This summer has been amazing! I'm not sure if it's just because I had been looking forward to it more than any other, or if it really has been that amazing.
June was pretty chill, we spent pretty much every Tuesday at the lake paddle boarding and enjoying friends. Dan bought us a pedal boat, which has been a fun addition to our rapidly growing collection of lake toys.
July was jam packed with Fun! We celebrated the 4th here in the neighborhood with a pancake breakfast, the Grantsville parade, a huge neighborhood party with a bounce house, bike parade, complete with all of the guys wearing matching flag shorts. After a little time at the lake with Russ' family the evening was spend BBQ-ing with good friends and a firework show that was just as incredible as any professional show I've seen, I love my neighborhood!
July also included the baptisms of 2 cousins and our niece Amber's mission homecoming. She served in Independence Missouri, after her return the Coopers decided to go back and tour her mission and invited Taevin and Ryler to come along. They saw so many church history sites including Liberty jail, Carthage jail, Nauvoo, and so much more. They had a blast with their cousins, felt the spirit, and came home with a stronger testimony of the restoration of the Gospel. We went 10 days without seeing the boys because they left while Russ and I were on his birthday trip to CANNON BEACH OREGON!
This trip has been in the works since February, both Russ and our friend Forrest would be turning 40 this year so Jennie and I decided that a big celebration was in order. Jeff & Rebecca decided to come as well and it was amazing! The trip was a surprise for both Russ and Forrest, so the night before we left, I gave Russ a letter and a gift. The gift was a Goonies T-shirt and a Baby Ruth candy bar (all from the movie since The Goonies was filmed in Cannon Beach) upon opening the gift, Russ immediately knew where we were going... what he didn't know was that we'd be going with friends. He said that he had suspected Lake Powell with our friends because that's what he thought they were doing that weekend, which made the final surprise the next morning all the more fantastic. As we were leaving the house, I told him that we needed to drop off a life jacket to the Ringwood's to borrow for their Lake Powell trip. When we showed up, Forrest was equally confused because neither of them knew that this had been a surprise for both of them. Forrest caught on quickly, but Russ was still so confused, Jennie and I were cracking up over the awkwardness of the whole situation! Once he finally figured out that we were actually there to pick them up, he was so excited. We stopped at the gas station for snacks, which is where the Brambles met us, which was also hilarious to watch as they finally figured out our master plan.
We did half of the drive Friday, making a pit stop for lunch at the Boise temple then stayed in a little town in Oregon for the night. We got an early start Saturday morning, drove through Portland, saw a few sights, picked some fresh lavender & checked out the Tillamook cheese factory. We arrived in Cannon Beach late afternoon and were anxious to check out the beach, it was cold, but so beautiful and full of fun things to look at.
We spent pretty much the whole vacation exploring Cannon & Hug Point beach and eating, it was fabulous! On Sunday evening we celebrated the guys' birthdays with a fire on the beach, s'mores, and rice krispy treats with birthday candles (couldn't find cake). It was the perfect way to celebrate a 40th birthday!
We headed to seaside the next morning, and then home, but I could've stayed another week!
It was a long week waiting for the boys to get home from their trip, especially since I was returning the babysitting favor for Jessee, but I was so happy to see them when they returned.
Unfortunately our month didn't end as happy as it started. On Monday, July 23rd, I received the heart-breaking phone call that my cousin Christie's 15 year old son had been killed in a side by side accident. As a mother, it's difficult to hear these things and not think of your own children and how fragile life can be, I was just sick for her. Dan and I decided to head down to Arizona for the funeral Saturday, but for some reason I felt quite uneasy about it, Dan thought it was crazy and so did I, but I called my Aunt DeAnn and she told me not to come as the burial would be here. She asked me to organize the luncheon following the burial service, and I figured that's why I was feeling prompted to stay... until Thursday afternoon.
I received a call from our miamaid advisor, who happens to live next door to 2 of my YW, Maddie and Mikala Moody. She is good friends with the family and Miken, the mom, had asked her to come to the hospital and be with the 2 sisters as Mikala was in the ER and non-responsive. She was in Ogden and could not get there so she called me knowing my relationship with the girls, which she said later felt inspired (They had been in my beehive class for about 2 years and just turned 14 a few months ago). I rushed to the hospital to be with Maddie and Mariska, we prayed together and hoped for the best, but sometimes Heavenly Father has another plan. Mikala passed away after suffering cardiac arrest due to a blood clot in her lung. I cried with the family and kept reassuring Maddie the everything would be OK, but in reality, none of us were really OK.
