before we arrived in NJ, Bennett broke his arm in flag football practicing catching the ball with a friend who went up for the catch the same time he did.  Oops! Poor guy!

We arrived early on a Sunday morning and spent the day at church and family events.  

Monday we all went into New York City via the Statton Island Ferry.

We love seeing the Statue of Liberty!

It was a pleasant day, perfect weather.

We rode the subway to get to the places we wanted to go.  We started at...

...the EMPIRE STATE BUILDING!

This is somewhere Jenna has wanted to go ever since we did NOT go there on a family reunion trip many years ago.

We loved the displays inside.

There were a lot of interesting spots.

Including this spot where they made it look like King Kong was going to get you!

We did not go ALL the way to the tip top, but to the 82 floor.  It cost like twice as much to do the full trip and it was already pretty pricy.

Views were awesome from each area we went to.

We also went to the Museum of Natural History next to Central Park.

We got to explore quite a few areas inside here and really had a good time.

Scott left for Argentina the next day and I got to be with kiddos and help Jenna.

I took the kids on a walk one afternoon and Cassidy wanted me to hold her up to the windows to see the fire engines when one of the volunteers asked me if we wanted to see a truck inside...well, YES!

Meanwhile, Scott was exploring Argentina in preparation for the dedication of the temple there.

This is the Salta Argentina temple.  It is really pretty.  I like the dome design of the steeple.

In Washington, Clara was celebrating her 5th Birthday!  We got to talk to her on the phone the next day!  She is so happy to be 5!

Jenna and Ty finally got to close on their new house the Friday after I arrived.  We had kept busy at her old house preparing things, but now we could really go to work.

She had things ready and wasted no time in beginning to make it into their own space.

We replaced the light fixture up in Cassidy's bathroom first and then moved on to the master bath and then some.

Wayne came over and helped with some of the bigger light fixtures on ceilings.

It was really good just to take down the curtains...we were really amazed at all the beading and fringe on all the curtains and valances.  Just not their style at all!

We got painters in to begin prepping to completely paint the interior of the house!  That was really exciting.

Every day we let them in early and sometimes got lunch for them and I got to use my Spanish quite a bit.  Very fun.

One project Jenna decided to cut down a small tree in the corner of the yard that was already dying, to make room for their playset.  Carter heaved the tree over the back fence!

I had to bring the silly faces for the kids to try a dance party...but they were pretty shy about it.  I did get a few pics to show how funny they looked though.

Klay

Cassidy

Bennett

Carter.

He is wearing the coveted BACON that he earned from my Grandma Store.  The kids worked hard on so many projects helping us move and earned quite a few things.

June was busy.  Got back after extending my trip another 5 days and got right back to work on preschool stuff and at my Dad's house.  Scott was home working and just kept right on plugging away!  We were gone more of June than we were home!
 

MAY 2024

May was a busy and fun month for us.

We started it out going to our dear friend Jessica Scott's graduation with her masters from UVU.  She is really special!

We got Aaron down birding with us this month and took him out to Lincoln Beach and here on River Lane.  This is what it is like with the big guns out!

So, when Cassidy showed us  her crown from Primary the week before, I told Scott that we should do something like that for our Sunday School class...so we did!  He printed out and I cut out all these crowns complete with jewels!  HA!  We are in the service of our God like King Benjamin!

We went down to Swede Lane (Birders know the most weird and random places to look for birds) and discovered first a mother and baby Great Horned Owl, and after Mom flew away, big brother or sister joined younger sibling on the branch!

I attended a soccer game that featured three of my cute Pre-K students, Harvey, Kaison and Reese.  They were so excited for me to be there!  Super fun time!

GRADUATION already.  The year really went too fast!  My AM class made me an amazing photo book with a page dedicated to each student in class.  Made my night!  All my kiddos were really good this year, which was a huge blessing!

Scott met one of our RM's Jake Goehring on the train one day and that made his day too!

Speaking of making someone's day, one of my preschool Mom's, Emily Sargent, made me this AMAZING quilt!  She had seen my house one time and totally pegged what my color scheme is!  I put it in the blue and white room downstairs and it is PERFECT!  I have taught 3 of her 4 kids so far.  This year I taught cute Lois, who was born with just one hand and a "nubbin" on her other arm.  That little one can do ANYTHING!  I am so proud of her and I loved seeing how our students just accepted her and it became so normal.  Best experience ever!

