Girls home, Boys Away 9/5/21

 The boys left for an Alaskan fishing trip while the girls stayed home.  We did spa night last night and got our nails done and watched Pitch Perfect.  We plan to have a really fun week. We made Shahi Paneer, went out for breakfast, (put up 4 hours of flags for our boys...they put up flags on the holidays to save for their missions), went out for Thai, went to soccer games, did a lot of cute hairstyles.

With the boys gone I did not clean the floor (which I normally do every day), and I only did 2 loads of laundry a week....which I normally do 2 every day.  My school really ramped up this week, so it was a good week for me to have a break from the routine. (partial break)

Shahi Paneer

Shelley sent Gary jr. a whole package of passion fruit.  He was in heaven! 

I watched a lot of you tube late into the night.  I kinda became addicted to Hoof GP...this show about a guy who trims cows feet in Scotland.  So Odd, I know....but it reminds me of the Cotswalds and making me nostalgic for my childhood and watching the ferrier trim all of our horses feet. I definitely can't sleep without Gary next to me.  I think without him I would become some sort of weird cat lady.....

8/17/21 The schedule is ramping up

 Soccer for 5 is starting.  Last night was the first practice for Lily.... add that to piano lessons, cello lessons, robotics club, tennis, and gymnastics.  I am very careful what I put my children in, because I want dinner together as a family.  But just have so many children has made our lives and afternoons very busy. I do want them anxiously engaged.  Lily has decided to to continue teaching her summer piano lessons, so our house is full of piano students in the afternoons and it is good for her to save some money for college. 

It is interesting though because when they all left for school last week, the emotion that I felt was Loneliness just with 1 potty training toddler who likes to play on her own.  I have been finding things to fill my morning with (not too much because my afternoon is chaos), but I took an nice woman with one leg to the doctor today, and reached out to some friends for playdates for Charli, and cleaned my house, my swimming in the morning with Charli a priority.  School starts for me in a couple days too.  

My 40th birthday is just a few weeks away, I have been reflecting a lot on what I have accomplished in the last 40 years and IF I have accomplished what I wanted to.  I have been really thinking about areas I feel great and areas I want to improve.  It sounds silly, but I feel like 40 is the gateway to the rest of my life, what do I want to do or rather who do I want to become? 

We had another great boating Saturday.  And a great date for Waygu burgers after that at Burgerfi. It is pretty delicious.  

8/8/21 School Starts!

 10th, 8th, 6th, 4th, and 1st grade.... and Charli still home with me.  I am so grateful for school and the chance my kids have to learn.  The proudest moment I had this week was when Ben chose to advocate for himself to be in a higher math class.  I was really proud of him, because my efforts to move him had failed. 

Rachel had a few pre-school jitters, and Ben woke up at 3 in the morning, but all-in-all school was great.

I got formally excepted to graduate school this week. I have been praying all weekend if this would be an okay choice for my family.  I really love a lot of things, but they aren't so conducive to my parenting schedule.   I need to be there for my kids and I want to get more education, but I need those things to work out.  I would have loved medicine, dental school, nursing, but I don't see the timing as working well with a family.  I am hoping to teach community college, or maybe virtual high school for a bit, we will see.  I just wished I had furthered my education when I was a little less restricted by children those first few years of marriage, and I was sooooo lonely. So far I feel good about what I have chosen, and I hope to find a niche. 

This weekend we got to take the boat out with Lily's friends.  I love Canyon lake, it is one of my favorites.  

Gary and I also got to attend the temple last night.  It was needed after a little bit of an emotional day for me.  Sometimes parenting is just so hard.  

Great first week of school!  Here is to a great year! Our back- to- school (Japanese Olmpyic inspired dinner and theme: No Weak Links

7/26/21 Lake Powell

First time at Lake Powell with our boat.  It was amazing.  I really loved the canyons.  One day we hiked to end of Navajo canyon where the water fed into the lake as a large stream.  Then we headed to a cover where there was fun slot canyon at the end.  Another day we boated and hiked to Rainbow bridge and basically had the whole lake to ourselves, hiking through the slots, and playing with my family.  I really love these kids.  The boat launch was extremely sketchy.  #1 the water was so low that you backed on top of water sheets with rocks where the launch ended.  We ruined one tire that way.  Also, I just can't seem to get the boat onto the trailer well.  I didn't sleep at night fretting over the launching.   I lost some weight for sure, but once you are actually on the water, it is pure heaven.  I loved every minute of it.  Definitely will be back, hopefully with higher water levels. 

 

7/11/21 Life with 4 kids

 This week has been so calm.  With Gary Jr. and Lily visiting the sacred grove, Niagara Falls, and the Eastern US with grandparents, life is pretty calm around here.  We have gone boating a few times and done crafts, went to the river with friends, but really not much .  Grant got his cast off and got put in a brace, which is great progress too.  Overall, a calm nice week. 

I also found out the teacher's graduate program I have been pursuing is moving online, which is a real possibility for me.  I, however, contacted the department chair of MCC and although MEd + 18 credit hours is listed as a requirement in the job description, he said only 1 of 40 in his faculty have gone that route.  I don't know what to do.  I would love nursing, PA, medicine, teaching, seminary, I just don't know what to do.  

What I want is something that allows me to be flexible and work from home and still use creative juices and my mind a bit.   I don't know what direction to head, and it is frustrating beyond frustrating.  I feel like my hands are tied a bit. 

7/4/21 Happy 4th and Family reunion

 

Our family reunion was amazing at Bear Lake....we had beach days, boat days, hike days, cave days (that didn't pan out), and lots of food, devotionals, and games with cousins.  I had my fill of sister time and it was just amazing to be together with such a gorgeous backdrop.  My favorite was probably kayaking in the freezing water and hauling little children out to the water trampoline we had rented for the day.  It was such a great time.  Gary and I had the bunk room, in which there was a bed for every kid, but Gary and I also had bunks (no snuggling).  I had a little weight to lose now, but it was truly a wonderful week with my family. 

We made our way down to temple square the on the way back and got to look around the conference center.  We sent our two oldest for a week of church history tours on a plane home with grandparents this week (there flight was delayed and didn't get in until 3am).  

Grandma's 90th 6/26/21

 What a wonderful family reunion.  I drove up Wednesday, (Gary and Lily stayed behind for girl's camp).  And we attended my grandma's 90th birthday party.  What a wonderful party, catered by cafe Rio in at Timpanogas park, with my mom's cousin Ronny making the birthday cake and homemade gelato (he is a pretty famous caterer in Provo).  

My grandma has always been a selfless, soft-spoken woman, and sitting there, it was clear that her family was her treasure.  Each child and grandchild spoke and gave a memory, each felt like they were important to her and her favorite.  She has taken the time to bless our lives: give money when we had babies and given cards for every single birthday.

It was lovely, and I love her so much.  Her true birthday is Christmas day, but it was so nice to have all but 1 of her grandchildren there and great-grandchildren there. 

I had to share a memory, mine was about her buying me a comforter when she knew my BYU married apartment was freezing. She saw a need and filled it.  I also talked about how she had a desire after grandpa died and she actually had the freedom to choose...to attend the temple to receive her own covenants.  She kept it in her vision, what an example to us.

We also made a stop by the Provo City Temple....a place I used to attend Stake conference in my BYU days. (note the statue....)