After I left the hospital I made a few calls and went over to Steph's to be with her and Audrey (another one of my sweet girls), we talked & cried some more.
It has been a difficult 2 weeks, but as I have prayed for the spirit to be with these two families, I have felt my own peace and the reassurance that God's hand was in every step of this. As much as I wanted to support my cousin, I needed to be here for my girls and am grateful for the prompting that caused me to stay. Both services were beautiful and full of so much hope, and amidst all of the sadness, both of these families have amazed and inspired me with their faith. Today during testimony meeting, Gino (Mikala's dad) said something that really resonated, he said "If there was ever a cause for me to question my testimony, the loss of our daughter this week would've been it, but as I have felt the love and support from so many friends and neighbors, I have finally understood what it means to be a ward family and to call you all brothers and sisters". WOW! Could anything be more profound? I am so grateful for my family that extends far beyond a genetic connection, for this Gospel that gives my life meaning and perspective, and for my Savior who has made it possible for families to be together forever.
In spite of it all, July was still a fantastic month. On the 28th we took the boys to their first concert; Imagine Dragons, with some neighborhood friends, the Petersons (which BTW was awesome!) then on the 29th, Russ' birthday, I made the dinner of his choosing along with a coconut cake for dessert. I seriously can't believe my husband is 40! I absolutely adore that man and am surprised sometimes by how much he loves me despite my nagging... he proved that again this morning by letting me get rid of most of his beard. There is still some left, but it is much shorter and very well groomed. Perhaps someday I'll win that war but for now, I'm thrilled about this battle, it was a huge sacrifice for him and a demonstration of his deep love for me.
Taevin spent last week at scout camp and I'm headed to girls camp this week, I'll be back early to get ready for Zoey's birthday & baptism, 8 already! Then it's back to work, school starts this week and I can't remember if I mentioned this, but I'll be teaching the 7th & 8th grade food studies elective. I'm terrified but will do my best.
Summer was way too short but I'm glad we made the most of it!
June was pretty chill, we spent pretty much every Tuesday at the lake paddle boarding and enjoying friends. Dan bought us a pedal boat, which has been a fun addition to our rapidly growing collection of lake toys.July was jam packed with Fun! We celebrated the 4th here in the neighborhood with a pancake breakfast, the Grantsville parade, a huge neighborhood party with a bounce house, bike parade, complete with all of the guys wearing matching flag shorts. After a little time at the lake with Russ' family the evening was spend BBQ-ing with good friends and a firework show that was just as incredible as any professional show I've seen, I love my neighborhood!
July also included the baptisms of 2 cousins and our niece Amber's mission homecoming. She served in Independence Missouri, after her return the Coopers decided to go back and tour her mission and invited Taevin and Ryler to come along. They saw so many church history sites including Liberty jail, Carthage jail, Nauvoo, and so much more. They had a blast with their cousins, felt the spirit, and came home with a stronger testimony of the restoration of the Gospel. We went 10 days without seeing the boys because they left while Russ and I were on his birthday trip to CANNON BEACH OREGON! This trip has been in the works since February, both Russ and our friend Forrest would be turning 40 this year so Jennie and I decided that a big celebration was in order. Jeff & Rebecca decided to come as well and it was amazing! The trip was a surprise for both Russ and Forrest, so the night before we left, I gave Russ a letter and a gift. The gift was a Goonies T-shirt and a Baby Ruth candy bar (all from the movie since The Goonies was filmed in Cannon Beach) upon opening the gift, Russ immediately knew where we were going... what he didn't know was that we'd be going with friends. He said that he had suspected Lake Powell with our friends because that's what he thought they were doing that weekend, which made the final surprise the next morning all the more fantastic. As we were leaving the house, I told him that we needed to drop off a life jacket to the Ringwood's to borrow for their Lake Powell trip. When we showed up, Forrest was equally confused because neither of them knew that this had been a surprise for both of them. Forrest caught on quickly, but Russ was still so confused, Jennie and I were cracking up over the awkwardness of the whole situation! Once he finally figured out that we were actually there to pick them up, he was so excited. We stopped at the gas station for snacks, which is where the Brambles met us, which was also hilarious to watch as they finally figured out our master plan.
