Living Life

This week the boys auditioned for the school musical on Monday, Sept 23rd. The school is doing it in the fall this time and performing Elf. I think a Christmas show will be fun but fall is already crazy around here so we'll see how it goes. Steve and I went out to dinner with our amazing neighbors which was fun. The boys went to pancake night with friends and Lila was at dance so it was a perfect evening to enjoy some adult time and fun to catch up with them.

 

Wednesday, Sept 25th the kids had dental cleanings and then we picked up Crumbl cookies when we were done to celebrate having clean teeth. 😂

 

Thursday, Sept 26th, Lila was going to a dance event at the UofU. Steve took her and a few of her LHS Dance Company teammates down and then he went mountain biking with Ellie. They all had a good night. I sent a little care package down for Ellie with some milk because she hadn't been able to get any at the market and some fresh baked cookies and a few other things. I packed Steve a dinner and sent snacks for the dancers who were eating pizza with the UofU dance team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I spent my evening taking Andrew to violin and then heading to Marcus's football game. The boys asked to play at the playground afterwords (they always do) and today it seemed like a good idea since the weather was nice the game was a little earlier and we had already eaten dinner. So they played.

 

Friday morning, Sept 27th, Steve and I both volunteered for the 5th grade JA city job fair and interviews. I volunteered for the job fair and Steve did interviews. I tried to get a picture of Andrew in his suit with Steve doing interviews.

That evening Steve took Miles and the boys to the neighborhood car show. It was a potluck bbq. Miles was amazed that so many people came and how the food was so organized. The boys had fun playing 9 square. I stayed home to do some more yard work. We had a landscaping company start on southeast section of our front lawn doing some xeriscaping and I needed to do a little cleanup and mow the lawn.

September 28th, Saturday, morning I took Andrew to a basketball workout and Lila and I went shopping for a bit. Didn't really find anything which happens. Steve edged and trimmed the grass then started working on the final section of countertops in the office. We wanted to get the bondo done before we went out to an activity so we wouldn't be inhaling the fumes. Steve did a really good job this time keeping it contained to the office and he had the window open with two fans going. We thought we would go to Cross E Ranch but it was 92 degrees with no shade there so we decided we would go up to Causey paddle boarding. I was hoping to get out early afternoon but Lila had a group project for Chinese class and they decided to meet 2:30-4:30 so we left after that and it was definitely cooler up there as the sun was going behind the mountains but the kids still had fun. Marcus all day was saying he didn't want to go paddle boarding but as soon as we got there he asked Steve if he could go out by himself. I guess he has never done it by himself and none of us had realized that. So the three of them set off which made me super nervous because we had no cell service and no way to get out to them if something happened. They all had life jackets on and Steve said he would swim out if necessary.😝 They all had fun and managed to come back at a good time. Andrew fell in due to a little crash with Marcus so I got out his sweater and wrapped him up in a towel. We had a fun sack dinner we ate in the car. It was a good evening.

Rock Stars

Lila has been preparing to dance at the Layton High Homecoming Football game half time show with her team since the beginning of August. She has been so nervous to perform in front of her peers. I think the assembly that day may have been the pinnacle of nerves for her. She said it went well. Her friend NelRae (who also sister to Ellie's boyfriend Porter) snapped a picture and sent it to Ellie. Lila's friend Brielle whom she has danced with a couple of years sent her the sweetest text after the assembly. All confidence boosting experiences. I told the boys we would be going to the football game and they were super excited. They said, "a real football game? tackle football?" Then I said we were going to watch Lila dance during half time and Andrew said with true awe in his voice, "Lila is part of the half time performance?!" I told Lila her brothers think she is a rockstar, which she is. 

