Sept 2022

 Hilliard sent out a park scavenger hunt as part of their quarterly city magazine so of course we had to do it! It was actually really fun and got us to some new parks that we had never been to before. We even found a new walking trail that we really love!

Kaylee decided to try cross country this year. I think at first she just liked being part of a team and being with friends and being involved but she ended up really enjoying it and I love that I have a buddy to go on runs with. 

I finally got released as the Primary President after 3 years. When Richard had been called into the Spanish Branch Presidency, they told me I would probably be released soon. But since it had almost been a year and the Bishop had recently told me that he didn't think it was the right time, it seemed like it came out of nowhere and was a big shock for me. I was incredibly sad and have never been so devastated to be released from something before. I have loved that calling and being in there with the kids so much!

We went to a festival in Old Hilliard that we have been to a few times before. The kids usually aren't excited to go but when we get there and they start getting candy and balloons and playing games, they love it and want to keep searching for more stuff.

Richard's birthday was pretty low key. We have been really busy with all of the things the kids are involved in so even with his birthday on a Sunday, we couldn't do much during the week leading up to his birthday (although the Hilliard festival was the day before and he does love going to those). We did go out to eat one night at BJ's but every other night was busy! We wrapped up the tennis rackets he had wanted (and we had already used) just to give him something to open and the girls gave him a couple of homemade gifts as well. On Sunday, we went to the waterfall trail in Dublin that we have been to a few times over the last two years. Brooklyn wanted me to stop and take her picture while she posed at every little spot.  

His did get to celebrate his birthday the next day however, by driving up to Cincinnati with some friends to go to a baseball game. He didn't get any pics of the group that went but he got a lot of far away pics oft the field so at least he has proof that he went! Ha ha.

McKenna decided to play soccer again but I was a little worried about it being coed this time. Her coach also doesn't seem to know a lot about soccer so he wasn't very helpful for her but she enjoyed it anyway. She decided to try playing defense this time and loved it!

Richard took McKenna and Brooklyn to a Cinderella community play. All the actors were kids and so, while Richard didn't think it was the most amazing play ever, both girls really loved it and even wanted to go see it again because they liked it so much. They did a preview night at the library with some Cinderella themed crafts and we did go to that and Brooklyn loved getting to talk with the girl who played Cinderella.

August 2022

 We flew home from Utah on August 2nd. Richard was starting to feel a little sick and by the time we got home, he was exhausted. The next day he woke up and felt awful so he decided to take a COVID test and it pretty much immediately showed positive. He and I were both pretty sick for about 5 or 6 days and it took even longer to get our full strength back. Kaylee was a little sick but wasn't too bad and McKenna and Brooklyn both seemed to escape with no symptoms. It was not a fun way to come home but we were so grateful that we were able to do everything in Utah first. And especially grateful that we somehow didn't give it to my parents!

We had a very boring couple of weeks as we recovered and couldn't be around people. The girls really struggled going from constant fun and entertainment in Utah to being stuck at home with nothing to do and no one else to play with. The first couple days when Richard and I were so sick, McKenna really stepped up and took such good care of Brooklyn. They created a very intricate game that took up the entire floor of the play room and played it for a solid three days. She was also very sweet in helping Brooklyn get food and making sure she was taken care of. It was really great to see and so helpful for us.

I was also very grateful that we got out of quarantine in time for the kids to go to school for the first day. I think they were very excited to get out of the house and see people again! Ha ha. Kaylee started a new school again, since 6th grade is in it's own building, and Brooklyn was happy to have Mckenna with her for one more year. We decided to try out having the kids ride the bus again this year and Brooklyn was excited to try it out. 

Kaylee has really loved being in Young Women's this year and has an amazing group of girls her age. One of the fun activities they did to start off the school year was Chalk Wars, which was really fun. She was a hilarious sight coming home dyed all colors of the rainbow!

Richard decided he wanted tennis rackets for his birthday but wanted them early so we could use them as much as possible. Kaylee was busy but we took McKenna and Brooklyn to try out their first taste of tennis and they both loved it! It's been fun to have something new and fun to get us outside and exercising together.