Right after school was done, we packed up and headed to Washington to be with Austin and Laura's kids for about 10 days while they went to England.

We got to be at Brooklyn's last track meet this year which made our night!  She is such a dedicated person to anything she is doing!  She ran the 1600 with both boys and girls together and the 800 with just girls.

Fabulous sunset one night and the kids took this picture!  Stunning!

McKenna shared a bunch of BYU clothes with Brooklyn and Laura.  Brooklyn was rocking the tops almost every day we were there!  Perfect!

Clara had preschool three days a week so on one off day, she went with us to Marymoor Park to bird.  We loved the purple Lupin flowers and Clara was a pretty good bird spotter...I know she found the Common Yellowthroat we heard and were looking for and told us.  

We took the kids to the park near their house and after playing we explored the little woods there and added to a little fort someone had been building...we made it really cool!

We took the kids on Memorial Day out to Nisqually Nature Reserve about 90 minutes south.  Mitch was going to meet us there but had some foot issues.

Saw some Whimbrel for the first time this year out there on the flats as the tide was going out.

Here we are on the long boardwalk at Nisqually.  1 mile out.  We saw Harbor Seals and crabs and then  TONS of Great Blue Heron flew in and scared all the Doubles Crested Cormorants off of their island.

Coming back, we saw the cutest little Pacific Tree Frogs.  So tiny and metallic looking.

This is us at Nisqually!  The kids were so patient with a long walk, snacks helped.  And we had a picnic lunch afterwards before heading home.

We got to go to a couple of Evan's baseball games as he was in a championship tournament.  Very exciting!  Austin followed it from England at 2-3 AM his time.  HA!

We loved getting to be there to see him play!  

And, his team WON the championship!

The morning after we got home, I made it to a big AquaZumba outdoor party with a Barbie theme!  They even had this cute box to take photos in!  It was a lot of fun with like 10 different instructors teaching the 90 minute class.

We celebrated our Memorial Day a6 days late so I would be there.  Scott and I coerced Dad to come...took 40 minutes to get him out of Ashford...but it was so good to have him there with us!

Cody cleaned up the grave and it looked so good.  Lizzie got flowers and Jennifer added some of hers and it was really pretty!  We brought the photo to remind Dad what we were there for, but I do not think he really understood any of it.  Pretty steep decline these past couple of months.

We plug away at his house all the time and are making wonderful progress just in time to rent it this fall for UVU students.  And just as his expenses will likely increase a lot as he will need more care with decreased capacity of what he can do for himself.  We are grateful that he has the means and the house for us to use to help care for him.  He planned ahead very well for just this possibility.
 

APRIL 2024

April was a fun month!

We had a visit from Crystal Turner one night and it was great to catch up with mission friends!

More progress on Dad's house!  The hall bathroom turned out really pretty and we were so glad to be done with it!  This is pre-towel rack and hooks too...it looks even better now.

Jennifer has been hunting down all the right pieces to make each room work for students including desks and dressers.  It is taking shape so nicely!

The master now has curtains and a desk to add to the bed and dresser.  Ready to go!

So, Scott and I went on our annual outing to Antelope Island and Bear River Bird Refuge.  See the netting?  I was way too late getting it on!  My head was covered with blisters which broke and itched for a week afterwards.  I am really allergic to those no-see-um bites and they LOVE me!

In school we studied transportation this month and I got out the box I made to be our bus!  So much pretend play going on now!

Took the kids up to BYU on the bus and we had a great day!  This is after our visit to Eyring Science Center and I am reading them "The Seals On The Bus."  Hilarious.

Here are my little cuties hiding in-between the "Tree of Life" statue on campus.

And a new feature near the Wilkinson Center is  this huge BYU statue perfect for tucking kids into the letters for photos!

Got Dad out on a walk after begging him for days!  He just thought it was cold and was happy to be back inside.  It really was such a pretty day!  He is still an amazing walker!

Don't you miss all the bird pictures?  Pester Scott for me to start adding them to our Google Photos again so I have access to them to show off a few!