 

It was a crazy Friday with a lot happening from the get go. I volunteered to facilitate the 5th grade book club which ended up being super fun! The kids were amazing and really invested in discussing the book. Then I volunteered for Fun Friday and we did Olaf Presents which also went really well. It got a little chaotic but all the kids had a lot of fun. Then we ran Andrew to orchestra after which I started making dinner in hopes that Lila would eat before she had to leave because of her nerves she had hardly eaten anything all day. I needed to run to the grocery store to pick up one item so I grabbed it then picked up Andrew and we headed back to the school where they were having the first hope squad meeting Andrew was sad to miss. This gave him a chance to meet the new advisor and complete his beginning of year survey. Then we got home and I finished dinner. Then I curled Lila's hair and she gather all of her supplies to take to the dance room to finish getting ready with the team. All the girls have been so nice and it has really been a positive experience for Lila. On my way to take her to meet the team she mentioned people would be saving seats starting at 5:30 and the game didn't start until 7pm. I really didn't want to go that early and wrangle the boys so we decided to take our chances finding parking and seats when we left home at 6:30. We managed to find a good parking spot in the back and a section of a row on the edge, we had to crawl over people (I couldn't believe they wouldn't stand up to let us in or out, we were there before the game started and left after the end of the halftime show, but whatever).

 

Lila came out and joined us for a bit on the bleachers then she went back to be with her team.

The boys were having fun watching the game and learning about the sport. The guys in front of us were nice and explaining a little bit of what was happening. When the Lancers got to a 4th down and 2 close to scoring, Andrew and Marcus both said out loud, "I wonder if they are going to go for it." The guys in front of us said, "Well their kicker was injured last week so what do you think?" The boys, "Oh was he the one on the crutches we saw?" YEP! They are going for it and they did and made it and eventually scored a touchdown which was followed by fireworks. It was quite exciting. Lila came back out but instead of crawling over everyone she just talked to me from the edge of the bleachers and handed me her phone and watch before the performance. See our seats ended up being pretty good.

 

 

The Lancers stopped the Silverwolves from scoring before half time. So it was time for the event we came to watch, Lila and her team dance. She had some friends down in front she kept talking to and a friend in band who was lined up with them to go out onto the field so that was fun for her. Her friend mouthed, "You look so beautiful Lila." Which boosted her confidence right before.  You can watch the performance here

 

Then there was a great firework show and she was lined up along the endzone ready to cheer the football team back onto the field.

We decided to leave at that point. Lila's friends were trying to convince her to stay but she woke up at 4:30am that morning due to nerves so she was tired. We told her to head to the dance room where she received a gift all of the parents had contributed for and the Dance Company officers had written cute notes and gotten a little gift for the team too. Lila said she had a really great time and is was fun to be a part of the homecoming events. I'm so happy she felt that way. 

I took a screenshot of this on Instagram. I really still don't understand that app and only signed up to find out if Lila made the dance team and really only follow the dance team. 😂 you can follow them too laytondancecompany

 

We came home grabbed a snack and put the boys to bed. Then we watched a Reba with Lila and Miles. Saturday morning Steve and I got up and went to work in the office again. I was working on fixing up a small issue we had with the first epoxy pour and I'm pretty happy with how the fix turned out. While Steve worked on prepping the big section of the countertop for a pour. He finished leveling and routed along the edge and we decided to sand down the bottom edge a little to hopefully allow the epoxy to flow off a little better. We're hoping to bondo next Saturday before we head out for an activity so the room can air out while we are gone then pour epoxy the first weekend in October. YAY! 

Then we had lunch while I cut the boys hair before heading to Andrew's violin recital. The boy rocked it of course. It was a book back recital so he was working on some really great finish work to make the song sound like an upper level book song. He did great!

 

Then Steve and I dropped everyone off at the house and headed to Hale Center to see Magician's Elephant. We've had tickets that day for over a year and I had been debating for weeks if we could make it and even tried to give them away to a friend but it ended up working out and I'm glad we could get out for a bit. We picked up Curry Pizza on our way home for dinner. Just as we were getting on the freeway to head home Miles sent a text that he went out biking with Julie the other intern and got a flat down at Station Park. He said Julie's Dad is picking him up so we were grateful. We'll have to teach Miles about those darn sticker weeds here in Utah and how to avoid them.

Sunday morning I put breakfast pie in the oven then I sat down to work with Marcus on preparing a talk for primary. I really wanted to get him involved. He sat right next to me and we talked about all the things we had discussed during Come Follow Me this week and read some scriptures then we made some bullet points of things we wanted to make sure were in the talk. We decided to type it up and Marcus really wanted to try typing because 3rd grade is where they really push learning how to type so I patiently sat next to him while he typed up the first two sentences of his talk. Then he said it was time for me to take over. We got to a point where we were trying to decide what to say and the song Follow the Prophet came to my mind and he was so excited to put it in his talk. As we were practicing he decided to sing that section. It was so cute! He really rocked his talk, even the primary leaders mentioned it during senior primary. It was a really good Mom moment where you are like, YAY! This went as good as I could have hoped and I have to record those to remember when things are harder. 😆 Here is his talk:

The Prophet Samuel told the people of many wonderful signs that would be shown about Christ’s birth. Some believed and in 3Nephi 1:4 it says: “. . .the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people.”

