Christianson Pond

For mutual this week the girls went to Christianson Pond today. I was asked if I could drive and since Kevin is out town Ashley tagged along. She wasn't happy when I first told her but when we arrived at the church and she saw that Addison was going with her mom too her attitude too she changed her attitude.
The young womens president provided me with directions and Madison was my navigator. She did a good job but the last direction was a little vague so she enlisted the GPS on her phone. Well it was not much of a help. We couldn't find the right road to turn onto and we went on many wrong roads. Today I was glad for my suburban. One wrong road, I don't think was a road but a farmers road to turn on his irrigation. At one low point it was muddy and a smaller car would not have made it through. My suburban now looks like I went off roading. With some direction from another driver we finally made it to the pond.
There were so many fun things for the girls to do at the pond. They had a zip line, several diving boards, canoes, and paddle boats. The girls had a lot of fun trying everything out.

Each girl did the zip line. Ashley had so much fun on it that she did it a few times. Allison did it once and the swim back was hard on her so I wouldn't let her do it again. A local fire is irritating her asthma. Madison was a little nervous to try it because it was so high. She tried it anyways but once on the zipline was too nervous to continue so she let go. She didn't pay attention to the way that she fell and hit the water with her back. I didn't realize at the time how much it hurt her. She has been so sore since we got home. Madison was a good sport and kept a happy face on while she there and participated in things.
It was a fun day and I am glad that I got to go along with the young women. We have such a great group of girls in our ward. I was also shocked at how many girls had fun looking for tad poles and frogs. I love that they are not too girly for that.

Roadtrip

Ashley has been in Kimberly at Nana and Grandpa's house. We were going to meet them half way today to get her back but Madison ask if Allison and her to drive down and spend the night and then come back tomorrow. We have not let Madison drive a long distance without one of us yet. We know that we need to let her do it but it is hard that she is growing up. We decided to let them do it.

Even though we know that it was good to let her drive, we were still nervous. Kevin made sure they had water and stuff just in case they broke down. He also put the suburban's emergency road side kit in the care. He got several eye rolls from Madison and Allison. He also helped her look at all the gages on the car to make sure everything was alright.

Madison is a responsible driver and we trust her but it is hard letting go.

They did make it safe and sound. I didn't want them to think that we didn't trust them so I checked in on them through "Find my IPhone." I love that app I can see where they are at and not be too annoying to them.

Garage Sale

Today we did our second garage sale. I am not really sure that all the work is worth it. This year went better then last year but still a lot of work and very little return. It was fun meeting different people. There were some really nice people and friendly people. We had a lot to sale and many of the large items sold and some of the cloths. I had things priced low because I wanted them gone. It was also a nice day and didn't get too hot. I am glad that Kevin remembered about sunscreen or we would have gotten burnt. Our house gets direct sun in the morning.

It is nice to have made a little money and once it was all over everything else went to DI. It is nice to get rid of stuff.

Getting Ready

Ashley has been wanting a new bike. She has out grown hers and has the perfect bike picked out. We told her if she helped us get ready for the garage sale we would use what we made to get her a bike. I think that it was too big of a project for her to take on. She tried to work on it but she really needed me to be able and sit there to direct her through stuff. This week has been crazy and I just didn't have the time to do that. The neighborhood garage sale is tomorrow so it had to get done today. With Ashley gone I recruited Madison and Allison to help out. Christian also came over to hand out with Madison and got recruited.

They were such a great help and we could have never been able to pull a garage sale off without them. I think that we will have to come up a more age appropriate job for Ashley to get her bike.

Cousin Fun

Today we had some fun visitors. Nana brought Lexi and Kylie up to hang out and swim with the girls.

The girls swam for hours. I don't know how they have so much energy. Dinner was late before Nana headed home. She took Ashley with her to spend some time with Lexi and Kylie.

