Since Jenna is having surgery on Monday, we decided to take my mom out a week early to celebrate Mother's Day. We went to Diamond Nails and got pedicures. It was nice to visit while we got pampered. They even did a hot stone massage on our legs. So amazing. Then we went to Chili's for lunch. I introduced them to the ranch and chips and salsa. We also had a super funny waiter who insisted on being in one of our pictures. I loved spending time with my mom and Jenna- such a nice day!
This morning Joey took Nash and Gray to their swim meet at the American Fork Rec Center. They both swam the same events: 100 Free, 50 Breaststroke, and 50 Back. They have switched to Long Course and were excited to see their times improve. On his 50 breast, Gray took off 33 seconds for a new time of 54:84. On his 50 back he went from 1:18:11 to 47:07. That is an improvement of 33 seconds. Nash dropped 37 seconds on his 100 free for a new time of 1:16:08. He improved his 50 Breast by 4 seconds and his 50 back by almost 13 seconds. Amazing job boys! So proud of you.
Today was "Bring Anything but a Backpack" Day at Skyridge High. Luke had many options floating through his mind including a crock pot or a laundry basket. He even wanted to take Ike with a fanny pack on but worried he would not be super cooperative. So he settled on a bird cage. Way to commit Luke! Love that even in his senior year, he is still finding a way to show a little school spirit.
Today Tag got to give the talk in Primary. Since I was away at the competition all day yesterday, Joey helped Tag prepare his talk. He read through it several times and was ready to go this morning. He spoke of being trustworthy. He told a story from President McKay about a group of botanists that wanted a rare flower. They could not reach the flower so they asked a little boy if they could tie a rope around his waist and lower him down to pick the flower. They boy disappeared for a minute and then came back with his Dad. He said that he would go down to get the flower if his Dad could be the one to hold the rope. He trusted his Dad completely. Such a cute story and Tag did an amazing job.
Today Harlee had her dance competition up at Woods Cross High School. I was so excited to get to watch her perform. We got up there around 12:30 and Jenna met us there to watch the competition. Har's first performance was jazz. They did a 1920's mix. It was so cute and Harlee did a wonderful job. This dance was awarded "Diamond" which is a top honor. Her next number was her Hip Hop. Hip Hop is my favorite style to watch. They did a basketball themed piece that was so fun. I videoed it so I can watch it over and over! They got second overall with this number- AMAZING! They also got Diamond on this one. After Hip Hop she had a three hour break so we went to grab lunch at Cafe Rio. We headed back for her final dance, lyrical. This dance was performed to Ashes by Celine Dion. It was such a beautiful dance. Harlee looked so graceful and so mature. She is growing up too fast. They won best costume for this dance and Diamond and first place. I was so excited for her. She works so hard and is a beautiful dancer. I love sharing a love of dance with my favorite girl.
Gray was so excited to get up this morning because he was going to spend the day at Clear Creek. It was canceled for a couple of years due to COVID but this year they kind of brought it back. In the past they have spent the night there but this year they left at 7:30 am and returned at 5:00 pm. Gray spent the day hiking, doing skits, and playing games with his friends. He was kind of filthy when I picked him up but he had the best time. I am so grateful that he got to have this experience.
I woke up so grateful that I would get to spend Easter surrounded by my biggest blessings. Each of the kids woke up to a couple new swimsuits and some treats. We got ready and went to church. I am so grateful for the opportunity to show my Heavenly Father and Savior how grateful I am for them. I am so grateful for the Atonement and the opportunity that I have to fix things and be a little better. I am so thankful that I have the chance to be with my family forever. They bring me so so much joy. We made a delicious dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes and rolls. The weather was pretty perfect so we sat outside and ate on the picnic table. For dessert we have strawberry shortcake. An amazing day!
Tonight we had Mimi's annual Easter Egg Hunt at Jenna's house. Unfortunately it was raining so we had to improvise. We ended up just giving each of the kids the same amount of eggs and then did an inside hunt for the money eggs. Harlee was the big winner of the $10 egg. After the hunt we enjoyed Marco's pizza and a nice visit. So fun for the kids to grow up with cousins.
