Jun 22 - 28

Monday, June 22 - She once was my baby shark but now, she's just my little girl again. :) Ricki lost her second bottom tooth so she no longer has two rows of teeth on the bottom. For as much freaking out as she did when I wanted to pull her other bottom tooth, this one was a breeze!

Tuesday, June 23 - At Finley's party on Saturday, I talked to Ashley and Alexis about going to the Reservoir this week. Tuesday fit perfectly into our schedules so we met up at the beach. How cute are our little matching ladies?!?! We had so much fun there and ended up staying for about 5 hours! Dave and Viv even joined us for a couple of hours so we had a really nice time together. 

Wednesday, June 24 - Happy Birthday Ricki Jane! This post makes me want to cry a little. I can't believe my baby is already 6! She is sweet, sassy, and oh so lovable! We invited a bunch of friends to go to the splash pad with us and lots of people came. It was a blast! I hope my sweet girl had a great birthday this quarantine year!

Thursday, June 25 - Viv and Kendra have been talking about doing a picnic in our backyard so tonight, Dave and Viv came over with some pizza for dinner. It was really yummy and we enjoyed being with them! I also couldn't help put a picture of my cutie pie in her new Knotted Fern dress. Love her!

Friday, June 26 - We had Kam and Kayla overnight last night and for the day today. I never get just uninterrupted time with them so it was so fun! Kam is full of energy so my kids were entertained all day! And everyone is obsessed with Kayla! I had to fight for time just to hold her. We had a little scare with them. We didn't know but their babysitter's husband tested positive for Coronavirus so we thought they might have been exposed to. (Fast forward two weeks, no one in the family got it!)

Saturday, June 27 - We had a coupon for Iceberg that was just burning a hole in our pockets! We went from using our buy 2 get 1 free coupon (so a total of 3 shakes) to buying one more so we had four shakes for the family. But then I pointed out that if we buy just one more than that, we could get a free one. So...we all got our own shakes! :) It was a really fun evening with the kids though so it was totally worth it!

Sunday, June 28 - Dave and Viv wanted to go camping but Dave can't drive right now (while they are still trying to figure out his meds) and Viv isn't comfortable driving up the canyon in a huge unfamiliar vehicle. They asked if Simon could drive them up and of course, he said yes. We decided to make a family drive out of it so we all loaded up in the van and followed Simon up to Midway. Our plan was to have dinner with them then drive home via the Alpine Loop. When we got up there, Viv let us know that Ashley, Ryan, and their family would be joining us. It was really fun! The kids were so happy that Ruby and Henry came to play! We took a nice scenic route home and enjoyed our Sunday in nature.

Jun 15 - 21

Monday, June 15 - The primary asked for a picture of our primary-aged kids reading the scriptures so I went out with these two cuties and did a quick photo shoot. I love how much they love to be together. They were more than happy to sit together to take this. 

Tuesday, June 16 - Going back to work after two months off has been, well, a lot of work! I don't know why I did this but I took a "before" picture but forgot to take an after to show how organized and clean it was when I got done. I still really like my job and enjoy working with Liz and Marisa. 

Wednesday, June 17 - I caved! I let Nick use his season pass to go to Lagoon with his friends. I'm still not completely comfortable with the idea of this but he had a blast and wasn't on the PlayStation all day so I guess that's a win. 

Thursday, June 18 - The first picture here is my boy with his very first paycheck ever! He has been working at Butterfield Park doing field prep for Herriman Baseball. He makes $15 each day that he works so this first check was $45. He's so excited! This afternoon, we grabbed some Chick-Fil-A for lunch and headed to our favorite park in Day Break. We met Jenni, Meg, Marisa, and all of their kids there. What a great day!

Friday, June 19 - My cute mom has been taking turns with the boys taking them golfing. Today, she decided that it would be fun to take Jake and Nick since they have so much fun together. Nick wasn't on his A-game for today but they still had a blast and even got McDonald's on the way home. Simon and I decided on a date night. This is the first restaurant we have been in since COVID-19 hit. We felt totally safe and comfortable. They had every other table blocked off and they weren't seating anyone at the center tables. It was nice to get out and have a break, just the two of us. 

Saturday, June 20 - Happy Birthday Little Miss Finley Mckell! We went up Provo Canyon to celebrate Finley's 4th birthday. We had a lot of fun and ended up staying so long that we finished the drive home in the dark! It was really fun to see everyone and be able to hang out in the beautiful mountains of Utah. 

Sunday, June 21 - Happy Father's Day to the best most deserving father's I know. I am so grateful for Simon and all he does to make sure that our family has a safe and prosperous life. I am thankful for Dave and for the wonderful job he did in raising a caring and loving son. I know that Simon learned by example. I am also thankful for my daddy and the ways that he shows our family he cares. He is helping us shape our family by creating fun and lasting memories and traditions. I love all of these men in my life and am glad that we set aside a day each year to recognize and honor them.

Jun 8 - 14

Monday, June 8 - I got a gym membership to go with Kenny and today was day one. We had a good workout and then as I was leaving the parking lot, I was a witness to this horrible car accident. Luckily, no one was injured but the white truck that is on its side was on fire! I'm glad that I was there and able to help out. It is also National Donut Day so in honor of that, mom bought each of our families a dozen donuts. Thanks mom!

Tuesday, June 9 - Back to work! I went with Liz today on a kids photo shoot. I kind of forgot how much work they are but they are still really fun! The kids are cute and I enjoy talking to the moms that come with their kids.