Father's Day

This year for Father's Day I thought I would try something new. This past week has been crazy with school and stuff so I have had anytime to go out shopping so I handed Madison my debit card and sent her shopping with her sisters. It was fun to see what they would pick out for Kevin. They came home with two t-shirts. First one that says "Sarcastic comment loading please wait." Madison loves Kevin's humor and there is no one that can get laughing like him. The other t-shirt was Star Wars. Madison wanted to get him one in Disneyland but couldn't find one that he would like. I think they did a great job getting something for their dad.

We also spoiled Kevin with some of his favorite meals. He got homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast and then ribs with au gratin potatoes for dinner. It was a fun day. Kevin is a great father and I am sure that we don't tell him that enough.

Allison

I am sure Allison and her friend Skylar were not aware of what they were starting when they decorated their friends rooms Mckenzie and Sarah earlier this week. Mckenzie got in contact with me and ask they could come and return the favor. I got Allison out of the house and let them at it. She had no idea and was surprised when she got home.

She saved the packing peanuts covering her bed and has plans to give them back. It is going to be a fun summer watching these girls go back and forth.

Health Catalyst day of service

Kevin's work has started to annually dedicate one day a year to service. In Salt Lake they had many events fro the employees to choose from but since we are in Idaho we came up with something for ourselves. A co-worker of Kevin's that lives locally ask people if they wanted to join her at the Idaho Food Bank Friday afternoon. Kevin signed us up and we all went. The company intended it to be a family thing so Kevin signed us all up. The girls had a really good attitude about it and didn't complain at all about giving their Friday afternoon up. Allison had been to the food bank before so she knew what to expect but not the rest of us. We got their and they gave us our assignment and we jumped right in. We were labeling food that did not have labels. The girls did a great job keeping busy and the work went by quickly. Ashley asked when we get to go back and do it again. It was a great experience and I do look forward to doing it again. We have been blessed with so much and it is nice to give back to those that have hit hard times. I think it is also important for the girls to see that not everyone has what they have and worry about where their next meal will come from.

After the food bank we headed to the movies to see Finding Dory. It has been a blessing working for Health Catalyst they care about their employees families and do these little things to show their appreciation to the employees and their families.

Not feeling so well

Over the weekend Madison started having a lot of pain after she eats and feeling nauseous. She would be in pain for about an hour or two after eating and then it would go away. One time it got so bad we almost took her to the ER while we were in Utah but the pain ended up subsiding. We really wanted to get her home and take her to her doctor so thankfully we did not have take her while were in Utah. Once we were home we took her into urgent care and they did some blood work and other tests and then sent her to get an ultrasound. Everything came back normal so they referred us to her primary care doctor. Today we went in and saw her and she has decided to try another route for testing. These tests will take a little longer to get back so now we wait.

I hope these tests come back with some answers. She is hardly eating because she wants to avoid the pain.

Sunsets

Since we have moved to our new house I have been noticing the sunsets and how pretty they are. I am not sure if we just have a better view from this house or what. Tonight I was heading to the store with Ashley and Madison and I could get over how pretty the sunset was. We pulled into another neighborhood and found a place with a good view.

The world we live in is so pretty. I am glad that my view has changed so that I can experience these sunsets.

Weekend in Utah

Ashley was so excited to find out that their was a soccer tournament in Utah so that she could go down and see Kendal. She has sure missed her since she moved away. We see her more but I know that it is hard for her to not have her around. Thursday evening we packed up and headed to Utah. Madison and Allison were supposed to come down on Saturday with our neighbor but Madison changed the plans up and came home from girls camp early. Allison and her worked it all out. Girls camp is not her favorite and she would rather be with us. Allison was having a lot of fun and didn't want to come home early too so they found a place for her to stay Friday night and worked it all out with the leaders. Where there is a will there is a way. We arrived Thursday night late and met up with Ashley's team Friday morning before the first game.

Kevin had not been into the office in a long time so headed to work before the game so he could be live in a meeting that he normally attends over the phone. Ashley had two games on Friday and one Saturday. In between her games on Friday she got to hang out with Kendal.

We were hoping to hang out again on Saturday but the day became too full.

This was a good tournament to go to. The girls were able to see different competition and see what they need to do to step up their game. They played hard but were not able to come away with a win.

