Another amazing trip down to the SG

I left on Friday morning with all the kids except for Luke.  We drove to Filmore and grabbed lunch before driving the rest of the way.  We arrived around 2pm and it was pretty warm.  The kids spent the rest of the day swimming and then hanging out inside in the AC.  We played games after dinner which was so fun.  Joey and Luke made it down around 10:30pm and it was so nice to have everyone under my favorite roof.  On Saturday we got up early to go to some garage sales.  After the sales we went to the store to make sure that we had enough food to get us through our trip.  Harlee and I went shopping at Old Navy and DI.  It is so fun to go shopping with her.  That night we ordered DoorDash for dinner thanks to Alison for gifting us a giftcard there.  It was 116 degrees so it was great to not have to go out.  Today we convinced Mindi to come down so she could go on the boat tomorrow.  We relaxed all day and she arrived in the afternoon.  We had a BBQ for dinner and then took turns riding the electric scooters.  We finished the night finding the Sister Wives episode where Joey and Har made their acting debut.  Seriously the funnest night!  Tomorrow deserves it's own post!  So excited to spend a few hours on Sand Hollow tomorrow.  

Luke's patriarchal blessing

What a beautiful experience!  I feel so blessed to have been able to attend Luke's patriarchal blessing tonight.  As soon as the patriarch started the blessing the spirit filled the room.  Joey and I both started to cry.  The blessing was full of amazing promises for Luke if he can keep on making good choices.  It was so comforting to feel the love that Heavenly Father and Mother have for him.  The patriarch had asked us to fast that day in anticipation of the blessing.  In my prayers I asked Heavenly Father to say something personal to Luke so he could know that the blessing was not just the thoughts of Patriarch Wallace but that those were words from our loving Heavenly Father.  Before the blessing closed, Heavenly Father gave Luke and admonition that was so personal that there was no question that the blessing was directly from Heavenly Father.  I am so grateful for the love of Heavenly Parents that share their love through these blessings.  I hope that Luke feels the truth of this blessing and feels so much love.  I am so excited for his future and so proud of the young man he has become.

Sunday Hike

 After church and lunch Joey suggested that we go for a drive up to Big Cottonwood Canyon.  The kids only groaned a little before agreeing to go. On our way up we drove through the neighborhood of HUGE houses that we use to drive by when the kids were little.  It was so fun to reminisce.  Then we drove up to Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  There is a paved hike around the lake.  It was so beautiful.  The crazy thing was that there were a couple of moose and they were so close to us.  It was so neat to see them.  The kids were all in good moods and we had the greatest time.  I am so grateful that Joey always gets us out doing things and seeing new places.  Nothing like family time.

Fourth of July

The kids have been talking about the Pleasant Grove fireworks since we went a couple of years ago.  We decided to bring back the fun.  We went to Jamie and Mindi's and had the Pie for dinner.  Such amazing pizza and the keto peeps took the night off so we all enjoyed it!  Then we drove to the baseball field where we played cornhole and badminton.  It was so fun.  At 10pm the fireworks started.  It is so amazing to watch the beautiful fireworks right above us.  This was Luke's first year and he was so impressed.  I think this will be the new tradition.  Love spending time celebrating freedom with my family.

The Best Purchase

Today we stopped by Jon and Darolyne's and Jon had bought Tag a razor scooter.  I thought he would be so excited but in true Tag fashion he told me that that scooter was for babies.  Joey started looking online for a new scooter for Tag.  He found the best deal on an electric scooter.  After he had picked it up we all went to Skyridge to attempt riding the scooter on the grass.  It is seriously the funnest!  It can go up to over 20 miles per hour.  We all took turns and had the best time.  Tomorrow we are going to come back to Skyridge and attempt to ride it on the track.  Such a fun thing for our kids to enjoy.

Summer Fun Days

Each week we have been trying to take the kids to do something fun.  Erika and Mia join us and sometimes Luke and Riley do also.  Last week we went to Airborne and this week we went to Classic Fun Center.  It was a little stressful since the kids were not always in eyesight but they all seemed to have fun.  They roller skated, played in the bouncy houses, and played arcade games.  We finished off the fun with some cold beverages.  I love that my work has slowed down enough so we can have this outings and make amazing memories.  Hopefully we can get quite a few more activities in this summer.

Season Pass Holder

Gray is one lucky kid! One of his best friends Sam purchased a season pass to Lagoon and asked Gray if he could do the same.  Sam's mom promised to take them once a week so Joey and I decided it would be worth it to purchase him a seasons pass.  He was so excited.  Gray loves rollercoasters and any fast ride.  He is going to have so much fun going to Lagoon this summer.  I am so thankful that Sam's mom Andrea is giving Gray a wonderful summer!

Latest artwork

Tag's art goes in phases.  Sometimes he loves drawing and then other times he would rather play video games.  Today was one of those drawing days and I loved it!  I love how he takes his time and works on each masterpiece.  He is so talented and I love watching him grow in his drawing ability.  

Father's Day 2021

I love any excuse to celebrate Joey.  He hates it but I love it!  I love letting him know how much we love and appreciate him.  He works unbelievably hard to provide an amazing life for us.  He is truly one of the greats.  He has such an enviable testimony and an amazing heart.  He is the best dad and makes life fun.  He always gets us out on adventures and trying new things.  We decided to watch church online today so that he could have a little rest.  We gave him some gifts and made him steak fajitas for dinner.  I hope he felt loved and special as he deserves the world.  

Dance Tour

Harlee has spent the last few days in St. George on tour with her dance group.  She was so excited to go.  She left on Monday morning.  They got to SG in the afternoon and had a little time to hang out.  After dinner they got ready and went to perform as the pre-show at Tuacahn amphitheater.  They performed all three of their dances: jazz, lyrical and hip hop.  After their performance they watched Annie.  The next day they woke up, had breakfast, and then we to a workshop where they got to learn one of the numbers from Annie.  Harlee said it was really fun.  Then they shopped a little, had dinner at the Olive Garden, before getting ready for their performance again at Tuacahn.  The performance went great and then they got to watch the performance or Beauty and the Beast.  Har liked this one better than Annie.  The next day they went to another workshop before packing up to come home.  She had the best time and I am so grateful that she had this opportunity to go.  So happy for her.  

Sacrament Talk

Last Sunday Luke received a text from Brother Baker asking him to speak the next Sunday.  He would be the only other speaker at Brooklyn Booth's farewell and needed to speak for 10 minutes.  I offered to help him but he told me that he would ask his Dad for help!  He and Joey worked on the talk about missionary work and Luke read through it several times to prepare.  His talk was based on the talk by Elder Uctdorf.  He focused on member missionary work and how it is not always easy.  I loved the perspective. He did an amazing job.  I know he does not love speaking in public but he handled it like a champ.  Amazing job Luke!