But the people who did not believe did not see the signs and miracles so the wicked set a date to put to death the believers unless the sign of Christ’s birth came. This caused great alarm for the believers. The Prophet Nephi was so worried for the people that “he went out and bowed himself upon the earth and cried mightily unto the Lord” (3Nephi 1:11). And the Lord replied in 3 Nephi 1:13: “Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand. . .”

Like the people in these scriptures we are also preparing for the Savior to come again. As it says in the song, Follow the Prophet “Now we have a world where people are confused. If you don’t believe it, go and watch the news. We can get direction all along our way, If we heed the prophets–follow what they say.”

Our Prophet President Nelson is wonderful and shows his love for us each time he speaks. He has asked us to pray and learn how to feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost. This is something I am working on in my life as I was baptized this year and was given the gift of the Holy Ghost as a companion. I have learned how it feels when I make a wrong choice and I try to be better. I’m also learning how to recognize when I receive answers to prayers with the guidance of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost can also help me think Celestial as the Prophet has asked us to do.

I have a testimony that we have a loving Heavenly Father who sends us signs and miracles each day and we can look for them as we listen and follow our prophet, He will help us prepare for the day when Christ will come again. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

Meet Miles & Jerry

Thursday, August 29th was a big day because it was the day we picked Miles up from the airport. He brought some snacks from Taiwan for us to enjoy and the kids were super excited to meet him. It was a whirlwind of an application process to host a Chinese Intern this school year. Steve and I have talked about it before but the timing just never felt right. Earlier this summer I emailed expressing interest in hosting and never heard back from anyone and assumed that was that. Then the Friday before school started the neighborhood was posting a text saying there was an immediate need to host an intern. I called the district employee who was grateful for our interest and forwarded me the application and said, he flies in on Sunday. WHOA! ok. Anyway, long story shorter they wanted to wait to approve our application so he ended up changing his flight and that gave us a little extra time to prepare the guest bedroom upstairs for Miles. We bought a small desk off of KSL and put a recliner in there so he could have some comfortable personal space. I have been excited and anxious about the experience ever since our approval.

He went to school with the boys on Friday August 30th. He will be working at the elementary school with them and was excited to learn that there is 1 teacher and another intern from Taiwan.

 

Also we have had a bat leaving his droppings on our patio for over a year. Steve hung a bat box on the side of the house hoping to encourage him to live in it and not do his business on our front porch. I've never seen the bat until now. I walked out and looked up and there he was. I showed the boys and they said, "Can we call him Jerry?" Uh what? I'm hoping he won't be around long enough to have a name. I bought an ultrasonic machine to try and encourage him to move on. I really don't mind him, except the droppings on my front porch. 😱

 

We then had a long weekend so we decided to take Miles up to Snowbasin Saturday after Marcus and I attended his friend Max's baptism. We had a lovely afternoon there. Ellie graced us with her presence to go to Snowbasin. She came home but decided to stay at the Phelps home since she was dog sitting for them while they were at a bike race in Manti. Even after they came back she stayed there and went biking with them etc. Letting her spread her wings and experience independence.

 

We wanted to go paddle boarding at Causey on Labor Day, Monday September 2nd because we heard the salmon were out. But when we got there at 10:30am it was a zoo. Like I have never seen that many people there in all of my times combined and it was still early morning so we decided to head back down and paddle board at Adams Reservoir. Everyone still had fun so I think it was a win.

