Aug 23 - 29

Monday, August 23 - Since the kids are quarantined, Nick is having to make his food for Foods Class at home and our whole family is benefitting from it! Tonight, we enjoyed homemade crepes and Orange Julius for dinner. He is such a good cook! I love it!

Tuesday, August 24 - We had an ALL DAY kids photo shoot today! They are so crazy and exhausting! Marisa and I were both happy when Liz wanted to stop on the way home for dinner. P.F. Chang's for the win! Overall, it was a good day. These shoots are just so busy but mercifully, they are only twice a year.

Wednesday, August 25 - Liz's husband Bret came over to help diagnose our van and sure enough, he is also confident that it is the fuel pump. Since I know exactly nothing about cars, I was surprised to see that the fuel pump is located under the middle row of seats in the van. So weird! The whole garage smells like gas now but we are both happy to have it diagnosed and a replacement part on the way (in about a week). I can't wait to have my van back!

Thursday, August 26 - We had our annual well-child-checkups for Ricki, Nick, and Kendra scheduled for today. This is the first time that Kendra has been out of her room and around the family since Sunday - which was only in our backyard for dinner. I checked to make sure that the doctor's office was okay with us coming in with an active Covid case and they said yep, bring them in. They wouldn't re-test Zack (which was a bummer because that was the reason I brought him in with us) and they wouldn't test Kendra because they were sure hers would come back positive. But they did test Nick and Ricki for Covid and both came back negative so that is a relief. That, and Kendra's symptoms have stayed super mild. She really didn't get anything worse than a sore throat and bad headache. We are so grateful it didn't go down in her chest or in her lungs. That would have been awful! They are cleared to go back to school on Monday! Tonight, Andrea Child invited me to Kaylee Price's going away to college party. It was so fun! I just adore Kaylee and I know she is destined for great things. I can't wait to see what she does in the future!

Friday, August 27 - We had yet another photo shoot this week! I went with Liz to a MUCH smaller women's shoot tonight with only one child in attendance. So it was low-key and super chill. I actually really love visiting with the models at these. This was a fun shoot to go to.

Saturday, August 28 - Mom, Jenni, and I went to a baby shower for Paige Giles this morning. It was super fun and they did a really cute job decorating and doing everything for the shower. Plus, any excuse I can have to hang out with these ladies, I take! This afternoon, our family went up to Cottonwood Heights to watch Zack's soccer game. The girls found a little park on the way to the bathroom (the adventure that made us miss Zack's goal) and they swung on this cute 2-person swing together.

Sunday, August 29 - At church, the music leader asked if I could volunteer to help with singing time. Of course! The kids gave me "musical measles" and then after each song, they spun me around on the stool I was sitting on. I did get a little nauseous but it was fun! Tonight, we celebrated Trevan and Jake's birthdays. Trevan is 17 and Jake is turning 15. We loved being with them to celebrate their bdays!

Aug 16 - 22

 

Monday, August 16 - It's my kiddos first day of high school! High school!?!?!? How crazy is that?? A few of us moms decided to get together and "surprise" our boys as they got off the bus with posters, balloons, silly string, and cookies from Crumbl. He had a good first day. I'm so happy with the young man he is becoming. He is hardworking and driven. That will take him places in life. Our evening wasn't quite as fun. It's hard to see but we went to my parent's house and finally picked up the van. We rented a car dolly and towed it home behind Simon's truck. It wasn't pleasant but at least the van is home now so Simon can take his time to figure out what is wrong with it. 

Tuesday, August 17 - Today was the first day of school for these three cuties. Kendra is in 8th grade, Zack in 4th, and Ricki in 2nd. I hope they have a great school year ahead!

Wednesday, August 18 - It's done! The backsplash is complete and everything is in so our basement kitchenette is done and I think it's safe to say the basement is DONE! :) (Happy cheers!!!) Now, we just need to decorate and buy a table for down there but as far as construction, it's complete and I could not be happier with the finished product! Simon did an amazing job of making it a beautiful, modern, comfortable place down there and I know many memories will be made in our gorgeous new space!

Thursday, August 19 - Well, I guess two days of school was pretty good before our quarantine began. Sweet Kendra came home from school yesterday with a little scratchy throat and a headache. She took a two hour nap, which is not like her, and woke up feeling yucky. Luckily, we kept her home from young women's and when she woke up this morning still feeling sick, we decided to get her an appointment for a Covid test. Sure enough, she tested positive! She will have to isolate in her room for the next 10 days and the other three kids will have to miss school and quarantine at home for that amount of time as well. Simon and I can still go out in public because we are vaccinated but we are supposed to wear masks indoors with other people and where social distancing is not possible. So...this is fun! Luckily, Kendra is in good spirits and isn't feeling too sick yet so we're praying it doesn't get worse. 

