Firehose-Monopoly Fight-Bakka-Shakespeare

We have a Stake party every 24th of July.  For years, we've been gone on vacation and have missed it.  We made it this year and Blake got to enjoy a great tradition.  We have a retired fire chief in our stake.  He arranges for a fire truck to come and soak the kids for a few minutes.  Blake had a blast!

Blake isn't in the first picture.  I just wanted to show what the fire truck does.

Here he is playing around the flagpole.  He's in the grey shirt and black pants

We played Monopoly that Sunday.  Tait wasn't here.  Good thing because it was an epic fight night.  Katie didn't want to play but I made her.  She punished us all by being tricky, cruel and bratty.  I still wonder if it was worth making her stay.  (I tell the kids that playing games teaches them skills that help them function better in society.  I'll have to ask her in a few years if it worked.)

You can see by the facial expressions that it was an interesting time.

Caleb's hamster, Bakka, is doing so well.  After we had two hamsters die on us, we were ready to try only once more.  We bought a new tank and moved it to a different spot of the house.  He's a very nice and calm hamster.  

Last year, we did the Utah Shakespeare Festival for Katrine's 40th birthday-sisters' trip.  We loved it so much we vowed to try every year.  We brought our husbands along, this time.  We watched Clue, the Musical, Sweeney Todd, The Tempest, and King Lear.  We stayed in a little house Airbnb.  We cooked for each other and having two sisters who enjoy cooking as much as I do is amazing.  We spoiled each other with our talents.  We didn't manage to take very many pictures.  Who has time when you are nonstop chatting with your sisters?

Jason really enjoyed Katrine's pizza with extra rosemary.  😉

It's a bad picture but the only one I got of Katie enjoying Jordanelle Reservoir for a youth, one night campout.  She's in the kayak.

 

Miner Cousins Visit

Jason and Katrine's family came and stayed a few days with us while they visited Utah.  We played Frisbee Golf, went Ice Blocking (We both realized how lame we were that we had never taken our kids.  We did this many times as kids), played Robo Rally and games, video games, and went to Payson Lakes for a day trip.

The drought has affected every body of water in the west.  The water line was pretty low.  

An hour after playing in the lake, Blake started getting red under his eyes.  I brushed it off as a little sunburn.  A few hours later, his eyes looked like this:

I was worried about exposure to the deadly toxin cyanobacteria, or green algae.  I read the report that day and they said Payson Lakes wasn't a problem.  But, maybe the algae bloom was new that day.  So, into the instacare at 9:00 pm.  Two doctors couldn't figure out what it was but they assured me it was not a symptom of the algae toxin.  We were sent home to take benadryl and call the dr in the morning if it got worse.

The next morning, all these other bites showed up.  Caleb had a handful, as well.  Blake's eyes looked 75% better.  I still took them in to their pediatrician.  She was confused, as well, but we concluded it was probably swimmer's itch.  A parasite from lake snails that feed off duck poop.  (Gross) We used cortisone cream to help with the itch and the bites were gone in a week.  We still have no idea why his eyes reacted that way.  Some of the parasite must've entered his eyes.  It's usually just a skin reaction.

Just another splash pad pic from the week.

 

July 2022 Kyle MTC

We enjoy playing games with Josh and Tait after Sunday dinners.  We played Headbands and had a blast.  We didn't have enough official headbands so Jeff used a bungee cord.  It was so tight on his head that the card stayed stuck to his head after he took off the cord.  It also left an epic dent around his skull.

Kyle's face in this picture is perfect.  It's his "poor baby" face when he's mocking someone who's complaining.

Poor Katie inherited her mom's RBF (resting bit*h face).  I remember so many adults telling me to smile when I was just acting normal or walking the halls in school.  She gets the same comments but has embraced it sooner than I did.  I used to be so self conscious about my natural scowl face.  

Kyle got to do fireworks with us while he was in home MTC.  It is his favorite holiday and we wanted to make sure he enjoyed it.  It was hard for him because one of the missionary standards is that they aren't supposed to light fireworks.  He had to sit and watch but I think he still had a good time.  

