Dog Days of Summer...and school days blues

Well, the dog days of summer are winding down.

The past month has been a whirl-wind of activity. Sams work of course has been insane. With the 2nd hottest summer on record beating at his heels, all he has done is work. Work, work, work no play. There have been countless days of him leaving before 6 am and not getting home till past midnight. [and you know he has to squeeze in those golf games somehow!] Well Sam the man is on the side of a mountain today.
The Elk hunt opened on Thursday morning. He and several of his buddies are up there running around with bows and arrows...I have said it before and shall say it again... The secret to men is the fact that they do not get a day over 12. Really! I talked to him briefly last night. He said he missed a BIG one...whatever that means. LOL! I love him and for his sake I try to understand. All I know is they will be tracking and trapping a bear on Saturday. One of his buddies brother drew out a bear tag. So off they go. For a bear. I may never understand!

In other monthly news...Katie my sweet was baptized. What an amazing experience.
I will try to post pictures as soon as I can. She turned 8 in June. That is the age of accountability within our church. She was baptized by immersion, and recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost. Oh if you could have seen her face when she came out of the water. I had to clap my hand over my mouth so I didn't cry out...it was so beautiful.
She came up the stairs and I wrapped her up in a big, white, fluffy towel...she looked at me and said... "it's just like a shower, only way better!" Couldn't have said it better myself! We had a wonderful celebration at the house after with all of our family. We ate all of Katie's favorite foods too. Cream puffs and chocolate dipped strawberries. All in all it was a perfect day!

And down to the wire...we rushed through the rest of the month with Dentist check-ups, shots and Dr. visits. We stumbled through the facade of routine and counted down the days to school. Registration came and went. Bus schedules and teacher lists were mailed to us. And just like that...school started.

BAM. Just like that. My baby is now a 1st grader. Eeek. I could hardly stand it. The house was so quiet. I moped around a while...then got dressed and drove directly to the school. I had to see the whites of her eyes...I needed to check on ALL my babies. I know that they are 9 almost 10, 8 almost 18, and 6. But they are still my babies. How strange to be reaching the next phase of life. It came so quickly. Well, Ellie was just fine. She wouldn't even come hold my hand or ANYTHING!!! Katie has a guy teacher, which kind of freaked me out...but she loves class. He reads funny stories, teaches ALOT of science and makes the kids aware of the world around them. Riley is in 4th grade and approching the "book report" stage of school. I know he will be fine, but he is a little concerned. Reading has always been a struggle for him. He excels at Math...so much like Sam. His teacher is a hoot! She is always laughing, and somehow is able to keep things under control.

So, I step into the unknown. I have been home for the last 10 years. My whole existence has centered around my kids. From babies, to toddlers...to pesky little kids. I have seen them take their first breath, first steps, cut teeth, held them when they were sick, kissed owwies and held their hands for so long. How do mothers do it? When you begin to feel the little hands be not so chubby anymore...how do you let go? Don't get me wrong...I want them to be independent! I am overjoyed to see them step into life and school with their whole heart...I just miss them. The chubby cheeks, ok not the temper tantrums, the sticky kisses, bugs and all...

Well here is the next phase. The School Years. All of them. Kids and School.
I can do this!
I'm a Mom!!!
And Mom's are Heros!

Sweet Relief

It has rained. RAIN!!! Real, honestly wet, rain. The kids ran outside and played in it. I sat on the porch and listened and drank in the smell of rain. Utah needed the rain so desperately. There are many wildfires burning, some out of control...I hope the rain helped the firefighters that have flown in from all over the country to help battle the blazes.

We are in high gear preparing for school. I am trying to get the kids back into some kind of routine. Going to bed at a decent hour, getting up and eating breakfast together, and of course a summertime favorite....shower...every night PLEAASE!

We are also getting ready to pour a cement pad with a basketball standard. Riley is counting down the days until he can play endlessly. It will also double as a place to park and soccer court of sorts. I can hardly wait!

We had a terrific 24th. Sam's family was here for a BBQ and impromptu baseball game with the kids. I have come to the conclusion that nothing brings my heart greater joy than watching grown men ( all of Sam's brothers ) pitch on their knees, run to paper plates for bases, laugh and play with all the kids. All done with a plastic
fat bat and ball. Ah the simple joys of life! Sweet relief indeed.

Hotter than blue blazes!

It is hotter than blue blazes here! I can't remember this hot of a summer since Sam and I got married. All of us are hiding out inside trying to avoid the heat.

As usual it is hectic here. We are in the process of trying to landscape our back yard. I am proud to say after 7 years, I finally have a sidewalk. A real, concrete, goes all the way to the back porch SIDEWALK!!! [Do you think I am deprived?] Long have I waited to get a real sidewalk. To those who visit our home, a path to follow. To those who play at our home a real place to ride a bike! To me, yup me...the faint-hearted...less dirt...yay! I can hardly believe it. We poured the concrete on Thursday. It was very hot, very hard, filthy work. I promise to post pictures soon. Along these lines we have been trying to landscape as well. The rock wall in the front is finally finished! It is beautiful. I really love it. We have started the wall in the back and hope to have it completed soon. I will even have a meditation garden where I can do yoga outside with a totally cool rock water fall. Hee hee. I am almost giddy just thinking about it. I have been planting trees like a wild woman. Flowers will come a bit later. And in between all that...

