Week 25 - Laura's Birthday

This week we had a few days that were only in the 70's which made for perfect hammock weather. Quinn brought this hammock home from his mission and we finally got the straps to put it up. But only for the kids. The swing set is not strong enough to hold Quinn and I so we will have to figure that out.

Friday was my birthday and I celebrated!  I went to lunch with Mom and Anne before visiting Grandma Moore. That night Quinn and the kids spoiled me with presents. Quinn then took me to dinner at Olive Garden and then to Hale Center Theater to see Mary Poppins. This was actually my Christmas present but got delayed till now. It was so good! We even survived wearing a mask the entire time. This was our first show in the new round theater and it was amazing the staging they come up with. Saturday I went on a new hike with Pam Coulam. We hiked to Rudy's Flat through North Canyon. Since there was a hockey playoff game that night Pam and I also went to dinner, got dessert and rented a movie. We watched the new version of Emma. It was fine. 

Mia was so sweet. She made me a card and gave me her brand new pair of sunglasses that she got from her school teacher. She said they didn't fit her but still sweet. She also attached a $1.00 bill to the card from her last visit from the Tooth Fairy. 

New Hogwarts hoodie.

My present from Toby and it's totally true.

Quinn also got the dress that was hanging out in my Amazon cart and I love it. Not a flattering picture but the dress is so comfy!

The view from Rudy's flat.

We ended up hiking almost 8 miles and Toby loved it!

Sunday we had a special visitor to our home church. Can you tell that it's Samuel the Lamenite. We also forgot we were supposed to miss him when we threw our arrows (socks balls)

Mia also wanted to dress up. Here she is wearing an apron her Great Grandma Zundel made and wore as a Mom. It has been well loved by grand-kids and now great grand-kids in dress up bins.

We also reenacted it with stuffed animals and legos.

Week 24 - School Starts

Monday August 24th was the last day of summer and we celebrated by going to lunch at Dairy Queen. I had been at the school for 4 hours serving the teachers/staff breakfast and organizing the PTA closet and felt really bad that the kids were home alone for so long and not able to go play. So after a yummy lunch they headed out to play. Mia and her friend Lydia had fun dressing up all her stuffed animals.

Tuesday was the first day of school for these kids. Emma is in 7th grade and has moved on South Davis Jr. High. She will have 5 classes a day on an AB schedule. James is starting 5th grade and has Mrs. Bergman. Mia is in 2nd grade with Mr. Paget. All the kids are actually happy to be back at school but also disappointed that it will only be 2 days a week in person and the other 3 will be remote learning from home. They are doing this so that only half the kids are in class at one time. These kids will go Tues/Thurs. The other half will go Mon/Wed with everyone doing remote on Fri. This is no ideal  but better than being strictly remote learning. The sad part is that we are divided by last name and not by say neighborhood. So Emma and James are both on different days then their best friends. It also means Emma only goes to each of her classes once a week. They also have to wear masks all day.

 

 

We really liked this cute sign the house next to the school put up. It says - You are brave, you are strong, you are smart, you are loved.

Mia and James had a great first day and really like their teachers. They even said they didn't mind wearing their masks all day. Emma on the other hand did not have a great day. She was hot and her backpack was really really heavy. She has to carry it all day since they are not allowed to have lockers because they don't want the kids congregating in the hallways. She said every class had the same instructions on how to clean their area when they arrive and before they leave. She was very emotional and so sad not to be with her best friend. I did help her fix the backpack problem so that is better. Thursday did go a bit better so there is hope but she already has a lot of work to do and to make it worse the other kids have nothing to do yet because they won't be getting their devices till after Labor Day.

School was early out so I didn't have much time to enjoy the quiet. The kids had a busy evening with piano lessons and James had a volleyball game. 

Wednesday since we didn't have school we drove to Ogden to see Grandma Van Bibber and to pick peaches. We also played the game of life. Wish I would have gotten some pictures. Thursday while the kids were at school I made 3 batches of freezer jam. They are a little runny but way better than last time which was basically syrup.

Saturday we went up Mueller Park Canyon with friends to celebrate the end of summer. We played games, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Finally got a picture of Emma with her hair and bangs pulled up. She has been growing them out since March. She rarely does it and they are getting so close to being able to tuck behind her ears. I am so tired of them covering her face but she could really care less. 

Ben Dahle, James and Malaki Olsen

The Dahles, Olsens and Lavenders.

Week 23 - Celebrating Women

This summer the state put on a picture scavenger hunt that helped you learn about great women with ties to Utah and the things they did. Like helping get the right to vote and rights for people with disabilities. To end the summer they had an unveiling of a new sculpture at Capital Hill. We had a nice time getting out the house despite the heat. 

 

A giant guess who game of all the women.

 

Sunday morning fun - the stuffed animals are ready for breakfast.

 

So nice to be back at church every 3 weeks.

 

Home church - trying to blow a rock as we talked about having a strong foundation.

Everyone got to try and build some kind of house. Legos have a stronger foundation that a house of cards.

Later Mia had these two get married.