We are trying to get back into school routines. Lila has to catch the bus at 7am M,T,Th,F on late start Wednesday it is 9am and the boys don't have to be to school until 8:55 so we have almost 2 hours in between kids. Steve and I have been trying to workout at 7am and Lila has been doing it with us on Wednesdays. I've also been trying to make the mornings meaningful for the boys and am hoping to do some extra learning curriculum with them. I thought about doing The Story of the World which I did with the girls but I think with our Chinese Intern we may do some extra Chinese learning (fingers crossed it works out).  Andrew has started in a little orchestra group with one the Vivace Camp directors that lives in Kaysville. He is excited about this, so much so he was not too bummed when he found out VEX would overlap with that time and he could not do VEX this year. He is doing a Mark Rober class online so he thinks that is good for his coding skills as a matter of fact when my new fridge was delivered he asked Steve, "Where do you think the photodiode is located to detect someone coming near to turn on the light?" Smart kid! Both the boys brought home testing results and are testing above end of year bench marks at the beginning of the year which is good and a little tricky because some times Marcus finds himself in trouble with too much time on his hands or other things. This week was a little rough for Marcus. He had an incident at school and I was not super thrilled with how they handled it. He had some consequences at home and we have been working really hard to help him understand how important it is that he works hard and is true in all things. I'm starting to see a little light that maybe we might be getting through. Every night I pray that I will know how to help him without squashing his personality. . .parenting is not for the faint of heart. 

 

I guess with all the excitement our main fridge was feeling neglected and decided to give up the ghost. I noticed a little extra frost on in the freezer when I was making dinner then Steve noticed the extra soft frozen bananas. . .So we scrambled to put everything in the fridge downstairs. Then Wednesday morning I called a couple of repair guys who confirmed that it was probably the compressor and we would be better off to buy a new fridge. So I began looking online, many stores were still having Labor Day sales. Steve and I ran up to RC Willey to look at a couple but I was worried about the size of the one we were considering so I started looking for a middle size fridge and found an LG that we really liked. It is similar to our old fridge but it has more cubic space yet it is smaller than our old fridge and it makes 4 types of ice. The only problem wasn't it wouldn't be delivered for almost 2 weeks. It did however come with a small mini fridge that was delivered the following Monday so we plugged it in upstairs and used it for condiments and milk so we weren't going up and down the stairs quite as often. I was so happy to get the fridge delivered on Sept 16th and get my kitchen back up and running. It was also a good teaching moment to talk to our kids about the importance of saving for a rainy day so you have the funds to cover when such misfortunes happen.

 

That Friday, September 6th we decided to do the Skull Crack Canyon hike to see the salmon. Everyone was a little reluctant to make the drive out there again and worried about the length of the hike but they were so excited to see the bright red salmon. It was a beautiful evening we had good timing again where we were in the shade of the mountain most of the time. It was a lovely evening.

 

 

Miles is a real trooper. He said hiking in Taiwan is not like it is in Utah, they still have paved paths and steps so he was surprised by the dirt road. The boys kept asking how many miles we had left and it kept confusing Miles because he kept hearing his name, I didn't even put it together until he said that. He is also easy going and willing to try all sorts of foods and is encouraging to the boys.

 

We had another pretty regular school week. I took Lila in for a retainer check over her lunch period and everything is looking well there. I took Miles and Julie to a meeting in Farmington on my way to play pickleball. Steve and I have been doing a few more leagues and really enjoying it. I was a little frustrated with how the last league ended because I had stayed up in the top court playing with bunch of men and Steve did not play well in the game I played with him causing my overall ranking to drop quite a bit but he still managed to get third and received a little pickleball medallion. Oh well it's all for fun. He's convinced me to try a 4.0 league next round so we'll see how that goes. Marcus has started flag football and loves it. One evening he even said, "When I join the NFL I'm going to play for the 49ers." WHAT?! I guess he is more serious about football then I realized. The boys love going outside and throwing the ball around together, seriously so nice! At one of his games a boy on his team said, "My Chinese teacher is here." To which Marcus replied, "Where?" I laughed and told him he was talking about Miles who enjoys going with us to activities.

 

 

Thursday, September 12th was Miles's 26th birthday. We hung up a birthday banner and bought him a Heritage shirt as a present. We then took him and Julie the other intern out to dinner and then back home for Black Forest Cheesecake (and I just realized the group picture is on his phone, I'm going to have to ask him to send me a copy).

 

 

I've also been volunteering every Friday since school started for one thing or another. Friday, Sept 13th was for the Husky Dash. I signed up to tally laps during my boys running times. Marcus was a trooper and was running the whole time. He got 5 laps but was disappointed because last year he got 6. His class did come out 5 minutes late, I told him that and that if he is behaving well his class would get to their activities faster. Andrew decided it was more of a social event and walked the laps with his friends. It was fun to see all the kids from the neighborhood and cheer them on.