Last year Luke and Gray got jipped from having their date. So this year, we are going to do a date with them together and then we will take each of them on a separate date. So for their combined date we took them to K1 Speed. They did two races and had so much fun. Luke went super fast only to be beat by a guy who showed up with his own helmet. Hard to beat! Gray did amazing for his first time. He was more cautious on the first race but went a lot faster on the second. After the race we went to Garage Grill for lunch. Joey and I have loved this place in the past but I think they must have changed ownership or something. Unfortunately the food was not as good but the company was perfection. Love spending time with our kids. We have been blessed with the best. Such a fun day!
Today Har stayed home to nurse her broken heart and hopefully hear from Benson. We went to Gray's NOVA graduation and then to Cafe Rio for lunch. When we got home Har asked if she could try on my wedding dress. It fit her like a glove and she looked beautiful! A little too amazing and looked old enough to be getting married! She needs to stop growing up. I may have also tried on the wedding dress and had to leave the zipper undone in the back. I guess five kids have taken their toll. So fun to remember that amazing day that I got to promise forever to my best friend.
This morning Harlee and I went to Gray's NOVA graduation. NOVA is a program like DARE back in my day. They learn amazing things in this program about the importance of saying no to drugs and alcohol. Such a program and I am so happy that Gray could be a part of it. Congrats Gray!
It is no secret that Harlee is a big fan of Benson Boone. At the beginning of the week, Benson made an announcement on his Instagram story that he was coming to Provo/Orem and Salt Lake. He then asked who wanted to meet up! Harlee kept that phone close by constantly checking if he would announce where she could come find him. Tonight Har came downstairs with tears streaming down her face. When I asked her what was wrong, she showed me a picture of 3 girls and Benson Boone. The three girls are students at her school that she thinks are so bratty. She was so sad. She tried to laugh about it but laughing just brought more tears. Poor Har. Hopefully she will someday have the opportunity to meet him.
Luke's latest art assignment turned out amazing! He had to take a picture of someone making a certain expression. He took a picture of Nash. He could only use five colors. I am so impressed with his artistic talent. He has such a gift. Proud of you Luke.
Luke came home last week and said that he was ready to cut his hair. He is working on his papers for his mission. He wanted to cut his hair over spring break. I was super nervous as to how he would react to such a change since he loves his long hair. He liked the change and I LOVE it! He looks so handsome.
Unfortunately the last four days in St. George went way too fast. Joey and I had to work but still tried to have fun. The weather was so perfect. I was lucky to go walk every morning and then Nash and I took Ike on a walk. The kids went on a hike with KC and Mike. We spent a lot of time in the pool. Har and I shopped. We had a barbeque with John, Darolyne, KC, Mike, and Carson. Then we all worked in the yard before leaving on Thursday afternoon. Have I mentioned how much I love that place. I feel so lucky that we have this beautiful home.
The weather was so beautiful this weekend and we had a great time. We woke up early on Saturday and went to some garage sales. After the sales we watched conference for a bit before heading over to Pork Belly's for lunch. We were excited for Luke to be able to try it this time and it did not disappoint. It was just as amazing as we remembered. Then we tried to drive to Little Jamaica right passed the Arizona border but it was closed down. So we went home and listened to conference poolside. We got food to go for dinner and after Women's Conference we went to play pickleball. The weather was perfect and we had so much fun. On Sunday morning we got up and listened to conference while we drove. We tried to go to Duck Creek but there was so much snow. So we drove to the backside of Zions and did some hiking. It was so fun to get out in nature with my favorite peeps. We made it home in time for the second half of conference. After the conference we had John, Darolyne, and Carson over dinner. It was so fun to visit with them. Such a great weekend and I am so excited that we still have four days left in my favorite place.
Nash has been thinking about getting his patriarchal blessing for a little while now. Harlee told him of how they did a devotional at HXP b...
