We love our Brother

Last night, Darci and Elisabeth were helping clear the table after dinner and they decided to make up a plate for Davy to eat when he got home from football practice. They put the food on a plate, covered it with a pot lid and left some notes on post-its.

"Dear Davy in joy" "it's yum withe salt and suer creme" "You can put salt and pepr on it" "this is for you :-) Love B.D.E." "thre is food undr the pan if you want" "did you have fun yes/no" "Plese ansr the stiky nost"

Notwithstanding the realization our spelling needs a little work around here, I thought it was terribly cute!! Thanks for thinking of your brother, girls.

First: Day of School, Football Game, cookies

School arrived! Everyone around here was pretty excited. They all liked their classes and had a good day. Elisabeth was happy she had three recesses and was excited about lunch at school. Darci was happy she had her own desk and no homework. Davy was glad he got to decorate his journal with motorcycles. Beka was happy to have a locker all to herself. Nicole liked her teachers.
Davy played his first football game on Saturday. The coaches have done a great job helping the kids learn their responsibilities. It was super hot, but they just kept on giving it their all. Davy plays almost the whole time as offensive left tackle, defensive nose guard, and on the punt and kick-off teams. He got a few great tackles, but most of the time kept two or three guys busy at the line so the QB could make good passes.

I took Darci and Elisabeth shopping yesterday to spend their gift cards they got for their birthdays. Darci bought a soccer ball and Elisabeth got playdough which they used to make me these cookies. They are great- no calories!

Grandma's House

We took a family outing to my Grandma's house two weeks ago. We had a nice time visiting with Grandma and helping her with some household stuff. David mowed the lawn and the girls helped shine things up inside. And then we played. I let Grandma entertain me while the kids rode ATVs with Dad and swam in the creek. Nicole, as usual, had her nose in a book. I had to take a photo of her reading on the swing-set, because you could have found me in the exact spot 25 or so years ago. And probably my mother before that, and my grandmother, would have read there preswing. It's the same ground my family has ranched for over 100 years.
I feel something deep and reverenced when I think of that. There's something intensely personal about standing on a piece of ground marked with greatness. Isn't that part of the reason people travel to Jerusalem or Mecca or Cumorah? To feel the atmosphere of the place someone great once walked? To feel as if you're seeing the same skyline, breathing the same air, touching the same soil? For me, being at Grandma's house is the tangible reality of the family history making me me.

It's Harvest Time!

YUMMY

We're not only harvesting in the garden, though. We're also trying to harvest up some end of summer fun. On Tuesday, I took the kids to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. It's pretty cool. Lots of things to see and do and learn. It's awe inspiring to stand underneath a huge plant eater. (Yeah, I'm bad with dino names. Pretty much only know the main ones in Jurassic Park). Mary and Josh came with us and Mary and I decided it was a shame we hadn't been camping, so we went up American Fork canyon with the kids on Wednesday and camped. It rained all night, but we stayed dry and still had fun. Although, I have to say, camping is much more fun if you can have at least one day in between the loading up and unpacking. I forgot my camera otherwise I would post a picture. Mary took Darci and Bekah back to her house to help her setup her classroom and I went school supply shopping. Love all those school things the smell of paper and pencil lead.
This doesn't really fit under the category of summer fun, but three of us have been bitten by wasps this week. Poor husband's face is swollen up huge. Ouch! He's hoping ice-cream will cure it. It might for him. For me, ice-cream tends to have the opposite effect on my cheeks!

Elisabeth's Funny

Due to Davy's football practice, I didn't get home until about 8:40 tonight, so it was after nine by the time Elisabeth read to me. We were sitting on my bed and I noticed how dirty her face and hands were, so I got a wash cloth and wiped her up. Then I noticed her legs and feet. They were dirty, too. This girl really needed a bath, but I was too tired and it was too late, so I just wiped them off with the cloth, too. As I was finishing, Elisabeth looked up from her book and said, "Aw, man! I thought I was tan!" Totally cracked me up.

One is Silver and the other is Gold

Deciding to move with older children is complicated. Three and even eight year olds will play with just about anyone; they just dive right in and have fun, but these older, more self-aware children tend to be a little more wary. Consequently, as a mom, I worry and hope and feel anxious that they will make some good friends who will compliment our family values and be positive influences in their lives. So far it's going great. We have wonderful neighbors who have really welcomed my kids. Great silver friends.

But it's also nice to go back and visit gold friends. The ones you have lots in common with because you've shared so many common experiences. We're having lots of fun visiting our old friends for the 24th of July Pioneer Days. This is Aubree and Raina who look especially smashing tonight after opening night of the Broadway Review. Thanks for being such good friends!!!

A Much Needed Reminder

Do you ever just get too caught up in all the options? I mean, there are just so many opportunities. Right now, Nicole is taking piano lessons, Bekah is taking piano and clogging, they both have young womens, Davy is playing football and has scouts, Darci and Elisabeth are taking a break this summer, but have both been involved with Liberty Girls and other classes. Just these things keep us pretty hoppin', but I also want my children to have lots of varied cultural and spiritual and social experiences. I want them to go to camps and simulations and classes, and... the opportunites are all there. I could seriously pack our schedule everyday with places to go and things to do. I've really been stressing about this lately as I've contemplated what kind of schooling to do this fall. I mean to the point of missing sleep. There are just so many options, all with their pros and cons.

So I was so grateful for the loving reminder Kris gave me while she was visiting. She said, "You know, I just remember my main goal is to raise worthy priesthood holders and righteous daughters of God." As soon as those words came out of her mouth, a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders. That is the point. That is the one goal, that left in my sights, will keep me focused and fade all the periphery distractions. Thanks, Kris. I needed the reminder.