Lila worked the grill at the Layton High Football game that night to help fundraiser for her dance team. I was going to work it with her but the teacher ended up getting enough girls. Lila had fun and even said one of her friends came over and visited with her for a while. I hope she is recognizing her friendships and the fun opportunities she has. Ellie brought Porter over right before I had to leave to take Lila to the grill. She wanted to give the boys a chance to say goodbye as he starts the home MTC Monday, Sept 16th. She decided to stay at the Phelps house again. I'm really trying not to take it personally that she spends every minute she can at Porter's house, we only clothed her, fed her, and help her with her college funds. . .really really I know she was ready to spread her wings but it stings a little. Anyway, while Lila was working the grill Steve managed to pour epoxy on a section of the countertops in the office and it turned out pretty great! We learned a few things but overall so happy with it!

Saturday we didn't have too much going on and Miles was spending the day with the other two Taiwan teachers so Steve decided to dig up our irrigation line that has had a rock stuck in it since the spring when Steve turned it on. Of course the rock that went down was the perfect size rock jamming the whole and not budging a bit when we tried to use duct tape to get it out or JB weld or the shop vac. So Steve was a trooper and dug for hours out there. He had to get almost 6 feet down and that dirt was like cement, not easy. 

Lila and I were both having an emotional day and I was feeling overwhelmed with life and I read this article in The Liahona about how the Lord will come to us. I said a prayer just before leaving to take Lila to a birthday party just praying that I know this to be true but I was feeling like that woman just not having strength to do one more thing. I was so grateful when I got home to find our dear neighbor who came over and helped Steve with the last little bit and for a few other tender mercies I needed to know that the Lord is with me and I can do all things with His help. 

Lila had fun at the birthday party and got a ride home with a friend when she walked in she said, "I think Jerry is having a party too." So Steve went out and snapped this picture.

 

Um. . .maybe the ultrasonic noise maker is attracting them. I really don't want to cause them harm but I may have to call in some professional help soon. Jerry. . .you trouble maker. I feel a little like Tom in Tom and Jerry. 😂

When the Thunder Rolls

Monday evening August 19th we had quite the storm roll through. The lightning flashes were keeping me up in my bed and then the thunder began and then my bedroom door blew open. I got up to see if one of the boys had been awoken by the storm only to find the patio door had blown open and the wind was blowing so hard I started to run around grabbing things while yelling Steve's name. Then the hail came and it was blowing so hard the hail was coming horizontally so we just huddled inside at which point Steve told me he had been out on the back patio video recording the thunderstorm and I figured he hadn't gotten the door shut tight so that's why it blew open. Anyway, it was a crazy storm. A house in the neighborhood south of us was struck by lightning and several trees were blown over--I mean like big established trees. We texted around to our neighbors checking on people. A few had some water in their basements and one had their patio table smash against the fence but nothing too major. Steve had to go down to the office on Tuesday and wouldn't you know after he left I noticed a piece of soffit had blown off our house, it had to wait until Steve got home to fix it.

   

Along with a few broken tree branches and some more heavy blown over stuff. I spent a good amount of time Tuesday morning cleaning up from the storm. I went to lunch with a friend that day too who's house faces the other direction and she said her husband had to stand pushing against their patio doors to keep them shut for the 45 minutes the storm raged on.

 

Saturday, August 24th Andrew had his fiddling recital and brunch breakfast. It was fun. 

Ellie was riding the train home that day and we told her we could pick her up at the Farmington Station because we were in Farmington for the recital. She said she would just walk home from the Layton stop but when I called at the end of the recital she said the train doors didn't open at the Layton stop so they had to go on to the Clearfield stop. Porter picked her up. Ellie was hoping to hangout with him but Porter dropped her off at the house because he hadn't finished his talk for his farewell the next day and he had some chores to finish like mow the lawn etc. So Ellie hung around the house for a bit and did a few errands. Sunday, August 25th we all went to the Phelps sacrament meeting to hear Porter give his farewell address and for his brother Ward to report on his mission. It was a good meeting. Then Lila drove Ellie back to the dorms. It was a win win, they got to visit, Lila got driving hours, and Ellie made it back.