Friday, August 20 - Our family is falling apart! BJ had to go to the ER with kidney stones again. He has been in so much pain! They decided to go in and blast one of the stones but they have discovered 5 more so he has a road ahead to look forward to those. Luckily, with modern medicine, there are pain killers that really help so now that he is in the hospital, he isn't in as much pain. Hopefully this will take care of them and they can get to the bottom of what is causing them and help prevent them in the future. 

Saturday, August 21 - Liz gave me the last two days off to help care for Kendra and get the kids' schoolwork in order. However, our 26 box shipment of the kids fall line came in yesterday and we have a CRAZY work week next week so I came in today to help sort it all and get it input in preparation for next week. Liz and I worked together for four hours on this and got a lot of it done, but not all of it! What a crazy mess! :) Good thing we are hard workers and will get it done before the release next week!

Sunday, August 22 - It pretty much breaks my mom-heart to drop off food to Kendra's room and leave her alone to eat by herself and spend 24 hours per day by herself. We had the idea today to have Sunday dinner outside and just put Kendra on the kids table several feet away from us to eat. I dished her food up and she sat there in the corner while we ate. It was nice to spend the time with her and felt less disconnected, even if it was just for a little while. Isolation is hard. It may be harder on me than her. I just feel so guilty having her be in her room alone all that time. Families were meant to be together, not isolated. I can't wait until next Saturday when we can all hang out again without worry!

Aug 9 - 15

 

Monday, August 9 - We're here in Las Vegas at the buying show. Oh man, I didn't know what I was getting myself into! It is A LOT to take in! But really really fun to walk around with Liz and help her with the decisions for the shop. We left a little before it closed so that we could spend an hour or so at the pool. The pool was amazing and I ended up falling asleep on a lounge chair in the pool! For dinner, we went to Freemont Street and ate at a pizza place called Pizza Rock. It was really yummy and check out this dessert!! YUM!

Tuesday, August 10 - Day two of the Magic Convention. We walked more, bought more, and ultimately ate more! We went to New York, New York and rode the roller coaster (oh man, it is jerky!). Then we ate at Black Tap which is one of my favorite "vacation" restaurants. This has been so fun to be with Liz and the other ladies. We've been able to let loose, laugh, and just have fun...while still working. :) I was sad when our trip came to an end but I got home around midnight.

Wednesday, August 11 - We went to our last summer move of 2021; "The Tom and Jerry Movie". It was all good fun until a mom lost her daughter at the theater. You know me, I flipped into emergency mode and jumped into action. Kendra stayed with the kids while I ran through the interior and then the entire exterior of the theater. The police were eventually called and they came but she was found about 45 minutes later near the Village Baker. She had walked there thinking that her mom's car was parked there. That poor mom! All of us moms that were helping were in complete tears when she was found. It was really neat to see how everyone came together to help that mom in need. None of us knew each other but all of us stopped what we were doing and helped. It is things like this that restore my faith in humanity. I'm so glad she was found safe and sound! Tonight, Ricki slept at Dave & Viv's with Ruby and Finley. It was for Ruby's and Ricki's birthdays so adding Finn and having a girl's night just made sense. :) Love these little ladies!

Thursday, August 12 - Zack is in a soccer tournament in Layton so we packed up the family and headed up there. They played pretty well but ended up losing 2-0. After the game, we rushed back to Draper to go to Cowabunga Bay for the afternoon. Marisa's sister got us discount tickets so we went from about 3:30 until they closed at 6:00. I'm glad we got to do this last fun thing before school starts up again on Monday.

Friday, August 13 - Well, Zack had a soccer game in Layton again so we loaded all the kids plus Dave and Viv up in the van and headed out. We dropped Nick off at my parent's house to help mom with some things for the night and then got on I-15 to go to the game. When we were around 3300 South, Simon said that the van had lost power and that he had to pull off to the side of the road. He decided to coast until we were under and overpass because the temperature was about 97°. We quickly called coach Sean and he stopped to pick up Zack and also took Simon's parents so that they wouldn't miss the game. Then the girls, Simon, and I sat in the van hoping against hope that it would start soon. After about a half an hour, we realized it wouldn't start so we called my dad. He came and got us and took us home. We grabbed the fuel pump relay from Nick's car (my idea to try it to see if that was the problem) and headed back to the van. Even with the new relay and Incident Management jumping us, the dumb thing still wouldn't start so we had to call a tow truck. We got off the freeway quickly and just left the key for the driver to get the van. We didn't call a moment too soon because when our driver was hitching the car up, another tow truck came that was going to take it to an impound lot! We got lucky! They towed it to my parent's house (because that's all that insurance would pay for) and dropped it off. So that's that. Now we get to deal with a broken down vehicle. Thank heaven we have three cars and two drivers right now!