We found out from a friend that there is a program that does a free tennis clinic for elementary ages students every week. It's taught by high school tennis players and they teach them how to play tennis by doing different games with them. McKenna and Brooklyn decided to try it out and they have really enjoyed it.

I took McKenna on a date to watch the BYU vs OSU soccer game! It has been so fun for me to be able to share my love of soccer with someone and I loved being able to show McKenna how good the BYU team is. They completely dominated and we had a blast cheering them on.

July 2022- Part 3

 Tuesday, we got to go to the Provo City Center temple with some of the Henricksen cousins. I have wanted to go to that temple for a while and thought it was really cool!

After the temple we went to Sharon's pool and everyone else came who hadn't made it to the temple. I didn't swim and just chatted with a few of the other adults but Richard had a blast playing with all the kids. They came up with a game that involved just about everyone and it was fun to see them all having a blast together.

The Andreason's left the next afternoon and we were very sad to say goodbye to them! I couldn't believe how many times my kids told me they were bored just on that first day without the Andreason's!

We drove out to Saltair to have our family pictures taken. They didn't end up being my favorite family pictures ever but Jen is always so great to do them!

On Thursday, Tess decided she also wanted to have a cousin party even though her birthday would be after we left so we went to Kristi's and joined Tess for a princess party. We played some fun games like wrapping people up in yellow streamers for Rapunzel's hair, princess BINGO, and Tess wanted to play the candy bar game like we played for Parker. 

Later, we went to Julie's house again so Kaylee could do one last baptism trip at the Mt Timp temple. We are so lucky that we got to go to the temple so often on this trip!

On Friday afternoon, we met Jared and his family for lunch and then checked out the International Peace Gardens. It was really hot and I'm not sure the kids had any fun but they didn't remember being there before so it was something new for them.

Afterwards, we went to the Conference Center to show the kids where General Conference happens and we even got to go on the roof to see Uncle Dan's mural.

That night, we met the Gregory's and Mom and Dad at Mulligan's where half of us did batting cages and the driving range and the rest of us did mini golf. McKenna loved the batting cages and got some good hits in for her first time! Richard went straight from there to meet Jason at Tucano's for dinner and was really glad that he was able to meet up with him for a long overdue chat.

The next morning, we met Richard's siblings at Top Golf to celebrate Bryant's birthday. I was nervous because I hadn't been to a driving range since I was maybe 10 and had no idea how to hit a golf ball. By the end, I had relaxed enough that I thought it was really enjoyable. I like that they have different games so even people who aren't great at golf can have fun.

Then we went to Spanish Fork to see Laura's new house and go on a hike with the whole Henricksen crew. Unfortunately there had been a mud slide or something because the normally clear water was really murky, which made it a little treacherous to walk down the river but it was still really pretty and was a hike worth doing. We ended the night with dinner at Jared's house and said goodbye to the Henricksen's. 

On Sunday we went to Julie's church to hear her family sing and then had dinner with them after. 

Rachel planned a special FHE lesson and wanted to invite us over so later that night, we went to the DuVall's and she did an incredible job on teaching us how to come closer to the Savior.

On our final day in Utah, I really wanted to go hiking but we didn't have a ton of energy or time so we picked something that was relatively close and wouldn't be super long. We took the girls to Ensign Peak but I don't know if they didn't get enough sleep or if the last couple weeks had just caught up with them but they were really struggling to hike and kept saying they couldn't breathe and were too tired to do the hike. That definitely didn't make it the most enjoyable hike ever but we all made it to the top! I love that view, I miss being able to look out over the whole city!

In the evening, I went to see the new Thor movie with Kristi, Tony, Scott and Rachel while Richard took the girls out to eat with his mom to say goodbye. 

Even though we packed 3 weeks full of family and fun, it also seemed to be over so quickly and we were very sad to say goodbye! It was one of our best Utah trips ever.