We had a freaky firework blast itself over and proceeded to shoot projectiles.  It would shoot a shot and then spin 40 degrees and then shoot again.  One landed right by us in the driveway and scorched a plant.  That plant survived but is still struggling into early September.

Another splash pad park day for the boys and Kyler.

July 6th, time to take Kyle to the MTC.  Katie had a work shift so she couldn't come with us.  She said she actually preferred that because she knew it would be quite emotionally hard for her.  She quickly hugged him goodbye, on her way to work, and ran out the door. 

We took some pictures at the temple and then drove to the MTC. 

The dropoff is quick, like ripping off a bandaid.  We all liked that.  Especially Kyle.  He was so ready to go and soooo sick of us.  He was pretty much jumping out the window before we could put the van in park.  He was unusually grumpy that drive.  Jeff said it's like the end of pregnancy.  It is unpleasant so you are ready to go through the pain to get the experience over with.  (Kyle, if you read this, you know it's true.  You were nasty!)

A few quick tears from Mom on the way out of the parking garage knowing my baby would be gone for a long time but they quickly dried up when I realized I wouldn't want him back.  I want him to be exactly where he is and he will have the time of his life.

 

Caleb’s First YM Camp

Caleb did really well at his first Young Men's camp.  I went up the second day to make sure he was taking his medication and was doing well.  We had a plan to bring him home the second night to make sure things were taken care of.  When I showed up, he told me right away that he didn't want to go home.  He wanted to stay with his friends.  That was lovely!

He did suffer a little from not having a Mom there.  Look at the size of his left ear, in this picture (right side of the image).  He was covered in bug bites and had scratched this one until his ear was red hot and so swollen.

They were planning on doing a long/hard hike the last day.  There wasn't enough leaders to have someone take Caleb back down after he hit his limit.  When we've taken Caleb on hikes before, he will keep going for a while as we push him.  However, he will definitely hit a limit and sit down on the trail and refuse to move.  So, I drove up again to hike with Caleb, as long as he could.  However, when I got there, they decided to make the hike shorter and Caleb would be able to do the entire hike.  As I drove away, they stopped me because they didn't have enough seats to take the boys.  I ended up going on the hike anyway.  I'm glad I went.  It was a beautiful hike from Table Lake to Wall Lake.  I forgot to take any pictures of the hike.

Here's a few pictures from the day trip to Table Lake.  Blake came up with me, that first day.

I saw a truck drive up and recognized it as the trucks who stock the lake with fish.  I hollered to everyone to come watch.  Sure enough, they pulled up and dumped SOOOO many fish into the lake.  It was fascinating to watch them try to swim upstream and back into the truck.

Those poor trout must've been stunned.  Many of them kept swimming in this shallow area and even beached themselves.  Blake was one of the boys helping toss them back into the water.

Many of them just hid under this large piece of tree root system.

 

June 2022

We went camping with the Bonneys at Jolley's Ranch, up Hobble Creek Canyon.  There was plenty of LARPing and fun.

Lots of card games

Mark taught everyone a trick of using a coal to burn large sticks into a bowl shape.  The coal burns slowly and makes a cavern.  You can see Kyle using a small stick to hold the coal against the flat part of the spoon.  As you blow on the coal, it continues to burn away the wood and deepens the spoon scoop.

Kyle is still annoyed at pictures being taken of him

Everyone enjoyed widdling.  Blake was old enough to learn (as long as Mom was sitting right by).

Caleb got to use his new pocket knife he got in Koosharem

After more than 13 years of use, our tent kicked the bucket.  We had been patching holes, babying zippers, and dealing with pooling water on the rainfly for 2-3 years.  When the bottom of the tent starting leaking too, we decided it was time.  

RIP

Josh and Tait invited us over to their apartment for a Warrior's playoff game.

Katie decided to cut 10" off her hair

This picture looks like she doesn't like her hair but she loves it.  It was weird holding that amount of hair.

Blake sure loves to create and imagine

We have been taking the boys to a new splash pad or park every week