Jul 18 - 24

Monday, July 18 - I have been working to try to put together some cute things to give my trek family. The bag with the chapstick, ear plugs, safety pin, and Ohana phrase we will give them the first day. We'll talk about how nobody gets left behind and that means we go as fast as the slowest person in our family. The first night, they will also get something as well as the next two nights. I thought this would be a fun way to incorporate some gospel principles into our nightly group talk. I can't believe trek is already here!

Tuesday, July 19 - My cute sister!!! She's amazing! On our doorstep, we had this fun "Trek Survival Kit". It was filled with things that we would need on the trail (and I used quite a bit of it on the actual trail)! She's so funny, she wrote at the bottom of the bag "Disclaimer: You still might die!" Haha! Kendra and I had fun going through this and pulling each thing out.

Wednesday, July 20 - We got up early and went to the church for our trek kickoff. We had to be there by 7:00 am! Kendra braided my hair, which was wonderful! We had a great first day. We walked 8 miles before we made it to camp for the night. It was a struggle to get our tent/shelter set up. It took three tries before we got it right. The food was amazing and getting to talk to and learn about the kids was the best part! It was a good day!

Thursday, July 21 - I woke up with some kind of bug bite on my face that left my chin and bottom lip completely numb. Thankfully, our medical team is on it, gave me Benadryl right away, and I felt better within about 2 hours. We had another 8 mile day but everyone made it to "Emerald City". Simon and Kendra spent some time toward the back of the trail; Simon with a painful knee and Kendra with asthma and a sore back. My poor family was falling apart! :) After we set up camp, the committee had some group games to play. We won 3 of the games and got banners to add to our family flag. :)

Friday, July 22 - Another day on the trek! This morning was the Women's Pull and it was HARD! I almost didn't make it to the top. Luckily, some sweet angels came back down to help the carts that hadn't made it up yet so I asked one of them to take my place and she did happily. Bottom line, we all made it and we enjoyed the two hour break afterward to rest and recuperate before we finished the last 6+ miles for the day. When we finally made it to camp, a terrible storm rolled in and several tents either blew over or the tarps just completely ripped and were destroyed. Of course, my kids decided just to "sleep under the stars" so we hunkered down under our sleeping tarps, on top of our tent tarp, and waited it out. We were fine. At one point, my only goal was just to survive. I did! The best part of it all was the double rainbow that we got to enjoy for quite a while after it was over! Another thing I have loved is getting to be with Nick, Kendra, and their friends. Love them all! 

Saturday, July 23 - Last day! We had a wonderful final devotional this morning then hit the trail. We only had a 4 mile hike today, which seemed short and easy after the last few days. Getting on the bus to come home was bittersweet. Of course, I wanted to get home, enjoy my own bed, and see my little kids. But I am also sorry the fun and enjoyment of getting to know these amazing kids was coming to an end too. Overall, this trek was a great experience and I am so glad we got to go!

Sunday, July 24 - Yes, sleeping in our own bed WAS amazing!! :) Today, we got to celebrate Simon! He was a little bit upstaged by a doggie tragedy though. Before we got to dinner, mom called me crying that Daisy had gotten into her Ibuprofen bottle and eaten around 24 pills. After some research online, this can be deadly for dogs so mom quick called around to see if she could get her in anywhere to be seen. She wasn't able to find anywhere so the mood when we got to dinner was sad. However, Grandma Sharon was able to do a little more calling around and there was a 24-hour emergency vet clinic that could get her in so dad took her instead of eating dinner. After we celebrated and finished up, mom went to the vet so that dad could come home and go to bed. After a couple of hours, they determined that they would keep her at least overnight to watch her and administer medication if needed. My poor parents, they were beside themselves with worry over this silly dog that will eat pretty much anything! Praying for Daisy tonight!

Jul 11 - 17

 

Monday, July 11 - I don't know how much I've written about Liz's new warehouse in her backyard but it is just a big space, has cement floors and there isn't even sheet rock on the walls. It's not air-conditioned which has been HOT but the worst part, in my opinion, is the bugs! There are huge spiders that we keep finding and tons of potato bugs too. They've sprayed for bugs, put spider traps against all the walls, and try to keep the doors closed but nothing seems to stop them. This spider might not seem too big but holy moly, us women were screaming like school girls when we found it! Yuck! It's definitely bigger in my mind than it is in this picture! Haha!