It was a good experience even if they didn't win. It is always nice to see how positive these girls stay even when they are losing. These are a good bunch of girls. I am glad Ashley gets to play with them and the coaches make it fun but they also work them hard.

Once the games were over on Saturday we met up with Aunt Rachel and her family. They thought it would be fun to got to the aquarium. Calvin loves to see the sharks and penguins.

Madison was her adventurous self and touched everything that she was allowed too. Ashley wanted nothing to do with touching any of the sea creatures. Madison did inspire Calvin and he gave it a try too.

Calvin showed us one of his favorite parts the tunnel where you are surrounded in a glass enclosure to see the sharks swimming around you.

We had a fun time with Calvin at the Aquarium.

After the aquarium we thought that it might be a good idea to get something to eat since it was 3 in the afternoon and we had breakfast so early at the hotel. We headed south so we could meet up with a friend from our old ward for lunch and then hop over to IKEA. Allison was also getting close so we stayed close to the freeway so our neighbors didn't have to go that far to drop her off. I came prepared with a list of things that I wanted to start making our walls not look so bare. It is probably a good thing that IKEA isn't closer because there is so much I want but I stuck to my list.

On Sunday before heading home we attended William's homecoming talk. It was great to see how much of an impact his mission had on him. He left a boy and came back a man. He wants to attend BYU-I. It will be fun if Madison and him can get to know him better. She loves family and hasn't got to know the cousins her age as well as she would like.

We also made a quick stop in and saw Uncle Brian. It was a fun trip but it is always nice to get home and sleep in your own bed.

Finally Done!!!

When we moved in last year I never thought that we would get our basement done so quickly but I sure am glad that we have. I am so happy with the way that it turned out. Kevin wasn't quite sure what I envisioned for the built-ins under the windows in the family room but he trusted me. I love them and he is very happy with the final product too.

It will also be nice to organize our food storage and fill up the food storage room.

It is going to be so nice to have it all organized and seeing what we have. I don't even know what we have because it has been in boxes for so long. Kevin is happy to have the bathroom done also. I know that it isn't that far for him to come upstairs but it will be nice for him while he is working and only has a minute.

It will be awhile before we are able to get furniture but it is still nice having it done. One more step towards our vision of everything all done the way we have envisioned. Oh and I love the barn door too. A little something different and unique.

Craft

The first week of summer has been kind of rough on Ashley. Madison and Allison are gone at camp so she is an only child. Kevin has also been working a lot and this is one of my busiest semesters yet. Today Ashley and I ran some errands in the morning to find her some more bands for her fun loom. We also found some stuff for a craft that I have wanted to do for awhile but never managed to fit the time into do it. When we came home I ask her if she wanted to help with with the craft. She was very excited. It was fun working on this with her.

I don't know why I put it off for so long because it was easy and took hardly any time.

I love the way it turned out. I miss being creative. I need to find more time to fit stuff in like this.

Trampoline

Kevin has been working hard to make the trampoline hole more stable. He has been worried that it would cave in since it was first dug. He has been researching different things on the internet and decided to try placing cinder blocks where the legs go. It seemed to be the simplest solution but he didn't realize how hard it was going to be to dig them down. The ground is very hard and it took longer then he thought it would. He has worked on it a little here and a little there for about a week. Today he decided that it needed to get done so he got up early and got to work.

I finished some school work and went out to help. The temperatures outside were unseasonably high so Kevin left me to place the last block in the row. I have never been the smartest at wearing gloves to protect my hands or the right type of shoes to work in. About 5 minutes after went inside, I dropped a cinder block and smashed my thumb between two blocks. It took off a good chunk of the skin and I was worried that I broke it.

Kevin was sweet he just rolled his eyes at me and went to get the stuff to clean me up and some ice. Once it was cleaned up and under ice for a bit, I decided that it was not broken because I could move it and it was excruciating pain that I felt. This project ended up being a bigger pain then we originally thought. I am so glad that it is done.