Wednesday, June 10 - Kendra and Ricki did a "makeover" and Ricki was pretty proud of how she turned out. It makes me sad because she looks SO old now!

Thursday, June 11 - The kids needed an adventure so we loaded up and went to the splash pad in our neighborhood. Zack brought Chase along and they all had a good time. I had fun relaxing, watching them, and reading on my phone.

Friday, June 12 - We got brave and ventured out to the reservoir today. Marisa warned us that it gets really busy after about 10:00 am so we got there nice and early. She was right too! Meg tried to join us at 11:00 but then ended up driving around the parking lot for 45 minutes, never got a spot, gave up, and went home. I felt bad that she wasn't able to find a spot but the kids did have fun with all the friends that came.

Saturday, June 13 - Businesses are just starting to open again, thank heaven, so Simon and I went and picked out furniture for the family room in the basement. I also wanted to go over to Ikea and get some inserts for my cubes in the office but when we drove over there, this is what we found! The line just to get in the store was so long, we decided to bag it and go home. I can wait until the rush is over.

Sunday, June 14 - We went over to have a social-distancing dinner at Dave and Viv's. Ricki and I were having fun with our duck lips. :)

Jun 1 - 7

Monday, June 1 - We are so happy to be able to have friends around again! Little Ryder from next door has been over a lot and the kids love playing with him! Nick is being a normal teenager and hanging out with his friends as much (if not more) than with his family. I can't blame any of them though! It was a long span without any friends! I'm just thankful that they all hang out with really great kids!

Tuesday, June 2 - The black square is not an accident or a missing picture. It was my commitment on social media to take a week off from looking at friends' posts and focusing on learning more about racism in America. I feel like I am currently living for the history books. Between the Utah earthquakes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the racism riots and protests, life just doesn't feel anything like "normal". I am, however, thankful for this time to reflect on how I feel about people that are different from me and how I want to teach my children. Honestly, I didn't realize racism was such an issue in our country anymore. With the death of George Floyd at the hands of 4 police officers, all caught on video from several sources, racism was quickly pushed to the forefront of America's interest. It saddens me to think that people still look down on people of color. In my house, we choose love, tolerance, and acceptance no matter the color of your skin. There is a quote going around that says, "I understand that I will never understand what you go through but I will stand beside you in your fight for equality". I love that because I will probably never fully understand how black people and minorities feel in this country but I am with them in their fight for equality - something that should be a God-given right to people in America. With all this going on, Covid is still in full swing. I had a neurology appointment today with Dr. Zimmerman. My temperature was taken at the door and I had to wear this green sticker with my temp on it the whole time I was in the office. She also cannot see patients without a mask on. If you arrive without a mask, they give you one at the door and you are required to wear it upon entry. I got some new medication and a prescription for physical therapy so I will try that and see if it helps with my headaches. 

Wednesday, June 3 - If you can dress up like Elsa with glasses and a baby doll to watch the iPad, why wouldn't you?!? Haha! Poor Nick has holes in the sides of his shoes and his baby toes are about to poke through. We FINALLY left the house and ran to a few stores to find him some new shoes. I can't believe it but he is now wearing a size 10! That is bigger than Simon's foot and Nick isn't anywhere near finished growing! We did find him some nice new Nike tennis shoes and a pare of black shoes for church. It was a nice day with these cute kiddos.

Thursday, June 4 - When I got home from work, Jim Giles stopped his truck in front of my house. He said that the snake in my flowerbed is not a rattle snake; he checked for the safety of my kids. It's a good ole' gopher snake so I think I'm supposed to be thankful that they take care of the mice. Yuck!! In other animal news, our baby shark finally lost her first tooth. It was SO wiggly! If you can see in the pic, she has little tears in her eyes because pulling her tooth was like...well...like pulling teeth! :)

Friday, June 5 - First and last day of school pictures! Nick was in 8th grade, Kendra in 6th, Zack in 2nd, and Ricki in Kindergarten. It's been an eventful year, for sure, but I'm happy that they each finished out their school year strong. Nick did great and finished the year with all A's!! They all did great with home-school but I think Kendra thrived the most doing it this way. I'm crossing my fingers that they can go back next year. It *should be* my first year with all four kids in all-day school.

Saturday, June 6 - The Olson's invited us to go camping this weekend. We were supposed to go Friday through Sunday but as we were watching the weather forecast, we found out that it was supposed to rain from 12:30 am Saturday morning until around 9:00 am and then again from 12:00 pm until late on Sunday. They are even expecting snow on Monday in this area. We backed out of Saturday night and just stayed Friday night. We had fun around the campfire until around 11:00 and then as predicted, we woke up to rain around 12:30. It woke us up a few times during the night but by the time we got up around 9:00, it had cleared up. We pulled out of the campground (Timpooneke) just before noon and within minutes, the rain started again! We had so much fun while we were there but I'm glad we only decided to stay one night. Hopefully we do more camping this summer!

Sunday, June 7 - A lot has happened today. We got a new Relief Society presidency over a Zoom call today. It was weird, doing it over the internet. We said goodbye to the old presidency: Heather Roberts, Ashley Howe, Jamie Romero, and Penney Thomson and welcomed the new presidency: Erin Coles, Jessie Price, Vicki Crook, and Heather Upshaw. I'm excited to see what they do for our ward. Tonight, we stayed home because Kendra has a little cold and we don't want to spread the love so I fulfilled Ricki's heart's desire. I baked banana bread muffins!