Tuesday, July 12 - Zack had an Activity Days Day Camp today. Their group went to someone's backyard pool, had a BBQ, and spent several hours together. They are such good kids and I'm glad Zack has them! This is Chase Coles, Zack, Zach Henderson, and Ian Horne.

Wednesday, July 13 - Jenni had a little surgery today. She had some tendons in her arm cut so that she can hopefully have more movement in her arm. The surgeon doing it specializes in this type of functional surgery and is very hopeful that it will help her. In the meantime, we picked up her girls and went to the summer movie. They love to go to lunch afterward, and so do I, so we went to Chick-Fil-A. It was fun spending the day with the girls and I am happy to report that the surgery went well. By tonight, she was moving her arm more freely than she has in the past. She's also going to get her hand and leg done later this year. Hooray for awesome specialists that can help!

Thursday, July 14 - Jenni is doing great but still recovering so mom and I took the kids to Cowabunga Bay. I am so glad that we got these season passes! They have definitely been a bright spot in our summer and the kids love going! 

Friday, July 15 - Ricki got a $10 gift card to Holiday for her birthday and it has just been burning a hole in her pocket these past couple of weeks! :) She finally convinced me to go to the gas station and she decided to spend it all at once. I was kind of amazed at how much stuff she got for $10!

Saturday, July 16 - Happy birthday to my love! I surprised Simon by taking him downtown to The Melting Pot. He has never been there before so I thought it would be fun to take him. I was also able to talk both of our parents to go with us since both of their anniversaries are tomorrow! We had such a great afternoon/evening being together, visiting, and enjoying super yummy food!

Sunday, July 17 - We had a birthday party for these two cuties with the Howard side tonight. They got spoiled, as always, and almost everything went off without a hitch. The party started off outside until it started raining and lightening. So we quickly moved it indoors which was just fine. Then, I didn't realize I did this until later but I put a "10" candle in Zack's side of the peanut butter bars but he turned 11 this year! Duh!!! He didn't say anything and neither did anyone else but I now feel bad. Your age is a big deal when you're 11. Hopefully he know much I love and adore him! :) Their gifts from us included Zack got a new (to him) Apple Watch and Ricki got a new bike. They were both happy campers! :)

Jul 4 - 10

Monday, July 4 - I don't know how I feel about this but Kendra left this morning for Oakcrest. I am so happy she's going and gets to have this experience but I don't like that she leaves on the 4th of July and misses all the fun activities that this holiday brings. :( Simon thought it would be a good idea to change his oil before we left to meet my family for dinner and the parade. He underestimated how much oil would drain and had to scramble to find a second bucket. This was the result, making us late for dinner. Darn it. On a happier note though, Dave and Viv joined us for the festivities and that was really fun! We had dinner at Chili's, drove over and watched the Sandy City Parade, then moved to the lawn where we listened to the Salamanders and browsed through the booths. At 10:00, the city put on a firework show that certainly did not disappoint! The older I get, the more this holiday makes it into the #1 position for me! I love the weather, the fun events, and the family time!

Tuesday, July 5 - Happy birthday to my wonderful mama! Jenni, Mom, and I met and rode down to grandma's house to get her. We then enjoyed a lunch at Little America's Coffee Shop which was wonderful...until Jen had a little choking experience at the end of our meal. I felt so bad for her but we quickly moved on and loved the rest of our time together. We drove through Salt Lake City, stopping in front of homes and schools that grandma lived at in her childhood. We even got to go see where Grandpa Lind grew up in Sugarhouse. It was so fun to hear her and mom's stories about living in those places and how grandma walked back and forth to school in the morning, home for lunch and back, then home in the afternoon.

Wednesday, July 6 - I was on my way to take Zack and Ricki to the movie when I got a text from Liz asking if I could come in. She announced this week that she is closing Knotted Fern (sniff, sniff) and she started a closing sale last night at midnight. By 10:00 am, the sales hit $60,000 and we had over 550 orders! That is as much as one of our best months ever so it was a little overwhelming for all of us. I dropped the kids off at the movie with Jenni and went in to work. Tonight, I got Ricki's hair all done and met Parker and Jen Moon over at the temple. Parker took over his mom's photography business so he did her baptism pictures. I'm so excited to get them back! While we did that, Zack went to activity days. They do such fun stuff like bottle rockets made from 2-liter bottles. Zack had a blast!