We are getting ready for school. Dr. and dentist appointments out the wazoo! School shopping for shoes and jeans...did I mention this will be the first year that they will be in all day school? Ellie is officially a 1st grader. Kinda freaky! I just ordered bento lunch boxes for the three of them. I have to find a way to feed them food worth eating. School lunch used to be so good. What happened? I am really excited to get back into a 'routine'...if that is what you can call it. LOL!!!

So, back into the heat of life I go.

Things you hear around our home

In a large mud puddle: Look!!! Its the Milky Way!

Um, I hate to tell you this, but that's not a star, it's a planet.
I guess that was it for YOUR wish.

Ellie to Sam's Mom with a lightsaber: Feel the power of the Dark Side, Grandma.

Sam to me upon my apology: Gee hon, I'm sorry you yelled at me too. [Grrrr]

The kids at Stadium of fire: Did you see all the awsome confetti all over?!
[Forget the dazzaling display of fireworks, the concert by Brooks and Dunn, the sight of over 1000 young women carrying the biggest flag I have ever seen....confetti? Did I mention the tickets were 65 dollars a piece? CONFETTI?! GRRRR]

Chase our cousin to Amy: I would say you could kick my butt, however I doubt your leg goes that high. HA HA HA HA...wait, you do yoga...AHHHHHHH

At the dinner table: Ellie! You can't do down dog at the table, now stop that and eat!

Riley to our neighbor: Hey I could train that dog for you. [Never mind that this is our drunk cowboy neighbor who rides a lawn mower when he is too drunk to stay on his horse, annnd the fact that his last dog gave Riley stitches.]

And people wonder what is wrong with me.

Honestly it's little wonder. Just come hang out for a week.

Manti Pageant

They come with so many extremes, why don't they come with an instruction manual?


It's all fun and games right?! Either I have lost my mind, or I never had it to start with. Last summer I decided to start taking the kids to different things around Utah that I felt would be good for them to experience. Musems, National parks, venues of all kinds beware...We are on our way!


Three adorable heathens at the foot of the Manti Temple. This is an amazing feat that was built by Mormon Pioneers. It much resembles a castle. And if you think it is beautiful on the outside, oh, you can only imagine the inside! Every time I round the corner I feel that I have come home. What a wonderful feeling.

Ellie sitting on a knoll by the Manti Temple. Each summer the Mormon Miracle Pageant is performed here. It is a simply amazing story that encompasses generations of time and spans 2 continents! With a cast of over 500 volunteers who sing, dance, and bring to life ancient history it just can't be beat. Oh and did I mention it is free? As always it was wonderful.

Sweet Sisters by the temple entrance.

The temple is a place of refuge. In a society of crumbling values the temple stands as a firm testimony of what is good and true. Millions of faithful worthy LDS members partake of sacred works in the temples across the world. This just happens to be MY temple. This is where I was married. That makes it mine, right? Well, okay, no. In my heart it will always be special. Hopefully I can pass that love down to my heathens. Perhaps the day will come when I stand with them in the Holy Temple. What a blessed day that will be! To stand eternal. To stand tall. To stand as a family wrapped forever in the arms of love. Is there anything better?

Up the Narrows

Sam the man. We took the kids hiking up Santaquin Canyon. It is one of our favorite places to go when it is soooo hot outside. This hike is called the narrows, I am not sure why, because it ends at the narrows. To continue up you must have horses, be willing to get really wet and a HUGE sense of adventure! All perfect things for Sam.


Hiking up the trail with the kids. Always an adventure in Bear country! Come later in the summer, berries burst forth along this trail. Sam has many fond [or not so] memories of picking buckets of berries for his Mom to make jam. If the berries made it home.

At the peak of the trail, there is a nice little campround. I made that word up. Nice, huh! There is a fire ring made of stones, and benches around it from deadfall. [Trees that have fallen over] Not far is a natural spring where you can get the best drinking water in the whole world. That is my opinion. Although you should have seen my face the first time I saw Sam drink out of it! And the fast talking to get ME to drink it!


A trip is never complete without a picture of the boy. On a rock. With a picnic lunch.


Trees just off the river. Pictures just don't do it justice. There were wildflowers of yellow and blue all OVER the place. Busy bees humming and the largest yellow butterflies I have ever seen. EVERYWHERE!!! They were awsome!

All in all a nice little hike for the family. It was a nice break from the busy-ness of a typical Saturday.

Pictures fit for an 8th birthday...

Katie smiling it up for her 8th birthday!
Katie and her best friend!!!
The whole crew, eating cupcakes and having fun
Catching a few rays by the wave pool

As promised, pictures from Katie's 8th birthday. We had fun. Go read the post!