Saturday, August 14 - We went to mom and dad's to try to get the van started again but again, no luck. Such a pain! I painted mom's nails while Simon worked on that. Afterward, I went to a play at Hale Theatre with dad, "Guys and Dolls", and Simon came home with the kids to finish the backsplash. Look how great it looks! I am so happy with it and excited that this next step is done so that we can keep moving forward! Today is Trevan's 17th birthday and they took Nick with their family to Lagoon for the day. I was so glad that he got to go have fun and hang out with his cousins. 

Sunday, August 15 - Cute Zack got called up to help with Primary singing time so I couldn't help but take a pic of him up there. I am sure enjoying my time in Primary. I didn't know what to expect but I didn't really expect to enjoy it this much! I am thankful for this calling and for the opportunity I get to work around my littles. These kids are the best!

Aug 2 - 8

 

Monday, August 2 - The kids and I were supposed to go paddle boarding with Amie and her kids today but it just didn't work out on so many levels.  First of all, I ended up being at work until 2:00 so that would have been too late. It rained and rained all morning long. And, if those two things didn't kill the plans, the air quality was horrible! There are tons of wild fires in Oregon and California and the smoke descended on the valley so much today that it smelled as if our mountains near Herriman were on fire. Instead of the lake, we decided to meet up for a very late lunch at Red Robin. It certainly wasn't a long enough hangout but at least we got to do something today! On our way home from lunch and running errands, we saw people sitting on the sides of the road. We finally stopped to ask what they were doing and they told us that Rhyan White, the Olympic Silver Medalist, was coming home to her house in Herriman in the next few minutes and that she would be driving down 5600 West. We pulled over to the side of the road, messaged out to our ward that she was coming home, and waited until she drove by. It was actually really fun to see her up on the truck holding her medal for all of us to see. I was glad we got to do that! Tonight, before bed, I made a batch of biscoff cookies for Kendra to take up to camp. They were super yummy and I was glad I could send a treat with her. 

Tuesday, August 3 - Kendra went to Girl's Camp! It is her first year since camp was cancelled last year. She was super excited and a little nervous to go. Well, maybe she had nerves for a real reason because the first meal she had at camp, she had a pistachio salad! She is as allergic to pistachio than she is to peanuts so it was really scary. She ended up getting Benadryl and was fine but still, it was a scary situation with us being so far from her! The Benadryl made her sleepy so Marisa sent me this picture of her napping in her tent about an hour and a half after it happened. Poor girl! Also, mom had her knee replacement surgery today. The doctor said that the surgery went well, that she has good bones, but that she had no cartilage left in that knee so it definitely needed a replacement. I'm glad the surgery is behind her and now she can just focus on healing and getting back to normal...or better than normal!

Wednesday, August 4 - The ladies in the first picture are what made it possible for me not to rush up to Bear Lake and get Kendra last night. The three of them were texting me every 15-20 minutes until late into the evening letting me know that Kendra was alright. Thanks to them, my mom heart was at ease and I felt comfortable knowing that they had her covered. Love them!! (Jen Moon, Marisa Olson, Jenny Green) Kendra had a great time at camp and I heard that she was the hair queen. She did tons of Dutch braids on the girls and the leaders! The theme for this camp was flamingos and they tie-dyed matching shirts. Aren't they cute?!?

Thursday, August 5 - The girls got up and cleaned up camp for the day. On their way home, they made several stops and didn't make it home until 6:00 pm. Their first stop was the Minnetonka Cave. The girls loved it! It really is such a neat place to visit. They also got shakes at the shake shop and did a few things in Logan on their way through. I'm so glad to have her home!

Friday, August 6 - I have such a hard time deciding what to cook in the summer. I don't like heating up my house with the oven so we are stuck with stovetop recipes and cold dinners. Nick is so great to always help me come up with an idea. He wanted lemon pepper chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and veggies for dinner. Sounded good to me! I love that he likes to cook and helps me get everything ready. Have I mentioned that teenagers rock??

Saturday, August 7 - Today was our semi-annual Knotted Fern Warehouse Sale. I had told the family about it but funny enough, Viv and Ashley came at the same time (without planning it that way). It was fun to have them there for a few and Ashley and I ended up buying the same overalls. This was the highest sales day for a warehouse sale that Liz has done so I would say it was successful! Successful but exhausting!

Sunday, August 8 - First of all, today is Simon's and my 18th anniversary! Yay! Zack got to wear his new cowboy boots to church so we had to send Grandma Sandi a picture of them before we left. Then tonight, I hopped on a plane with Liz, Aimee, and Ashley to Vegas for the Magic Convention. It's a buying show that Liz goes to twice per year and I haven't been yet. I'm so excited I get to go!