Celebrating one of the greats

Today is Father's Day, a day to celebrate one of the greatest men I know.  I sure hit the jackpot when I married Joey.  He is such an amazing partner and he makes life so fun.  He is such a perfect dad to our five kids.  He is never one to sit around and he gets us out trying all sorts of new things.  He is always telling Dad jokes and sending funny meme texts to Luke and Harlee.  He sings songs about everything and laughs the hardest at his own jokes.  He has a tender testimony and is always willing to bless us with his priesthood.  He works harder than anyone I know and he would do anything to make us happy.  He deserves a day to be celebrated and I hope he never doubts how much he is loved. Happy Father's Day J.D.  We all love you so much!

Mom Dates

Tag started back at ABI today and he is so excited.  He goes on Thursday's from 11-1pm.  Rather than going home for an hour before coming back to get him, I decided to start Mom dates.  Harlee got the first one!  We dropped Tag off and then went to La Hacienda for some lunch.  We chatted while we enjoyed some yummy Mexican food.  Then we went to Downeast and TJ Max.  Harlee got a new swimsuit and a new sweater.  It was so fun to spend some one on one time with her.  She is such an amazing daughter and I want to soak up every minute that she still likes to hang out with me.  Loved our time together today.

Friday Fun

Work for me has been insane for me but I need to make time for a little fun!  We asked Mindi if we could come join her for a swim and we decided to grab lunch on our way.  It was so nice to spend some time in the sun.  Mindi got out the corn hole game and we had so much fun.  I am so grateful that she brings the fun to the party.  So nice to take a break and spend quality time with my favorite peeps.

Week of Firsts

So Luke didn't waste anytime.  He got his license yesterday and he started his first job today!  So proud and so excited!  He is working at Cubby's.  He is starting at $8.50 per hour for the first 4 shifts and then he moves to $9.50 per hour.  He is going to work 10-15 hours per week.  He is growing up too fast!  I am so grateful for the example he is to his younger siblings. Good luck Luke you are going to be such an asset to the Cubby's team and don't worry, I will be tracking you as you drive to work.

He's Legit

Due to COVID everything got a little pushed back.  We had always thought he would get his license on his birthday but that did not happen.  Thankfully we were able to get his road done with a private company.  He finished road yesterday and he had his test this morning.  Minus forgetting his permit and the forgetting to put the car in drive after he did the backing straight part of the test,  he passed!  I was so excite for him.  We called the DMV in Draper and they were not able to get him in until the next week to get his license.  I called the Orem office and he was able to get in that day.  He was so excited!  I am so proud of him.  Congrats Luke- the first one of our kiddos to be licensed.  Here's to many trips to the store and picking up his siblings.

Tag's After Party

After the baptism we invited everyone over to our house for an open house.  Joey, the amazing party host, had prepared all of the food.  He bought chafing dishes so we could do hot meat options for sandwiches and fries.  He bought all different sauces for the chicken and then fry sauce for the three different options of fries.  We had a lot of people come over and I was so excited.  We even had a surprise visit from Tara, Nathan, Kayden, and Suzie.  It was so fun to visit with everyone and celebrate Tag's special day.

Tag's Baptism

Due to COVID baptisms have been delayed.  Tag was supposed to be baptized in April.  They are still not allowing you to have a large group at the baptism.  They will let you have 10 people but they are allowing you to Zoom the baptism for family to participate.  After Joey took part in the Ferguson's small baptism we decided this would be a special opportunity and decided to move forward with Tag's baptism in June.  Today was the big day!  The only people attending the baptism were our family and Laurie Swope from the primary.  It was so special.  Joey conducted the meeting.  We started with an opening prayer that I gave and then Gray shared a short testimony on baptism.  Then we had the baptism.  Luke baptized Tag.  I loved this.  Luke was baptized on the same day that Tag was blessed so this was the second special day they could share.  Luke did a perfect job. Harlee and Nash were the witnesses.  After the baptism Nash shared a short testimony on the Holy Ghost before Tag was confirmed.  Joey gave the confirmation and Luke stood in.  It was the sweetest blessing and just strengthened my knowledge that Tag is one of the best Heavenly Father has.  It was truly perfect.  I was so grateful that all of our family, even those who live out of state were able to attend.  I would not have changed a thing.

Commitment to Clean

Tomorrow is Tag's baptism and I have enlisted all of the kids help to get the house clean for the get together after the baptism.  I asked Gray and Tag to wipe down the cabinets and baseboards in the kitchen.  Gray gave Tag a magic eraser to get the black off of the baseboards.  Tag was committed to get everything off of the baseboards including the paint.  I was crying!  Such commitment!  Thankfully we had some white paint and Nash repainted the baseboards.

Luke is 16

I know I say this every year but I seriously cannot believe that Luke is 16!  Pre-quarantine the plan was to take Luke to get his license today but he is just now taking the behind the wheel and the DMV is booked out for weeks.  We tried to make the most of the day for Luke.  He did spend the morning driving with his instructor.  When he got home he wanted do presents.  He had two presents waiting to be opened.  He got four new t-shirts and then some gum and $50.  When he was done opening his gifts I suggested that he opens one more.  He opened a gaming chair.  He was so excited!  He has wanted a chair for so long.  It was so fun to see his excitement.  We got JCW's and Costa Vida for dinner.  We had Oreo Cookie Dessert in lieu of cake at Luke's request.  It was a great day!  So proud of what a great young man Luke is.  Can't wait to see what this next year brings.

Quaratine Attire

The days all seem to run together for these cute kiddos.  I have loved that they have come up with very creative ways to pass their days.  Today I looked up from my computer to see this!  Best part of my day.  Love this boy.

A Surprise Visit

Last night I got a text from Marisa that they were in Utah visiting family and they wanted to get together.  I was so excited and Gray was so excited to get to see his first best friend.  You know it is a great friendship when you pick up right where you left off.  I so wish that they lived closer.  It was so fun to catch up and the time flew by too quick.  I am so glad that they are in Arizona now so that we can hopefully visit more often.