Last day of school

Today was the last day of school. Paramount Elementary last day of school is very similar to Chaparrals but since we are new it just wasn't the same. I don't regret moving Ashley over to Paramount but miss seeing all the teachers and friends that we had at Chaparral. When we moved, I wanted to make it the easiest that I could on my kids so at the time I thought I was doing what was best for them by letting them decide where they wanted to go to school. Looking back now I wish that I would have made them all switch to the new schools by our house. This year for Ashley has not been easy but there has been many valuable lessons learned. I now see how I have withheld those lessons from Madison and Allison. Parenting should really come with a handbook that tells you exactly what to do.
Even though this year has been hard for Ashley in many ways, there is so much more good things that have come from it. Walking into this year Ashley had Kendal in her class and she was so happy nothing could go wrong. Well, Kendal moved and Ashley had some hard times with her teacher. Being the new kid can be hard and when you don't know all the teachers like we did at Chaparral I think it is also hard. Mrs. Ostrum is a good teacher but Ashley had a hard time reading her which made it hard for her to communicate with her. It was a learning year for both of us but that is good.

Paramount is a wonderful school and I wish that all my kids could experience it. Mr. Brigham makes elementary school fun and I think that is important. Chaparral was definatly missing out on the fun. Madison did get a few years of that before Mr. Brigham moved from Chaparral to Paramount but Allison has never experienced a fun school environment and I think that is sad. I am glad Ashley will get to end elementary at Paramount so she will see the fun.
The girls were so excited for the last day of school. Madison only had to go until about 11:00 and Ashley got to leave after lunch. The district doesn't do a half day of school on the last day so Allison was in school the whole day. She didn't mind that much because Meridian Middle tries to fill the last couple of days of school with fun activities for the 8th graders. This morning was the awards ceremony. Allison was recognized for a 4.0 all year and also a 4.0 all three years of middle school. She also got an award for receiving an outstanding on her pace project. She was also recognized for responsibility by her health teacher. She is a great student and works hard to get good grades and be a great example to the students around her.

She will be attending Renaissance High School next year with the goal of graduating high school with her associates degree also. She has high goals for herself and has a great plan set out to achieve them. I sometimes wish that she would relax a little and throw some fun in there too but we will have to see.
Madison also worked very hard this year. She took three AP classes and is 2 years ahead in math. She also found last year that she was interested in Sports Medicine so was enrolled in Sports Med 2 (a demanding class). Her AP Chem class and Sports Med were dual enrolled classes so she got high school and college credit for those. Chem seemed to give her the hardest time this year but she stuck it out and finished strong. Next year her senior year is going to be another challenging year but she does a great job managing the classes. She is always hard on herself and thinks she can do better but she is ranked in the top 20% of her class, I think she is doing great. I can't believe that she is a Senior and will be going to college in a year. I am not sure I am ready for that.

Turning Point

Allison finished middle school and is moving onto high school. The middle school had their version of graduation today a turning point ceremony. The ceremony consists of the student council speaking and the 8th grade talent show. Allison was brave and tried out for the talent show and got a spot. She was so nervous this morning before I dropped her off at school. She knows the song that she was playing by heart but has a little stage fright and was worried she would be shaking too bad and mess up. When we got their I saw the program and noticed that she was second to last to preform so she had sit through the whole ceremony before she preformed. I have a tendency to take on my kids nerves so I was a wreck throughout the whole thing. This is a fun little ceremony to help illustrate how the kids are moving on to high school by turning a new light on in their lives. This will be the last one that I go to because the middle school Ashley will go to doesn't do anything for eighth graders moving on. They did a fun slide show that highlighted all the students. When Allison came up we were not surprised who shared the slide with her.

Allison and Andrew have been good friends since 4th grade. They have a lot of fun together and I guess in middle school everyone thinks that girls and boys can't just be friends. The whole school has thought they were a couple because they always hang out with each other.
It was a great ceremony and Allison did a great job playing the piano.

I guess her hands were shaking terribly but you couldn't tell. She didn't mess up once. I am so proud of the wonderful young women that she is becoming and that she pushes herself to do things that hard like playing in front

of her whole school.