We did half of the drive Friday, making a pit stop for lunch at the Boise temple then stayed in a little town in Oregon for the night. We got an early start Saturday morning, drove through Portland, saw a few sights, picked some fresh lavender & checked out the Tillamook cheese factory. We arrived in Cannon Beach late afternoon and were anxious to check out the beach, it was cold, but so beautiful and full of fun things to look at.
We spent pretty much the whole vacation exploring Cannon & Hug Point beach and eating, it was fabulous! On Sunday evening we celebrated the guys' birthdays with a fire on the beach, s'mores, and rice krispy treats with birthday candles (couldn't find cake). It was the perfect way to celebrate a 40th birthday! 
We headed to seaside the next morning, and then home, but I could've stayed another week! It was a long week waiting for the boys to get home from their trip, especially since I was returning the babysitting favor for Jessee, but I was so happy to see them when they returned.
Unfortunately our month didn't end as happy as it started. On Monday, July 23rd, I received the heart-breaking phone call that my cousin Christie's 15 year old son had been killed in a side by side accident. As a mother, it's difficult to hear these things and not think of your own children and how fragile life can be, I was just sick for her. Dan and I decided to head down to Arizona for the funeral Saturday, but for some reason I felt quite uneasy about it, Dan thought it was crazy and so did I, but I called my Aunt DeAnn and she told me not to come as the burial would be here. She asked me to organize the luncheon following the burial service, and I figured that's why I was feeling prompted to stay... until Thursday afternoon.
I received a call from our miamaid advisor, who happens to live next door to 2 of my YW, Maddie and Mikala Moody. She is good friends with the family and Miken, the mom, had asked her to come to the hospital and be with the 2 sisters as Mikala was in the ER and non-responsive. She was in Ogden and could not get there so she called me knowing my relationship with the girls, which she said later felt inspired (They had been in my beehive class for about 2 years and just turned 14 a few months ago). I rushed to the hospital to be with Maddie and Mariska, we prayed together and hoped for the best, but sometimes Heavenly Father has another plan. Mikala passed away after suffering cardiac arrest due to a blood clot in her lung. I cried with the family and kept reassuring Maddie the everything would be OK, but in reality, none of us were really OK.
After I left the hospital I made a few calls and went over to Steph's to be with her and Audrey (another one of my sweet girls), we talked & cried some more.
It has been a difficult 2 weeks, but as I have prayed for the spirit to be with these two families, I have felt my own peace and the reassurance that God's hand was in every step of this. As much as I wanted to support my cousin, I needed to be here for my girls and am grateful for the prompting that caused me to stay. Both services were beautiful and full of so much hope, and amidst all of the sadness, both of these families have amazed and inspired me with their faith. Today during testimony meeting, Gino (Mikala's dad) said something that really resonated, he said "If there was ever a cause for me to question my testimony, the loss of our daughter this week would've been it, but as I have felt the love and support from so many friends and neighbors, I have finally understood what it means to be a ward family and to call you all brothers and sisters". WOW! Could anything be more profound? I am so grateful for my family that extends far beyond a genetic connection, for this Gospel that gives my life meaning and perspective, and for my Savior who has made it possible for families to be together forever. 
In spite of it all, July was still a fantastic month. On the 28th we took the boys to their first concert; Imagine Dragons, with some neighborhood friends, the Petersons (which BTW was awesome!) then on the 29th, Russ' birthday, I made the dinner of his choosing along with a coconut cake for dessert. I seriously can't believe my husband is 40! I absolutely adore that man and am surprised sometimes by how much he loves me despite my nagging... he proved that again this morning by letting me get rid of most of his beard. There is still some left, but it is much shorter and very well groomed. Perhaps someday I'll win that war but for now, I'm thrilled about this battle, it was a huge sacrifice for him and a demonstration of his deep love for me.Taevin spent last week at scout camp and I'm headed to girls camp this week, I'll be back early to get ready for Zoey's birthday & baptism, 8 already! Then it's back to work, school starts this week and I can't remember if I mentioned this, but I'll be teaching the 7th & 8th grade food studies elective. I'm terrified but will do my best.
Summer was way too short but I'm glad we made the most of it!
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