 

I was invited to play Bunco with some ladies in the neighborhood and made this yummy Black Forest Cheesecake to take to the event. It turned out delicious!

 

I also had some car maintenance stuff to do like tire rotations then Wednesday, August 28th I drove up to Idaho to check on my parents and get my Dad's Tesla so we could get the self driving installed on it. We paid for it months ago but just took time to get it into the shop. Steve and took it down and dropped it off at the Tesla shop. And there you have some odds and ends of the first couple weeks of school.

Back to School

with the possibility of the itern coming and Ellie packing up and school supply lists coming, I had this urge to deep clean a few areas of the house. As we did so we found supplies for the boys to take to school. I'm not opposed to buying new but the few times I did it when the girls were younger I felt like they never got used so we like to re-use here at our house. We also found some fun games, puzzles, and prizes to donate to teachers. So I was feeling pretty good about the tidiness of the house and our preparation/donations for school. Ellie had been prepping her room, well I think she spent more time on getting her plants ready for the move than anything else. 😂 Tuesday, August 13th I went to check on her and found her asleep in her bed and then I saw the emptiness of her room and I cried. Then I heard from our neighbors who had moved their daughter in that day that it was pure chaos so I was worried about taking the boys down. They had mentioned in the email to only bring the people necessary to help move so I didn't know what to do. I prayed about it that night and I just had this overwhelming feeling that we should all go. We had the day blocked out and we would regret it if we didn't go no matter how chaotic it might be. And by golly YES! We are all necessary. 

Steve ran to get donuts for our back to school tradition and he picked up Porter on his way back to the house. The boys were dead asleep still (tell me how is it that every day of the summer they get up at 6:45 but as soon as school is starting they are sleeping in 😆). I turned on the light and asked if they wanted to come say goodbye to Ellie. They jumped out of bed and said, "we're all going. aren't we?" Which solidified my decision that we were all going. We ate a quick breakfast then finalized loading stuff in the van and sent Steve, Lila, Ellie, and Porter down.

The boys and I ran a couple of errands and then headed out about 20 minutes after them. I knew we would have to park at the stadium and shuttle over which our friends told us took 40 minutes. Just as we were pulling into the stadium Steve called and said that they were not allowing them to park anywhere near the dorms. The email said that we would get one parking pass and our friends said they got one parking pass. Today they had giant bins they unloaded all of Ellie's stuff in to and then told Steve to go move the van to the stadium. I was so glad Lila and Porter were with her so she wasn't left all alone. Steve had Ellie's bike so he biked back up to the dorms while the boys and I waited for the shuttle. It took about 20 minutes for one to arrive and then it felt like we were going all across campus. The driver finally stopped after 10 minutes and said, "Union Center". I asked is this how we get to Kalhert Village dorms. The bus driver, "Oh is that where you all want to go." Uh yeah! It's move in day we're all parents on the shuttle. I quickly asked around and yep as expected everyone was going to Kalhert Village so he was like ok, I'll make that my next stop. Seriously!! Why would they not have a shuttle just going back and forth from the dorms if they were making us park down there. Oh well, we finally got up to her dorm about 40 minutes later as our neighbor told us was the case for him.

 

 

We started helping her unload a few things and unpack. Marcus went right into asking some serious questions since he realized the move out was a big deal. "Ellie what do you rate Porter 1-10?" Ellie laughed so Marcus said, "Ok I see I'm not going to get an answer. Porter are you and Ellie going to get married?" 😂 We sent Steve to get the small grocery order I placed to put in her fridge. When he got back he managed to snag a parking space so we sent the kids up with the groceries while we checked out this little shelf thing Ikea was selling that they could use in their bathroom. Steve and I went up to the 5th floor where her room is and we walked down to the commons area at the end to check it out then back to her dorm room and knocked. No answer. Knocked again. No answer. I texted her and asked where they were just as they walked in the hallway. I guess they tried to take the stairs and got lost. 😂 Once the groceries were put away we decided to eat in the dining hall with her. I read that family members were free to eat with the students during move in week. I was expecting standard cafeteria style food but it was posh. They had a taquiria, grill, pizzeria, mongolian, salad bar, sandwich bar, ice cream, cookies and the most delicious pineapple cream soda. You scan a QR code once you enter and custom order food. The boys told her it was like being on the cruise, endless yummy food. 😂

Porter and Ellie headed back up to the room after lunch to do something. We took the boys outside because Andrew wanted to try the bouldering wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was starting to get hot and the boys were tired so our time outside was short lived. We went in but the line for the elevators was long. More people moving in. So we called Ellie and told them to come down and meet us. We group hugged and the boys and I took the van and headed home. The four of them spent some more time decorating and then they climbed the boulder wall.