Thursday, July 7 - I found a haircut online that I really liked and I have been thinking of getting it done for a few weeks. I finally made an appointment with Jessie today to get it done. I had several inches cut off and a ton of layers put in. And I love it!! I took this picture so I could send it to Kendra. :)

Friday, July 8 - We waited somewhat patiently for Kendra to get home from Oakcrest so that we could turn around and leave to go camping with my family. They found a hidden gem in Fillmore at a KOA there. She got home around 2:00, showered, and we were all but in the car ready to go...when my mom called. She said that a fire had just broken out no more than a mile from the campground and that maybe we should wait to come down because they may need to evacuate. What?!? After about an hour, we decided to leave anyway and evacuate with them if we had to. Apparently, this was started by three men who left a campfire unattended. It started super small and had burned over 1,000 acres before we left on Sunday! We never did have to evacuate, thank heaven!

Saturday, July 9 - Happy birthday to sweet Zack! He turned 11 today! We surprised him with some treats and a squishy ball to play with. I think he enjoyed having his birthday while we were camping. This morning, we packed up some lunches and piled everyone in my parent's and the McCullough's side-by-sides and our 4-wheelers and hit the mountain. I was a little nervous riding so close to an out-of-control wildfire but we were fine. We found a cute little forest campground, ate our lunches, and relaxed for a few minutes before we headed back. What a fun day!

Sunday, July 10 - The fire stayed very active until we left (and for weeks after). It was interesting watching the airplanes drop fire retardant and the helicoptors dropping buckets of water on the hot spots. This fire ended up burning around 12,000 acres before it was fully contained! We were able to go to the Pearson's for dinner after our trip. Alexis made peanut butter bars upon Zack's request and we sang to him and Ryan. Happy birthday boys!

Jun 27 - Jul 3

Monday, June 27 - We went to a BBQ at the Howell's house tonight to say goodbye to the Nyholm family. They are moving this week to New Mexico. Zack and Chase are sad to see Anna go but hopefully they'll be able to stay in touch. The Nyholm's are renting out their house in hopes that someday they will come back here. Good luck Jenny, Erik, Jackson, Wyatt, and Anna! In other news, Jenni tested positive for Covid! We were together all day on Saturday and last night for dinner so here's hoping that none of the rest of us get it.

Tuesday, June 28 - Simon and Zack were driving home from soccer practice and saw a small brush fire by this lamp post. Simon called 911 since everything is so dry this year and small fires can easily turn into major ones in just a few minutes. Another guy pulled over too and used a blanket to stamp it out. The fire department came and said it looked like someone had intentionally started it. It could have easily spread and burned down a brand new apartment complex being built right there. Scary stuff!

Wednesday, June 29 - Today's summer movie was Paw Patrol and we brough Charlotte and Bridget with us this time. We were not planning on enjoying this movie but it's actually really cute! We all really liked it a lot!

Thursday, June 30 - Mountain View Village is opening the second phase of shops so they did a grand opening celebration today. The kids, minus Nick, came and we hung out there for a few hours. They had live music, grand opening giveaways and deals, and even a caricaturist to draw pictures of everyone. It was super fun and we stayed much longer than we thought we would. Nick met up with us at Cafe Rio and we all had lunch together. What a perfect summer day! 

Friday, July 1 - I worked all morning and the kids wanted to do something fun. Last-minute, we packed up and headed to Cowabunga Bay. We tried to get Jenni and Mom to come with us but neither could. It was fun to be there for a few hours this afternoon.

Saturday, July 2 - It was finally time again for the Western Stampede Rodeo! We always love this fun tradition. This year, Nick had to work so Kendra brought Adrianna with his ticket. It was fun to have here there too. She's such a sweet girl! After the rodeo, we took the kids down memory lane by driving past our old house and through the old neighborhood. They each only barely remember it but it's fun to show them anyway.

Sunday, July 3 - We celebrated mom's birthday tonight at Grandma & Jim's. I knew I wanted to do something with donuts so I borrowed a mini donut maker to make this fun cake. It was a huge hit! The kids loved the mini donuts...and so did the parents. :)