Then Steve drove her over to this other climbing place because a nice lady had offered to give her a harness and a chalk bag. Then they ate one more time in the dining hall with her before heading out.

Meanwhile the boys and I went to their back to school night and met their teachers. I signed up for my volunteer/party spots and then we were heading home. Marcus had a activity day party he was excited to attend.

Steve texted me saying Ellie and Lila were having a hard time saying good bye. Ellie thought about riding back with them but I encouraged her to stay a night or two then she could ride the train home and I would pick her up at the train station then make sure she made it back in time for her YSA ward on Sunday. So they finally headed out with the plan in place. She sent us this picture at 9:45pm.

She went by the financial office on Thursday to turn in a check she had received for schooling and found out her scholarship had been upgraded from Merit to Valedictorian and she is going to receive an extra $3000/year so she was super excited about that!

 

The next morning we were up bright and early again to get Lila off to the bus stop at 6:45. All of her friends said they were riding the bus and I did not want to fight traffic to the high school but when she got to the bus stop no one was there. She was a trooper and rode the bus still. All of her classes went really well that day except Astronomy. She says it has all the trouble kids because they want an easy class so she is going to have to stand in line again on Monday to change that science credit. UGH! She's hoping to get into Chemistry with one of her friends without having to shuffle any of the classes she already likes. 🙏

Then the boys were off to school. I was a little nervous how their days would go but when I picked them up they had great days!

After I dropped the boys off on Thursday I was driving to help a friend set up a wedding reception and I passed Porter on Gentile street walking. I pulled over and asked where he was going. "The train station." I offered a ride to which he declined then I called Ellie and asked if Porter was coming to visit her. The answer was of course yes. 😂

Friday was spirit day so the boys wore their shirts and hats from last year. Friday was a little rougher for each of them but still good. I'm really grateful for two short days when school starts to help us kind of get back in the swing of things.

 

Friday I told Lila I would drop off pizzas for her and her friends to have for lunch. So I met her in the parking lot with pizzas. She said pictures went well (I saw it later and it is a good picture). Then I picked up Ellie at the train station. She ate a slice of pizza and a breadstick I snagged before giving Lila the pizzas. Then she ran up to work with the Chemistry teacher at NUAMES. We had fun visiting with her over dinner and hearing all her stories. The kids told her about their first days. Then we watched a couple of Phineas and Ferb episodes before going to bed. Lila is trying to create good bedtime habits so she can sleep better and get up earlier. I'm proud of her for sticking with it. Ellie got up really early Saturday, August 17th to go to the mountain bike race with Porter and his family. We managed to have a very productive Saturday morning. Steve mowed and edged the lawn and fixed a sprinkler. I did laundry and washed our sheets and the boys sheets. Then I walked Lila down for a haircut and she washed her sheets after the haircut. Steve went mountain biking with a friend and Andrew had a basketball workout. That was all before noon. WHEW! Then a storm came in. It has been nice to have the evening (well this one was afternoon) rainstorms. The boys were playing on the electric piano downstairs making up a bunch of songs and we just kept plugging away at little projects. 

Lila and I didn't even see Ellie Saturday because we went to bed before she came home. The Phelps decided to do Porter's birthday dinner that night so she stayed and celebrated with them. I guess Ellie's institute teacher invited Porter to attend mission prep and then stay for Ellie's institute class which is right afterwords so we'll see if he does that. Anyway, we had yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast and visited a little bit longer. Then Lila and Steve drove Ellie back to her dorm so she could attend her YSA ward at 11:30am. I thought it was a great idea to have Lila drive, she needs the hours and practice so it was two birds with one stone. She was nervous about driving in Salt Lake but we told her it was a Sunday and then we teased her to not be Candace because we had just watched the Phineas and Ferb episode where Candace drives with her mom. All in all it was a great start to school and I hope we can continue to get into new routines.